304 



JOTJENAXi OF HOETICULTTIEE AND COTTAGE GARDENEE. 



[ October 13, 1SC3. 



In conclusion I take leave to con-ect Mi'. Lowe's inis- 

 statement with regard to my calling Ayrshire " the great 

 centre of bee knowledge." The phrase, as I stated at the 

 time, was not my own, but that of " A Eenfkewshiee Bee- 

 KEEPEK." Entertaining as I do a very gi'eat respect for the 

 opinions of this gentleman, and having arrived at a high 

 estimate of the practical knowledge of bee-culture wliich 

 obtains in the locality refeiTed to, I may yet be permitted 

 to doubt whether " the gi-eat centre of bee knowledge " is 

 to be found anywhere within the Umits of the United King- 

 dom. — A Devonshire Bee-keepeb. 



UNITING SWAllMS. 



I HAD on the 2nd or 3rd of last June three fine swarms 

 thi-own off, for which I was not prepared ; and as it was im- 

 possible to procure in our sleepy neighbourhood any but the 

 common straw hives, I was obliged to use them, and I have 

 now three hives very full and heavy, which I do not wish to 

 retain : can I unite the three or even two of them without 

 killing the bees ? — A Subsceibep. Since 1856. 



[If you can siTCceed in driving and uniting bees as de- 

 scribed in page 59 of the new edition of " Bee-keeping for 

 the Many " you %viU find Httle difficulty in transferring the 

 inhabitants of youi- three common hives to an unfnrnished 

 habitation. They should then be fed by means of an inverted 

 bottle with its mouth covered with cap-net, and containing 

 at least a pint of food, which must be refilled every evening 

 until the nett contents of the hive reach 15 lbs. This is an 

 interesting experiment, and one that is likely to result in 

 forming a strong stock nest spring ; but if it involves too 

 much trouble the expelled bees may advantageously be 

 united to yoiu- other stocks in the manner dh-eeted in the 

 valuable little JIanual above refeiTed to. — A Dbvonskike 

 Bee-keeper.] 



DKI^ING BEES. 



It is quite a custom in this part of the counti-y to drive 

 bees ; it is termed hei'e " whipping them," and is generally 

 performed just before they ai-e taken to the heather. 



Two or three puffs are given to the hive from a piece of buiT.- 

 ing rag, and then it is tm-ned mouth uppermost. An empty 

 hive is put on the top, and it is then gently struck with a 

 piece of stick all round the sides. In a few minutes the bees 

 all ascend into the empty hive, and are then taken to the 

 heather, when, if a good season, they will make fi-om 20 lbs., 

 30 lbs., or 40 lbs. of honey and comb, and if a bad season of 

 course they die. StOl, in many cases, the practice is attended 

 with good results. There is no difficulty in performing the 

 operation here ; I myself did it to four hives the other day, 

 and it did not take more than ten minutes for each. — Alex. 

 Shearer. 



[What becomes of the unliatched brood when bees are 

 driven into an empty hive prior to their autumnal removal 

 to the heather? We believe oirr Scottish friends are too 

 well aware of its value to allow it to perish ; but Mr. Shearer 

 has omitted to describe the means by which it is preserved.] 



THE HONEY SEASON IN EDINBFEGH. 



This has been a most singular season here. Some bee- 

 keepers have nothing bxit dis.asters and empty hives as 

 reminiscences of it ; others in the same neighbourhood, and 

 in many cases with part of their stock only, have obtained 

 such extraordinary results in the shape of vii'gin swarms 

 and supers that I wHl not venture to mention them, so 

 incredible are they. 



Neai-ly all my hives have been receiving the benefits of 

 the heath blossom among the Pentland Hills, ten miles 

 distant, since the beginning of August. I received them 

 back on Saturday evening much heavier, but with the supers 

 only half filled ; some of them not so much, even in cases 

 where the stock is above 40 lbs. 



I have observed that in the early part of the season my 

 bees work very readily in a s\iper if there are plenty of bees 

 in the hive ; but in autumn they fill the hive first in pre- 

 ference to the super.— J. B. 



PEOTECTION OF lEON FEOM BUST. 



In coni'se of a recent discussion on vaiious subjects at the 

 Society of Arts, in a Committee of Eeference on Mechanics 

 and Engineering, Mr. C. F. Varley said — All attempts to 

 use galvanised iron for roofs in large towns failed, fi-om tlie 

 smoke attacking the galvanised metal; and tinned ii-on did 

 not resist the action of smoke so well even as zinc. All the 

 exi^eriments he had seen of coppering u-on had failed, unless 

 it was done in so expensive a manner as not to be practic- 

 able for any extended use of it. What they required was :■- 

 covering of lead, or lead and antimony, put upon the h-on se- 

 as to combine the stifi'ness and cheapness of iron with tht- 

 dm-ability of lead. Owing to the multiplicity of telegr.aph 

 ■nires in the metroiiolis, danger might result fi-om the faUing 

 of long spans of wii'e, thi-ough theii' being rusted away. 

 Colonel Chaffner said the coverings of houses in some coun- 

 tries were of tinned iron. In America this was largely used 

 instead of lead. In St. Petersburgh and Moscow iron wa? 

 mostly iised, but it requh-ed fi'equent painting. In thi- 

 telegi'apli service he had tried many expedients for tin- 

 preservation of the wires by galvanising, and the use ol 

 linseed and other oils. He had boiled the wires in linseed 

 oil -with beneficial results ; but they would decay. Mr. 

 Varley, sen., said if iron was heated and passed through oil, 

 the pores were fiUed up, .and the metal lasted a long time. 

 Mr. Reveley mentioned that h-on heated and covered with 

 asphaltum or mineral bitumen in the solid state had resisted 

 a moist atmosphere for fifteen years. He had found thu 

 natural asphaltum the best, and he had not sticceeded so 

 well -with liquid asphalte. With all other materials he had 

 found the rust penetrated undei-neath. ^Mr. John Braith- 

 waite said the mode of an-esting it adopted by Ms father, 

 and which he had himself followed for the last fifty years, was 

 liy painting the iron -with red lead. Painting with white 

 lead was of no use, as the acid used in the prepai-ation of it 

 prodviced swelliug effects. He had inspected a well where 

 he had fixed an engine forty-five years ago. The rods which 

 had been placed in tliis well, 200 feet deep, were painted -mth 

 pxu-e red lead; and on taking them up, he found that their 

 weight was precisely the same as when they were put down 

 forty-five years ago. 



OUE LETTEE BOX. 



TouLousr Geisi: [O. iJase//).— Write to Capt. Horabj-, Knowsley Cottage, 

 Freseot- 



COENs jN Geese (S. C. 5.).— Old Geese are subject tn coriip, espeually 

 where thev have httle water. Callosities on tl-.e feet are often Ciiused where 

 Geese are kept in confinement, and the flooring of tlieir hou'ie is utone or 

 brick. Nothing does the feet more good than to "walk on wet grass. It 

 removes the corn-like subst.ance you niention. 



f OWL TiLOoBLED WITH CoKNs (Xfr).— The best remedy we have found 

 frr tins is cuttintj the affected part away as mT.c!i as pes-'itile, and then rub- 

 bing it over with caustic. Some corns are, ho-.vever, more like absces^es ; 

 tie a plaster of linseed meal over the wound :o:' a day or two after cutting, 

 and ccnline the bird to a dry place, after -ffhith apply the caustic, and in 

 a week or two a cure is effected. It, however, sometimes happens that 

 these humours must have vent somewhere, and we cannot affirm that tbe 

 remedies above will succeed in all cases, although in general they will do so. 

 You will see some full notes on Walnut-tree culture in our next Number. 



Hives with Combs, but no Honey [A Xovicc], — ,4s so feu particulars 

 are given, we can only guess at the causes of the bees decamping from the 

 six hives. The probability is that the defunct colonies aie old stocks 

 which have swarmed this year, and have either failed to raise young queens 

 or have had the misfortune to lose these indispensable members of the bee 

 community during their wedding flights. The del-asive appearance of 

 strength only a week or two since was due to crowds oi robbers plimdering 

 the hives' stores. The only mode of preventing tliese mishaps is to adopt 

 hives with moveable combs and ascertain, by actual esamination of tlie 

 interior, the existence of a sovereign in each community before her loss 

 becomes iiTemediable. 



Java Sparrows' Feathers Changing Colovr iVironica). — It is not an 

 uncommon occurrence for tlie cheek feathers of the Java Sparrow to chanr^e 

 colour from white to black when the birds moult. Probably they may agiiin 

 become white the next moult. 



LONDON MAEKETS.— OcTOBEB 12. 

 POULTBY. 



There is still a very large supply of poultry and a sorry trade. Pheasants 

 are plentiful, Grouse are scarce, and Partridges hardly an average supply. 

 s. d. 8. 



Large Fowls 3 to 3 



Smaller do 2 „ 2 



Chickens 1 „ ! 



Geeie 6 „ 6 



Ducks 2 „ 2 



Pheasants 2 C „ 3 



d. s. 



C I Partridges 1 



C I Grouse 3 



9 I liares 2 



6 Kabbiui 1 



3 Wild do 



V 1 Pigeons 



d. s. 



4 to 1 



„ 3 



„2 



4 >. 1 



8 „ 



8 ,, 



