270 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



C B«pUmbfir 30, 1800. 



vas placed perpendicnlnr on the face of the comb, and I have ainco 

 observed that qQeen'a ccUh are always in a perpendicular position. I 

 coold not afford to let mutt<TS ^o too fur, because I shonld have lout 

 my qaeen by so doinf;, and the new qnccn woald have been nufruitfal 

 for a long time, if not altogether barren, inasmach as she must have 

 gone abroad among her neighbonrs for a royal consort. There were at 

 that period no drones in the hive. Within three hoars after theqneen 

 was returned the intended now queen was neglected, and the next day 

 the diBfignrement on the face of the comb had disappeared. As the 

 spring camo on, I saw the combs day by day enlarge, and immense 

 nambers of drones — males — came out, and in dno coarse qaeens' cells 

 were formed upon the lower edges of the combs, to tho number of 

 iventy ; and by the middle of February I bad seen eight swarms flj off 

 from this one hive. Some of the swarms were very small, and in the 

 end the hive was so weak that moths got in and laid their eggs in tho 

 comb, 60 the few that remained were eaten out of house and home by 

 the gmbs of the moths, which burrowed the comb in every direction, 

 filling them with cobwebs wherever they went. 



Although I was much interested in my amusement, yet T must confess 

 to great disappointment as to the commeicial results. I had hoped that 

 we mipiht have nice little rows bf bee-hives in our gardens in India, just 

 as one can have at home, with resultti as sweet and as paying, but bo 

 far as I could see, the strong instinct for emigration and colonising in 

 the Indian bee seemed to forbid soch a result. As I conld now got 

 plenty of bee<?, I resolved for one good experiment in the interests of 

 commerce. I thought if I conld put five or six hives together. I 

 should have a good strong one to begin the experiment with. So now 

 I had a six-dozen beer chest prepared for a hive, and a noble hive it 

 vas. The thing to be dono was to fill it with a working colony. A 

 Mahomedan gentleman gave me free access to his forest and zcmindary, 

 allowing me to take any liberty I pleased with those troes that had 

 bees in them ; from cnttinij off a limb to felling the trunk. I selected 

 xny trees, and the first was an old jammcm pollard. Two good bhnrrs 

 (woodcutters) soon bronght it down for me, and the bees being within 

 1^ foot of the bottom, 1 was able to reach them pretty well. But, do 

 vhat I could, the bees would not remain in my luve, as fast as I took 

 them out they flew back again into tho tree. I ordered the tree to be 

 split open in the middle — as soon as it was opened out, "horror of 

 horrors," there lay coiled up a large khoreit snake, and every time my 

 hand had gone in, it had gone over this snake. It makes me shiver 

 when I think of it now, and the sight of those lookers-on who were 

 with me is a picture on my memory still. My honest and good friend, 

 the Mahomedan, would allow me to cut no more trees, unless I promised 

 in future to see what sort of a nest I was putting my hand into. I of 

 course gave the promise, and kept it. I saw my friend twenty years 

 after the above, and he still retained the clearest possible conviction of 

 the goodness of my kismut. May his shadow never grow less ! 



I got together six hives without any further trouble, and then, how 

 ■were they to be united ? I made short work of it, by mixing a solution 

 of sugar and water, and poured it into the hive that was to be united 

 ■with the bees already in the new hive. T easily managed to get the 

 queen, and the workers were then taken to and claimed by the old 

 stock as a matter of course. And thus I tilled my magnificent hive. 

 It was a sight to see thera work. I had the hive in a house, with a 

 hole in the wall for going out and in, and I had doors and windows 

 for observation. I would have no tricks with these to interfere with 

 the commercial results. My heart rejoiced, as day by day and week 

 by week, I saw the combs grow and the inmates increase. To show 

 their watchful care and strength, I may relate that a death's-head moth 

 had the temerity to enter an air chamber I had made for ventilation ; 

 there ho was waxed down to the board, and made a mummy as a warn- 

 ing to all such intruders. As the inmates increased in number, I was 

 alarmed at the unasnal heat engendered, and I did all in my power 

 to cool them dovpn. It was all useless ; for the heat went on increas- 

 ing, and the ventilators were covered with an immense amount of 

 mixture that collected in largo drops as tho vapour condensed, and 

 soon, to my utter des])air, I saw combs forming for drones, and these 

 of course were followed by queens' cells. I did all in my power to put 

 an end to both, but the colony outwitted me, aud one day I had the 

 misfortune to see my splendid hive denuded of more than half of its 

 population. I caught and kilkd the old qnecn who was leading them 

 off, and the queen being killed the bees returned again to the hive. 

 The excitement never subsided, and the nest day many took wing again. 

 I saw the bees were angry, but I did not expect the mischief which 

 followed. I had a very tame, long-tailed, black-faced, white monkey 

 — a longoor — and my angry bees stung him to death before I was aware 

 of his danger. On the third day from tho previous swarming, a new 

 queen led them off again, and this time flew away at once. I now 

 gave up all as useless aud hopeless, and prepared for one final experi- 

 ment, little suspecting the good fortune that awaited me. 



I removed all tho combs, except one very nice new littlo one, and 

 sought for aud removed tho queen. Aly object was to see how long 

 the workers would hold together and keep to the hivo after losing 

 their queen. At first, of course, all was confusion ; but they soon 

 began to collect pollen, though their wax was all wasted. And al- 

 though the poUeu was collected and bronght home, very little skill 

 was shown in storing it. and most of it fell in littlo oblong Hakes at the 

 bottom of the hive. Afttr six days, I was surprised to find a number of 

 eggs on the board at the bottom of the hive. I could hardly believe 

 what I &aw. I was quite sure there vas no queen, and yet there were 



eggs. I made a closer search, and more astoDiiOuDg still, nearly all 

 tho cells in tho comb I had left them had eggs in them ; nut one ^qg 

 in each, as tho quoen carefully lays her eggs, bat in one I counted a 

 dozen, and there was every proof of a most careless and indiscrimijiAte 

 laying. I wari determined to give np any time and attention that 

 might be required to fathom the mystery ; and in a short time, I aaat 

 the common worker bees laying eggs. Of conrse I was most auxiaas 

 to see what tho final result of this new fact would be. I aoon saw 

 that the vgna were fruitful, for the little worm floating in jelly appeared 

 in some cells the next day, and things went tkrough their usual coarse 

 to tho closing- up of the cells. My patience could not wait for the 

 flying insect to come out, and I opened a cell and took out a yoang 

 b«o nearly ready to como out and two days afterwards, I was gratified 

 by seeing some half dozen little black drones fly out with their nana] 

 heavy buzz. This was highly satisfactory as fur as it went. It was 

 a fact, not before known, that tho workers could torn out fmitfoL 

 There was do hope for the hive, for the males do not work. KoLhii^ 

 more was to bo luamt, and my hive died out in a short time. And here 

 was an end to my amusement with bees. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



LoHBON PoutTiT Show.— Mr. Quick. 26, Hcnr>- Street. St. John's Wood, 

 Hon. Sec. of Uio St. John's Wood Fancy lUbbit Society. o:Epressee his 

 willinKDCSB to co-oporate. [We have so mtny letters HdvacaLioff a me- 

 tropolitan show, and tendcrim; subscriptions, that we have no doubt If a 

 committoo woro formed of wutl-kuown men, it coold be effected without 

 difficulty. We shall publish some communications on the subject next 

 Thursday. Since tho above was in type we hiV6 been informed that a 

 meeting will bo held on Tuesday, October 5tb, at 3 p m . at Evans's Hotel, 

 Covent Garden, after the snlo at Stevens's Konme. when nil who are in- 

 terested In a metropoUtau show are invitod to be presvnt — Ens. J 



Cochin Hen's Lkg Ulcerated (If. <?.).— Wash it with warm water, 

 and then apply mercurial ointment daily, sewing a pieco of linen rag 

 over it. 



Incubators (M. Dene). — Wo do not know tho name. You had better 

 advertise that you have one to selL 



Brahma Pootrab (H. IT. G.].— We have no information aboat the 



book. 



Gbound Oat3 (Julia).— "Ht. Agato, Slaugham Mills, near Crawley* 

 Susses, grinds oats for poultry. If any ono near you has a haadmill for 

 cru'^hing oats for horses and would allow you to crush oats for yoor 

 poultry in it, that would answer equally well. 



TrnBiTs (T. W. iTctfrsIy) — Turbits were formerly preferred smooth- 

 headed, then shell-crested, find now point-bended. You will obtain some 

 point-headed birds in the way you propose to breed. Tho shoulders, so 

 called, in Tnrbits should be of one colour, tho re8t of the bird pore white. 

 The red-shouldered birds should be ol a deep rich colour. 



Pigeon Cankered (ExperUntia do«f).— When the cheesy matter forms 

 it is usually a bad case. It becomes better and disappears for a time, 

 but always returns. For the snoring noise you mention, we always give 

 a pill nightly, made of equal parts of tallow and camphor. 



Goldfinches. »&c., ( ir. H. Home). — Tbe direction you ask lor is, Sir* 

 E, Hutton, Garden House, Pudsoy, near Leeds. 



White Tdutle Dove (3fai/).— The ordinary coloured pair of Cellared 

 Turtle Doves from which you have bred a white youn/ one must have 

 been in a former generation crossed with the white variety, for says Ht. 

 Brent, there are each birds, "There is a very prettv and quite white 

 variety which is, however, much rarer." Unless we greatly mistake thero 

 are eoine of these white Doves iu the Crystal Palace. 



Hive Tenantless (A.S k). — The probability in that the yonng queen 



met with accident during one of her wedding flights, or if your stocks 



are placed - nr together that she mistook ber hive, on her return, and was 

 killed. In either case there wnuld be no means of reptnoiog the lostqneen, 

 and tho colony would gradually dwindle away until it ttic«me too weak to 

 protect its stores which, therefore, would oitimitely boccimo the spoU of 

 marauding bees and wasps. 



Berkshiee Pigs (Jj^noramiiJ!).— "Wo cannot inform you where they 

 can be purchased, but certainly at Reiding or X<-whtiry market. Wo 

 do not know what kind of pot yon mojin ; we always employ email 

 firkins. 



Tobacco and Snctf (ff. 3/.).— We know of no separate work on their 

 manufacture. There is a lengthy notice of the subject in tho "Penny 

 Cyclupsdia." 



Tomato Jam (A Lad;/ Corr^.«pond*n().— " Take ripe Tomatoes, skin them, 

 ard put thcni in a moderately warm oven t-r several hours, until they 

 will pulp without difficulty. Sqneezn throu«h a Bne sieve, so as to obtain 

 tho pulp without tho seed : to every 4 l)>s. of fruit add 2 Ihs. of loaf sugar, 

 the juice of a leinoc. and a littlo crushed ginger; boil in a preserving 

 pan until the juice will set, nut the jam into jars, and fasten down in the 

 ordinary way.— J. Perkins." 



POULTRY MARICET.— Sbptkmbeii 29. 



MiCHAiitMAS is no longer what it was. Not one Goose is eaten now 

 whore a hundred were eaten formerly. Nevertheless, it is still a tradi- 

 tion, and at tbe recurrence of the festival, the supply was small thl9 

 year, and full average prices were realisfd. It may l>e said of Geese as 

 of Turkeys, that given equal and good quaLty, thtir value increases 

 with their size. 



Large Fowls 3 



Smaller do 2 



Chickens 1 



Gece t> 



Go-lings 



Ducks 2 



d B. 

 6 to 4 



Partridges 1 



Ynung Grouse 3 



Pigeons 



Hares 



Rabbits 1 



Wild do 



