Febmarj 2S, 1^74. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTOKE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



19J 



Belomn Hare— Bucfc— 1, A. C. Wiaoman. 2, H. B. Massoy. Doe.-l, T. H. 

 Dow3. 2, R. Buffham. , „ „ „ -x, 



SiLVEB-GREy.— 1 ami 3. E. Brammitt. 2, R. Buffham. ;«, E. S. SmitU. 

 Himalayan.— 1. E. S. Smith. 2, E. Brummitt. 

 Heaviest.— I, R.Buefliam. 2, E. Brummitt. 3, E. S. Smith. 



SoDGES.— Pigeons : Mr. P. H. Jones, Rauelagh Lodge, Fulham- 

 Babbits : Mr. J. W. Harrison, Spalding. 



THE BABBIT FEVER. 



Wb are indebted to Mr. S. B. Pike, of San Francisco, Cali- 

 fornia, for the information which we give in the extract which 

 follows : — 



" It may or may not be news to the fanciers on your side of 

 the Continent to know that the Japiuese have the Rabbit fever 

 to that extent the chicken fever seems tame in comparison. 

 Every steamer which has left this port for Japan for some weeks 

 past has taken from 500 to 1000 head, which have sold there for 

 all sorts of prices. I have the word of the first officer of the 

 steamer " Great Republic," that he saw twelve hundred ($1200) 

 Mexican dollars counted down upon the ship's deck for one 

 Rabbit ! How is that for high ? "—(Pet-Sioch DMetin.) 



Catennino Canakies. — A great deal of fuss has been made 

 lately about peppering Canaries. The fanciers do not seem 

 aware that in countries where cayenne grows out of doors the 

 dilfioulty is to prevent the birds destroying the pods. I cannot 

 see anything improper in indulging them in their natural taste. 

 — F. C. Hassabd, Sheerncss. 



THE COMMENCEMENT OP THE BEE SEASON. 



Amid the discouragements and disasters of the past almost 

 unparalleled unpropitious bee season, whicli are not yet fully felt 

 and realised in all their magnitude, nor will be for some weeks 

 to come, it is cheering to recognise in some of the writers in 

 the Journal that indomitable courage and perseverance in follow- 

 ing out the favourite pursuit, that not even the sad experiences 

 of 1873 are sufSoient to damp their ardour or cool their love. 

 The apiarian motto must evidently be '^ Nil despeyandnm" 

 Bad seasons, like good ones, often run in a series consecutively, 

 so that we may now reasonably hope that after so many bad and 

 indifferent bee seasons we shall be on the verge of a glorious 

 firture which shall change the whole aspect of affairs — a future 

 pregnant with grand results, and in which our little favourites 

 can, from the pure and unadulterated fonts of nectar so richly 

 supplied by Nature in her choicest flowers, fill our " crystal 

 palaces " unaided by any of those devices which have so recently 

 in these pages, for the honour of English apiculturists, been so 

 justly condemned. Such at least are our hopes. 

 " Cea^o every joy to glimmer on my mind, 



But leave, oh I leave the light of hope behind. 



What though my winged hours of bliss have been, 



Like angel-visits, few aud far between, 



Her musing mood shall ev6i7 pang appease, 



Aud chai-m when pleasures lose theii- power to please." 



But, to pass from poetry to prose, many who would not be 

 attracted by mere sentimentality on the subject will be in- 

 stinctively drawn by the hopes held forth by your indefatigable 

 correspondent, llr. Pettigrew, who, as mounted upon the 

 " paddle-box to pilot (as he says) the apiarian steamer for the 

 next twelve months " in the Journal, holds up to view a i'lOO 

 bank note (« !a Gladstone with his financial budget before the 

 nation) as his anticipated surplus profit in 1871, and therefore as 

 an inducement to the apiarian crew to stand fast to their gear. 

 I earnestly hope that Mr. Pettigrew will realise his heart's 

 wishes, though we poor northerners would be content with 

 comparatively smaller things. 



It was on the 15th February that I observed the first pollen- 

 laden bee enter one of my hives. On such occasions I always 

 recall to mind good old Bonnar, who was one of the best prac- 

 tical apiarians of his day. " The first day in spring (he says) 

 that I ol)3erve a bee carrying a load I generally call my family 

 together, to take a glass and rejoice with me and my faithful 

 servants at the return of the salutiferous season." The witness- 

 ing the first load certainly excites the keen apiarian, just as the 

 first shot at the commencement of a battle excites the warrior. 

 Such beginnings, small though they be, indicate that the season 

 of repose is giving place to one of activity aud industry, when 

 great and combined efforts in the little community must be 

 made to replenish their wasted stores and increase their 

 diminished numbers ; and for this end the ardour and persever- 

 ance of the little race is such, that not onlj' is advantage taken 

 of every favourable hour, but amid dangers and risks innumer- 

 able they hazard even life itself in the prosecution of their eager 

 work. It will be remarked how different is the activity of the 

 bee in early spring compared with that exhibited late in autumn 

 when breeding is over. Pollen is t'ne great object of search in 

 spring in every well-conditioned hive, aud a good criterion of 

 its healthiness may always be formed by the number of pollen- 



laden bees which enter it. This was a favourite test of Bonnar 

 in deciding on the comparative value of any two hives, to count 

 the number of pollen-laden bees that entered in a minute. This 

 is a valuable hint to beginners in choosing a hive, especially 

 when other conditions of age and weight are equal. 



The past winter, being so mild and open, has told heavily 

 upon the stores. I do not think I ever noticed such consump- 

 tion. In an ordinary winter not more than from 7 to 10 lbs. are 

 usually consumed, say from the beginning of October to the 

 middle of March, but this winter the average month's consump- 

 tion is much exceeded, so that some of my weaker hives are 

 even now at starvation point. I fear, therefore, from the state 

 of hives generally in the autumn, many will succumb to famine 

 unless carefully examined and timeously attended to. 



For spring I recommend top-feeding for hives weak in bees, 

 the bottle being chiefly used, or a piece of honeycomb placed 

 on the opening at the top, and protected with any small super, 

 in both cases to be closely wrapped with woollens and other 

 appropriate coverings. This brings the food into close proximity 

 to the bees, which in ungenial or cold weather ia indispensable. 

 In supplying populous hives with food I discard the bottle^ as 

 the more troublesome method, aud use for spring shallow zinc 

 circular vessels of suitable size, with a central entrance tube, 

 surrounded by a perforated wooden float, and all covered with 

 a lid. For warmth cover over also with woollens, &c. 



I cannot approve of careless feeding of any kind, and more 

 especially of the practice of pouring the liquid food over the 

 combs. This is objectionable in two ways : It encoui-agea 

 robbers, and is injurious to the hive itself. Bees, as a rule, dis- 

 like wetted dripping combs, and when so supplied largely, as ia 

 sometimes recommended, the bees are often dislodged from the 

 " brood nest," and this is highly prejudicial to prosperity. 

 Neither should bees be fed at the entrance-door by the use of 

 a trough or otherwise, unless at night, as it may entice robbers. 

 When adopting under-feeding at all I prefer inserting a trough 

 laterally in a receptacle purposely scooped out in the floor 

 board, away from the doorway altogether. This trough when 

 not used is permanently placed in the floor board reversed. In 

 spring every precaution must be adopted to prevent pilfering 

 and attacks by robber bees. Careless feeding must be especially 

 guarded against, and in all cases of annoyance by stranger bees 

 no time should be lost in narrowing the doorway to the smallest 

 possible dimensions. 



I cannot close these remarks without cautioning beginners in 

 bee-keeping against shifting their hives at this season of the 

 year from one part of the garden to another. Mr. Pettigrew 

 will excuse me if I doubt that his experience in this matter 

 justifies the opinion he expressed under date 5th February, 

 when he says that hives may at this season " be removed from 

 one side of a garden to another with safety." Mr. Pettigrew 

 must know that an opinion so expressed from the " paddle-box " 

 is tantamount to a recommendation, and may lead some of the 

 less experienced "crew" to adopt it. I have only to say that 

 in all cases and circumstances such removals are to be con- 

 demned, and more especially at this inclement season. Many 

 bees in every case are sure to be lost, and possibly even the 

 hives themselves permanently damaged. We all know how in- 

 valuable even a few bees are at this early season, and therefore, 

 as a rule, I strongly advise never to shift the site of a hive to a 

 short distance. At all times, I repeat, it is bad practice, and at 

 this season especially it is sure to be productive of disappoint- 

 ment and loss. — J. Lowe. 



FOUL BROOD IN HIVES. 



{Concluded from parje 177.) 

 I SEE, by the proposed schedule of prizes to be offered for com- 

 petition at the Crystal Palace exhibition of hives, that £5 wUl 

 be offered for the best essay on the cause and cure of foul brood. 

 As the schedule is presented subject to alteration, perhaps I 

 may be excused for suggesting that the prize be offered for the 

 best essay on the cause and prevention of foul brood, for cer- 

 tainly there is no cure for it. We might as easily cure rotten 



Frequently brood in this changeable climate ia chilled to death 

 and becomes foul. In spring and early in summer bees sit 

 loosely over their combs, and spread their brood as widely as 

 they can. A sudden change from heat to cold may cause the 

 bees to creep more closely together, and thus expose some parts 

 of the brood comb to the chilling influence of cold weather, 

 and prevent the bees from properly attending to the brood. The 

 cause here is not hidden. About eight years ago I went to 

 Scotland in September, leaving three hives without sufficient 

 food for the winter. When I returned I omitted to feed these 

 hives till November. When I fed them the weather was open 

 and warm, and the queens began to lay. In about ten days 

 afterwards a severe frost set in and killed the brood. The bees 

 were allowed to remain in these hives till the following March. 

 "The reader should, however, know that in nine caaea out of ten 

 foul brood ia produced, not by chills, but by other causes not 



