456 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 28, 1865. 



breed pitre Lij^rian drones the following season, when all 

 black drones :fbonld be kept at as great a distance as possible ; 

 and young queens bred from the original will then UtaraL a 

 good chance of true impregn.ition, and should be substituted 

 for such of the first^year's^ queens, as have proved tei'be'hy- 

 bridised.] '■•-'• ■" •'■ \ "«« Li!"!^ -;-■ 



' THE ENEMIES OF MY BEE&a ' es i 



In the "Quiver" for November the '^Times' fiee-maater " 

 contributes a characteristic paper entitled " The Enemies of 

 my Bees." Could none of oiu' southern fi-iends, therein styled 

 " the fantastic and professedly scientific apiarians," on finding 

 themselves classified amongst the " chief enemies," along witli 

 " spiders, toads, wasps," itc, di'aw from this "Quiver" some 

 sharp arrows to pierce the absui'dities of the learned "master ?" 

 Is the unicomb-hive "a system of cruelty to animals?" the 

 " bar system " " chains and -slavery ?" Will the earnest 

 student, it matters not of what branch of science, say in the pre- 

 sent day that " further information is really supererogatory ?" 



The " Timiii' Bee-master," has evidently never pernsed 

 the adventures of " One-eyed Toady," or he would not say, 

 " that the only way to get rid of him (the toad), is toseizehim 

 by the hind leg and pitch him to the greatest pos.sible /dis- 

 tance ;" nor yet had a severe " attack of the Bhies," and after- 

 wards be able to write, the eYilrthe tomtit perpetrates is.T",verjf 

 hmited." , , , ,, , .r[, ,■,,■■ 



Whatever the readers of the " Times " or " Quiver " may think 

 of the following masterly system of bee-feeding, I feel pretty 

 confident those of "our .Tournal" will not readily adopt it. 

 " It is wise policy, and never a loss, to feed them, by placing 

 opposite the hives a deep soup-plate fUlcd with sugar and beer 

 well boiled, and placing on the sm-face for the bees to rest on 

 a circular piece of paper the size of the plate, perforated with 

 holes each the size of a pin-haad." Do none of Dr. Gumming'g 

 neighbours keep bees ? Possibly he may not yet have- learned 

 how to distinguish his own from theirs. What a pity some: one 

 did not procure a colony of Liguiians, assuming, , the little 

 marauders would deign to, sip,. the nauseous mess, , he would 

 speedily discover that his system of feeding was anything but 

 " a wise pohcy," on the contrary, a very great " loss." Take 

 the case of a friend, on driving a hive of bees this autumn , at 

 " our village," fully a mile distant, and while sweeping out 

 some odd stragglers at the close, first one and then another of 

 my indefatigable yelloW-jaekets appeared upon the' scene, and 

 having fairly scented "the carrioii fi'om afar," most deter- 

 minedly sought to share in the booty, bnt he, being fully alive 

 to Italian brigandage, beat a precipitate retreat into the house. 



When the " Timed' Bee-master" publishes a second edition 

 of " The Enemies of my Bees," it is to be sincerely hoped he 

 may include in the hstof " chief" those inexperienced authors, 

 who, by reproducing, perpetuate the blunders and exploded 

 notions of their predecessors,, thereby detracting from the 

 happiness and v/ell-being of our .little favourites.^ ;-t- A. EeS; 



FREWSHIRE BeE-KEEPER. ■' ' ^- '^ 



>( 



BEE-FEEDING EXTRAORDInApA''; 



BEE AND BEE REQUISITES AT THE 

 ^ _ . TORONTO PROVINCIAL SHOW. 

 Aiw'oNO tne_many improvements going on in this country, as 

 ,deYelop,8d in the late exhibition at Toronto, we were much in- 

 terested in those presented in connection with the keeping of 

 bees. Twenty-five years ago the humming of the honey bee 

 was seldom heard, and honey in the comb was nowhere to be 

 obtained ; but now we cannot travel many mUes without meet- 

 ing with the apiarian, and learning lessons of industry and skill 

 from his ingenious and persevering family. Thanks to the 

 new "bee-observing hives," fa*t multipljing among us, we 

 can familiarise ourselves with the previously hidden mysteries 

 of the hive. Among the hives was one which will soon be 

 )iatcuted, called the " people's hive." This is a moveable comb 

 hive, which indeed has become an essential feature of any 

 really good hive, giving, as it does, fuU control of both comb and 

 bees. These hives, with the large and small boxes of beautiful 

 honey shown in other departments of the exiiibition, carmot 

 fail to have given an impetus to this branoh of rural economy. 

 It is manifest that the keeping of bees- is Iwoomkig more general 

 in Canada, and we take some cf^flit to ourselves for this, ae 

 being, to some extent at leas^t, the result of the constant and 

 urpfpnt recommendation of bee-keeping m 'these coltBaSS.,— 

 (0«rta(?a Famcr.) • '.., ^•-■ 



Sees. — ^In reply to Mr^ ?. Brierley's leitisf: in Tirn .Jocbnal 

 orHor.ttcTii[.Tnp.E,'Octobe*' 31st, I shall be glad to showhim my 

 apiary if he is in this part of the conut}-. 1 have several kinds 

 of hives, including Woodbxtry'? Kar-and-frima hive, Nntt's, 

 also Hnber's book or leaf-liive! I think mine an improvement 

 on that king of bee-keeper's liivo. I have taken several bell- 

 glas.seB of honey this seasdn,. also a -splcntfid super from the 

 top of one of Woodbury's hives. I have also a glass hive 

 made after the style of Woodbiu'y's barrand-frame hive, which 

 has done well this season. — A South L.iKCiSHir,E Bee-keeper. 



, /l i. hi.,, ■...,■ ,. -.;,!. 



The following story, for which I am indebted to a clerical 

 friend, is so characteristic of the ignorance and self-conceit of 

 many rustic bee-keepers, that I deem it worthy of a place in 

 the columns of " our Jom-nal." — A Devo^^shire Bee-keepep.. 



" I have been trying to teach some of the cottagers better ways 

 as to bee-keeping as well as to higher things, but find it diffi- 

 cult to make them foUow my advice, so wedded are they to old 

 and odd ways, &o. A short time ago I looked over a villager's 

 little stock of bees consisting of some three or four bntts, two 

 of which I found very light indeed, only a few pounds each,, 

 some comb, little or no honey, and few bees, swarms of this past 

 season. I, of course, advised him to feed at once, ga,ve him pro- 

 per instructions, and placed some pickle-bottles at his disposal. 



A few days days since, going my rounds, I turned into my 

 friend the tailor's cottage. " Well, S., how get on your bees ? 

 do they take their food kindly?" The man looked rather 

 strange, and after a little hesitation replied, " Well, sir, I have 

 just fed them." "Let us see how you have managed it?" 

 " Well, sir, I bought them a penny cuiTaut bun each, put the 

 buns in saucers, poured beer upon them, with a little dust of 

 sugar, and put the saucers imder the butts ; and I am told that 

 now they have enough to take them through the winter." Put 

 this into the Devonshire dialect, and when you read it aloud, 

 you shall hear what I heard,— W. Li 



l^KI ^1 ii.-Xl'") ..--I'.ll' 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



©.iDMEil yoK PoTTLTHv. iltG'. (i. S. D.).— Apply to Mr Agate, Slaagiam 

 Mills, Crawley, Sussex. You Mad better have groimiJ Jats. not merely the 

 meal. They are much more nourisliing. 



Sw ALLOWING WITH DnFrctn,TY (A.).— To .vonr hen which swallows hard 

 food with diffieultv, sits with her nMk drawn back and biH pointing up- 

 ward.?, showing that she is in pain .after eating, we advise you to con- 

 tinue the castor oil in good dosei. Follow it with bread and ale given 

 freely twice every day. Let the bird hare no whole food, only meal and 

 lji.,;,d, and let all its water be strongly improgufitod with camphor. Any 

 preparation of iron is a good medicine for the disorder. 



Food fob Pigeons (incli/n).— Your Pigeons being of the common sort 

 you may feed them on barley or Indian corn once a-day in the yard. 

 There are times when the Pigeons cannot fin 1 nnj-thingin the fields, as 

 when the ground is frost-bound or covered v.ith snow, or in aommer 

 when covered with ^n"owiug crops. — B. P. Brsxt. 



Ep.EEOtNG GeeeH CANAniEs (A Suh'rribcr).—A green cock and green 

 hen will breed green young ones ; but if you desire to improve the green 

 colour it is advisable to cross with a good rich .Jonqne. I do not know of 

 a better book on Canary breeding than the ona yon mention; bnt 

 yon will find some notice about them in " Bochslein's Cage Birds. '— 

 B. P. Bheni. 



Red Lice rs Bird Cage (.S. P. A. H.).— Keep the cage clem; brash 

 all the joins, cracks, and crevices with linseed oil, and dust flowers of 

 sulphur over them and in them. — B. P. Brent. 



ERRATnii.— Page 486, line 17„ for " men do not go on all sides," read 



' Forest Fowes (Ornis).— That you pnrchssedthefowls of the party yon 

 name we have no doubt, and it m.iv be that they came from the forest of 

 Exmoor ; but they may have been Hamburghs oriqinaUy notwithstandmg. 

 We are quite sure that there is no original breed there, and our reporter 

 is a gentleman who knows as much about fowls as any one in this cotmtry. 

 - Heat op Inobbatoe (Bristoi).— Whether the eggs be large or small the 

 same temperature is required^l05^. 



Illhstkated Poultry Book (J. Jenner).— It will be pnbUshed in a 

 few days, advertised, .and the price announced. It can be iaa trom our 

 office. 



Feet^'vg get of a Bottle (W. W. IF.V-FInid honey, fr any ottier 

 kind of liquid food, may be ndministcred to bees by means of the inverted 

 boitle • but what we ourselves have long used, and find m efficient snb- 

 sfitu;- for honev, is lump sugar and water, in the proportion of three 

 parts iby weight) of sug.ir to two parts of water, boiled ; jninnte or two. 



Vt-NTrLiTluG (4.R)—Vfe do not ourselves ventilat- Woodbury hives 

 farther than by never screv/ing down the ero^vn-boaris, which permits a 

 slight degree of si(le ventilation at all times. 



Sending a Queen by Rail (/dt-m).— Queen bees pay be transmitted 

 by raU in light wooden boxes, 5 inches long by 4 inches wide and 8 incbe^ 

 deep, although the exact size is not very material. Ventilanon mustoe 

 duly cared for, and a bit of sealed honeycomb, two ortfcree inches sq^arC' 

 should be inserted, and firmly fixed in its place ly way of pr'™f » 

 during the journey. A bunded workers wjU form a sufcoient suite oi 

 attendants. 



