JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
August 4, 1881. ] 
119 
- Heat v. Ducklings. —Our ducklings have suffered much. 
from the late great heat. A whole brood of Pekins which for two or 
three weeks did admirably, suddenly lost the use of their legs and 
rolled about as if paralysed. We at once put iron in their water, but 
with no effect. We should much like to know if any of our readers 
have found their ducklings suffer in a similar way, and if so whether 
any remedies have proved of use.—0. 
-The Manchester Bee Show.—W e extract the following from 
the “ Bowdon G-uardian : ”—“ At the forthcoming great Show at Old 
Trafford, at which £2000 is being given in prizes, a most interesting 
tent will be devoted to bees and honey. It has been thought that 
this could be got up from Mr. A. Pettigrew’s apiaries at Bowdon 
without competition ; and with this end in view, to make bee-keeping 
a popular study, as also an interesting and remunerative occupation, 
the tent will be formed as stated. There will be four observatory 
hives with a queen in each, seen at a glance with a ribbon round her 
waist. On a black board, written with the fingers of the bees, will 
be the legend ‘ God Save the Queen.’ This has been a work of the 
utmost difficulty, and will be a great novelty. On another black 
board, written in honeycomb, will be the words ‘ Industrial Exhi¬ 
bition.’ Besides this there will be nests seen in various forms ; the 
beginning and finishing of palaces of wax, supers in glass, wood, and 
straw of various dimensions will be seen, and practical bee-keepers 
will see how easy it is to fill them, as Mr. Pettigrew will exhibit 
skeletons, so as to show how easy it is to work upon them and how 
soon they may be filled. Other interesting exhibits will be on view.” 
We regret to learn that, owing to serious illness, Mr. Pettigrew will 
not be able to carry out all that he hoped to do at the Show referred 
to, for his apiary has suffered considerably. Ten first swarms were 
lost and a number of second swarms ; yet, as he is now in a conva¬ 
lescent state, we trust he will be completely restored to conduct the 
Show to a successful issue. 
- Agricultural Prospects. —The Wheats are standing in 
sheaf in many parts of the midland and southern counties of Eng¬ 
land, and their appearance in that position is not a bulky one. 
Before the close of the present week Wheat-cutting will be general 
south of the Trent. The recent rains will scarcely affect the result 
of the harvest, except in very late districts ; but they have been very 
beneficial to the struggling root ci'ops and to the aftermath grasses 
and Clovers. The latter are very short and in full blossom. Stock 
have done well hitherto on the scanty dry herbage, but now that is 
gone keep is again very scarce, and dairy districts are being hard 
pressed. Store stock markets vary with the localities in which they 
are held, but the level of prices is low everywhere.— {Mark Lane 
Express.) 
- The Trade of New Zealand.—T he value of imports during 
the past year has decreased by over a million, while that of exports 
has increased by nearly three-quarters of a million—in fact they 
very nearly balance, whereas hitherto the value of imports has always 
been greatly in excess of that of exports. A proposal to establish a 
sugar refinery at Fiji meets with some favour at the hands of business 
men, but it is hardly likely the different cities will be induced to co¬ 
operate, although the establishment by New Zealand capitalists of 
such an industry would be greatly to the advantage of all. Graziers 
and others are strongly advocating the formation of a company to 
undertake the exportation of meat and other produce in a frozen state 
to England, and it is likely something tangible will result from this 
agitation. At present the occupations of farming and grazing hardly 
pay, the price obtained for stock being so low. New Zealand beef is 
equal, if not superior, to that grown in any part of the world, and it 
can be produced in almost limitless quantity. Stimulated by the 
offer of bonuses by the Government and by the severe depression in 
trade, people in various parts of the colony have started the produc¬ 
tion and manufacture on a large scale of articles largely consumed 
by our population ; amongst these may be mentioned cement, starch, 
and arrowroot. The production of coal is greatly on the increase, 
valuable deposits having been discovered in fresh places. Paraffin 
oil is also likely to become one of our largest productions.— ( The 
Colonies and India!) ,, 
MY FIRST SHOW. 
I AM afraid to say how many years it is since I first competed 
at a poultry show, and as my experience on that occasion was a 
somewhat mixed one it is perhaps better not to define the date 
precisely. 1 was a mere boy when the poultry mania first took 
possession of me. A setting of Duck eggs purchased by my father 
at a show, and supposed to be Rouen, began it. A hen had to be 
got to hatch them ; and although the Duck eggs were a failure, 
“ Polly ” was such a wonderful layer that she could not be parted 
with, and a few more birds were bought to keep her company. 
These were nondescripts, partaking somewhat of Spanish charac¬ 
teristics, and soon gave way to a Silver-Grey Dorking cock and 
some farm-cross hens, purchased from my first poultry friend. 
That purchase formed the basis of an acquaintance with one of 
the truest and kindest fanciers it has ever been my good fortune 
to meet; acquaintance ripened into a friendship, which has been 
maintained with much pleasure and benefit to me ever since. A 
few visits to the well-kept yards of Miss-so far influenced me 
that I felt I must have a stock of pure-bred birds. The space at 
my command was very limited, so after some consultation Spanish 
was fixed on as the most suitable breed. Money also was limited ; 
I had therefore to be content with purchasing a setting of eggs. 
There were thirteen of them, and to my great satisfaction they 
produced thirteen chickens. It was May when they were hatched, 
and the season being favourable they were all reared. They had, 
I remember, some difficulty in feathering, as Spanish will have, 
but with the aid of bread and ale and a little meat they got well 
through that critical stage. By the following March, when the 
spring show of the Royal - Society was approaching, the 
chickens had grown into such fine birds that I determined to 
exhibit them. In those days a pen of chickens consisted of a 
cockerel and three pullets. There were three prizes, so I must 
needs enter three pen-, or twelve out of my thirteen chickens. 
There was also a class for a cock and two hens over a year old, 
and I was desirous of making an entry in that class also. Miss 
■-had a beautiful pair of early-hatched pullets, which she was 
willing to take £3 for, but I knew not where to find a mate for 
them. Just then there appeared an advertisement that Mr. X was 
going to give up Spanish, and had his entire stock to dispose of. 
Here was evidently ray opportunity. Mr. X lived some five miles 
away, but I soon walked that five miles. Mr. X had an experi¬ 
enced poultryman, who confirmed the statement that Mr. X was 
giving up Spanish, and showed me the birds for sale. There was 
one very fine old cock. I was almost afraid to ask his price. It 
was, however, moderate, being only 25,?. This surprised me a 
little, but the fact that more room was wanted for other more 
important breeds explained the matter. I made up my mind to 
have that bird, and, giving a glowing account of him to the home 
authorities, obtained the necessary funds. I could not do another 
ten miles that day, but I was off the next morning with a com¬ 
panion and a large carpet bag in which to carry home my pur¬ 
chase. I was not without anxiety lest some other purchaser 
should have been before me, but my fears on that score were soon 
removed, and completing the purchase I started for home with my 
carpet bag, propped well open to admit air to the inmate. 
It was just time to enter for the Show, and my entries were 
duly made. This had hardly been done when upon going into the 
yard one day I was horrified to find the Spanish cock’s face dread¬ 
fully lacerated on one side. He had a yard to himself, so I was 
completely at a loss to account for the disaster. Upon taking him 
up to examine his wounds I was almost sickened by a foul smell 
proceeding from his mouth. An examination showed that his 
throat wp,s filled with cancerous ulcers, and having been neglected 
for some days he had torn himself with his spur in his efforts to 
relieve the irritation. I was in despair, and feared that all hope 
of exhibiting or curing the bird was over. Upon consultation 
with my ever-ready friend Miss-she recommended me to apply 
zinc ointment to the scar on his face, and to bathe the throat with 
vinegar and water three times a day—not with any hope of curing 
the throat, but simply to keep it from getting worse until after 
the Show. This treatment was successful ; the wound on the 
face healed and the scar came off, and, although one side was 
shorter than the other, still it was manifestly the result of an 
accident. The throat became slightly better and free from 
offensive smell. Upon taking the birds to the Show I found that 
Mr. X had “gone out of Spanish ” in a somewhat peculiar fashion 
by purchasing superior birds to those be had sold. He had his 
reward, however, in the fact that bis new purchases were suffering 
