202 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, January 1 , 1861. 
Lowing that the queen in less than two months hacl produced 
swarm of Italian bees. The native bees seem to diminish in 
numbers as soon as the Italian queen is introduced. My native 
bees did not die of old age in the above time, and I am led to 
the conclusion that the Italians destroyed the native brood, and 
expelled them from the hive.—W. A. Elanders, in Ohio Farmer. 
[I have never myself found that Ligurian bees expelled the 
.common species or destroyed their brood, when an Italian queen 
has been substituted for a native one; but Mr. Alfred Neigh¬ 
bour informs me that his endeavours to strengthen an Italianised 
stock by introducing brood-combs of the ordinary species, have 
been frustrated to a considerable extent by the Ligurian bees 
destroying a great part of the young brood thus committed to 
.their charge.—A Devonshire Bee-keeper.] 
EFFECTS OF FEOST IN BEE-HIVES. 
Like most insects bees are very susceptible of cold ; stragglers 
from a hive, disturbed during the prevalence of sharp winds, 
on ay be seen to get benumbed at a temperature of about 40°, and 
yet, within the hive, they possess the power collectively of 
resisting extreme cold with comparative impunity. During 
winter they usually enjoy a comfortable dormancy, till the 
external atmosphere gets somewhat below freezing ; they then 
shake off their lethargy, and by augmented respiratory action 
endeavour to keep up a moderate temperature within. Increasing 
cold animates to the putting forth increased effort. The gentle 
hum heard at first gradually rises in a strong hive to a loud 
roaring, like the sound of distant waters. A thick vapour per¬ 
vades the hive, and, condensing, trickles in drops down the back 
windows. These are subsequently pounced on by Jack Frost, as 
the canvass on which he delights to depict his many beautiful 
vagaries. The windows of my hives are at the present moment 
completed efforts from that old master’s studio. 
We Northerns awoke yesterday morning (Dec. 24) to find in the 
comparative shelter outside the parlour window the temperature 
at; the bracing point of one degree below zero. The mercury 
shrunk within the tube-balls of the thermometers placed at the 
back windows of my hives, all, with one exception, being indexed 
no lower than 28°. In the exceptional case (a wood and glass 
observatory, placed snugly in a staircase window, and “ well 
happed up”), the temperature had sunk as low as 7°, or 25° 
below the freezing-point. 
Now, as I am somewhat anxious as to the fate of my little 
favourites, and the wholesomeness of their frozen stores, perhaps 
you may counsel me, or call in the aid of some such able cor¬ 
respondent as Mr. S. B. Fox, to favour your readers with a paper 
on “ frost and it3 effects.”—A Renfrewshire Bee-Keeper. 
NEW BOOKS. 
The Management of Bees.* —Under this title we have a 
little pamphlet exceedingly well printed on good paper at a very 
moderate price, and containing rules for bee-management, which 
•are stated to have been “ proved successfully in a sixty-years ex¬ 
perience of an apiary, sometimes containing above two hundred 
hives, and in a climate nearly as variable as that of Scotland.” 
Eschewing scientific details the author confines himself to the 
practical elucidation of a system of super-hiving combined with 
swarming, which does not differ very materially from that so 
ably explained and advocated in our pages by the late Mr. Payne. 
We must, however, take exception to some of the details which 
might, probably, cause inconvenience and disappointment to any 
one attempting to carry them out too literally. For instance : 
Straw hives two inches in thickness might answer very well; 
but what shall we say of two-inch wooden boxes, except that 
they would be so heavy as to be altogether unmanageable. 
Whilst deprecating the destruction of bees for the sake of their 
stores, Dr. Mackenzie can point to no better mode of uniting 
stocks than the old-fashioned one of fumigation, or still worse, 
the more modern and destructive chloroform. Experience having 
rendered it more than doubtful whether either of these methods 
possesses any real advantage over the usual brimstone pit, it is 
rather singular, that the process of driving which is recommended 
by our author for making artificial swarms is altogether over¬ 
looked as a means of uniting weak stocks in autumn. We are 
also rather surprised to find sugared ale again recommended as 
food for bees, after having been, as we consider, very deservedly 
* The Management of Bees. By Dr. Mackenzie. Edinburgh and 
London : Blackwood and Sons. 
exploded. A centre hole of an inch diameter is not sufficient 
communication between a stock-hive and its super; whilst 3s. 
or even 2s. a-pound is far more than honey-producers generally 
can expect to realise. It is not without regret that we notice 
these defects in a treatise which, in other respects, would appear 
well adapted for the information of those for whose perusal it is 
intended. 
LIGUKIAN BEES IN SCOTLAND. 
The following letter from the Scottish correspondent to whom 
I sent the only Ligurian queen bee, which I parted with during 
the late season, may be deemed interesting. Although I had 
considerable doubt as to the queen being pure-bred, the bee ! 
which accompanied this letter appears a well-marked Ligurian, 
whilst the variation of colour noticed in different individuals is, 
probably, not greater than I have perceived in my own hives, j 
With regard to the concluding inquiry, I may state that I hope 
to commence next year with eight Italian stocks, and that I i 
anticipate a much greater degree of success in the artificial mul- ' 
tiplication of Ligurian queens than has hitherto attended the j 
efforts of—A Devonshire Bee-keeper. 
“10th December, 1810. 
“ Dear Sir,—Agreeably with my promise I enclose one of my 1 
Ligurians, in order that you may judge of their purity. I per- j 
ceive a considerable variety among them, some being lighter than ! 
others, and I also see that some have the orange stripes broader 
than others in the same hives. I am glad to inform you that i 
they still appear both strong and healthy. As they were heavy 
enough for keeping without artificial feeding (a rare occurrence | 
last autumn), I have not fed them, with the exception of a few 
feeds for the purpose of encouraging breeding. So far as I have 
had an opportunity of judging I am of opinion that they are 
more hardy than our original variety, as I find them often going 
abroad when others in the same position are all quiet. I sus- 
pect it will be somewhat difficult to keep them entirely shut up ! 
during a snow storm. 
“ The heather season was nearly a failure, as, in most in¬ 
stances, the hives came home lighter than when taken away; j 
consequently our stocks here are generally very light, but by 
feeding I hope to keep up my stock, although I certainly do not J 
expect all I have kept to come through. How is your stock of 
Ligurians thriving?”—J. S. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Brahma Pootras ( X. X. X.).— Brahma Pootra fowls wander from home 
much more than Cochins, but they are not in the habit of staying away to 
lay. They may be kept in confinement easily, even in a very small place. 
We always find it difficult to give advice about selling, as certain neigh¬ 
bourhoods offer greater facilities than others. It is perfectly legal" to 
exhibit bought chickens. 
Loss of Feathers in a Cock’s Tail (E. C.). —It is perfectly true that 
a feather pulled out of the tail of a cock or hen will grow again in a short 
time. The loss of both sickle-feathers would be a great disadvantage to a 
bird, hut it would not he a disqualification. 
Moor Hens (72. I. TF.).—Moor hens will not remain on a spot unless 
they are pinioned and confined by a fence. It is then sometimes difficult, 
as they are good climbers. The places where they remain are close rushy 
spots, overrun with rank water vegetation. Gulls would be useful for 
your purpose; hut they, like all others, must be kept hungry, and that is 
difficult, as their appetite is not always discriminating. 
Crystai. Palace Poultry Show.— In our No of December 18th, in the 
article “Crystal Palace Show,” a commended pen of Duckwinged Game 
Bantams, exhibited by Mr. Wm Bnllance, Mount Pleasant, Upper Clapton 
is by mistake attributed to Mr. Ballance, Taunton, Somerset. (C . Atkins''. 
—In our report of the Crystal Palace Show we unintentionally stated that 
the Commendation for Spanish was awarded to Mr. Adkins, of Birmingham, 
instead of to Mr. C. Atkins, of Thames Bank, Pimlico. 
Wattle or Cock injured [Banker ).—The wattle of a Dorking cock cut 
by fighting is not a fatal objection. It is merely a disadvantage, and not 
a serious one. 
Disease in Pigeons (TV. T. It .).—The disease among your Pigeons is, 
most likely, canker. If the lumps of pus can be got at, remove them and 
touch the place with caustic. I am much inclined to think that mice 
wetting among their food is a frequent cause of this complaint among 
Pigeons. Beans are considered the best food for Tigeons; but I think a 
little wheat should he given in th^ breeding season by way of change, and 
also because beans do not readily make soft meat. Filling between the 
joists with sawdust has been recommended for deadening the sound. In 
some parts a light kind of sun-dried brick is used, called, I think, abode 
bricks, to keep out mice. See that the floor and skirting are sound and 
close. Making the roof white outside would keep the loft cool in summer. 
Lath and plaster over the rafters would make it warmer in winter.—B. P. 
Brent. 
Stewarton Hives. —An Amateur Hivemaker will he much obliged by 
“ A Renfrewshire Bee-kekrer” saying if it is correct that he has only 
scren bars in a Stewarton hive, thirteen and a half inches square ? Also, 
what is the width of each bar ; where he purchases his Stewarton hives, 
and what is the price. 
