84 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 22, 1880. 
issued first on the 25th of June, and was returned after excision of 
all royal cells. It swarmed again on the oth of July, having taken 
only ten days to reconstruct royal cells and repeople them. In 
the interval, however, the bees yielded me 114 lt>3. of rich honey 
in a doubled Lee’s Crystal Palace super. To effectually prevent 
any further attempt at swarming I set over them a full-sized 
Woodbury without the intervention of any top or adapting board. 
Into this Woodbury (super) I also put one of their own bar-frames 
full of brood. Here they are doing splendidly, having the full 
benefit of their enormous population as if they had never attempted 
to swarm. The bar-frames in this super have guide combs of 
artificial fabric, more or less worked upon during the temporary 
occupation of this Woodbury by an earlier swarm. 
Anyone who has thought it worth while to follow with atten¬ 
tion the foregoing somewhat complicated account of my various 
bee operations this summer will see that my object has been fairly 
well attained. Swarming has been effectually checked, and the 
consequent weakening of the various hives by over-division pre¬ 
vented. Under ordinary treatment I should probably have had 
by this time over twenty-eight separate colonies, with a com¬ 
paratively small number of bees at liberty to gather honey ; 
whereas including the artificial swarms which I described in a 
former Journal, the sum total is fourteen stocks with an over¬ 
flowing population of honey-gatherers in most of them. I say 
nothing of the immense saving of labour and watching which has 
attended this treatment of my apiary. My bees, too, have been 
singularly quiet and peaceable.—B. & W, 
ARTIFICIAL COMB FOUNDATION. 
I AM sorry that my remarks on this subject have aggrieved Mr. 
Raitt. In writing I endeavour to avoid the use of names, person¬ 
alities, or remarks likely to cause pain to others. If I fail in my 
endeavour I hurt myself most. The question of artificial comb 
foundations sagging when used is one of long standing and has 
been considered a great difficulty. Laudable efforts have been 
made to overcome it. Even Mr. Raitt acknowledges that he has 
“ tried strengthening materials, and has embedded in the heart of 
sheets threads of silk and raffia, and strips of parchment and 
tinfoil, with satisfactory results.” I obtained some for experiment 
in supering, and was told to use it in small pieces, otherwise I 
should fail. Though quite ignorant on the subject I fancied that 
if useful in small pieces it would be more useful if used in large 
pieces, and believed that bar-frames could be entirely and advan¬ 
tageously filled with the foundations before swarms were hived 
amongst them. My experiment was a simple one and honestly 
recorded. My super was wedge-shaped, all of wood except the top, 
which was glass. The foundation sheets were cut to fit the box, 
and put in resting on the sides and bottom. The bees very soon 
fastened them to the bottom and sides. The cells were elongated 
and securely fastened to the bottom and half filled with honey. 
A broad foundation was laid, and everything seemed promising. 
Sure enough I was in love with both the wedge-shaped box and 
foundations, and the bees seemed as proud of them as I was. 
Thousands came up to finish the work so well begun. Honey 
shined in the cells. Some combs at the outside of the box reached 
the glass lid and were fastened to it. In the middle of the box 
the combs began to bend like blades of corn and curve by their 
own weight; in fact they bent over against one another, and the 
bees cemented them. And here let me say I am, and have been 
all my life, naturally inquisitive—always tracing cause and effect, 
and wanting good reasons—easy work and short cuts. In the 
case in question I want to know what made the combs to bend 
at the top of the super in the middle of the box. I openly and 
frankly say that I am ignorant, and ask others to tell me. I have 
as yet had no answer to the question. Mr. Raitt’s illustration 
about a rope does not come near the subject. The bending combs 
were strong and broad enough at the bottom and for 3 inches 
upwards, and stood erect; above, they bent over and hung down 
like a loose line between two clothes posts. This is the kind of 
sagging which has engaged the attention of Mr. Raitt and other 
clever bee-keepers for years. Natural combs built upwards or 
downwards do not sag, and hence the question, Why do artificial 
foundations sag ? I shall be thankful if Mr. Raitt or any other 
writer will explain it. 
The simple experiment that I made has fully convinced me that 
the wedge-shape super is the best for the use of artificial comb 
foundations. The foundations resting on the sides of the super are 
held in position till the bees fasten them better. If the pieces used 
had been large enough to reach the lids the bees, doubtless, would 
have fastened them to the lids, and thus the sagging would have 
been prevented. The sagging was not observed, or did not begin 
till the crowd of workers in the supers increased the heat con¬ 
siderably. The sagging took place in the centre where heat was 
greatest; and though the idea of imperfect materials was suggested 
to my mind, I could not entertain the idea of my friend using 
imperfect or impure materials wittingly. I know Mr. Raitt to be 
a thoroughly honest man, but adulteration of almost all kinds of 
manufactured materials is so common and general, that I should 
not have thought less of Mr. Raitt or any other manufacturer if 
he had been misled in the purchase of wax not altogether genuine. 
I get 4 cl. per lb. more for my wax than the retail price of dealers 
whose wax looks quite as good and pure as mine. But now Mr. 
Raitt assures us his foundations are made of pure wax, and I 
believe him. 
1 believe that the foundations will be largely used in future, 
especially in the bar-frame school of apiarians, and that large 
pieces of the sheets will be successfully used without the supports 
so much sought after, and therefore I fancy that the question of 
the cause of sagging deserves more attention than the by-play 
of boys climbing up a rope. That the heat of the bees caused the 
combs in my case to soften and bend at their tops I verily 
believe, but why the heat did so is a mystery to—A. PETTIGREW. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Dead Grubs in Hive (.V. McA .).— The grubs arrived this time safe 
enough, but were all in so advanced a stage of corruption, minute flies actually 
issuing from them, that it was impossible to form any conclusion as to the 
cause of death. If you send some to Mr. Frank Cheshire, Acton, W., in a less 
decomposed state, he would probably tell you whether the disease which seems 
to have attacked your apiary is foul brood or not. It has never yet attacked 
our hives. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 61°32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8- 0" TV.: Altitude.Ill feet. 
date. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
1880. 
• O 
& s* c3_, 
Hygrome- 
n . 
. C3.J 
a— c 
P’S . c 
Shade Tem- 
Radiation 
3 
ter. 
+3 a 
perature. 
Temperature. 
a 
P3 
July. 
55a H 
, ^ 
QJ r fl r-t 
In 
On 
— *-» c3 
Dry. 
Wet. 
\ 3o 
Max. 
Min. 
sun. 
grass. 
Sun. 11 
Inches. 
cleg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
In. 
30.694 
61.4 
58.5 
N.W. 
59.0 
60.8 
51.8 
118.3 
48.1 
0.210 
Mon. 12 
30.163 
82.6 
56.6 
w.s.w. 
59.5 
70.6 
53 9 
117.0 
51.0 
— 
Xties. 13 
30.144 
61.5 
50.6 
S.S.E. 
59. S 
71.3 
55.0 
115.0 
51.8 
0122 
Wed. 14 
8 ' >.059 
65.0 
60.2 
E. 
60.0 
73.0 
55.2 
119.7 
51.6 
0.345 
Thurs. 15 
20.914 
63.9 
62.3 
N.E 
60.4 
75.1 
57.4 
111.3 
55.3 
0.024 
Friday Hi 
30.074 
63.9 
62.0 
E.N.E. 
60.6 
76 2 
55.3 
120.1 
50.5 
— 
Satur. 17 
30.038 
6 ».7 
59.2 
E.N.E. 
61.8 
74.5 
5 6.8 
105.0 
53.8 
0.036 
Means. 
30.069 
62.7 
59.3 
60.2 
72.9 
55.1 
115.2 
51.7 
0.738 
REMARKS. 
11th.—Dull morning, heavy shower 10.39 a.m. and 1 P.M., fine rest of the day. 
12th.—Very bright morning, overcast afternooD, fine evening. 
13th.—Bright and fine before noon, afternoon overcast, fine evening. 
14th.—Dull hazy morn, violent thunderstorm 0.45 to 5.55 p.M., thunder very 
loud, fine afternoon and evening. 
15th.—Excessively damp hazy morn, rain between 9 and 10 A M., heavy clouds 
all day, particularly between 7 and 8 p.M., sunshine for short time in 
afternoon ; clear night. 
lGth.—Damp sultry day but no rain, thunder 5.47 P.M. till 6.15 p M.; fair evening. 
17th.—More or less cloud all day and very oppressive, rain at 10 p.M. 
Temperature rather above the average, but cloudy and no extreme heat, much 
thunder and occasional heavy showers.—G. J. Symons. 
COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— July 21. 
The market continues well supplied with all classes of goods, prices gene¬ 
rally being lower, the state of business remaining much the same as last week. 
FRUIT. 
s. 
d. 
S. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
Apples. 
j sieve 
o 
6 to 4 
6 
Nectarines. 
dozen 
2 
otoio 
0 
box 
1 
0 
2 
6 
Oranges . 
& 100 
4 
0 
12 
o 
Cherries. 
%>lb. 
0 
4 
1 
0 
Peaches . 
dozen 
«j 
0 
10 
0 
Chestnuts. 
bushel 12 
0 
16 
0 
Pears,kitchen .. 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Figs. 
dozen 
2 
0 
4 
0 
dessert. 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Filberts. ... 
Igft. 
0 
0 
1 
0 
Pine Apples .... 
*>• lb 
1 
0 
3 
0 
%> rb 
0 
0 
1 
0 
Plums . 
0 
0 
o 
o 
Gooseberries .... 
4 sieve 
2 
6 
4 
0 
Raspberries .... 
' iptb. 
0 
3 
0 
6 
Grapes, hothouse 
V lb 
1 
6 
3 
0 
Strawberries .... 
fb. 
0 
6 
1 
0 
Lemons. 
«noo 
6 
0 
10 
0 
Walnuts . 
bushel 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Melons . 
, each 
o 
0 
4 
0 
ditto . 
100 
0 
0 
0 
0 
VEGETABLES. 
s 
d. 
S. 
d. 
p 
a. 
d 
dozen 
2 
0 to 4 
0 
1 
n to i 
o 
Asparagus. 
bundle 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Mustard*Cress .. 
punnet 
0 
2 
' 0 
8 
Beans, Kidney.... 
V lb. 
0 
6 
0 
9 
Onions. 
bushel 
3 
6 
5 
0 
Beet, Red. 
dozeu 
1 
0 
2 
0 
pickling. 
quart 
0 
0 
0 
9 
Broccoli. 
bundle 
0 
9 
i 
6 
Parsley. doz. bunches 
6 
0 
0 
0 
Brussels Sprouts.. 
i sieve 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Parsnips. 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Cabbage. 
dozen 
0 
6 
i 
0 
Peas . 
quart 
0 
10 
1 
3 
Carrots. 
bunch 
0 
4 
0 
6 
Potatoes. 
bushel 
3 
9 
4 
0 
Capsicums. 
V 100 
1 
6 
2 
0 
Kiduey. 
bushel 
4 
0 
0 
0 
Cauliflowers. 
dozen 
0 
0 
3 
6 
Radishes_ doz.bunches 
1 
6 
2 
6 
Celery. 
bundle 
1 
6 
2 
0 
Rhubarb. 
bundle 0 
4 
0 
0 
Coleworts_doz. bunches 
2 
0 
4 
0 
Salsafy. 
bundle 
1 
0 
0 
0 
Cucumbers. 
each 
0 
4 
0 
6 
Seorzonera . 
bundle 
1 
6 
0 
0 
Endive. 
dozen 
i 
0 
2 
0 
Seakale . 
basket 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Fennel. 
bunch 
0 
3 
0 
0 
Shallots. 
V lb 
0 
3 
0 
0 
Garlic . 
V tb. 
0 
6 
0 
0 
Spinach . 
bushel 
3 
0 
0 
0 
Herbs . 
hunch 
0 
2 
0 
0 
Turnips . 
bunch 
0 
4 
0 
0 
Leeks. 
bunch 
0 
0 
4 
Vegetable Marrows 
each 
0 
2 
0 
3 
