174 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Angust 19, 1B75. 



young bees from the cella in the pupa stage, and Reneral 

 robbery and anarchy prevail in the apiary. Where I conld count 

 last season on having hundreds of pounds of honey, I cannot 

 count on tens. A cottager's bees, which I took the other day in 

 order to save them from the sulphur pit, had scarcely any 

 honey, and the poor bees were, of course, in the small skeps ; 

 and most difficult it is to impress upon the cottagers here the 

 utility of larger and better hives. They will not believe in the 

 well-known fact, the larger the hive the greater the population, 

 but I hope in time to get them to give larger and better homes 

 to our hard-working little friends. 



I shall at once begin feeding actively, and thus save many 

 hives, the fate of which would inevitably be death long before 

 the winter, and I would strongly advise bee-keepers to weigh 

 and feed if necessary at once.— H. W., Boss. 



AN APIARIAN INCUBATOR! 



The latest idea of our go-a-head friends, the Americans, is to 

 hatch bees by steam; not from the egg as we hatch chickens, 

 but from the pupa or chrysalis, and it is meant to be applicable 

 for queen-raising only. The apparatus is styled a " lamp 

 nursery for hatching queens." It is a double hive made of tin, 

 with a space beneath the walls to hold water. A kerosene lamp 

 keeps the water at the desired temperature of 80° to 100°, at an 

 expense of about a halfpenny per day. The maker facetiously 

 says, " Without a doubt the machine would hatch eggs (perhaps 

 it would also scratch food for the chickens, we haven't yet 

 tried it) ; but it hatches everything in the bee line quite satis- 

 factorily." The mode of operation is described as follows : — A 

 clean workercomb is put into the hive containing the queen it is 

 desired to breed from, who stocks it with eggs, and when these 

 are found to be hatching the frame is put into a strong queenless 

 colony having no other brood ; queen cells, many or few, are at 

 once formed. The operation is repeated every three days, and 

 as soon as the cells on any comb are found to be all capped over 

 the bees are brushed off very carefully (avoiding shaking), and 

 the comb transferred to the lamp nursery. As the queens will 

 all be hatched before any working bee, no bees need be at any 

 time in the nursery. 



When the queens are expected to emerge the nursery must be 

 examined several times a-day, and as soon as found the young 

 queens must be removed, and it is said if put among any bees 

 that have no queen thev will act and be received precisely as if 

 hatched there, provided they have never seen other bees, and 

 have been hatched but a few hours. To make a colony with 

 such a queen it is only necessary to lift out about one-third of 

 the bees, combs and all, from any strong hive, and drop the 

 queen among them or let her run in at the entrance. 



Our notions of how the young queen would be received by such 

 a newly-deprived section of a stock is rather different. I should 

 have expected her majesty would have been at once taken into 

 custody if not executed as an usurper ; but it may be the queen's 

 virginity stands her in good stead. The experiment is at any 

 rate worthy of trial, and the first opportunity I will put it to the 

 proof, although I won't promise to set up a "lamp nursery" 

 this year. — John Hunter, Eaton Rise, Ealing. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Food for Dotes (J. J.). — The best food is bnckwheat, wheat, and Canary 

 Beed, though they will eat almoat any kind of Bmall grain or eeeds. Do not 

 give tares, as they are fatal to them. They are very fond of hempaeed, but 

 it must be given sparingly, or they become fab, unhealthy, and lose their 

 feathers. 



CANARras AXD THEIR COMPLAINTS (M. L., a Subserififr).—Oa.ua.neB are 

 Bubject to asthma, but when so afflicted they are better separated from 

 healthy birds. When kept together each has to drink out of the same vessel, 

 and it is far better to prevent other birds from becoming afflicted with so dis- 

 tressing a complaint. It is just possible the other birds might not take the 

 complaint. Being in a room which is low and near the Blates, the present 

 weather in particular would not cause the bird to suffer; but a draught or 

 current of air would more likely injure the birds. Generally Norwich birds 

 are as free from illness as those of auy other breed. Give your afflicted bird 

 now and then a drop of cod-liver oil, and let it have occabionally a bread-and- 

 milk diet. Keep it in a cage alone with a cover over it. 



Treatment of Canaries During Moulting (Bluf BrU). — Thistle heads 

 will not harm your young Canaries. The seed is more beneficial, just now in 

 particular, to Goldliuchesi. The occasional baths during moult will tend 

 much to invigorate your Canaries during the moulting sicknefia. The water 

 will assist in keeping the feathers in good trim, and encourafie the buddiug 

 of the pin-feathers. The ten Canaries (if all male birds) will learn to ping 

 just as well as thnugh they were separated. If they agree well together there 

 will be no necessity to part them this side of Christmas. If you require 

 exceptional songsters, and the young are under a good tutor, you can select 

 one or two and place in single cages side by side. 



Bees not Ligdhian (C. T. Salushury). — The bees you sent are not pure 

 Llgurians ; indeed, they have no marks or red bands indicating the Tiigorian 

 type. All pure Ligurian working bees have distinct and beautiful red lines 

 or bands across the upper parts of their abdomens. 



Comb and Honeycomb {F. J.). — You aek the difference between comb and 

 honeycomb. I suppose you know what honey is. Honeycomb, as Mr. Petti- 

 grew used the term, was doubtless intended to mean pure honeycomb — that 

 is to eay, comb which the bees constructed to receive honey alone, and which 



has never been de&led by the breeding of young bees or the introduction of 

 pollen. His advice was sound. If you want honey in quantity regardless of 

 cjuality use ekes, give the bees the amplest space in one chamber of enlarged 

 dimensions; but if you want pure honeycomb use supers. In this case you 

 may obtain what you want; you will certainly do so in good seasons. Tho 

 clump of bees that eeemed half dead on the flight-board only seemed bo. 

 Had the sun come out they would have quickly disperaei in fulness of life. 

 On very web days in close weather the hive becomes very hot and stuffy, 

 which causes many of the bees to cluster outside, preferring the wetting to 

 the stifling. Sometimes they get numbed, and if cold suddenly comes on 

 may die in their rashness. If you can afford to plunder your hives this poor 

 season you can take out one or two combs from each strong hive, but take a 

 whole comb in preference to cutbing-off a piece of two or more. Take care 

 you do not overdo it; and if you do, feed-up liberally to the desired weight, 

 making allowance for the hive's weight. 



Knife for Cotting-out Combs (A. W.). — It is formed of a strip of steel 

 2 feet long by one-oighthof an inch thick; the handle is 20 inches long by 

 half an inch broad. The turn-down blade, of 2 inches in length, is spear- 

 pointed, sharp on the odges, and bent so as to form aa angle of 90'^ with the 

 handle ; the other blaJe is 2 inches long by \h inch broad, and sharpened all 

 round. The broad blade cuts and separates the combii from the sides of the 

 hives ; and the spear-point, which is also sharp on each side, admits, from 

 its direction and narrowness, of being introduced between the combs to loosen 

 them from the top of the hive. 



METEOROLOaiCAL OBSERVATIONS. 



Camden Sqdaee, London. 



Lat. 5V 32' 40" N. ; Long. 0° 8' 0" W. ; Altibade, 111 feet. 



REMARKS. 

 11th. — Dull morning, but a very fine day, and splendid sunset; rain at mid- 

 night. 

 12th.— Rain early, bet fine by 8 a.m. ; showery in the middle of the day, but 



fine after. 

 13th.— Bain early, and till about 9 a.m.; fine till 1.30p.m.; sharp shower 



about 2.3U P.M. ; but very fine afterwards. 

 14th. — Fine but cloudy ab ti a.m,, hut fine by 10, very slight shower at 11, but 



very fine day. 

 15th.— A dull morning, hub very fine day, only rather too -warm to be 



pleasant. 

 16th.— A most splendid eammer day, bat very hot indeed, and scarce any 



wind. 

 17th. — A very hot night, fine morning, and rather cooler; very fine and very 



hot in the middle of the day, but pleasant breeze sprang up about 



8 p.m. 

 Mean temperature about S° above that of last week, partly caused by the 

 intense heat of the last three daya.^G. J. Symons. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— August 18. 

 Market still very quiet. Large qaantitiea of French Pears arriving — 

 Williams's Bon Chrt-tien, Baurre d'Amanlis, and Duohesse d'Augouleme. 



FRUIT. 

 B. d. B. d. 8. d. 



tol 6 Mulberries lb. 6tol 



Nectarines dozen 2 10 



Oranges 1^100 12 20 



8. d, 

 6 



Apples i sieve 



Apricots dozen 1 



Cherries lb- 6 



Chestnnts bushel i» 



Currants 4 sieve 2 



Black do. 2 6 



Figs dozen 1 



Filberts lb. 6 



Cobs lb. " 



Gooseberries...... ynart 



Grapes, hothouse.. .. lb. 1 



Lemons ^ loO 8 



Melons each 2 



1 6 





 3 

 S G 

 3 



1 n 

 

 



5 

 12 



6 



Peaches dozen 3 



Pears, kitchen., 



dozen 



IS n 

 n n 

 8 



[esBert dozen 2 



PineApples lb. 3 & 



Pluma 4 sieve 16 3 



Quincea dozen n 



Raspberries lb. 6 i) 



Strawberries lb. '■i 



Walnuts bushel 8 12 



ditto ^100 1 1 G 



vegetables. 



Artichokes dozen 8 Oto6 



Aeiiaragns ^ UiO 



French bundle f 



Beans, Kidney.. . . i sieve 2 2 6 



Broad (sieve 



Beet, Red dozen 2 4 



BroccoJi bundle 9 16 



Brussels Sprouts 1 sieve 



Cabbage dozen 6 9 



Carrots bunch 6 8 



Capsieuma *» lOO 



Cauliflower doz^-n 3 6 



Celery bundle 16 2 



Coleworts.. dOK. bundles 2 4 



Cucumbers each 3 10 



pickling dozen 



Endive dozen 2 



FennGl bunch 8 O 



Garlic lb. 6 



Herbs bunch 3 



Horseradish...... bundle 4 



Leeks bunch 



Lettuce dozen 



Mushrooms pottle 



Mustard & Cress punnet 

 Onions bushel 



pickUng quart 



Parsley..., doz. bunches 



Parsnips dozen 



Peas quart 



Potatoes. bushel 



Kidney do. 



Radishes., doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Salsaf y bundle 



Scorzonera bundle 



Seakale basket 



ShaUotB lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes dozen 



Tnmips bunch 



Vepetable Marrows doz. 



a. d. s d. 

 4 too 

 1 



n 

 4 6 



