464 



JOURNAL OP HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEK. 



[ June 23, 1863. 



three of Woodbury's afcraw bar-frame hives from Neighbour 

 and Sons, and I consider them a great improvement on the 

 wood ones. I will never allow my bees to be all the winter in 

 these again. They may be used in the summer, when there is 

 no moisture to condense in the inside of the hive, or where the 

 movement of the bees prevents it ; but in winter they are always 

 ■wet to a certain extent ; but I intend to put straw tops on the 

 wood, which will help them a little. — Alex. Sheaeee, Yester. 



AGE OF QUEENS— DISTANCE BEES ELY. 



The age of queenB is sometimes difficult to ascertain when 

 bees are left entirely to themselves ; they being able to replace 

 the mother of the hive with a young one at the proper season if 

 any accident happen to her. But in the case replied to at page 

 335 there is no foundation for doubt, and it served for an experi- 

 ment to prove that the impregnation of the queen lasts her 

 lifetime. 



In 1848 I put two swarms together, leaving to themselves to 

 decide which queen should be the ruling sovereign. The sur- 

 viving queen appeared to be a little wounded in the conflict, 

 koth her wings being peculiarly cut, and this prevented her 

 from flying. She had always to be watched at swarming time, 

 and she led off swarms for seven successive years. She was of 

 an unmistakeable appearance ; for besides her injured wings she 

 was very little larger than a worker, which rendered all my 

 attention necessary to detect her. 



It is the custom here for people to remove their hives at 

 different seasons of the year. When they remove them in spring, 

 a mile or a mile and a half suffices to prevent their coming back 

 to the place they were removed from, and in summer two 

 miles will suffice ; but in the month of AugUBfc, when taken to 

 the heather, it is a regular thing for them to come back in great 

 numbers the distance of three miles and a half. They are not 

 B0 apt to come back in the height of the working season as 

 when it is past and when necessity calls them to a distance. 



The nature of the case described at page 336 was of twelve 

 hives, which stood at Nemphlar in the parish of Lanark. They 

 were removed at three different times, four at a time, on a hand- 

 barrow every other night to the parish of Carmichael fully six 

 miles, and a pretty straight road — almost a direct line. There 

 was a patch of heather about midway between these two places, 

 which was a little earlier in bloom than the heather was at their 

 new stand. This would entice them back to their old working- 

 place. Part of the bees from every hive came back to their old 

 stand and clustered till the following day, and then departed, 

 probably in search of their hives. The people in Arran say 

 that it is common to see bees on the Holy Island at Lamlash 

 Bay, which is allowed to be a distance of three nautical miles 

 from shore to shore, and no bees were kept on that island at 

 that time. I have seen bees at least two miles from the shore 

 between Arran and the Cumbraes alighting on the steamboats, 

 which will show how far a bee will fly without alighting. — 

 A Lanakeshibe Bee-keepeb, Blantyre. 



DEATH OF QUEENS— BEE-EEEPING IN 

 STAFFOKDSHLRE. 



I ENCLOSE two Ligurian queens, and shall be glad of an 

 opinion upon them. One is a supernumerary that came off with 

 a swarm, and is a fine insect and fairly coloured. The second is 

 a very fine, well-coloured queen, and is, I fear, the old queen 

 — i.e., one reared last year, from a Btorified-hive. The hive is 

 densely peopled, but the bees have not yet taken to the super. 

 If my opinion is correct, I much regret her loss, as Bhe bred 

 finer-coloured workers than any of my other queens — I think 

 fully equal to my original one received from " A Deyonshibe 

 Bee-keepeb." 



My four stocks all passed safely through the winter, and were 

 strong and forward in the spring, and during the blossoming of 

 the damson trees increased in weight. Since that time the 

 weather has been most unpropitious, and still continues so. My 

 experiments have, however, been much more successful than 

 those made last year. I made my first swarm on the 9th, by 

 taking four frames with brood and bees out of the swarm of 

 June 4th, 1862 (as I believed that hive to contain the old 

 queen), and placing them in a four-frame hive. I then put this 

 and the parent hive Bide by Bide, when it was soon evident 



that the queen was in the small hive, as there was great agitation 

 in the old one. I placed the swarm on the stand of another 

 stock, and in a day or two shifted them into a ten-frame hive, 

 supplying them with four new frames of empty comb, and at the 

 same time giving the old stock two frames of empty comb to dis- 

 courage the building of drone-combs. Had the queen not been 

 in the nucleus-box, I should have kept the bees in that hive 

 until the young queens made their appearance, and then have 

 shifted them into a larger hive. 



On the 20th I made a Becond swarm, by abstracting a single 

 comb with a sealed royal cell into a nucleus-box, and placing it 

 on the stand of another stock. On the 23rd a swarm came out 

 of the old hive, and another will, if the weather permit, come off 

 soon, as they have been piping strenuously. 



I am feeding the swarms liberally, as there is no honey to be 

 had, and a poor prospect for the future, as the land is sadly 

 burned up for want of rain. My hives were fully ventilated until 

 the 8th of February, and the boxes consequently were perfectly 

 dry, without the slightest condensation on the windows. In 

 March, the condensation was considerable, but did not produce 

 any evil consequences. Owing to the mildness of the season, the 

 loss of weight in my hives was very considerable, about 10, 9, 

 8, and 7 lbs. in the four Btocks respectively, from the 1st of 

 November to the 1st of February. Where would they have 

 been if they had only weighed 10 lbs. nett in September, as re- 

 commended by " G. F. B. ? " 



The advantages of the new arrangement in bars, and having a 

 space between the bars and crown-board are very great, and 

 most materially contribute to the well-being of the bees. The 

 ventilation is rendered complete and perfect, as the current 

 passes through between all the combs, and out at the central 

 hole in the crown-board. Formerly I used to find a great deal 

 of damp at the sides of the hives away from the centre. At the 

 Bame time the approximation of the combs seems to greatly 

 favour the breeding of the queen in the spring, as a much 

 smaller number of bees covers a greater surface of combs than 

 when the bare were placed at a greater distance from each other. 

 I aho find the indiarubber gloves invaluable. — J. E. B. 



[The smaller of the two queens was a virgin, and was, doubt- 

 less, a supernumerary one that accompanied the swarm. The 

 larger we ascertained to have been unquestionably impregnated, 

 and regret, therefore, to confirm your fears as to her being the 

 old queen. This is not the firBt instance in which we have 

 found valuable queens fall victims to the rivalry of their 

 daughters, either immediately before or just after the issue of a 

 swarm, and we are inclined to believe that it is more common 

 than is generally supposed.] 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Ducks at Bath and "West of England Show. — The Cup for the best 

 pen of Ducks was awarded to Mr. Rodbard's Rouens, and not to Mr. 

 Fowler's Aylesburys. 



Rouen and East Indian Ducks (JF- 71".'.— The Rouen is much the 

 larger bird. The East Indian when pure bred is a small compact Duck. 

 Both breeds are prolific, and the early laying is much regulated by the age 

 and condition of the birds themselves. This season the Rouen Ducks gene- 

 rally have laid better than the East Indian. 



Profitable Breeds of Fowls (S. T.).— In the neighbourhood of large 

 towns, where new-laid eggs are in demand, either Cochin, Brahma, or 

 Spanish would he good birds for you, as they require but little range. If 

 you have a large space for them, then any breed will thrive with you. 

 Young healthy birds should be selected, as they lay earlier than older ones ; 

 and pullets for early laying should be introduced annually, and the older 

 hens got rid of. 



Colour of Geet Dorking Chickens [K A. C.).— Grey Dorking chickens 

 vary very much in colour when first hatched, many appearing almost white 

 and others as nearly black. The first feathers are often speckled with 

 white, which disappears as the birds get older, and others seem to be as 

 nearly black and then alter. 



Cross between ICanary and Yellowhammer (Wooton). — "We are 

 not aware of any instance of the Canary and Yellowhammer having been 

 cross-bred, but we see no reason why they should not breed together. 

 The most probable British bird that the Yellowhammer would pair with 

 would be a hen Greenfinch. 



Rearing Young Nightingales (An Old Subso-iber).— To rear young 

 Nightingales feed them on fresh beef, scraped fine, and hard-boiled eggs, 

 also chopped fine, with a little scalded bread ; and when they are fledged, 

 leave off the bread and give them occasionally a few mealworms. Keep 

 them in a quiet place and Ehaded from the sun. 



Ligurian Bees (W. IF.)— If you write to T. "Woodbury, Esq., Mount 

 Radford, Exeter, he will give you all the information you need. 



Taking Honey [S. B,).— Honey should be taken in the autumn, as soon 

 as gathering is over and breeding either diminishes or ceases entirely. 

 The mode of uniting bees by driving is fully described in pages 4.5 and 46 

 of " Bee-keeping for the Many." 



