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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Dec. 1, 1870. 



the nest, and, besides, the quantity of food brought 

 was in a measure insufficient for his own capacious 

 stomach ; and that is not all," said he; " but when 

 the cuckoo was able to fly, he killed the old wagtail 

 and, eating her, made off, and nothing was left to tell 

 the tale but a few feathers of the poor little mur- 

 dered wagtail." My informant seemed to enter- 

 tain a decided belief in the above statement, 

 though he had not been the actual observer of such 

 "murderous ingratitude," as he was pleased to 

 term it. — G. B. C. Ringwood. 



Death-Bottle. — Herewith I send you directions 

 for making a death-bottle, _ from the pages of the 

 English Mechanic. I find it very useful, even for 

 killing moths ; it acts so rapidly, that they have no 

 time even to flutter enough to hurt themselves. — 

 " Having chosen a large-mouthed stopped bottle of 

 a size to suit, clean it well, then drop into it three 

 or four good-sized lumps of potassic cyanide (half 

 an ounce will be quite sufficient for a large bottle), 

 cover completely with dry silver sand, and on the 

 top pour a plaster made of plaster of Paris, mixed 

 with about half its bulk of silver sand ; pour a 

 thickness of this from hulf to three-quarters of an 

 inch. When set firm, cover over the surface of the 

 plaster with a piece of loose blotting or filtering 

 paper cut so as to nearly fit the bottle. This is a 

 perfect death-bottle." — A. S. V. 



Vulcanite Cells. — Can any reader inform me, 

 from experience, the best cement for attaching 

 Messrs. Pumphrey's vulcanite cells to the glass 

 slide? I cannot succeed with marine glue, pro- 

 bably owing to the glossy surface of the rings, and 

 all cements are not to be trusted, as the preserva- 

 tive fluid may act upon them. — R. H. 21. 



Ligurian Bees.— Seeing Mr. McLure's request 

 to kuow how the Ligurian bees have answered, I 

 send an account of mine. I bought a large swarm 

 on the 2nd June, 1869, which flourished and stood 

 the winter well. A hive of black bees, close to 

 them, perished. At the end of last April they 

 became very populous, and on the 6th of May — 

 the first sunny day we had had for some time, the 

 wind N.W., and no drones having been observed — 

 they sent out a large swarm, 5-| lb. weight, which 

 was put into a Woodbury hive. On the 17th May 

 they threw a good cast, as large as many ordinary 

 swarms. After this, the parent hive (^Neighbour's 

 cottage) made 2 lb. of honey in glasses, and at the 

 end of September weighed 25 lb. When the 

 swarm was ten days old, my friend G. C. G. took- 

 out a large comb full of brood to make an artificial 

 swarm. In spite of this drawback, the swarm 

 increased rapidly, and filled a super and a half, giving 

 me 25 lb. of beautiful white honey, and weighing, 

 at the end of September, 30| lb. The cast had 

 also done very well, and would, I think, have filled 

 some glasses ; but I was induced to try the ex- 



Eeriment af putting it on an empty hive, with large 

 oles in the floor-board, for the bees to work down- 

 wards. The result was, the young bees dropped 

 through the holes and could not find their way 

 back, and died. Nevertheless, the hive is very full 

 of bees, and weighed 22 lb. the end of September. 

 I may mention that my neighbour's black bees have 

 thrown scarcely any swarms, and have made very 

 little honey. It has been considered here a bad 

 year with bees. I gave my bees 2 lb. of food in 

 March, although they had plenty of honey ; and I 

 consider it was of great use, making them breed 

 earlier and swarm sooner. The Ligurian bees are 



certainly much stronger than the black bees. I have 

 seen one carry off a wasp. They keep then- floor- 

 board cleaner, and work more energetically; and, 

 though very quiet and harmless out of their hive, 

 they are very fierce in it, attacking those who take 

 their honey unmercifully, their stings penetrating 

 gloves, which the black bees cannot. Black bees 

 have no chance against them, and I do not think 

 would do in the same apiary. They increase much 

 faster, and require larger hives. I consider them 

 superior in every respect. My friend G. C. G., to 

 whom he refers, I deeply regret to say, died a few 

 weeks ago. I saw the artificial swarm he raised 

 from the comb he took from my hive the beginning 

 of last September. It was a populous hive, and 

 he pointed out to me how many young Liguriaus 

 there were in it. I believe he added many black 

 bees from other hives, to help to increase it in the 

 first instance. I cannot say whether the queen is 

 pure Ligurian or not. I should be very glad to know 

 more about the sheet-iron covers Mr. McLure has 

 invented, and the particulars of how they are 

 made, if he will oblige me with a description of 

 them.— JE. G. W. 



Ligurian Bee.— In answer to Mr. John McLure 

 regarding the Italian, Alp, or Ligurian bee, I beg 

 to state a few facts with regard to their history ; 

 and I do so with great pleasure, as I have been in 

 the Ligurian bee districts, and know their good and 

 bad qualities. This bee, as almost all bee-keepers 

 are aware, was first sent iuto this country by Mr. 

 H. C. Hermann, in 1859, and has been sold by all 

 the bee agents for the last ten years, from a guinea 

 to 10s. for each Ligurian queen. The competition, 

 however, is not so great amongst the agents as in 

 America, judging from the numerous notices in the 

 "American Bee Journal," which is filled with the 

 names of the sellers of bees and hives, with some 

 amusing remarks from "Novice;" and I fancy 

 English agents also write for the paper, as reference 

 is made to the "pure strain" of Ligurian bees, 

 just as the breeds of poultry are referred to in 

 prize lists in England. This really beautifully- 

 marked honey-bee, I think the Marquis de Spinola 

 did not add to its reputation by calling it " The 

 Ligurian bee." The. lAgures, in ancient times, 

 inhabited a country bordering on the Rhone, and 

 subsequently spread over the whole extent of the 

 district which is now called Piedmont, the country 

 in which the marquis found the bees in 1S05. 

 According to Strabo, they were a different people 

 from the Celts, and lived scattered through villages, 

 and were celebrated as "light-armed soldiers." 

 Cato stigmatizes them as "lying and deceitful;" 

 other writers, however, such as Cicero and Virgil, 

 speak highly of their industry, courage, and per- 

 severance. _ If the bees, then, partake of the latter 

 good qualities, it is well; but I fear, from reports 

 in tlm Bee articles, they show more of the early 

 disposition of the Ligures, and are " thievish," and 

 " deceitful." They have been of great service to 

 naturalists, however, as giving distinct markings 

 from the common brown bee of England, by which 

 the question of the ages of the queens, workers, 

 and drones have been decided, instead of resting 

 on surmise only. — W. A. Mann, Churchill House, 

 Dover. 



Blackheart. — The " Blackheart " mentioned by 

 your correspondent, Mr. Edwin Lees, at p. 262, is 

 Yaccinium Myrtillus, and the"touchen leaves "is 

 the Tutsan, Androsamum officinale, as you will see 



