September 8, 1837. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
217 
a few inches at one end by a division to which a lid should be 
added. The other portion ought to have a very thin float nailed 
to cleats to prevent warping, and support it from below with pieces 
of cork to prevent sinking, as no matter how carefully floats are 
made, without this precaution they will sink -when saturated. Put 
some sulphate of iron in the small recess, then fill with water and 
keep it so. The sulphate of iron is, I believe, more destructive to 
small organisms than is carbolic acid, and may be the means of 
warding off foul biood. 
ROBBER BEES. 
Robbing is the bine of bee-keeping to many a beginner, and its 
prevention is the greatest desideratum to successful bee-keeping. 
For that reason I would advise that no hive be opened without 
taking it indoors, or under some structure where stronger bees have 
not access. During the present season bees and queens entering 
hives other than their own have been the cause of much mischief, 
which to a novice would be quite bewdldering ; for example, two 
prime swarms after they had been hived some five or six days, and 
were working well in their supers, suddenly disappeared from them, 
during finer weather, too. A few days explained the mystery ; 
young queens were being brought forward, and there was quite a 
paucity of bees. The finding of part swarms and fertilised queens 
fully supported my surmise. Sometimes an absconding swarm will 
be allowed to enter another hive without the slightest resistance, 
but as often not. Numerous cases of the former sort have come 
under my observation this year. Often while one swarm is on the 
wing, another from some adjoining apiary will join with it, often 
causing an exodus of bees from it the next day, either partial or 
wholly. 
Some time since I related an account of a queen entering a 
queenless hive, and was deposed the day after, when a young queen 
was added. This is almost invariably the case ; seldom is it that 
the laying one is spared. A second case of the same nature came 
under my notice a short time since. Two queens were being reared 
in a tumbler for a queenless hive. I was watching for their exit. 
On the same day they were hatched I found two expelled outside. 
One had a peculiar appearance, which I dissected, when I found her 
a fertilised queen. The day before I found a small stray swarm, 
which I put into a box, but the bees deserted their queen, flying 
into other hives, and managed to kill a number of queens in stock 
hives, as well as one in my observatory, and the queen had taken 
refuge in the hive she was expelled from. I have experienced 
numerous cases of a similar nature, but the following is perhaps as 
interesting as any. On the 24th July, at five o’clock P.M., a young 
Carniolian was on the wing, and for twenty minutes I watched her 
attempting to enter the hive, but never flying far from it. The 
bees seemed as determined to keep her out as she was to get in, and 
would probably have succeeded had I not given a larger entrance. 
For days after I observed her flying, but apparently never had 
mated, nor flew far for that purpose. As the weather was suitable 
for mating at the time, she continued flying up till about the 
8th August, when on that day I heard her crying, and when I went 
to the hive found her attacked by about half a dozen bees. I 
released her, but in half an hour after found her balled and maimed 
on the landing board ; but whether it was a pure regicidal attack, 
or done by stranger bees, I am not sure, as one dead bee lay along¬ 
side the queen, and immediately after other two were killed. 
DRONES. 
These must be regarded as necessary in the hive, and drone traps 
should not be called into requisition. All that is necessary is to 
prevent over-much drone comb being built. Drones are generally 
described as if they were of a uniform character, and all having 
the same note in their hum. It is not so. There are as differences 
in drones as in queens, from the noble and stately looking fellow to 
the dwarf and almost imperfect insect. Now it is a fact, the more 
handsome-looking the drone is, the more attractive is his hum. 
Am I right, therefore, in saying that this is a law in Nature, that 
the queen from the sound may select the most perfect drone with 
ease, to the future prosperity of the hive ? Are drones of use inside 
a hive or are they not ? The following account of what I found 
in a few hives lately will answer the question. A hive weighty 
with honey, having many drones, but a paucity of bees, had brood 
on five combs in all stages. Two of these combs were almost 
totally occupied by drones, and their position was changed daily. 
Not one of these drones will be killed until young bees are hatched. 
The second hive I examined had little honey, few bees, and a 
moderate number of drones. The queen was newly fertilised, and 
the bees were already slaughtering the drones. The third had a 
paucity of bees, drones, and meat. They also were killing the 
drones. The fourth hive was not examined internally, because I 
observed from the motion of the bees the queen was still a virgin, 
and likely to be flying soon. The drones of this hive were on the 
wing, and the bees were tugging at them, which to the inexperienced 
would be taken as an onset upon them ; but it is common when the 
queen is unfertilised, the bees get impatient, and hurry out the 
drones in the manner indicated. The interesting part of it was, 
that as one bee tugged the drone half over the landing board,, 
another flew directly to him and fed him, and then out flew the 
queen, coming back in less than twenty minutes with signs of 
fertilisation, and the following day was laying. Another queen,, 
however, that was fertilised more than a week since has not yet- 
laid an egg. The hive is well stacked and stored in everything, and 
no dones are being killed. I fear I have already said more about 
drones than some of your readers will care about, so will draw rein 
for the present, and off to the moors with a c.argo of supers, more 
pleasant than a dog and gun to—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
NORTH OF SCOTLAND APIARIAN SOCIETY. 
The annual show of bees, hives, honey, and comestibles was held 
in St. Katharine’s Hall, Shiprow, Aberdeen, on August 30th and 31st. 
The Show was a most interesting one, and bids fair to outstrip some 
others, so far as it aims directly to better the bee-keeper by en¬ 
couraging the manufacture of comestibles and liqueurs from honey of 
a quality and flavour that sugar could not produce, as well as promoting 
the whole art of bee husbandry, also in establishing some direct means- 
whereby honey may be disposed of by the members of the Society. 
There were twenty-three classes, with about 150 entries. Most of 
the exhibits were of a superior order, particularly those in the com¬ 
estible and liqueur classes. There was, however, an entire absence of 
mead proper, but I have no doubt will not occur next season. Of all 
the comestibles I have witnessed at other shows none approached to 
those at Aberdeen. The crystallised fruits, confections, cakes, puddings, 
creams, jellies, biscuits, scones, liqueurs, &c., were excellent in flavour 
and appearance—suitable, in fact, for the table of the Queen, and we 
were proud to hear that a first prize Stewarton super purchased at this 
Show was to be placed on the Royal table. If the competitors in the 
classes for comestibles—particularly the winners—would publish the 
recipes for the various articles exhibited they would be benefactors to all. 
Mr. Gibb of the Marischall College, exhibited many interesting 
views of the anatomy of queen and bees and the pollen of different 
flowers by means of upwards of a dozen powerful microscopes, which 
were greatly admired by many of the visitors. There was a class for 
rosettes or badges to be worn by stewards. Some very pretty designs 
were shown. One novelty in the shape of a frame hive, having frames 
and dummy made from white satin, was greatly admired. The first 
prize display of honey exhibited by Mr. Leslie Tait of Foveran, Aber¬ 
deenshire, consisting of 4 cwt., comprised excellent samples of sections 
and drift honey, the arrangement being attractive and pleasing. The 
classes for honey and honeycomb were of superior quality. The collec¬ 
tions of hives and bee furniture were extensive, neat and workmanlike, 
while the prices were extremely low. The sections of the exhibitor 
mentioned were in many respects superior to the American ones, his 
comb foundation was superior to any other at the Exhibition. 
Mr. Cockburn’s collection was of a superior order and contained 
many novelties, and was deservedly awarded the first prize. Mr. George 
Brown, New Pitsligo, had also an exceptionally fine exhibit, cheap and 
well made, but the articles were less numerous than in the other exhibits. 
Messrs. Cardno and Darling, 11, Bridge Street, Aberdeen, exhibited a 
very large number of cheap appliances, and were awarded a special 
prize for the exhibit, as well as several awards for novelties in appli¬ 
ances. The Judges were Mr. James Cowie, Wester Haremoss, Monqu- 
hitter, and Mr. Wm. Thomson, Blantyre, who awarded the prizes to the 
satisfaction of all, even to the unsuccessful competitors, who, on the 
night previous to the j udging, had gone over the exhibits and fixed their 
opinion. We think a mistake is made in not having ladies as adjudi¬ 
cators, especially of comestibles. 
The opening ceremony was performed at noon by Lord Provost Hen¬ 
derson in the presence of a large and select audience, among whom we 
observed Mr. P. Esslemont, M.P.; James Mathews, Esq., of Springhill ; 
Baillie Berry, Shoremaster Sutherland, Major Crombie, Rev. Mr. Innes, 
Skene ; Mr. Walter Merchant; Councillors Findlay, Callie, Byres, and 
Mr. Smith, seedsman. Rev. Mr. Innes, President of the Society, intro¬ 
duced Lord Provost Henderson, who said it was with very great pleasure 
that he responded to the request of the Committee to open the Exhibition 
of the Society, whose members now reached upwards of a hundred, and 
who were desirous that such a Society would benefit the crofters and 
others by turning their attention to profitable bee husbandry, enabling 
them to add to their income, thereby ekeing out a better livelihood than 
if they allowed the flowers to “ waste their sweetness on the desert air.” 
He then pointed out the advantages to be gained by bee-keeping, sum¬ 
marising the workings of the bee and the internal economy of the hive, 
and said in support of bee-keeping that a young man had gone from the 
office in London of which he (the Lord Provost) was a partner two 
years ago, and was now making a fortune in New South Wales, and 
urged upon the people of this country to devote more attention to bee¬ 
keeping, so that we may be less dependent upon the substance called 
honey we receive from abroad. He also stated that Mr. Innes, who had 
at one time been tutor to his children, was now engaged initiating them 
in the art of bee husbandry. He then gave a racy description of the 
