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JOURNAL 01' HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



359 



combs, I transferred them into an eight-frame box, giving them 

 four combs, chiefly of brood from another stock. Tho hive 

 rapidly increased in strength, and, appearing to require enlarge- 

 ment, a super was afterwards added, but very little work was 

 carried on in it. The bees have always exhibited considerable 

 aotivity, and appeared to be doing a great amount of real work. 

 They have stored about enough provisions for the coming 

 winter's requirements. 



The drones, which are really beautiful insects, have been 

 very abundant, and were flying about in large numbers up to 

 within about three weeks from this date, the 31st of October. 

 Had 1 been so inclined, no better opportunity could have 

 occurred for raising pure-breeding queens. 



No. 3 was also a small artificial swarm similar to the preced- 

 ing. I did not receive it until a few days later, as Mr. Wood- 

 bury wished to see the queen actually breeding before sending 

 her away from the neighbourhood of his Egyptian drones. 

 The history of this colony is much the same as that of its sister 

 hive, with the exception that the bees do not all appear so in- 

 variably pure-bred, though at the time of its first reception I 

 thought the queen rather the more beautiful of the two. This 

 stock has not been so strong either in bees or drones, nor has 

 it stored sufficient food for the winter without being somewhat 

 liberally fed. Probably it did not receive quite so much aid at 

 the commencement, by the addition of sealed brood-combs 

 fiom other stocks. It may be worthy of remark, that the 

 queens of these two hives are those already described by Mr. 

 Woodbury as having been at large in the parent stock at the 

 same time. 



No. 14, was a hive of an entirely different character from 

 either of the two just described. This was a populous colony 

 in a full-sized Woodbury hive. The queen, raised from the one 

 originally imported soon after her arrival in this country, was 

 impregnated by a Ligurian drone, so that the workers, though 

 well marked, could not be quite pure. The drones, however, 

 were, as might be expected, very beautiful. By Mr. Wood- 

 bury's wish the bees were kept confined for thirty-six hours to 

 prevent their returning to his garden and endangering the 

 lives of his own young queens in the vicinity of their old 

 quarters. This prolonged confinement I deeply regretted, as 

 although the hive was stationed in a darkened room, the excite- 

 ment kept up was so great that thousands of bees were de- 

 stroyed, and even after the liberation of the survivors, tho work 

 of death went on, owing to a ruthless internecine war. I do not 

 think the queen was injured or lost at this time. A few days 

 subsequently, when peace was quite restored, I set about what 

 was feared would be the formidable task of transferring the 

 combs into my own frames. This was, however, effected with 

 greater case than I had anticipated, by driving out all the bees 

 iuto an empty box. I was thus enabled to secure all the combs 

 in their new frames with the greatest ease, after which the bees 

 were dislodged on the tops of the bars. Though at first the 

 bees were very savage, the driving proved a wonderful subdv.er 

 of evil passions, for I was hardly molested at all, after having 

 succeeded in forcing them to vacate their combs for the upper 

 box. There was a renewal of the fighting among themselves 

 after the operation was concluded, and I fear that at this time 

 the life of the queen must have been sacrificed. After several 

 careful inspections, during which the bees fully maintained 

 their claim to the character of little savages, I could discover 

 no trace of a queen or newly-deposited eggs. I waited a long 

 time in vain for the signs of construction of royal cells. At 

 length, being not sufficiently enamoured of the breed of African 

 savages, I inserted a sealed royal cell from a Ligurian hive. 

 The yourg queen appeared to have emerged naturally on the 

 following day, but I could find no traces of her or any other, 

 and then I discovered the commencement of one or two royal 

 cells. In due time a queen was hatched out, but whether she 

 is an Egyptian raised from an egg of the defunct queen, or 

 whether she might have come from any brood or royal cell 

 from a Ligurian stock, I cannot be certain. The bees are more 

 like Ligurians than Egyptians, and, that which may perhaps be 

 considered as a proof of what they may really be, a few days 

 ago, on inspecting the combs and transferring the stock into a 

 smaller box, better suited to the somewhat limited population, 

 I was astonished to find the bees as peacable and well disposed 

 as any Ligurian stock in my garden. ~:^.'.~~ 



I may then consider my Egyptian hives to be reduced to 

 two, one of these being, apparently, rather more pure than the 

 other. From this one I hope to »btain an accession of pure 

 queens next April and May. 



Since first coming into possession of the Egyptians, I have 



disturbed them as little as possible, and only when absolutely 

 necessary for the sake of strengthening tho hives by the ad- 

 dition of brood-combs. I havo found them when not molested 

 as peaceably disposed as any others. During several days of 

 last month I had from two to four workmen engaged in some 

 rough work in repairing and altering an erection that was 

 formerly an aviary, but is now transformed into an admirable 

 bee-house. Although constantly moving about in the very 

 midst of the Egyptians, no one was molested or stung by them ; 

 but within the last week I have looked through all the hives of 

 my town apiary, to see exactly how they were provisioned and 

 garrisoned for the coming winter. I have broken up some, 

 uniting the bees and combs containing honey to others ; I have 

 reduced some which had a superabundance, distributing the 

 combs thus obtained where most needed ; and I must confess, 

 that while the Ligurian and common bees exhibited but little 

 manifestations of anger, tho two Egyptian hives which may be 

 considered as most pure, showed no decrease in irascibility, as 

 I was covered with assailants from head to foot. As I pre- 

 viously stated, the third stock, which is in all probability more 

 Ligurian than Egyptian, allowed me to meddle with its con- 

 tents almost with impunity. 



In conclusion I may observe, that the bees are so beautiful 

 as to be a decided acquisition in the hands of the scientific 

 apiarian, but that I should hesitate to recommend any of my 

 less experienced or fearless brethren to embark in their culture. 

 — S. Bevan Fox, Exeter. 



I am sure I speak only the sentiments of all the apiarian 

 readers of " our Journal " when I state in their behalf how 

 greatly we are obliged to Mr. Lowe and Mr. F. H. West for the 

 very interesting particulars which they have so kindly related, 

 in compliance with the desire which I expressed for informa- 

 tion as to their experience of the Egyptian bee. 



The following extract, translated from a letter which I re- 

 ceived from Herr Vogel after my narrative had been concluded, 

 proves that the Egyptians have shown themselves as prompt 

 to repel aggression and to resent interference in Germany as 

 they have been in England : " You were kind enough to inform 

 me that the Egyptian bees were very much inclined to sting. 

 This my experience confirms. Tho Egyptian bees cannot bear 

 tobacco smoke ; if used during an operation they get very 

 angry. They do not in Egypt employ tobacco smoke, but use 

 that of dried cowdung. Mr. Soliman, an Arabian, who has a 

 hundred hives, always employs the latter when performing an 

 operation. I use the smoke of decayed wood, but this does not 

 prevent their attacking me. You are perfectly right in saying 

 that the Egyptian bees are very easily irritated, whilst on the 

 other hand they are very good-natured, and if people study 

 their temper they are very easily to be managed." 



I can only surmise, therefore, that I missed the way to their 

 good graces, for I certainly never found them either " good- 

 natured " or " easily to be managed." The only smoke which 

 I ever used when manipulating them was that of cellar fungus, 

 and it certainly seemed to have the effect of exasperating 

 instead of subduing them, unless used so freely as to induce 

 partial stupefaction — an extremity to which I am always very 

 unwilling to proceed. — A Devonshire Bee-keeper. 



VAGRANT NOTES. 



Is your impression of October 9th I observe it stated by a 

 " Novice " that a swarm issued from his hive on " June 3rd, 

 at 8 a.m., and a second swarm June 30th, at noon." There is 

 obviously a mistake here. An after-swarm is not to be looked 

 for after a lapse of three weeks from the departure of the first 

 swarm. 



"Hampshire Rector" seems astonished at finding large- 

 sized slugs in his hives, and accuses them of devouring his 

 sweets. I can assure him it is no uncommon occurrence for 

 slugs 5 and 6 inches long to find their way through a very 

 small aperture into both weak and strong hives. A few weeks 

 ago I removed two of monstrous dimensions from the interior 

 of a common straw hive. The floor-board was rendered filthy 

 by their slime ; but I found no evidence of their having as- 

 ceaded any of the combs. 



In June, 1864, 1 had an opportunity of witnessing the move- 

 ments of these " unwelcome visitors " in a hive with glass 

 sides, no fewer than four having successively effected an en- 

 trance. Their progress along the sides of the hive was very 

 slow, owing to the bees biting or tickling their tentacula the 



