September 12, 1867. 1 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



207 



Goslings.— First, Duchess of Xowcnstle. Second, C. Chalonor. Third, 

 H. Snvile. Notts. Highly Commended, C. Chaloner. 



TcnKEYS—Pou/M.— First, Duchess of Newcastle. Second, Viscountess 

 Galway, Riiwtry. Third, Kev. W. H.MoUor. Hitfhiy Commcudod, H. Savile. 



Ahy othkr Variety.— First and Third, Col. Stuart Wortley, Grovo End 

 Road, liondon. Seconil, Duchess of Newcastle. Highly Commended, C. 

 Chaloner. 



Selling Class (Any hreed). — First. M. Famind. Second, C. Chaloner. 

 Third, M. Brookshmk. Manchester. ITiRhly Comnunih'd, Uov. G. Gilbert 

 (Buff Cochins) ; H. Savile. Commended, M. BrookMbank. 



MANAGEMENT OP LONG-EARED RABBITS. 



PEnnArs tlie following notes may be of some use to " In- 



QCIREU" : — 



Rabbits must be kept warm, if you wish to produce long ears. 

 The hutches should not be too large, nor lofty, from 11 to 

 15 inches in lioight enoufjh. 



The breeding-box should be supplied with plenty of soft hay 

 previous to the doe's kindling — that is, fill the box from the 

 floor to the ceiling. 



After the doe has kindled some four or five days, select four 

 of the finest Babbits and destroy the others. Four or five 

 will grow much larger than seven or eight, the number a doe 

 often has. 



Feed plentifully with oats, barlevmeal, peas, iSrc, and give the 

 doe and tlio young Rabbits plenty of green meat ; in fact, as 

 much as they can eat. The best I know is that weed of the 

 fields called sow lhi.=tle. 



Keep the Rabbits warm, much depends on this. Hang a sack 

 or cloth at night over the front of the hutch. I have seen some 

 hutches glazed ; but this I do not recommend. 



Keep the young Rabbits with the doe as long as she will 

 allow them to remain with her. When she becomes trouble- 

 some to the young ones, you can shut them in the breeding-box 

 at night, also for several hours in the day, letting them out 

 occasionally. Being together, the heat causes the ears to in- 

 crease in length. You can stroke the ears lightly forward every 

 time you visit them. By so doing they will gain that position 

 so much admired in good lop-ears. — Spanish. 



WHAT WILL BE THE RESULT? 



Will you express your opinion on the following state of 

 things ? On the 2.5th of July a virgin queen led oS a swarm ; 

 she was seen to go out on the 28th, but soon returned in statu 

 quo ; on the 30th pollen was being carried in, so that I con- 

 cluded all was right. 



When three weeks had expired I daily expected to see a 

 flight of young bees, but day after day I was disappointed, 

 though I had fed moderately, and pollen was continually carried 

 in. Twenty-six days after pollen was first seen to be taken in, 

 a young drone (I fancy about eighteen days old), was lugged 

 out alive ; it was small as though bred in a worker cell. Is 

 there hero a want of control over the spermatheeal organs, as 

 in the case related by Mr. Woodbury, so that I may look for 

 worker eggs to be laid when things have rigtited themselves ? 

 This result seems to be scarcely due to retarded impregnation, 

 for the hive will not admit of this. I want to keep the queen 

 if she is likely to prove a layer of worker eggs. — J. C. 



[This is a case upon which we find it impossible to oflter an 

 opinion. All may yet come right, as in the cases to which you 

 refer as having been related by Mr. Woodbury, or the queen 

 may remain a virgin, and in that event will turn out a con- 

 firmed drone-breeder. It is also just possible that the queen 

 may be defunct, and that the diminutive drone may be the off- 

 spring of a fertile worker ; but this contingency is much more 

 unlikely than either of the others.] 



LIGURIANISING AN APIARY— REMEDY FOR 

 THE STING OF A BEE. 

 I A3I greatly obliged to " A Devonshire Bee-keeper," for 

 the trouble he has taken to answer my questions so fully on 

 the above subject. At the same time I tl;;uk he makes the 

 operation of substituting queens in bar-hives appear more 

 difficult than need be. I have this season removed three 

 queens and substituted fresh ones in their place without any 

 mishap, and without half the precautions he seems to think 

 necessary. I hope our " Devonshire " friend will not feci 

 aggrieved at a, " beginner " advancing any theory in opposition 

 to his own, as I am sure he is anxions to aimphfy all operations ( 

 with bees as much as possible. 



I had better state my plan of operating, and the success 

 attending it, and leave others to try whether it is simply a 

 matter of luck or not. I received my first Ligurian queen on 

 the Ist July, having formed an artificial swarm the day before 

 by taking a brood-comb out of No. 4, and placing it in No. 6 

 (both Woodbnry-hives), which was then placed upon the stand 

 occupied by No. 1, the latter being removed. " A Devoxsiiirb 

 Bek-keepeu" advised I should "immerse the queen in liquid 

 honey," and then " drop her into the hive among the bees 

 thrC'Ugh the hole at the top," as being the likeliest method to 

 insure .success. Somehow I could not fancy this plan, and 

 did not wish needlessly to endanger the life of her Ligurian 

 majesty, and I knew from experience the bees I wished her to 

 reign over were regular "Tartars," so I placed perforated zinc 

 over the hole in the top of the hive, and then put the little box 

 in which she was sent on one end (having removed the lid), 

 and a bell-glass over it, so that I could see what was going on. 

 After awhile I allowed four or five bees to come up, but soon 

 the queen was seized by one of them, and would have been 

 killed perhaps had I not interfered. I then waited for some 

 time aud tried again (having in the meantime left them over 

 the hole as above mentioned), then I admitted six or eight 

 bees from below ; but after a few minutes had elapsed two of 

 them seized her and tried to inflict a mortal wound, aud I had 

 to cut one of them in two to rescue her, and even then it held 

 so fast I had to remove both together. After this I thought 

 the safest plan would be to turn the box bottom upwards over 

 the hole, aud allow them to fiaternise through the perforated 

 zinc, as recommended in " Bee-keepiug for the Many." I 

 did so, and late in the evening again placed the box on end as 

 before, and allowed a number of bees to ascend, when they 

 behaved in a more civilised manner, and fraternised with the 

 Ligurian worker's, who seemed to cling together about their 

 queen as though jealous of evil. However, as all seemed 

 peaceable and they set up a joyful hum, I left them for the 

 night. In the morning they seemed all right in the box ; but 

 the poor workers who, tired of their confinement, ventured 

 out of the hive, were seized by the guards, stung, and cast out 

 by dozens, while those in the box seemed quite on friendly 

 terms with their black relatives ; but I believe every Ligurian 

 which left the hive was slain. The queen never leaving it 

 proved to be safe. 



This was my first attempt. The others were far more easy 

 and simple, and equally, nay, more successful, as I not only 

 saved the queen in each case, but also the lives of her entire 

 body-guard, the whole of the workers sent with them being 

 preserved, and regularly up to the present time taking their 

 place of duty among the other busy labourers. And these 

 latter ones were added, not to artificial swarms, but to stocks 

 whose queens were previously taken from them. 



I received them late in the evening of the 2-lth ultimo. On 

 the 25th I removed the queens from Nos. 4 and 5, and placed 

 the boxes over the hole in the top of the hives, having pre- 

 viously removed the lids and placed perforated zinc in their 

 stead, and also sprinkled both these and the bees in the hive 

 with peppermint-scented syrup, and rubbed it well upon the 

 zinc. The same evening (not " four or five days afterwards "), 

 before they would think of forming royal cells, having had the 

 new queen in communication with them all day, I turned the 

 box on its end, placed a bell-glass over, and allowed the bees to 

 ascend. All seemed agreeable, ao I turned the box over again 

 and left them. On the 2Gth I simply removed the perforated 

 zinc from the other and allowed them to mingle, they set up a 

 loud hum and I left them. On the 29th I examined both 

 stocks, and found the new queens all right and busy laying 

 eggs, and the workers were all right too, much to my gratifi- 

 cation. 



In another case of substitution, it was one of the black 

 queens I removed from one of the above stocks. She was a 

 very fine young one I had artificially raised, and so I resolved 

 to remove the old one from No. 3, as I could find no eggs iu 

 the combs, and place her there instead. I simply removed the 

 old one, then put some of the s.yrup upon the young one with a 

 feather, and placed her at once upon a comb iu the midst of 

 her new subjects. And I saw her yesterday all right and busy 

 laving eggs. 



The above I submit is better than placnig the queen in a 

 cage for two or three days, and is far more simple and ea--y for 

 " beginners," and will, I hope, induce them to try aud be re- 

 solved to overcome any seeming difficuliies iu the way. I 

 thought if the scented syrup was ppod fjr uniting; stocks or 

 swarms, why not for uniting queens to strange stocks? 



