JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 28, 1876. 



glasses, bnt, as the conditions of the class required not less than 

 5 lbs. in each class, no prize could be awarded. By far the 

 neatest and most striking exhibit was that made by the Hod. 

 and Rev. H. Bligh, who was honest enough to enter it " not 

 for competition," as much of the comb was made last season 

 by the bees. The display consisted of three glass and wood 

 supers, flanked on each side by a pile of sections, with glasses 

 of run and extracted honey in the foreground, the various 

 methods of harvesting being thus brought together ; the weight 

 of the whole exceeded 100 lbs. from the single stock of bees. 



It is evident that cottagers are not yet, as a body, educated for 

 honey shows, for the Association again offered seventeen prizes 

 in three classes, for which only eleven men competed; even this 

 is better than in previous years, but it is very discouraging to 

 the Committee. There were some very excellent supers shown, 

 which need not have been in cottagers' classes to have taken 

 prizes. 



It is unfortunate that the Association cannot hold their Show 

 earlier in the year, before the aristocracy leave town, for such 

 only are buyer3 of first-class honey ; and it cannot be denied that, 

 as a " honey fair," the Exhibition was a failure, nearly all the 

 fine supers having either been sold to the dealers at a sacrifice, 

 or returned to their owners. 



DRIVING BEES versus SMOTHERING. 



On Thursday night September 14th a farmer about a quarter 

 of a mile distant was about to " put down," as he stated, his 

 bees by the cruel fashion of brimstoning. He had six Bkeps, 

 which he would have operated upon unless I had interceded for 

 the lives of the bees and prevailed upon him to allow me to drive 

 them, according to Mr. Pcttigrew'B instructions, into empty hives. 

 I Bet to work about eleven o'clock, and about one o'clock accom- 

 plished the task BucceaBf ully. After sunset I had the skep carried 

 up to my garden, where I joined two stocks together in a large- 

 sized hive, and also added one to a stock which was weak. I 

 have been feeding every night since with a pound of syrup. The 

 bees are very strong. How long shall I continue to feed ? 



In two hives small pieces of comb gave way, which I removed. 

 It was of a very soft thin texture and very white. The syrup 

 waa placed in a soup plate covered with blue foolscap paper with 

 holes bored in it. I found the bees devoured it to such an 

 extent that I have replaced it with brown paper, which they do 

 not like as well. I have seen stated that paper is a good thing 

 to place upon the board of a super. I did so in one case, and 

 found when removing the super that the bees had eaten the 

 brown paper and built combs on the board. I may Bfcate, that in 

 driving the bees and joining them I never troubled myself about 

 the queens. — S. A. Bkenan, Cloghban Rock, Go. Tyrone. 



them to use large instead of small hives.- 

 Warden, Beds. 



-A. de C Baker, Old 



BEDFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPING. 



I began bee-keeping last year in August with one stock hive, 

 which I bought of a labouring man. It was a small hive, and 

 did not weigh more than 25 lbs. I fed the bees a little rather 

 late in the season, and they managed to live through the winter. 

 On the 28th of May they swarmed but did not settle, and went 

 back; the next day they swarmed and settled on a little elm 

 tree, but just as I was going to hive them they all went back ; the 

 next day they swarmed on the wall close by, but went back as 

 before. On the 2nd of June they swarmed on a raspberry cane; 

 I hived them and set them up all right, and put on a super that 

 held 7 lbs. Four days afterwards the old hive cast a second 

 swarm, so I then had three hives. LaBt month I bought two 

 more good early swarms, but they were in Bmall hives. My 

 second swarm was in a very ill-shaped hive, so I thought I 

 would try what I could do by driving. I smoked the hive 

 a little with fustian rags, turned it up, and put another hive 

 over it, wrapt a cloth round the junction, and began hammering, 

 but owing to the bad shape of the hive many of the bees came 

 out, but I drove most of them into the empty hive. I took the 

 honey out, but the next morning when I came to turn the hive 

 np there was not one bee in it ; they had evidently gone to one 

 of the other hives. 



Two or three weeks ago I wrote to Mr. Pettigrew to ask him 

 where I could obtain large hives ; he very kindly gave me the 

 address of Mr. Tates, 16 and 18, Old Millgate, ManoheBter. I 

 wrote to him for a catalogue of his hives and prices ; he Bent me 

 the catalogue, and I sent for eight of Mr. Pettigrew's 18-by- 

 12-inch hives, four of his 20-by-12-inch hives, two ekes for eaoh 

 size, a pair of honeycomb knives, and two Lancashire bee- 

 feeders. I have them, and am very much pleased with them. 

 Some of the people about here say, " Have you seen Mr- Baker's 

 great bee hives 1" and three or four people have come up to Bee 

 them. Yesterday I weighed my hives. One of the two that I 

 bought weighed 30 lbs., the other 39 ; my first Bwarm 32 lbs., 

 and the old stock 33 lbs. I have now my two Lancashire feeders 

 on the two lightest, and mean to try to feed them all up to 

 40 lbs. weight each. I have taught two or three people how to 

 drive bees instead of usiDg the brimstone pit, and hope to teach 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Tdmocr in Cockerel (J. A. £.).— It probably occasioned the leg-weak - 

 ness, and, indeed, general debility, as such tamoura usually do. 



Address.— Mr. H. Attwood, Wenlock Street, Lnton, Beds. 



Cheap Bee-keeper's Manual (J. F.).— The best and cheapest book on 

 bees is "Bee-keeping for the Many," published at our office for id., by 

 post 5d. 



Combs of Years Old {Idem). — Bees maybe kept in the same comb and 

 hive for many years. The former will remain good for ten years, but the 

 bees bred in them will by that time have become somewhat diminutive. We 

 should destroy the comb after sis or seven yeara. Hives will keep good if 

 properly protected almost any number of years, especially if made of wood. 



Empty Drone Combs (T. W. W. Kinlay).—Th<s combs of which you write 

 are not in any way injured by the sulphurous fumes, and are very eligible 

 for super work. Place them neatly in a small super on a hive containing a 

 swarm of bees, and let them have honey enough to fill the combs as fast as 

 they can carry it up. We shall be pleased to have the result of your experi- 

 ment for publication. At this late seaaon we are of opinion that the combs 

 would be sooner filled on an empty hive than on one nearly full. 



METEOKOLOGICAL OBSEKVATIONS. 



Camden Square, London. 



Lat. 51° 32' 40" N. ; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 



Date. 



9 A.M. 



In the Day. 







• o. 



Hygrome- 



§•0 



o-a . 



Shade Tem- 



Radiation 



.3 



1876. 





ter. 



i-2 



a ■- S 



perature. 



Temperature. 



M 



Sept. 











In 



On 







a-SS" 



Dry. 



Wet. 



Oo 





Max. 



Min. 



sun. 



grass 







Inchee. 



deg. 



deg. 





deg. 



4eg. 



deg. 



deg. 



deg. 



In. 



We. 20 



30.386 



54.2 



54.0 



N.W. 



55.3 



71.0 



46.2 



112.4 



41.8 



— 



Th. 21 



31.252 



50.0 



50.0 



N. 



55 S 



71.4 



45.4 



101.5 



41.7 



— 



Fri. 22 



30.061 



57.0 1 56.3 



N. 



54.6 



71.2 



46.1 



107.7 



11.4 



0.080 



Sat. 2S 



29S46 



60.0 59.7 



N.N.W. 



56.8 



70.5 



56.4 



1(5.1 



50.1 



0.010 



Sun. 241 



29.771 



61.0 60.1 



s.e. 



56.2 



67.4 



65.8 



105.2 



51.9 



0.093 



Mo. 25 



29.803 



61.4 56.6 



N.W. 



57.1 



66.7 



55.7 



110.6 



60.8 



— 



Tu. 26 



29.710 



59.1 57.8 



S. 



56.7 



68.0 



52.7 



91.8 



49.2 



0.092 



Means. 



29.976 



57.5 56.3 





56.1 



69.5 



51.2 



103.3 



467 



0.^85 



REMARKS. 

 20th. — Rather hazy and dark morning and evening, bat a pleasant day. 

 21st. — Hazy morning, bat followed by a beautifully fiue day, rich sunset, and 



starlit night. 

 22nd. — Fine morning and splendid day throughout, slight rain commencing at 



midnight. 

 23rd. — Rainy morning and forenoon, but line afterwards. 

 21th. — Rainy and very dark all day, except from noon to about 3 p.m. 

 25th. — Fine morning, high wind during the night and till the after part of the 



day. 

 26th.— Dark damp morning; rainy till noon. 



Temperature rather warmer than daring the previous fortnight, and much 

 damper.— G. J. Syhoks. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— Septembeb 27. 

 Labge quantities of Grapes are still arriving from the Channel Islands, 

 and the price of second-rate home-grown fruit remains low. There is still 

 a fair supply of Apples at last week's quotations ; while Pears, consisting of 

 Marie Louise, Louise Bonne of Jersey, and Duche3se d'Angouleme, are sought 

 after at higher rates. Kentish Cobs are lower in price. 





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Beans, Kidney.. 

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