THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, July 10, 1860. 
235 
NOTES ON THE PRESENT HONEY SEASON. 
I have some curiosity to know how it fares with my brother 
apiarians in different parts of the country, and whether their 
experience tallies with my own as to the present condition and 
future prospects of their apiaries. 
In all my experience since I first began to keep bees, seventeen 
years ago, I never remember anything like the straits to which 
our insect friends in my own neighbourhood are reduced at this 
moment (I write on the 29th of June). They are, and for the 
last five weeks have been, literally “living from hand to mouth.” 
In five of my original six stocks I can see no honey whatever, 
either in sealed up or in open cells; although towards the end of 
May not only had they still (all of them) a good deal of old honey 
left, but also much new honey sealed up in store for the coming 
winter; and I was congratulating myself on the very great promise 
of the honey season of 1860. A great change indeed has come over 
the “ spirit of my dream.” And yet, if the miserable condition 
of my hives in regard to wealth is sad to see, I never knew my 
bees so prosperous in regard to population. Every one of my 
queens has been incessantly breeding during this whole period, 
nor have I been able to supply them with boxes (of my own 
make) sufficiently fast, although the six colonies are occupying 
no fewer than eighteen boxes between them, being an average ot 
three boxes to each colony: and each box appears choked up 
with bees. One of these stocks, moreover, gave a splendid natural 
swarm on the 15th ult., which I have established in a second bee- 
house. In all these eighteen boxes, save one (which I was obliged 
yesterday to give as a nadir to one of the six, which already occu¬ 
pied three boxes, but was hanging out en masse), the bees have 
worked comb at odd intervals, some of the supers being quite full 
of comb. I have observed that as fast as the young bees were 
hatched, the empty cells were cleaned out, and occupied again, the 
queens having unlimited room for depositing their eggs. In this 
respect I am mere fortunate than our friend the “ Devonshire 
Bee-keepeb,” as, in fact, I never had my apiary so uniformly 
vigorous and Well-peopled. Should the weather change imme¬ 
diately I might yet do pretty well; but I see no prospect of a 
honey-harvest this year. There are few or no flowers to begin 
with, owing to the almost total obscuration of the sun for so 
many weeks. The bees themselves seem to have lost hope, and 
set to work yesterday with great and universal diligence to 
massacre the drones. I am, therefore, preparing to feed them 
on a large scale. This can do no harm, as it will only be so 
much gain in the event of fine weather coming.—B. & W. 
V 
Qx'EEX-EEAJiiNO experiments have interfered so much with 
the normal state of my stocks, that the condition oi my own 
apiary can scarcely be taken as a fair indication of the general 
prospects of the season in this locality. Nearly all my bees must 
have perished without artificial assistance; whilst in most the 
population and brood are alike scanty. A bee-keeper of my 
acquaintance had five swarms from three stocks during May, of 
which two have since perished from starvation, and this is by no 
means a solitary instance.—A Deyonshiee Bee-keepee. 
APIARIAN NOTES.—No. VII. 
Mv Apiaey. —During the entire period of my bee experience, 
I never remember such a miserable season up to midsummer as 
the present. Eew hives in this neighbourhood are increasing 
their stores ; and swarms require copious feeding to enable them 
to exist at all. Notwithstanding this scarcity of food, and the 
wretched weather which has so long prevailed preventing the 
bees from actively foraging in search of what little there is to be 
found, my hives are, on the whole, in fair condition, strong in 
numbers, and ready to take advantage of any favourable change. 
But while the majority of stocks have been retrograding, it is 
strange that two or three cases have come to my knowledge in 
which a considerable progress has been made. One is a swarm 
hived on the 24th of May in a cottage garden, which I lifted on 
the 29th, or five days after, and found the combs brought down 
close to the boards'; besides feeling as if it had increased some 
pounds in weight. Three other hives in the garden, with the 
exception of two of them throwing off swarms, were at a stand¬ 
still as regards progress. Another instance occurs in my own 
apiary, in which a strong stock has filled a good-sized octagon 
super with combs, and appeared greatly to require additional 
accommodation. The adjoining hive, a new swarm, has only 
been kept alive by feeding; and the rest in that garden have 
refused to work in the supers—preferring, in some instances, to 
swarm instead. 
It has occurred to me to describe the various hives in my 
apiary (or apiaries, I should rather say, as they are scattered 
about in the neighbourhood, not having facilities for keeping 
many hives in my town garden), to show what they have done, 
are doing, or are likely to do ; so that I may be able to introduce 
a few remarks, or hints, which might not be remembered in 
writing an ordinary chapter of apiarian notes. 1 shall take them 
in order as they stand numbered in my note-book. 
No. 1.—A common straw hive, a purchased swarm of a cottager 
in 1858. A four-inch aperture was cut out of the crown, and a 
board fixed on the top with putty, having a hole of three inches 
in diameter. The first season it gave a super containing some 
pounds of honey. Last year it was one of my strongest and 
most promising colonies. It was placed over a “nether hive” 
of Mr. Taylor’s; the result of which, as compared with other 
hives in the same garden, proved a complete failure. In the 
month of August 11 lbs. of almost entirely unsealed comb, by no 
means of a particularly good colour, were taken off, and the box 
placed as a super on another hive, which was sent to the heath. 
On its return it had gained some little increase in weight, and 
nearly the whole of the combs containing honey were properly 
sealed. During the entire summer the nether box was crammed 
with bees choosing neither to swarm nor work, preferring that 
idle clustering belgw the stock, as bees hang out for weeks under 
a common hive. I am sorry Mr. Taylor should have given this 
and his nadir hive a place in his most admirable book, as I am 
convinced the plan is utterly worthless as compared with super- 
ing. When it is borne in mind that this stock was as strong as 
any other, and that I obtained respectively 52 lbs., 45 lbs., 40J- 
Ibs., 25 lbs. and a fine swarm, 15 lbs. and a fine swarm from old 
stocks, and several supers of 25 lbs. and downwards from my 
swarms, it is but fair to conclude that the system on which this 
No. 1 was worked is a wrong one. This summer it is working, 
though slowly, in a large square super of thirteen inches diameter. 
Drones showed first from this hive on the 22nd April. 
No. 2.—An octagonal Stewarton, dead ; having been deprived 
of its queen for the substitution of a Ligurian queen sent by 
Hermann, most diminutive, unfertilised, and utterly useless. 
Loss incurred thereby £1 6s., besides the sacrifice of a nice 
stock. 
The queen was removed from this hive on the 24th of August, 
when there was a considerable quantity of brood in all stages. 
The Ligurian queen never bred, and died early in the spring, if 
not before. The hive was destroyed on the 24th of May, there 
being still many bees alive, proving that the longevity of bees 
may be extended to nine months and three weeks; but how much 
longer remains still doubtful, as those left showed few if any 
symptoms of old age. 
No. 3.—An immense globe observatory-hive, capable of con¬ 
taining from 80 lbs. to 100 lbs. of honey, peopled by two swarms 
last season. It was exhibited with the bees at our horticultural 
show, and won a prize as well as attracting considerable interest. 
During autumn and winter, and up to within a few weeks, it was 
kept in an unfurnished drawing-room, working through the 
window. It has thriven amazingly, much new comb being built 
before this distressingly wet weather set in, and the globe is 
crowded with bees with an immense quantity of brood. In a 
remunerative sense this hive may be considered comparatively 
worthless, as there is no facility for partial deprivation; and it 
is, I suppose, too large to throw off a swarm, though the bees 
have occasionally clustered out in large bunches. 
(Within a few minutes after writing the above, a fine swarm 
issued from this globe, and was safely secured, proving that 
swarms will issue from hives which are far from filled with combs.) 
No. 4.—A flat, wooden-topped, straw hive, as described in the 
sixth edition of Mr. Taylor’s “Bee-keepers’ Manual,” an ad¬ 
mirable plan, and well adapted for those who do not like the 
trouble of, and do not appreciate, the loose-bar system. Hived 
in 1858. A shallow, octagon, Stewarton box is put on, and is 
very full of bees ; but as yet no combs are visible. 
JVo. 5.—A set of boxes on the Stewarton arrangement, but 
made at home from description with some modifications. Stocked 
last season, now working very well (taking the weather into con¬ 
sideration), in a full-sized octagon super. 
There is, in my mind, an objection to the hives that emanate 
from Mr. Eaglesham, which would prevent my having recourse 
to them, and that is with regard to the bars, which are arranged 
contrary to all the known instincts of the bees. Think of seven 
