206 



jouuNAL OP HORriouLTORB A^D cjrriaa Gi.soE^^a8. 



[ Marcii 15, 1977. 



buy 100 Iba. of honeycomb, and no dealer cares to " oat and 

 come ag»io" at such an endless mes^y job. The smaller the 

 super the more easy is it to sell, hence the great value of sectional 

 supers which I hope and believe will soon comj into general 

 U3e. E ich section should not cost more than '2d. if bouglit, and 

 need not coat Id. if home-made. At these prices tbe super can 

 be given or sold with the honey, as is a tin canister with 

 many of our grocary stores. The prices I have named are not 

 imaginary, for sectional supars as good as can be desired are 

 actually made and sold by one of our best hive makers at 

 25. 6d. the set of sixteen. Clean delicate honeycomb in the 

 houses of the wealthy ia appreciatad as a breikfast luxury, 

 and one of these little supers can be consumed while fresh, 

 whereas a very large one becames nauseating by its repeatad 

 appearance. 



I am glad to see our old contributor, "A Renfrewshire 

 Bee KEEPER," once more to the front as a frequent correspon- 

 dent of the Journal, and greatly admire his gallant advocacy 

 of hi3 favourite system, the Stcwarton. I cordially agree 

 with him that the test, ekep versus frame, was fairly conducted, 

 and as fairly won by the frame ; but I cannot help thinking 

 that had our friend bestowed equal care and skill on a Wood- 

 bury hive the result would have been a little different; I 

 mean the result was arrived at uot by any particular charm 

 of the Stewarton system, but by the greater facilities afforded 

 by a frame hive with means of expansion against a closed straw 

 skep. 



I have not entered into the renewed " battle of the hives," as 

 I think enough has been said. The only two charges that have 

 been retiined against frame hives are— first the expense, and 

 secondly the damp internally. The latter is remedied by 

 proper ventilation ; the former does not exist. It is true that 

 in frame hives there is more scope to spend money. Oae man 

 will not object to pay guineas, while another will look twice 

 before he parts with his shillings, and the latter man with good 

 management will obt»iu a hive for his smaller coin capable of 

 affording the bees equal facilities for the storage of their harvest 

 as the most expensive. In like manner busy brains have in- 

 vented scores of appliances more or less handy to the bee- 

 master ; but very few of these are necessaries— merely luxuries, 

 such as we can either make or do without. A handy man who 

 can use a hammer, plane, and saw miy make a serviceable two- 

 storey hive with legsaadrojf for5s. or Gs.; less than half this if 

 he has the wood. I have several hives in use, the resnlt of 

 a mornin.'^'a work and the materials C'f an old wine case. Doubt- 

 lass a carpenter would laugh at my work, but the bees don't. I 

 know from the many letters I receive that there is many a 

 working man would like to start a frame hive if he knew how 

 or had the means; to such let the above be encouragement. 

 — John Hunter. 



The unusual warmth on the 10th of February tempted me for 

 the first time since October to overhaul one of my Stewarton 

 hives. The family consists of two lota of black bees, which were 

 driven out of straw skeps last autumn ami were subsequently 

 flupplied with an imported Italian queen. I found the interior 

 of the hive in excellent condition, free from the slightest trace 

 of damp, and tbe queen apparently in good laying order. The 

 three central combs contained a considerable quantity of sealed 

 and unsealed brood, and recently hatched bees were running 

 over the combs, clearly proving that breeding had been going 

 on in January. 



In reply to some observations by Mr. Pettigrow upon the sub- 

 ject of ventilation I may remark that I have found the quilt, 

 when properly used, a perfect remedy against internal moisture, 

 and, after employing wooden and straw frame hives for many 

 years side by side, have not found the latter possess any advan- 

 tage over the former on the score of dryness. 



To prepare my Stewavtous for their winter campaign I remove 

 all the slkl?s, and insert the little plugs or stops between the 

 ends of the bars. A piece of Brussels carpet cat to fit the top of 

 the hive is then carefully drawn over the bars and secured in 

 its position by a few small tacks. No hammer is requisite, as 

 the tacks are easily pressed down into the soft wood with the 

 handle of a turnacrew or any piece of hard wood with very little 

 disturbance to the bees. Two or three pieces of old carpet or 

 flannel are then laid over the hive, largo enough to overlap 

 3 or 4 inches on either side and tuck down between the hive 

 and its exterior cover. My hives arc all in the open garden, 

 each upon a sepirate stand, protected from tho weather by a 

 loose outer cover with a sloping roof. As the roof is loose with 

 plenty of space between it and the top of the hive, and aa there 

 ia an inferval of an inch on all sides between the cover and the 

 hive, psrfect extarnal ventilation is secured, and any vapjur 

 arising from the interior is at once carried off into the open air 

 without condensation ; in fact the interior of the hive ia well 

 aired and kept dry by the bees. In proof of this the iron tacks 

 (not tinned) which have secured the pieces of carpet over my 

 hives since October are still perfectly clean and free from rust. 

 — J. E. Briscoe, Albrig'iton, Wo!verIia»i2)ton. 



OUB LETTER BOX. 



T/Kes).— Tliey are over-fed. 



L the bri 



There is a 



Chickens Stai 

 pressure of blijod 



Feeding Fowls (E. C. N.). — The groUQd food ia more noarishiog than 

 whole coru. If yoa wdut a proof of it you will tiud that while a bird fed on 

 ground food will put ou lat daily, one led on whole corn will alter very little 

 in condition. The support you .speak of is not required durin;- the night. 

 The bird is entirely at rest, and there is no demand either on its stronsith or 

 diKestive powers. It there were we should think we were enabling the bird 

 to meet it more effectually by giving ground than by giving whole c >rn. We 

 do not like your feeding, and fancy you will have fowls dying of fat. All the 

 sub-ititute3 for natural feeding are mistakes, and most of them lay the 

 foundation of disease. We keep thousands and hive done so for years, and 

 aftttr trying all description of food are so satisfied that we have chosen the 

 right and proper method, that if anyone would give ua any other food we 

 would not a;cept it. Barleymeal or (.'round oats morning and evening, com 

 at mid-day, or any other food, such as kitchen scraps, whole maize or barley. 

 We have always found groand maize was unpalatable to fowls, but when they 

 took to it they put on fa'. vei*y quickly and to an injurious extent. Ground 

 buckwheat is also very fa'tening and unlit f jr feeding. Wneat fl air is also a 

 bad thing. Tour birds are laying very wall. You will probably have plenty 

 of broody hens before long. We advise you strongly to alter your dietary 

 for our plain living. Do uot overfeed; you will save in every way by being 

 moderate Half the fowls are spoiled by overfeeding, and nothing tends 

 more that way than to give a fixed qaiutity of food. Feed them aa long as 

 they will run after it and no longer. 



Book on Bees (W<-oj<%Ic).— Wo do not think you will find a book better 

 suited for your purp jse thai our " Bea-keeping for the Many," which yen can 

 procure from this office for 5(f. by po^t. Perhaps "Profitable Bee-keeping" 

 would meet your wishes, by the Rev. P. V. M. Filleul, price Gd., which you can 

 procure of any bookseller. It is published by the Society for Promoting 

 Christian Knowledge. Feed no ff. Lat the sun shine on the hives now, but 

 not * 



I 



Bees Dead in the Comd (W. I'., JTh lea ^^t).— No iaespeneaced parson 

 could Bee the deid bees in the celh aa yours are without fearing that tbej 

 would vitiate the cambs aad be hurtful for a fresh swarm introdnced to them. 

 Oq the conliQeg of starvation baes naturally give the last sip of honey to 

 their queen, and then bury themselve:^ deeply in the empty cells of their 

 comb^. In this way they await and mee'-. a painful death. If the hive has 

 bsen kept dry eince the death of the bess they will b3 easily removei by a 

 fre^h swarm and ca^t out of the hive, or you may remove the greater part of 

 them by a knitting needle. If the combs are otherwiaa clean and good yoa 

 have Dothiog to fear. 



MGrEOUOLOaiCAL OBSERVATIONS. 



Gauden Sqoare, Londos. 



LU. SPSJ'i)' N.; L>ug.0'8'0" W.; Altitude. lUfeet. 



REMARKS. 

 7th.— Snow and rain in earlv momirjg, pono by 9 a.m.; snow and bright 

 sunshine at 10.30, snowing heavily in tho afternoon, and with high 

 wind at night. 

 8th.— Very fine bit cold; frequent snow showers during the day, bright 

 sunshine often following them ; the flakes ware very large and nume- 

 rous, but it melted almost as soon as it fell. 

 9th.— Rather floor day, but very cold all day. 



10th.— Dull aud cold, bit quite fair and a*, times bright, but very cold. 

 11th.— Fair all day, but rather dull and very cold. 

 13th.— Damp miruiag; a fair but not bright day ; mucli warmer, especially 



towards night. 

 18th.— Fine morning, but soon becoming dull, and then showery. 



Sharp fros^. ou llth and 12th, rendering the mean temperature rather 

 lower than that of the previous weak. Each of the last four weeks has been 

 colder than its predecessor. — G. J. Symons. 



OOVENT GARDEN MARKET.— March 14. 

 A FEW good samples of Strawberries have reached us, but trade being quiet 

 thoy are not realising as much as they have done, 

 appearances a good many may bo sboi^tly t 



coming short e 



i sieve 8 6 to 7 



dozen 



Butnuts bushel 



(lof^sftberrieg quatl 



Grapes, hothouse. . . . lb. 6 



Lemons V 100 6 



Melons each 



nd according to preeent 

 Good late Grapes m» 



nakiog'good' prices. Trade still quiet. 



FRUIT. 



6. d. B. d. 



Nectarines dozen OtoO I 



Oranges «H0) 8 18 • 



Peaches dozen 



Pears, kitchen.,., dozen 



dessert dozen 3 13 



PineApples lb. 16 4 



Pluras iseive 



Qoincea bushel 



Raspberries lb. 



atrawborriea oz 16 2 



Walnut3 bushel 5 8 



ditto ^ 101 19 2 



