62 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 20, 1863. 



■which, through some casualty has lost its queen and been unable 

 to Bupply itself with a new one, will not continue to work beyond 

 a certain period — namely, after the brood are all hatched ; but it 

 is otherwise with a hire so situated in autumn. After the usual 

 manifestations consequent upon the loss of a, queen, or their 

 inability to supply themselves with a new one, the bees are 

 sobered-down, through dire necessity apparently, to a kind of 

 settled content, which has often surprised me ; and more surprised 

 still have I been by the fact, that when so left in this condition 

 for a considerable time, I have in vain supplied the bees with 

 materials from which they might supply themselves with a new 

 sovereign. The eggs and young larveethey diligently tended and 

 nourished, but too frequently have I been disappointed in their 

 success in rearing for themselves a queen. It would be foreign 

 to my present purpose to enter into a speculation as to the reason 

 of this. I simply desire now to record the fact, at the same 

 time remarking, to prevent an erroneous solution which might 

 occur to some, that any such curious phenomena as "fertile 

 workers" were present to affect their usual instinct in such 

 circumstances. I have had such hives which continued to work 

 on till late in the season, when ultimately they either became the 

 objects of pillage, or the bees suddenly dispersed themselves and 

 disappeared altogether. I must also observe that queenless hives 

 can never be industrious hives, and I have never found them to 

 add much to their honey-stores. 



There are other kinds of desertion, which occur both in the 

 spring and autumn, of a different character from any yet men- 

 tioned — namely, a desertion by the bees en masse from the hive 

 in the form of a swarm, and which are usually ascribed to inter- 

 nal enemies — such as the ravages of the waxnioth, mice, &c, or 

 to destitution and want. I should be ashamed myself to have 

 had any personal experience of such strange occurrences in my 

 apiary, from causes, implying as they do, if this theory be 

 correct, the grossest carelessness and neglect ; but, if I am to 

 give credence to information derived from other sources, cases of 

 desertion have occurred where none of those causes stated seem 

 to have been present to affect the bees. As an illustration of 

 this class of desertions, I shall merely chronicle two cases which 

 I myself made the subject of special investigation. One occurred 

 towards the end of March, the other about the middle of Decem- 

 ber. In answer to my inquiries as to the first case, I was in- 

 formed that the hive was a second swarm of the previous year, 

 and was apparently in a thriving condition, when, on a mild 

 day towards the latter end of March, the bees left in a body 

 like a swarm, and gathered on a gooseberry bush; The hive 

 from which they issued was examined and found to be utterly 

 deserted, but containing plenty of honey in the combs, and no 

 assignable cause was exhibited for such a strange occurrence. In 

 the evening, the swarm was put into the same hive and removed 

 to its old Btance again, and some food administered, but, when 

 the hive was examined two days after, the bees were all found 

 dead. The other case occurred about the middle of December. 

 The hive wus described to me as a vagrant swarm, found in 

 June of the same year; and as evidence of its prosperous con- 

 dition, the grosB weight of the hive at the close of the season 

 ■was given at 52 lbs. About the beginning of December this 

 hive was removed from its summer site, which was stated to be 

 an exposed one, to a warmer locality a little distance off in the 

 Bame garden. The bees were observed to be frequently out 

 after this removal, but all seemed to take to the new site well 

 enough. On the 20th December, which was described as a 

 beautiful day, a little before noon, the whole of the bees rushed 

 out of the hive and clustered on a hedge a little way off from 

 the place they formerly occupied. Some were brought back to 

 the hive and some followed, but a cluster still remained on the 

 hedge till evening, when the branch upon which they gathered 

 was cut down and laid beside their hive ; but the bees did not 

 enter till morning. The weather being fine, they afterwards 

 Bhowed themselves reeling about, but nothing occurred to indi- 

 cate anything wrong in their condition. The hive was described 

 as having plenty of honey and a good supply of bees. To these 

 particulars I add no comment. 



I have not exhausted the subject of desertions in these remarks. 

 There are other causes which give rise to desertion besides those 

 already stated, upon whioh I cannot here dwell, such as internal 

 damp or excessive moisture, noxious smells, old musty combs, a 

 superannuated or diseased queen. All these may produce a 

 gradual desertion — a dwindling away of the bees until utter ruin 

 overtake the hive ; but in these and similar instances of the 

 decay and mortality of hives, there are other causes at work, 



and which are superinduced by these internal evils which hasten 

 the final result. Under Buch circumstances the queen becomes 

 affected by the general epidemic, her breeding powers are para- 

 lysed, desertion and mortality gradually proceed, while there is 

 no compensating ratio of increase. The results are such as might, 

 a priori, be predicated in the circumstances — the speedy decay 

 and extinction of the whole hive. 



I would simply, in conclusion, remark, that there are other 

 curious phenomena which periodically occur in every large 

 apiary, not certainly having any necessary connection with the 

 subject of this article, though giving rise to a very strange phase 

 of it, and with respect to which the queen is a prominent cause. 

 In investigating the singular phenomena to which I can only 

 here allude, I have bestowed considerable attention and thought ; 

 and though I cannot say that I have been yet able to unravel 

 entirely the true solution, yet if ever induced to take up my pen 

 to endeavour to cut this gordian knot, to unriddle this physical 

 mystery, I should describe the subject of my essay to be, " A 

 New Chapter on the Natural History of the Bee." — J. Lowe. 



APIAEIAN MISCELLANY. 

 (Continued, from page 776.) 



Oe the hives in the Exhibition, taking them in the order as 

 already noticed in your pages, I next arrive at the curious affair 

 sent by J. Neilson, of Denmark, a very good representation of 

 which is to be seen at page 688. I cannot discover a single 

 advantage likely to be gained by using such a multum inparvo 

 bee-shed; while the disadvantages are so obvious they need 

 hardly be particularised. Imagine, however, eight populous 

 colonies congregated within this contracted space ; imagine, also, 

 the door opened exposing to the light the interior of four colonies 

 at once ; having removed the glass Bide, proceed to manipulate 

 on one of these, depriving it of a brood or honey comb, searching 

 for a queen or royal cells ; and imagine if you can the scene of 

 tumult, fighting, and slaughter which would be likely to follow 

 the desperate venture. My first impression on seeing this com- 

 pound structure in the Exhibition was that it was only fit for 

 firewood, and, used as intended by the manufacturer, 1 am of 

 the same opinion still. The neatness of the outer covering of 

 straw was, however, well worthy of remark, and by knocking 

 out all the interior work the case would make a very nice house 

 for one or, at most, two separate depriving-hiveB. 



I did not observe in the Exhibition the apparatus for marking 

 the foundations of combs on bars by forming an impression on 

 a thin coating of wax by means of an engraved roller ; but 

 having had an opportunity of inspecting one which "A Devon- 

 shire Bee-keepeb " constructed for the purpose, I am enabled 

 to speak favourably of the invention, and believe it to be well 

 adapted to the end in view. 



The machines in the Austrian department for making straw 

 or rush hives struck me as being very admirable, and worthy of 

 imitation by our own hive-makers. By means of these machines 

 hives of a square or oblong form adapted to the use of the 

 moveable bars and frames can be easily made of greater thick- 

 ness and stability than by the usual system of Btraw-hive makers 

 in this country. Of the form of the Austrian straw hive I can- 

 not speak so highly. Manipulation at the ends instead of at the 

 tops of the hiveB is decidedly objectionable. The drawing of 

 one of them at page 798 is admirable, and gives a correct idea of 

 its squareness of outer form and general solidity. 



I have no doubt there were other hives to be found in the 

 Exhibition, but this includes the sum of those of which I took 

 notes at the time. To " Upwaeds and Onwards " we are 

 much indebted for his elaborate survey of the numerous speci- 

 mens of honey and wax, and their various preparations, the 

 inspection of which must have consumed no small amount of 

 valuable time. — S. Betas Eos, 'Exeter. 



MACHINE EOE MAKING STEAW BEE-HIVES. 



Wixl the writer of the article in your impression of 30th 

 December last, tell me how the leverage for pressing-down the 

 straw is obtained ? I suppose by inserting the moveable handle 

 into something — but what? Aid what purpose does the tall 

 upright serve, which is seen rising from behind the others in the 

 engraving ? There appear to be horizontal as well as per- 

 pendicular rows of stitches ; are both put in before the piece is 



