JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 12. 18S7. 
3 82 
varieties of Polyanthus, gold laced, red and black, Mr.. Taylor was first; 
Mr. Walkden second; and W. Brockbank, E?q., third. Tw»nty-four single 
fancy Polyanthus and Primroses, S. Barlow, Esq , was first, and W. Brock- 
bank second. 
Twelve double and single Primroses and Polyanthus, Mr. S. Walkdfn 
first; W. .Brockbank, Esq., second; and 8. Barlow, Esq., third. Twelve 
Primula Sieboldi,W. Brockbank, Esq., first; S. Barlow, Esq., second. Six 
Primulas, distinct species, S. Barlow, Esq., first; Mr. T. Walkden second. 
The whole of the above collections in the Jubilee schedule were in first-class 
condition, the competition being exceptionally keen. 
In connection with the above Show there was a grand display of plants, 
including a fine collection of Orchids, several varieties of stove plants 
belonging to Joseph Broome, Esq., Didsbniy, for which the Manchester 
Botanical Council awarded a gold medal. This collection entirely filled one 
end of the room. Messrs. James Dickson &. Sons, Newton Nurseries, 
exhibited a collection of Daffodils, amongst which occurred a dozen splendid' 
sprays of Sir Watkin and representatives of the Leedsi and Barii sections. 
Thus it may be recorded that Manchester leads the way in the horticultural 
recognition of-the Jubilee. 
THE VAGARIES OF STOCKDOVES. 
This is the time of year that I especially like—no. love—to watch 
the habits of what Mr. W. Swaysland calls the “ Familiar Wild Birds.” 
As a title to a book, and to his book in particular, it is a misnomer, 
because if birds are familiar they cannot be wild ; also his pretty volumes 
contain several birds that. are by nO means familiar or common to be 
met within England nowadays. But just at this time, for this month, 
many wild birds are familiar. For why / “ Love is Lord of all,” and 
now of their little hearts especially. They are thinking of courtship 
and marriage, of billing and cooing, of eggs, and nests, and nestlings. 
Therefore their fear of man for the time ceases ; they do not notice him 
or even his gun, if he is cruel enough to carryone ; and they don’t even 
notice the brutal birds’-nesting, stone-throwing schoolboy. No, Love is 
lord of all, and fear is gone ; food is abundant, one passion has driven 
away all others, and fear has given place to love. The birds have 
become so familiar that they are now easier watched. Now I keep a 
binocular open and ready on my window table, and when a new bird 
comes in sight up goes my binocular, and I watch him. Reader, art 
thou a lover of birds ? Remember ip your rambles good tender-hearted 
Frank Buckland’s advice, “ Leave your gun at home, but take your 
binocular with you.” Watch, don’t kill, don’t even alarm, and your 
virtue will bring its own reward. You will see much more than others, 
many a tint, many a beauty you will see which others will fail to 
recognise. Then, that cock chaffinch, now glorious in his courting 
costume, his very smartest dress—notice the plum bloom on the dandy’s 
beak ; your eyes would not show it so well as my glass. Then there is 
that neat harmless little bird the hedge sparrow, which is killed and 
robbed of his eggs by the ignorant, because he is miscalled a sparrow, 
and unfortunately hedge accentor never can become his common name. 
Well, now to come to stockdoves. These birds become this month 
most wonderfully tame and familiar. For the last three years a pair 
have each spring taken possession of a convenient south-aspected hole in 
the trunk of the old Elm tree bn my lawn. In March they, come and 
look, and hover about, they love that tree and that convenient warm hole 
in the trunk. They don’t mind me in the least. Now, stockdoves are 
by no means numerous,' we never have more than two pairs in the park 
near. This pair of mine have had a sad history, an annual disappoint¬ 
ment. The first year they quietly nested and successfully hatched a 
pair, but a bird boy at the farm beneath, so I think, watched them as 
well as I did, and he watched to steal. They were taken and their coos 
became more mournful and then ceased. Last year the birds came 
again, they seem unable to profit by experience. They took possession 
of the sunny hole and laid, but jackdaws abound here, and an old grey- 
pated daw, very old and cunning, had set his heart on this sunny plea¬ 
sant placed hole in the Elm, and turned out the rightful tenants. What 
could a dove’s beak do against old greypate’s black dagger of a bill ?i 
Now I saw, and thought that a case of injustice and unfair possession, 
and as the jackdaws turned out the stockdoves so I turned out the jack¬ 
daws. Silence again fell around that nest hole, for all the birds, of course, 
departed. 
This year came, this March came, and again came the persevering- 
stockdoves. I was half sorry, for 1 knew their fate, but imprudent 
birds, like imprudent people, will not learn by experience. I think that 
Lord Brougham was only half right when he said, “ Fools learn by 
experience, wise men by observation.” For fools never learn wisdom, 
they go on throwing whales to catch sprats, until they have no more 
whales to throw, and their pockets are empty and turned inside out, and 
they cannot see why their pockets should be in such a forlorn condition. 
No, fools do not learn by experience, because they are fools. So it is with my 
poor foolish stockdoves, that cannot learn by either observationorexperi- 
ence. It was therefore with unfeigned regret that I saw the birds come 
again this year; but my poor stockdoves had another and worse experience 
before them. The two came and another. The intruder cooed and 
showed off his charms, his ruby neck and glittering eyes and spreading 
tail. Then came fierce fights. On the same branch the two birds sat and 
fought—wing to wing combats—beaks freely used, and when one 
got the worst of it away he flew; and the fight was renewed in the air. 
One tried to get above the other ; one flew near enough to the other to 
buffet him with his wing ; and when one was the conqueror for the time 
he returned to the Elm, and a miserable worn-out ruffled object he 
looked. Meanwhile what of the hen ] She sat calmly by, meek and 
mild;, as if. butter would not melt in her mouth,, and I am afraid ready,to 
bestow herself with equal pleasure upon whichever admirer proved the 
conqueror, for she took no part and showed no partiality for either 
combatant. ' , 
This went on for two days or more, and I never remember to have 
seen such vagaries in stockdoves. With many birds, even scarce 
varieties, if one of a pair is shot another soon is seen. This is noticed 
with the hawk tribe particularly. Stockdoves are not,common, but still, 
hardly to be reckoned as uncommon. 
All the three birds have'disappeared. I hope the rightful pair have 
gone where Lothario cannot find them, and they will have a happy un¬ 
molested nesting time.—rWw*TsmKE Rector. ... 
FOOD REFORM AND FRUIT GROWERS. 
By the invitation of Prof..Mayor, M.A., of St. John’s, Cambridge, and 
of the Ve.-etarian Society a vegetarian dinner followed by a Conference 
was held at Messrs. Spiers ct-Pond's ” Duval Restaurant, on Tuesday, May 
3rd. About 10O guests sat down to the repast. Sir George Campbell, M,P. 
(K.C.S.I., D.C.L.), presided, and he was supported by Dr. B. W. Richard¬ 
son, F.R.S., Sir Henry Peek, Sir Henry de Bathe, Sir W. Stirling, Major 
Craigie, Messrs. Albert Bathe, A. F. Hills, Geo. Offor, and several members 
of the Central Chamber of Agriculture. 
The Chairman said he was not a full pledged vegetarian himself, but an 
inquirer, wherefore' he could not go so far as some of the member of the 
Society, for, iu hia opinion the animals now being eaten by the unrege¬ 
nerate non-vegetarians would, never have lived at all if they had not lived 
to be eaten (laughter). He believed, however, that the people of these 
islands ate a good deal too much meat (hear, hear), and its quantity should 
be greatly reduced. The object of the Conference was not that they should 
put forward view altogether in the abstract, but have some definite ideas 
respecting the methods by which they might attain their ends. One of 
these methods was, he thought; by the encouragement of small holdings. 
They had heard a great deal lately about the allotment question. He was 
not sure whether an allotment meant a small farm or a largo garden, but it 
did not appear that the eult'vatioh of grain was likely to he profitable to 
the small cultivator. It was rather by garden cultivation and the produc¬ 
tion of fruit that an improvement might be hoped for in the masses of tbo 
people. (Hear, hear.) 
Prof. J. E. B. Mayor, M.A., said they wanted the country to be self- 
supporting. When Malthiis lived, although he saw danger in the method 
of life then in fashion, the circumstances were really much better than 
they are at the present day. Fifty years ago farmers lived almost entirely 
upon what they produced. Now ail that was changed in England, but in 
France tho farmers lived to a large extent upon what they grew. In 
Tottenham Court Road recently twelve farmers had united together and 
opened a shop to sell their own produce. That was a condition of things 
they wished to see multiplied by the thousand. Then, again, people took 
fruit by fits and starts; If it was bought as regularly as fresh meat the 
market would soon regulate itself. The American economist, Carey, fifty 
years ago laid down the maxim that if the demand for vegetable products 
is increased the supply increases also, and the price comes down; whereas 
if the demand for animal food is increased the supply diminishes and the 
price goes up. The vegetarians, he believed, had the future with them. 
(Cheers). j 
Dr. B. W. Richardson, F.R.S., who on rising was received with cheers, 
said he was not himself practically a vegetarian, and that statement might 
perhaps qualify Borne things he would have to say. fie took, however, far 
le=s animal food, and in fact less food altogether, than he did years ago. 
Taking the question of vegetarianism in its widest ^ense it had two sides 
to it. If they examined the digestive apparatus of man, and compared.it 
respectively with those of vegetable-eating and flesh-eating animals they 
would find that it more nearly resembled the former than the latter, that 
the balance of ideas was in favour of regarding man as a vegetable feeder. 
There were many beautiful attractions to be found in the vegetarian diet. 
. The dinner they had just enjoyed could not have been better and more agree¬ 
able. (Heai;, hear.) , Tkpn they, must .consider the second part of the ques¬ 
tion, whether, after a time, it would not be better to give up animal food 
altogether and take to the vegetarian diet. Nothing could be more repul¬ 
sive to the mind of man than what took place in slaughter-houses. (Rear, 
hear.) He was president of a society that was trying to establish model 
slaughter-houses, one of which had just been built in Croydon; and they 
were also trying to introduce a system of painless killing of animals.. But 
he was afraid that before perfecting that system the vegetarians would do 
away with the necessity of killing at all. (Hear, hear.) Science had taught 
them the exact kind of food necessary for the proper nourishment of -the 
human frame, and with the lessons of vegetarianism and with science the 
, feeding of man upon food that never had been alive would be the conquest 
.of man over nature. (Loud cheers.) ■ 
Mr. J. C. Buckmaster was .not overmuch concerned with the question 
whether' meat should be eaten or not; but people would be better off if 
they ate less meat. (Hear, hear.) Especially among the working classes 
was instruction iu food selection necessary. White bread was very 
deficient of valuable phosphates and gluten as contained in Wheat. Vege¬ 
tarian diet if more generally adopted would greatly reduce the consumption 
of spirits and beer. (Hear, hear.) 
Major Craigie proposed a vote of thanks, on behalf of the guests, to the 
Society for its hospitality and entertainment. 
Mr. F. Hills, in replying, said the Society was anxious to let their guests 
havq a sample of what vegetarianism practically is, and had called them 
together to consider whether vegetarianism w.,s not feasible. He con¬ 
sidered giving up of animal food was the surest cure for drunkenness, for 
the vegetarian diet' took away the appetite for drink. (Cheers.) Their 
motive was a worthy .one, for it was to improve the habits and condition of 
the people.- 
Sir H, de Bathe wished to thank the Society for inviting him to a dinner 
which he had enjoyed very much, 
Mr. Manning-seconded the vote, to which the Chairman replied. 
