Septcmbei- 11, 1873. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTUHE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



20'J 



Still there was no cessation to the steady outward flow, and in 

 larger and yet larger circles around and about the hive. 807110- 

 thing must be wrong ! 



" Nellie '. " I cried piteously to sister in the next room, " I 

 don't know what is the matter witli my bees [ " 



She hurried to the door. "Why, they're swarming!" she 

 exclaimed with decision. 



That settled it. She spoke as one who knew, and my own 

 rejected iirsfc impression came back with overwhelming convic- 

 tion. They were swarming. What should I do ? 



I had no course of action marked out, because I had long before 

 determined that my bees should not swarm. Most e.'iceUeut care 

 would I take to prevent that in these great woods, where, it they 

 weut beyond the clearing, it might be impossible to follow or to 

 find them. I had a vision of them now, sailing off over the tree- 

 tops beyond my reach, and I felt — I felt only that they must be 

 stopped ! now at once ! 



Suddenly I remembered to have somewhere read that the 

 queen often does not come out before a third or half of the swarm 

 has emerged. It was then possible, it might even be probable, 

 that she was still in the hive. If so, she should either stay there 

 or be captured at the entrance. 



Seizing a pail of water I rushed forth hatless, veilless, and 

 gloveless into the midst of the throng of runaways, and began 

 sprinkling them as they emerged. But first, with curious and 

 absurd inconsistency, seeing how much faster they wanted to 

 come out than was possible, and pitying their crowded discom- 

 fort, I voluntarily bent down and opened a fly-hole, and so had 

 two streams pouring forth instead of one. ( Nellie will never for- 

 get, or cease to laugh at me for that performance, I fear). They 

 beat against my dress, they whizzed by my ears, brushed my hair, 

 grazed my cheeks, but I stood my ground, trying to watch both 

 openings at once for the queen, and sprinkling the water more 

 and more copiously as I saw that it produced no effect. I was 

 beginning to despair, for many bees wei'e washed down, and I 

 didn't care to drown them, much less did I wish to risk drown- 

 ing my queen. .Just then came a happy inspiration. 



" Hand me that wide board, quick ! quick 1 " I cried to 

 Richard, who is a little afraid of bees. He cautiously shoved 

 it within my reach. Holding it so as to throw a shadow over the 

 entrance I continued the sprinkling. The effect was magical. 



" It is going to be something of a shower after all ! " " The 

 snn is under a clond, and it rains faster than ever ! " Telegrams 

 of this import must have been sent through the hive in a twink- 

 ling, for all at once there was a sudden, an entire stop to the 

 outward rush. 



Then for the first I ventured to draw a long breath, and then, 

 too, I began to question doubtfully, if it had not been a very 

 foolish and useless, as well as an unsafe proceeding ? Was the 

 queen out or in ? The bees that had been washed down were 

 picking themselves up rapidly, and I soon became convinced 

 she was not among them. 



But over our heads quite an army of bees were whirling and 

 swarming, now this way, now that. Once we accompanied them 

 half way across the woods, then back to the vicinity of the hive. 

 Suddenly they separated widely and came down to the grouud, 

 very evenly scattered over a large surface. I knew that they 

 had missed and wore looking for their queen, and I wondered 

 if their anxiety could be half as great as mine. Rising again, 

 they again seemed starting for the woods. But immediately 

 returning, once more they sprinkled themselves far and near 

 over the ground, somehow, Nellie suggested, giving one the 

 ridiculous impression of " going down on their hands and knees " 

 to make an effectual search. Evidently it was to them in some 

 way a satisfying one, for all now rose as by one accord, and came 

 hurrying back to the hive, pouring in as fast as possible, and 

 covering the whole front with a black sheet. 



So soon as all had settled, we lifted the hive from its stand, 

 and placed an empty hive in its stead. Then, after arranging 

 the frames and putting in two combs of brood and honey from 

 the old hive, we (Xellio and I) began a careful search for her 

 missing qneenship. To our joyful surprise it was not a long 

 search. We found her as composed and dignified in demeanour 

 as though nothing had happened, and with very little trouble 

 we transferred her to the new hive. We found several queen 

 cells, the most advanced containing the tiniest of worms. 



It was then, I think, that I for the first time discovered that 

 I had forgotten my bee-veil. Of course I walked into the house 

 for it at once. 



The rest of the work, the appointment cf the remaining bees 

 — every bee was at home — was a somewhat perplexing business. 

 However, I used all the judgment I had, and if the division was 

 not made quite as well as the bees could have made it, every- 

 thing has seemed to go exactly right with the new colony thus 

 far. With the old colony, too, all was well until — but that 

 belongs to another chapter. 



Perhaps someone as inexoerienced as myself may bo in- 

 terested to know that from first to last the bees were on their 

 very best behaviour, nobody was stang. 



We found a nucleus from the other hive the same afternoon ; 



for interesting, exciting, and on the whole satisfactory as this 

 experience had been to me, I felt no desire to repeat the same 

 with another swarm, and in conclusion would say that I do not 

 venture to take the responsibility of advising any lady bee- 

 keeper to take the course ^of action above described. — (Corre- 

 spondent, American Bee Journal.) 



ROBBER BEES. 

 I SH.u,L be glad if you can inform me of any remedy to pre- 

 vent robbers from entering my hives. I fed my bees Last 

 Saturday afternoon from the outside (not a good plan, as I have 

 found out), and I think there must have been a stranger helping 

 itself too, for a short time after they had taken it all in I saw 

 them pulling one or two about on the floor-board, but I thought 

 no more about it. On going to look at the bees the next moru- 

 iug I was surprised to find a great number outside guarding, and 

 over a hundred that they had killed on the floor, and a few 

 robbers trying to dart in through them. They have been try- 

 iug to get in ever since. I have picked up the dead bees, and 

 counted about 280. The robbers come from a person's apiary 

 about a quarter of a mile off. I saw in last week's Journal about 

 stocks dying in August of starvation, and I think his bees must 

 be starving from the way they try to get in ; they keep my bees 

 from working, besides killing the others. I have made the 

 holes smaller. Can anything else be done? What is the 

 average weight to be allowed for a swarm with combs and stored 

 pollen ? To what age does a queen bee generally live ?— P. 



R.VINFORD. 



[You have done right by contracting the entrances of your 

 hives ; but if the robbers still force their way in, you must 

 make the holes so small that only one bee can get through at a 

 time. If this do not prevent the attack of the assailants you 

 had better remove your hives within doors for a few days, 

 giving the bees plenty of ventilation, putting them back again 

 on their old stands. Do not feed them while iu confinement. 

 It is very bad practice to feed in front of the hive, particularly 

 at this season of the year. Are you sure that your own hives 

 are strong in population? It is not always that starving bees 

 are the worse robbers, but the strongest and best-provisioned 

 colonies very often make war on their weaker neighbours. A 

 stock should weigh from 15 lbs. to 20 lbs., exclusive of the hive, 

 to make it safe for the winter, though it will sometimes do well 

 with less. Queens may live four years, but probably three years 

 is about the average duration of their lives. — Eds.] 



METRoroLiT.vN Eabbit ASSOCIATION. — There is to be a grand 

 show at the Montpellier on Monday, September 22ud, 1H7.3, 

 where all the metropolitan Rabbit societies have combined to 

 show their best Rabbits against each other for a silver cup of the 

 value of five guineas, besides several other money prizes. It is 

 expected to be one of the best shows ever exhibited in London. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Wings Irregular {A, B.). — Many people auffei- in the way you do. There 

 is a twisted flight that is incm-able, but wo do uoL imagine yours to be one. 

 We have several Brahma cock chickens, larjje well-grown birds, and after a 

 run or any other exertion they di-op their flights, hut they always get them 

 up again. The incurable casd we mention above is hereditary. That of 

 which you complain is often the result of weakness. 



Brahmas with Swollen Feet (H.).— Have the rongh stones raked off 

 the grouud. The feet of fast-grown cocks are veij tender, and their bodies 

 are heavy. If you cannot rake the stones off choose some more favourable 

 spot, and shut the cocks up by themselves. Anything is better than getting 

 them bumble- footed, which is sure to happen. 



Inflcencb of Parents on Comb and Leo CoLOun {J. O. L.). — When 

 two birds of different breeds are mated together, some of the produce 

 generally present a mixture of both, while others are to all appearance pure 

 specimens of the breeds to which their parents belong. You will, however, 

 be al>te to choose chickens possessing the points you wish to perpetuate, and 

 by mating them again to pure birds, you will probably succeed in breeding 

 that which you want. 



Bantam Wateuv-eyed {J. W.).—Vfe hardly know what yon mean by a 

 watery eye. If there is any swelling with it, it is a co'd, and should be seen 

 to. "The best plan is to wash it with Wnegar and water, and to give a stimu- 

 lant — some bread and strong ale, adding thereto a couple of pills of camphor, 

 each the size of a garden pea. If it be only a watery eye we should still use 

 \'inegar and water. 



Exhibitino Silver-grey Borkinos (IK. J).).— A class for "Coloured 

 Dorkings" comprises Silver-Greys, Cuckoos, and all but White. "Any other 

 variety " should mean White. \Vhoro there is a class for Silver-Grey, the 

 prize list generally states " Coloured Dorkings other than Silver-Greys." Aa 

 a rule, the Silver-Greys are not bo heavy as the others, and the Whites may 

 stand a good chance against them. Nino pounds is a good weigh . for a 

 White Dorking cock, and 7 lbs. for a hen. 



CnicKENS not Featueri-so (.1 Siihacrihcr). — Your feeding is not good 

 enough. If you have no grass run you must got some sods of growing grass, 

 like a lark's turf, only much larger ; you must give them daily. Feed them 

 on ground oats or barloymoal mixed with milk, some hard-boiled egg chopped 

 fine, and bread crumbs soaked in milk. Leave off Indian com, sharps, aud 

 rice. 



