December 23, 1880. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 585 
pens. A pair sent too late for competition by Rev. E. H. Morgan were 
far away from the rest. The cock was grand in shape, size, and feather. 
name very good indeed ; the cup went to a capital pair of close- 
feathered Piles belonging to Mr. J. Elgar. Among the Hamburghs the 
winners were a good pen of Blacks shown by Mr. Howlett. Spanish 
moderate, second (Shaxby) better than cup pen (Francis). Minorcas and 
Polands fair. The winning Houdans (Miss Neame) were good. Game 
Bantams neat and good. The best pen in the class (Morgan), which 
were first at Canterbury last week, were only highly commended. 
In any other variety of Bantams Mrs. Brassey won the cup with a 
pretty pair of Dark Japanese. Mr. G. Sanger exhibited a curious 
pair of Jungle Fowls (Gallus furcatus) about the size of Bantams. 
The cock had a transparent-looking comb free from serrations, and 
curiously tinted with mauve, pink, green, and yellow. In the selling 
classes there was a splendid pair of White Cochin pullets (Todd), 
also a good pair of White-crested Black Polands (Howlett). Mr. 
H. Stephens was first in class for single cock with a very nice La 
Fleehe cockerel. 
The Pigeons were good on the whole and well judged. Among the 
Carriers and Pouters were capital specimens. All three prizes in 
the latter class went to Mr. Gill, while in the former Mr. Hall won 
in the two classes for Black or Dun, and Mr. Stephens in the “ other 
coloured class ” with a fine Blue. 
VARIETIES. 
Mr. Morris’s Dark Brahma Pullet. —Many -well-known fanciers 
have testified, since the Birmingham Show, that they were acquainted 
with this bird from her infancy, and have no doubt as to her being 
a chicken of this yeai\ It is not in every case that a bird’s age can 
be so clearly established, and we are very pleased that Mr. Norris has 
been able to adduce such overwhelming testimony. It seems to us to 
have been a somewhat similar case to the well-known one of the 
“ Three Black Crows.” Mr. Norris remarked to a friend, that “ when 
the bird was running with a lot of his choice hens, she looked as 
large as any of them.” This passed from mouth to mouth until it 
was magnified into a statement that Mr. Norris said he had found 
the pullet amongst a lot of old hens. This reached the ears of the 
protestor, and in an evil moment he paid his £1 and entered his 
protest. We were glad to see that some of the correspondents of a 
contemporary joined with us in reprobating the system adopted at 
Birmingham in reference to Mr. Norris’s two birds. We hope never 
again to be witnesses of such discussions. Anything more detri¬ 
mental to the interests of a healthful and innocent pursuit we can 
hardly imagine. 
-The A. B. C. Poultry Book by Mrs. M. A. "Wilson 
(Cassell, Petter, Galpin, & Co.) is, as its name indicates, arranged in 
the form of an encyclopaedia. The authoress has, in addition to her own 
experience and knowledge, made use of Mr. Lewis Wright’s large 
work on poultry as a source of information. The result is a very 
handy reference volume, containing a great deal that is useful in an 
easily accessible form. In such a work one could not expect the 
fullest detail as to fancy points, &c., or a very profound knowledge of 
the subjects treated upon, but the authoress seems to have grasped 
the cardinal points in most cases. Every young fancier should at 
once add this handbook to his poultry library. 
- Goats’ Milk. — A meeting of members of the British 
Goat Society was recently held at its rooms, 446, Strand, to hear a 
paper by Dr. R. J. Lee, F.R.C.P. (one of the physicians to the Chil¬ 
dren’s Hospital), on “ Goats’ Milk, and its Utility as a Food for In¬ 
fants and Invalids.” Professor Simonds presided. Mr. H. S. Holmes 
Pegler, Hon. Sec., reported that the Society now consists of 171 mem¬ 
bers, including the Duke of Wellington, Baroness Burdett-Coutts, 
Lady Cave, Lady Pigot, the Earl of Rosslyn, the Earl of Shaftesbury, 
Sir Henry Peek, Bart., M.P., Mr. James Howard, M.P., twenty-four 
ladies, twenty clergymen, and eleven doctors. Dr. Lee, in the course 
of his paper, stated that his sympathy in favour of a more general 
use of Goats’ milk as a source of nourishment had been excited 
chiefly by a long acquaintance with the children of the working 
classes and their means of nourishment. In his own experience 
children fed on Goats’ milk had thriven most satisfactorily, even when 
they had not thriven on cows’ milk. He said the peculiarity about 
this milk is that the cream globules are smaller than in cows’ milk ; 
and the milk being more concentrated, the cream globules are con¬ 
tained in a more perfect state of emulsion, in consequence of which 
hardly any cream rises to the surface in allowing the milk to stand 
for twelve hours or longer. This quality of the milk explained the 
fact that it was more easily digested than cows’ milk. With regard 
to the use of Goats’ milk for medicinal purposes, there was every 
reason in favour of making an extensive trial of it. 
WINTERING BEES. 
Advanced bee-keepers on the continent and in America are 
now alive to the importance of protecting their bees in winter. 
In America and some parts of the continent the winters are long 
and severe. In Great Britain the winters, generally speaking, 
are shorter and less severe, but more changeable and precarious. 
For fifteen years I have not failed to advise the bee-keepers of 
this country to cover their hives well and warmly in winter, 
and it is pleasant to know that the best practitioners of the move- 
able comb system in this country are now beginning to winter 
their bees in hives kept warm by chaff. The chaff hive is an 
American invention, and is a very great and valuable improve¬ 
ment on all that has preceded it. Doubtless the clever active 
bee-keepers of this country will in time bring the chaff practice 
up to a point of excellence that cannot be surpassed. All bee¬ 
keepers should know and remember that bees suffer much from 
cold in winter, and that good coverings are beneficial and helpful 
in early spring when breeding commences. 
I met a gentleman the other day who is an enthusiast among 
bar-frame hives and bees. His plan of ventilating the hives in 
winter in order to let out the moisture is very good. He removes 
the crown boards from his hives, and enlarges them at the tops 
by using ekes 4 inches deep. First covering the frames with 
some kind of porous cloth, he fills the ekes with chaff, which 
absorbs the moisture of the bees and carries it out of the hives. 
Bees in hives well ventilated and surrounded with 4 inches of 
chaff or soft hay, will have some comfort in wintry weather. 
The operations of Nature and their habits of cleanliness prompt 
bees to leave their hives often in mild weather during the winter 
months, and in doing so there is frequently a great loss of life. 
Some winters and some days are more destructive of bee life than 
others. If the atmosphere and the ground around hives are cold 
when the bees come out in winter they are destroyed. The powers 
of flight in bees are lessened by cold ; and even in summer weather 
bees carrying heavy loads are unable to fly home if a dark cloud 
chills the atmosphere about them. In their winter dances outside 
their hives many bees fall to the ground, become chilled at the 
first touch, and never rise. In this way hives lose numbers in 
winter and become weaker. If there come a sudden change 
or lower temperature while bees are flying about their doors in 
winter the sacrifice of life is very great. In large apiaries of 
hives standing close together the ground is thickly sprinkled with 
chilled bees after a flight; and in front of single hives scores of 
bees may be seen all but motionless—some on stalks of grass, 
some on twigs, quite helpless after making efforts to get off the 
cold soil that chilled them. At one time I thought that bees thus 
falling about the doors of their hives were diseased and could not 
be saved from death. However, I am now fully convinced that 
nothing is the matler with them but cold ; and therefore I sweep 
them together in heaps, put them into flower pots, warm them 
into life and vigour at the kitchen fire, and let them fly home. 
The author of a German book on bees published a few months ago 
suggests the desirability of spreading some warm materials in 
front of hives in winter, to prevent the bees that touch the ground 
being quickly chilled into helplessness. This idea is a good one 
and practical. A piece of roofing felt, an old door mat, or a layer 
of sawdust under the flightboards and in front of hives, would 
doubtless save the lives of many bees. Some two years ago a 
Thorn hedge on the south side of my apiary was removed, and 
a brick wall 9 feet high was built in its place. About a dozen of 
my hives are wintered on the north side of this wall, which pre¬ 
vents the rays of the sun warming the ground near them. Far 
more bees are found chilled and motionless about these hives than 
about those in sunny positions. I am now fully convinced that 
sunny sheltered places are better than shaded ones for bees that 
are allowed to take outdoor exercise in winter. The American 
winters are so cold that bee-keepers there have found it is advan¬ 
tageous to winter their bees in cellars of dwelling houses or in 
dark thick-walled houses built for that purpose. The practice of 
confining bees to their hives and wintering them in dwelling 
houses has never, to my knowledge, been fairly and extensively 
tried in this country. Sometimes my father wintered weak hives 
indoors, and occasionally I have done it successfully. Strong 
colonies well covered are able to withstand and come through the 
severest of English winters. 
The watchword of earnest apiarians seeking great results will 
be, for a few years, “ Strong hives in autumn,” and if they follow 
