June 9. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
187 
belief are few and simple; but, being facts, they arc worth 
a host of arguments founded on theories and suppositions. 
I think it would be as well for poultry amateurs, if other of 
I your readers would give their experience and opinions on 
; this- question. 
I will premise that my poultry run contains, with a mea¬ 
dow, about seven acres altogether; and that, although many 
I scores of chicken have been reared in it annually, for the 
last twenty years, I never saw a case of roup amongst my 
j fowls till about six weeks ago; it is, in fact, a very healthy 
i run. About eight weeks since, I received, frcJm a distance, 
some Gold-pencilled Ilamburghs; I noticed, the evening 
tliey arrived that the head of one was rather swelled, and 
its eyes weak and watery, but I thought some of the others 
might have been fighting it. I put them in a small yard parted 
from the greater yard by a wicker fence; and in less than 
a week, I found, to my horror, four out of the six Hamburghs 
affected with roup. The one that was first noticed by me 
died in a week, and since then I have lost all but one. I 
kept them warm, and gave them sixteen grains of jalap 
every other night, but they died. 
Now for the question, Is the roup contagious ? By some 
mischance, during my absence, the fowls in question were 
allowed to escape into the greater poultry-yard, which 
contained about l'lO chickens, besides fifty or more full- 
grown fowls; they could not have been there more than three 
or four hours ; but mark the result. In less than a fortnight 
(in some cases it shewed itself in a week), I had thirty 
chickens, of all ages and sizes, and more than a dozen of 
the old fowls, very bad with the roup. Now, can your 
correspondent say “ the reason why” this was, if the disease 
be not contagious ? 
A few months ago, a friend of mine, who has one of the 
| best runs I know of for fowls, both as regards soil and size, 
j received a fowl from a London dealer, that had no doubt 
| been caged for some time, perhaps with infected fowls. How 
ever that may be,he turned it down with his others—though 
| lie had noticed previously that it did not appear well, but I 
| suppose he fancied a run in the country would restore it—and 
j what was the result ? the roup was thus and then introduced 
j into his yard, and he has not yet got rid of it. The bought 
, fowl died in a week or two, and he has since lost numbers. 
I consider this disease to be the curse of the poultry 
I amateur; and, as to its being contagious, I have not the 
slightest doubt, nor has my friend to whom I have referred. 
Zenas. 
THE LAST BEE SEASON.—SWARMING. 
From The Cottage Gardener of to-day, I find that Mr. 
Payne considers this the worst bee season in his experience. 
It may be, and unquestionably is, a very bad one, but there 
are exceptions. This county, Nottinghamshire, is one. I 
! believe our bees have not wintered or springed better for 
many years. There have been already (May JG) several 
fine swarms in my locality, and I am informed but very few 
j hives have perished. I have not lost one, although all were 
weak in the autumn, and not any were fed. 
As swarms may now be expected daily, and as they are 
i occasionally difficult to hive, will you allow me to recom¬ 
mend patience and perseverance if the bees go away. I 
I once recovered a swarm after I had for some time con¬ 
sidered them hopelessly lost. A short distance from my 
| garden is a fine Collegiate Church, whose ancient towers 
have furnished a homo for many a*swarm of bees ; at this 
time I believe there are several colonies located there. It 
was a fine afternoon, calm and sultry, the very weather of 
all others one would wish bees to select for their migration, 
when out came the swarm, and a fine swarm it was. Ipstead 
of alighting on a neighbouring tree (there were plenty at 
hand), away they went, belter skelter, to the church. L and 
my servant followed as quickly as we could. When we got 
into the churchyard we found the swarm completely dis¬ 
persed. The bees were flying around the three large high 
towers ill utter confusion, as if eacli member of the colony 
was endeavouring to find an independent home, or as if 
they had lost their queen. We watched them for nearly an 
hour, not with any hope of obtaining them, hut out of 
curiosity, to ascertain whore they took up their habitation. 
At last we fancied about the great tower the bees seemed 
thicker than on any other part of the building, and we con¬ 
cluded they had discovered a resting place. We looked 
until we were nearly blinded, but at last my servant fancied 
the bees came rather lower down the tower; he immediately 
ran to the nearest hedge, and tore a large bough from a 
tree, with which he returned to the foot of the tower, holding 
the bough high above his head. Presently a few bees came 
around us: gradually they increased, and at length a few 
settled on the hough ; in about five minutes a considerable 
number Had collected on it; and in about five minutes more 
it was evident that the ruler of the colony was amongst 
the number. On tbis becoming apparent, I made my way 
home as speedily as possible, and returned with a hive. 
When I got back, to my great satisfaction, I found my 
servant still standing in Hie same position, not, however, as 
I had left him, covered witli wearied bees, but with a fine, 
strong swarm, beautifully formed, pendant from his bough. 
It is a curious circumstance, that the taker of the bees had 
uncovered head and bare arms, and, although be held the 
swarm more than twenty minutes, and had thousands of 
bees on his person, he escaped unstung. This I attribute 
to bis remaining perfectly passive the whole time. None 
should undertake the management of bees who are not calm 
and collected.—A Country Solicitor. 
ON THE MANAGEMENT OF SILKWORMS. 
WITH COMMENTS AND ADDITIONS. 
By the Prior Jacopo liicii. 
Section I. 
The Silkworm is a native of the South of China, a 
country warmer than Italy, and was introduced tliither in 
tlie twelfth century. 
It is said that two Persian Monks, who had long resided 
in China, contrived to elude the vigilance of that jealous 
government, and hiding the seed or eggs of the insects in 
hollow caves, succeeded iu bringing them to Constantinople, 
where they presented them to the Emperor Justinian, who 
liberally rewarded them, and entrusted them with the care 
of rearing the worms. 
The Silkworm was introduced into Sicily about the year 
lloO. Thence to Florence and Bologna, but by whom and ! 
when are matters of uncertainty. There are traditions | 
among the vulgar relative to the treatment, of Silkworms; 
fables which would have us consider them as less delicate 
than the best authors describe them, and persuade us to 
diminish the scrupulous care necessary to their well-being. 
In Turkey and India they are kept in rooms as with us; in 
the South of China and Persia they formerly lived in the 
open air, hut as the havoc made amongst them by birds 
and insects was found to bo great, they are now reared 
under cover as with us. 
It is also true, that in those countries they are kept in 
larger quantities, and two or three harvests of cocoons are 
gathered in, hut one harvest in Italy is worth all those col- j 
lected in countries, where, according to the accounts of 
travellers, the same care is not taken of them. 
