484 



JODENAL OF HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Jane 17, 1875. 



Jane. In ordinary seaaona they fill their hives, and many of 

 them fill supers as well. Most of them become too heavy for 

 stocks — that is to say, are too well filled with honey for keeping. 

 Hives beyond 80 lbs. each are put down for honey. Those 

 beyond 60 lbs. yield to the comb-knife 10 to 1.5 lbs. of honeycomb 

 each, and make stock hives afterwards. In favourable seasons 

 for honey almost all the first swarms become too full of honey 

 for keeping. Hives in which the bees have been fed during the 

 winter months, and with 20 or 30 lbs. to spare in spring, do not 

 yield large swarms, but the honey in them is as good the second 

 year as it is the first. 



Second swarms or casts are taken from all stock hives that 

 swarm in May. These make excellent stocks for another year, 

 and their mother hives become quite strong enough without 

 them. If second swarms are not taken from early swarms they 

 bpoome too heavy for stocks, even if supers be filled on them. 

 From late swarmers we do not take second swarms ; but when 

 they are heavy at the swarming season the bees are generally 

 turned oat of them into empty hives three weeka after they 

 swarm, and the honey taken from them. Sometimes the bees 

 are driven out of light swarmers or stocks as soon as their 

 queens are hatched, into empty hives, and re-peopled by later 

 first swarms before their brood coola. The queens of first 

 swarms are then laying so many eggs that the combs of the 

 hives thus re-peopled are filled at once with brood, and continue 

 to be filled with brood till the end of the season. The reader 

 will at once see that thia stratagem gives a great lift to late 

 swarms, putting them on a par with earlier swarms. 



Some six weeks or two months ago we expressed our fears 

 that many hives would this season be affected with foal brood, 

 the very cold weather of March having been of such a chilling 

 character. We have lately smelt foul brood in several stock 

 hives. Hives affected with this disease can never prosper or be 

 cured. As soon as they can yield moderately-sized swarms they 

 should be made artificially and put into empty hives, for small 

 swarms will do better in empty hives than all the bees would do 

 amongst the foul brood. All the bees of course could and should 

 be removed from foul hives three weeka after their first swarms. 

 S warms from foul hives do not carry the disease with them. By 

 the swarming system of management the apiarian may stamp 

 out this terrible disease from his apiary, and stamp it out by in- 

 creasing the number of his stocks and taking the honey from 

 all hia affected hives. 



Three daya ago we swarmed two hivea artificially atanding 

 together. The beea of one of the Blocks commenced to set 

 queens as soon as the swarm was taken from it; the bees of 

 one of the others remained in a state of grief and commotion for 

 more than two days, searching hither and thither for their lost 

 queen before they began to set egga in royal cella. I have never 

 witnessed greater consternation and commotion among bees 

 bereft of their queen that had eggs to set. To-day they set eggs 

 in royal cella. No one can tell why the bees of the one hive 

 acted so differently from those of the other. 



Yesterday I saw a second swarm begin to issue from a hive 

 when I went near to watch the queen come out. She was nearly 

 the last bee in the swarm to leave the mother hive. While the 

 queen was on the flight-board a worker intentionally caught her 

 by a leg, but whether the bee meant to say " good-bye " or 

 "don't go" no one can tell. I put two young queens and a 

 second swarm into an empty hive. In about five minutes after- 

 wards the queens met and fought. It waa a short but fatal 

 battle, for one of them was mortally wounded in a twinkling, 

 and almost dead before her victorious and triumphant sister 

 was scared oS by my hand put forth to save her. — A. Pettighew. 



by enlarging their houses from below— that is to eay, by eking or adding to 

 their hives, and thus maltiU!? them one-third or fourth larger at a time. In 

 favourable yeai-s fur honey several such ekes may be required, and it is better 

 and safer to apply them before the hives are overcrowded. 



Crested Norwich Canary.— "I notice under the heading of 'Oar Letter 

 Box ' iu last week's Journal Mr. W. B. Hovell, of Norwich, says : — ' Mr. Geo. J. 

 Baniesbv is not correct in his description of fig. 92 when he says Messrs. 

 G. & J. Mackley's Crested bird was the bird which took first prize last year 

 at the Crystal Pdlac-i Show.' Mr. Hovell certainly charges me with an asser- 

 tion I never made, and which charge is not trne. Upon referring to p. 381 

 of the Journal Mr. Hovell will find that what I stated was that ' the speci- 

 men shown by Messrs. G. & J. Mackley, Norwich, in Class 13 (No. 437l, at the 

 last Crystal Palace Show, stood at the head of forty eight others* This 

 assertion I repeat. As to the bird's performances, and whether the same 

 bird did or did not take first or second at Yarmouth or Lowestoft, is quite 

 immaterial so far as I am concerned. I beg to enclose Messrs. Mackley's 

 letter (not a private one to me, as the contents were for publication), stating 

 where and what prizes their Created bird had won, and upon the faith of 

 which letter I remarked. — G. J. Baknebby." 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Crowle Show. — Oar reporter omitted to notice that Mr. W. Whitworth, 

 jon.. nbtained a first and Bpecial prize for White Cochins, and second prize 

 fnr Houdaus ; and that Mr. W. H. Crabtree obtained a fiecond prize for 

 Dorkings, first for Light Brahmas, third for Dark Brahmas, and highly com- 

 mended for Creve-Cceurs. 



Dahi. — Miss E. W. Bireley, Telegraph House, Great Yarmouth, wishes to 

 know where she can procure Dari for her poultry. 



Bone Meal (W. Hay ser). —It ia chiefly used mixed with food for chickens. 

 The phosphate of lime iu the meal is believed to promote the formation of 

 bones and feathers. 



Driten Bees (Triceps).— V^e think you drove the queen with the bees 

 into the bottom hive, which, if we understand you rightly, acts as a nadir. 

 The use of nadirs very often, but not always, do prevent swarming. A few 

 dozens of dead beea around a hive may often be neen when all in it is going 

 on healthily. 



Hives (T. R., near Birmingham). — The hive.=? you refer to are made of 

 Ftraw in a dry state and split caues. Duriug both summer and winter they 

 should be covered sufliciently to protect them from rain. Swarms put into 

 emptv hives iu 'Jeptember may bo well and rapidly led, and thus made into 

 strong stocks, well able to live over the winter. The bee-keepers in your 

 nei ,'hbourh )od, or any other who kill their bees to get the honey, have a 

 lesiun or two to learn. 



Preventing SwARBrNO (A Novice). — No kind of hive prevents swarminsr. 

 Bees naturally swarm when their houses, whatever be their structure or 

 shape, become full. But generally speaking they may bo kept from swarming 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 



Camden Square, London. 



Lat. 51° 82' 40" N. ; Long. 0° 8' 0" W. ; Altitude, 111 feet. 



9th.- 



10th.- 



llth.- 



12th.- 



13th.- 

 1-tth.- 

 15th.- 



The 

 about 

 windy 



KEMAKK3. 

 Fine early; but stormlike by noon; frequent thunder after 2.30 p.m., 



but neither near uor loud ; the evening cool and pleasant. 

 ■Cloudy and raiulike all day; frequent Blight showers, one heavy one, 



but of short duration, about 5 p.m. ; fair night. 



Fine at 9 a.m. ; but nearly half au iuch of ram had fallen in the early 



morning; very wiudy, with showers, duriog the day ; but flue at night. 

 ■Fioe bat cloudy early; showery all the after part of the day. The rain 



at times rather heavy. 



-Ruin more or less all day, sometimes heavy. 

 -Very windy, with frequent ehoTers; warmer towards night. 

 -Still very windy and showery, the wind at times unusually high for 



the time of year, hut much brighter than it has been for several 



days. 



mean temperatures, except that under ground, and the shade maximum 

 4'' below last week; the former fell 1^ only, and the latter 12". Very 

 and much raiu. — G. J. Symons. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— June 16. 



"We are now gettiug rather heavily supplied with outdoor produce, and alao 

 from the Coutineut, but as the Kent goods now comprise Early "White 

 Cberries and Dukes from standards, we must expect a diminution in the con- 

 signments. Witb some sunny weather we may expect in a few days large 

 quantities of Strawberries from the adjacent parts of London. Potatoes 

 maintain la^t week's rates. 



FRUIT. 



Apples i sieve 2 



Apricots box 2 



Cherries box 2 



t;iit»iniita bushel 



Currants i sieve 



black do. 



Figs dozen 8 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 



Gooseberries quart 



Grapc)^, hothouse,... lb. S 



Lemons ^ ino 8 



Melons each 3 



d. B. d. 

 6 to 8 6 







4 















12 



(1 







6 



10 



12 



8 



Mulberries lb. 



Nedarines dozen 15 



Oranges ^100 5 



Peaches dozen 15 



Pears, kitchen.... dozen 



desnert dozen 4 



PineApples lb. 6 



Plums i sieve 



Quince'^ dozen 



Kaspberties lb. 



Strawberries lb. 1 



Walnuts bushel 8 



ditto ^100 1 



d. B. d. 



OtoO 



so 



14 

 3) 

 

 

 10 

 

 

 

 4 

 12 

 1 



Artichokes dozen 8 



Asparagus %> 100 3 



Kreuch bundle 



Beans, Kidney V^ 100 2 



Broad bushel 6 



Beet, Red dozen 2 



Broccoli bundle 



Brussels Sproata j sieve 



Cal)ba\'e. dozen 1 



Carrots bunch 



Citpsicums l;>^ 100 



Cauliflower dozen 4 



Cflt-ry bundie 1 



Culcworts.. doz. bunches 2 



Cucumbers each 



pickling dozen 



Endive dozen 2 



Fennel bonoh 



Garlic lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish .... bundle 



VEGETABLES. 



d. B. d. 



0to6 

 6 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Leeks bunch 



Let!uoe dozen 1 



Mushrooms pottle 



Mustard & Cress. .punnet 



Uniuns bushel 4 



pickling quart 



Parsley doz.bunchea 4 



Parsnips dozen 



Peas quart 1 



Potatoes bushel 4 



Kidney do. 4 



Raiishes.. doz. bunches 1 



KLubarb bundle 



Salsafy bundle 1 



Scorzonera bundle 1 



Seakale basket 



shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel S 



Tomatoes dozen 2 



Turnips. bunch 



Vegetable Marrows. .doz. 



d. B. d. 

 4 too 

 



