196 



JOURNAIi OF HORTICULTURE AND OSTTAGE GARDENER. 



I March 5, 1868. 



allowed to remain in a queenless state for a few days before 

 giving them a new sovereign ; and I need scarcely add, that all 

 operations should be conducted at a time when bees in neigh- 

 bouring colonies are least likely to be attracted to the scene. 

 Excepting during the swarming season, a more favourable re- 

 ception is given by bees to fertile than to virgin queens. — E. S. 



WHO FIRST SUCCEEDED TN INTEODUCING 

 THE LIGURIAN BEE? 



Major Mcnn, the inventor and patentee of "Munn's patent 

 bar-and-frame hive, or miniature apiary " has recentlyjread a 

 paper before the East Kent Natural History Society, in which 

 he rnakes such remarkable statements regarding the first intro- 

 duction of the Ligurian bee into England, and otiier matters in 

 which I am personally concerned, that I have been induced to 

 correct them in a letter addressed to a local paper, in which 

 appeared a report of his observations, and which letter I shall 

 be glad to have republished in " our Journal." The true facts 

 of the case were very well known to the apiarian world at the 

 time, but it is not impossible that after the lapse of between 

 eight and nine years, many may be imposed upon by the attempt 

 now being made to claim on behalf of Mr. Neighbour credit 

 for what was really achieved by — A Devonshike Bee-keepee. 

 " To the Kilitor of the Dover CJimm'cle. 



",SiE, — I am indebted to the kindness of a friend for the opportunity 

 of perasiuR a copy of yonr Jonmal of the 22nd inst., which contains a 

 report of a paper on '■ Bees," read by Major Munn before the East 

 Kent Natnral History Society, and in which I find it vouched for that 

 " Mr. G. Neishbour, of Regent Street, was the original introducer of 

 the Ligurian or Alp Bee, through a German named Hermann. Now, 

 as I have always considered, and never before knew it disputed, that 

 I was the first who succeeded in introducing this bee into England, I 

 will briefly state the circumstances of the case : — 



" During the summer of lS5i», I entered into con-espondence with 

 M. Hermann, and received a qnecnidirect from him at the same time 

 that he sent some queens to Mr. Neighbour, one of which I believe 

 found its way to the Eev. Mr. Scott, of SUepherdswell, in your neigh- 

 honrhood, and I afterwards had other queens direct from him during 

 the autumn of the same year. It so happened that all my queens 

 lived through tlie following winter, whilst the others (Mr. Neighbour's 

 and the Rev. Mi-. Scott's) died, and the supply being cut off by the 

 disappearance of M. Hermann, Mr. Kcifilihour'jiossessci/ 710 Lir/iiritiiis 

 wluitei'er, except iehat came from my ajtianu natil four or tire years 

 aftericartls, when he succeeded in again obtaining bees frorn Switzer- 

 land. During the Intemationnl Exhibition of 18G2, Mr. Neighbour 

 showed a stock of Ligurians, which I lent him for the occasion, and 

 which he retnnied to my apiary when the Exhibition closed. From 

 this stock, which he thus exhibited, he took orders from the Victoria 

 Acclimatisation Society, for several stocks to be sent to Australia. 

 These orders were in due course transmitted to and executed by mo ; 

 the devices by which the bees were enabled to survive an uninterrupted 

 confinement of seventy-nine days being contrived and executed by my- 

 self alone. To me, therefore, and to me alone, belongs also whatever 

 credit may be dne for the successful transmission of the Ligurian bee to 

 the Antipodes, where it has since multiplied and flourished so abundantly. 



" Major Munn also states that I now supply ' Ligurian bees and 

 bee hives at .£.■> and f 6 each stock,'— my price really being but £4 Is., 

 including first-class frame hive, and taking upon myself the risk of 

 transit to all parts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 



" I may perhaps be permitted to say a few words on the subject of 

 hives. I have never sought to derive one penny advantage from the 

 sale of those called after my name, but have always freely supplied 

 patterns to be copied, without fee or reward, by any hive-maker who 

 might ask for them. As regards price, a first-rate frame hive can be 

 made and sold by the retailer at a fair profit for a guinea, and if 

 dealers will not supply them at that r.ate I will do so myself, to any 

 who may apply to me.'— Yours, &c.— T. \\. Woodbury, Mount Itad- 

 fonl Kixtcr, iCth Feb., 1868." 



DISASTROUS EFFECTS OF FOUL BROOD. 

 I KEGEET to find it stated in Major Munn's paper on " Bees," 

 read before the East Kent Natural History Society, and to 

 which I have already referred, that " Mr. 'Neighbour has to 

 deplore the great loss of some sixty stocks of bees ;" so that it 

 would appear that foul brood has been just as disastrous in its 

 ultimate effects on Messrs. Neighbours' own apiary as on those 

 of their customers who have received bees from them since 

 they undertook themselves to import and supply Ligurian 

 stocks. — A Devonshire Bee-keeper. 



Eakly Qdeen 'Wasp. — A fine queen wasp was found on the 

 lawn, near Hull, to-day (February 24th}, and destroyed. Is not 

 this very early ? [Yes.] 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



DouBLE-voLKED Eoos (C. Jl/.).— If two yolks are equally developed in 

 the ovary, and pass at the same time into the egg passage, they become 

 surrounded by the same white and shell. Wo never knew a double-yolked 

 egg produce a live chick. 



Cock's Sojourn with Hens (Susan).— A fortnight if possible, but a 

 few days are always considered sufficient. We consider three days 

 enough. 



Starling Pigeons- Pinioned Ducks (Wid!ieov).—'Ibe Starling Pigeon 

 should not have mottled shoulders. A pair of wild Ducks would not be 

 disqualified because they were pinioned. 



Jungle Fowl IIdem}.—'V/e have kept the " Callus Bankiva " through 

 many winters. We kept the I)ird8 at liberty, and in all weathers they 

 roosted on the top of an unusually high holly tree. We do not believe 

 they would do well with Golden and Silver Pheasants. We could never 

 tame them. We endeavoured to keep the last we had in a large aviary, 

 but he flew up against the top covering till he killed himself. 



Keepis-g Eggs (G. H.).— Take a deep bread-pan; at the bottom pHt 

 wetted lime 8 inches deep. It should bo so slaked that the egg put in 

 it will retain the position in which it is placed. Stand the eggs in it 

 closely together, small ends downwards. When the layer is full pour OD 

 sufficient slaked lime to cover every egg, add to it till "there is enough to 

 make every egg stand upright ; when it is completed pour over again, and 

 begin the third layer. Continue in like manner till the pan is full. They 

 will keep as long as you please to keep them. If they are new-laid when 

 put in they will keep so, but if they are stale they will not be restored 

 by it. 



Moping Pullet (Lrmon BuJf}.~Yo\ir Cochin pullet has not had the 

 roup. They are not subject to it. She is in a bad state of body, and this 

 inclines her to raw meat. Grass is good food. We recommend purging 

 with castor oil till no more slime comes away, and feeding on stale bread 

 and ale to keep up strength. We also ad\i3e a pill of camphor the size 

 of a pea every night. 



Dorking Hen ^vith Inflated Abdomen iW. B.). — It is possible there 

 is an obstruction of the egg passage. If it is caused by a broken egg, it 

 is incurable ; if by a whole egg, you will relieve it by taking a wing 

 feather, soaking it thoroughly in oil, and passing it gently up the passage 

 till it meets the obstruction. This should be done several times, and tlie 

 feather should be dipped in the oil each time. This must be delicately 

 done, as the egg breaks easily while in the hen, and there is no remedy 

 in such a case. If it be so, the egg can be easily felt. If it is not, we 

 know no remedy but active purging with castor oil to remove the cause of 

 distress. 



Swollen- Crop (F. S.).— The swollen crop in the Silver-Grey Dorking 

 pullets probably arises from sluggish action in that organ. Give each a 

 dessert-spoonful of brandy two or more mornings follo^ving. 



Bearing Down in a Brahma Pullet (SiifcitcnVjcr).— Citrate of iron 

 will only do harm in her case. Your hen has a difficulty in laying. A 

 feather soaked in oil and passed up the passage will enable her to lay 

 without pain or effort. This will only be necessary two or three times. 

 Let her have plenty of grass, and it you have lettuces give her some. It 

 is not an uncommon case at this time of year. 



Game Fowls'^with Game Bantams (W. H. B.). — It is not safe to let 

 them run together. 



Ground Oats may be obtained from J. & B. Marsh, Corn Merchants 

 and Steam Millers, Kingston, Surrey. 



Heat in Incubator (,-f. W. Shau-). — The temperature under the flanneb 

 is that which you must attend to. 



Bullfinches ( ). — Bullfinches are lute birds at nesting. Give them 



the usual food — viz., rape, canary, and a small quantity of hemp seed not 

 bruised. Place in the cage the material for building, let them have all 

 the sun you can, and about the end of May probably they may breed. 



Mr. Woodbury's Photograph (C. A. J.l.~You can have a photograph 

 of Mr. Woodbury if you enclose thirteen postage stamps with your address. 



Bee House— Removing Bees {H. A. F.). — We prefer a verandah or a 

 lean-to shed, built against a wall, of sufficient width and height to shelter 

 the hives, and permit all operations to be conducted at the back. Your 

 question as to where to get a stock of Ligurians was answered by Mr. 

 Woodbury in page 176. The best time for transporting a stock to Scot- 

 land is as soon as the dangers of winter are entirely over, and the bees 

 are restored to full strength and activity — say April, or even May, accord- 

 ing to the season. 



Brown Substance on the Entrance and Top of a Hive (E. Y. C). 

 — The thick brown composition which you describe is the excrement of 

 the bee, and its appearance about the entrance of the hive may be re- 

 garded as the premonitory symptom of incipient dysentery, which, how- 

 ever, will probably disappear under the genial influence of a Uttle mild 

 and open weather. 



Bee Hives (J. D., ShcJH€ld).—A\l depends ' upon the extent of your 

 apiarian acquirements. The scientific bee-keeper will find the Woodbury 

 frame hive the best and the most profitable, whilst the novice and those 

 possessed of but little scientific knowledge will do well to commence with 

 flat-topped straw hives, such as the one delineated in page 178 ; or Payne's 

 Improved Cottage Hive, described in " Bee-Keeping forthe Many." Either 

 of these can be manufactured by any ordinary straw-hive maker at a 

 moderate price. 



Driving Bees (A Bee-kreper). — If the bees of a strong stock are driven 

 into an empty hive they will, if placed on their old stance, usually remain 

 there and set vigorously to work after the manner of a natural swarm ; 

 and if a swarm of Ligurians are inducted into their well-stored dwelUng 

 they will thereby obtain a very great advantage and, doubtless, flourish 

 amazingly, whilst no permanent stain will result to their purity. The 

 few bees ordinarily sent with an Italian queen are, however, not sufficient 

 to establish a stock in this way, or in any other than the ordinary manner 

 — ('.(.'., by putting the queen at the head of a stock of common bees. 



Ketriever Puppy Diseased (S, H. liidije). — The symptoms are those 

 of I" the distemper," we fear in a very advanced stage. Give a grain of 

 calomel and a grain of tartar emetic mixed. This will act as an emetic 

 and jmrgative, but you had better read what Youatt directs in his work 

 on "The Dog." It lills several pages. 



