48 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, April 17, 18G0. 
has eight or ten hives, told his man and my boy, to pick out the 
best hive and take it to me. I believe I had a good hive. It 
never swarmed. In June I had a swarm put into a common 
straw hive, and after a time the old hive I found empty. I fancy 
it had joined the new swarm. In a short time after I had a 
swarm put into a Taylor’s wooden amateur’s bar-hive. This did 
well, and afforded, to my pupils and myself, much information, 
and, I hope, admiration for the wonderful insects. This spring 
a cottager came to see me, and he told me I was all wrong with 
houses. Ilis words were—“ Take it all down, Sir, if you love 
your bees. I built one, I pulled it down, and will never have 
any more. I know many who have done as you, but they never 
do any good in houses.” I took his advice, and already find my 
bees more active. They carry in quantities of pollen. I inquired 
of the last man how to keep out wet, and the great heat of sum¬ 
mer. “ Cover the hives with turf sods, the grass next the hive, 
and dirt and roots up to the wind and rain.” This I did with 
the 6travv hive. -Taylor’s is as usual. So much for my house. 
Now to my box in your little book, “Bee-keeping for the 
Many,” the first page, the fourth line, “Bee-house3 of all kinds 
I very much dislike, many hives are ruined by them,” &c. No¬ 
where does my letter lead any impartial reader to think Mr. 
Taylor was “ opposed ” to open stands. I say “ Mr. Taylor 
recommends houses.” I remembered Mr. Taylor’s remarks on 
houses “ open in front and closed behind,” when I built my 
house and acted accordingly. “ Mr. Payne says wooden hives are 
apt to give dysentery, unless well ventilated.” See my letter in 
the last volume, page 401. Turn to the little book of Mr. Payne, 
page 22. “ Where wooden boxes are used ventilation cannot be 
too much insisted on,” &c. Again, page 33, “It has been my 
practice, for some years, to give all the ventilation possible to 
my stocks in boxes,'" &c. Also, at page 50, “ In hives of wood, 
I have always found it necessary during the winter months to 
withdraw one of the slides at the top of the hive, &c.” Then, at 
page 53, “ I have never yet found that hives made entirely of 
straw require any ventilation,” &c. 
Now, let your readers who are really interested in bees, read 
all these passages from Mr. Payne’s book. I have not quoted 
the full article, though it bears out my point better than what I 
have now said, because I have a respect for your valuable space. 
Therefore, I again state, from my own experience—not much, I 
will admit;—“ wooden hives are apt to give dysentery to bees, 
unless well ventilated.” 
In Mr. Taylor’s book, fifth edition, page 154, he gives a drawing 
of a ventilating condenser; but now where can I find particular 
attention called to the ventilation of wooden hives, as in Mr. 
Payne’s little work ? Nowhere do I say “ Mr. Taylor says not 
a word on dysentery.” But I say “ Mr. Payne says wooden 
hives are apt to give dysentery to bees unless well ventilated. 
This I find too true, though Mr. Taylor says not a word on this 
subject.” What subject? Ventilation of wooden hives or dysentery 
is apt to come to the bees. 
The “ Old Bee-mastee ” quotes part of my letter, and thus 
distorts what I say, as a certain nameless one quotes Scripture. I 
shall not trouble you with any further remarks on this subject, 
but trust in fairness you will publish my reply as you have done 
this unfair attack on—A Young Apiarian, Bagshot. 
The Cottage Gabdenee docs not come to Bagshot till Wed¬ 
nesday, and I do not get it till Friday or Saturday, or you should 
have heard from me before. 
SUBSTITUTES EOR POLLEN. 
Acting on the hint thrown out by “ An Old Apiaeian,’.’ I 
procured some rye flour, put a little on a shallow plate, and 
placed it before my hives, but it failed to attract attention. Laid 
the plate on the landing-boards with no better success. Caught 
two or three workers, rolled them well in it; they flew to their 
hives, seemingly far from pleased with their dry bath. Had a 
great shaking and dressing before entering. Put a little honey 
in the centre of the flour. This they speedily licked up, but did 
not touch the rye. I then throw the plate below the nearest 
liive-stand, pronounced it humbug, and walked off. Chancing to 
pass the following morning, I observed the drifting rain of the 
night had bespattered the flour, and at the moment a bee was 
about to take wing with her thigh-baskets heavily laden. I thus 
accidentally discovered the omission of “ An Old Apiaeian,” 
subsequently supplied. 
I gave them a fresh instalment damped, which they quickly 
appropriated, and every mild morning since are hovering round 
the spot awaiting its arrival. I have tried it. within the hive 
both at the top and below, but find they much prefer to gather it 
abroad. The flour must not bo wet, but merely damped as much 
as will cause the particles to adhere together to allow of its being 
carried oft’. 
From after experiments I found that bees will at this season 
gather up greedily and carry to their hives the flour or meal of 
the following grains :—rye, barley, peas, beans, wheat, oats, 
Indian corn (yellow and white), linseed, and rice. From having 
placed the different sorts side by side, I would say they give 'a 
preference to the four first named, but arc not over particular, as 
arrowroot, potatoe-starch, and even ground oilcake will disappear. 
Finding my bees so readily carry home these substitutes, my 
only fear is they may do so to an extent in excess of their wants ; 
as this pollen gathering is, according to Gelieu, the weak point in 
their characters. lie observes at page 74, “ Bees lay up useless 
hoards of it, which they go on augmenting every year ; and this 
is the only point on which they can be accused of a want of that 
prudence and foresight so admirable in every other respect.” 
Supposing a surplus in the comb and its effect in flavouring or 
colouring the honey, I would recommend feeding exclusively 
with rye or wheat flour ; the former preferable, the latter generally 
too fine ground.—A Renfrewshire Bee-keeper. 
LIGURIAN QUEENS-AN APPEAL EOR 
ASSISTANCE. 
Messes. Neighbour & Son, of 149, Regent Street London 
(through whom,Iundcrstand,tlieLigurian bee wasfirstintroduced 
to our notice), has favoured me with an extract from a recent 
letter of M. Hermann’s, in which, after referring in a liberal 
manner to my undertaking the artificial multiplication of 
Ligurian queens, he says— 
“ The greatest part would yet prefer to write to me, and pay 
two times more to have an original. Also^Mr. W., to succeed, 
must buy, perhaps, some other colonies to keep the race. Then 
he must have Italish wax {rayons), perhaps they are greater than 
the English, and I can send bun such at a schilling the To 
succeed he must have 200.” 
As far as I can understand the meaning of the foregoing 
passage, M. Hermann intends to say that I shall not succeed in 
the artificial multiplication of Ligurian queens, owing to my 
hives being furnished with combs fabricated by the ordinary 
species of bee, whose cells are smaller than those made by the 
Italians. However this may be, I cannot say that it has caused me 
any misgivings. I am satisfied that none of the Ligurian queens 
sent me by M. Hermann were at all larger than our English 
queen bees; and as I have proved that Ligurian workers can be 
bred in the cells constructed by the common species, I believe 
that when elongated and converted by the bees into royal cells 
they will be sufiiciently capacious to accommodate full-sized 
Italian queens. 
I am quite uncertain as to what is meant by If it denotes 
a single cell I fear 200 at an expense of £T0 would not add much 
to my chance of success. Whatever the real difficulties may be, 
I shall endeavour to surmount them ; and in the event ’of a 
failure, which, however, I do not anticipate, shall not hesitate to 
publish my ill-success. 
In the meantime I confess to a deficiency which I fear may 
j embarrass my efforts to disseminate the new species—I am very 
short of guide-comb. As this is a want which many apiarian 
readers may be able in some measure to supply without incon¬ 
venience to themselves, I venture thus publicly to ask for assist¬ 
ance from all such as may be disposed to aid me. It is not 
necessary for my purpose that the combs should be quite clean j 
if bred in for a single season they will still be very useful, whilst 
drone-comb will be particularly valuable. Offers of assistance 
will be highly appreciated, and may be addressed direct to— 
T. W. Woodbury, “A Devonshire Bee-keeper,” Mount Radford, 
Exeter. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Hamburgh IIf.n (T . II. (?.).—She is of the Golden-spangled kind. If 
you buy our “ Poultry Book for the Many,” price Gel., you will there find 
engravings of all the principal feathers. 
Spanish Fowls {Alfred Heath).—We know that Mr. Davies won first, 
and second prizes at Liverpool, and that the two pens were claimed at 
£100 each, hut we have no means of knowing, or of ascertaining, the com¬ 
position of the pens. 
