604 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDE NEH 
December  26, 1895. 
ENEMIES  OP  BEES. 
At  this  season  a  sharp  look  out  should  be  kept  for  birds  and 
mice,  whose  natural  instinct  leads  them  to  the  apiary.  In  isolated 
country  districts,  more  particularly  in  the  neighbourhood  of  plan¬ 
tations,  the  blue  tit  is,  in  my  opinion,  the  most  troublesome.  The 
persistent  manner  in  which  they  will  dart  on  to  the  alighting  board 
and  as  quickly  fly  off  with  bee  after  bee  to  a  neighbouring  bush  or 
tree,  to  be  devoured,  is  almost  beyond  comprehension.  They  will 
also  take  them  whilst  on  the  wing,  and  it  is  surprising  the  number 
of  bees  a  pair  of  tits  will  destroy  and  consume  in  the  course  of  a 
few  hours. 
It  is  interesting  to  watch  them.  How  quick  they  are  in  their 
movements,  and  the  ready  way  in  which  they  manipulate  and 
dissect  them.  The  head  and  sting  are  quickly  removed,  and  only 
the  abdomen  is  consumed.  If  no  bees  are  visible  they  tap  at  the 
entrance  to  the  hive  with  their  beaks,  hopping  quickly  from  one 
hive  to  the  other,  knowing  from  instinct,  if  the  temperature  is 
high  enough,  that  some  of  the  bees  will  leave  the  cluster  on  hearing 
the  tapping  at  the  entrance.  These  will  be  at  once  seized  and 
taken  to  the  nearest  bush  to  be  dissected.  This  shows  the  amount 
of  injury  a  few  pairs  of  these  birds  will  do  in  an  apiary.  When  the 
ground  is  covered  with  snow,  the  most  casual  observer  may  often 
see  the  surface  under  neighbouring  bushes  literally  covered  with 
the  remains  of  the  dissected  bees. 
During  the  past  few  days  the  weather  has  been  very  favourable 
for  these  pests,  being  mild,  with  a  little  sun,  and  I  have  caught 
upwards  of  a  score  of  this  ipecies  alone  in  my  apiary.  This  may 
be  an  exceptional  case,  but  other  bee-keepers  are  similarly  situated, 
by  having  their  bees  in  close  proximity  to  woods,  and  would  prob¬ 
ably  not  notice  the  mischief  that  is  being  done  until  a  fall  of  snow 
came  and  revealed  it  by  showing  the  remains  of  a  number  of  dead 
bees.  The  common  house  sparrows  are  sometimes  troublesome, 
but  usually  take  the  bees  whilst  on  the  wing,  and  are  not  nearly  as 
great  a  nuisance  as  the  tits. 
Mice,  too,  will  soon  play  havoc  with  a  colony  if  they  once  gain 
an  entrance,  consuming  the  stores  and  destroying  the  combe.  But 
it  is  only  during  the  winter  months  that  damage  is  done  by  them, 
when  all  is  quiet  in  the  hive.  A  strong  colony  in  the  summer 
would  not  allow  them  to  remain  many  minutes.  Mice  may  be  kept 
out  of  the  hive  if  the  entrance  is  only  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in 
depth.  The  best  form  of  trap  for  both  birds  and  mice  is  the 
ordinary  V-shaped  mouse  trap,  baited  with  bread.  They  have 
the  advantage,  too,  of  being  cheap,  and  it  is  advisable  to  keep  a 
few  of  them  constantly  set  near  the  hives  throughout  the  winter. 
— An  English  Bee-keepek. 
Ventilating  Floors. 
I  HAVE  altered  my  hives  with  solid  floors  for  perforated  zinc 
floors  and  have  only  one  more  to  alter,  which  will  be  done  this 
winter.  The  reason  for  so  doing  will  be  clear  to  anyone  after  once 
trying  zinc  floors.  A  hive  with  solid  floors  will  do  for  one  or  two 
years,  but  will  succumb  after  owing  to  dust,  debris  and  damp 
collecting,  especially  if  they  are  covered  with  unsuitable  material. 
I  find  bees  do  not  clear  out  all  debris  from  floors,  and  unless  they 
are  scraped  and  cleaned  the  stock  is  doomed.  But  with 
perforated  zinc  floors  three  minutes  will  set  them  right.  A  case 
of  the  above  came  under  my  notice  last  spring  which  caused 
dysentry.  But  the  owner  took  it  for  foul  brood.  He  followed 
the  advice  in  this  Journal  for  three  years  and  has  done  well.  For 
the  last  two  seasons  he  has  followed  another  journal,  has  lost  three 
stocks,  and  he  will  lose  the  remaining  one  if  he  does  not  take  a 
different  course.  He  is  a  believer  in  wide  entrances  yet  each  spring 
his  floors  are  damp,  oombs  mouldy,  and  how  is  that  to  be  accounted 
for  ?  I  have  learnt  my  lesson  upon  it,  and  will  not  go  back  to  the 
old  state  of  things. 
Carbolic  Acid  versus  Smoke. 
In  the  Journal,  12th  December,  an  “E.  B.-K.”  recommends  the 
smoker.  But  it  being,  as  I  believe,  the  cause  of  my  first  disaster  in  bee¬ 
keeping,  I  feel  I  must  say  a  word.  In  1885  I  purchased  my  first  box 
hive  (the  Standard)  from  a  man  who  was  looked  on  as  thoroughly 
practical ,  and  he  put  everything  in  order  that  autumn.  There  were 
two  lots  of  bees  joined  together  witb  a  young  queen  fed  up,  and 
were  to  give  a  good  account  of  themselves  in  1886.  But  such  was 
not  the  case,  and  at  last  he  said  he  did  not  know  what  was  the 
matt^  unless  they  had  got  foul  brood.  I  thought  he  was  not  so 
practical  as  he  professed,  so  cut  out  comb  and  sent  to  the  Journal. 
The  reply  is  in  Nos.  322,  August  26th,  and  323,  September  2,  1886. 
I  came  to  the  conclusion  the  cause  was  smoke,  although  I  never 
used  the  smoker  more  than  on  three  occasions,  and  then  at  the 
entrance. 
Since  then  I  have  never  used  anything  but  acid  ;  it  is  clean  ta 
handle,  healthful  to  bees — in  fact,  one  can  do  anything  with  them 
by  spreading  it  on  brown  paper  with  a  feather  and  applying  where 
required,  and  as  for  robbing  it  is  the  only  remedy,  whereas  the 
smoker  is  dirty  from  beginning  to  end,  and  unnatural.  A  weak 
hive  is  easily  handled,  but  get  a  strong  one,  and  you  will  have  te 
almost  stupefy  the  bees  before  they  can  be  successfully 
manipulated.  I  have  not  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  a  strong  hive 
manipulated  at  bee  shows  yet ;  what  I  have  seen  has  been  what  I 
call  a  dull,  weak  lot,  and  I  should  not  like  to  put  into  practice  all 
they  preach. 
I  advise  all  bee-keepers,  especially  young  beginners,  to  use 
carbolic  acid  as  above  described,  and  they  wilt  not  be  so  nervous 
in  handling  bees  as  they  are  with  smoke.  I  could  give  three  cases 
round  me  where  the  smoker  has  been  the  cause  of  disaster.  Ii> 
one  case  the  lady  could  do  nothing  with  the  bees,  so  shut  down 
the  hive,  leaving  the  bars  uncovered.  They  were  left  for  two 
seasons,  when  the  bees  had  to  be  destroyed  to  get  honey,  the  hive- 
being  a  mass  of  comb  from  roof  to  floor.  I  fear  I  have  taken  up 
too  much  space,  but  could  not  let  the  smoker  pass  unnoticed. 
— R.  A.  Clark,  Flaneswood. 
All  correspondence  should  be  directed  either  to  “  Thb 
Editor  or  to  “  The  Publisher.’'  Letters  addressed  to 
Dr.  Hogg  or  members  of  the  staff  often  remain  unopened 
unavoidably.  We  request  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to 
unjustifiable  trouble  and  expense. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions 
relating  to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  should 
never  send  more  than  two  or  three  questions  at  once.  All 
articles  intended  for  insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of 
the  paper  only.  We  cannot  reply  to  questions  through  the  post, 
and  we  do  not  undertake  to  return  rejected  communications. 
Orchids  from  T^adagascar  {Inquirer'), — By  your  description  of 
the  Orchids  referred  to,  as  imported  from  Madagascar,  they  have 
evidently  suffered  badly  in  transit,  and  you  will  probably  have  a 
difficulty  in  bringing  them  round.  You  had  better  lay  them  out  thinly, 
and  in  the  moist  atmosphere  required  by  Cucumbers  not  much  syringing 
will  be  needed,  a  light  dewing  daily  being  ample.  You  will  soon  see 
whether  the  plants  are  likely  to  recover,  and  as  soon  as  they  show  signs 
of  life  place  them  in  as  small  pots  as  possible,  using  only  clean  crocks 
about  the  roots,  if  any.  Water  the  crocks  daily,  but  avoid  wetting  the 
plants,  and  do  not  put  any  moss  near  them  until  they  begin  to  root, 
when  a  surfacing  will  be  beneficial.  We  cannot  advise  you  more  fully 
without  knowing  what  the  species  are. 
Potatoes  or  Potatos  {Student).  —  By  all  means  enter  for  the 
R.H.S.  examination.  You  have  nothing  to  lose,  and  the  exercise  will 
be  beneficial,  whether  you  succeed  or  not  in  winning  a  certificate. 
We  think  you  may  succeed.  Whether  you  adopt  the  old  English  method 
of  spelling  Potatoes  or  Tomatoes  as  we  do,  or  resort  to  the  more  novel 
form  of  Potatos  or  Tomatos,  will,  we  are  satisfied,  make  not  the  slightest 
difference  in  your  merit  marks.  The  establish^  rule  is,  that  when  a 
vowel  precedes  the  final  “  o  ”  in  nouns,  as  in  cameo,  folio,  and  any  other 
such  words,  the  addition  of  "s  ”  only  forms  the  plural ;  but  where  the 
final  “  o  ”  is  preceded  by  a  consonant,  as  in  hero,  mango,  buffalo, 
calico,  musquito.  domino,  and  such  like  words,  the  plural  is  formed  by 
adding  "  es."  The  Potato  and  Tomato  come  into  this  section,  but  it  is 
held  by  some  persons,  for  some  reason  or  other  which  we  have  not  seen 
fully  explained,  that  “5”  only  should  be  added  to  form  the  plural. 
We  had,  prior  to  the  receipt  of  your  letter,  been  discussing  the  point 
with  gentlemen  who  are,  we  believe,  investigating  the  matter  ;  and  as 
we  bad  occasion  to  write  to  one  of  the  most  competent  National  school¬ 
masters  in  Surrey  on  another  subject,  we  at  the  same  time  put  the 
question  to  him.  His  reply  is  as  follows  : — “With  regard  to  the  plural 
of  Potato  and  Tomato,  I  fancy  if  our  school  children  were  to  omit  the 
‘  e  ’  in  either  case,  nine  out  of  every  ten  of  the  Government  Inspectors 
would  mark  the  omission  as  a  grave  error,  and  hold  their  bands  up  in 
holy  horror.”  The  schoolmaster  referred  to  has  been  successful  in  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  examination.  In  Webster’s  large  new- 
international  Dictionary  the  generally  recognised  old  English  method 
that  we  follow  is  adhered  to.  Do  as  you  like. 
