Juno 21, 1877. ] 



JOOaHAIi OF HORTICOLTDBS AND COTTAGE GARDENBB. 



473 



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a Babbit wiih aa ancoustitatioual appendage in the way of a 

 stray hair of white he had much better leave it as it is, for, 

 setting aside the fact that honesty is the beat policy, he may be 

 pretty sure that his pet may win if sent in a natural state, but 

 cannot do so if operated upon. 



We have already adverted to the proverbial smallnesa of the 

 breed. _ It is not always that a specimen is bo very small as we 

 have hinted but a great many are seen at shows under 2 lbs. in 

 weight. Breeding does generally run about 3 and 4 lbs. in 

 weight ; 6 lbs. is too large, and in the eyes of most 5 would be 

 also considered so. The small size is produced by in-and-in 

 breeding, a practice that cannot be recommended, because — -in ad- 

 dition to lowering the weight, an objection in itself — it also tends 

 to we.iken the constitution and generally debilitate the system. 



In disposition the Dutch is generally found to be gentle and 

 docile, exception being made, however, in the case of a doe with 

 a litter, in which case she will attack anybody or anything with- 

 ont the slightest hesitation. The Dutch doe is exceedingly 

 prolific, and, more than that, she is a very good mother. The 

 amount of nourishment a little doe will possess is simply extra- 

 ordinary, and hence they are frequently used as nurse does. A 

 strange, but by no means uncommon, sight is that of a little doe 

 of about 4 lbs. weight bringing up half a dozen little ones, all of 

 whioh are nearly as large as herself. It is as nurse does that the 

 breed is chiefly valued, although at most shows encouragement 

 is given for their exhibition. — Geta. 



NEW BOOK. 



" Foreign Cage Birds, containing Full Directions for Success- 

 fully Breeding, Rearing, and Managing the various beautiful 

 Aviary Birds imported into this Couutry," is an illustrated 

 little volume written by C. W. Gedney, and we recommend it to 

 those who keep foreign birds in confinement. It is a record of 

 the knowledge obtained by long experience. The author says : — 

 " Purchasers of newly imported birds run great risks of loss, 

 even when the specimens are healthy, as the climatic change 

 kills large numbers of those which recover the ill-effects of foul 

 overcrowded cages and dirty water. Birds with bad plumage 

 should therefore be rejected, as should those showing any signs 

 cf moult, for the first change of feathers here is a most critical 

 ordeal to those varieties which have been brought from hot 

 climates. For my own part I would rather have a bird imme- 

 diately upon its landing than take one whioh a dealer has had 

 caged in his shop several months. Such birds are all diseased, 

 and they are dear at any price. One of the worst symptoms 

 amongst newly imported birds is lameness, and I commend this 

 fact to amateurs who may venture upon such a risky speculation 

 as to rely on their own judgment and the dealer's word when 

 buying stock. 



" I have kept birds under every conceivable difficulty, and 

 during the early years of my life as a sailor these bird-fancying 

 proclivities made me a great nuisance to my messmates. Cape 

 Pigeons, Penguins, Boobies, and Gannets were at various times 

 objects of my great solicitude; hot spite of the kindly indul- 

 gence of friendly captains I was reduced to the necessity of 

 keeping my pets in the ' chains,' or mizen top, for so great was 

 the prejudice of the crews that they resented the friendly over- 

 tures of these birds by throwing them overboard, declaring that 

 they had ' jaws like a pair of shears.' Then I took to Parrots ; 

 but this led to ofBcial complaints, that the ' watch below could not 

 get to sleep.' Quails were a great success. How I used to take 

 down my ' dickey box' of a morning and revel in the sight of 

 those chubby little fellows trying to scratch the print off an old 

 newspaper, and then demurely make-believe to pick up the tit 

 bits ! The loss of those birds nearly broke my heart ; they were 

 made into a pie during my watch on deck in honour of a birth- 

 day in our mess ! It was seme time before I ventured upon 

 introducing any successors to the Quail ; but the birds of Japan 

 demolished all my good resolutions, and I was once more the 

 owner of a collection which eclipsed all their predecessors." 



SWABMING AND NON-SWAKMING. 

 Tour correspondent "A. A., Aberdeen," asks for "a few hints 

 on the non-swarming principle." Ha is doubtless somewhat 

 anxious to know what can be said in favour and against the non- 

 swarming system of managing bees. The question involved is 

 a very important one, which occupies the attention of many 

 intelligent bee-keepers during the swarming season every year. 

 It may be well to discuss the question here with a view to 

 multiply and spread ideas on it ; but no one can satisfactorily 

 and finally decide and determine for others whether the swarm- 

 ing or non-swarming system is the better and more eligible of 

 the two. The question so cvften put — viz., " Which system ia 

 the most profitable ?" cannot be easily answered, for the utility 

 and success of any system of bee-keeping changes with the 

 weather. Besides, the aims of one apiarian are different from 

 those of another. One wants to multiply swarms and increase 

 his stock; another wants to increase his stores by the multipli- 



cation of supers of honeycomb. Some bee-farmers can sell 

 more readily and advantageously run honey than they can sell 

 honeycomb. Seasons, circumstances, markets, as well as the 

 differing aims of bee-masters, have to be considered in this dis- 

 cussion. We have perhaps considered the question as fully and 

 thoroughly as most people for a long period of time. In good 

 seasons the swarming system of management is the best and 

 most profitable to us ; in unfavourable seasons the non-swarm- 

 ing system answers better. We shall now notice both sides of 

 the question. 



It is natural for honey bees to swarm. Swarming is an instinct 

 of their being, and tends to their health, activity, and preserva- 

 tion. As swarming is natural to them it is an easy matter to 

 multiply swarms in ordinary seasons. We have been frequently 

 told of one or two Italian or Liguriau stocks that yielded six 

 or seven swarms in a season, and that the common black bees 

 are not so prolific. Is it so ? Is the comparison or conclusion 

 correct ? In hot seasons it is difficult to prevent common 

 English bees from swarming too often. Frequently two swarms, 

 and sometimes more, are obtained from stock hives, and as many 

 from their first swarms the same season. Daring one favour- 

 able season for honey two courses of swarms were obtained from 

 stock hives — that is to say, after the stock hives sent off one 

 set of swarms they refilled their hives with bees and sent off a 

 second series of swarms. But such rapid multiplication of 

 swarms, either ut Lignriau or English bees, is no advantage, 

 and affords no proof of the superior breeding powers of their 

 queens. Ten swarms from one stock hive would not prove that 

 its queen produces more eggs than the queen of another hive 

 which does not swarm at all. The number of eggs laid by 

 queens (and not the number of swarms obtained from hives) ia 

 the only true test of their fertility. I wish the bee-keepers of 

 this country to remember that. 



We shall now notice briefly some of the advantages and dis- 

 advantages of swarming and non-swarming. In the swarming 

 system we have, or may have, our hives filled with youus sweet 

 comb free from the pest of foul brood aud not overloaded with 

 pollen. Combs of this description are better for brooding and 

 storing purposes than older combs. Two or three swarms, after 

 filling their hives with combs, gather more hon?y than a stock 

 hive. Indeed, as a rule, an early good swarm works harder and 

 gathers more honey than a non-swarmer. At the end of a fine 

 season the mother hive as well as each of the swarm hives 

 contains, generally speaking, as many bees as a stock hive that 

 has never swarmed at all ; aud if the best of the three be 

 selected for a stock, and have the bees of the other two united to 

 it, we obtain for another year a stock hive of surpassing worth 

 aud power, far more eligible every way for keeping than one 

 which has never swarmed at all. 



In the swarming system, too, we have, or may have, young 

 queens in our hives. Queens live four years only, and if they 

 die a natural death the bee-master sustains a loss. If the old 

 queens are not removed from hives and young queens put in 

 their places, five hives out of every twenty will annually become 

 queenless for a time and be greatly hindered in their work. If 

 the queens die at an untimely season when no eggs are in the 

 hives the disaster is as great as it can be — all is lost. 



The disadvantages of swarming, as we have already indicated, 

 are most felt in unfavourable seasons. The partnership of a 

 firm, prosperous enough at the time, is broken up with a view 

 to work separately and establish other concerns. A ohange may 

 take place in the commercial world, causing bad trade and 

 blasting the prospects cf all the beginners. So in the bee world : 

 A prosperous community mutually agrees to separate as colo- 

 nies, and thus endeavour to multiply and spread establishments 

 everywhere. They, too, are often hindered by adverse circum- 

 stances. In a word, swarms are placed at a disadvantage for a 

 short time after being hived. The mother hives, too, cannot do 

 as much work after as before swarming till more brood be hatched. 



On the non-swarming principle queens go on laying and bees 

 gathering honey without halt or hindrance but what comes from 

 weather and climate. While swarms are furnishing their new 

 homes and commencing life afresh, non-swarmers go steadily 

 on filling their hives or supers with honey. Supers of honey- 

 comb may be obtained from them while swarm hives are being 

 furnished with combs. Supers may be obtained earlier from 

 non-swarming hives than from swarmers. 



The disadvantages of non-swarming are many. First, there 

 is the danger of losing swarms. Bees swarm readily with supers 

 00 them either empty or partially filled. While supering is 

 resorted to and progressing, no kind of hive yet invented pre- 

 vents bees from swarming. If first swarms are lost the results 

 of the season will be comparatively small. There is another 

 danger and difficulty with non-swarmers. They become in 

 good seasons too full of honey for keeping. Their combs become 

 loaded with pollen. In every sense they are too plethoric for 

 future health and prosperity. The non-swarming principle cau 

 be most successfully carried into practice among swarming 

 hives. By selecting a few stocks as non-swarmers, and having 

 them well filled with young combs and bees from swarming 



