54 



JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEK. 



[ July 18, 1867. 



TonrB being a good stoct, it is not likely that either the in- 

 vaders or the invaded were entirely destroyed, the probability 

 being that a compromise was ultimately effected, and the stock 

 benefited by an accession of numbers.] 



INCUBATOR REGULATOR. 

 When in London about the year 1851, I visited Cantelo's, in 

 Leicester Square, and saw his incubator hatching chickens. 

 The late Lord Berwick purchased one of the £'iO incubators, 

 and as I was somewhat curious in the matter, I was invited by 

 his lordship to see it at work. During our eonvers.^tion he told 

 me that there was a great difficulty in keeping the heat regular, 

 and when he was from home he had to leave the management 

 to his housekeeper, and she did not pay attention to it, con- 

 sequently he hatched but very few chickens. This apparatus 

 was heated by a charcoal fire. I thought at the time that if it 

 were heated by gas, the heat would be regular, and I made an 

 incubator with alterations. When at work I found the gas was 

 not to my expectations, it would vary in twenty-four hours 

 from 30" to 40°. I thought of a governor that should be self- 

 acting as regards the supply of gas, and after expending some- 

 thing like £10 in three years of experiments, I succeeded in 

 making one that did not allow a variation of more than 3° or 4° 

 in a week. It is now a very simple affair. During my experi- 

 ments I spoiled at least three hundred eggs. In my last trial I 

 only set twelve eggs ; out of these I hatched seven fine chicks, 

 which grew up and did well ; since then I have done nothing 

 with it. His lordship dying, I could not bring it to his notice. 

 It could be applied to a charcoal fire on Cantelo's system, but 

 not to oil, and such like. If any correspondent is open to take 

 the matter up and register or patent the apparatus, I shaU be 

 glad to correspond with him. — W. S., Shrewslurij. 



INVENTION OF THE BAR-AND-FRAME HIVE. 



A COEBESPONDENT, signing himself " Scdeurt," in your 

 number of The Cottage Gardener of June 20th, stated that 

 the invention of the " bar-and-frame " hive was due to an 

 Englishman, and that it was not of American or German 

 origin. Your note at the foot, however, leaves the question in 

 an uncertain condition, although you allude to the " validity 

 of the patent in America having been disputed unavailingly 

 because of Major Munn's pamphlet on the " bar-and-frame " 

 hive in 1844. If so, the Englishman has it, and America is 

 not the first in the field. But you go on to say that you endorse 

 the decision arrived at by the trans-Atlantic law courts, and 

 give the credit to the Baron von Berlepsch in Germanv and 

 the Bev. L. L. Langstroth in America for the invention. Thus 

 then, you destroy the high repute of the " book hive " of Huber 

 who certainly has the credit of the early German invention. 



Can you mention the date of the more practical and con- 

 venient "bar-and-frame" hive of the Baron von Berlepsch 

 which seems to supersede those of Major Munn and Mr. Wood- 

 bury, and when the latter first introduced his superior rectan- 

 gular frame hives with the straw cases ? 



The question of first principles will, I think, be better ex- 

 plained and understood when we have these data to go upon 

 —Wax. 



[The question is one not of date but of identity. Major 

 Munn's hive was, undoubtedly, invented before Mr. Lang- 

 stroth's, and Huber's leaf hive preceded the frame hive of the 

 Baron von Berlepsch by more than half a century. Major 

 Munn's three-cornered frames were, however, hinged to the 

 hive and were not interchangeable, whilst Huber's frames were 

 interchangeable, but had no outside case. As to how far Mr. 

 Langstroth and the Baron von Berlepsch may be deemed the 

 inventors of modern frame hives admits, of course, of a diffe 

 rence of opinion. We have stated ours, and others are at 

 perfect liberty to enjoy their own ; but in what respect we have 

 destroyed or even assailed the reputation of Huber's " book 

 hive" by stating that tho principle of the frame hive was 

 first developed in it, and that it needs only an outside case to 

 render it nearly identical with the German frame hives of the 

 present day, we are utterly unable to discover.] 



which I had to feed np until the 17th of May, when one lot 

 only weighed 5 lbs. — hive and what was inside. I found no 

 honey stored until the 18th. I weighed again on the 21st, and, 

 to my surprise, the five-pound lot had gained other 5 lbs., which 

 made it up to 10 lbs. They did well, and swarmed in three 

 weeks. Do not let us despise weak things. 



May 23rd. How they sing ! Wife, you must have your eyes 

 about you. Off comes the first swarm with a queen at its 

 head — a position which she had never occupied before ; but the 

 result is a credit to her now, for I found on weighing the bees 

 that she had brought 5 lbs. of bees out with her, and in about 

 a fortnight I had a cast which weighed 3 lbs., from the same 

 stock. The weights of my swarms are as follows : — First 

 swarm, 5 lbs. ; second swarm, 3i lbs. ; third swarm, 3 lbs. ; 

 fourth swarm, 3 lbs. ; first cast, 3 lbs. ; second cast, 24 lbs. ; 

 third and fourth casts, 2 lbs. each, which I added together. 

 The second cast returned home after hiving. They rose twice 

 more and returned, and I found two queens under the old stock 

 on each of their returns, making six queens lost from one stock, 

 after which they made themselves happy at home, and went 

 to work like Britons. So you will see that I got six new lots 

 of bees, and also 53 lbs. of honey taken in supers ; therefore, I 

 wil not grunt over 1866, for that left me with ten stocks of bees. 

 But 1867 — Oh ! dear. What a spring ! Bees a-starving. 

 But you must stop until another time before I can tell you all 

 about it. — A Bucks BEE-EEErEE. 



JOLLY BEE DOINGS IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 



A FEW jottings about bees. In April, 1865, I had a six-inch 



glass filled. Now, let us pass on to the spring of 18G6. What 



now ? Poor prospect^four stocks ; two strong, two very weak, 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Poultry Magazine (Speculator). — We know nothinfi of the proposal 

 beyond the advertisement. '* The Poultry Chronicle " was ably conducted 

 but an expensive failure ; we purchased the copyright, and fear we should 

 be fisked to do the same for any similar periodical. 



Turkeys Rouped (J. Lioht). — The sneezing, stoppnge of nostrils, and 

 other sjTuptoms indicate that the young Tiukeys have the roup. Omit 

 the rice and greaves ; feed only on barleymeal and bread soaked in ale, 

 nnd give each 1 grain of powdered sulphate of copper daily. Separate 

 those affected from tho.se which are healthy. 



Fleas in Podltry-house Ifl".), — We have always found that thorough 

 lime-whiting was a thorough cure, and we never adopt any other method 

 for getting rid of our enemies. We are happy to say, we are not now 

 troubled with them. Wlien fowls have the opportunity of dusting, and 

 the material for enjoying it, there is little danger of vermin. We use 

 road gi-it larcelyin making the floors of our poultry-houses, and eupply 

 the fowls' runs with heaps of it. In these they busk all day, and when 

 they do so they have no parasites. We fancy these are appliances you 

 have not adopted. We advise you to do so, and to thoroughly lime-white 

 the wholo of your houses, not with a sticky whitewash, but with limo 

 pimply slaked with water to the consistence of cream. Every hole and 

 corner should be thoroughly washed out with it, and while the fowls are 

 absent frnm the house it is well tu place three or four smiiU heaps of lime 

 and to slake them on the floor, shutting doors and windows. Fowls 

 should be kept scrupulously clean. There is no doubt that where their 

 excrement is permitted to lie about it engenders vermin. 



Buckwheat as Poultry Food (ir. F.).— Buckwheat meal is largely 

 used in France in fattening poultry, being a favourite food with our 

 neighbours. It is not much thought of in England. We use it only for 

 fancy Ducks. We shoiUd not give it to chickens, as from its oily and 

 fattening properties it is injurious to the growth of feathers. We believe 

 there is no known food so good as ground oats as they are ground in 

 Sussjx. The whole uf the coru is ground together till it all mixes with 

 wato c flour. Nothing whatever is taken from it in shape of bran, 

 ite. The Susses fowls are the best in the ivorld. The breed of them is 

 Dorking, but the food is exclusively ground oats. 



Flooring of Pigstye and Fowl-house (A Recent SubscTibcr).~G&s 

 tar and road drift would not form a hard flooriuy Lime rubbish is 

 required to make the asphalte flooring, and we have repeatedly published 

 the recipe for making it. No such flooring is desiiMlile for a fowl-house. 

 Road drift or sand alone is desirable. The surface to be raked every 

 moniing. 



Preserving Spare Combb {Disappointment).— Wra-p each comb sepa- 

 rately in paper, and put them away carefully in a clean and dry drawer 

 or box. 



Uniting Weak Stocks (Novice).— To resort to fumigation after having 

 suceceeded in driving is so retrogi'ade a step that we hope you will think 

 better of it, as we believe that the former inflicts permanent injury on 

 all bees that are subjected to it. Fumigation is best performeu in the 

 evening when all the bees are at home. There is no more necessity for 

 removing the superfluous queen after fumigation than there is when 

 efl"ecliug unions by driving. 



Cat's Hair Falling Off (C. A. J.).—X small teaspoonful of anlphor 

 daily for a week may arrest the falling ofi" of the hair, but we could not 

 advise conndently without seeing the animal. 



POULTRY MARKET.— .July IT. 



Sultan, Viceroy, and Belgians have caused an increased consumption 



of poultry without addinj* to the supply, 

 rise in prices for a few days only. 



s d. B. d 



Larpo Fowls 3 6 to 4 



Smaller do ii G 8 



Chickens 1 9 2 



Geese 6 9 6 6 



Ducks 3 3 6 



Pigeons U 9 10 



The consequence has been a 



B. d s. d 



Pheasants to 



Partridges 



Grouse 



Guinea Fowls 



Rabbits 15 16 



WUddo .-.. 8 9 



