180 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
•June 8. 
than I ever knew Dorking fowls to do; my experience in 
this breed has extended over some years, although it has 
not embraced large numbers, and for Dorking pullets to lay 
eggs at four months old, although running with a cock of 
their own age only, appeal's to me precocious. I think I 
can trace it to a special kind of feeding, but not yet possess¬ 
ing facts sufficient for a safe induction, I shall not hazard a 
statement.— John Hixchman, M.D., Micklrover. 
DESTRUCTION OE THE GREEN-FLY 
Having been a subscriber from the commencement of 
your excellent periodical, and often seen enquiries as 
to the best method of destroying that troublesome pest, 
the Green-fly, which infests the Calceolaria, Cineraria, 
Rose, and other plants; if the remedy, which has been 
applied by me with perfect success, is worthy of a corner, 
pray insert it. It was communicated to me by a working 
•man, an amateur of such plants, and when giving me the 
information, he said, “Come and spe my plants which have 
been covered with the Green-fly and certainly they were 
quite free, and very healthy. His instructions were:—Get 
some fine snuff, any kind will do, dry it thoroughly before 
the fire; have a tin pepper-box made about two inches 
diameter, pierced with holes, /finely and thickly; let the 
plants be dry, dust them carefully whenever the insects are 
to be seen, and let it remain a few hours, or until the 
following day, when the plants may be syringed to wash 
off the snuff and dead insects. If the first application is 
not effectual, a repetition will be necessary. By this simple 
means yon avoid the unpleasant smell of tobacco-smoke, 
which is often resorted to without the desired effect, and 
which other plants not affected are obliged to endure, and 
which offends every lover of the sweet perfumes of a 
conservatory. If this should be acceptable, any other 
piece of useful information shall be communicated. One 
word more; syringing is necessary within a reasonable 
time; twenty-four hours is quite long enough; as with 
Mimulus, if left on for a week it will scorch the leaves. 
The effect of the snuff is immediate.—G. T. S. 
BEE KEEPING FOR COTTAGERS. 
Removing Supers .—The following is the plan generally 
recommended for removing a super:—Having ascertained 
that it is ready to be taken, that is, that it is full of comb, 
and that the cells are entirely, or for the most part, sealed 
over, choose the middle of a fine day, and divide it from the 
hive by passing a thin knife or a bit of wire between it and 
the hive ; then pass two pieces of zinc between the super 
and the hive, lift the super upon one piece of zinc, and carry ! 
it abont flO or 10 yards from the hive, there set it upon two 
or three flower-pots placed together so as to form a sort of 
stool, and if the queen he not in it, and there be no brood 
in any of the cells, the bees will, in the course of a quarter 
of an hour or twenty minutes, begiu to leave it, and it will 
be soon empty; but if the queen happens to be in the i 
super, or there is any brood in the cells, the bees will not 
leave it, and it must be returned to the stock-hive, and the 1 
operation repeated in four or five days: great gentleness is 
required in performing this operation, and all noise should 
be avoided. The super should be watched whilst it stands 
upon the pots, lest strange bees should scent it out and 
begin to plunder it; these strange bees may be known by 
their entering the super whilst the other bees are leaving it, 
and when they are observed, the super should be removed to 
some other spot at a little distance. Having put the super 
carefully away, return to the stock-hive in which the bees 
have been kept all this time by the second piece of zinc: if 
the season be not too far advanced, another super may be 
placed upon it, and the zinc then removed; otherwise, a 
piece of wood must be placed over the centre hole in the 
stock, the zinc removed, the wood tied in its place, and the 
hive left to gather strength till the coming of the honev- 
harvest. If there be two supers upon the stock-hive, the 
mode of operation will be, of course, the same; the kuife 
and zinc being passed between the two supers instead of the 
super and stock hive. 
There is, however, considerable trouble attending the above 
plan; therefore, try the following, which with us has been 
invariably successful. The super being ready to be taken, 
pursue the plan already pointed out, using one piece of zinc 
instead of two, and performing the operation at night instead 
of noon-day; and, instead of removing the super to a 
distance, tilt up the super with its adapter at one edge, and 
prop it up about two inches, with a stone, and the bees in the 
super being cut off from their queen and companions in the 
lower hive by the piece of metal which is lying over the 
centre hole, will (supposing the queen not to be there, and 
that there is no brood in the cells), by the early morn, have 
left the super and entered the hive by the ordinary entrance, 
and the super can be carried away in triumph. If the bees 
have not left the super, either from the queen being in it, or 
from there being brood in the cells, then it and its adapter 
must be let down again, the piece of zinc removed, and the 
process tried again in three or four days. 
Joining Slocks in the Autumn may be done in two ways : 
by driving and fumigating; some succeed better in one way, 
some in the other. We will describe both methods, so that 
on failing in one the other may be tried. 
And first of Driving :—The night before it is intended to 
operate, carefully close the top centre hole of the hive to be 
driven; detach it from its floor-board, and raise it about a 
quarter-of-an-inch by means of small pieces of wood; the 
air passing over the floor-board will drive the bees from it 
up into the combs; on the next evening, as soon as the bees 
are in the hive, take an empty hive the same diameter as 
the hive to be driven, a long strip of rag, about three yards 
long and four inches wide, some twine, and two stout sticks, 
each about a foot long, and an empty bucket, to the scene of 
operation ; place the bucket in front of the hive, and quickly, 
but gently, lift the full hive upon the reversed empty hive; 
bind the rag firmly round the junction of the two hives, and 
fix the rag fn its place by twisting the twine round about it; 
then gently turn the two hives upside-down, thus bringing 
the empty one to the top, and commence to beat the lower 
and full hive, gently, but regularly, with the two sticks, one 
being held in each hand. A violent buzzing will be soon 
heard within the hive, which is generally followed by the 
ascent of the queen and bees into the upper and empty 
hive; in about ten minutes, or a quarter-of-an-liour, the bees 
will have ascended, and the hive, now filled with bees, may 
be placed upon an adapter where the old hive lately stood, 
and the old hive itself with- its contents (the few remain¬ 
ing bees in it having been destroyed by sulphur or stupe¬ 
fied by smoke), may be stowed carefully away. And now, to 
return to the bees in the combless hives. It has been ascer¬ 
tained, that if the difference in the smell of two hives of bees 
be removed, the bees themselves will unite harmoniously 
together anil work as one hive. This difference in smell may 
be overcome as follows :—Having removed the covering 
of the centre hole from the adjoining hive to which the 
driven bees are to be joined, and placed a piece of per¬ 
forated zinc over the hole, place the hive containing the 
driven-bees and its adapter (havingfirst twisted and fastened 
some strips of rag round the junction of the hive and its 
adapter, in order to prevent the escape of any bees otherwise 
than by the hole in the adapter) over the zinc, and the 
smell of the bees in the lower hive rising through the zinc, 
will produce a unity of smell between the bees in the two 
hives. Early the next morning, remove the piece of per¬ 
forated zinc, and introduce some smoke at the hive entrance 
—this, mixing amongst the bees, will effectually destroy any 
remaining difference in smell, and one of the queens having 
been destroyed, the doubled population will unite and work 
harmoniously together. In a day or two, all the bees will 
have descended from the upper hive, which may then be 
removed, and the centre hole of the lower one re-stopped. 
And now, as to Fumigating :—Proceed exactly as before, 
(having first introduced the nozzle of the fumigator, which 
it will be convenient to have made moveable, through the 
straw of the empty hive) but do not turn the two hives, 
when joined, upside-down; theu introduce the smoke so 
long as any buzzing is heard inside, giving the upper and 
full hive sharp blows, from time to time, so as to shake the 
stupefied bees, which, before they become senseless, will 
most likely have run up as far as possible between the 
combs down into the empty hive; theu, with a long feather, 
