98 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ JanoAry SO, 1806. 



objects of nature. Encasements of queens are assuredly not 

 always repicidal. lobservotbat '* A Lanauksiiiiie Bee-keeper," 

 in alluding to regicidal attacks, wliicb he sayg, however, he 

 never witnessed, adds, "But this I know, that I have seen 

 qneens imprisoned by their .subjects when strange bees were 

 admitted into their hives ;" and I think a former correspondent, 

 "Investigatoh," held a somewhat similar opinion. I might 

 here suggest the motive of the bees in clustering round youthful 

 queens, which accords at least with my own t \perience in the 

 matter. I think the object may be to prevent the queen from 

 again ieanug the hive, to prevent further risks to her now 

 more precious life, and to induce her to settle down to the 

 maternal duties which Nature requires of her. I have seen a 

 young queen on attempting to go abroad in such a case, seized 

 by a couple of bees, which held her fast by the hind feet, and thus 

 she was forced to return from outside the entrance, nibbled and 

 followed after by several others. This queen commenced the 

 work of oviposition shortly thereafter. 



I now avail myself of this my first opportunity of returning 

 my thanks to your valuable correspondent, *' A Renfiiewshire 

 Bee-keeper,*' for the kind offer which he made me through 

 this Journal, in reference to foul brood. Did I think that my 

 acceptance of that oJTer would lead to the well-meant objects he 

 had in view, I should not have hesitated to put him to the 

 trouble ; but as the hive itself seemed to be beyond cure, I 

 could not see that any practical good could otherwise arise by 

 my acceptance. To others who have kindly sent me specimens 

 of foul brood, and who have detailed their experiences in these 

 columns, I also owe my thanks ; and I may be allowed to hope 

 that an e\-il, in whichever way originated, that has produced 

 such desohiting ravages as they detail, will, if not already, be 

 speedily banished from their apiaries. — J. Loas-e. 



PL.VKTS POISONOUS TO DO]MESTIC AXDLVLS. 



On last Saturday evening a flock of sheep (about forty), tres- 

 passed on the lawn here and ate a quantity of evergreen 

 shrubs. During Sunday about twenty of them died, the rest 

 of the flock seeming in a rery precarious state. They ate a 

 quantity of Andromeda (Leucothoe) floribunda; also* some 

 Ivy, Laurustinus, Portugal Laurel, and Rhododendron. The 

 veterinarv surgeon who examined them thinks that the Andro- 

 meda is the shrub that has poisoned the sheep, as some of 

 the blooms were found in the stomach of all that were opened. 



If you will say which of the above shrubs would be the most 

 likely to cause death to cattle eating them, you will greatly 

 obhge. I may mention that there was no Yew that the sheep 

 could get at. The veterinary surgeon says that there is no 

 antidote known for the Yew poison, as it is not known how it 

 acts on the cattle that eat it. I think that it would be very 

 useful to a great many of your readers, if a Hst of all the plants 

 that are known to be poisonous when eaten by cattle were 

 pnbUshed in your Jom-nal. — W. G. M. 



[We have very little doubt that the Andi-omeda, or Leucothoe 

 floribunda, as botanists now call it, was the cause of the sheeps' 

 death. Andromeda ovahfolia is fatal to goats if they eat it, 

 and A. polifolia is similarly known to be fatal to sheepl They 

 act as acrid narcotics. We think it probable that an infusion 

 of nutgalls would operate as an antidote, as well as for the 

 poison of the Yew and Rhododendron. The poison of the 

 latter is so permanent that we have a record of a dinner whereat 

 the guests were poisoned by a hare which had fed on the leaves 

 of Rhododendron femigineum. We shall be obliged by the 

 communication of any facts pointing out the poisonous effects 

 of plants upon animals. — Ens.] 



Pollek-gatherixg is January. — The bees of the stock 

 specially noticed in page 20 were seen to bring in pollen on 

 the 5th, 14th, and 24th inst. — A Devonshire Bee-keeper. 



Size or Pess [E. B.\.—Thc Urger yonr pens are the better. The best 

 pens wc had were those that wcrt- uiadt* ami lit by the? Uto Mr. C»K)ke, of 

 ColchcHttT. You must bo (fnidcd bv the numlK-r of fowls to be hUowd, 

 whether two or three. Turkeys and 6e<»Ke require Iniver pond thnn fowls ; 

 BautaniH require them of le»s size. Two adult U<v.\h flhoold have one 

 S feet lii^h. 24 fect ill width in front, aud 2 J feet deep from front to back. 

 It should be lower behind than in front. Smaller pens will do, ))Ut this 

 eizo ja dcHirablc. 



FECfNDATiox OF Egg8 ilflrm).—lt depend" on the nnmber of hens. 

 If numerous you must wail some time, and even then bo prepared for 

 ilisjippointment. If but three or four, you may bet them after the henH 

 have been with the cock three days. If you have mnny hens j'our best 

 plan will be to run them with the cock for four or five dav«. three or fonr 

 at a time, and to set only thoBC eggs that have been laid f>y these birds. 



Fowls not Wf.i.l {O. T.).— Your fowls will do better now. The wealbor 

 has not been favourable for poultr}'. 



Oatmeal for Fowxs (ir. L. L.).— This can be obtained of any corn- 

 dealer. Braised oats are merely cruhhed by the machine nued for pre* 

 paring them for horse provender. 



Whitehaven Poultry Snow.— The first prize for Game pullets was 

 won by .Tolm K<ibin&on, Vole House, Garstang ; and not by J. R. Robin- 

 son, Sunderland. 



Jedduroh Show.— The cnp was given to John Thackray, Petcrgate 

 York, instead of Hull, as stated in the official prize Ust. 



Fowls. Pigeons, and Rabbits {Look i>r/ore you L^opj.— You may keep 

 them together in the space you have. Spanish (owls aud Runt Pigeons 

 will be as good as any others. 



Dorking Cock Wheezing {Alpha).— Give him a deBScrt-spoonfol of 

 castor <iil, and, if needful another after two days. Let him al^o have 

 bread soaked in ale once doily, and keep him out of the cold for a few 

 days. 



Shell-less Eggs {King Brob and Buff Cochin).— The soft eggs 

 dropped by your Cochin-Chinas intimate that their egg-organs are over- 

 excited. The food you give them is much too stimulating— Indian com, 

 barley, iind ground oats. Omit the first-n.mied entirely, and give the 

 barley and oats on alternate days, and mashed potatoes instead of one 

 feeding of com daily. Give them a daily supply of lettuce leavei^, and 

 instead of crushed oyster-shells " now and then," have a heap of brick- 

 layers' limy rnbbish that they can visit whenever they please. 



Book {J. Bennett). —The price is 5*. 



LiGURiAN Bees (A. B. C.).~\i the qneens of your stocks are pure, they 

 will remain so in the midst of any number of black bees. It is witn 

 young queens that deterioration commences, and in such a case as yours, 

 we know of no better mode of proceeding than that recommended in 

 reply to " M. S.," in page 455 of our last Volume. 



Bee-stand {A Suhscribcr). — No one that we know of mannfactures bee- 

 stands for sale. Any carpenter could make one. In " Bee-keeping (or 

 the Many," which yon cm hove from our office free by post for five 

 postage stamps, you will see drawings of the most simple and best stand. 



Aspect for HnEs— REMo^^NG Hives (5yui7<).— Wc believe aspect to 

 be of bat secondary importance in bee-keeping, and if well sheltered 

 from prevailing xiinds. should not object to hives facing the east. The 

 best mode of removing bees a short distance is to subject them to an in- 

 termediate banishment of a few weeks to a distance o! — say a mile and a 

 half. If moved direct, it is best done towards the end of a long frost, as 

 bees after a certain period of confinement seem in some measure to forget 

 the orifrinal position of their home, and adopt a new situation with more 

 facility than at other times. Another mode of overcoming this difficulty 

 was described by " U. S.," in page 204, of our last Volume. A verandah 

 or any similar erection against a wall, of sufficient width to admit o( 

 passing behind the hives, is the best kind of bee-hou^e that we are 

 acquainted with. We ourselves have no bee-house whatever, but protect 

 both hives and supers with hive-roofs and outer cases as described and 

 delineated in pages 17 and 18 of the fifth edition of " Bee-keeping for the 

 Many." 



Butter not Yellow ik Winter (R*. S.).— We need hardly say that 

 the only legitimate way to obtain sweet butter of a good yellow colour, 

 is to let the cows have fresh green food, but as this cannot always be done 

 [ in winter, artificial means are resorted to. and one of the most innocuous 

 of those used is the juice of carrots, which after being grated are 

 squeezed through muslin or somethiugof the kind, and the juice ndded to 

 the batter after the last washing. S'erj- little will suffice. It is not by 

 any means advisable to add too mneb of this colouring matter, as at the 

 best it gives but a dead yellow colour :'a little, however, improves the ap- 

 pearance, and we could never discover the least taste of carrot in the 

 bntter. A larger quantity of carrots is sometimes put into the cheese, 

 the effect being the same, only the buttermilk is coloured also. We have 

 known some chemical substance used instead, but would not recommend 

 it ; neither would we nd\ise much of the carrots, except in cases where 

 the eye has to be pleased instead of the palate. No management on the 

 part of the dairymaid can make butter yellow in winter, when cows are 

 fed on dry hay alone. The only means available is to st«n the cream or 

 the butter in some way, and some secrecy is often enough maintained 

 about the adulteration. Of course, all cream is not alike, and the food of 

 the cows gives certain properties to the milk and cream which no manage- 

 ment on the part of tlie dairymaid can entirely alter. She may, it is trne, 

 spoil good cream, Itnt feeding cows on cabbage, turnips, and the Uke 

 imparts a flavour to butter not easily got rid of, or where it is, the result 

 is by no means a good article. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Distinguishing Coloured Dorkings (/. T. F. B.).— Silver-Grey Dork- 

 ings are birds of feather, and any deviation from rule is fatal. It is much 

 easier to have of them hens than cocks. We will, therefore, describe the 

 cock. Light almost white hackle and saddle, perfectly black breast and 

 toil, white and steel-barred wings. The slightest deviation is a dis- 

 qnalificatiun. 



Silver-spangled Hamburghs (ir. .V. H., jun.).—Jt is quite time your 

 pullets, hatched in May, laid, and if the drj- weather •.^sts. they will do 

 80 within a fortnight. Snow aud constant wet have upset mauv calcu- 

 lations of the sort. 



POULTRY MARKET.— Jan-uary 20. 



We have but a moderate supply of eTerjrthing, with an average demand 

 and fair prices. 



s. 



Largo Fowls 8 



Smaller do 2 



Chickens 1 



Geese 6 



Ducks 



Pheasants 2 



