444 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 



[ December 1, 1&70. 



Goldfinch.— 1, Fairclough & Howe, vhc, J. N.Harrison ; Stevens & Burton. 

 hc, W. King, "Well in gbo rough, c, Moore & Wynne ; — Knibb. 

 fcEuLLFiNCH.— 1, W. & C. BurniBton. vhc, T. Haddon, Northampton; Fryer 

 and McCurne, Stockton, hc, Moore & "Wynne, c, A. Webster. 



Jut>ge. — Mr. W. "Wilmore, London. 



EGG-EATING BEES. 



The fact of bees eating or removing eggs from their combs 

 when queens are being reared artificially, as described by your 

 correspondent "B. S." in page 383, has been noticed by me 

 for a number of years, and I once sent an article on the sub- 

 ject to the Journal, bat for Borne reason it never appeared. 

 I have, however, experimented much both before and since on 

 this point, and may here describe under what circumstances 

 I have found the egg-eating propensity become manifest, and 

 show also how I bave cured it. Like " R. S.," I am prepared 

 to say that it often happens, but I do not believe that it occurs 

 in every instance. 



Many bee-keepers, I doubt not, have noticed during spring 

 the case of a formerly-proven fertile queen where the hive in 

 which she is regnant makes no progress, no young bees ap- 

 pearing, and yet if this queen were transferred to another hive 

 it would at once become prosperous. When I made this dis- 

 covery I noticed that in such dwindling hives where they had 

 taken to egg-eating the bees were invariably old. Knowing, 

 therefore, the fact that if the queen were transferred to another 

 hive her progeny would be matured, I tried the experiment of 

 inserting a frame of brood in the heart of the hive; this had 

 the desired result and acted like a charm, and I have often 

 since repeated the experiment with success. Subsequently, 

 when I discovered that eggs and larvfe were eaten by the bees 

 when raising queens, I conjectured and was about to affirm 

 that bees required eggs or lame for the production of royal 

 jelly, but I exploded this idea, having found from further 

 experiments that many destroyed not a single egg. 



Although I am satisfied that eggs are not invariably destroyed, 

 still the mystery is far from being solved. I may, however, be 

 allowed to ask the question, What is the reason that old bees de- 

 vour eggs and that young ones do not ? Can it be owing to their 

 stomachs ? We know there is a difference in the stomachs of 

 the old and young of some animals ; can there then be an 

 inability in the stomach of the old bee to produce royal jelly ? 

 and is that organ in the young bee, whose duty it appears is to 

 become a nurse when but a few hours old, capable of producing 

 a different compound from that of old ones ? — A Lanarkshire 

 Bee-keeper. 



BEES BREEDING LATE. 



Yesterday, November 20th, being a very warm and fine day, 

 my bees all turned out in numberc, and upon inspecting one of 

 the hives I was astonished to see a number of young bees before 

 the entrance, evidently just come out of their cells. Now you 

 will allow this is rather an unusual time of year for young bees — ■ 

 either exceedingly early or very late, and a3 there is no chance 

 of there being any pollen for two months at least, I wish to 

 know what will become of any grubB there may be in the cells, 

 and whether there is any means of providing artificial pollen, 

 such as meal, what iB the best way to give it to them, and the 

 best to use ? — Carolus. 



[Your bees have been breeding late in the season, but this 

 circumstance is not so remarkable as you appear to imagine. 

 Young bees (Ligurians) were taking wing for the first time in 

 considerable numbers from one of our own hives five days 

 later than in your case, whilst pollen was being carried into 

 others at the same time. You need not apprehend any failure 

 in the supply of the last-mentioned substance, which we have 

 always found beeB able to accumulate in excess of their actual 

 requirements.] 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Notice. — Most of our authorities are at Birmingham, so that 

 we must defer answering many poultry querieB until our 

 next number. 



Hamburgh {S. D. C.).— It is pronounced as if spelt " Hamborough." A 

 dark pullet, though lighter-plnmaped thia season, is not unlikely to pro- 

 duce dark chickens next year. We do not know anything about the 

 preferences you name. 



Black-breasted Red Game Moulting Untrue to Colour (Puzzled 

 One).— It is not very uncommon for a bird to moult as you describe yours 

 to bave done. If you exhibit, he is still fit to show in the classes for 

 "Black-breasted and other Reds." He will not do for Black-breasted 

 Reds. He is now a Brown Red, but not Iobs valuable. Tbere is a stain 

 in him to -which he has thrown back. 



Feeding Brahmas foe Exhibition {A Duffer).— We like your feeding 



better than the advice of your friends. If your fowls have good con- 

 stitutions do not destroy them with physic. Give them ground oate 

 slaked with milk in the morning, a little barley or maize at midday, and 

 ground oats again in the evening ; add thereto some table scraps daily, 

 and some heavy sods of growing grass cut with plenty of fresh mould. 

 Give as much lettuce as you please. You need do nothing more. 



Feeding Poultry {Poultry Food).— Ground oats are excellent food, 

 but not essential to the well-doing of fowls. Feed as we have advised in 

 our preceding answer, substituting barleymeal for ground oats. {A Ten- 

 years Subscriber). — It is almoBt impossible to name any quantity of food 

 for a given number of poultry. Your food is not good ; instead of Indian 

 corn meal, give ground oats, which in Ireland you should get cheaper. 

 The Ducks should be fed on oats, the Turkeys on meal mixed with 

 milk. It will always be difficult to fatten chickens, Ducks, or Turkeys 

 bought from cottagers, as they are so poorly fed. As a rule, that which 

 is necessary for the formation of the fat, i3 for a long time absorbed in 

 the production of flesh. We advise you to let all the chickens run at 

 liberty, to shut up the Turkeys in a small shed where they can be fed 

 from a trough with fo>:d made of oatmeal slaked with milk; but they 

 must be put up as they are likely to be wanted, two or three at a time. 

 The Ducks should be shut up in an old pig.-tye or similar place, and fed on 

 oats put in a trough with water. You must recollect birds cannot be kept 

 artificially fattened in a state of confinement. They will lose fleBh and 

 die. We advise you to shut up only Ducks and Turkeys. Feed the 

 chickens as well as you can at liberty. You will never get eggs in the 

 winter by keeping hens, you must have pullets for that purpose. Birds 

 will starve to death on one food, however good it may be. They must have 

 change. Most poultry women waste half the food by throwing down the 

 same quantity in the same place every day without reference to circum- 

 stances. To throw down food, is not to feed. When the first is only 

 partly eaten, the second should not be given. Fowls do not like Indian 

 meal, nor is it profitable food. It would be a much tetter arrangement 

 for the poultry woman to buy her own food. In a large f imily the scraps, 

 properly managed, should play an important part in feeding the birds* 

 and lessening the expense. 



Exhibiting Spanish Fowls— Cochin Unthriving {Scotu-s). — The 

 small defect in the face of your Spanish cock being an accident, and 

 bearing the proof of it, will not be a disqualification. It is only a dis- 

 advantage, and not a serious one. The White Cochin is unwell. He must 

 he thoroughly purged with caBtor oil, a table-spoonful every day till his 

 evacuations, which are, doubtless, now green and watery, become figured 

 and brown and white. If after some days' purging thi3 does not take 

 place, try Baily's pill3, and add to them two pills of camphor, each 

 the size of a garden pea. These may be given with castor oil, allowing 

 two hours between the oil and camphor. If benefit show itself, the dose 

 of camphor may be increased. 



Fattening Fowls fob Table (N. C). — Cramming is unnecessary, 

 unless it is desired to make fowls fit for the London market. Fowls can 

 be kept fat enough for table when running about, and always are so in a 

 good farmyard; but where all the food has to be bought it is very ex- 

 pensive to feed all alike. Tfie birds intended for the table should be shut 

 up in a fattening coop, and fed three times per day with ground oats or 

 barleymeal mixed with milk. The process is too long to be described 

 here, you will find it at length in " Fowls," by Baily. In that work there 

 is a chapter devoted to it. 



Pigeons and Chaffinch (E. S. Polkinglwrne). — Your Pigeons have 

 roup ; we gave the most likely means of cure in our number for Novem- 

 ber 17th. A great number of articles appeared in this Journal in the 

 early part of this year about Flying Tumblers and Birmingham Rollers, 

 and more, alas ! was said of them than|was true, both as to length of flight 

 and supposed delicacy. In the words of Mr. Brent, "Flying Tumblers 

 give less trouble in breeding than any other variety of Pigeon, where any 

 pretension to fancy is desired." In the long articles we printed the 

 subject was exhausted. The tameness of your Chaffinch is as pleasing as 

 it is unusual. 



Fish in Glass Gloee [H. 3.). — Give them a little raw meat shredded 

 very fine every day. Vallisneria spiralis. Ranunculus aquatilis, and 

 Aponogeton distachyon are plants you might grow in the globe. 



Pickled Mushrooms. — " C. Y." has pickled mushrooms: all turned 

 black. She wishes to know how this is caused and to be avoided. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS 

 ' In the Suburbs of London for the week ending November 29th. 







EABOMETEH. 





THERMOHETEI 





Wind. 





Date 



Air. 



Earth. 



Rain 





Mas. 



Min. 



Max. ' Min. 



1 ft. 



2 ft. 





Wed. . . 



28 



29.414 



29.188 



58 



34 



48 



44 



S.W. 



.12 



Thnrs. . 



24 



29.330 



29.202 



59 



4S 



50 



45 



S. 



.24 



Fri 



25 



29.640 



29.327 



60 



31 



47 



45 



S. 



.02 



Sat. ... 



2n 



29.919 



29766 



57 



81 



47 



45 



S. 



.00 



San. . . 



27 



80.2-25 



30.137 



48 



89 



48 



46 



S.E. 



.00 



Hon. . 



28 



30 227 



30.177 



54 



27 



46 



44 



S.E. 



■OB 



Tnes... 



29 

 n.. 



30.217 



30.175 



48 



39 



45 



45 



S.E. 



.00 



Mea 



29.853 



29.710 



54.86 



85.57 



47.43 



44 86 



" 



0.88 



23. — Foggy ; very fine ; fine, starlight. 



24. — Boisterous; very fine ; drizzling rain. 



25. — Clear and fine ; cloudy ; fine starlight. 



26. — Dense fog; very fine ; dense fop. 



27. — Cloudy but fine ; very fine ; dense fog. 



28.— Foggy ; dense fog ; densely overcast. 



29.— Densely overcast; overcast; densely overcist. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— November 80. 

 There has been a limited attendance of buyers during the week, arid a 

 general dullness prevails. Hothouse Grapes are good and plentiful, 

 comprising Black Hamburphs, Alicante, Lady Downe's, and Muscats, 

 Pines are as plentiful as they were scarce at the beginning ot the month, 

 and prices are receding. Large supplies of Potatoes have come to hand 

 both coastwise and by rail. 



