216 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 12, 1878. 
never in such vogue and demand as they are now. My time 
Raced heavily to see letters from all parts of England asking 
where large straw hives can be bought ; and Mr. Samuel Yates 
of Manchester, who employs all the hive-makers he can find, is 
seldom able to meet the demand for them. : 
“To the enlightened apiarian,” says the “RENFREWSHIRE 
BEE-KEEPER,” “the day of monster supers, as of big straw skeps, 
is over. Profitable bee-keeping consists in adopting the hive and 
system of bee-management by which the greatest weight of com- 
paratively small completed and most marketable supers can be 
obtained.” Jam sorry that your able correspondent makes such 
sweeping assertions. He would make it appear that the Stewarton 
hive is the acme of perfection, and that all other systems of man- 
agement are defective. Our apiarian associations are working 
hard to introduce the bar-frame hive and the American slinger. 
Some two or three years ago one high up in the bar-frame school 
said the best way to assist cottagers would be to let a slinger be 
placed in every parsonage for general use; then the honey could 
be obtained without the destruction of combs. ‘This notion is 
not at all in harmony with that of our Renfrewshire friend, who 
asserts that profitable management consists in adopting the hive 
and system which gives the greatest weight of small supers. 
This may be his opinion, but surely other folk may be allowed to 
think differently. We have had a honey fair annually in Wrex- 
ham from time immemorial, and many generations will come and 
go before small supers will take the place of honey jars in that 
market. Ever since I was born a hundred times more run honey 
has been consumed in this country than honeycomb, and for many 
future generations the probability is great that fifty times more 
run honey will be wanted than honeycomb. The Stewarton hive 
is adopted and adapted for supering, and I have not been slow 
to commend it for that purpose ; but other kinds of hives serve 
their day and generation and their day is not over, and, if 1 am 
permitted to prophesy, I would say will never be over while bees 
are kept for profit. The great bulk of my customers for honey 
want it ina run state ; they give good prices for it, and want more 
every season. I and hundreds besides keep bees for profit, and we 
are quite satisfied with our hives and systems. Our hives will 
bear comparison with other kinds of hives as to cost, convenience, 
and results. In 1868 our Renfrewshire friend had glorious results 
in supers from a Stewarton hive. The results same year from a 
straw hive in an adjoining county (Lanark) were equally good-— 
viz., 328 lbs. gross. Mr. Briscoe has taken 56 Ibs. of super honey 
from a Stewarton hive this year, and “H. J.,’ another corre- 
spondent of this Journal, has taken 54 Ibs. of super honey from 
a standard bar-framer of black bees. 
In penning these notes my object is to help the readers of the 
Journal to form a right and safe conception of successful bee- 
keeping, and thus induce them to lay a good foundation this 
autumn for success next year and to expect good results from 
strong stocks of every description. The shape and materials of 
hives are of far less importance than their size and strength. All 
kinds of hives can be worked either on the swarming or non- 
swarming principle, and all kinds of hives can be either supered 
or nadired. If 1 were to adopt the Stewarton principle of super- 
ing, which is a good one, I would use my present straw hives 
slightly modified in their crowns, and never dream or have occa- 
sion to dream of their inferiority. I am not an admirer of bar- 
frame hives, but if I used them and wanted to work out the 
Stewarton principle I would not cast them aside, but use them 
with tiers of supers and removing the crown boards, i Iam now 
preparing my stocks for next year’s campaign by having a large 
young effective force in every hive. Strong stocks, like healthy 
children, need less care than weakly ones. When bees from con- 
demned hives cannot be obtained for strengthening stocks we 
resort to artificial feeding with a view to get a hatch of brood in 
August or September. Strong stocks in any kind of hives make 
strong bee-masters. The satisfaction of success one year gives 
stimulus and strength for future work. Every favourable season 
for honey we have records of astounding results from strong hives, 
and we have reasons for expecting greater things in the future 
ave had in the past. acre 
Eee above was atten a working man and his wife have 
been here seeking information. They have eight large hives 
pretty well filled ; three of them haye old queens three years old, 
certain to die next year. Several questions about supering led me 
to ask him how much he got for his run honey. He said 1s. 4d. 
per Ib. I advised him to get all the run honey he could from his 
bees and sell it at that price —A. PETTIGREW. 
STEWARTON HIVES. 
NcE from home has prevented me from giving an earlier 
Len oot Be ities of “ HS .;’ relative to the management of 
Stewarton hives. Full instructions have appeared in the pages of 
the Journal of Horticulture more than once from the pen of 
“A RENFREWSHIRE BEE-KEEPER.” : 
A strong Stewarton hive in full work requires three stock boxes, 
and two will not accommodate the bees sufficiently to prevent 
swarming and keep the queen out of the supers. Before winter 
one or two of the lower boxes are removed, according to the 
strength of the colony. Last winter out of three stocks one 
retained two boxes, and the others not being so populous each 
passed the winter in a single box. In all cases the upper box has 
been the winter domicile. Driving isnot required. As the autumn 
advances the bees retire into the upper chambers, and the iower 
ones are simply removed, carefully wrapped up to exclude moths, 
and are restored to the bees when the warmth of advancing spring 
enables them advantageously to occupy a larger mansion.— 
J. E. Briscox, Albrighton, Wolverhampton. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL (W. H.).—Apply to Messrs. Triibner & Co.. 
Ludgate Hill, London. 
A STEWARTON HIVE—DRIVING BEES (Z. S.).—The swarm which you 
put into a Stewarton hive at the end of May has either been a small one or 
in some way mismanaged, seeing it has filled one box only. <A bit of guide 
comb would have prevented the bees making their combs across the bars. 
You should not have filled the grooves of the bottom box, or in any box, 
with beeswax. The grooves are meant for use, and when filled with wax 
the slides could not be used. Your better way now will be to let the bees 
remain where they are; you will gain nothing by driving them into another 
hive. If they have not food enough for winter put a nadir (that is, one of 
the empty boxes) below the hive and feed them. By placing a dish or troagh 
on the board inside the empty hive, with chips of wood in it, you will be 
able to feed the bees easily. Bees are driven from one hive to another by 
simply turning the full one on its crown, placing an empty one over it, tying 
a cloth round the junction, and drumming on the bottom or full hive for 
twenty minutes. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 82’ 40" N.; Long. 0° 80" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
9 AM. IN THE Day. | 
Hygrome-| 2. ;|/Shade Tem-| Radiation | & 
ter. Ba perature, /Temperature, = 
Ee PMSA st On 
Dry.| Wet.| AS Max,| Min.} sun. | grass 
deg. | deg.i | deg.) In. 
N.E. 513 103.5 50.6 — 
i 90.2 56.4 | 0.020 
nWis 57.8 | 112.3 | 55.0 — 
We 53.2 120.2 510 | — 
W. 56.2 | 104.9 | 53.7 | 0.040 
W. 53.2 | 1142 | 52.0 | — 
N.W. 48.8 } 115.6 | 447 _ 
Means | 30.105 | 6 72.2 | 54.1 | 108.7 | 51.9 0.060 
| 1 
REMARKS. 
4th.—Very hazy morning and a close warm day. 
5th.—Hazy morning, a little sunshine about 10 A.M., afterwards slightly 
foggy ; slight shower about noon; dull afternoon. 
6th.—Dull morning, fine about 11 A.M.; afternoon bright and sunny; fine 
evening. 
7th.—Fine bright day. 
8th.—A somewhat dull and showery day, although there was occasional 
sunshine. 
9th.—Slight shower in morning, but on the whole a fair day. 
10th.—Fine bright day throughout. 
Barometer readings higher than those of last week. Shade temperatures 
mostly above, though the minimums were a trifle lower than last week. 
Very little rain.—G. J. SYMONS. 
COVENT GARDEN MARKET.—SEPTEMBER II. 
TRADE and supply much the same as last week, consequently prices 
remain unaltered. 
FRUIT. 
s. d. s. d s.d. s. @ 
Apples.......... tsieve 2 Utot 0| Melons ........ each 1 Uto4 0 
Apricots dozen 0 0 0 0} Nectarines dozen 10 8 © 
Chestnuts bushel 0 0 0 0} Oranges.. #100 8 0 16 O 
igs... dozen 1 0 38 0] Peaches ........ dozen 10 8 6 
Filbert tb. 0 8 1 | Pears, kitchen.. dozen 0 0 0 0 
Cobs...... So ib. 0 § 1 0|_ dessert dozen 10 30 
Grapes, hothouse tb. 0 6 6 0| Pine Apples Pib 3 0 6 O 
Lemons ........ P 100 6 0 10 0) Walnuts bushel 5 0 8 0 
VEGETABLES. 
s. d. s. d. Ss ds 4 
Artichokes dozen 2 Oto# 0| Mushrooms.... pottle 1 6to2 0 
Asparagus...... bundle 0 0 0 0 Mustard & Cress punnet 0 2 0 4 
Beans,KidneyforcedP th 0 3 0 6 Onions: sideniee bushel 2 6 3 0 
Beet, Red ...... dozen 1 6 3 0| _ pickling...... quart 0 4 0 6 
Broccoli ........ bundle 0 9 1 6|Parsley.... doz.bunches 2 0 0 0 
Brussels Sprouts 4sieve 0 0 0 0| Parsnips So dozen 00 06 
Cabbage ....... dozen 1 0 2 0} Peas.... quart 0 9 10 
0 4+ 0 8} Potatoes bushel 8 6 7 0 
ALG PLT) Kidney -- bushel 5 0 7 0 
5 0 6 0| Radishes.. doz.bunches 1 0 1 6 
1 6 2 0| Rhubarb........ bundle 0 0 0 0 
2 0 4 0|Salsafy .. bundle 0 9 10 
Cucumbers .... each 0 4 1 0) Scorzonera - bundle 10 0 06 
Endive dozen 1 0 2 0O| Seakale . . basket 00 0 0 
Fennel.. bunch 0 3 0 0} Shallots .. © Pb 038 0 4 
Garlic Tb. 0 6 O O| Spinach bushel 2 6 40 
Herbs bunch 0 2 0 O| Turnips.. bunch 06 0 9 
Leeks bunch 0 2 0 4/{ Veg. Marrows.. each 0 2 0 4 
Lemons . dozen 10 2 0 
