1 6 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ August 2, 1817. 



is a most zealous and anxious mother, preparing her nest with 

 forethought and bkill, and tending her little black progeny 

 with great attention. The young are born perfectly black, 

 and remain so for some time, the period of "silvering," or the 

 growth of the longer hairs, being dependant chiefly upon the 

 atmosphere in which the animal is kept, a warm congenial 

 temperature being calculated to hurry on the process, while a 

 cold unfriendly climate will have the effect of retarding it. 



The Silver- Grey is easily tamed and soon becomes accustomed 

 to its feeder, resenting any change. It is described as being 

 unusually docile ; but while frankly giving it a name for being 

 a tame pleasant animal, we can hardly go so far as to point 

 out its docility as a speciality. They will not agree together 

 when full grown, being decidedly pugilistic to one another. 

 The doe will protect her young jealously, and will attack any 

 intruder. 



The skin of the Silver-Grey is its chief mercantile utility, 

 being very useful for muffs and the like. The flesh is very 

 good, and as the animal will attain a large Eize and put ou 

 SeBh very readily it will do well as a pot animal. It is thus 

 seen that Silver-Grey keeping is by no means an unprofit- 

 able investment. — Geta. 



THE PBESENT BEE SEASON. 



The letter of "B. & "W." at the end of May would have 

 tempted me to ask you to insert a letter in your next issue, 

 taking a different and more hopeful view of our prospects, had 

 it not come from so high an authority on bee subjects. The 

 state of affairs at the end of May this year was certainly better 

 than 1876, which subsequently proved a splendid honey season, 

 and I fondly hoped for a similar torn of affairs this year. This, 

 indeed, we had as far as June was concerned, nearly every day 

 from the 4th to the 20th yielding a large crop of honey. Then 

 came the usual cessation, which has continued till the present 

 time, and seems only too likely to continue unless we very soon 

 have dry and very hot weather. The latter, I think, is the great 

 desideratum for bee-keepers. This, I believe, explains why 

 " B. &W.'s " hives, as well as everyone else's, seem to be almost 

 empty of bees compared with what, they appeared during the hot 

 weather of June. Should the weather now become thoroughly 

 hot for a week or two, I believe all bee-keepers who have not 

 noticed the effect of sudden hot and fine weather would be 

 surprised as well as delighted at the result; of this I feel 

 certain, after carefully reading my notes of last Eeason, when 

 honey was gathered until the 8th or 9th of August. If cold 

 and damp weather continues, however, the only possible success 

 of this season remaining must come from the moors. My ex- 

 perience of 1875, with its splendid May and nothing afterwards, 

 does not make me altogether anxious for early seasons. The 

 earlier the season — i e., the spell of hot weather, the sooner, as 

 a rule, it is over, and the longer will the bees have to live on 

 their stores. 



As following-up the subject of Mr. Pettigrew's letter of the 

 week before last, I will state the result of queen-raising in my 

 unicomb hive last year and thiB. In 1876, on July 15th, I re- 

 moved the queen with a few bees, placing them in a hive of 

 brood from which I drove its own bees. Good results followed 

 with both these hives. The new queen was hatched on the 

 thirteenth day, the egg from which she was raised being, as I 

 supposed, three days old when started. The other queen cells, 

 nine in number, were at once destroyed. This year, on the 

 afternoon of June 30th, I removed all the combs and the queen 

 from my observatory, giving the bees two large combs of Italian 

 brood. Next day I found queen cells commenced on both 

 combs. Thinking it impossible for a queen to emerge from her 

 cell earlier than the thirteenth day, I intended to remove these 

 combs on the twelfth day and use the young queens in other 

 hives; but on the morning of July 11th — i e., a little over ten 

 days after introducing the combs, I found a young queen at 

 liberty, and all the cells on the same frame torn open. In the 

 middle of the same day I removed the other comb with four 

 queen cells uninjured (the new queen not having found them), 

 and gave them to other bees. I thus proved without doubt that 

 it was the young queen herself who commenced destroying her 

 rivals. But will some more experiecced apiarian kindly tell 

 me what becomes of the theory that a queen takes sixteen days 

 to hatch, and that the process must be commenced before the 

 egg is over three days old ? — J. B., Maiden Newton, Dorset, 



HONEY SEASON IN NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE. 



" I should like to know what sort of season this has been for 

 bees in the southern parts of England. It has been a very bad 

 one in this locality (North Staff urcbhire). Swarmingcommenced 

 here on the second week of Jane. Half the number of hives in 

 this neighbourhood never swarmed at all. From eleven stocks 

 I have bad Bix swarms only. Two of my non-Bwarmers have 

 filled ekes and are again clustering outside in great numbers. 



"What must I do with them ? Would you put more ekes under 

 them ?— R. W. J." 



If our correspondent intends to take his bees to the heather, 

 which is plentiful enough in North Staffordshire and the adjoin- 

 ing county, his hives should be eked or supered before their 

 removal. His non-swarmers are strong in bees and capable of 

 great feats on the moors. Bees do not usually gather much 

 honey from clover later than July; ekes, however, may be used 

 for shelter to the clustering bees. By-and-by the bees will sit 

 more closely together, when the ekes may be removed. 



We hope some of our friends in the south are able to send 

 better accounts of bee-keeping this year than those of Stafford- 

 shire and Cheshire. — A. Pettigbew. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Fowl's Foot Swollen [J. Hobbs). — Hive the floor of the fowl house 

 covered 2 or 3 inches deep with saad, and do not let the fowl roost, but sleep 

 on the sand. 



Malays at the Alexandra Palace. — I have received the following 

 amounts towards the prizes in the Malay class: — Mr. Stanley, 10s.; Mr. 

 S. B. Perry, 7s. 6(1 ; Mr. A. Smith, 5s. ; Mr. G. Burnell, 5s. ; Mr. Lecher, 10s. ; 

 Mr. Hawkins, 2s. 6d. ; J. Hinton, 5s. ; Mr. T. B. Lowe, 5s. I shall be obliged 

 to any Malay fanciers for a trifle to help in swelling this amount. — Joseph 

 Hinton, Warminster. 



Chickens Paralysed (A. E. N.).— They are fed too 6timulatingly, and are 

 grown too fast. Indian corn in the morning and barleymeal mash at night 

 would be quite enough as they have a grass run. 



Young Tubkf.y Blind (C. L. if.).— Wash the head daily, or twice daily, 

 with tepid water. Give sulphate of copper, one grain, mixed in oatmeal 

 mashed with ale, and plenty of green food. Separate the bird from all 

 others. 



Lice on Pigeons (J. T. P.).— Dust thoroughly under their feathers and 

 their nests with flowers of sulphur. 



Rhueabb Wine (E. F.).— Take 5 lbs. of rhubarb cut as for tarts, then add 

 to sueu quantity one gallon of cold water; plaee itin a tub or vessel, where it 

 may remain eight or nine days, taking care to stir it well up at least two or 

 three times a-day ; then strain it off, and to every gallon of liquor add 4 lbs. 

 of loaf sugar, then juice of a lemon, with part of the rind of the same ; put it 

 into the cask with a little isinglass dissolved. The cask must not be stopped 

 down for a month, and you may bottle it in ten or twelve months. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



Cahden Square, London. 



Lit. 51° 32' 40" N. ; Long. IP S' 0" W. ; Altitude, 111 feet. 



Date. 



9 A.il. 



In the Day. 







&C 7 * d 



Hygrome- 



a . 



° =->" 



Shade Tem- 



Radiation 



.2 





1-gaJI 



ter. 



- p 



r* - z 



perature. 



Temperature. 



« 



July. 







§« 







In 



On 









Dry. 



Wet. 



So 





Mas. 



Min. 



sun. 



grass. 

 deg. 







Inches. 



ieg. 



deg. 





deg. 



deg. 



deg. 



deg. 



In. 



We. 25 



29.905 



64 5 



56.8 



w. 



60 1 



69.3 



52.2 



121.9 



46.2 



0.3S4 



Tb. 26 



29.763 



62.2 



60.9 



N.W. 



61.2 



73 6 



55.7 



122.1 



54.0 



— 



Fri. 27 



3 .149 



63.5 



59.4 



S.W. 



61.0 



72.9 



52.1 



116.0 



45 8 



— 



Sat, 23 



30.170 



613 



56.3 



S.S.W. 



60.6 



70 6 



50 6 



92 9 



49.1 



0.010 



Sun. 29 



30.250 



73.9 



67 3 



W. 



61.7 



33.2 



59.4 



132.0 



56 8 







Mo. 30 



S0.SJ3 



63.1 



60 5 



S.W. 



64.0 



83.3 



56.1 



125.5 



54.3 



— 



Tu. 31 



30.159 



73.5 



64.3 



W.S.W. 



65.7 



87.1 



57.2 



133.9 



55 3 



— 



Means 



30.086 



66.0 60.3 





62.0 



77.1 



54.8 



120 5 



51.6 



0.394 



REMARKS. 

 25th. — Fine morning and forenoon, doll afternoon and evening, and ra'.n after 



9 p.m. 

 26th. — Raining heavily at 9 a.m., but soon clearing off; the remainder of the 



day fine, and the night splendidly bright. 

 27th. — A fine pleasant day throughout. 

 28feh.— Grey morning, and rather so all day ; a slight sprinkle of rain about- 



4 p.m. 

 29th. — Tne finest and hottest day we have had for some time, bub there was- 



a pleasant breeze to temper the heat. 

 30th. — Grey morning, but a brilliant and hot summer day, but still a pleasant 



breeze. 

 Slst. — Morning and forenoon very bright ; afternoon and evening rather 



cloudy, but the heat intense and scarce any movement in the air. 

 The last three days excessively hot, and this more trying as the temperature 

 previously had been rather low. — G. J. SvaioNs. 



COYENT GARDEN MARKET.— August 1. 

 Pbices remain the same as last week. 



s. d. s. d. 



Apples J sieve otoO 



Apricots dozen 16 SO 



Cherries lb. 3 10 



Chestnuts bushel 



Currants i sieve 3 4 6 



Black J sieve 4 5 



Figs "dozen 3 li 



Filberts lb. 



uobs lb, i' 



Gooseberries ...1 bushel 3 6 4 6 



Grapes, hothouse lb. 2 8 



Lemons ^100 6 10 



s. d. s. 



Melons . . . . each S to 8 ° 



Nectarines .... dozen 6 '20 



Oranges *■ 100 10 IS " 



Peaches dozen 8 80 i 



Pears, kitchen., dozen 



dessert dozen n 



Pine Apples lb. 2 5 



Plums £ sieve 



Kaspberries .... lb. li 1 



Strawberries . . lb. 6 1 'j 



Walnuts bushel 5 u S ' 



ditto i*100 u 



