December 2, 1880. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 519 
pencils neat in head. The first-prize Black Hamburghs (Kelleway) 
were bright in colour and neat in comb and lobe. In this class the 
Judge disqualified a pen shown by H. Platten of Fakenham, Norfolk, 
for cut comb. Leghorns were a strong class of eighteen, first (Phil- 
cox) being very neat Browns, the cockerel very like the Palace 
winner. Second (Fowler) good Whites. Andalusians and Minorcas 
mustered twelve, first (Winser) being a nicely pencilled pair of the 
first-named sort; second (Wilson) Minorca chickens. Polands were 
eleven, and the first (Broad) went to a fine pen of White Crests. In 
Game Bantams (twenty) Mr. Anns took first and third with neat 
Black Reds and Piles ; while second (Tigers) were Brown Reds rather 
large in size. In the Other variety Bantam class (twenty-three) the 
winners (Ayliffe) were Japanese, second (Geary) being Silver Se- 
brights. A good pen of Rouens stood first (Howard) in the Ayles¬ 
bury or Rouen Duck class, while the Pekins mustered twelve pens of 
good birds, first going to Messrs. Fowler, and second to Mr. Kelleway. 
The Selling classes were well filled, and business appeared to be 
rather brisk. Local classes were added to the schedule this year, and 
were fairly good. 
The Pigeons were a fine show, all the classes being well filled with 
birds of good quality. 
HULL POULTRY SHOW. 
When we printed our report of this Show the following cup awards 
had not come to hand :—Mr. Ashburner’s Brown Red Game cock 
took the £4 cup for the best cock or cockerel in the Brown Red 
classes. Mr. Dyson’s yellow-legged Pile pullet (not the first-prize 
hen) took the cup for best Game hen or pullet, any other variety. In 
the Hamburgh hen class the cup was won by Mr. Beldon’s Silver- 
spangled hen. 
In our report of the Light Brahmas, through a mistake in copying, 
our notes on the pullets were given as relating to the hens. Our 
readers will please substitute the names of Morgan (first), Norris 
(second), and Begg (third), for those given in our last issue, and read 
our comments on the hens as relating to the pullets. Our actual 
comments on the hens were as follows :—•“ First-and-cup (G. H. Wood) 
a shapely hen of good colour, but hocked. Second (Mitchell), a large 
hen, very rusty in colour. Third (Norris), good size, colour, and foot 
feather, but narrow in saddle.” 
VARIETIES. 
Root Shows. —Messrs. James Carter & Co. announce, that instead 
of holding a show of pulled roots this year they are devoting prizes 
for acreage crops ; they will, however, exhibit roots and other pro¬ 
duce at the Smithfi Id Club Show, at the top of the arcade at the 
High Street, Islington, entrance of the Agricultural Hall. 
- Pea Pride of the Market. —This new variety for farm 
and garden culture, that was raised at Messrs. Carters’ Seed Farm at 
St. Osyth, and named “ Strength,” will be sold under the name of 
Pride of the Market. It is a variety of great promise, being dwarf, 
slurdy, very productive, with large pods, and peas of superior quality. 
- British Bee-keepers’ Association. —At the last Committee 
Meeting of this Association held at 105, Jermyn Street. Present— 
Mr. Cowan in the chair ; Rev. E. Bartrum, Messrs. Cheshire, Abbott, 
Hooker, and Rev. Herbert R. Peel, Hon. Sec. A large number of 
books presented by Mr. P. Jackson to commence the formation of an 
apicultural library had been already placed on the shelves by the 
kindness of the Jermyn Street Society. Mr. Cheshire was asked to 
act as Hon. Librarian, and to receive and arrange any further 
gifts that might be made. A second edition of “ Modern Bee-keeping ” 
is to be immediately published by Messrs. Longman, the first edition 
having very rapidly become exhausted. The Hon. Secretary stated 
that the diagrams were now included by the Education department as 
apparatus towards which grants are made for schools working in 
connection with the department. Several matters bearing upon the 
operations of the coming year, finance, and general routine occupied 
the remainder of the meeting. 
-Roots at the Birmingham Show. —Messrs. Webb &, Sons had 
a very fine stand. The specimens of Webbs’ Imperial Swede were 
extremely fine. The prizes this variety has won are estimated at 
over £5000 in value, which include first and second honours at this 
Show for nine years in succession. Webbs’ Prize Mangold, Col. 
North Yellow Globe, Mammoth Long Red, New Selection of Yellow 
Intermediate, Yellow-fleshed Tankard, and Webbs’ Champion Yellow 
Globe Mangolds were all shown in splendid condition. White-fleshed 
and yellow-fleshed Turnips were also fine. Potatoes added con¬ 
siderably to the display. Webbs’ Improved Schoolmaster was 
conspicuous, and other leading varieties were admirably represented. 
Although Messrs. Sutton were not exhibitors this year, yet the pro¬ 
duce of their seeds in the root classes was of great excellence. The 
very fine Mammoth Long Red and Berkshire Prize Yellow Globe 
Mangolds, and Suttons’ Champion Swede, with which Mr. R. Webb, 
Beenham, secured Messrs. Proctor & Ryland’s cup, were splendid. 
Equally meritorious was the collection of six roots each of Suttons’ 
Mammoth Long Red, Suttons’ Berks Prize Yellow Globe, and Suttons’ 
Golden Tankard Yellow-flesh Mangolds exhibited by the same grower, 
and which gained him the cup in Class 3. Very fine specimens of 
Suttons’ Yellow Intermediate, grown by Mr. W. W. Champion, and 
handsome roots of Berks Prize Yellow Globe, grown by Mr. R. Webb, 
worthily secured first and second honours while Mr. J. Perry’s 
twelve specimens of Suttons’ Champion Swede, which took the cup 
in Class 9, were of remarkable merit. 
- Canadian Products. —Some extraordinary roots and vege¬ 
tables from Manitoba and Ontario are on view at Mr. Cuthbert’s, 
seedsman, Clayton Square, Liverpool. Some of the roots are on their 
way to the Smithfield Club Cattle Show, London. It appears that in 
addition to those from Manitoba, Messrs. Rennie, seedsmen, Toronto, 
have sent an assortment of Pumpkins, amongst them being a Monarch 
Squash weighing 313 lbs. The plant that produced the fruit was 
planted on the 1st of May, fruit cut on the Gth October, thus show¬ 
ing an average growth of 2 lbs. per day. Also a very large red Man¬ 
gold, over 3 feet 6 inches in length and nearly the same in girth. 
It is ugly in shape, but weighs 73 tbs. There is a Yellow Globe, 
weighing 58 lbs., Mangold Citrons 33 tbs., and immense examples of 
Beet Carrots, Parsnips, Vegetable Marrows, Onions, and Potatoes. 
Fifty varieties of Apples are on view, which are of fine size, colour, 
and shape. Some Newtown Pippins weighing 21 ozs., and Gloria 
Mundi are grand amongst many others. 
- The death is announced of Mr. R. O. Pringle, at the age 
of G2, who was for many years, and at the time of his demise, editor of 
the Irish Farmers' Gazette. He was one of the best authorities of the 
day on all subjects connected with land tillage, cattle breeding, and 
farming operations generally. His contributions were of great value 
to the farming classes, and the almanack with which his name was 
identified was greatly prized. 
ARTIFICIAL COMB FOUNDATION. 
Your correspondent “A. P.” in the Journal of the 18th ult., 
page 474, referring to comb foundation, states that “ if the 
foundation be proved to be of substantial advantage in apicul¬ 
ture, a successful way of using them in straw hives will be in¬ 
vented and adopted.” From this statement it may be inferred 
that foundation has not hitherto been proved to be of substantial 
advantage, whereas it has been of such immense advantage that 
bee-keeping would not hold the position it does now without it. 
I have now used foundation in my hives for sixteen years, and 
certainly should not like to do without it. With foundation 
straight combs are the rule, whereas straight combs without 
foundation are an exception. Not a single comb in my apiary 
has been worked without foundation, and I can take out any 
frame and put it into any hive with the certainty of its fitting. 
I have never seen it possible to do this in hives where foundation 
had not been used. 
I have long since discarded'straw hives, because bees in such 
hives are not under the complete control of the bee-master, 
the manipulations are much more laborious, and the quality 
of the honeycomb produced is at best only second-rate, but 
when I did use them I fixed strips of foundation in a 
different way from that suggested by “ A. P.” Some years rg 1 1 
introduced a straw hive with a flat crown of wood, which I gave 
to cottagers to induce them to adopt a more humane system of Ice 
keeping than they had hitherto been accustomed to. On Ihe 
crown could be placed wooden boxes or supers. The under side of 
the crown and the under side of the top of the super had saw cuts 
in them to a depth of onc-eighth of an inch, and an eighth of m 
inch wide. The distance between these saw cuts in the straw hive 
was 1£ inch, which is the proper distance for brood combs, rnd 
the distance in the supers was 2 inches, because it is better for the 
honeycomb to be thicker, as a less quantity of wax is used to fill 
up a super with thick combs than would be the case if the combs 
were only 1|- inch apart. 
When it is required to fix the foundation, it is cut into strips 
