196 



JOURNAL OP HORTICDLTUEB AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Aognst 25, 1876. 



the perch the bird ia standing upon. By-the-by, let there be 

 bat one top perch in the cage, or you will habituate your Belgian 

 bird to the hanky-panky actions the Scotch Fancy birds have of 

 jumping from one perch to another. — Geo. J. Babnesby. 



EGYPTIAN BEES AT HOME. 



Half a generation ago our late friend Mr. Woodbury described 

 how he was obliged to banish the Egyptians from Devonshire 

 in consequence of their untameable ferocity ; and according to 

 the following account, condensed from Swineforth'a " Heart of 

 Africa," they do not appear to keep " company " manners at 

 home : — 



" As our towing-rope was being drawn along through the grass 

 on the banks it disturbed a colony of bees. In a moment like a 

 great cloud they burst upon the men who were rowing, who all 

 plunged into the water and sought to regain the boat. The 

 bees followed them, and in a few seconds filled every nook and 

 cranuy of the deck. I called out to know the cause of the noise 

 and confusion, but only got excited gestures with cries of ' Bees 

 bees ! ' I tried in vain to light my pipe. In an instant thousands 

 of bees are about me, and I was mercilessly stung all over my 

 face and hands. Vainly I tried to protect my face with my 

 handkerchief, and the more violent my motions the greater was 

 the fury of the bees. The maddening pain was now in my 

 cheek, now in my eye, now in my head. The dogs were frantic 

 and burst out, overturning everything in their way. Losing well 

 nigh all control, I flung myself in despair into the river. I 

 dived, but all in vain, for the bees still ramed down on my head. 

 I crept through the reedy grass to the swampy banks, and with 

 lacerated hands tried to gain the mainland to find shelter in 

 the woods, but was dragged back by my servants with such 

 force that I was nearly choked in the mud. Again on board I 

 dragged a sheet from my chest, which afforded me some pro- 

 tection, while I gradually crushed the bees enclosed within the 

 sheet. By great courage on the part of my people my large 

 dog was brought on board and covered with cloths ; a smaller 

 one was never recovered, stung to death no doubt by the bees. 

 Cowering down under my sheet I lingered-ont full three hours, 

 whilst the buzzing continued uninterruptedly, and solitary 

 Btings penetrated periodically through the linen. Everyone 

 became equally passive with myself — perfect silence reigned on 

 board, and the bees gradually subsided. Some of the crew then 

 went stealthily up the banks and fired the reeds. The smoke 

 scared away the bees, and the boat was drawn to the other 

 bank. With the aid of a looking-glass and pincers I extracted 

 the stings from my face and hands, but could not reach those 

 under my hair. These produced ulcers which for two days 

 were very painful. I felt ready that evening for an encounter 

 with half a score of buffaloes or a brace of lions rather than 

 have any more to do with bees ! Several of our party suffered 

 from violent fever. Of sixteen boats which followed us all 

 were pestered by these bees, and two persons were stung to 

 death." 



APICULTUEAL SHOW AT STRASBURG. 



The Association of German and Austrian apiculturists have 

 chosen for the place of their twentieth annual meeting the city 

 of Strasburg in Alsace, on the 11th, 1.5th, 16th, and 17th Sep- 

 tember, and there will arrange in the buildings and grounds of 

 the Orangerie, which have been placed at their disposal by the 

 city, an International Exhibition of Apiculture, together with 

 a prize lottery of apiculture products. The participation in the 

 Exhibition is open to all. Living bees, as well as all articles 

 and products relating to the culture of bees, will be received for 

 exhibition. A jury named by the Association will award the 

 prizes. The Association, desirous of giving every facility in 

 their power to strangers visiting the city on this occasion, have 

 named a special committee for the reception and lodging of 

 guests. Mr. Louis Henry, President of this Committee, will 

 willingly give any information that may be desired, through 

 inquiries addressed to him at the Mairie at Strasburg. All 

 communications should be addressed to the President of the 

 Exhibition Committee, Dr. Itaymond Schramm, Doruengasse 

 No. 11, Strasburg ia Alsace. 



advice to bee-keepers, as well as his workings in the apiary. — 



{Philadclplua Practical Farmer.) 



Moses Qoinby. — This distinguished bee-keeper died at his 

 residence at St. Johnaville, N.T , May 27th, aged sixty-five 

 years. Mr. Quinby was the author of " Mysteries of Bee-keep- 

 ing," a work that is highly piized not only by American apia- 

 rians, but in the library of almost every noted bee keeper of the 

 European world. He has for a number of years past been a 

 valuable correspondent of the leading agricultural papers and 

 bee journals of the United States. He served one term as 

 President of the North American Bee-keepers' Society with 

 credit to himself and honour to the Society. He also held the 

 office of President of the North-eastern Bee-keepers' Society for 

 a number of years, as also that of many other organisations 

 pertaining to agriculture. He was extremely practical in his 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



HouDAN CuicKEN FfiATnERiNG [Houdan). — It is a characteristic of 

 Houdao chickens to feather very early, but we have seldom found their tail 

 and winp feathers grow tilt they were fuUy twelve weeks old. The first 

 chanf>o of plumage is not moulting; it is a substitution of feathers mora 

 fitted for the wear and tear of iucreasing age than the downy covering of the 

 first few weeks of life. You will often see a young cock with his neck covered 

 with stubs as though he were in deep moult: but it is not so, it is the 

 gradual formation of his first adult plumage. 'That will last till the regular 

 moult comes on. Moulting is the process by which every feather is dropped 

 and replaced by a new one. It comes on as soon as the duties of the breed- 

 ing season are over. The old clothiag, warm enough for the hot summer, 

 would be a poor covering in the winter. After incubation, confinement, and 

 the care of a family, the plumage has lost beauty and utility. The work of 

 the breeding season is done. The feathers then begin to fall, and are replaced 

 by new ones. This is generally in June, July, and August. The process is a 

 slow one, but sure ; the feathers grow in strength and beauty. Winter fiuds 

 the bird well protected, aud the breeding season finds it clothed in nuptial 

 plumage. 



CaYSTAL Palace Honey Show {BiUingay}. — Mr. Hunter of Eaton Rise 

 Ealing, will be happy to give you all necessai-y information ; also the proper 

 price to put on your honey and honeycomb. Prices probably will be high 

 this year in England, as honey ia not plentiful. 



Hybrid Liourians {C, T. S.). — The hees you sent in your last note have 

 the Ligurian marks, and appear to be hybrids or half Ligurian. It is a com- 

 mon occurrence for the queens of common bees to be mated with Ligurian 

 drones from hives several miles distant. Many of our queens are thus mated, 

 and we know not where the drones come from. 



Canary \yith a Lump on its Neck (A Pet's Keeper). — Your Canary is not 

 suffering from a confirmed disease of any kind. The outward application of 

 fatty matter in some instances would be good, but in the case of your pet the 

 oil about the neck would cause the bird to feel more uneasy through the 

 cloggy tendency it would have upon the feathers, besides closing the pores of 

 the skin. All outward eruptions are caused by a defective state of the blood — 

 the same in birds as other animals, therefore it is better to go to the root 

 of the evil. In the first i>lace we will advise you to administer one or two 

 drops of castor oil, inwardly of course, and in the next place to alter the diet 

 of the bird. Instead of only giving your bird canary seed, reduce the same at 

 least one-half, by letting soaked and scalded rape seed take the place of it. 

 Keep the bhd upon a free vegetable diet also, letting it have lettuce, water- 

 cress aud groundsel. The common weed known by the name of plantain ia 

 growing in abundance just now, and supply your bird with as much of it as 

 it will eat. The weed is known by its peculiar spiked, closely-seeded stems, 

 aud grows freely on roadsides. Not having seen the bird to see what sort of 

 a " lump " it has upon its neck, it would be dangerous to recommend a sur- 

 gical operation with the kuifo. If the protruberance or callosity is of a hard 

 tumorous nature you may cinterise the immediate surface of it with caustic. 

 Do not be fearful that it will be painful to the bird. It may possibly wane it 

 away. Place a little stick liquorice and a rusty nail in the water. No sugar 

 or other sweets. Keep a small piece of salt in the cage. With the above 

 treatment it is just possible that the " lump" may disappear oyer the moult . 

 If it does let us know. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 

 Cajuden Sqoarb, London. 

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



REMARKS, 

 llritb. — A very pleasant day, being much cooler; showery ahoat 5 p.m., but 



Une after. 

 19th. — Very fiue morning; midday dull, dark, and togi^y, particularly bo abont 



5 P.M. ; tremeuduQBly heavy rain about nine, and continuing ou till 



midnight. 

 20th.— A little rain in the mornint?. and very eoon dark, but a pleasant day. 

 2l9t. — Fine morning; rather cloudy at uoun ; but a very fine afternoon and 



evening. 

 22nd.— Hazy in the morning, but sjon clearing off, and followed by a very 



fine day. 

 23rd. — A verj pUiisaut day throui^hout. 

 24th. — Cloudy morning,', and occaMonally so during the day; on the whole a 



very plesKant dty, and splendid starlit ni-jht. 

 A very pkasaut suojiuer week, tbe only remarkable feature being the un- 

 usually heavy shower ou the 19th, when U.12 inch of rain fell in one minute : 

 the total fa.l in the day was 0.659 inch. The mean temperature was about 3'^ 

 below that uf the week previous, except underground, which was 1^ in excess. 

 — G. J. Symons. 



COYENT GARDEN MARKET.— August 25. 

 A LARGE quantity of all kinds o( goods have been cleared during tbe week, 

 with no alteration in prices. Heavy snpplies of Kent Filberts, realising from 

 32.S. Gd. to 37«. Gd. 100 Ib-s. Jersey Grapes 8d. to lOrf. a pound, good samples 

 of English Grapes fetching very little more. 



