158 



JOCBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



r Febrnjuy 20, ISCC 



one (lead bee, and a few, I think eigbt, Rpots of dysenteric dirt. 

 My bees, therefore, which nbont ft fortnight ago were in the 

 worst poBsiblo Btate from dyRentcry, are now qb well as ever, 

 and more lively than either of the other stocks in the same 

 house. — Z. B. 



[We should be glad to receive information as to the natm-e 

 and mode of application of the remedy you employed.] 



BEE FOUNTAINS. 



In one of the old hand-books is the suggestion that a tumbler 

 filled with water, and tumotl upside down uix)n a plate, is a 

 convenient and cleanly mode of watering bees ; but that the 

 water soon becomes bad, and must be changed every day. It 

 at once struck me that this frequent change is quite un- 

 necessary, and that a fragment of pondweed, cbpecially if 

 rooted, would keep the water sweet for any length of time. The 

 time of year was not verj' favourable for an experiment of the 

 kind; nevertheless, in the middle of November, I tilled a 

 tumbler with spring water, put into it a slip of Chara vulgaris 

 ODrooted, and. reversing the glass upon a plait, placed it in a 

 window, and left it to take its chance. After rather more than 

 two months, during which the loss by evaporation has been 

 once supplied, I find the plate covered over with a beautiful 

 confervoid growth (which of course would allow of the larger 

 weed being removed), and the water is as sweet as on the day 

 it was put in. This must be a much neater and more cleanly 

 arrangement than the shallow pan, in which not only much 

 dirt accmnulates, but the bodies of many bee?, which are 

 drowned from time to time notwithstanding the pebbles. If 

 the supply of water from under the rim of the glass is not 

 Bufficicut, it can be incixased by inserting a bit of straw or 

 shaving. The confervoid growth should be allowed to remain, i 

 unless it increase very fast. A propagatiug-glass would allow | 

 of a larger body of water, and so would not require to be tilled | 

 so often ; and if the plan really answers in practice, there are ; 

 many ways of making the little apparatus pretty and orna- [ 

 mental by those who are so inclined. I 



In connection with this matter, is it quite certain that the ' 

 idea current in the Isle of "Wight and elsewhel-e that the bees \ 

 go down to the sea twice a-day to drink, is purely fanciful, 

 especially in connection with the fact of their crowding to i 

 manure water and other saline deposits ? I ask because in ' 

 October last, when examining a large marine aquarium, I was 

 surprised at the number of dead bees floating in it, and they, I 

 I imagine, must have been attracted to it by the saline matter, j 

 The room in which the tank stands is rarely used, or I should '. 

 have noticed the circumstance sooner. I intend, however, in 

 the spring to place a glass of sea water alongside tlie fresh 

 water, in order to test whether the bees really have any pre- . 

 ference of the kind. A glass of salt water which I placed in \ 

 the window along with the fresh, and containing a fragment of i 

 seaweed, is perfectly clear, and a number of eutomostraca. or | 

 water-fleas, are now rolling, and diving, and tumbling head ! 

 over heels, as lively as if in a tide-pool. Indeed, the water in 

 the tank just named, and which is as clear as crystal, has been 

 imchanged for about five years, and it contains marine animals 1 

 in perfect health, which have been prisoners dui-ing the whole 1 

 of that time — a certain proof that with a little management ( 

 water may be kept sweet for an indefinite period. — F. H. West. 



Bees commenced carrying pollen here on the 2Cth of Jan- 

 nary, and on the 1st of the same month to breed, if they had 

 ever ceased doing so, as I have seen young ones at many hives, 

 and. amongst them, a few drones have made their appearance. 



A IiANAilKSHIRE BEE-KEErER. 



To M.iKE BcTTER Tellow IN WixTEH. — Give your cows a 

 little bruised gorse. The fresh juicy spines ground, or cut 

 fine, will be much relished by them. It increases the milk, 

 improves the colour of the butter, and does not impart the 

 slightest disagreeable taste. I tried this in "Wales with a dairy 

 of seven cows, and we always had nice, sweet, yellow butter in 

 winter. — Helek E. Watnet. 



TR.VDE LIST. 

 J. Baily & Son, 113, Mount Street, Grosvenor Square. — 

 Priced List and Descriptive Catalogue of Poultry ^ Game, Pigeons^ 

 cvd Icr(:r,7i and Aquatic Lirdf:. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Feediso FowxH Fott ExnrniTioN (J/, jl/.).— Good Imrliy of malting 

 quMity, occaHioimlly u UtUt- meat, and tlit- yolkH of new-ini<) c^'tf-- Many 

 jrivo a few wbiti- ]k'iim fi-r S(nuo dnys bcfort.' cxhibitiut;. nu'l iN-* fc(d on 

 Htalt' cniHtu Htecpcd in h1*> or wine. Tbe latter fond iisr.-t be (riT«D 

 5nnringly, and tliih distary U apt to make Uiuni quarrcl^umc, even to 

 tlieir Lcuti. 



Eggs Missing (Bfta).—Wc have little doabt tbiU the Bittinff ben ate tbo 

 cffn^ placed under her. AVe advice you to uxamiue your nests more fire- 

 qnently, nml to ascertain whether the etfKS ore nil rit^hl under the ben. 

 If her good ijuaUties are snch that it is importHiil to sove them to the 

 Tnrd, be careful to Hccurc notnc cggB from her, niid then lot tho cook have 

 her. If this w;is her fir-t sittinj?, you may give- hir niie more trial, bnl 

 wjiteh her closely. Iet<t tihc should spoil or cat luorc cpt,"*. Ifyoacan 

 manage without her. kill her. 



Mai/e (Ikdiax Conx) ron Fowls (.Vr. T. S. A,).—U tanj be given either 

 boiled or uuboikd. We coufaidcr it too fattening in any state for breeding- 

 stocli, nuluHS they nrc out of couditiou, and then to \mi pivtu sparingly. 



DiBBiNG Ga3ie Cocks (^. />.i.— Take a cur%cd piiir of vcrj bbari> 

 scissors— ynn may purchaKp them nt Pi-ic'^l's in Oxford Street— ent the 

 comb from over the nostril to the Imek of the bend ; close to, but uot ex* 

 poRing the skull. If it bleed much, take a buckle feather and lay it on 

 the wound, it stuy- the lUediug. Vuu must al^o remove the gilU and 

 denf-ears. It bleed^i ;i great deal, but it i^ a small operation, and the 

 birds are f|uito iudifferent to it. The old cocker- alwuys cut np the 

 comb and threw it down for the cock to cat — he never refunca. 



PnoLONGED iNcrnATios.— I net a White Cochin hen on eleven of her 

 own eggs ou Jannarj- 1 Ith ; not one of them was hatched out till the 5th 

 of February, and then ouly two, five more during the following night, and 

 the rest the next morning.' Thus she was sittingnicrcthan twenty-tiuree 

 dayg. Is not this an unnsnnlly long time? I had ten hatch out alto- 

 gether. Oue of my While pullets lays eggs tho size of a FigeonEiWitb 

 no yulk at all. A^'hnt can be the reason of this vagari,' V— M. R. B. 



[It is not uncommon for hens to sit one day over their time ; hnt we 

 have seldom found them exceed that. Except win r*" the ci.'-'-* fire care- 

 fully tended and soaked before hatching, they seldom con'< <-tr altogether. 

 A nest of eggs seldom iialches so closely together a.-' is siipyio^ed. The 

 eggs nearest the hen are hatched flr^t, and' the other* in degree iiltorwards. 

 Wo often have hens that begin hatching in the evening, and do not finiah 

 till the next day. The pullet will soon lay eggs of the natural size. It l6 

 not uncommon.] 



Sice Pioeoxs (G. J., Binningliam).—Youx Pigeons arc most likehr 

 BuflTciing from dii\rrhoBa ; see that their house is dry and sheltered, u 

 much affected give each patient a pill contaiuin:; one grain of calomel, 

 then for a few days pellets of cod-liver oil — you may mix it with gronnd 

 rice, flour, or meal — a vei-y little sulphate of iron in their water, and some 

 old beans in their food. Some good breeding Pigeons under favourable 

 circumstances will rear nine or ten pairs of youni; on* s during the year, 

 hut there are so many casualties that few iu;\n:igo to bring up so many. 

 Three or lour pairs cannot be considered had work for f.mcy Pigeons. 

 One or t^vo really good young ones ought to satisfy most fanciers. Very 

 much depends on accommodation, breed, and season. — B. P. Brent. 



Rabbits (.7. F.}.—I( yon send seven postage stamps to our office, with 

 your address, ordering " The Kabbit Book," you will have it sent free by 

 post. 



C.o:aries DYn.-G (Canary Lovrr).~-l have opened the dead CantiiT sent, 

 but without being any the wiser as to the cause of the poc>r birds death. 

 The bird was much emaciated and the intestines looked dark, but it was 

 too much crushed to say if they had been iuflanud. The symptoms you 

 describe are just those of star\'atiou. I am, therefore, inclined to think 

 that thero must have been t^omcthing amiss with the seed — that the 

 cannrj' seed had been heated or in some waydamixged.and, consequently, 

 failed to nomi^sh the poor birds. I cannot otherwise account for their 

 deaths. You may ascertain this by biting and Listing the seed. Yon 

 seem to have taken gi'eat care of your bii-ds, but I thiuk you make them 

 too tender by not lotting them enjoy fresh air; and covering them up at 

 night is not V. healthful plan. If sheltered from the wind and r;iin and 

 not exposed to draughtti the birds require no further co^illing. Birds that 

 have been kept in a heated place and forced into snug, arc neces•^arily in 

 a very unnatural fitaU- and require great care in burdening them off. 

 They may be expected to cease their song on removal, but with care will 

 soon resume it at this season of the year. The spring is a g'lod time to 

 buy birds at any of the Loudon shops, as then yon c;in hear them singing. 

 I do not think there is anything epidemic among your birds. If they do 

 not seem quite well you may give them a few griiins of hempsoed, but 

 this must not be made their constant diet. If the birds cough or are 

 husky, put a littb^ Spanish liquorice in their water: if purged, give them 

 rice water to driuk. lu addition to cleanliness let your birds have fresh 

 air and water to bathe in.— B. P. Bbent. 



Bee Flowers (Jf. E, jP.).— Mignonette and borage will be the best in 

 your town locality. 



Hiving a Swarm <H. A. E).— When the swarm settled on the head ol 

 the old pollard oak, little more was required than to staud a hive overit. 

 Had this been done the !»ees would probably have ascended into the hive 

 of their own accord, although their movements might have been accele- 

 rated by a few whiffs of smoke. We had a swann last summer which 

 clustered among the hirgc branches of a pear tree, just at their point ol 

 union with the trunk. In this case we merely supported a straw hive 

 just over the swarm with tho left hand, whilst we struck the trunk of the 

 tree with the open palm of tho right. The vibration thus produced sent 

 the bees up into the hive with great rapidity, and the entire swarm was 

 speedily hived in the most satisfactory manner. 



Sflkwobms fC. P. .7.).— The leaves of tlio common mnlberry are the 

 food they prefer and thrive best on. If yon have Vol. X. of onr First 

 Scries vou ^vill find full directions there fo'r their management. It is in 

 Nob. 245. 24C. 247, '2-iH, li-'jO. and 252, all of which you can have free by post 

 frr»m our office if you enclose twenty-four postage stamps \\ilh yonr 

 directions. 



Peat Earth as a Deodoriser (ErrrcM).— All soils arc deodorisers, bnt 

 peat earth we should expect to be tho least powerful. It is chiefly com- 

 posed of silica and vegetable fibre. A dried loam, rather tcnacions than 

 light, we consider the most efficient earthy deodoriser. 



