240 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. t March 24, issi. 
by Mr. Lyon. Beyond these objections be bad very little to say 
against the hive. The entrance to the specimen hive he noticed was 
only 3 inches and three-eighths of an inch in depth. In a hive of the 
same capacity he had 8-inch openings, and at times he found that 
hardly sufficient when he had raised the hive to increase the open¬ 
ing. He should be afraid so small an opening would suffocate the 
bees. [Mr. Cheshire.—My hives have 8-inch openings.] Mr. Cowan said 
now that he had disposed of Mr. Lyon’s hive he should like to say a 
few words upon what Mr. Cheshire had been speaking about, and he 
was sure the Association’s thanks were due to that gentleman for his 
experiments. For the last two years he had been making experi¬ 
ments with chaff hives. Although he has not carried his experi¬ 
ments to the extent Mr. Cheshire had, he had found bees winter in¬ 
finitely better in chaff hives than they did in hives with dead air space. 
He had reduced all his hives to six frames for wintering, and he had 
tried two frames only with perfect success. He had a hive of two 
frames, in which the queen had been breeding all through the winter. 
He did not think she had ceased at all, but of course there was only 
a small amount of brood. This hive had been fed with peaflour 
candy. The bees had had nothing to live upon but this all the 
winter, notwithstanding which they were no less in number than 
before. With regard to the snow, he found on the 18th January his 
hives were covered in snow to the depth of 6 feet. He had heard 
that many bee-keepers removed the snow, but he did not do so, and 
the bees did not suffer any inconvenience. His reason for adopting 
this course was that when in Russia he noticed the hives were some¬ 
times covered to the depth of 8 or 9 feet, but the bees were never 
disturbed, and the losses were few. As soon as the late severe frost 
broke up he examined his hives, and was pleased to say that not one 
of them had suffered. So that chaff hives certainly had an advan¬ 
tage over other hives filled with dead air space. 
The Rev. G. Raynor said his hives, occupying a very exposed posi¬ 
tion, were nearly filled with snow on the 18th January, but he succeeded 
in transferring them to other hives with very little loss. The hive 
shown by Mr. Lyon was just the kind of thing they should introduce 
to the cottager. In the course of Mr. Cheshire’s remarks it occurred 
to him whether it was really advisable to keep bees so much warmer 
during the winter months, and whether it would not encourage breed¬ 
ing at a time when the queen required rest. The advanced American 
bee-keepers all appeared to approve of the chaff hives, but it had 
occurred to him whether the advantage was as great as would appear 
at first sight. 
Mr. Baldwin asked if it would not be an improvement to Mr. Lyon’s 
hive to have the floorboard protected in order to prevent the water 
drawing under. This could be done by making plinths. He had been 
amused with Mr. Ljon’s ingenuity, but he believed it was pretty well 
conceded that distance tacks were much better than the wide 
shoulders. 
Mr. Cowan said. As to whether it was advisable to keep bees at a 
high temperature in winter, if the bee-keeper did not help them they 
would only have so much the more to do for themselves. The object 
of the bee-keeper should be to keep his stocks as quiet as possible, so 
that less food might be consumed. A cluster of bees should be kept 
at 65°. He only kept his queen bees two years ; they were in full 
profit in the second year, after that he got rid of them. If the 
queen bee were kept breeding throughout the winter her breeding 
power was exhausted before the third season. Mr. Baldwin did 
not think there was sufficient ventilation in the top of Mr. Lyon’s 
hive. Mr. Cheshire argued that there was no fear of bees becom¬ 
ing too warm. They regulated their temperature by their breath¬ 
ing through their spiracles. The more heat they had to provide 
the more they were exhausted. They became quiescent if little heat 
was demanded of them ; but intense cold, if they were imperfectly de¬ 
fended, caused them heavy exertion and great exhaustion. Hyberna¬ 
tion would explain the matter. Bats in cluster during the winter in 
ordinary low temperatures breathe but very little, and consume the 
store of material within them but very slowly, and as the temperature 
falls they become more and more dormant up to a certain point, but 
this being passed dormancy would soon lead to death, and then the 
increased cold renders them more active. The breathing is quickened 
and the store within more quickly oxidised in order that temperature 
sufficient to maintain vitality may be preserved. In like manner with 
bees, apart from the exhaustion incident to the feeding of brood, the 
measure of heat necessary to be produced is the measure of wear, and 
the measure of consumption of store likewise. Mr. Martin said that 
he as a cottager had made and used chaff hives with considerable 
success. 
Mr. Lyon replied, stating that he thought his hive could be pro¬ 
vided with most of the matters suggested without difficulty. The 
usual vote of thanks terminated the proceedings. 
THE INTRODUCTION OF BEE CULTURE INTO 
THE ISLAND OF CEYLON. 
[From the “Ceylon ObserverJanuary 2G Ih, 1881, communicated by ALFRED 
Neighbour.] 
During a short stay in Ceylon I have made diligent inquiry 
in this part of the island regarding the honey bee found here, 
and have also endeavoured to learn whether any bees were kept 
in hives or not. In the vicinity of Galle I found no bees except 
the wild bees of the Jungle. When asked why they did not keep 
bees, the natives invariably replied, “ It is too much trouble.” 
But I do not think they know how to manage these insects. I 
was told that in the interior bees are kept in earthen pots or jugs, 
a statement which was, however, contradicted by most persons 
with whom I talked. 
There is no reason why a region so productive as the island of 
Ceylon, and so well adapted in every way to the raising of bees, 
should not yield annually honey and wax to the value of many 
thousand pounds sterling. In the United States of America this 
industry is still in its infancy, improved methods in bee culture 
not having obtained in all parts and the “ field ” not being one- 
tenth occupied; yet the annual honey and wax product of that 
country exceeds one million pounds sterling, and tons of pure 
nectar are yearly shipped to Europe, much of it being sold in 
English markets at 4 \d. to 6d. per lb. One weekly publication 
and six monthlies are devoted to bee culture in America. Those 
familiar with the condition of agriculture in Great Britain and 
Ireland admit that the industry is sadly neglected, yet moveable- 
comb bee hives with improved methods are gaining ground, and 
England has one journal wholly and another partly devoted to 
the interests of bee-culturists. 
About a year ago I came to the island of Cyprus mainly for 
the purpose of rearing and sending to European countries and to 
America queen bees of the highly valuable race found on that 
island. Among the Greek and Turkish peasants of Cyprus I 
found a system of bee-keeping which, though far behind the 
modem improved methods, is still superior to the cruel plan yet 
followed largely in many of the countries of Europe, notably in 
France and even in England—namely, the barbarous practice of 
brimstoning the bees to obtain their honey. The native bee-owners 
in Cyprus place the bees in clay cylinders, some of which are 
baked, others sun-dried, and these are then piled up and covered 
with a roof, or embedded in the walls of the houses. The 
cylinders, which are about a yard long and 8 or 10 inches in 
diameter, have their ends closed by stone disks plastered in with 
clay, a small entrance hole being left the bees at the front end. 
When the time for taking the honey arrives the peasant bee¬ 
keeper removes the rear disk, and having smoked the bees from 
the rear combs cuts out a portion of the latter, leaving the bees, 
however, some combs of honey for their subsistence until the next 
gathering season arrives. According to the books of the collector 
of tithes the number of hives of bees kept in Cyprus in 1879 was 
31,432, and the sale of honey and wax forms no inconsiderable 
item to the peasant owner of bees. 
If that poor, barren, rocky island, Cyprus, successively robbed 
by various governments and rulers, and for more than three 
hundred years under Turkish misrule, could constantly derive 
benefit through the culture of bees, surely Ceylon under fostering 
Britain’s care can show a result a hundredfold greater. That 
Cyprus in its flourishing days, before it was so nearly stripped of 
its forests, yielded much better results in this direction, is shown 
by the figures given me by the officer mentioned above, who 
stated that there formerly existed on the island 200,000 hives of 
bees. In the scattering of pollen from flower to flower, and con¬ 
sequent complete fertilisation of the blossoms, insuring a larger 
yield of fruit or seeds, the bees play no unimportant part. Here, 
then, is an industry which should go hand in hand with fruit¬ 
growing, Coffee-planting, Cotton-raising, &c., and should add to 
the wealth of Ceylon by putting into a marketable form the 
nectar which now “ wastes its sweetness on the desert air.” 
The Dutch Government, seeing the advantages likely to accrue 
through the cultivation of bees in Java, sent to that possession 
several years ago a native of Holland, commissioning him to 
transport from Europe colonies of the Italian and Cyprian bees, 
and to superintend their introduction into that island. If this 
undertaking has not been successful it is only because the Govern¬ 
ment referred to was so unfortunate as to have selected for the 
work a man lacking the necessary practical experience and quali¬ 
fications. The undertaking has, however, by no means been 
relinquished, and I feel safe in predicting that living colonies of 
the species Apis mellifica will soon be landed in Java, having 
myself brought safely as far as Ceylon seventeen colonies of 
Cyprian and Holy Land bees which are to be taken to that island. 
For the island of Ceylon the rude method of keeping bees 
practised in Cyprus and the adjacent Mediterranean countries 
would be preferable to no bee culture at all, yet as wood is here 
abundant hollow logs might be sawed into suitable lengths, a 
board nailed over one end for a cover, and the hive thus formed 
placed upon its open end on a stand a few inches from the ground ; 
an auger hole bored through the board cover would permit the 
bees to enter a box placed over it, and there deposit surplus 
honey. When filled at the end of the honey season the box can 
