268 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 17, 1874. 



each day. The bnrden of the work here fell upon Mr. Abbott 

 and his son ; the latter, although a lad, seemed quite fearless of 

 the bees. Whilst the operations were progressing they were 

 explained by one of the Committee to the spectators. The 

 visitors seemed astounded at the impunity with which those 

 behind the screen handled and moved about amonf;;st the bees ; 

 but the fact was, the generally irritable little beinit;s were so 

 scared that they had forgotten how to sting. A little practice 

 is worth a deal of theory, aud we feel confident that scores of 

 bee-keepers after their lessons here will in future resort to 

 driving in lieu of burning their bees. 



Altogether we must congratulate the British Bee-keepers' 

 Association ou having in the first year of their birth achieved 

 an immense success and given a great impetus to bee-keeping. 

 Errors and shortcomings were inseparable in their undertaking, 

 and must be looked upon leniently; but expericntia docef, and 

 we have no doubt their next venture in the same direction will 

 be an improvement on their first. 



BEE-KEEPER'S CALENDAR FOR SEPTEMBER. 



[Concluded fi-om j^^Q^ 245.) 



We have come at last to the process of taking honey and wax. 

 I dislike the job, and dislike to talk about it. I would rather 

 swarm fifty hives artificially than take and run the honey of 

 one. Happy is the apiarian who has a sturdy wife or servant to 

 undertake this work. Many old women are first-rate hands at 

 taking honey. I am only a pupil teacher in this school, and 

 have been in it for many long years without making any progress 

 at all. When I was a gentleman's gardener I regretted that no 

 one had invented a machine for sweeping leaves up in autumn. 

 I then thought, and think still, that a machine for sweeping 

 lawns could be invented and produced. What an annoyance it 

 is to employers to see six or ten men hunting leaves every 

 morning iu front of their sitting-rooms ! For many years I have 

 wished that some ingenious apiarian would produce a machine 

 for extracting honey from combs. Let my friends Mr. J. Lee, 

 of Windlesham, the great hive manufacturer, and Mr. R. Astou, 

 who has invented excellent drone traps, consider my sugges- 

 tion. At present we go in the rut of our great grandfathers. 

 As soon as honey hives have lost their bees they are removed 

 to as warm a room as can be found (we put ours in a vinery). 

 The sticks are at once withdrawn, the combs are taken out of 

 the hives, and the honey parts are placed in one milkpau aud 

 the refuse combs in another pan. If there is a fire in the house 

 the honeycombs should be kept near enough the fire to gain 

 warmth, but not near enough to melt the wax. The warmer 

 the combs are, the more readily does the honey run ; hence the 

 desirability of running the honey before the natural heat of the 

 combs is lost. After the honeycombs are well broken up they 

 are poured into a hag of cheesecloth or thin towelling. The honey 

 runs through this bag into a vessel. Next morning the honey 

 is skimmed, aud ready for use or sale. This seems to be a very 

 simple and easy process. Yes, but it is a slow one. As the 

 honey cools it thickens and stops running. We frequently hand- 

 squeeze the bag to get all the honey through it while it is warm. 

 Moreover, we frequently squeeze the honey out of the combs 

 before it is put into the bag. This is the speedier way, if it is 

 not the best at present known. 



There is a right and a wrong way of squeezing combs, and the 

 right way is learned by practice. Heather honey cannot well 

 be extracted from combs without squeezing. A machine to 

 answer well should have the pressure put on the edge of the 

 combs, and not on their broadsides. The reader will catch my 

 idea if I say that sheets or cakes of honeycombs should be placed 

 between two perforated boards or sheets of iron, and these 

 pressed with something like a pump-handle, having a strong 

 leverage. In hand-squeezing, the sides of the cells are pressed 

 together. The object is to have honey perfectly pure, without 

 a particle of farina in it. In taking honey nothing need be lost. 

 The combs that have been drained, and the refuse combs that 

 contain honey amongst the brood, should be given to weak hives 

 or those that need food. The bees will gather up every drop 

 of honey, and their filters are so perfect that not a speck of 

 impurity will be carried into their own combs. If honey be 

 mixed with pollew, soil from the garden, or flour, and given to 

 bees, they will take the honey and leave the rest. In filling 

 supers by giving bees the refuse combs and honey tainted with 

 farina, I have been frequently struck with the excellence of the 

 honey so purified by them. 



After all the refuse combs have been cleansed of honey they are 

 carefully gathered together for wax. They are put into the same 

 kind of bag as that through which the honey was run, and boiled 

 in water in a copper or boiler. The wax comes to the top like a 

 yellowoil; itisskimmed off and put through abagorsieve, letting 

 it drop into cold water. A second time it is boiled in clean 

 water, and put into dishes to cool and cake. A letter from a 

 lady in Australia came here a few months ago asking many 

 questions about bees, and one of them was for information how 

 to clean her pots and dishes of the wax that adhered bo tena- 



ciously to them. A good handful of soda thrown into warm 

 water and appUed to wax destroys in a great measure its adhesive 

 properties. Good wax is easily saleable. We are offered 2s. 3(i, 

 per lb. for ours. — A. Pettigrew. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



MiDDLETON Show.— Mr. O. E. Cresswell states, "I sent no birds to the 

 Show, thou^'h I haii entered some, aod my peas were or ought to have beea 

 empty. If other birda were put in my pens with my name upon them, it ia 

 a highly blameworthy proceeding of the secretary." 



ToDMORDEN Show.— Mr. S. Ball writes to Bay that he wa3 awarded the 

 firet prize in the Angora Kabbit class. 



On. Painx on Plumage (Qallxis). — We believe turpentine will remove it. 

 If it doea not, and you wish to exhibit them, do so with the paint. An 

 accident is not a disqualification. 



Sale of Honey {Alfred Pocock). — It ia not our custom to name buyers 

 and sellers of articles. If we were to name a house or mart for honey at a 

 good price, we might possibly induce too many sellers to offer their goods 

 there, and thereby do something to lower prices, which range irom Is. to 

 1«. 6(i. per lb. Let your neii^hboura know that you have h mey to sell. 



Uniting Swarms {W. E. M.). — "We cannot account for the failure; we 

 always succeed, and therefore think that the cause of the failure is nut in the 

 mode or principle, but iu the application of it. The feeding is to put bees off 

 their gruard to a certain extent, and tho use of mint ia to prevent one swarm 

 from smelling another. We remember attempting to unite two swarms with- 

 out feediag or anything else. A swarm was cast into a strong hive, aud 

 inntantly a wholedale slaughter commenced, when we ran to a bed of mint, 

 tore off a lar^-e handful, aud crushed it aa we returned to the hive. This 

 crushed mint being cast amon^'st the combs and beea put an end to the 

 slaughter. If we had not applied the mint every bee of the surrendered 

 swarm would have been killed in fifteen minutes. Iq casting both swarms on 

 a cloth and letting them creep together into a hive, they are put to the dis- 

 advanta;:je of considering themselves trenpassers or poachers; both swarms 

 seek safe shelter, and have nothiu.; to defend at the time. Tho dead bees in 

 front of your other hive were probably rubbers. 



Abbott's Hives {F. JV.). — We cannot inform you where they can be pur- 

 chased. Write to the dealers in hives who advertise in .our columns, and see 

 a letter on another page. 



Taking Honey Without Destroying the Bees (St. Bridgid). — Your 

 plan of " smearin'5 an empty hive with syrup, aud puttiiig it upside down 

 under your full hive," will certainly not induce the beea to desert their well- 

 fuund home, although, doubtless, they will de-*cend and cirry up the syrup. 

 Driving is the simplest process, which has been frequently descnbed in these 

 pages. For 5d. you can obtain full printed directions by return of post from 

 this oflice if you will order " Bee-keeping for the Md.uy." Now is a good time 

 to take your honey ; if later you will probably get leas of it. 



Red Lice on Canaries ( IF. L. Jf.).— They are not Uce, but red mites or 

 cage bug!*, a.ppecies of Acarua. They live in the cracka and joinings of the 

 cages, aud-at night sally forth to suck and annoy the birds. By thoroughly 

 cleaning the cages, saturating the cracks with linseed oil, an.i then HUing 

 them with flowers of sulphur, and dusting sulphur among the birds' ffathers, 

 also by cleaning the nest and sprinkling powdered sulphur in, you can get rid 

 of these pests. Wherever any floury or mouldy appearance is noticeable 

 about the joins or crevicoa of the cage, these tormeuta to the birds may be 

 suspected, and no time should be lost in giving them notice to quit. 



Preserving Stone Fruit (A'.). — You will hndan article ou the subject in 

 vol. xxiii , page 319 (No. 603). 



Mead-making (W. H. .-1.).— To a gallon of water put 2 lbs. of honey and 

 1 lb. of sugar ; boil for an hour, put in the whites of four eggs to raise the 

 scum, and skim it quite clear whilst boiling; then put it into a clean tub aud 

 let it stand for a week, putting in a toast with honey to make it work; then 

 tun it, put in the peels of three or four lemons, let it stand for a mouth, and 

 then if it ia not suthcieutly line put in more honey, and let it stand longer. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 



Camden Square. London. 



Lat.51°32'40" N. ; Loag. 0'' 8' 0" W. ; Alfritnde 111 feet. 



REMARKS. 



9th.— Fine early, rain at 10 a.m., and heavy at 11, thunder at 4 p.m., lightoiog' 



at 11.17 P.M., and a wet night. 

 10th.— Very fine, but rather cold morning, thunder at noon, and 2 p.m., and 



in the afternoon ; wind rather high, and alternate sunshine, and ehort 



phowera. 

 lltli.— Fine early, but rain by 8 a.m.; a wet uncomfortable day, with soiree a 



Kleam of sunshine. 

 12th.— Fair, but rather dull early, then fine till 5 p.m., when it looked very 



Btornilike, and a few large drops of rain fell ; a shower at 6 p.m., but a 



fine evoniog. 

 i;ith.— A very bright enjoyable day throughout. 

 14th.— Hazy from 7 to 10 a.m. ; fine till noon, then cloudy (or an hour or two, 



but very fine afterwards. (breeze. 



15th.— A most beautiful day, as bright and clear as June, with a very pleasant 



A week of very unsettled weather ; some days bwiug ould aud quite autumnal, 



others aa bright aud pleasant aa poaaible, the temperature in all casoi a trifle 



lower than that of the preceding week.— G. J. Symons. 



