February 28, 1867. ] 



JOUKNAIi OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



171 



separately of conrae. The old breeders for the pit found this 

 plan answer remarkably well, and they kept their brood hens 

 with the young pullets in the same way in another good run. 

 This prevents both cocks and hens from exhausting nature 

 when eggs are not required for breeding-purposes. The cross- 

 ing of different colours is absurd, and is only practised by 

 inferior breeders. No pure-bred birds can be obtained from 

 crossing colours. — Newmaheei. 



(To be contmued.) 



THE LONG FIRM AGAIN. 



A PERSON who gave his name and address as " J. R. Reid, 

 54, Pott Street, New Islington, Manchester," replied to an ad- 

 vertisement of mine in The Journal of Horticulture, and, 

 after a short correspondence, he agreed to have the birds at 

 my price. I was to send them off at once, and a post-office 

 order would be sent on their arrival. I wrote, asking for a 

 post-office order on the usual terms, but did not hear further 

 irom "J. R. Reid." I also obtained information through the 

 Tradesmen's Protection Society ; the answer was short and to 

 the point. I am given to understand the Long Firm are very 

 busy just now, and are obtaining a great many goods from 

 unwary persons. The letters ha%'e printed headings, some of 

 them with more than one address. I hope these few lines 

 may be the means of putting some one on his guard. — Joseph 

 Walkee, Haija Park, Knarcsbomigh. 



NEW INCUBATOR. 



Mb. Brindley makes a serious error when he assumes, that 

 because he left an incubator at 102° at 10 p.m., and found it at 

 100° the followilig morning, the temperature therein had not 

 varied more than 2" during the night. Had he used maximum 

 and minimum thermometers he would probably have found 

 that the variation had, in fact, been very considerable, and 

 that at 4 or 5 a.m., the coldest period in the twenty-four hours, 

 the thermometer had fallen to 94° or 'J2°, though it rose again 

 to 100° by 8 A.M. I speak advisedly on this point, as I have 

 jnst concluded a series of important experiments, carefully 

 carried out, on the construction of incubators. 



I have succeeded in constructing an incubator that works 

 perfectly, and in which the variation of temperature is entirely 

 overcome. 



I found it quite impossible in a Brindley incubator to keep 

 the water always at the right temperature, and my own method 

 ia, to keep boiling water always circulating in the pipes, and to 

 have the pipes moveable, so that I can withdraw them to any 

 distance out of the incubating-boxes, so as to allow a difference 

 in the quantity of piping used in winter and in summer. 

 Further, my incubator is fitted with a glass steam-pipe, and a 

 Bteam-dome for the collection and dispersion of the steam ; 

 and a small supply-cistern is attached to the boiler, by which 

 the latter is always kept full, the height of the water in the 

 supply-cistern being always shown in the glass tube. The 

 water being always boiling, the heat never varies over the eggs, 

 and the only watching required is occasionally to add some 

 water to the supply-cistern. 



I find that I have made my incubator very cheaply, and its 

 practical working is very perfect. — A. H. S. W. 



TRANSFORMATION OF COMB. 



I AM obliged to "A Devonshire Bee-keeper" for his reply 

 to my question regarding brood remaining undeveloped (see 

 page 60), and I may mention that I am not aware of any of the 

 hives referred to having ever fallen a victim to foul brood. 

 They commonly dwindled away till not a bee was left. 



In reference to the transformation of drone comb into 

 worker and vice cersd, I wiU give one instance of many, with 

 a quotation from an esteemed correspondent and a tirst-class 

 apiarian. 



In 1866 there was a scarcity of drones in my apiary (Italians). 

 I furnished a hive with comb, more than one-hulf being drone 

 comb, for the purpose, if possible, of raising some drones, 

 from a swarm that I tenanted therein. After hiving, the 

 weather became very fine, and much honey was stored, the 

 combs being completely filled, so that not a single drone was 

 hatched. I was somewhat sanguine that the subsequent 



spring would find this stock with plenty of drones, and more 

 so when I observed drones in it so early as January ; but, to 

 my mortification, as the spring advanced not a single drone 

 appeared. Swarming time arrived, and very few drones ap- 

 peared. When I examined the hive the whole of the drone 

 comb had disappeared, and there was worker comb in its 

 place. Evidently enough it had been transformed. The fol- 

 lowing is an extract from the letter to which I have alluded : — 



" I may mention that in experimenting with bees I think it 

 highly essential to imitate nature as nearly as one can in every 

 point, and I do think you were ahead of the reason in attempt- 

 ing queen-rearing so early. I will just state one instance 

 which occurred in my own apiary two weeks ago. Being 

 anxious to start queen-rearing as early as I saw drone eggs 



laid, I procured some fine drone comb from ; I fitted it 



into a hive where my best queen was, and on inspecting it ten 

 days afterwards I was mortified to find it transformed into 

 worker comb, and eggs laid in every cell." 



If apiarians who have had experience on this subject would 

 state their evidence they would oblige — A Lanarkshibe £eb- 



KEEPEK. . / 



[I trust my Lanarkshire friend will not esteem me too exact- 

 ing if I confess that I have still some doubts as to the dis- 

 position of bees to transform drone into worker comb, and 

 vice vend. I do not for one moment question the accuracy 

 of the incidents which he relates, but I am inclined to be- 

 lieve that he is mistaken in considering that the inserted combs 

 were destroyed only because they were drone combs, and that 

 if worker combs of the same character as to age, &c., had been 

 inserted, they would have met the same fate in being destroyed 

 and rebuilt, although in this case no transformation would 

 have taken place. I have witnessed more than one instance 

 in which bees have in the spring absolutely refused to accept 

 strange worker combs, although in first-rate condition, but 

 have at once set to jvork to either wholly or partially destroy 

 and rebuild them. I once removed the queen from a stock 

 which had partially destroyed a worker comb, and the result 

 was a most curious piece of mosaic or patchwork, all the 

 vacancies existing at the time being filled with drone cells. 

 This is, of course, an instance in which worker was trans- 

 formed into drone comb, but it can scarcely be said to have 

 been intentional on the part of the bees, which if left to them- 

 selves would simply have replaced the old worker cells by new 

 ones, the transformation which was effected being entirely at- 

 tributable to the removal of the queen before the renewals were 

 completed. — A Devon.shire Bee-keeper.] 



REMOVING OLD COMBS, &c. 



In the autumn of 1865 I purchased four stocks of bees at a 

 sale. One of them was in a Nutt's collateral hive, though not 

 so complete in its construction as described in Neighbour's 

 " Apiary ;" the other three were in common hives, two of 

 them pierced at top for glass supers, and one not. The stock 

 in Nutt's hive had been there at least two seasons before it 

 came into my possession, the middle box alone being occupied, 

 although communication with the two outside boxes was left 

 free by the former owner, either from design or his not being 

 properly acquainted with their management. Last summer, 

 after swarming, the bees filled one of the side boxes. I also 

 placed a glass super over the middle box, but without effect. 

 Late in the autumn I removed the glass and closed the aperture. 

 At the present time the stock appears strong, occupying the 

 side box filled last summer, fhe combs in the central box are 

 black and empty. Ought they not to be removed ? and would 

 it not be advisable to do so before the bees commence active 

 operations ? 



From the other three stocks I obtained strong swarms, which 

 were placed in new hives. After swarming, the stock in the 

 old hive not pierced for a super, appeared to grow weaker, but 

 not having had any experience in the manipulation of bees, I 

 allowed them to remain, and they have since died out. The 

 other two were removed into the bee-house ; one of them 

 hived in the summer previous to my purchase is strong and 

 the hive sound, and I propose leaving it another season to 

 obtain a swarm. The other is much older, the hive is injured 

 by exposure, and the stock not strong. It is desirable to 

 remove the bees into a new hive. Can I effect this by simply 

 opening the aperture at the top and placing tho hive over it, 

 taking care to prevent egress between the hives ? Is it likely 

 the bees would occupy the new hive of their own accord, or 



