458 



JOURNAL OF HORTICtTLTtTRE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE, 



[ Juna 13, 18155- 



son," in No. 209, I cut out tlie entire brood, good as well 

 as bad, shifting the frames so operated on to one side, and 

 bringing to the centre as many of the white pure combs of 

 the side never bred in. In the month of April I examined 

 the hive, and was mortified to find foul brood still present, 

 I therefore on the 27th of that month, brimstoned the 

 workers, and was fortunate in safely introducing their queen 

 to a good black colony. 



My object in writing the above, in addition to establishing 

 that the taint of this disease lurks in the combs of a colony, 

 even after the cessation of breeding during winter, and that 

 it will break out in even the otherwise pure combs in spring, 

 is, that should the opinion of your talented contributor, Mr. 

 Lowe, be unchanged, I would be most happy on receiving 

 his address thi-ough the Editors, to present him with the 

 frame-hive above alluded to, in the hope that were he to 

 hive a swarm therein, he might be enabled to study the 

 evolution of the pupa?, and possibly from his thorough 

 scientific acquaintanceship with the honey bee, throw a flood 

 of light on this singular malady, alike the deepest mystery 

 and most terrible bane to many an apiarian reader of the 

 Journal," as well as to — A Keufeewshire Bee-keeper. 



NOTES AXD QUEEIES ABOUT QFEENS. 



I HAVE read with interest the account of the death of a 

 queen related by "J. M. "W." in page 393. On the 4th of 

 April he said he fed with pieces of honeycomb through the 

 day, a practice which I am sure the initiated would at once 

 see was wrong ; but I know it is done by many in our own 

 neighbourhood, even after being warned to desist; and 

 although there is nothing that gives me greater pleasure 

 than to see my neighbours' hives prosper, still in this case 

 I should not be sorry to hear of their losing their whole 

 stock, as it would then give peace to others for miles 

 around. What can be more evident than that his queen, as 

 is too oft-en the case, had been expelled by robbers ? At all 

 events there is something mysterious in his case, for from 

 the time of the expulsion of the queen there are only twenty- 

 two days — not sufficient time for a virgin queen to commence 

 egg-laying, taking his own statement that there was drono 

 brood in all stages, which shows there must have been eggs 

 laid firom the -Ith till the 22nd. Is he sure that it was drone 

 brood, and a dill'erent queen from the one he saw on the 

 4th ? I do not think that two mothers would be allowed 

 to live together in the hive, even for a few days, during 

 winter (the longest period I ever knew being fifty hours), 

 which must have been the case if there was a mother ready 

 to lay eggs the same day that the old one was expelled. 

 Besides, queens appear much smaller after death. 



Can any of your correspondents say at what age a queen 

 whose impregnation has been retarded will commence egg- 

 laying? I fully intended to have proved it this spring, as I 

 bad queens hatched in the beginning of April, and kept 

 them twenty-three days, but I required the bees and had to 

 kill them ere my end was accomplished. — ^A Lanarkshibe 



Bee- KEEPER. 



P.S. — May I be allowed to ask Mr. Henry Stuttle what 

 particular merit is in his hive when, as he says, last year 

 was the only fortunate one he has had in getting off clean 

 supers? When such a year presents itself we are in no 

 difficulty in getting clean combs, even in an old hat or such 

 like. If he would take a trip northwards in but an indif- 

 ferent year, we could show him something that would dazzle 

 his eyes, and ventilated in a very different manner from the 

 way be describes. T tried the plan ho recommends seven- 

 teen years ago, and was glad to give it up in seventeen 

 days — nay, I went further, and tried seven different places 

 of entrance. 



SPONTANEOUS UNION OF SWAEMS. 

 In the beginning of last week I sent one of Mr. Williams's 

 straw hivea with entrance at the top, to a friend of mine, 

 who had promised me one of his first swarms. On Saturday 

 last, May 20th, he had three swarmn from three common 

 straw hives; the first one he hived in my hive, and left it 

 in the place they knit ; the other two ho hived in two com- 

 mon straw hives, also leaving thom wliere they knit, appa- 

 rently all right, and well satisfied with their quarters ; but 



in about half an hour after hiving the last swarm, he was 

 informed by one of his family that the bees were swarming 

 again. Upon proceeding to the apiary, he was surprised to 

 see No. 1 swarm leaving its hive, and going straight into 

 my hive very peaceably, and in a very short time they were 

 as comfortable as if there had been only one swarm in the 

 hive. But now comes the most remarkable part of the case. 

 In about an hour afterwards, looking how things were going 

 on, he was much surprised to find that No. 2 swarm had also 

 taken a fancy to my hive, and were migrating with all pos- 

 sible dispatch, and comfortably ensconsing themselves with 

 the two first swarms, making a total of three distinct swarms 

 in my hive, each of which was a very good swarm. The 

 weight of bees including the hive was 23!(lbs. and as the 

 hive weighs 11 lbs., the weight of the bees was 12" lbs. Such 

 a mass in one hive I have never seen before — in fact, they are 

 so thick in the hive, which is very large, that some cluster 

 on the outside at night, and I am obliged to use the entrance 

 at bottom as well as top. 



Not knowing what will be their next proceeding, as in 

 all my experience I have never had, nor known three first 

 swarms joined together, I have taken the liberty of aquaint- 

 ing you with this remarkable event. At present they are 

 working as nicely and as amicably as I have ever seen any 

 bees do, and I should fancy they must fill the hive with 

 comb in the course of three days more, as they appear to 

 v/ork in proportion to their strength. 



The address of the gentleman who gave me the bees is 

 Mr. Jones, Borneo Farm, near Shrewsbury. — Henry Stuttle, 

 Kingslayiil, Shrewsbury. 



[We shall be glad to know how this monster colony 

 prospers.] 



OUE LETTER BOX. 



Hens Swallowing with Difficulty (A. iroorfl.—Your hens have sorq, 

 probably ulceratert, throats, arisint: from a disordered state nf bmly— change 

 their foot!. Discdntinue all whole corn ; give them grounrt oats, or oatmeal 

 slaked wiih water, and In an almost liquid state. Instead or vegetables 

 give Ihem larpe finds of growing grass, which they will leadily eat, eai'tb 

 and all. They will then recover. 



Hambubghs with Palk F/cks (Idem).— It maybe that your Harnhnrghs 

 are about to moult, having finished their laying-. If po, dying combs and 

 pale faces are the natural symptoms and precarsors. If that is not the cabe 

 we advise you to treat them as above. 



"A Country Parson" will be answered in our next. 



How TO Tell a Cock fbom a Hkn Pigeon (P, A. L.).—ln young Pigeons 

 in the nest the larger, thicker-beaked, wider-headed, and widnr-winged is 

 coneidered to be the cock, but they are frequently both of one scv. After 

 they leave the nest, until they ure matchable, it is almct impoi*bible to tell. 

 When arrived at maturity the cock is thicker about the beak, head, and 

 neck ; he has a bolder look. The hen is narrower, and more Blender and 

 timid-lunking. As to manner, the cock is more intcrHriug, cuolng to all 

 other Pigeons, bowing and flweeping after Ihem with his spread tuU. He 

 will clap his wings more as he flies, and sometimes raises them m he stands 

 on the house top. — B. P. B. 



Brks with Extra Anten.nm: {Sec F/irnd).—T\)e supposed extra antennas 

 are, in reality, poUcn-masaes Iroiu tsoine species ol orchis which have become 

 firmly attached to the headn of thcr-e unfortunate bet's by ilu- glutinous 

 secretion at their bases. Thi>< fingular provision ot nature lor the fecunda- 

 tion of the bloBsoma of the orchidaccms tribe of plants was fii-st noticed 

 and fully described by Mr. Charlus Darwin in hio interesting work on the 

 fertilisation of orchids. 



Brks Custkriko Outsidk the Hives (TT. C.).-We should at once pro- 

 ceed 10 make urtlttclal swarm?. The simplest and best mode of effectinjc 

 this opiTiition with stocks in common hiraw hives w»s fully described by 

 y.T. Woodbury in No. 161 of our now series. 



Moving Rrks (7?crin/0.— The best mode of preparing hres In a frame-hive 

 for u long Journey Is by tacking a square of perforated zinc over ibo top in 

 the place of the crown-hoard, uhicU latter thould be riiipwi half or three- 

 quarters of an Inch, and kept In that position by tlie inseiiion of four small 

 wooden blocks, t-ercws of extra lengfb being substitiitcd. il necessary, for 

 those in ordinary u«e. The ontr.mco being also BccuiTd with rorforafed 

 zinc, the floor-board screwed on, and tlie hive well corded, it will bear 

 removal to almost any distance if not too roughly treated. We should, 

 however, prefer taking i^ under our own caio to entrusting it to iho chapter 

 of actldcnls in the furniture-van. 



LONDON MARKETS.— June 12. 

 POULTEY. 



A fihorl i»npijly HTl'l a Rood titulL' combine to keep up prices. 

 ho-Acvcr, look for lower quot-iiiona. 



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