250 



MO.NTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



any imelli?eni farmer in any State of oar Union, j 

 It is a ^vo^k of soiae 460 pages, writteu in a j 

 chaste, clear style, and freed a3 ninch as possi- I 

 b!e from techcical terms.* Dr. Harris's Report ' 

 win prove a great Jhelp to those who have little ' 

 time lor snch investisarions, for he cot only de- 

 scribes .such insects as are injarioas to vegeta- 

 tion, bat points out the best modes of checking ; 



their ravages. j 



Yours respectfulif-, j 



5. W. LEONARD, i 

 Dublin, N. H. 



Management of Bees. — Having tried, du- 

 ring a period of twenty-seven years, all the | 

 different systems of bee-keeping possessing any i 

 merit, and having fooBd in each defects prejudi- ; 

 rial to tlie welfare of the bees. I have directed : 

 my attention towards establishing, if possible, a ; 

 sound and advantageous system. All %vooden I 

 hives or boxes are objectionable. They are too i 

 hot in summer and are too cold in ^vinte^; be- I 

 sides, tlicy retain moisturC; \shich is injurious to | 

 the comb and health of the bees. 1 consider 

 ventilation to be not only unnecessary but inju- 

 rious : for the higher the temperature inside the 

 hive is. the greater is the draught. Bees are | 

 very unconifonable and irascible in windy 1 

 weather, or if blown upon. At all times tliey 

 may be seen anxiously slopping up everj' hole 

 wliich tlieycan tind, particularly those, if any. in 

 the upper part of the hives. This, therefore, 

 speaks against ventilation. The natural heat of 

 the hive is conducive to the hcaltli and activity 

 of the bees, no instance to Uie contrary" being 

 known. It is only when die warmth of the ex- j 

 temal air somewhat assimilates to diat of U;e j 

 hive, tlial they come out cheerfully. I have j 

 known a verj- high degree of summer heat drive 

 bees apparently from their hives, and upon ex- j 

 aniination the Iioney and wax ^va.s more or less | 

 liqueSed on account of the hive being exposed j 

 to the direct rays of the sun. Thb is a verj- 1 

 serious evil, but one which is remedied hycolo- I 

 nies of my construction. The following objects 

 carried out are essential to ilie profitable keep- ■ 

 in? of bees: viz. large \vell-made straw hives 

 to contain strong stocks, bavin? no oiher open- | 

 ins tiian that at the bottom, and having no metal j 

 in any part of them, that being a conductor of j 

 heat- " The best possible protection against mice 

 and every kind of insect. Ea-sy access b}' die 1 

 bees to die slasses, &c.. for \\-orking in. and fa- 

 cility for remo*-ing the latter : the whole to be 

 impervious to the weather, heat, cold and -wet. 

 Fo.' effecting these ends. I would recommend a 

 straw case, worked widi split cane, 3 feet 9 

 inches in length. Ifi inches in bight, and 14 in 

 width, inside measurement. At 3 inches from 

 the bottom, a floor of ^ inch deal should be fixed 

 on supports at each end, and two bridge-shaped 

 pieces shouid be placed at 14 inches from the 

 ends. This case should stand on a ^^•ooden bot- 

 tom 2 inches in thickness. 18 inches in width, 

 and 50 in lenuth. a litde cement or mortar being 

 pni all roandl For the purpo.se of presen'ing 

 the case. I sew canvass on die outside, and size 

 and paint it green, every spring giving it a fi-esh 

 coal. A circular hole should be made in the 

 middle of the floor 10 inches in diameter; on 



*Th8 best vray u> enable an Editor to judse of the 

 value of a work. U t.o ~<?nd him a copy. [Ed. Lih. 



this should be placed early in April a large last 

 year's swarm in a ne\<- bell-shaped hive. Two 

 or three convenient holes, 3 inches in diameter, 

 must also be made in the floor on each side of 

 the stock-hive, and fitted with thick bungs. A 

 door- way should be cut in the bottom at \~ inch- 

 es irora each end. 2 inches in width, and jdis of 

 an inch in depth : and a small appropriate piece 

 of something should be nailed under each door- 

 way for resting boards on. The doorways 

 should be nearly closed in August widi slips of 

 wood, and opened again in April. The stand 

 should have four legs, and each leg should rest 

 in an iron or flower-dish containing ^vater. i^-ith 

 a little oil on the top of the water : over the top 

 I tie canvass to keep out moths, spiders. &:c.: a 

 neat span-shaped painted >vooden roof should 

 cover the whole weU over. In the first summer 

 the bees will probably only fill die space under 

 the floor, but if they appear, by collecting about 

 the entrances, to v\-ant room, a small glass may 

 be placed over one of the holes, first remo-iTng 

 a bung by turning it round. Early in April is 

 the proper time to commence putting on glasses. 

 and when they are quite filled with honey, fresh 

 glasses should be put on. and in a day or two the 

 full ones may be removed by drawing a fine 

 ■wire under them, and replacing the bungs. 

 These hives \%-ill last for many years, and will 

 yield in good summers one cwt. of honey, with 

 but litde trouble. Every three or four years die 

 inside stocks should be examined by fumigating 

 \\V\h firngus, and any old comb used for breed- 

 ing should he removed. 'When additional 

 stocks are required the glasses should not be 

 put on until the bees have s^varmed : at night 

 the young svrarm may be put into a straw ca.«e. 

 I do not find that the queen quits this hive to 

 breed in the glasses, nor do I ever find bee- 

 bread in them. Early in November I close the 

 door\vays with mortar, lea\"ing a qniU as a pa-s- 

 sage for air : and it is advisable, at the same 

 rime, to hang a piece of sacking in fconi. until 

 early in February, in order to prevent any 

 warmth from the sun from affecting die stock. 

 By bee-keepers pursuing this system, they will 

 establish really valuable colonies. The cask- 

 hives made by Mr. ShoU, are defective, and must 

 cause disappointment at the royal Apiary at 

 Windsor, where some have been placed. The 

 a^vkward metal entrance, -when the bees can 

 alight upon it. will in summer bum them, and 

 in v\-inter cramp them : and the bottomless cases, 

 •when iilled. cannot be removed on accoont of 

 their being fixed down with comb. 



[G. L. Smartt, Enfield. 



Si'LPHtTRic Acid and Bones. — With refer- 

 ence to Mr. Pusey's suggestion as to the propri- 

 ety of u-sing bone-dust Idi.ssolved in sulphuric 

 acid; along~with compost, instead of water, for 

 turnips, I can confirm his idea from practice — 

 having last vear manured 5 acres with only 13 

 bushels of bone-dust dis.solved in 270 lbs. of sul- 

 phuric acid and 150 gallons of water. After 

 standing 24 hours, the' liquid was mixed with 

 3 cart-loads of coal-ashes, and left to remain for 

 a week, during which time it was turned over 

 two or three times. The mixture was then 

 drilled along widi the seed, and the restilt was 

 a fair crop "of common turnips, off a piece of 

 poor land, widiout other manure, and at the cost 

 of onlv 12*. 9d. per acre. 



;r. Da~l=— Rov. Eds. Ag. Soc. Jour 



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