338 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ October 12, 1S7S. 



mnch, though they contain eo little materials that they are im- 

 perceptible to the naked eye, or nearly imperceptible. The lids 

 of queen cells are clumsily made and contain a great deal of 

 material. Drone cells also are covered with big thick lids, which 

 are cast out of the hives when the young drones are hatched. 

 Does our friend maintain that these lids are made solely from 

 the rims of the cells, or do his remarks apply to cells of working 

 bees only ? If so, he has to explain how or by what means and 

 materials the brood cells in the centre of hives are covered with 

 lids twelve or fourteen times every year. If his experience is 

 correct all the brood cells have new rims some twelve or four- 

 teen times in a 6eason, and these rims are converted into 

 lids. He may be right, though I do not see it at present. I 

 shall be glad to receive further information from " J. P. J." — 

 A. Pettigbew. 



" B. & W.'S " APIARY IN 1876. 



Or the ten hives in good order as to food and comb with which 

 I entered upon the year, only three survived so as to be worth 

 anything by April. All the rest died of feebleness (I know not 

 what else to call it), arising from scarcity of brood developed 

 in autumn. This was owing to the long-continued wet weather. 

 The same cause prevented the bees from recovering in the 

 early spring. In fact it rained almost every day more or less 

 up to the 30th of April. In May (not a genial month here) they 

 began slowly to mend, but it was not till the latter part of June 

 that the strongest of the surviving three was able to send out 

 a swarm. 



Since then they have done well, and my three hives have 

 given me about 70 lbs. of excellent honey, besides a couple of 

 swarms, to which I have added two other swarms. I do not 

 find that my neighbours on the whole have come up to this 

 mark, so that the result of this year's bee-keeping adds to the 

 conviction I have long formed, that our part of Somersetshire 

 is about as bad a honey-producing county as any in Great 

 Britain.— B. & W. 



BEES WORKING ON A PINE TREE. 



Though I am but a beginner in bee-keeping, I am deeply 

 interested in anything concerning the habits and management 

 of bees. There is a fine specimen of Pinus pinsapo growing in 

 this neighbourhood, which for three months past has been the 

 constant resort of thousands of bees, so that the tree is in one 

 continual hum, especially in the early part of the day. Since 

 the cool weather has set in wasps seem to have taken possession, 

 and may be seen clinging to the tree in great numbers, making 

 it unsafe to disturb the tree in any way, as scarcely a branch 

 of it is free from them. PerhapB some of your numerous corre- 

 spondents would through your Journal enlighten me as to why 

 Buch preference is given to this tree. — R. W. R. 



[If any readers have witnessed bees working on pine trees I 

 shall be glad if they will give their opinions as to the matter or 

 stuff the bees were gathering. I fancy — and it iB only fancy — 

 that the tree above mentioned is in a state of disease and covered 

 with an insect, probably a small aphis, which ejects a 6weet 

 matter well known aB honeydew. The fact that the bees were 

 most busy in the early part of the day indicates that they found 

 more stuff then than in the afternoon. I have never seen bees 

 working on pine trees, but my father went into his garden one 

 morning very early, and found his bees hard at work, coming 

 home heavily laden from a plantation of Scotch firs. He went 

 amongst the trees and found the bees were gathering a clear 

 shining substance from the leaves of the young Scotch firs. He 

 did not then suspect that the matter gathered was the exudations 

 of an insect. This happened before my day. The honey 

 gathered that year, according to my father's account, fermented 

 in the hives and destroyed many of them. In no other season 

 did he ever find the bees working on the Scotch firs adjoining 

 his apiary. — A. Pettigkew.] 



Iron Dueing Moulting. — A good article to use in the water 

 given your moulting fowls to drink is the tincture of iron. It 

 is very handy and cheap, and Bhould be accessible constantly 

 during the critical time when old fowls are changing their 

 plumage. It is strengthening, palatable, and works like a charm 

 in its way as a stomach tonic A tablespoonful of the tincture 

 to a quart of water is sufficient. To be had at any drug store. — 

 {American Poultry Nation.) 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Hatching Apparatus (R. A.) t — Not one that has yet been invented has 

 ever proved satisfactory. 



Young Poultry Dying (J. Whitalccr). — You say that none of the old birds 

 die, are they fed together? There was nothing apparently injurious in the 

 ■wheat you eent, and the birds sent are in good condition- Their crops were 

 empty. We think there must be something poisonous eaten by them. 



Undubbed Game Cock (C). — A medium-sized comb is preferable to a large 

 comb. 



Bantam's Eyes Swollen {F. W.).— "We do not know what fluid you mean, 

 but eyes are too delicate to be trifled with. Apply goulaid water, taking care 

 that it does not touch the eyeball. 



Crystals on Pampas Gbass (Mrs. IF.). — A saturated solution of alnm 

 will deposit them. 



Taking Honey [Inquirer).— It is not too late to take thp honey from your 

 straw skep, but of course you will hnd less of it than if you had robbed the 

 bees sis weeks ago, unless you are fortunate enough to live near heather. If 

 you take all the honey you had better unite the bees to Eome weaker hive. 



Smoking Bees—Examining Hive (A. del B.).— 1st, The other day I 

 bought a hive of bees, fastened to a stool without a board. 'Wishing to put it 

 on a board, I set fire to a piece of fustian rag and began blowing the smoke 

 into the hive, when the bees rushed out upon me. Why did they do thisV 

 2nd, What is the proper "way to turn up a hive and look into it ? 3rd, Can 

 yon turn up a hive at any time in the year without injuring the bees, or the 

 bees injuring you ? 4th, In smoking or turning-up a hive do any of the bees 

 fly about. 5th, When a bee attacks yoa, is there any sure means of not 

 getting stung ? In answer to our correspondent's first question we have to 

 say that the bees rose before they were mastered or affected by the smoke. 

 Being without a board it was difficult to apply the smoke so as to master 

 them. Before a hive is examined it should be well smoked and then gently 

 turned up, and held on the knee or turined up and placed on the ground with 

 the combs and bees exposed to view. As the smoke of fustian rags does so 

 harm to bees, beginners should apply it in abundance in examining hives in 

 summer. Bees may be examined at all seasons without injuring them, but, 

 aB bees have weapons of defence and wills of their own, we dare not say that 

 they will let the bee-master do as he likes and go scot-free and unscathed. 

 If bees do attack there is no sure way of not getting stung. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



Camden Square, London. 



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



Date. 



9 AJM. 



In the Dat. 





1876. 



S 3 a J 



Hygrome- 





o-> . 



Shade Tem- 



Radiation 



a. 



ter. 



52 a 



SB c 



perature. 



Temperature. 



K 



Oct. 











In 



On 









Dry. 



Wet. 



So 





Max. 



Min. 



sun. 



grass 







Inches. 



deg. 



deg. 





deg. 



deg. 



deg. 



deg. 



deg. 



In, 



We. 4 



29.810 



61.0 



61.6 



S.E. 



55.0 



68.9 



54.2 



111.1 



483 



— 



Th. 5 



29.956 



61.3 



67.S 



S.W. 



55.5 



70.1 



54.7 



108 



48.8 



0.010 



Fri. 6 



29.S39 



61.0 60.1 



N.E. 



56.0 



71.2 



54.1 



98.5 



49.0 



0.010 



Sat. 7 



29 904 



63.7 I 61.6 



W.S.W. 



57.0 



68.4 



57.3 



87.8 



53.5 



0.100 



Sun. S 



29 956 



61.1 | 60.3 



W.S.W. 



58.0 



66.7 



58.4 



75.7 



53.4 



0.C48 



Mo. 9 



29.526 



lil.2 ' 59.7 



S.S.W. 



58.2 



66.0 



60.3 



10S.0 



55.6 



0.17S 



Tu. 10 



29.519 



55.1 51.8 



S.W. 



58.0 



60.6 



55.1 



74.1 



53.3 



C.280 



Means. 



29.786 



61.1 1 59.4 





56.8 



67.4 



56.3 



94.7 



51.7 



0.641 



REMARKS. 

 4th.— Rain early, then,fair but cloudy; a fine day after 10 a.m, splendid sun- 

 set, and fine night. 

 5th. — Fine morning, fine eDJoyable day and night. 

 6th. — Morning hazy and damp ; fine after, but very warm and close. 

 7th. — Dull and showery all day, and at times very dark. 

 8th. — Hazy damp moi-ning; rather better in the afternoon, but the stones- 

 damp all day. 

 9th.— Wind rose rapidly about 2 a.m., and was high all the early part of the 

 day, with frequent slight rain; very bright for a short time in the 

 middle of the day. 

 10th.— Wind and rain in the forenoon; gradually improving as the day ad- 

 vanced. 

 A warm but not pleasant week, the atmosphere heavy and damp ; rain daily 

 since the 4th. Temperature nearly 6° warmer than last week. — G. J. Symons. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— October 11. 

 There are no alterations in prices from last week. Business remains 

 the same. 



d. s. 

 6 to 5 

 

 

 

 



Apples h sieve 1 



Apricots dozen 



Chestnuts bushel u 



Currants 4 sieve 



Black 4 do. 



Fige dozen 1 



Filberts lb. 6 1 



Cobs lb. 8 1 



Gooseberries quart 



Grapes, hothouse.... lb. 6 6 



Lemons ^"100 12 18 



Melons each 2 5 



Nectarines dozen 



Oranges ^ 100 



Peaches dozen 



Pears, kitchen.. .. dozen 



dessert dozen 



Pine Apple b lb. 



Plums J seive 



Quinces bushel 



Raspberries lb, 



strawberries lb. 



Walnuts bushel 



ditto ^-100 



s. d. s. 

 1 OtoG 



24 



















G 



















6 



VEGETABLES. 



b. d. s. 



Artichokes dozen 4 to 6 



Asparagus ?100 



French bundle 



Beans, Kidney ^lb. 3 



Beet.Ked dozen 16 8 



Broccoli bundle 9 1 



Brussels Sprouts £ sieve 3 4 



Cabbage dozen 10 2 



Carrots bunch 4 



Capsicums W00 l 6 2 



Cauliflower dozen 3 6 



Celery bundle 16 2 



Colewort8..doz.banches 2 4 



Cucumbers each 2 



Endive dozen 10 2 



Fennel bunch 3 



Garlic lb. 6 . 



Herbs bunch OS 



Horseradish.... bundle 4 



Lettuce dozen 6 2 



Leeks bunch 



Mushrooms pottle 



Muatard & Cress punnet 



Onions bushel 2 



pickling quart 



Parsley.... doz. bunches 2 



Far snips dozen 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 2 



Kidney do. S 



Radishes., doz.bnnches 1 



Rhubarb bundle 



Salsafy bundle 



Scorzonera bundle 1 



Seakale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 1 



Tomatoes 4 Bieve 4 



Turnips bunch o 



Vegetable Marrows 



d. b. d. 

 4 toO 

 6 16 



