November 1, 1864. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



361 



once concluded that they were either a mere variety of the 

 Cochin-China, or a cross, " probably with the Malay." He 

 asked for information from Dr. Bennett, but could obtain no 

 satisfactory reply, and why he could not is fully apparent 

 from this which we extract from an American work on 

 poultry. 



" The variety of fowl itself was the Grey Chittagong, to 

 which allusion has already been made, and the first samples 

 of which I obtained from ' Asa Rugg- * (Dr Kerr), of Phi- 

 ladelphia, in 1850". Of this no one now entertains a doubt. 

 They were the identical fowl, all over, — size, plumage and 

 characteristics. 



" But my friend the Doctor wanted to put forth some- 

 thing that would take better than his ' Plymouth Rocks ;' 

 and so he consulted me as to a name for a brace of grey 

 fowls I saw in his yard, I always objected to the multiply- 

 ing of titles ; but he insisted, and finally entered them at our 

 Fitchburg Depot Show as ' Burrampooters,' all the way from 

 India. 



"These three fowls were bred from AsaEugg's Grey Chit- 

 tagong cock, with a yellow Shanghae hen, in Plymouth, 

 Mass. They were an evident cross, all three of them having 

 a top-knot ! But, n'importe. They were then ' Burram- 

 pooters." 



"Subsequently, these fowls came to be called 'Buram- 

 pootras,' ' Bun-am Putras,' ' Brarna-pooters/ ' Brahmas,' 

 'Brama Paters/ ' Brama Poutras,' and at last 'Brahma 

 Pootras." In the meantime, they were advertised to be ex- 

 hibited at various fairs in different parts of the country 

 under the above change of titles, varied in certain instances 

 as follows; 'Burma Porters,' 'Bahama Paduas,' 'Bohemia 

 Prudas,' 'Bahama Pudras'; and for these three last named, 

 prizes were actually offered at a Maryland fan- in 1S51 ! " 



BLACK IS WHITE, 



Contradictory as this may seem, it is no less strange 

 than true, that what was black is now white. But to my 

 story. A neighbouring farmer purchased some chickens 

 two years ago, and among them was a single black one, 

 which in due time became a hen, and underwent the usual 

 cares of henhood. Now, whether these cares or female 

 vanity, aroused by the fact of being- a solitary black one 

 among so many of various gay colours, or both, preying on 

 a peculiarly constituted mind, produced the effect I am 

 about to describe I must leave my readers to decide ; but 

 certain it is that, after twelve months this black hen was 

 observed to be changing her plumage, until at eighteen 

 months old she became black and white ; and the change 

 still going on at two years old this once jet black hen, 

 black even to her legs, became, and is now, of the purest 

 milk-white, with legs as white as any Dorking's. The hen is 

 now in my possession, having-' been kindly given to me on 

 expressing much interest in the matter ; and the above facts 

 can be vouched for as strictly true. May I ask if such a 

 case of washing a blackamore white has been met with 

 before ?— R. O., Eglingham. 



[Many instances have occurred, and some have been 

 noticed in our pages of Black Spanish hens gradually ac- 

 quiring an entirely white plumage.] 



TYLDESLEY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY'S 



POULTRY SHOW. 



The thirty-first annual Show of the above Society was 

 held on the 20th ult. 



Game.— First, J. Hilton, Boothstone Bridge. Second, T. Wakefield 

 Golborne. 



Spanish.— First, W. Gregory, Atherton. Second, J. W. Speakman, 

 Atherton. 



Cochin-China.— Prize, T. Wakefield, Golborne. 



Dorking.— First, S. Partington, Astley. Second, J. BullouRh, Atherton. 



Hamburghs (Golden-pencilled).— First, J. Morris, Westleigh. Second 

 T. Davies, Hmdley. 



Ha.mbdr.ghs (Silver pencilled).— First and Second, .T. Piatt, Deane. 



Hamburghs (Gulden-spangled). — First, J. Walton, Hiudley. Second, 

 J. Morris, Westleigh. 



Hamburghs (Silver-spangled).— First and Second, J. Morris, West!ei"h 

 Highly Commeuded, J. Haslingcon, Tyldeslcy. 



Poland —First and Second, S. Faningtou, Ast'.ey. 



Bantams. -First, H. Gerrard, Atherton. Second, S. Farriugton, Astley. 

 ■Commended, S. Farrington. 



Ducks. — First, T. Wakefield, Golborne. Second, J. Newton, Astley. 

 Commended, J. Gregory, Hmdley; J. Bullough, Atherton. 

 Geese.— Prize, W. Green, Little Hulton. 



Mr. John Elliott, Westleigh, officiated as the Judge. 



COWS ROBBED OF THEIR MILK. 

 You are correct in stating that the idea of hedgehogs 

 sucking cows has long been abandoned by naturalists, the 

 chief reason being, I believe, that the mouth of the animal 

 is not large enough to admit the teat of the cow. The sug- 

 gestion that the human hand drew the milk from your cor- 

 respondent's cow is the most probable one, and she mew/ 

 have sucked herself ; but I venture to suggest that a more 

 common thing to have occurred in that way, would be that 

 one of the cows running with her was perhaps the culprit. — 

 W. H. B. 



IS A NEW BEE BOOK WANTED ? 



"0, that mine adversary had written a book."— Job xxxi , v. 35. 



I join most cordially in the request of "R. S." Mr. 

 Woodbury would confer an inestimable favour on the whole 

 community, whether bee-keeping- or honey-liking, by writing 

 on a subject in which, we may say without depreciating 

 others, he is "facile princeps." — A Constant Reader. 



[The request preferred by "R. S.," in page 319, seconded 

 as it is by " A Constant Reader," has brought the above 

 question very forcibly to my mind, albeit by no means for 

 the first time, since, I may confess, that I have long- con- 

 templated such a task, and have spared neither labour nor 

 expense in obtaining information and experience to qualify 

 me for it. 



My idea is, that the work should first appear in the 

 columns of The Journal of Horticulture, whence it 

 would afterwards be reprinted and offered to the bee-keep- 

 ing world at a moderate price. 



For upwards of six years I have been a very frequent con- 

 tributor to the pages of this Journal, and I have to acknow- 

 ledge with gratitude the kindly appreciation which has 

 always been accorded me. To this correspondence I owe 

 the commencement of many valued friendships, and am in- 

 debted to it for numberless pleasing episodes and grateful 

 reminiscences. Whatever information I possessed has always 

 been freely communicated to all, whilst in my turn I have 

 derived much advantage from the interchange of ideas with 

 others. May I venture to hope, that if it be decided that I 

 am to write a new bee-book, it would be received by the 

 Editors and readers of The Journal of Horticulture in 

 as kindly and indulgent a spirit as the nearly hebdomadal 

 contributions of — A Devonshire Bee-keeper. 



[To this reply we give a ready insertion, and should feel 

 that we did an injustice not only to the writer but to our 

 readers if we did not cordially assent to the proposal. We 

 look forward with confidence to the work as one that will be 

 of great utility; for Mr. Woodbury possesses not only know- 

 ledge of the habits of bees and of all the literature on the 

 subject, but a long experience in the apiary, and is fully 

 qualified to teach how to manage them under any system, 

 whether for amusement or profit. — Eds.] 



WOODBURY FRAME-HIVES. 



" A. W. B." says that the frames in his Woodbury's bar- 

 frame-hives "got a little out of the perpendicular as soon 

 as the bees began to work, and thus scarcely any of the 

 combs are true, and many are joined together, so that 

 the frames are useless." I have heard the same complaint 

 from many bee-keepers that use these hives. In reply to 

 his inquiry you say, that " every Woodbury frame-hive is 

 furnished with a notched bar fitted transversely at the 

 bottom of the hive. Each frame drops into its appropriate 

 notch, and is in this way kept perfectly steady and perpen- 

 dicular until filled with comb. When this has been ac- 

 complished the notched-bar had better be removed, as the 

 weight of the combs renders its presence unnecessary, ana 

 it would be a hindrance to their free manipulation." With 

 all due deference to Mr. Woodbury, the time that he removes 

 his notched bar is the very time it is most required, as the 



