340 



JOURNA.Ii OP HORTICULTORB AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 



[ May 3, 1877. 



on in the chapter in referring to an egg becoming cold through 

 being thmst from nnder the hen, he Bays, " This is the only 

 occasion you must take to toaoh ths eggs." In general Mr. 

 Hervienx's remarks are good, but it is impossible to Uy down 

 a plan whereby all Canary fanciers shall be guided alike in the 

 treatment of their cage pets, particularly during the incubating 

 period, owing to the varied temperament of their birds. Actual 

 experience is the best schoolmaster. — G. J. Babnesby. 



LIQURIANISING. 



I FANCY some of my readers will smile when they see my 

 name attached to a letter nnder the above heading, for it is well 

 known that I keep bees for profit, and believe that the common 

 English bee is not inferior in any way to the Italian bee or 

 any other sort yet discovered. Some people think differently, 

 and others who do not believe in the superiority of Italians 

 are anxious to possess and try them. My object in this letter 

 is merely to remind those who mean to introduce Italian qneens 

 to their hives that the best and most economical time of doing 

 BO is a day or two after swarming. The old stocks then have 

 no queens arrived at perfection, only some in egg or embryo in 

 their cells. A common English queen in a state of fertility is 

 well worth 5s. or 6s. to introduce to a hive that has sent off a 

 first swarm with its queen. Such a fertile queen would com- 

 mence laying at once, and thus keep the combs well filled with 

 brood, and thus the hive would soon be ready for swarming or 

 for filling supers. If the hive was left to rear queens about 

 three weeks would pass before one of the young queens would 

 commence laying. The reader will see at once what an advan- 

 tage it is to introduce frequent queens ta hives that have just 

 sent off first swarms. If I intended changing my breed of bees, 

 and could purchase queens of the sort wanted, I would do so 

 shortly after swarming. Italian queens should be spoke for 

 beforehand, to be sent at the swarming season. If swarms have 

 not come off naturally they could be taken off artificially. 



Much has been written and spoken about queen cages and 

 the best mode of introducing foreign queens. Experience is 

 the best teacher, and those who have been engaged in this 

 work are the safest guides to follow. I have been successful in 

 uniting strange but common English queens to English swarms, 

 not having tried my hand with Italians, but have always fancied 

 that Italian queens could as easily be united t» common bees, 

 and that without the use of queen cages. When a queen is 

 removed with the first swarm from a hive artificially the bees 

 left behind search for their lost queen. In this condition they 

 receive an English queen readily, and with tokens of gratitude. 

 Will they receive a foreigner in like manner? I think they 

 would; but if they would not, I would drum or shake them into 

 an empty hive and place it some distance from the old stand in 

 the same garden. Meanwhile I should set the foreign queen 

 at liberty amongst the combs of the stock hive, and place it on 

 the old stand. The bees in the empty hive would soon be in a 

 state of concern and nproar about their qneenless condition, 

 and ready to retnrn to the old hive, and would speedily go back 

 with the feeUngs of trespassers and poachers. Bees thus treated 

 are never disposed to fight or dictate terms. Foreigners could, 

 in my opinion, thus be successfully introduced to swarms as 

 well as stocks. When bees lose a queen in a stock hive, or hive 

 with combs in it, they do not abandon the combs and hives ; 

 but if the bees be driven into an empty hive they will not settle 

 or stay in it, and invariably fly back to the old hive or place. 

 If this ideal is well understood by a bee-keeper who can easily 

 and readily handle his hives, the practice of uniting swarms 

 and queens to swarms will shape itself in various forms, and be 

 generally successful. — A. Pettiqrew, 



TOADS EATING BEES. 



If this fact needs any further proof the following may not be 

 uninteresting. A year or two ago our bees were, many of them, 

 caught by a summer shower. Making their way back to the 

 hive they crowded the entrance, to the apparent annoyance 

 of those within, which seemedf to dislike having so many 

 " damp unpleasant bodies " at their door. Several wet bees feU 

 ou the ground, and I made matters worse by clearing away 

 some of those which were blocking the passage, where some 

 8 ;emed as anxious to push out as others were to push in, con- 

 sequently there were a good many wet bees crawling ou the 

 ground unable to fly np. In a very short time there appeared 

 three hungry toads, which we watched with much amusement 

 if not with complete satisfaction. A toad would crawl up to 

 within an inch or two of a bee, and wait for it to move (this 

 appeared to be a fixed rule), then as soon as the bee stirred the 

 toad's mouth opened and shut quick aa lightning, and the bee 

 was seen no more. We were never able to see the toad's tongue, 

 with which we supposed he licked or lapped-up the bee ; but 

 that the bees disappeared down the toad's throat there coujd 

 be no question, and this happened again and again, the toad's 



voracity being tremendous. Moreover, the exceeding prompt- 

 ness with which they appeared on the scene, evidently from 

 lurking-places close at hand, leads one to suspect that this was 

 not the first time our toads had had such a feast, which indeed 

 M. Bruuet's experience strongly confirms. — F. M. Millabd, 

 Otham, Maidstone. 



OUR LETTER BOX, 



Chickens Dying (S. Locfcy^r).— The variable weather and exposare to 

 cold kills them. They should not be allowed to go out until ths middle ol 

 the day, and then only when fine. 



Catchino a Qcekn Bee ((?. S. B ). — The best way to catch the qaeen out 

 of au ordinary straw hive is to drive the whole population into an empty 

 hive, then to dash the bees out on a cloth or on a gravel walk, and hunt for 

 the queen. If, when the bees are shaken out, the empty hive bo placed within 

 a few inches of them, raised up a little on one side, the insects will 8 3on 

 begin to creep in that direction. Then is the beat time to look oot (or the 

 queen. She may be caught by putting a wine glass over her and gently 

 slipping a bit of perforated zinc under the glass, taking care not to crush her 

 majesty, unless it is desirable to destroy her. The queen of a swarm may bo 

 caught in the same way. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



Camden Sqoare, London. 



Lat. 51° 82- 40" N. ; Long. 0= 8' " W. ; Altitude, 111 feet. 



REMARKS. 



25th.— A bright pleasant day, rather less so in the after part, but fair all day 



and a moonlight night. 

 26th.— Fair thouph doll all day; very fine night. 

 27th.— Cold and dull all day. 



28th-— Dull cold morniag; no sun all day, but rather warmer at night. 

 29th.— Grey but (air and rather lees cold all the forenoon ; slight rain between 



3 and 4 p m. and at times after. 

 30th.— Rather doll till 1 p.m., then bright for an hour or two but dull after, 



though fair; rather less cold than in the morning. 

 May Ist.- Another dull grey day, occasional gleams of Bonlight and a bright 

 sunset. 

 The temperature though steady is very low, lower than last week, and con- 

 siderably lower than the first week in January.— a. J. Symons. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— MiY 2. 

 Our market is now well supplied with most kinds of early fruit, such as 

 Peaches, Figs, Grapes, and Strawberrle.s, also Cuerriea from the south of 

 France, all of which are making fair prices. Business steady. Forced vege- 

 tables are in good demand at improved rates. The first green Gooseberries 

 have put in an appearance. 



rBUiT. 



6. d. 



3 6 to 7 

 



Black i do. 



Figa dozen 12 



FUbert§ lb. 



Cobs lb. 1 



Gooseberries quatL 



Grapes, hothouse.... lb. 15 



Lemons ^100 6 



Melons each 



Artichokes dozen 



AsparaRUH ^ 103 



Beans. Kidney VlOJ 



Beet, Red dozen 



Broccoli bundle 



Bniaaels Sprouts. .i sieve 



Cabbage dozen 



Carrola- bunch 



Nectarines dozen OtoO 



Oranges ^ lOa 8 12 



Peaches dozen 16 80 



Pears , kitchen .... dozen 



dessert dozen 8 



20 6 I Pine Apples lb. 2 



! Plums 4 seive 



1 6 Quinces bushel 



Raspberries lb. 



25 ' Strawberries oz. 6 



10 Walnuts bashel & 



' ditto •'«*' 100 



TEaKTABLES. 



New 



Capsicums ^ 10) 



Cauliflower.. dozen 



Celery bundle 



Coleworta.. doz. bunches 



Cucumbers each 



Endive dozen 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic lb. 



Herbs bunch 



I.<ettuce dozen 



Leeks bunch 



Mushrooms pottle 



Mustard & Cress punnet 

 Onions bushel 



pickling quart 



Parsley. . . . doz. bunches 



Parsnips dozen 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



New lb. 



Radishes., doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Salsafy bundle 



Scorzonera bundle 



Seakale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Turnips bunch 



New do. 



Vegetable Marrows 





 6 



I 



