480 



JOUBNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 25, 1875. 



not that they are idle — far from it, but probably two or three 

 days' work has sufficed to fill all the available space in the hive, 

 very likely not much, for it may chance that the stock is prosper- 

 ing under the sway of a young prolific queen whose brood fills 

 many thousand cells. In this case, as fast as a young bee 

 emerges from its cell the latter is immediately taken posscBsion 

 of by the anxious workers, and filled with honey ; the queen 

 wanders disconsolately over the filled combs unable to lay her 

 eggs, and if this state of things continues so long, in about three 

 weeks half the bees have died a natural death, and there being 

 but few young emerging bees to succeed them the stock becomes 

 weak from over-prosperity, and when the next glut of honey 

 comes, with so many home cares the bees are unalile to take 

 advantage of it. Now, the only way to ascertain this state of 

 affairs with straw skeps is to turn them up and examine as far as 

 one can the combs ; but how many bee-keepers will or can do 

 this ? It is not impossible, but not one in a hundred will make 

 the examination. The addition of a super or eke will to a great 

 extent relieve the bees if they use it, which they will not always 

 do. With frame hives the bees, whether they will or no, may be 

 helped in a few minutes to their own and their master's profit ; 

 but I will come back again to this presently. Straw skeps as 

 commonly used (I except Mr. Pettigrew's pattern, of which I 

 have no experience) in a good season will not, I am sure, yield 

 an average of 20 lbs. of honey, both run and super. I am per- 

 fectly aware personal skill and attention will often succeed 

 better than this, but I speak of the returns of fairly intelligent 

 men. If I select labouring men alone, 10 lbs. per hive would be 

 too great an estimate ; with frame hives and proper attention 

 this might be greatly exceeded. It is true that at the late 

 Crystal Palace Show Mr. George Fox of Kingsbridge, Devon, 

 exhibited a glass super of 80 lbs. obtained from a common skep, 

 but this was the only super of note from a similar source ; 

 although bad as the season was frame hives sent many, yet 

 the number of skeps in use greatly exceeds frame hives, as 

 everyone knows. 



Straw hivists are not the only people I have to call to account 

 for not making the best use of their bees' labour. As exceptional 

 returns from a single straw skep we are amazed at 100 lbs., from 

 a frame hive 150 lbs. ; but what should we say at 500 lbs. ? and 

 yet this has been exceeded in America by the use of the extractor, 

 which is universal with large bee-keepers there. That our 

 Yankee cousins are very cuie nobody can deny, and with them 

 bee-keeping is a trade, the traders all adopting frame hives, 

 Ligurian bees, and extractors. 



Fig. 101 is an exterior view of the prize extractor " The Rapid." 

 Fig. 102 is the interior mechanism, a is a framework of wrought 

 iron kept together by cross pieces on the top and bottom ; the 

 cross piece on the top has a short spindle working in a bearing 

 on cross bar (e), which also supports the driving wheel (c), and on 

 end of spindle is a pinion (d) which is worked by the driving 

 wheel, by which means the whole is thus made to rotate. On 

 the bottom cross piece of the frame is another short spindle {d), 

 which works in a socket fixed to the bottom of the can, and thus 

 completes the support of the frame. Instead of a level floor the 

 bottom is coned, so that the honey runs clear of the machinery, 

 and is let out by a treacle valve. / are two cages covered with 

 wire net; they work on pins which form hinges. These cages 



are kept in position by 

 spring clips clasping over 

 f/ and one edge of the cage. 

 The combs with their 

 honey cells uncapped are, 

 with their frames, dropped 

 into the cages ; the frame- 

 work is then revolved, and 

 the honey thrown out from 

 the outer side of the two 

 combs; the clips are now 

 removed, the cages swung 

 round, and being again 

 fastened the honey from 

 the other side of the comb 

 is extracted. 

 7i Fig. 103 is a horizontal 

 section through the frame 

 "■ and cagfs. The dotted 



^'K- l"''' lines show the position of 



the cages when reversed. 

 h are the pins on which the cage swings. I may conclude by 

 Baying every part is well galvanised. — John Hunter, Eaton 

 Mise, Baling. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Hahe Babbits (A Subscriber).— Write to MesBrs. Baily & Son, 113, Monnt 

 Street, Grosvenor Square, LoDdon. 



Canary Scfpering from Asthma {M. Clarke).— Yonr dii-years-oM Cnnjiry 

 is ID a Had state. Ic is suffering from asthma in anjthin^ but a mild form 

 either, and whica complamt will continue until death, which mont probably 

 will take place before the termination ol winter. Brass-wired cages never 



meet with our approbation for CanarieB. The wires become corroded when 

 m< isture gets upon them, and if the birds peck at the poiaonous corrosion 

 injury ensues to them. Why thus jeopardise the life of a pet bird? On the 

 other hand, we are not going to say that in the case of your afllicted bird that 

 its illness has been brought about entirtly owing to itH having been kept in 

 the brasB-wired cage. C maiies are liable to asthma even when kept in cages 

 oth( rwise wired. Generally asthma is the result of cold caught when the 

 bird'H blood is in its wurbt state — when moulting. At this eta;^'e they require 

 pKjtection from cold draughts of air. The bird being kt-ptwliere gas is used 

 is warm atone time, and cold and chilly during the night. To endeavour to 

 effect a cure it appears you removed the bird from the elevated situation it 

 was in to tne upon the floor, which is always the coldest part of a room. By 

 80 doing you certainly encouraged a greater difficulty of breathing, for the 

 bird being ill at the time required warmth and better nursing, liemove the 

 bird into ft position midway betwixt the floor and the ceiling, and keep the 

 cage covered ovtr, except the front, during the day, and entirely during 

 night. To the water fountain add a few drops of sherry; give a bread-and- 

 milk diet, and half a dozen drops of cod-liver oil mixed with a little soaked 

 bread when the water is squeezed from it, which will nouriwh your invalid. 

 In the place of green food at this ungenial season supply linpoed, some 

 scalded rape peed, and a few groats. You may thus prolong life for a short 

 time if you allow the bird to continue in its miserable state. Our cure, il 

 such it may be termed, would be more speedy. We should put the bird oat 

 of its misery and replace it with another, (or at the age of six years it cannot 

 be expected to afford much further pleasure considering the state it is in. 



American Chuhn <A Subscriber) —There is a shop at the Oxford Stieet 

 end of Holborn which specially has for sale the American inventions. 



Bees (A Young Beginner). — 1, The fern will do very well, provided it is 

 kept dry. 2, Fur the cheap hive you want write to Mr. Abbott, Hanwell, near 

 London. His price is 6s. Hd. 3, It is a very good sign when bees take in 

 pollen at whatever time of year. It is a sign that the queen ia breeding. She 

 lays eggs In winter as in Rummer when the weather is mild, although of 

 course not in the same degree. 



Felt Hive Covers ( Farmrr). —Roofing felt is 32 inches wide, and may 

 be bought in lengths by the piece, or by the yard at 1(Z. per square foot, or 

 8d. per lineal yurd. This is the highest retail price. In cold weather it 

 is hard and stiff, but easily softened and made as pliable as flannel before a 

 fire. When first used on a hive it should be softened, wrapped round and 

 tied close to it with a string. It can be placed to that the whole hive is 

 covered and the board overlapped, and thus ahed-Liff every drop of rain. We 

 have hives covered with felt that has been constantly used for ten years, and 

 if it were retouched with tar or pitch might be efficient as a protection for 

 another ten years. Felt ii not an ornamental covering for hives, but its 

 durability, convenience, and portability recommend it to ns and all our 

 friends who have used it. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



CAMnEN SqoAEE, London. 



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



REMARKS. 



17th. — Fine though hazy and cold in the early morning, but followed by a 

 damp disagreeable day; the after part the beet; wind rising at mid- 

 night. 



18Lh. — Very fine all day; rather cloudy between 1 and 2r.M. ; but a starlit 

 night. 



19th.— Wet and cloudy till the afternoon, slight shower after ; dark very early ; 

 wimly night. 



20th. — Very fine all day and all night. 



2l8t.— Fiuo all day, but very much older ; shirs at time^ very bright. 



Siind.— Fine till 2 p.m., then a slight shower, and a damp though not rainy 

 afternoon. 



23rd. — Fine all day ; white frost in the moruiDg. 



A much finer week than we have had for some time. The mean 9 A.m. 



temperature nearly identical with last week, bat the range much greater — for 



instance, the aith was 19^ colder than the l9th.— G. J. Symons. 



OOVENT GARDEN MARKET.— Note hbek 24. 

 The Maiket is generally in a very dull wtate. Apples, Pears, end Quinces 

 continue to arrive in iranaeuse numbers. French Asparagus is aUo arriving 

 with liberal consignments of salading. Prices remain virtually the same aa 

 last week. 



d. 8. d. 

 0to2 

 

 (J 

 20 

 



Apples t sieve 1 



Apricots dozen 



Cherries lb. 



riiebtnuts bushel 12 



Carrants J sieve 



Black do. 



Fi(?B dozen 



Filberts lb. 6 



Coba lb. 5 



Gooseberries quart 



GrHpea.hothooBe.... lb. 1 5 



LfUions ^100 6 12 



' Melons each 10 6 



Malberriea lb. OtoO 



Nectarines dozen 



OraDRes ^r* 100 8 16 



Peaches dozen 13 ]5 



Pears, kitchen.... dozen 



dessert dozen 1 S 



PineApples lb. S 6 



Plums i sifve 10 2 



Quinces bushel 2 6 



Raspberries lb. U 



Strawberries lb. 



Walnuts bushel 4 10 



ditto ^100 1 C 2 



