Febrnary 27, 18G«. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTORE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



175 



gother on that occasion as will still farther add to the well-won repata- 

 tjon of this, at present, infant Society. 



Carmer (Cc)i-(:«).— First and Eitra Prize, "Messrs. Dawson & Walker- 

 Second, — AllBop. HighlT Commended, F. F. Foster. Commended, V- 

 F. Foster. Hrnt.—Viiet, Eitra, and Third, Messrs. Dawson & Walker. 

 Second, F. F. Foster. 



TnHBLERS iHhort-ffured). — Prize and Highly Commended, H. Yardley. 



Tumblers (to,iy-/acfiij.— Prize, F. F. Foster. Highly Commended, 

 — Careless. 



OWLS, NCNB, TcBBlTs, AND Archasgelb.— First, Extra, and Second, 

 + H. Yardlev (Owls and Nans). Extra Prize, — i Mills, (Torbits.) Highly 

 Commende'd, H. Yardley (Archangels) ; — Mil Is (Tnrbits) ; —Cutler (Owls). 



PowTERS. — First and Second, F. F. Foster. 



Dragoons.— First and Extra Prize, •• — Ludlow. Second,H. Yardley. 

 Third, C. Barnes. Highly Commended, H. Yardley. 



Barbs. — First, Extra, and Second, H. Yardley. 



Jaoobines. — Prize, H. Yardlev. 



Antweeps.— First, H. Yardley. Second, — Ladlow. Highly Commended, 

 H. Yardley. CocAa.— First and Third, — Dawson. Second, C. Barnes. 

 Highly Commended, — Ludlow ; C. Eames. 



Ant other Variety.— First and Second, H. Y'ardley (Satinettes and 

 Black Swallows). Highly Commended, H. Yardley (Red Swallows, Spots, 

 Bmnswicks) ; M. Noye (Satinettes.) 



The Judges were Edward Hewitt, Esq., of Sparkhrook, near Bir- 

 mingham, and Thomas Hales, Esq., of Handsworth, near Birming- 

 ham. 



APLIRLVN NOTES. 



(Continued from page 136. J 



Nos. 6 and 8. — Both were supered and worked well, and both 

 threw off prime and second swarms, leaving large supers with 

 combs begun. 



No. 9. — A large flat-topped straw hive, from which a nice 

 super of about 35 lbs. was obtained. 



No. 10. — A hybridised Ligurian stock, with very prolific queen, 

 used all the summer for recruiting-purposes. Brood and other 

 combs were incessantly removed for the building-up of small 

 artificial swarms into populous stocks ; yet the hive is now, 

 after having been submitted to all these drawbacks, a tolerably 

 strong and prosperous stock. These hybrid Ligurian queens 

 do breed immensely, particularly if forced in the manner just 

 quoted. 



No. 11. — A large-sized octagon box hive. An octagon super 

 was put on ; when partly filled it was deepened by being lifted 

 on a second super having no top or bars. The hive was 

 crammed with bees, which constantly threatened to swarm, royal 

 cells being visible close to the back window. No swarm, how- 

 ever, went off, and a fine box of honey was removed in August. 



No. 12. — A large frame hive, which was tenanted by the 

 doubled swarms from Nos. 8 and 14 on May 30th. On June 

 5th the bees had done so well, and seemed so pressed for want 

 of accommodation, that I gave them a large square bar-box 

 super, having a few combs partially made. An eke being soon 

 required, the super was raised on it on the 21st of June, and 

 removed in August with 25 lbs. of pure honeycomb. 



No. 13. — A second swarm hived in a seven-framed box, with 

 a comb or two added. Nine days subsequently the queen was 

 taken away, and a sealed Ligurian royal ceU inserted. This, 

 after a few days, was found to be torn open, and other Ligurian 

 cells were substituted. The queen, which in due time was 

 raised, proved to be a very dark one, and the hive was eventually 

 broken up. 



No. 14. — This is about the best stock I ever possessed. 

 Originally an artificial swarm in 1862, at the head of which I 

 placed a splendid Ligurian queen, kindly given to me by Mr. 

 Woodbury, it has almost ever since maintained the first posi- 

 tion in my apiary. At the end of March, 1863, as I find in 

 my note-book, " No. 14. Bees attacked by dysentery : not 

 populous; a few eggs laid; interior quite dry." I therefore 

 did not expect much from the hive ; but, from this date, the 

 extraordinary breeding powers of the queen soon transformed 

 it into one of the most populous of my stocks. 



In 1863, honey obtained in one super 50 lbs. 



,. 18«4, „ 75 lbs. 



„ 1865, „ in two supers, 55 lbs, 



180 lbs. 

 In the three years there was obtained an average of 60 lbs., 

 without a cell of brood or poUeu mixed with it. In addition 

 to the 55 lbs. yielded by it last summer, the hive threw oS 

 a very fine swarm, having at its head the original Ligurian 

 queen of 1862. The super was then two-thirds completed, and 

 I at first feared that there was no hope of its being filled ; but 



• The Es:tra Pri^e. a Cold Soal and Kot. for CncV C-irriers, be:n» won by the 

 donor o[ it, Mr. Dawson, it was by that gentleman'^ wish, transferred to the 

 sccond-pnzc pen. . A Ijolu bcart Pin. 



S An electro-plated Sugar Basm. •* An electro-plated Marmalade. 



the bees in a week's time appeared as numerous as before, and 

 work progressed so rapidly that one of the supers was com- 

 pletely filled and sealed by the 15th of June. It weighed 

 35 lbs. nett., and was exhibited at our horticultural exhibition 

 on the 23rd, gaining a first prize. It was subsequently taken 

 down by Messrs. Neighbotir to the Eoyal Agricultural Show at 

 Plymouth, where also it was greatly admired. A second super 

 was removed in August, containing 20 lbs. nett. The swarm 

 which issued from No. 14 united itself, as has ah-eady been 

 told, to one from No. 8, therefore I do not know whether the 

 old queen is still to be numbered among the living, as she with 

 her subjects first took up her quarters in a Stewarton hive fiUed 

 with combs, in which inspection is difiicult, and what became of 

 her in the subsequent changes I had no means of ascertaining. 



No. 15. — A nucleus, or diminutive artificial swarm, with Li- 

 gurian royal cells formed in the summer, gradually built up by 

 the addition of brood-combs into a nice stock in a large frame 

 hive. The queen proves to be hybridised. 



No. 16. — -Exactly similar to No. 15. Was presented to a 

 clerical friend, and has by him been built up into an enormously 

 strong colony. 



No. 17. — Old-established stock in large frame hive. Became 

 very populous. A fine super of more than 30 lbs. weight ob- 

 tained from it. 



No. 18. — My purest Ligurian stock ; the bees are beautifully 

 marked Italians. At the early spring inspection this stock, 

 although only a small artificial swarm made late in the previous 

 autumn, contained more brood and eggs than any other in- 

 spected. A very large swarm was thrown off on the 29th of 

 May. After this, brood-combs and royal cells were removed 

 to raise several artificial swarms. In addition to, or in spite of, 

 this deprivation, it swarmed again on the 9th of June ; but 

 the bees returned. I took out the combs and quickly discovered 

 a poor dark-looking queen at Liberty, the other royal cells being 

 fortunately untouched. Hoping that amongst these there might 

 be a purer-looking specimen of a Ligurian, I at once destroyed 

 this princess that had probably led off the swarm. On the 

 11th the hive again swarmed ; this time all royal cells remain- 

 ing were cut out, and the swarm forcibly returned to the stock. 

 After this no further attempt at swarming took place, the hive 

 being, considering its losses, tolerably well iUled with combs 

 and bees. 



No. 20. — A prosperous hive in spring, to which were united 

 the bees and brood-combs of an adjoining hive as previously 

 related. A nice super was taken off. 



Nos. 21, 22, and 23 have been fine stocks, and have collected 

 a considerable quantity of honey in supers. 



No. 24. — Artificial swarm, made June 14th. Afterwards broken 

 np, and brood-combs used for strengthening another .swarm. 



No. 25. — A small second swarm of Ligurians was kindly 

 sent to me by a friend in the north of England. This I have 

 strengthened by brood-combs and Uberal feeding, and it is now 

 a very fair-conditioned stock. 



My honey harvest, owing to the disposition manifested by 

 the bees of a great number of the hives to swarm, has not been 

 so good as it would otherwise have been, or as it was in 1864. 

 Altogether, my favourites gave me in supers 230 lbs. of honey- 

 combs. The honey-gathering suddenly dropped off about the 

 23rd of June, leaving most of the supers uncompleted, having 

 a very large quantity of partially filled and unsealed combs. 

 The supers being allowed to remain on in the hope of a return 

 of the honey weather, the imsealed honey was almost aU re- 

 moved by the bees. I have little doubt that if the profuse 

 secretion of honey in the flowers previously existing had con- 

 tinued but one week longer, more than 400 lbs. of super honey 

 would have fallen to my share. 



I do not lay claim to having had a very successful season ; 

 but having in bygone years periodically given the details of 

 my apiarian doings, I think it may be useful also to have to 

 record a partial failure in the results which might have been 

 anticipated, considering the number of hives kept and the pro- 

 fuse secretion of honey which, at one period of the summer, 

 prevailed. It will be seen by refen-ing to the first part of this 

 account that, after the union of the diseased stocks, I com- 

 menced operations for the summer with fifteen hives. Eight 

 only of these afforded supers, and one super was taken from 

 the doubled swarm. The failure of the remaining stocks in 

 giving suppUes of honey was attributabel to their throwing off 

 natural swarms, or, in a few cases, to their resources being ap- 

 pUed to'making or strengthening artificial swarms. Unfortu- 

 nately, I have to record the loss of more swarms than I have 

 ever before experienced. My hives are now kept in two apiaries. 



