420 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 28, 1878. 
eS.  ——oaMwVS So 
When there is a refuse on the top take it off, throw it away, and 
replenish again until all is done. : 3 
There is not much wax wasted by this method. The water in 
the bottom dish is to keep the wax from burning in the inside 
one. The mistress of the house can do it while she is attending 
to her ordinary house work, for all that is needed is to keep plenty 
of combs on the gauze and turn it over now and then. It is also 
much safer than boiling, for there is no fear of its getting on fire. 
Tt is also more expeditious, at least for anyone who has not special 
advantages. With large dishes and a good hot oven many combs 
may soon be melted. Cleaning the utensils used for boiling is 
tedious, but by this method only one dish needs to be touched 
with wax. When the dish is full of wax empty 1t into small 
moulds to suit the requirements of the owner.—P. RAINFORD. 
THE STEWARTON HIVE AND OTHER MATTERS: 
I aM described on page 359 as “a fault-finder with almost 
everybody and everything.” Would your correspondent Mr. 
Pettigrew be pleased to point out where I have used personal 
allusions of a character not suitable for the intelligence of the 
present day, or employed the slightest discourteous expression 
towards Mr. George Fox or any contributor to the Journal of 
Horticulture? Where did I say the bar-frame hive was wrong? 
Who ever dreamed but himself that two 6-inch boxes formed a 
Stewarton set? I never used, much less had been successful in 
filling supers on any such. These are all inaccurate assertions. 
I am also accused of finding fault with Mr. Pettigrew’s last 
year’s article on the Stewarton hive, wherein he quotes from Mr. 
Hunter’s book. So far from this being the case I am innocent of 
writing a line in this periodical for six months after that article 
appeared, and was forced to break that silence on finding our 
captain so far out of his reckoning as to introduce comb founda- 
tion as a novelty of American invention in a journal which had 
yecorded its German discovery fifteen years before ! and so clearly 
defined its advantages that its fabrication became an indispensable 
in every advanced Scottish apiary since. 
Your correspondent has asked me to demonstrate how “the 
deeper mysteries of apiarian science are to the skepist a sealed 
book, while to the bar-framer they are laid naked and bare for 
mspection.” The paragraph is from a communication of EAS 
LANARKSHIRE BEE-KEEPER” on “ Fertile Workers” page 120. 
Tt explains itself. The hive is the apiarian book, the skepist 
reads his upside down—an unscholarly position—the bees resent 
the indignity, fustian rag smoke is blown up amongst them, and 
the living type to be read drop from their position amongst its 
leayes, or combs. These are sealed by being skewered fast with 
five or six cross sticks through them; they cannot be moved or 
turned. They are peered into like a sealed book, and the peerer 
turns on his heel and imagines a thing or two. On the other hand 
the framist can by gently withdrawing a slide on either side 
read one leaf without disturbing the rest, or page by page as he 
inclines; or for more careful study transfers them all to his 
observatory, which, like a glazed newspaper stand, can be perused 
on both sides by different students at one and the same time, and 
with what different conclusions from the skepist! Take fertile 
workers as an example. These were first noticed by Riem, the 
rudiments of the ovaria in all workers established by the clever 
anatomist Miss Jurine, their experiments confirmed by Huber 
and all apiarians down to our own Woodbury, parallel instances 
occurring in the humble bee, the wasp, and the ant, in each case, 
like the hive bee, an exclusively male progeny resulting. I have 
possessed on several occasions, even in one season, queenless 
nucleus with fertile workers depositing one to four drone eggs in 
worker cells. ‘A LANARKSHIRE BEE-KEEPER” has had such 
frequently, and, to dispose for ever of all cavillers, offered this 
jJast summer the fertile worker for public inspection, and that 
able entomologist Mr. R. J. Bennett has quite recently given his 
testimony. But what does Mr. Pettigrew write ?—“I fearlessly 
affirm that there never was and never will be a fertile working 
bee.” I respectfully submit, Is this the language of “a lover of 
truth more than his own opinions ?” J 
Long before Mr. Pettigrew came amongst us I pointed out the 
necessity on breaking-up hives of keeping separate and distinct 
the sealed from the unsealed honey ; his pet twice swallowing and 
disgorging theory I much fear is without any foundation in fact. 
According to it we storifiers would see the honey deposited in the 
body during the day and at night transferred to the supers; on 
the contrary the honey gatherers stream right up to the supers 
with their loads. In the observatory the individual bee can be 
traced from the entrance direct to the upper honey cell, and the 
extraction of the watery and aérial element before sealing, which 
enables the sealed honey more readily to consolidate and keep. 
All animated nature must rest; even the busy bee, as I have 
already put it, enjoys its well-earned repose. Your correspondent 
may not be aware bees work in relays. We readers of the open 
book—the observatory—can at all times see the parties on as 
well as those off duty, either by night or day. Ceaseless toil is 
put the skepist’s dream. 
Under like favourable circumstances after many years’ obser- 
vation we have never had the good fortune to see workers setting 
eggs, or yet met with any bee-keeper who had. Being so pro- 
foundly ignorant of the matter I would be delighted to receive 
information how it is gone about. Are they carried like pollen ? 
To the supporter of the egg-setting theory I would sugzest a 
little experiment. With a needle remove and set artificially 
say the lucky baker’s dozen, and kindly report the number of 
chickens hatched. On trial it will be found that egg-setting is 
easier talked of than effected—A RENFREWSHIRE BEE-KEEPER. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Houpans (J. C. C.).—If you wish to have the strain less dark mate with 
a light-coloured hen. If the same coloured plumage is wished to be con- 
tinued mate with a dark hen. 
INCUBATORS (J. Z.).—We cannot give you any information. 
make them should advertise them. 
AVERAGE FARM Crops (A. B. C.).—These vary extremely according to 
the nature of the seasons. On ordinary good land in the midland counties 
the following may be described as average crops :—Wheat, 4 quarters 
2bushels (63 tbs. to the bushel) ; barley, 5 quarters (56 ths. to the bushel) ; 
oats, 7 quarters (42 tbs. per bushel); beans, 4 quarters ; peas, 3 quarters 
4 bushels ; turnips and Swedes, 22 to 24 toms per acre ; mangolds about 
30 tons. As instances of the variation of crops we know land that in 1868 
yielded 8 quarters of wheat per acre, the same land in 1876 only producing 
24 quarters. We have also known upwards of 70 tons of mangolds per acre. 
PARROT (Cardiff) —Ask your surgeon to look at the lump in the bird’s 
throat. He could tell whether there is matter in it that could be removed 
by opening the lump. 
CHANGING THE POSITION OF HIVES (C. P., Herts) —Let your bees remain 
where they are till after Christmas, when they may be safely removed. On 
placing them in another position let everything like a hive or cover of a hive 
be removed from their present place, and every vestige of the present stand, 
for if anything of the kind be left some bees flying around their old haunting 
place may alight on it and be chilled. January we think is the best month 
for removing bees from one corner of the garden to another. 
Those who 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 32’ 40" N.; Long. 0° 8’ 0” W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE 9 A.M. IN THE Day. 
-¢ |283| Hygrome-| £3 |S2_;|/ShadeTem-| Radiation | & 
1878. Aon 2 ter. =a ao S perature. |Temperature, a 
Nov. |2554 EE Ban | In | On 
Res as jd ‘Max.| Min.| sun. | grass 
deg. | deg.| deg. | deg. | deg.! In. 
N. 41.0 | 44.7 | 344 .0 | 32.8 _ 
N. 41.1 | 43.0 | 38.2 8 36.2 _ 
N. 41.0 | 41.0 | 37.9 0 
S.W. | 40.6 | 41.2 | 30.0 1 
Ss. 40.0 | 52.3 | 34.5 3 
Ss. 42.2 d 9 
N.W. | 42.6 5 
| 41.2 bL1 
REMARKS. 
20th.—Fine pleasant day, but without sunshine. 
21st.—Clear, bright, very fine day ; starlight night. [and dry all day. 
22nd.—Clear fine morning, overcast and rather dark after 11 A.M., but fair 
28rd.—Frosty morning and slight fog, sunshine for short time in middle of 
day, gloomy and cold rest of the day. 
24th.—Wet morning, thick, gloomy, and damp all day ; heavy rain at night. 
25th.—Warm damp morning, little sunshine between 11 A.M. and 1 P.M. 
rest of the day dry, but gloomy. (day. 
26th.—Damp morning,rain commenced at 11 A.M., very gloomy rest of the 
Average temperature nearly the same as during the previous fortnight. 
It would have been much lower but for the sudden warmth of the 25th— 
G. J. SYMONS, 
COVENT GARDEN MARKET.—NOVEMBER 27. 
WE have no alterations to report from last week. Business quiet. 
FRUIT. 
s.d. s.d. s. 4. s. @ 
sieve 10 Otolt 0 | Melons ........ each 0 Oto0 0 
dozen 0 0 0 0] Nectarines ..... dozen 0 0 0 0 
bushel 0 0 0 0/| Oranges... 100 8 0 16 0 
Figs.... dozen 0 0 0 0| Peaches . - dozen 00 00 
Filberts lb. 0 9 1 O| Pears, kitchen.. dozen 00 0 0 
Cobs. Thsh0l89) 1s 10, dessert........ dozen 8 0 6 0 
Grapes, hothouse tb. 1 6 6 0/| Pine Apple 20 40 
Lemons ........ 100 6 0 18 0 | Walnuts 00 00 
VEGETABLES. 
s.d. s. d. s.d. s.d 
Artichokes...... dozen 2 0to4 0/Mushrooms.... pottle 1 6to2 0 
Asparagus...... bundle 0 0 0 0| Mustard & Cress punnet 0 2 0 4 
Beans,Kidney.. #100 1 0 1 6)| Onions ........ bushel 2 6 3 0 
Beet, Red .. dozen 16 8 0 «s+. quart 0 4 06 
Broccoli .. -. bundle 0 9 1 6 doz.bunches 2 0 0 6 
Brussels Sprouts 4sieve 2 0 4 0 5 dozen 00 00 
Cabbage °....2.. ozen 10 2 0 quart 00 06 
Carrots bunch 0 4 0 8 bushel 3 6 4 0 
Capsicums...... #100 16 2 0 Kidney ....... bushel 4 0 5 6 
Cauliflowers. dozen 3 0 6 0/|Radishes.. doz.bunches 10 1 0 
Celery 1 6 2 0} Rhubarb.....:.. 00 00 
Coleworts.. do: 2 0 4 0} Salsaty qoads 09 16 
Cucumbers .... 0 4 1 O| Scorzonera TOR 0; 10, 
Endive 1 0 2 0} Seakale .... 26 80 
Fennel, 0 8 0 0} Shallots .. ~YPtb 038 0 6 
Garlic 0 6 O 0} Spinach .. «. bushel 26 4 0 
Herbs .. 0 2 0 0] Turnips........ bunch 0 2 9 0 
Leeks 0 2 0 4| Veg. Marrows.. each 0 0 00 
