August 4, 18B3. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTirKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



99 



unless performed in strict accordance with tlie natural in- 

 stincts and habits of the bees and a due regard to time, cir- 

 ■cumstances, and condition, the results will always be un- 

 satisfactory and frequently productive of much evil. 



It was reported lately in this Journal, that at a meeting of 

 German bee-keepers the question put into the hands of the 

 celebrated Dzierzon to support, was the following : — " Why 

 are artificial swarms to be preferred to natural swarms?" 

 To the credit of that great apiarian he had the boldness to 

 declare, as a preface to liis remai'ks, that " no man of sense 

 wUl endeavoixr to attain by ai-tifice what Nature gives volun- 

 tarOy." We can never accomplish by any artificial process 

 whatever anything half so well as Nature herself. Artificial 

 swarm-making, therefore, must be performed, I hold, only in 

 certain circumstances, and according, as far as possible, to 

 natural laws. The fui-ther we deviate from these laws the 

 less successful shall we be and the more dii-eful the results. 



These remarks being made, let me come to the considera- 

 tion of the evils of which Mr. Woodbury complains. Mr. 

 Woodbury's apiai-y has been bteraUy an experimental apiai-y. 

 For the pm-pose of multiplying Ligurian queens he has 

 availed himself of the well-known power which bees possess 

 (the discovery of Schirach), of creating queens at will; he 

 has adopted every expedient to attain his end ; he has 

 checked and disallowed the natural swarming propensities 

 of his bees ; he has forced them into positions foreign to 

 theii' natural habits and instincts ; he has shifted and re- 

 shifted colonies and portions of colonies with the produce 

 of their labours again and again ; he has transferred a few 

 combs fi-om this hive into that liive, and again from that 

 hive, it may be, to another, untU he has gone the whole round 

 of his stocks. In the various manipulations consequent on 

 all this work brood-combs will get sometimes, it may be, 

 chilled by too long exposiu-e to the cold air, or are unat- 

 tended to and neglected by the bees by reason of the 

 disorders and disturbances created in the hire ; and once 

 the evil is neglected, or chilled brood occurs in any hive, 

 then fai'eweU prosperity — there is laid the foundation of 

 future evUs, which it is scarcely possible to over-estimate. 

 The unhatched lai-vae get corrupted in their cells, the bees 

 do not seek to remove them if they can, the eggs laid in con- 

 tiguous cells are affected by coming into contact vrith these 

 cold putrid bodies, and remain also unhatched. The evils 

 increase ; the bees become paralysed, their industry is 

 materially damped, an inertness and apathy seize the whole 

 community, the queen participates in the effects, her repro- 

 ductive powers are slackened — in short, the whole hive is 

 affected, and becomes, if I may use the term, completely 

 demoralised. Its numbers decrease, and it speedily an-ives 

 at that stage when it must be classed under the category of 

 " weak and unhealthy ;" and eventually, if the evils are not 

 timeously rectified, it will become a complete wreck. Is this 

 the state in wliich Mr. Woodbury's hives are now situated ? 

 If so, is it to be wondered at ? Is it a mystery which cannot 

 be solved ? 



If I am right in my surmises — if I have succeeded in 

 pointing out the causes of these evils, what shall I say as 

 to the remedy ? I should advise a total clearance of all 

 the affected combs in each liive — nay, of the whole comb 

 together, and the bees to be introduced into fresh combs, 

 the produce of healthy hives to be got elsewhere, containing 

 l^lenty of brood and honey, and thus the evils in question 

 will be obviated, and the sanatory condition of Ms stocks 

 will be completely restored. It is vain to attempt a restora- 

 ■tion now in any other way. The season is too far atlvanced 

 for less decided measiu'cs. The case is urgent and requires 

 immediate action. Leave the hives as they are, and not a 

 bee will live to see the ensuing spring. 



Ml-. Woodbury refers to the successful bee-keeping of 

 many who know little or nothing of the natural history of 

 the bee. May not this be accounted for by such individuals 

 allowing their bees to take their free, natvu-al, and uui-e- 

 strained com-se in swarming, and by not tampering with 

 their instincts and interfering with their habits, not forcing 

 ■them into positions which are adverse to their well-being ? 



In regai'd to differences in the reproductive powers of 

 queens, I at one time entertained the same views as Mr. 

 Woodbury propounds — namely, that they are rai'ely at fault. 

 A more enlarged experience, however, has convinced me 

 that these differences exist to a large extent ; and though it 



is foreign to the present subject to enter into a consideration 

 of the causes of these differences, involving, as that con- 

 sideration necessarily would, a discussion on the whole 

 question of queen-rearing and fecundation, suffice it for the 

 present to state that these differences are considerable, both 

 in regard to the power of oviposition and to its continuance 

 or duration. Some queens become exhausted in one year — 

 others hold on for several years, maintaining all along their 

 superior prolific character. 



These points, I dare say, are new to most of your apiarian 

 readers — at least they are never mooted in the pages of this 

 Jovirnal — but they are facts nevertheless ; and if Mr. E. Pair- 

 brother asks, as he did ask, how to choose a prolific queen, 

 my answer to him is, that though I am myself guided in 

 some measure by such considerations as I have here merely 

 hinted at, yet the safest and best course for apiarians in 

 general to follow is to be guided by actual facts : — To 

 presei've such queens as really prove themselves to be very 

 fruitful, and wliieh maintain the colonies over which they 

 reign in a state of prosperity ; and to dispense, on the first 

 fitting opportunity, with such as prove themselves the 

 reverse. — J. Lowe. 



TEUE CAUSES OP FAILTTRE IN BEE- 

 EEEPmG. 



The communication from "A Devonshibe Bee-keepek," 

 in The Joubnal of Hobticultuee of July 21st is calculated 

 to fill the minds of other bee-keepers with apprehension and 

 dismay. If so great a bee-master finds his stocks dwindle 

 away and die, in spite of the most earnest attention and 

 the most approved plans of bringing out then- capabilities, 

 what can mere novices like myself expect but sooner or later 

 the like failure — less signal, perhaps, but none the less dis- 

 appointing ? If the bee-keeper's great oracle is baffled, to 

 whom shall we look for trustworthy guidance ? Most sin- 

 cerely do I, in common with many others who take an in- 

 terest in apiarian pur-suits, regret your able correspondent's 

 disaiipointment ; and most heartily do I hope, that for his 

 own sake, as well as for the sake of those who ai-e similarly 

 cu-cumstanced, he may be able to discover the true reason. 



At the same time I beg to state that " A Devonshike 

 Bee-keepee's " failure might have been expected to occur 

 sooner or later. Bees must, as I take it, be treated on other 

 principles than those which are merely scientific. Tou may 

 laugh at the notions which country people have respecting- 

 these strange creatures, and call them superstitious if you 

 •o-iU, but to use the words of a great writer — 



•' There are moro things in heaven and earth, Horatio, 

 Than are dreamt ol in your philosophy." 



In your Number for May 6th, 1862, an article appeared on 

 "Bee-keeping and Customs inCheshu-e." It is there stated 

 that unless the bees are expressly informed of the circum- 

 stance of any member of the family djing, the bees, too, so 

 it is believed, will dwindle away and die. Multitudes of ex- 

 amples, it is said, can be alleged by the " old dames," in 

 proof of this idea ; but is not the word of the " old dames," 

 experienced as they are, deserving of being credited ? I 

 think it is. But in reality not merely in cases of death, but 

 in cases of family festivity, the bees should be duly made 

 acquainted vrith what is going forward. If a friend is coming 

 to stay in your house, you should inform them, and introduce 

 him to them at the earliest opportunity. If any joyous 

 event takes place, such as a marriage or a christening, and 

 you entertain a party of friends on the occasion, you should 

 by all means make your bees partakers in the good cheer 

 provided. If you forget them, they will probably resent the 

 atli-ont, and desert you. But if there is one thing more than 

 another which is said to be "unlucky" in regard to bees, 

 it is buying and seUing them. Has not our friend, the 

 " Devonshire Bee-keepek," been rather a serious offender 

 in this respect ? Can we wonder that liis bees have takeu 

 it to heart and failed to cheer him with the wonted s'gns of 

 their goodwill ? You may lay it down as an axiom that bees if 

 atfi-onted wiE cease to prosper ; they wOl dwintUe away, and 

 ultimately, in spite of every care, die. Of course, bees must, 

 in all cases, be properly hived and attended to, but at the 

 same time, if certain customs are not complied with in 

 reo-ard to them, I believe that the greatest amount of 



