62 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 15, 1875. 



At Bellinzona I met with a bee merchant named Chevalley, 

 who told me that he sent colonies of bees as well as queens to 

 various parts of England and Scotland. He has a large stock of 

 bees in various parts kept principally for exportation. Those 

 which I Baw were all in rudely-constructed wooden boxes on 

 the bar-frame principle, packed one upon the other like a wall 

 with a ronnd hole in front, but no landing-board ; each box 

 opened by a door at the back, the frames ranging from side to 

 Hide ; being in a shed access to them was from behind. In ex- 

 amining the bees Chevalley opened the door and puffed in a 

 little tobacco smoke from a short pipe, then took out frame after 

 frame until he found the queen, his wife assisting him so that 

 they overhauled them with as much indifference as if they were 

 looking over so many Pigeons' nests, which highly amused my 

 wife, who could not understand why they were not stung; and 

 when asked the reason Chevalley said, " My bees are good, very 

 good." We spent a very pleasant day with this gentleman and 

 his wife, and left them with much regret so soon. I still have to 

 learn how people at a distance think so much of Italian bees, for 

 in other parts of Switzerland they seem to prefer the black bees. 



Being on a voyage of discovery I learnt many things about the 

 people which puzzled me not a little. The principal beast of 

 burden seems to be the woman. Go where you will in highways 

 or footpaths you meet the women and even young girls carrying 

 the hotte. This hotte is like a large tub strapped on the back in 

 which they carry everything ; manure to the field and the pro- 

 duce home all is done by the women. It is not uncommon to 

 see them carrying live pigs to market and again loaded home 

 with what they require, not only for themselves but for their 

 neighbours, also the husband walking by their side carrying 

 nothing but a large umbrella. I asked. Do the men do nothing ? 

 I am told very little besides smoking and chatting to each other 

 at the public houses. The higher classes also live an indolent 

 life. The men will turn out of bed at ten in the morning, go 

 to the ca/t' or gossip about, backbiting each other, returning 

 home, perhaps, at two in the morning. Many of them never 

 see their children for weeks together. They are very fond of 

 litigation, so that there is plenty of work for the lawyers ; so 

 much is this the case that a stranger might think there was 

 not an honest man in the country. 



I inquired further how it was there was no game to be found 

 anywhere, neither for sport nor diversion ; on the other hand, 

 they take care that a small bird shall not live. Every kind from 

 the Swallow to the Nightingale can be purchased in the markets 

 for 6d. per dozen, so that two small birds and 2 lbs. of polenta 

 costing 3(Z. will make a meal for a family. Even in this they do 

 not kill the birds for sport — powder and shot is too dear, but 

 take them in nets and traps. Thousands of innocent song birds 

 are taken every year on the margins of the Italian lakes. The 

 principle which seems to guide these people is to make the most 

 of everything, while that which requires care in keeping is 

 neglected. Poultry, Pigeons, Babbits, Turkeys, Ducks, and Geese 

 are hardly known. Horses, asses, and mules are only kept for 

 travellers, few keep them for pleasure or even for labour. As to 

 cats and dogs, they are hunted for sport, the former eaten, which 

 they prefer to Rabbit. In fact, they seem to abhor every kind of 

 animal. When asked why it is so, they say they do not know, 

 except they have not been accustomed to keep them. 



A farmyard Buch as we have in England is unknown here ; the 

 incessant noise made by every species of animals, as the barking 

 of the dog, the neighing of the horse, the braying of the ass, the 

 crowing of the cock, the hen's call to the chicken, the cooing of 

 the Pigeons, &c., is heard nowhere. All this merriment is not 

 heard anywhere in the Canton of Tessin. I forbear to enlarge 

 on this subject, but should like the opinion of other travellers if 

 all this be true. — John Cakpenter, Brentford. 



Goat Show.- — The Crystal Palace Company intend'Ihaving a 

 show of Goats, to commence on the 2-Jth inst., and being the 

 first exhibition of the kind they hope to have a large entry. 

 There are twelve classes, and liberal prizes are offered. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Taking a Large Super {W. J. Hebblet}maite).—'We find no difficnUy 

 with Aeton's bee trap, but can imagine a very large super sach as youra 

 requiring diflEerent treatment. We should have driven out the bees en masac 

 lir.st, and then used the trap to get rid of the remainder. It is not improbable 

 that the queen was in your super, in which case there would be a difficulty 

 in dislodging the bees. Tobacco is a bad fumi^^ator, and, indeed, all fumi- 

 gating of bees is to be avoided ; it makes them sicfr, and afflicts them with 

 diarrhcea, which is not agreeable in a fine super of honey. 



WooDLiCE IN Supers, &c. iF. M. M.).—l. You can get rid of the woodlice 

 by closing the space hy which they enter. A little clay or other plastic sub- 

 stance plastered ronnd will keep them out. 2. We hardly advi^;e your sug- 

 gested method of joining the bees, after taking the super, to the swarm in 

 the rough bar-frame hive. You had better wait till a few days before you 

 leave home, then drive the bees of both hives, and unite them by dashing 

 both of the populations down together in front of the bar-framed hive placed 

 at band on the ground. They will enter it together peaceably enough, one 

 of the queens, ot course, being eaorificed. Should there be any brood worth 

 saving yoa can Beparate it from the rest of the comb, arrange it in a super, 



and place it over the bar-frame hive for the bees to hatch out. Some of the 

 bees will doubtless fly back to their old stand for some days, but will mostly 

 return to the bar-framed hive. 



Ligurianising a Hive (G. W. Jessop). — We fear you have cut out for 

 yourself a treatment of your bees beyond the powers of a beginner in bee- 

 keeping. You can easily procure a pure-bred queen from any advertising 

 salesmen, as the Messrs. Neighbour & Sons. She will be, or ought to be, a 

 fruitful mother, and can dispense with drones till swarming time next sum- 

 mer ; but you will have to drive your colt to catch its queen. Then the 

 Italian queen must be introduced by means of a queen cage or in some other 

 way; and then comes the greatest difficulty of all— namely, the transferring 

 of the whole to a Woodbury hive. We strongly advise you to wait till next 

 year, as it is too late now to do it. 



Canary Hen Sitttno (Blue Bell). — We shoold imagine by this that your 

 Canai'y hen is again about to commence sitting ; it will not hurt her to let 

 her do so, provided she remains healthy. Jud^dng from your remarks we 

 presume she is in robust health, and will maintain her " good condition " for 

 another fortnight or three weeks ere she commences to moult, although at 

 this particular juncture many Canaries are commencing to cast their feathers. 

 If such had been the case with the pair you are breeding from, we should 

 have said, At once remove the nesting materials. All Canaries do not fall 

 into moult at one time, for much depends upon constitution and the even 

 temperature and way they are treated. You have done well towards the 

 birdB there is little doubt, and in return for your kind attention to them 

 they have presented you so far with a goodly number of young birds. May 

 they afford you still further pleasure with their harmony. If in the two 

 earlier nests a chick was reared from each of the five ege^s laid, with an 

 additioDEd couple reared from the third nest, you may consider yoorseU 

 somewhat fortunate, for the rearing of a dozen young one^ by one pair of 

 birds over three ueets is beyond the average. It is so far satisfactory for you 

 to be able to account for the loss of three of the birds out of the five in the 

 third nest. It is very often the case that young birds will die in the nests 

 without the means of arriving at the true cause of death. Evidently the 

 parent birds are kind and attentive, and if you continue your attention to 

 them during the moulting sickness, and betwixt that and next April, moat 

 probably you will be equally t^uccessful with them next breeding season. We 

 will assist you with our advice if needed. The chaufjeable weather we have 

 experienced during the past few days will very much affect Canaries and 

 other cage pets, and epeedily throw them into the moulting sickuess. This 

 becomes a natural consequence when following a period of heat. At the 

 time we vrrite our thermometer in the open air records 53'' of heat only, with 

 a strong breeze blowing from the north-west — cool enough certainly for July, 

 and reminding us of our own feathers or covering. 



METEOROLOaiCAL OBSERVATIONS, 



Cauden Square, London. 



Lat. 61° 82' 40" N. ; Long. 0° 8' 0" W. ; Altitude, 111 feet. 



REMARKS. 

 7th. — A very pleasant thougli rather cloudy day ; storm-like at 5 p.m., bat 



fine afterwards. 

 8th.— Rather cloudy all day till the evening, then very bright. 

 i)th. — Fine early, but soon clouding over, and then rain more or less all day, 



and at times very heavy rain. 

 10th.— Till noon cloudy and cold ; very fine afternoon and evening, but rain 



before midnight. 

 11th. — Fair early, but rain-like and windy; showers in the alterpart of the 



day ; a fine rainbow about 6 P.M. 

 12th. — Fine all day ; at times very bright but windy, and cold for the time of 



the year. 

 ISth. — Very bright till noon, after that time cloudy; a few drops of rain 

 about 7 P.M. 

 The nights much colder than last week, the days have many of them been 

 cloudy with frequent showers, so that it has been far from a pleasant week. — 

 G. J. SyMONs. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— July 14. 



Very heavy supply of but-h and standard fruit. Cherries especially, whic'i 

 are making very low prices, the bulk having been much injured by the late 

 stoimy wet weather. The quantity of English Pines sent in now is far in 

 excess of the demand. West India fruit being very good and cheap this 

 season. Hothouse Grapes ample, inferior fruit selling at Is. to 2». per pound. 

 An average amount of business is current among the dealers. French 

 goods being in fair request. 



FHOIT. 

 8. d. B. d. 



Apples ^ sieve OtoO 



Apricots box 1 B 4 



Cherries lb. 6 16 



Ohpstnuts bushel 



Currants 4 sieve 2 3 



Black do. li 6 S G 



Figs., 



. dozen 8 12 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 



Gooeeberries quart 4 6 



( Trapes, hothouse lb. 2 6 



Lpmona ¥^ lOO 8 12 



Melons each 2 5 



s. d. B. d. 



Mulberries lb. OtoO 



Nectarines dozen 6 15 



Oranges T;>^ 100 8 14 



Peaches dozen 6 18 







4 



Pears, kitchen.. .. dozen 



dessert dozen 



Pine Apples lb. 



Plums i sieve 



Qoincea dozen " " 



Kasi'berriea lb. 4 



Strawberries lb. 3 



Wahmts bushel 8 la « 



ditto ::viooii 1 " 





 6 



1 6 



