316 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AKD COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ May U, 1871 



of November all the drones had died, and the working bees 

 then began to diminish, and by the 31st of December they had 

 also died. As all the workers had been born before the 25th 

 of July, this gives about sis months, or net much less, for the 

 duration of their lives. The fortifications and barricades of 

 the bees against the incursions of the Deatb'r-bead moth are 

 said to be due to reason rather than to instinc^, because it baa 

 been observed that they do not commence these fortifications 

 on a first attack of the Spbins, nor until they have been robbed 

 of nearly their whole stock of honey. " This is a case in which 

 the insect is tanght by experience, and which admit?, in all 

 its particulars, of a direct comparison with human reason and 

 contrivance. A colony that had been thus attacked one year, 

 and was tardy in its defensive operations, having derived in- 

 struction from the past, constructed fresh ramparts speedily 

 on the re-appearance of the Sphinx three years afterwards, and 

 thus guarded itself from an impending danger. Since the lives 

 of the working bees do not extend beyond six or seven months, 

 it is evident that the information of the colony above referred 

 to must have been traditional, or else derived from a queen 

 which had reigned over them three years previously." This 

 " tradition " through some six or seven generations seems 

 highly improbable, and that the knowledge of how to act was 

 derived from a queen not less so. Do not the facts rather 

 indicate that bees difier considerably in intellectual capacity, 

 and that some hives contain directing bees more capable of 

 acting promptly on the defensive than others? 



Eaklt SwAEirs. — May oth I hived a very large swarm of beep, 

 and I am told it is unusually early. It is said to be one of the 

 largest of swarms. It came from an early swarm of last year, 

 and out of the old-fashioned straw hive. — Thomas Record, 

 Hatfield Hoitse^ Herts. 



Mr Pointing, brewer, at this place, had a fine swarm on 

 May 5'.h, and on the 7th my employer had also a very fine 

 Bwarm.— G. L. Dbu^imond, Neston, Bath. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



DrcKs' Eggs kot Hatchi>-g (J. S. M.), — You do not say whether tbe 

 Docks' eggs are put under a hen, or whether the Dncks sit themselves 

 If they are put cnder hens, the cause of failure is that they are too dry 

 The thing explains itself. In a state of nature the Duck leaves the nest 

 to feed, and whether her food be on land or water, she enjoys a swim 

 hefore she returns to the nest. Her breast is thoroughly wet, and in 

 that state she sits on her eggs. Where the youiif» fail to emerge from the 

 shell, it is because the eggs have been kept too dry. Whether put under 

 hens or Ducks, the eggs should be wetted every day when the expectant 

 parent is off the nest. The water in which the eggs are put should be 

 just warm enough to communicate wiirmth through the shells. These 

 latter are never too thick, and ihey become thinner while the bird sits. 

 It is the inner lining membrane that hardens from being kept too dry, 

 and the birds lack strength to get through it. If a ben sits, wet the egRs 

 daily ; if a Duck, tiien allow her access to water when she is off, and she 

 will do it herself. 



CoLOUB OF GoLDEN-spAKGLED Ha^tburgs Cock {M. E. F.). — Have 

 patience, and the birds will pair. The Golden-spangled Hamburgh cock 

 should have rich chestnut plumage, the hackle and saddle clouded with 

 black, the tail black, and the breast brown and black splashed. The deaf 

 ear should be faultlessly white, and the comb well spiked, with a pike 

 behind. It should not overhang the eyea or nostrils, and it should be 

 firmly fixed on the head. Game fowls and Bantams may run together 

 without fear of mixing. 



Brahiias out of Condition (Subscriber). — Yiur Brahmas are out of 

 condition. You should have told us in what manner they are fed. Feed 

 them on slacked ground oats morning and evening. Give them Indian 

 com at mid-day. Let them have some bread soaked in strong beer. 

 If that do not answer, give them Baily's pills. 



Wharfedale Snow. — We are informed that Hiss Beresford Peirse was 

 awarded the second prize for Brahmas at the above-named Show. We 

 did not receive the letter mentioned. 



Marking Cbjckzhs (Oxonicnsis . — You can only adopt the system of 

 marking by narrow strips of list if you wish to' have a mark that is 

 plainly and easily distingnishahle. It is sometimes attended with 

 damage to the feathering of the legs. To do the l<3a£t possible hurt you 

 must have the list wider on one side than the other, and let the wide side 

 be on the inner part of the leg. If you choose bright colours they are 

 easily distinguishable, as white, black, red, and blue. There is no 

 other method of mark-ng that is to be readily seen without catching the 

 bird. When the birds can be caught, tbe wing feathers may be cut in 

 each, denoting acre by the order of the feather — 1, 2, d, and so on. 

 . Chilled Eggs (E. D ).— It is not at all r> mirkable that eggs sat upon 

 for seven days only, and left by the hen for four hours, were not injured, 

 but produced chickens. If they had been near to hatching, and had 

 been chilled, this would probably have been fatal. 



Caution.— A fortnight ago I advertised in your Journal a Golden Po- 

 land cock and ten hens for sale, at lOs. each. A few days aftcrtrard^ I 

 received an application from 2fi, Downing Street, Everton, Liverpool, with 

 the wish that tbe fowls migl t b3 as good as represented, and a promise 

 to send a post-office order on receipt of fowls. I wrote to send ca^h 

 befrre I sent the fowls. I received no answer, and I am iufnrme I 

 that I had exercised a wise discretion, as there is no such name in the 

 Liverpool Directory as the one givea, and no such street.— G. W. Boothby, 



Young Tureeys {A. L. B.}.— It is not true. They are crammed when 

 it is wished to mike them very large and fat. 



Diarrhoea in Fowls {A. Z.).—Feed on ground oats for your fowls. 

 While the diarrhcea is very troublesome you may add some chalk, and 

 mis the whole with cold water. Lettuce stalks and lettuces that are gone 

 to seed are also good. We do not like wheat for food, nor Indian corn 

 except as a change. 



Caeeolate of Lime (Constant Header).— It is a poison ; do not put it 

 into your Canary's nest. Keep everything clean — cage, perches, nest 

 box, &c., and give free ventilation. Nothing else is necessary to check 

 parasites. 



Loss OF Bees (Mirator). — Your bees may have perished from the- 

 effects of over-kindness, or rather from having been fed " not wisely but 

 too well" — that is, in too open a manner. From the fact of their having, 

 carried in pollen freely, it would seem that they were healthy, and had sl 

 productive queen at their head during the early part of the present year. 

 Your feeding miy have been too openly carried on, and may have attracted' 

 first a few stray robbers, and then a general onslaught. Or they may 

 really have died from starvation. Feeding twice a-week induces breed- 

 ing ; brood requires a considerable quantity of food. The bees may have 

 had no available store during the cold weather to supply this need and to 

 sustain the necessary amount of internal heat, and so may have suc- 

 cumbed. Examine the central part of the combs, and if you find the 

 cells occupied by the dead bodies of the adult workers, you may be sar& 

 that they died of starvation or cold, or both combined. 



Lat. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 

 Ca^tden Square, London. 

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



Date. 



9 A.M. 



In the Day. 





1871. 



= =■=£ 



lis-' 



Hygrome- 

 Dry. Wet. 



Direc- 

 tion of 

 Wind. 



Temp, 

 of Sou 

 at 1 ft. 



Shade Tem- 

 peratnre. 



Radiation 

 Tempera- 

 tare. 



s 



May. 



Max. 



In 1 On 

 Min. sun. | grass 



We. 3 

 Th. 4 

 Fri. 5 

 Sat. 6 

 Sun. 7 

 Mo. 8 

 Til. 9 



Inches- 

 29.948 

 29.933 

 30.165 

 30.241 

 30.3S1 

 30,255 

 30.143 



56.8 

 4S.5 

 52.4 

 61.0 

 543 

 59.3 

 4S.7 



ies 

 49.2 

 433 

 45.9 

 55 6 

 48.0 

 52.0 

 43.7 



S. 

 W. 

 N. 



E. 

 S.E. 

 N.W. 



N.E. 



deg. 

 49.0 

 49.2 

 48.5 

 50.9 

 52.3 

 52.3 

 53.4 



deg. 

 65.8 

 67 7 

 66.8 

 72.8 

 B3.0 

 748 

 51.1 



deg. 

 37,0 

 37.9 

 36,1 

 48.8 

 42.0 

 37.8 

 43.3 



deg. deg. 

 101.4 S4.8 

 117 34.7 

 112.4 i 34.2 



121.0 45.8 

 106.6 41.2 

 116.4 ! 37.3 



105.1 41.8 



In. 

 0.091 



O.SM 

 0.020 



Means 



30.153 



54.4 



48.2 





50.8 



65.0 



40.4 



112.6 , 38.6 



473 



REATARKS. 



3rd.— Fine morning, dull afternoon, rain between 6 and 7 P.M., very- 

 bright and fine afterwards. 



4th.— Cold in early morning, fine day. 



5th. — Almost a frost in morning, fine, clear, sunny day. 



6th.— Much w.^^mer, cloudv in afternoon, and rath=r oppressive, tem- 

 perature rising above 70", for the first time this year. 



7th. — Warm, fipe, and sunny. 



8tb. — Fine bright morning, very warm and oppressive in afternoon. At 

 3 22 P.M., thunder was heard from a cloud advancing from the N. ;, 

 between 3.30 and 4.0 p.m., the storm was rather heavy, the darkness 

 being considerable, and the thunder almost continuous. The total 

 amount of rain was rather tmall for such a storm, but it fell with 

 great rapidity, a quarter of an inch falling in eight minutes and eight 



9th. — Showery in morning, fine afterwards. — G. J. Syhons. [seconds. 



COYENT GARDEN MARKET.— Mat 10. 

 The current rates have been maintained, and supplies generally ar& 

 sufficient for the wants of the trade. Business is better, and as the Lon- 

 don season is commencing we may hope for further improvement. A. 

 large quantity of old Potatoes, both Regents and Flukes, continue on 

 hand, and heavy arrivals of new ones are reported. Continental imports 

 comprise salading. Carrots, Turnips, and Asparagus. 



Apples i sieve 1 



ApricotB doz. 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnnla bushel 



Currants i sieve 



Black do. 



Figs doz. 10 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 2 



Gooseberries quart 



Grapes, Hothouse.... lb. 8 



Lemons ?»100 6 



Melons each 6 



d. 8. 

 6 to 3 

 



Mulberries lb. 



Nectarines doz. 15 



Oranpes p- lO) 6 



Peaches doz. 15 



Pears, kitchen doz. 



dessert doz. 



Pine Apples lb. 6 



Plums i sieve 



Quinces doz. 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries oz. 



Walnuts bushel 10 



ditto ^100 1 



a. 



too 











30 



10 a 



86 

 



TEGETAELES. 



Artichokes doz. 



Asparajnis 3* 100 



Beans,Kidney ....^100 2 



Broad bushel 



Beet,Red doz. 2 



Broccoli bundle 



Brussels Sprouts . . i sieve 



Cabbage doz. 1 



Capsicums f^ 100 



Carrots bunch 



CauliQower doz. 3 



Celery bundle 1 



CoIeworts..doz. bunches 3 



Cucumbers each 



picliling doz. 



Enmve doz. 2 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic lb. 



Herbs bunch 



HorBeradiah .... bundle 3 



. d. 8. 

 Oto 6 



d I 

 



8 I 



3 



] 

 3 



1 6 

 



2 

 



Leeks bunch 



Lettucu doz. 



JIusbrooms pottle 



Mustard i Cress . .punnet 

 Onions bushel 



pickling quart 



Parsley sieve 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



Radishes .. doz. bunches 



Bhubarb bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Sea-kale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoea doz. 



Turnips bunch 



VcReiable Marrows. .doz. 



d. s. 



4 too 



2 



2 



2 



e 10 







G 



9 1 



6 

 4 

 

 

 .6 

 2 6 

 



