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420 



JOURNAL OF HOETICDLTDRB AND COTTAGK GAEDENEB. 



[ Jaae 13, ISBl. 



ordinary worker-egg or larva. In order to demonstrate the 

 matter to him ad instaittiuvi and ad ocidos, I made on my own 

 stand, and before his eyes, an artificial swarm by means of 

 brood-comb. Every comb did he most rigidly examine, and 

 finally declared it certain that no royal cells were there. Eight 

 days afterwards I took this opposer of the march of intellect 

 to the artificial swarm, lifted out the combs, and showed him 

 five adhering royal cells. " Yes," he admitted, " those are 

 queen cells." I detained the old man in order to convince 

 liim, and described the manner in which a queen-bee was 

 reared. Daring my discourse he shook his head, as I fondly 

 thought, in wonder at the marvellous instinct of the bee ; but 

 some days afterwards I heard that this incredulous and mis- 

 trustful blockhead had thus expressed himself: — " Why, this 

 blunderer would make me believe something. He puts royal 

 cells into the hive behind my back, and would then persuade 

 me that the queenless bees had built them." Jloina locuta, 

 rcsfinita, thought I. Our bee-colleague Soliman could, indeed, 

 hardly have expressed himself worse. — W. Togel. 

 (To be continned.) 



ARTIFICIAL SWARMS. 



Until I received a hive of Ligurians from Mr. Woodbury last 

 year I had not adopted frame-bar hives ; I then had some made. 

 They were painted of a brilliant red colour, and with these I 

 attempted to make artificial swarms of Ligurians, by taking a 

 combof Ligurian brood, putting it into one of these frame- 

 bar hives, and placing the latter in the room of a strong stock 

 of black bees when a large number of them were out foraging. 

 The stocks of black bees used for the purpose were in straw 

 hives, Stewarton octagons, painted red, ttc. The result in 

 every case was the same. The black bees on seeing the frames 

 refused to enter the frame-bar hives ; honey dropped within 

 the entrance failed to overcome their repugnance, and after 

 waiting undecided for a time, they at length crowded round 

 the entrance to the nearest stock hive, to which they slowly 

 advanced, fanning with their wings, and in other ways intimat- 

 ing to the occupants their peaceful intentions and desire to be 

 admitted into fellowship. I nearly closed the entrance to the 

 stock hive, the better to enable the inmates to offer resistance ; 

 but this they did not appear disposed to do, for many of the 

 applicants for admission were heavily laden with pollen, and, 

 doubtless, with honey. I then closed the entrance, swept 

 away the besiegers, and covered the hive with a cloth. The 

 strangers then went under the stool, and found their way thus 

 under the cloth to the closed entrance of the hive. I took 

 away the cloth, removed the obstruction from the mouth of the 

 hive, and the entire mob of strangers rushed in. There was 

 no instance of fighting^ndeed, I think the occupants were 

 delighted to see their visitors laden with presents, each bearing 

 a contribution to the wealth of the community. However, on 

 the following day there was a commotion in some of these 

 hives (not in all), the bees rushing out and up the front and 

 there clustering; possibly there may have been some instances 

 of queen encasement ; but the disturbance subsided in the 

 course of the day, and the affairs of the hive went on smoothly. 



Now, in many of these cases the bees which refused to enter 

 the untenanted frame-bar hive containing Ligurian brood 

 comb, nevertheless did subsequently enter a neighbouring stock 

 hive totally different in appearance from their own ; the bees 

 of a common straw hive freely entering a Stewarton octagon 

 painted red, and riVc versa : so the empty frame in the frame- 

 bar hive appears to have been the objection. 



In order to utilise the black bees in raising Ligurian queens 

 in this way I raised the stocks of black bees intended to be 

 used on frame hives, of course taking away the crown-board, 

 and filling in the open corners of the frame hive with triangular 

 pieces of wood, and making all tight and close with brown 

 paper and paste. The black bees thus soon became accustomed 

 to the frames, and I had no further difficulty in using them for 

 the purpose named. — M. S. 



[The persistent refusal of your black bees to enter the strange 

 domicile to which you invited them, was doubtless owing to the 

 ItaUan brood comb being denuded of bees. Whenever an arti- 

 ficial swarm is made by removal in the manner above described, 

 all the bees that adhere to the brood comb should be suffered 

 to remain on it, making sure, however, that the queen is not 

 among them by previously ascertaining her presence on another 

 comb. The wanderers who find themselves so suddenly ren- 

 dered homeless will then more readily enter their new habi- 



tation, and no serious quarrel need be feared. Another adTon- 

 tage is, that the young bees adhering to the corab famish the 

 embryo colony with the class of " nurses" described by Hober, 

 which are much more likely to succeed in raising queens than 

 a chance-medley collection of foragers, which may from age 

 have become either wholly or partially disqualified for the task. 

 If other stocks are in close proximity, it is well also to prepare 

 for the operation by shutting them up overnight, and removing 

 them out of the way of the wanderers until they have entered 

 and accepted their new domicile.] 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Basihostoke Podltry Show.— Mr. C. Cork took the second prize for 

 Dorkings at this Show. 



Bhahmar at Launceston Show.— The first prize was awirded to 

 T. Richards, Devon Great Consols, Tavistock. 



Poultry Fajim for Ecgs.— If " Er " will enclose to our office a letter 

 in a stamped envelope, wo will direct it to " Toby." 



Game Cock (/?. C). — We are not surprised at the bird's deficienc7nx 

 couraRe, for the inhabitants of the yard from which you purchased him 

 were bred for exhibition, not for the cock-pit. 



Remedy for Gapes (W. T.).— According to your list of failures, yon 

 have unsuccessfully tried every known remedy for the gapes. We mno 

 never known camphor fail. We have not had a case of gapes tins year, 

 last year we cured hundreds with camphor pills and camphor julep. Wo 

 have used a decoction of wormwood in all our chickens' water this year, 

 and we believe it has acted as a preventive. Our theory has always been, 

 that these parasitical worms came from larvae that are peculiar to rain 

 water. The worms are identical, or almost so, with the myriads that are 

 to be seen at the bottom of a water-butt which catches rain-water. M 

 these are broucht in contact with camphor they die at once ; now if you 

 handle a chicken a few hours after it has taken a couple of pills of 

 camphor, it is completely saturated with it and smells of it. A.a the para- 

 sites lie at the back of the crop, and the camphor is in the crop, the smell 

 of it reaches them, and they die. 



DuBBrNG Game Bantam Cocks (P. Croirfcffl.— Except when "ihown tfft 

 chickens. Game cocks of every description must be dubbed. Cruel as it 

 may seem, it is not so in reality. It is their nature to fiv-ht, and those 

 who may have seen the condition of those that have fought when nn- 

 dubbed, will never call the operation a cruel one. After ton minutes* 

 fiehtiug, a bird fighting with his head furniture entire is, indeed, a 

 pitiable object: his gills hang down in strips, the serrations of his comb 

 are hardly distinguishable, while the comb itself is a mass of bleeding 

 wounds. The deaf ear is generally torn open, and from the porchase 

 given to his antagonist he is a terrible sufft^rer. AU this is avoided by 

 dubbing, and the bird shows for fight, if fighting be necessary, like an 

 "athlete," with hia skull round and close-cropped, instead of long hair, 

 afi'ording advantage to his opponent. 



EcGS NOT KATcniKQ ( Chateau Vallon). — The cause of the putrefaction 

 of the eggs in question is, that they were originally good, and were snffi- 

 ccntly sat upon to develope the germ of life. This was allowed to perish 

 from some cause, and hence corruption. Each is a dead egg, but it once 

 had life. The probable cause of failure has been, that the lieu has left 

 them to feed early in the morning, and while she was off they were 

 chilled. This has been fatal to them. In ordinary seasons, at the end 

 of May, a hen may leave her eggs for hours with impunity, the atmo- 

 sphere is warm enouch to prevent their being chilled, but this year we 

 had in the last week of May from 'V to 7"^' of frost. There is no hope of 

 eggs that were exposed tu this ever producing birds. 



Grass Seeds for Sandy Soil for a Poultry Ron {Stifolk DarUngf), — 

 You may, after the potato crop is cleared in July, hive the gromid 

 prepared ; and with the first prospect of rain sow of ItaUan Rye Grass, 

 10 lbs.; Lolium perenne, 18 lbs.; Festuca duriuscula, 4 lbs.; Festnca 

 rubra, 4 lbs. ; Dactylis glomerata, 4 lbs.; Cynosurus cristataa, 4 lbs.; Baa 

 nemoralis, 2 lbs. ; Poa pratensis, 2 lbs. ; and Trifolium repens, 8 Ibe. 

 Lightly bush-harrow after sowing, and well roll. You will byeowingthen 

 gain a season. 



Hens Eating Each Other's Feathers (J. H.).— Spanish fowls are more 

 prone than any to eat each other's feathers, and, like most bid habits, it 

 finds many imitators. There is no doubt it arises iu the first place fnmt 

 the lack of some necessary food — something they require at this seaaon 

 of the year. Those that have no accews to grass always do it. We believe 

 if they are supplied with a grass run they always discontinue the h^!)iL 

 A good supply of lettuces cures them, and those that are goneto seed 

 are the best for the purpose. If you cannot give your fowls a grass ran, 

 let them have largo sods of growing grass, cut with plenty of moold, 

 thrown into their pens daily, and supply them with lettuce freely. 



Ducklings Dying in the Shell (M. H).— Your Duck's eggs are set 

 under hens, and you allow them to undergo the same process as if they 

 were fowl's eggs. The ducklings die in the shells because they are too 

 dry, and the inner membrane of the egg becomes consequently so tough 

 that the inmate cannot emerge. IftheDiick satfor herself she wo aid be oflT 

 and in the water night and morning. She would return dripping with 

 water and sit on the eggs, thoroughly wetting them twice every day. If 

 you will do the same yuur eggs will hatch. 



DiARitiio^A IN Chickens (W. ^.).— Your food is too heating. Give 

 them ground oats slaked with water, as thin as can be without waste, foor* 

 few days, and, if they will peck it, the tender heart of lettuces. Discontinne 

 eggs, bread, and all stimulants. Earth worms are often useful in removing 

 this malady, which becomes incurable in a few days. 



Hen with Inflamed Vent (G. P.). — Oil your finger, and with it return 

 the protruding vent. Give the hen a tablespoonful of castor oii, feed on 

 soft food only, and give abundance of lettuce leaves. Her egg-passage 

 is inflamed. 



Cockroaches (A. M. C).— To get rid of cocki-oaches in a kitchen ^lere 

 they Bwarm, we recommend you to try Chase's Beetle Poison, sold by Mr. 

 T. Chaee, Chemist, 14, Holborn Hill, London* 



