520 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAQB GARDENER. 



t June 29, 1970. 



in at top enabled me to take out each bar-frame carefully. Some 

 of the combs were attacked by wax moth, but a good deal of it 

 was in excellent preservation ; and iu the centre comb on both 

 Bide3 I foaud a knot of bees, with about three hundred cells 

 filled with brood and eggs, also some food iu open cells, and a 

 hybrid Italian queen, who appeared sufficiently lively. It 

 occjiirred to me at ouce that I might increase my diminished 

 stock by forming a Bwarm artificially. Hard by, too, was a stock 

 of black bees over-supplied with drones, large numbers of 

 which were still sealed-up iu their cella. No sooner thought 

 upou than decided. In five minutes after re-arranging and re- 

 placing combs and bees, I had moved away the stock of black 

 bees to a remote pirt of my kitchen garden, and substituted the 

 bar-framed hive, putting it exactly where the other had stood. 

 As it was a fiuo day many bees were abroad, ho that iu the course 

 of the afteraoon there was every appearance of a good swarm 

 in the bar-framed hive, and as they have since been extremely 

 happy and active I have no doubt all is going on well. One of 

 two things of course has happened — either the queen has been 

 well received and is still there, or she has been destroyed, and 

 in her place the bees are rearing a queen from the brood. Which- 

 ever ia the case I shall be sufficiently Wf 11 pleased. 



As for the stock of black bees, they, too, have pleased me well, 

 for as the next day happened to be wet and gloomy they set to 

 work destroying their drone?, tearing the youuger ones out of 

 their cells. At least nine-tenths of them are gone, and there 

 were so many that they seemed to equal the workers in number. 

 The third day having come I moved these bees to a stand 

 2 yards distant from their place, and ever eince activity and 

 harmony have reigned in that part of my apiary. 



It occurrei to me to mention thi^i case as one among many 

 ways of forming swarms artificially. Of course this i^ a far easier 

 method than the capital one by driving which Mr. Pettigrew 

 detailed in a recent Journal. — B. & W. 



BEE NOTES. 



Bees in this part of the country have done better this year 

 than in a good many other parts of the kingdom. The follow- 

 ing is an account of my own. 



I had three stocks last autumn, Noa. 1, 2, and 3 ; Nos. 1 and 2 

 were strong hives, and stood the wiater well ; but No. 3 very 

 nearly perished, but I mana.'^ed to save them. They are all 

 three in common straw hives. No. I swarmed on May 28&h, 

 and I never saw a better swarm. I put it in a 16-inch Pettif^rew 

 hive, and the hive is about three-quarters fall of comb. No. 2 

 Bwarmed on May 31st. I put it in a smiU Neighbour's hive, 

 which is now full of comb, except a part about as big as my 

 hind. No. 1 casted on June Q:h, and No. 2 on June 11th. I put 

 them both in common straw hives, which are about half full 

 now. No. 3 has not swarmed yet I think, but am not quite sure; 

 but if it has I have lost the swarm. Most of the cottagers* 

 bees about here have swarmed. There are a good many bees 

 kept, but in a very primitive style. — E. Burbery Martin, 

 Evesham, Worcestershire. 



ITALIAN BEES. 



It would tend very much to a settlement of the vexeJ question 

 relating to the respective merits of Ita'ian and English bees if 

 those who keep both, or Italians alone, would record their ex- 

 periences. The following questions in particular require atten- 

 tion: 1, Which variety is moat active and breeds quickftst in 

 the early spring? 2, Which producfs drones first? 3, Which 

 Bwarms earliest and oftenest ? 4, Which works earlier in the 

 morning and later in the evening ? 5, Which collects moat 

 honey {a) on the swarming, (h) on the non swarming system ? &c. 



This ytar I have only half-bred Italians — miscalled hybrids — 

 and common black bees. My leirliut^ hive, which has nearly 

 filled with comb a large super as big as the hive itself, is one of 

 the former. No. 2 is also a half-bred Italian, and has recovered 

 rapidly from a very low ebb, promising well. No. 3 is the 

 black stock which I have divided into two a>? elsewhere stated. 

 Probably owing to its enormous number of drones I have seen 

 no honey in it. The others have plenty of sealed honeycomb. 

 —3. & W, - 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Fowls Eating Feathebs {C. IT.^— Feith>5v-eitiacr 13 oae of the penaltiea 

 we pay for keepiug (owls la confiueraeut. Tbey lack something which they 

 ca'nut find, and feathers seem to be luire like it than anythiog else. The 

 diaeaae was hardly ever met with years a^jo, save whan fowl^ were pat np to 

 fatten. Then they naed to eat each other's fea liers, and no wonder. When 

 fowls are kept in confiaomaut they are RoutiraUy femptt^d with a'l sorts of 

 foiid, and t'ie<ie spiced and artificiil meals are prntactive of i^reat disea**6. 

 Some adopt them because thoy are chta;>, uthars b?c*U8e ttstimoniuls give 

 glowing aconuuts of the number of og^s, their fertihty, and the strou^^'th of 

 the chiukens. The result is feather eating and bleph-iutia8i>f. This latter 

 ia becomiug the plague f f yards. This results in the iiuery we are answering, 

 How hhall I ureveot it ? We answer your question with an )thec— Did jou 

 ever meet with Grouae, Partridge, or Ph-aHaut aiff.-ring in this way? Wo 

 know you have not. They feed aatarally. Feed your fowls the same. They get 

 griBBf scattered grains of corn, grubs, worms, and all tho ^to as) onknowD 



things that cover the face of the earth. We often wish for increafed powsra 

 of sight, and fur knowledge that we mi^ht be able to see as a bird sees, and 

 Iflaru with wonder that the mound of earth to which a ben calls her chickens, 

 and which to our eyes is "a mound of earth and nuthiuK more," is in reality 

 full of food, atjd if necessary medicine. Make your arrangements, tben, to 

 feed your chickens as naturally as yon can, althoayh you are obliged to keep 

 them in confinement, Insteal of btimulating fuod give cuolioK green food, 

 especially lettuce. Give them plenty of fresh earth, and if your gardener 

 digs up a barrowload of weeds and rubbish let tbem be emptied in the run, 

 the fowls will scratch them all over the place, and find that which will do 

 away with the deaire to eat feathers. It may be asked what wo term natural 

 fojd. Sods of grass with plenty of mould, letture or other green food pulled 

 from the earth and eateu freuh, ground oats or barleymeal, maize and barley 

 given whole, and house scraps. Follow Nature. 



Fowls Unhealihv {H. C. F.).— Tou are not sufficiently explicit. What 

 is the nature of the yard iu which your fowls ran ? Is it paved with flag 

 stones ? No other explaoatiou is necessary if such be the case, and your 

 scrupulous cleanliness makes matters worse. Fancy such a place, and be not 

 surprised if the fnwl sits or squats all day. Imagine yourfielf in the great 

 desert with faultless shoes and stockings, and hot dry sand up to the calves 

 of your legs : you will be as comfortable as your fowls. Hard stones, the foot 

 stretched out as far as possible, and no scratch; the courted or measured 

 grains of food lying in their clean distinct nees, and swallowed without a grit ; 

 the total absence of the dust bath. Dirt or any evU smell are bad for 

 poultry, but it is almost as bad to be fanltleesly clean. Give up your pea- 

 meal. oitB, and food. Give them plenty of green food, barrowloads of eaith, 

 and feed sparingly. R ad our previous answer. 



Pekservino Eogs {Con.da>it fiffltifr).— Thoy must be put in fresh. It ia 

 idle ti* put up a stale egg and expect to take it out fresh. We have eggs now 

 that have been kept twelve months, and are perfectly fit for any culinary 

 purpose. We generally use a glazed bread pan. The bottom should ba 

 covt-red with slaked lime wetted to a consistence that will allow anything put 

 in it to stand upright. The bottom layers of lime will be 2 inches thick. 

 The eggs are stuck in this small end downwards close together, bat not 

 touching. When the bottom layer ia full, then a fresh mixt'ire of slaked 

 lime is poured till thick enough for the eggs to stand up in it, and so on till 

 the pan is full. The eg^s should bo perfectly sound in sbell) not cracked or 

 in any way injured, and they must not touch eacb other. 



SuppoariNQ Combs in Hive [F. J.|.— We have frequently advised in these 

 pages the use of cross-sticks in hivos to steady and support their combs. In 

 swarming two of your hives you have shaken down their combs, and thus 

 learned the value of cross-sticka. Hives without cro?s-Bticks are easily 

 injured in handling and removing them in warm weather. Cros^-sticks aro 

 of great sen'ice in hives to the bees, as well as a support to the combs. Yoa 

 will have to learn by experience the best mode of running honey from the 

 combs, as it is very difficult to convey iQform;ition on the question Iiy words 

 or writing. Soma kinds of honey will run from broken combs without 

 pressure, and some kinds will not. We use pressure in every case, and run 

 the honey through a bag of cheese-cloth before it cools or loses its natural 

 heat. After twenty-four hourcn it is skimmed and fit for sale. AU letters of 

 inquiry should be sent to the Editors. 



BEMARKa. 

 2l8t.— A very fine day thrcnghont, Ihough looiiug rather stonnliie between 



5 and 6 P.M. . 



a2na —Fine morning, not bo hot aa yesterday; a short sharp shower between 



10 and 11 A,M, ; but little sun, and the air very heavy. 



23ra.— Biin in the night and early morning ; dull and damp tiU the evening, 



then bright, and a starlit night. [e\emng. 



24th —Rather heavy, though short shower about 8 A.M. ; (air afternoon and 



25th —A very flae day throughout; the tun very hot, but a rather high »md 



blowing from the north tempered the heat and made it very plea.aut. 



26th.— A very fine dav, thaugh warm not oppre.-tively so ; the stars unusually 



bright at night. [«ilt overcast skj a. ter 10 v^«. 



27th— Another very fine day, the wind still northerly; a thick mist or log 



A very fine snmmer week, temperature about y above that of the previous 



week.— a. J. SsMONrf. 



COVENI GARDEN MARKET.— JnNK 28. 

 The late fine weather ha3 sent a large quantity of outdoor fruit into tlio 

 market, Suawberries especially arriviug iu very good condition; and plentiful 

 hothjuse fruit is well supplied, with a fair amount of busiuets doing. 



FRDIT. 

 d. B. d. 



Apples i s>«" 



Apricots bus 



Oherriea bjx 



CheetnutB buehel 



Cnrrants (sieve 



Black do. 



Figs dozen 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 



liooseberriea quart 



Grapes, hothouse.... lb. 



L-mons VIOO 



Melons each 



Mulberries lb* 



Nectarines dozen 



Oranges 1^ 100 6 



Peaches dozen 8 



Pears, kitchen.... dozen 



desecrt dozen 



PineApplea lb- 1 



Plums ifliPTO 



Quincea bushel 



KttspbeirjcB lb. 



Strawtieiiiea Ih- 4 



Walnuts. bushel ■* u 



ditto.. ^100 1 6 



9. d. S. d, 



OtoO 



U 21 



