March 25. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
the owner of the second best, Xl. (2). To the owner of 
the best drake and two ducks of any other good variety, X2. 
To the owner of the second best, XT. 
5. Guinea Fowls. —(1). To the owner of the best cock 
and two hen Guinea fowls, X2. To the owner of the second 
best, XT. 
The following special regulations are adopted :— 
1. That the certificate form be similar to the general form 
hitherto used by the Society, making the requisite adapta¬ 
tions in its terms. 
2. That the Poultry be subject to all general regulations 
of the Society’s Shows, and be sent to and removed from the 
Show-yard at the same time as the other live stock. 
2. That the Directors and Stewards of the Yard be re¬ 
quested to appoint a person specially to the Poultry Depart- 
! ment. 
4. That the coops for the exhibition of the Poultry be 
provided by the Society. 
5. That the Honorary Director be desired, in his plan of 
the Yard, to include arrangements for the requisite accom¬ 
modation of the Poultry. 
PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 
By Henry Wenman Newman, Esq. 
ARTIFICIAL SWARMS. 
Artificial swarms are much more difficult to obtain than 
many of the writers choose to admit. The only way in 
which I ever succeeded was the following, and these are 
very rarely to be met with. 
A swarm went off last summer, in my absence, and settled 
on the side of a strange hive. A man in my employ, on 
examining the cluster a long time after they had settled, dis¬ 
covered a queen, which he instantly seized, and taking her, 
and about twenty or thirty bees, in his hand, placed them in 
an empty hive near; in about two minutes the swarm left 
the place, and went into the hive and commenced working. 
This is what may be called a legitimate artificial swarm. 
Another instance occurred three years ago, when an old 
stock had then been hanging out for a fortnight in an im¬ 
mense cluster. At this time I had one stock which was in 
a dying state, and, without at the moment thinking of the 
outlying stock, I examined the decayed hive, and found 
about a hundred bees in the top. Among them was a very 
lively queen ; I shook the bees out on the grass and seized 
the queen, placing her on the floor of the outlying stock, as 
I have mentioned elsewhere; she was, after a little consulta¬ 
tion, received amongst the bees, and the next day a swarm 
came off. 
I do not agree with the theories about artificial swarming 
mentioned by many writers, who make this the most easy 
matter in the world; I believe that, in truth, it does not 
succeed once in a hundred times. It is very easy to talk of 
cutting some comb out of a full hive in the summer, then 
getting hold of a queen, and inducing the young bees to 
quit their domicile afterwards; but I am certain that success 
very rarely can attend such an experiment. 
CAPRICE OF BEES IN SWARMING. 
After the greatest pains taken by the apiarian, it fre- 
I quently happens that bees will not settle themselves in a 
i hive. As this is much oftener the case in very hot weather, 
j when they are much more restless, some writers recommend 
[ changing the hives ; but this will not answer; I have known 
! them leave different hives three times after they had as- 
I cended. If the queen is not with them they will never stay 
above a minute or two in a hive. There is little doubt a 
nasty or dirty hive of any sort is very offensive to them ; I 
have already noticed a swarm deserting a hive because a 
little tarry twine had been used in sewing the hive together. 
Some writers recommend a new hive being used always, but 
this I have found from experience is no security, as they 
often seem to dislike a new hive, and will not enter it or 
! stay in it. I firmly believe if the weather be scorching hot 
they will often be dissatisfied with any hive. 
407 
PECULIARITIES AND MANAGEMENT OF 
SHANGHAI AND COCHIN-CHINA FOWLS. 
These birds seem to have attracted the attention of ama¬ 
teurs more than any other description of poultry of late 
years, and justly so, if weight, prolificacy, and attention to 
hatching and rearing their young, are desiderata; but though 
I have been much pleased with “Anster Bonn’s” re¬ 
marks on them in your periodical, I have not noticed any 
account of the peculiarities of this breed of birds, and as 
some who may have read much about them may not yet 
have the stock, I will, with your permission, mention a few. 
One great peculiarity is their exceeding tameness; they j 
are, in fact, quite a domestic animal—feeding from the hand, j 
and allowing themselves to be handled with the most per j 
feet composure. Another peculiarity is that they do not 
feather like other poultry. Last summer I recollect a lady j 
looking at mine, and saying—“ Poor things! how badly [ 
they (the chicks) must have been used; there is hardly a 
feather on them, and they have got no tails." This seemed 
to be the climax of compassion, and she seemed very much 
surprised at my considering it the greatest beauty in my 
eyes. The feathers to the toes seemed also to surprise her ; 
and as people have been so accustomed to see clean-legged 
poultry, and plenty of tail, it is some time before they get 
accustomed to these eccentricities; but when the eye has 
become used to these peculiarities, what nobler sight can be 
seen in the poultry-yard than these splendid birds—the 
cock birds weighing from 10 to 12 lbs. each, and the hens 
from 8 to 9 lbs; well-feathered to the toes, and with the 
fluff on the thighs and hinder parts almost touching the 
ground ? 
Another peculiarity is the crow of the cock birds, for it is 
quite dissimilar from the usual note of the common chan¬ 
ticleer, ending as it does with a note like the growl of a dog; 
and I am assured by several parties that they hear my bird 
crow at two miles distance. The feathers of the wings, also, 
are short and well-doubled under, or clipped, which entirely 
prevents their flying or getting over a fence a few feet high. 
I would now say a few words to those who are about 
hatching and rearing these birds. First of all, set your 
hens early; now is the best time, as they will have a chance 
of fine open weather in April, and will make much finer 
birds in the autumn than those hatched later. The next 
thing is to infuse fresh blood into your stock, either by pur¬ 
chasing a fine young cock, or eggs, from some party you can 
depend upon, but by no means, if you can avoid it, have 
them from town, as the birds are cooped up in small, un¬ 
healthy places, where they become ill, and from them, 
although they may be fine birds, a healthy progeny can 
hardly be expected, if the eggs hatch at all. Endeavour to 
obtain the eggs from the country, and, if possible, see the 
parents. The eggs will travel perfectly safe if placed in a 
box, with the large end of the egg uppermost, and well- 
bedded in bran, not sawdust, as the turpentine may injuriously 
affect the eggs. 
In conclusion, I would give my opinion as to what con¬ 
stitutes fine specimens of this bird. The codes should be 
bold, upright fellows, square built, well-feathered on the leg 
and thigh, with only a bunch for a tail, and with a bright 
crimson saddle, and long golden-reddish feathers falling 
over each side of the back, just beyond the wings. The 
hens should have a very small tail, but the fluffiness of the 
thigh is more marked in them than in the male bird. At 
another time I shall be glad to give you my views for con¬ 
structing a hen-house, &c.— Henry Copland, Chelmsford. 
THE DOMESTIC PIGEON. 
{Continued from qmye 245.) 
FOOD FOR PIGEONS. 
“ As soon as the month of October arrives,” says M. 
Vieillot, “ and the wild pigeons begin to feel the effect of 
the cold, all those in one part of our southern provinces 
quit their country, and come and take possession of the 
pigeon-houses of the Lower Provence, where, there are some 
fountains of salt water; they profit, by the food given them, 
return home, and at the approach of spring revisit their 
native country, where they make frequent and continued 
