Eschew sugar, sweet cake, hemp, rape, and moss seeds. Adhere to canary seed, plantain, and minute crusts of bread, now and then, as cereal food; groundsel, chickweed, shepherd's purse, or water cress, as never-failing supplies of green food; and apples, pears, and strawberries, in season, as pomological diets. When the birds are moulting, give modicums of chopped boiled egg. Give the birds to drink pure fresh water every morning, and a wired-over cold-water bath, hooked on opposite the meanwhileopened door of the cage, frequently, even during the coldest weather. "Dick," a Canary, we have had in vigorous health during eight years, takes good care to remind us of remissnesses on our part anent the bath by imaginary dippings and plungings, shakings and bawlings; and when the glass is down below zero, his amphibious propensities are sufficient to make one shudder. Do not keep the birds too hot during winter, though below 50° or 45° the temperature should not go; also give plenty of light and air. We, for a long time, bred Canaries in quantities, and have kept them all our lives, and never found any difficulty in warding off disease, and preserving them in health under the above dietary tables and attendance to cleanliness. Our "Dick" is a great traveller, and makes himself most popular on the road. I remember once, in particular, at the Durston station, where we were kept waiting an unconscionable time for a train to take us on to Plymouth, "Dick" was placed in his travelling cage upon the apex of a heap of luggage, and his powerful song attracted every traveller to the spot. It was as good as broiled bones for supper, on board ship; every one soon became chatty friends, and ennui knew us not. Even the porters could not withstand the fascination; and it was really relishing to see the big fellows-on whom an ichthyosaurus might, one would have fancied, only have been able to make an impression-powerfully attracted to the spot, to enjoy the twitterings of "Dick."-UPWARDS AND ONWARDS. THE CANARY AND THE BRITISH FINCHES (Continued from page 35.) 9.-THE CHAFFINCH (Fringilla Calebs). German, Der Buchfink. French, Le Pinçon. THE Common Finch or Chaffinch, known also by the names of Twink, Shelly, Chaffy, Boldie, and Beech Finch, and in Scotland as Shilfa, has been surnamed Fringilla Colebs, or Bachelor, because of the separation of the sexes in winter in those countries where they migrate. The females usually leave first, and return last; which, however, is also the case with some other migratory birds in this country. I believe the migrations of the Chaffinch are only partial, most of them remain with us the whole winter. In plumage the males are certainly handsome birds, though the colours are somewhat softened and subdued. The head is dark bluish-grey, the back brown, the wings black, the base of the secondary wing-feathers and the ends of the larger covert-feathers being white, and thus forming bars on the wings; the breast is a dull pinkish-red, the belly inclining to white, the rump greenish, the tail dark, having white marks on the inner webs of some of the outer feathers. The plumage of the females is much duller, the head, breast, and upper parts being of a greyish-olive brown; the hen is also rather smaller than the cock. The young ones all resemble the mother; but the males may be distinguished by the blacker colour of the wings, and their having clearer and more white; nor do they attain the full colour of the male till after the second moult. In autumn the beak of the cock is pale, but, as the spring advances, it changes to a deep blue shade; nor is his general plumage so bright in autumn and early winter as it is in spring, when winter and time have worn off the duller edges of the feathers, and he appears in his nuptial dress. The Chaffinch breeds early. The nest is placed in the fork of a tree or bush, frequently in a fruit tree, and is a very neat and beautiful construction-smooth and rounded in the form of a ball, depressed at the top, firmly felted together with webs and wool, covered externally with moss and lichen, and often so much resembling the bough on which it is situated, as to be discerned with difficulty. Inwardly it is lined with thistle down, hair and a few feathers; the eggs, from three to six in number, are of a dull dirty white, spotted and streaked with coffee brown. Incubation lasts about a fortnight. The food of the Chaffinch consists principally of insects, as caterpillars, grubs, moths, earwigs, &c., on which they rear their young; and in the destruction of which they do an immense amount of good, and therefore should be protected as much as possible. In winter, when their natural food is scarce, they are driven by hunger to feed on seeds; these they gather from the ground, and not from the plant as most other birds occasionally do. In hard weather they may be seen searching the horse-dung along the road for undigested grain, or collected in the farmyard in search of hay seeds, or scattered corn; and considering the great good they do all the summer, they well deserve a trifle in winter. The Chaffinch rarely eats green food; but in spring, when insects are scarce, they sometimes annoy the gardener by pulling up his young radishes, or cabbage and cauliflower plants, and eating off the white parts of the root, occasionally also attacking the early peas in the same manner: it is, therefore, necessary to protect these from their depredations by means of nets, or strings of feathers, and not to kill the poor hungry birds that, all the summer through, are so active in destroying those insects which, if unchecked, would devour our fruit and convert our gardens into wildernesses. The Chaffinch is one of the few birds that eat that destructive insect the gooseberry caterpillar. Young Chaffinches, if intended to be reared by hand, should be taken early from the nest, as soon as the tail-feathers begin to show, or they will soon fly, and then they are sullen and do not open their mouths readily to be fed. They should be fed on a paste made of sopped bread, hard boiled egg, and maw seed, or the bread may be soaked with milk; but it must never be given in the least sour. As the old birds rear their young exclusively on insects, principally on caterpillars, it is obvious that in artificial feeding some such food as egg or milk must be used to insure their well-being. Rapeseed is, in my opinion, decidedly injuricus. Numbers of young Chaffinches raised on it die at the first moult; and I have noticed my old birds rejected that seed while anything else was to be had. The old birds may in confinement be fed on canary seed, oats, (shelled oats are best), bread, and occasionally, but sparingly, a little hempseed by way of treat; or during the moult a few mealworms, ants' eggs, or earwigs, will be relished and often found beneficial. Of all our native Finches the Chaffinch is the most delightful songster. His short, but sharp, clear, thrilling note is the harbinger of spring. His joyous lay always brings to my mind the blossom of the sweet-scented hawthorn, the busy hum of the bee, the opening of the buds and early flowers, when Nature in all her freshness is awakening from the dreary sleep of winter, and when the fruit trees and orchards are clothed in snowy bloom, and the white petals are being scattered in showers by the gentle breezes. Who then but must admire the Chaffinch when, perched on a spray, he gives utterance to his pent-up love in a joyous burst every few seconds, jerked forth with an energy which tells of his sincerity-his loud call twink, twink; or with erected crest and waving tail, he utters his plaintive purring note, churree, to his mate, who is perhaps busy forming their nest, and his still louder and angry warning pink, pink, if he fears his brood will be discovered? The song of the Chaffinch is composed of three cadences, delivered with that earnestuess which is so attractive to the ear of the fancier; and on which account it is so highly prized, not only in this country, but also on the Continent. The terminal notes or last cadence is that which attracts most notice, and as it varies in different individuals, it usually gives the name to the song and value to the bird. Mr. Hipkins, who so well describes the song of our birds, observes, "The English fanciers have several strains of birds thus denominated in former times, the chocweydo, the whitfado, the kissmedear, &c.; but the chocweydo is considered the best song, one of the best limbs being, ching, ching, 'ching, ull, ull, all, chocweydo; the last note the oftener repeated the better, technically termed "heavy in the mouth." This applies to all the notes, the principal difference being the termination or finish of each strain; the birds vary the notes in each limb, but terminate with whitfado, kissmedear or chocwey do, according to the strain to which they belong." He also remarks, "The English fanciers will sometimes travel twenty miles to peg a bird, and I have seen good blind pegging birds sold from £2 to £3 each." It is a curious fact well authenticated by fanciers that the birds which sing the chocweydo, or chuckwider song best are caught in Essex, therefore called the sweet-song Essex Chaffinch, while the other strains are caught in the adjoining counties, and other parts of England.-B. P. BRENT. BEE-HIVES AND THEIR APPURTENANCES. (Continued from page 53.) WOODEN-TOPPED STRAW HIVES are favourites, and used principally for any early prime swarm set aside as a swarmer, affording superior facility for removing the surplus store compared to the dome-shaped, which are more used for seconds and late prime swarms not expected to yield anything the first season. These are cylindrical in form, the straw bands began on hoops, are 14 inches wide and 7 inches deep. Round the topmost band of straw one or two outer or second bands are continued, which serve as a rest for a flat circular ring of inch-wood-inner circumference 14 inches, outer 18 inches; on this is placed the usual 1-inch bars with slides secured with three-quarter-inch brass screws, therefore moveable at pleasure; this top is fastened to the hive by stout screws inserted through the under side of the outer straw bands. Any inequality between the straw and wood has to be made up with putty or Portland cement: little crevices about the windows in the same manner. In case the latter should start from its place, I usually slip a little cord over the top and bottom of it, which, lying between the straw bands, is not much noticeable. generally to market before it comes into flower. His surprise at the superiority of the octagons surely carried him too far when he awards the palm as a bee country to our poor bleak Scotland, over the rich pastures and flowery meadows of his own England. The contents of these supers are drawn chiefly from one little plant-the white clover. The light sandy soil of a large portion of Ayrshire is favourable to its natural production, even were the farmers so neglectful of their own interests as not to sow it liberally when laying down their pasture. The bee-keepers reap their share of the benefit by the painstaking and skilful manipulation of double prime swarms in a good hive while it remains in bloom; indeed, in many instances, moving them inland bit by bit, as the flower fades, to later localities, till the supers are completed; and then, and not till then, as a reward for their industry, are transported to the moors to rifle the purple heather of its dark juice for their own benefit during the winter. Such, having little local value, being sought after principally by the tourist. Thyme honey is only to be had in quantity in some districts on the border. SQUARE WOODEN HIVES retain a place with me for two reasons only-the first, that to the amateur dovetailing four boards neatly together is much less of a puzzle than eight; SLOPED WOODEN-TOPPED STRAW HIVES, I have latterly secondly, they afford space for a larger window for observation. adopted as an improvement on the last, taking the hint from my The bulk of these hives is 14 inches square within, by 7 inches roof bees, which always select a part with a good bevel. They are in deep, to work with the large-sized octagon supers. They are every respect similar to the above, with the exception of the straw fitted with eight bars, six of them 14 inch wide, the remaining bands being kept thinner in front, thickest behind, and gradually two 1 inch, are placed one at each end. These every bee-keeper tapered on each side between the maximum and minimum, the one knows are devoted exclusively to honey, and are, therefore, better 9 inches and the other 7 inches, including the hoop. I think the than the broad size. I have also tried, and still have, nine bars bees thrive fully better, and come through the winter in finer 1 inch wide in some fourteen-inch straw hives, keeping them condition in this hive, ventilation being doubtless promoted by closer at the centre, so as to leave as wide end-openings as the bevel. Little slips of wood tacked on prevent the super from possible. The bars are notched out at each end the breadth of the sliding. back and front, so as to allow the slides to work flush thereon, project barely an inch behind (the corners nipped off for appearance' sake). The object of this is to assist raising the bars when the three-quarter-inch screws by which they are fixed have been drawn. They are constructed of well-seasoned yellow pine front and back inch-dressed, ends three-quarter. The inner sides, unless very clean, had better first be dressed, and then run over with a toothing plane. Should that implement not be at hand, a good substitute is a bit of perforated zinc, the cut edge drawn along with the grain of the wood till it be well roughened: this materially assists the ascent of the heavy-laden forager. One window of thick glass 11 inches by 44 inches placed behind, when bedded in the putty to prevent its starting, fix with four small sprigs; the putty above the glass then laid on. The shutters of wood 12 inches by 5 inches dressed to a quarter of an inch thick; a check in the front edge top and bottom to work in pieces reversed slides as already described for straw hives. If I used a second window it would be in front, although more in the way there, it is of use by throwing the light through the hive at first, and showing the commencement of breeding in the spring: whereas an end window is nothing but a useless disfigurement to some hives, exposing to view only the endsealed honeycomb. I have also wrought with considerable success, a size 13 inches between the ends, 12 inches front to back, and 9 inches deep, fitted with eight bars 1 inch wide, in every other respect same as the above, with a proportionately large window and shutter, both fitted with end-handles for lifting, 4 inches long by 1 inch deep, and three-quarters out, and entrances moveable, as will afterwards be described, 5 inches by three-eighths of an inch. These, as well as all my hives, are, of course, duly protected from the weather, when standing singly outside, by a good fresh straw thatch or some other cover.A RENFREWSHIRE BEE-KEEPER. DEPRIVING-HIVES.-For depriving-hives, the most suitable material is wood. The shape, is unquestionably the nearest approach to a sphere-an octagon. This and double swarms were two points on which that good old bee-keeper Thorley was perfectly sound, writing nearly 120 years ago: therefore the STEWARTON OCTAGON-HIVES have a prominent place in my apiary, being, I feel confident, the cheapest and best ready-made hives for practical bee-keeping to be had. I order mine direct from Stewarton, where I find, from the demand, they can be purchased in quantity, with better workmanship, at a price nearly one-third less than local tradesmen will undertake to supply them at. To those of your readers who have them, they require no description; to those who do not yet possess them, my advice is, Obtain them as soon as possible, and they will by-and-by speak for themselves. Should these lines catch the eye of any of their makers, I would suggest the propriety of sending along with each set concise printed instructions as to their management. I am led to make the remark from observing, in a recent Number, a querist asking if they were wrought collaterally, and also meeting a clerical friend who complained of his want of success. The first question elicited the cause-How were they peopled and protected? A first swarm, no cover to be sure, that would quite spoil their appearance. Expect honey from a single swarm, in a set of Stewarton-boxes the first season-halfinch wood unprotected! Why, the only wonder was, that, despite all the attractions of such a terrestrial paradise as the manse garden, they had not at once made a precipitate flight back to the old-established stock from which they had seceded. Such of your readers as occasionally indulge in amateur hivemaking would find the advantage of ordering along with their boxes a supply of bars and slides, forming the tops of these hives, long lengths preferable-say 7 feet for the former, 7 feet for the latter. Bars 1 inch for stocks, and 14 inch for supers. They can be easily cut into any length, and fitted, instead of the clumsy adapters and crown-boards, to all the old hives of the apiary when again to be used, or the new ones about to b constructed. Odd ends of slides, the upper edge run off with a plane, are very useful to work shutters, moveable entrance, &c., in. I like to procure at the same time several additional octagon honey-boxes, both the fourteen-inch for these, and the twelve-inch size; they make cheap and tasteful supers for all the other flat-topped hives. The beauty of the Stewarton-supers, that so attracted the lingering admiration of "UPWARDS AND ONWARDS" when in Glasgow, was not, as he supposed, indebted to the dark-coloured product of the heather then in bloom, which, on the contrary, would have quite spoiled their surpassing purity. They are (To be continued.) HOW I BECAME AN OXFORDSHIRE SOME eleven years ago, a kind neighbour, when flitting from these parts, presented us with a hive of bees, and where to place them I could not tell, for from the only corner where I could domicile the insects I had grubbed up the protective end of an old yew hedge, anticipating the erection there of an orchardhouse; but owing to the umbrage taken by a neighbour, and a flaw which the lawyers found against the rector felling two oak trees to repair his house upon his own ground, which had been the custom far beyond the memory of the oldest inhabitant, an injunction in Chancery caused the timber to lay and rot, my orchard-house to remain "the baseless fabric of a vision," and to cost the rector between £200 and £300. Now, having lived with the rector nearly all my life, it grieved me much to think that I should so unwittingly have been the cause of his losing so much money; but where to place the bees, that was the question. It was of no use to stand still and call upon Jupiter for assistance so I at once ran up a wattle-work fence, 7 feet high, on the site of the removed hedge, to be annually strengthened by driving in stout poles, planted Irish ivy against it, and, behold, from that time an evergreen shelter was established. Had I erected an orchard-house there, later experience has proved that it must many a time have stood the risk of being blown away; or, at least been partly destroyed over and over again by tiles and chimney-pots. "Why, Brotherton, I told you to place the hive in the cloth, or otherwise rest it upon a piece of board the full size of its bottom." "Ah! I didn't use the cloth, for I thought that piece of board would do very well at this time o' night." Thought! I suppose you calculated on the bees remaining as dormant and glued to their bed as you would be yourself? But look! it is not so, you have scattered them along the road, and numbers are crawling about you. There now, quick march! pray go and bring the stand as quickly as possible." Poor old Brotherton! that was easier said than done. He has in his time been fighting for his country in different parts of the world, and is awarded a small pension, with one of his legs from the hip downwards twisted, and fixed at nearly right angles with the other, so that neither his pace nor the rough journey to the bees was much to be wondered at. It was at Michaelmas time the hive thus arrived to us, considerably weakened by the distribution of the bees. The remainder lived through the winter, and became strong and populous during the next season, without offering to swarm. In the following year they threw a strong swarm and a cast, and three common stock-hives remained our bee capital. I was quite a novice, and did not understand supering, and as to destroying the poor bees for the sake of taking their honey, I could not do it; I had become attached to them, and they had become attached to me, and my attention was becoming excited by Mr. Payne's writings in THE COTTAGE GARDENER. Withal, the hives, after the manner of the old-fashioned common hives, did not behave through the next winter satisfactorily. The queen died in the swarm first hived, and the bees forsook it and the honey; and the cast put into the other hive kept me continually dancing attendance with an elder-wood trough feeder. The original hive remained strong and healthy, and from the quantity of dead bees and fighting observed in February, I became aware afterwards that all the bees that could do so had joined it from the queenless hive. In fact, I was getting quite bewildered, and I determined in future to adopt Mr. Payne's cottage-hive system. He was written to, and kindly sent me a supply of his flat-topped hives, supers, and a bee dress, and I set to work with fresh vigour. My original hive threw me a swarm only the third year, and the cast stock gave a late swarm, so I had now established two new hives, and four in all. The early swarm in the new hive worked us some honey, and I cut a hole also in the top of the original hive, which gave a full super-great events! was Two years more passed, and I had established a rank and file of the Suffolk hives, and notwithstanding the supering, they would swarm; and in the winter time I found that deaths, reverses, continual attendance, and anxieties attached to them, even till my state of mind was becoming worse than my first. Then followed experiments hopeful and hopeless; the jokes of my friends, and the metal (in two senses of the word) put upon, served to urge me on considerably, and to fill a lumber room with I do not know what of bee apparatus, a description of which, and all that it led to, it would be useless to cumber these pages with. One plan, however, began to decide for me its superiority and I have that original hive now in a flourishing condition, after doing duty for six years. I exhibited a glass, and a straw super of honey worked from it placed on a new representative-hive pro forma), at the Oxford Horticultural Show, on the 23rd of June, 1857. It was mentioned in No. 458 of THE COTTAGE GARDENER. Certainly it gained its full share of attention, and when I was absent from its presence I placed Brotherton conspicuous, to answer what questions he could, and he told me a Frenchman was eager to purchase the whole thing as it stood "at any price;" but it was not for sale: my object entirely was for the poorer sort to see i and to take the hint; and you know from letters I have sent for your perusal occasionally, the judgment expressed on the quality of my honey, and the glass mentioned above was pronounced, at Messrs. Fortnum and Mason's, one of the best samples that ever entered their establishment. I also gained credit there for my plan of packing honey for carriage. So having already been "smiled upon," and, furthermore, considering six years' trial a sufficient recommendation, I will describe the plan as being most applicable to myself, in the hopes that it may also prove beneficial to others. The aspect of my apiary is very good-south-east, and gaining the early morning sun, and from the situation of some beech trees, it becomes shaded during the sunshine of summer by twelve o'clock, and remains so during the afternoon through the agency of the wattle-work fence. The passages in italics must be taken into consideration by all apiarists in embryo, and allow me to add, they are well worthy of acceptation to all beekeepers whatever. The fence adjoins a corner of the house. My nearest hive is 8 feet distant from the latter (the garden front upon which my esperione vines are trained), and all the hives are placed in a line, 4 feet from each other, measuring from each pedestal, and 5 feet from the fence; this interval, and that flanking the house, are gravel walks. The ground in front of the hives is occupied as flower-border, and that beyond is cultivated garden. All operations are performed at the backs of the hives, and no person's walk, or shrubs and vegetables are allowed to grow so high within a certain distance as to interfere with the starting-point of flight, or return of the bees, and nothing immediately beneath and around the hives is allowed to grow; but the soil there is frequently stirred during summer and winter time with a Dutch hoe, for the disturbation of ants, &c., and to keep the soil dry and warm. A few loads of "log wood," stout limbs from barked oak trees, are annually purchased here to be sawn and riven up to heat the oven. Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Out 1. Pedestal, 6 inches diameter, 3 feet long. 2. Block-board, 1 foot 6 inches diameter, 2 inches thick, with three screw holes. of six-inch diameter stems culled from these I form my pedestals, taking care to choose a limb with a branch grown out at its side thus (see drawing), and to saw it off at the fork slightly slanting, through the centre of the bulge AA, where a broader and tougher surface can be got to screw on the block-board (see drawing). This I form out of a piece of gnarled ash, 2 inches thick, and 1 foot 6 inches in diameter. It is screwed firmly on to the top of the pedestal, its lip pointing away in the direction that the branch took, with three three-and-a-halfinch-long screws placed triangularways, 3 inches apart, and having their heads sunk into sockets in the block half-an-inch deep, so that in case of after-warpings a plane may be worked over its surface to keep it perfectly level. The pedestals thus formed measure 3 feet 3 inches in length; the least split in them is well puttied up, and they are painted a dark ivy green colour, excepting the surface and the parts that are to become inserted in the ground -1 foot 6 inches deep at least. The soil that is dug from the holes to admit them, I take care to return it all again by degrees, and well ram it around MONROE'S PATENT EGG-BEATER-We know of no minor invention more really useful than this. Every cook knows the time, and the arm-aching, and disappointment attending upon the beating or whisking of eggs, &c. Now, all this is prevented by Mr. Monroe's invention. It fixes to a table or dresser, and by turning the handle of the machine, a rapid and double agitation is given to any batter or liquid mixture on which it is employed; and in a few minutes works them to a degree of lightness, very far surpassing that which can be produced by the ordinary hand-whisk. SEWING MACHINES.-The introduction of the sewing machine has established a new era in the manufacture of all articles requiring the use of the needle. The rapidity with which the invention has been perfected and applied to general use, is the most remarkable fact in the modern appliances of machinery. The structure of the machine has been so finely adjusted, that now every species of sewing can be performed with the utmost accuracy and neatness. Six years ago, there were but 2500 machines in the country, whilst at the present time there are in operation nearly 100,000. The following statement gives the progress made in this department of manufacture from the year 1853 to 1859: In 1853-Sewing machines made 1854 1855 Total during 7 years 2,500 5,000 3,600 7,400 12,785 17,659 48,000 96,944 The manufacture of sewing machines is becoming an important branch of industry. One firm alone (Messrs. Wheeler and Wilson), employ upwards of 400 hands, with a monthly pay roll of 40,000 dols. ; their works covering an area of nearly four acres in extent, and giving employment to a capital of 400,000 dols. Estimating their average selling price at 85 dols. (their value ranging from 50 dols. to 150 dols.), we have 8,240,340 dols. as the total amount for machines sold during the last seven years, one-half of the sales having been transacted within the present year. To show the importance of the export trade, we may take the following as a criterion of its extent. Export of sewing machines from the port of New York for the week ending December 12, 1859 : We subjoin a statement of the several purposes machine is applied, with the time occupied in article as compared with handwork. to which the making each By machine. By hand. Hrs. Ordinarily at the rate of a yard a minute. in this country at the safe computation of 90,000, and supposing that of that number two-thirds, or 60,000, are in constant operation, we shall have an amount of work performed equivalent to the production of 360,000 hands; or, to put the matter in another light, it would appear (deducting 60,000 for those employed on the machines) that the introduction of the sewing machine has displaced 30,000 sewing hands. It is manifest, however, that the latter consequence has not been realised; for it is a fact that hand-sewing labour is now both as scarce and as dear as it was seven years ago. The invention, therefore, has been mental in developing the various branches of trade to which it no detriment to the operative class; but it has proved instru is applied, by a large saving both of time and cost in manufacture. Its bearing on the health of a numerous class of our working population is most beneficial; the unhealthy posture, the closely packed work-rooms, and the painfully close application which belong to hand-sewing being exchanged for an easy and pleasant employment. This is one of the many boons conferred by the great ameliorator of human-toil-machinery. All honour to the inventor of the sewing machine!-(New York Herald.) HOME-MADE VINEGAR.-Every housekeeper with a yard or garden, on which the sun shines the greater portion of the day in summer, should make her own vinegar; it is so good, so cheaply made, and above all so pure and wholesome. Put 14 lb. of rises, which should be taken off as fast as it comes to the surbrown sugar to 1 gallon of water; boil it as long as any scum face. When milk warm, or, say, at a temperature of 60° or 65°, dip a slice of toast in yeast, and put it in the liquid; which be put into a cask, which should be painted outside to keep it should then be put into a pan, or tub, to work for one day, then placed on bricks to keep it from the ground, in a sunny place; from being injured by the weather. The cask should then be a piece of coarse muslin should be nailed over the bunghole, and is done in March or early in April, the vinegar is fit for use in a tile placed on it to keep out the rain. If this simple brewing October following. It is good for pickling and all family uses. OUR LETTER BOX. FOWLS DYING (A Constant Reader).-The bird sent was too decomposed to be of any service in forming an opinion. The symptoms, "a swollen crop purple comb, and lingering five hours," are those of poison; but we wish to speak guardedly, as poisoning is too often held to include malice, whereas there are many things that fowls may pick up, and which may be fatal. A yard is sometimes depopulated by corn that has be n arsenically dressed for sowing being thrown to the fowls; or water is poisoned by the remains of boot-top or copper cleansing being thrown down where the thoroughly with castor oil, a table-spoonful every day for three days. Feed fowls frequent. Remove the fowls from the spot, and purge them on atmeal mixed with strong beer. BOOK ON POULTRY (H. E. G. S.).-The best coloured portraits of fowls are in Johnson and Winkfield's "Poultry Book," a copy of which costs about £1; it also contains abundance of practical matter. Mrs. Blair's "H nwife," is price 78. 6d., and is an excellent practical directory; so is Mr. Baily's "Fowl," price 2s.; and so is our own Poultry Book for the Many," price 6d. They may all be had at our office, or be sent free by post on the receipt of postage stamps to their respective values, and two extra for the dearer books, one extra for the last named for postage. LUMP IN THE THROAT OF YOUNG PIGEONS (Leghorn Runt).-When the lump of pus in the Pigeon's throat can be got at, remove it with a wooden instrument, and touch the place with caustic. As to the cause, I suspect it is often caused by mice wetting on the food. Drinking from metal vessels has been also supposed to induce the disease. As a preventive I would advise the Pigeons to have free access to salt and green food.B. P. BRENT. BREEDING CANARIES, MULES, &c. (A Regular Subscriber).-You will do well to take the hen Canary from the cock, with which she fights, or shut her in the s all division of the cage till the cock has become master of the place, and he will then, most likely, beat her into submission. It would be a pity to separate the Goldfinch and his mate that agree so well. I do not think the loss of the toes will prevent the hen Canary breeding. See that the perches are of good size and firm. Probably she will not lay till her foot is well. A Linnet of the preceding year will breed very well with a Canary; but it is generally considered that & two-year-old bird is better to breed from.-B. P. B. WEASELS (J. P.).- Keep the chickens shut up in a place without holes 1rge enough for a Weasel to enter. Set a steel rat-trap baited with a piece of very fresh meat. LONDON MARKETS.-APRIL 22. POULTRY. We shall have little to note in the way o change in this market till we have warmer weather. The increase is more in the trade than the supply. Each-s. d. 8. d Each-s. d. In addition to these purposes, this invention is applied to the manufacture of collars, cloaks, hats, caps, gloves, umbrellas, boots and shoes, harness, upholstery, &c. On striking an average from the above table, we find that the amount of work done by the machine is in the ratio of 7 to 1 as compared with handwork. Estimating the number of machines now at work Ducklings.. 8. d Large Fowls.. 6 0 to 6 6 Smaller Fowls......... 50 5 6 Chickens 3 6 4 0 Goslings 7 0 7 6 Guinea Fowls Hares... Rabbits 1 4 1 5 09 5 0 METEOROLOGY OF THE WEEK.-At Chiswick, from observations during the last thirty-four years, the average highest and lowest temperatures of these days are 61.5° and 39.4° respectively. The greatest heat, 812, occurred on the 4th, in 1833; and the lowest cold, 20', on the 2nd in 1855. During the period 143 days were fine, and on 95 rain fell. FLOWER SHOWS IN TOWNS FOR THE WORKING CLASSES. ONG ago we began collecting examples of "gardening under difficulties;" and when we received, a few days since, a schedule of prizes to be awarded to members of the working classes exclusively in the London parish of Bloomsbury, we contemplated it as an addition to our store for use at some future period. At first it struck us it must be a joke-some satire upon our metropolitan shows, and that Bloomsbury' was selected as an apt name for such a quiz. Our readers, however, will be no less surprised than at first we were, to find that it is sober earnest. There not only is to be such a Working-class Flower Show in Bloomsbury next June, but there was one last year, and a successful one, too. Let us, in the first place, detail the entire prize list, and the rules which will regulate the Exhibition. They are as follows: "BLOOMSBURY FLOWER SHOW. For FUCHSIAS...... 7 6 5 0 2 6 For GERANIUMS... 7 6 For ANNUALS 5 0 2 6 7 6 5 0 2 6 1 0 1 0 1 0 "2. Persons living in the Mews. For FUCHSIAS.... First Prize. Second Prize. Third Prize. Fourth Prize. 8. d. 8. d. s. d. 8. d. 7 6 For GERANIUMS... 7 6 For ANNUALS...... 7 6 50 50 5 0 "3. Persons living elsewhere in the parish. 2 6 1 0 "The following are the rules to be observed:"1. Exhibitors must bring their names and addresses, with the name and number of the Plants they intend to exhibit, to the Parochial Vestry, between the hours of 10 and 12, on any morning of the week after April 22nd, and no person will be allowed to compete who has not given in his name on or before Saturday, May 4th. "2. The Plants so registered must remain in the parish, and under the care of the Exhibitor, until the time of the Exhibition. "3. Different members of a family are eligible to compete for the Prizes. "4. The Fourth Prize in each class will be given to Plants not in bloom. "5. The Plants are to be brought to the Schoolroom on the day of Exhibition, before 10 in the morning. "6. No Gardener or Flower Dealer to be allowed to compete for the Prizes. "7. Admission to Exhibitors free, to non-Exhibitors 6d. before 5 P.M., after that time 1d. "N.B.-Exhibitors are advised to procure Plants which may be expected to be in bloom by the day of the Show. "WALTER H. BOSANQUET, Esq., 5, Torrington Place, has kindly consented to give further information to intending Exhibitors, and is also willing to register Plants within the time specified above, every evening after 7. "On the chance of your taking an interest in such a thing, and of your deeming it worthy of favourable notice in your widely-read Journal, I enclose a programme of an intended Flower Show for the poor inhabitants of the parish of St. | George's, Bloomsbury. If you do not consider it worthy of favourable notice, I hope you will not condemn it. The same kind of show was tried last year on a very small scale in the same parish. The Rev. S. H. Parkes, one of the Curates, and a First Prize. Second Prize. Third Prize. Fourth Prize. most energetic man, started a flower show, or rather an exhibition of plants, confined to the inhabitants of one of the narrowest and most thickly populated streets in the parish. The only rule which had to be kept by exhibitors was that each must have had his plant in his possession for three weeks. Any kind of plant was allowed to be exhibited, and it was not necessary that they should be in blossom. It was felt that at the first attempt it would not do to be too strict. "The result was entire success, and the number of plants The Russell Square gardener exhibited by no means limited. and an amateur acted as Judges on the occasion, and awarded the prizes, which were given away on the evening of the day of First Prize. Second Prize. Third Prize. Fourth Prize. exhibition, by Mr. Bayley, the Rector. No. 5.-VOL. I., NEW SERIES. "One of the great objects of the Show was to induce the really poor to take an interest in plants, which may add so much to the cheerfulness of their dwellings. Great difficulty was No. 657.-VOL. XXVI., OLD SERIES. |