396 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



Slay U, 1874. 



holes were made, even though there were queen cells formed in 

 otlier parts of the hive. 



I am well aware that the queen frequently lays two and three 

 eggs in a ceP, but I have never seen a bee with one in its mouth, 

 and I believe with Mr. Lowe that they eat them, and instead 

 of the bees following the queen to pick them up they are more 

 intent on feeding her; and it ia an error to say that there are 

 always four or six bees following a queen. They do not follow, 

 bub as the queen passes along every bee turns its head towards 

 her and feels her, ready to feed her if she wants. I have never 

 seen her take honey from the cells herself, she is always fed by 

 the bees. 



I have seen the queen lay seven eggs in a minute, but not 

 often. Three in a minute are about as many as she can lay at 

 the very height of the season, and even then she takes a rest of 

 from ten to fifteen minutes, often longer; but she continues 

 laying night and day with the exception of these intervals. 

 The queen I have at present in the unicomb hive has not been 

 laying one egg in ten minutes, but as it gets warmer she will be 

 Uying oftener. I find it is a universal belief, which must have 

 been propagated bv apiarians, that bees will not work if they are 

 expo-ed to the li^ht: there nevtr was a greater error, as mine 

 are exposed at all times to the light, and they go on as if in the 

 dark, paying no attention to anyone looking at them, and do 

 not darken the glass to prevent their being seen, as is generally 

 believed. 



After the queen and swarm had left the hive, and before the 

 young queen was out of the cell, having a spare queen which 

 was laying eggs I introduced her to the unicomb hive to see if 

 they would accept her instead of waitiug for one of their own 

 rearing. As soon as she got in, the greatest uproar took place 

 with the bees throughout the hive. Every one seemed to know 

 ins'antane^usly that there was something wrong. They at once 

 surrounded her, jammiug her up between the combs and glass 

 so that she could not move, and there suffocated her. It was 

 fully an hour before they left her, when they carried her dead 

 body to the door. 



I have not the least idea why it is that the queen ia reared in 

 a cell hanging nearly perpendicular, with the head undermost, 

 while the workiug bees and drones are reared in a horizontal 

 cell; and the queen grub is enveloped in royal jelly, which has 

 the appearance of boiled sago, and is sweet to the taste, while 

 that of the working bee is of a greenish yellow colour and has 

 a bitter taste. The queen grub is sealed-up with abundance of 

 the royal jelly, in fact she lies embedded in it, while the working 

 bees and drones have a very small quantity, if any, when sealed. 

 The queen, working bees, and drones all eat themselves out of 

 the cells without any assistance from the other bees. 



As the queen whobu history I have given had not bees enough 

 to make a second swarm she never gave the usual warning for a 

 second, so that I cannot say in what state the queens are when 

 they make their peculiar calls before swarming. — A. Shearer, 

 YesteTy Haddington. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Bead Hkn (8. D. S.).— The breast, leg, and liver were ulcerated. No 

 treatiDfnt conld have saved the bird. 



Babton-on-Hdmber Snow.— In reply to Mr. F. Banies' inqniry in this 

 day's Journal, page 376, 1 beg to say that T have made a number of applica- 

 tions for prize money, but all have been without reply. I am now determined 

 to put the matter in the hands of my solicitor, and Bhall carry the matter out 

 to its ntmost as a caution for other ehowa. — A. A. Vander Meerbch, The 

 Walnuts, Tooting. 



Dorking Cock Prostrated (E. J. ff.).— He is suffering from disease of the 

 ■windpipe and lungs, we fear with little chance of recovery. Tour diet and 

 treatment are good provided the action of the gizzard and bowels is free ; if 

 not, give cfipinu^ dusea cf castor oil, and confine the food to bread and ale 

 ftnd bread and milk. 



Testing the Vitality op Eggs {J. L. W.).—^e will tell you the way in 

 which we and many otherH try eggs, in some instances by the thousand. 

 After five or more days* incubation choose a sunshiny day ; get into a dark 

 place such as an outhouse without window, open the door a little to admit a 

 strong ray of light; take the egg in the left hand, and form a telescope 

 with both, the right hand being nearest to the face. Place the eye close to 

 the hand, and look at the Bun through the egg. If life has begun there will 

 be a dark streak plainly visible in the egg. You must not look for any defined 

 form, but simply for that change which betokens the bcginnintr of life. This 

 can be so fully depended upnu that many, especially am-ing Pheasant- rearers, 

 try the eggs from under three hens in this way; by discarding tho unfertile 

 ones they put two heats of good eggs under two hens, and supply the third 

 with an entirely fresh nest. 



Crooked Chops [Rob Roy).~V^B do not understand what yon mean by 

 "crooked crops." We know no such complaint. If you mean pendant crops, 

 when they hang down in an unnatural manner, the only cure for it is to feed 

 on hard food, and to allow only water enongh to satisfy necessity. It is very 

 difficult to treat chickens medically, and we believe if only two or three are 

 affected it i^ill be better to let them take their chance. 



Fowls Featherless (F. C. H. and H. T.).—We take it for granted your 

 fowls are in confinement. We have never known birds at liberty to pick each 

 other's feathers. In our experience, the habit is confined to the Spanish and 

 theHoudans. Some years past a pen of Cn;ve Ctcurs vexed us with the same 

 habit. We have never known Dorkings or Brahinas do it. There is no cure. 

 The evil may belestoned by giving plenty of green food, especially lettuce and 

 prasB cut with lots uf fresh earth and mould, also by giving fresh horse dung. 

 We believe it arises from the fact they lack sometliing they got when at 

 liberty; the consequence is an excited and unnatural appetite, which they 



seek to appease by eating each other. There is one consolation— it is only at 

 this season of the year they are subject to it. After their moult they will be 

 rational fuwls till next April. Eat your eggs and forget the fowls. If, how- 

 ever, only two or three are feather-cannibals, separate tbom from the others. 

 You need not be annoyed if the hens have bare backs and broken feathers, 

 there is often a natural, cause for it. 



Fowls fok Laving (J. M. F.).— You have nearly all that is neccseaiy. All 

 the breeds you mention (Bi-ahmas, Houdans, Crt-ve-Coiurs) are good layers. 

 The Brahma is one of the most useful fowls we have. Houdans and Creve- 

 Cojars are both good layers. It is easy to imagine how we sboulirl like to have 

 fuwls that laid all the yeai- round, but such remain in the class " desiderata.'* 

 To insure winter layers you must have relays of pullets. You should keep 

 some hatched last month, some of this month, and some of next. It is not 

 the property of any breed to lay in the wmter, but if there be one it is the 

 CfL-ve-Coiir, 



CoLOUK OF Eggs {J. C. ^.).— There is no rule about the colour of eggs, but 

 we do not recollect in our experience ever having seen a dark egg from a 

 Spanish hen. We have seen white eggs commonly from Ducks. We have 

 known a Cochin hen lay an egg on one day almost white, and on the follow- 

 ing day one almost chocolate. Again, Dorkings commonly lay cream-coloured 

 eggs. Game do the same. All our Eastern fowls lay dark and thick- hhelied 

 eggs; hut sometimes, from causes beyond our ken, they will for days lay 

 slight and nearly white eggs. It is said by many, and we are not dibposed 

 to treat their theory lightly, that tho shades of colour iu an egg are influenced 

 by temperature. We should not doubt the purity of the birds, and should 

 not hesitate to set their eggs. 



Unproductive Egos (inu/T Boa;).— "There is something rotten in the 

 state of Denmark." Eight chickens from 156 eggs! "All this sack to a 

 pennyworth of bread." You cannot expect to hatch chickens if you allow the 

 hens to sit where the others lay. There is nothing a laying hen likes bo 

 much as to deposit her eggs in a sitting hen's nest. They then come ofE at 

 different times, one at a time, and die for want «f attention. You must take 

 your eggs and put them under a broody hen, putting her in a bos or a basket 

 with a sod of grass for the bottom, and a little straw or hay at top. Put 

 the eggs on this, shut down the lid if there is one. If there is not, cover the 

 top so that the hen cannot get out. She must be in some place where no 

 other fowl has access. For nine or ten days before hatching moisten the 

 eggs well while the hen is off feeding, and your bad luck will cease. 



Rearing Young Ducks (C. fl.).— The best food for young Ducks is oat- 

 meal. If they are hatched under a hen you may let them be at liberty with 

 her, providing them with oatmeal mixed with water in a plate. If there is 

 water they ito the hen's great discomfort) will dabble about on the edge of 

 it and find some food. If hatched under a Duck the safest plan is to confine 

 them for a fortnight in some old place such as a pigstye, where the faulty 

 paving or earth allows of puddles. They must be fed here in the same way. 

 The objection to a Duck being at liberty with her brood is, she drags them 

 abuut tiiwards evening when the flies are about, she takes them under beet- 

 ling banks, and often leaves some behind. Where there is only a small and 

 open pond, the Duck may be safely left at liberty with her brood. 



Cause of Rotjp (Idem). — Roup is in some instances the result of cold and 

 chill. In others it is caused by insufficient food, often by bad lodging, very 

 frequently by dirt, at times by long confinement in small places, and rarely 

 it is brought about by degeneracy and want of constitution. 



Pettigeew's Hives (F. E. H.).— Pettigrew's hives have etrawlids on their 

 crown-holes; but in the absence of these, pieces of wood of any kind an inch 

 thick will do as well. Mr. Pettigrew covers his hives with pieces of old carpet, 

 cocoa nut matting, or any materials he can find at hand, and placea over 

 these roofing felt. This felt when first used is rather stiff and hard, and 

 therefore should be softened by holding it before a fire, and speedily fitting it 

 on when soft. It costs oijy a penny a-foot, and is better for the purpose of 

 covering hives after three years' use than at first. How long it will last, it is 

 impossible to say. 



Feeding Strong Stocks {W. E. M.). — Your two strong stocks of bees, 

 being 45 lbs. and 35 lbs. respectively, need no more feeding. The small weak 

 one may be fed occasionally if the weather be cold or rainy. 



Bees not Working in a Super (C. B.). — Leave your super on if your 

 stock is populous. The bees will take to it, with greater zeal when the warm 

 weather returns. But if your stock is poor in numbers the large vacant space 

 overhead will tend to refrigerate the hive below. In this case remove the 

 super at once, and replace it only when the bees show signs of inconvenience 

 by crowding the entrance. Very hot weather is coming. 



Dog (i/. P., Croydon). — Not knowing the breed or size we cannot advise 

 positively. Washing with soft soap, and a dessert- spoonful of fl.owerB of sulphur 

 twice a week would probably cure him. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 



Camden Square, London. 



Lat. 51° 32' 40" N. ; Long. U° 8' 0" W. ; Altitude 111 feet. 



EEMARKS. 

 Gth. — A fine day, though very dark and stormlike between 3 and 4 p.m. 

 7th. — Fine morning, the day rather cold, but with the exception of a slight 



ehower about 5 p.m. it was fine throughout. 

 8th. — Rather dull morning, and a very slight thunderstorm here at 1.40 P.M. 



which appeared to be much heavier to the south of this place, and 



about 4 P.M. there was a shower as if there were another storm some 



where near.— G. J. Svuons 



