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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ November 22, 1864. 



orchard as well. A clerical friend of mine has gone through 

 a similar course of trials and disappointments, especially in 

 regard to Cochins, and has now settled down with Golden- 

 pencilled Hamburghs. After three years' experience of these 

 birds, he told me not long since, that he never means to 

 change. Their never being broody, the vast number of eggs, 

 and the moderate quantity of food eaten have established 

 them firmly in his favour. These, then, I would recommend, 

 supposing the run be worthy of its name. If otherwise, 

 why not try Spanish ? they would soon become favourites. 

 A Spanish hen is singularly beautiful, no breed has a finer 

 expression of face. 



As to procuring the birds. I frequently see advertise- 

 ments in this Journal, of fowls of all breeds for sale at 

 moderate prices ; and I was looking the other day at some so 

 bought that were very good, and which may produce better. 

 The mistake is, to think you can get first-class birds at a 

 small price. This can never be the case unless the ad- 

 vertiser is ignorant of the value of his birds. Mind and 

 have your walk dry. I recently saw the best of fowls, but 

 their walk was damp and shaded by high walls. If you have 

 not gravel or a gravelly subsoil, put plenty of stone drains 

 in your yard, they will cost but little. Damp cinder paths 

 are apt to bring roup. — Wiltshire Rectok.] 



HAMBURGH FOWLS IN THE SOUTH OF 



ENGLAND. 



I am very glad to see the "Wiltshire Rector" advo- 

 cating the introduction of Hamburghs in the south of Eng- 

 land. I have always been a great admirer of this breed, 

 and formerly kept Hamburghs, but on changing my resi- 

 dence, some time ago, was obliged to give them up, and 

 substitute Cochins and Brahmas in their place. I am so 

 far dissatisfied with the exchange, that I would gladly go 

 back to my old favourites if I could induce them to respect 

 my garden, and dread my gardener's indignation. I cer- 

 tainly do not find that superiority in Brahmas over Cochins 

 which is claimed for them ; they are undoubtedly more diffi- 

 cult to keep within bounds. I do not find them better egg 

 producers ; and though, in common with Cochins, they con- 

 sume an immense quantity of food, they do not seem to 

 make flesh any faster. If any of your readers can suggest 

 to me a mode of keeping Hamburghs, consistently with due 

 regard for my garden, I should certainly return to them, 

 and would embrace Dorkings also, but for the same ob- 

 jection. My garden is not walled, and the fence of my yards 

 is only 6 or 7 feet in height, easily surmounted by either 

 Dorkings or Hamburghs. The yards open on to a meadow 

 of rather more than an acre, affording a good run ; but even 

 my present birds when let out prefer to leave the field, 

 and come and torment my gardener, making comfortable 

 holes for dusting themselves under our very windows. By 

 netting over my yards I might certainly keep my birds in, 

 but I am afraid they would not fare very well under such 

 conditions. I was led to adopt Cochins and Brahmas as the 

 only breeds possible under these circumstances ; but shall 

 be very glad to find any method of altering my arrange- 

 ments, and the " Wiltshire Rector's " letter has induced 

 me to reconsider the subject. — A South Countryman. 



five or six weeks ; though they perish more from accident 

 and exhaustion than from actual old age. — (California 

 Farmer.) 



Workers Short-Ltved.— The age to which worker bees 

 may attain is not easily ascertained, and opinions differ 

 widely respecting it. But since the introduction of the 

 Italian bee, we may readily determine how old they usually 

 get to be. If the native queen of a common stock be re- 

 moved about the middle of May, and a fertile Italian queen 

 substituted, we shall scarcely find one common worker 

 among a thousand, on examining the colony about the first 

 of August ensuing. If the substitution be made about the 

 end of July, the proportion of common workers remaining at 

 the end of October will be about one-fourth or one-fifth of 

 the whole number. It is, hence, evident, that the duration 

 of life in the workers is greatly dependant on the season. 

 When forage abounds and bees are industriously gathering 

 stores, their span of existence appears to be comparatively 

 short ; and we may estimate that during the height of the 

 honey season they do not, on the average, live longer than 



YOUNG BEES FOUND REVERSED IN 

 THEIR CELLS. 

 I venture to suggest that this rare occurrence may 

 possibly be the result of a "mistake" made by the grubs 

 themselves, instead of the mother bee. If the latter is really 

 the culprit, I think there must be an abnormal arrangement 

 of eggs in the ovaries ; the manner of oviposition rendering 

 it very unlikely that any power of misplacing exists in the 

 performance of that function. On the other hand, it is at 

 least curious, that numbers of contiguous larvse should, with- 

 out some physical cause, display similar aberration of in- 

 stinct. It will be remembered by observant apiarians, that 

 the young grub for some days after it is hatched, lies in the 

 form of an incomplete ring, or crescent, on the base of the 

 cell, and only assumes the straight form after it is sealed 

 over. — John P. Edwards. 



MY APIARY IN 1864. 



At the close of last winter my apiary consisted of twenty 

 hives, of which, in the summary I always draw up of the 

 condition of every stock at the end of March, Nos. 1, 2, 4, 

 and 11 were placed under the head of "weak in population;" 

 Nos. 12, 13, 17, 19, and 23 as " moderately strong ; " Nos. 

 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 15, and 22 as "strong;" and Nos. 10, 14, 20, 

 and 21 as " very strong." Every hive is at that time 

 thoroughly inspected, so far as its capabilities to that 

 purpose will allow ; and I find this annual spring summary 

 very useful, while it is highly interesting to compare the 

 subsequent performances of each hive with its condition at 

 that early period. I may have to refer to this subject 

 farther on in this paper, when treating of the honey harvest. 



One stock only had been lost during the winter, and that, 

 a fine artificial hive of driven bees of the previous autumn,, 

 was suffered to die of starvation through culpable negli- 

 gence on my part. This is, I believe, the only stock lost 

 during the winter of three successive years, from an average 

 of about twenty kept ; and it might, by the timely adminis- 

 tration of a few ounces of food, have been most easily saved. 

 Being very populous, it is probable that my honey harvest 

 would have been increased in a corresponding ratio. 



Having a sufficient number of colonies, it was my object, 

 from the very beginning of the season, to obtain honey, and 

 not swarms ; so that the majority were supered, and other- 

 wise treated, to carry out that purpose. The theory of my 

 practice formerly was to allow a certain proportion of the 

 hives to swarm, so as to keep up a proper succession of 

 young stocks ; but now, since I have arrived at the adoption 

 of the system of artificial swarming, to the almost entire 

 exclusion of natural swarming, I find it easy to maintain 

 the apiary in good working strength and condition, while 

 devoting more of the hives to the purpose of honey-making. 

 I consider myself a gainer in every way by following out 

 this plan. The bee-keeper who works his apiary scientifi- 

 cally on the depriving system, will find it, as a rule, more to 

 his advantage to purchase an occasional swarm or stock 

 to supply any vacancies that may occur, or to renovate 

 exhausted hives, than to devote any part, of his own apiary 

 to the purpose. For years my own apiaries have been 

 managed on this plan, with a large share of success. Of 

 course much more care and attention is necessary than by 

 that of allowing hives to swarm and taking the chance of 

 an odd super from any that does not swarm. 



I will now give a short history of all my hives, including 

 any swarms which may have been added to them during the 

 summer. 



No. 1. — From this stock every comb, save one, was re- 

 moved for an aiitificial swarm. At the close of summer the 

 box was filled with new combs, and well supplied with 

 sealed honey. No honey fell to my share. 



No. 2. A large octagon box. — Supered on May 9th with 

 an octagon glass box, 7 inches in depth. On June 4th this 

 was raised on a second octagon, of the same diameter, but 



