480 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ December 14, 1871. 



vigonr for tbe important work of assisting in the breeding 

 operations of the hive early in the spring. Consequently he 

 would encourage late breeding, and prefers a number of what 

 we should call weak hives. " Mr. Hosmer rears surplus queens 

 in small boxes, and then, about the season of the year that we 

 are accustomed to unite our weak colonies to make all strong 

 for the winter, he divides his strong ones, so that with each 

 queen he has only a moderate supply of bees, and honey in 

 proportion." 



Now, however contrary this may be to our ordinary notions 

 of safe management of bees, I am persuaded there is something 

 in it which deserves consideration. Of course such treatment 

 would be fatal to all hives left out all the winter on their stances. 

 Some would starve to death of hunger and others of cold. 

 But if a different mode of wintering bees were adopted — sup- 

 posing it possible for us to stow them away in dry lofts in total 

 darkness from the middle of November to the middle or end 

 of February — I cannot but believe this treatment would be 

 found beneficial ; especially if we could contrive to get rid of 

 all summer-bred bees and encourage late breeding in autumn. 

 From the greater and more continued severity of their winters 

 in America they appear commonly to stow away their hives in 

 dark and warm places, as they do in the colder regions of 

 Europe. 



It might be well to give this plan a trial ; and especially 

 in cases where hives are known to be weak both in bees and 

 honey, and I fear there are many such this year. Skeps half 

 full of comb would winter particularly well in this way. I 

 should advise their being suspended from abeam with the floor 

 board hung beneath them and sloping in one direction, so as 

 to carry cfi any bees which happened to die during the winter. 

 It is absolutely necessary they should be in total darkness. 

 The floor- board should touch the hive on one side so as to per- 

 mit any live bees to crawl back again if they happened to fall 

 down accidentally. Of course the hives so treated must have 

 enough honey or bee-food to support the bees during their 

 incarceration, little as may be the quantity required. 



Some of your readers will recollect an experiment as to bury- 

 ing bees in the ground, which was largely tried some twenty 

 years ago. The results were duly chronicled in your pages. 

 It was a complete failure, and settled for ever this mode of 

 wintering. In almost every case the bees died of damp and 

 dysentery. It is, however, quite a different thing to stow them 

 away in dry lofts or cellars. Will any of your apiarian readers 

 try the experiment on a small scale, and report the issue ? I 

 would not recommend any strong stocks to be so treated, 

 because the natural warmth of the hive in such cases would 

 tempt the bees to activity : they would therefore become restless 

 and uneasy, aud more disposed to crawl out. Strong stocks are 

 best left to themselves on their summer stances. — B. & W. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Scottish Columbarian Association's Show (Capt. D. and others). — 

 You are all quite justified in mentioning the prices offered aa "most 

 handsome." We were amused by the doubt as to its "promoters " being 

 trustworthy. We can say unreservedly, Perfectly so. 



Grasses for Poultry Run {A. A.).— On your light soil the following 

 mixture and quantities are for an acre : — Alopecurus pratensis, 2 lbs. ; 

 Dactylis glomerata, 5 lbs. ; Featuca duriuscula, 2 lbs. ; F. pratensis, 3 lbs. ; 

 r. rubra, li lb. ; Lolium italicum, 7 lbs. ; L. perenne, 10 lbs ; Phleum 

 pratense, 1 lb. ; Poa nemoralia sempervirena, 1^ lb. ; P. pratensis, 1^ lb. ; 

 Medioago lupulina, 1 lb. ; Trifolium pratense, 1 lb.; T. pratense perenne, 

 2J lbs. ; and T. repens, 6 Iba. 



Woohburv Hive (,Yourz). — lt you enclose five postage stamps with 

 your addreas, and order "Beekeeping for the Many" to be sent, you 

 will have it post free. It contains a description of the Woodbury and 

 other hivea, and how to manage bees. 



Fallen Combs (H. Jenner).— It would not be sate to attempt transfer- 

 ring the combs and bees into a bar bos at this time of the year, and un- 

 less the combs are so fallen down and jammed together aa to block up 

 the lower portion of the hivea, we think it would be better to defer any 

 attempt to rectify the evil until mild weather in March or April If, how- 

 ever, tbe comba are badly maased together, you can turn each hive, with 

 its board, upside-down in a bucket, and having removed the board, adjust 

 the combs in position as well as you can at the proper distdnce apart. 

 Put in hiilf-inch slips of wood between each comb to keep them in place, 

 and two long pieces of the proper thickness may be placed across the 

 bottom of the combs. The board may then be put on, and the hive care- 

 fully reversed to its proper position. This may be done on any mild day, 

 or in a warm room, and if the wooden slips are prepared previously, but 

 little time need be occupied in the operation, unless the combs have been 

 much fastened together. We should prefer this plan to that of trans- 

 ferring the contents of the hivea into amall aupers. 



Washing Pioeons for Showing, &o. (H. J. R. S.).— Pigeons beat clean 

 themselves ; they are great washers, and struggle and fight with each 

 other for the bath. They always bathe in the morning, and a shallow 

 pan placed in a gleam of sun in winter, and a lew drops of hot water to 



take the chill off, will induce them to wash in a moment. Ours are doing 

 so this frosty morning. A little hempaeed warms Pigeons for a journey 

 to a show this cold weather, aud on returning home this and good beans 

 are now best. Fowls are dusting birds, and will not wash themselves. 

 The beat plan is to wash their heads and legs, then put them in a room 

 thickly covered with clean straw, throw a few handfuls of wheat in tha 

 straw, scattering the grain thinly, and the birds in searching and scratch- 

 ing for the wheat will clean themselves beautifully. 



Weaver Birds {Edith}. — They are apparently a piir of yellow Bishops 

 in bird-dealers' language — African Weaver birds, of which there are many 

 aorta. Most of them eat insects. Procure some German paste from 

 Hawkins's, 6, Bear Street, Leicester Square, or any other dealer, and give 

 a little now and then for a treat if the birds eat it. Canary and millet seed 

 are the proper staple food ; hemp only occasionally for a treat — no rape. 

 Moulting begins in January, and ends in July. Supply bits of hay, dry 

 grass, &c., and see if they twine them in the cage wires. They have no 

 song. Give green food only occasionally. Try a watercress now and 

 then, and hard-boiled yolk of egg, and stale bread crumbs occasionally, 

 but a bath often in a sunny day. They will live with other birds well 

 enough, but probably require more warmth than Canaries. We should 

 keep the Canaries in one cage, and some foreign Fiuches and the Weavers 

 in another. They are rendered tame by being kept in a room frequented 

 by the family. If yours mope they may be moulting. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



Camden Square, London. 



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



Date. 



9 A.M. 



In the Day. 





1871. 



Barome- 

 ter at 320 

 aud Sea 

 Level. 



Hygrome- 

 ter. 



Direc- 

 tion of 

 Wind. 



Temp, 

 of Soil 

 at 1 ft. 



Shade Tem- 

 perature . 



Radiation 

 Tempera- 

 ture. 



.g 



Dec. 



Dry. 



Wet. 



Max. 



Min. 



In On 

 Bun. grass 



M 



Wed. 6 

 Th. 7 

 Fri. 8 

 Sat. 9 

 Sun.lO 

 Mo. 11 

 Tu. 12 



Inches. 

 30.199 

 80.157 

 30.508 

 SI 1.394 

 S0.352 

 30.477 

 30.620 



deg. 

 84.2 

 33 

 22.0 

 27.8 

 33.5 

 29 5 

 36.6 



de;;. 

 33.4 

 314 

 21.4 

 27.4 

 33.2 

 29.5 

 36.5 



N. 

 N.W. 

 N.W. 

 W. 

 W. 

 N.W. 



;j. w. 



deg. 

 37.1 

 36,9 

 86,8 

 86.3 

 36.0 

 36.0 

 36.2 



deg. 

 83,8 

 36.0 

 29.8 

 88.5 

 S6.8 

 38.9 

 39.6 



deg. 

 26.9 

 29.9 

 20.1 

 21.2 

 27.5 

 24.8 

 29.0 



deg. : deg. 

 62.0 ; 2).2 

 62.8 26.8 

 38.5 : 19,1 

 89.0 1 21.2 

 39.0 1 26,0 

 56.0 i 22.5 

 53.5 1 29.5 



In. 



.020 



.fi2) 

 .010 



Means 



80.862 



S0.9 



S0.4 





36 5 



86.2 j 25.G 



48.5 1 24,0 



.05) 



REMARKS. 

 6th. — Thick in early morning, very dark at 8.30 a.m., bright at noon, and 



a fine day on the whole. 

 7th.— Frosty and dull in morning, bright at 1 p.m., rapidly changing; very 



dark with snow at 6 p.m., cold northerly wind. 

 8th. — Very sharp frost wilh thick white fog in the morning, occasionally 



bright between 11 and 2, then dull (though fair) all day. 

 9th. — Very dull and cold all day, frequent slight falls of snow, 

 li th. — Still frosty but not bo intense, fair all day but no sunshine. 

 11th. — Morning dark, very bright at noon, slight rain about 2 p.ar., dull 



after. 

 12th.— Apparently fine above the fog in the morning and occasionally 

 bright about noon, but very thick, damp, and uncomfortable in the 

 afternoon, rather better in the evening. 

 The temperature of the week has been unusually low, even for Decem- 

 ber. The height of the barometer also is equally noteworthy. — Gr. J. 

 Stmons. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— December 13. 

 We have no alteration to report. Owing to unfortunate influences at 

 work, which have a great bearing upon the movements in our markets for 

 best goods, prices are likely to recede. 



FETJIT. 



Apples 



Apricots 



Cherries 



. i sieve 

 .. doz. 

 .... lb. 



s. 

 2 

 

 

 10 

 

 

 

 

 

 2 

 

 8 

 2 



a. 

 

 8 

 

 

 1 

 

 2 

 1 

 1 

 D 

 3 

 1 

 2 

 

 

 2 

 

 

 

 3 



d. a. d 

 0to4 

 

 

 20 

 

 

 

 6 10 

 6 10 

 6 

 

 12 

 8 



■\'EGET 



d. a. d 

 OtoO 

 12 

 

 

 S 

 6 10 

 8 

 2 

 6 2 

 6 

 6 

 6 2 

 4 

 6 10 

 

 

 3 

 S 

 3 

 i 



Mulberries 



Nectarines 



Oranges 



Peaches 



Pears, kitchen.. 



dessert 



Pine Apples 



Plums 



Raspberries ... 



lb. 



. . . doz. 



.. RiHOO 



doz. 



... doz. 



... doz. 



lb. 



. A sieve 



lb. 



lb. 



B. 





 

 4 

 6 

 2 

 2 

 8 

 

 

 

 

 10 

 1 



a. 

 



1 

 1 

 



a 





 3 

 

 



1 

 s 





 



1 



2 

 

 2 

 2 

 

 



a. s. 



OtoO 

 

 10 

 12 

 4 

 6 

 6 

 

 

 

 

 25 

 3 



d. s. 



8 too 

 2 

 2 



2 

 i 

 6 

 4 



9 1 

 

 6 S 

 5 

 6 1 

 

 

 3 

 6 

 3 

 



3 

 



a 





 

 



Chestnuts 



bushel 

 . i sieve 

 .... do. 



doz. 



.... lb. 







n 



Black 



Figs 





 



n 



Cobs 



Grapes, Hothous 



lb. 



B.... lb. 

 . . quart 







n 













Walnuts 



ditto 



AELES. ■ 



. bushel 



... Jrioo 



n 





. .. each 









. .. doz. 



...Vioo. 

 .4 sieve 

 bushel 



d 

 6 



Asparagus 



Beans, Kidney.. 

 Broad 



Lettuce 



Mushrooms 



Mustard & Cress 



Onions 



pickling 



.... doz. 

 ..pottle 

 .punnet 

 ..bushel 

 .. quart 





 

 9 

 



Broccoli , . 



Brussels Sprouts 



bundle 

 .i sieve 

 ... doz. 



. . . ns'ioo 



8 



n 













Peas 



Potatoes 



Kidney 



Radishes., doz. 



Rhubarb 



Savoys 



. ..quart 

 . bushel 



do. 



bunches 

 . b J ndle 

 ... . doz. 

 . basket 



lb. 



. bushel 

 doz. 







Carrots 



. . bunch 





 



Celery: 



Coleworts.. doz. 



bundle 

 bunches 





 

 6 



pickling 



Endive 



Fennel 



doz. 



... doz. 

 . bunch 

 .... lb. 



n 



Shallots 



Spinach 



9 

 



« 



Herbs 



Turnips bunch 



Vegetablo Marrows, .doz. 



n 



Horseradish 



. bundle 







