288 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 10, 1878. 
bees? Why did they leave their hive full of honey ?—N, T., 
Cheshire. 
[The letter of your correspondent presents to view very unusual 
and remarkable occurrences difficult to explain. The old hive 
swarmed twice, the swarms returned both times after they were 
hived. The probability is great that the queen was too old to 
go with the swarm and was lost on making the second attempt. 
Young queens were fully ripe and ready to take her place, and, 
as “ N. T.’ puts it, “two or three days afterwards two swarms 
came out, one very large, the other very small, perhaps only about 
a quart of bees. Both were hived, commenced to work at once.” 
These swarms were headed, doubtless, by young princesses, and 
were virtually casts, or second and third swarms. Why the bees 
left the parent hive at the end of the season we cannot explain in 
the absence of sight.—A.:P.] v 
INCOME OF STEWARTON HIVE, 1878. 
I srarTED keeping bees the year before last, and erected a 
rough house to hold them. Buying them and sugar to keep 
them alive afterwards took a good deal out of my pocket and 
put nothing into it. This I felt, as Tam a cottager with a nume- 
rous family to support, and living in a village near a railway 
station, the smoke of the engines and noise of the trains, away 
from heather or good keep, made me almost think I had made a 
mistake in going in for bees at all, so that in June I parted with 
one of my straw skeps, having two left. I started with three at 
first, which gave me neither swarms nor honey last year, and were 
often at death’s door and had to be fed in summer, and many a 
thought: it gave me how I could work them to most profit this 
year and get some money back out of them. In my difficulty I 
made application to a gentleman who I heard knew a good deal 
about bees, and who resides in our neighbourhood and writes in 
our Journal, “A RENFREWSHIRE Bun-KEEPER.” This gentle- 
jnan advised me to drive the Stewarton hive, and was so kind as 
to make me a present of a 9-inch body box, sheeted with wax 
sheet from his machines, which kept me going all summer, also 
good sound practical advice as to the proper management of the 
Stewarton system. I have also several of Mr. Allan’s boxes direct 
from Stewarton, and wondered how he could make such strong 
dovetailed boxes with eight moveable bar slides, pegs, and sliding 
doors, all for s.,so little more than a common straw skep. I 
hived my first prime swarm in a 9-inch box on the 17th of June, 
and lost much time watching for the other, which did not come 
off till late (12th July), and hived it in another 9-inch body, join- 
ing it to the first the same night without loss of bees. Gave first 
one honey box, then another on top of it, and last a third at the top 
of all to hold bees and keep them from swarming, as I had been 
instructed, and they wrought out and in the three entrances 
splendidly. The lowest honey box (over 20 Ibs. of honey) was a 
beauty, and I won the first prize with it at our flower show. My 
income from this hive was :—First box sold for £2s. 2s.; prize 
money for it, 10s.; second box shallow, sold for £1; third box, 
20 Ibs. sold at 1s. Gd.,£110s. Total, £5 2s. Had I parted with 
my two top swarms for 20s. each, less 6s. for two skeps at 3s. each, 
would have brought me in 34s. ; but I see now I took good advice 
to keep them, as they made over £5, and I have my capital hive 
left for next year. Hived second swarms in Stewartons as well 
as drawn out bees the twenty-fourth day after swarming, and was 
very thankful to get rid of my straw skeps, which bred no end of 
moths and vermin in my bee house. My wife took one of them 
into the nearest town, but nobody would buy it, and we had to 
yun it. I found the gentry round about our neighbourhood willing 
to give 6d. per pound more for top box comb than for run honey, 
and mean to run as little as can be helped next year.—J. R. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
ENS DYING WHEN A FORTNIGHT OLD (Zwo-years Subscriber’).—You 
dasaamn wel te anetner your birds all roost in thesame house or have separate 
houses. We expect they are together, and if so with a straw bed we should 
Jook to that for the disease. Fowls and Ducks. never do well if they roost 
vith Geese, and these latter also object to promiscuous lodging. Fowls will 
as be healthy where they have a straw bed. It is always offensive, and it 
ie pours vermin let it be ever so dry; but. where it is also used by Ducks it 
ie filthy ‘and leads to disease. In all particulars Ducks and Geese are unfit 
to roost with fowls, and will always cause disease. Where are the hens 
with their chickens in the early days of their existence? If put out under 
yips in the stack yard they should be the pictures of health. They do not 
Dire a shed except in winter and early spring. _Do they get clean water ? 
Tet running or stagnant? Has any part of their house a boarded floor ? 
If it has, remove it. The gaping would seem to indicate they were suffering 
from that. ‘As that disease affects only chickens we advise you to give them 
when attacked a pill of camphor the size of a pea, and let them have no 
water to drink that is not strongly impregnated with camphor. We advise 
you to separate a good portion of your poultry house and appropriate it to the 
fowls exclusively, but as we imagine you have gapes and vermin among your 
oultry every part of your house must be thoroughly scrubbed with a birch 
ipaeaia ‘and afterwards lime-whited. The floor should be scraped till at least 
an inch has been taken from the surface. Every vestige of straw should be 
removed. The floor should be perfectly dry. Let your food be ground oats 
or barleymeal slaked with water morning and evening ; maize, barley, scraps 
of bread or meat at mid-day. If you can give the whole place to the fowls 
so much the better. Geese and Ducks will always find roosting places, even 
in an open yard. We are strongly disposed to believe your Ducks and Geese 
die of cramp, induced by the filthy straw on which they roost. It is in con- 
sequence of their habits they are allowed to choose their lodgings. In many 
places the Geese roost on the water, and if left at liberty always resort there 
at the approach of night. Give your ducklings oat or barleymeal put ina 
shallow vessel. The bottom of this vessel should be covered with a sod of 
growing grass cut to its shape. Put on this some fine gravel, then the meal. 
Put sufficient water to cover the whole. They will eat greedily of it, and it 
soon restores them. The height of the vessel must allow the ducklings to 
feed at it. 
PARAKEET'S FEET SWOLLEN (Z. JW.).—Let the water from the swellings 
escape by piercing them with a stout needle. Feed the bird on fruit. 
SWOLLEN Crop (LZ. /. B.).—A dessert-spoonful of gin will probably 
remove it. 
CLEANING CANARY SEED (Jf. Hamilton).—We are not aware that there 
is any machine specially used for cleaning canary seed. 
STEWARTON HIVE (C. &. R.).—* A CROYDON BEE-KEEPER” says you 
can obtain the hive from Mr. Holland, hive maker, Harrison Rise, Croydon, 
Surrey. 
STEWARTON HIvyEe.—We are informed that we wrongly named the maker. 
He is Mr. James Allan, cabinetmaker, Stewarton, N.B. The price is 12s. 
HOUSEHOLD BREAD (Una).—To 10 ibs. of flourin a kneading-trough put a 
small handful of salt. Stir into this about two quarts of water, more or less, 
as some flour absorbs more water than others. For very white bread, made 
with superfine flour, the dough should be softer than for seconds or brown 
bread. In summer the water may be lukewarm; in winter, considerably 
warmer, but never hot enough to kill the yeast. After the water is mixed 
with the flour add a cupful of good yeast, then knead the bread, and leave it 
to rise in a warm place, covered with a cloth. If all goes well it will rise 
sufficiently in the course of an hour or an hour and a half. Then divide it 
into rolls, loaves, or tin-breads, as wanted, and bake. For a3-tb. loaf take 
33 ths. of dough; for a 4-tb. loaf 4 th. 11 ozs.; for a 6th. loaf 63 ths.; and for an 
8th. loaf, 9 ths. of dough.—(Cassell’s Dictionary of Cookery.) 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 32 40" N.; Long. 0° 8’ 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 9AM. IN THE DAY. 
_. |es2.:| Hygrome-| 35 Shade Tem-!_ Radiation | § 
1878. |EE AS ter. SA perature. Temperature.) @ 
“ = S53 6|———————_| 35 —— ta 
Oct. |Se8H | Be a In On 
ASS | Dry.| Wet! AS (Max.| Min.} sun. | grass 
deg. | deg. deg | deg. deg.| In. 
We. 2 48.0 | 46.0 61.0" | 39.8 38.3 | — 
Th: °38 54 53.6 3 | 45.2 492 | — 
Fri. 4 45.1 41.3 | — 
Sat. 5 | 30148 46.8 43.9 | — 
Sun. 6 | 29.831 70.0 | 52.4 49.2 | 0.090 
Mo. 7 | 29.591 | 68.0 | 58.2 53.7 | 0.010 
Tu. 8 | 29.395 67.0 | 57.0 52.3 = 
Means | 29.956 | 56.4 | 54.0 55.0 | 67.3 | 49.2 98.9 45.8 0.100 
REMARKS. 
2nd.—Fair bright morning, cloudy afternoon, fair evening. 
3rd.—Very foggy morning, cleared by 9 A.M., bright day ; cloudy evening. 
4th.—Foggy in early morning, afterwards fine warm day; very clear fine 
evening ; starlight night. 
5th.—Bright and fine in early morning, foggy from 7 A.M. till 10 A.aL., rest 
of the day fine and hot; quite a summer's day. 
6th.—Dull close morning, rather gusty in afternoon, still dull but occasion- 
ally a gleam of sunshine; rain from 5 P.M. till 7.30, fine afterwards. 
7th.—FVine bright day, high wind, not quite so warm as last few days. 
8th.—Wet in early morning, bright and sunny after 9 A.M., windy ; clear 
bright evening. 
On the whole a week of fine fresh weather, and some days very warm. All 
the means of thermometric readings are above those of last week. The 
mean of the barometer is, however, slightly lower, owing to the low readings 
at the end of the week.—G. J. SYMONS. 
COVENT GARDEN MARKET.—OCTOBER 9. 
THERE is a slight improvement in the demand for best Apples, although 
business is quiet, but inferior sorts hang on our market. A better supply 
of Pears has reached us, and prices are lower. Vegetables are plentiful. 
FRUIT. 
Sede Seid sd. s. d 
tsieve 2 Oto4 0| Melons ........ each 1 Oto4 0 
A dozen 0 0 0 0} Nectarines dozen 0 0 0 0 
Chestnuts bushel 0 0 O 0} Oranges.. e100 8 0 16 O 
Figs. dozen 0 0 0 0} Peaches .... dozen 8 0 12 0 
Filberts Pt. 0 8 1 0} Pears, kitchen dozen 0 0 0 0 
Cobs pib. 0 8S 1 0 dessert........ dozen 2 0 6 6 
Grapes se ~tb. 0 9 6 O/| Pine Apples.... ?ib 3 0 6 O 
Lemons ..... 506 #100 G6 0 18 0| Walnuts ...... bushel 56 0 8 0 
VEGETABLES. 
s. d. s. d. s. d. s.d@ 
2 O0to4 0|Mushrooms....  pottle 1 6to2 0 
00 00 «& Cress punnet 0 2 0 4 
One Sia Onn, bp90 bushel 2 6 38 0 
16 30 pickling....... quart 0 4 06 
: 0 9 1 6) Parsley.... doz.bunches 2 0 0 0 
Brussels Sprouts }sieve 3 0 4 6/| Parsnips ... dozen 00 0 6 
Gabbage <...-..: dozen 1 0 2 0} Peas.. quart 0 9 1 0 
Carrots bunch 0 4 0 8 . bushel 83 6 7 0 
Capsicum, e100 16 20 . bushel 5 0 7 0 
Cauliflower: . dozen 3 0 6 0 . doz.bunches 1 0 1 6 
Gelery .. bundle 16 2 0 -.--. bundle 0 0 0 O 
Colewor doz. bunches 2 0 4 0/Salsafy ........ bundle 0 9 1 0 
Cucumbers each 0 4 1 0|Scorzonera .... bundle 10 0 0 
gndi dozen 1 0 2 0O|Seakale .. . basket 00 0 0 
bunch 0 8 0 0} Shallots 3 Pib 08 0 0 
ib. 0 6 O 0} Spinach . bushel 26 4 9 
bunch 0 2 0 0-| Turnips bunch 0 6 0 4 
bunch 0 2 0 4| Veg, Mai each 0 2 0 4 
