72 



JOORNAri OP HORTIOTLTUBB AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Tnlir 23, IStO. 



the introdaction and propagation of Ligarians nnless he 

 possesses frame hives, and either has attained, or purposes at- 

 taining the necessary degree of facihty in manipalating them. 

 I take it also for granted, that he knows how to "drive" a 

 stock of bees, bat if not, would refer him to Nos. 1.39 or 3.">7 of 

 " our .Tournal," wherein my own mode of operating is fully de- 

 tailed, or if he cannot refer to these, Mr. Payne's instructions 

 in page 60 of the last edition of " Bee-keeping for the Many," 

 may answer the purpose. 



Although the attempt at Italianising with tlio aid only of 

 common bees in hives with fixed combs is but vanity, and can 

 end only in vexation of spirit, it is sufficiently easy to transfer 

 stocks of bees, combs and all, from common hives or boxes 

 into moveable-oomb hives, where they become quite as avail- 

 able (perhaps more so) as if they had been l:ived in them in 

 the first place. The process is as follows : — During the middle 

 of a fine day, and at a season when the hive is well filled with 

 bees, drive all the inhabitants of a strong colony into an empty 

 hive, which place upon their accustomed stand, then take their 

 original hive in-doors, and cut out all the combs whole. Fit 

 these into frame?, and support them therein by strips of wood 

 three-eighths of an inch wide, and one-sixteenth thick, tacked at 

 the top and bottom, two on each side of every comb, and by 

 zinc clips at the top as represented in the annexed engraving. 



Thick combs must be pared down ; but take care that the cells 

 on either side are left of equal length, and that the " partition 

 wall " is in the centre of each bar. Crooked combs should be 

 set straight, and if not sufficiently pliable to permit of this 

 being done, may be slightly warmed before the fire. It will be 

 found convenient to remove the projecting Woodbury-rib from 

 the bars, and the bees will attach the comba to them with 

 greater facility if their under surface be coated with melted 

 ■wax. Having completed the job, and arranged the combs in 

 the same order in their new apartment as that which they 

 occupied in their old one, deepen the hive by the addition, on 

 the top, of another from which the frames and crown and floor- 

 boards have been removed, set it on the old stand, and knock 

 out the cluster of bees into the upper hive on the top of the 

 frames of the lower one, putting on the crown-board with the 

 utmost celerity. Next morning take away the inserted hive, 

 and the day after that remove the supports from all the combs 

 -which the bees have fixed. If any are not fastened, they should 

 be left until they are also securtd. 



Stocks of bees with combs not less than a year old, should be 

 selected for this operation, which must in no case be attempted 

 ■with swarms of the current year, as their combs are too soft to 

 sustain the weight of their contents without crushing when their 

 natural supports have been removed. 



(To be continned.) 



IMPROVED BAR FRAMES. 

 Tncr.E can be no question that the bar frame described in your 

 number of July 8th is a decided improvement upon the ordinary 

 bar-frame, and it gives "increased surface for the fingers and 

 thumb to lay hold of;" but why your correspondent should stop 

 thort of the improvement made by " Sieert-ox-the-Wold " in 

 No. '2>''2 1 am at a loss to understand. The improved bar- 

 frame first introduced by him has the same advantage as that 

 of" E. B.," that " when the cover is screwed down " it holds 

 the frames firmly in their place?, even though " the hive were 

 turned upside down." It possesses another important advan- 

 tage — viz., that the top bar is elongated so as to project quite 

 through the back and front of the hive. Auy comb can be 



lifted from the hive with greater facility, without thrusting the 

 finger and thumb of each hand between the combs, which to 

 me is rather a disagreeable process ; but with the elongated top 

 bar the operation of lifting out the comb is easy and harmless, 

 as the combs are removed from the Hive by the end of the pro- 

 jecting bar, without pushing the finger and thumb into the hive. 

 A comb can be lifted out, and the bees areqoite unconscious of 

 it. I lifted a comb from one of these liives the other day ; 

 upon it was the queen busily engaged depositing eggs in the 

 cells, which her majesty continued to do all the time I held 

 the comb in my hands — about twenty minutes. In lifting out 

 combs from the ordinary frame hive, I am compelled to put on 

 gloves and a veil, and otherwise to protect myself from the 

 angry bees which appear to oppose the intrusion of fingers and 

 thumb into their territory, while with the elongated top bar ot 

 "Sidert" I can lift out the ombs without the least protection. 

 Although I rejoice at any improvement in beecnlture I cannot 

 but think that the bar-frame'of " E. B." is rather a step back- 

 wards from that of " Sir.nr.T." 



I have about twenty stocks of bees, only two of which are in 

 hives without the elongated top bar; all the rest of my hives are 

 fitted with Pettitt'8 metallic bar-rests, and it is " in the belief 

 that it will be of use to some of your readers " that I state my 

 experience and preference for the top bar of the frame project- 

 ing quite through the back and front of the hive. 



I might state one other advantage — viz., the top barprojeotg 

 about half an inch, which gives the op?6rtunity of loosening the 

 frames previous to their being lifted out, by a backward and 

 forward movement before the removal ot the eronn board. — 



SCDBURY. _ 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Er.ns MOT H»TCiTn.T-, (J. TTiinf.)— Wc hive no donhtthc fiiilurc ot ynnt 

 eggs is due to the neclcct of dainpinK the:n. They cannot hatch well It 

 they are kept dry— the chicken is worn out in its endeavours to leave 

 the shell. It is too often said the eggiwcre stile, and the l,iids are con- 

 seqnentlv weak, when the fact is, that a little sprinkUnRof the egS5 would 

 prodnce fine stron;; chickens. An eeg that has been laid a fortnight i« 

 by no means a stale eRg. A Partridge lays eighteen eggs, she takes 

 twenty-one days to do it, and hatches all, yet some of those eggs havo 

 been laid three weeks. A Pheasant does not lay quite as many eggs, hnt 

 she is as long about it, «nd yet hatches them all. The truth is, and m 

 it may often be found the cause of failure, instead of being content to 

 follow nature, we either neglect or try to help hor. 



SELEcTiNa Chickexs (.4mi/).— If it is not inconTcnIent to keep them 

 we advise you to defer classing your chickens for another mouth. You 

 may safely get rid ot those that have positive and visible defects, Ihey 

 will never pay ; hut as you cannot depend on equal growth, we fancy yon 

 will bo a gainer by keeping the best a little longer. 



PooiTBY FOE A Faem (Faminri La<ciieT).—We believe you can do 

 much better by buying goslings and Turkey poults, than by breeding 

 them. Thelattcr are to be had in any number about the time the barley 

 stubbles are ready, and so are the goslings. 



Ketteris-o PoutTRV SHOW.— Mr. Dring informs ns that the second 

 prize for chickens, '• Any variety, ' was given to his Dark Brahmas, and 

 not Mr. Banberry's Buff Cochins. 



Turk -•. s 'R. F.). — We are sorry we cannot decide the point. Wo have 

 ourow I "• nions and have often published them. Wo cannot see why 

 there »' all be one rule for Turkeys, and another for fowls. In many 

 parts where Turkey-breeding is an important part of rural economy, no 

 cook is kept, but one is hired for a few days at the p ..per period, and that 

 is all that is rcqnirad. All the eggs prove good. We have bclore stated, 

 we onco shut up a ben Turkey tor si^ weeks in a loft ; at the end of 

 that time she laid thirteen egg', and hatched eleven. No bird of any 

 kind had, or could have had access to her. We tried the same with a 

 Poland hen, aU her eggs were good, although laid weeks alter the coclc 

 was removed. It is the same with all pilygamous birds. The nearest 

 answer we can give yon is, that we bflievo. save under very exceptional 

 cases, the -.chole laying ot eggs is fertilised by Oie cock running with the 

 hen at the time she began laying. 



Babbits .\t Spaujino Snow (C. t.).— We are unable to slate either the 

 length of the ears or the weight of the prizewinners at this Show. The 

 catalogue forwarded to us contained neither of these particulars, nor did 

 our reporter note them. 



Sand for Yocso Cakaries (J. Craic/ortZ).— Young Canaries should 

 have sand in their cages as soon as they are taken from the parent birds. 



POULTRY ]\I.\RKET.— IniY 21. 



There is dimcalty in making anything like a correct report of price". 

 In very ^'ot weather much poultry is spoiled, and that which from good 

 management or contiguity to London is enabled to get to market ia 

 good order, makes a larger price accordingly. It our readers seeing this 

 were to send, it is more than probable t^-jy would be disappointed, the 

 weather might change, ur the fowls might be spoiled. 



Large Fowls 4 



Saaaller do 3 



Chickens ^ 



Go-lings 



DnekB 3 



rifc'cons 



