374 



JOUBNAL Of HQBTICOLTUBB AND OOTTAGB GARDENER. 



f M«r I«, ISBB. 



In a Bpnng like the prc»ent, iinporaUeUed for its unpropitioiis 

 and uiigenm cbarnoter, «licn little or no poUcn couM be col- 

 lected from tlowers, a substitute, if such there be, would be an 

 mvaluable adjunct to the usual kiud of feeding roRorted to, 

 and, therefore, it is desirable that apiarians should know how 

 fcr and in what way Dzierzon's discovery raav be made avail- 

 f^^A 'f '■?:^"»t"l can bo really appropriate,! bv bees, and 



us€d as a substitute for the pollen of flowers.-^ Lowr 



A BEEICEEPING NOVITIATE. 

 I rincHASED a swarm in a common stock hive on the 4th of 

 June last year It swarmed on that day, and weighed, with 

 hive and floor-board, 15 lbs. About a fortnight later I cut a 

 hole in the top of the hive, and put on an adapter, as directed 

 m Paynes '•Bee-keeping." The top of the hive being round I 

 had to use some mortar to get a level surface ; the mortar and 



the beesdid not work in it, and after removing it in Septeniber 

 the hive weighed ;J7 lbs. Whenever I speak of the hive please 

 to understand I mean the whole together, hive, board, and 

 adaptor. I now wanted to increase the weight to 42 lbs bv 

 feeding; but now came a difficulty, for I dared not lift np the 

 hive to put food under. I made a small box with one end of 

 glass to put over the hole in the top of the hive. I then took 

 ?in empty sardine box, which held just half a pound of svrup, 



This piece of deal floats in the box, and rises and falls with the 

 syrup. The sniall box bemg full, I one evening, with trembling 

 hand pushed ,t under the box on the top of the hive ; it was 

 lT„^i'""T '""\^''<^^; ''"'i °» l"«king through the glas^ in the 

 3 «n^ -f "^ *■'" ^T^ ""'' "" S™''- I "' ^--e took it out, 

 and failed it again. But now I found a fresh difficulty \fter 

 one or two feeds I found that as soon as I withdrew the box to 

 lUl It the bees came pouriiig up, and when I wanted to push it 

 under again I dared not do so, being afraid of hurting the bees 

 but considerably more afraid of their hurting me. I then 

 managed m this way: .ifter waiting a few hours I put the 

 box under and then bored a hole through the top of the large 



thro gh a piece of indian-rubber tubing, and by means of a 

 MuaU funnel I could then fill the box at pleasure. By these 



l?„f ? ?/."-' '"7 "I" *" ■*■'' "^^- 0" *1^« 24th of December it 

 weighed 41 lbs., on .Tanuary '2911. .S7 lbs., on March •29th .^4( lbs 



^ \^V?^ ','"•• "" ^^^ -*^* •"! "^^•. on tl'e 30th HI lbs. 

 on May 2nd .3iJ} lbs., on the Hrd 2;)J lbs., on the 4th 29} lbs 

 and down to the sth the weight has been stationary 



Wm you inform me whether it is usual for bees to lose 

 weight so late in the season, as I expected them to gain long 

 before this, and whether you think mine are going on all right 

 also when you thhik I may put on the super? I wish to pre' 

 vent them swarming this ye.ar.— J. i;. Bevtox. 



[You evinced considerable ingenuity in overcommg the diffi- 

 culty which you experienced in feeding your bees ; but all and 

 more than all the advantages of your apparatus are obtainable 

 in a much more simple and convenient form by the use of an 



ifTfi fill 5' ;, f^'V"' '' necessary- is a common pickle- 

 bottle, filled with food, and tied over with a bit of cap net, and 

 inverted over the central aperture in the top of the hive, which 

 should be previously covered with a piece of perforated zinc. 

 A perforated block of wood about r, inches diameter, and fittin" 

 closely to its neck, is an important adjunct to the feeding-bottle" 

 obviating, as it does, all risk of a capsize, and effectually ox^ 

 eluding marauders. 



The recent unfavourable weather is the cause of vour bees 

 remaming stationary, and we should regard the first favourable 

 change as the signal for putting on a super. 



We know of no work exactly answering vour description. Most 

 bee-books give more or less reliable particulars of the natural 

 history of the insect Much information mav also be derived 

 from aperusal of Kirby and Spence's " Entomologv." and there 

 are good articles ,n the last editions of the " Encvclopn>dia 

 Bntanmca, and Chambers- "Information for the" People." 

 Hnber s " Observations on the Natunil Historv of Bees - is 

 st;U most valuable to the scientitic inquirer; whilst full in- 

 formation on the more recent great discovery of partheno- 

 genesis in the honey bee may be found in Mr. DaUas's transla- 

 tion of \on Siebold's work on that subject, pubUshed by Van 



nr,°'".i!:.r.r'"i -"1 '° ""'•'«/ .'fora «'« P<"> of ^[r. Woodbury, 

 the lirst of which appeared in our 25th Number, and which 



were afterwards continued from time to time.] 



ii),!fT ,• V t",^"','^""*""'' SociETT.-One of the most 

 I »7 f'^n *"?' ' '?' '>""'"" "* "^"""^ for competition on the 

 20th of 1 ecember by this S..ciety. The prizes varv fr„m two 

 gnmeas downwards, and there are many silver medals in 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



CTowth wit f svm^M^ """"^ '■'■ ^''"■^"B ohickcni. Oood .nd proper 

 chicVenVnro o£m .^V'^r'l,"''';''"'''''' "■"• '^"""'i"! »« small si.e Mar 

 cnicHens arc ofteo successtolly sbowu in .Vovembor, e^pecmUj Cocliini. 



onlv''«dvicrwr'Jn'!l Contracted Feet-G.ipk» IComlanI i!r„d.r).-TJie 

 "raeted jcf h toJ^v^;;'^ }on abonl .voir d„oklin„,, hatched with c<Sk- 

 ot u-olatiui tl?,.f Ih""^ tTMdinK from th„ sto,-k, as there arc do motos 

 nerer lie of "i^ i« ?.'■'' ■"'W''"", I"""™ ^M'- Adult fowls scldr.m or 

 h"f the si^o o?'„ L, •" '''■'■% ';"" ""'"■'« '^I'iclcuus. Pills uf camphor 

 ceases ,vnrcur/n,r^^''H ",' 1" "' "••'''' '"»'"' '"^"^■'^ ''" 'f" W-'Piut 



'l S win. ,;^k^'^ }''"■!'.'" "' '"'^ r-le made .., PC... W..u,^:l " moal 

 •t T i^ , i™^ 1^'' V"' *>'■■''''" "li'"" ^f' «'-in*<I fine aid .niv d -^-ith 

 oVthVni. keep young Turkeys dry, and b,;er i. a • 1 thinj,' 



ihfn'J^u^.^m^.V?;'"; ^"'.-^ ^'>;"!:i:r (ff. B.l.-Good feedlnff-is Iho onlr 

 he Srink f ,^^M /' ""n ""'"'';'" '"\ ""^ "='"'1 "oo'h". Boor is mucii 

 chilly chickens than water, when the atmosiihcre is damp tmd 



.r^aa.s are niost probahly infl.aine.1, and we anticipate that she i8too l§? 

 t,.v„ her .^ de8serl.,p(«„f„l of castor-oil twice after a dav°9 uiterv" 

 vhX CO,?." Jr'fll'f f t^'oes with a «ry Ultle barieTmeal added Imt So 

 lcaTl.s,^sdeSr.ablc "^^ ^''""'i'"™ "' «""=° fuod, especially lotluoe 



W^^T.'iJ^t" l'^' ?■ ^"-^"ii''!")— The temperatnre should be lOr or lO.",'. 

 ^e have not heard reoeiilly anythina about the Orapo vou mouUon. It 

 will lie advertised, probably, in duo time. ' •""""""■ 



DoiiKlxr. Chickens Dvin,-. U- £. fl.).-Tho symptoms aro tlioso ol 

 ?:ipo„de';tlo-dt'^'"''"" " •"" "' '■»°""">^' - '^•-'«-» '- a^o^r^co?! 

 <.TreTwUl"Lf?,T^'' J?''*'^^/-^- "■■ f-l-The bill should be ot . yellowish 

 broad, and rather w^dcrat the tip than at the base. Head, In.trous Vrcen 

 tai""5eh hfT""' -"'"/i-S '"'""1 ">o "*'-l<. not quite m'etoi SthJ 

 Ba^' dark ^r "i" •j'"^''' ^'■'••"'*l- "ichinf. low down to the water line. 

 ^J;„ ^^1 1?'^<'^°; '""ly. ^o". <?rcy, almost white near the tail ; tail, dark 

 ™?f?of^; 7' 5™..':'"' ''!"'■''• '"'"^' ''■•"'™i''ll. with broad ribbon 



Z^i^.e o?TS^n?' 7'"'"' = '"^"' *'«"' *"">^''" "« «■ '^ defect; legs. 

 orant'e, or brown and orange ; weight about 8 lbs. 



t„'?Mrtv'',l„^°V.!'';'?'-^'^'''';i'"'-"-^'"' "^SS' require from twentyeight 

 [a^.I^^ r I ^"'^t'"?; P '■"" '*™'' '«™" postage stamps with vm.r 

 addiess, and order "The Poultry Book for the Manv." it will be scut to 

 J ou Iree by post. It contains the information you iuenUon. 



a J.'ii'!.m^'nT^~w-f f °™\^''- •»•>— In tbe absence of guidc-oomba 

 a ver> emcient substitute may be found in the German artideial combs 

 or impressed wax shect.s sold by Messrs. Neighbour. These should !>• 

 cut into stnps of Ij mch in width, and filed ou edge to the under side o» 

 the bars by means of melted wai. The best means of doing this is bj 

 making incisions a quarter of an inch Jeep and about 1 inch r.part along 

 oueedgeof the strip of wax, which should be held between two slips of 

 wood with the lucise.l edge projecting and slightly warmed by a fire ; then 

 gently bend the incised portions at right angles in opposite directions 

 nght ;md left, rapidly wax the b.ir with melted wax, and quiiklv press 

 the bent P'Ttious of the incised edge upon it. If properly managed these 

 strips of ar iflcial comb will adhere lirmly and form most efficient guide- 

 combs. ^^ hen natural combs are used lor the puniose th.'v ^.liould not 

 be old, and all drono-coiubs should be carefully eschewed The latter 

 end of April is usually about thi- time for putting ou supers, but no exact 

 period can be named, as it is always varying with the season and the 

 state of the stocks themselves. 



POt'LTRY M.VKIvKT.— IVLvv u. 



Is commou with otlier markets, extreme dullness caoscs iinsatislactorv 

 tradp, nnd lower ciuotations. Wo do not recollect no bad a trade in the 

 month of Mav. 



s. d. s. d 



Lar^a Fowls 3 C to 4 U 



Smaller do 8 „ 3 fl 



Fowls „ 



Cliickeiis 1 9 „ 2 G 



Goslings 6 „ 6 G 



Ducidings 3 & „ Z Q 



ft. d. 



8. 



Oninea Fowls OtoO 



Pftrtridgos „ 



Hnros Q „ 



Kabbita 1 4 , 1 



Wild do 8 „ 



Plgeona 8 „ 



