86 
THE COTTAGE 
GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, May 12, 1857. 
often accustomed to resort to the very objectionable device 
of removing the bees, combs and all, from a common hive 
into the centre box, or, as he termed it, the “ pavilion.” But 
we have before remarked that no mode is so eligible lor 
stocking any kind of hive as that by a good swarm in the 
season. On such an occasion the opening upon the top of 
the pavilion can be temporarily stopped by slightly screwing 
down upon it a thin piece of wood or sheet tin. In the 
construction of these hives two tin dividers are provided, 
which, when it is desired to cut off the communication, are 
interposed between the centre and end boxes. These 
dividers, therefore, previously to hiving the bees, must be 
secured to the pavilion, on both sides of the latter, either by 
small screws or some other method. At night, or when the 
hive is placed on its stand, the screws can be removed, but 
without otherwise disturbing the dividers, as at first the 
i centre box alone is required. When extra room is needed 
by the bees one or both of the dividers in succession must be 
withdrawn, and access to the side boxes is obtained. Upon 
the theory of ventilation, which it was the boast of Mr. Nutt 
to have discovei’ed, our experience enables us to volunteer a 
| word or two in accordance with the opinions of Dr. Bevan, 
I Mr. Golding, Mr. Taylor, and other apiarians. The former 
maintains correctly, “ It is evident that as high a temperature 
at least is required for comb-building (without which no 
honey can be stored) as for maturating brood; therefore 
to reduce the temperature below the breeding heat puts an 
i extinguisher upon comb-building altogether.” The innu- 
I merable instances of failure in the use of these hives are to 
he traced to a systematic perseverance in counteracting the 
laws of nature, by lowering the temperature which the bees 
are vainly striving to maintain to enable them to carry on 
their work. Our advice, therefore, to all novices is to dis¬ 
card the ventilators at once, as agents of nothing but 
| mischief.] 
PHOTOGRAPHING PLANTS. —REMOVING STATNS 
OF NITRATE OF SILVER. 
i 
“I find the solution of nitrate of silver answers very well 
for taking leaves, producing a negative copy. I find some 
difficulty in producing a positive one. The same solution 
answers extremely well for copying collodion portraits taken 
on glass. My object is to copy a water-colour portrait. I 
cannot get a clear negative with the nitrate of silver, and 
can produce no impression at all with the solution of potash 
and copper; the paper does not even change colour, and 
when exposed in the press with no object to intercept the 
light it certainly changes, and a very uneven purple tint 
appears. Can you explain where I am at fault? Ought 
the paper to be first placed in a solution of salt, and of what 
kind ? You will greatly oblige me by an answer.”— West 
Hill. . 
[If able to photograph a good negative from a leaf you 
ought to produce an equally satisfactory ■positive. In print¬ 
ing positives the exposure to light should be longer. Water¬ 
colour portraits are mostly executed on paper of arough texture. 
From such it is impossible to obtain a dear negative. Hold 
the painting up to the light; you will thus ascertain if it be 
suitable as a copy. The instructions as to the Red Process 
are printed correctly. Perhaps you have been supplied with 
chromate instead of Zdchromate of potash. The paper, after 
exposure in the frame, should produce a faint yellow copy. 
hen tlie nitrate oi silver is applied every line of the en¬ 
graving copied comes out with great sharpness. Salt is 
used for changing the red photographs into lilac ones. 
V e congratulate you on your escape from the everlasting 
round of crochet, buglework, and embroidery. Ladies should 
make excellent manipulators in photography, which is an 
.ut lequiiing much nicety of touch ; but they are generally 
disheartened at the stains produced by the nitrate of silver. 
J Tad we anticipated any lady photographers the following- 
receipt would have been inserted before : — 
To remove Stains of Nitrate of Silver from the Hands.— 
ouch the stnms with a solution of iodide of potassium, 
twenty-five grains to the ounce of water; then wash off all 
traces of the iodide.—E. A. Copland.] 
STEWARTON HIVES. 
“ I was in hopes ere this to have seen some more remarks 
about the Stewarton bee boxes, in addition to those by Mr. 
Tegetmeier in your paper of April 7tli, but such not yet 
appearing, I venture to add the following to His remarks, 
chiefly with a view to inviting further discussion respecting 
them. I, too, have procured a set of the Stewarton boxes, : 
and think them very cheap. In fact, I do not doubt that 
most apiarians would gladly pay a few shillings more for 
certain improvements which seem to me to be wanted in 
them—I mean, especially, in the thickness of the boards, 
which in mine are very little, if any, thicker than half an 
inch. Have the boxes been tried with only this thickness of j 
boards, or will not the bees be liable on this account to 
suffer much, unless very well protected, both from the heat 
in summer and the cold in winter? If they have been i 
proved this is satisfactory; but the boards are at least half 
an inch thinner than what are recommended by Bevan, Tay¬ 
lor, Payne, &c. To those who may think with me on this j 
point, let me suggest that a remedy may be applied by nail¬ 
ing half-inch boards with the grain crossing that of the ; 
boards of which the boxes are made, in the inside , on every i 
side except where the windows are, and where the sides I 
are thicker. This will stop up the space of communi¬ 
cation with the upper box between the two bars nearest 
the sides; but this will be of no consequence if, by guide 
combs properly placed, the bees are induced to commence 
to work from the middle bars. The cross bars seem un¬ 
necessary, especially in hives so shallow. They are, how¬ 
ever, easily removed by those who object to them. A bottom 
board to each set also seems a great desideratum. 
Few experienced apiarians, I believe, like the entrance to 
the hive in the hive itself, but rather in the bottom board. 
This evil (as it seems to me) may be remedied by nailing 
with small nails the entrance slides to the boxes. I have 
thus stated my opinion, not, I trust, dictatorially, about the 
Stewarton hives, but rather with a vieAV to having it cor¬ 
rected if wrong. Not having before used a bar-hive I wish 
to inquire whether it is very essential that the small piece of 
comb attached to the bar should have the right dip or inclina¬ 
tion of the cells ? If the small piece of comb were placed wrong 
in this respect, would not the instinct of the bees prompt 
them to correct this as they went on building along the bar ? 
As two boxes are to be used in hiving a swarm, is it neces¬ 
sary to fix guide combs to both, or only to the upper one ? If 
the right inclination of the cells is of great importance, how 
is it most certainly ascertained in combs that have been re¬ 
moved from the hive and broken up into small pieces ? 
“ I must not close ray remarks without thanking you for 
your efforts to establish an Apiarian Society. If it does not 
succeed it will be a disgrace to the bee-keepers of Great 
Britain. As far as anything I can do may avail I shall be 
very glad to join it, and do what I can to promote its suc¬ 
cess.”—A Country Curate. 
[We forwarded the above communication to Mr. R. Eagle- 
sham, of Stewarton, Ayrshire, the manufacturer of the hives, 
and this is his reply:— 
“ Thickness of Boards. —After twenty years’ experience 
half-inch has been adopted as most suitable; it gives suf¬ 
ficient strength for the purposes required, and leaves the 
boxes light, which is a consideration in handling them, and 
of importance when carrying them about. I have known scores 
of hives of this thickness exposed out of doors during the last 
ten years, protected by a sheaf of straw, and not one of them j 
has suffered from the extremes of heat and cold, and I should j 
think our temperature varies as much and as suddenly as any- I 
where. The cover is made of a sheaf of thatch drawn into a j 
point at the top, such as farmers finish stacks with. It costs 
only a few pence. In sultry weather, if unshaded by trees 
or bushes, we erect a temporary shade by putting a piece of j 
cloth on two poles to throw off the direct rays of the sun. j 
AVhen the hives are kept in a house we throw an old rug or j 
some such thing over them in severe frosty weather. 
u Cross Bars. —These may be dispensed with in stationary j 
hives ; but we find them serviceable in keeping all right i 
when moving the hives to and from the moors, &c. 
“ Entrance to Hive .—Having no experience of those cut ! 
from the floor board I can say nothing on this subject. 
“ We never place guide comb in the boxes into which a I 
swarm is first hived. \Ve give them clean empty boxes only. | 
