Bcc Sivanniuic 



[23 



take the honey. If they got on well by them- 

 selves, so much the better for them and me ; 

 I could then do little to assist them. 



But having paid somewhat more attention 

 to them for a few years back, and corresponded 

 with bee-keepers both in this country and 

 England concerning their natural habits, I 

 hope to be able to give some hints which may 

 be useful to others. 



At this season the attentive bee-keeper will 

 have in readiness all his hives (of whatever 

 kind he uses) for swarming. Though the last 

 has been an unpropitious winter and spring 

 for bees, the warm wxather of late has caused 

 them to advance rapidly. 



My first swarm came off on the 25th May, 

 the earliest I have had in the same place 

 for twenty-three years. She was a " Ligurian 

 queen," which I got from Mr G. Woodbury, 

 Exeter, last spring, sent to me by rail in a 

 small box along with a piece of comb and a 

 few bees. 



Not expecting her to come off so soon, I 

 was not there until she had hived on a goose- 

 berry bush. I put a hive on the top of the 

 bush, and then proceeded to brush them 

 gently up with the branch and leaves of a 

 currant bush. Having got them nearly all 

 into the hive, I Hfted it off the bush, when I 

 put it on the board, and shook the remainder 

 of them off the bush, when they ran into the 

 hive. I had then to leave them for about five 

 minutes ; when I returned, they were all rush- 

 ing out and flying back to their former quarters. 

 Here, then, was a case in which the queen 

 was not where the bees had swarmed. I went 



at once to the hive she left to see if she would 

 return, but after waiting till nearly all the bees 

 had returned, I could not see her, and from 

 the unsetded state in which they appeared to 

 be in, I was sure the queen had not gone back. 

 Had I then lost my fine queen, was the 

 thought that arose in my mind; and I at 

 once set about to look, and found her on 

 a strawberry plant about 6 feet from the 

 hive, surrounded by a small number of bees. 

 I lifted her up and put her into the empty 

 hive along with a few bees, but she would 

 not remain, or rather the bees would not 

 allow her, as one of them pulled her out by 

 the leg. Seeing this, I lifted her on to the 

 landing-board of the hive she came from, 

 which she again entered, and the bees then 

 began to enter also, and so became quiet. 

 Here then was a case in which I nearly lost 

 a \-aluable queen, and of course a swarm, by 

 not being on the watch. Had I been there 

 when she came off, I would have caught her 

 (which is easily done, being a breeding queen) 

 and kept her till I saw where most of the 

 bees were settling, when I would have put 

 her among them, and all would have been 

 right. She was so far advanced in maternity, 

 that she was unable to fly further, and so the 

 bees lost her. While she was in my hand she 

 laid two eggs. I merely mention this, as it is 

 only a few weeks since a very old bee-keeper 

 asked me if I knew really which laid the eggs, 

 the working bee, drone, or queen. Such a 

 question being put by a very intelligent 

 person is one of the inducements I have for 

 taking up the subject of bee-keeping. 



USEFUL INVENTIONS. 



I. APHIS BRUSH. 



WHAT lady has not had to deplore the 

 destruction of her pet plants by that 

 annoying little insect, the green-fly. To- 

 bacco-smoking although an eftectual cure if 

 well done, is not a nice operation for a lady, 

 particularly if her greenhouse be small and 

 abuts on her drawing-room. Washing with a 

 sponge is, therefore, often had recourse to, if 



the plants be few. But here is a veiy effective 

 little implement, which she may wield with 

 deadly effect. It consists of two circular 

 brushes, one inch in diameter, formed of very 

 soft brisdes, about tliree-quarters of an inch 

 long. The handle is made of steel, and is 

 elastic. Each leaf or shoot is brought be- 

 tween the two brushes, which are gently but 

 firmly pressed together and drawn over the 



