182 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 1, 1863. 



his tnowledge of bees and their habits, and he would rather 

 take a lot of bees than a hen in his hands. I am com- 

 pelled, therefore, to give his experience on foul brood, as it 

 bears much against Mr. Lowe and his theory, and may be 

 useful to bee-keeijers. 



1st. It is now eighteen years since he had a fresh stock- 

 swarm from me, and ten years ago since he saw the first 

 gymijtoms of foul brood. Eight years ago he had a stock 

 swarm from me in the spiing, which gave off a top swarm in 

 June, and put it into a hive of his own which had died that 

 sirring, but jjreviously cutting cut every part of the comb 

 affected, leaving nothing but honeycomb in the top. The 

 swarm did well enough, to all appearance, till the autumn. 

 On examining it he found all the young combs affected like the 

 old stock. Having lost his young queen, and having another 

 of his own which had foul brood, with a super on it partly 

 filled with honey, but no brood, he drove all the bees and 

 queen into the sujjer, and put it on the top of the old and 

 clean stock which he had from me, and the result was again 

 foul Ijrood in tlie autumn. 



2nd. In the fjllowing spring he bought a stock-hive fi-om 

 a neighbour who hved half a mUe from him. It. likewise, 

 was affected with the disease. Since then he has bought 

 other tlu-ee hives fi-om two neighbours about two miles 

 apart, and each of them had foul brood. One of them gave 

 off a fine swarm, which filled a super of honey ; but it, too, 

 was afl'ected in the autumn. This was the fii-st young 

 swarm which became affected during the summer — all the 

 others were afl'ected in the following spring. 



3rd. Last autumn he had three old stocks very much 

 affected. He cut out all the foul comb from one hive, 

 leaving only the honey in the top, and drove the bees out of 

 the otlier two, killing the two queens, and put all the bees 

 into the hive which had been cleared of foul comb, and fed 

 it this spring. lu July he examined it and found all the 

 new comb and old comb diseased from top to bottom, and 

 was compelled to molt it all dov.-n. 



4th. Two years ago he and I exchanged hives with each 

 other. The one I had from him died in the winter, which 

 prevented us from carrying out the plan of trying if chang- 

 ing the situation would have any effect in removing the 

 disease ; and perhaps it was as well for me that it did die, 

 as aU my others might have been injured by it. At that 

 time I had no fear whatever, but I worJd not do such a 

 thing again on any account. 



The one he had from me did not give off a swarm, and in 

 the autumn this, too, was affected as much as the other. 

 Tiie only reason he could assign for it was, that during the 

 month of May the bees fi-om his own stocks began robbing 

 — for one day only, but ceased the following, he having 

 prevented them. 



These are some of his trials which have been going on for 

 ten yeai-3, and his is not the only case. We are aware of 

 eight neighbours within a circuit of thi-ee mUes from this 1 

 whose stocks are all affected less or more ; and we know of j 

 others who have had stocks of forty in number and who 

 have not one at this time. And let me add for the inform- 

 ation of Jonas Jackson and Mr. Lowe, that these individuals 

 do not interfere with the natural habits of their bees, but 

 merely put them into a hive when tiiey swarm, and take 

 the honey when they can get it, and some of them did not 

 know they had foul brood until it was pointed out to them. 

 I will now state the 5th and last case at present. Three 

 years ago he bought a stock swarm fi-om a neighbour who 

 was parting with his whole stock, and which had been long 

 famed for being good honey-gatherers, .and it was perfectly 

 clean. The produce of that hive is still clean with the ex- 

 ception of one swarm, a second, T\'hich he united with one of 

 his own from the foul stock, having killed its queen, retaining 

 the queen from the pui-e stock ; and it likewise has foul 

 brood, but not so bad as the others. It was fed also with 

 honey from his diseased liives. 



If these five cases, which are undoubted facts, along 

 with Mr. Woodbury's experience, do not prove tliat it is 

 a disease, tlien what is it ? If it is caused bj' chiUs of the 

 brood in the first instance, why is it not among mine ? 

 There cannot be a degi-ee of difference of temperature 

 between my neighbour's situation and mine. He has 

 tried the covering of some, first mth sheets of haii- felt 

 2 inches thick, and then a covering of straw over all, and 



the whole in a house open to the south. He has tried them 

 also without any covering wliatever, but with no appai-ent 

 difference. If it is by chilling the brood we should find it 

 most on the outside of the combs, and the centre and top 

 of the hive fi-ee, as the bees will go there as they retire 

 fi-om the cold ; but in his case it is always as bad in the 

 centre and top as on the outer edges. 



There is another remarkable point in his case, and which 

 I do not tliink Mr. Woodbury has noticed — that no drone- 

 brood has ever been affected : if by cold, then tlie drone 

 must be more hai-dy than working brood. In ray neigh- 

 boiu-'s case it cannot be said that he exposes them to any 

 chUls whatever, as he is very cautious in this respect. I 

 expose mine much more than he has ever done ivithout any 

 bad eff'ects, and I am disposed to flunk that the brood is 

 more hai-dy than we imagine. I had a bar-comb of brood 

 Lately, in all stages, which fell out whUe handling it. I 

 might have fixed it again ; but my neighljour, being with 

 me at the tune, urged me not to do so, as the brood might 

 get cliiUed, and so jn-opagate the disease among mine. I 

 jiut the comb into a vinery on a shelf, where the temperature 

 would be as low as 50° at night, with full air on night an-d 

 day. I used to amuse myself feeding the young grub with 

 a little honey and bee-bread mixed, jnitting it into the ceDs 

 on the i^oint of a piece of straw. These gi-ub lived for two 

 weeks, and at last came out of the cells altogether, crawling 

 about on the shelf tiQ they died; and numbers of the young 

 bees, which were newly sealed-up when put into the -vinery, 

 eighteen days afterwards ate themselves out of the cells, i 

 many just able to get the head out, and many of the young i 

 eggs remained a ^veek without any apparent change on 

 them. When there are bees to attend — even a few — they will 

 still be able to keep the brood alive unless in very severe 

 cold. 



I may state also that he never used any foreign honey for 

 feeding — only sugar mixed -with then- ovm honey, and his 

 treatment of bees has been the same as mine thi-oughout in 

 every respect. Perhaps I was more paiticidar in giving ■ 

 mine always a new hive when they swaa-med ; while he I 

 sometimes put them into a hive which had been used, al- 

 though never in a bad state. 



I have endeavoured to give the history of my neighbom-'s 

 troubles with foul brood, in the hope that it may induce 

 others to look out for it in then- own apiaries, and if possible 

 discover the cause of the disease. He has no hopes that Mr. 

 Woodbury will get his own apiar-y clean again until he clears 

 out the whole and begins again with a clean stock, but 

 wDl be glad, lUce us all, to heai- that he has been able to 

 make a ciu-e. — Alex. Sheaeer, Tester Gardens. 



Vaknish fok Rustic Garden Seats. — Fii-st wash the 

 woodwork with soap and water, and v.-hen dry do it over, oa 

 a hot sunny day, witii common Ijoiled linseed oil ; leave 

 that to dry for a day or two, and then varnish it once or 

 twice with what is commonly termed " hard vai-nish." If 

 well done it will last for years, and wiU jirevent any annoy- 

 ance fi-om insects. 



OUR LETTEE BOX. 



Areicultural H*i.i, PouLTnv Snow. — Owin<r to the gross neu'.ect of 

 thu Liiiulon and Nmiii Wnj-iein lUilway Cnnipiiny, my biril-^ wtie ni»: 

 dt-hvered at tbt; At;n iiltuidi K..11 Poultry Sliow in tiiuc Iv hf j'liigfii. Ha. i 

 tliey been duly deI;veie*A I (tel assured they would huve fi;;uted in ihc 

 prize list, as iKey always have dotie. My annoyance cm be imagined.— 

 Enwi). TvDM\N.Vli/f (jirocc, U'Jiitchiirc/i, Salop. 



Pkizer at the Smeffikld ^how,— Cm jiny nf the exhihif^is at tho hist 

 Sheffield Show, held at the Cremome CJaide:is, iUonn your rt-adeis if thu 

 pri;ie money has been paid ?— Exhibitor. 



LO^'DON MAEKETS.— August 31. 



POULTRY. 



There is no trad?, and the Mipply of t.oiiUry K^ lariie. We arc ret uni:hle 

 to i^peak cuiifi'lemly jtbout thH supply of Gro-ase ; but our impression al 

 present is, that ii is not a giear brued in Scotland, 'ihe birus Jrom the 

 iingU&li utooxi are very good. 



f. Ii. 5. d. 6. d. s. <1. 



L.irffft Fowls 2 C to 3 Guinea Fowl to 



Smaller do 'J ,, 3 3 | Grouse, 2 B „3 (i 



Chickens 1 (i „ ! n I Kabbif, 1 4 „ 1 !• 



Gee-e .5 i: „ Wild do 8 „ n !) 



DucliS 2 „2 G I'lgeonj 7 „U b 



