406 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Mabch 27, I860. 
soon left tenantless. At the eonnneneement of my bee-keeping, 
I had a loss or two from this cause, but by a very simple ex¬ 
pedient have entirely obviated any risk from such occurrences. It 
is well known, that if a queen is taken from a stock, either by 
accident or otherwise, during the summer season, the workers 
immediately set about replacing the loss, by putting an egg into 
a queen's cell and nursing a queen. Hence it is evident that if 
the workers have eggs or young brood of a certain stage at their 
disposal, they will soon repair the loss; but when they meet with : 
such a loss during the winter it almost invariably happens that 1 
the workers soon die also. Now the method suggested is, that j 
where the bee-keeper discovers a hive in this state, he should j 
take out a piece of comb containing brood in its infancy out of a j 
thriving hive, fasten it into the one without a queen, and the j 
first favourable day will attest that they have been inspired with 
new life-instead" of loitering about and apparently taking every 
bee that comes within sight as an enemy, they will be found all 
at work in earnest, repairing and cleaning out combs, and in 
short doing all they find needful for their increase. 
But,if any of your bee-keeping readers imagine the above method 
a hazardous one, there is also another method which will prove 
equally successful, and from its simplicity the most wary may suc¬ 
ceed with it. As in the other case, I take it for granted there is 
one hive or stock with a queen and one without her ; early in the 
morning examine the floor or board of the stock containing the 
queen, and almost invariably will be found newly deposited eggs 
at this time of the year, especially if the bees are fed artificially. 
Cautiously remove this board, place it under the stock without 
the queen, and your object is accomplished. If the stock is 
strong, ere long it will be ascertained the eggs are carefully carried 
up, one placed in a royal cell, and in due time the loss is remedied, 
numbers rapidly increase, the stock saved, a little trouble re¬ 
warded by seeing all diligence where otherwise it would have 
been stillness and death.—A Berwickshire Bee-keeper, 
[The demise of a queen during winter is by no means unfre¬ 
quent, and may be considered tantamount to the destruction of 
the colony. It is entirely useless to afford the bees 1 he means of 
raising an artificial queen by introducing brood-comb until drones 
are present to fertilise the young sovereign. As these rarely 
make their appearance till April, or perhaps May, it will generally 
be found that the stock has by this time become too much 
weakened to repay the attempt to preserve it. The idea that 
bees will transport into royal cells eggs which have been dropped 
on the floor-hoard of a, hive is directly at variance with the 
experiments of Huber, who declares that bees “ are not charged 
with the care of transporting into cells the eggs misplaced by the 
queen.” Any instance in which success lias apparently attended 
such an experiment may, probably, be accounted for by the 
hypothesis that the queen may not actually have died but from 
age or other causes ; her breeding powers have remained dormant 
until ronsed into activity by a greatly increased temperature.] 
INTRODUCING LIGURIAN QUEENS. 
Do you think I can introduce the Ligurian queens into my 
hives in the following manner ?—I have adopted the storify- 
ing system, and have often increased my stocks by taking a box 
away", and allowing the bees to form a new queen. Now, I have 
several boxes which I neglected to remove in the autumn, and 
do you think I might take them off when I receive the Ligurian 
queens ? and after ascertaining whether the stock-box or the 
one removed contains the queen, add her Ligurian majesty to 
the one deprived of royalty? or could you suggest a better 
plan ?— W. Bartlett. 
[To render your plan successful, particular attention must be 
paid to three points. 1st. Be very careful not to get both 
queens into the same box. 2nd. Be sure that the Ligurian 
queen has sufficient workers to establish a strong colony, 
3rd. See that there is not an undue proportion of drone comb 
in the box, as this is generally the case with supers. We should, 
however, decidedly prefer placing her majesty at once at the 
head of a good swarm in pursuance of the instructions given 
by “ A Devonshire Bee-keeper.”] 
regarding the queens not laying eggs to produce workers and 
others, for drones at the same period. Some years back I called 
Dr. Bevan’s attention to Ibis, and observed that I once saw a 
queen depositing eggs in common cells, and soon afterwards 
repeating the same in (hose for drones; but, like Dr. Bevan 
and others, I fell into another of Huber’s errors respecting the 
lame of bees spinning cocoons—(hat was before T had studied 
their habits minutely. 1 mentioned that also 1o Dr. Bevan, 
who adopted the error at page 1? in his excellent book, the 
“Honey Bee;” hut he was quite alive to the contrary after I 
had told him that the larvae were too tightly fixed in their cells 
to turn round and spin cocoons, like grubs of some other kinds 
which are not bred in cells. 
The larvce of bees, like those of wasps, may close the mouths 
of their cells with a silken web, which are afterwards sealed 
over by the perfect insects. Perhaps it was this that, led Huber 
to believe that the larva; of queens spin “ incomplete cocoorfs ” 
over their heads and shoulders only. He considered this wisely 
ordered, so tbat the head queen may not run the risk of losing 
her sting in the silken meshes when attacking the brood in the 
cells. But this seems only fanciful; for in general she only 
attacks or tears with her mandibles the mouths of the cells, and 
not the lower portions, which are in reality uppermost. Besides, 
her,wrath is seldom aroused until the larvae have passed from 
the pupa state and broken through the silken meshes, or the 
supposed incomplete cocoons.—,1. Wtguton. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Bath anti West of England Poultry Show. —We are i informed that 
“ a Sweepstakes for Malay Cocks ” has been added to the schedule of this 
Show since the prize list was printed. 
Poultry-houses {Coirill c IVortley ).—In our “Poultry Book for the 
Many ” you will find the particulars you require. Before an answer can he 
given to the query, “ Which is the most economical?” information must be 
given relative to the materials most cheap in the neighbourhood. One of 
the warmest, and most durable may lie built of turves and thatched. As to 
the cost, no one can tell that unless he were on the spot; and we are sure 
that houses may, with ordinary common sense, be constructed where they are 
to be erected cheaper than they can be bought ready-made and carriage paid 
upon them. For mere roosting purposes about four square feet of surface 
for each bird are a healthful allowance. Therefore, a house six feet square 
would accommodate nine birds, and the nest.-house should he about the same 
size, for if smaller there is no elbow room. The height should be at the least 
seven feet. 
Oil Cake for Fowls (J. It .).—We never knew of this being used as food 
for poultry. If there is no rule requiring that fowls exhibited shall have 
been the exhibitor’s property for a longer time you would be justified in 
exhibiting fowls bought even the day before the Show. But Exhibitions 
usually have a rule requiring that the fowls shall have been the exhibitor’s 
some months before they are shown. 
Ligurian Bees {Honor ).— In due time a hive or hives of these bees will 
be exhibited near London. If you wish for any queens of this species write 
to W.T. Woodbury, Esq., Mount Radford, Exeter. 
Diarrhcf.a in Bees (A Bey-inner ).—In reply to your question respecting 
the disease known by the name of dysentery in a stock-hive of bees, it is 
indicated by the appearance of their excrement, which is of a dark colour, 
in unusual quantity, and causing an intolerably offensive, smell in the hive, 
the deaths in the family being also unusually numerous. This disorder 
amongst bees generally arises from confinement in a damp impure atmo¬ 
sphere, and, in consequence, an unnatural retention of their fteces. Some 
have thought that it is aggravated by a want of fresh water at a time when the 
bees cannot get abroad to obtain it. “ Bees,” says He Gelieu, “ have no 
real disease ; dysentery, about which so much noise has been made, never 
attacks the bees of a well-stocked hive that is left open at all seasons, but 
only those that are too long and too closely confined. They are always in 
good health as long as they are at liberty; when they are warm enough, and 
have plenty of food. All their pretended diseases are the result of cold, 
hunger, or the infection produced by a too close and long confinement 
during the winter.” Mr. Taylor says, “As soon as the disease is apparent, 
no time should be lost in lifting the hive from its board, expelling the 
vitiated air, and scraping and washing away all impurity, repeating the 
process, if needful, on some fine subsequent day. But the floor-board 
should be well dried, or a fresh one may with advantage at once be substituted 
for it. All remedies, as they are called, by feeding with various prescriptions., 
do more harm than good.” 
LONDON MARKETS.-— March 28. 
POULTRY. 
First-class Poultry would appear to be very scarce; and the last few 
months cannot have been favourable for rearing, if we may judge from the 
supply of choice fowls, which is unusually limited. 
THE QUEEN BEE LAYING EGGS, AND THE 
LARViE SPINNING COCOONS. 
Though the late Dr. Bevan was a great, admirer of Huber on 
bees, be did not scruple 1o point out bis errors. One of these 
Each- 
-.9. 
d. 
S. 
d. 
Each— s. 
d. 
Large Fowls. 
G 
0 
to 
6 
6 
Turkeys. 
0 
Smaller Fowls. 
4 
C 
5 
0 
Guinea Fowls 
. 2 
e 
Chickens . 
8 
6 
>> 
4 
0 
Partridges. 
0 
Geese. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Pigeons'. 
. 0 
9 
Goslings . 
u 
8 
0 
Hares. 
0 
Ducks . 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Rabbits . 
1 
4 
Ducklings. 
4 
0 
ji 
4 
6 
Wild ditto .... 
8 
B5 6 6 0 
to 
)» 
»> 
U 
a. d . 
0 0 
3 0 
0 0 
0 10 
0 U 
1 5 
0 * 
