226 Mr. J. G. Desborough on 



might probably be owing to the severity of the season in 

 the early spring and summer, but we shall have occasion 

 further to allude to this subject towards the close of this 

 paper. 



The winter of 1855-1856 was again wet and cold, as 

 well as frosty, and the great difficulty was to keep the 

 bees free from damp, and as the combs were now getting 

 dark and dirty, there was great tendency to mould ; I 

 managed, however, to get the hive through the winter 

 with very little loss of life in the interior of the hive, 

 compared with that of the preceding year. On the 30th 

 January I saw brood sealed over, and a few drone cells 

 also sealed over ; but although the workers were allowed 

 to hatch off at maturity, the drones were dragged out 

 and destroyed, after being sealed over about three days. 

 The breeding was not continued, nor was it resumed 

 until April. In July, a small space, four inches by two, 

 on each, side of one comb, was occupied with drone 

 brood, which was hatched off by the 11th August, and 

 these drones were killed in the ordinary way about ten 

 days afterwards. 



The proceedings of the hive do not call for any special 

 remark during this year. 



We now come to the winter of 1856-1857, which com- 

 menced with a deep snow so early as Nov. 26th, and a 

 frost lasting till December 5th, very severe ; and on the 

 breaking up of the frost, the hive was excessively damp, 

 and apparently unhealthy, as I removed eighty dead 

 bees; I contrived, however, to get the hive dry, and 

 pursuing the same course of management as before, I 

 brought them through the winter ; brood was first 

 detected on the 21st February, and only worker eggs 

 were laid ; the breeding was again delayed after the first 

 batch until April, and continued until September ; but 

 during this year there was no appearance whatever of 

 drone brood ; still the queen looked healthy, and the 

 hive continued in good condition ; I had cut out as much 

 of the old comb as was dirty, and had become mouldy ; 

 it had been renewed by the bees, and the hive was in as 

 good a state to stand the winter as at any previous 

 period. I had continued the daily observation of the 

 queen up to the 22nd November, but after that day I 

 could not detect her ; I thought she might be concealed 

 between the two centre combs, and I did not disturb the 

 hive for a few days ; but still not seeing her, on the 29th 



