834 



JOURNAL OF HORTIOULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAKDKNEB. 



[ Ma7 18, 1869. 



bees, and how he bore their etinge bo coolly, and went on with 

 his work at that giddy height 6o deliberately, was more than I 

 oould understand. The bees were evidently not stupefied by 

 the emoke or driven away far by it, and it was impossible that 

 the small stream from the torch could protect his whole body 

 when at work. There were three other combs on the same 

 tree, and all these were successively taken, and furnished the 

 whole party with a luscious feast of honey and young bees, as 

 well as a valuable lot of wax. 



*' After two of the combs had been let down, the bees became 

 rather numerous below, flying about wildly and stinging 

 viciously. Several got about me, and I was soon stung, and 

 had to run away, beating them off with my net and capturing 

 them for specimens. Several of them followed me for at least 

 half a mile, getting into my hair and persecuting me most per- 

 tinaciously, so that I was more astonished than ever at the 

 immunity of the natives. I am inclined to think that slow and 

 deliberate motion, and no attempt at escape, are perhaps the 

 best safeguards. A bee sitting on a passive native probably 

 behaves as it would on a tree or other inanimate substance, 

 which it does not attempt to sting. Still they must often 

 Buffer, but they are used to the pain and learn to bear it im- 

 passively, as without doing so no man could be a bee-hunter." 



Early Swarming of Bees.— In this neighbourhood, New- 

 bridge Hill, near Bath, on the 27th of April, two fine swarms 

 came off ; one from Mr. Level's in the forenoon, and one from 

 the Bev. H. H. Mogg's. Has anyone had any earlier than 

 this? 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



PODLTltY NOT FEEDING AND DyING {R. H. G.).— VoUF poultry mUSt 



pick up something that is injariouB to them, and probably poisonous. 

 Do they have access to any refuse that contains metallic poison '.' Are 

 the majority of yoor birds healthy? If there is no sign of poison in their 

 taaants, then the only treatment is to purge them thoroughly, and to feed 

 on meal slaked with warm water. We advise you to use Baily's pills, and 

 to administer pills of camphor, two at a time, the size of garden peas 

 and to continue them till the birds seem recovering. 



Cbeve-Cceurs— Eggs in Winter (Ilandolph).—Vfe have many times 

 explained, that to Insure eggs in the winter yon must keep pullets of the 

 previous spring ; but there are breeds that affect different seasons for 

 laying. Our experience of the Crtve-Coeure is that they lay later in the 

 year than any other breed, but they do not begin so early. Thus they 

 will keep on laying till November, while all others are useless, but they 

 do not lay much between that time and March. They are a valuable 

 breed. 



Spanish Hens {E. 6. Jlf.).— All the symptoms show that both the hens 

 had long been egg-bound, arising in all probability from their being too 

 fat, and shell-less eggs had evidently burst in the inflamed egg-passage 

 and formed the masses you describe. Nothing could then have been 

 done that would have saved their lives. Less fattening food, more 

 exercise, and more green food, especially lettuce leaves, would prevent 

 each disasters. 



Chickens Ne^\xy Hatched (A Comtant /fcntfcr).— They will do best 

 on the bare ground, which should be covered about an inch deep vriih dry 

 sand. 



Glazing Roof of Podltby Run (Stft^/iill).— We should use rough plate 

 glass. 



Baij)head and Beard Pigeons (W. W.).—We cannot undertake to be 

 treasurers. It occupies more time than we can spare. 



Lost Pigeon (F. D. 0.).~lt you can prove that the Pigeon was de- 

 livered at the railway office, and that it was lost before the basket passed 

 out of the custody of the Company, we think you might recover from 

 them the value ; but you should consult a solicitor, who can inquire into 

 particulars of which we have no knowledge. 



Rearing Grouse and Golden Pheasants (Subscriber and Constant 

 Hearf^r).— Grouse are very easy birds to rear, much more so than Phea- 

 fiants. Chonee a small hen, and she will hatch them. Their food should 

 be egg boiled hard and chopped fine, bread and milk, cooked meat chopped 

 fine, dough made of oatmeal slaked with milk, and oats crushed up fine. 

 As soon as they are old ennugh they should be 8upi)lied with young 

 heather, so fastened that it will bear the pull necessary to eat the tender 

 shoot at the end. They do not require much space, and are very hardy. 

 They are dainty in water, requiring it fresh, and they should be supplied 

 with plenty of road grit, or dry mountain sand. The young of Golden 

 Pheasants should be reared like common Pheasants as regards food. 

 They require to be in confinement rather longer, and it is desirable, if it 

 can be conveniently done, that they should not have liberty till about the 

 tenth day ; nevertheless, they should have as much spacs as can be 

 fenced In ; not less than 4 yards square. 



Canaries and Redbreasts (Idrm).—A Canary will not rear Robins; 

 few birds will. They can be easily reared by hand; feed with chopped 

 bollock's heart and bread. We have reared many. 



Canary Laying Soft Eggs {Subscriber).— *' The cause of your hen 

 laying soft eggs is her not secreting enough of shell-producing material. 

 The fact of her laying both soft and hard eggs does not at all militate 

 against this tbenry. Give her a liberal supply of old lime rubbish broken 

 small. You will find she will eat it freely, fully conscious of the import- 

 ant part it is destined to perform. The gravel you have supplied is use- 

 less for shell-producing purposes, but will assist digestion by attrition in 

 the giazard.— W. A. Blakston." 



Rearing Young Finches (Suftscnftfr).— "The best food for young 

 finches, Lisnets, Ac, when taken from the nest, is bread sopped in milk, 

 with a little scalded rape seed as they become older. I am not well up in all 

 the mysteries of * Club Row ' and other haunts of the wild bird fancy, but 

 I have the above from a man who would at any time rather stand a week 

 nt a hedge-back, on the look-out for Linnets, than do a day's work. 

 ' ittle and often is the rule for feeding nestlings. The puffy appearance 

 le'erred to is caused by the digestive orgauB being disarranged by over- 

 I -'tiding on rich nutritious diet. Young birds are very apt to gorge them- 

 selves if they have the opportunity; hence the importance of putting 

 th-im on hard food as soon as possible. Should a young bird sit 'thick,' 

 blow the feathers from the breast, and if the bone appear sharp and 

 prominent, and the flesh be wasting away, rely on it the stomach is out 

 of order. Give a drop of castor oil, or feed on bread and milk, with a 

 little coarse brown sugar. I do not know any work on the rearing and 

 management of small birds, but such there is sure to be. At school, in 

 my bird-nesting days, I used to swear by tho ' Boys' Own Book,' extracts 

 from which I fancy I have recognised in more pretentious works. — 

 W. A. Blakston." 



Canaries Coughing (A. E, S.).— "I can only prescribe warmth, with 

 sopped bread and milk, or try a few drops of sherry or rum in the water. 

 — W. A. Blakston." 



Young Goldfinches (A Long Subscriber). —When it is desired to raise 

 Goldfinches by hand, they should be taken from tbe nest when about 

 half-fledged. The older, however, the better always, provided they are 

 not too old to open their mouths to be fed, and they may be reared oa a 

 paste of sopped bread and maw seed (poppy seed). Some persons use 

 rape seed, but if that is used it should previously be scalded and well 

 washed to deprive it of its pungency ; but maw seed is much the better. 

 They require feeding often, and the food should never be given them 

 if at all sour. Some people, to avoid the trouble of feeding by band, 

 place the nest containing the young birds in a cage, hang it on the tree 

 where found, and leave the old birds to feed their young through the 

 bars of the cage. This plan often succeeds, the young birds being at the 

 same time provided with seed and water for them to peck at if inclined, 

 that they may learn to feed before the old ones forsake them, which, if 

 it is an early brood, the old ones are apt to do in order to breed again. 

 These young ones though they have never flown at liberty, yet are more 

 shy than nestlings reared by hand, but are tamor than the Greypate 

 branchers caught after they can feed themselves. Y'>n should buy Brent's 

 " Song Birds." You can have it from our office by post if you enclose 

 twenty postage stamps with your address. 



Books (H. N.).—'BxenVs " Canary and British Finches." You can have 

 it free by post from our office, if you enclose nineteen postage stamps 

 with your address. (T. W. J.).— Payne's " Bee-keeping for the Many." 

 Yon can have it free by post from our office if you enclose five postage 

 stamps with your address. 



Bee Book {Dxickwing). — Mr. Woodbury pleads '* guilty," and adds that 

 he has not yet written a bee book, and fears it may be a long time before 

 he do eo. It istrue he has made a beginning, but other things constantly 

 intervene, and what with corresponding with " our Journal," &c., he has 

 about as much bee-writing as he can well contend with. With regard to 

 the points referred to, he states that an artificially-raised queen is 

 isually fertilised when about twelve days old, and commences egg- 

 laying two days afterwards. The sign of fertilisation is only to be per- 

 ceived on the return of a young queen from a successful wedding-flight, 

 or within a few hours afterwards, during which time it causes her to 

 present an appearance similar to that of a worker which has lost its 

 sting. Mr. Woodbury recommends you to stock your frame hive at once 

 by transferring to it the bees and combs from a common hive, in the 

 manner described in page 319 of the twelfth volume of " our Journal." 



Bee-houses and Hives (IT. ^rmstron^).— The best kind of bee-house 

 is in our opinion an ordinary verandah or similar erection of sufficient 

 depth to shelter the hives and leave room for operating in their rear. It 

 should be closed at each end, but be either entirely open in front, or 

 covered only with pheasant wire, in which must be made a good-sized 

 semi-circular opening in front of each hive, which openings are best kept 

 as far asunder as possible. Frame hives such as are used by Mr. Wood- 

 bury are decidedly the best, both for pleasure and profit, if you can attain 

 to the necessary degree of facility in manipulating them ; if not, we should 

 recommend the Stewarton hive, or Payne's improved cottage hive, made 

 somewhat larger than described in "Bee-keeping for the Many," say 

 16 inches in diameter, by 8 or 9 inches deep. If you can manage frame 

 hives, you may at once transfer some or all of your stocks now in common 

 hives into the former, in the manner described in page 319 of our twelfth 

 volume. 



Temperature of a Hive— Artificial Swarming {A SubscTiber).~'We 

 believe that a mean interior temperature of about 80" is the best whilst 

 bees are active and breeding is going on. In winter we consider that the 

 better they are protected, and tho higher the temperature can be kept, 

 provided always it be equable, the more prosperous are bees likely to 

 become. In forming an artificial swarm by transferring a brood-comb 

 and changing places with the hives, it is essential that the queen be 

 taken with the abstracted comb, since if she were left behind the bees of 

 the swarm thus formed would build none but drone combs until they 

 had hatched-out a young queen. The parent hive will in this case raise 

 a queen for itself. 



POULTRY MARKET.— May 12. 



Quit supply is slowly increasing, and trade is slightly improved. There 

 is, nevertheless, great dullness in the maket. 



La^e Fowls 4 6 to 5 



Smaller do 3 " 



Chickens 2 



Goblings 6 



Ducklings 3 



Guinea Fowls 8 



