1871 



THE POMOLOGIST AND GARDENER. 



261 



swallowed it does struggle but too late, and for some 

 time its struggles may be seen through the thin and 

 ribless sides of its capturcr : the toad sitting the 

 while in perfect coniijosure, not in the least aflected 

 by the scralchings and kickings that are going on 

 in its interior. Indeed, the stomach of the toad is 

 as devoid of feeling as if it were of iron. More- 

 over, the toad not only cares nothing for tlie scralch- 

 ings and kickings of a large beetle, but is equally 

 indifferent to the stings of wa.sps, bees and insects 

 similarly armed with venomous weapons, and will 

 eat them with marvellous appetite, as if the sting- 

 ing acted as a sort of gentle aid to the digestion, 

 like cayenne pepper with cucumber. 



gotes 011 mt miltntt, 



Dlflicnltr Tritb Top Boxea. 



By W. C. CoNDiT, Howard Springs. Tenn. 



Ed. Pomologist and Gakdener : — The difficulty 

 frequentlj' spoken of in bee culture, viz : that of 

 inducing the bees to work in boxes on the top of a 

 hive, is one I long ago experienced, and believe to 

 be a very common one in the use of such hives as 

 the Langstroth, American, and others which have 

 "supers" for obtaining surplus. Side boxes, if 

 placed near the brood, I believe to be preferable ; 

 but a still better method of securing surplus honey, 

 is bj' the use of such hives as I recently described 

 in the Po.mologist. The honey can, by the use of 

 such a hive, be taken either in the comb, or it can 

 be extracted and the comb returned to be re-filled 

 — the latter I think the best and most profitable 

 method. As to why the bees will not always work 

 in boxes, I suppose it to be their reluctance to build 

 comb at any considerable distance from their brood. 

 Rather than thus w'ork at a distance from the 

 brood, they will ofkn continue to .store their honey 

 din the brood cells, as the 3'oungbces hatch out, en- 

 croaching more and more upon the domains of the 

 queen, till her field of labor is verj' limited, or en- 

 tirely used up. The consequence will be, a hive full 

 of honey, and but few bees ; and of course, in the 

 succi:eding winter the colony is likely to perish. 



The only remedy for such a state as things is to 

 open out a space for the industrious little insect to 

 work in the center of fier nest. This can easily be 

 done in the hive I use, by placing one or more 

 empty frames between full ones, in the center of 

 the brood nest. This will not only give them room, 

 but will induce extra efforts to fill up, as it is unde- 

 sirable to have a vacant space between brood 

 combs. I think comb will be made twice as fast in 

 such a place as in a box on top. Of course, judg- 



ment must be exeicised as to the time of inserting 

 empty frames, and as to the number to put in. It 

 will not do to give too much space, nor to insert 

 when the weather is cold. A little at a time, in 

 warm, working weather, is the true plan, never 



putting two empty frames side by side. 



* ♦ -» 



Do Bees Destroy Grapes 1 



I have recently seen several complaints in the 

 agricultural and other papers, that bees were des- 

 troying the grapes. I have also heard it very con- 

 fidently asserted by some of my horticultural ac- 

 quaintances that their grapes — especially Dela- 

 wares — were being thus destroyed. 



I am compelled to doubt all these statements ; 

 and believe that careful observation will show that 

 bees never attack grapes which have not had their 

 surfaces broken by some previous accident or dep- 

 redator ; and that they simply utilize by converting 

 into honey the juice which would otherwise be 

 wholly lost. 



Appearances are often against the bees; and at 

 one time I also tliought they were the destroyers ; 

 but subsequent observation and experiment con- 

 vinced me that birds are the real offenders in all 

 cases. 



The robin, cat bird, blue jay and Baltimore oriole 

 are all grape and small fruit eaters ; but the oriole 

 is the greatest rascal of the lot, and the robin next. 

 As soon as the grapes commence ripening, the ori- 

 ole begins his operations. He pecks into the ripest 

 and perhaps sucks out a little juice ; then as if in- 

 stigated by curiosity to see if other berries of the 

 bunch are not more to his taste — or perhaps pos- 

 sessed by tile spirit of evil — he attacks grape after 

 grape, and cluster after cluster, till all he can con- 

 veniently reach are punctured and partially des- 

 troyed, while he apparently eats scarcely any por- 

 tion of them. Very large quantities of grapes are 

 thus ruined by these pestilent little vandals, often 

 before their agency in the matter is .suspected. 

 They usually work very early in the morning or 

 when no person is around, for they are as shy and 

 cautious as they are villainous. 



The robin is more open and above board in his 

 depredations, and will eat your grapes with a saucy 

 and defiant chirp in your very face. He is more 

 honest, however, for he actually eats the greater 

 part of the grapes which he attacks, and is only a 

 formidable enemy when reinforced by numbers of 

 his fellows. Nothing short of frequent admoni- 

 tions in the shape of powder and shot seems to af- 

 fect him. After a score or two are killed, the 

 remainder take the hint that their presence is unde- 

 sirab e, and for a time leave the neighborhood. 



My principal reason for belief that bees only at- 

 tack grapes that have been previously injured by 

 other insects or birds, is this : AVhenever I protect- 



