THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
403 
September 20.] 
tlie plan; hut I may mention, for the instruction of the 
uninitiated, how, on one occasion last autumn, I effected 
the addition of two weak stocks to one strong one. With 
the greatest ease imaginable, the population of all three 
stocks were driven into one and the same empty hive, and 
when united, were driven back again the same evening into 
the stock which was to be strengthened. This, however, 
as I have since discovered, was quite an unnecessary waste 
of time and labour. It would have been sufficient to have 
; driven the two weak stocks together, and to have then placed 
i the temporarily occupied hive over the stock to be strength- 
i ened, carefully stopping up every crevice by which the bees 
in the upper hive might have egress into the open air, except 
from below. By this means they would have been forced to 
descend into the lower hive, which, of course, is supposed to 
have a hole at its top. If this be done at night when the 
bees are quiet, the junction will be very speedily and safely 
effected. I have often removed a bell-glass full of bees from 
one hive to another, without the least apparent discord be¬ 
tween them. It is different by day, when the bees are active; 
though even here the interposition of a perforated zinc plate 
for four or five hours (which can be easily done where the 
top of a hive is flat) has been found to obviate all danger of 
fighting. The upper hive should not be removed for three 
or four days. 
One observation of Mr. Payne’s, of some importance, I 
would wish to correct. It has reference to my method of 
forming artificial stocks. He says, that it is “ not strong 
stocks that are to be deprived of then- honey and united to 
others, hut weak ones only.” Very true, where autumnal 
unions alone are in question; but in the case of entire de¬ 
privation, and the transfer of bees according to my peculiar 
plan, it is necessary that at least one of the stocks to be 
deprived and transferred should be strong (i.e. populous), 
because the queen of such a stock being a prolific and vigor¬ 
ous one, there will be so much greater chance of success, 
as, in all probability, she would come off the victor in the 
conflict of queens. And here I may state my belief that the 
weakness of stocks is to be generally attributed to some 
defect in the queen, except in the case of very old hives 
(where contraction of space, as well as dirt and vermin, 
would mar her capabilities), and also in the case of late 
casts, whose population is distracted between attention to 
breeding and anxiety to procure a sufficient store of food at 
a time when it begins to fail. I cannot, therefore, promise 
much to him who has saved the bees of weak stocks only, 
how many soever he may have united together. Be careful 
to ensure the presence of one good queen (or, in other words, 
let one of the stocks be very strong), and unite as many 
weak ones with it as possible (consistently with the size of 
the hive), and there need be very little doubt of success. I 
do not, of course, recommend any one to destroy his esta¬ 
blished stocks for the sake of furthering such an experi¬ 
ment ; this he need not do ; but if he has any weak stocks 
which he desires to save, and he has a mind to try my plan, 
he need not, I am sure, seek far from home among his cot¬ 
tage friends for a strong stock that is doomed to the brim¬ 
stone pit. 
Again, I have mentioned the 10th of August as the latest 
time for the formation of artificial stocks, simply because I 
have successfully secured a stock formed as late as that time; 
whereas I know of the failure of a similar experiment which 
was only begun a week later. I could account for this, per¬ 
haps, in another way, but I should not like to induce any 
one to venture on an experiment recommended by me, with¬ 
out the sanction of my own experience, guarding them at 
the same time against the chances of failure. I do not, how¬ 
ever, pretend to say that a stock so formed, even as late as 
the middle or even the end of September, would not succeed 
very well. Mr. Payne has given us lately an instance of such 
success, but it must have been, though an interesting, yet a 
somewhat troublesome experiment. Now, I ceased feeding my 
own bees about that time, nor have I given them any more 
food from that time to this day, except about five or six ounces 
of honey on one occasion in the spring. I had, therefore, no 
trouble whatever with them in the winter. The weight of 
contents of this hive (i.e. independent of box alone), when 
I ceased supplying them with food, was about 17 lbs., which 
proved amply sufficient; while I do not think much of it was 
left in store for another year (a matter of some consequence 
I should think), before honey abounded. To what extent 
this system of forming artificial stocks may be carried it is 
impossible to say. It were desirable that it should be tried 
as extensively and diversely as possible. I throw this out as 
a hint to those who are curious in such matters, and have 
leisure for bestowing the requisite attention on experiments 
of this kind. With a good queen and plenty of bees, I am per¬ 
suaded anything may be done ; even breeding may be carried 
on at Christmas in mild winters almost as actively as at 
midsummer; but it stands to reason that, as every stock is 
more populous in August than in October, double or treble 
the number of stocks must be united in the latter month, to 
equalise an experiment instituted with a third or half the 
number united in August. 
One word more as to feeding such stocks. I have some¬ 
what improved my feeder (as described vol. iii., p. 297), by 
discarding the perforated zinc plate, which is made to float 
with difficulty. Instead of it I now use a float of half-inch 
wood (the harder the better), which fits loosely in the feeder, 
allowance being made for its expansion ; a circular hole in it 
allows space for the cylindrical tube ; besides which there 
are three or four holes, half an inch broad, cut through the 
float, and extending from side to side. To keep the wood 
float from sticking to the bottom when the liquid gets low, I 
pass three or four brads tlirough the float, of such length j 
that the bees cannot get under it, while it is kept clear of 
the bottom. My feeder is now complete. I do not find 1 
many bees drowned, and they do not soil themselves, as be¬ 
fore, to speak of. I have further improved it by inserting, 
instead of the spiral wire, a cylinder of pasteboard—an exact 
fit, inside the tube of ascent. It is astonishing what a 
quantity of food they will consume in this improved feeder. 
Let it be only kept strictly clean, by washing it out once a week ; 
and let the food be made of wholesome table-beer, and it will j 
astonish the experimentalist how rapidly they will work. 
The best augury of success is the working of the combs 
down to the bottom board, which at this season of the year 
is significant of a vigorous and prolific queen. Such combs 
would on examination he found filled with eggs and brood 
of all ages. A Country Curate. j 
THE POULTRY-KEEPER'S CALENDAR.— October. 
By Martin Doyle, Author of “ Hints to Small Farmers,” dx. 
The Poultry-yard Generally. —The season for pro¬ 
ducing any fresh additions to the stock of poultry has now 
passed away, excepting the hatching and rearing of ducks i 
and geese for the markets in January and February. These ! 
birds may yet be successfully reared late in autumn, and J 
they 'will be found highly remunerative for the extra trouble 
they may occasion. AU old or superfluous poultry which 
are not intended to be either for winter fatting or for breed¬ 
ing in the spring, should now be sold off or consumed in the 
form of pies and soup. The recipes for goose or duck pies 
and fowl soup should be consulted in the simple and useful [ 
books of cookery which treat of such subjects. 
Fowls. —Hens which are in the list of the doomed ought 
to be allowed to complete then- moulting before they are 
consigned to the cook’s tender mercies. Food for poultry is 
now so abundant, that it is better not to loose the advantage 
which the gleanings of harvest afford, by prematurely killing 
any description of poultry, and more particularly when the 
moulting fever in any degree affects the victims of man’s 
gluttony. The flesh in such state is unwholesome. The 
feeding during its continuance, and to the moment when 
the knife is to be used, should, of course, be of the most 
generous land, so as to improve the condition of the bird as 
much as possible. Besides the corn which is now so abun¬ 
dant in manj r fields, barley-meal, mixed tolerably stiff with 
water or milk, varied now and then with cheap rice boiled 
into a granular, not a sloppy state, will be the best dietary. 
To fowls fed in confinement on raw grain, it is almost need¬ 
less to sa}', that gravel should be given to help them to 
digest the corn. . For ailments of a mysterious nature, pills 
of calomel and colocyntli, in the proportions and in the 
doses prescribed for adult human creatures, are recom¬ 
mended. It should be remembered by poultry-keepers, that 
a hen-ladder is useful to enable the fowls to mount to their 
roosting-perches. The want of it is inconvenient, and some¬ 
times dangerous, and yet this is very common. 
