234 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 19, 1878. 
shape, 6 inches deep and 15 inches wide, with two honey boxes 
4 inches deep, all with crossbars, make a Stewarton hive. They 
resemble a lot of empty American cheese boxes or a bundle of 
riddle rims. The two 6-inch boxes are fastened together, and the 
open spaces between the bars of the top box are closed with slides 
which run in grooves. In this way the bars and slides makea 
roof which answers for a crown board. When the first super is 
put on the slides are shifted from the top of the hive to the top of 
the super, and thus a storey is added to the house, with free 
access from both first and second floors to the attic. Ifa second 
super is used the slides are again withdrawn and placed at the 
top of the second attic, and so the sides are moved upwards by 
stages from hive to super, and from super No.1 to super No. 2. 
Some of the hives are enlarced from below by adding a third 
6-inch box. When put together and well tenanted it is a good 
hive capable of doing much work. It is chiefly used for supering, 
and the principle of the Stewarton hive is in advance of all other 
kinds of hives for supering, and this is saying a great deal for the 
Stewarton. In making this statement I wish to be fairly and 
well understood. Ido not mean that the Stewarton hive will 
yield more super honey than other kinds of hives of equal 
strength, but that the connection of super and Stewarton hive is 
more close and intimate, if the expression is allowable, than in any 
other kind of hive known in England. The separation between 
hive and super in the Stewarton hive is hardly felt by the bees, 
and therefore they are less likely to swarm than in other kinds. 
In all cases of supering the great difficulty is to prevent bees 
from swarming. In many instances bees swarm with empty 
supers on them, and often swarms issue from hives with supers 
on them half filled. Even in the Stewarton hive bees cannot be 
prevented from swarming. They-set queens and go off to form 
colonies. Neither care nor contrivance can prevent swarming at 
all times. Of all known practised systems of supering the 
Stewarton hive offers the greatest inducements to the bees to 
remain at home. Young folk will marry and bees will swarm 
despite all that can be done to prevent them; hence in all kinds | 
| than more water, as some sugars are muchjweakened by the refining pro- 
of hives kept for supering we have suggested that the queens 
have their wings clipped. If the queens cannot go with the 
swarms the bees will return to their hives shortly after they leave 
them. 
In managing the Stewarton experience has led practical men 
not only to the remoyal of the crown board and the introduction 
of slides, but the adoption of the non-swarming principle. For- 
merly an empty hive was filled with two or three swarms and 
supered the first year. Now we believe stock hives are supered 
as soon as they are ready, and every effort made to prevent 
swarming. My object in writing these notes is to give the 
readers of the Journal as fair and accurate a knowledge of this 
hive as I can, and commend the principle of it in the highest 
possible terms; and I trust that my simple commendation will 
induce many bee-keepers who are seeking super honey to adopt | 
the Stewarton principle in the management of their bees. The 
advocates of the Stewarton hive confine the bees in winter to one 
box, and in spring give room as the bees spread out in bulk and 
multiply in numbers. One, and sometimes two, breeding boxes 
are added in spring to the winter dwelling house. Probably a 
little experience will lead to a modification of this practice, for it 
is invariably found that empty spaces in hives are, during the 
spring months, fdr too much filled up with drone combs. This 
fact can never be wisely contradicted or contraverte d. It is a 
stroke of good policy to get stock hives of all kinds well filled 
with combs in autumn, whether managed on the sw* rming or 
non-swarming principle. Another point in the management of 
this hive I must notice—viz., the practice of keeping stock boxes 
for two or more years. I suggest the desirability of having the 
combs in the stock boxes renewed every season, and I am sure 
that this suggestion will in process of time be universally 
approved. All kinds of hives that have filled supers are pretty 
well stored with honey and bee-bread or pollen. The super- 
abounding pollen would be a hindrance to the bees if kept, and 
the honey if taken and sold would realise at least £1 per hive, 
and one-fourth of this sum would proyide sugar-syrup enough to 
fill empty boxes with beautiful new combs and store them with 
healthy food for winter. Hives of all kinds thus filled make the 
best of all stocks, full of health and ever ready for work. 
In complimenting the principle of the Stewarton hive I leave 
the hive itself and its faulty features or points for future con- 
sideration, because I wish to avoid all matter of controversy in 
this article. The principle of the Stewarton can be adopted in 
supering with straw hives or bar-framers. I have repeatedly told 
the readers of this Journal that by placing one bar-frame hive 
over another (after removing their crown boards) the Stewarton 
principle could be carried out with great results. If I were to 
adopt the Stewarton principle of supering I would only alter the 
crown arrangements of my capital and conyenient straw hives. 
Let it be well and fully understood that a change of hives would 
not secure success. The principle of shift and thrift and a good 
knowledge of management will do more for bee-keepers than a 
change of hives. While I heartily welcome every real improve- 
ment in apiculture, and hold ont to view the highest models, I 
have ventured now and again to warn the bee-keepers of England 
against the beguiling influence of trumped-up novelties. Torun 
atter such is the shortest road to get rid of cash and secure 
failures in bee-keeping— A. PETTIGREW. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
RABBITS IN FIELD (IV. H. H.).—You do not say what kind of Rabbits 
yours are, or what precautions you take against wet, &c. We do not think 
that Angoras or breeds of that nature would ever do in an open field, especi- 
ally, as appears from your letter, if the grass is allowed to grow, although 
some of the hardier breeds might. We should say in the first place that the 
death of your young Rabbits is caused by too much wet food. In addition to 
this the bucks if loose, as they apparently are from your letter, would 
probably kill the survivors. Take the Rabbits out of the field if you want 
them to do well, and feed them with good corn, not bran, or at any rate a 
mixture of the two, and lettuce, young corn, and parsley are all better than 
grass. You are not the first who has tried the experiment and failed. 
A STEWARTON HIVE.—In reply to “E. S.” “A RENFREWSHIRE BEE- 
KEEPER” states that “Had stripes of embossed wax sheet been inserted 
inthe hive as intended, the combs would have been wrought perfectly straight 
and parallel.” 
SUPERED HIVE (Horace).—As the supers which you placed on your hive 
are not filled they should now be removed. The hive which is filled with 
combs will make a good stock for next year. Give it a few pounds of sugar 
syrup as rapidly as the bees will take it, cover the hive well, and expect 
returns next season. 
MR. Fox's HIVE (Amateur’)—We are not able to answer your question. 
Write to Mr. Bevan Fox, Southernhay, Exeter, and you will ales doube obtain 
the information you require. 
_ SUGAR SYRUP (H. C., Ripley).—Mr. Pettigrew’s recipe for feeding bees 
into stocks is good soft sugar at 3d. per tb., boiled in water at the rate of 
1 tb. of sugar to one pint of water. The sugar he is now using is of a light 
cream colour, and make; excellent syrup, from which the bees (twenty 
swarms) are building combs rapidly. Syrup made in such proportions of 
sugar and water is as sweet as the syrup of flowers when first gathered, and 
has also much substance or body in it. It is simply a good imitation of 
Nature's production, and is improved both in taste and substance by boiling. 
Some bee-keepers use less water, and probably it is better to use rather less 
cesses through which they pass. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 32740" N.; Long. 80" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
9AM. IN THE Day. 
Hygrome-| 23 Shade Tem- Radiation | & 
ter. =8 perature. Temperature. & 
Ete : In | On 
Gio Max. | Min.| sun. | grass 
deg. aa 
We. 30.277 60.0 asec 
Mh. 12 | 30.105 59.8 5: : 
Fri. 13 | 30.135 585 ioe {2:080 
Sat. 14 | 30.047 | 58.0 ax = 
Sun.l5 | 29.375 58.5 49.8 0.130 
Mo. 16 | 30.758 582 15'S) j= 
Tu. 17 | 30.011 57.0 45.9 0.205 
Means | 30.173 | 58.3 54.2 | 58.6 | 455 0.365 
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REMARKS. 
llth.—Very foggy in the morning, but afterwards fine and bright, though 
slightly hazy. fe 
12th.—Hazy in morning, very cloudy and overcast between 11 A.M. and noon 
and again about 1 P.M., when there was a heavy shower and Squall of 
wind ; afternoon clear and bright. 
13th.—A splendid morning, not a cloud in the sky, quite like spring; after- 
noon rather cloudy ; evening misty. a 
14th.—Fine day, but occasionally cloudy. 
15th.—Very windy day, squall of wind and rain at 9.48 Par. 
16th.—First part of morning very fine, but it clouded over abont10 Pas 
afternoon and evening fine and bright. 
17th.—Dull and overcast day, slight shower at 11.30 Aa, drizzling in the 
latter part of the afternoon ; fair evening. 
Barometric readings rather above those of last week, but all the thermo- 
metric values below those of last week; in fact the weather has been much 
cooler, although there have been several bright days.—G. J. SYMONS. 
COVENT GARDEN MARKET.—SEPTEMBER 1S. 
THE supply of Grapes from the Channel Isles is now beginning to fall off» 
but we are haying a good quantity of Dutch, which are being sold at low 
prices. Foreign Pears arriving only in small quantities; good samples of 
home-grown are in more demand. Trade still very dull. 
FRUIT. 
3 s.d. s.d. s. d. s. d 
dsieve 2 Otot 0} Melons......... 5 each 1 O0to4 0 
dozen 0 0 0 0} Nectarines ... dozen 40 PO 
Pib oo 00 P10 8 0 16 Oo 
bushel 0 0 0 0 | dozen 4 0 12 0 
#sieve 0 0 O 0} Pears,kitchen.. dozen 00 0 0 
eBicih Q 0 g a eee ce 5 ozen 10 3 0 
doz 3 ine A es » 2 
Pib. 0 § 10 Tae {tee 3 8 g . 
?mb 08 10 00 00 
quart 00 0 0 00 006 
Pb O09 6 O 50 80 
.. 100 6 U 18 0 0000 
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