98 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ January SI, 1867. 



VENTILATING INCUBATORS. 



"E. S.'s" letter in your Number of the 8th of January shows, 

 as he says, that he has devoted much attention and observation 

 to the subject of incubation. Damp atmosphere, temperature 

 as steady as possible at 103°, every attention to be paid to 

 the effect of external temperature, and constant ventilation, 

 are, as he writes, the main points, and they are those that I 

 have kept steadily in view in the construction of my patent 

 incubator, and which are contained in my " Directions." 



I am glad to find that some one else besides myself is im- 

 pressed with the necessity of constant ventilation — a point 

 that I believe has been lost sight of, and is not provided for 

 by any other incubator but mine. — Feed. H. Schkodeb, Rick- 

 manxwortJi. 



SWARMS CLUSTERING OUTSIDE THEIR OWN 

 HIVE. 



VARIATION IN THE COLOnR OF HYBRIDS. 



I HAVE before remarked on bees swarming or clustering with 

 their queen outside the hive when young queens were being 

 brought forward, and that such swarming or clustering very 

 often took place at night. A case of this kind happened with 

 me this year, which I will relate, as the result corroborates the 

 statement of Mr. Fox, of Kingsbridge, relative to two queens 

 being in a hive at one time. 



On the 2'2nd of July at 8 p.m. I noticed the bees of a hive 

 lying out very much. It had been a warm day, but no honey 

 was gathered. I was somewhat surprised at such numbers 

 lying out, but on account of the heat I paid no heed to it 

 further than getting them into their hive again. Next day I 

 deprived another hive of its queen, and exchanged their combs, 

 transferring them from one to the other for the purpose of rais- 

 ing queens. I suspected nothing until about tbi-ee weeks after- 

 wards, when I noticed a good many young black bees in the 

 hive which had pure Ligurian combs, giving evidence of the 

 existence of a young queen which had been hybridised, and 

 showing plainly enough that two fertOe queens had existed at 

 one and the same time, as a subsequent examination proved by 

 discovering the old queen still alive, the young one having 

 evidently been thrown out. This case shows how careful we 

 ought to be in raising queens from hives in respect to which 

 any doubt may exist as to their having the original queen. 



I am not sure but that a similar occurrence has taken place 

 more than once this season, as in the case of several queens 

 ■which were raised from a pure stock their progeny showed very 

 little of their Italian origin. In a number of crosses which 

 have occurred between the Italian and black bees there is 

 much variation ; in one case in which a black queen has been 

 crossed there is not more than one marked bee in the hundred, 

 while others show about one-half. 



I may here mention that my views in regard to hybridisation 

 are in accordance with those of Mr. G. B. Fox, and in opposi- 

 tion to those of Mr. F. H. West. — A Lanaekship.e Bee-kekper. 

 [May not this apparently anomalous variation in the colour 

 of the progeny of hybridised queens be accounted for by the 

 fact that a queen bee does not always restrict herself to one 

 dione?] 



TO HIVE BEES IN A MOVEABLE COMB HIVE. 



There is more difficulty attending this than with box hives, 

 yet it is easily accomplished. Some think it best done by 

 spreading a sheet as smoothly as possible in front of the 

 entrance, upon which the bees are shaken close to the en- 

 trance, when generally with fanning wings they will accept 

 their new home. If they do not go in rapidly enough, with a 

 goosequill brush them gently in, or with a spoon direct their 

 motions toward their new abode. Bees once shaken in the 

 swarming season on a sheet are not apt to take wing again, 

 since they are loaded with honey, for in that state they in- 

 variably leave the old colony. 



There is another plan that we prefer — remove the honey- 

 board*, and separate from the centre of the hive three or four 

 of the frames, by sliding them to either side, and then in this 

 opening shake the bees either from the bush or basket, slide 

 the frames back to their places, replace the honey-board by 

 sliding it on from one end of the hive, so as to avoid crushing 

 the bees, and the operation is finished. The few that may 



return to the bush or adhere to the hiving basket, may be 

 shaken in front of the hive entrance, and will quickly go in. 

 When quiet, remove to permanent stand without delay. — 

 {American Bee Gazette.) 



BREEDING IN SUPERS. 



In the second column of page 80 in your last issue reference 

 is made to " narrow slits one-fifth of an inch wide." I may 

 here state that I have always been in favour of the collateral 

 system, and for thirty years I have worked with much success 

 Pettitt's collateral hives. The crown-boards of the stock hives 

 are pierced with narrow slits three-sixteenths of an inch 

 wide, or rather smaller than one-fifth. I have worked with 

 these hives four glasses upon the top when the bees have been 

 working in the collateral super, so that they have actually been 

 working in five compartments or hives at one and the same 

 time. The subterraneous communication between the stock 

 hive and the collateral super has also been provided with a 

 "grating" cut in wood, and I do not believe either of these 

 supers was ever favoured with a visit either of the queen or 

 drone bee. I have taken away the collateral super containing 

 nearly 50 lbs. of the purest virgin honeycomb, without the 

 slightest evidence of a visit from either the queen or a drone. 

 I believe one great advantage in Pettitt's arrangement is that 

 the communication from one hive to the other is in the floor- 

 board, and the ventilating properties of this hive are such that 

 the temperatiu'e of either box can be so regulated as not to in- 

 terfere with that of the other. These narrow slits must be 

 cut in the wood. Both wirework and metal castings I have 

 tried, but without success. — SuDsnET. 



STARVATION IN THE MIDST OF PLENTY. 



The late protracted frost broke up to-day (January 23), and 

 the inhabitants of my twenty-two Ligurian stocks, with one 

 exception, lost no time in availing themselves of the favourable 

 opportunity for exercise in the open air, disposing of their 

 dead, &c. An examination of the exceptionally quiescent 

 stock proved that its unfortunate inhabitants had literally 

 succumbed to famine in the midst of plenty ; having exhausted 

 what honey was stored in the central combs the severe cold 

 prevented their obtaining access to those at the side, and in 

 this way they were starved to death with both sealed and un- 

 sealed food within their domicile. This starvation in the 

 midst of plenty is so frequent in America that bee-keepers are 

 in the habit of guarding against it by boring a hole about an 

 inch in diameter through all the combs from one side of the 

 hive to the other, so as to permit the bees to obtain access to 

 every comb without passing round their edges, but this is the 

 first instance in which a catastrophe of the kind has come 

 under the direct observation of — A Devonshire Bee-keeper 



AvgUce, Crowe-board. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



HusKIKG Buckwheat.— Jn.jiiirfr wishes to be informed how to sepa- 

 rate the Imsk from buckwheat. .... . ,, .„,„ 



SAiT FOR Fowls (£. h'.).— Salt is said to be injnnoiis to poultry. We 

 never knew a fowl constipated, except in cases of inflnmed bowels. _ 



Mistake is Catai-ouue (ir. Smrf!'-;/)-— As the bird w:is in its right 

 pliicc before the Judges went round to determine their awards, you 

 could Hot have been injiurcd; consequently you have no justihcatiou for 

 suing the Committee. , ». , , l , , i 



Abscess iv Iowl's Lunc.s U- F. Srinnan).—^o treatment could have 

 saved vour Brahma Pootra cock. The fungus-like substance which you 

 enclosed was the diM-harge from an abscess in the liinss. The cause of 

 the diseased lungs was possibly exposure to the severe ^ye.ather ^ our 

 other Brahma Pootra which has " entirely lost the use of his legs, if that 

 be literally true, had better be kiUed. Before drang so try what eflect 

 bread soaked in ale. and two grains of sulphate of iron daily, jM have. 



Dandelion Lea^-es for Fowes (E. .S.).-The leaves of dandelion 

 boiled and mixed up with barley meal may form an excellent food for 

 fowls, hut we never knew them used, novdo we know whether. owls wculd 

 relish such bitter diet. .,.,„,.„,- r , i ii,„!.. 



WAsnn-G PoULTEV (ir. G.).— White Cochin China fowls may have their 

 feathers washed with soap and water. .4fter washing keep them until 

 dry in a large hamper or an enclosrae, tho floor of which is qmte covered 



"'pIbbTi's ^(MiTk).— " The Rabbit Book " will suit you. You can have it 

 free' by post from om' office if you enclose seven postage stamps with your 



"^'LrciURiAN Bee [A Xorih Stnforddihr Ili-r-):cej>cr).—r]ie bee is a dis- 

 tinctlv marked Ligurian. We have no doubt that your explanation that 

 tlic qiieeu of your hive had met with drones from a Ligurian hive live 

 miles distant is correct. , „ . ■ ti „ 



Lir.tiniAN QOEENS (A Lmmrl^hirc Bee-keeper).— One guir.Ci is the 

 usual price for a warranted queen of this variety. 



