288 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ October 9, 1800. 



at the time, although ultimately it thus showed itself ; indeed, 

 from its great strength and the ferocity of the workers, it was 

 not thoroughly examined previously. — A Renfrewshire Bee- 



UNWELCOME VISITORS— LOSS OF SWARMS. 

 Referring to your remarks in page 234, I have measured 

 my bee-hives by means of a wedge-shaped bit of wood, one of 

 them very accurately, and the other as well as I could, and the 

 result shows in each an entrance or bee-hole rather less than 

 a sixth of an inch, so that my slugs must have been admitted 

 very young into the community which they ruined. 



I took a swarm this spring (my largest), in a way new to me, 

 though, perhaps, not new to others. On Saturday (it is con- 

 siderate of a parson's bees not to swarm on Sunday), an ex- 

 ceedingly fine swarm came out, and obligingly settled on a 

 standard rose tree close to the bee-house. I hived them with- 

 out difficulty into a straw hive 12J inches diameter, 9 inches 

 deep, inside measurement. The hive had a flat top fitted for 

 super. On the following morning they were clustering outside, 

 but apparently disposed to work. It was Sunday, and I stayed 

 late in church, and when I came out I found that my gardener 

 and " buttons " were scouring the country in pursuit of a 

 swarm of the " parson's bees." I went to the hives and 

 found an ominous stillness in the new one. Next morning I 

 lifted it up, and discovered the floor strewed 2 or 3 inches deep 

 with dead and dying bees, exuding honey, and all damp and 

 sticky. I did my best to recover them by spreading them in 

 the sunshine ; but it was of no avail, and as the other half of 

 the swarm that bad taken wing on Sunday could not be re- 

 covered, I lost the whole. A few days afterwards I took another 

 swarm in the same straw hive, and the new colony throve 

 throughout the summer. Was my hive too small for a fine 

 swarm ? And why did some fly away and others remain to 

 die ? — Hampshire Reotob. 



[In order to test the accuracy of your measurements we im- 

 prisoned about a hundred bees in a small box, in the lid of 

 which were three apertures, each about 2 inches long, and 

 exactly one-sixth of an inch wide. The result was precisely 

 what we anticipated. After remaining some time in confine- 

 ment the bees became mueh excited, and at length most of 

 them succeeded in making their escape by forcing themselves, 

 one by one, and with much difficulty, through the experimental 

 apertures. We have, therefore, no doubt whatever that you 

 are still in error, and that the height of the entrances to your 

 hives is really more than you imagine. They seem, however, 

 very likely to be too narrow, and this may in some measure 

 account for the catastrophe to your Saturday's swarm, which 

 evidently died from suffocation. The errant swarm of the 

 following day we believe to have been a body of emigrants 

 from another hive, and in its origin altogether distinct from 

 the unfortunate colony, nearly the whole of which had pro- 

 bably perished miserably many hours before. The survivors 

 which clustered outside may either have returned to the old 

 stock or have cast in their fortunes with the runagates.] 



BEES IN STEWARTON HIVES. 



I purchased a hive of bees (a common skep) in August, 1865, 

 from which a swarm issued June 3rd, at 8 a.m., and a second 

 swarm June 30th, at noon. Prior to the swarms coming forth 

 I had purchased an Ayrshire (Stewarton) hive with two supers. 

 The two bottom boxes I hived the swarms in, and these both 

 filled their respective boxes half full. On No. 1 swarm I put a 

 super which the bees have nearly half filled with comb, but 

 there is very little honey as yet. No. 2 swarm has not yet 

 completed the box I hived it in, and I wish to know if it would 

 be better to take the super off No. 1 a little later, and give it 

 to No. 2. 



The heather here is in full glory, but the rainy season, as it 

 now is with us, prevents my little toilers from working much. 

 I think I have not done so badly, as I have the parent hive and 

 the two swarms, which I hope to keep through the winter, as I 

 am having a shed made for their especial benefit. Will you 

 kindly give me in your Journal the most approved method of 

 managing Ayrshire hives, as I cannot find any mention of them 

 in your Journal for 1866 ? — Novice. 



[Neither of your swarms having filled its hive with comb, the 

 probability is they are light, and will both require liberal feed- 

 ing to bring them up to 20 lbs. nett, about the Decessary weight l 



to carry them through the winter. Unless you are anxious to 

 increase your stock, the most economical and the better plan 

 would be to unite the two, so as to form one strong colony, 

 which could be easily effected as follows :— At dusk invert 

 No. 2, and sprinkle the bees with syrup flavoured with a little 

 peppermint water, then treat No. 1 in a similar manner, setting 

 it on the top of No. 2. The entrance of the former being entirely 

 closed, and the slides of the latter all removed, their place being 

 filled with short pegs, an amicable union will in all likelihood 

 be the result. This would be all the more certainly effected 

 were each swarm fed the evening before, and a good puffing of 

 tobacco smoke given to each when the slides were drawn. 



Had you joined No. 2 on its issuing to No. 1, as above de- 

 scribed, it is more than probable that both boxes would now 

 have been fully combed with possibly something worth while in 

 the super. 



The honey season being about over, the partially-combed 

 super had better be removed, and carefully wrapped up in 

 paper to exclude the air, and kept in a dry place till the united 

 colony seem pretty full next season, when it could be replaced, 

 the bees admitted by drawing one slide only on either side, and 

 a third breeding-box added underneath to prevent swarming, 

 with additional supers placed above the first in succession as 

 required. 



The communication from our esteemed correspondent, " A 

 Renfrewshire Bee-keeper," which appears in another column, 

 relates to the management of Stewarton hives, and will pro- 

 bably give you the information you require.] 



Double-bodied Chicken. — Early in May one of my hens 

 hatched eleven out of thirteen eggs, and at night I removed 

 her with her chickens, placing the other two eggs under another 

 hen. In the morning I tried the eggs in warm water, and both 

 danced about merrily, so I had great hopes of having a full 

 brood, and outnumbering my poultry-woman, who in another 

 yard had just had twelve out of thirteen eggs hatched. In the 

 evening both eggs were " sprung," and on the following morn- 

 ing I found one chicken, so left the remaining egg a few hours 

 longer. On taking it from the nest I knew its little inmate 

 was dead ; and, hoping I should see a poor little thing which 

 I should have no cause to regret, I broke the egg. and found a 

 fine chicken having one head and neck, two united bodies, with 

 four legs and four wings. I dried it by the fire, it being clothed 

 like other chicks ; and being a curiosity I had it placed in 

 spirits, and have it now in my possession. Possibly with a 

 little assistance it might have managed to get out of its shell, 

 but I fancy my chance of rearing it would have been very 

 small. I may add the egg was a Dorking's, of the usual size, 

 and in no way remarkable in shape. — B. B. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Chickens Dying (Eveline).— There is no prevailing disease among 

 poultry. A chemist or medical man can tell you whether they are 

 poisoned. Abuut this time, and later, people are in, the habit of dressing 

 wheat for sowing with arsenic, and chickens often die from eating a few 

 grains of it. Where fowls have, as yours have, ail that is necessary for 

 health, and yet die in numbers, we always look either for " wilful 

 murder " or " accidental death." There are no "natural causes " for de- 

 cease in such cases. 



Poultry Club Show (An Exhibitor). —You had better apply to the 

 Secretary of the Club. We cannot give you the information. 



Fowls Eating Apples (J. 31.). — Apples, decidedly, are not injurious 

 to fowls. If they were, a terrible poultry mortality would annually 

 occur in the cider districts. Sudden death in fowls usually occurs from 

 over-fatness. 



Cygnets (Blume). — We cannot tell you where you can find a purchaser 

 for your Cygnets, but advise you to try an advertisement in our columnB. 

 It will not in any way prevent their sale if you cut their wings. We 

 believe it renders them more valuable to pinion them. 



Pigeons (M. A.). — There are two Societies which you could join, the 

 Ph-loperisteron and the National Columharian. Both hold shows in 

 London. 



Cooking Silver Beet. — CominJacJccy wishes to know how this should 

 be cooked. 



POULTRY MARKET.— October 8. 



There is a good supply, and a languid trade. The close weather has a 

 great effect on the sale of inferior poultry. 



f d. b. d i s. d s. A 



Large Fowls 2 to 2 6 Pheasants 2 6 to 3 U 



Smaller do 1 9 2 Partridges 10 1 4 



Chickens 1 C 1 9 1 Grouse 2 2 8 



Geese 6 7 6 Hares 8 3 6 



Ducks 2 2 3 Rabbits 1 4 15 



Pigeons 8 9 Wild do 9 10 



