166 



JOURNAIi OF HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEK. 



[ February 21, 1867. 



cheese-cloth with him, merely Batisfied himself by wedging it 

 up, bnt discoTered his mistake on arrival, for he found the 

 honey streaming over the board, and on raising the hive a 

 pitiful fight presented itself, several hundreds of bees being 

 suffocated and drowned on the board. A clean one was at 

 ence substituted, and with some anxiety I searched for and was 

 pleased to find the queen uninjured, and while so employed 

 did not fail to observe the immense masses of maturing brood 

 and its perfectly healthy condition, not even one suspicious 

 cell to be seen. This was most satisfactory, and I closed the 

 hive, thinking a few days would repair the loss of bees, which 

 could well be spared, and that it woiild soon be necessary to 

 super and nadir to save swarming. Such were my cogitations, 

 when there arose to my mind the stalwart form of my pro- 

 phetic friend, pronouncing this clearly a case of overheating. 

 The colony remained undisturbed for several weeks, without 

 requiring additional room, and it was with fear and trembling 

 I proceeded to examine it ; but how woefully was the picture 

 which previously presented itself now reversed ! Here were 

 perforated cell-covers in abundance, with the too familiar 

 slimy decaying embryos — in short, unmistakably foul-brooded. 



A Bubseqnent examination towards the end of the season j 

 showed a manifest improvement in the stock, both as regards ( 

 popnlat.ion and the clearing out of foul cells, a proceeding I I 

 never before witnessed, save in a straw square frame hive the j 

 preceding season, as recorded in No. 2.88, and I have now no 

 doubt that that outbreak, like the above, originated solely from 1 

 overheating. Some few foul cells still remaining, I thought it ' 

 prudent to put the bees through the purgatorial process, and j 

 joined them to an adjoining stock, as I had done at the end of the 

 preceding season those of the square straw hive above alluded 

 to ; only in that case, the population being still larger, I gave j 

 them the entire works of a vacated black colony, and they pros- | 

 pered exceedingly, throwing two fine swarms last summer, be- 

 sides at its close outweighing any swarming stock I possessed. 

 The other colony referred to in the above Number of the Jour- 

 nal was a particularly strong one, in a set of Stewarton boxes, | 

 the only one bred of an infected Devon stock which had es- i 

 capcd contamination, and although the population was enor- ■ 

 mous, and yielded me five beautiful octagon supers, the disease 

 had made such rapid progress by the spring that I appro- 

 priated its contents, and saved the population in a clean hive, 

 which subsequently prospered. 



My experience forces on me the conviction that overheating 

 rather than any amount of experimenting and chill, induces this 

 most mysterious malady, and as confirmatory of this conviction, 

 I quite agree with what year correspondent, " A Lanabkshiee 

 Bee-kketer," says as to its showing itself so much more readily 

 in warm weather ; still there is no doubt it can be communi- 

 cated by infection at any time, in which case it assumes a 

 much more virulent type. As to the harmlessness of, chill, I 

 had a good illustration in a large mahogany unicomb observa- 

 tory hive, stocked late last season with the frames and popu- 

 lation of a strong Italian hive. Cold nights soon setting in, 

 the bees drew up off the brood, abandoning frame after frame, 

 receding yet upwards till I removed them back to their original 

 hive in the beginning of winter, making then a thorough 

 scrutiny ; and while there was plenty of chilled brood, I did not 

 observe one foul cell. 



A leading Ayrshire bee-keeper, long a severe sufferer from 

 foul brood, wrote me lately, that by thoroughly ventilating his 

 entire stock during the last summer, as recommended by the 

 Rev. L. L. Langstroth for winter practice, he has seen less of 

 his old enemy tban for many a day. 



The recent introduction of frame hives,'instead of originat- 

 ing has rather been the means of calling attention to this 

 disease, which exists in cottagers' hives kept exclusively on 

 the swarming system, to an extent little imagined. My assis- 

 tant was stung into the belief that the irascible Italians and 

 their artificial propagation were the sole cause of this fell 

 blight on our previously flourishing apiary, but had his faith 

 thoroughly shaken on receiving leave of absence to visit his 

 father, to whom, doubtless, he recounted many feats of apiarian 

 Talonr. The old cottager agreed lo submit a large stock to the 

 driving process, otherwise doomed to the brimsrone-pit. ' It 

 had thrown two good swarms during the summer and had never 

 been raised once from the board since it was set down a swarm, 

 and yet on his return he told me this stock contained a mass 

 of foul brood ae compared to which our worst cases were but 

 trifling. 



Last autumn I had an opportimity of inspecting an apiary, 

 with one exception the largest I had seen, kept altogether in 



common swarming hives, and while awaiting the coming of 

 the party in charge, was not a little tickled at the mode of 

 feeding, which fairly outrivalled the " Times Bee-master's " 

 plan. On the landing-boards of about a score of hives were 

 placed pieces of broken combs for the bees to clean out, and in 

 every instance were present evidences of the certain existence 

 of foul brood, doubtless weak stocks that had been broken up 

 and their contents thus disposed of. The feeder on his arrival 

 was in happy ignorance of either " foul " or " back-ga'in brood." 

 Not so, however, must have been their old master, then on his 

 death-bed, otherwise his stock could not have multiplied to 

 such an extent. — A Eexfrewshire Bee-keepee. 



OUK LETTEK BOX. 



Eggb Ill-flavouhed (Mit>:ham). — The di?afrreeab]p fl-ivour arises pro- 

 bably from some plant the fowls eat Ik your garden. If the "market sweep- 

 ings " contain much of peas and beans, these and the buckwheat together 

 would be very liable to impart a rank flavour to the eggs. Do not omit 

 the calcined oyster-shells. 



Golden-spangled HAjfBUROH Cockerels Dving (T. H. E.).— ^Ve have 

 no doubt you may attribute the loss of your Hamburphs to the snow. We 

 can only answeryour question by another : How is it that in fine weather, 

 and with overj-thing in their favour, the deaths among Creve Co^m-s and 

 La Flik-hes are seven cock? to a hen? There are certain things more 

 fatal to cocks than hens. In your case the birds wanted the best stimu- 

 lant you conld give. Ale wine, or brandy and w.ater would have saved 

 them. Their combs were frosted, and would have perished away. 



Fowls for Damp Yard (Lady Barn). — Brahma Pootrn, Cochin, and 

 Houdan are all adapted for you. When you have young chickens feed 

 them well on bread steeped in ale : let them have ale to drink, and if that 

 is not enough, let them have camphor enough in their water to make it 

 into camphor julep. By adopting this plan you will rear your chickens ; 

 but remember that either naturally or artificially they must have dust t» 

 bask and bathe in. 



Brahma Pootras (J. R, B.).— Our experience does not agree with yonrs 

 We do not find Brahmas eat according to their bulk. 11 is easy to test 

 their consumption if you have them in' confinement. Weigh or measure 

 all the food they consume, see what it amonuts to in built and money. 

 We know only three breeds that bear confinement as well as Brahmas 

 — Cochin-chinas, Spani.sh, and Houdane. 



Sick Fowls (Cottarier'g Wi/c). — Yonr fowls have access to sompttiing 

 that disagrees with tliera. If they are iu confinement, give tbem their 

 liberty. If they are u<it, clean oiit all their places thoroughly, remove 

 the sickly birds, and feed only on bread or ground oats steeped in strong 

 beer. Let them have little water only three times per day, and none by 

 them. Feed iu very small quantities" five times per day, and let them 

 have fresh mould and gi-avel. 



Lame Ducks (M. C. ^.).— Keep your Ducks away from all water till 

 they are cured. Give them oats in a shallow vessel. Cover the bottom 

 of it w-ith a sod of grass, and put water enough to cover it all. 



Eggs of Dorking Pcllex (J. C. Ji.).— The first eggs ore as likelyto be 

 fertile as those later laid. 



Flooring for Pocltry-Hocse (A. 0.,Finchlc;i).—1heio\\ox!ing extract 

 from "The Poultry Book," which you caih.ave free by post from our office 

 for 7s. 10^?, win meet your case :— " Bricks or pavements of any kind we 

 regard a^ the worst of all materials for the floor ; they retain moisture, 

 whether atmospheric or arising from insufficient drainage ; and thus the 

 temperature is kept low when warmth is most essential, and disease too 

 often follows, especially rheumatic attacks of the feet and legs. The 

 flooring of a poultry-house should be of dry gravel, and quite loose to the 

 depth of -• or S iuciacs— nothing can then adhere to it ; and it is neither 

 nocessaiy n^r right to sweep the floor of a poultry-house. A long birch 

 or heath'broom may be drawn lightly over the surface. It will remove 

 everything that offends, bnt if turned over with a spade twice or thrice 

 weekly, the earth deodorises the dung and becomes a good f-rtiliser in 

 tho course of a few months, and has then to be removed and replaced by 

 fresh earth. A mixture of gravel and coal ashes makes an excellent 

 flooring, and in which the fowls delight to busk." 



Canary wim Inflamed Skin (J. Bissrt).—Aie you sure there arc no 

 insects on the bird ? If there are, dust him with li we rs of sulphur tho- 

 roughly down to tho roots of the feathers. Give a little maw seed once 

 a-day, and let him have a bath daily. 



Dimensions of Entrance and Box for FASTArt Pigeoks (J. GX— 

 It the question refers to a box nailed outside a wall, the entrance must 

 be no larger than ordinary, or the rain would enter. As to the inside, it 

 should be 14 inches square, as the pair would probably sleep in it, as well 

 as have their nest in it. If, as is more probable, the question refers to 

 nesting-places inside a loit, we have them 10 inches square for Tumblers, 

 but some specially made for Fanlails a foot square, quite open in front, 

 except a bar about 3 inches high, in order to keep the nest in. By this 

 size and arrangement the tails of the birds arc uuiojured. For a separate 

 box in a loft a tca-ehest does well enough, having a square nest made in 

 one corner by two bricks meeting the back and side of the box. If there 

 be a close front the door should be wide enough to admit of ingress and 

 egress without crushing the fine expanded tail. 



Boxes for Hives (Q ).— Our reply to " B." in last week's Jom-nal should 

 have been qualified hv the statement that the " boxes " referred to were 

 circular in form. Square boxes of 16 inches diameter would m oar 

 opinion be too large for bee hives. 



FEEcrNG Bees in Srnrso (TT. D. j4.).— We have already commenced 

 feeding such of our stocks as require it, selecting mild days for the pnr 

 poie Honey rendered fluid by being warmed and diluted with a h"ie 

 water is perhaps the best food; but we find simple syrup made of »ump 

 sugar, in the proportions of three parts sugar to two of water, by ireioni, 

 answer every purpose. 



