136 



JOUEKAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



1 Aagut 12, 1669. 



seem to travel through or over every kind of lining material 

 whatever, till they come to some resietiog enbstance, when 

 they atop and rapidly accumnlate. To prevent this congrc- 

 gdting ill the nest in snch disagreeable proximity to the eitting 

 hen and young birds, many contrivances have been adopted, 

 all of more or less merit, such as tin nests with only two nar- 

 row strips placed crosswise for a bottom, or a neet of perforated 

 zinc, or, better still, of woven wirework, which, however, should 

 be BuOicicntly open to prevent the hen being caught by her 

 claw, in which case she is very likely to injure herself in her 

 endeavours to sot herself fiee. But the must effective contri- 

 vance I have seen, and one which I am assured answers its 

 purpose well, is to use nest boxes of earthenware. We can 

 procure a very elegant article of the kind at any of our pot- 

 teries, made either glazed or otherwise. This is lined with a 

 thick felt, which can be had of any respectable saddler and 

 harness-maker, and is used by them, I believe, in lining 

 saddles. There are two kinds — one white, and the other brown 

 or black. The former is of tie softer quality, and costs about 

 2s. a-pound. I prefer the latter, which is somewhat cheaper, 

 is harder, and not so easily pulled to pieces, while the bird 

 soon works it up to a soft surface with her feet. It is too thick 

 to be used entire, but can be pulled into two pieces without 

 difficulty. The secret lies in lining the nest box, which is 

 done by mixing a little plaster of Paris to the consistency of 

 cream in the earthenware box, and then pressing the felt into 

 it. By this means it becomes so intimately connected with the 

 sides of the box, that any lodgement on the part of the insects 

 is impossible, unless it be immediately round the edges, which 

 can be prevented by a little extra care in putting in the felt. 



This method has been adopted by one of the most successful 

 breeders in the north, and, he assures me, with complete suc- 

 cess. The vermin must then be looked for elsewhere, and will 

 usually be seen at the back of the nest, or between the ends of 

 the perches and the back of the cage, from which places they 

 can very easily be dislodged, and their rapid increase be ma- 

 terially, if not altogether checked. Oil, sulphur, and the 

 thousand-and-one recipes prescribed for their extermination 

 are very well at certain stages, but with these insects, as with ] 

 other nuisances, " prevention is better than cure." I could 

 fill this week's Journal with certain preventives, among which 

 is mint. Said a friend to me, "I've found it!" "What'?" 

 And then came a subdued whisper, " Mint I" Next time we met 

 I asked him, " How about the mint ?" All he said was. " They 

 fatten on it I" The best, however, is too good to be omitted, 

 if you have another inch of space to spare. A breeder, who 

 speaks the true vernacular of this district, says, " I've getten a 

 trap for them ; there's nout like a trap. They're lamed little 

 jockeys is them rid spiders. I put one of our Billy's bulks, a 

 Latin bulk, a top of one of my cages, and next mornin it was 

 swa-armin ! The cliver little jockeys had all getten intiv our 

 Billy's Latin bulk to lam Latin, and when I put my foot on't, 

 and gi'ed them a bit squeeze, man, believe me I squeezed out 

 above a gill of blood !" — W. A. Blakstox. 



REMOVING BEES IN HOT WEATHER. 



A SHOKT time since, thinking the honey harvest in my neigh- 

 bourhood at an end, I removed four strong hybrid Ligurian 

 Woodbury hives, each having a super partly filled, to the 

 heather. Before doing so I lifted the adapting boards and the 

 covers of the supers, breaking the sealing of the bees to admit 

 air. Tobacco smoke was used to drive into their hives the dis- 

 turbed bees which crowded the entrances, and the openings were 

 then closed with perforated zinc. Thus prepared they were I 

 taken in a spring cart a distance of fourteen miles to the heath, 

 slowly during the night. The last three miles of the road were 

 very rough indeed. My gardener on his return reported that 

 he feared all the hives had been suffocated, but the very wet 

 morning had prevented his opening any before leaving the 

 stand. Eeturning the first fine day he found the best hive 

 quite dead ; two others, each with very few bees living, had 

 formed royal cells ; the fourth equally weak, and forming no 

 royal cells. In each case more than three-fourths of the combs 

 had fallen out from the frames. Having fastened these, he 

 left them to their fate with little hope. 



I have since visited the stand and find a great improvement. 

 Young queens have been hatched in two hives, and in the third 

 the old queen is alive and doing well. Many combs, however, 

 are full of sealed brood with sunken covers, very dark, and 

 having much the appearance of foul brood when opened. The 



cells contain either dead bees or decaying grabs, which present 

 a dark, watery, and very unpleasant appearance. I venture to 

 ask if, under the circumstances, foni brood is likely to occnr. 

 If not, will the bees remove the dead brood of which I have 

 spoken ? And how are strong supered hives at this season beet 

 prepared for removal and taken long distances by road to the 

 moors ? — B. 



II When stocks are so strong and crowded with bees as yonrs 

 appear to have been, the risk of removal duiing warm weather 

 is very great indeed. Yon should have taken off the supers, 

 and tacked down on every hive a square of perforated zinc in 

 place of the top board, deepening it at the same time by the 

 insertion of an empty hive (from which the frames and crown 

 and floor boards had been removed), between it and the floor 

 board. If prepared in this way, and with proper fastenings to 

 prevent shifting, all would probably have reached the moors in 

 safety. We do not fancy that foul brood will ensue, but it 

 seems almost a doubtful case ; and we should, therefore, advise 

 yon to send one of the combs containing dead brood to Mr. 

 Woodbniy, Mount Eadford, Exeter, for his opinion.] 



FOUL BROOD AND THE THEORIES OF 

 PREUSS AND I.AMBRECHT. 



The Lamhrecht theory appears to meet with but little favour 

 in Germany. In the last number of the " Bte Journal " Herr 

 Klein, of Tambuchshof, denounces it as utterly delusive, in 

 which opinion he is confirmed by Dzierzon, the Baron von 

 Berlepsch, and Giinther. 



On the other hand, the Baroness von Berlepsch, in a private 

 letter just received, specially directs my attention to an " im- 

 portant article " in the same paper, from Dr. Preuss, supporting 

 and developing bis mycolceical theory, and begs that I will 

 translate it into English. Unfortunately the learned doctor's 

 article is somewhat lengthy ; but as the Baroness states that 

 both her husband and Dzierzon " stand to his colours," I 

 will endeavour to get it turned into Enplisb, and hope to be 

 able to submit it to the readers of "our Journal." — A Devon- 

 shire Bee- KEEPER. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Parasites on Foivlb (F. J. H'.).— Continnc tho oil, «nd i( it tail pnt 

 some cnmphor ointment at tbe back of the bpad, on the hnckbone. and 

 under the winfTS. It is a certain cure. Yonrrhickpne mast Imve Buffered 

 much before they became in the state you mention. A recurrence may 

 be prevented by supplying tbem with plenty of road prit or wood nghefl, 

 mixed with one-quarter of black sulphur. They dust in this, and it pre- 

 vents parasites. 



Canaries FLrcKiNo Each Other IE. S. Potkinghome).~'^oaug Ca- 

 naries frequently do this. There is no care except caging separately, 

 then the feathers will speedily grow again. 



Tumbler Pigeons (7rfcm).— Let out your Tumblers fasting on a fine 

 mominp. Shout at them, and wave a flag lied to a long atick. If too fat 

 they will not care to By ; indeed naturally Tumblers only seem to wish to 

 fly occasionally, in certain states of the atmo'^pbere, when rooks and other 

 birds like to dash about on the wing. No Tumblers tumble until they 

 are adult birds. Do not take them away from home, as yon may lose 

 them. We have had birds of our own that after six weeks' confinement 

 flew very high and kept up a long time. All 'lumhlera do not tumt)1e. 

 Those with feathers on their lef:s invariably do, but then they are the 

 woret'Shapetl birds. The carser bred the better they tumble; the more 

 beautiful the shape the less likely are they, but we have oxceptiona among 

 the latter. Black Balds usually tumble well. 



Hives ^vtth Combs (C G.). — It is a very great assistance to a swarm 

 of bees to be placed in a hive either wholly or partially tilled with combs, 

 provided always that the former tenants have died of starvation, not of 

 disease. 



Moths in a Hive ( H'. P. P).— If the hive be a moveable-comb one, the 

 combs can readily be lifted ont and the moth larT.T destroyed. If the 

 combs be fixed, we see nothing for it but to expel the bees by driving, nnite 

 them to the next stock, destroy tho moths and their larva?, and appro- 

 priate the remaining contents of the hive. 



Silkworms.— "A Seamstress" wishes to know where she could dispose 

 of the silk prednced by her silkworms, and whether the skeins of silk need 

 be of any particular size '.* 



Maltese Dog {J. V.). — You have no remedy ; or rather, the cost of 

 recovering the 50s. would be more than that amount. We cannot onder- 

 t,tand how anyone can buy an animal they never saw. 



Goat Manacjement lUnrrnrd}. — We know of no book upon the subject. 

 The following was communicated to this Journal some years since ; — 

 " Feed them as you would ft cow or sheep : milk them at regular times, 

 and strip them dry. They will eat almost any kind of fond. Mine was a 

 commou Irish (ioat, cost 21*., and gave three pints of milk at a meal. Tie 

 them up while milking, and milk from behind the leg. Tbey are subject 

 to lice ; a little oil rubbed on the back is all that is required to remove the 

 vermin. We believe one obstacle in the way of Goat-keeping is the need 

 of keeping a buck Goat as well as milch Goats. If several persons kept 

 Goats in one vicinity, tbe fragrant gentleman in question might be joint- 

 stock." 



Colouring Wine. — "Winepress" wishes to be toldhowmuch cochineal 

 he must use to colour ten gallons of gooseberry wine, so as to give it tho 

 rosy tint of champagne. 



