LIBRARY

OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS

AGRICULTURAL

COLLEGE

SOURCE

THE

British Bee Journal,

AND BEE-KEEPERS' ADVISER.

EDITED BY

THOS. WM. COWAN, F.G.S., F.L.S., F.R.M.S, &c., and W. BROUGHTON CAER.

VOLUME XXII.

January-December, 1894.

PUBLISHED BY

SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT, & Co., Limited,

23, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.G.

Llu

UNIVERSITY C. J ^,
JASSACHUSETTS

UCDCT M\i-iR _

2 I

INDEX.

Abnormal, 7

About " chilled " brood, 24V

Absconding swarms, 289

Accident to Mr. Hooker, 181

Adding driven bees, 368

Advice to beginners in bee^
keeping, 176

Adopting the " Wells " hive, 27

Adaptation of the "Wells'
Bummy, 375

Adulterated beeswax, 430, 477

Adulteration, 38 ; of honey, 139

Advantage of the " Wells "
system, 256

Afternoons with South African
bee-keepers, 126, 254

Afternoon among the bees in
Scotland, 346

Afternoon among the school
children, 462

Affiliation with the B.B.K.A.,
60, 107

Agency of bees in carrying
pollen, 29

Alteration in Vol. XXII.

Allowing bees to transfer them-
selves, 128

Among the bees, 4, 13, 66, 355,
494

Amateur's experience, 296

American Queries, 89 ; competi-
tion, 440

Anarchist Bees, 440

Annual Meeting B.B.K.A., 62, 81

Ants and Alcohol, 57 ; and ear-
wigs about hives, 239

Another Wasp Plague, 151

Antwerp Universal Exhibition,
242, 371, 392

Apis Dorsata, 446; and Egyp-
tian bees, 455, 497

Appliances, uniformity in, 31
Appliance dealers and their
customers, 154

Apiary, in the, 464
Apiculture in the congested
districts of Ireland, Assisting,
508
Are vicious bees the most pro-
fitable to keep, 4, 6
Artificial pollen, 131 ; swarms
for beginners, 156 ; swarming,
how I did it, 184 ; swarms
from skeps, 206 ; swarms,
making, 207, 246, 308 ; swarms,
trapping queens for, 205 ;
swarms to the heather, send-
ing, 237 ; honey, 440 ; combs,
489
Associations B. K.:— Auldgirth,
(N. B.) 363 ; Berks, 104, 345;
British, 2, 42, 62, 81, 91, 104,
132, 142, 152, 181, 191, 232, 242,
252, 281, 292, 341, 371, 393, 411,
421, 452 ; Bristol, 51, 73, 426 ;
Darnaway Moyness and Dis-
trict, 353 ; Derbyshire, 32, 113,
323, 344 ; Essex, 173, 242, 472,
484 ; Glamorganshire, 134 ;
Goole and District, 322 ;

Hunts, 2, 162, 182 ; Hereford-
112, 362 ; Irish, 22, 142, 162
182, 418, 453 ; Kent, 33 ; Lin
colnshire, 51, 142, 292, S24
Lancashire and Cheshire, 94
162, 391 ; Leicestershire, 162
361 ; Lauderdale, 333 ; Middle
sex, 83 ; Northumberland and
Durham, 52, 172 ; Northants,
63, 323 ; Notts, 63, 93, 312, 363;
North Norfolk, 73; Oxford-
shire, 392 ; Koxburghshire, 73,
382, 432 ; South of Scotland,
62, 112, 332 ; Scottish, 223, 342,
403 ; Staffordshire, 193, 352 ;
Shropshire, 342 ; Taunton and
District, 51 ; Ulster, 122 ;
Wotton - under - Edge, 353 ;
Worcestershire, 172 ; ' War-
wickshire, 182 ; Wilts, 252

Asphyxiated brood. Appearance
of, 420, 430

Association Labels, 95, 113, 482

Assisting beekeepers, 161

Autumn feeding, 368 ; feeding
early, 53 ; feeding late, 386 ;
uniting in, 322

Avoiding exciting bees when
uniting, 429

Awkward drop, 54

Awards at the Dairy Show, 433,
445

Backward colonies, 128

Bad weather, 215

Balling queens, 90

,, ,, in "Wells"hive,

247

Balled queens, 141, 166

Bar-frame hives. Inventor of,
470

Bees and raspberries, 76 ; and
wild flowers, 78 ; and confec-
tionary works, 130, 304; and
martins, 255 ; and trifolium,
258 ; and red clover, 316 ; and
bee-keeping, 462; and cycles,
5, 15 ; Among the, 4, 13, 66,
355 ; as incubators, 489 ; Buy-
ing, 90, 486 ; Best kinds to keep,
90 ; Birds carrying off, 286 ;
building comb in trees, 184 ;
Carniolan, 30 ; Cast out, 50 ;
Carbolic solution for quieting,
157 ; casting out drones, 229 ;
casting out brood, 201 ; Choos-
ing a location for, 437 ; carrying
pollen, 29, 328 ; cast out. Im-
perfect, 367 ; casting out
drones and brood, 449 ; de-
serting foul broody hives, 207 ;
Dealing with driven, 407 ; de-
serting hive, 408 ; deserting
brood, 308 ; Driving, 285 ;
destroying queen-cells, 230 ;
Dysenteric, 18; dying in
spring, 178 ; dying, 258, 268 ;
dying from unknown causes,
368 ; Excitement among, 28 ;
Fertilization of flowers by,

118; Feeding-up driven, 351,
409 ; Foreign, 47 ; flying in
frosty weather, 18 ; fighting
among themselves, 173, 204,
376 ; hanging out in April,
157 ; hanging out, 269 ; Im-
proved strains of, 217 ; kill-
ing drones in April, 197 ;
Libelling the, 438 ; Mark-
ing of hybrid, 129; Moving,
67, 119, 129, 137, 330, 349, 468,
470, 474 ; near collieries, 25 ;
not taking to sections, 70 ; not
entering sections, 70, 287 ; for
winter. Packing 401 ; perfor-
ating flowers, 275 ; perishing
for want, 168 ; Robber, 137,
189 ; Kaces of, 330 ; Stingless,
184 ; Suspected combs and
uniting, 168 ; Strength of,
439 ; short of food, 449 ; Sub-
duing, 361 ; tanging in the olden
time, 86 ; transferring, 58, 85,
117, 118, 130, 195, 207, 214, 318 ;
turning vicious, 77 ; Uniting
driven, 328 ; Vicious, 25, 54,
286, 347 ; Weatherand the, 106 ;
wintered above frame hives,
207 ; working on i^'y, 419 ;
working on one side of foun-
dation, 320 ; White (?), 442 : in
Shropshire, 6 ; in co. Kil-
kenny, 7, 36, 427, 456 ; in
Dumfriesshire, 14 ; in co.
Galway, 33 ; in Norfolk, 47 ;
in Lincolnshu-e, 235, 246 ; in
Cambs, 246 ; in a roof, 435 ;
ill North of Scotland, 483 ; in
a thunderstorm, 284 ; in a
signal box, 306, 383 ; in barley,
303 ; in summer-house, 88 ;
and red clover, 492 ; flying in
winter, 498, 508
Bee Association for Sussex, 30
,, Associations and Affiliation
with B. B. K. A., 60
,, Associations and honey
labels, 126, 496

,, Associations, how to make
them succeed, 496
,, candy, 90

,, culture. Gardeners and, 485
,, candy, Naphthol Beta for
Medicating, 469
,, district. Estimating a, 186
„ doings in North Hunts, 514
,, dwindling, 206, 226
,, food, Kemedying " spoilt,"
197

,, farming as an occupation, 17
,, flowers, 50, 169
,, food, 350
„ food. Sugar for, 120
, , food. Using fermented honey
as, 149

,, hives as incubators, 417
,, houses, moving bees into, 88
,, Man, An Old School, 55, 69,79
,, plants, 174, 489
,, Parasites, 381

Bee Puzzle, 14

,, Prospects in Yorkshire, 45
,, ,, in Berks, 154

,, Paralysis, What may be done
to prevent its spreading, 486
,, Superstitions, 185
„ Shows, Starting, 266
Bees, stocks of, 266 '

„ Story, 304
,, Smokers, 436

,, swarming extraordinary, 33
43

,, stings, 35, 46, 55,60
,, tent at Chingford, 273
,, The Wilful, 431
„ Van, 232
Beeswax and propolis, 90
„ Adulterated, 477
,, Dealers in, 329
,, for showing, 358
,, Honey and, 329
,, B,endering, 159
,, without bees, 237
Bee-keeping, A lady's, 503

, , as an occupation for

women, 9
,, and farming, 74

Advice to beginners
in, 176
,, as an occupation, 354

,, as a business, 459

,, County Council ex-

periment in, 448
for profit, 127
,, Government help

for, 31
,, How I commenced,

325, 336
its prospects for
1894, 1
,, in towns, 26

„ in Carmarthenshire,

334
„ in South Africa, 305

,, in Cornwall, 391

,, in Dumfriesshire, 393

,, in CO. Wexford, 447

,, in Lancashire, 465

,, Lecture at Chingford

on, 12
Lecture on, 99, 113,
476
,, Promoting, 336

,, Re-starting, 359

,, Profit and pleasure

in, 383
,, profitable? Is, 475

Starting, 29, 449
„ Technical instruc-

tion in, 253, 476
,, Teaching, 461

Bee-keepers, Assisting, 161

„ lament, 245, 271

To, 332
Bee-keeper's holiday. A, 355
Beginners, Artificial swarms for,
156
„ Helping, 326
„ Mishap through in-
experience, 214

INDEX TO VOLUME XXII.

Ill

Beginnei's' Notes for, 7C

„ Queries, 138, 171, 267,

309, 331,398, 437
„ Sectioning sleeps for,,

227
„ Some useful hints for,

325, 336
,, Transferring for, 419
,, troubles, 315, 366
,, "Wells" system, 78,
109
Belgian Customs Officialism, 392
Best way to find queens, 167
Boiling Syrup, 130
Boxes for holding driven bees,

338
Brace-combs and supering, 479
British Bee Journal and its
Correspondents, 71 ; BEE
Journal and Eucalyptus
honey, 164 ; B. B. K. A. and its
■ Affiliated Associations, 107 ;
B. B. K. A. and its work, 132 ;
British Bee-Keepers' Associa-
tion, 502
British Honey v. Foreign, 64
Broodless hives in March, 130
Brood hatching on New Year's-
day, 17; cast out, 150, 167,
169, 199 ; frames, Removing
honey from, 156 ; Chilled,
247 ; asphyxiated, 420 ; from
second swarm, 229 ; in Sections,
375, 388 ; in hives. Dead, 430 ;
rearing, Pollen necessary for,
178
Broaching Sections at Shows, 349
Buying Super foundation, 185
Buying Queens, 245, 264, 274 ;

bees. Best time for, 486
Burning inside of hive with
Paraffin for disinfecting, 464

Calico for covering frames, 130
Cambridge, "Royal" Show at,

242, 262
Cane-sugar for bee-food, 130
Candy-making, 8, 386, 410 ; Flour,

20 ; and honey, 50 ; Bee, 90 ;

making. Vessels for, 449
Canadian method of treating

foul brood, 334, 376
Canterbm-y Show, 223, 252
Carbolised cloths, 429
Carbolic Solution for quieting

bees, 157
Carniolan bees, 5, 39
" Carpin' C'reetics," 54
Carrying bees on Bicycles, 5, 15
Carrying driven bees, 397
Case for the benevolent, 15",

198
Casting-out brood, 201
Catching Swarms from hollow

trees, 155
Change for the worse, 14
Checking Robbing, 185
Cheap wax extractors, 237 ; roof

protector, 256
Chilled Brood, 247
Choosing a location for bees,

437
Christmas bee-talk about winter

work, foul brood, &c.. A, 505
Claim for damage in hiving

Swarm, 320
Clarifying discoloured Wax, 78
Clarifying Honey, 408
Cleaning wax extractors, 359 ; up

wet combs after extracting,

381
Clipping queens, 50, 119, 178
Comb foundation, 231, 251, 460 ;
-.^inventor of, 470
,J3)mb, honey, eight years old, 160
(^mbs. Hard pollen in, 68; for
r-^,in brood nests, Width of, 75 ;

mouldy pollen in store, 109,

119 ; mildewed, 119 ; renew-

• ing, 119 ; finding queens on,

^■t 150 ; built in candy-frame,

• ' 157 ; moth-infested, 168 ; manu-

CL

LU

in

factured, 181 ; transferring
bees and, 195 ; destroying foul-
broody, 198 ; imperfect, 267 ;
misshapen, 285. 319, 327 ;
mouldy, 399 ; artificial, 489
Compelling bees to build combs,

89
Commercial packages, 434
Compulsory powers, 481,505
Confining queen to hive to pre-
vent swarming, 208
Cone-clearers in roof, 298
Contraction for swarms, 218
Condemned skeps. Dealing with,

457
Colour of honey, 309
Colchester Exhibition, 242
Correction, 356

Cosy " Neucli " for an Apiary, 483
County Associations and honey
labels, 105, 113 ; Council grants
to Bee Associations, 228 ; Coun-
cil grants. Foul brood and,
484 ; Council experiment in
bee-keeping, 448
County Bee Associations and

stamping out foul brood, 505
Covering for hive roofs, 46, 54,

Covers for hives. Glass v. wood,
417

Crooked combs. Straightening,
89

Cross-fertilisation by bees, Dan-
ger of, 187

Curious sample of honey, 19, 38

Cure for the swarming fever, 122

Curious incident. 316

Curing foul brood, 357, 309, 408

Cyanide of potassium, 297

Dairy Show, 342, 351, 428, 433,
445 ; Honey at the,413, 423,
Commercial packages, 434.

Danger of cross-fertilisation by
bees, 187

Dealing with foul brood, 74,
167, 197, 205, 248, 288, 358, 416,
4.51 ; queenless hives, 176 ;
swainis and swarmed hives,
216 ; driven bees, 299, 407 ;
nuclei, 313 ; vicious bees, 347

Dead sparrows for bee food, 110

Dead brood in hives, 430

Death of Mr. C. N. Abbott, 99 ;
a Scotch veteran bee-keeper,
112 ; Mr. S. Cornell, of On-
tario, 172 ; "ilr. John D.
McNally, 253; Mr. F. R.
Cheshire, 381, 402; iMr. .1. .T.
Candey, 436 ; the Hon. Sec. of
the Hunts B.K. A., 407

Decamping swarms, 294

Destroying queen wasps, 137 ;
foul-broody combs, 198 ; foul
brood spores, 409 ; weeds
about hives, 475

Detecting robbing in skeps, 137

Difficulties with perforated
dummies, 125

Direct hiving of swarms, 222

Disinfecting foul-broody hives,
100, 111, 171, 216

Disaster, a, 397

Distance lielow frames, 119

Disputed point in swarming,
317

Disaster in canning driven bees,
397

Dividers, material for, 69 ;
trouble with, " Wells," 146

Dividing Italian bees, 169 ; for
queen raising, 227 ; stocks for
increase, 286

Do bees hear ? 94, 108, 124, 154

Do bees remove larvfe ? 216

Do bees cany eggs through
excluder zinc ? 375

Do driven bees forget their old
home? 306

Do limes bloom in May ? 215

Do " Wells" hives contain one

or two colonies? 244, 255, 256,

266, 283
Double-queen system, 205, 245 ;

-queened hives, 121, 213 ;

-queened hives. Who origi-
nated the idea ? 225
Double V. single-queened hives,

225, 492, 513
Double 1). single-queened stocks ,

509
Doubling and storifying, 386
Driving bees, 285 ; from box
' hives, 98 ; from skep after
; swanning, 269
J Driven bees deserting hives in

March, 138; uniting, 328;

feeding, 409
Drone brood and swarming, 137
Drone-breeding stocks, 227
Drones with swarms, 259 ;

flying in November, 447, 458 ;

flying in winter, 498
Drone-breeders, 278 ; comb for

sections, 289 ; breeding queen,

429
Drones and queenlessness, 437
Dummies for "Wells" hives,

365
Dwindling, Spring, 44 ; Stocks,

125, 177 ; Bees, 206, 226
Dysentery, Suspected, 26, SO
Dysenteric bees, IS ; symptoms,

28

Early and late preparation for
winter, 38 ; autumn feeding,
53 ; queen wasp, 70 ; wild
flowers. Bees and, 78 ; swarm-
ing, 138, 146, 186 ; honey, 145,
199 ; drones in the North, 157;
swarming in the North, 175 ;
swarms, 198, 215, 266 ; swarms
in Cambs, 185 ; swarms in Scot-
land, 186 ; swarms and other
bee items, 204 ; sections, 214 ;
honey in Yorkshire, 213, 266,
245

Earwigs in hives, 107

Earwigs about hives. Ants and,
239

Echoes fron the hives, 9, 19, 40,
57, 67, 88, 99, 110, 120, 129, 138,
149, 168, 178, 188, 208, 237, 247,
258, 268, 276, 285, 297, 308, 317,
337, 359, 377, 399, 410, 467, .509

Edging for sections, width of,
358

Egj'ptian bees, 4.55

Ekes below frames in winter, 80

Enamelled-cloth covering for
bees, 387

English and foreign honey, 17

Examination of hives, Spring,
141

Excluding queens from sections,
27

Excluders for "Wells" hives,
110

Excluder, Zinc, 236; Do bees
carry eggs through, 375

Excitement among bees, 28

Exciting bees when uniting, 429

Excessive swarming, 48

Exhibition, Supers for, 8

Exhibitors, Publishing names of,
117

Exhibits, Stealing, 447

Experimental work. Three years,
373, 393, 405

Expectation v. Realisation ! 303

Experience, Lady's, 133 ; with
wide frames, 296 ; Amateur's,
296; with "Wells "hive, 346,
418

Experiments on foul brood, 424 ;
with dogs, ants, and bees, 473

Expert help wanted, 369

Experts' visits, 515

Exudation from leaves, 12

Essay on bees, A scholar's, 403

Estimating a bee district, 186

Extracting wax, 7; 207, 359 ; un-
sealed honey, 89 ; Frames for,
169 ; heather honey, 339

Extractor, The new " Cowan,'
155 ; wax, 237 ; cleaning, 3.59 ;
Mesh of wire for, 360 ; Inventor
of, 470

Extraordinary bee-swarming, 33,
43

Eucalyptus honey, B. B. J. and,
164

" Euphorbia lathyrus," 480

Evidence that bees hear, 94

Evils of non-standard frame.?, 85

Failures in nucleus forming,
257

Feather cushion for bees, 396

Feeders, 473

Feeding, Autumn, 5, 3, 369, 386 ;
and stimulation, Spring, 151 ;
back honey, 186, 319; bees,
361 ; bees in skeps during
winter, 399 ; driven bees, 351 ;
driven bees and swarms, 307 ;
Old honey for, 369 ; supered
hives, 249 ; light stocks and
driven bees, 3,51 ; for winter,
453 ; at Dr. Miller's apiary, 499

Fermented syrup for l)ee-food.
140, 149

Fertilisation of, queens, 278 ;
flowers by bees 118

Finding queens on combs, 156
,, the queen, 511

Fish-glue for securing founda-
tion, 206

Fixing foundation in shallow
frames, 98, 201

Flour candy, 20

Food, for bees, 350 ; Bees short
of, 449

Foodless hives after swarming,
229

Food required for winter, 339

Foreign, competition, 24, 34, 38,
41, 60, 65, 71 ; honey, 25, 35,
45, 55, 62, 67 ; bees, 47 ; v.
British honey, 64

Forward stocks in Scotland, 186

Forming nucleus hives, 276, 473

Forcing bees to swarm, 284, 295

Foundation, comb, 160, 251 ; for
swarms, 258 ; from foul-broody
combs, 277 ; how it should
hang in frames, 231, 251 ;
Wiring starters of, 349

Foul brood, 160, 187; and re-
queening, 195 ; and County
Council Grants, 484 ; combs.
Destroying, 189 ; Curing, 357,
369 ; Dealing with, 74, 150, 167,
197, 205, 248, 288, 358, 367, 416,
451, 467, 471 ; in Canada, 241 ;
propositions. Two, 132 ; some
help wanted, 454 ; spores.
Destroying, 409 ; Suspected,
167, 177, 179, 398; and com-
pulsory powers, 497 ; question,
the, 501

Foul-broody, hives, Disinfecting,
100, 216 ; hives, Bees desert-
ing, 207; Treatment of, 334;
hives, the Canadian method,
376 ; stocks, Supering, 187 ;
stocks, Honey from, 287

Frames, New method of hang-
ing, 16 ; Scraping top-bars of,
110 ; Wide-shouldered, 174 ;
Shallow, 213 ; in surplus
chambers. Spacing, 468

Framing perforated " Wells "
dummies, 68

Frame-hives, Wintering driven
bees in, 329

Frost, A night's, 211

Full sheets of foundation
sections, 68

Galvanised honey vessels, 275
" Garstang" press, 407

IV

INDEX TO VOLUME XXII.

German Bee Joiirnals, 160

Getting vid of fertile worker,
279

Gigantic swarm, 304

Giving naphtholine from outside
hives, 186

Giving brood to weak stocks,
129

Glazing sections, 259

Glass covers for hives, 396, 417

Government help for bee-
keepers, 31, 55

Granulation of honey, 68, 377

Grants to B. K. Associations
228

Granulated Honey Class, Dairy
Show, 445

Hard case, A 435

Hard pollen in combs, 68

Hanging frames, A new method
of, 16

Heather, honey-press, 408 ; Vari-
eties of, 369

Helping, beginners, 196, 326 ;
cottagers, 234 ; swarms 257 ;
honey shows, 272

Hiving, swarms, 156 ; my first
swarms, 235 ; of swarms direct,
222

Hive roofs, 35, 46, 53, 65, 66,
89 ; waterproof. Making, 53,
Covering for 54, 77

Hive, "W. B. C." 48, 59, 88, 96;
entrances, 143 ; making,
Novices and 109

Hives, Patent 39 ; for " Wells "
system 52 ; Disinfecting, 111,
171 ; Spring examination of
141; "W. B. C." versus
"Wells" 292; as incubators,
417, 460, 489 ; Uniting bees in
"Wells" 457; in autumn.
Overhauling, 458 ; Poisons
about, 458 ; Selecting, 499

Honey, A market for our, 212 :
and raspberries, 46 ; and bees
at the Yorkshire Show, 321 ;
and beeswax, 477 ; Adultera-
tion of, 139; at the Dairy
Show, 431, 423 ; bee, value of
the 459 ; bottles, 215 ; candy,
50 ; candying, 389 ; clarifying,
408 ; clogged brood chambers,
151 ; comb designs, 150, 189 ;
comb in sections, 233 ; Curious
sample of, 19, 38 ; Early, 145,
199, 213, 245 ; English and
foreign, 17 ; eight years old
160 ; Eucalyptus, 164 ; Extract-
ing, 85 ; Extracting heather,
339 ; for shows. Packing, 224 ;
foreign, 25, 35, 45, 55, 62, 67 ;
from high and low lands, 228 ;
from foul broody stocks, 287 ;
from brood nests, 322 ; Granu-
lation of, 68 ; in petrified tree,
218 ; Industry, 334 ; Judging,
259, 340 ; Marketing, 477 ;
Prices current of, 311, 326;
Price and disposal of, 365 ;
plants, 439, 458 : press. The
"Garstang," 407; Removing
surplus, 321, 365; "rings,"
samples, 40, 299, 400 ; Selling,
480 ; statistics, and profits
from bees, 398 ; Uses of, 198 ;
vinegar, 447, 475 ; vessels, Gal-
vanised, 275 ; Working bees
for, 277

Honey imports, 22, 31, 55, 73,
105, 163, 193, 267, 273, 284, 313,
363, 442, 453, 492

Honey imports for 1893, 32

" Honour to whom honour is
due," 266, 275

Hooks for wiring frames, 39

Hotbeds near hives, 109

How, a Hants cottager sells his
honey, 234 ; comb foundation
should hang in frames, 231,

251 ; I got on with my double-
queened hive, 53 ; I prepare
for producing honeycomb in
sections, 233 ; I commenced
bee-keeping, 325, 336 ; long
may brood be exposed, 278 ;
they manage a county show
in Essex, 173 ; to deal with
swarms, 235 ; to judge when
honey flow begins, 176 ; to
know which hive has swarmed,
274 ; to make bee-keeping
profitable, 149, 158; to make
white mead, 153 ; to prepare
honey for showing, 110

Hopeful, prospects for the coming
season, 153 ; report, 295

Hunger swarms, 436

Hybrid bees. Marking of, 128

Hydromel, Russian method of
making, 439

Immature brood cast out, 199
Imperfect, combs, 267 ; bees cast

out, 367
Important paper on foul brood,

123
Improved super-clearer, 351
Improving, the " W. B. C." end,

6. 12, 16, 25 ; strains of bees,

217
Increasing stocks, 227, 278
Influenza, Remedy for, 439
Insects and flowers, 29, 476
Instinct or intelligence ? 126
In the hut, 85
Internal condition judged by

hive entrance, 143
Introducing, queens, 185, 286 ;

queens to supered stocks, 247 ;

virgin queens, 278
Invitation to exhibitors, 272

Joining bee associations, 110
Judging age of honey, 259 ;

honey, 340
July swarms, 251

Labels Association, 95, 113, 121,
126, 135, 428 ; do they help to
sell glucose ? 425
Labourer's new departure, 127
Lace paper for sections, 175
Lady's bee experience, 133
Lantern slides, 80, 436, 460
Late, swarms, 368 ; autumn feed-
ing, 386
Lecture, by Mr. Wells, 79 ; on
bee-keeping, 12, 99, 113, 124,
476; tour. Bee Van, 128
Lecturers', errors, 16, 47 ; and

teachers, 13, 23
Length of top bars, 98
Legal right of ownership in run-
away swarms, 301, 307
Letters by " Lordswood," 25
Libelling the bees, 438
Ligurian-English bees, 464
Lime trees not flowering, 259
Line from Dr. C. C. Miller, 453
Loss of. Queen, 338 ; Queen in
spring, 147 ; Queen in " Wells "
hive, 156 ; stocks, 347
Locality important. Understand-
ing, 437
Location for large apiary, 489,
515

Making artificial swarms from

skeps, 206 ; beeswax without

bees, 237 ; foundation from

foul-broody combs, 277; hive

roofs. Waterproof, 53;

" Wells " hives, 27

Management of swarms, 201, 247

Manufactured combs, 181

Marketing unfinished sections,

46 ; honey, 477
Market for our honey, 212

March swarm, 133
Material for dividers, 69
Material for standing hives on,

398
Mead making, 75, 146 ; in tins,

449
Mead, How to make white, 153
Mealiness in wax, 449
Meeting of bee-keepers at

"Royal Show," 271, 288
Medicating bee-candy, Napthol

Beta for, 469
Melting old combs for wax, 297
Men of force, 395
Mesh of wire for extractor, 360
Metal ends, 37
Meteorological summary, 136,

188, 238, 328, 358, 418, 448, 509
Mildewed combs, 119 ; pollen,

119
Miscellaneous, 25, 38, 55, 75
Mishap to queen, 317, 348 ; in

taking bees to heather, 327
Missing contributors, 495
Mis-shapen combs, 285
Monstrosity, A queen (?), 146
Moors, Success at the, 408
More light wanted, 173
Moth-infested combs, 168
Mouldy pollen in combs, 109 ;

combs, 399
Moulding wax, 267
Mounting Microscopic Slides, 497
Moving bees, 25, 67, 119, 1S7,

302, 330, 349, 468, 470, 474, 47.5
Moving bees into bee-house, 88 ;

from church roof, 297
Mr. Wells' report and beeswax,

515
Mr. Wells' report for 1894, 493,

504

"Nameless disease" among
bees, 249

Naphthaline in bee-hives, 399

Naphthol Beta for bee-candy,
469

Natural stimulation, 153

Need of a text-book, 331

New method of hanging frames,
16

New remedy for influenza, 439

Night's frost, 211

" Nondescript," A very homely,
387

Notes by the way, 3, 22, 43, 63,
84, 105, 144, 163, 182, 202, 224,
243, 273, 302, 324, 345, 364, 383,
404, 425, 443, 492

Notes from Northants, 45, 78
,, for beginners, 76
,, from the workshop, 128
„ from Notts, 213
,, from Derbyshire, 253
,, from the apiary. By a
Scottish bee - keeper,
275
,, from Sussex, 453

Nothing new in forcing swarm-
ing, 295

Novices and hive making, 109

Novice's report, 357

Novelties for the year '94, 155,
175

Novel location for a stray
swarm, 363

Nucleus hives. Forming, 279

Oak floor-boards for hives, 229
Observatory hives for shows, 217
Old honey for feeding, 369
"Old School" bee man, 55, 69,

79
Old bee-keeper's first year with

frame-hives, 54
Opening hives too early, 166
Open letter to Mr. Wells, 173
Overhauling in autumn, 458
Over-swarming, 337
Ownership of swarms, 174, 268,

296, 301, 307

Packing bees for transit in

frame-hives, 175, 199 ; down

for winter, 401, 402; honey for

shows, 224; "Wells" hives

for transit, 367
Painting stocked hives, 58
Parasites, Bee, 381
Past season in Hunts, 74
Patent hives, 39
Perforated "Wells" dummies,

Framing, 68
Perforating flowers. Bees, 275
Perishing for want. Bees, 168
Phenol and Phenyle, 296
Pleasant gathering, 281 ; trips

to the heather, 335
"Plumping" bees, 135
Politics in a beehive, 377
Pollen, Artificial, 131 ; choked

combs, 179 ; in combs, mouldy,

109, 110, 119 ; necessary for

brood rearing," 178
Preparing hives for swarms, 30 ;

for winter, 38, 418 ; spring, 61
Present bee prospects, 121
Preserving surplus queens, 221,

236, 257, 375
Preventing swarming, 70, 106,

118, 167, 189, 209, 217, 277 ;

robbing, 7, 129, 467
Price of British honey and

foreign, 64
Prices of honey, 311, 326
Profit and pleasure in bee-
keeping, 361, 383
Profit from comb-building, 491
Profits from bee-keeping. Honey

statistics and, 398
Promoting bee-keeping, 336
Propolis, Removing, 460
Propolising " Wells " dummies,

356
Proprietorship of the BEE

Journal, 97
Prospects in Yorkshire, 145 ;

in Berks, 154 ; for coming

season, 153
Prospects for bee-keeping, 1
Publishing names of exhibitors,

177
Pulled queens, 19
Putting on sections and supers,

157, 214
Putting swarms together, 266

Queen bee's court, 459 ; cast out
of hive, 177, 215, 249, 474 ; cell,
Worker bees in, 306 ; deposed,
179 ; Drone breeding, 429 ; ex-
cluders, 130, 176 ; larvae killed
in cells by lightning, 284 ; Mis-
hap to, 317, 348 ; rearing, 59,
118, 296, 327, 373, 384, 393, 399,
405, 414, 436, 444, 458, 460, 464,
485 ; rearing in Canada, 136 ;
rearing and dealing with
nuclei, 313 ; rearing. Dividing
stocks for, 227 ; refusing to
breed drones, 338 ; Swarm de-
serting, 287 ; Suspected loss
of, 235 ; Unfertilised, 196 ; un-
able to fly with swarm, 205.

Queenless hives. Dealing with,
176 ; stocks, 409 ; stocks. Rapid
building up of, 185 ; Time, a
swarmed stock is, 209

Queenlessness, Spring condition
and, 61 ; Suspected, 386, 387

Quilts versus wood covers over
bees, 355, 375

Queens and fertile workers, 247 ;
" Balling," 90, 247 ; " Balled,"
141, 166 ; Best way to find, 167;
Buying, 245, 264, 274 ; Clip-
ping, 50, 119, 178; Drone-
breeding, 38 ; from sections,
Excluding, 27 ; Fertilisation
of, 258, 278 ; 453 ; in full
colonies with laying queen,
128; for 1893, Young, 351;
killed, 216 ; Loss of, 147, 156,

INDEX TO VOLUME XXII.

338; Introducing, 185, 247, 278,
286; in "Wells" hive, 279;
Finding, 150 ; Pulled, 19 ;
Preserving surplus, 221, 236,
257, 452 ; Renewing, 291, 297 ;
Rearing of good, 188 ; Small v.
full-sized, 137 ; Settling a dis-
pute about, 337 ; Swarming
and young, 171 ; Wandering,
316
Queries and Replies, Weekly;
American, 89 ; Beginners, 138 ;
179, 267, 309, 331

Races of bees, 330

Rainfall, 76

Raising queens by bees taken

from chimney, 209
Rapid building up of queenless

stocks, 185
Raspberries, Bees and, 76
Readers, To our, 21, 202, 223, 482
Rearing queens, 59, 118, 296, 327,

373, 384, 393, 399, 405, 414, 436,

444, 458, 460, 464, 485
Removing bees from trees, 215,

226, 234, 235, 246
Removing bees from roofs, 47
Removing honey from brood

frames, 156
Removing propolis, 460
Removing supers in winter, 8
Removing surplus honey, 321,

365
Remedying "spoilt" bee food,

197
Renewing combs in hives, 119 ;

queens, 291, 297
Reply to Mr. Walton's " open

letter," 183
Requeening, 78, 131, 158, 198,

317, 482, 485 ; and drone-
breeding queens, 38; and

buying queens, 245, 264, 274 ;

a double stock, 409 ; Foul

brood and, 195 ; is it neces-
sary •? 482, 496
Restart with l^ees, 295, 359
Restocking a " Wells " hive, 409
Returning second swarms, 148,

348
Report, Veteran bee-keeper's,

34 ; on dummies foi- " Wells "

hives and season's results, 365
Results in 1894, Bee-keeping,

near a Lancashire city, 465
Review of Continental bee

papers 439
Request, 399
Robbery, 428 ; Preventing, 129,

467
Robber bees. Black, 137
Robber bees, 189
Royal Agricultural Show, 162,

242, 249. 262, 271
Royal Counties Agricultural

Society Show at Canterbury,

252 .
Royal Lancashire Agricultural

Show, 311
Runaway swarms, 301, 318

Sample of honey, 40, 299 ;
Curious, 38

Save the bees, 303, 327, 396

Saving a weak Jot of bees in
skeps, 399

Seasonable hints, 131 ; ques-
tions, 178, 217, 387, 460, 469

Season in the Fylde district, 194
,, in Essex, 267
,, Dumfriesshire, 274
,, of over-swarming, 292

Sections at shows. Broaching,
349 ; and section racks, 58 ;
Bees not taking to, 70, 278 ;
Drone comb for, 289 ; Glazing,
259 ; Honeycomb in, 233 ;
Marketing unfinished, 46 ;
Putting on early, 214; Using
full sheets of foundation in,
68; Width of edging for, 358

Section-racks, " W.B.C.," 67
Section-racks and bee-ways, 457
Section-box, 189
Securing early drones, 59
Second swarms, Returning, 148,

348
Sectioning skeps for beginners,

227
Second swarms issue? When do,

307
Securing worker bees to send

with queen, 320
Selecting queen-cells, 276
Self-hivers, 282, 495, 513, 514
,, a sirccess, 226, 483

,, and swarming, 437

Self -introduction, 327
Selling honey, 480
Senses of animals and insects,

473
Settling a dispute about queens,

377
Shallow-frames, 293 ; Fixing

foundations in, 98 ; brood

chambers. 111
Shows :— Agricultural Hall, 351 ;

Birkenhead, 391 ; Blankney,

823 ; Cambridge, 262, 271 ;

Canterbury, 252 : Coventry,

362 ; Castle Douglas, 382 ;

Devizes, 252 ; Dunfermline,

353 ; Derby, 392 ; Farningham,

272 ; Grimsby, 292 ; Hereford,

362 ; Kingston, Radnorshire,
353; Kilmarnock, 432 ; Llaneg-
wad, S. Wales, 322; Mable-
thorpe, 333 ; Milford, 344 ;
Maidenhead, 345 ; Moorgreen,

363 ; Oxfordshire, 211 ; Shrews-
bury, 342 ; Stone, 352

Single V. double-queened hives,

225
Size of standard frame, 28
,, hole through which a bee

can pass, 464
Sliding floi.r boards, 119
Small V. full-sized queens, 137
Smokers, 436

Some Christmas Notes, 512
Something like an early swarm,

45
Spacing frames, 217 ; in surplus

chambers, 468
Space below frames in winter,

437
Spring condition and queenless-

ness, 61
Spring dwindling, 44 ; examina-
tion of hives, 141 ; feeding and

stimulation, 151 ; manipula-
tion,Time for, 88 ; preparation,

61
Starting bee-shows, 266

,, bee-keeping, 29, 499
,, associations, 472, 484
Stealing exhibits, 447 ; bees, 484
Stimulation, Natural, 153
Stimulative feeding, 131
Stimulating and chilled brood,

111
Stings, 35, 46, 55, 60
Stingless bees, 184
Stocks, increasing, 227, 278 ;

drone-breeding, 227 ; Honey

from foul broody, 287
Straw skep, 92 lb. from a, 337
Strength of bees, 439
Straightening crooked combs, 89,

319, 327
Subduing bees, 361
Sugar for bee food, 120 ; Prices

of, 452
Suggestion for adoption in 1895,

A, 504
Supers for exhibition, 8 ; Putting

on, 157
Super clearer. Improved, 351
Super foundation, 160
Superedstock,Introducingqueen

to, 247
Supering, 221, 187; "Wells"

hives, 120 ; skeps, 157

Supering, Brace combs and, 479

Surplus-chambers, Spacing
frames in, 97, 468 ; Wide combs
in, 261, 468; honey. Removing,
321, 365

Suspected combs, 168, 189; dy-
sentery, 26, 80 ; foul brood,
167, 398 ; loss of queen,
235 ; (lueenlessness, 387

Swarms, 210 ; and swarmed
hives. Dealing with, 216, 221 ;
building imperfect combs, 378 ;
Contraction for, 218 ; Direct
hiving of, 222 ; Drones with,
259 ; deserting queen, 287 ;
decamping, 294 ; entering
strange hives, 216 ; Early, 185,
186, 204, 215, 226 ; for " Wells"
hives, 256 ; Foundation for,
258 ; from swarms, 317 ; from
hollow trees, 155 ; from
"Wells" hives, 178, 196;
Hiving my first, 235 ; Helping,
257 ; Hunger, 436 ; in March
and April, 44, 76; in frame
hives. Hiving, 156 ; in July,
251 ; Management of, 201, 247 ;
Making artificial, 206, 207, 246,
308; Ownership of, 174, 268,
296, 301, 307 ; returning to
parent hive, 286; Runaway,
301, 318; Transferring recently
hived, 216 : Uniting, 358 ;
Vagrant and other, 456

Swarm, A March, 133 ; catchers,
203 ; Gigantic, 304 ; with two
queens, 306 ; Late, 367

Swarmed skep cleared out by
robbers, 367

Swarming, 307 ; and drone brood,
137 ; and young queens, 171 ;
and self-hivers, 437 ; Clipping
queens to prevent, 178 ; Early,
15, 25, 138, 146, 186; extra-
ordinary, 33, 43 ; Excessive,
48, 337 ; in the North. Early,
175 ; mishaps, 277 ; vagaries,
284 ; Preventing, 99, 119, 129,
167, 189, 209, 277

Syrup, Boiling, 130
,, To make, 160

Taming vicious bees, 77
" Tanging " bees in, 1665
Taking bees to heather for
profit, 156, 174 ; bees from
hollow trees, 180 ; bees from
wall of house in February, 253 ;
bees to heather, 294, 310. 327 ;
honey from brood nest, 322
Teachers, Lecturers and, 23
Teaching bee-keeping, 461
Technical, instruction in bee-
keeping, 253, 371, 391, 476;
Committee of the Cornwall,
CO., 391 ; in Cornwall, 448
Thanks to Mr. " Wells," 205
Time, for spring manipulation,
88 ; A swarmed skep in queen-
less, 209
Top-bars, Length of, 89 ; of

frames, Scraping, 110
Transferring. 85, 214 ; from skeps
to frame hives, 29, 48, 58, 77,
80, 130, 137, 207, 307, 318 ; to
"Wells" hives, 68, 227, 268;
by inverting skeps, 89 ; combs
infected with wax moth, 109 ;
bees in the West Indies, 117 ;
bees in winter, 498 ; bees, wax-
moth in quilts, &c., 118; old
combs from skeps, 128 ; bees
and comb, 195 ; recently hived
swarms, 216 ; swarms from
straw skeps, 306, 318 ; for
beginners, 419
Trade Catalogues received, 130,

140, 169, 189, 199, 218
Trapping, beeslfor making Arti-
ficial Swarms, 205 ; drones to
prevent swarming, 217

Treatment of foul brood, 105 ;

broody hives, 334
Trifolium Incarnatum, 440
Trouble with " Wells " dividers,

146
Two-queen system, 194, 430

Uniformity in appliances, 31

Unfinished sections. Marketing,
46

Unfertilised queen, 196

Uniting, bees, 361 ; driven bees,
328 ; in autumn, 322 ; swarms,
358 ; hybrid Ijees, 380 ; bees in
"Wells " hives, 457 ; Avoiding
exciting bees when, 429 ; trying
Dr. Miller's plan, 508

University Extension Colleges
and technical instruction in
bee-keeping, 371

Unsealed honey for keeping, 279

Unseasonable manipulation, 61

Useful hints, 11, 31, 61, 111, 131,
151, 171, 201, 221, 251, 261, 291,
311, 321, 351, 361, 381, 401, 431,
451, 471

Useful hints for beginners, 325,
336 *^

Use, of phenol in curing foul
brood, 408 ; of a diary in api-
culture, 478

Uses of honey, 198

Using full sheets of foundation
in sections, 68

Using combs not " cleaned up "
by the bees, 138

Using fermented honey as bee
food, 149

Using poisonous substances
about hives, 458

Using queen excluders, 176

Vagrant and other swarms, 456
Vagaries, Swarming, 284
Value of the honey bee, 459
Varieties of heather, 369
Ventilation, Upward, 90
Veteran bee-keeper's report, 34
Veteran bee-keeper. Death of a

Scotch, 112
Vinegar, Honey, 447, 475
Vicious bees, are they the most

profitable to keep ? 6
Vicious bees, 25, 54, 286 ; Taming,

77 ; Dealing with, 347
Virgin queens. Introducing, 278
Visit, to an Irish apiary, 116 ; to

Bee-Mount, 165 ; to a Scotch

apiary, 483

Wasp-plague, 151

Wax, adulteration of, 430 ; and
propolis, 90 ; Clarifying dis-
coloured, 78 ; Dealers in, 329 :
rendering with acids, 159 ;
extractor, Cleaning, 359 ; e x-
tractor, A cheap, 237 ; Extra ct-
ing, 119, 207, 359 ; Melting old
combs for, 297 ; without b ees,
Making, 237

Wax-Moth, Transferring combs
infested with, 109 ; in quilts,
Ac, 118

Weather reports, 17, 52, 99, 154,
238, 358, 418, 448, 485 ; for Feb-
ruary, 118 ; for March, 137 ;
for April, 188; for June, 297;
for July, 317 ; for 1893, 17 ; for
1894, 30, 55 forcasts, 75 ; and
the bees, 106, 125

Weeds about hives, Destroying,
475

Weight of honey gathered by
bees in a day, 179

Weights and Measures in bee-
recipes, 361

" Wells, " dividers, Trouble
with, 146 ; versus " W. B. C."
hives, 292 ; dummy, Adapta-

VI

INDEX TO VOLUME XXII.

tion of the, 375; dummy,
liees propolising, 149, 356 ;
dummy, Thickness of, 498

• Wells " system, 39, 79, 125, 212,
426, 493; Hives for, 52; for
beginners, 7S ; Beginners and
the, 109 ; reply to Mr. Wal-
ton's Letter, 183 ; Another ad-
vantage of, 256 ; Claimant of
the, 226

'Wells" hives, 28, 204, 369;
Adopting the, 27 ; Making,
27 ; Working, 128; after
the winter, 135 ; Loss
of Queen in, 156 ; Swarms
and, 178, 256 ; Transferring
stocks to, 227, 268 ; do they
contain one or two Colonies,
244, 255, 266, 283 ; Bees " ball-

ing" queen in, 247 ; Queens in,
279 ; My first experience with,
346 ; Dummies for, 365 ; for
transit. Packing, 367 ; from a
cottagers' point of view, 396 ;
Re-stocking, 409 ; Experience
with, 418 ; Uniting bees in, 457;
who originated the idea, 225 ;
Supering, 120

Width of edging for sections,
358

" Wilful Bee," 431, 445

Will Naptholine and N'Beta
spoil honey, 216

Width of combs for brood
nests, 75

Wide entrances in winter, 12

Wide-combs in|surplus chambers,
261, 468

Wide-frames, My experience
with, 296

Wide-shouldered frames, 147

Wintering driven-bees in frame-
hives, 329 ;' weak lots of bees
in cellar, 377 ; weak stock in
" Wells " hive, 398 ; bees at
high temperature, 399

Wintered above frame-hive,
Bees in Skep, 207

"W. B. C," end, 37, 66; end.
Improving the, 6, 12, 25 ; end,
controversy, 37 ; end, New
Wide, 44, 67 ; hive, 48, 59, 86,
96 ; section rack, 67 ; hives.
Transferring to, 68 ; dummies,
67,77

White, bees (?), 442; mead.
Making, 153

Wliat is honey? 498

Wu-e for extractors. Size of

mesh, 360
Wiring, shallow - frames, 8 ;

frames. Hooks for, 39 ; starters

of foundation, 349
Working bees for honey, 277 ;

on ivy, 419
Worker bees in queen-cells, 305
Word to Sussex bee-keepers, 472

Young queens, Preserving sur-
plus, 221 ; for 1895, 351

Zinc-roofs not the best. A Sub-
stitute, 53 ; Zinc excluders,
236 ; Do bees carry eggs
through zinc excluder, 375

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Apparatus for living swarms, 222 i Comb-foundation, 202, 232

Bee-feeder, 431 " " Eke," 60

Bee parasite, .381 T Floorboard, 49

Body-box, 50 I Frame-hive, prepared for swarm,

Chas. Nash Alibott (portrait), 101 ! 157

Hive roof, 50

Hive stand, 59

Legs for stands, 00

"Lift," 49

Outer case for hive, 49

Packing box for honey jars, 225
Shallow-frame box, 59
"W. B. C." Section rack 67
" W. B. C. ' Hive, 49

Printed by Wyman & SoNS, Limited, 74-76, Great Queen-street, London, W.C.

The British

Bee Journal

No. 602. Vol. XXII. N.S. 210.] JANUARY 4, 1894.

[Published Weekly-

1894— ITS PEOSPECTS FOR BEE-
KEEPING.

During the twenty-one eventful years
which have passed by since the British
Bee Journal first began its task of
labouring for the cause of bee-keeping,
we find it difficult to recall one which at
its commencement appeared so full of
interest to the pursuit as the year now
before us. After advancing step by step
in the march of progress, we have now
reached what may be termed the busi-
ness stage, and in this particular depart-
ment there is so much to be done by
way of improving or developing the
present condition of things that no one
whose heart is in the cause need be
fearful of not finding exercise for such
superabundant energy or zeal as he may
happen to possess.

We refer, of course, to the purely
commercial aspect of the case, and it
may be said regarding this that it is
perfectly clear that in these days none
can afford to stand still and hope that
success will attend them. "VVe must
move on or some one of the many
strivers in the race will push past us.
This fact comes forciljly home to the
British bee-keeper in the efforts now
being made by our brethren — and we
must not forget that they are our
brethren — in all parts of the world to
get hold of our home market for honey.
This "foreign competition," now so
l^rominently coming to the front, is, we
must bear in mind, perfectly legitimate
if honestly conducted, and must be met
fairly and squarely on its merits. Besides
it is by no means confined to our little
industry of bee-keeping, but permeates
almost every trade and industry in the
kingdom, and there are few crafts having

so good a case for hopefulness that
things will eventually come out right
as that of bee-keeping. And so, while
admitting that the foreigner may under-
sell us (we cannot alter that fact), our
duty lies in endeavouring to prevent him
from trading on our good name. This
we may do Avithout inflicting wrong or
injustice on any one.

Beyond noting with much satisfaction
that Bee Associations as well as indivi-
dual bee men are rising to the occasion,
we need but to add here that in our
pages for the last few weeks will be found
plenty of matter for thought, all bearing
directly on the subject and plainly show-
ing how desirable it is that a well-
directed effort should be made in order
to place the question of British honey
production on a vastly improved basis.
With the various communications in our
pages — directly referring to the question
— before them, it will be less difficult to
think out remedies for the abuses and,
as our friend "The Heathen " would say,
" abnormally " crooked things requiring
to be made straight. But these straighten-
ings are not entirely confined to the
" foreign " question. As will be seen in
the correspondence, there are some things
nearer at hand which need " sorting." A
very apt illustration of this has just
reached us in the form of a letter
addressed — let us say in perfect good
faith — to a firm who are dealers in honey,
by the British producer from whom they
obtained supplies. By suppressing all
names, as Ave are bound to do, no injury
is done to individuals, but the original
document, which lies before us, clearly
vouches for the genuineness of the case.
The letter is as follows : —

November 1, 1893.
Dear Sir, — Please send what empty crates
you have on hand, so that I may refill them
and send you. Eegarding the honey I am

2

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[Jan. 4, 1894.

sending you, I would like you to know that
the bees, besides gathering honey from flowers,
have been fed wich sugar-syrup with the intent
of increasing the yield. Although I have
never had any complaint of the quality of the
honey so made, which I belive to be satisfac-
tory, I have made up my mind either not to
feed the bees so again or sell the honey as so
made. You must understand that the bees
convert the syrup into honey in the same way
as when extracting it from flowers.

The honey I intend sending you is well
sealed, and is of the same quality as you have
had from me in the past, which, I have no
doubt, has given every satisfaction to your
customers. — I am, yours truly, •.

Notwithstanding tlie very natural in-
dignation which it is to be hoped will
arise in the breasts of all thoughtful bee-
keepers on perusing the above, we must
give the writer credit for his intention to
" either sell his honey as so made " {i.e.,
syrup-fed), or give up syrup-feeding for
the purpose of increasing the yield. We
also accept as sincere the expression of
his very erroneous belief that " bees
convert the syrup into honey." And we
are glad to give him an unqualified as-
surance that bees do no such thing. Also
to inform him that sugar-syrup is sugar-
syrup only, whether swallowed and re-
gurgitated by bees or not. Having given
him this assurance, we charitably hope
that he will discontinue what is not, and
cannot be, other than a nefarious and
dishonest practice, calculated to do serious
harm to an otherAvise legitimate and
delightful pursuit.

There will be abundant opportunity
for the full discussion of whatever projects
may be formulated for the purpose of
remedying the evils connected with honey
selling, and it is to be hoped that readers
will show their interest in a matter which
so directly concerns themselves by freely
expressing their views. The establishing
of a thoroughly efficient system of placing
the home grown product before the
British public, and of enabling the latter
to easily distinguish between it and the
foreign article is the task which faces
the British bee-keeper of to-day, and if
this task is successfully accomplished, a
service will thereby be rendered to a now
heavily handicapped home industry,
which will be both real and permanent.

Referring to the need for keeping
abreast of the times, we trust that the
alteration in our present issue will be

generally approved, and with renewed
hopes that a year of usefulness for our-
selves and success to the craft lies before
us, Ave start hopefully on another year's
labour.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.

Meeting of the Committee, held at 105,
Jermyn-street, on Wednesday, December 20.
Present, T. W. Cowan (in the chair), Hon. and
Rev. H. Bligh, J. Garratt, J. H. New, Major
Fair and J. M. Hooker, ex-officio, John
Huckle, Secretary.

Communications were received from the
Rev. Dr. Bartrum (who had previously at-
tended a Sub-Committee meeting). Rev. G. W.
Bancks, and H. Jonas, regretting their in-
ability to be present.

The minutes of the last meeting were con-
firmed and signed,

The Secretary reported that he had written
to the several affiliated Associations urging
them to solicit the support of the several
Agricultural and Horticultural Societies within
their respective districts, and that the follow-
ing had acknowledged the receipt of this
communication, viz. :— Herefordshire, Shrop-
shire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire.

A letter was read from Mr. F. H. Meggy
offering to assist the Committee in any steps
that might be taken to bring the industry of
bee-keeping before the Board of Agriculture.
The Secretary was requested to communicate
with Mr. Meggy, and to thank him for his
letter.

The Chairman reported, on behalf of the
Educational Sub-Committee, that Mr. T. S.
Elliott, of Southwell, Notts, and Mr. G.
Franklin, of Ryton-on-Dunsmore, had passed
the second-class examination. In the special
examination of a knowledge of " foul brood,"
Mr. R. French, of Leamington, had also been
successful.

Resolved — " That the next meeting of
the Committee be held on Wednesday,
January 24."

Members desirous of making nominations
of members for election on the Committee for
the ensuing year should make application to
the Secretary for a nomination paper. In
accordance with the rules of the Association
each member of the Committee must be nomi-
nated by two members of the Association.
Nominations must be made not later than
January 27.

HUNTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

On Saturday afternoon, December 16, a
meeting of the Hunts Bee-keepers' Association
was held at the Fountain Hotel for the pur-
pose of distributing the prizes won at the
Huntingdon Show in July last, and general

Jan. i, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

3

business. Lord Sandwich presided, and there
were also present : The Rev. C. G. Hill (Hon.
Sec), the Rev. H. S. Budge, Messrs. A. W.
Marshall, 0. N. White, B. Allen, W. H.
Woods, Z. Hobbs, R. Brown, W. Ellis, Mrs.
Allpress, and Mrs. Shelton.

The prizes were distributed as follows : —

E. Allen, 15s. ; W. H. Woods, 153. ; R.
Brown, 14s. ; Mrs. Allpress, 14s. ; H. J. Bull,
lis. ; Mrs. Shelton, 2s. ; Z. Hobbs, 4s. 6d. ;
W. Ellis, 10s.

In the course of a discussion which followed
on the subject of Bee Lectures delivered in the
county, the Rev. C. G. Hill said he must
remark with regard to the lectures that were
given that he wrote to all the clergy of the
different parishes. He got what rooms he
could for the lectures, but he did not carry out
Mr. White's recommendation as to lectures
being given in all villages, because he had
to find the room, and if the clergyman
thought that bee-keeping would not be of
any use there, he (Mr. Hill) did not like to
press it very strongly. But if there was any
wish that the lectures should be given he
would endeavour to carry out the recom-
mendation.

In replying, Mr. White observed that in his
opinion there was an opportunity now of ex-
tending their little association, and spreading
the knowledge of bee-culture. In fact, there
was a better opportunity now than ever existed
before. Two of the district committees had
been kind enough to give a grant of £10 each,
and he suggested that the time had come when
they should go before all the committees and
ask them to place bee-keeping amongst the
subjects of technical instruction. He proposed
that the district committees be approached
with a view of getting bee-culture placed
amongst the subjects of technical instruction.

]Mr. Marshall seconded the proposition,
which was eventually carried.

The Rev. C. G. Hill said bee-keeping was a
sure indication of a man being above his
fellows, and if they could encourage people
to do something a little more scientific than
usual they ought to do so.

Mr. Hobbs said he could conscientiously
tell them that bee-keeping was a great benefit
to him, and when a poor labouring man had to
toil all the week for lis., and had a wife and
family dependent upon him, and a home to
keep up, it became those who knew what
would benefit him to advise him to follow
their example. He quite agreed that the
Society ought to spread the knowledge of bee-
culture as far as possible. The more the know-
ledge was spread and the more it was practised,
the better it would be for the agricultural
labourers and cottagers throughout the country.
He felt bee-keeping should be encouraged, and
that quite as much good might be done that
way as by teaching boys to carpenter, women
to wash, and girls to cook.

The Chairman referring to the remarks of
Mr. Hobbs said he was quite sure the County

Council Committees would carefully consider
any application to assist bee-keeping, but he
must defend the County Council against any
possible attack for not giving money, because
they had heard that day that they gave money
and it had not been spent. He did not think,
under the circumstances, that the County
Council or their district committees could be
expected to do more. With regard to what
Mr. Hobbs had said about cooking, nursing,
and carpentry, they must remember that the
object of the County Council was to spend the
money for the good of the greatest number.
Although he did not say that bee-keeping
was not an excellent subject for the expenditure
of the technical education money, he could not
allow the subjects in which the Council did
instruct to be put iu any way behind bee-
keeping.

A vote of thanks was accorded the Chair-
man, and the meeting then terminated.
(Coramunicated.)

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not londertake t<i return rejected communications.

Conmiunications relating to the literary department,
reports of A-tsociations, Shou's, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, <i-c., must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the ' British Bee .Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, d-c., must be addressed
?o"The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of Advertisements).

',* In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as ivell
as the page on which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1687] The record making or breaking year
of 1893 is ended ; Christmas, with its joyous
gatherings in the home circle, is passed, and
we again look forward with hope to the New
Year. At this time, the advent of the year,
we make our resolutions ; make, as it were, a
new start in life, leaving the old ways behind,
and pressing forward to a better, to a higher
standard in all that concerns our calling, our
work, our life. With this number we start a
new volume of ovr Journal. I say our as a
good part of the B. Journal is made vip of
correspondence from bee-keepers, and I trust
this part will continue to be even more so in
the future than it has been in the past.
Please think, friends, that the most
trivial items of bee news and doings
in the apiaries will be interesting and helpful
to some one — ^perhaps a beginner may find the
simple^act a veritable stepping-stone to success.
And if new ideas puzzle the brain of the tyro in
the craft, possibly a similar train of ideas may
have been worked out by some one else years

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Jan. 4, 1894.

before, and have been recorded ia past volumes
of Bee Journals, to such our Editors are
ever ready to give attention and advice ; and
where such ideas start out on a new, untried
path, the B. B. J. ought to be the recipient, as
some slight acknowledgment for the great and
manifold benefits it confers on bee-keepers as
the years glide by.

What is this new idea of Mr. Simmins,
as per advertisement column : bees swarming
in March and April — is this to be a real fact,
or will it prove a will-o'-the-wisp and elude
our grasp just as we think the have it well in
hand — this method will only be of use ia very
forward districts in very forward seasons. Of
what use will a swarm of bees be in March
to the bee-keeper in agricultural districts,
except as a novelty ? then what of the young
virgin queens, how are they to become fertile ?
as, 1 take it, the weather will be too cold to
induce drones to take wing, even if sach is
produced abnormally ; and, even if drones
are on the wing, there will be every
probability of inbreeding. If the system,
whatever it may be, prevents spring dwindling
that will be some comfort, but bees swarming
or ready to swarm in March and April ! Well,
no thank you, Mr. S., not for me, they would
be worse than useless to me, as their keep for
some three months would land them so deep
in debt to their food provider that the short
period of their working life in June would
never repay.

If any known method will ensure each stock
of bees to reach the " boiling over " point at
the opening of the first honey flow that method
is the method for practical bee-men who wish to
make a profit of the pursuit.

The district will determine in a very gi-eat
measure when stimulation of brood rearing
should begin. If a large quantity of sycamore
trees are near the apiary endeavour to have
the bees in conditioa to take advantage of the
pretty sure flow of honey fr jm this source ; or
if extensive fields of titrnijj or swede-seed is
grown, then strive to be ready to reap the first
honey harvest, and, in fruit districts, even an
earlier harvest may be gathered, provided the
labourers are ready in sufficient numbers to
collect the sweets of nature, and at the same
time increase the crop of fruit for the horticul-
turist by the perfect fertilisation of the blossoms

Lecturero' errors are receivicg attention and
ought to do so. I opine the errors are more
of the lajysus linguce type than errors of
ignorance. Very often we find men who are
well posted, in fact, thoroughly conversant
with a subject on which they can talk fluently
and intelligently to one or two in conversation,
feel themselves at a loss for words when
addressing a large audience ; in this state of
embarrassment the wrong word will slip out,
and the cool, coUpcted, listening critic, who is
ever ready to find fault, pounces on the off'end-
ing word and shows it up in print. Some
eighteen months ago, I was asked to form one
of a committee, in connection with our CO.,

to decide on what subjects would be most suit-
able to be taught by means of lectures under
the Technical Education Scheme, and I im-
pressed on our C.C. that lecturers, if they
would reach and teach the labourers the first
series of lectures on whatever subject,
should be of the most elementary kind for
the simple reason that they would be talk-
ing to men who had mainly started work
after passing the Third Standard examin-
ation, and the elder lads after passing
the Fourth Standard. Now what would
technical terms convey to an audience com-
posed principally of scholars such as these ?
My contention is that after a course of lectures
has been given in a district, that to be of any
permanent utility classes should be formed in
a central village, to which those who are
interested in any one subject can repair and
continue the study of that subject, in conjunc-
tion with kindred spirits, under a good teacher
paid out of the grant ; then, in a few years,
we should have a class of men well up in any
subject which they have studied. But for
educated lecturers to come into villages and
txse scientific phrases and technical terms
would simply place their subject above the
reach of ninety-nine out of one hundred of the
audience. — W. Woodley, Beedon, Newhury.

AMONG THE BEES.

[1688.] Are Vicious Bees the most Pro-
fitable TO Keep ?— The affirmative to this is
a very prevalent idea among many bee-
keepers of the present day, though, according
to my experiences, somewhat an erroneous
one. The two qualities — ^viciousness and in-
dustry— seem as opposite in character in bee-
life as it is in that of human. No doubt there
are many vicious colonies that give a very
good return, and so there are as many mild-
tempered colonies that give equally as good an
account. The one characteristic does not
follow the other, and are anything but
synonymous.

I have made it my duty for many years
to weed out of my apiaries all colonies show-
ing a preponderance of irritability ; in con-
sequence, I never upon any occasion have to
use protection when working among the bees,
surrounded as I am on all sides by strong,
active colonies. I do not, of course, mean to
assert that my bees never sting — far from it ;
but that a minimum amount is received, con-
sidering the number I keep. We profes-
sionals have to handle bees of all sorts, vicious
(very much so) and otherwise. Many a
colony have I seen that resented even the
approach of a man, horse, dog, or fowl to
within 6 ft. of the hive, yet rarely do we find
such colonies profitable — frequently, no doubt,
from the fact that few people care for the job
of attending to their wants owing to this irri-
tability, but I think mostly for the reason that
irritability and industry do not, as a rule, go

Jan. 4, 1894]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

hand in hand with bees, or, in fact, any other
living creature.

One of the quietest colonies of bees I ever
handled in my own apiary gave me over
140 lb. of super honey in one season. This
was a single, not a double or " Wells'' hive.
When I say that I removed at one operation
five raclvs of sections and a shallow super
without iising a subjugator of any descrip-
tion, it will give a fair idea of their temper
when handled properly.

We cannot possibly take a single instance
as the foregoing as a proof of any contention
or argument, but the above experience can be
nmltiplied ia my oAvn case over and over
again. Depend upon it a quiet, industrious
colony will give a far larger return than an
irritable, bad-tempered stock which resents any
interference at any time with the outside of
the hive much less with the in.

I note that Mr. Bunney (1670, p. 500) in
very satisfactory terms mentions " quiet half-
bred Ligurians." The stock alluded to above
was of that variety — that is, a Ligurian queen
crossed with an English i drone ; a cross I have
.always held to be very difficult to beat both
for quietness and industry.

Carniolans.— Mr. W. A. NichoUs (1668,
p. 499) gives his experience of Carniolan bees.
I remember some five or six years ago dining
tete-d-tHe in Liverpool with one of our editors,
Mr. W. B. Carr, and having a very long chat
with him re Carniolans. He had then not
long received a colony or two from Carniola,
and didn't then say very much in favour of
them. I don't know whether his opinion has
changed. From the results of this chat I im-
ported several dozens of queens both from Mr.
Frank Benton and another dealer. I " Carnio-
lanised " a lot of my stocks, and ran them for
two years, but got so disgusted with their
swarming proclivities that I made a regular
queen-killing raid upon them the third year.
Without doubt, speaking as a dealer, they are
the finest variety of bees for a queen-rearer
who trades in them to keep. You can get
queens and swarms "galore" — no trouble
about absence of swarms or paucity of queens.
I had eight swarms (?) from one colony in a
single day, each about the size of one's fist.
Why, it was quite a little excitement in the
apiary while those Carniolan stocks were there,
and seemed to raise the spirits of all who had
to keep an eye upon the apiary for the issue
of swarms. You can quite understand the
excitement. I pay 6d. to anyone on the place
who first catches sight of a s warns. I had at
last to get an account-book in which to put
down the various sixpences I had to "shell
out '' at the end of the week. But, alas ! those
sixpences never came back in honey.

Advocates of the Carniolans say there are
Carniolans and Carniolans. Well, all I can
say is that I got hold of the Swarming
Carniolans ; though it is a very peculiar thing
that out of the dozens I had I always
managed to miss t'other sort. That's what I

suppose they call ill-luck ; anyway, I am so
satisfied with my ill-luck that I wouldn't for
the world attempt to try the other luck.

Carrying Bees on Bicycles.^ — My letter
on this subject has drawn forth one answer
(1673), though I fear me its contents are but a
repetition of the adage " An ounce of practice
is worth a ton of theory." Does not Mr.
Cribb know that his plan is the one always
practised by every bicyclist having to carry
anything on a bicycle? It's just the plan I
intended to convey in my letter, I had hereto-
fore always adopted but had discarded in favour
of the new and improved (greatly so) system.
When I say I am greatly obliged to Mr. C. for
allowing me the honour of his conmendations
re some slight superiority of my plan over
carrying the bees supported on the bicycle in
boxes, but it is inadequately expressing the
feeling of deep obligation I am under to him
for his trouble in putting forward the old style.
As to carrying the bees on the bicycle, I left it
to the ingenuity of the bicyclist. I simply
published the description of package most
suitable for packing on bicycle and rider in
quantities most likely to be carried, and not
for just a pound or two, that is all. Now, as
to Mr. C.'s fault-finoing with that package ;
well, it's just theory again. I wrote on my
manuscript -^Vin. for diameter of holes in
zinc, the Editors published that measurement,
the printer made no error ; that is the measure-
ment '(five thirty-seconds of an inch), and if
Mr. C. can ''crowd" an English, Ligurian, or
Carniolan bee through a circular hole of that
diameter I'll say the package is no good.
Yet, it is strange, I have rpceived more than
one letter advising me that a bee can get
through an opening /w of an in^h wide. Yes,
I'm perfectly well aware of that ; but, here's
tlie secret, if the opening is circular it can't.
You see, the larger the holes — consistent with
safety — the better the ventilation. Now
about the hag. If Mr. C. can't make a bag
of canvas 28 in. in circumference fit round a
6 in. sc^uare of zinc, let him get a lady to do
it. I know tlie ladies of the present day make
the sleeves of their dresses — which I often
see more than 28 in. in circumference — fit
round tlie armholes in their dress-bodies,
which are much less than 6 in. in diameter.

Again, no assistant is required in "sacking"
the bees, unless the " sacker " is wofuUy
clumsy, and if Mr. 0. will " go in " for prac-
tice without theory, he will find that to "sack "'
a dozen lots of bees but two- thirds of the time
will be occupied than by his method of running
them in the boxes^ — really an almost obsolete
style — and pasting paper over the ventilators
before so doing.

One more grumble Mr. Editor. The zinc is
perfection, no wire gauze is needed, as that
would stifle the bees. Even the ordinary size
perforated zinc will do. The bees can be fed
(how often is this necessary 1) just as easily
through the zinc in the bags as through the
gauze in the boxes. Kindly note, the whole of

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Jan. 4, 1894.

the above is deduced from practice pure and
simple. — W. B. Webster.

IMPROVING THE " W.B.C." END.

[1689.] Allow me to endorse the remark in
your Editorial of December 21, that the nature
of my advocacy of " H. C. J.'s " contentions
muat'be judged by my communication (1,630,
p. 505) as a whole, and not alone by the quo-
tations given by " H. 0. J." in his letter last
week (1,674, p 505).

I deprecate the tone of his letter, and think
he carries his contention too far. My own ad-
vocacy of a spur on the " W. B C." end being
limited to cases where, otherwise, this end
could not be adopted without hive alterations.
It was for such cases alone that I argued
against the objections to the spur being judged
fatal, in order to gain what 1 think are the
many advantages of the adoption of the
"W.B.C." end.

Your clear review of this question, and my
respect for the experienced opinion of "W.B.C."
authorship, will, I think, lead me, in my own
budding apiary, to adapt any hives requiring
it to unmutilated " W. B. C." ends, instead of
making " spur " sets of ends for these hives.
especially as I should feel bound to mutilate
in this latter case their present valued title !

Having aired our views, and occupied your
space and time, I feel sure "H. C. J." will join
with me in practising the laudable advocacy
you ask for at the conclusion of your article. —
" F. S.," a Lancashire Novice.

BEES IN SHROPSHIRE.
[1690.] It is not often that your valuable
paper records an echo from this county, and
although I am rather of a reticent nature, I
feel at times I cannot hold my peace. The past
season has been a memorable one for the dis-
trict ; everywhere came reports of overflowing
supers, of grand honey, so fine that our bee-
keepers have secured places of honour at
several shows in the country. Even in Scot-
land have we been represented, and came out
well to the front, so that we Salopians are
mighty proud. I have read with feelings of
regret the correspondence in the Journal on
"Lecturers' Errors," and fail to see what
possible good can come out of it. Experts are
put through a thorough examination before
they can secure their certificates, and second-
class experts must be thoroughly practical
men. Surely Associations would not send out
men who are not capable of expressing them-
selves ; or men likely to make such errors as
they are credited with ? In every audience
we find boasting critics raady to seize an any
lapms linguce, and at once try to ventilate
their criticism, and indirectly tell an Asso-
ciation of intelligent men that the person sent
out to represent them is an ignoramus, although
he holds their certificate. Yet these critics are
quite willing to accept " wrinkles " from them ;
but « to err is human." What a stupendous

advance in the " ^eesness " would take place
if these " Anarchists " would secure a " second
class " certificate and come forth as lecturers.
Let them try it and feel how mighty small
they are.

fc;o far our winter has been an extremely
mild one. All kinds of buds are in a very
advanced state, and an early spring predicts
itself, yet there is plenty of time for the pro-
verbial " nip." Our little friends' stores will
be sadly diminished, and it will be well to
keep an eye on stocks. A peep through the
feed hole, weather permitting, cannot do
any harm, when it can readily be seen if there
are sealed stores ; if not, a 2 lb. cake of candy
will drive away our fears. A cottager with two
frame hives asked me to look at his stocks ; he
stated that one was defunct. At the first look
I was quite alarmed. The entrance was com-
pletely blocked with dead bees, and I drew out
with a bent wire quite half a pint, and then
came several as lively as fleas and all right,
with plenty of sealed stores in the hive. I
could only conclude they must have got
" nipped " with the frost, as one night we
registered 10 deg. after a warm day. I am
afraid before we are again in full swing reports
of defunct stocks will be prevalent, and I
would strongly advise examinations to be made
earlier than usual this year (if possible). And
now, Messrs. Editors, allow me to wish you a
happy and prosperous New Year, and that
your valuable paper may never grow less is the
wish of — Salopian.

ARE VICIOUS BEES THE MOST PRO-
FITABLE COLONIES TO KEEP?

[1691.] Mr. Bunney in British Bee
Journal for December 14 (1670, p. 500),
raises the above interesting question on which
nearly all bee-keepers can give an opinion. I
have kept bees for eleven years, beginning
with one hive and having now over one
hundred, and I strongly claim that the fact of
a hive being either vicious or gentle has
nothing whatever to do with the yield of honey
provided the treatment of each is similar.
The great majority of small and inexperienced
bee-keepers (I do not include Mr. Bunney, who
is remarkably successful) handle the bees and
open the hives far too often, especially if a
stock is mild tempered. Now, such bee-
keepers never willingly overhaul a savage stock
unless it is absolutely needful, and the result is
that because left alone they do better than a
mild stock. It is surprising how very seldom
it is really needful to pull a stock to pieces.
Although when I first began bee-keeping I
thoroughly examined each hive two or three
times a week, I now find that two or three
times a season is all that is required. By
keeping a hive on a scale I have found that
bees will sometimes gather 7 lb. of honey in a
day, but I should like to know how much
they would bring in if the hive had been
opened and all the frames turned about and

Jan. 4, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

the plans upset. By paying constant attention
to the honey-gathering abilities of each hive,
and only rearing queens from such stocks, 1
have succeeded in getting a strain of bees very
superior to what I began with, and I have
hopes of very soon getting all my stocks
to gather as much as my best hive used to do.
Mr. Bunney hits another nail on the head by
saying his stocks turned out well, especially
" where there were young queens." As I have
mentioned before in British Bee Journal, I
try to re-queen every stock each summer, and
although it is no light task to raise 100 choice
queens yearly, yet I have never regretted the
labours. — Edward J. Gibbins, Neath,
Glamorgan.

I

EXTRACTING WAX.

[1692.] I have now great pleasure in reply-
ing to " Buzzing's " queries (1678, p. 507) anent
the above. I fear he will think me rather a
long time in doing so, but I must confess that,
what with Christmas festivities, &c., I could
find no time to write ere this. I will now
answer the questions in the same order as
they were asked.

I. I allowed the contents of jar to cool before
clarifying, so that I could the easier separate
the wax from the offal, for I found that when
I tried to strain the mixture immediately after
its first removal from the oven the strainer
became so clogged with the impurities that
only a very little would run through, and even
the little that did was so full of globules of
thin honey, which was in the comb previously
to melting, that the wax was unsaleable. If
the contents of jar be allowed to cool upon
removing from oven, as advocated in my letter
(15.37, p. 347), the pollen and other foreign
matter can easily be cut off from the wax, and
the thin honey drained off. The wax can
soon be clarified now, for if it be remelted it will
freely ^un through the strainer, be it of muslin,
cheese-cloth, or a wire one of tine mesh, espe-
cially if it (the strainer) be well warmed
immediately before use, as this helps the wax
to run through freer. Of course, if " Buzzing"
finds his plan to answer, I should advise him
to stick to it ; but I hope he will let us know
the results.

II. Of course a large tin, either circular or
square, would do instead of a jar ; but seeing
the jars cost me nil, and the tin vessels I should
have to buy, I use the jars, and so save a
shilling or two.

III. If "Buzzing" refers to my letter he
will see that I obtained at least two-thirds
more wax than I did formerly, when I ex-
tracted by tieing my wax off^l in a muslin bag
and boiling for several hours. 1 did not say
I could get two-thirds more wax by my method
than if I had used an extractor.

Allow me to congratulate you, Mr. or Mrs.
" Buzzing " — which 1 — upon your obtaining
about three pounds of wax by adopting my

plan, notwithstanding you found it, you say,
rather a muddling affair. If others have tried
my plan, I should be glad to hear if they were
successful or otherwise. By the bye, Mr
"Buzzing" whereabouts do you buzz ? If in
this neighbourhood, I shall be pleased to make
your acquaintance. — Percy Leigh, Stoke
Prior, Bronugrovc, December 27, 1893.

BEES IN CO. KILKENNY.

PREVENTING ROBBING.

[1693.] Robbing may be effectually stopped
as follows : — Take a strip of perforated zinc
(not queen excluder) and cut an entrance f in.
or § in. each way, not quite in the centre of
the piece ; slip the ends of this under the ends
of the hive slides when opened full width ;
then take another such piece and cut an
entrance in it also, but not opposite the one
already placed in position. This is placed out-
side of slides, and fastened with two small
tacks. If the slides are made of f in. or ^ in.
stuff I have now that space between the two
zincs. If the robber succeeds in passing the
first zinc he is sure to knock himself against
the inner one, and is captured by the guards.
Should he succeed in getting in through both
doors, and is returning with the stolen goods,
as soon as he gets clear of the inner door, in
his hurry and excitement to escape, he bobs
his head against the outer zinc, and is made a
prisoner of and dealt with in accordance with
apiary law, which is rather summary in its
operation. With this device the bees get the
advantage of having only to guard the ^in.
or g in. entrance, while they have the full-
width door for the purpose of fanning or venti-
lating, so necessary in warm weather, especially
with excited stocks, which is the case always
where robbing is going on. In cool weather
the slides can be closed by drawing the two
tacks without removing the zinc, but the tacks
should be again inserted.

This is my plan, and it has succeeded when
every other that I read of or could invent
failed. Now, friends, whenever the necessity
arises, try it, and I have every confidence it
will succeed if the attacked stock has any fight
or energy in them at all.— M. K., Filtown, co.
Kilhrnmj, December 29, 1893.

ABNORMAL.

[1694.] Even now, breaking the solemn
stillness of the night, the bells are ringing in
the New Year, and ringing out one of the most
extraordinary bee years that has ever been
known. It commenced with an abnormally
fine and early spring, and right up to its close
has been distinctly abnormal. During the
warm days so frequent at the close of the old
year, bees were out, and I fear many a little
rover was tempted to venture so far from home
that, like the ship people sing of, they " never
returned."

8

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Jan. 4, 1894.

On the 23rd, the 24th, and on Christmas
Day, bees were abroad in numbers, but the
Boxing Day " outing " took the (candy) "cake"
as a bee day ; so much so, that a native
chancing to pass in front of my hives, re-
marlced to his pal, " Bless me, Billy, if them
bees ain't a-makin' "unny.''

For my part, I don't like things abnormal ;
I prefer them noimal ; for, with a season like
that of 1893, one is puzzled what to be up to.
Mignonette in flower at Christmas ; carnations
coming into bud ; roses^with last year's
leaves not off yet — starting into growth again ;
self-sown seedlings of hardy plants, showing
their tiny seed-leaves above the ground,
appear to inquire in their sweet, silent way —
Where's winter ? The dandelion, forget-me-
not, cowslip, oxlip, and primrose have started
into renewed, life abnormally, and the bees
are out, youug and old, at play to welcome
Father Christmas in mufti (ia spring an'ay).
In fact, things have got out of joint somehow,
and. I am led to inquire, When will winter
come ? Will it drop on us in March, April, or
May ? and, if so, 'What then 1 Where are the
weather prophets ? Echo answers, " Where ? "
Continuing my view of things abnormal, I
ask — What is to be the price of English honey
if seasons are perverse and foreign competi-
tion continues ? especially if our leading
pioneers of bee-craft lend a helping hand to
place the foreign product on the British
market at 4|d. per lb. ! whilst English honey
practically goes begging at a fair price ? One
thing I can say, and that is, if people only
knew how some of the foreign honey was got
from the combs, that commodity would lose a
portion of any toothsomeness it may possess,
for extractors are — to use the words I myself
heard let fall by a bee-man resident not 100
miles from Honolulu — " Darned things not
worth fussing with."

Another item I am led to class among
the things which bee-keepers should hope are
abnormal is the stuff we sometimes see
imposed on the public by some leading
firms as "finest English honey " {vide price
list). Quite recently I was induced to
buy a jar of this precious nectar, said jar
being supposed to contain "about 1|- lb. of
honey, price Hid."' (still quoting price list).
Before going into the quality of the article
bought, the quantity struck me as " abnormal,"
for the contents, when turned out of the jar,
barely weighed f lb. ! Now, Messrs. Editors,
I quietly got your opinion of this " pure new
honey," and you at once declared it to be in
such " fermenting condition as to be unfit for
table use." We quite agreed on that point.
Doesn't this state of things require bringing
back to normal condition if British honey is to
sell ?

Of course, the weather we cannot control,
but some cure can surely be found to remedy
some of these other little matters which are
" out of joint " a trifle. At any rate, should
we not endeavour to get our native product

placed before the British public in a palatable,
wholesome form at as low a figure as possible 1
Unless bee-keepers do this, foreign competi-
tion is to be feared, but certainly not other-
wise.

Some steps should be taken by British bee-
beepers as a body, or as a number of minor
bodies acting under one head, to protect them-
selves and their industry ; and, in my opinion,
it is for the B.B.K.A.— which has, I know,
men of ability and energy amongst its mem-
bers—to evolve some sjheme which will tend
to put things, if not seasons, more in tune,
and so, amongst other things, bring a calm to
the spasmodic oscillations in the head-feathers
of others besides those of — The Heathen,

^ntrm mA ^t^lm.

[927.] Candy Making.— Wiring Shallow
Frames. — I enclose a sample of candy made
under directions in " Guide Book,'' but its
appearance struck me as peculiar, I thought
it ought to have been dull white, not yellow
and transparent as at present, 1 . Is this
candy in a right form for bee-food ? If not,
can I dissolve the cakes and boil afresh, or
must I get another lot of sugar ? 2. Do you
advise "wiring" the foundation in shallow
frames ? For extracting some this year I
found that nearly every other comb' broke
from its attachments in the operation of
extraction. 3. Ought shallow frame founda-
tions to be as thin as sectional foundations, or
thicker when used for exti'acting only, and of
what colour should the foundation be ? —
" Hartwood," Chorley, December 23.

Reply. — 1. You have failed in carrying out
concisely the instructions given in " Guide
Book." After removal from the fire the
liquid should be allowed to cool a little and
then be kept stirred constantly until it begins
to set or become stifl". This stirring causes the
mass to become white and opaque, instead of
yellow and transparent, as sample sent. Ee-
melt it and try again. 2. We have never
found any need for wiring shallow frames,
because of never having had a break-down such
as you mention ; but we always use thick brood-
foundations for extracting combs. If our
method of handling caiised the combs to
break down we should wire them. 3. Thin
foundation is not suitable for extracting
combs, nor is the colour of the foundation
used of any importance,

[928.] Removing Suiters in Winter. —
Siqoers for Exhibition. — Being busy at the
close of the bee-season, I find I have left on
one of my hives a super of seven full frames
of honey. This hive has nine full frames in ,
body of the hive. 1. Shall I do harm by
removing super now — by causing undue ex-

Jan. 4, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOUKNAL.

citement — or would it be safer to leave it till
the spring? 2. At the same time kindly tell
me how the supers are worked for show pur-
poses, so that no frames are seem, neither
where the comb has been attached to a frame 'I
Ani sorry and also surprised, after all that has
been said the past few weeks respecting im-
portation and use of foreign honey, to see the
same advertised in this paper by a firm of
manufacturers. Where are we to sell our
honey at the 8d. and 9d., as some correspon-
dents assert, when the columns of the British
Bee Journal advertise foreign at 4^.? — H. L. ,
Garboldisham, December 24.

Eeply. — 1. The super, if clear of bees, may
be removed at any time. If, however, there
are bees in it, a warm day must be chosen,
when the bees are on the wing. But be quite
sure there is food enough left below. Unless
there is a queen-excluder above the frames of
brood-chamber, the super should not be left
till spring, as the queen may have ascended
in the meantime. 2. The combs of show supers
referred to are not built in frames, but simply
attached to the roof of the super, which is turned
bottom upwards, and thus displays only the
lower edges of the combs. With honeycomb
designs, on the contrarj', the foundation form-
ing the design is fixed to the glass top, and
the super or " design " is staged just as it has
stood on the hive whereon it was worked.

^dxu% from tlic "^m^.

"Honey Cott," Weston, Leamington,
December 27, 1893. — The weather here now,
and for some time past, has been stormy and
mild ; bees have been flying nearly every day.
On Christmas and Boxing Day they were out
and off for water, as though (if they have not
already began to breed), they were thinking
about it. I saw several wall-trained trees of
winter jessamine and furze in bloom yester-
day. In the shade the temperature is 4.3 deg.
to-day, very different to the weather we had
this time last year, but as we are not out of
the wood yet we must not begin to cry out,
as there is plenty of time for a goocl long
winter ; but I like my bees to have a good
chance to fly at this time of year. Wishing all
friends a happy and prosperous new year,
John Walton.

BEE-KEEPING AS AN OCCUPATION
FOR WOMEN.

In giving a glance backward over the past
20 years of my life, nothing strikes me more
forcibly than the wonderful change made in
the world's opinion of labour for our sex, and
in the opportunities and openings for women
who do not wish to be idlers in life, and for
those who must be bread-winners.

Twenty years ago women crept trernblingly

along in one or two occujiations — teaching and
sewing. Now she stands out proudly, surveying
the many fields of dift'erent labour lying at her
feet, and only seeks to select the one to which
her strength, tastes, and finances naturally lea,d.
From the higher professions, and those requir-
ing long mental eft'orc and training, many a
woman may still be debarred from lack of health
and strength to bear the confinement of
study, and with only small capital may
wish an occupation still intellectual and
refined, yet having the rigour of outdoor life,
and the demand for little capital in its begin-
ning. To such I come with a plea in favour
of a pursuit which has brought me health and
strength, has given me golden opportunities
for study of the beautiful and useful in nature,
and has al^o had a very satisfactory efi'ect upon
the size of my purse.

If there is cue person in all this broad land
of ours who has a right to be an enthusiast on
the subject of bee-culture I certainly am pre-
eminently that person. A poor dyspeptic,
who for years could not eat anything that had
a drop of grease in it, or drink even a spoonful
of that delicious beverage — coffee — without
the most dire results following such impru-
dence ; I can now eat almost anything with
impunity, which change has all been brought
about by active outdoor exercise, working with
'the ever busy little bee. Haven't I a cause,
then, to be an enthusiast, think you, upon this
subject ?

One great advantage in this occupation is, it
can be carried on right at home, in our very
dooryards. Another is, it takes but little
capital to begin with — less than, perhaps,
almost anything else in which a woman could
embark.

In 1888 my bees gave me a ton of honey
gathered from the tiny flowers of the hoar-
hound alone, and two tons from other flowers,
making in all 6,000 lb. of honey, 100 lb. of
beeswax, and 33 per cent, increase, bringing
the number of colonies up to sixty ; since
which time I have made no increase, as that is
as many as I can well manage with other work.
Remember, this was the outcome of one colony
of bees in the spring of 1880.

G-athering the honey is gleaning that which
is going to waste, and would otherwise be a
complete loss. Did you ever think of how
many things are going to waste, which a hand
careful of minor details could garner in and
make profitable '.

In the beginning of my work there were
plenty of persons, as there always are, ready
to discourage me, and I was often told I could
not find a market for my honey. This was all
a mistake, for I have not been able to supply
the demand. The largest order I ever received
was for 1,030 lb., and I am satisfied that is the
largest amount that ever has ever left our
county (Bell) in one shipment. I have made
this statement before, and will repeat it, that
I believe if all the honey that is secreted by
the flowers in our '' Lou^ Sts^r" State could

10

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Jan. 4, 1894.

be gathered by the bees, there would be honey
enough for every person in the tetate to have
all they could eat, three times a day, every
day in the ye.ir. What a great blessing this
would be for many a poor child who never
gets a taste of that God-given sweet in a life-
time.

■ if we cannot scale the mountain tops^ we
can go into the humble walks of life and be
gleaners in the valleys, study the wants and
necessities of our bees, and have them in a
condition to save that which would otherwise
go to waste. With the aid of my bees I
have saved many tons of honey that otherwise
would hiive evaporated and been lost.

To the refined woman, whose nature revolts
against any occupation which bi'ings with it
no outlet for busy thought and keen relish for
the beautiful, bee-culture offers a pleasant,
elevating opportunity for study as well as
pecuniary return. It brings us in close con-
tact with Nature and Nature's God. There
are new beauties all the time coming to view.
Even the despised weeds take on a new form
of beauty, never before dreamed of. Take, for
instance, the hoar-hound — one of the bees'
great food providers, but which is ordinarily
looked upon as a great nuisance. Put this in-
significant-looking little flower under a micro-
scope, and look at the wonderful beauty of
God's handiwork. You will doubtless feel
ashamed that you ever regarded it as a
nuisance. When you also know of the
innumerable millions of bees it supplies
with honey and pollen, upon which the
bees feed their young, and that the tons of
honey it yields supplies abundance of
this delicious sweet for the use of man
(woman is included), our contempt for this
common weed is changed to admiration.
These are the beautiful lessons I learn daily
from my little bees.

The study of bee-culture is almost limit-
less. There is all the time something more to
be learned. By the use of an observatory
hive everything that is done inside a large
hive can be seen, and much learned in this
way. I would advise every one who keeps
bees, either for pleasure or profit, to have an
observatory hive. It is like an index to a
book, and about as indispensable to a success-
ful apiarist. I keep mine on my gallery, and
can tell whether honey is commg in either
freely or scantily, without having to open a
large hive.

Poultry-keeping combines very nicely with
bees, as most of the work comes on at dift'erent
seasons of the year. After the bees are
snugged away nicely for the winter, there is
no more w^ork with them until spring, and not
much very early in that season, and at this
time the chicks should be hatched for the
most successful rearing. I began the fine or
fancy poultry business at the same time I com-
menced with my bees, and have kept them
right along together, and find little conflict
between the occupations. I htwe raised from

seventy-five to 250 chickens per annum. Of
course all are not show birds. The culls find
a ready m.arket upon my own table, for we do
like nice fried chicken, and almost always have
plenty of it at all seasons of the year. Nice,
fresh eggs — we wouldn't know how to get
along without them, either.

I have five varieties of chickens — Houdan,
White Houdan (which originated in my yard),
White-crested Black Polish, KSilver Spangled
Hamburg, Black Langshan and Houdan. I
abo have a few crosses between the Langshan
and Silver Spangled Hamburg and Langshan.
These are very fine, hardy, thrifty birds, and
v/ould be a fine cross for those who do not
care to keep the pure breeds.

Dampness is the greatest enemy that I have
found. This can be prevented by having dry
quarters for them, both old and young. Keep
their houses cleaned at least twice a week — every
dayis better. Keep constantly a supply of clean,
fresh water for them ; give them plenty of
wholesome food with an abundance of green
stuff' ; make good nests for them, and they will
surely shell out the eggs — pure fresh ones —
not such as you usually get from your grocer.

I believe in chickens, and intend to have
them as long as I have ten square feet of land
upon which to keep them. They pay me well
as a financial investment, besides adding
luxuries to my own bill of fare.

If in this limited review of these two occu-
pations so well adapted to home-life and the
retirement so dear to many women occupations,
which have given me so much pleasure as well
as good, hard-monied profit, I should happen
to assist any dependent woman to helpful
thoughts for self-support, I shall feel more than
repaid for this little effort in presenting Bees
and Poultry as a womanly and profitable
home-business. — Mrs. S. E. Sherman, in
American Bee Jotirnal.

Notices to Correspondentsand Inquirers.

All queries forwarded ivill be attended to, and those
only of personal interest ivill be ansivered in this column.

F. C. (Crewe). — We should not question the
genuineness of sample sent, nor its being
Irish honey as stated : in fact, regarding
the latter point, it is impossible to locate
the source Irom whence honey is gathered,
but it is coarse in flavour and quality, and
in our opinion dear at the price named.
We trust'you will bring before the trades-
man referred to the fact that really good
British honey may be had through county
Bee Associations at a figure equally low to
that named.

C. H. (Kent). — The honey sent is from mixed
sources — chiefly, as we think, white clover.
There is no trace of heather in it. The
quality is fairly good.

J;in. 11, 189 1."

THE BlUTISH BP:E JOUFiNAL.

11

^dttffrial |toti«s, $ct

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — The we vtherof tlieopening
days of 1894 will come as a rude awaken-
ing to those who prognosticated for bee-
keepers a Avinter so miki that stores
woukl be exhausted before bees had got
the usual quieting-down which accom-
panies winter's frost. Only the other
day we Avere in the midst of warmth and
sunshine, with Avhat should have been
spring flowers bursting into premature
bloom, and bees in many places flying
as in the summer time.

The following description of the
weather on the south coast from a
London daily paper of the 27th ult. is
worth recording. It reads : — " The
weather at Dover and on that part of
the coast was of such an extraordinary
character on Monday and yesterday as
to be unlike anything in the memory of
the oldest inhabitant at this season of
the year. The sun shone with great
brilliancy and warmth, the thermometer
registering 60 degrees. The scene both
at sea and on shore was like that on a
midsummer day. The influence of the
genial weather is having a very marked
effect upon the trees and bushes,
which are re-budding, and primroses
and violets are bursting into blossoms
generally."

So much regarding the last week of
1893, Avhich may truly be termed the
3"ear of sunshine, for according to another
contemporary "the year 1893 Avas, atmo-
spherically speaking, about the brightest
year of the present century. The
automatic recorders to test the amount
of sunshine, gave 1,686 hours as the
aggregate for the year, or 333 hours,
about 25 per cent., in excess of the
normal — practically an addition of an
hour per day throughout the year.
The most brilliant period covered ten
successive Aveeks to May 13, the dura-
tion being 472 hours, representing nearly
7 hours per day, and 72 per cent,
above the normal duration. In the last
Aveek of this very bright period there
Avere no fewer than 80 hours of bright
sunshine, as against 64 hours in the
excessively hot Aveek of August. At

Bunhill-row, in the heart of the City,
the returns for the month of April
shoAved a total of 216 hours, the average
being 107 ; the actual duration, there-
fore, AA^as slightly over double the
normal. For the same month Green-
Avich had 231 hours, and Kcav 244,
these figures being by far the highest
registered at these stations in April.
The Avestern suburb had at the rate of
over 8 hours per day of sunshine."

NoAv, considering hoAv feAV days have
elapsed since the advent of the NeAv
Year, it is just as interesting — by AA'ay of
illustrating the fickleness of our climate —
to note and to place on permanent record
the Aveather conditions of to-day, AA^hen
the countiy is. covered Avith snoAV to a
depth of several inches, and the thermo-
meter in London on the 5th inst. fell to
a lower point than it has done for many
years. On that night in the outlying
suburbs of the Metropolis, ten degrees
above zero Fahrenheit — or tAventy-tAvo
degrees below freezing point — Avas regis-
tered. The fall of snoAV has also been
accompanied by such icy cold Avinds as
to render it quite " blizzard "-like. Bad,
hoAvever, ^s has been our experience of
the severity of the cold, things have been
far Avorse abroad. In Germany the
temperature has been almost that of the
Arctic regions ; in Berlin on the 5th inst.
the thermometer fell tAvo degrees beloAV
zero, or thirty-four beloAV freezing point ;
Avhile at Thorn, on the Vistula, and
several other places in the Province of
Posen, thirty -nine degrees of frost Avere
registered, many persons being frozen to
death there. In parts of France the
cold has also been intense, Avith suoaa--
storms everyAvhere. At Chaumont, in
the Haute Marne, thirty-six degrees
beloAv freezing was registered on the 4tli
inst., and many of the rivers are frozen
over, Avhile all the great rivers are
covered Avith immense blocks of ice.

In all parts severe snoAv-storms are
reported, and along the coast the effects
have been very disastrous, so the NeAV
Year has lost no time in making up for
the AA'ant of Avintry force so remarkably
absent in the closing days of its prede-
cessor. HoAv long the present trying
Aveather conditions will last, who can tell 1
AnyAvay, deponent Avill not even hazaard
a guess", and the Aveather prophets join
us in being prudently silent.

12

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Jan. 11, 1894.

Wide Entrances in Winter. — Before
quitting that very seasonable topic " the
weather," let us say how frequently
during the last few days have our
thoughts turned to hives in exposed
situations, the entrances to which are
regularly left open 8 in. or 10 in. wide
all the winter ! With drifting snow
carried by the fierce gusts of wind in
blinding clouds as fine as dust — entering
the houses here in Kent, under doors,
through keyholes, and between any but
the closet-fitting window-sashes — we have
felt for the poor bees exposed to the fury
of such storms, and have been, mean-
while, truly thankful that our own bees
have had their trials in this repect re-
duced to a minimum by reason of having
all entrances contracted to little more
than a single bee-space for sevei'al weeks
past. Had the entrances been left Avide
open, as many are, Ave should have ex-
pected to see the Avhole space below the
combs filled up Avith drifted snow. At
the time of Avriting all entrances arc com-
pletely snoAved-up, and Avill be left so for
the present ; there is jDlenty of ventila-
tion betAveen the hives and outer-cases,
and though all communication Avith the
outside is cut off, the bees Avill be all the
better for it Avhile the severe Aveather
lasts.

Improving the " W. B. C." End. — As
a final word on our part, concerning this
controversy, Ave print the folloAving
recent note from the manufacturer of the
" W. B. C." End. Mr. Meadows writes :—
"I do not knoAV if you think it Avorth
Avhile for me to be personally mixed up
Avith the ' End ' controversy, but I have
just turned up a letter from yourself,
written to me some five years ago, Avhich
I enclose as showing hoAv firmly fixed
Avere your objections to a spur on the
end at that time. I also send you an old
tin end Avith spur made at the time the
AV. B. C. Avas being Avorked out, and you
Avill remember the spur Avas rejected,
after being fully discussed and a lot of
time spent over "it in 1888-9. Time has
since proved your contention to be right.
"For the first year or so after the
W. B. C. End Avas introduced, I fought
the 'spur' question out at shoAvs Avith
hundreds of people. Of late years, hoA\--
ever, I find it is only those Avho have
recently taken up bee-keeping that Avish
for a spur. Our friend ' H. C. J.' had

better take the advice of that universally
esteemed bee-keeper, the late William
Raitt, Avho recommenced beginners to
' make haste sloAAdy ' in altering Avhat
pioneers in the craft leave alone.

" It should be a sufficient proof of the
utility of the ' W. B. C End that the
number made and sold has increased each
year since it Avas first brought out, and
in no single instance has it in any Avay
been found fault with by those Avho have
had large practical exjoerience, Avhich
alone enables anyone to prove its Avorth."

As Mr. Meadows is Avithout doubt the
most likely jDerson to knoAv if the desire
for a "spur" has been frequently ex-
pressed by users of the End, Ave thought
the above unsolicited testimony on the
subject might be considered as fairly
conclusive.

EXUDATION FROM LEAVES.

From the Jomnal of the Royal Microsco-
pical Society we see that the late Professor
Pasquale records the occurrence of the fall of
a quantity of fluid in the form of small drops
from the leaves of lime-trees. The pheno-
menon is no way connected with the produc-
tion of manna as the result of the attacks of
aphides, but resembles the process which takes
place normally in Ccr'saJpina jjluvlosa and some
other trees. It takes place only during the
period immediately preceding the opening of
the flowers, when the vital processes are most
active, and when the transpiration from the
leaves is not sufficient to eliminate the whole
of the water absorbed by the soil.

M. E. Guinier, in " Comptes Rendus,''
describes a similar exudation from the leaves
of an orange-tree.

LECTURE ON BEE-KEEPING AT
CHINGFORD.

Mr. J. H. Howard, of Holme, Peterborough,
has been engaged by the local Technical In-
struction Committee of the Essex County
Council to deliver a lecture on Bee-keeping, in
the Parish Room, Chingford, on Monday,
February 5 next. The County Council having
purchased a set of Messrs. Newton's lantern
slides, these will be used to illustrate the
subject, as well as a good many appliances lent
by a local be3-keeper. Mr. Howard purposes
following the syllabus drawn up by the British
Bee-keepers' Association for the use of technical
lecturers, and Avith his well-known practical
knowledge and ability as an exponent of agri-
culture, a most entertaining and instructive
lecture may confidently be anticipated. The
proceedings commence at 8.30, and the admis-
sion is free.

Jan. 11, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

i;

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the.
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will he
taken of anonyiiums coiirmunications, and correspondents
are requested to ivrite on one side of the paper only, and
give their real navies and addresses, not necessarily for
jnddicatlon, hut as a yuarantee of yood faith. Illustra-
tions shdiihl hi- drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do nut iiiulertake to return rejected communications.

Coniniunications relatiny to the Htcrarn department,
reports of Axuofiations, Shows, Meetinys, Echoes, Queries,
Books fur llerieir, it'c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee .Toxirnal,' 17, King William-
street. Strand, London, W.C." All busiiwss coniniuni-
catians relating to Advertisements, dx., must be addressed
/o"THE Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." {see Ist
2}age of Advertisements).

*,* In order to facilitate reference, Con-esx)ondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as ivell
as the page on which it a2)pears.

AMONG THE BEES.

[1695.] Lecturers and Teachers. — The
gentleman who signs himself " Not a Heathen,"
has written one of the best letters (No. 1684,
p. 515) upon this subject that has appeared for
some time, although some of his views are
somewhat in opposition to those usually ac-
cepted when dealing with a matter affecting all
classes of a community so large as that located
in the British Islands.

I feel almost inclined again to quote " quot
homines," &c., which quotation gave so much
offence to one who, perhaps inadvisedly,
adopted the vernacular in his communication
(No. 1671, p. 599), apjjearing in issue of 14th
ult. No, I will not ; but will humble myself
still more, and advance another as follows :—
" Nemo mortalium omnibus horis sapit." To
return to " Not a Heathen." The writer seems
to be under the impression that there are but
two classes in this community — viz., educated
and totally uneducated. If he will but think
awhile, it will no doubt dawn upon him that
these two classes each represent but a unit in
the community. There is a much larger class
by far which he has overlooked — a class which,
I venture to assert, outnumbers either of the
other two as five hundred or even a thousand
to one. It is the fairly educated who happen
to be blessed, or otherwise, with but a scanty
allowance of that commodity known as " the
root of all evil." Can they look after them-
selves ? Can they obtain the services of a
private tutor upon any technical subject ? I
quite agree with " Not a Heathen" that one
of the County Councils' duties is to " take
care of the uneducated." But, first, I want to
know, uneducated in what ? Does " Not a
Heathen " mean in the three R's, bee-keeping,
trigonometry, hedge-carpentiy, entomology,
joinery, poultry-keeping, or what ? I think
your correspondent must have written "edu-
cated" for wealthy, "uneducated" for poor.
These terms seem to have got somewhat
mixed. If it is so, I agree with him entirely.

As is well known I have had the pleasure to
lecture upon bee-keeping in nearly every part
of the British Islands, both for the B.B.K.A.

and County Associations, and so I may
perhaps be allowed to give pretty accurate
information as to the class of people attending
such lectures. From these experiences I can
safely assert that rarely do we find one among
an audience who does not understand a lecture
delivered, not in the vernacular, but in the
the everyday language of a fairly educated
person, avoiding technicalities, yet where
unavoidable explaining same as the lecture
Ijroceeds. But a lecture does not end here ;
the lecturer is always called upon after the
lecture to give explanations to, say, a person
having had a collegiate education, yet upon
the subject before him quite uneducated.
Again, another inquirer more frequently met
with, a person fairly educated unburdened
with riches, is he not upon certain subjects,
one of the uneducated ? is he to be debarred
from participating in the advantages offered
by the County Council ? Yet would he care
to sit and listen to a lecturer who is ordered to
reach the understanding of one among the
audience addresses the whole venacularly in a
lecture replete with tautology, mispronuncia-
tions, grammatic errors or errors of the subject
treated upon ? Is it not apt to throw discredit
upon the organisers of the lecture, and to the
audience digust the subject of same ?

In the last paragraph of one of the letters
(1684) " Not a Heathen'' writes, "the sooner
the County Councils bribe an intelligent bee-
keeper" .... "to teach bee-keeping." Well,
I don't like that word " bribe " at all. _ I have
looked up its meaning in several dictionaries,
and find it means "to seduce," "something
given to pervert justice and judgment." Now,
I can't bring my mind to think that " Not a
Heathen " would so far forget himself as to as-
sert that all bee-keeping lecturers and tutors
are williog to be bribed. I remember, as a lad .
at school, having to write several hundred lines,
a Latin quotation, which, translated, reads as
follows : "To be led by bribe is next akin to
robbery," as a punishment for accepting a slice
of cake from a little boy, as a bribe to punch a
bigger (less than myself) boy's head ! Since
then I've had kind of dismal recollections of
the word, and fully appreciate its meaning.

Hive Roofs. — Not often enough a letter
from the pen of " Lordswood " appears in these
columns. I always follow his pleasingly de-
scriptive writing with a pleasure generated by
a passionate love of the country, its air, its
lanes, woods, flowers, and fields. Well do I
know the parts described by him in a letter
anent hornets (1655, p. 479). Foxlydiate
Woods, Bromsgrove, the Lickey Hills, Tardi-
bigge. But a few weeks ago I was careering
along the road on my " bike " from Redditch
to Astwood Bank, and thence to Bromsgrove
and Birmingham— Birmingham but an hour's
hard ride,what a change ! Well, I'm getting away
from the subject of hive roofs (1683, p. 514).
" Lordswood " writes, wood as roofs won't keep
out the wet ; he is quite right. Wood ^vill
warp, it ivill expand and shrink, and the

14

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Jan. 11, 1894.

bees suffer in consequence. Plenty of paint
put on at autumn improves matters a deal, but
three seasons after without paint means wet
quilts. I don't, though, look forward to having
zinc or tin roofs in the future. I handle a
couple of zinc roofs in my apiary, and always
threaten to do away with them when I have
time. When in a hurry one is apt to cut one's
hand with the sharp edges. You mustn't nail
the zinc on or it will buckle tremendously.
My roofs are secured with zinc straps soldered
on across the underneath corners of the hive roof
proper ; the wind gets underneath and blows
the zinc up and down, making a pleasant
little tum-tum, though not at all conducive to
the necessary rest and quiet required by the
occupants of the hive during winter. You
can't get it to lay tight anyhow, as zinc, a deal
more than wood, expands with the heat and
refuses to contract to any appreciable extent.
If it is too much trouble to keep hive roofs
regularly painted, just prepare them as they
do the roofs of railway carriages, I'll guarantee
no wet gets in them, and with a coat of paint
once, say, in five years, will last as long a?
zinc. I don't like metal roofs. " Lordswood "'
can see some at the "big house" at Great
Alne, not a great way from his locality ; they
are covered with sheet-lead. I know them ; I
have to lift them ofi" and on ; I don't believe
that there is one roof among the lot that
weighs much under half a hundredweight !
One advantage can be claimed for them, I
never remember one being blown off or a hive
overturned. Metal roofs are much too heavy,
no matter what description of metal is used.
That railway carriage roofing, as the Yankees
say, "fills the bill."— W. B. Webster.

A CHANGE FOR THE WORSE :
A BEE PUZZLE.

[1696.] I have read with very considerable
interest the articles in the British Bee
Journal upon the — what seems to me— very
broad question, '' Are Vicious Bees the most
Profitable to Keep ? " I did not sit down
with the intention of writing either for or
against, because it seems to me that endless
instances might be quoted on both sides, based
on practical experience, which goes to prove
that no satisfactory conclusion can be arrived
at.

But what caused me, Mr. Editor, to take up
my pen was the words " vicious bees." It
instantly made me think that I might put
before you one or two facts in regard to my
bees which "stagger'' me, and for which I
shall be only too glad if some fellow bee-man
would kindly try and explain. I suppose I
had_ best begin to unfold my " puzzle '' by
stating that I commenced bee-keeping some
four years ago, and have during that time kept
only one kind— the ordinary black.

I wish you, bee friends, to lay particular
stress on the fact that my bees have — or, alas!
I must now say had — a very even, well-

balanced temperament ; I suppose they had
good digestions. They never troubled me
in the slightest degree until last year,
in the middle of it. But to explain.
Spring operations were gone through, with a
minimum amount of stings, bad bee language,
&c. By " bad bee language " I mean the
peculisr tone of an irate bee's " hum," which is
so easily distinguishable from one in an
ordinary frame of mind. I trust you will
pardon this digression, Mr. Editor. May
arrived, stocks were doubled, and as I was
leaving the country for at least six weeks I
gave them plenty of surplus room.

The six weeks went by, and I returned ; but
oh, what a change ! The first hive did not
wait for me to take the rojf off — not they ;
they issued in one long, continuous black
stream, similar to swarming, and came straight
at me. Very luckily — the result of an after-
thought— I had at the last minute put on veil
and gloves. There was no mistaking their
intention ; they beat in impotent fury on the
crown of my hat, and when they discovered
it was wasted energy they went straight for
some poultry cooped up about 20 yards oft',
and vented their rage on the poor birds, the
result being that one old hen was unable to
get over the shock, and died next day. Her
body — this need not be taken cum grano salis
— was literally a pin-cushion. It would have
been well if this were all ; but the " insects "
then went for a maid who was attending to
some clothes, and she was so badly stung as
to be obliged to keep her bed for some days.
One fact, Mr. Editor, struck me as remarkable
— all the other stocks had this sad derange-
ment of their tempers, and joined in the fun
(from a bee's point of view), although their
hives were not aj^proached.

Now, this is the conundrum, bee friends,
that beats me : Why on earth should these
bees' temperaments undergo such a change,
especially when I tell you that they were left
ab'iolutdy to themselves, during my enforced
absence ? And the lamentable fact remains
that the bees have never regained their once
charming dispositions, and are to-day, or were
a few days ago, when I gave some candy, as
bad-tempered as on that never-to-be-forgotten
day in July.— Yours truly, Hartwood, Chor-
Icy, January 5.

BEES IN DUMFRIESSHIRE.
[1697.] I again take the opportunity of
sending you a few details of the season's bee-
keeping in this district. Bees came through
the winter well, and with the fine weather we
had in the spring they increased rapidly, and
were supered between a fortnight and three
weeks earlier than last year. There was, how-
ever, but little surplus stored till about the end
of May, when the supers began to fill rapidly,
and those who were working their bees in
frame-hives reaped a splendid harvest of from
45 lb. up to 116 lb. per hive. Straw-skeppists,

Jan. 11, 1S04.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

15

on the other hand, were a long way short, and,
notwithstanding the splendid season, they
made rather a poor show. They would pro-
bably get from 10 lb. up to 25 lb. per skep.
But the Bar-frame method of bee-keeping is
spreading rapidly, and in the course of a lew
years the straw skep will be a thing of
the past in this district. Honey was in
good demand, and our best 1 lb. sections and
good samples of extracted honey were making
one shilling per pound ; other lots realising
tenpence per pound. Bees went into winter
quarters generally in good condition owing to
the splendid weather we had in the autumn,
which gave all those who required to feed a
good opportunity to make sure that their
stocks had plenty of food for ihe winter.

Our Association here is making good pro-
gress, and we have a meeting every month at
which methods and appliances are discussed
and criticised, and much valuable information
is given and received, and I may say it is
mainly owing to the efforts of our Association
that bee-keeping is making such rapid pro-
gress iu this district. — Nithsdale.

\

EARLY SWAEMING.

[1698.] In "Notes by the Way" (1687,
p. 3) I notice jour esteemed correspondent,
Mr. Woodley, makes several remarks upon
my "Early Swarming'' pamphlet, and doubt-
less you will kindly allow me to refer in a few
lines to his statements.

"While I show how it is possible to secure
the swarming condition in March, I have not
failed to point out that the latter part of April
is soon enough for most bee-keepers. I am
quite sure that Mr. Woodley will agree Avith
me that a stock properly wintered contains as
many bees at March 1 as usually cover the
full hive of brood in May ; but in the mean-
time, why is there so little actual increase in
numbers 1 for the extended cluster shows only
an apparent increase — the higher temperature
allowing the bees to maintain the required
warmth without the dense packing previously
necessary.

My object has been to show that hitherto
the winter cluster has been broken up by
stimulation, which does not in its results
justify the wholesale loss of life among the
adult bees between that time and the full
development of the brood-nest. As a matter
of fact, stimulation need not be begun so soon
as generally practised.

Mr. Woodley will, I think, also agree that
if swarming is required by the lea-keeper who
desires also the largest amount of honey, it
should be carried out before the harvest is
expected to begin ; and that two good stocks
quite ready for the first flow will pay better
than one, and that one, in too many instances,
not even ready when the season does open.

In the south we expect bees to gather more
or less honey throughout the month of May ;
five out of six seasons they require no feeding

during that month, and frequently the most
forward stocks get their own living during the
latter part of April, without considering the
remarkable year of 1 893 ; though certainly no
season. ever more clearly disclosed the fact that
innumerable bee-keepers relied upon the bees'
own endeavours rather than such management
as would have increased the number of
workers, and conse(iuently the amount nf
honey yielded.

There is really no need for three months'
wasteful feeding, but it is a question whether
the bee-keeper prefers to be prepared with
stocks strong enough to feed themselves, or
others in a backward condition requiring far
more attention. — Samuel Simkins.

CARRYING BEES ON BICYCLES.

[1699.] My letter (1673, p. 505) setting
forth the plan I practised for carrying bees on
a bicycle was written primarily for the benefit
of a bicyclist who evidently did not know of
it, although Mr. Webster asserts, in your
issue of the 4th (1688, p. 5), that every
bicyclist always-jDractices it. I have used the
method now for four years with success, and
can bring the bees from eight or nine skeps by
its means. The bees don't get stifled with
the gauze (more practice, Mr. W.), and I never
said I ran them in, but "can be shaken into
or run into the boxes." I shake them in
(more practice, Mr. W.), and neither do I paste
any paper (evidently your theory, Mr. W.),
but surely any one with common sense will
see that the double operation of transferring
the bees to a bucket must take a little more
time than the single one of shaking the bees
out of the skep into the box, which, by the
bye, does not require any holding by any one.
Also the theory that the perforated zinc is
perfection is absurd. I send you a full-size
illustration from a maker's catalogue of
5-32 hole zinc, and also one of the wire
■gauze I use. In a square inch the
gauze has a clear air space of "68 of an
inch, whilst the zinc has only '043 ; this
in a piece 6 by 3, which equals 18 square
inches, clearly shows that the gauze gives a
clear air passage of 12'24 square inches against
7 "25 in the zinc, thus the ounce of theory of
Mr. W. that the bees would be stifled by the
gauze is ridiculous, as well as incorrect, as
proved by the ton of practice. I always keep
driven bees in confinement in these boxes for
a day or so, and feed them with medicated
syrup, as experience has taught me that "pre-
vention is better than cure." I am sorry I
have so overloaded Mr. Webster with such
deep obligation?, &c., and hope they will not
hurt him, any more than my acknowledgment
that I was mistaken regarding 5-32 as being
large enough for a bee to get through hurts
me ; but if every time any one in a desire to
give other bee-keepers the benefit of any little
wrinkle or device they have successfully used
is to be sneered at and heckled, we shall soon

16

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Jan. 11, 1894.

see an end to many of the useful and interest-
ing letters which appear in the British Bee
Journal, which as the media for the exchange
of opinions, is so valuable to all bee-keepers .
Mr. Webster is under no obligation to use the
same method of carrying bees as I do, neither
is any one obliged to use his method. The old
proverb says, " There are more ways of killing
a dog than hanging him." — F. J. Cribb,
Morton, Gainsborough.

THE NEW METHOD OF HANGING
FEaMES.

[1700.] According to promise, I send you
a hive for your inspection and opinion, and
the same of the members of the B.B.K. Asso-
ciation at their next conversazione. The hive
is an old one, and the fittings made by hand,
and consequently are not quite as perfect as
can be produced by machinery ; but you will
see the idea.

The hive is sent from my country-house, to
which place I shall be pleased for you to
return it at your convenience.— H. B., Shef-
field, December 20.

[As the next quarterly conversazione of the
B.B.K. Association does not take place till
February next, it will, of course, be some time
before you will hear the result, and we shall
reserve our own opinion till after the meeting.
The hive has reached us all right. — Eds.]

LECTURERS' ERRORS.

[1701] Judging by the correspondence that
has appeared in the columns of the British
Bee Journal anent the above subject, I
should say that the unfortunate " Bee '' who
has caused so much discussion has not been
having a very happy time of it. I do not
know the cause of so much activity among
" bees " so late in the season ; it is the time
of year when they are usually very quiet, but
perhaps the mildness of the weather has
something to do with it ; neither can I under-
stand why they should show such a spirit of
antagonism toward a member of the same
hive, but, whatever the cause, it appears to me
that they seem inclined to be just a little bit
vicious, and also possess a fair proportion of
sting. Although no names are given, it is
not a difficult matter to locate the district
where the lecture was given. I also attended
the same lecture, and, whether or no the
errors compfained of were made, I think that
it cannot but be admitted that the lecture was
not altogether devoid of interest, and that the
lecturer _ did his best with the limited time
at his disposal. I am only sorry that, sup-
posing such errors to have been made, that the
lecurer's attention was not called to them at
the time, as every facility was. given for doing
so. If I remember aright, the Chairman at
the end of the meeting made the announce-
ment that the lecturer was willing to answer

any questions, but no one took advantage of
the oifer. I think it would have been better
to have had the matter cleared up then, instead
of bringing it so prominently before the public.
By ventilating the subject so freely it seems to
me that it must to a certain extent have a
tendency to hold up to ; ridicule a man who
(whatever his faults as a lecturer), by holding
a certificate as a second-class expert, shows
that at any rate he must have a good practical
knowledge of bee-keeping, or the ^same would
not have been granted to him. I also think
that when such charge^ are made, it would
look more like a British bee if the
writers appended their names, instead of hiding
behind a cenvenient nom de plume. I notice
that in the British Bee JouRNALforDecember
28 (1686, p. 516), "Another who was there"
has a word to say about " the arrangements,
or, rather, want of them ; and the difticulty in
obtaining a Chairman." I raise an objection
to that paragraph. I admit that the Chairman
did not turn up, but fail to see that it was
from want of arrangement. I can only say
that I personally saw the gentleman who was
to have taken the chair, and also sent him
handbills of the meeting, and supposing tliat
" Another who was there '' had managed the
aff'air, I do not see that more could have been
done. I was quite as disappointed as himself
at the absence of the Chairman. I have since
received a letter of apology from the gentleman
referred to, giving me the reason for his non-
attendance. — G. T. Pallett, Maheney, Nr.
iJerby.

IMPROVING THE " W.B.C' END.

[1702.] I have been reading the discussion
on the above heading with much interest, and,
like friend " H. C. J." and others, I think it
would be a great improvement if the "W.B.C."
end had some sort of distance-keeper from the
inner sides of hives. I have tried them and
several other sorts, but cannot get any to suit
better than wide-shouldered frames such as
Mr. Woodley describes. I find that if you
have to alter the spacing of the frames to pre-
vent too many drones in the hive, it is a lot of
trouble, especially if you have a large apiary,
or not always at home, as I am. The way I
get over that difficulty is this : when I go
through my hives to clean them out every spring,
I always sort out the combs that have a lot of
drone cells in them, and substitute those that
have very few in ; or if there are two or three
combs in the hive, with, say, the bottom half
of the frame drone comb, I cut it right across
and take it out, then replace, and when the
bees begin to build again they most always
build worker combs, as honey is not coming in
very fast then. If one takes care at the proper
time, and sees he has very little drone comb in
brood-nest, he w^on't be troubled much with
them or the necessity to move his ends.

I am sure the bee-keepers of this country
are much indebted to you for keeping such a

Jan. 11, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

Journal going, as I look forward for it every
Friday, and devour its contents in one evening
with such interest that I am blowed if I don't
dream about bees the rest of the night. —
Wishing you the compliments of the season,
John Lyox.

[Referring to what oiu- correspondent terms
the " lot of trouble " to alter spacing of frames
to prevent drone production, it should be re-
membered that the frames are spaced at the
narrower distance when the swarm is hived,
and once the frames are filled with worker
comb the " ends " are simply pushed home,
and no more trouble occurs. We should think
this rather saving trouble compared with the
plan of sorting the combs as detailed above.
Many bee-keepers, however, never fix frames
at the narrower distance, preferring to use fall
sheets of foundation. — Eds.]

BROOD-HATCHING ON NEW YEAR'S
DAY.

[1703.] Having made a ''Wells" hive, I
moved two stocks of bees into it this morning,
and found, to my surprise, that one of them
had brood in at least two combs ; there were
a good many young bees, and I saw one
emerging from its cell.

I think this may be interesting to your
readers.

The stock in question was worked in an
ordinary double hive last season, and was
very strong ; it is now on eight combs, which
are crowded with bees. They are Ligurians,
and the queen is two years old. — Haogis,
Crorjdon, January 1, 1894.

ENGLISH V. FOREIGN HONEY.

[1 704.] Like other bee-keepers, I am much
interested in this subject, which is just now
to the front, and admire the efforts recently
made, when a deputation waited upon the
Lord Mayor, the object of which was to place
English honey on a better footing in the
market, and to keep the foreigner out ; and,
judging by the correspondence which appears
in your columns, it occupies the thoughts of
most bee-keepers. But it seems the path to
success is not to be a smooth one, for now we
are confronted by an advertisement in which
4,800 lb. of foreign honey, in quality the finest
ever seen, is offered at about half the price of
English honey. Now this appears to be quite
in opposition to the interests of all British
bee keepers, as well as to the British Bee-
keepers' Association and others who are just
now trying so hard to keep foreign honey out
of the market.

Perhaps, Messrs. Editors, you may think this
is " writ sarkastick," as you told J. Dean last
week ; but I believe I am only echoing the
thoughts of hundreds of cottagers, who, like
myself, have to think of the profit as well as
the pleasure of bee-keeping. — G. T. .Wilts.

WEATHER REPORT.

Westbocrne, Sussex. Dec, 1893.

Rainfall, 2'OOin.
Heaviest fall, -55 in. on 12th
Rain fell on 18 days
Above average, •40 in.
Maximum Temperature,

53" on 13th
Minimum Temperature,

19° on 3ril
Minimum on Grass, 1.5' on

3rd
Frosty Nights, 14

Sunshine, 64'55 hours
Brightest day, -iSth, 6-50
Sunless days, 8
Above average, 3'85
Mean ilaxinium, 43'4°
Mean Minimum, 31 3°
Mean Temperature, 37 '6°
Maximum Barometer,

30-80° on 29th
Minimum Barometer,

28-26' on 20th

L. B. BtRKRTT.

WEATHER

REPORT FOR
1893.

THE YEAR

Westbouune, Sussex, 1893,

Rainfall, 27-7C in.
Heaviest fall, 2-28, in. on

October 17
Rain fell on 158 days
Below average, -31 in.
Maximum Temperature,

86', on .Tune 18
Minimum Temperature,

16% on .January 5
Minimum on Grass, 9^^, on

January 3
Frosty Nights, 71

Sunshine, 20U9-9 hours
Brightest day, .Tune 17,

15-35 hours
Sunless Days, 54
Above average, 223-5
Mean Temperature, 48'7'
Maximum Barometer, 30^,

on Deeemlier 29
Minimum Barometer,

28-20 , on December 20

L. B. BiKKETT.

^m'm mul ^t^lm.

[1705.] Bee-Farming as an Occupation. — 1 .
Are there, in this country, any extensive bee-
farms uncombined with other forms of farming ?
2. Can a bee-farmer be certain of finding a
market for his honey at a remunerative price ;
and, if so, what price can he depend on getting
for extracted honey ''. 3. la the case of a well
managed apiary in a good locality, what should
be the average yield of extracted honey per hive
per annum ? 4. In the case of a person not tied
to any locality, what place or district in the
South of England would you recommend as
being the most advantageous in which to start
an apiary 1 5. What should be tSie net
average profit, per annum, from 100 hives in a
favourable locality? 6. How many bees (or
hives) can be kept per acre of honey forage ? For
instance, how many bees would one acre of
clover keep in full work while the crop lasted.
— F. B., Brighton, January 2.

REPtY. — 1. There are no such farms that
we know of, and it is more than probable that
we should have heard of it had such bee-farms
e.xisted in this country. 2. As illustrative of
how much depends upon individuals, -we may
mention as a fact that while some of our largest
British honey -producers find a market for
their crops, at a fair price, other bee-keepers,
who only harvest a cwt. or less per season,
have great difficulty in disposing of it. More
than this we cannot say. 3. Taking our
seasons all round, we should call 40 or 50 lb.
per hive a good general average for the best
districts ; though in some seasons that amount

1^

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Jan. 11, 1894.

may be trebled. 4. The reports given ia our
pages from various districts form the most
reliable data on which to make a selection of
a county in the south. For preference we
should name Essex or Kent. 5. Perhaps
some of our correspondents. \«ho keep 100 or
more stocks of bees will kiadly reply to this
query, seeing that no amount of knowledge,
short of actual practical experience, will
enable anyone to do more than hazard a guess,
which must j^erforce be more or le=s an un-
certain one at the best. 6. We should not
care to set down more than sixty to eighty
stocks on one spot, even in the best locality,
and, as for the yield from an acre of clovpr, it
depends upon the amount of bloom on it. We
have seen fields of clover perfectly white with
bloom, and capable of giving full work
to four or five stocks of bees -per acre
when at its best, but it would be folly
for us to figure out anything like accu-
rate returns on such points, in view of the
uncertainty of our season. In short, and
to sum up our correspondent's queries, they
ai-e too definite for either ourselves or any one
else to aive reliable replies to. For instance,
query No. 5 is much like asking what should
be the net profit from a particular business if
carried on in a certain street in a certain town
— say, London '! We know that under exactly
similar primary conditions one man will make
a fortune while another will end in bank-
ruptcy. And sn to fix even approximately the
amount of profit obtainable from one hive, or
from a hundred, in any one season or in any
particular district, is misleading and unreliable.
The only thing we can, and do say with confi-
dence, is that honey production in this countr}',
with its fickle climate, is too uncertain a source
of income for any one to rely on it as a sole
means of obtaining a livelihood. In a word-
as we have said over and over again in these
pages —however helpful it may be as an ad-
junct to one's income, and however delightful
as a home hobby, the way to fortune here is
not through a bee-hive.

[1706.] Dysenteric Bees. — I should like to
have your opinion on the best thing to do
when a hive of bees shows signs of dysentery
commencing. One of my hive3 is in that
condition, so I brought it into the conservatory
and changed the frames and bees into another
hive. The combs were quite clean, but the
floorboard and one side of the hive were nmch
soiled. On removing them, a few dozen bees
fell to the bottom and died. Seeming not able
to rise, I fed with warm 5>yrup, and they
became quite lively. They had not nearly
finished the honey in the combs, which I was
surprised at, as from their state I imagined
the bees were short of food, and they were
not even damp. These were bees I brought
from France in the autumn, and were quite
healthy. They have lost the parasites they
had on them that I wrote about some time
since. I shall keep them in the conservatory

until this cold weather is gone. I should be
glad to know if what I have done is right or
wrong. There seem to be diff'erences of
opinion about feeding with syrup or candy — •
if required in winter — and, as I only com-
menced bee-keeping in the early spring, I am
not in a position to judge for myself. I have
six stocks for wintering, and doa't want to
lose one. — F. Fox, Epsom.

Reply. — So long as the combs are free
from " soiling," the attack of dysentery can
only be slight, and the measures taken are the
best under the circumstances. As a rule,
soft candy is much more suitable as a winter
food for bees than syrup, but dysenteric bees
require warm food and a dry hive above all
things. If the bees are fairly strong in
numbers and are kept warm till the frost goes
there seems no reason to be alarmed for them.

[1707.] Bees Flying in Frosty Weather. —
Can you kindly tell me the cause of my bees
coming out when it is freezing ? I bought a
swarm on May 27 last — a very strong one, I
was told. I put them in a frame -hive on nine
frames of comb, but the bees did not do much
about here last season, so I got 20 lb. of sugar
and made it into syrup in August. Thty took
all but a pint by the end of September. I
covered them up for winter by first laying
sticks across the frames, then a piece of calico
over frames, and adding two layers of carpet
on this, and waste-paper on top. To-day the
bees are flying with the thermometer regis-
tering 5 degrees of frost. Some fly right
away, others dropping down close by. I
picked up sixty-four dead bees in one day
when there had been 11 degrees of frost in
the night. What is the lowest temperature
at wiiich the hive might be opened to put
some candy on ? I might say they have got
some combs of sealed food, as I can see from
the back.— Beginner, Eagle Cliff, Green-
hithe, December 31. P.S. — I lost a stock last
winter.

Reply. — It is not natural for bees to fly
abroad under the conditions named, but why
they do so it is not easy to say with certainty
without a personal inspection of the hive. In
the first place, the amount of top-covering to
the frames seems quite inadequate to keep
in the warmth so necessary to the quiet well-
doing of the bees. The abnormal activity
displayed in frosty weather may be the result
of the extra consumption of food required to
compensate for the loss of heat owing to the
want of close-fitting warm top coverings above
the frames. As a remedy we advise a pariial
examination of the combs on the first oppor-
tunity. No harm will result so long as the
bees are flying, as stated, when the examina-
tion takes place. If sealed food is plentiful,
and the bees are fairly numerous, remove the
sticks, pack the carpet coverings close down
to top of frames, and set thereon a board of
;|in. stuff", large enough to cover the frames
and having a circular feed-hole in centre.

Jhii. 11, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

19

Weight this board down to make ifc fit close
and prevent warping. If food is short, set a
cake of soft candy above feed-hole and cover
it -with a shallow box, or box-lid, to keep in
the bees ; add over all some additional varm
coverings, and see if the bees d n't renia'n at
home " when it is freezing,"

[1708.] Cnrious Samijh of Honey. — I am
sending by this post a sample of some honey I
have left. "Would you please tell me what
you think of it ? Is it good or otherwise ?
How is it that it has not granulated ? I like
it myself, but have not tried to sell it as it is
so dark. I have about 30 lb. of it, and all my
other honey has granulated, and I have sold
1,800 lb. altogether this season from twenty
hives, 'at an average price of 8d. ;per lb. —
H. R. R., Monmouth^ January 5.

Reply. — There is, we think, a good portion
of honey-dew in sample sent, but, before pro-
nouncing on if, we should be glad to have a
line to say if it has been heated or dealt with
in any way since removal from the hive. It is
a very curious sample of honey in its present
condition, unlike any we remember to have
seen. The colour is that of heather, of which,
however, there is no trace in the flavour, and,
though perfectly clear and bright, it is so stiff
in consistency that the jar may be turned
upside down without the honey leaving it.

(&tUt% from the giiifs.

Graajf Reinet, Cape Colony, S. Africa^
December 11, 1893. — Our bee season is just
beginning now. Owing to the severe drought,
which broke up in the beginning of October,
the bees are six weeks later than usual. My
first swarm came out last Tuesday, and, after
some difficulty, the bees settling and fljdng at
once again, I managed to secure them. The
reason they were so anxious to go was because,
being next to the veldt, they are able to find
plenty of holes, &c., to go into. Wishing you
a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year.
— S. Rabone.

Soham, Camhs, December 24, 1893. — My
bees are going along well for the present ;
they have been out every fine, warm day this
last week or so, and worked on the ivy-bloom
in large numbers, which is close at hand. One
lot, Avliich I drove from a skep and placed on
frame?, I am afraid I must take indoors to
save them if the weather comes sharp. I
shall put them in the attic with my Wells
Hive I have there, which has two holes cut
through the brickwork for them to enter by.
It has done well this year, but they have
propolised all the holes up in dummy, which
does not seem to make any difference ; they
agree just the same. — J, L , 8,, Gambs,

PULLED QUEENS.

Dr. Miller Tells all About Them,
One of the bee journals for which I have a
real respect asks for a " rest '' on pulled queens.
Why ? If it has tried them and found out that
there is any harm in using them, would it not
be abetter way to tell the harm in the case?
Certainly there has not been such a great deal
said about them ; but enough has been said
against them to show that most if not all of
those who say anything against them have
never tried them, and don't know what they
are talking about, merely giving speculative
opinions. Those who have tried them will no
doubt enjoy a quiet smile on being gravely
informed in one of the bee journals that it is
said that " pulled queens are very short-lived,
and that but few of them ever become fertile
on account of having their wings destroyed by
2mIUiig the queen from her cell before being
properly matured." Elsewhere the suggestion
is made that it would be better to use queen-
cells, thus letting the queens come out at their
own time ; and one man goes so far as to say
that, instead of pulling queens, he puts wax
over the spot in the cell that has been gnawed
by the quten so as to hold her prisoner in the
cell a longer time, thus making her stronger.

I will try to be magnanimous enough not to
oblige any one to use pulled queens who does
not want to ; but as I have found no little
advantage and convenience in their use myself,
I will try to clear up some misunderstandings
that seem to prevail.

When a queen is raised at any time in a
colony where there is no intention of swarm-
ing, I think it will be found that the queen
emerges from her cell too young and tender
to fly, and quite light coloured. I can hardly
believe, however, that nature is making any
mistake in the case, and I do not believe that
she would be any the better queen for longer
confinement in the cell. In other words, I
think she will mature as well out of the cell
as in it. At least, the bees seem to think so,
and govern themselves accordingly.

If swarming is contemplated, a number of
queen-cells being built, one queen is allowed
to emerge, and the rest are held in their cells.
One or several of them will be thus confined a
day or more, the free queen piping and the
others quahking. They are not confined in
the cells because they are any better for it,
but because the exigencies of the case
require it.

Now, suppose we go to a hive containing
these queens in cells. Take out a frame and
find a queen-cell. Looking close, you may
see a little slit gnawed by the queen, passing
part way round the cell near the smaller end.
Through that slit the Avorkers feed her during
her imprisonment; and, when allowed by
them, she- will enlarge the slit and push open
the cap.

But you may not see any such slit. If you
don'tj I ki^ovf of no way of tilling whether

20

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Jan. 11, 1894.

the i^ueen is matured enough to emerge, or
too immature to emerge for several days. Pull
the cell and see. That doesn't mtaa that, by
some means, you are to get hold of the queen's
wings and pull on them till you get her out of
the cell. It's the cell rather than the queen
that is to be pulled. Take hold of the cell
and pull it oA". A bee-keeper of any expe-
rience will readily do that without injuring
the queen, and so, probably, would one with-
out experience. All that's necessary is simply
to grasp the cell tight enough to pull it off,
but not tight enough to mash it.

The probability is that in pulling it off you
did it in such a way that it left the base of
the cell entirely open. In that case the queen
will back out in a little while, providing she
is mature enough, although she may persist in
gnawing open the cell in the reguhir way, and
coming out head foremost. If she is old enough
the cap has been already gnawed off, all but a
little hinge, and she will promptly push her
way through.

You may, however, find her at any stage of
immaturity, down to the grub. If too imma-
ture for use, all you have to do is to throw
away the cell and try another. At swarming
time queen-cells are so plentiful as to be of
little account. If, however, you think the
cells sufficiently valuable, and don't wish to
destroy any, don't take any except such as
show the quesn gnawing her way out, and
leave the others to ripen. With the point of
a penknife scrape over the place where the
queen may be expected to gnaw through, and
if the cell is ripe enough the knife-pomt will
push its way through, and you will easily pull
oft" the cap and allow her ladyship to emerge.
If the cell is not ripe enough, there is little
danger of the knife pushing its way through.

If the queen is strong enough to cling to the
side of a comb and walk over it without fall-
ing off, she is probably mature enough to be
good. But you can easily decide whether she
is mature enough by putting her in the hive
where you Avant her accepted. If she is not
mature enough the bees will promptly seize
he and cast her out ; but if she is mature
enough they will pay little attention to her.

If you have a case where it U difficult to
introduce a queen, and have one that is barely
mature enough to be received, and another
that has been imprisoned in its cell two or
three days by the bees, I think you will find
the bees more likely to accept the younger one.

Now, Where's the advantage of giving a
pulled queen over giving queen-cells ? ' I'll try
10 tell you some of the advantages. You are
not dealing with a pig in a poke, but know
what you are doing. If you give a cell, you.
are not sure Avhatis in it, if, indeed, you're sure
there's anything in it ; for, sometimes after a
queen emerges, the bees close up the cell so it
has all the appearance of having a queen in it.
I've seen many a cell with a dead queen in it,
but looking all right. It takes less time to put

in a qiieen than a cell. Bees will sometimes
destroy a cell when a princess of the right age
would not be molested. The cell may have in
it a queen with defective wings, or it may be
objectionable in other respects ; but in giving
a pulled queen you need not give any except
one whose appearance suits you in all respects.
On the other hand, I don't know of a single
advantage a queen-cell has over a pulled
queen. Do you ? — C- C Miller, in
Gleanings.

No tices to Corresponden tsand Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will he attended to, and thoi^e
only of pergonal interest ivill be answered in this column.

Letters or queries askimj for addresses of manvfac-
turers or correspondents, or where ap}>liances can be
Xnirchased, or replies giving such informatiov, can onhi
be inserted as advertisements. The s^iace devoted to
letters, queries and replies is meant for the general
good of bce-'ceepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our CorresjJondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to pi'ess in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issue
immediately folloiving the receipt of their communica-
tion.

A. H. Young. — The honey sent is from mixed
flowers, the predominating flavour being
heather. We could not fix its price, the
value of honey varying so much in different
localities. If offered for sale it should be
described as from clover and heather, in
order to account for its strong flavour.

F. M'C. (Carlisle), Flonr Candy.— Candy
sent is quite right, the " smell " noticeable
being only that of the flour. We do not
notice any sourness about it. Thanks for
good wishes, which we cordially reciprocate.

Several Letters, Queries, &c., are in type, and
, loill a]J2)car next iveek.

GLEANINGS

IN BEE-CULTURE.

A JOURNAL DEVOTED TO BEES,
HONEY, & HOME INTERESTS.

Edited by A. I. ROOT,
Medina, Ohio, U.S.A.

The above popular Fortnightly American Bee
Journal can be had from theOfiiceof theBritish
Bee Journal and Bee-keepers^ Beeord, 17, King
William Street, Strand, W. C. at os. per annum.

Posted same day as parcel reaches this
country from America.

We cannot take Subscriptions for the above
for a less term than One Year, and intend-
ing Subscribers should notify us, when
ordering, if subscription is to cease on ex]:)iry
of the year for which payment is made.

Jan. 18, 1891]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

21

TO OUR READERS.

There are good reasons for thinking
that the plan Ave have this year adopted
of suiting clearly and fully in print the
conditions on which we purjiose conduct-
ing the various departments of our
Journal in the future has met Avith
general approval. Not that any radical
changes are involved in the arrangements
printed on second page of Bee Journal
cover, for, as a matter of fact, most of the
details there enumerated have been
carried out in jjractice for a long time
jjast. But somehoAv, Avhere a large
number of persons are being dealt Avith,
it is perfectly astonishing how various
are the idiosyncrasies and Avidely dif-
fering temperaments revealed. To jorint
the letters received Avould certainly point
a moral, even if they failed to adorn a
tale. And if Ave insert the substance of
a specimen or Iavo, it Avill, Ave trust,
have some effect in the Avay of enlisting
some small amount of sympathy Avith
ourselvesinour "difficulties 'Avhen dealing
Avith subscribers Avhose prevailing method
has no savour of the suaviter in modo.

Referring especially to the subscrip-
tion department — in Avhicli the main
troubles occur — it should be explained
that some years ago the experiment Avas
tried of enforcing the rule of " payment
in adA'ance"by discontinuing the Journal
after notifying the expiry of subscription.
This proceeding, hoAvever, gave such dire
offence to the great bulk of oi;r sub-
scribers, and, moreover, lost us so many
friends, that the experiment is not likely
to be repeated. And so — Avhile still
giving notice Avhen subscription expires
—Ave continue sending the Journal, and
rely upon the honesty of those Avho
accept delivery of it for payment.

We have folloAved this plan, believing
that anyone Avho desired to stop taking
the paper Avould naturally adopt the
simple expedient of refusing delivery by
the postman, in Avhich case it is returned
to us marked "refused," and the sub-
scriber's name is promptly eliminated
from our list, no further copies being
sent. In vieAv of these simple facts, Avhat
can be thought of one — Avhose letter is
before us — Avho Avrites : — " In reply to
yours, alloAv me to inform you that I

hold your printed notice, received De-
cember 24, 1890, in Avhich you inform
me that my subscription to the Bee-
Keepers' Journal had ended. The
terms stated on this notice Avas 6s. 6d.
for tAvelve months, paijabh in advance. I
ahvays paid in advance, and have never
ordered your paper Avithout sending the
money in advance, and as I have never
ordered a paper since that date I have
nothing to propose."

Now, the j)oint of the above lies in the
fact that the Avriter of the letter quoted
had been coolly accepting delivery of the
paper for about tAvo years after his ori-
ginal subscription had expired ! Another
subscriber Avas exceedingly irate on appli-
cation being made for a long overdue
subscription, and after having had over
tAvo years' papers delivered to him post
free, Avrote to say that he had paid one
year's subscription " in adA^ance, as re-
quired," and thought the subsequent
copies had been !<ent gratis, concluding his
epistle by declaring that he "had paid
Avhat he considered to be due, and Avould
pay no more."

Luckily for the " Treasury " of this
journal — and, let us hasten to add, for
the credit of the British bee-keeper —
these objectionable experiences are not
numerous ; for they are very trying
to one's belief in some folks' sense
of justice and fair dealing. Besides, they
are more than counterbalanced by the
far more numerous receipt of such ac-
knoAvledgments as the folloAving,* just
received, in Avhicli the Avriter says : —

" At last 1 have the pleasure to send
you my subscription for the Avhole of
last year, 1893, and for the next six
months of 1894. I thank you very much
for your kindness in sending it as you
have done, and I hope to be able to pay
in advance in future. I like the journal
very much, and so far as my bee-keeping
goes, cannot get on Avithout it."

There is just one other point worth
noting, and that is the question of
2)ostage in connection Avith receipts for
subscriptions and small sums sent us
by post. Some of our friends expect
prompt acknowledgment by post of all
cash sent, hoAvever small the sum ; to
quote an extreme case, the other day avc
received three penny stamps, and the
sender (seriously, Ave suppose) requested
an acknoAvledgment of receipt by post.,

22

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Jan. 18, 1894.

Now we want it to be understood that
all subscriptions are acknowledged by-
printed receipt sent along with the
current copy of the paper, if received in
time, but in any case in the following
issue. And we are quite sure that if
subscribers could realise how large an
annual sum it would cost to send receipts
otherwise they would admit the reason-
ableness of our plan.

In conclusion, let us say these lines are
written mainly for the purpose of drawing
attention to the particulars printed on
second page of cover, to which reference
has been made, and if readers will care-
fully peruse (once only) the directions
there given, it will save any chance of
injustice being done to themselves or to
ourselves in the way to which attention
has been invited.

HONEY IMPOETS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of
December, 1893, was £1,862. — From a rdurn
furnished by the Statidical Office, II. M.
Customs.

IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

A great advance was made in the promo-
tion of bee-keeping during 1893 by this Asso-
tion, in that very important aid was obtained
from two Government Departments.

Early in the year the Committee represented
to the Congested Districts Board the desira-
bility of promoting bee-keeping in their
districts, and, to support their suggestion,
made inquiries themselves in a portion of
these districts, and sent the Board a report.
They made also an application to the Com-
missioners of National Education for the in-
troduction of bee - culture as a branch of
national education. The following are the
results in each case : —

1. Mr. Turlough O'Bryen, on the recom-
mendation of the Committee, was appointed
by the Congested Districts Board, Instructor
in Bee-keeping, and by order of the Board
visited a portion of their districts, gave instruc-
tion, and supplied (on an undertaking being
given to _ repay the cost within a specified
period) hives, bees, and appliances to suitable
persons, who it is believed, as a rule, are
willing and will soon be able to assist and
instruct others. These operations the Com-
mittee have reason to hope will be not only
continued, but far more widely extended in
future.

2. The Commissioners of National Educa-
tion ordered that bee- culture be recognised as
a cottage industry, with a fee of 5s. payable

per pupil of fifth or sixth class, for efficient
jDractical instruction in National Schools : — ■

(a) With school farms attached,

(b) With school gardens attached,

(c) With recognised dairies attached.

The usual conditions as to attendances, &c.,
are to be fulfilled.

The Committee met on the 9th inst., Rev.
Canon Sadler in the chair, and, at the desire
of the Congested Districts Board, decided
upon a scheme to be laid before the Board for
more extended operations during the present
year. They also appointed a Sub-committee
to consider the question of revising the speci-
fication of a standard hive for Ireland made
some years ago.

djantspaiideiitif.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. Jio notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
arc requested to ivrite on one side of the piaper only, and
give their real 7iames and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shoivs, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Revieio, tOc, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, etc., ')nust be addressed
*o"The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of Advertisements).

'^1* In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the liage on -which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1709.] We have had a very great change
in the weather last week. The mercury was
shrunk by the intense cold until it nearly
found room to stow itself away in the bulb
part of the thermometer. Then came a grand
change, and the expansive action of the heat
wave increased its volume until it crept up the
tube till the scale indicated something above
50 degs., and with the increased temperature
the bees came out in strong force ; in fact,
some who do not know much of their habits
asked if they were going to swarm ! The
flight came in good time, as during the autumn,
in fact, up till Christmas Day, when they were
on wing, they have had many, nearly daily,
opportunities of flight, so that the fortnight of
confinement to their hives must have come
somewhat unexpected to them, and this
break in the cold weather has enabled them
to make provision for a recurrence of such
weather.

I notice friend Webster in last number
of B. J. is not very much in love with
metal-covered roofs— some are too heavy, and
others are sharp-edged. Now, in regard to
the last, sharp-edged kind of covers, yclept
zinc, I can assure Mr, W. that if the zinc is

Jan. 18, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

23

secured to the wood roof in the manner I
have secured those of my hives that required
such rainproof covering, there will be no com-
plaint on the score of torn flesh or lacerated
hands ; and the weight of a sheet of zinc,
32 in. by 30 in., which is large enough to cover
the roof of a combination hive, and turn up
under the eaves at the sides and under the
projections of gables back and front of hive,
and nail under all round with small flat-headed
clout nails, I say the additional weight will be
a little over 3 lb., and the hive is rendered
rainproof, while the under-eaves nailing allows
the whole of the covered roof space for any
expansion of the zinc under the rays of the
sun.

May I ask if any of our observant bee-
keei^ers have noticed any difference in the
strength of colonies in the spring attendant
on their early or late preparation for winter in
the previous autumn ? From observations I
have made myself, I am fully persuaded that
it makes a considerable difference to the
strength of the colony the following year if
the packing up for winter is done late in
August or early in September than if it is
neglected till late in September or October.
In the former case, the preparation, and j^ro-
bably feeding up to the required quantity of
food, starts breeding at a time Avhen the young
bees may get several flights, and thus become
a source of strength to the colony during the
winter months, and prove vigorous Avorkers
in the early spring. Then another advantage
early preparation gives to a colony is the
proper distribution of the stores. If, as I said
before, brood is being raised, the bees will
distribute the incoming stores for the winter
sustenance of the colonj^ in the best
possible position to be reachable when
required, whether it is for present consumption
in brood-rearing or as food for the adult bees
later on in the year. Then, after the brood
hatched out, the empty cells will be available
for the compact clustering of the bees during
the winter, and they will thus escape another
possible accident of a thinly-spread colony,
and that is the probable loss by a sharp nip of
the bees that may be located on the outside of
a comb. I have had such mishaps more than
once when we have had a sudden change to a
very low temperature. Yet another important
item connected with early preparation of
colonies for winter is the opportunity it
gives the bees of propolising every hole
in the quilt or draught-hole from badly-
fitting coverings on the tops of frames.
The bee-keeping industry will have to wake
up to a full sense of the danger it has to
encounter with the adulterator in our very
midst. I notice that the Vintners held a con-
ference in Paris on the 10th inst. for the pur-
pose of protecting natural wine against the
artificial wine which is reported to be flooding
the French market, and our American bee
brethren are using every endeavour to pro-
mote the passing of the Pure Foods Bill, to

which they are looking forward as a preventa-
tive to honey adulteration. What are we
doing to prevent or punish the honey
adulterator? We have Acts at present on
the Statute Book that will reach and
jmnish such criminals if brought to justice.
What we want is an association of bee-
keepers to protect the honey industry, each
subscribing, say, 5s. per annum, to form a fund
by which not only adulterators of honey, but
also the vendors of such vile stuff, may be pro-
secuted. A few convictions would do more to
stop the nefarious practice than volumes written
against the practice. Who Avill help in the
matter, who Avill subscribe to a Bee-Keepers'
Defence Fund ? If only two in each of the
100 counties in Britain, we shall be able to
make a start ; but if ten in each county will
plank down the subscription (only a small one
of 5s.) we shall have a respectable start, and
be in a position to employ men of ability to
prosecute in the Law Courts.

I beg to thank Mr. Wells for his method of
wax-extracting last month. I thought pro-
bably he had some special method as his wax
returns are very large compared to the size of
his apiary, and I felt I am not careful enough
to extract all the Avax from the combs, as my
quantity of wax yearly bears no comparison to
Mr. Wells's when the sizes of our apiaries are
considered. — W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.

LEOT (JEERS AND TEACHERS.

[1710.] Humanum est errare. Perhaps it
may not be the happiest moment of Mr. W. B.
Webster's life to pose as a teacher. He may
be a lecturer, I will not question that. He is
not sufficiently careful in what he says, I am
sure of that. Mr. Cribb (1699, p. 15) gives
mathematical demonstration on the subject of
gauze versus perforated zinc, through which Mr.
Webster now admits that bees will pass. It
is therefore unnecessary to caution amateurs
against its use.

Seeing that it is an easy matter to catch the
queens, what objection is there to putting
three or four stocks of driven bees together,
and on arrival home to separate them into
hives as required, and requeen them ? I have
done this repeatedly, and I am not aware of
any difficulty experienced. Two large hives
will hold eight stocks in August and Sep-
tember.

To return to Mr. Webster's letter (1695,
p. 13) ^x(ce tua. There are animals having
an extended horizontal vision of great power,
but the vertical view suffers in consequence.
Mr. Webster's eyes must have a similar ten-
dency. Is there not a deficiency in some
respect ? Is there not a want of tact in saying
I recommend bribery with a view of getting a
person to do an honourable action ? Has the
figurative expression been too high for his
vision ? If he is a married man, may I ask
him if his wife never bribed him to purchase
her a new dress ? Mine is trying the game on

24

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Jan. 18, 1894.

now, but I think I can hold out till Whitsun-
tide— parf.urmnt m.ontes nascitur rtdiculus
"Vijfs — (for Mr. Webster's eye only). I can
assure hitn that the method I recommended is
li?!tened to favourably by more than one
County Councillor. 1 see Mr. Woodley also
falls in with my views, which will be all the
better for a little difference in opinion.

Again, I am charged with failing to see
the " other " class of the community Avhich
Mr. Webster designates a " host " " fairly
educated.'' This is entirely a misapprehen-
sion on his part. I was writing about edu-
cated and uneducated bee-keepers. I presume
there are uneducated bee-keepers who have
become very proficient in technical callings.
If Mr. Webster, as an expert lecturer, expects
to teach other than bee subjects, he will soon
be undeceived. I remind him of this in
terrorem.

Now my pen is in furor scribendi, I feel I
must sav a few words about the W.B.C. metal
ends. They are perfect with perfect hives.
They are a splendid invention, and their sale
testifies their usefulness. All the same, I
have bought three gross from Mr. Meadows —
■vide editorial note— but I did not think it
necessary to tell him that every one has had a
spur cut on them. So that it will readily be
seen that Mr. Meadows' testimony is not Avhat
it appears on the face of it. I would rather
buy them ready cut, and I hope they Avill soon
be offered on sale cut ready. With several
different kinds of hives in use, they are inter-
changeable with it, and the proper distances
are kept. The pith of the whole argument
lies here — one person says they are useless.
lie does not want them. Another says they
are precious— he needs them. When a man
makes a hive whose whole list of tools com-
prise a saw, a rule, a smoothing plane, a
pocket knife, a hammer, and a dull chisel, I
can assure the reader that a spur is as precious
as ointment. They are a most valuable acqui-
sition. It is sheer nonsense to say the bees
fasten them.

How about the weather, Messrs. Editors. I
agree with you it's no use being sure unless you
know. Bees are flying by thousands, January
11, 12, and to-day (13).

I have just been thinking how nicely I have
responded to the siren's song and trodden
ground feared by angels. I crave your pardon
and forbearance, and" add, in conclusion, " Vir
sapit qui pauca loquitur." — Not a Heathen.

FOREIGN COMPETITION.
[1711.] Bee-keepers, I feel, will at once
hurry up with their expressions of thanks for
the very forcible manner in which you place
this matter before them. Those who were not
wide awake to the fact will have received a
severe " sting," especially when they turn
their dilated orbs on a certain advertisement
i» " pur " JpURNAL and notice that the " 40

cases are now nearly all sold,'' and at 45d. per
lb. ! What a " sandwich " for us to digest.
How to digest it 1— let that be the question of
the day. The foreigner has already got a hold
on our market, and can clearly undersell us ;
1894 must decide the question " What is to
be done ? " Now is the time for our Associa-
tions to take the matter up. Most of them
will be holding their meetings soon, Avhen
foreign competition should be their main item
for discussion. What can we bee-keepers do
individually ? Nothing ; but the " Heathen."
despite the spasmodic oscillations of his head-
feathers, solves the problem. " Steps must be
taken in a body," under the gtiidance of those
famous men of cur B.B.K.A., and I feel
Shropshire as a county will not be the last, if
least, to take her share in the battle.

Another eye-opener you have placed before
us, Messrs. Editors, to begin 1894 with. I
refer to that " letter " quoted on page 1 of our
new volume. What a lovely piece of sim-
plicity. Does it exist ? Your assurance is
indisputable, yet we turn from it with dis-
gust. In this advanced age of bee-keeping I
am at a loss to understand how a producer of
a quantity of honey, as this person must be,
could be ignorant of the facts which you so
charitably give him. Let us hope he will sin-
cerely take your excellent advice to heart, and
disabuse his mind of the fallacy that bees con-
vert sugar-syrup into honey. In my last I
referred to the mildness of the season and the
probability of the " nip " coming. It has
come ! — been with us several days. And what
a "nip!'' — 17 degrees of frost, with an east
wind that seems to penetrate the very marrow
in our bones. How long it will last who can
tell ? What a comfort to lie in bed (afcer a

"nip" of w y and a teaspoonful of honey

hot) and to feel quite certain our little buzzers
are prepared for the longest siege. It is a good
" dodge " to sweep the snow from the top of
hives and the ground in front. The first
thaw will clear this ground long before the
bulk of snow is gone, and on the bees taking
their first flight many will be saved. Lots of
the old bees will now be weeded out and drop
from the combs. Care should be taken that
the entrance is not blocked with dead, but
kept clear with a bent Avire. I cannot say
that I like the alteration in the Journal ;
perhaps I got a little prejudiced on calling for
it at my bookseller's. He could not at first
find thenr in his newly-arrived parcel, as he
was looking for the old familiar frontispiece.
In any case, it Avill always find first place oa
the table of — SALoriAN, Jamiary 8.

FOREIGN COMPETITION.

[1712.] It is not at all surprising that cor-
respondents should grumble about the foreign
competition introduced by a firm of appliance
makers, and though the price quoted probably
represents the true value of the honey offered,
it; cannot fail to be injtirioiis to thg home in^

Jan. 18, 189i.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

•25

dustry, and further tend to lower the price of
EnE;U!^h honey. The same firm also offered
an absurdly low price for wax not many weeks
ago. — E. H., iVorcfstirshire,Jnnnary 12, 18')4.
[Oar correspondent is, we think, rather too
severe on the firm referred to. If it is con-
sidered what price wax brings Avhen cleansed
and manufactured into comb foundation, we
cannot call Is. 3d. per lb. for bees wax (as it
comes from the bee-keeper) an " absurdly low
price." We have referred elsewhere to the
matter of advertisinii foreign honey as it
affects our home bee-keepers. — Eds.]

BEES NEAR COLLIERIES.

[1713.] — The enclosed is a sample of my
extracted honey gathered in '93. We have no
shows of honey or expert judges in this pait
of the country, so will you kindly thruugh
B. B. J. express your opinion as to its quality ?
I may state that my hives stand within 100
yards of one of the largest coal mines in tliis
county, and my bees do very well indeed. I
have had 104 lb. from one hive — tliat was in
'87. This year I had over 70 lb. from the
best. With best wishes, T. T. M., Sunderhuid,
Januarij 12.

[Except for being just a little thin, or lack-
ing in consistency, tbe honey sent is of excel-
lent quality ; good in colour, aroma, and
flavour. It is mainly from white clover, and
there is certainly no trace of the " coal mine "
about it, the colour being beautifully clear and
bright.— Eds.]

MISCELLANEOUS.

[1714.] Alteration in Vol. XXIl.—To be
candid, 1 must confess that I do not think the
new plan of printing the list of " Contents "
inside the first page is so good as when printed
outside. I also suggest an alteration, although
I do so with fear and trembling. When pre-
paring my Journals for the bookbinder by
removing the trade advertisement pages, I
have more often than not had to cut a double
sheet in half, and ihis, of course, causes the
single sheets to become loose after the volume
has been bound. Take this week's issue for
instance. When one has removed the advertise-
ment pages, the leaf containing pages 19 and
20 will, of course, become a single one. If the
Editors could see their way to remedy this
evil, I, for one, would consider it a great im-
provement, and doubtless many other readers
of the ever-welcome British Ber Journal
would also.

The Weather. — I quite agree with the
schoolboy who wrote ia an essay, " In
England we have no climate, and the weather
is all samples.'' Here, on the 4th inst., the
maximum shade temperature Avas 18 deg.
Fahr., and the minimum 9 deg. Fahr. Just a
week later the thermometer registered a shade
maximum of .53 deg. and a minimum of
43 deg, A wonderful difference in seycjl days.

Moving Stoclcs to New Sites.— As I wished
to move one of my hives to another part of the
garden I thought I could not do better than
do so whilst the bees were confined in their
home during the late frost. This I did hoping
all would be well. Last Thursday, owing to
the high temperature, the bees issued from
thfir hives ia hundieds, in fact, their hum
had quite a midsummer sound. Now, sad to
relate, a great number of the bees from the
hive recently moved flew to the site of their
old quarters and failed to return, but paid a
visit to another hive not far off, with the
result that the ground was soon with corpses
strewn.

Impromnfj the W. B. C. End. - I was glad
to see your Editorial on the above. I fail to
see the need of a spur. If the hives be made
correctly I find the W. B. C. ends are all that
could be desired. I have them on most of my
frames.

Letters Inj " Lordaicood." — I feel that I must
endorse what Mr. W. B. Webster says (1695,
p. 13) anent letters by " Lordswood " not
appearing in Bee Journal often enough. I
always read with great pleasure his charm-
ingly descriptive letters, living as I do not far
from the places he so grapliically describes.

ric''o(/.s Bees, &c. — Mr. E. J. Gibbins un-
doubtedly hits the right nail on the head
(1691, p. 6) when he says "the great majority
of small and inexperienced bee-keepers . .
. . . never willingly overhaul a savar/e stock
unless it is absolutely needful, and the result is
that because left alone they do better than a
mild stock.'' When commencing bee-keaping
I asked an experienced apiarist to advise me
what to do to become successful. His reply
was, " I will tell you what not to do, and that
is, open your hives and disturb your bees more
than is absolutely necessary."

Foreign Honey. — In the British Bee
Journal for January 4, it states that a certain
advertisement will be withdrawn next week ;
the same statement is repeated in this week's
Journal ; perhaps it is a case of " next week
never comes." I am surprised that you,
Messrs. Editors, ever allowed the advertise-
ment to find place in our Journal, for I
thought the British Bee Journal was for
the interest of British bee-keepers not Foreign,
but perhaps I am selfish in my ideas.

Eeirly Swa,rming. — If we can get our bees
ready for swarming in March and April by
adopting Mr. S. Simmlns' method, we shall
certainly have no cause to fear spring dwindl-
ing. Should we not require increase of stock ?
we have the advantage of a well-populated
hive ready to take advantage of the honey-flow,
I see a letter from " F. B.," Brighton (1705,
p. 17). Being a Brightonian myself, I shall be
pleased to correspond with " F, B." on bee
matters should he be agreeable. — Percy
Leigh, Bcemoiint, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrovc,
Januarg 13.

[Referring to the loose sheets, the fault is
more imaginary than real. Bookbinders find

26

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Jan. 18, 1894.

no difficulty when binding the volume, loose
sheets induded. Besides, as a matter of
folding and paging, we are sorry to say it
cannot be altered without enlarging the size
of journal.

Be the advertisement question. If our
correspondent will " think the matter out " a
little closer, we trust he will agree with us in
considering it to be advantageous to the
British bee-keeper that he be made fully
acquainted with what he has to contend with
in the way of foreign competition. Besides,
there would have been no justification what-
ever for our boycotting an advertisement of
the kind referred to, seeing that it appeared
above the name of a firm well known to all
our readers. — Eds.]

BEE-KEEPING IN TOWNS.
[1715.] It may interest bee-keepers living
in towns to know my last year's take of honey
from three bar-frame hives— bees, Carniolan
bybridt!, from a Carniolan queen, received
from Frank Benton, in 1888. Honey in good
sections, 48 lb., extracted honey in frames,
84 lb., total, 132 lb. No swarms, bees
packed for winter on ten frames, with about
251b. sealed honey iu each hive. No winter
feeding required, and brood-nest not disturbed.
My hives hold fourteen frames, parallel to
entrance. I use Nettlefold's iron screw eyes,
pattern, suit B, No. 2, for giving the distance
between frames, and find them answer ad-
mirably, as a few turns of the screw backward
will give the necessary distance for wintering.
I also use narrow strips of American cloth
on the ends of frames before placing the super
on, and find by using a little vaseline the
crates are easily removed. — John F. E. Aylen,
Plymouth, January 10, 1894.

BEES AND HONEY IN EAST AFEICA.

[1716.] Enclosed I send you an extract
from a letter from a friend in Kibwezi, East
Africa, 200 milss from the coast, on the road
from Mombasa to Uganda. — M. F., Paisley,
January 4 : —

BEES AND HONEY.

" Now for a little about bees and honey. I
know I will have your ear and eye here, and I
can assure you that I am going to be a bee-
keeper.

"Last Friday, ia answer to my request and
the promise of a liberal present, the oldest
elder in the district brought me two bee-skeps
of the regular native pattern. These skeps or
hives consist of a piece of a tree (trunk or
branch), say 2 ft. to 3 ft. long and 7 in. to
10 in. in diameter, hollowed out by means of
fire and hatchet. Sometimes you have a skep
riiade from the tree at a place where two
branches join a larger branch or trunk. When
the skep is now hollowed out, the ends are
closed very neatly by pieces of wood with one

end arranged so as to form a key and grip, and
a slight space is left between the end-piece
and the skep, perhaps at two points to allow ot
the bees getting in and out.

"The skep being quite ready, a stick is cut
of a peculiar shape like this : —
This stick is carefully singed in
fire to preserve it for a longer time.
Then creepers are tightly wrapped
round the skep and fastened up to the
lower end of the stick so as to sus-
pend nicely the skep from the tree,
the crook at the top of the stick
serving as the means of hooking the
skep on to the branch of the tree
^ selected.

" Well, then my old friend came with his
two bee skeps, and as I meant to get all the
information I could from him, I treated him
very kindly with a cup of tea, a chair to sit
on, and a pleasant chat. We then adjourned
to our garden and proceeded to hang up the
' skeps.' All being ready to hoist up, and a
young fellow having climbed the tree carrying
one end of the rope with which to hang up the
skeps, my old friend produced a round block
of some sweet-smelling substance — a mixture
of wood-dust, resm, and I don't know what —
and then began vigorously to rub the inside of
the skep and the inner side of the end pieces.
As he rubbed, he muttered in a happy, sing-
song manner, ' Bees, bees, come, come quickly,
come plentj^ and make plenty honey, so that
I maj^ get many things from the white man.'
The old rascal "looked like some old wizard as
he rubbed and muttered, and after a few
minutes of this performance he handed me the
end piece to smell — and it did smell very
sweet and enticing — and then he assured me
that as soon as the rains came I should have
plenty of bees and plenty of hone3%

" I am now the proprietor of three bee-skeps,
and in one of them the bees are hard at work.
We make jam out of honey and tomatoeS) and
the mixture, two days after boiling, begins to
ferment, and then it is just delicious. Have
you ever tried it ? "

%xtrm imA '^t^lm.

[929.] Suspected Dysentery. — 1. Last year I
was in bee-partnership with a friend, and our
bees were located about 100 yards from my
house. This year Ave agreed to divide our
stock, and I have removed four hives that dis-
tance. The hives Avere Avell AvrajDped up, with
candy-cakes on each, and to-day, being warm,
the bees were out well, remoAdng their dead,
&c., but I notice the alighting boards, hive
roofs, and even the leaves of plants growing near
covered with yellow spots, containing what
looks something like minute grubs. Is this a
sign of dysentery ? and do jou advise my
giving warm syrup ? I am rather afraid to

Jan. 18, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

give them warm food, for fear of mora cold
■we;ither. Nor have I overhauled them. 2.
Two other hives that I had at home before,
and have attended to entirely, my self, do not
show a spot anywhere — nothing beyond
particles of dry candy, which they carry out
instead of eating. How is that '( 3. Will it
be wise to have a good look inside the four
hives first mentioned '. They cannot l)e wet
inside, as they are Avell covered with carpet
and sacking, and zinc roofs over all. I am
afraid it points to spring dwindling later on,
which I am anxious to prevent if possible. —
J. Dean, iStrood, January 11.

Eeply.— 1. The removal has, no doubt,
caused some excitement among the bees, and
consequent necessity for a cleansing flight,
Avhich caused the specking noticed. There
seems no need for alarm, or for suspecting
dysentery as the cause of this, and seeing that
feeding with warm syrup would only further
rouse the bees to abnormal activity, we should
not advise it. 2. The candy carried out is
merely the particles which, owing to granu-
lation, the bees cannot consume. 3. Do not
upset the bees by examining, or having " a
good look inside." It would only aggravate
the mischief comjjlained of. and so long as
food is known to be j^lentiful, is not needed
under the circumstances. At least, not at
present.

[930.] Adopting the " Wells " Hite.—Mj
outdoor factotum, a youog man of nineteen,
who is rather expert at carpentry, has just put
together a vevy nice beehive, copying the hive
known as the *' Economic." His only experi-
ence of bees has been in helping me with mine
last summer, when my four hives made £5,
besides using and giving freely of honey, and
this appears to him a royal road to wealth. He
already aspires to a " Wells " hive, and, as the
British Bee Journal appears to think this
kind of hive likely to be most used in the near
future, I would willingly give him " the
makings '' of one if I knew how to instruct
him as to the measurements, and in what
respects the '' Wells " difiers from other hives.
1. I have one of Abbott's "Combination"
hives. Is this convertible into a "Wells," and
how ? I am not clear where the two entrances
should be ■ at the side, or one at each end, or
the two side by side at end or front — i.e.,
making one side the front. The latter ssems
to me the most reasonable. We have never
any opportunity of seeing any show or speak-
ing with an expert. Some bees are certainly
kept about here in frame hives, but very un-
scientifically, and I cannot get at them. 2. I
use only the divisible crates of sections. Are
these the best to advise my neophyte to com-
mence with? If he ever advances to extract-
ing, &c., it will be by slow steps, I am sure, as
he will want to use all the money he can get
to help in the bringing-up of a swarm of
brothers and sisters, and cannot afford to buy
things. If I am troubling you too much, take

no notice of it ; but if, or when, time affords
for you to give your kind advice for his benefit,
I shall be very glad to have it for him.—
Grannie, Ckishcl, co. Tijyperary, December 22,
1893.

Eeplt. — 1. We should strongly deprecate
the idea of our correspondent's protege adopt-
ing the " Wells " hive without first making
himself thorougtily acquainted with the Wells
system, which is a far more important factor
in making a success than the hive itself. He
should read what has appeared from INIr. Wells
himself on the subject in our pages, and would
therein find that the hives used by that gentle-
man in carrying out his system are ordinary
hives, holding fourteen frames in each, so there
would not be much difficulty in adapting a
" Combination hive " to it. Our correspondent,
however, is mistaken when writing that "the
British Bee Journal appears to think that
this kind of hive is likely to be the most used
in the near future." We have never gone this
length, but have simply given credit to Mr.
Wells for the remarkable success he has
achieved by his plan of working, and by
making known to readers what has been ac-
complished by the double-queen system have
given them a chance to do likewise. Besides,
we have invariably advised our readers to try
the plan on a small scale before adopting it to
the exclusion of old and well-tried methods.
2. A simple form of section rack, holding
twenty-one 1 lb. sections, would be easier to
make, and altogether more useful than those
holding only seven sections in each. In working
for extracted honey we do not see how a full
measure of success could be achieved without
some form of extractor being used.

[931.] Mahinrj a ''Wells'' Hive. Ex-
cluding queens from sections. — 1. I am the
veriest novice in bee-keeping except in theory.
I have three stocks of bees in ordinary bar-
frame hives, and for a year or two have been
reading up and thinking over the different
processes in dealing with them. Four or five
months ago I began to take in your most
interesting and valuable paper, and I have to-
day started to make a " Wells " hive. 1 did
not see the number of the Journal in which it
is described, but I have got a catalogue in
which the hive is illustrated. I am thinking of
using l in. three-ply fretwood for the perforated
dummy, and boring it with an eighth of an
inch bit. In the illustration 1 have, the thin
sheet of wood seems to be set in a frame which
takes up as much room as an ordinary frame.
I fancy that there would be less propolisation of
the dummy if the sheet of wood were made to
run in a groove or between fillets on the side
of the hive, thus bringing the frames on each
side of the dummy to the regulation distance
from it. What do you think '! 2. Then as to
the sheet of queen 'excluder zinc between the
brood-nests and the sections, would the thin
fretwood with holes of the proper size cut in
it do instead 1 I do not like ^q much metal ia

28

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Jan. 18, 1894.

the hive. I do not use zinc ia my other hives.
In filling the section cases I bring the wood
separators down low enough to divide the
lower opening between each pair of sections
into two, so that only the workers get up
through. Of course that plan Avon't work with
the "Wells."

I hope I am not exposing my ignorance in
what I am saying. If so, ple.ise '" wink hard "
at the foolish bit and help a poor Novice. —
Lochgilphead, N.B., January 10.

Eeply. — 1. The d'fhcully in making what
is called a " Wells '' hive from a manufacturers
catalogue lies in the fact that in do two of
these is the hive made exactly alike ; nor do
we quite know which maker most nearly fol-
lows out Mr. Wells's own ideas. We do know,
however, that the perforated dummy should
not be "a thin sheet of wood set in a frame,"
as described. Mr. Wells makes his dummy of
best yellow pine an eighth of an inch thick, and
it is not framed at all except by binding with
tin. Before proceeding farther you should read
Mr. Wells's letter in the Bee Journal for
November 10, 1892, and, if possible, some
other of his communications in our pages on
subsequent dates. The dummj'^, to be effec-
tive, nmst be capable of lateral movement, also
of easy withdrawal, which would be impossible
if it "slides in a groove " or between fillets as
you suggest. 2. The thin fretwood with queen-
excluding perforations would not answer ; be-
sides, there is no valid reason for not using the
ordinary queen-excluder, zinc. Nor is it good
practice to so arrange the wood separators as
to exclude the queen from sections, seeing that
of all the methods tried for securing this
desideratum, none have been found so gene-
rally effective and reliable as the perforated
zinc excluder.

[932.] Excitement among Bees.— 'Every day
for the last week or so my bees have been in
a most excited state during the middle of the
day, hundreds of them bagging round in front
of the hive, and almost covering the entrance
hole and alighting-board. 1. Do you think
there is anything the matter Avith them, or is
it likely the queen has died ? 2. If the hive
turns out to be queenless, whatever should I
do, as I have no other stock to unite with it ?
3. What are zig-zag entrances for, are they
desirable ? 4. Should bee candy be just like
a round ball of white sugar and break to
pieces if you touch it at all 1 — W. H. J.,
Norwich.

Eeplt. — 1 and 2. It is most probable the
excitement is nothing more than the bees
having a turn out to mjoy the warmth and
sunshine. So long as they return quietly to
the hive after their " fly," no alarm need be
felt. 3. Zigzag entrances are supjjosed to
assist the bees in defending their stores
from the attacks of robber bees. We do not
use or approve of them, and they are rapidly
clropping out of iise. 4. Well-ina(ie soft

candy is of such a consistency that Avhen the
surface is scraped vnth the finger-nail it
becomes soft and "buttery.'' It is,no doubt,
easily broken Avhen in cakes, but it should not
be stone-hard.

[933.] Dysenteric Symptoms. -- 1. Wou'd
you kindly examine the enclosed, and tell
me whether it indicates an attack of dysen-
tery ? I have already lost one hive, but
it was very Aveak to stirt the Avioter with.
The cappings sent is what I have cut from
one of the sealed conibs. They had plenty
of food left. The other little packet is a sample
of the substance I have scraped from one of
the frames. 2. Ought I to extract the honey
before I fumigate the combs of the hive in
which the bees died, and what would be the
best Avay to do it ? 3. Hoav am I to clean the
frames Avhen all the draAvn-out comb is there ?
4. I read in the " Guide Book '' that Avhen
bees are attacked Avith dysentery they ought to
be changed into a clean hive. But how is it
possible to do that in Avinter ? Shall I not
have to Avait till the spring ? I have another
hive, the alighting-board of Avhich is smeared
Avith the same kind of stuff', but I don't see
hoAv I can touch the bees Avhile the winter
lasts. I should be more obliged than you can
think of for an answer to above in next Aveek's
Bee Journal. — E. York, Southport,
January 12.

Eeply. — 1. The samp''e of cappings sent
plainly indicate that the stock Avhich died Avas
troubled with dysentery. 2. There is no need
to extract such portion of the honey as is sealed
over ; or to fumigate combs containing sealed
food. The latter may be kept as they are till
summer time. Then remove the cappings (as
for extracting), and give the honey to the bees
for summer using. 3. Scrape the " soilings ''
carefully from the frame Avith apiece of brokea
glass before using them again, and any empty
combs badly smeared by the bees should be
cut out and melted down for wax. 4. If a
clean, dry, and Avarm hive is available for the
dysenteric stock still alive, it will be quite an
easy matter to transfer the combs to it — as
directed in " Guide Book" — any fine day Avhen
the bees are flying freely.

[934.] TVells Hive.— Size of '' Standard"
Frame. — I am much interested in the corre-
spondence about the Wells' hive in the
British Bee Journal. Will some one be
kind enough to give me some practical infor-
mation on the subject, such as size, division-
board, &o. ; also, what is the size of the
" Standard " frame ? — Aberdeenshire.

Eeply. — For practical information Ave uuist
refer our correspondent to Avhat has already
appeared in our pages on the subject of
"Wells'" hives, divigion-boarc!s, &c,, includ-
ing several letters from Mr. Wells himself.
The " Standard frame " is 14 in. by S^ in., out-
side measure ; Avith top-bar 17 in. long, l/ijin,
Avide, and % \n. thick.

Jan. 18, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

29

[935.] Starting Bee-keeping. — Being de-
sirous of starting bee-keeping, would be glad
to know when is the best time to begin, and
what hive to have as best to suit a beginner
who has all to learn about bees ? I might say-
that in this part we are very subject to high
south-west wiuds, and probably some hives
would be blown over ; those, for instance, with
leg^. What would be the cost of a swarm of
bees, and where to obtain them ? Would
they require feeding i From your Bkk
Journal there seems a great number of
hives, skeps, &c., v,'hicli are rather confusing
to any one ignorant of these matters. Besides
the writer has no money to spend on anything
that flavours of fad ; the idea being to collect
the honey from flowers and to make the bees
pay in some measure for the trouble taken
with them. Any hints in your valuable
journal will be esteemed by a a fresh hand
wishing to start this interesting hobby.

Some say " use a straw skep," others a bar-
frame hive ; so I want you to tell me which
is the best, and a general good way to manage
them, their respective cost, &c. These par-
ticulars will be much esteemed by a well-
wisher of your journal. I have only just come
across the first number of it. — S. T. Badcock,
Bexhill-on-Sea .

Erply. — The best time to start bee-keeping
is about the end of March, if an established
hive is purchased, or early in June, if it is
preferred to begin with a new hive and swarm
of bees. Swarms cost from 1()^. to 20s. and
upwards, according to district, and to the
variety of bees. Refer to our advertising
pages for addresses of those who deal in bees.
For a beginner, a complete book of some kind
on bee-management is indispensable. The
small handbook, " Modern Bee-keeping," is
sent from this office for 7d. in halfpenny
stamps, and the larger and more complete
" British Bee-keepers' Guide Book " for Is. 8d.,
both post-free. After r ading up the subject,
it will be less difHcult to form your own con-
clusions as to the sort of hive to use ; but, in
any case, select as economical form of hive as
possible, consistent with efficiency. We will
gladly help you in any special difficulty which
may hrise, but it is obviously impossible for us
even to initiate a beginner in so large a sub-
ject as that of bee-keeping in our query and
reply column.

[936.] Transferring from Skeps to Frame-
hives. — In what month, and what time of the
month, is it best for transferring bees from a
.skep to bir-frame hive ? I should be obliged
for a reply in B. J. — P. L. Raavlins, juq.,
Market Harhoro'.

Reply. — The best timi for performing the
operation of transferring referred to is twenty-
one days after a swarm has issued from the
skep, at which time the combs are generally
quite free from brood or eggs, and conse-
quently no lo.s3 of brood t tkes p'ace. We

assume that no transferring of the old skep-
corabs to the frame-hive is intended, but
simply of the bees only. If, on the other
hand, our correspondent's idea is to drive the
bees and tie pieces of the old combs into the
frames of the new hive, it may be done as
soon in the early summer as the weather is
warm enough for the bees to take early flights
■ — say towards the end of March. We do not,
however, advise the latter course, seeing how
much better it is tj have the frames filled
with new straight combs built out on sheets
of comb-foundauon.

INSECTS AND FLOWERS.
Agency of the Bees in Carrying Pollen.

Picking up a paper lately which treats of
plants and flowers, I found these words : —
" Pollen is borne from flower to flower on the
breeze as well as on the bodies of insects ; in
fact, that seems to be nature's prime method
of conveying the fertilising germs from the
anthers of the staminate to the pointals of the
pistillate blossoms." In another place, in the
same paper, I find this : — " Honey is a vege-
table production, appearing in greiter or less
quantities in every flower that nods to the
breez^, or kisses the bright sunlight. It is
secreted in the flowers for the purpose of
attracting insects, thus securing the complete
fertilisation of the female blossoms."

Now, while both of the above are true in
the main, yet, when applied t5 certain plants
and trees, they are not true ; neither is it true
that " every flower that nods to the breeze "
secretes houpy. Thei'e arc some points in this
matter which either I or other writers fail to
understand, and as it has a direct bearing on
oar beloved pursuit (bee-keeping), perhaps a
short article to draw others out, so that more
light may be obtained, will not be amiss.

I understand that the first purpose for
which the honey-bee was created was for the
fertilisation of flowers, while the storage of
honey was only for the preservation of the life
of the bee, so that the perpetuation of the
species might continue for this purpose (ferti-
lisation of plants) ; that man, after a period of
time, found that honey was good to eat, and
thus utilised the product .secreted by the
flowers and stored T)y the bee by making it his
food, while the bees perished from such
colonies as were robbed by man ; that, as the
years went by, man learned that the bees
would store more honey than their wants re-
quired, so surplus apartments were furnished
the bees, which were removed when filled, thus
leaving enough in the hive, or home of the bee,
to supjjly all its needs ; aud that from this
surphcs came the honey of commerce and our
industry of bee-keeping as we now enjoy it.
If I am correct in the above (and I believe I
am), the people of the world have the bee-
keepers to thank for bringing the bee from its
primeval home (the hollow tree, especially

30

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Jan. 18, 1894.

as our forests are fast becoming obliterated by
the advance of civilisation), and scattering
it broadcast throughout the land, to fertilise
the millions of flowers which otherwise would
produce no fruit. But, to return to the two
paragraphs quoted.

While I believe the bees were created for
fertilisation of flowers, yet I also believe that
not half of the different species of plants and
trees require the aid of the bee to fertilise
their flowers, and that only those which require
the aid of the bee secrete any honey ; hence, I
said, that it was not true that every flower
" that nods to the breeze or kisses the bright
sunlight '' secreted honey. In this we see the
wisdom of the Creator — bees created to fer-
tilise flowers which could not be fertilised in
any other way, and honey placed in these
flowers to attract the bees to them. Thus Ave
have the clovers among grasses secreting honey,
while the timothy, orchard, red-top, and other
grasses do not secrete honey, for they are fer-
tilised by the " breeze." All the fault I have
to find with the first quotation is, that it is
represented that both the " breeze " and bees
may be needed to fertilise the same and all
plants ; while I believe that plants and trees
which can be fertilised by the breeze do not
need the aid of the bees ; and that those
requiring the aid of the bees cannot 2}ossihly
be fertilised by all the breezes that ever blew.
To be sure, bees sometimes collect pollen from
many flowers which do not require their aid ;
but, as I said before, honey is secreted only
by those which do. Take the flower of the
squash, for instance. Gregory, who is certainly
good "authority, in his excellent treatise on
this plant, tells us that squashes can be fer-
tilised only by the aid of bees and insects,
and proves the same by giving experiments
tried, where fine netting was placed over the
female flowers on certain hills, when not one
of the flowers thus treated produced a squash,
while the hills not so treated gave a good
crop. Any one looking at a squash-flower will
at once come to the conclusion that it is im-
possible for the Avind to carry the pollen
from one blossom to another ; hence we find
it secreting honey to attract the bees. Pro-
minent among this class of flowers Avhich
needs the bees to fertilise them, we have
the clovers, fruit-trees of nearly all classes,
basswood (linden) trees, buckwheat, and fall
flowers quite generally. Of the class that does
not need the aid of the bee I will mention
grasses of all kinds growing in this locality
(except clover), grains of all kinds (except
buckwheat), and most of the trees of the forest,
such as beech, birch, ash, hemlock, &c. With
the grain I would include corn. 1 know that
some writers tell us that bees gather honey
from corn ; but after a careful watch for over
a score of years I have failed to find a single
bee having any honey in its honey-sac while
at work gathering pollen from corn-tassels.
If the stalks are bruised or cut in any way,

sometimes there is a sweet substance that
exudes which the bees gather ; but this can-
not be properly called the secretion of nectar.

In the above I have given my views regard-
ing this matter, and stand ready to be
corrected by any one who can show that I am
wrong. I am no botanist, therefore cannot
give a scientific article on the subject ; but if
there are any good botanists among the
readers of Gleanings I (and I think all of its
readers) should be pleased to hear from them
on the subject. Knowledge along this line
will help us to disarm the many jealous ones
about us who seem to think the bees are injur-
ing them by taking honey from the flowers.
Let us keep it ever before the public that the
bees are not only the bee-keeper's friend, but
the especial friend of the farmer and fruit-
grower. Thus doing, many of the troubles of
the past will be saved. — Gr. M. Doolittle,
in Gleanings.

Notices to Correspondentsand Inquirers.

All queries fonoarded wiU he attended to, and those
only of penonalinterest ivill be ansivered in this column.

Letters or queries askinr/ for addresses of mamifac'
turers or correspondents^ or where appliances can he
2mrchcised, or replies giving such inforination, can onhj
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted^ to
letters, queries, and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for adcertisements. We
wish our Con-espondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessan/ for its to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issue
immediately folloioing the receijit of their communica-
tion.

J. M. Eead. — Bee Association for Sussex. —
There is, iinfortunately, no Bee Association
in Sussex just now, though we believe an
idea prevails of attempting to revive the one
formerly existing in that county, which in its
time was very successful. There are, how-
ever, several professional bee-keepers in the
county, whose services could be obtained
for a moderate fee. You might write to
Mr. C. Overton, Crawley, Sussex.

F. Rathbone (Sutton CoMfield). — Preparing
Hive for Sicarm. — It is quite a matter of
choice whether the frames are fitted with full
sheets of foundation or with narrow strips
(starters) only. For beginners starters are
best, as risk of a breakdown with the
foundation is avoided. The rack of sections
should not be given when the swarm is
hived , nor for some ten days after, unless
honey is coming in very fast. It is only in
good seasons that swarms are able to store
much surplus during the first year of their
occupancy of the hive ; but the outer combs
will probably be filled with honey, not hQ-ood,
as you suppose. Jjead bees cast out of Jiive.s.
There is nothing unusual about this. More
or less dead bees are always thrown out of
hives at this season.

Several Letters, Queries, S:c., are in type and
toill apjwar next week.

Jan. 2b, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

31

#(liforiiil llotict^, itr.

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — The extraordinarily keen
" nip " of frost so fully chronicled in our
last " Hints " soon passed away, and we
have since had an almost entire absence
of cold weather, with many days of sun-
shine warm enough to bring out the bees
in quite large numbers, besides causing
them, even thus early, to begin display-
ing their foraging propensities about the
fronts of neighbouring hives ; thereby
giving a " useful hint " to reduce the
Avidth of such entrances as have, so far,
been left too wide for pi-otective purposes
from the attacks of would-be robber
bees.

Honey Imports.— In view of the strong
feeling aroused among our readers on the
subject of foreign competition just now,
it Avill be interesting to note, by way of
comparison, the amount of honey im-
ported into the United Kingdom in the
years 1891, 1892, and 1893. In 1891
the total imports Avere valued at £38,427,
and in 1892 the value reached the sum
of .£62,528 sterling, being an increase of
more than £24,000 over the previous
year. In 1893, however, the imports
dropped doAvn to £29,087 worth, a
decrease in value of no less than
£33,441. This is, no doubt, satisfactory
so far as it goes, but we hope to see a
still further diminution in the amount of
foreign honey imported in future years,
if the work, of pressing forward the
superior clamis of the native product is
continued and extended by our bee-
associations in the spirit Avith Avhich it
has been begun.

Uniformity in Appliances. — A
usefully suggestive note has just reached
us from an esteemed Scotch corre-
spondent— Avho had it in vicAv to
write for our pages a short series of
letters on hives — useful as shoAving the
danger of slackening our hold on the
advantages secured hy the adoption of a
standard frame, Avhich perforce carries
along Avith it the benefits of uniformity
in the supering arrangements and other
appliances mcide to fit hives taking that
frame.

Our correspondent says : — " I fear I
cannot do Avhat I proposed, viz., to Avrite
about hives, as I am afraid of touching
upon subjects Avhich seem to have caused
some heat among your readers. For
instance, I should have to mention
frames. Well, my frames — made twenty-
five years ago — are unfortunately not of
the ' standard ' size. They are quite
good for the purpose, but if I had to get
neAv frames and hives I should certainly
adopt the standard size as being more
convenient in many ways. If I have to
buy a super, and I can buy from
appliance dealers much cheaper than I
can get them made by a local joiner, it is
much better to order from a regular bee-
appliance manufacturer, but his supers
do not fit I The sections and section-
racks are made to certain fixed sizes,
and won't fit my hives ; so that when I
get them home, I have to alter the crates,
&c., causing no end of trouble."

Government Help for Bee-keeping.
— The announcement made on p. 22 of last
Aveek's issue is pregnant Avith interest for
beekeepers, beitig no less than tAvo im-
portant concessions to the Irish Bee-
keepers' Association on the part of the
Congested Districts Board, and also of the
Commissioners of National Education in
response to an application for assistance
in the promotion of bee-keeping in
Ireland.

The form in Avhicli State help is
rendered, is very practical in its nature,
and comprises, in the first place, the
appointment of a Avell-knoAvn member of
the I.B.K.A. as Instructor in Bee-keep-
ing ; the said instructor being also
empoAvered to sujDply to suitable persons
— subject, of course, to certain conditions
— hives, bees, and appliances to enable
them to start bee-keeping under ver}''
favourable conditions, and so give to
intelligent cottagers and others a chance
of adding to their incomes. The above
work has already been begun, Mr.
O'Bryen, the InsjDector, having, early
last year — by order of the Board —
visited some of their districts, and started
several persons Avith the necessary appli-
ances and requirements, Avhose example
will, no doubt, be largely followed Avhen
it is seen Avhat can be done.

The second form in Avhich State aid is
rendered, as Avill be seen in the report, is

32

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Jan. 25, 1894.

through the Commissioners of National
Education, and it is here that we see
most good for the future of our craft.
Once let bee-keeping be recognised in the
whole of our National schools situated in
suitable districts as a subject for instruc-
tion, with payment to teachers by results,
and we shall have rising up in our midst
a generation of bee-keepers sufficiently
numerous to extend a knowledge of the
pursuit far and wide.

It remains, therefore, for bee-keepers
to combine in order to have the benefits
bestowed on the Sister Island extended
to England, Scotland, and AVales. In a
word, to ask for equal justice in this
particular for all parts of the United
Kingdom — and we will be thankful to
Ireland for having led the Avay.

HONEY IMPORTS FOR 1893.

The full returns of the value of honey im-
ported into the United Kingdom for the year
1893, according to the returns furnished to us
by the Statistical Office, H.M. Customs, are as
follows : — -

August £2,660

September ... 2,911

October 951

November ... 2,332

December 1,862

January £381

February 1,133

March 1,086

April 3,590

May 2,991

June 6,676

Jixly 2,514

Total value £29,087

DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.

The annual general meeting of the above
Association was held on Friday, the 12th inst.,
in the Town Hall, Derby, J. L. P. Barber,
Esq., J.P., C.C, in the chair, a fair number
of members being present. The minutes of
the last general meeting having been read and
confirmed, and the usual votes of thanks
moved and carried, the officers for the ensuing-
year were elected, his Grace the Duke ot"
Devonshire, K.G., being re-elected President ;
J. L. P. Barber, Esq., J.P., CO., Chairman ;
Mr. R. Giles, Vice-Ohairman and also a Vice-
President ; Mr. W. G. Copestake, Treasurer ;
Mr. J. H. Richardson, Auditor ; and Mr. W.
T. Atkins, Secretarv. The names of Mr. G. H.
Wilson (Little Cubley), Mr. J. Heath (Etwall),
and Mr. G. H. Varty (Burnaston), were added
to the Committee. The report and balance-
sheet for the year were then read, from which
it appears that financially +.he Association is
not quite so flourishing as it was at the end of
the previous year. Good work has been done
by the experts during the past year, Mr.

Handby looking after the members in the
northern part of the county, and Messrs. Row-
land and Joyce in the southern part. The
season having been exceptionally good, a large
amount of excellent honey was stored. During
the year a grant of ^50 was made to the
Association by the County Council. Suitable
apparatus had been purcliased, and a series ot
lectures delivered in diflerent parts of the
county by Messrs. Coxon, Jones, arid Wootton.
A great deal of interest has been aroused, and
the applications for lectures were far in excess
of what the Committee could arrange for. The
annual show of the Society (which was assisted
by the Derbyshire Agricultural Society to the
extent of i>10) was held in September last,
and proved to be one of the best ever held,
the total weight of honey staged being slightly
over a ton.

During the past year local Horticultural
Societies were assisted by the County Associa-
tion, who offered silver and bronze medals,
and in same cases money prizes as well. An
appendix to this report contains the names of
members who have obtained certificates as
experts, there being one first-class, six second-
class, and six third-class. It appears that the
distribution of the Record cost the Associa-
tion last year the sum of £22. 93. 4d. ; but
after discussion which followed, it was almost
unanimously resolved that the distribution of
the Record was not to be curtailed, but that
endeavours should be made to increase the
revenue, and economise in some items of ex-
penditure. The meeting then adjourned to
Mr. Smith's Restaurant to hear a lectitre on
" Foul Brood," delivered by Mr. T. W. Jones
(Etwall), First-class Expert, British Bee-
Keepers' Association. The powerful lantern
of the Association was used to show a number
of splendid slides specially dealing with foul
brood. The lecturer, in explaining the symp-
toms of the disease, showed clearly the difi'e-
rence between healthy brood and that affected
with either foul or chilled brood. In speaking
of the nature of the disease — a description of
bacillus alvei, its size and other characteristics,
and its action upon the egg — larva-pupa and
the fall-grown bee were explained. The
means whereby Foul Brood is propagated were
next dealt with. Whether honey or comb-
foundation was capable of transmitting the
disease was fully discussed ; also the vitality
of the spores of bacillus alvei. The Queen,
drone, robber bees, and the careless bee-keeper
were in turn held up as being responsible for
the spreading of the disease. The methods of
cure were divided into three heads : — 1st,
cleanliness ; 2nd, disinfectants ; 3rd, medi-
cated food. The lecturer then very concisely
explained how he had successfully treated a
diseased stock during the past season. A
hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr.
T. W. Jones at the close of a most instructive
and interesting lecture. About twenty-five
members afterwards sat down to a substantial
tea, after which a general discussion on the

Jan. 25, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

33

report took place, when it was proposed that a
petition be presented to Parliament in favour
of foreign honey being labelled as " Foreign
Honey " in all cases.

W. T. Atkins, Secretary.

KENT BEE-KEEPEES' ASSOCIATION.

The annual meeting of the Kent Bee-keeper's
Association was held on the 18th inst. in the
Cathedral Library, Canterbury, the Very Rev.
the Dean of Canterbury, in the unavoidable
absence of the retiring President, Lord Sack-
ville, occupying the chair. There was a good
attendance of members, and the proceedings
were marked by a general tone of satisfaction
and confidence, even in view of the fact of a
rather heavy deficit in the year's accounts.
Among those present were : — Rev. T. S.
Carteis, Rev. F. C. Villiers, Rev. F. T. Scott,
Rev. G. W. Bancks, Messrs. E. D. Till, W.
Broughton Carr, Col. C. E. Reeve?, Messrs.
G. J. Wright, Ned Swain, E. Palmer, T. J.
Durrant, J. Garratt, &c., &c. The report was
full of matter of interest, amongst which may
be noticed the large increase of members
during the past year, upwards of 100 having
been secured ; the appointment of additional
local Secretaries ; the striking successes of many
of the members, the highest recorded being
144 lb. of honey from a single hive ; the dis-
tinct advantage derived from the technical
instruction provided by the County Council
grant ; and the scheme for organising the
marketing of honey.

The services of Lord Sackville during his
year of office were highly eulogised, the appeal
for support for the Association, through the
medium of the Press, being a most important
one. The forthcoming Show of the Royal
Counties Agricultural Society, at Canterbury,
was referred to as an occasion for the members
to combine to press the industry upon public
notice.

The drawing for prizes, viz., a bar-frame
hive and supering-racks, was duly carried out
and resulted in favour of C. Hall (Suudridge),
who won the hive, and W. Campany and —
"West (both of Hawkhurst), H. Bennett (Ash-
ford), and J. White (Sheppey), who each
receive a W. B. C. supering-rack.

The thanks of the meeting were given to
the Very Rev. the Dean for his great kindness
in placing the use of the Cathedral Library at
the disposal of the Association, and for pre-
siding at the meeting.

A considerable number of the members
afterwards dined together at the Fountain
Hotel, the Rev. T. S. Curteis, the Chairman
of the Council for the past year, filling the
chair.

BEE - SWARMING EXTRAORDINARY-

A Bedfordshire correspondent sends us the
following extract from a local paper, without
giving date of issue : — The paragraph relating

to the extraordinary swarming of bees be-
longing to Mr. Thomas Bottomley, of Goose
Eye, published last week was inaccurate in
some particulars. We are informed by a
practical bee-keeper that the facts of tbe case
are something like these : — Mr. Bottomley
commenced the present season with three old
stocks of bees. From No. 1 of these old
stocks there issued six swarms, as follow : —
A first and second swarm, and from the first
swarm issued a first and a second virgin swarm,
and from the first virgin swarm issued another
first and second virgin swarms, making in all
seven healthy hives of bees. From the second
old stock there came a first and second swarm,
and from the first swarms issued first and
second virgin swarms, making in all from the
second old stock five healthy hives of bees.
From the third old stock issued one first
swarm, and from that swarm issued a first and
second virgin swarm, making a total of sixteen
hives of bees. Sir Isaac Holden, Bart., M.P.,
hearing of this unusual swarming, made a
visit to Goose Eye this week, and saw the
hives, in which he was much interested. The
extraordinary occurrence is the result of an
experiment.

(3f0nt.^|j0nfen«.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed hy correspondents. No notice u'ill be
taken of anonymous cotnmunications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the x>aper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, btct as a ijuarantee of f/ood faith. Illustra-
tions should be draivn on separate ineces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relatinr/ to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Qtieries,
Books for Review, tt-c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, li-c, must be addressed
<o"The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Ojfice, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." {see 1st
page of Advertisements).

*,* In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
xvill oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as ivell
as the page on which it appears.

BEES IN CO. GALWAY.

[],717.] Last season I had my first approach
to a good one since I commenced bee-keeping,
and am so pleased with the result that I mean
to increase my stocks to fifty or more if I can
oet swarms, though my garden in this town is
only 40 yards by 20. Still, I have realised
£20. 6s. for section honey, and over 200 lb. in
surplus frames still on hand, besides over
100 lb. in unfinished sections fed back.
Whereas other seasons my strongest stock never
gave more than 40 lb., my best hive this year gave
70 in sections and about 2.5 in frames, or near
100 lb. in all. My best swarm, one of three of
English bees got for a cross with mine from
Mr. Gibbins, of South Wales (seemingly a
splendid strain of bees), gave me 44 first-clasa

34

THE BKITISH BEE JOUKNAL.

[Jan. 25, 1894.

and 6 middling sections, and about 25 lb. in
frame honey, or about 75 lb. in all ; and as
(except one other year, long ago) I never got
surplus honey from a swarm, I was very much
surprised and pleased with my English
importation, and intend to repeat it.
Had I experience of what bees can
do in a good year, I would have
materially increased my returns. I have
no trouble in getting sale for any number of
sections. Need not send them until I have a
purchaser, and like the price ; this is owing to
the first-class and satisfactory medium of sale
I have experienced in Messrs. Carton Brothers,
of Dublin. In Galway I have got lOs. per
dozen, and in Dublin from lOs. for first-class
to 8s. for unfinished sections. Whether it be
ia Galway or Dublin, I have been told my
sections are the finest on the market, most of
them weighing almost 18 oz., beautifully filled
and finished, which I attribute to the use of
grooved sections with full sheets of thin foun-
dation. Out of 2,000 of those sections I had
only one break down in three years, whereas
with others I had complications without end.
I gave some of those sections to a neighbour
bee-keeper who was using others, and when
taken out of the crates finished I could dis-
tinguish those I had given quite plainly. From
an ofiicial return I see published, Galway
is given as the leading county in Ireland last
year in honey produce. We are having a very
trying time just now for the bees. This spring
two years fully half if not more of all the
stocks died about here, leaving it very hard
to get swarms since in the season for them. —
T. KiRWAN, Tuam,Januarij 15.

A VETERAN BEE-KEEPER'S REPOET.

[1718.] I wish to offer my thanks to our
Eaitors for all the advice given to us bee-
keepers in the past year, and at the same time
to say how much I hope that our forward men
in the crafc will continue to give us the benefit
of their "ti', bits" of useful information, so
helpful in managing our bees. Some of us get
all the good we know of bee-keeping from the
Journal — at least I do, for one, though I
cannot be considered quite a " beginner,"
since I had some four seasons at it so long as
forty-five years ago. I would some day like
to give my experience of those long-since
passed days, if it would interest the young
onep. However, after being unable to follow
bee-keeping for many years, I began again
nine years ago, and it is of these latter years I
would now give a few particulars. In 1893
my stocks (spring count.) numbered twenty-
one, and thirteen of them being in frame hives
and eight in skeps. I cannot boast of such big
returns as from 60 lb. to 1201b. per hive, like
^ome readers, but am thankful for the bless-
ings I did get from my bees. I was anxious
for awarms last year, to get rid of some of my
old queens, but not a single swarm came off,

though I have never had my bees at such
" boiling-over " strength at the end of April.
But, owing to a fortnight's stormy time early
in May, I lost a great quantity through their
having to cross a large pond and clump of trees
in order to reach a bean-field in bloom on the
other side. Gallons of bees were blown into
the water, and the loss thus incurred was
never made up. However, I managed to get
some very good bell-glasses and well-filled
frames of honey. Altogether I got about
300 lb. of honey and 10 lb. of wax, and I have
only a 1 lb. jar left, all the rest being sold and
gone. I made it known in our village that
any one bringing jars or bottles could have
honey at 8d. per lb., and sold a lot in this
way. I also got rid of some in bulk at 7d ,
and finally, having an ofi'er of GM. for all
left on hand, I cleared out, and got my money.
In conclusion, just a word about leaky hive-
roofs. I used to be troubled with these, but
have none now. My plan is to get old biscuit
tins, and, after cutting open, hammer them out
flat. With these I cover the roofs, allowing a
good " overlap," tack them on firmly, and
paint well after fixing. I paint mine of
different colours, and think they look very neat
when so done, and will last many years. With
best hopes for coming season. — -Geo. Brealey,
Grendon, Northants, Januai'y 13.

FOREIGN COMPETITION.

[1719.] The subject which appears to be
agitating the minds of British bee-keepers at;
the present time is "foreign competition." I
have for a long time past intended addressing
you on this important subject, but apathy or
— to be candid — laziness has hindered me
doing so until now, when I am roused to
activity by your own articles and letteri in
your columns from variou? correspondent?.

As far as I am able to discern, there is a
strong desire to divert into our own pockets
the considerable sums of money which repre-
sent the value of honey imported from abroad ;.
but however natural in itself the desire may
be, its gratification, considering all the con-
ditions which environ British bee-keeping, is
practically impossible. If our prices are to be
lowered down to the level which our foreign
and colonial honey producers accept for their
goods, and seemingly are satisfied with, our
profits would become evanescent, and the
business not worth the time and labour it
entails. The best policy for us to adojit is to
produce a high quality of honey at a reason-
able, and at the same time a remunerative,
price to that section of the public who will
patronise us, and leave our foreign friends to
cater to the other section, who like plenty for
their money, and are not fastidious as to
quality and flavour.

This is, I think, the best position we
British bee-keepers can take up on this
question, How far it will CQmmejjd itself to

Jan. 25, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOUKNAL.

35

all I cannot say ; but from what I have seen
of foreign honey, I cannot entertain the
opinion of those whose prejudice against the
foreign article has no sound foundation if put
to the test. Some .samples of foreign honey
are decidedly bad ; but, on the other hand,
qualities that will compare favourably with
that produced at home may be purchased
wholesale at 3d. to 4d. per lb. The inferior
qualities are, of course, lower in price, and
far from inviting in appearance, as may be
imagined ; but 'the chief reason why prices
rule generally low is that there is, compara-
tively speaking, but a slow market for honey
in this country. If British bee-keepers ever
succeed in " educating " the British public to
consume more largely this excellent food
foreign honey will assuredly advance in price,
while it is not likely the home-produced
article will stand at a higher value than it
does now. Our chief concern is to see that
the foreign stuti' is not substituted by un-
scrupulous dealers for British honey, and
palmed off by the aid of false labels. Against
this the Merchandise Marks Act does not
afford us at the present time the slightest
protection. Nothing an be easier than to
''jar up," say, Chilian honey imported in
kegs, label it " fine new honey," or some oth'-r
attractiv! appellation, and the consumer, in
the absence of definite information, be
quite ignorant of the origin of the article he
has purchased. This is not in keeping with
the spirit of the Act, and as private con-
sumers of honey by the keg of Ij cwt. are
notjto be found, and making allowance for
that used by confectioners and manufacturers
in bulk, which is not, as far as I can learn,
considerable, it would appearj that "jarring
up " must be done by some one or other on a
fairly large scale.

There are some who will say that if honey,
whether British or foreign, is sold to consumers
on its merits, no harm i?; done, which is in the
main perfectly true ; but at the same time it
must not be forgotten that we vrho are en-
deavouring to encourage bee-keeping in this
country as a profitable minor rural industry,
and impressing upon all who take up the pur-
suit the importance of turning out a first-class
article, are justly entitled to protection from
the unscrupulous who may impose on the
unwary an article not true to name for the
Srtke of extra profit. — A. Doubavand, Whitby
Heath, Chester, January 20, 1894.

FOREIGN HONEY.

[1720.] What a flutter of alarm and in-
dignation has the Messrs. Abbott's advertise-
ment aroused in the British bee-keeper's
breast ! One bee-keeper going to the length
of remonstrating wiih the conductors of our
Journal for allowing the advertisement to
appear ! " Much ado about nothing," sirs.
Let the timid* home producer sample

the honey referred to and he will at
once be convinced that he has naught to fear
from the Sandwich Islander. It will
take a very long time to get the average
Briton to agree with the advertisers in their
estimate of the merits of their " parcel.'' So
long as the home product be clean, and its
purity above suspicion, even so long, in my
humble opinion, can the British bee-keeper
hold his own, and allow his gaze to rest upon
a foreign advertisement without disturbance
to his peace. — J. MorGxVN, Upper Boat,
Pontypridd.

BEE STINGS.

[1721.] It is seldom that we see any refer-
ence to the above subject in the pages of this
Journal, the reason, perhaps, being that few
suffer to the extent that I do. Last Friday
the bees in my apiary were all out for an air-
ing, and towards the evening I found some
thirty or more on the ground near the
entrance, apparently unable to rise. These I
collected, and endeavoured to restore to their
former vigour through the warmth generated
by my hand : but, alas ! as Mr. Webster
would put it, iV^i(S(/wam tuta fides. My hand,
wrist, and arm swelled rapidly, and other
unpleasant symptoms set in, and not feeling
well enough to continue the repairs I was
previously doing to some hives, I went into
the house and rested. In the course of a few
hours the irritation became so great that I
determined to set out and see our doctor.
Now, I am sure you will smile when I tell
you he recommended me to use the " blue
bag ! '' Of course, as is generally the case with
all medical men, so long as there is no imme-
diate danger in the case they are called to
attend to, they do not over-exert themselves,
but tell you to apply'some old woman's remedy.
However, he left me for a few minutes and
returned, bringing with him a bottle of some
lotion, and then handed me, with a smile, a
smaller bottle, saying, "You are a little
nervous ; take a sixth part of this every four
hours. When I returned home I applied the
remedies ; but, needless to say, these gave no
relief, and it is not surprising, as the last
bottle was some mixture in which ether
greatly predominated. For two days I was
unable to do anything. Now, such disastrous
consequences to many of your readers could
never be permitted, as it would interfere with
their every-day occupation, and, therefore,
there must be some remedy to which they
resort to allay the inflammation. I shall,
therefore, feel gratehil to any like sufterer
who will tell me what to do in such an
emergency ?

Hive Roofs. — I notice Mr. Webster's com-
ments on these, but ray experience rather
leans towards that of " Lordswood." I have
some hives that have had zinc roofs on for
over seven years. The zinc is nailed on to
the sides of the boards forming the roof, and

36

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Jan. 25, 1894.

then hammered and turned down underneath.
In this manner it will not buckle, nor do I find it
too cumbersome, as they are all of the " Cowan "
pattern. I shall be curious to hear the
experience of bee-keepers who may be
tempted to venture upon Mr. Simmin's " early
swarming " project, but do not feel disposed
to give it a trial myself after Mr. Woodley's
remaiks.— Salix, ?^ear Ware.

BEES IN THE COUNTY KILKENNY.

[1722.] Now that the year 189.3 is gone,
and bee-work in the apiary is rather quiet, it
may not be out of place for me to supplement
my former reports with another of some rather
remarkable things that came under my notice
during the year. If you can afford space,
perhaps some of it may be interesting.

One of my skeps showed signs of swarming
about the middle of May, but the swarm did
not come off so soon as I expected, so I
supered it by placing a rack of sections on.
The bees set to work in them and built comb
in almost all ; but honey stopped coming in,
and eventually the swarm came off about
the middle of June. The sections were removed
and given to the swarm. The second swarm,
however, did not issue imtil the nineteenth
day after the first one, and even then it
returned to the hive. It came out again next
day and was secured.

As characteristic of the notions held by
some old-fashioned bee-keepers here, I may
mention the following : — A vagrant swarm
came into a skeppist s apiary here, and hived
itself in one of his hives having empty comb,
early in the month of May. I offered the
man a good price for it— more than it could
realise for him when smothered at the end of
the seasoD, but " he wouldn't sell his luck."

The weather was very warm here in the
valley of the Suir, part of the season, but
August 16 was, I think, by far the hottest
day, for Avhen I visited my hives about noon
there was great excitement amongst the bees,
and, on closer examination, I found on the
alighting-boards of five or six hives some yel-
lowish-brown substance somewhat resembling
hives occupied by bees sufiering from dysen-
tery after long confinement. I at once con-
cluded that the intense heat was the cause,
and opened a small space at the back of each,
and placed a piece of perforated zinc over it.
After this the bees soon settled down, but
they began almost immediately to stop the
holes. This strange stuff when first observed
was soft and sticky, but by evening it became
as hard as dry glue, and can be seen on the
hives yet. I did not know at first what it
was, but now I am satisfied ib was the pro-
polis, which melted with the heat, and was
brought out by the bees somehow.

There was also observed on above date a
line of straggling bees between ray hives and
the Eectory, a distance of about four hundred

yards. So remarkable was it that some neigh-
bours called me and said the bees were swarm-
ing. I found there was a considerable number
of bees flying round, like a swarm looking for
its queen. I watched them for some time, but
did not see any swarm leaving my hives on
this or following days; but the Eectory people
found a swarm in one of their empty hives
some days afterwards. Drones were remark-
ably late in making their appearance, and not
nearly so numerous as other years. Some
stocks began to cast them out about July 20,
but ceased killing after some days, and the
remaining drones were permitted to live on
far into the season. In some instances
drones were seen as late as the middle of
October.

The skep, the history of which I gave in
B.B.J. December 1, 1892 (p. 474, No. 1246),
cast out its queen in August, and failed to
raise another ; consequently the stock has gone
over to the majority. Wasps were somewhat
late in making their appearance, but once here
they were more numerous than I ever saw
them before. They made no headway, how-
ever, against the bees further than to keep
worrying them from early morning till late in
the evening. — M. K., Piltown, Co. Kilkenny.

WEATHER FOR 1894.

[172.3.] I enclose a cutting from the Western
Morning JSfeios of December 28, 1893, and
only hope, for the benefit of all bee-keepers,
that these predictions may be realised. We
shall then have another glorious honey
season. — John F, R. Aylen, Flymoxith,
January 10.

[The cutting referred to reads as under.—
Eds.]

" Sir, — The London correspondent of the
Western Morninrj Neios, May 25, 1893,
stated : — ' Are we to have a second edition of
the great drought ? A " rain doctor, " as
the American call meteorologists for short,
says yes. Here is his forecast, and his name
it is Hugh Clements :—" In 1707, just 186
years ago, there was a drought exactly like
that of this year. Both lasted for seventy-
one days, the drought this year beginning and

ending a week earlier Lisle, the

chronicler, states that in 1707 there was a

drought from March 12 to May 22

From the exact resemblance of the droughts
in 1707 and 1893, the same weather for the
remainder of the year may be regarded as a
certainty, but seven days earlier in its inci-
dence than 106 years ago." ' Your correspon-
dent then remarks : — ' The great merit of
these predictions is their boldness. When
they are wrong no one remembers them.'

" This last sentence contains a negative state-
ment which is tantamount to saying that my
brother's forecasts are remembered only when
they are correct. I venture to assert that the
opposite statement is nearer the truth, and
more in k;eeping with the ways of the world — .

Jan. 25, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

37

namely, when they are correct no one remem-
bers them ; and apparently this has been
exemplified by your correspondent himself,
for we had 'a second edition of the great
drought,' and, wonderful to relate, he never,
so far as I am aware, remembered that the
forecast referred to was quite correct.

" Seeing, then, that my brother has been
correct not 'only„in this instance, but in the
great mojority of his forecasts, perhaps your
agricultural readers and the public generally
would like to know the kind of weather which
he predicts, on a scientific basis, for 1894. The
forecasts are for London ; but although the
daily weather at that place is different to what
it is h^re, nevertheless the general character of
the weather for a whole year may be similar at
two or more places when compared with the
average local rainfall.

"According to him, 1894 will be a fine year
— i.e., in the sense that it won't be wet. Here
are his monthly forecasts : —

" January will be a rather dry month.

" February will be a dry month.

" March will be a wet month.

" April will be a rather under average rain-
faU.

" ]May will be a dry month.

" June will be a rather dry and fitie month.

" July will be a fine, dry, and hot month.

" August will be a fine, dry, and hot month.

" September will be about average rainfall.

" October will be about average rainfall.

" November will be rather under average
rainfall.

" December will be a wet month.

" Judging from the researches he has made,
the conclusions he has derived from those
researches, and the principle — a principle
which he was the first to discover —
which has been found wonderfully accurate
when applied to forecasting the weather for
London during the last few years, I have
every confidence that the general character of
the weather for 1894, as stated above, will be
found correct for London, if not, indeed, for
the whole of the south and south-west of
England. — D. Cl'ements, Truro, December 26,
1893."

THE '• W. B. C." END CONTROVERSY.

[1724.] It is not often I take up my pen
to express an opinion on the many subjects
brought before our notice in our Bee Journal ,
but I feel sure I shall be pardoned if I say a
word on the " W. B. 0." end controversy
now it is at fever height. Being a bee-keeper
of over twenty years' standing, I think I may
claim to have a slight knowledge of the craft,
and I think amongst the modern appliances
the " W. B. C." end ought to take its place in
the first rank, both for usefulness and simpli-
city, and I utterly fail to see the use of trying
to upset the decision, which cost our most able
and experienced men so much time and thought
to thoroughly work out and mature, and \>'hich

I believe is universally acknowledged by most
practical bee-men to give entire satisfaction.
From my own experience (and I have some-
thinglike 900 or 1,000 ''ends ''in my own apiary)
I fail to see the necessity of having a " spur."
I may say I always make my hives I45 in.
between inside walls, and very rarely indeed
do I ever have a frame attached to the hive
side by either brace-combs or propolis. Most
accurately made hives are so constructed as to
just take the 17 in. top bar, so that I cannot
understand how the frames can move out of
position towards the sides, if placed parallel
with the entrance or towards the ends, if at
right angles to it. I was very glad to see Mr.
Meadows quoted in " Useful Hints " (p. 12),
and therein giving his unvarnished opinion on
the spur question, for, as our worthy editors
there stated, the manufacturer is, without
doubt, the most likely person to know if a
" spur " is frequently desired. — J. Water-
field, Kihxi-orth, Leicester.

" W. B. C." ENDS.

[1725.] Those whose hives require " spurs "
to these can easily do without such mutilation
by putting a screw (or tinned wire staple) into
each of the outer sides of the frames just
below the top bar. If these screws are not
driven home, but are left projecting about a
quarter of an inch, they will, of course, keep
the frames at that distance from the hive
sides, thus retaining the advantages given by
the original " W. B. C." end, in allowing wide
or narrow spacing, which are lost when
the " spur " is cut. — East Kent, Surhiton,
January 22.

[Referring to the above subject, another cor-
respondent, dating from Carlisle, writes to say
he overcomes any difficulty in using the
" W. B. C." end with odd sized or inaccurately
made hives, by simply driving in a f in. tack
or a wire nail into the extreme end of each top-
bar, and allowing the nail-head to project just
so much as to regulate the distance between
the side-bar of frame and the hive side. — Eds.]

METAL ENDS.

[1726.] I fail to see the utility of this
controversy in the Bee Journal, as each bee-
keeper can have an "end" suited to his
taste, or rather suited to the hive he uses. By
all means let those in favour of the " W. B. C."
end have it, but to bee-keepers who prefer an
end with a spur, who perhaps, like myself,
make their own hives and are not over exact in
outside measurement, I would say procure
from a respectable dealer the cast metal " Self-
Adjusting Ends." They are the very thing
amateurs require ; and will be supplied at a
cost a mere trifle more than other makes. If
you have the inside measurement of your hive
correct, you need not be over particular with
outside measurement of either hive or super,

38

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Jan. 25, 1894.

for the " spur " on these ends will do the rest.

M. K., PiUoiun, CO. Kilkenny, January 20.

[We think the controversy on this subject
niiiynow be allowed to close. — Eds.]

MISCELLANEOUS.

[1727.] Early and Late Pr^jmration for
Winter.— Mr. W. Woodley's letter (1,709, p.
23) anent the above is both interesting and
instructive, and a careful perusal of the same
will. I feel sure, be beneficial to many. It is
of vital importance that the bees should have
ii good supply of stores, plenty of warm
packing, and all made snug long before winter
begins. I am a great believer in preparing for
winter early in the autumn, and always strive
to have " all serene '' by August 31.

Adulteration. — Another subject in Mr.
Woodley's letter is well worthy of notice, viz.,
the " Bee-keepers' Defence Fund." As he
rio'htly says, a few convictions would soon
alter the state of afi'airs. What with foreign
honey and adulterated honey, the bona-fide
British bee-keeper has not a little to contend
with. The question of the present day seems to
me to be "How best to dispose of one's
honey '? " and doubtless this important matter
will receive due attention during the .present
year. I maintain that all foreign honey
should be labelled as such, so that the buyer
may know what he is purchasing ; and, as
regards adulterated honey, that should not be
countenanced at any price. Could we not
form an An ti -Adulteration League?

Foreign Competition. — Doubtless all readers
of the British Bee Journal must feel
grateful to you, Messrs. Editors, for the ic?-
partial way you have treateil them by pub-
lishing the letters upon the above subject, not-
withstanding they were all more or less adverse
criticisms. More than one subscriber has re-
marked to me how delighted they are with the
manner you " run" our Journal, bar the in-
serting of the advertisement, which I must still
own is a pill I cannot easily swallow. — Percy
Leigh, Beemount, Stolce Prior, Bromsgrove,
January 20.

^\mm mA '^^Im.

[937.] Ee-queaning and Drone - breeding
Queens. — In my apiary I have two stocks of
bees, which I will call Nos. 1 and 2. Last
September they were both supposed to have
queens over two years old, and, having a
queen by post for introduction, I examined
No. 1 and found it rather weak, queenless, and
with a lot of drones but no brood. So I
would not put the new queen in there, but
opened the next hive. No. 2, which was in
good condition, and I soon saw the queen,
which I captured and put al; oii<?e in No. 1

hive and closed it up. In the evening I intro-
duced the new c[ueen to No. 1, and next day
both hives appeared all right from the outside,
but, being so late in the season, I made no
internal examination, but lefo them to take
their chance. November 30 being a warm,
sunny day the bees were flying freely, and I
had a look round the apiary, and at No. 1 I
found a lot of drones flying and saw the old
queen come out, walk leisurely round the
alighting board and then in again — -showing
that she had beea accepted all right— but I
made no examination of the hive. On
January 11 last we had a very warm morning,
so I opened No. 1 hive to see how the bees
were getting on, not being able to understand
so many drones flying on November 30. I
found them rather weak, and the queen was
on the first comb I took out, which contained
a small patch of drone brood in all stages in
tvorker comb ; but there were no hatched
drones in the hive. Do you think the old
queen is any good to bring the stock on in the
spring till I can get a young one? — Sarum,
January 17.

Reply. — The old queen cannot possibly
" bring the stock on in the spring " if she is
already a drone-breeder, as stated. Besides, if
the stock was " rather weak and queenless "
prior to her introduction, it would appear as if
the bees will not be worth re-queening in
spring.

[938.] "A Curious Sample of Money." —
The honey, a sample of which I sent you last
week (1708, p. 19), has not been heated at all.
Nothing has been done to it. It was extracted
and strained through double cheese-cloth, as
the other, but being rather dark, it was put
in jars with the object of selling it after
granulating. It is part of my second take,
extracted about the beginning of July. All
the hives were not cleared when I took my
first lot at the beginning of June ; so it might
contdin some of the first ingathering of the
bees. But the first lot I took has granulated
(and is all sold), while this has not. The bees
were not fed at aay time last yeai-. I cannot
say much about the source. The district —
the Wye Valley, where "the most beautiful
scenery of its kind in England is to be found "
— is extremely well wooded. There are also
plenty of orchards, but I have never seen the
bees touch the pear or apple blossoms, though
I have watched them daily at the time when
the bees ought to be at work on them. There
is a lot of white clover about, and there are,
each season, two or three fields of clover sown
by farmers within reach. Some heather is
found in the woods, and there is a common —
the famous Buckstone — with much heather
about one-and-a-half mile distant. Blackberry
is plentiful. My bees gather a lot of honey
about April from the woods soni'i where, then
they go somewhere else for another sort, and
then another, and very varied were the
samples they brought in last season, but this

Jan. 25, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

39

is the stiffe8t of all. We like it much, and use
it often, and each time with exclamations such
as '■ What lovely honey," &c. It is, as you
say, curious being clear and yet tough, so thai
it will stretch out in a string a yard long
horizontally v/hen taken on the knife out of the
jar. I would be glad of your opinion of it. —
H. Eiivs, Monmouth, January 11.

RErLV. — We certainly thought the sample
of honey sent had been heated to almost boil-
ing point from the flavour and appearance.
If there are fir trees in the neighbourhood it
may account for its peculiar characteristics, as
a small quantity of the honey bees collect
from these trees might account for its clear
condition, seeing that it does not granulate,
besides being very stiff in consistency.

[939.] Carniolan Bees. — The " Wells "
System. — I should be much obliged if some
one would ^give me their experience of Carni-
olan bees. I have only the ordinary black
bees at present, and I have nothing much to
say against them, and would not like to mix
the breed with any other kind of bees. 1.
Would this occur if I procured some Carniolan
bees and kept them near my other bees ? 2.
Can the Carniolan bee be easily distinguished
from the other kind when out flying or on the
alighting board ? I suppose that it is the same
with Carniolan bees as with others, viz., that
there are good and bad strains, but I should
be better pleased if some one who has found
them a success would tell me something about
them ? 3. Now that my bees are going to
" swarm in March and April " I am building
a few " Wells " hives, and I should like to
know how many holes are considered sufficient
to make in the dividing dummy ? 4.1 find
it very awkward moving the large, heavy racks
of sections from the " Wells " hives ; would
it make a very great difference to the "system "
if 1 worked two small crates instead of one
large one ? 5. Also 1 do not approve of queen-
excluder zinc placed in the ordinary wa}', and
to keep the queens separate I used last year a
piece of queen-excluder zinc placed in a
dummy frame, and fitted into the crate so as
to divide it in two, and the bottom of this
dummy to lie just on the top of the perforated
dummy below. Is there any objection to this I
— Early Swarmer, Northampton, January
19.

Eeply. — 1. Yes. If Carniolan bees were
introduced you would be almost certain to
have a mixed breed of bees after the first
season. 2. The Carniolan is easily distin-
guished when on the alighting board by the
light-coloured bands on each segment of the
abdomen. For information regarding them
refer to Bee Journal for December 14 last
(p. 49!)). 3. Full particulars fjr making the
" Wells dummy " are given in Bee Journal
for April 20, p. 153, and JVIay 4, p. 171, of last
year. 4. It is a perversion of the " Wells
system" to use large section racks ; one of the

most important advantages being the securing
of the combined forces of both brood-nests into
an ordinary-sized surplus chamber or section
rack, in this way work begins earlier, and is
carried on more rapidly than if the progeny of
one queen only was relied on. 5. Personally
we object to any deviation from Mr. Wells*
own plan of working, which we do not think
can be improved upon in carrying out his
" system."

[940.] Hooks for Wiring Frame'i. — Will
you kindly inform me what kind of material
is used for making hooks for wiring founda-
tions shown in sketch in B. J. for April 20,
1893 (1,405, p. 157) ? Are they sold by
dealers ? — G. G., Cardiff, January 15.

Ekply. — An ordinary | in. light " wire-
nail " is used for making the hooks, the bend-
ing being done with the help of a pair of
" round-nosed '' pliers.

[941.] Patent Hives. — I had commenced
making a " Cowan hive," when a friend sug-
gested it may be patented. I do not see any-
thing of a patent mentioned in your " Guide
Book," which I have. Would you mind saying
whether the hive is protected by patent or
no ? I am taking in the British Bee Journal,
and intend to commence bee-keeping in the
summer. — W. E., Welshpool.

Reply. — We thought the third paragraph
in first column of second page of cover made
quite clear the fact of our having no pecuniary
interest of any kind in the manufacture of
hives or appliances. Any way, we have plea-
sure in stating that there is no restriction
whatever about the hive in question, which
may be made and used by any one.

[942.] Joining Bee-keepers' Association. —
Believing that unity is strength, and being
desirous of joining one of the Bee-keeping
Associations, I shall esteem it a favour if you
would put me into communication with the
Secretary of either the British or Middlesex
Association, whichever you consider the more
advantageous for me to join. Let me here
reciprocate the good wishes for the new year
expressed in last Aveek's Bee Journal, and
thank you for all the information and pleasure
the reading your journal has afforded me for
the past three years. — Alf. Guy, The Hyde,
N. W., Jamiary 10.

Reply. — It would, no doubt, be more
advantageous to the cause of bee-keeping
generally if our correspondent joined the
B.B.K.A., of which Mr. J. Huckle, King's
Langley, Herts, is the Secretary, and which
sadly lads funds just now. On the other
hand, the advantages offered by the County
Association are more direct or personal, by
reason of including the services of the pro-
fessional expert wlien on his tour of in-
sjDection of the apiaries of members. The
Hon. Sec. of the Middlesex B. K.A.is Major
Fair, Anlaby-road, Teddington.

40

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Jan. 25, 1894.

(&thB from tk

Daventry, January 12, 1894. — I thought
possibly it may interest readers to hear an
echo from my hives. To-day the bees are all
alive and "kicking'' in reality, as one was rest-
ing on my neck, and, getting underneath my
collar, I experienced the first pleasure of tha
season in the form of a " kick." Last year I
had a very few swarms, only two from eighteen
stocks, and I naturally feel a little uneasy as
to what the effect will be on the coming
season, as there is a danger of spring dwind-
ling owing to the queen's age. Up to the
present, however, all my stocks seem to be
strong and hearty to judge from the way they
are flying to-day. I put my two swarms —
they were late both of them — into a " Wells ''
hive in the first week in July. I got 37 lb,
honey from it in shallow-frames, and left
plenty for them to winter on, but, owing to
the queens being worn out (I suppose from
having such a long spell of brood-raising in
the spring), they dwindled away, and while
I was away from home in September, the
other colonies started robbing, and Avhen I
returned home they were quite cleared out.
Still I have faith in the " Wells " hive, and
thank Mr. Wells for making known to his
brother bee-keepers this system, instead of
keeping his successes to himself as he might
have done. — W. L. Bird.

Piltown, Co. Kilkenny, Jamiary 17, 1894.
We had a fall of snow here on' January 5,
and on that night the thermometer regis-
tered 27 degs. of frost, and the glass
covered over with snow. The night following
the thermometer registered zero — or 32 degs!
of frost (Fahrenheit) ; but the snow was swept
off the glass from the previous evening, so I
am afraid the poor bees must have suffered
severe losses; in fact, I am sorry to say I
have already pulled out very considerable
numbers dead from some of my hives with a
piece of wire. On the evening of 6th I closed
up all the doors of my hives with snow. Next
day we had a change for rain, and it has rained
very heavy every day since. — M. K.

Notices to Correspondentsand Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only 0/ personal interest will be anmvered in this column.

Letters or quenes asking for addresses of mamifae-
turers or correspondents^ or where appliances can be
purchased, or replies giving such information, can only
oe inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries, and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in advance of the date of
f^f^' queries caiinot always be replied to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of their communica-

DowN East (Lowestoft).— Sugar as sample is
quite suitable for bee-food, but the price
(28s. per cwt.) is high.

H. W. Seymour, B.B.K.A. Medals.— Mt.

Huckle, the Secretary of the B.B.K.A., will
furnish you with the information required
as to medals and certificates referred to.

J. H. Smith. — Sugar sent is no doubt pvre
cane, but, being unrefi-ued, is not suitable for
bee-candy. Eaw, or unrefined, sugars are
apt to cause dysentery in bees by reason of
containing too large a portion of molasses,
or treacle.

Percy Leigh (Stoke Prior), Sample of Honey.
— Taking the "points" as enumerated, we
would say 1. Purity. — Without an elaborate
analysis, the actual purity of honey cannot
be positively determined. The sender
should be the best judge of that point if
his own bees have gathered it. 2. Aroma.
— This is completely hidden by that of the
previous contents of the jar in which sample
reaches us. 3. Flavour. — Not more than
third-rate in this respect, 4. Consistency.
Good for a granulated honey.

A. J. Bradstrut (Ipswich), Bead Bees and
Queen cast out. — There is nothing very un-
usual in dead bees being cast out from hives
in the winter months. The case of the hive
from which the queen (as it unfortunately is)
was cast out is, however, much more serious,
and should be seen to as soon as warm
weather justifies an examination, in order to
ascertain if the stock under which the dead
insect was found is queenless. The bees
have traces of the Carniolan in them.

A Wife (Kent). — The size of shallow-frames is
14 inches by 65, or, in other words, exactly
the same dimensions as the standard frame,
less three inches in its depth.

Special Prepaid Advertisements*

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dx.-'Vp to
Twelve words, Sixpence; for every additional Three
ivords or under. One Penny.

FOR SALE. — The Owner, giving up keeping Bees, has
For Sale four American Hives, bar frames ; two
Standard Hives by Baldwin, Bromley, Kent ; one Double
do. They are well stocked with Bees and packed for
winter (1,000). One Uncapping Knife, one Centrifugal
Extractor, six Feeders, two Smokers, Frame and
Wedges for putting in comb, (fee, all to be Sold a
Bargain. Address, G. A. Faeim, Dartmouth Lodge,
Perry Vale, Forest Hill.

FOR SALE.— Four Dozen SECTIONS. What offers.
T. ROTHERY, Tadcaster. C76

WAN TED, a good EXTRACTOR. Reversible action.
Must be cheap. R. W. Eagleton, The Apiary,
Parson Drove, near Wisbech. c 7H

WINE.— A few Dozen Bottles and Half Bottles of
Light BURGUNDY FOR SALE at a very low rate.
Bottles 14s., half bottles 8s. 6d. Cases to ))e returned.
Half bottle sent as sample on receipt of 6d. for postage,
which will be refunded if order results. Cash with order
or deposit system. W. Read, 12, Savage Gardens,

London. c 74

XTRACTED ENGLISH HONEY in J cwts, 6d. and

7d. per lb. Tins free. Sample 2d. deposit. Richard

DuTTOisr, Terling, Witham, Essex. c 77

N APIARY FOR SALE, consisting of 27 Stocks, Bees

in Bar-frame Hives, a large quantity of empty

Hives, Honey Extractor, Wax Extractor, and all

appliances. These are being sold in consequence of

death of owner. Will be sold in quantities to suit

purchasers. Mr. Mason, The Apiary, Little Cressingham,

Watton, Norfolk. c 78

Feb. 1, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOUKNAL.

41

(J^ditffriHl Itoficcf). &t.

THE FOREIGN COMPETITION
QUESTION.

The interest taken by bee-kcepeis in
the question of Foreign Competition —
tUid the extent to which it may affect
the price of honey and consequently the
])rofits of the industry — constitutes, as
we think, a sufficient reason for our
dealing Avith the subject ; and also for
hoping that we shall be enabled to
remove some, at least, of the erroneous
impressions entertained with reference
to the best mode of dealing with it.

The correspondence which has reached
us is somewhat more voluminous than
a^jpears in print, but, so far as we can
gather, the majority of our corre-
spondents rather fail in grasping the
difficulties of the situation. They
appear to consider it a comparatively
easy matter to get a law passed com-
pelling sellers of foreign honey to label
it as such, but srive no thou£;ht to
showing or devising a practical scheme
by which their ideas could be effectually
carried out.

We heartily Avish it were otherwise,
but calm reflection compels us to admit
that at present Ave see no possible plan
by Avhich British bee-keepers could have
their interests protected in the Avay
suggested. Let us instance a case,
Avith the particulars of Avhich Ave have
some personal knoAvledge : — A shipment
of South American honey — say, fifty or
a hundred barrels — is landed at the
docks in Liverpool, consigned to a firm
of produce brokers ihere. Each barrel is
sampled, and from these samples is sold
by auction at the Brokers' public sale-
room to the highest bidder. Of course
it goes to large buyers of honey, such as
Avholesale chemists, or those using it ex-
tensively for manufacturing purposes,
or to AA'holesale honey dealers.

NoAv, Ave Avould ask, Avhat conceiv-
able method of Avatching, supervising, or
following up, could be devised by Avhich
ten or more tons of honey could be so
.controlled as to ensure that every pur-
■chaser of a pound jar should be informed
.of its foreign origin '?

When one remembers the condition in

which the honey referred to is imported
— sometimes containing the bodies of
crushed bees and other extraneous matter
— and considers the melting, refining,
blending, — sometimes Avith British honey
— and other operations through Avhich it
passes before being " jarred " for sale, in
the hands of those who buy it in bulk,
the difficulty of tracing it all through
seem to us insurmountable, and, Avhen
combined with the ease by Avhich the
" laAv " might be CA^aded, render it im-
possible to conceive a Avorkable plan of
the kind suggested. In- fact, the reply of
most thinking men, if asked, Avould, Ave
opine, be in line Avith that of the old bee-
man Avho, in ansAver to a question of
similar import replied, "It's no use
thinkin' 'bout it, it can't be did."

Referring to another aspect of the
foreign competition question, Ave have
been taken to task by one,, or two corres-
pondents for permitting foreign honey to
be advertised in our pages in a Avay Avhich
strikes them as tending to inflict injury
on the craft. We venture to think,
however, that our critics take rather a
surface vieAv of the matter, or they Avould
see our action in a different light. We
yield to none in the desire to promote
the true interests of British bee-keeping,
and feel certain that far more harm than
good to the pursuit Avould have ensued
had Ave acted otherwise than Ave did.
Indeed, the immediate result bears out
this vieAv, for as the matter now stands,
readers are aAA'are of Avhat they have to
contend Avith, and a commendable spirit
of activity has been aroused in the taking
of measures to prevent foreign honey
being sold as British, so far as marking
the genuine article in unmistakable
fashion, and placing the native product
more prominently before the public.

From one quarter Avhence comes adverse
comment in the line referred to; Ave are
also told that " a ring has been formed
for the purpose of keeping up prices," and
rather than that cottagers should put
their honey on the market at a lower
rate, those 'forming the "ring" buy it up
and deal Avith it themselves. Noav Ave
venture to say that in so doing our
friends make a grave mistake. That is
not the way to promote British bee-
keeping. The point— the main point-
is to increase the consumption of our
j home-groAvn honey by making its use

42

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Feb. 1, 1894.

popular with the people as an article of
food, and that cannot be done by the
formation of " rings " to keep up prices.
Our view of promoting the industry is to
increase the number of consumers by
placing good British honey within their
reach at the lowest paying price.

Let us first get the people to like
honey, to make it an article of daily
consumption in the household. Oive up
the idea of adopting a policy which would
restrict it to the wealthier classes, or
only as a luxury to others. And when we
have succeeded in increasing the number
of consumers ten or twenty fold the latter
will learn to distinguish between good
and bad honey, and be willing to pay the
highest market-price for the best. It is
quite certain that narrow or selfish
methods of dealing Avith the question will
not help our case one bit. We must
take a broad or " business " view of it if
any headway is to be made, and the
general good of the pursuit promoted.
" Rings " for the purpose stated will only
act as checks to progress.

If the demand Avas everywhere equal
to the supply, the " prices " trouble
Avould not be felt, but until this
desideratum is secured honey values
must varj^

And now, leaving the subject of prices,
we return to that of the best means of
affording protection to the British bee-
keeper in so far as giving him a means
of preventing foreign from being sold as
"British." It is quite absurd to talk of
preventing foreign competition, simply
because that is impossible, but, so far as
affording a means of identifying the
native or home - grown product, our
opinion is that the most effective method
of securing this object is by labelling
and guaranteeing the genuineness of all
honey sold by or through the agency of
our country Bee Associations. This
there would be little difficulty in doing
by a plan already successfully Avorking
in one county, and now being formulated
in another. And in urging all Associa-
tions to take up the idea, Ave, and they,
may take heart of grace in reflecting
that the value of the honey imported
into the United Kingdom in 1893 AA^as
less by more than one-half of that for
1892, the actual figures shoAving a reduc-
tion of £33,441 in the value of last
year's imports in a total of £62,528
worth in the previous year.

We are fully persuaded that if our
county Associations A\-ould take up the
question in the interest of their members,
and set to Avork perfecting a scheme for
labelling niembers' honey, giving it a
"trade mark" in the legal sense — by
registering the design of the county
label — and numbering these labels con-
secutively so as to keep a record of
Avhose hands they pass into for use, and,
further, take steps to establish agencies
for the sale of honey throughout each
county, they Avould not only promote
the sale of, and consequent demand for,
British honej^, but Avould also forAvard
their own prosperity by an increase of
membership.

Besides, in so doing there AA'^ould be no
need for imposing restrictions on members
as to prices, or of interfering Avith private
sales in any Avay. The "dealing" AA'Ould
be direct botA\'"een buyer and seller, and
no " fixed " prices need cause trouble.
In fact, the only condition imposed
Avould be insisting that the county label
1)3 affixed to good British honey only, in
all other respects the seller dealing
directly and having a perfectly free hand
in treating AA'ith the retailer.

In a Avord, to let foreign honey look
after itself, and devoting our energies to
the promotion of the genuine British pro-
duct, seems to us the most effective and
— to use a " British " term — the most
" fair and square " method of facing the
foreign competition question.

BEITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.

Committee meeting held at 105, Jermyn-
s'reet, on Wednesdiy, 24th inst. Present,
Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh, H. Jonas, J. H.
New, E. D. Till, Eev. R. Errington, W. B.
Carr, J. Garratt, Major Fcir, W. C>. B.
Glennie (Treasurer), Rev. W. E. Burkitt, and
J. M. Hooker, ex-officio, Joha Huckie, Secre-
tary.

In the absence of the Chairman and Vice-
Chairman, Mr. Jonas was voted to the chair.

Communications were received from the
Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Rev. Dr. Bartrum,
and Captain Campbell, regretting iheir in-
ability to be present.

The minutes of the last meeting Avere read
and confirmed.

The statement of accounts for the year 18.93
were presented by the Chairman who ex-
plained that the accounts had been duly
audited, but required a slight correction pre-
A'ious to receiving the Auditor's signature

Feb. 1, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

4a

Resolved that, subject to the statcHient being
signed by the Auditor, Treasurer, and Secre-
tary, the same be printed in the Annuul
Eeport.

The Chairman presented a Special lleport
on behalf of the Finance Committee in respect
to the financial position of the Association.
Statistics were given showing that the income
(f the Association had steadily decreased,
more especially from subscript'ons, the chief
cans 3 being that many members had trans-
ferred their subscriptions from the parent to
the Affiliated Associations. With the view to
improve the financial condition of the Associa-
tion, the Sub-Committee recommended : — (1)
Th:<t corrf sponding or representative members
be appointed throughout the United Kingdom;
(2) That the privilege of' receiving a silver
and a bronze medal by the Affiliated Associa-
tions be withdrawn for 1894, the Sub-Com-
mittee being of opinion that the Affiliated
Associations would readily acquiesce to assist
the parent society in this way ; (3) That the
entrance-fees payable by experts for examina-
tion be as follows: — third class, .5s.; second
class, 10s.; first class, 21s., half of these
amounts to be returned to unsuccessful candi-
dates. Kesolved that the report be received and
adopted.

Letters were read : — 1. From the Secre"
tary of the Royal Counties' Agricultural
Society promising a subsidy towards pro-
viding for an exhibition of hives, honey, &c.,
at the forthcoming Exhibition to be held at
Canterbury. Resolved, that the same be
accepted subject to the co-operation of the
Kent Association. 2. From the Secretary of
the Bath and West of England Agricultural
Society intimating that the Council of that
Society would probably give assistance towards
lectures, &c., in the bee tent at their annual
Exhibition to be held at Guildford, but no
l^roposd for further assistance towards an
exhibition of honey, &c., could be entertained.

Letters were also read in reference to the
fwrmation of an Association for the district of
Northallerton, in Yoikshire. The Secretary
reported that he had, in accordance with the
rules of affiliation, communicated with Mr.
Grimshaw, Secretary of the Yorkshire Associa-
tion, in reference t3 this proposal.

During the discussion on matters of finance
and the need lor paying off some of the most
pressing liabilities, the Chairman stated that a
friend of a member of the Finance Committee
had offered to give ^10 towards that object if
by June 24 next a further sum of £50 can be
collected in sums of £5 and upward, and thus
relieve the Committee from the regrettable,
but imperative, necessity of recommending the
withdrawal of the reserve fund in the Post-
oifice Bank.

Fifty pounds is not a large sum, and, if the
hoped-for contribution from some of the City
Companies may be counted on, it behoves all
members to exert any influence they may

possess with members of these Companies, and,
in addition, to club together and endeavour to
send up sums of £5 or more to the Secretary.
Any surplus can be added to make up other
£5 sums as stipulated by the generous donor,
who proposes to help the Association in
keeping intact its reserve fund, which has
hitherto sustained iti financial credit.

(ifontspuiulciicf.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. Ko notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to ivrite on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessanly for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illusira-
tions should he drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not ^mdertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for lleview, I'-c., must be addressed only to " Tlie
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, d-c, must be addressed
to "The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-streit, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of Advertisements).

*,* In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents
when speaking of any letter or que>y previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

NOTE 3 BY THE AY AY.

[172S.] The forecast of the weather for 1894
(on p.' 17) is eminently satisfactoiy from a
bee-keeper's point of view, and if it should
only prove approximately correct we shall have
much to be thankful for. In anticipation of
the good time coming, let u', then, be up and
doing. There are many things that can be
attended to now during the slack season, when
we can devote the necessary time to do the
jobs Avell, whereas, if delayed until busier
times, when the bees, and other out-of-doors
work also, require our attention, then ofttimes
these repair-and-alceration jobs are apt to be
either done in a slipshod manner or left over
till another year. Therefore I say. Don't
procrastinate.

Bee Swarintng Edraordinary. — Cannot
our correspondent (p. 33) throwmorelighton the
above ? The year 1893 was not a swarming
season in the ordinary sense of the term.
What can this experiment 1)3 that produced
bees in such numbers when other bee-keepers
in some cases had no swarms at all? Stocks
will begin breeeding — in fact, strong, healthy
colonies have already tegun — and I would
advise giving a supply of water, of which
increasing quantities will be required as we
get nearer the spring, and if your bees take to
the watering-places wh -n first they begin to
forage for it, there will be no difficulty with
them all tli'-ough the season. Spent tea-leaves
or mo3s placed in shallow pans in a sunny spot
in the apia'y will save the lives of a great
number of bees in the early spring. Where
there is a good supply near the hives it will,
of course, be lost labour to provide a special

4i

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,

[Feb. 1, 1894.

wateiiDg-pkce, but it is useful when the bees
have to fly a distance for it, especially in bleak
fcituations.

Stvarms in March and April. — The dis-
trict in -wbicli the bee-keeper is located will
decide for him if it -will remunerate bim to
produce bees vtry early in the year. I main-
tain that in any ordinary season it is of co
use to have hives full of bees early in May,
■when the first honey flow does not begin till
second week in June. I do not assert that
the bees do not gather honey before, faj',
June 10, but I do say they rarely store any-
thing in supers before that date — early seasons
excepted— therefore, the contention of "Mr.
S. S." (1,698, p. 15) that I should not have
to keep them, does not hold good. If I did
not keep them they would starve, unless there
was honey to be had, and suitable weather to
gather it in. I acknowledge that Mr. Simmins's
plan will produce the swarm in addition to
the old stock, but, as regards the balance to
the good at the end of the season, we cannot
be so certain. Of course, an increased output
to the tune of 100 per cenf. looks very
tempting, and on the premise that piices for
honey have a downward tendency, and each
bee-keeper in Britain, through the aid of the
system referred, to produced the double quan-
tity, prices would still go to a lower level.
The apparent standstill of the nuiiiber of bees
in a colony during March and April is conse-
quent on the work of nursing, fielding in search
of pollen and water, and some little honey
from the scattered flowers. This laborious
work keeps down the increase of the colony by
the heavy death-rate consequent on the aged
bees dying ofl', and many of the earlier bred
bees getting lost oa foraging expeditions in
stormy weather.

Spring Dioindling. — To those who have had
a run of bad luck ia getting their stocks
through the spring I would commend Mr.
ijimmins's pamphlet. They will, I think, find
a cure for such mishaps, or at least a preventi-
tive, if the directions are faithfully followed.
The system will probably u^e up a prolific
queen very quickly, but that i.s a sn:all mutter
compared with the loss of a stock or two of
bees after they have reached the sunny days of
spring.

Old foundation has been proved to be
nearly if not quite equal to newly made by
some of our American brethren in the ciaft,
and I myself can fully endorse what they say
on the point, and my experience has been with
both kinds, i.e., for brood and super. I have
had some two years old, and when used I
have never been able to detect any difference
between the combs after it was worked out by
the bees. Of course, when we consider the
high temperature of a hive crowdel with
bees or a new swarm gorged with honey
closely clustered, as when wax producing,
common-sense would tell us that the sheeti of
wax would soon become sf.'fo and pliable, ^nd

as easy of working up by the bees as that only
just received from the maker. I have noticed
from time to time that bee-keepers complain
of their bees refusing to work out some of the
very white coloured foundation. There may
be two or three reasons for that ; the wax may
be bleached, and bleaching hardens wax, then
diluted soap may be the lubricant used in
passing it through the rollers of the machine ;
this may be offensive to the bees. Other
reasons could be given, but I think these are
enough to account for bees sometimes refusing
to have anything to do with the foundation. — ■
W. WooDLBY, Bcedon, Newbury.

THE NEW WIDE " W.B.C." ENDS.

[1729.] I received one of these yesterday
from Mr. Meadows. It is I5 in, long. I
thought the principle adopted for determining
the length was that eight frames fitted with
the wide ends should occupy the same space
as ten frames with the l^^o in. ends, and it is
an excellent principle that they should do this
exactly, so as not to disturb existing arrange-
ments of room for frames, slips, or dummies,
whereby so many shallow frame-boxes accom-
modate ten frames spaced at Iw'^ in. Now, to
effect this desirable result requires the new
ends to be l|f in. in length, this length multi-
plied by 8 being exactly that of l^V multi-
plied by 10 — namely 141 in. — Avhereas the
adopted length of 1 1 in. multiplied by 8 gives
15 in.

If I am correct in saying that, what with
propolis and necessary ease of working, eight
frames with Ig in. ends would not be work-
able in 15 in. space (for instance, in the
" W.B.C' hive shallow boxes, of which I have
several), it follows that any box not exceeding
15 in. ot space will not accommodate eight
frames with 1| in. ends, and will require un-
desirable arrangements for utilising or filling-
up the waste space caused by only using sevea
wide frames. In square hives having 17 in.
space, possibly nine frames x IJ ends = 16|,
may be squeezed in ; but I should say that
9xl|| = lGy=u would be more workable for
such hives. If my deductions are correct,
namely that l\l ends will suit best, the
majority of cases, I trust that, although the
difs are made for the 1| in. ends, nothing will
stand in the way of the alteration.

If I am wrong, please correct me, and ex-
plain how I should work with the ends in the
two sizes or boxes I have named, of which I
have both for next season, for I am still only
— A Lancashire Novice, January 27.

[There must be an error in the measurement
of the surplus boxes used by our correspon-
dent. To take ten frames the box should be
15ia . full by 14|iQ. inside measure. Now, 15in.
from side to side takes t^n frames with the
ordinary " W.B.C." ends afiixed, and two slips
of wood I in. wide, one at each end. These

Feb. 1, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

45

slips are necessary in order to increase tbe
distmce between the outer combs and the
side 5 of the box, the ^ in. shoulder of the end
to prevent brace-comb being built.

With the wide end (l^in.) these slips are
not needed by reason of the wider shoulder.
Like our correspondent, we, too, have received
samples of the new end, and were very ])leased
to find that eight frames, when fitted with
them, occupied exactly the same space as ten
"vvith the ordiaary end. — Eds.]

i

FOREIGN HONEY.

[1730.] In reading the letters in last
Aveek's issue, re foreign honej', one almost
Avonders if your correspondents have read the
appeal o£ the British Bee-Keepers' Association
Committee aright; when they speak of the
promotion of Home Industries — should it not
be the Sale of Foreign Honey ? Ko doubt
our Editors were on the horns of a dilemma
re the advertisement of Messrs. Abbott Bros.,
they being one of the largest advertisers in the
Journal, but Avhere the advantage to British
bee-keepers comes in I, for one, cannot see ;
and how can British bee-keepers be expected
to support a firm who, on the strength of their
reputation, tempt them by claiming it to be
the best, or one of the best samples of foreign
honey they have handled ? If it is the best, I
pity those who eat the worst. I sent for a
sample and asked the good wife to test it (the
origin being unknown to her), and the de-
clared it to be "brown sugar kept in a wtt
place." We shall never know the full extent
of the injury to British bee-keepers by the
Abbott advertisement appearing in our paper.
Let me give a cjse in point : — In this corner
of Worcestershire we have formed a ring not
to sell under Is- per lb., and would sooner
buy cottagers' honey up than have it on the
market at a less price ; but some of the
foreign stuff found its way into our neigh-
bourhood, and when sampled they were glad
to find bottles, pay carriage, and sell at 6d.
per lb. to get rid of it. Now comes the
harm ; customers who had bought at our
usual price of Is. hearing of the sale of
pure honey at Cd. per lb. fay they will
pay Is. no more, and one who bought at
that figure took it back asking " what doctored
stuff was being charged at Is. per lb.,'' although
I believe it Avas pure English honey.

Passing by a Cottagei's home whose
bees I had driven last eutumn, I left him
a Bee Journal, and unfortunately it AA^as
one with the objectionable advertisement, and
Avlien I called some week? after I Avas greeted
soni'^thing like this : " I say, Mr., avuI them
ihe e fokesup Lun'on sell pure honey at 4sd.
perlb. ?" "Yes." "Then it's no good yo a try in'
to drive them neAv fangled notiors into my
yead, for I'hn got 25lb., and if I cornt get 9d.
it shall stop Avhere it is.'' Why should Ave
producers buy the foreign stuff? Is it to mix

with the genuine article and sell as pure English
honey ? If so, alas for British honey ! Go at it
"E.H., 1712," also "Percy Leigh, 1714."—
C Harvey, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.

[NotAviths'anding our correspondent's con-
cluding exhortation, we trust readers will agree
Avith us in thinking that enough has now been
said oa the subject mainly dealt Avith ; but as
a final word oa our part, and Avith reference to
the advertisement mentioned, our correspon-
dent is mistaken if he supposes that it
appeared because the firm in question are
among our " largest advertiser.^'' It appeared
because it Avas a bona-fide adA^ertisement sent
us by a Avell-knoAvn and respectable firm, who
knoAv their own business better than we do.
Besides, however rigidly — and stupidly as we
think — Ave might exclude such advertisements
from the pages of the B. J., it Avould not stop
the imjjortation or sale of foreign honey one
iota. Moreover, as avb have said elseAvhere,
Ave do not consider that our British Bee-keepers
have anything to fear from such foreign stuff
as our corre&'pondent describes this to be.
Quality regulates price, and good British
honey is Avorth fully as much more than that
advertised as is asked for it. — Eds.]

SOMETHING LIKE AN
SWARM.

EARLY

[1731.] It might interest your readers to
know that Mr. George Hodges, Mastock, has
already had his first SAvariu for the year 1894.
In answer to questions I forAvarded this
gentlenidn, I learnt that the swarming took
jjlrtce on January 11 from a late July swarm
of 1892, and is the first SAvarm from it. This
stock was then hived in a skep, though it
issued from a bar-frame, and the present
swarm is now being ftd in a straw-skep, and
are doing well. — AhF. Wolfe, Hon. Sec.
Taitntoii and District B.K.A.

[It need hardly be said that the above must
not be accepted as a natural or — perhaps, we
Ave should say — ::ormal SAA-arm. — Eds.].

NOTES FROM NORTH HANTS.

[1732.] The past yejr in this part has been
a poor one for bee-keepers, and the honey crop
Avas below the average. Bees Avere very strong
in April, and swarms Avere expected early in
Ma J', but, contrary to expectation, they were
very scarce — skeppists who depend on SAvarms
for their honey Avere in the same plight, and so
there were few driven bees to be had. I drove
fimrteen lots that would have been "brim-
stoned," and the best only Aveighed 331b. Two
were queenless ; had no honey and fcAv bees,
and the average weight of the lot Avas 16 lb.
per hiA'e, hives and combs included, proving
that bees in skeps have done badly, and I am
afraid that m3ny cf those left Avill not last till
spring. Frame-hives have done better than
skep?, for my average is 26 lb. per hive. The

46

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Feb. 1, 1894.

honey gathered ia May and the beginning of
June was of good colour and quality, but
after the second week in June it was nothing
but honey- dew, and nearly aa black as ink, but
it sold at 6d. per lb. notwithstanding.

My " Wells" hire was a failure. I stocked
it early in spring with two strong lots on ten
frames each, but I only got four sections from
them. I shall, however, give the systeai a fair
trial with three hives this year.

Sandwich Island honey at 4|d. p?r lb., "no
charge for tins or case?." Not much chance
for us there, for I am sure no British bee-
keeper will attempt to compete with such a
price as that, and it sets us wondering what
price per lb. could have been paid to the pro-
ducer of the honey ia the first place. — H.
IaOwell, Hook, Winchfielcl, Havts.

COVERING FOR HIVE EOOFS.

[1733.] In your paper of January 25 a
correspondent (page 3.5, No. 1721) writes
about zinc sheets covering his hive roof*!. No
doubt they will keep ths rain out, but will
they prevent damp froai the hive forming on
the underside of the zinc ?

About fifteen years ago I placed my bee-
hives in a roomy beehouse covered with sheets
of corrugated metal. The heat from the hives,
or the greater heat in the beehouse caused a
dew to farm on the underside of the c irru-
gated metal. This dropped in two or three
places about the beehouse, and to prevent
accidents I placed a shet t of metal over each
hive loosely. The result was that a great deal
of damp formed on the underside of the loose
theets, doing a deal more damage than any-
thing experienced before. I raised the sheets
of metal, gave them a bend, and rested them
on screws, and they did not touch the wood,
and what damp there Avas ran down without
wetting the top of the hive.

Now, I feel pretty sure that any sheet of
metal exposed to the cjld on one side, and
damp heat from bees on the other without
proper ventilation, cannot fail to have a dew
foimingupon its underside. I mention this
because I very much fear that, though your
correspondent will keep out the rain, he will
keep in the damp. — F. M. E., Ecchfcchan,
N.B.

BEE STINGS.

[1734.] I was sorry to see from the remarks
from "Salix, near Ware'' (1721, p. 35) that
bee stings trouble him so much. I do not
think ho can have been " inoculated,'' or they
would not punish him so. I am glad to say I
d') not swell much when I get stung now,
although I used to a few years back. I think
that after being stung a number of times one's
system ge's as it were impervious to the
poison. Wevertheles.s, I think the two best
remedies for a bee sting are to well dress the

spot with vinegar, or moisten some washing
soda with water and rub on the place where
the sting was, first scratching out the sting.
I say first scratching out th& sting as it is
better than pulling the sting out, as by pulling
you squeeze what poison there may be left out
into the wounH.

I should like to hear an opinion on Mv.
Simmm's pamphlet "Bees Svfarming, &c."
Whether the practical result would be as
beautiful as the theory, I do not doubt bub
what it would be possible to get the frames
filled with egv^s in the stock that was highly
stimulated, but ara yoa always sure of getting
them nursed in another stock unless they are
stimulated as well? I am afraid there would
be a great loss of brood (or egg^) as well as
wearing out the queen of the highly stimulated
stock, and so rendering them useless for honey
gdtherintr. — W. L. Bird.

MARKETING UNFINISHED

SECTIONS.

[1735.] To bee-keepers who mayhave a quan-
tity of sections not filled down to the bottom,
this is how I put such up for the market. I
remove the bottom side of section, and fix
two or three together with a strip of wood
and small screws across each end. When such
are glazed and papered in the usual way, they
t-ike the market readier than if put up with
the gap at the bottom. In fact, they appear
like little supers, and are very suitable for
miking up a honey display. I see by the
Journal some bee-keepers would like a spur
attached to the " W.B.C." end. Apparently
they don't know there is a tin-er:d in the
market that spaces the frames both ways. I
refer to the " J.H.H." end. Many amateurs
have neither the tools nor the time to make
everything about the body of a hive accurate ;
to such, an end that spaced the frames both
ways is an advantage. If I ttsed a metal end,
I think I would prefer one that spacid both
vrays for several reasons apart fiom accuracy. —
W. Hogg, Castle Douglas, January 22.

[We fancy our correspondent is in error
with regard to the "J.H.H.'' end. Is he
sure that it " spaces the frame both ways ? "
—Eds.]

HONEY AND EASPBERRIES.
[1736.] Bie-keepers ought to grow large,
luscious raspberries. It is a fruit that never
disappoints us ; other fruit may be a failure
in some seasons, but the raspberry is like the
poor — we have them always. Raspberries
su;h as a bee-keeper can produce find any
quantity of purchisers, and always command a
goodprioe (they are never a glut, Lke straw-
berries). If we cannot double our stocks of
hem every year we can double our plantation
of raspberry canes without cost, except p'aat-
ing from the old stools. Cottagers often look

Feb. 1, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL

47

to the raspberry to pay the rent of cottage
and garden, and make a jam for the family
costiog about l^d. per lb.

Mr. Dobbie says : " The raspberry is a
honey-producing shrub. Honey value, 60
per cent. ; pollen value, 10 per cent.''

Langstroth says : la flavour its honey is
superior to that from white clover, while its
delicate comb almost melt^ in the mouth.
When in bloom, bees hold even white clover
in light esteem. Its drooping blossoms pro-
tect the honey from moisture, and they work
npon it when the weather is so wet that Ihey
can obtain nothing from the upright blossoms
of the white clover.

Easpberry flavours any fruit mixed with it,
and is used for making raspberry vinegar,
which is used for bronchius, &c. Easpberry
jelly mixed with honey, eaten with bread, is
delicious, and appreciated by old and young.
For a cold or suffering from influenza, get a
lemon, peel it, then slice the lenioa into a
pint jug, half fill the jug with boiling water,
sweeten with honey, aud add a dessert-spoon-
ful of raspberrj"^ jcUy ; diiuk it hot at bedtime
and any time when thirsty. — T. Holliday.

FOREIGN BEE3.

[1737.] What has become of the foreign
bee craze which was so marked a few years
ago ? If any one will search your advertise-
ment columns, and also your correspondence,
he will see very few ref«:'rences of late to the
once-boasted claims of superiority urged for
Ligurian and Carniolan bees. Years ago I
tried the latter, and I found they increased
amazingly, but gave me no surplus honey, and
I therefore rooted them out of jny apiary
" neck and crop." One thing I cannot under-
stand is why Ligurians are useless in th's part
of Great Britain. Our country is wild and
mountainous, and these bees seem uoable
to hold their own, although iu some more
cultivated parts goo 1 results are reported from
pure-bred stocks. Several bee-keepers about
here have tried them, and almost all report
failures.

I think if bee-keepers would stick to our
own well-tried and acclimatised British bee
with an annual change of blood, by buying
queens or swarms, ihey would find their
results thoroughly satisfactory. — Edward J.
GiBBiNS, Neath.

LECTURERS' ERRORS.
[1738.] That lecturers do perpetrate such
errors as mentioned in my own and other
correspondents' letters is unhappily only too
true. Competent, practical lecturers are,
perhaps, not very easy to secure, and Bee-
keepers' Associations should make certain that
the lecturers they employ are not in the habit
of making any glaring mistakes, either
through slips of the tongue or any other cause.
That lecturers want looking after is evidenced

by the following extract, taken from the report
of a lecture given by a County Council
lecturer, and reported in a Midland paper on
January 25, 1894 : - " The lecturer then gave
his lecture. The worker cells average twenty-
( ight to the square inch, and the queen cells
eighteen to the square inch" (the italics are
mine). " The queen will lay from 2,000 to
3,000 eggs in twenty four hours. Foreign
bees, a? a rule, are not so profitable as our own
country bees, and gr.ther an inferior kind of
honey, too." Whether the County Council or
the B;e-keepers' Association organise these
lectures, it is to my mind the duty of the
latter to see that the in.;truction so given is
sound and orthodox. — Bee, Derby, January
27, 1894.

BEE3 IN NORFOLK.

REMOVING BEES FROM ROOF.

[1739.] Not seeing any report in the
British Bee Journal from this county, or,
at least, from this part of it, perhaps it would
interest the readers of that valuable paper to
know that bees are not extinct on the Sand-
ringham estate. Why more are not kept I
cannot understand. My apiary consists of
only four frame hives, two of which I bought
with a skep in the autumn of '92, making three
stocks iu all. Knowing scarcely anything
about bees, and not then taking your paper, I
did not trouble much about them beyond
standing them in their new home. In January,
'93, I commenced taking the Bek Journal,
and soDU found out that I ought to look and
see if the bees were all right. Fancy my sur-
prise, upon liftiog the roof of my first hive, to
find the wraps all mouldy and the bees dead !
The other hive (from which a few bees wore
flying, and which was already spotted all over
as if it hid measles of a large type), upon being
opened, also showed mouldy wraps, which L
removed and replaced with plenty of dry ones,
and fed with syrup. The bees from the skep
were flying well, so I did not interfere with
them.

I had now two s'ocks of bees, one of which I
fed now and then with syrup, and in this way
all went well till March, 1893. Hearing one
day that the agent (Mr. Beck) was troubled
with a last year's swarm of bees over one of
his bedroom windows, and that he wanted
someone to destroy or take them, I thought
it a good chance to fill up my spare hive, so
buying a strong pair of leather gloves, and
donning the bee-veil I had bought with the
bees, off I went, quite proud. To my surprise,
I found the quarters the bees had taken up to
be under the tiles of a window in the gable end
of roof facing Sandringham Church. A very
long ladder was procured, and after smoking
in at the entrance, I pulled off one or two of
the small flat red tiles, to find that the latter
were so close together that I could only just
insert my gloved hand, but by cutting away

48

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Feb. 1, 1894.

one of the laths I got out large pieces of
comb and tied them in four frames. I had
brought out a few bees on the pieces of comb,
the others were in a corner to which I could
only just reach, so taking the hat of the young
maa who helped me down with the hive, I put
the bees in with my band as a sort of shovel,
jind then turned them out in front of the hive.
I had three journeys witli the hat up that long
ladder. The hive was left on the lawn next
day, and I believe every bee left its old home
for the new one. I brought them home next
night, and fed them, and they have given me
40 lb. of honey last year, as has also the hive
I bought ; while from the sleep which I drove
in July (to get some run honey for show) into
a hive I made, putting in two or three frames
from my other hives I took 20 lb. My fourth
lot are driven bees from a skep belonging to
a cottager, who, as he had no swarm from
three stocks, decided to take one up. I am
quite satisfit-d with the return given for my
trouble, as I sold no honey under lOd. per lb.,
and a great deal at Is. My outlay was over
£3, but as I have a lot of goods on hand, it
is not fair to reckon it all for last year.
Besides my own, the village possesses about
twelve stocks of bees, all in skeps. I only
heard of three persons having swarms. One
owner of three sticks had four swarms, but
when the went tor honey, the bees of every
swarm were dead, and nothing left but empty
comb'. Another had three or four swarms
from two stocks, which did well, and the other
had one swarm from two stocks, which went
straight off. Within a quarter of a mile from
ine there has been about 60 or 70 acres of
clover pasture laid down during the last two
years, and in June last jear this land looked
like SQOW for a day or two, but our tropical
sun soon altered that. Q hen there are the
limes in the paik and grounds of Sandring
Hall, very little over half a mile away.

And, last of all, the heather on each side of
the road from Wolferton station to West
Newton — enough to find work for a hundred
hives, I should think ; but, then, that is a mile
off from me, although much nearer the other
end of the village. 1 have written much more
than I intended, but should you, Mr. Editor,
this too long or not worth printing. I shall not
mind ; whereas, if you think the other way,
I shall be glad 1 have not wasted this evening.
Thanking you again for the help I have
received from the British Bee Journal —
r. Green, King's Lynn, Norfolk.

^mm and |lrj3lie.^»

[94:3.] Excessive Swarming. — As a beginner
in bee-keepinsr, very anxious for information
on the following : — I began with one swarm of
bees in 1892, last season ijaey swi^rmfd five

times though a rack of sections had previously
been put on to give the bees more room. I
put the fecond swarm tack, keeping out the
queen ; however, they came off again next
day, so I let them have their own way. In
the autumn I joined the third and fourth
swarm3 with the virgin hive. Now I would
prefer fewer swarms and more honey, and
would like to know the best way for an amateur
to attain this end. If to destroy quean- calls
is any u?e, where should one look for them,
and should that be done before putting on
sections ? — M. M., Wigtoivnshire, January 22,
1894.

Eeply. — The bees mu tsitrelybe Carniolans,
or a strain given to excessive swarming. Last
season was so remarkable as a non-swarming
one, it is diflficidt to account for your exception
from the general rule. There is no sure way
of preventing swarming, and we can give no
better specific against it than ample ventilation
and plenty of room early in the season.

[944.] Transftrring from Skep to Frame
hive. — About two years ago I put a 7 in. deep
cheese box under a str.iw skep, making in all
19 in. from Hoor-board to roof. Now I want
to transfer the bees into a frame hive, and
propose standing bkep on frame hive over quilt.
Will you kindly tell me if I am doing right ?
I don't understand driving bees, and have no
time if I did, as I am away at work all day.
Will the bees and queen be likely to go down
on to full sheets of foundation 1 They have
been in skep for three years. Any information
on this J oint would greatly oblige, as we have
no experts in this part of the county to give
advice, so I have to be guided by your very
valuable paper for all instructions.— -G. Head,
Ore, Hastin(/s, January 24, 1894.

IkEPLY. — Cut a hole^ — say 4 in, in diameter
— in quilr, and set the skep on it as proposed
eaily in April, atd the bees will work down
into the frame hive all right. Be sure, how-
ever, to give full sheets of foundation below,
or it is very probable an excess of drone combs
would be built in the frames,

THE "W.B.C." HIVE.

So frequently have we been applied to
for instructions as to makinf; the above
hive, that the number of Ilecord in
which the particulars appeared some few
years ago is now so scarce that we are
unable to supply copies. We are there-
fore induced to reprint below a portion
of the article which originally appeared
in Record for March, 1890, with a few
additions and alterations since deemed
necessary : — ■

We do not propose to enter at length into
the why and wherefore of our views of what
we consider l^st in a bee-hive — nor are
w^ vain enough to suppose we shall convert

Feb. 1, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

4g

all to our way of thinking — except to say
there are few types of hives which have not
had a trial in our hands, and when it is seen
that we still adhere to an outer ca^e for our
hives, we do so from a conviction that for
each and every purpose, except, perhaps, one
of cost, it is the best. Even in the latt r
respect it stands well, because, while not the
very cheapest, it is a low-priced hive in every
sense. We want our body-bo.x:es and surplus
chambers to be light and handy, while forming
an ample protection to bees and combs from
extremes of heat in summer and cold in winter.
The hive itself should be always dry and free
from damp inside and out. We like a very
wide entrance in winter for purposes of ven-
tilation, but cannot approve of a wide entrance
to the ouisich (robber bees and biting east
winds in spring forming our objection of the
latter point). Finally, we think that a colony
of bees are maintained in better health when
a free current of air is allowed to play about
the hive, while the latter is thoroughly pro-
tected from the wet and cold of the outside.
And in proof of this assertion we state that,
while so much is said on all sides about
dysentery, Ave have never had a stock affected
by this disease in all our experience.

The "WBT. Bivr,

To secure the advantages named above,
along with other obvious ones, we must have
an outer case, hence our preference for it.
No packing whatever is used in winter be-
tween hive and ease for warmth, the partially
confined space being fouad sufficient for the
purpose, and constituting all the " double
walls'' needed. The whole hive, outer ca^e
and all, is constructed of as light wood as is
possible consistent with s'rength and the
necessary firmness and durability, so there is
nothing clumsy or heavy about it ; indeed,
many ordinary single hives are nearly double
its weight. Moreover, as alieady said, it h
a cheap hive, and not beyond making by any
fair amateur joiner. We only premise ihit
it le constructed of sound timber, owing
to the ligh*ne5s of the material used. Be°

ginning with the floorboard (Fig. 1), the
boards forming it are ^ in. thick, tongaed and
grooved where joined, and nailed on to stout
battens, 2^ in. deep by 1| in. wide. Between
the points at A on siietch it measures 20 in.,
and the width across at B is 18§ in. The
alighting-board projects 7 in. beyond the
point A. The form of the entrance, as seen

Fig. 1.— Floor-board.

in the sketch, explains itself ; it is 15^ in. long
by I in. high. On the face of the floor-board
five bell staples are diiven, and when the
body-box is set in the space indicated by the
dotted lines within the staples, it is in position
for the outer case to slip over it. The outer
case, including roof, is in three parts, the first
of which is as seen (Fig. 2). The front and

Fig. 2.— Outer Case.

• back boards are 18gin. long, 8g in. wide, and
fin. thick. Sides, 191-X 8|in.^ of iin. stuff.
Inside measuxv, when nailed up, 17|in. across
the front, 19^ in. from front to rear. A plinth,
1^ in. wide, drops Jin. below the surface of
floor-board to carry ofi" wet. Rebated ^ x ^ in.
The slides for entrance are ^ in. wood. 10 in.
long by 1 J in. wide, and pa--s through a ."lot
cut in the outer case along the guide-piece
nailed across the front, below porch. The
latter extends across the whole front, and is
4jin. wide, with a groove cut in its bottom
edge to carry off drip. The second portion of
the outer case is simply a "lift" 6| in. deep ;
wood same thicljness as lower part, and needs
no explanation beyond reference to Fig. 3.

Fig. 3.— Lift.

This lift may be removed after packing for
winter to redure the height of hive, but we
leave it on always ; it protects the hive when

50

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Feb. 1, 1894.

examined in the early season, and forms a
roomy covering for plenty of top packing, &c.
Formerly our roofs were 7 in. deep in the clear,
to cover a shallow chamber or a crate of sec-
lions, but we find it far handier to use a light,
thaUow roof and a lift. The roof is very
simple, formed with a view to lightness, and
being thoroughly rain-proof. The sketch (Fig. 4)
will "make the mam points in its con-
struction plain ; for the re?t, the front
and back pieces are -| in. thick, 19| in.
long, 3-^ in. deep at ends, rising to 5§ in. in
the centre or ridge ; sides are of f in. stuff,
20-J in. long, 3f in. deep. Along the lower
edge of side-pieces a rabbet is cut f in. x § in.
deep. This allows the roof to slip over the

lower portion of the outer case, and £0
dispense with a plinth while effectually keep-
ing out the wet. The top of roof is of §-in.
wood, each piece being 23| in. x 10| in., and
they meet in the centre, the ridge-piece (of
3 in. X |- in. stuff) being cut on the under side
to cover the joints as shown, so that no water
can possibly get in. Hand-holes in each part,
for lifting, complete the outer case, and we
need only add that each of the separate parts
fit easily over the other — no " tightness " any-
where so long as bees cannot enter from
outside.

The body-box (Fig. 5) is 14i in. x 15 in.,
inside measure ; holds ten standard frames
and two thin slips of wood, § in. in width and
17 in. long. The front and back boards are
f in. thick, 15| in. long by 8| in. wide, and

Fig. 5. — Body-box.

slip into grooves in the side-pieces, which
latter are ^ in. thick, 17^ in. long, and 9 in.
wide, grooved at 1 in. from each end, as
stated, and a piece is cut away at the outside
of each end to receive the strip of wood D
(16 in. X 1§ in. X i in. full thick), which
encloses the frame-ends as shown. Prior
to nailing on this strip, a piece of wood,
f in. X f in. and 15 in. long, is secured in
place, level with the top edge of front and
back boards, along which are nailed the zinc
angle-pieces, forming the " metal runners "
whereon the frames— fitted with _" W.B.C."
ends— work. A close-fitting division-board

may form part of the hive, but, when not in
actual use, it is kept in the vacant space in
rear, or taken away altogether till wanted.
The body-box is shown in sketch without
frames to assist in making its construction
clear, and we must point out the need for
perfect accuracy in measurement between the
points which enclose the ends of the frames,
at E. It should be just a sJiade over 17 in.,
so that the standard top-bar fits easy, with
very little " jilay." If this space is badly
measured — say -J in. too long — it upsets the
distance between side-bars of frames and the
sides of the hive, and causes much annoyance
in working.

{Conclusion next iveek.)

Notices to Correspondentsand Inquirers.

All queries forwarded mil he attended to, and those
only of pergonal interest will be answered in this column.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufac-
turers or cor respondents J or where appliances can he
purcJiased, or replies giving simh information, can only
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries, and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, a)id not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to hear in mind that, as it is
necessa)-y for us to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the is.nte
immediately following the receipt of their comnumica-
tion.

Leonard Smith (Beds). — Honey and Candy.
■ — 1. As stated, the honey is very handsome
in appearance, but it lacks the true honey
flavour. We may be able to report further
on it later. The candy has been over-
boiled ; it should not le anything like so
hard as sample when properly made, but
have a soft, buttery surface when scraped
with the finger-nail. We will think out
your plan of raising frames, and report
next week.

G. Mills (Newark). — Dead Bees cast out —
There is nothing in bees sent to indicate the
cause of death. No alarm, however, need
be felt at the occurrence. There would be
no actual " harm in giving candy " now ;
but if food is plentiful it would do no good,
acd consequently is unnecessary.

A Novice (Newton Abbot). Clipping Queens.
— The practice of clipping the wings of
queens is not supposed or intended to pre-
vent swarming, but to secure the swarm
from beicg lost, the queen's inability to
fly causing her to fall to the ground beneath
the hive entrance and to be secured by the
bee-keeper.

W. H. B. (Gosfoith). Bee-flmcers. — Among
the most useful bee-flowers may be named,
wallflower, borage, mignonette, white arabis,
Linnanthes Douglasi, corn-flower {Centv.rea
cyanus), phacalia, and sunflower.

Several Letters and Queries are in type and
ivill appear in oxir next.

Feb. 8, 1894.]

THE BEITISH BEE JOUliNAL.

51

(BditoriHl ^dm% ilx

BRISTOL BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.

The Bristol and District Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation held their annual dinner January 25,
1894, at the Crown and Dove, Bridewoll-
street, Mr. W. H. Butler presiding. There
were also present the Rev. J. Polehampton,
Messrs. A. C. Polehampton, W. Bryant, J.
Harford, Flook, Fenner, G. Wyatt, J. Brown,
E. A. S. Cotterell, and a large number of other
gentlemen. Letters of apology were received
from Mr. T. Da ke, Mr. J. A. Tilney, Mr.
J. A. Collins, Mr. T. Withey, and Mr. T.
James. Dinner over, the Chairman called
upon Mr. James Brown, the Secretary of the
Association, to read the fifth annual report,
which stated that although no striking
incident had occurred during the past season,
it might be said that steady progress marked
the work of the Association, whilst in some
directions fresh life had manifested itself,
notably in the Westbnry and Frome districts.
The total receipts within the last three years
doubled themselves, and were for the past
year ^70. 5s. 5d. The expenditure was
.£61. 15s. 2d., thus leaving a credit balance
in hand of £8. 10s. 3d. The annual
show of honey, &c., was held in connection
with the Knowle Horticultural Society's
show, and the competition was very keen
in all classes, honey being sent from almost
every county in England, and also from Ireland.
Lectures had been given at all the principal
horticultural shows, and the apiaries of the
members visited. The state of the apiaries
pointed to the necessity in very many cases of
a more careful study of elementary bee
management. But it might be observed that
abundant evidence was given of full success
attendant upon the practice of forethought,
cleanliness, and promptitude. A sale of mem-
bers' honey had been held with marked success.
The Chairman, referring to the report, said
they must all admit that it was a very satis-
factory one. He was glad to hear that the
Association had grown to such an extent, and
that their income had increased to £70. He
thought a great deal of the success was due to
their worthy Secretary. The reports of the
various district experts were then read, after
which the election of officers was proceeded
with. Lady Smyth was unanimously re-
elected President, and the following were
elected Vice-Presidents : — Mr. A. Baker, Mr.
W. H. Butler, Mr. C. E. Colston, M.P., Mr.
T. Dyke, Mr. H. M. Gibbs, Sir E. S. Hill,
M.P., Mr. E. H. Llewellyn, Mr. E. J. Swann,
Mr. E. J. Thatcher, Mr. C. Warner, M.P., and
Sir J. D. Weston, M.P. Mr. J. B. Butler was
re-elected Treasurer, and Mr. Brown and Mr.
E. A. S. Cotterell re-appointed Joint Secre-
taries.

LINCOLNSHIRE BEE - KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The Quarterly Committee meeting of the
above Association was held in the Council
Chamber of the Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society, Lincoln, on January 19, Gerard J.
Young, J.P., in the chair. Letters were read
by the Secretary from Lord St. Vincent and
Walter Martin, Escj., regretting their inability
to be present — both being detained at home
by illness. After the minutes of the previous
meeting had been passed, Dr. Percy Sharp, of
Brant Broughton, was appointed District
Secretary for Navenby, and Mr. Taylor and
Mr. Marshall Assistant Secretaries respec-
tively for Brigg and Lincoln. The Committee
then proceeded to consider the awarding of
medals and certificates of merit at the Lin-
colnshire Show, and it was decided to ©O'er a
silver medal for the best 121b. bottles of
extracted honey, and a silver medal for the
best 12 lb. sections ; these medals to be com-
peted for by members of the Association only.
After arranging for a supply of Records for
the diflerent districts requiring them, and
passing the annual report, which shows the
Association to be in a very flourishing con-
dition, the meeting terminated with the vote
of thanks to the Chairman.

TAUNTON AND DISTRICT BEE-
KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
A special meeting of the above was held at
5, Hammet-street, Col. Lowis in the chair.
Rev. S. F. Cumming, Messrs. J. Kidner,
Withycombe, J. Buckland, C. Tite, A. Wolfe
(Hon. Sec), and H. Maynard. The principal
matter for discussion was the wording of a
special label to be used only by members of
the Association as a guarantee to the public of
the purity of the honey. After some discussion
it was decided that all honey sold by members
under the Association's label should be gua-
ranteed by the jjroducer for three months after
sale. The guarantee will be given in the name
of the Taunton Bee-keepers' Association, and
any purchaser who finds tlie honey inferior is
requested to immediately communicate with
the Hon. Secretary, whose name and address
will be printed on every label. A set of rules
for the guidance of members who make use of
the labels was also drawn up. The objects of
thus adopting a distinctive label will be appa-
rent to all who consider that over £62,000
worth of foreign honey was imported from
abroad last year ; every ounce of this honey
might have been easily produced by the bee-
keepers of England, and it is considered that if
some method is introduced by which the
consumers can ascertain for themselves that
the article is of home production, English
honey wi'l receive a first consideration
at the hands of purchasers. The Hon. Secre-
tary reported that the Rev. S. F. Cumming
and Mr. E. Chapman had consented to act as

52

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Feb. 8, 1894.

local hon. secretaries for the Somerton and
Taunton districts respectively. It was also
resolved that in every district or parish where
a local hon. secretary has been appointed, he
shall be at liberty to nominate a member as
manipulator for the district. The work of the
officer shall be to visit the houses of all mem-
bers in his parish or district who may care to
avail themselves of his services at least three
times during the season at more or less regular
intervals. These visits may be charged against
the member to whom the apiary belongs, but
such charge may not exceed 23. 6d. ; cot-
tagers, Is. As one of J the princijjal aims of
the bee-keepers' associations throughout the
country is to encourage cottagers and small
holders to keep bees on the most profitable
principles, the idea of appointing an official
manipulator is that these members may learn
how to manage their bees by actually assisting
a skilled bee-keeper when operating, and for
this reason- all cottage members may claim free
visits for the first season. The proceedings
terminated with a vote of thanks to the
Chairman.

WEATHER REPORT.

Westbourne, Sussex, Jan., 1894,

Rainfall, 5'371n.
Heaviest fall, -92 in. on 22nd
Rain fell on 22 days
Above average, 3-19 in.
Maximum Temperature,

60° on lltli
Minimum Temperature,

12° on 5th
Minimum on Grass, 10° on

5th
Frosty Nights, 14

Sunshine, 80-30 hours
Brightest day, -26th, 6-85
Sunless days, 9
Above average, S-4
Mean Maximum, 40-7°
Mean Minimum, SO'IG"
Mean Temperature, 35 -43"'
Maximum Barometer,

30-51° on 3rd
Minimum Barometer,

29-28° on 31st

h. B. BiRKETT.

THE NORTHUMBERLAND AND DUR-
HAM BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The Committee of this Association regret
that, owing to pressure of busine?s, Mr. G.
Wells could not fulfil his engagement to
deliver addresses in Northumberland and
Durham last December. Reports from local
correspondents showed that his visit was
awaited with extraordinary interest, and they
therefore renewed their negotiations with him,
and now have pleasure in announcing that,
having made special arrangements, he will
address meetings as follows : —

February 12, 1894, Newcastle, in the
Mining Institute, Neville-street, at 7.30 p.m.

February 13, Consett Assembly Rooms, at
6.45 p.m.

February 14, Whittingham schoolroom, at
7.30 p.m.

February 15, *Cambo.

February 16, *Bedlington (Sta+ion).

February 17, *Riding Mill.
* These meetings are under the auspices of
the Northumberland County Council.
J. N. Ktdd, Hon. Sec. N. and D.B.K.A.

apcrKspndsiia.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice ivill he
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should he drawn on sepiarate ineces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shoivs, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for jRevieiv, d:c., must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business comnuini-
cations relating to Advertisements, itc, must be addressed
to "The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." {see 1st
page of Advertisements).

',* In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
ivill oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as ivell
as the page on ivhich it appears.

HIVES FOR "WELLS" SYSTEM.

[1740.] I beg to offer a few remarks re-
garding the hive referred to on page 196 of
Bee Journal for May 18 of last year. The
bees put into the hive were two stocks on
thick and crookedly-built combs, which could
not be placed close to dummy, and, conse-
quently, in a few weeks I had to cut oft' each
side of the dummy large slabs of comb ; but
since that, so far as I can see, the dummy is
not built on or propolised. I find that, owing
to the length of the hive (4 ft.), the wood
is inclined to warp seriously ; but this, of
course, coidd be avoided by nailing strips of
wood acros3. The hive is too long and heavy ;
moving it without assistance being out of the
question. The plan of having the roof in
three parts answers well. I shall not make
another, at least not yet, although this has
suited my purpose admirably this last season.
In the super the bees hatched brood out of
several very awkward frames and also brood
out of three skeps. I made an exit direct
from super so that the drones could get clear,
and had no trouble with it ; but I noticed a
good deal of pollen taken in that way. Besides
hatching all this brood, they worked out
several standard frames of foundation, and
stored honey in them. On March 31 I put
them in ; nine frames in all. By July they
covered thirty-eight standard frames, and one
skep. I cannot speak comparatively respect-
ing the quantity of honey they gathered ; 1893
was my first year, and all my stocks were
being worked from skeps and crooked frames
of comb on to good wired foundation. The
end entrances I eventually closed, but only
to open them again in the autumn. I drove
the bees from each end towards the middle,
clearing twelve combs. Then into each end I
turned driven bees with young queens, first
inserting dummies to keep them from the
original occupants.

Now I have four queens in the hive, and
when the spring is well advanced I intend
taking out the two queens in the middle (the
old ones) and letting the young ones have the
run of the hive,- F. F., Clcvpham, Feb. 1.

Feb. 8, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

63

HOW I GOT ON WITH MY DOUBLE-
QUEEN HIVE.

[1741.] About a year ago I described in
your pages how I had made up a double-
queened stock of bees, I will not say on the
" Wells system," or some of your readers will
be down on my presumption as a novice.
However, as I promised to report on the
result, I may say the bees came out in spring
much stronger than my single-queen stocks.
and when the "gathering season" arrived,
the first-named was the only one ready to take
full advantage of it. Though the inflow
lasted only a short time, I extracted 55 lb. of
beautiful honey from it, It was afterwards
taken to the moors, along with my other hives,
and when brought back, the double-c^ueen lot
gave me 65 lb. of heather surplus, with fully
40 lb. of the same left with the bees for winter
stores. The best of my single-queen hives only
gave me 30 ib. from all sources, and the others
less. You will, therefore, not wonder that I
have now made up two other double-queen
stocks in like manner for the coming season.

I have not gone to the expense of providing
double hives, but simply work my ordinary
single ones by giving a perforated dummy in
centre and placing a queen and bees on each
side. I give an entrance front and back with
the frames of course placed parallel to same.
Like Mr. Wells, I give a set of shallow frames
(parted with dummy) over each brood nest,
to which the queens have access for breeding.
When supering time arrives, I cover carefully
with excluder zinc and supply the shallow-
frame surplus-chambers with clean combs or
sheets of foundation.

I have carefully noticed that the worker
bees do not, as a rule, enter the hive at the
opposite end to the queen whose progeny they
are, though when in the supers tcey work in
common. The fact of one of your corre-
spondents thinking otherwise made me observe
very closely, and I am positive in my con-
clusions.

When packing for winter I do not disturb
the standard frames in lower body, but in the
shallow-frame brood- chamber I arrange frames
of sealed honey over each cluster of bees ex-
tending into the lower brood-chamber, and
cover up warmly with abundance of porous
coverings. I am careful to allow no draught
in winter, giving only a 1 in. entrance. All
my other stocks are managed much in the
same way. — Wm. Barker, Hutton Eudhy.

EAELY AUTUMN FEEDING.

[1742.] Referring to Mr. Woodley's request
for information of the results of early or late
feeding in the autumn, I am glad to be able to
entirely confirm his views. In my apiary, by
far the best results are given by stocks which
have received the whole of their \rinter
rations by the end of August. Some years

my bees gather about 10 lb. per hive of
heather honey in August, and I therefore wait
to see whether they gather enough from this
source to amply provide for the winter. Were
it not for this occasional late honey flow I
should feed at the beginning of August
instead of at the end. 1 have float feeders of
tin, which hold say 3 lb. each, and if the syrup
is given blood warm a good stock will clear
the feeder in a night, and I can thus finish a
stock off completely in less than a week, even
if they have no natural stores. I am more
and more of the opinion, however, that bees
winter best on natural stores, and, carrying
out this theory, I only used about 1 cwt. of
sugar last autumn for 100 stocks. — Edward J.
GiBBiNS, Neath, January 25.

HIVE ROOFS.

[1743.] The following may be useful to your
readers concerning waterproof roofs : — I have
three roofs at three diff"erent angles. No. 1,
a " Cowan,'' rising 2* in. in 9 in. No. 2, a
gable, rising 3\^ in. in 9 in. No. 3, a gable,
rising 4^ in. in 9 in.

No. 1, covered with unbleached calico,
painted. Some water got through during
snow. No. 2, covered with unbleached calico,
painted. Very damp. No. 3, covered with
old buckram (used many times as a parcel
cover), painted, paint showing cracks. Perfectly
dry.

So the dryest is the one with the greatest
rise, the wettest the one with the least rise.

If I used zinc I should have a flat or nearly
flat roof, the zinc edge doubled back flat to
make it smooth, and this edge projecting
downwards to throw off the water.

The buckram is the stiffened canvas used
by dressmakers. — Ned Swain, Canterhury,
January 29.

ZINC ROOFS NOT THE BEST.— A
SUBSTITUTE.

[1744.] I have tried zinc roofs, and soon
got tired of them. Perhaps some of the
readers of B. B. J. may like to know what I
have found a perfect substitute for metal. I
give my wood roofs a thick coat of white
paint, and while this is wet cover with calico,
which I nail under the edges, and at once put
another coat of the paint on this, leave about
a week to dry, and give a final painting. A
roof thus treated is perfectly weather-proof,
light, and does not cut the hands.— J. W.
Wilson, Boston, February 2.

MAKING HIVE-ROOFS WATERPROOF.
[1745.] I am making some light-weight
hives, as I anticipate moving my bees more or
less this coming season, and I want the roofs
nearly flat so as to be more conveniently
packed. I intend using wood barely j-in.

54

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Feb. 8, 1894.

thick, covering it with whole sheets of oil-
paper (the oil-paper used in tissue copying-
books, you know), and over that canvas,
painted. A printer informs me oil-sheets can
be got two feet square. I shall put a strip of
wood across the boards — on the inside — to
keep tliera from curling under the summer
heat. I think it ought to answer, and will let
you know result.

I bought a " Cowan " hive with roof covered
with painted canvas, and it leaked the first
winter. Railway carriage roofs leaked after
the drought last summer. — F. F., Clapham,
Febriiarij 1.

COVERING FOR HIVE-ROOFS.

[1746.] If your correspondent, "F.McC."
(1733, p. 46), had lined the roof of his bee-
house with wood there would have been no
drip. I have hives covered with zinc that
have been in use for years, and they always
keep dry. Mine are lapped over the edges
and soldered at the corners, no nails being
used. "Bee" (1738, p. 47) should not be
too hard on "Lecturers' Errors.'' Perhaps the
" errors " referred to were those of the editor
of the local paper from which the cutting was
taken. I know myself that want of bee-
knowledge on the part of newspaper men often
makes a sad hash of their reports. — J. B. T.,
Stam,ford, February 2.

VICIOUS BEES.

AN AWKWARD DROP.

[1747.] The discussion on the subject of
keeping vicious bees reminds me of several
incidents in my bee-keejjing career, which I
will relate : —

A few years ago I discovered a swarm of
bees in a hollow tree. After getting permis-
sion to remove them '• if I could,'' I proceeded,
with the help of a companion (who knew
nothing about bees), to do so. All went well
until we had secured nearly a bucketful of comb
and honey, when the bees began to get vicious,
as well they might, jyiy companion, who was
sitting on a branch above me, holding the
bucket while I handed up the combs, received
a sting on the hand. In trying to kill the
offending bee he lost his balance, and down he
came, bucket and all, knocking me off my
perch, and both of us " landed," along with
our spoils, in the ditch below, which contained
nearly a foot deep of black mud ! — ^W. A.
WiTHYCOMBE, Bridgwater.

[Our correspondent relates several other
"incidents," all of which — though resulting in
more or less serious trouble through mis-
management on the part of bee-keepers —
would, we think, serve no good j)urpose in
relating. So long as it is a known fact that
bees can be kept without inflicting damage or

mischief by the exercise of ordinary care, it
would only serve to create unnecessary alarm
to give prominence to all the accidents and
mishaps readers can recall during a lifetime. —
Eds.]

AN OLD BEE-KEEPER'S FIRST YEAR
WITH FRAME HIVES.

[1748.] From reading B.B.J. I see there is a
good deal to be learned even by an old bee-
keeper like myself with my thirty-seven years'
experience in the straw skep line. I have
often had as many as seventeen skeps at one
time, and yet, until 1893, I had never even
tried a frame-hive. Last year I began with
bar-frames and worked four frame-hives and
one skep. I put a glass super on the latter,
and in it the bees put 23 lb. of honey. Then
with my frame-hives I put on a rack of sec-
tion?, 1st, and took them off on the last of
May, selling them for lis. My whole harvest
from frame - hives and skep making me
£3. lis. 4d.

I had one bad job in taking off the glass,
and it caused the death of many of my bees.
I wish you could tell me of some plan of
getting off glasses safely and ridding them of
the bees ? And you might also say which is
the better for bees at this season, syrup or candy ;
and how to make the latter. — Taos. Harris,
Co7nhe, nr. Woodstock.

[Bell-glasses should always have a thin
board or " adapter " (large enough for the
glass to stand on), and this board is removed
along with the glass. By setting a super-
clearer below the glass before removal, the
bees are got out Avithout furthsr trouble.
Soft candy is the proper food at this season.
For making, refer to Bee Journal for Novem-
ber 26, 1891.— Eds.]

"CARPIN' CREETICS."

[1749.] I'm awfu' muckle obleeged to ye
for the picter and explanation of the
"W. B. C." hive. I've juist been wantin'
that informashun for a lang time. 'Od, but
ye're guid at it when ye stert ! It's a peety sae
muckle space is ta'en up wae tliae havers
aboot lecterers' errors and sic' like in the
Journal ; if the cuifs that want tae daet
wad only write what wad be helpfu to a buddy
like me, some guid wad be dune ; but, as far
as I am concerned, muckle that they write is
doon richt balderdash, no ornamental to the
writer, nor yusefu to the unfortinats reader,
an' I hope they winna be lang till they get the
Yeditors' " snub " some o' them. A guid auld
beuk talks aboot the " mote and the beam,"
and faigs ! if they wad tak the preenciple o'
that tae hert, we'ed hear nae mair aboot errors.
Noo, Misters Yeditors, dinna loss patience wi'
me. I'm unco' anxious tae hae a " Wells "
hive, and I juist want to speer ye if ye wad
be sae guid as tae yoke tae and gees as gu'd

Feb. 8, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

55

discreeption and picter o' it as ye've dune o'
the "W.B.O." 'Od, but I wad be gled if
ye'el da'et ! I'm juist fidgen tae hae yin, and
I'm ower puir to buy it, sae aiblens next week
ye could set yere pow thinkin', and gees a'
the perteeclers o't afloof, and I'll promise no'
to bodder ye aoain— weel, no' till the next
time.

Thenkin' ye in anteec'patioD, — Cheadle

HULME.

MISCELL.\NEOUS.

\

[1750.] Honey Imports. — I was more than
pleased when reading your Editorial on the
above to find that the value of imported honey
for the year ending December, 1893, was so
much less than that of the previous year. Thii
is, indeed, welcome news ; and if the sum
would only decrease for the next few years in
the same proportion, what cause for rejoicing
there would be, especially if the sales of the
home produce increased in the same ratio.

Government Help for Bee-lceepers.— Ireland
is, indeed, fortunate in securing such sub-
stantial assistance. I know several school-
masters in England who would be only too
glad if the Educational Department would
allow them to take bee-keeping as a class or
specific subject ; for, being bee-keepers them-
selves, they would take a special delight in
imparting their knowledge to their scholars,
and no little benefit would thus accrue.

Foreign Honey. — Mv. J. Morgan (1720,
p. 35) says " Much ado about nothing." I do
not agree with him. How could the adver-
tisers bring their consignment of Sandwich
honey before the notice of wholesale buyers if
they did not advertise it in the British Bee
Journal or the Record ? I know of no
other journal that would answer their purpose
nearly so well. If it were not advertised
doubtless it would not have been sold, and so
there would have been less foreign honey to be
retailed out. Mr. J. Morgan also tells us
that if our home product be clean and pure
we can gaze upon a foreign advertisement
without disturbance to our peace. I beg to
differ. My honey is clean, and its purity I
can guarantee ; but still foreign honey has
prevented my obtaining customers more than
once. Only last week, when soliciting order.^,
I was told that my price — Is. per lb. retail —
was too hiuh, for they could get honey at
Bromsgrove, put up by Crosse & BlackwelJ,
in nice terra-cotta jars, at7d. per lb. jar. And
this was not the first time this honey at
Bromsgrove had hindered my sales ; so even
Mr. Morgan must admit that foreign honey is
not altogether an imaginary evil.

Bee tilings. — I can sympathise with " Salix "
(1721, p. 36) anent the above, for I myself
have sufi"ered likewise. In 1892 I was on two
several occasions whilst manipulating stung on
the wrist, and in each instance within a few
minutes experienced a numbing sensation, my
hand', a'-ms, and face began rapidly to swell,

lips assumed a blueish colour, eyes a peculiar
appearance, and my trachea seemed to con-
tract, for 1 had a difficulty in breathing. I
was also in a profuse perspiration with accom-
panying chills and felt inclined " to do "
faint, but managed to withstand such an
effeminate weakness. I then vomited, and
soon a very irritant rash broke out from head
to foot, producing a sensation none too pleas-
ing nor agreeable. After a few draughts of
" Nature's beverage '' I felt better, and within
three hours from the time I was stung I felt
almost my usual self again. I might add that
twice before I had one of my eyes completely
closed for nearly two days from the effects of a
bee "kicking'' me upon the cheek, nothwith-
standing I was wearing a veil at the time she
asserted her authority. There was, I found, a
small hole in the veil which had escaped my
notice when " donning " it. Happy to say
that, although I got several stings during last
season, no unpleasant result? followed with
the exception of a very slight swelling. Per-
haps I am getting sting-proof. I hope so.

Weather for 1894. ^What a glorious time
for bees and bee-keepers this year will be
should the meteorological prognostications
prove correct. There was I remember a
weather forecast in an early number of the
British Bke Journal last year, and, as near
as I can remembei', a true one on the whole. —
Percy Leigh, Beeinount, Bromagrove.

AN "OLD SCHOOL" BEE-MAN.
[1751.] Far away, far from the noise -and
commotion of the city, Avhich may be music to
the town-bred man, but which is hateful to
those who have passed the earlier portion of
their lives in the country, is a steep hill,
marked " dangerous to cyclists," especially
those who would carry bees on their " bikes."
It is no ordinary hill, it is on the old Roman
road, therefore straight through the country
as a liiie ; present-day surveyors would have
made no road that way, they would have
wound round the valley, losing a mile at
least by so doing. The village children climb
it slowly every morning going to school, it is
nothing to them. They gather the whinberries
which fringe the banks, and the rasjjberries
high — for them — in the hedges. Returning
always happier than when going, they run
merrily down. They have a mimic battle with
the cones which have fallen from the pines,
they stay awhile to pluck the buttercups and
see the reflection on their dimpled chins.
Over a stile then, and through a meadow
where grow the finest pink-tipped daisies —
very good for daisy- chains — dipping down
till they are lost for a little while, they come
to the brook — the brook whose winding course
I have followed so often. I wish you could
see it as plainly as I can ! The immense beds
of " ragged robin" and purple orchis, blue
seams of " forget-me-not " among the rashes
— handsful of flowers ! Green carpets of

56

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[Feb. 8, 1894.

' sphagnum," mind where you tread ! Water
v'iolet, ladies' mantle leaves, and lotus flowers.
Masses of gorse and bramble on the hillside
intertangled, so that when the blackberries are
ripe the children for miles round come here.
Wild roses so thick and repellent in their
thorns that you cannot reach the honeysuckle
— not so much as you want, for you want it
all ! Under these briars, brambles, and gorse
the earth is honeycombed by rabbits ; higher
up still the sward is finer than the best-kept
lawn ; we have left buttercups and daisies far
behind, but there are flowers still, wild thyme
and pale veronica. Blue butterflies, bluer, I
think, than the forget- me-nots in the brook,
and tawny " heaths " flit to and fro — they love
this spot. So do the hive bees, they will not
miss one clover head, neither the wild thyme.
In the evening;, close to the sward, the sand-
martins fly ; far below there is a quarry where
the stone is prepared for mending the lanes.
A hundred feet high — just under the crust of
peat and whinberry wires which overhang —
are their nests and pink-white eggs— sour
grapes to the village boys. What a leap for
the young martins just beginning to feel their
wings !

As the martins sweep round the hill, they,
too, dip behind a wave of the hill, as it were,
and here bursting up among brooklime and
watercresses, cleaving a way through them for
how many thousand years, is the spring.

Very few come so far as the spring. It is
closed in by hills, open only to the dome of
the sky. The silence, always unbroken, save
for a passing cuckoo, the whirr of a "night jar "
on the neighbouring hill, or the monotonous
drone of a threshing machine, panting down
in the valley. Like a child eager to grow up
to manhood, the brook — all dimples at first,
and sparkle — rushes impetuously into the
valley, into the meadow where I left the
children passing over. The country children
always linger by the brook, they like to find
the white pebbles which look so beautiful
under the watei". " They love to see the
fishes dart away and hide in the green flags ;
they fling daisies and buttercups into the
stream to float and catch awhile at the flags,
and float again, and pass away, like the friends
of our boyhood, out of sight." " The life, as
it were, of the meadows seemed to crowd down
toward the brook in summer, to reach out and
stretch toward the life-giving water. There
the buttercups were taller and closer together,
nails of gold driven so thickly that the true
surface was not visible. Countless rootlets
drew up the richness of the earth, like miners
in the darkness, throwing their petals of
yellow ore broadcast above^them. With their
fulness of leaves, the hawthorn bushes grow
larger, the trees extend farther, and thus,
overhung with leaf and branch, and closely set
about by grass and plant, the brook disap-
peared only a little way off, and could not
have been known from a mound and hedge.
It was lost in the plain of meads — the flowers

alone saw its sparkle." Close to the load,
nearly at the top of the hill, is the village
church, overgrown with ivy and grey lichen.
Opposite are the schools, to which the children
come. In the churchyard, not far from the chil-
dren's graves, is a long mound, now overgrown
with grass and ling and wild thyme. It
marks the spot where lies my old friend, who
for eighty years toiled up the hill ; who as a
child gathered the whinberries ; who loved the
brook, and cast flowers in it to float awa3\
It is of him I write— not of his childhood,
nor of his vigorous manhood — but the last
years of his life. He lived in a little cot,
built of brick and tiled— a somewhat rambling
place, full of outhouses and sheds. Pigs in
unsuspected corners, fowls everywhere ; pigeons
on the gable, ducks on the pool in the lane,
wagons and carts — for he was a wheelwright
in his latter years — standing about lined with
fowl. A large oak, whose trunk seemed
gigantic from the amount of timber seasoning
against it, stood athwart the doorway. He
Avas proud of his timber, the beautiful curves
in it. His sons laboured in the neighbouring
woods, felling trees — as he himself had once —
and were able to select the best for him.
Before the cot, on one side the door, was a
monthly rose, which almost hid the geraniums
and fuschias in the window. On the other
side was an ancient cotoneaster, and at its foot
a daphne bush, fragrant in spring. The
garden was a long, narrow one, parallel with
the road. From the road it was easy to look
over the hedge, then glance over the rasp-
berries, and rest your eyes upon twenty-eight
round, chubby, hackled skeps ! all facing in
one long line, backed by a hawthorn hedge.
This, then, was the old man's special hobby.
When I inquired for him, his good wife would
say, " You will find him up the garden, sir.
My husband he do love his bee'*." There I
would find him, sitting on the raised bank
against the hawthorn hedge, the long line of
hives to right and left, each with their breath,
as it were, of labouring bees. Hidden from
the road, amongst raspberry-canes, are two
more hives close beside him, and broad patches
— self-sown — of his favourite flower, the colum-
bine. Legions of bees swept over the haw-
thorn hedge to their favourite flowers. Those
outward bound, having no cargo, were light
and buoyant ; those returning swung heavily
in, laden with merchandise of honey and pollen,
to their waxen city. Noisy drones came out
and stood a long while rubbing their eyes
before venturing forth. How seldom are they
seen in the fields — whither do they go ?

Often the working bees — unable to reach
home so heavy their burden — dropped on the
raspberry leaves, on the columbine, sometimes
upon the old man's jacket and his rugged face.
Stooping, he would gently coax them upon his
forefinger and land them on the threshold,
whey they would stay and fan their wings for
very joy. With what joy the pigeons fiung
themselves from the gable, clapping their

Feb. 8, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL

57

strong wings, white and beautiful, against the
clear azure. As they passed, the cocks
screamed a note of defiance. As they passed
the bees chased them till they were lost to
view like the larks above. In mere sport they
would also chase the martins and swallows,
whose nests were under the overhanging
gable, and on the old beams in the adjacent
barn. To and fro the starlings went, straight
as a line ; their nest was a yard under the
coping ; they could scarcely keep pace with the
pressing demands of their young. I wonder
whether the mother felt any thrill of joy when
the blue eggs were being broken by a tiny bill
beneath her ? To and fro the whole day,
down into the forest of moving grass by the
brook, wading among how many thousand,
thousand flowers.

The old man watching the bees, knew partly
by the colour of the pollen where his little
favourites had been. In the spring, when
he saw large pellets of the richest gold in their
baskets, his mind reverted to the low water
meadows, where the brook spread itself abroad
and made a marsh, and here the marsh-
marigolds flowered — an acre of them, an acre
of gold — to be succeeded by ladies'-smock,
which the orange-tipped butterflies love.
Later on, some of the bees came in like wasps,
so smothered in pollen. A picture of a wild
lane leading to a wood, grass overgrown, great
thickets of briar and bramble on either side,
and tall broom fringing it heavy with blossom,
passes like the swallow above ; we see — so
quick is sight — every line and curve and
colour of it, perfect at a glance. We see — so
quick is thought — every aspect of the lane, the
briars, the bracken, sallow with clouds of
fluffy seeds softer than down, the deep ditch
along which slender red and blue dragonflies
wander, and the tall broom, which for beauty of
blossom has no rival. As the bee enters, the
stamens released, spring, and throw over her a
shower of gold dust. With what joy she
returns to the hive, taking it to her Qaeen !

The old man well knew the reddish-brown
pollen of the mignonette, culled from cottage
gardens. Did the sight of it also bring the
scent too, or was it imagination ? The per-
fumed air which came in great waves from the
wings of a thousand fanning bees in the warm
evenings ; the resonance from the vibrations
of their wings, so swiftly fanning to be hardly
visible, causing a deep, far-reaching under-
tone— these were not imagination. The per-
fume was the ethereal essence, borne in upon
their wings, from how many thousand thou-
sand clover tubes ? From how many wild
thyme flowers ? If the sound-wave which
travelled so far as the cottage door could have
been transferred to some elliptic pendulum,
what beautiful curves it would have traced.
Except at special seasons, the flowers from
wheuce came the rich odour could not have
been named — it was a blending of them all,
trefoil and oi-chis, melilot and avens, bugle,
sweet woodruff white clouds of may, mists of

anemones, unclouded skies of blue-bells,
crimson sunsets of heather. When the clover
was at its best, when the crake-crake of the
landrail, incessant, and the sharpening of the
scythe, intermittent, told the time of the year,
then you knew the scent came from the white
clover ; a little later it was from charlock or
wild mustard. In May from broad fields of
beans. If warm, when gooseberries were in
bloom, it was very strong, as it was, too, when
the limes hung their countless flowers. Thus,
with bright pictures of scenes remembered
and loved, with scent of flowers well known
and dear these sixty years, was it any wonder
the old man often sat hour by hour watching
his bees ? Many of his ideas about them were
wrong. He had never seen a book on the
subject, and could not have read it if he had.
Of flowers, such as grew within a radius of
ten miles, he knew the common country
names ; those that had no names — and they
were many— still he knew, but could not define
them. Of genera and species, so interesting
to us, he knew nothing. For more than sixty
years, year by year, he had seen and known
them, worked amongst them in the woods,
swept them down with the scythe and the sickle.
Is such knowledge to be lightly esteemed 1
[To he continued.)

ANTS AND ALCOHOL.

We have it on Sir J. Lubbock's authority
that he once fed some ants on food saturated
with alcohol. Like human beings they became
tipsy. Then the other ants, presumably dis-
gusted with the condition of the topers, picked
them up and dropped them into the nearest
water.

(f chue.^ from \\\t §iwf3.

Beemount, February 3.— It has been quite
warm to-day, and quite a number of bees
were flying at noon. So far this winter they
have been seldom confined to their hives ;
last month scarcely a day passed without bees
sporting about. This open weather must, of
course, be of great service as enabling them
to take wholesome cleansing flights ; no fear
of blocked entrances. I gave a hasty glance
at my stocks to-day to see if any of the quilts
had got damp and required changing. Before
last autumn, when packing up for winter, I
had always used an impervious quilt imme-
diately over the frames, but last year I deter-
mined to try one hive with a pervious cover-
ing, having heard its praises sung so often.
Sorry to say I found this stock far from dry,
notwithstanding its contracted entrance, as
recommended when pervious quilts are used.
The other stocks were much drier. Doubtless
much more food will be consumed in the
hives than if the winter had been severe. —
Percy Leigh, Bromsgrove.

68

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Feb. 8, 1894.

[945.] Transferring Bees to Frame-Hives.
■ — Will you kindly give me your advice on the
following : — In August last I bought a couple
of swanns of bees which had swarmed in May
and June respectively. One had been " hived "
in an inverted wooden bucket, and the other
into an inverted box. Being a novice, I
thought it safer to wintpr them where they
were establis-hed. I put the bucket on the top
of the frames of a frame-hive, and placed a
super-frame round, and packed between super-
frame and bucket with quilts, &c., placing
roof over all. The box I put above the frames
of another hive, and packed round the same.
I see through windows at back of hive each lot
of bees have half-filled the frames under bucket
and box, but neither of the lots have wintered
in the frames. 1. When would be the best
time to transfer them to the frames ? 2.
Should I have to transfer any broad comb ?
— Ante Bellum, Bognor, February 1.

Reply. — 1. It is more than probable that
the bees have wintered in the upper part, and
that in each case breeding is now going on
there. We advise removing the bucket and
box to make quite sure that this supposition
is correct ; and while these are off examine
the combs of the frame-hive, giving full sheets
of comb foundation in such frames as are still
uncombed, and making out su^h as are only
half filled with half sheets. Then replace the
bucket and box as before, and allow the bees
to work down into the frame hive as room is
required, and as originally intended. 2. It
will be far better to let the bees transfer them-
selves and their brcod-nest below than do any
cutting out of brood combs from the upper
chambers.

[946.] Painting Stocked Hires. — Being
quite a novice with bees, and having no one
to go to who knows any better than myself, I
should be extremely obliged if you would
answer me in your valuable paper the enclosed
questions. There are several bee-keepers in
our village, but all of them have until last
summer sulphured their bees. I have per-
suaded two or three of them to work on the
humane system, and hope to have the others
do likewise. 1. I had a "Wells' bive last
season, one side lost its queen, so I took out
six frames (leaving in fourteen) and the per-
forated division board, thus throwing the bees
all together. No honey had been extracted,
would there be sufficient to keep them ? 2.
I kept the six frames with the honey in ; when
and how should I feed it back ? 3. Do hives
require painting every year ? and can it be
done with the bees in ?— A Beginner, York-
shire.

Eeply. — 1. All depends on the amount of
honey in the frames left behind. If as many
as six of the fourteen frames left are fairlv
well filled, there will be ample food for the

bees. 2. If food is needed it will be only
necessary to replace a frame in the hive close
to the bees. 3. Every second year is usually
sufficient. By painting the fronts after the
bees have given up flying for the day, and
using plenty of " drier;!," there is no difficulty
in painting hives with bees in them.

[947.] Sections and Section-racks. — I have
twelve stocks of bees of mine own, and I am
piloting three young countrymen, and assist-
ing two older ones with theirs ; in all eighteen
stocks of bees. I am anxious to know which
kind of section is the best to adopt. At pre-
sent we have few supering appliances. There
are two bee way and four bee way sections by
vai'ious makers, section racks with bee-spaces
all round and without, &c. My friends
are struggling countrymen, and I am not too
rich ; we do not mind so much what we spend,
only we do not want to buy or make the wrong
article. Will you help us in deciding ? — F. F.

Reply. — For general luarketing purposes no
sections are so saleable as the best kind of
American-made ones, and most dealers keep
these. As for section racks — or crates as you
term them — opinions vary much as to which is
the best, and we could do more than name our
own preference, which is for one in which the
sections hang in frames. You would, however,
do well to call on one of our London dealers — •
as you are located close to town — and see the
various makes before deciding.

[948.] Transferring Bees from Skep to
Frame Hive. — I notice that several of your
correspondents ask for advice regarding trans •
ferring bees from straw skeps to bar-frame
hives. But I have not observed that you have
suggested in reply a means of effecting the
removal which I saw recommended in another
paper. The plan was to place the skep upon
the frames of comb in a wooden hive, and it
was said the bees would run dov^n and take to
the combs, and the skeps might eventually be
removed. Would you be good enough to tell
me if this is a feasible plan for a strong stock ;
and, if so, when approximately the operation
should be performed? I want, if possible, to
get honey from them this season, and it occurs
to me that by the above method, if it is
effectual, the exchange of hives nrdght be made
at an earlier date without risk than by driving
in the usual way. — Enquirer, Derby.

Reply. — We must assume that our corre-
spondent has but recently become a reader of
the Bee Journal, otherwise he would know
that the method of transferring referred to
owes its adoption probably more to its advo-
c ;cy in our columns than to any other cause. A
perusal of last year's index will show this, and
from the number for March 16 last we quote
the first reference which appears therein as
follows : — " The safest and best way for an
amateur is to lit the frames of the modern
hive with full sheets of foundation, and make
an ' adapter ' — i.e., a cover for the frame — of

Feb. 8, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

59

half-inch board, with a four-inch hole in centre
Fix this above frame hive, and, when the skep
begins to get crowded with bees (saj', begin-
ning of May), lift it from the floor-board, and
set it on the adapter above the frames, care-
fully packing the junction with paper to keep
in the bees and maintain the warmth. The
bees will work down into the frame hive, and
eventually use the skep as a super." The
ordinary entrance to the skep is closed, and
the bees compelled to use the entrance to the
frame hive when passing in and out.

[949.] Qiicen- rearing and securing early
drones. — Would you kindly answer the
following queries re queen-rearing ?—l. If all
the frames of uncapped brood and queen be
taken away early in April, and a prepared
frame of comb containing eggs be taken from
the hive we wish to breed from inserted in the
queenless hive and feed- bottle put in, Avill they
raise queens of- good quality ? 2. How many
days must elapse before removing the cells
into the nuclei prepared for them ? 3. Would
it stimulate drone-breeding in a hive if drone-
comb were inserted in centre of brood-nest, or
would contracting entrance and only allowing
six or seven frames force them on equally as
fast ? I wish some friend would give a paper
on cjueen-rearing. — Chas. Harvey, Stoke
Prior, Worcestershire.

Reply. — 1. Yes ; provided there are plenty
of bees in the stock to which the eggs are
given. An hour or two should be allowed to
elapse after removal of queen before giving
the comb with eggs, in order that the bees
may have found out their loss, and have
aroused, in them the desire to raise a suc-
cessor. 2. If the comb given contains larvse
as well as eggs, not more than ten days
should be allowed before removal of the cellp.
3. The insertion of a frame of drone-comb
into centre of a strong stock is the best way
of securing early drones.

THE "W. B.C." HIVE,

{Conclusion from p. 50.)

The shallow frame-hox, or surplus chamber
Fig. 6) is an exact counterpart of body-box

Shallow frame-box.

reduced in depth by ,3 in , and the frames in it
are h^ in. deep, or ?> in. less than the standard
frame. Any number of surplus chambers, or
of section-crates, may, of course, be worked
at one time by adding a lift (Fig. 3) foi; eac>

tier. The hive, aa described, is without legs,
and we use the " stand" (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7.— Stand.

In these days, when opinions differ so
widely as to the use or the uselessness of legs
or stands for beehives, we offer our opinion —
by no means for the first time— that stands in
this country are not only useful but necessary
for the well-doing of bees. There may be
spots Avhere such things are not so indisjien-
sable as in others, but, judging from our own
experience, it seems almost impossible to keep
bees in health through the winter on floor-
boards, close to the damp ground, and within
reach of all the slugs, snails, woodlice, and
such - like objectionable things as harbour
where there is damp and warmth. And we
must add to this the inconvenience of stooping
to manipulate hives on the ground, and the
needless back-aches we who are becoming
elderly would have to suffer during a day's
work bending and lifting, with heavy weights
to handle. Besides, we consider that the
more freely the wind blows about a hive all
winter the drier and healthier it is kept, and
it certain!}'' is more convenient for the bees to
alight a foot or so from the ground than close
down to it. The old and obsolete alighting
board of a few inches wide is now never seen ;
while few advanced bee-keepers omit giving a
full-sized alighting board, of the full width of
the hive front, and reaching to, or nearly to,
the ground ; therefore, all the talk about
■'heavily-laden bees fallmg to the ground " is
absurd. At the same time, there are many
bee-keepers who are perforce compelled to
have their hives on legless floor-boards for con-
venience of moving to the heather, &c. We
have felt this need ourselves in years gone by,
and our own ideal hive is one without fixed
legs ; nevertheless we use a stand. It is this
stand we here describe for the use and benefit
of such readers as care to adopt it. To a
casual observer, it is simply four legs and four
side-pieces nailed together, and will perhaps
suggest a very fragile, shaky affair. Such it
is not ; it is as firm and almost as rigid as if
made of cast iron, and the secret of this firm-
ness is in the peculiar way in which the leg is
cut, and the " collar " of wood fitted on to it.

To anyone who understands the use of a
bevel the sketch (Fig. 8) of one leg here given
explains itself, and any joiner will at once see
it ; but the amateur who makes his own may
require a few words of explanation. So let
hipa tfl'ke a piece of scantling 3 in. x 2^ in.
ai^d cvjt up into lengths, as Fig, 9,^ accord.

60

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Feb. 8, 1894.

ing to the number and height of the stands
required. He then arranges the legs in pairs
and marks them off with the bevel, to give a
" splay " of about 2^ in. from the corners, so
that, when cut, the legs are "splayed" out-
wards on all sides. The idea will be seen in

1^'iff. 8.

^

Fiff. 10.

M

•HwA

Fig. 9.
Fig. 10, and when the " collar " — made from
|-in. stuff, and 24 in. wide — is nailed on, and
the stand completed as in Fig. 7, there is a
resisting " set " of the legs from whichever
side pressure is used.

It is a good plan to scorch the bottom end
of each leg as a preservation against decay.

The '^ eke " (Fig. 8) may be described as a
slice, 3 in. deep, from the lower side of the

Fig. 11.— "Eke."

body-box (Fig. 5), and, beyond stating that
the four slips of wood shown on the upper
edge are for keeping it in position when fixed,
the sketch explains itself. This " eke "
may be used for giving space below combs in
winter, and, having served this purpose, by
reversing and setting it above frames in early
spring, it helps in "tucking in" additional
warm wrappings. Finally, when set below
the shallow-frame box (Fig. 6) it converts the
latter into a full-sized brood-chamber for
standard frames.

When fitted up and in use, the hive has a
rather more bulky or heavy appearance than it
should have, the outer case giving it that
look. But, as a matter of fact, it is a light,
handy hive, and by no means the unwieldy
one some would suppose from the sketch given
©n p. 49,

Notices to Correspondentsand Inquirers.

All queries forwarded ivill be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be ansicered in this column.

Letters or queries askin^j for addresses of manufac-
turers or correspondents, or where appliancei can be
purchased, or replies giving such information, can only
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries, and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of their communica-
tion.

Thos. E. Mellor (Llandudno), Bee, Shngs
and Ammonia. — It is difficult to say what
caused the hand to swell on the particular
occasion referred to, but "rubbing in" am-
monia or any other remedy often leads to
the irritation, and, as we think, increases
the consequent mischief. We never approve
of rubbing the part stung.

J. N. Cheesman (Doncaster), Foreign
Competition. — A perusal of recent numbers
of the Bee Journal ^vill show that some
Bee Associations have already taken steps
for the protection of their members, so far
as ensuring that British can be made recog-
nisable as such.

Sarum (Salisbury). — Beyond the probability
that the sample contains a good portion of
"tree honey," as distinguished from that
obtained from flowers, we cannot account
for its non-granulation.

Wilfrid Hardie (Bromsgrove), Foreign
Competition. — Our leader in last week's
issue deals fully with the subject of our
correspondent's complaint ; and if he will
kindly refer to footnote to 1730, p. 45, he
will see our views regarding the latter
portion of his note.

A Constant Eeader (Pilton).— -The cutting
referred to appears on p. 45 last week.
Sugar sent will do for bee food if guaran-
teed to be pure cane, not otherwise.

Alf. Wolfe (Taunton). — Bee Associations and
Affiliation with the B.B.-K. A.— -The British
Bee-keepers' Association supplies a bound
copy of the combined reports of its affiliated
Associations each year to the Secretaries
thereof. These contain all the information
desired by our correspondent, and we would
suggest affiliation with the Central body as
being most advantageous in many respects
to County and District Bee Associations.
We should be very pleased to have particu-
lars regarding the labelling of members'
honey.

J. E. Thomas (Cardiff). — We have drawn the
attention of the appliance dealer named to
the subject of your note, and no doubt he
will explain matters satisfactorily.

Percy Leigh (Bromsgrove). — Bees are slightly
crossed with the Carniolan element. Im-
possible to tell accurately the age of a dead
bee.

Feb. 15, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUKNAL.

61

(Bdtiorhil ^(itlm, ^t

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — Saving for occasional
severe storms of wind and rain there have
been few indications that, so far as dates
go, it is still winter. Though now in mid-
February most days are so sunny and
Avarm, Avith fruit-buds bursting into leaf,
spring-flowers prematurely blooming, and
larks carolling overhead, that it brings to
mind the time Avhen " the Avinter is past,
the floAvers appear upon the earth, the
time of the singing of birds has come."
But several months must elapse before
Ave are out of the wood ; meauAvhile it
will be Avell to expect and prepare for
hard frost and snoAV-covered ground ere
the beautiful Avords of King Solomon
descriptive of the spring-time are fully
realised.

Unseasonable Matshpulations. — In
consequence of the Avarmth and the activity
it causes among bees, it is but too pro-
bable that the more ardent of our readers
will be indulging in anxious and pre-
mature longings for a look inside hives
to see hoAv breeding is progressing. The
exhilarating effects of a Avarm summer-
like day cbming in February are equally
great on bees and bee-keepers — especially
Avhen the latter are beginners, and Avhen
it causes a general turn out of the bees — -
followed by plentiful pollen - gathering
Avith Avater-troughs eagerly visited by
throngs of busy foragers after that
indispensable element of brood-rearing —
the temptation to begin manipulating
the frames is more than some can Avith-
stand. It is, hoAvever, none the less
uuAvise and injurious to the Avell-doing of
stocks to upset, pull about, and expose
combs of tender brood mainly to satisfy
curiosity, Avhen the very nature of the
Avork observable from the outside demon-
strates so plainly that all is going on Avell
Avithin.

An . old hand at bee-Avork Avould be
dreadfully annoyed if compelled to per-
form operations Avhich at times the
novice is so anxious to be "getting at,"
experience having taught the former
Avhat mischievous effects often foUoAv
unseasonable and imprudent manipula-
tions : and the sooner the beeinner

profits by what the "old-hand" has
learned the less dearly will his expe-
rience be bought.

In the above observation Ave desii'e
mainly to enforce the axiom " don't
manipulate unnecessarily.'' But we hy
no means advise that bees should be left
without attention just noAV, especially
Avhen the mildness of the Aveather for so
long a period must have caused a heavy
drain on stores. As one consequence of
this it Avould be the height of folly to
neglect such examination as Avill ensure
that no stocks are in famine condition.
A mere peep beneath quilts Avill, hoAv-
ever, suffice to make this point clear,
and, if food be really short, nothing at
this season equals a cake of soft candy
placed just above the thickest portion of
the cluster.

Spring Condition and Queenless-
NESS. — The condition of bees Avell prepared
for Avinter in the early autumn of last year
should noAV be fairly satisfactory, the
frequent flights afforded by the mild
Aveather ensuring more or less immunity
from that spring-plague dysentery, and
we are pleased to learn that many stocks
are in unusually forward condition. Some
will, no doubt, be found queenless, and
in this case it is advisable to defer
uniting until later on, Avhen possibly
some other lot, Aveak and Avanting bees,
but haA'ing a queen, may be discovered.
If this occurs the joining-up Avill be
mutually advantageous. Queenlessness
often readily indicates itself by the
lassitude and inactivity of the bees.
When this becomes obvious no time
should be lost in making sure of the
fact by examination. In the same Avay,
hives from Avhich no bees are seen to
issue. Avhile contiguous stocks are busy,
should be immediately examined, so that
if the inmates are defunct the entrance
may be closed pending an opportunity
of inquiring into the cause of death.
Instances have occurred Avhen much mis-
chief has been wrought by neglecting
this precaution, the bee-keeper dis-
covering, too late, that a stock has
perished through foul-brood, and the
contents of the diseased combs carried
off by healthy colonies.

Spring Preparation. — The busy
time for bee-keepers now so rapidly
approaches that plans for the coming
.season must be thought out or perfected,

62

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [Feb. 15, 1894.

and, in considering these matters, the
words of a well-known American authority
.are full of import. When asked how
many colonies of bees it was advisable to
keep to ensure the best return, he replied,
"as few as possible." Meaning thereby,
that the fewer stocks the bee-keeper had
to manage, the better he would be likely
to manage them. In other words, a
dozen good stocks, well cared for, will
yield more profit than three times that
number of poor ones badly looked after.
Then there are the honey sources of the
district in which the bee-keeper is located
to be considered. If the main supply is
gathered from blossoms which are avail-
able in April and May, it is idle to expect
any profit from stocks not fit for surplus
storing till June ! Nor is it any wiser to
worry about stimulating bees and queens
in order to produce full colonies a month
before the inflow of the district begins.
The careful bee-keeper will therefore so
regulate his spring preparation as to
make them fit in with his work and that
of his bees, always being a day in
advance rather than an hour too late in
all he does. There should be plenty of
jobs with which the most energetic of
beginners may occupy himself during the
next couple of months, and if he will let
off his superfluous steam in working and
preparing his appliances, the live stock
may very advantageously be allowed to
continue working on in peaceful pros-
perity, undisturbed by their often too-
zealous owners.

Foreign Honey. — So much space in
our columns has been devoted to this
subject of late, that little wonder need
be felt at its having become somewhat
tiresome to the majority of readers. AVe
also expressed our own opinion on
p. 45 of B. J. for February 1, that
enough had been said, intending to
close the discussion in that issue.
Possibly this intention on our part
was not made sufficiently prominent, for,
so contirmously did letters referring to
" foreign honey " and "foreign competi-
tion " come to hand, that we decided to
insert, for a week or so longer, any
having a direct bearing on the salient
points of the case. Alas ! for Editorial
resolves, "the cry is still they come,"
and, if we devoted space to all the
"copy" sent for publication, referring
directly or indirectly on the foreign

honey question, not only would there be
little room left for aught else, but our
pages would be anything but instructive
or satisfactory reading. Moi'eover, the
bulk of the correspondence sent for pub-
lication contains so much of rather offen-
sive personality that we must decline to
publish it.

A few letters, which we insert in this
issue, belong to the class referred to as
having a direct bearing on the case, and
are also interesting to the general reader,
notably that of Mr. Jordan (1753 p. 64).
We shall probably make a selection from
the remaining correspondence referring
to the subject, and deal with it next
Aveek.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL MEETING.

We would remind readers that the annual
meeting of the B.B.K.A. will be held at 105,
Jermyn-street, W., on Wednesday next, the
24' h inst., at 3.30, when it is hoped that all
members who can make it convenient will
attend, as important business will be transacted.
The usual quarterly conversazione will take
place, on the conclusion of the general meeting,
at 6.30 p.m.

SOUTH OF SCOTLAND BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

The annual general meeting of this Associa-
tion was held' in the offices of Messrs. T.
Kennedy & Co., seedsmen, Dumfries, on the
evening of Saturday, Jaiiuary 27, Mr. T.
Kennedy Newbigging, President, in the chair.
After the minutes of last meeting had been
read and approved, the Secretary, Mr. Wilson,
Acrehead, read a statement of the financial
position of the society. He regretted that the
show of 1893 had been conducted at a loss to
the society from a commercial point of view,
but as all the members were, no doubt, aware,
it was, as a show, the best that had ever been
held in Scotland, and he trusted that next
season he would not only be able to chronicle
as good a show, but one that had paid its way.
From this cause the finances had been con-
siderably crippled ; still, they had not only
been able to jjay their way, but had a small
balance in hand. The following office-bearers
wei'e re-elected : — Patrons : Wellwood H.
Maxwell, Esq., George Watson, Es^., Leonard
Piltington, Esq., A. Johnstone-Douglas, Esq.,
William Younger, Esq., and Captain C.
Yorstoun. Honorary Presidents : Sir Mark
J. Stewart, Bart., M.P, ; Sir Thomas D.
Gibson-Carmichael, Bart., ; and W. J. Maxwell,

Feb. 15, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

63

Esq., MP. President : Thos. Kennedy New-
bigging, Esq. Vice-President ; James R. W.
Wallace, Esq. Treasurer : Councillor Charles
Palmer. Secretary : William Wilson. Com-
mittee : Messrs. John McCreath, John Ross,
James Kerr, Sidney Roebuck, George
Crichton, Robert Service, jun., John Currie,
Alex. Chalmers, and William Jardine. And
the Committee having been instructed to
make arrangements for a Honey Show, the
meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to
the Chairman.

NORTHANTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.

The annual meeting of the above Association
was held on Saturday, the 3rd inst., in All
Saints' School, Northampton. Mr. PI. Collins
presided over a fair attendance. Letters of
regret for non-attendance were read from
several members, including Mr. A. L. Y.
Morley. The report for the past year was
read by the Secretary as follows : — In pre-
senting the eleventh annual report, your Com-
mittee congratulate you on the prosperous
condition of the Association, financially speak-
ing. There is a balance of £11. ISs. 9d. in
hand, besides several pounds of the grant
which is now being spent in providing addi-
tional lectures. Disbursements of the County
Council grant have already provided lectures
at Wappenham, Greensnorton, Brampton,
Holcot, and Overstone. The bee - tent was
erected at Kettering, West Haddon, Delapre,
Weedon, Long Buckby, and Brackley. The
lectures, besides being well attended, have
aroused an interest in bee-keeping, and proved
beneficial to present members of the Associa-
tion and others. After referring to the past
honey season and the success of the Annual
Show the report goes on to say : — Your Com-
mittee take this opportunity of stating that
arrangements can be at once made for free
lectures and during the summer months for
out-door demonstrations in the bee-tent at
flower-shows, &c., or in the apiaries of mem-
bers and others interested in bee-keeping.
The report as read was adopted, and the
accounts for the year 1893 passed. The
election of officers for the ensuing year then
took place : — President, Mr. H. Labouchere,
M.P. ; Hon. Sec, Mr. R. Hefford ; Hon.
Treasurer, Mr. Atkins ; Hon. Auditor, Mr. J.
Francis ; Committee, the Rev. J. Phillips, Mr.
A. L. Y. Morley, Mr. J. Francis, Mr. Manning,
Mr. and Mrs. Ball, Mr. H. Collins, Mr. C.
Cox, Mr. J. Phillips, Mr. 0. Orland, Mr.
Adams, and Mr. J. Cox. It was decided
to increase the prizes at the Annual Show,
and also reduce the entry fees, and offer prizes
for honey at West Haddon Flower Show and
at Wellmgborough Chrysanthemum Show.
The meeting concluded with the customary
vote of thanks.

NOTTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.

LECTURES ON BEE-KEEPING.

The Notts County Council have arranged
with the N.B.K.A. for lectures on bee-keeping
to take place as under : -

February 14, Retford, Temperance Hall,
7.30.

February 15, Newark, Old Savings Bank,
7.30.

February 16, Stapleford, Board School,
7.30.

February 17, Nottingham, People's Hall,
6.30.

February 20, Epperstone, National School,
7.0.

February 21, Kirkby, National School,
7.30.

February 27, Granby, National School, 7.0.

February 28, Ruddington, National School,
7.30.

March 1, Clifton, National School, 7.0.

The first four lectures of the series will be
delivered by Mr. J. H. Howard ; those at
Epperstone and Kirkby by Mr. A. G. Pugh ;
at Granby and. Ruddington by Mr. J. H.
Raven ; and the final one, at Clifton, by Mr.
P. Scattergood, jun.

In addition to the above, lectures have
already been given at Bleasby and at Strelley
by Mr. G. Hayes and Mr. P. Scattergood, jun.

The annual meeting of the Association will
be held at the People's Hall, Nottingham, on
Saturday, the 17th inst., at three o'clock.
Viscount St. Vincent in the chair.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice mil be
taken of anonymous communications, and coirespondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, ar.d
give their real 7iames and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Ilhistra-
tions should be draivn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected comnumications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Q-ueries,
Books for Jteview, etc., must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, iL-c, must be addressed
io "The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of Advertisements).

*,* Tn order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or qjiei-y previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on ivhich it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.
[1752.] The weather continues open and
mild, though boisterous winds prevail, making
the work of water-bearing hard work for the
little bees ; in fact, many are lost in the
attempt to procure a supply. The mild
weather gives continual chances of flight ; on
some days there is a general turn-out, and I
have no doubt that the high temperature (for
the season) will induce early breeding, and

64

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [^eh. 15, 1894.

an enlarged brood-nest means more food con-
sumed, therefore, where any doubt exists as
to a sufficiency of food to meet the in-
creased demands of an increasing family,
give a cake of candy or a frame of honey.

iStraiv Skeps. — I notice Mr. Ro\yell (1,732)
mentions the light weight of skeps. I have
also noticed the same in some instances, and
in others the reverse. The reason in those
under my own observation was simply the
size of the skep that made all the difference
between a heavy and a light stock at
taking time, a hive of small dimensions cannot
prove a weighty affair when it is full, but a
large skep that will hold, say, 3 pecks dry
measure will be a good lump to handle, espe-
cially between the lights of a summer's even-
ing, when you are getting benighted in your
driving, and the bees just between a fight and
amn. I always try to jmpress the desira-
bility of using large hives if good takes and
heavy pots of honey are wanted with a good
cake of wax thrown in.

Hive roofs and their covering seems to be
occupying the attention of bee-keepers. Pos-
sibly the late rains may accentuate the fact
that wood roofs, except they are perfectly
sound and free from knots, are not either rain
or damp-proof,; and this fact induces bee-
keepers to look for something impervious to
wet. I myself consider zinc as a good
durable substance to use as a cover to
the leaky wood roof. I remember the
Rev. W. E. Burkitt, of Buttermere, advocating
Willesden jjly-card as a durable cover for
hives — I should suppose to be laid on a wood
roof. The Company also makes a four- ply
roofing at 9d. per yard ; but I cannot say if
that is per square yard or per yard run ; also
the firm advertises a rot-proof canvas which I
should think would be a good material to
cover wood roofs with. I have tried and dis-
carded painted unbleached calico ; it only
lasts a year or two. Thin sheet zinc painted
a light stone colour will prove the cheapest in
a few years' wear.

The number of Gleanings for January 15
has an interesting symjjosium of bee-keepers,
professors, and fruit-growers on the " Fertili-
sation of Fruit Blossoms by Bees," and an
extended and carefully conducted series of
experiments conclusively prove that insect
fertilisation increases the fruit crop by a very
large percentage — in fact, it is essential to the
fruit-grower that the honey-bee should be in
close proximity to the orchard. The negative
side of the question is taken by Mr. \V. S.
Fultz, of Muscatine, Indiana, U.S.A. This
writer asks how the wild fruit-bloom, the nuts
and walauts, were fertilised before the intro-
duction of the honey-bee. I do not think that
any one who has observed the course
Nature has provided for the fertilisation of
the hazel-nut or the walnut ever asserted that
the bee or any other insect aided in the act or
process of renderitio- the blossoms fertile. In

both these instances the wind is the motive power
ihat shakes the catkins, which in their turn
supply innumerable grains of pollen which fall
on the stigmas of the flowers and fertilise the
same ; the same of the walnut. Here in these
two plants we notice the prodigality of nature
in the production of pollen grains, and also the
succession of catkins growing to maturity.
Not all at once is this wealth of life-giving
germs scattered to the winds, but day after
day the wind, blowing from different points of
the compass, scatters it in all directions, and
thus it reaches the blossoms that require its
aid to develop into fruition. The practical
fruit-grower, a Mr. Berry, whose orchard is
440 acres in extent, sums up the matter in a
nutshell ; he asserts that no bees, no fruit I
Two years he put netting over some of the
branches of his fruit-trees, and, while they
blossomed all right, produced no fruit, yet
where limbs were uncovered there was plenty
of fruit. This proves that bees are an im-
portant factor in augmenting the fruit crop.

This leads us on to a consideration of the
fact that in a few weeks we shall be in the
time of fruit blossom. Now is the opportunity
for bee-keepers who have their apiaries in
proximity to orchards to ventilate the ques-
tion of the utility of the honey-bee to the
fruit-grower, and to see that his bees are not
poisoned wholesale by the spraying of the
fruit-trees while in bloom with solutions of
Paris green or London purple. This spraying,
if necessary, can be done to the benefit of the
fruit-grower and without injury to the bee-
Iceeper if the interest of both parties are con-
sidered. Only get the grower of fruit to take
hold of the tangible fact that your bees are
indispenable to a productive crop of fruit
and you touch him in a vulnerable point, and
depend upon it, friends, he will study the in-
terest of the " goose that lays the golden egg."
— W. WooDLEY, Beedon, Newhury.

PRICE OF BRITISH HONEY v.
FOREIGN.

[1753.] Having been confined indoors for
■five or six weeks by serious illness, it was
with great pleasure that I went out in the
garden for a few minutes on Sunday last. It
was a beautiful day, and the bees from my ten
liives were out in large numbers, as busy as
bees, in a fine row of crocus in full bloom.
The season bids fair to be an early one, as the
apricots and Jargonelle pears are already
showing the bloom buds, of which there is
abundance again.

I have just been reading about " Foreign
Honey '' (No. 1750, p. 55). I can't agree with
the writer at all on this subject. In the firsi
place, I don't like boycotting anything, and
this seems to be the only remedy suggested.-
iSecondly, I consider Mr. Leigh asks too high
■a price for his honey, especially in a season
like 1893, as I think it will pay the British
bee-keeper to produce honey at half that price

Feb. 15, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOtJRNAL.

65

in a good season. To prove this, from my
eight hives (spring count) I took about 480 lb*,
of honey, about 150 lb. being in sections, the
rest extracted. I sold 10 doz. sections at
6?. 6d. per doz., and 256 lb. extracted honey
at 6d. per lb. (purchaser finding vessels). The
remainder I retailed, sections ac 9d. each, ex-
tracted 8d. per lb. Now this makes the gross
receipts from eight hives to be £13. 43. lOd.
Take from this £2 for sections, foundation,
&c., and allowing 23. each hive for deprecia-
tion, leaves £10. 8s. lOd. as the reward of the
bee-keeper for his labour, &c. Of course, we
are not always going to get seasons like the
last, but I think it is a great mistake to ask
such high prices, as this gives the foreigner just
the opening he is looking for. — G. Jordan,
Steeple Aston, Oxon., February 9.

FOREIGN COMPETITION.

[1754.] The discussion which is going on in
your columns concerning foreign honey and
foreign competition serves at any rate to
enliven us in oar dull season, which will soon
terminate, as the activity of my bees to-day
indicates.

I should have not ventured to write you
again on this subject did I not think I might
possibly mollify those of your correspondents
who have indulged in a considerable amount of
wrathful indignation over a certain advertise-
ment which appeared in your pages. I can
freely give credit to them for exhibiting
patriotic sentiment, but sentiment goes for
very little in business life. Were our friends
who have the interests of the cottager at heart,
to turn to the advertising pages of journals
supported by the drug trade, they would find
much to interest them respecting foreign
honey, and they would also learn that foreign
competition, or more accurately the free im-
portation of foreign honey, is the normal con-
dition of things. The facts certainly do not
point in the direction indicated by your
correspondents, that foreign competition will
luin home trade. Competition among our-
selves has far more to do with the fall of
prices than any evil inflicted upon us by
foreigners deluging our markets with their
low-priced goods. Formerly, a bee-keeper
with his few hives could readily dispose of his
honey privately, and very little indeed of the
genuine article found its way into the shops ;
now it may be seen in our large towns in every
grocer's shop that does what js called a high-
class family trade. This is, of course, the
natural result of what I may call missionary
effort, undertaken by those who believe in
bee-keeping as a means of bettering the con-
dition of the agricultural labourer. That the
increasing production of honey at home year
after year will reduce prices is to be expected,
4ind a few good seasons in succession might
lead to a crisis that would crush out the small
producers, and leave those that can count

their hives of bee? by the score in full posses-
sion of the markets. The uncertainty of our
seasons is perhaps the chief difficulty we have
to contend with as regards a large honey pro-
duction, and if it were not so the business
would, in my opinion, have long ago concen-
trated itself into the hands of specialists ; but,
even as the case now stands, the tendency is in
that direction. The outlook for the " bond fide
cottager " is not a particularly bright one, but,
notwithstanding all that has been said of the
advantages he might obtain by bee-keeping,
from what I see around me there are very few
of this class who manifest any interest in bee-
keeping whatever. That the bees might easily
be made to divide the honour of paying the
rent with the pig is admitted, but among agri-
cultural labourers there are few who care to
verify this experimentally. In this locality
there are a number of small proprietors — men
with " three acres and a cow " — -who, as I
should suppose, were peculiarly well fitted to
be bee-keepers, but, as a matter of fact,
their tastes do not lie in that direction. They
have a strong belief that bee-keeping is a
mysterious art not to be mastered by them,
and I must admit that the paraphernalia of
the modern bee-keeper gives considerable
colour to that opinion.

The large diminution in the honey imported
into this country last year compared with the
year previous is due to the unprofitableness
of the trade. In 1892 we were considerably
overstocked, as I learn from a gentleman of
my acquaintance who handled no mean
aliquot part of the honey imported from
Chili within the last two or three years. — A.
DoNBAVAND, Whitby Heath, Chester, Feb'
ruary 5, 1894.

"HONEY RINGS" AND HIVE ROOFS.

[1755.] — The reference in your Editorial,
February 1 (p. 41), anent the formation of a
"ring formed for the purpose of buying up
cottagers' honey " has caused me to make some
inquiry in the corner of Worcestershire in
which your correspondent resides, and knowing
most of the bee-keepers in the district I have,
during the past week, made it my business to
ask some if they have heard or know of the
parties who compose the " ring " referred to,
all confessing they have not heard of it.

Your notes dealing with the subject should
certainly convince these so-callerl dealers of
the error they have fallen into— that is, if the
" ring " exists at all. Honey, I know, in this
district is looked upon as a luxury, and at Is.
per lb., I know for a fact, is more than the
poorer class care or can aftord to pay. I believe
if honey was in ^-Ib. jars instead of the 1-lb.
jar so frequently seen, or, in other words, the
^-Ib jar used more, it would give the class we
wish to see use it more a far better chance to
buy it.

I myself have lost customers through not

66

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Feb. 15, 1894.

having it in small quantities ; but if 1894 is as
favourable with me as was 1893, my intention
is to have my honey put into more ^-Ib. jars,
for I find poor people will more readily buy it.
In Mr. W. Woodley's " Notes by the Way "
the timely advice he so freely gives in your
columns has endeared him to quite a host
of bee-keepers, " old school '' and '"' new."
The two words he uses at the end of his first
note, " Don't procrastinate," fit in at all times ;
but just now they seem especially valuable.
At all events they caused me to be "up and
doing."

Referring to the covering for hive roofs, and
the number of suggestions thrown out, may I
add my mite '? I always make my hives with
gable roofs of |-in. boards, with a rise of 4i in.
in 9 in., and then cover with ordinary roofing
felt ; after tacking felt down I give it two or
three coats of " Hill & Smith's black varnish.''
I have put two coats on in an evening. Some
will, perhaps, prefer paint, but I have not found
any bad results from the varnish, and I have
not found any leakage. — Wilfred Hardie,
Bromsgrove, February 10.

AMONG THE BEES.

[1756.] W.B.C. Ends. — Well, Messrs.
Editors, I had just written my ideas upon
this matter when I saw that you had put a
" stopper " upon the correspondence. I hope,
however, you won't mind me just giving my
vote without explanations ; if so, it is
decidedly in favour of the W.B.C, as being
the best end that has yet been invented, and
will take a lot of scheming before any improve-
ment can be made in it.

Hive Roofs. — Mv. Ned. Swain (1743,
p. 53) omitted one little, though very im-
portant, particular in preparing his roofs. It
was not the less acute angle that caused the
leakage, but the manner of preparing the roof
before covering with calico. In my letter
upon the subject I advised preparing the roofs
as they do, or perhaps did, the roof of railway
carriages, of course &ubstitutiug lighter
materials. A hive roof is nmch smaller than
that of a railway carriage, and so requires
somewhat different materials. We know
that zinc is perfectly impervious to wet,
so will very effectually keep a hive dry.
My zinc roofs do so perfectly, yet I
dislike them for bee-hives for the reasons
before enumerated. Now, I have other roofs
perfectly flat, that are covered in the way I re-
commend, and the hives are equally as dry as
those with zinc covers, although the zinc roofs
are built at an angle, and the others " as flat
as a pancake '' (excuse the simile — it was
Shrove Tuesday last week). Just see how
handy it is to have flat roofs in an apiary.
Why, it doesn't matter which way you turn,
there is a table near to put oddments on ready
to hand at once. I'm digressing. Now, a
zinc or other metal roof must be heavier than
with my plan. I have just been down in the

apiary, removed a roof made six years ago, and
weighed it ; its weight is 41b. 3oz. This roof
has stood through all sorts of weather for six
years, never having been removed from out
the apiary, and only had one coat of paint
since — that was this last autumn. Those who
advocate metal roofs, just weigh yours, and
see the difference, and then inquire of yourself
what advantage it is to have metal to keep out
the wet when a very much lighter and cheaper
material will keep the hive equally as dry and
last as long. When I say cheaper, I don't
mean cheaper than old biscuit or other tins
metamorphosed into hive roofs. I don't like
the look of such makeshift arrangements in
my apiary, and wouldn't have them there if
all other descriptions of roofs cost double what
they do.

Often in the summer, and sometimes winter
time, I simply remove one of these light flat
roofs, turn it up on edge, and sit down com-
fortably ; in fact, I sometimes pass an hour or
so on rest-days sitting thus, while enjoying
the weed and watching the bees. Some, per-
haps, will say that a light roof is more liable
to be blown from oflF the hive by the wind
than a heavy one. This is so, no doubt, if the
heavy one weighs, say, half-a-hundredweight.
I never remember one of my flat, light roofs
being blown off", yet many others, weighing
two or three times as much, have been.

The manner of preparing these roofs is
almost identical with Mr. J. W. Wilson's plan
(1744, p. 53). I take good white lead paint,
and thicken it to the consistency of cream
with whiting well worked in ; then I give a
thick coat of this to the roof, and when well
covered with this I tightly stretch a piece of
unbleached washed calico over all and fix
the edges tightly under the edges of the
roof with thin strips of wood nailed on. Then
well rub the calico into the paint and v.'hiting
mixture, and stand aside for two or three days
until dry. After, I give the calico three coats
of paint. That roof, if well done, will not
require any attention for five years, and not a
particle of snow or rain will ever penetrate it.
This covering is so neat and looks so nice and
clean if painted white. It is as light and
serviceable a covering as can possibly be
made.

Some of you " metal-roofers," just try one
or two hives thus prepared, and see what you
think of them. I have one such roof, but
built at an acute angle, in my apiary, perfectly
watertight, that was so covered either nine or
ten years ago and has not had an atom of paint
on it since. I often wish that I had more flat
roofs in my apiary, and would alter the
present ones to that form, but it means too big
an item with so many hives.

I don't think I should, as Mr. Ned Swain
has done, use buckram for the covering, as
that being a very fine and flimsy material,
stiff'ened with a very considerable quantity of
some sort of mucilage, does, upon the slightest
exposure to damp, absorb so much moisture as

Feb. 15, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL

67

to become quite soft and pappy ; also, if this
were used, being already so fully charged with
some other substance, it would, no doubt,
refuse to absorb the paint, and so lose half its
properties of withstanding tlie wet for so long
a time as common undressed calico does, when
saturated with the paint. — W. B. Webster.

MOVING BEES— FOREIGN HONEY.

[1757.] I had occasion to move my bees
(four hives) to another garden about 400
yards away, so I watched the weather care-
fully, and moved them late one afternoon,
when I fancied the severe frost had left us ;
the bees had been confined just a fortnight,
and the day I transferred them was much
milder. I was most fortunate, for the next
day was very mild, and out they all came.
On visiting the old spot, I was pleased to find
none, all having taken the fresh bearings.
This seems to show that a fortnight is long-
enough confinement previous to removal.

I have now taken your journal for over
four years, and I am much pleased in having
received a vast amount of useful information.
One thing I'm sorry to say IVe learnt from it
that we bee-keepers as a class will probably
be set down as the most narrow-minded lot
on the wide earth by any outsider who chances
to read the correspondence re the Foreign
Honey Advertisement. I was heartily pleased
with your capital article in last week's
Journal on the question. Wishing the
Journal continued success, and all a pros-
perous 1894,— E. H. M., Hereford, Februaru 5.

THE NEW WIDE " W.B.C.' END.
[1758.] Very pleased to see this on the
market. I feel sure this end -will prove a
boon to bee-keepers working for extracted
honey. The eight ends exactly fit the
" W.B.C." extracting super, and the nine ends
Avill work beautifully in ''Meadows' X. L.''
and many other hives the inside measure of
which is 14j in. by 17 in., there being an
nllowance of -^ in. for ease in working. —
W. G. KiGiiT, iSivindoa, Wilts, February 3.

THE "WELLS" DUMMY.

[1759.] In taking a peep into my three
" Wells" hives, I am pleased to notice in each
case the bees are clustering on tlie dummies in
true " Wells " fashion. I hope to work five of
these hives this season. I hope we may have
another fine season this year, and a prosperous
one.— W. G. K.

THE "W.B.C." SECTION RACK.

[1760.] Seeing in this week's Journal your
article on " W.B.C." hive is headed " conclu-
sion," I would beg to remind you that the
" W.B.C." section-crate has not been described,

which I hope you will yet do, as in reply to
(947, p. 58) re section-racks, your own prefer-
ence as stated is for one in which the sectiona
hang in frames. I feel like " Clieadle Hulme ''
(1749, p. 54) that subjects such as this are a
great deal more interesting to readers than
"lecturers' errors," and such like. — John
Brown, Perth, February 9.

[We fear to tread on dangerous ground, and
in describing the section-crate referred to for
the purpose of enabling amateur hive-makers
to make it at home, Ave should dread leading
them towards failure. As a matter of fact,
the frames of the " W.B.C." section-crate
require to be so accurate in their inside
measurement — to work satisfactorily — that
only really good hive manufacturers can turn
them out to please us. We gladly insert a cut

of the "W.B.C" section-crate to show what it
is like, but for this reason do not care to
advise amateurs to try their hands at making
it, at all events without a good pattern to go
by, because unless the sections fit well, and
yet drop out easily when the wedge is removed,
half the advantages of hanging-frame for sec-
tions are lost. — Eds.]

(&tlwt^ fr^m ilxt ^iws.

Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington,
February G. — Very nice pleasant weather for
bees now, and has been some days. Last
week and yesterday they were out as though
going to swarm (mine never do, though, at
this time of the year, other people's to the
contrary, notwithstanding). The commotion
and excitement were great, also they were
making a great rush for water. I set a
hyacinth out on the fiower garden, and some-
times there are half-a-dozen bees working on it
at once ; the snowdrops, too, come in for a
good share of attention, and just a few crocuses
that had opened out rather earlier than usual.
I saw bees on the " go " nearly half a mile away,
although at present there is very little pollen
about.— John Walton.

Morton, Gainsboro', February 5. — Bees are
almost too forward here ; had a grand fly

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL [Feb. 15, 1894.

Saturday and yesterday. " Wells " hive to
the front ; pollen going in in plenty ; nearly
a month sooner than last year. — F. J. Cribb

Aylesford, Kent, Febmary 8. — I am glad to
say all my bees appear to be very strong and
healthy, and haven't they sported in the
crocus-blooms to-day ! The corks iu the
water-trough have been nearly covered with
bees, showing that breeding is going on within
the hives. — fi. Wells.

^ur'm and Jltjjlks.

[950.] Granulation of Honey — Hard
Pollen in Combs. — 1. I am occasionally asked
the cause of honey becoming candied, and I
have to confess my ignorance on the point.
Can you tell me how to reply 1 2. Also
whether bees can remove last year's pollen
from the comb ? I have got about six combs
half full of it, and I do not know whether to
melt them down or give them to the bees for
wax. — E. Johnson, Kidderminster, Feb-
ruary 8.

Reply.— 1. Stated simply, the chemical
composition of honey is saccharine matter and
water ia certain proportions, with a small
addition of an essential oil, called formic acid.
The saccharine matter consists of cane-sugar,
and what is known as grape-sugar. If the
honey contains only sufficient water to hold
these sugars in solution, and is lowered in
temperature, the excess of sugar will be slowly
deposited. In other words, the honey becomes
granulated and solid. It is, however, easily
re-liquefied by the application of moist heat.
2. If the pollen has laecome solid and hard,
it is useless to the bees, and such combs as
contain it are best destroyed or melted down
for wax.

[951.] Transferring to ''Wells" Hive.—
1. I am much interested in the correspondence
about the " Wells " hive in the British Bee
Journal, and very anxious for information
OQ the following, as I wish to experiment with
two of my colonies, now standing side by side, in
bar-frame hives. I want to transfer them into
a " Wells " hive. Would this be practicable
for this year's honey flow ? 2. About Avhat
date would be most suitable for me to move
them into their new, quarters ? Or, 3. Should
I wait for swarms ? 4. In clipping queens, woiild
there not be risk in losing the queen when she
came out for aa airiog ? 5. Concerning that
"something like an early swarm," w'hich
issued on January 11, 1894 (No. 1731, p. 45),
woidd not the stock from which it came be
left qvieenless ? — D. Logan, Beechivood,
February 5.

Reply. — 1 and 2. If the two stocks are at
present in fairly good condition, there is no
reason for not hoping for the best results this
season if weather is favourable. If the "Wells "

hive can be so arranged that new entrances
will occupy the same positions as the present
ones, there should be little or no confusion
consequent on the transfer, which may be made
about end of March in fine weather. 3. The
above course is preferable to waiting for
swarms. 4. Clipping the wings of queens is
supposed to prevent swarms from decamping ;
no account need be taken of queens coming out
"for an airing." 5. As we look tipon the
swarm (?) referred to as an altogether unnatural
one, it is most likely that few, if any, bees
would te left in the hive from which it issued.

[952.] Framing Perforated " Wells Dum-
mies."— As I am making new hives for own
use, I should be glad to know (I) why it is
considered wrong to frame perforated wooden
dummies in double-queened hives, after the
manner of a school slate, providing the frame
projects only |^ in. each side? Also (2)
whether I violate any principle in making my
frames (though of standard size) with ends
only projecting | in., instead of as usual l^- in.,
as I have always done ? This suits all my
hives, which I am thereby able to make flush
on the outside, allowing my outer cases to
come closer to the body hive ? 3. While
writing, may I say without ofi'ence that I
dislike the improved (?) front page of the
Journal ? Bee-keeping is so essentially a
rural pursuit, that while it is so treated it is
a real rest to busy men to indulge in it ; but
if it is all to be ruled down to mere business
much of the restful pleasure will be eliminated.
I should prefer a design that harmonised
with country scenes and rural relaxations. —
F. V. H., Buxted.

Reply. — 1. It is considered wrong to frame
the perforated " Wells dummy,'' because that
operation increases the space between the face
of the combs next the dummy, and thus
lessens the chance of the bees of both brood-
chambers crowding close up on both sides of
the perforated divider. The forming of one
continuous cluster, extending through both
brood-chambers, is one of the most important
features of the " Wells system," and to
increase the space between the outer faces of
the combs on each side the divider to ^ in. (as
the j-in. framing would do) will make it more
than probable that no brood would be reared
in the cells next to the divider ; as so often
happens in the outer combs of an ordinary
hive. 2. There is no reason why you should
not use a 155-in. top-bar if preferred, except
the important fact of your frames not being
" Standard " size, and consequently of le.'s
value commercially. 3. We are sorry you
disapprove of the change in our front page,
especially when it has been approved by so
large a majority who have expressed an
opinion thereon.

[953.] Using Fall Sheets of Foundatio7i
in Sections. — 1. Would you advise me using
full sheets of foundation in sections ? Would
it not be detected by the consumer ? 2. Kindly

Feb. 15, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

69

say if you think the " Wells " hive the most
profitable hive ia the mivrket. — Decoy,
Pickering.

Eeply. — 1. If only the thinnest make of
super-foundation is used, it will not be
detected or found objectionable to consumers.
2. By some bee-keepers the " Wells " hive has
been found to yield far more profitable returns
than those managed on the single-queen system.
Much, however, depends on the bee-keeper
himself, and, except in the hands of suitable
persons, we should not like to say it is " the
most profitable hive on the market."

[954.] — Material for Dividers. — I have not
had much experience with bees, but seeing so
many accounts of the " Wells " hive, I have
constructed one myself. 1. I have two stocljs I
wishto transfer to the "Wells" hive — how soon
may I venture to do this ? 2. What is the
best material for dividers for section honey —
Avood or metal ? I have an idea that wood is
the best, but should like to have your
opinion. — A, Blake, Westerhavi Hill,
February 6.

Reply. — 1. See reply toD. Logan. 2. Wood
is generally believed to be a more suitable
material for dividers than metal ; but very
good results are supposed to follow the use of
finely-perforated zinc for the purpose.

AN "OLD SCHOOL" BEE-MAN.
{Continued from p. 57. )

What is known as the bee fever had no*'
overtaken me when I first found my way to
the old bee-keeper ; I was just sickening for
it. I did not want to run a bee-yard then,
nor " pull " queens, being as ignorant of frame
hives, bee-yards, " pulled '' queens, as the old
man was himself. Years afterwards I knew
why I went that way so often : I wanted to
see the old line of skeps and the bees hurrying
to their flowers ; I wanted to s^e the whin-
berry-blossom on the hill, the forget-me-not
by the brook, the gentian blue of bird's-eye in
the old lane. Walking up the latttr one day,
I met the old man cittting long bramble wires.
He made his own skeps, and used these to
bind them. The skeps were very small indeed
— some of them twenty years old, and very
rotten. The bottom rim had given way in one
or two, closing the entrance, and the bees
worked in and out through a crack in the
stand. The hackle was made of wheat straw,
over which, when growing, the bees had often
passed on their way to the brook. Sitting on
the bank, and talking about bees, as was our
wont, I advised him to add "ekes" to the
hives— two or thtee rims of straw to heighten
them. On my next visit I saw that he had
done this— not, however, with straw, but dis-
used tyres of cart-wheels about 4 in. wide.
Instead of two bees being able to enter now,
a cat might easily have crept through the
open door. Yet those bonny creatures set-

to, extended the combs to the stand, went
through the winter, clustered outside, hung in
knots and bunches from the stand, swarmed
and cast, as they had done time out of mind.
Seeking to show him a better way, I gave him
a " copyable " hive, fitted it up with the next
swarm that came off, and showed him how to
handle them. That winter he made some
from this pattern, but improved away one leg
— putting two in front and one behind — and
also made a one-inch entrance, eschewing
entrance slides and porch. The frames were
not exactly parallel one with another, neither
were they at right angles, they were made as
though the special object ia view was to have
them firmly fixed together soon alter hiving
the bees ! The dummy-board was improved
right away. Spring came again ; the daphne
flowered and filled the cottage with fragrance ;
the snowdrops and crocus blossomed in bunches
under the bare raspberry canes, as they had
done for sixty years ; catkins hung — many a
thousand Chinese lanterns— from poplar, alder,
and hazel. Pushing through the wood to
gather the celandine, the children from the
school on the hill brought down clouds of
■pollen from the sallow bloom — the "palm'' — ■
and reached and stretched a hand to gather it.
They made a posy of this, with " pussies ''
from the hazel, bright alandine, a dandelion
disc, and one drooping anemone. Straight
from the hives the bees came ; they, too,
wanted to be amongst the flowers again, and
in the evening came the silent moths to feast
themselves till they slumbered on the flowers.

Spring came, and onward from the catkins
tlie bees found abundance of blossom. The
swallows returned to their eaves, the martins
to their holes in the quarry under the hill, the
landrail to his favourite mead. To see the
tender green of grass blade and leaf, of tender
petal of wood-sorrel and ladies'-smock ; the
cuckoo came. He had never missed for how
many thousand years ?

The first week in June the old man looked
for swarms. The bees had been "knit" about
entrances, showing the hives were crowded, for
many days. He did not watch for them.
By pausing now and then at his work he
could hear the well-known thrilling sound.
The frame-hive had been anointed with dande-
lion, wine, sugar, and sweet herbs. The
frames were in, but no guides. His bees
wanted no guides ; he only waited for the
sound— so delightful to all bee-men — of the
swarm on the wing. It came, and the bent,
aged man suddenly renewed his youth ! He
almost ran up the garden, carrying the hive.
There they were, still coming out ! "Be quick !"
he cried ; '• fetch the key and pan to ring them
down. That's right ! turn, tum, turn. Strike
up, mother ! Tum, tum, tum, tum. Thty be
a going off ! Give it me ; I'lK^foUer 'era."
Turn, tum, tum. And away he went through
a gap and across the meadow.

The tum, tum became fainter as the distance
increased. The cloud of bees caught against

70

THE BKITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Feb. 15, 1894.

the high hedge and seemed about to settle.
The queen, however, drifted over, and away
they went, now across the heightening corn.
The turn, turn was fainter still. Was it a
pleasant sound ? In itself it was not. The
mower whetting his scythe, the reaping-
machine, like some giant grasshopper, inces-
santly stridulating. These were not pleasant
sounds, only as serving to take us at a glance
to the fields where they were. Hearing the
first turn, turn, we hear and see plainly the
swarm of bees. The whetting of the scythe —
the mere sound — and we see the long swathes
of fallen flowers ; we scent from afar the new-
mown hay. After a flood which has swept
away human life, human hearts wildly beat
seeking their children. After the terrible
scythe has passed, the larks — their little
hearts beating — sadly search between the
swathes. The grasshopper reaping-machine
brings to mind the glory of the golden corn, a
broad band of it falling as the machine runs
round. Thus the sounds, not really pleasant
in themselves, became so from the pictures
they convey to the mind ; therefore I like to
hear the ringing of a swarm, and shall always
make for it, partly because it is dying out, and
the day is fast coming when cottagers will
want to "run" a bee-yard and "pull"'
queens.

The swarm brought to at the opposite side
of the field, upon a hawthorn branch, which
leaned out of the hedge with the weight.
Overjoyed, the bee-man hastened for the
frame hive and a few cabbage leaves. He
placed it beneath them, shook the bees in —
sish ! — covered over the frames with cabbage
leaves, put on the roof, and the deed was done.
No veil, no gloves, no smoke, nor yet creosote,
neither tied sleeves. The bees would not
sting him. Not they ! The hive was left
there till the evening, then brought through
the young corn and mowing-grass, over the
gap, and set down among the raspberry canes.
Standing there, painted a gaudy colour, with
raspberries on one side, rough-red gooseberries
leaning on the other, and ash-leaf potatoes
reaching to the flight-board, it did seem, as
the passers-by said, " a new-fangled thing."
The old man himself eyed it askance. He
said to himself : " How shall I put them
down 'I I can't, so they bees will have to
stand over the year, be they as light as a
cast." For, as yet, I had not initiated him
into the mystery of section cases.

The swarm worked well, as swarms that
issue in that sweet time — the beginning of
June — ever will. Never were the flowers
more plentiful, the honey more luscious, the
morning so tempting for early rising, the comb
sweeter. So white and fragile and beautiful
the combs were, I thought them meet to be
the cradles of the future lovers of the flowers ;
meet to be the storehouse of their gifts —
precious essences and the golden grain of
pollen.

As though the flowers knew they had a

city to build and winter stores to garner, each
vied with the other in decking herself in her
brightest petals, scattering sweetest of scent,
holding out handsful of honey. Thyme crept
higher still on the mound, harebells conquered
the grass, a thousand spires of wood-sage
leaning, hop-trefoil and yellow lotus, mouse-
ear, hawk-weed — such a glow of colour you
scarce could look at it. Bedstraw creeping,
white paths amongst the heath, water-avens
nodding ; and although we thought it had
finished, blossoming again — tall mullein among
white campion, tempting pink centaury, broad
burnished candelabras of St. John's-wort —
eye-bright on the hill, violet-like butterwort
by the brook, archangel, sanicle, and betony
in the wood, tufts of dyer's greenweed yellow-
ing the pasture, with milkwort, tormentil and
scabions between. By the side of the wood,
on the driest spot over where the rabbits have
burrowed, stems of yellow-wort thread through
their leaves and hold a cup of flowers ; bind-
weed twisted round and round itself, striving
to get so high ; hazel giving a hand to bryony ;
fox-glove pushing by thistle, tall sentinels
overlooking the hedge and agrimony under—
how many thousands were there ? I never
could tell. Always when I went that way I
found new flowers — some plant that I could
not name. But the bees knew them, they
were always there — everywhere I went —
searching for flowers. — Lordswood.
{To be contimied.)

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest xvill be answered in this column.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufaC'
ttirers or correspondents, or ivhere appliances can be
purchased, or replies giving such information^ can only
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries, and replies is meant jor the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. Ws
wish our Correspondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in advance of the date qf
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issuei
immediately following the receipt of their communica-
tion.

K. Salmon (Stonehouse). — Bees sent are
hybrid carniolans.

E. A. Gibbon (Wexford). — An early Queen
Wasp. — The insect sent is a queen wasp ;
no doubt aroused from its hybernating con-'
dition by the mildness of the season. Feb-
ruary 5 is a very early date for it to be
flying.

R. G. (Renfrewshire). — 1. Index. — The lapsus
referred to occurred, much to our regret,
during the confusion of changing printers at
end of last year. 2. Bees not Taking to
Sections. — There are occasions when bees
refuse to enter surplus chambers even when
no excluder is used. By covering the centre
frames with queen-excluder the chances of

■ brood in sections are very considerably re-
duced though not entirely prevented.

R. J. Sargint (Cahir). — The "Guide Book,
price Is. 8d. post-free, will answer your
purpose.

Feb, 22, 1894.] THE BKlTISH BEE JOUKNAL.

71

^ditonnl ^otici!.^, ^t

FOREIGN COMPETITION.

THE " BRITISH BEE JOURNAL " AND ITS
CORRESPONDENTS.

Much of the correspondence to which
reference was made in the closing para-
graph of " Useful Hints " on p. 62 last
week, owes any interest it may possess
for the general reader to the widely
divergent views of the same subject
entertained by the several writers.
However, by way of closing the foreign
honey question in this issue, and of
redeeming our promise to deal Avith the
subject this week, we turn to the
formidable pile of letters before us
hardly knowing how to begin our self-
imposed task.

It may be at once seen that many
correspondents in their several communi-
cations deal neither justly nor fairly
with ourselves. They would insist upon
us confining our view of the case to the
very narrow limits beyond which their
own notions of right and wrong will not
penetrate, while, as we think, they
entirely fail to grasp the real point of
the question at issue. What object, for
instance, could we have in acting other-
wise than using our best endeavours ini
safeguarding the interests of the Britisk
bee-keeper in every legitimate way 1 We;
are firmly convinced that narrow andi
mistaken views of what these interests-
are will result in serious ultimate harm,
to the pursuit if not put aside at once..
What possible success, we ask, could,
attend any attempt to stop the importa-
tion of foreign honey into this country V
And is it not more than doubtful that
permanent good to the British bee-
keeper would result if it could be so
shut out from our market ? We must
seek some other remedy for the evils of
which some correspondents complain than
that of closing our doors to the foreigner.
The fact that British bee-keepers are
unanimous as to the advantage it would
be to the home-producer if the foreign
product could be traded with in this
country only as such, again impels us to
ask, is it possible to devise a scheme for
accomplishing this t and we still wait
a reply.

In a letter before us, Mr, J. Pearman,.

of Derby, after charging us with throw-
ing cold water on his proposal — made at
a meeting of Derbyshire bee-keepers, and
refen^ed to in the report of the annual
meeting of the D.B.K.A. on p. 32 of our
issue for January 25 — that a petition
should be presented to Parliament in
favour of marking all foreign honey
imported, continues :~

I am glad to say it was cariied unani-
mously, and we intend to carry it out. I can
assure you our Committee feel strongly on the
manner you have slighted our proposal.

We are not aAvare if the above is
intended as an official expression of the
views of the D.B.K.A. Committee — of
which Mr. Pearman is a member — but,
Avhile disclaiming any intention of cast-
ing a slight either upon the Committee
or the proposal, we, nevertheless, claim
a perfect right to sfate our belief in the
futility of hoping for any favourable result
from it. The writer, however, further
says : — ■

Do not mislead your leaders (?). As a free
trader I do not ask that it (foreign honey)
should be prohibited, but that the public should
know what they are buying ; neither do we
ask for a special Bill for bee-keepers, but that
we may be included in the Trade Marks Act.
Would you have us believe that nothing will
come from the Royal Commission or the Select
Committee's recommendation to have foreign
meat labelled ? and why not bee-keepers be in-
cluded 1 It seems ridiculous to say you ' do
not think it possible to devise a scheme capable
of practical application in the manner pro-
posed.' Why not? If it can be done with
matches sold at one penny per dozen, I do
not think there would be much difficulty in
the matter of labelling foreign honey, if shop-
keepers knew it was m accordance with law ;
neither do I think there would be so much
imported. Without a doubt in bee-keeping
you are Al, but in this matter I think you are
tifty years behind the times. The Chancellor of
the Exchequer said here the other night, certain
laws must come because it was the voice of the
people. Let this be the voice of all bee-keepers,
and I appeal to all Associations to folio v^^ in
the footsteps of the Derbyshire Bee-keepers'
Association, and you, Messrs. Editors, give us
your support instead of throwing cold water
upon it, and victory is ours.

Having dealt with the whole subject in
our leader on p. 41 of Bee Journal for
February 1, comment on the above may
be confined to remarking that our cor-
respondent is unfortunate in instancing
the marking of foreign matches as being
analogous to marking honey. Matches
are imported in the actual packages in

72

THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL. [Feb. 22, 1894.

which they are sold, consequently nothing
can be easier than dealing with them
under the Trade Marks Act, but can the
same be said of honey 1 Would not the
honey question be more aptly compared
to a shipload of timber, imported in huge
" baulks " or in *' deals," and asking that
the cargo be followed up and marked as
"foreign" through all the multifarious
articles into which the timber may chance
to be manufactured in this country ? Our
view is that the foreign honey Avould be
about as difficult to trace in its passage
through the hands of those who " handle
it " as would the timber.

A good deal of adverse criticism has
also been expressed as to the policy of
advertising foreign honey in our pages,
but the writers overlook the fact that if
the honey referred to is as poor in quality
as some describe it, it was worth no more
than the price asked for it. And the
many instances quoted in letters before
is, giving various opinions as to its
' ' badness " as well as the inferiority of
foreign honey generally, only tend to
confirm the simple fact that good British
honey will always command a far better
price than that which, in addition to
being "foreign," is also bad. It is also
certain that the cheaper foreign article
on our markets helps to popularise the
use of honey as food among the masses.

The question of dealing with the
varying conditions — advantageous and
otherwise — under which bee - keepers
labour is also a most complex one to
those occupying the position we do, and
it all bears in some way upon the same
competition question. One writer dating
from Elstow, Beds, says : —

It is one thing to get honey and quite
another to sell it easily, and it is questionable
which is the most difficult of the two.

The happy places into which some bee-
keepers have fallen is apparent by the way in
which they ask 9d. per lb. for their honey by
the cwt.

The quality of the honey has been im-
proved and the price reduced— a state of
things which should command a sale, yet I
find that, although there may be more honey
sold than formerly, yet somehow there is not
a demand for it.

Another bee-keeper writes from
Cheshire on the 5th inst. :—

I have sold nearly all my twelve hundred
pounds of last season's honey at good prices.
We could multiply contrasts like the

above, and it is within our personal
knowledge that over £250 worth of
home-grown honey has been bought
from British bee-keepers, and paid for
last autumn through the agency of our
" deposit " system by one purchaser.
How could we more fairly prove to
despondent bee-men that native honey
can be sold than by quoting facts like
the above ? But we just come to a more
cheery epistle on the subject of honey-
selling from Berks, wherein the writer
says : —

I am delighted with your article in this
week's B. J. on the question of foreign compe-
tition. It ought to be carefully read and
pondered over by all who have condemned
the publication of the advertisement referred
to. I think it will do good rather than harm
to the British honey industry, especially if the
honey is as bad as your Worcestershire corre-
spondent states on p. 45. It is absurd to
think of stopping foreign competition. It
is the labelling it " foreign honey " we must
try for, and then try our utmost to produce
our own in the best and most attractive form,
and offer it at the cheapest rate consistent
with a fair profit. There are many people in
all lines of business thit want a larger profit
than is fair, and when trade is dull are gene-
rally found to be the first to cry out. It
would be one step in the right direction if all
county associations Avere to follow a similar
plan to the Berkshire Association to dispose
of members' honey. But I have seen sections
of honey for sale in shop windows in a very
untidy and unattractive form, and how is it
possible for such stuff to be sold ? I never
have any difficulty in disposing of my surplus
at 8d., 9d., and lOd. per lb., according to time
of season. And to those who have a difficulty
in selling let them try a plan I have found to
succeed, and that is to send a small sample
early in the season to persons likely to be-
come purchasers. I have sold large quantities
that way. If we are to compete successfully
with the foreigner we must adopt every reason-
able means of introducing honey to customers
and to the public in general. But if honey is to
be more largely used it will have to be sold
much cheaper than lOd. or Is. per lb.

We conclude our extracts with a letter
just to hand. The writer, though
adopting a nom de j^lume, sends his name
and address as a guarantee of his bona
fides, and says : —

Please let me state at commencement that
I have been a bee-keeper for at least fifteen
years, that I at present hold fourteen stocks,
and that I prefer to make the best price I can
of my honey. With this preface let me say
that, when I saw S.I. honey advertised and
recommended by a well-known and respected
firm at 4id, per pound, I felt at once that it

Feb. 22, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

7S

was an opportunity to teach the British public
a further lesson upon the value of honey as
food. In addition to being a bee-keeper, I
spend about £9,000 per year upon food for a
large school, and I at once secured 1,320
pounds of Sandwich Island honey for con-
sumption by British boys with their bread and
butter. I have pleased my employers, I have
pleased their pupils, and I hope I have not
displeased the liberal class of British bee-
keepers. Protection may suit a class, but had
■we not better try to serve the greater body,
and let our aim be a higher and a broader one,
than to keep up the price of honey for a short
time by a narrow-minded policy ? Let us
never forget from how wide a stretch our bees
gather, and that we do not care in whose
gardens they forage. In my opinion, the
arrival and sale of this honey will increase the
demand generally, because the public will
learn its value as food, and not treat it as
medicine, and a drug to be kept merely in the
cupboard as a remedy for sore throats and
boils. It was in the same way that our
Canadian friends at the Indian and Colonial
Exhibition educated us with the tea-spoon,
when thousands tasted honey for the first
time. English honey did not go down in
price in consequence of the bold step Messrs.
Jones and Cornell took when they brought so
many tons of Canadian honey to England, and
we must be cowards to sit still and Aveep over
the arrival of this little lot. Let us try to pro-
duce the best quality ^ve can, and as so many
parts of the United Kingdom are famous for
tirst-class honey, that we need not fear even
" Hoky-poky Wanky-fum,
King of the Sandwich Islands."'

Old Song.
I shall be glad to be told in your next by
our croaking brothers, by whom better honey
is produced than by British bee-keepers. —
One of Us.

With the above facts before them, and
all that has previously appeared for
reference, we think it will be generally
admitted that the foreign competition
question, so far as its contentious or con-
troversial side is concerned, may now be
allowed to drop. We therefore express
a hope that bee-keeping readers — while
agreeing as to the need of a practical
scheme for pushing the sale of British
honey and of making it recognisable as
such—will resolve to work harmoniously
together with the object of formulating
a plan likely to achieve that result.

NORTH NORFOLK BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

At a meeting held at Briston on Wednesday,
January 31, an Association of the above name
was formed with officers and rules. All in-
quiries and applications for membership to be
addressed to the Secretary, Mr. C. J. Cooke,
The Apiary, Edgefield, Melton Constable.

ROXBURGHSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The annual general meeting of the Rox-
burghshire Bee-keepers' Association was held
in the Sessional School on Saturday, Feb-
ruary 3. Mr. William Marr occupied the
chair, and there was a good attendance.

The minutes of previous meeting having
been read. Mr. Clark, Secretary, sub-
mitted the financial report for last year, which
showed that there was, including a balance
from the previous year, an income of i;21.
14s. 3d., and the expenditure for the same
time was £19. 4s. 4^d., leaving a balance to
the good of £2. 93. lOid.

Referring to a proposal that Dr. Fyfe be
elected President for the current year, that
gentleman thought they should confer the
honour on Dr. Blair (who was not present),
but if Dr. Blair declined he (Dr. Fyfe) would be
very glad to accept the office. Mr. J. K. Young
was appointed Vice-President, and Mr. Thos.
Clark re-elected Secretary and Treasurer. The
following Committee were also appointed : —
Mr. Robert Fairbairn, Mr. James Kerr, Mr.
George Ormiston, Mr. Walter Oliver, Mr.
Robert Sinton, Mr. James Whellans, Mr.
Charles Irvine, jun., Iilr. James Thomson, Mr.
William Wilson, Mr. Robert Miller, and Mr.
Alexander Brownlee.

A discussion afterwards took place on the
desirability or otherwise of holding the annual
exhibition of the Society in different centres
throughout the county. It was eventually
decided to continue as at present for the
current year at least, though the Vice-
President (Mr. Young) considered they ought
to make further inquiries whether or not
they could not get sufficient encouragement
to hold their show in different centres. This
was all the business.

HONEY IMPO.RTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of January,
1894, was £5,047. — From a return fur-
nished by the Statistical Office, H.M, Ouatoms.

BRISTOL DISTRICT BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

A Committee meeting was held at 12,
High-street, the chair being taken by Mr.
Ernest A. S. Cotterell, in the absence of Mr.
J. B. Butler. Amongst those present were
Mr. J. Brown (hon. sec), and Messrs. T.
James, J. Martin, S. Wilcox, J. Jordan, and
W. Webley. The chief business was the
election of experts for the various districts in
North Somerset and South Gloucestershire,
and the arrangements for holding an annual

74

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Feb. 22, 1894.

show of honey and bee-keeping appliances.
It was decided to hold the annual show in
conjuaction with the Kuowle and Totterdown
Horticultural Society's Show, to be held on
•July 20 and 21, in the grounds of Mr. E. J.
Thatcher ; and arrangements were made for a
very liberal list of prizes, including special
classes for cottagers, and also classes for one
bottle and one section of honey.

(Ij;0rit.^|i0iifeiia.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
piMieatioyi, but as a guarantee of good faith. Ithistra-
tions should fie drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to 7-eturn rejected coinmunications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, etc., must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C. ' All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <i;c. , must be addressed
to "The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
Ki7ig William-street, Straiid, London, W.C." {see 1st
page of Advertiseinents).

'„• In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
tohen speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as xvell
as the page on ivhich it appears.

DEALING WITH FOUL BROOD.

[1761.] During the winter I have been re-
freshing my memory by reading over again ray
stock of old Bee Journals, and, seeing
frequent mention of foul brood, I thought I
might relate my experience of the pest and my
attempts to cure it. I commenced bee-keeping
in 1887. The following summer I had no
surplus, but increased my stock by two. In
the summer of 1889 I found foul brood in one
of my hives. It was my strongest hive all the
season, and in spring it robbed two stocks in
skeps belonging to a neighbour. It swarmed
about the middle of June, and both stock and
swarm worked well and gave me good returns,
in fact, better than any other hive I had.
Before the hive was supered I noticed that the
cappings of the brood had a sunken appear-
ance, and suspected foul brood. I tried several
of the cells aad found in them, instead of
brood, dark, sticky matter, as described in
articles on foul brood. At this time the hive
was near the swarming, and I resolved to let
them swarm, so that I might see the extent of
the evil. They swarmed in June, and in due
time I found dead brood in nearly all the
combs, and three or four of them in a bad
state. Acting on the advice of an old bee-
man, I took out all the worst 3ombs and put
in sheets of foundation, thinking that, as the
hive was strong, the bees would overcome the
disease. In 1890 it was still there, and by
1891 it had spread over all my hives. By that
time mv stock had increased to nine, and if I
had made a bonfire of the lot (bees and combs)

I should have saved myself a deal of worry
and not have been at much greater loss than I
was the other way. However, I saw naphthol
beta and naphthaline mentioned as a cure
in the Bee Journal, and I resolved to
try them. I got a supply from the
Bee Journal office in the autumn of 1891.
I put pieces of naphthaline in each hive, and
fed all up with syrup made of the best sugar
I could get, carefully medicated, as directed,
with naphthol beta. In the spring of 1892
found the most of my stock comparatively
weak, so reduced them to four by uniting. In
our district that spring was very backward,
and the bees getting very little outside, the
latter end of May found them short of stores.
I commenced to feed slowly with medicated
syrup, and continued to do so until the clover
commenced to yield nectar about the middle
of June. My four hives throve well, and
yielded a fair surplus, rather better than the
average of the [district, and one of them sent
forth a large swarm. In autumn, when the
brood was all hatched, I examined these four
hives very carefully, and, still finding traces of
the enemy, I decided to shake the bees ofi" the
combs, make them into two lots, put them
into thoroughly clean hives, and feed with
medicated syrup. 1 did so, and last summer
(1893) I saw no trace of the disease. I am
not certain, but believe my bees got the
disease from one of the hives they robbed.
In 1892 we found a hive belonging to a gar-
dener here bad with the disease. On my
advice he shook all the bees off" the combs,
gave them sheets of foundation, and fed with
syrup (not medicated), and since then they
have been free of the trouble.— D. M., Feb. 16.

THE PAST SEASON IN HUNTS.

BEE-KEEPINa AND FARMING.

[1762.] Not having seen a report from
Hunts in the British Bee Journal for
some time, I thought it might interest some
readers to know what the bees have been doing
here last season. I wintered twenty-six stocks,
and they were almost up to swarming-point by
the middle of April ; in fact, the only swarm
I had came off in that month, this being my
second April swarm in about eighteen years'
experience. I think my stocks were as strong
by May 1 as at any time during the summer.
We have no fruit bloom here, our chief harvest

I is from the white clover in the pastures, but,
owing to the drought, the first crop of that
was almost a failure. We had, however, a
second crop in mid-August, and the fine
weather caused the honey lo roll in for a few
days, so that my average (about 30 lb. per
hive) was fairly good for our neighbourhood.
We had the same curious features of the season

I as chronicled elsewhere — viz., scarcity of
swarms and the small proportion of drones.
Some of the latter must have had long lives
though, for I had queens fertilised as late as

Feb. 22, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

the middle of September. Bees have had
frequent flights this winter, and for the last
few days have been busy on the crocus, now in
full bloom. My stocks are still unopened, but
evidently breeding has begun. The gale on
the 11th and ]2th inst. carried the roofs off
more of my hives than I have had blown otf
altogether during the time I have kept bees.
I have only lost one weak lot out of thirty -
three stocks this winter, and that I ought to
have united last autumn. I made two arti-
ficial swarms, and started them in a " Well?,''
but find the bees have nearly all got into one
compartment. I don't think the " Wells '
system will come into general use.

Now, Messrs. Editors, as we are going to
have the "Royal" show at Cambridge, about
twelve miles from here, and as I hope to spend
a day or two there, I shall be glad to take you
home with me, if you are present and have an
evening to spare, to see me and my bees, and
then in the morning I shall be pleased to drive
you round to some brother bee-keepers, who,
I believe, intend taking some of the prizes
there. Taking bee-keeping altogether, the last
two years, I can tell you, it has paid me much
better for the time and capital invested in it
than my farming has done during the same
period ; but I am in hopes that better times
are in store both for bee-keepers and farmers.
— Richard Few, Needingivorth, Hunts.

WEATHER FORECASTS.

[1763.J Ever since a forecast for 1894 by a
Mr. Clements appeared in B.J. columns your
correspondents have been congratulating us on
the prospects of the year. May I point out
that, if we are to judge at all by the first
month, no reliance whatever can be placed
upon this forecast ? Mr. Clements says of
January simply that it " will be a rather dry
month." Now, in eight out of the twelve
districts into which the Meteorological Office
divides the United Kingdom the rainfall was
above the average ; while here, in West
Sussex, it was more than double the average,
and we had the wettest January for the last
ten years. Having kept a careful record of
the weather for the last ten years, I have lost
all faith in weather-prophets. Two others
Avhose efi'orts I have seen differed widely from
Mr. Clements, but were equally wide of
the mark. ■ — L. B. Birkett, Westboni-ne,
February 12.

MEAD MAKING.

[1764] I notice from what appears in your
pages that some correspondents are troubled
at times in selling the whole of their surplus
honey, and I am sometimes in the same fix, so
I use up any I have left on hand in making
mead. I have now a 32-gallon cask of it
which was " tapped '' the other day ready for
"testing" its "condition." It is good now,
but when twelve months (or better still, two

years) old it will be prime. With a licence to
sell I could dispose of any quantity of our
home-made mead, for those who partake of it
once never afterwards [forget to inquire very
affectionately after the "barrel," by which is
meant the contents. My chief trouble is to
keep any of it long enough to develop its
finest condition, so numerous are the calls on
the mead barrel ; and I am sure that your
readers who are bee-keepers will find a satis-
factory way of using their unsaleable honey in
the manufacture of a wholesome and pleasant
beverage for home use. — R. Chapmax, Newton,
Sehruarij 16.

[After the favourable description given
above of the contents of the "barrel," it is
quite certain that we shall only anticipate the
wishes of many readers by requesting our
correspondent to furnish us with particulars of
his method of "brewing," for publication in
our columns. — ^Eds.]

WIDTH OF COMBS FOR BROOD-
NESTS.

[1765.] I enclose a cutting from the Sydney
Mail of December last on the subject of
spacing frames, Avhich may be of interest to
some of the readers of the Bee Journal. I
intend testing it myself this summer, as I do
not use metal ends and can easily do so, but
should like the opinion of some of our jsromi-
nent bee-keepers on the subject. Referring to
" early preparation for winter" I can confirm
what Mr. Woodley says (1,709, p. 23) on the
subject. My idea was that the sooner the
queen got her rest in the autumn the sooner
she began laying in the spring, but probably
his idea is the more correct one. Hive roofs. —
I have both painted wood roofs and roofs
covered with thin waterproof material and
painted over that, but both have leaked very
much this winter, although painted in the
autumn. I think that the very heavy snow
and rain storms accompanied with high winds
may account for them leaking so much more
this year than ever I have had them do before.
High winds have been more prevalent here this
winter than I have ever known them since I
came to this district seven years ago.
I had an accident which I might mention
as a warning to others. My apiary being
some distance from my house, I care-
lessly left a large bottle of diluted car-
bolic on the quilts of a hive when packing
up for winter, and, being covered by the roof,
it was out of sight. During one of the frosty
nights about tne New Year it had frozen ;
when a thaw came the bottle burst, and any
one can imagine the state of the quilts when I
went to examine the hive fully three weeks
after. I am just longing for a mild day to
shifc the bees into a dry hive. 1 am sorry to
say it is my choicest queen, too.

Snowdrops and crocuses are blooming fully
a month earlier than usual here — so early, in

76

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Feb. 22, 1894.

fact, that if the weather does not improve
soon, they will be over before the bees
fly. — Hr.i Marry, Boscwell., Midlothian,
February 17.

[We had already seen the paper referred to,
and were not impressed with the desirability
of publishing it. The results of your in-
tended trial of the 1-^ in. spacing for brood-
combs we will gladly give [insertion to if you
will kindly forward same, but we are not
sanguine of any benefit being likely to arise
from the use of such thin combs in this
country. — Eds.]

SWAEMS IN MARCH AND APRIL.

[1766.] The swarms we are going to have
next " March and April '' is far more interest-
ing matter to me than a deal that appears in
your pages on foreign honey, &c. I for one
should be very pleased to see my bees ready
to swarm even in May. I am afraid, however,
that the weather will prevent the little plan
from being carried out, and I fancy that when
your plumping has been done you have the
colony in just the same state as you would if
the old system was carried on, and if they
find no food coming in perhaps they will
request the unlucky larvre to step outside.
However careful the bee-keeper may be, he
will soon find out that the queen is very much
the best judge of the quantity of brood the
bees can take care of. I plumped a colony
last year in the hope of making them swarm,
as I wanted some queens reared under the
swarming impluse, and had to destroy a comb
or two of dead Ijrood which had not been
sealed over. I noticed in one of Mr.Webster's
letters that he uses no veil ; I had a good try
at that business, taking a nasty rap now and
again, trusting that perseverance would suc-
ceed in enabling me to defy stings ; until one
day a bee went round and round in my ear a
little too quick, and in consequence the
honour of handling bees without a veil shall
fall on others than Leonard Smith, Beds.

MISCELLANEOUS.

[1767.] Sivarms in March and April. — I
have obtained one of the pamphlets on the
above, and, seeing that my stocks are situated
within a few minutes' walk of a large orchard
well stocked with fruit trees and bushes, I
hope by adopting the " S. S." method to get
the hives well populated with young bees in
time for the early flow. In former years my
bees have not been ready to take advantage of
the nectar in the fruit blossoms, though last
year I got a few pounds of greenish honey,
with a very sharp flavour, and which granu-
lated almost immediately after it was ex-
tracted. An expert tells me it was gooseberry
honey. I will work two of my stocks on the
principle "S. S." recommends, and will let
you know the result.

Watering-places.—l tried the tea-leaves

plan advised by Mr. Woodley a year or two
ago, but as a few of my fowls were allowed to
run loose in the apiary the tea-leaves dis-
appeared with astonishing rapidity. Bees are
busily gathering pollen in the abnormally
warm weather we are having.

Bees and Baspherries. — In the orchard before
mentioned raspberry canes are planted in
thousands, and I have often observed vast
numbers of bees haA'^e been at work upon
them even when the weather was wet. Bee-
keepers who have a garden take Mr. T.
Holliday's advice (1736, p. 47) and plant some
raspberry canes.

The Rainfall. — A friend of mine here who
makes a diurnal entry of the rainfall, tempera-
ture, atmospheric pressure, &c., has kindly
furnished me with the following statistics : —
Locality, Stoke Prior ; Height above sea
level, 225 ft. Greatest rainfall for the year
since 1877 was 35-05 in. in 1882. The two
years when the least rain fell was 1887 and
1893, when the depth was 17*34 in. and
17'71 in. respectively, but 1887 was preceded
by a wet year, 3079 in., whereas 1892 was a
dry one, 18'28 in. Th3 rainfall here for the
whole of last month was only 1'41 in., although
rain fell on twenty-two days ; most fell on the
30th, when 0'25 in. was registered. At
Ventnor, Isle of Wight, however, over 4*5 in.
fell during January. — Percy Leigh, Stolie
Frior.

NOTES FOR BEGINNERS.

[1768.] I beg to off"er a few notes which
may be useful for beginners. Bees in this
locality have come through the winter so far
in remarkably fine condition. Activity appears
to have already commenced ; on the 4th inst.
they were collecting pollen from snowdrops,
an unmistakable sign that breeding has com-
menced with some stocks ; this, together with
the mild weather we have had, will draw rather
heavily on their stores, which should not be
allowed to run short. Recently, whilst
melting wax, I had a visit from one of our
little friends ; this should be a warning for us
to be wise in time, by keeping entrances
narrow, placing all empty combs or honey out
of the bees' reach, keeping stocks as quiet and
undisturbed as possible. I attach great im-
portance to this point, for their powers will be
required later on in the spring. I have inva-
riably found large (and sometimes small) cakes
of wax to crack upon cooling ; this spoils the
api^earance, and, to prevent it, I cover the hot
wax and mould, or vessel containing it, with
two thick pieces of flannel, and let it cool
gradually, taking care the mould is clean, and
had cold water standing in it for a few hours
previous to running in the wax. Of course,
the flannel must not touch the wax itself. I
have never found this simple plan fail.

Referring to British honey, and the pro-
motion of its sale, I consider it is the duty of
Associations to assist in the adoption of a

Feb. 22, 1894.] IHll BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

77

scheme for the disposal of their members'
produce ; also by directing their energies
toward organising good honey shows where
possible ; show the public we need not send
abroad for our honey, but that it can be and is
produced at home.

Where is our old friend " Extractor " — is he
put by for the winter ? If so, I shall be glad
to fetch him out so that we may have a "Hut "
extract sometimes. He and all others who
give us choice bits have the hearty and best
wishes of many besides H. Hill, Ambaston.

COVERING FOR HIVE ROOFS.

[1769.] Many of your correspondents are
seeking a light and durable covering for the
roofs of their hives. Wire-wove roofing is
just what they require — is light and durable,
and may be got in sheets 10 ft. by 4 ft. at a
cost of 5|d. to 6d. per square foot, and for all
practical purposes is indestructible by the
weather, and is not affected by heat or cold. —
W. D., Stoke-on-Trent.

[1770.] So much has been said lately about
covering for hive roofs, I may venture to sug-
gest to readers my plan of making them water-
proof, and that is by simply using asphalt, which
is easily procured at 4d. per yard, and with me it
has never failed. I always give the roofs a coat
of gas-tar or paint after packing them up for
winter, and find that by spring all the sticki-
ness has gone off and there is no disagreeable-
ness when handling. Altogether it makes a
very warm covering— far better, in my opinion,
than zinc. Hoping this may be of some use
to readers. — J. Waterfield, Kibivorth,
February/ 12.

THE "WELLS" DUMMY.

TAMING VICIOUS BEES.

[1771.] I see great stress is laid upon having
the right dummy for the " Wells " hive. Many
have a dummy which is not the " Wells "
dummy, through no fault of their own, but
because such was sent as the genuine article
by their dealer. I sent for one at the begin-
ning of last bee season, and received a dummy
which is three-eighths of an inch thick and
the holes countersunk on each side. Has any
bee-keeper succeeded with one of this descrip-
tion ? Mr. John Walton is the only one who
has given his experience so far, I believe.
Having had no swarms, I have not been able
to test mine. Does Mr. Wells supply his par-
ticular dummy ? — [We believe he does. — Eds.]

Now that a great effort is made to raise the
minor industry of bee-keeping to a higher
level, it behoves all votaries to " assist the im-
pulse." I was very fortunate to get a good start.
A kind gentleman in the neighbourhood,
I suppose thinking me a promising subject,
at first interested me in bees and then ofl'ered
to procure a stock at a reasonable price. He

not only did this, but carted it to my garden,
put everything all right, and promised to give
me the first swarm from his apiary. And such
a swarm ! — nine pounds in weight. We can-
not expect all to act so generously as this, but
each one can look out somebody and peg away
at him till he gets "the fever," when all will
be plain sailing.

Here are two methods for subduing bees. I
give them for the benefit (?) of bee-keepers.
" When you want to look at the bees just give
'em a plenty of carbolic, they will lie quiet as
lambs " — so said number one as he sprinkled (?)
them from a pint bottle with his finger partly
over the mouth. Poor things, what could they
do when they and their combs were dripping
Avet ? Number two, while keeping up a fusi-
lade of smoke, addressed his exhortation to
the bees, " Now, whose to be master, me or
you ? Us always fight for 't, but I beant
gwain to stop till you gives in." Well, I came
away with the conviction that in this case
" vicious bees " were not good honey producers.

Would it not be well for the B.B.K.A. to
approach the Education Department with the
view of getting bee-keeping recognised as a
class or specific subject in Great Britain ? — ■
Tyro, N. Devon.

[Efforts have been made in this direction
already, and will be continued whenever an
opportunity occurs. — Eds.]

^im'm and ^t^lm.

[955.] Transferring to Frame-hives. — I
wish to ask your advice as follows : — 1. I have
two stocks of bees in skeps, which 1 wish to
transfer into a frame-hive, uniting them at the
same time. As I wish to unite the two lots,
is it .not my best plan to drive the bees and
transfer any combs containing brood ? 2. I
also wish to transfer a stock already in a
frame-hive into another hive, and as I wish to
get both stocks strong as soon as possible, how
soon may I perform these operations ? —
W. R. B., Hunts, February 12.

Reply. — 1. Before recommending the
method of dealing with the two skeps stated
above, we should like to be quite sure as to
the advisability or otherwise of the transferring
and uniting proposed. Unless the combs in
skeps are fairly new, and in good shape for
tying into the frames, together with being
quite certain that both lots of bees are per-
fectly healthy, we should not transfer at all, but
furnish the frame hive with a swarm and new
straight combs the bees would build therein.
We are very chary in advising transfers like
the above, there being so much to prefer in
the alternative course mentioned. 2. The
stock last mentioned may be transferred on
any warm day when the bees are flying freely ;
but if the combs and bees of skeps are operated

78

THfi BRITISII Bl:E JOUEISIAL.

[Feb. 22, 1894.

on, we should defer it till warm, settled weather
in April, and be very careful not to chill the
brood ia transferring the combs.

[956.] Clarifying Discoloured Wax. —
Kindly say how I can get enclosed sample of
wax to a right colour. When first extracted
its colour was a nice light yellow. I then
melted it and passed it through rain-water,
when it turned the colour of sample enclosed.
I remelted it several times but with no better
luck. — A. E. W., Camphire.

Eeply. — There is little doubt that the wax
has been discoloured or stained by its absorp-
tion of the sooty particles in the rain-water.
It would be difficult to restore its original
colour, but, excepting for exhibition or trade
purposes, it is no worse than before. The
addition of a small quantity of oil of vitriol
improves the colour of beeswax when melting,
but we are not certain if it would take away
the staining referred to.

[957.] Bees and Early^ Wild Flotcers.—I
moved my bees to a field in close proximity to
several hundred acres of woodland, in which
grows an abundance of primroses, violets, and
other wild flowers in the early spring. 1. Do
you think there is sufficient honey to be
gathered from such flowers as to make it
worth my while to try the new method of
"swarms in March and April "for the pur-
pose of securing a harvest thereby ? 2. The
gamekeeper in the wood referred to above
always gets early swarms, and yet he never
stimulates his bees in any way ; but he loses
many swarms by their decamping to hollow
trees about. I am afraid I shall lose swarms
in the same way, and so ask if you would
advise me to clip the queen's wings ? 3. My
hives each hold ten Jrames and a dummy.
Could I work them on the " Wells " system by
allowing each queen five standard and five
shallow frames for brood-rearing, and giving
plenty of super room above? 4. Where can
I get instruction for queen-rearing ? — K.
Chapman, Newton.

Eeply. — 1. Bees do gather a little from some
wild flowers, but not in sufficient quantity to
make it worth while preparing for a harvest
from that source. The only real early harvest
is that got from fruit-bloom and such early
flowering trees as sycamore and occasionally
hawthorn. 2. No doubt the shelter and con-
sequent wanner temperature of the woods
may cause early swarms, but the size of the
skeps used will also probably have some in-
fluence in the same direction. As a means of
preventing swarms decamping, clipping the
wings of queens is effective enough, but it will
require someone at hand to secure such
swarms as come off and discover the mulilated
queen on the ground as they sometimes do.
Personally, we not like queen clipping at all,
and should only tolerate it in cases of real
necessity. 3. A hive of ten frames is too
small for dividing into a double- queen colony,

and would not give the " Wells system " a
fair chance, even if worked as proposed. 4.
Instructions for queen-rearing are given in the

Bee-keejjers^ O-uide Boole.

[958.] Re-queening. — Having several hives,
I wish to re-queen this year. I should be
glad of your opinion as to the easiest and yet
safest method — whether giving queen-cells or
first raising queens in nucleus hives, and then
introducing them ? Also what time of year
is the best ?— Inquirer.

Reply. — It is certainly safer to get the
young queens hatched out and fertilised in
nucleus hives before removing those they are
intended to replace than undergo the risks in-
separable from giving queen-cells after removal
of the old queen ; but, on the other hand, the
plan of removing the old queen — so soon as
the honey season begins to fail — and allowing
the bees to raise a successor, while equally
safe, involves less trouble, and combines, as
far as possible, ease with safety.

THE "WELLS SYSTEM" FOR
BEGINNERS.

A correspondent, under the initials G. F. D.,
asks some questions intended for reply in our
query column. The substance of his letter,
however, is so analogous to many others
reaching us on the same subject that we give
more prominence than usual to our rejily for
the benefit of other beginners, the bent of
whose inclinations tend in the same direction.

G. F. D. writes :—

" Will you kindly reply to following
queries : — 1. Is it necessary to enlarge the
brood nest of a Wells hive by allowing ^^ the
respective queens to breed in a shallow-frame
surplus-box placed overhead, of course
dividing the latter by a perforated dummy ?

2. How many supers are necessary for this ?

3. Would not sheet-lead, perforated as th
wooden one is, answer for a ' Wells dummy,'
seeing that it would not warp ? 4. How are
nuclei formed 1 I think I understand how to
make them up, but want to know how to
prevent the bees flying back. 5. How many
supers are needed for a bar-frame hive ; i.e.,
how many do you use ? "

Now, the general tenor of the above queries
leads irresistibly to . the conclusion that our
correspondent has not yet gone through even
the elementary stage of bee-craft, and seeing
that the "Wells system" is essentially a
system suited only for the experienced bee-
keeper, it is almost hopeless to expect success
with it in the hands of a novii-e. He would
at times be confronted with difficulties from
which — with bis limited knowledge — he could
scarcely hope to escape withoutj* disaster of
some sort. We, therefore, recommend our
correspondent, and, indeed, all similarly placed,
to procure and read up a reliable book on bees

Feb. 22, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

79

in order to obtain some grasp of the main
principles which must guide those who take in
hand to control and manage the busy bee.

We are very glad to render such advice as the
limited space in our reply column affords room
for to all who are in want of help or such
counsel as we can offer, but it is quite obvious
that only a complete work on bees can give
such fall details of bee-operations as will enable
the boe-kesper to know " the why and where-
fore " of what he does ; and without this
knowledge he is less than half informed of
what he should know if he is to make a success
of what he is endeavouring to accomplish. A
complete work of some kind on the subject is,
therefore, indispensable to everyone who
aspires to become a successful bee-keeper on
the modern method.

Finally, and not to pass over our corre-
spondent's queries altogether without definite
reply, we may say that No. 1 for answer only
requires reference to what has appeared in our
pages repeatedly — viz., that Mr. Wells is per-
force obliged to enlarge the brood chambers of
his hives by the addition of shallow frames
overhead, and to which the queen has access,
because of the hives he had in possession
before starting his new system only holding
seven standard frames in each compartmenc
of the lower brood chamber. Were it other-
wise, or if his hives had held so many frames
as experience shows to be necessary for the
brood compartment, no shallow frames would
be required for brood purposes. The second
query we do not quite understand. Kegarding
the third, it may be said that a worse material
than sheet-lead could hardly be conceived for
a dummy on which the bees are supposed to
cluster in winter for mutual warmth. Nos. 4
and 5 will be far better answered and under-
stood by reference to a good book on bee
management.

THE "WELLS' SYSTEM.

LECTURE BY MK. WELLS.

Under the auspices of the Northumberland
and Durham Bee-keejjers' Association Mr.
Wells, of Aylesford, Kent, delivered a lecture
on " Bee-keeping," in the Mining Institute,
Newcastle, on the 12th in-st., to a large and
interested audience. Mr. Wells' system of
double-queen hives has been regarded with
keen interest by bee-keepers in all parts of
the country. Many enthusiasts have been
personally to inspect his successful bee-garden
in Kent, and have adopted the system. It
was thought desirable to have a practical
explanation of the system from the inventor
himself, and he was invited to come North by
the Association for that purpose. Mr. Wells
brought with him a double-queen hive", which
he took to piecps before the audience, and,
while describing his arrangements, gave many
valuable hints to those interested in bees. In
the course of his remarks he intimated that
he had experimented for results with five

single-queen hives v. five double-queen hives,
and found that the single hives gave 205 lb. of
honey, or an average of 41 lb. each, while the
double hives gave 789 lb., or an average of
157 lb. each. The financial results obtained
during the last three years had averaged over
£40 per annum from about ten hives erected
on his principle. The Durham County Council
has also secured the services of Mr. Wells to
lecture at Consett and other places.

AN '-OLD SCHOOL" BEE-MAN.

{Conchided from 2^- 70.)

As separate races of men naturally associate
together in whatever country they adopt, so
the races of flowers always gravitate one
towards the other. The wild thyme kept
religiously its own ramparts on the hill, the
water-aveas always with bent head deep in
meditation, preferred the quiet of the deepest
part of the wood, vain forget-me-not stayed by
the brook always beading to look at her face
reflected in the water. Fox-glove stood by
fox-glove ; thistle by thistle. Here was a
whole colony of two-blade orchis. There,
where the brook parted, an island of meadow
sweet. Wood anemone in the spring did
indeed eacroach a little way out in the pas-
ture bordering the wood — their country was
so populous they were obliged to emigrate — but
the bees found them there, they were always
searching— everywhere I went — searching for
flowers !

Thus sitting on the banks in the old garden
and watching for many hours the labouring
breath of the old skeps dissolving in warm,
flower-scented air, I became fnlly conscious of,
and understood why tlie old man so loved his
bees. Without physical effort his mind
travelled out with them over the flower-strewn
earth — mental walks up the toilsome hill, by
the green path through the mowing- grass,
deep down in the shady dell. When the
cabbage leaves over the frames of the new-
fangled hive had withered, be bethought him-
self°of looking inside, which, after much deli-
beration, he did. Manipulation of bees, as we
know it, was foreign to him, for save hivmg a
swarm or " putting them down '' he had done
nothing. Cottage beekeepers have not many
appliances. They have elder troughs _ for
feeding, hazel wands, cut while the sap is in
them To fix in the skeps, and at swarming time
the pan and key were kept handy. Thus, the
matter of taking off the roof required due
care, and was not to be done without inward
qualms and tremblings. The old dame came
out to see it done, standing at a safe distance
under the damson trees. To get a good pur-
chase the old man swept aside the gooseberry
bush — they were rough-reds — with one foot
and trod upon some young raspberry canes
with the other. Grasping the roof and prising
it, he lifted it off and gently laid it down.
The withered leaves had kept the bees down

80

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Feb. 22, 1894.

in the frames, six of which— there were no
more — were full of combs, and smaller combs
in the space behind were fastened to the hive
sides. Having no carpet, he sent the old
dame for a wisp of hay, which being brought,
he covered over the frames with it and over
all replaced the roof.

I went that way very often then, for the
rough, red gooseberries were dead ripe, and I
liked them far better than the big ones we
grew at home. Seeing my pupil did not learn
modern ways of keeping bees, I began to think
it would have been better to have let well
alone. Better not initiate him into the mystery
of section cases or extractors ; rather let him
keep to the skeps and the old, old way, I
like to think of him now, fearful that the
swarm would settle on a dead branch — an old
superstition. I like to picture him making
the bee-food (dandelion wine, ale, and sugar),
and taking out the elder troughs, rather than,
as it might have been, making artiticial swarins
in March, worrying himself about "metal
ends" having a spur or not, or trying the
" Wells system."

For many years, as the summers came and
went, I drove his bees — those hives that were
very heavy, and those that were too light to
stand over the year. About ten or twelve
were " condemned," and the bees came in very
useful for increasing my hives and strengthen-
ing others. Being rather tender-hearted, I
essayed not to " bump " them in a wholesale
manner, but drove them out into skeps, leaving
them on the old stand till evening. Then I
drove quietly home — pneumatic safeties to
carry bees not being invented then — with
those dear insects, saved from the brimstone-
pit, humming a sad dirge of their lost homes,
and the mellow harvest moon rising and send-
ing a soft gleam on the broad band of corn
felled as the grasshopper reaping machine Avent
round and round.

The martins had left their eaves, acorns
were dropping, hips and haws were wonderful
to see, when i went that way again. There
was sad news — my old friend was no more !

In the old, old room, kneeling down and
looking through the old diamond panes, over
the long line of skeps, over the hawthorn hedge
and green pasture, across the cornfield and the
valley of the brook beyond, upward to the
heather and thyme-clad hills — looking over
scenes well known and dear for many many
years — alone, he died. Pleasant was the odour
of honeycomb, straining in the huge jar on the
hearth, as the old dame chatted of bygone
times, while I sat sipping cowslip wine and
listening. There is, indeed, much to learn
from these simple cottagers, who belong to the
old school, much of kindliness, hospitality and
piety, and those who have earned the title of
the bee-man stand out from among their
fellows as superior in intellect and knowledge.
Any man may keep bees, but very few— only
one here and there— earn the title of the bee-
man of the village.

The next year was the terrible one of 1888,
and although the hives had been whispered to
about the death of their master, every stock
died, except five — three skeps and two frame
hives— in July. The sons, not "taking kindly
to bees," have neglected them, and only two
remain alive to-day. The garden which once
rang with their tuneful hum, seems strangely
silent now, but when I walk through the same
fields in the summer time, along the old lane,
even more overgrown, in the wood Avhere the
blue bells and anemones still flourish, along
the brook side to gather forget-me-nots and
sweet woodbine, upon the thyme-scented hill
— everywhere I go — there the hive bees are ;
always searching, and humming to their
flowers. — LoRDSWOOD.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forivarded ivill he attended to, and those
only oj personal interest ivill he answered in this colutnn.

Letters or qtiei-ies asking for addresses of manufac-
turers or correspondents, or where appliances can he,
purchased, or replies giving such information, can only
he inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries and replies is meant for the general
good of hee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to hear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in advance of the date of'
issue, queries cannot always he replied to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of their communica-
tion.

Errata. — In reply to query 950 Cp. 68)
fourth line of reply, for " called " read " and
formic acid." And in following line read
fruit sugar instead of " cane "sugar.

T. T. "W. E. — Snsjjected Dysentery.— It does
not always follow that the spotting referred
to, unless excessive, is really caused by
dysentery. When the weather is warmer,
it may be well to lift out a comb or two,
and if the marks are seen on the combs and
hive sides remedial measures may be needed,
perhaps a change of hive. Meantime, you
had better do no more than watch the bees
from the outside as occasion offers.

A. B. Trythall. — Lantern Slides. — The
B.B.J, does not "loan out " lantern-slides.
We have forwarded your letter to the Secre-
tary of the B.B.K.A., to whom it should
have been addressed.

F. Jellico (Blackrock). — Ekes below Frames
in Winter. — Two inches of space below
frames in winter would, no doubt, answer
equally well as a greater depth. The " eke ''
referred to on p. 60 is made 3 in. deep for
the purpose of converting (in case of need)
a shallow-frame box into a standard brood-
chamber as stated.

B. Drake (Horrabridge). — Transferring from
Skeps to Frame-hives. — Kindly refer to B.J.
for February 8, p. 58, for reply.

J. Henderson Bulcock (Hazlemere). — The
Hon. Sec. of the Lane, and Cheshire B.K.A.
is Mr. T. D. Sghofield; Alderley Edge,
Cheshire.

March 1, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

81

^clitoriitl ^otias, &r*

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL MEETING,

The annual general meeting of the above
Association was held on Wednesday, Feb-
rnary 21, in the Board-room of the RS.P.C.A.,
Jermyn-street. In the unavoidable absence
ot the President, the Baroness Burdett-Coutts.
and the Vice-President, Sir James Whitehead,
M.P., both of whom -wrote regretting their
inability to be present, the Chairman of the
Committee, Mr. T. W. Cowan, presided, and
was supported by the Hon. and Eev. H.
Bligh, Revs. F. T. Scott, G. W. Bancks, W.
E. Burkitt, and E. Davenport, Major Fair,
Captain Fox, Messrs. T. Bevan, S. J. Baldwin,
H. W. Brice, W. B. Carr, J. J. Crosby (Miss),
M. E. Eyton, J. Garratt, J. M. Hooker, W.
H. Harris, H. Jonas, H. G. Morris, W. P.
Meadows, F. H. Meggy, J. H. New, D.
Eayner, W. J. Sheppar'd, B. D. Till, A. D.
Woodley, John Huckle, Secretary, and others.

In moving the adoption of the report and
statement of accounts for the past year, the
Chairman observed that he was sorry to find
that their financial position was now no better
than it was a year ago. After all that had
been done the income had been on'y inappre-
ciably added to, no County Association having
increased their affiliation fees in any case. As
the income is entirely inadequate for the effec-
tive carryingonof the Association's work, it was
important that the meeting should carefully con-
sider the several recommendations made by the
Committee, more especially those brought for-
ward by the Finance Committee, who had
given the financial position of the Association
much thought and attention. First it was
proposed that the affiliatedAssociations should
be called upon to forego the medals usually
given on the payment of an affiliation fee of
one guinea. The Committee pi-oposed that all
Associations desirous of having the medals
on payment for them (of which there are
several already notified) should be allowed to
do so ou increasing the payment to two
guineas. Another important point was the
proposal to withdraw the Association's funded
capital.

In support of the Committee's proposals the
Chairman stated that the Finance Committee's
report had beea submitted to the President,
who— writing from Rome a few days ago —
strongly advocated the adoption of the Com-
mittee's recommendations on all points except
the withdrawal of capital from the Post-Office
Savings Bank.

The members would observe from the report
that steps had been taken by the Committee
to avoid if possible the withdrawal of the
Association's invested funds. The Committee
desired to press the question m^st strongly

upon the affiliated Associations and indi-
vidual members— if the work was to go on
more support must be obtained. It would be
observed that many members had transferred
their subscriptions to the county Associations,
and the income under this head was now £50
less than it was a few years ago. All this
meant a curtailment of the work. The
affiliated Associations were greatly interested
in this question, for he felt sure that if the
central society was compelled to suspend its
labours the county Associations would also
soon cease to exist.

Mr. W. H. Harris seconded the motion.

Considerable discussion followed.

The Rev. E. Davenport, after expressing
regret at the gloomy state of affairs, took
exception to the proposal to withdraw the
medals. The competitions for these at the
country exhibitions were important, and in
the event of their withdrawal he should
almost feel inclined to ask what were the
benefits derived from affiliation.

Mr. Bevan considered that the affiliation fee
of one guinea might be retained, and that the
rule by which the Associations be allowed to
purchase the medals at a little over cost price
should be made permanent. He was acquainted
with several societies which granted medals in
this way, and he knew of no society which
gave medals in return for an affiliation fee.

Mr. Harris supported Mr. Bevan's sugges-
tion.

Mr. Till drew the attention of the meeting
to the fact of the Committee having stated,
in their report that they were looking for the
affiliated Associations to support them in this
proposal. They had to face a great difficuky
in regard to finance, and he was of opinion
that when the several affiliated Associations
came to consider the position of the central
society they would see that the parent had
some claim upon its chiidren.

The Rev. E. Davenport did not think that
it was so much a question of money as of
principle. His own Association was in a
fairly prosperous condition, for which they
were much indebted to the County Council for
the support accorded to them. He thought he
could promise a donation of £5 to the fund
being raised (cheers).

Mr. A. D. Woodley considered that as a
matter of economy the proposal in regard to
the medals was not a wise one ; economy might
be effected in other ways.

The Chairman remarked that it was owing
entirely to the action of the Central Society
that bee-keeping had been brought forward as
a subject for technical instruction and included
in the educational code for teaching in the
elementary schools, and there were still subjects
to be dealt with. Matters would have to be
brought before the Government, and who wa.s
to undertake this work except the Central
Society ? A purely local society would not be
in a position to do it. If Mr. Woodley would
point out in what way further economy might

82

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [March 1, 1894.

be practised the Committee •would be glad to
receive suggestions.

Miss Eyton (Shropshire Association), Major
Fair (Middlesex Association), Mr. Garratt
(Kent Association), and Mr. Meggy (Essex)
supported the proposals of the Committee.
The latter considered that the present position
of bee-keeping -was entirely due to the action
of the Central Society in the past, and, with-
out some central body to take the work in
hand, it would be impossible to obtain any
national recognition.

Mr. Meadows (Leicester) was of opinion
that more would be done by the Affiliated
Associations were it not for the fact that many
of them were in much the same position in
regard to funds as the Central Society.

Mr. Harris considered that whenever an
Affiliated Association was in a position to
assist the Central Society it should cheerfully
do it, even as an act of gratitude.

The Eev. E. Davenport and Mr. A. D.
Woodley promised that the matter should be
brought before their respective Associations at
their forthcoming meetings.

Mr. Till advocated the claims of the
B.B.K.A. on its Affiliated Associations,
instancing the indirect help rendered to the
latter by such efforts to arouse interest in bee-
keeping as that at the Mansion House recently.
By the publicity thus given in the newspapers
persons are induced to start bee-keeping and
eventually to join bee Associations. He thought
that county dissociations had not sufficient
consideration for the financial needs of the
central body.

After further discussion, during which
several representatives of county Associations
undertook to pay the increased fee in order to
obtain the medals, it was resolved, on the
motion of Mr. Bevan, that the proposal of the
Committee to retain the present affiliation fee
of one guinea, and to supply medals and a
certificate for an additional ^1. Is., be
approved.

_Mr. Jonas next moved, " That the Com-
mittee be empowered to withdraw — if neces-
sary— the funded capital of the Association
as invested in the Post Office Savings Bank."
The Rev. G. W. Bancks seconded the motion,
which was carried, and the report was then
adopted unanimously, with a special vote of
thanks to Mr. Kirchner, the Auditor.

The Rev. F. T. Scott moved, and the Rev,
W. E. Burkitt seconded, a vote of thanks to
the retiring Officers and Committee. Carried.

On the motion of the Hon. and Rev. H.
Bligh, seconded by Mr, E. D. Till, a very
hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the
Council of the Royal Society for the Pre-
vention of Cruelty to Animals for the
gratuitous use of their Board -room for Com-
mittee and other meetings.

Mr, Jonas moved the re-election of the
President, Vice-Presidents, Hon. Members
and _ Corresponding Members, Treasurer
Auditor, Analyst, Librarian, and Secretary^

for the year 1894, in accordance with Rules 5
and 9, Carried.

The Chairman then proposed to add two
names to the list of Hon, Members, the first
of which would be familiar to most of those
present as that of the originator of the
Central Association and also of the British
Bee Journal. He referred to Mr. Chas. N.
Abbott (applause). Mr. Abbott, he was happy
to say, was still among us, though not in the
enjoyment of very good health, and he thought
it would be a graceful compliment to their old
friend and a slight acknowledgment of the
services he had rendered to bee-keeping to
convey to him this mark of their esteem (hear,
hear). The other name he had to propose
was that of Dr. de Planta, a distinguished
scientist, who had rendered much service to
bee-keepers by his investigation into the
nature and causes of those mysterious diseases
to which bees are subject.

The Chairman's proposition was carried with
acclamation.*

The Chairman read the results of the
nominations for the Committee to act
during 1894 : — Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh,
Rev. G. W. Bancks, Thos. W. Cowan, Capt.
Campbell, W. Eroughton Carr^ Eev. R. Erring-
ton, Major Fair, J. Garratt, W. H. Harris,
Henry Jonas, J. H. New, W. J, Sheppard,
E. D. Till, and H. F. Witherley.

The motion standing in the name of Mr.
Jonas, having reference to the invested funds
of the Association, was moved in connection
with the annual report.

Mr. Garratt then moved the next item on
the agenda paper, which was to the effect : —
" That the undertaking of the Association to
provide Judges and Examiners to the Affiliated
Associations, as set forth in the privileges of
affiliation, be withdrawn.'' In moving this
resolution, Mr. Garratt observed that, con-
sidering the discussion which had taken place
on the report, it might be well for him to
state that in moving this resolution he had
consulted with no one, nor had he even asked
any one to second his motion. He considered
the present undertaking pressed very unfairly
upon the Association, and more unfairly still
upon the person who was called upon to
undertake the Avork. It was well known that
the burden fell very heavily upon a few indi-
viduals who were called upon to do a great
deal in this way, and the loss of time so in-
curred was a serious matter.

Moreover, in the future it was proposed to
establish centres for examinations, and these
were to be conducted quite apart from the
judging of an exhibition. The time occupied
would be considerably increased, and he
thought it was only right that some fee in
addition to the out-of-pocket expenses should
be paid by the affiliated Associations,

[Since the above was in type, we iearn, with deep
regret, wliich will, no doubt, be shared by all our
readers, that Mr. C. N. Abbott is lying dangerously ill,
with but slight hope of recovery. — Eds.]

March 1, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

83

Mr. Bevan seconded the motion.

Mr. Hooker observed that very few persons
knew the amount of time occupied in judging
at shows, especially when combined with the
examination of candidates for expert certifi-
cates, as was often the case. He instanced a show
at which he had himself officiated, and where
the time taken up in going and coming and
getting through the work had occupied him
for two and a-half days, on the third of which
days he reached his home at midnight.

Considerable discussion followed, and
various amendments were considered with
the view of including a fee (where required)
in addition to the personal out-of-pocket
expenses as now paid.

Miss Eyton hoped that no decision would
be arrived at in regard to any additional pay-
ments under this head at the present time.
She suggested that the matter should stand
over and first be submitted to the several
affiliated Associations for their consideration.

The Hon. and Eev. H. Bligh supported
Miss Eyton's proposition.

Mr. A D. Woodley moved "the previous
question.'' Mr. Meadows seconded, but the
motion was lost. The Eev. E. Davenport
then moved " That the matter be referred to
the Committee for their consideration, and be
brought forward at the next annual meeting."
Seconded by the Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh, and
carried.

On the motion of the Chairman, it was
unanimously resolved, "That the Committee
be empowered to elect corresponding members,
OjS recommended in the Committee's report for
1893."

This concluded the ordinary business.

Committee meeting held at 17, King Wil-
liam-street, Strand, London, W.C., on Wed-
nesday, the 21st. Present : — T. W. Cowan
(in the chair), Rev. Dr. Bartrum, Hon . and
Rev. H. ^Bligh, J. H. New, E. D. Till, H.
Jonas, Major Fair, Rev. C. W. Bancks, W. B.
Carr, J. W. Sheppard, J. Garratt, and Rev.
W. E. Burkitt (ex officio), John Huckle
(Secretary).

Mr. Lees McClure wrote expressing his
regret at not being able to be present.

The minutes of the last meeting were read
and confirmed. The statement of accounts to
February 1.3 were considered and approved.

The Secretary reported that arrangements
had been concluded with the Royal Counties
Agricultural Society for an exhibition ' of
honey, &c., at their forthcoming Exhibition to
be held at Canterbury.

A letter was read from the Secretary of the
Derbyshire Association inquiring as to
whether the Affiliated Associations would be
allowed to have medals for competition during
1 894 providing an increased fee was paid.

Resolved, " That, subject to the approval of
the general meeting, each affiliated Associa-
tion be allowed to have the medals and certi-

ficates during 1894 on payment of £l. Is.
additional fee."

Correspondence was read from the Secre-
tary of the National Co-operative Festival
held at the Crystal Palace inquiring upon
what terms the B.B.K.A. would undertake
the section of that exhibition allotted to
honey.

The Committee were of opinion that this
exhibition was an important one, and that,
providing favourable arrangements could be
made, the undertaking might be entered upon.
The Secretary was instructed to communicate
further with the Secretary of the Crystal
Palace Exhibition, and to accept the under-
taking on stated terms.

The Chairman called attention to its being
the last meeting of the Committee elected for
the past year, and tendered his thanks to his
colleagues for the support they had given him
during the year. Mr. Garratt returned thanks
on behalf of the Committee, and warmly eulo-
gised the Chairman for the large amount of
work he had done, and the kindly interest he
he had taken in the Association and its work
for a long period of time.

The following" new members were elected : —
J. M. Wohlgemuth, Woking ; T. Bevan, East
Finchley ; S. C. Chadwick, Malton, Yorks ;
H. F. Wetherby, Blackheath ; Rev. R. Sum-
merfield, Ripon ; G. Fancourt, Stamford ; P.
Scattergood, Stapleford.

{Beport of Conversazione ncX^^.^vee]c.)

MIDDLESEX ASSOCIATION.

The annual general meeting of the Middle-
sex Bee-Keepers' Association was held on
Wednesday, the 14th inst., in the Board-
room of the Royal Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals, kindly lent for the
occasion. In the absence of the President,
the Baroness Burdett-Co;;tts, who was abroad,
T. W. Cowan, Esq., Vice-President and Chair-
man of the Association, presided.

Amongst those present were the following
officers and members : — Messrs. W. H. Harris,
H. Jonas (Treaaurer), H. W. Ford, J. Gittins,
J. T. Harveyson, G. W. Smyth, H. A. Jones,
H. B. Lee, T. Bevan, Mrs. Carter, Rev. W.
Handcock, and Major Fair (General Secre-
tary), &c.

The Chairman, in opening the proceedings,
remarked that the finances were very satisfac-
tory, there being a balance of £12. 5s. 7d. from
189.3, exclusive of subscriptions paid in ad-
vance. This was the more satisfactory when
the general depression of trade in the past year
was considered. The subscriptions for 1893
were in excess of those received in 1892.
Commenting on the large, but decreasing,
importations of honey from abroad, he (the
Chairman) did not think that British bee-
keepers had anything to fear from the intro-
duction of low-priced foreign honey, the
greater part of which was of mediocre grade —
such as that, for instance, from the Sandwich

84

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Marcli 1, 1894.

Islands — and none of it could compare with
the home production in aroma and flavour.
What the British bee-keeper should work for
was to foster and increase the production of
British honey, so as to give a steady and suf-
ficient supply to our markets ; ana the pro-
ducer should learn to be content with fairly
remunerative prices, and there Avould be no
fear but what British honey would hold its
own. He strongly advocated the adoption of
co-operative or Association labels. These
should indicate an unfailing guarantee of the
quality of the honey, and the public would
soon learn to discriminate between the foreign
and the home production.

It was unanimously carried that the report
be adopted and the balance-sheet passed.

The following resolution was then put and
carried unanimously : — " That the best thanks
of the Association be offered to the E.S.P.O.A.
for the gratuitous use of their board-room."

It was proposed and carried by acclama-
tion : — " That the Baroness Burdett-Coutts be
re-elected President.'' In putting this to the
meeting the Chairman said that he, in common
with all present, regretted the absence of her
ladyship, but it was impossible for her to pre-
side this year as heretofore, as she was abroad.

The following Vice-Presidents were re-
elected : — Lord George Hamilton, the Hon.
and Pvev. H. Bligh, Sir John Lubbock, Messrs.
T. W. Cowan, A. Lafone, M.P., E. M. Nelson,
and H. C. Stephenson, M.P.

The Treasurer, General Secretary, Provincial
and District Secretaries, and Auditor, together
with the other officers of the Association,
being duly elected, the iw'oceedings terminated
with a vote of thanks to the Chairman for
presiding.

The result of the usual drawing of prizes
was announced at the close.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. iV'o notice ^vill be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the litirani department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Mevieiv, <t-c., inust be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All biisiness communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <i;c., must be addressed
to "The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' OJice, 17,
King Wrlliam-strett, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of Advertisements).

•»* In order to facilitate reference, Con-espondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as tvell
as the page on which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.
[1772.] The weather has been more season-
able the last week — frosty nights and sunny
days. On Saturday, February 24, the thaw
set in, and the bees were on the wing in large

numbers during the greater part of the day,
and busy at the watering places, showing that
brood rearing has started.

The locality seems an important factor in
determining the quantity of rainfall. Mr.
Birkett (1763) thinks no reliance can be placed
on weather prophets. Then on next page (76),
Mr. Leigh shows that, notwithstanding rain
fell on twenty-two days, yet the aggregate
amount was only 1*4 1 in., though at V'entnor
the quantity was 4"5 in. In my note on Mr,
Clement's forecast readers will notice I say if
the good time promised should prove correct
then bee-keepers will be, those happy bee-men.

I am pleased to see Mr. D. M.'s (1761) letter
on Foul Brood, the matter is dealt with in a
practical manner. Though the scientific
method of cure failed, the practical method
appears to have eradicated the pest. I hope
D. M. will be able to write further on the
subject later on, when he is able to examine
his hives carefully during May or June. Mr.
McEvoy's method of cure is similar to the
method followed by D. M. in his final trial,
that ajjpears to have been successful, as no
trace of the disease appeared during last year.
Then his friend the gardener's bees were
were treated in a similar manner, though with
the difference that one apiary was fed on
medicated food which cured, and the other on
food not medicated, yet the cure was equally
prompt and effectual. (Query : — Was medicine
required by the bees ?) D. M. does not say if
he hived his bees in the autumn of '92 on
foundation or put them on clean combs, also
how did he disinfect his hives ? A^so what
did he do with the frames of food in the hives
when he united his bees into two lots to start
anew 1 Was this food fed to the bees after
being made into syrup, or was it destroyed (or
made into mead) ? I should gather that D. M.
still uses the same hives, as, when he speaks
of making a clean sweep by fire, he brackets
(hives and combs), inferring that the hives
should be saved from destruction. I am
asking these questions in the hope that D. M.
will give further details for the benefit of his
brother bee-keepers who may unfortunately
get the pest in their apiaries.

I had some gentlemen to visit me to see my
apiary and talk bees from North Hants last
week, and their experience of foul brood was
similar to D. M.'s, and final method of cure on
nearly the same lines, and when I told them I
had had no dealings with the enemy, and that
I was trying to boycott it by using disinfectants
in all my hives, they said I did not know the
worry of bee-keeping yet. I, of course, said I
did not wish to know it. The subject is of
such vital importance to the craft, especially
to those who, like myself, have large apiaries,
that a method which will eradicate the pest
effectually ought to be chronicled in the pages
of the journal devoted to bee-keeping. The
Bee-lceeptr^ s Bevkw (American), both January
and February Nos., contain articles on the sub-
ject, the one by Mr. Taylor, Apiarist at the

March 1, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

85

Michigan State Apiary is especially interesting,
perhaps our editor can spare room for it in
British Bee Journal.

The British and county Associations are
feeling the continued depression in agriculture
in their subscription lists, and it must vex the
friends of apiculture to know that our parent
Association feel constrained to draw on their
reserve fund to meet current expenses. Can-
not the number of subscribers be increased for
the year.*^ This will help somewhat. Then
county Associations should contisue their
affiliation fees as usual, and not desire the
medals this year ; in fact, the affiliated Asso-
ciations have not proved very great helps to
the parent Association in the past, when we
come to consider that the British gave a silver
and bronze medal and certificate to each Asso-
ciation in affiliation whose fee was only a
guinea.

The " Wells " dummy (that received the
medal, I think) at Chester was under a |-in.
thick, I should think, and had been used, so
that it was a genuine one exhibited by Mr.
Wells. I had one in use last season made like
it, and a large part of the holes were filled
with propolis, or bee-glue. I have two of the
kind '' Tyro" mentions, countersunk holes each
side, and I see no reason why these are not
equal to the real " Wells " make. The holes
require to be burnt with a red-hot skewer,
possibly this charred surface may prevent pro-
polisation ; then, again, the district may have
to do with much or little propolisation, also
the strain of bees. Some stocks of bees use a
great deal more than others. I would suggest
to " Tyro " that, when he inoculates his friends
with the bee fever that he will point out to
them the desirability of becoming members,
not only of the local or county Bee-keepers
Association, but also of the British Bee-
keepers' Association, which is the parent of all
other Bee-keepers" Associations. The advan-
tages will be mutual. — W. Woodley, Beedon,
Newhury.

IN THE HUT.

Oh, Memory ! Fond memory I

When all things fail we fly to thee !

We bid thee bring us back the years,

The thoughts, the friends we lov'd so well.

E'en our sorrows June endears,
Breathe upon us thy magic spell I

[1773.] My pen refuse?, as you can see by
the scratching on the MS. corner. Positively
"jibs" at the invocation; for — so far as the
old hut is concerned —

The garden that knew it shall know it no
more.
It took an invocation of another kind to get it
to budge from the old spot when the family
changed quarters — the hut, not the garden —
and now it stands (much the same as ever,
barring it wants another coat— of paint — to
keep the weather out) in a bee pasturage in

which the bees can give thos9 in the old
quarters 25 yards in 100 and win " wings
down " in honey-getting. On the steep side
of a vallej' facing south-east the hut looks on
clover fields " held up at it ''on the opposite
side. Ah, the old times in the hut, smoking
and arguing bee-jaw, and unwittingly
asphyxiating ourselves with carbon fumes
frotn the stove — fumes that, like Sterne's
starling, " couldn't get out." Your readers
wont remember that I had in the hut an
Abbott's observatory hive, Just an ordinary
hive, taking standard frames, and made with
glass sides instead of wooden ones, having a
fiat glass top instead of the usual peaked roof.
This hive was so placed that the light from
the window shone between the frames, and

Here I used to sit, and sit,

And muse, and muse (not feline mews !)

I used to think the bees got itsed to it, and
were amused.

They would go about the ordinary avoca-
tions of " domesticity " (Gilbert) quite uncon-
cernedly, and seemed not to care a rap if I even
tapped on the glass. 'Twas here I had my
first opportunity of watching cases of bee-
palsy, the mysterious shiverum, shakiness. the
trembling, groggy gait, that has puzzled so
many (we are talking about bees, cynic). It
was the wintering in this hive that forced me
to this conclusion :— plenty of circulating air,
with protection from wet and snow are sine
qua non in future ; hence the presence of
American bacon boxes over my hives nowa-
days. Here it was I found the use of soft
boiler felt and strips of thick kamptulicon as
cover and quilt — three strips make one quilt,
and you may examine any three or four frames
you like without disturbing the rest of the
brood-nest.

There was something (shall I say some
spirit ?) about the Hut in those days that stole
over me and stimulated bantering chafi", which
you wot of, aye, and seriously speaking, solemn
thoughts (I cannot be serious !) for the soberest
moments. The lonely watchmgs in light and
darkness ; sitting in darkness and getting
light, clear friends ; the mysterious changing
sounds, so clearly heard by a supersensitive
ear at such times ! Memory surges these into
the mind now I have aroused her and they
flood along faster than pen can paint them.

I cannot go on. I cannot tell your readers
anything about bees and bee-keeping but what
they ought by this to have learnt from yowr
columns, but I can tell this : — Memory has
given me one of my old and pleasant half-
hours thus spent in rubbing off the dust which
obscured the Hut, and — X-Tr actor.

TRANSFERRING BEES.

THE EVILS OF NOX- STANDARD FRAMES.

[1774.] I have much pleasure in thanking
you for information received by reading your
British Bee Journal for the past eight

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [March 1, 1894.

months ; I never thought I should keep bees,
as I used to dread tlie sight of them ; but
through a bee-keeping friend I resolved to try
my hand. My friend got me my first two lots
in August, 1892, now I have three single and
one double hive, which are all doing well. The
worst fault I have to contend with is that my
frames and hives are ^ in. short of the standard
size. I intend, however, to make my hives
and frames all of standard size, and. have
already got three new hives prepared with extra
body-boxes to replace the ones now in use.
I, therefore, wish to ask, 1. Which would be
the best course for me to talse in changing ?
Should I cut the combs out of the present
frames, and tie them in the new standards?
Or, 2. Put full sheets of foundation in the
standard frames, and insert them in the hives
the bees now occupy, for them to draw the
foundation out ? 1 find the standard frames
will just go in the old hives. After the bees
have drawn out the foundation I could transfer
them and the bees into the standard size hives.
Any other course you may suggest, I should
be pleased to learn. 3. Is there any way of
teeping earwigs out of hives ? In this neigh-
bourhood we were much troubled Avith these
pests last year. Do they do any harm in the
hives ?

I was quite satisfied with the quantity o^
honey I not last year, being my first bee"
season. From three single hives I took about
90 lb. of surplus, and left nine frames full in
each for the bees to winter on. When packing
my hives for winter I put two sheets of brown
paper over quilt, and on this a sack. I had a
bag full of ears cut from oat-stalks, which I
got when thrashing, and among this I put
some camphor. It made a nice pillow, easy
to pack and very warm. The roofs of two of
my hives are covered with unbleached calico.
I painted the roof before putting this on, then
gave three coats of paint on the calico. These
roofs were as dry as a bone, but the other two
hive roofs (made with boards overlapping each
other) were very damp, and I had to change
the packing and put on some dry. I have put
corrugated iron over these roofs for the present
to prevent more wet getting in, and tied them
on with wire bound round the hives. I have
to fasten my roofs securely, as my garden, in
which the hives stand, is on the top of a rail-
way embankment about 30 ft. high, and ex-
posed to all the winds that blow. I was very
uneasy on one day lately when I could hardly
stand in the garden for the gale, and there is
nothing for protection. I expected to find the
hives down the bank on the following Monday
morning, but all's well at present. — A. J. Yeo,
near Cardiff, February 16.

[1 and 2. We should hesitate in going to the
trouble of cutting out the combs from the
present frames when the addition of a ^-in.
strip of wood added to the outside of each
side-bar would make them the correct standard
size. You might select, say, six combs for each

hive, and tack on these strips before inserting
them in the new hives. Prepare as many new
frames as will make up the full complement,
with full sheets of foundation, and, as soon as
the weather becomes settled and warm, begin
inserting these one at a time — at intervals of a
few days — between the other brood-combs
until all are in. Afterwards, the odd-sized
frames may be gradually weeded out and re-
placed with " standards." 3. Earwigs are
more troublesome than haruiful. They are
rather uncleanly things, and must be brushed
from their nesting places into water at intervals
and destroyed. There is no other way of dealing
with them we know of. — Eds.1

"TANGING" BEES IN 1665.
[1775.] I enclose an extract from an English
writer of the seventeenth century, named
Dekker, w"hich seems to show a further de-
velopment of the old wife's " key-and-frying-
pan belief" that it would not only make
swarms settle, but would even draw them out
of the hive. It may interest readers. Dekker
(dated 1665) says: — "He was a musicall
tinker that on his kettledrum could play any
country dance you cald for, and upon holly-
dayes had earned money by it, when no fiddler
could be heard of. Hee was only feared when
he stalkt through some towns where bees were,
for he struck so sweetely on the bottome of his
copper instniment that he would emptie whole
hives and leade the swarmes after him by the
sounde.''

HIVE KOOFS.

[1776.] I am amused at all the letters you
get about hive covers and the remarks there-
on. I find nothing so good as zinc over the
timber. I have some in use twelve years
now, and they are as good as the day they
were put on, and never let in a drop of
wet. If put on properly and turned round
the ends of the timber there can be no fault
found with them. There are two ways of
doing everything ; a right and a wrong way —
the latter will make the best material useless.
— T. J ., Blachrock, February 17.

THE " W. B. C." HIVE.

1777.] I read with much interest the
description ,of the " W. B. C." hive in the
Bee Journal of February 1 and 8. I possess
one, supplied by a well-known maker, and
after noting that it differed somewhat from
the dimensions given in the Record of March,
1890, I am glad to find that it corresponds in
all but a few minor points with the present
specification. Its inner boxes are stowed
away, for, so far, it has only served as a house
for one of the skeps with which I started late
last season. So the pleasure and experience
of working its boxes and frames are yet to
come. Still, I think I have seen enough of it
and of other good types of hives (some of

March 1, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

87

which I have ready for next season), and have
used it sufficiently to justify my good opinion
of its merits. So to-day, in ray garden,
noting again its trim appearance, the excellent
design and proportion of all its parts, lifting
oft the light but strong roof with two fingers
and thumb, and finding all inside as dry as a
bone, and knowing that the rather weak stock
inside is doing excellently, and consuming (by
Aveight testing) a minimum of food under the
warm packing and good ventilation allowed by
the hive, I mentally thanked the designer for
this and other benefits, and thought I would,
with yonr, permission, give my ideas on the
merits of the hive, and some remarks on it,
which, subject to your comments, may pos-
sibly interest brother novices or amateurs
niaking one of these hives from the published
description.

The evident advantages of the outer and
inner case are, I think, the free circulation of
rtir between door and roof openings, causing in
hot weather a dispersal of hot, stagnant air,
which must exist in confined spaces in wood
hives under sun heat ; and in winter, by means
of nearly closed outer -, door, we get a modified
air circulation supplying the wide, open inner
entrance with abundant fresh air, but pre-
venting strong cold blasts driving direct into
the brood nest. The winter Eke, too, is so
easily placed under body box for bottom air
space, without any disturbance of the outer
case arrangements, or requiring the lowering of
a movabb porch. Then, if warm packing be
needed for a weak stock, or in a severe climate,
cork-dust can be easily filled in between outer
and inner cases at sides and back, leaving the
front, or most of it, free for air circulation be-
tween door and roof. Mess in removal can be
avoided by using thin cotton bags, loosely
made, of the size of the spac*, putting the
bags in first.

But I think the greatest advantage of the
double case is the absolute dryness insured
thereby to the inner boxes, from the fact, that,
given a sound roof, even if driving rain is
blown or soaks through any crack or joint in
the outer case, it cannot touch the completely-
separated inner case, nor wet its top coverings.
Moreover, there is all the advantage with
the double case of being able to use a plain
flat joint for the inner boxes, which is the
easiest for separation under propolisation, but
the worst for rain leakage, and a plinthed joint
for the outer cases, because the objection to
plinths, as making difficult the separation of
propolised joints, does not here apply ; and a
plinth, properly made, is an absolute bar to
any wet entering the joint.

I will here state my opinion, not as a bee
novice, but from other experience, that all
plinths for shedding wet clear of a joint
should have the inner bottom edge bevelled
off", so as to cause the outer corner to form a
fairly sharp dripping edge. The eff"ect of this
is that rain coming down the plinth drops from
the dripping edge clear of the hive side, and

will not go up the bevel ; whereas, with a flat
surface to the bottom of plinth, the rain-
drops will spread about it, come in contact
with hive side, and either be sucked up between
it and the plinth by capillary attraction and
enter the joint (unless plinth be extra deep in
overlap), or else may be driven up and in by
wind pressure.

My W.B.C. hive plinths were not made
with this bevelled edge, and first one lift and
then another in replacement leaked at the
four lower corners, the moisture spreading
about, and on one occasion dropping in on the
windward side and making a pool on the floor-
board. The cause was clearly proved to be
due to what I have described, and I remedied
it in both lifts by bevelling the plinths, not a
drop of rain coming through since the altera-
tion, which was made some months ago.
{Conclusion in our next.)

[Excepting for its increasing the weight and
bulkiness of the hive as a whole, we see only
advantage (to the novices especially) in the
enlarged body-box suggested by our corre-
spondent, making it to hold twelve frames in
lieu of ten. We did not overlook this point
in originally ofi'ering the hive to bee-keepers,
but considered the expediency of making it as
small and compact as possible, even with what
some consider a disadvantage in manipulating
the frames rather than risk its failing to meet
with favour on account of its large size. As
to chamfering the lower edges of the plinths,
several makers of the " W. 13. C." hive always
do this, and our own are so treated. — Eds.]

NOTES FROM NORTH HANTS.

[1778.] The weather the first part of
February was very mild, but the rough winds
have kept the bees in most days. On the
14th it was very fine, and pollen was being
carried into the hives ; that is at least a fort-
night earlier than I have seen it before in
these parts. I find Symington's penny packets
of pea-flour make a good artificial pollen, and
last spring, after the bees had once taken to
it, they would fly into the boxes of shavings
on which the flour was shaken before the
boxes had left my hands on taking them out
in the morning.

The subject of hive roofs seems to crop
up in the Journal very often, so 1 add my
experience : — To make a roof that will turn
waterproof for years at least, melt some glue
in water and give the roof a good coat of it
as hot as you can with a paiot brush. Then
stick on the roof a piece of unbleached calico,
turn the ends of the calico well under the
edges of the roof, and next give a good coat
of the glue on top of the calico, and work
it well in with the paint brush. When it is
dry give it three coats of thin paint. Try it,
readers, and no matter how shaky your roof-
boards, no wet will get through, and it is
chean and looks well when done. Roofs that

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [March 1, 1894.

I treated this way ten years ago are as dry
now as when first done.

Referring to County Council grants, I see
by our local paper that the Hants County
Council have voted a grant of i'lOO for in-
struction in bee-keeping. I have been looking
for this before, and hope it will be helpful to
our County Association, which seems to have
been losing ground for the last year or two. —
H. RowELL, Hook, Winchfidd.

Tvedestrand, Norway, February 5. — The
year 1893 was an excellent one for honey with
us in Norway, as was 1892 also in some parts
of the country. This winter has, so far, been
extremely mild ; in fact, a little too mild for
the bees, and has made them rather uneasy.
On December 29 the blue anemones were out
in bloom ; rather an astonishing thing for such
a country as Norway, isn't it 1 It is the first
time I have ever seen such a thing. — Harald
HoviND.

^tteim mA |lf|jljes.

[959.] Time for Spring Manipulations. —

1. As it will soon be time for spring manipu-
lations a few hints would be Welcome to some
of your readers. In what conditions of
weather (wind and temperature) is it safe to
open hives ? Is not the loss of the queen too
often to be attributed to exposure, consequent
upon early examination of the hives ? Here,
in the north, the cold weather prevents bees
taking any advantage of the crocuses which
the previous mild weather brought into bloom.

2. What do you advise as to feeding ? — F.,
Leeds, Fehruarxj 23.

Reply. — 1. In our last " Hints " (p. 61) we
made some observations referring to the dangers
consequent on unseasonable manipulation.
Very few realise that queens are " balled "
and killed by their own bees, sometimes from
no other cause than untimely opening up of
hives and awkward handling of frames in early
spring. Knowing these things makes us chary
of advising a too early beginning of spring
manipulations. The best guide as to when
hives may be opened — without doing more
harm than the inevitable cooling of the brood
nest, which aWays follows disturbance in
spring — is when the bees are flying freely and
gathering honey or pollen. 2. Our advice as
to feeding is, " Don't feed unnecessarily." If
bees are well supplied with food, no more is
needed ; at the same time, bees may be ad-
vantageously stimulated to early brood-rearing
if it is carefully done, and not started till the
bees are fairly working.

[960.] Moving Bees into Bee-house. — I have
just completed a house for my bees, but am
at a loss to know how to remove them from
their present position into the house, as they
will be unable to see their hives in their new
home, which is not more than 12 ft. from the
farthest hive as they now stand. I have built
the new house with a view of keeping the bees
warm and dry, and the hives right side up
(it has been very rough here lately). I have
the " British Bee-keepers' Guide Book,'' which
I like much ; I also take your Bee Journal
weekly, and notice that you answer some very
awkward questions sometimes, but there is
nothing said in either abput bee -houses,
though I have about eighty back Journals
to refer to. I should be glad to know
1. If bees will do as well in a house as
on a stand in the open 1 2. The best
way to get them to work from the inside with-
out losing too many ? 3. As the front of the
house is white Bath-stone slabs, will it be
necessary to paint the entrances of different
colovirs ? 4. Is the sample of sugar sent suit-
able for feeding bees ? The grocer assured me
it was cane sugar, but it is very hard to dis-
solve. I hope I have not bothered you too
much. — J. Ford, Wilts.

Reply. — 1. Though the general opinion is
that bees are more conveniently managed and
that the advantages are on the side of stands
in the open, there are several experienced and
well-known bee-keepers who prefer to locate
the hives in bee-houses. Without going so
very far back, plenty of information will be
found in former numbers of the Bee Journal
on the subject. We will send you a copy con-
taining a full descriptioiT (with illustration) of
a bee-house for l\A. in stamps. 2. The num-
ber above referred to fully replies to this
quer3^ 3. It is advantageous to mark in some
way the separate entrances, mainly for the pur-
pose of guiding young queens to their own
hives when returning from their mating trip.
4. Sugar (if pure cane) will do for feeding, but
is not so suitable as that of finer grain, which
removes the difficulty in dissolving.

[961.] Bees under Floor of Summer-house,
— In a few days I shall have the opportunity
of transferring some bees (now located under
the floor of a summer-house) into a frame-hive,
and should like to have your advice as to how
to proceed. I can understand driving bees
from a skep and then transferring the combs,
but they cannot well be driven from under the
floor of a summer-house. I suppose one or
more of the floor-boards will have to be taken
up, the combs carefully cut oft', the bees
brushed into a skep or other receptacle, then
the combs cut and fixed in the frames, and the
bees and frames put into the new hive.

1. Is this the best way to proceed 1 2.
When could I move the hive about 100 yards 1
3. Should the bees be confined to the hive for
any length of time after or before moving 1

March 1, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUliNAL.

89

I now wish to thank Messrs'. F. J. Cribband
W. B. Webster for their methods of carrying
bees on bicycles, and to tell them that, although
my first attempt seemed clumsy to them, it
proved eff3ctual in the end, as the bees are
doing well and were flying on Christmas Day
and December 31. I wonder whether either
of these gentlemen could tell me how to carry
a skep with established stock on a bicycle for,
say, ten miles'? — d'Arps, Walthamsiow,
February 20.

Eeply. — 1. Yes. Of course the bees will
require to be " subdued '' before operating, and
kept under while the work proceeds by means of
the smoker. 2. The bees should, when trans-
ferred, be moved at once to their new location.
3. No.

[962 ] Extractiny i Unsealed Honey. — Hive
lioofs. — 1. I have just been reading the
" British Bee-keepers' Guide Book,'' and I see
in almost all directions as to management,
"Puff a little smoke into the entrance, and
then raise the ' quilt ' ; '' and yet more than
once I have read ia the Bpjtish Bee
Journal, " The less you disturb your hives
the better.'' Which advice am I to follow ?
2. When unsealed honey has been extracted
and has been ripening, and is drawn off at the
bottom of the ripener, how am I to know how
much of it is of proper consistency, as some at
the top might be still too watery 'I 3. As to
hive roofs. I have soire hives from a first-
class maker, with step roofs, but the wood was
so unseasoned that they have split all over,
though I tarred and sanded them ."it the first.
Would it do to cover them with a plain piece
of zinc, disregarding the steps ?— R. A. Sum-
MERFIELD, Bipon, February 23.

Reply. — As there is no inconsistency in the
advice referred to we may say follow both and
f acb. In other words, when the hive requires
inspection use the smoke ; and (like all wise
bee-keepers) don't open hives oftener than is
necessary. 2. We strongly depi'ecate extract-
ing " unsealed '' honey. All honey shouhl be
left on the hives till sealed over, and when
this is seen to there is not much fear of watery
honey remaining. 3. \ es.

[963.] Transferring by Inverling Sleeps. —
I have a last yeai-'s swarm in a skep which I
wish to transfer to a frame hive. 1. Can it be
done by inverting the skep and placing it
under the frame hive, the latter being fitted
with fvdl sheets of foundation, and allowing
communication through a hole in the floor-
board ? 2. If so, how soon will it be safe to
do it? 3. Do you think the bees would be
ready to work in supers in April and May, as
there are plenty of fruit trees in the neigh-
bourhood ? 4. When using full sheets of
foundation in sections, sh(iuld the foundation
be fastened all round or only along the top of
the ;-'ection. — Beginner, >Shi'ffield, February 19.

Reply.—]. The plan named has many dis-
advantages. It is far better to set the skep
above the frame hive, and allow the bees to

work down into it. 2. The skep might be
set above the frames as soon as it shows signs
of overcrowding. 3. All depends on the for-
wardness of stock and the prolificness of
the queen. Only very forward colonies are
ready to work in supers in April. 4. It is a
matter of choice. Unless using section grooved
all round, the usual plan is to leave a .small
space on all sides except the top to allow of
the foundation stretchinir.

AMERICAN QUERIES.

REPLIED TO BY MR. G. M. DOOLITTLE.

I am requested to reply through Gleanings
to the following questions, which I will do with
the Editor's permission : —

1. Straightening croolced combs. — "What is
the l)est course to pursue with brood-combs
that are buckled or bent, so that some of the
cells are not deep enough for breeding ? Is
there any way of bringing them straight ? The
foundation became bent before the bees built
up the comb."

There was a neglect on the part of some one
in having the foundation bent when it was
given to the bees, or in giving it at such times
that the bees did not commence work on it at
once, before it had a chance to warp or twist
about in the hive. It is best to give brood
foundation to bees only at such times as they
are wanting more combs ; for unless they do so
want, they will not be touched by the bfe>',
unless, perchance, to mutilate them, because
they have nothing to do except mischief. But,
having combs as described, there are two ways
of fixing them fit for use by the bees. The
first is by melting them up and working over
into foundation again — a plan recommended
by some of some of our most advanced bee-
keepers, but a wasteful plan, as I consider it,
unless the combs are too crooked ; and,
secondly, straightening them in the spring of
the year when pretty much free from brood or
honey. Take them from the hive to a warm
room — one whose temperature is up to 90 or
100 deg., and, when thus warm and pliable,
lay on a flat surface and jjress them in con-
formity to that surface, cutting out a little
strip of comb if necessary, where the worst
bulged, S-) that the combs will come straight
without spoiling too many cells by pressing
them out of shape. Years ago I straightened
hundreds of combs in this way, before founda-
tion was known, so that the combs in all of
my hives were as straight as a board.

2. Compelling bees to build combs. — " Is
there any way to get bees to build comb when
they are disinclined to do so ? I fed some
colonies until all the vacant comb was filled,
but they Avould not build out the foundation.
This has reference to the brood-csmbs exclu-
sively."

I do not see why you failed here, unless
your foundation was adulterated ; for in all
my experience in feeding the bees would work

90

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [March 1, 1894.

foundation as soon as they began to secrete
•wax to lengthen out the cells or cap over the
feed ; but had the bees been persistent in
using the combs in the hive rather than work
out the foundation, you could have made them
work it by taking their combs away from them
and giving nothing but foundation. In this
case they would have to work the foundation
in order to find a place to store the feed, after
they had they had their honey-sacs well filled.

3. Balling queens. — " What is your remedy
where bees ball a queen ? Why do bees ball
a queen of their own raising, after all queen-
cells have been destroyed, and they can have
no hope of any other queen 1 "

The last part of this is a mystery that I
never could really solve. It is easy to say
that, in opening hives, the bees fear that their
queen is to be injured, so ball her for safe
keeping ; but I have known scores of instances
where a virgin queen has been balled in coming
home after meeting the drone, and at other
times, till they were killed, or nearly spoiled
for future use, being led to the discovery that
the queen was being balled by the general
appearance of the colony at the entrance, such
as an unusual commotion denoting queenless-
ness, or doubled-up bees having the appearance
of being stung. Who can tell why such ball-
ing occurs ? The remedy is the same as in
introducing queens — that of caging them till
the bees behave themselves and are peaceably
inclined toward them. Smoke the bees till
they release the queen, then cage her and
leave her till the bees pay no more attention
to the cage than they do to any other part of
the hive. When you find this to be the case
it is always safe to let any queen out.

4. Upivard ventilation. — " Do you believe
that bees know better than we what is best for
them ? If it is best for them to have upward
ventilation, do you not suppose they would
provide therefor instead of sealing everything
up tight 'i "

I have my doubts whether bees know what
they want along this line, but accept the sur-
roundings as they find them. It is their nature
to seal up all cracks and holes not large
enough for their exit or return, and this they
will do, no matter whether in a tree or hive ;
but after seeing them prosperous in trees that
had only a hole large or small at the bottom
of their combs, and all the way from there to
a crack large enough to put your hand in the
whole length their combs occupied in the tree,
I have concluded that they accepted things as
they found them, as said above, without asking
whether such were best for them or not.

5. Beeswax and jjropolis. — " What is the
difference chemically between beeswax and
propolis ? Is propolis a special product of the
bee, as wax is 1 Do bees consume anything
to produce propolis ? "

Beeswax is a fatty substance peculiar to the
bee, and produced by the consumption of
honey, on a plan similar to animals, such as
the hog and cow, consuming grains of various

kinds to produce lard and tallow, the same
being of a fatty nature, but differing from
beeswax to a considerable extent. Who can
tell us more on this subject ? Eegarding
propolis, bees do not produce it at all, but
simply gather it from the resinous exudations
of certain plants or trees, and from old hives,
&c., where it has been previously placed by
other bees. The tree known as the Balm-of-
Gilead and the horse-chestnut give the most of
the propolis gathered here, the buds being
well covered with this resin during the greater
part of the summer season. — Gleanings.

Notioesto Gorrespondentsand Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

Letters or queries askinr) for addresses of manufac-
turers or correspondents, or ivhere appliances can be.
purchased, or replies giving such information, can only
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to bear in 7nind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in adnance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issue
immediately folloiving the receipt of their communica-
tion.

J. Pearman (Derby).— We thank our corre-
spondent for promising to bring the matter
before the Committee of the D.B.K.A., and
will be glad to have the views of the Com-
mittee of the D.B.K.A. on the subject
referred to, and in the meantime it will be
well to let the matter rest, as only inte-
resting to those immediately concerned.

Jos. Harrison (Keighley). — Bee-Candy. — ■
The candy has not been quite properly
made, and in consequence it is too hard,
partaking more of the nature of "hardbake"
than soft candy. It must be kept con-
stantly stirred while cooling. Honey is full
of minute air-bubbles, and seems slightly
predisposed to ferment. It would hardly be
tit for sale unless re-melted.

Thos. Hughes. — Inquiries intended for the
British Bee-keepers' Association must be
addressed to the .Secretary, Mr. J. Huckle,
King's Langley, not to the Editors of the
Bee Journal. We shall be very pleased
to insert the particulars noted in P.S. if
sent us in the form required for our Corre-
spondence Column.

E. H. P. (N. Devon).— Buying Bees, and best
hinds to Tieep. — 1. Excepting for the difficulty
of making a thorough examination of their
condition, the present is an excellent time
for purchasing stocks of bees. 2. Our per-
sonal preference is for a good strain of
black bees, and we advise your beginning
with that variety.

G. Brooks (Collumpton). — No trace of foul
brood in comb sent. Bees are the ordinary
kind.
Articles from, Peter Bois, A. Wolfe, and

C. Harvey are in ti/pe and toill appear next

iveeJc.

March 8, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

91

(4

.^ ^(.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.

{Continued from page 83.)

CONVERSAZIONE.

A numerous company had assembled when
the proceedings commenced at 6.30, the Rev.
F. T. Scott presiding.

There being no " paper " to be read or set
subject for discussion, and as several novelties
in the shape of new bee-appliances had been
sent for the inspection and criticism of those
present, the Rev. Chairman called upon Mr.
W. P. Meadows to explain his new method of
wiring frames, which he had no doubt would
be of interest.

Mr. Meadows said it was generally con-
sidered advisable to use wired frames for
brood-chambers, and he had constructed a
frame fulfilling that requirement, in which the
wire could be easily fixed, and which was
stronger, he thought, than most others he had
seen. A specimen thereof was handed round
for inspection. The improvement consisted
in the adaptation of tin to wood. Along the
top was a tin girder, shaped to fit between the
split bar, and along the bottom another w^as
placed. This tin contrivance was slotted in
three places, so that the wiring could be done
very rapidly. The wire was tied in one place
and then threaded round, and, if done
diagonally, the frame was rendered very rigid
and strong and capable of bearing a much
heavier weight than would ever be required of
it. The wires, of course, became embedded
in the foundation. There was another cir-
cumstance he ought to mention. The tin
arrangement could be easily adapted to frames
already in use,

Mr. Carr thought the plan of wiring as
described an admirable one ; the wiring could
be done so quickly. It might be interesting,
now that Mr. Meadows' frame was bein'g
examined, to inspect a frame sent by Mn
Howard, in which the older method of fine wire
nails driven through the side-bars, and bent in
the form of hooks, were used.

Mr. Till liked Mr. Meadows' frame, but
feared the expense would tell against it.

Mr. Cowan thought the cost was, of course,
a consideration in the matter ; but an im-
portant question was whether so much metal
in the hive would afiect the bees. The lower
part of the bar Avould be in direct contact
with the air, and the tin would attract the
cold. He did not think so much wiring was
necessary as was used in either of the speci-
mens (Mr. Meadows' or Mr. Howard's). There
was always a danger that the wires would not
become properly embedded, as was the case
m one of the samples before him. The wire
must be entirely covered over with wax to
make it certain that brood would be raised

in the cells through which the wire passed.
The girder at top and bottom was an excellent
plan theoretically, but with eight or ten of
such bars in a hive it appeared to him there
would be too much metal, and consequently
too great cooling space.

Mr. Hooker pointed out that the frame
before them had an advantage over most other
wired frames in that it was not likely to
buckle at the bottom and sides.

Mr. Meadows said that the bottom bar
might be made a smaller section of a girder,
and be covered with wood if the tin surface
was considered objectionable.

Mr. Baldwin thought that the method intro-
duced was calculated to strengthen frames,
but the question arose, was it necessary to
have wired frames at all ? His contention
was that they were unnecessary, and he
believed that if the ordinary frame, as well as
the extractor, was properly made there was
no difficulty in extracting honey. Besides, if
inferior wax were used with the wired founda-
tion, the heat and weight of the bees would
cause the cells to stretch and alter their shape
for some two or three inches down, and
become oval instead of hexagonal. The result
of this was that no brood would be found
there. He would say, in spite of the Ameri-
cans, the less metal or wire in the hive the
better.

Mr. Baldwin, in answer to remarks by Mr.
Carr, said that Mr. Root's frames were nearly
all wired, but that from his observation of
American methods he was not in favour of.
their adoption by British bee-keepers. t

Mr. Cowan, as an old bee-keeper, did not
require wired frames for his own use, but he
thought them necessary for many bee-keepers.
At examinations he had seen people taking
frames out of a hive covered with bees and
brood, and turning them over in such a way
that but for the wiring the comb would have
tumbled out. There was also an absolute
necessity for wiring frames when the large
American and Swiss ones were used. There
was a convenience in the wired frames even for
an expert, because he could work much more
rapidly when not compelled to take extra care
lest the combs should fall out, which was very
likely if they were new and the weather
warm.

Mr. Carr submitted that the question was
not whether wiring was necessary or no, but
whether, admitting the df sirability of it (upon
which he thought the majority of bee-keepers
agreed), Mr. Meadows's plan was not an im-
provement on other inventions. He questioned
W'hether the objection to the metal bottom -bar
(which could be covered in) was not more than
compensated for by the extra rigidity of the
top bar and the frame generally.

Mr. Hooker thought that if a bee-keeper bad
plenty of time, and only two or three hives to
manage, he might do without wire-, but where
quick extraction was required wiring was a
great advantage. As it was the custom to

92

THE BEITiSH BEE JOURNAL. [March 8, 1894.

leave the entrance of the hive open in most
instances during winter, and the bees were all
clustered above, he doubted whether there
would be the difference of temperature referred
to by Mr. Cowan.

jVlr. Meadows would like to ask Mr. Baldwin
whether he had not recently had an immense
number of inquiries for wired frames. Cer-
tainly 25 per cent, of the applications made to
him (the speaker) were for wired frames for
brood-chambers. Mr. Baldwin had said that
if good wax were used there was no necessity
for wiring, but he believed that however good
the wax was there was a danger of it going
out of shape if not wired.

Mr. Baldwin replied that during the whole
of the previous year he did not have a dozen
inquiries for wired frames, and eight of such
customers would not adopt them after the
objections thereto were explained.

Mr. Meadows also showed a box or crate of
shallow frames, to which was affixed the new
" wide-end '' used for the purpose of securing
thick combs in surplus chambers for extract-
ing. After thorough examination, the new
"wide-end" seemed to meet v/ith general
approval.

Mr. Carr next exhibited for the inspection
of the meeting a shallow-frame box, tent by
Mr. Howard, fitted with the recently-intro-
duced " J.H.H.'' frame, and observed that the
sight of this reminded him of his objection to
uncapping comb in wide frames.

Mr. Cowan said the frame in question was
an adaptation of one originally brought out
nearly twenty years ago in America by Nellis
and Hoffman. Mr. Abbott introduced it into
England. He (Mr. Cowan) had given it up,
because in using it he could not uncap and
extract without difficulty. Another reason
was that it was apt to cause bee-crushing in
unskilful hands. It was not worth while,
in his opinion, for English bee-keepers
to follow the Americans, who were rather
apt to rake up old, tried, and discarded
patterns of frames as though they Avere
new, and their own ideas. He did not con-
sider they were, in this respect, as far advanced
as in this country, and as regarded appliances,
he thought England could hold her own.

Mr. Hooker agreed, but remarked that his
recent visit to the States had proved to him that
Americans had one inestimable advantage over
British bee-keepers in the immense area of
flowers at their disposal.

Mr. Baldwin admitted the truth of that.
He had seen hundreds of miles of plants and
flowers suitable for the production of honey.
English bee-keepers could not compete against
such advantages. The Americans seemed
always ia a hurry, and they cared nothing
about destroying a few bees if time were saved
thereby.

Mr. Carr then exhibited a new smoker, sent
by a Bedfordshire bee-keeper, and Mr. Cowan
explained the principle thereof, from informa-
tion supplied by the inventor. He said that

the inventor claimed superiority for his con-
trivance over other smokers because the latter
failed to distribute the smoke sufficiently over
the hive. The circular opening, it was con-
tended, only permitted a portion of the smoke
to be utilised. His (the inventor's) plan was to
have four openings in a flat nozzle, by which a
wide, thin layer of smoke was emitted, and if
the smoker were held a certain distance from
the hive the smoke spread out and was more
efi"ective. There was also a valve of peculiar
construction which prevented any of the
smoke finding its way into the bellows, and
another arrangement which stopped any escape
from the joints. He (Mr. Cowan) considered
the specimen too heavy, but possibly that defect
could be remedied. The apparatus could be
cleared out by blowing through it. It was
used in the reverse way to the ordinary
smoker, viz., with the bellows uppermost.

The smoker was tested before the audience,
and Mr. Cowan said he thought the same
efi"ect could be gained by using an ordinary
smoker with a flattened nozzle, although there
might be features in the invention which he
did not understand.

In fulfilment of the promise made in an
editorial footnote on page 488 of B.J. for
December 7 last, Mr. Carr next exhibited the
hive to which reference is therein made, and
which was sent to the meeting for the purpose
of illustrating "a new method of hanging
frames," devised by a reader of this journal.
In it the frames hang on a metal runner with
slots I in. wide, in which the top-bars rest.
Fixed to the hive sides are also zinc angle-
pieces, having bee- space openings on the three
face sides ; the said angle-pieces being of suffi-
cient width to fill the space between the side-
bars of each pair of frames. By the means
employed the frames are made perfectly rigid,
while allowing the bees to pass from one
comb to another through the bee-space open-
ings referred to.

After full examination it was soon seen that,
although ingeniously contrived, the " new
method '' was altogether unsuited to the
handling of frames necessitated by ordinary
manipulations. The rigidity entirely prevents
lateral movement of the frames, and thus
makes it imposible to obtain the space neces-
sary for lifting out a comb from a crowded
hive. This was the view held by all present.

Mr. Meadows next showed an extractor
made on the plan of the " Cowan Eapid," and
brought mainly for Mr. Cowan's inspection.
Last year an appliance dealer in this country
had imported several extractors made and sold
in America as the " Cowan Rapid," and the
one before them was in some respects an exact
copy thereof. He (Mr. Meadows) had, how-
ever, made the cages to take out and the top
to take off, and sections could be extracted as
well as ordinary frames, these alterations con-
stituting, as hethought, valuable improvements.

After the machine had been inspected by
most of the members present, and the working

March 8, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

93

of it illustrated, Mr. Cowan said he would
like to express his approbation of the improve-
ments therein, all of which he thought would
be adv^autageous. The girder on each side of
the cages tended to strengthen them, and got
rid of a weakness which "had always existed.
The other parts were light, and seemed well
and substantially made, and he could not
object to the appliance carrying his name.
Tliat extractor has recently been bought out
in America by Mr. Eoot. He (Mr. Cowan)
had originally designed it as far back as 1874
or 1875, and after a lapse of seventeen or
eighteen years the machine was introduced
and declared now to be the best in the market,
though he was bound to say Mr. Root
had honourably coupled his name with it.

At this juncture the Chairman was obliged
to leave, and Mr. Cowan moved a vote of
thanks to him for presiding. He remarked
that Mr. Scott was a very old friend of the
cause, and he was sure one and all regretted
his retirement from the Committee owing to
advanced age.

The motion having been carried, the
Chairman expressed his thanks, and said he
hoped to be able to come to the meeting
another year, although, when a man reached
his eighty-second year, he had better not
make promises. His interest in bee-keeping
was, however, as keen now as thirty years ago.

A conversation then ensued respecting
labels for honey bottles and shop placards,
which it was proposed should be prepared for
the use of county associations in furtherance
of the sale of certified English honey. Mr.
Till showed a specimen ornamented placard
and label, but said that he was afraid unless
some of the Associations combined to order a
large supply of the former, it would be
impossible for any single association to bear
the expense of producing the same. He did
not see why one style of placard should not
be adopted by all the counties ; the only altera-
tion needed being the county name for each.
The labels might be sold to members at a
profit. He thought if the plan could be
adopted throughout England, the advantages
to the different associations and British bee-
keeping were obvious.

Mr. Woodley feared the outlay involved in
producing such an ornamental window-bill
would be too formidable for the Associations.
In Berkshire the local branch had a limited
number of agents— about thirty perhaps —
and it could not be expected that shopkeepers
would consent to show more than one of the
placards. That would mean a large amount
of dead stock on hand. A framed certificate,
if adopted by the counties, would involve far
less expense. Perhaps the B.B.K.A. might
provide something of the sort, and make a
charge for it.

Mr. Cowan, in reply to the better suggestion,
said that the funds of the B.B.K.A. were not
in sufiiciently flourishing a condition to permit
of such outlay.

Mr. Till admitted the difficulties in the way
of his proposal, but hoped the Associations
would combine and see their way to surmount
them.

The proceedings terminated with the usual
votes of thanks.

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The annual general meeting of the Notting-
hamshire Bee-keepers' Association was held
On Saturday, February 17, in the People's
Hall, Heathcote-street, Nottingham. The
President, Viscount St. Vincent, occupied the
chair, and there was a good attendance.

The Secretary read ttie annual report, which
it is gratifying to note recorded an increase in
the membership, the numbers being 203 against
195 in the same period of 1892. It was
matter for regret that the accounts showed a
small balance due to the Treasurer, owing, it
was thought, to the fact of many members
paying cottagers' subscriiDtions wlio really
were not cottagers in any sense of the word.
The committee hoped the members referred to
would recognise the necessity for altering this
state of things, and avoid the need for a cur-
tailment of their present privileges, which
must otherwise result. He (Mr. Pugh) was
glad to say that several members had already
increased their subscriptions from 2s. 6d. to
Ss. After detailing several matters connected
with the past season's honey results and the
various shows held by the Association, the
report concludes with some particulars of the
bee lectures given under County Council
auspices which have already appeared in our
pages. _ . , ,

The Secretary stated that an intimation had
been received from the British Bee-keepers'
Association that the silver and bronze medals
would be withheld through 1894 on account
of financial considerations.

The Chairman said that if the British Bee-
keepers' Association would let them have the
medals on paying for them he would be glad
to pay for them.

The report was then uranimously adopted,
and the Secretary was asked to communicate
with the B.B.K.A. on the matter referred to
by the Chairman.

The Secretary then presented the annual
financial statement. They had 132 subscribers
of 23. 6d., and only 45 of 5s. The amount
received in subscriptions was £38. 133.; dona-
tions to prize fund, £32. 23. 6d.; these, with
other items, including £2. 17s. 2d. balance
due to the Treasurer, made up total receipts of
£80. lis. lid.; £33. 7s. was expended in
prizes, and on the year's working there was a
loss of £l. es.

The Chairman said they had expended prac-
tically the whole of their money among the
members of the Association. They had given
£33 in prizes against £23 last year. Of course
it was an unfortunate thing to have a little

94

THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL. [March 8, 1894.

debt, but, as a matter of fact, it was quite as
good for themselves as having a big balance in
hand.

The balance-sheet was then passed, with a
vote of thanks to the Auditor (Mr. Scatter-
good), who was unanimously re-elected,

Messrs. Pugh and Scattergood were ap-
pointed to represent the Association at the
quarterly meetings of the British Bee-keepers'
Association. The following officers were
elected : — President, Viscount St. Vincent ;
Vice-Presidents, the Duke of Portland, Lord
Newark, M.P., Mr.f J. E. Ellis, M.P., Aid.
S. H. Sands, the Eev". "Watkin Homfray, Mrs.
A. H. Chambers, and Mrs. J. Hind. Com-
mittee— Messrs. J. Baguley, M. Lindley,
S. W. Marriott, W.Poxen, J.T. Faulconbridge,
J. Finn, H. Merryweather, C. Forbes, J.
Eawson, sen., T. Miller, W. H. Webster, G.
Wood, and the District Hon. Sec, Hon. Trea-
surer, and Secretary, M. A. G. Pugh.

The business part of the proceedings ter-
minated with a vote of thanis to the
Chairman.

Afterwards the members sat down to a mea,t
tea, and this was followed by a lecture by Mr.
J. H. Howard, on " The Two-Queen System"
and " Marketing Honey," Mr. P. Aulsebrook,
of Woollaton, presiding. The medals and
certificates won by the members during the
year were distributed, and the annual prize-
drawing took place.

LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE BEE-
KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

_ The annual meeting of the above Associa-
tion was held on Monday, the 26th inst., at
20, Sir Thomas'-street, Liverpool, Mr. Wm.
Tyrer in the chair, among those present being
the following members : — Rev. E. Charley,
Dr. Jones, Mrs. Firth, Messrs. J. A. Bally,
W. Lees McLure, G. Roberts, J. Bell, E.
Kinner, G. Rose, J. Rogers, W. J. Anstey, J,
Lamb, and T. D. Schofield.

Letters of regret for non-attendance were
read from the Rev. J. F. Buckler and G. W.
Carr.

After the minutes of the last meeting had
been read and approved, the report and
accounts for the year 1893, as printed, were
passed.

Votes of thanks to the Committee and
Officers, Hod. Auditor, and Mr. Kinner for
kindly placing a room at the disposal of the
Association for holding its meetings in were
also passed. Election of officers for the ensuing
year then took place.

A letter was read from Lord Lionel Cecil,
resigning the office of President, owing to his
leaving Lancashire to reside in the South of
England. A vote of thanks was passed to
Lord Lionel for having kindly acted so long as
President, and it was resolved to ask the Earl
of Derby, or some other member of the Derliy
family, to take his place.

The following officers were elected : — Hon.
Secretary, Dr. Jones, Freckleton, near Kirk-
ham ; Hon. Treasurer, T. D. Schofield, Alder-
ley Edge ; Hon. Librarian, Ed. Kinner, 20,
Sir Thomas-street, Liverpool ; Hon. Audi-
tor, F. H. Handy ; Expert, Mr. W. Jones
Anstey. Committee — J. A. Bally, J. Bell, G.
Roberts, J. Lamb, G. Rose, J. Hogers, W.
Tyrer, G. P. Miilock, J. E. Scotson, and W.
H. Forde.

Mr. T. D. Schofield proposed that the
Association should adopt a honey label for the
use of its members, on the same lines as fol-
lowed by the Berks B.K.A. After some dis-
cussion it was resolved to do so, details to be
left in the hands of the Committee. A dis-
cussion then took place regarding the pro-
priety of using the life-members' fund to pay
off the Association's liabilities, but it was
decided that there was no immediate need to
do so, and that the fund should be reinvested
in the Post Office Savings Bank, in the names
of the new Chairman and Treasurer. After a
vote of thanks to the Chairman the meeting
concluded.

Special Notice. — All communications to
be addressed in future to the Hon. Secretary,
L. and C. B.K.A., Dr. Jones, Freckleton, near
Kirkham, Lancashire.

The Hod. Treasurer, Mr. T. D. Schofield,
Oakfield, Alderley Edge, Cheshire, will con-
tinue to receive subscriptions.

(lf0ritBpiufena.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice tvill be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not tmdertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literari^ department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Hevieiv, itc, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business eomimmi-
cations relating to Advertisements, ii:c., must be addressed
io"THE Manager, 'British Bee .Journal' Office, 17,
King William-streat, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of Advertisements).

*,* In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
tvhen speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by 'mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on ivhich it appears. *

DO BEES HEAR ?

SOME EVIDEI^CE THAT THEY DO.

[1779.] The question as to whether bees have
the power or not of hearing has aj? pea red from
time to time in the pages of the British Bee
Journal, and several writers have expressed
it as their opinion that bees can hear ; but no
one has advanced any fact in support of that
assertion that could be held as a proof.
Indeed, not further back than in the number
for July 20 of last year (1496, p. 284), the
Rev. E. Bartrum gave a challent;-e to readers

March 8, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

95

which has not been taken up. He said : —
"Who, for instance, can fully explain the
question whether bees are capable of hearing
sounds, and will dare to dogmatise upon it ? I
have no doubt whatever but that they are quite
capable ; an opinion, however, is quite distinct
from a proof." Bee-keepers were too busy to
repl}'- to such a knotty query just in the midst
of so honeyed a summer as the last; such a
difficult question can only be answered in the
quiet months of the year.

But it is not only in theso islands that a
solution of this question seems to be of
interest. Evea in America, where one might
think bee-keepers would be concerned only
with such subjects as those that mainly deal
with means of increasing the yearly honey-
yield of the hives, we find that some are also
interested with questions of such little import,
from a business point of view, as to include
the one here dealt with. Thus, in Gleanings
for December 1. 1893, page 882, Mr. W. P.
Eoot says : — " To-day the efforts of bee-men
are directed almost entirely to the manage-
ment of the bee, with the view of getting the
most honey ; and in this respect our bee-books
present a complete and refreshing contrast to
the old ones I have described. True, there
are some things about which we should like to
koow. For instance, do bees hear ? . . ."

Now, my object in writing this article is to
show how, under certain conditions, we can
obtain proof that bees do hear, and also that
their power of hearing is in some particulars
both sensitive and highly developed. 1 shall
in my observations deal only with noises and
sounds with which bees are familiar, and which
arc of such import as to be of incessant use t)
the individual bees of a hive.

If bees are shaken from the frames of a
hive in separate lots on to diff"erent parts of
the floor of a dark room, the queenless por-
tion will generally end by moving towards the
particular one that contains the queen and
join with it, and however much that lot may be
displaced on the same floor, the bees from the
others will invariably move towards it. In
this case the whole of the bees dealt with have
precisely the same smell, so that we are led to
infer that it is through some other faculty than
that of scent by which they direct themselves
towards the queen. And we are led to con-
sider whether it is not possible that the bees
may hear the movements, however fiiint, of the
queen among the noises produced by the
several masses of moving bee.-.

Somelhing similar presents itself if we place
several nuclei, each with a virgin queen, into
different compartments of a long hive, on the
same floor-board, where the bees have facility
to traverse over the alighting-board from one
nucleus to the other. In this case matters
will go on all riglit until the young queens are
ready for mating ; but at this time some of
them will commence piping, and will become
so excited that the bees at last will interfere,
and destroy all the queens excepting one,

when piping ceases, and the remaining queen,
no longer disturbed by he iring the movements
of her rivals, will get fertilised in the ordinary
way. In the case just cited, and although
nuclei are quiet compared to larga colonies, yet
we have no positive proof that each young
queen can hear the movements of the other in
the adjoining compartments on the same floor-
board, but the result tends to convey the idea
that it is so.

Another case sometimes experienced is
when vi^e have supposed that all queen colls
but one have been removed in a colony having
several racks of sections tiered above ex-
cluder zinc, and about the time we expect
the young queen to get fertilised we hear her
piping ; we therefore remove tbe section
crates, pile them on a board, and we carefully
examine the frames, but fail to find more
than one queen. We then examine the sec-
tions, and among those in the top rack
find a second virgin queen. In this case
which I have personally experienced, it seems
that the most probable means by which the
young queen in the body of the hive had
cognisance of a rival overhead was by the
sense of hearing.

I was once called to hive a large swarm
that had clustered against some palings. The
weather was exceedingly hot at the time, and
the bees were dispersed over a large part of
the surface of the palings ; they also occupied
the greater part of the exterior surface of an
empty cask which stood close by. The cask
was closed ; but the bees had discovered by
some means that the interior of the cask Vr-as
hollow and empty, and several bees were
actively occupied in nibbling at the bung, and
also at other weak parts, to gain an entrance.
Finding the queen, I placed her in a match-
box, and took her away with me while I
prepared a frame-hive for the swarm. When
all was ready, half-an-hour later, it was
evident by the excitement of the bees that
they had missed their queen, and it was also
evident that, although the swarm was spread
over an enormous surface on the barrel and
fence, yet every bee composing it appeared to
know by some means that the queen wag no
longer among them. It is difficult to con-
ceive that this could have been by any other
means than a sense of hearing permitting ths
bees to distinguish the sound produced by
their queen apart from every other. — Peter
Bois, Jersey.

{To he continued.)

HONEY.— ASSOCIATION LABELS.

[1780.] At the present time, when so much
attention is being paid to foreign honey and
the sale of own English product, any scheme
by which our sale of honey is benefited, or
seem^ likely to benefit, is worthy of con-
sideration.

Like most agricultural produce, there is a
danger that honey of British gathering will
find the market some day practically swamped

96

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [March 8, 1894.

by the importatioa from foreign districts of
such quantities of honey as v/ill, from the low-
ness of its price, appeal to the purchaser's
economy.

At the same time, forewarned is forearmed,
and co-operation in this matter is of the most
vital importance.

The ordinary purchaser will prefer English
produce to foreign if he be sufficiently edu-
cated in the matter to be able to judge by his
own knowledge which he is purchasing. It,
therefore, is essentially necessary that in some
manner a distinction should be drawn in the
outward appearance of vessels containing
English or foreign honey.

I have met enthusiasts who contend that all
foreign honey should be plainly marked with
the name of the country from which it comes.
This is open to the serious disadvantage of
being difficult to arrange, and also might even
in time prove an advertisement to any brand
or wholesale bottlers who, by judicious adver-
tising, might secure the public approval. In
many country districts foreign honey is pre-
ferred by both the grocer and consumer,
because it is properly bottled or tinned, and
the villagers, who keep bees by the principles
laid down by their ancestors, cannot or will
not offer their honey in a convenient form.

If every association would adopt a stringent
set of rules for the guidance of its members,
and advocate the use of a special label which
carried with it a guarantee of purity, the
honey offered by the members of the asso-
ciation would reap the benefit of the adver-
tisement of this label.

At a general meeting of the Taunton and
District Bee-keepers' Association, held last
month, a form of label was unanimously
adopted, and a supply of this label will be
kept in hand by all local hon. Secretaries, who
will sell the same at practically cost price to
any member of the Association residing in
their respective districts.

Before parting with the labels the hon. local
Secretary will fill in the number of the apiary.
This number agrees with the number of the
card of membership held by the member who
wishes to use the labels.

Each member will also be called upon to
agree in writing to the following rules : — 1.
The labels are to be used for super honey only
of good quality. 2. The labels are to be affixed
to the sections ot vessels containing the honey
before such sections or vessels jjass out of the
member's possession. 3. The labels shall not
be used for honey taken from any hive which
has been sugar-fed subsequent to the jjlacing
of supe rs. 4. That in case of comijlaint the
honey in dispute shall be referred to a sub-
Committee of the Taunton and District Bee-
keeper;,' Association, with a right of appeal
from their decision by either vendor or pur-
chaser to the analyst of the British Bee-
keepers' Association, conditionally on the
appellant defraying the costs of such analysis
should the decision be against him ; and in

case the decision as to the quality of the
honey be adverse to the vendor, he shall de-
fray the cost of the inquiry, and shall refund to
the purchaser the amount paid by him for the
honey in dispute.

Before issuing these labels this season we
intend to fix the amount of penalty liable
under Eule 4 ; this amount will depend on
the analyst's fee, to be ascertained.

The date of sale on the label is left to the
member to fill in ; it is suggested that he
should write in this date as he parts with his
honey. It will be noticed that the guarantee
goes direct from the Association to the general
public ; it is hoped by this means to create a
demand for British honey on the part of the
purchaser.

Such in general outline is the scheme by
which we hope during the coming season to
promote in Somerset, not only the s^le ^ of
honey, but also the sale of our members'
honey. As this is the first year we are testing
it, doubtless modifications and improvements
will suggest themselves during the summer.

The label will be a plainly printed one, and
is intended to be used, not as a honey label
merely, but as a " guarantee label." Members
will be at liberty to use any picture label that
best suits their requirements in addition to
this label, and no member is compelled to use
the guarantee label if he prefers not to. By
bringing the matter into public notice through
the courtesy of the editors of the local papers,
however, it will, I hope, prove a distinct
advantage to such members who will submit
to our stringent but wholesome regulations. —
Alf. Wolfe, Hon. Sec. Taunton and District
BK.A., February 23.

THE "W.B.C." HIVE.

{Concluded from p. 87.)

Some may think that the " W.B.C." hive,
with its many separate parts, is not suitable
for transport to the heather. This is how
mine is arranged to make what I think is a
good tiansport hive : — Four screws hold the
body-box firmly to floor-board. The super-
boxes are fastened to one another, and to the
body -box by Van Deusen clamps, one on each
side, while two wood biittons, like those shown
on the illustration of the Eke, fig. 11, are
fixed to each end to keep all in position. The
outer cases I propose to place in position, and
strap round with a strong tape and buckle.
The buttons, when raised into position, bear
against a ledge of wood on the bottom ends of
the box above, which does not appear in the
illustrations ffigs. 5 and 6), but which I should
think is an important part of the boxes, and
not an exceptional adjunct in my hive. It
joins up the projecting bottom parts of box
sides as they appear in figs. 5 and 6, makes the
bottom surface of box to completely cover top
surface of lower box, thus covering the frame
ends (which otherwise would be exposed, and

March 8, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

97

lose heat through the tin ends), and making a
joint wiih the end strips enclosing the frames.

The Van Deusen clamps draw the boxes
together so closely that I think they will be
useful in general work, if, as I presume, a
close joint between boxes to prevent leakage
of heat and propolisation is desirable.

My stand fits in closely between the bearers
of floor-board, as probably intended, though
not quite apparent, in the illustration. This
gives a firmer hold of floor-board on stand than
if its bearers just rested on the stand. The
latter was not the full length which the flat
portion of floor-board allows, so I lengthened
it, thinking it imjjortant to have as large a
" leg base '' as possible, as shown in the illus-
tration.

In both the old and the new descriptions
"zinc angle-pieces '' are specified for the run-
ners. Mine are the tin runners, doubled over,
and forming thus a slightly rounded bearing-
edge, which I notice are shown in Mr.
Meadows' catalogue among hive fittings. The
tin stands up 7-16ths of an inch above the hive
wall. Would you please say whether you
consider the zinc angle-pieces preferable, and
also whether your experience proves that
metal runners have always a decided, advan-
tage over bevelled wood runners ?

I should be glad of an opinion on an idea
of mine to try the experiment of working
" W. B.C.'' hanging section-frames in shallow
frame boxes, the advantage being that with
one set of super-boxes one could work for
comb or extracted honey. The shallow frame
box being |-in. too deep for the hanging section-
frames, I would use a slatted frame or grid,
to fill up their space, which would fit easily
into the shallow frame box and rest on the
frames of the lower box. The slats or bars of
the grid would be at risht angles to the bars
of frames they would rest on, and thus,
perhaps, act like Mr. Simmins' section-box slats
in preventing brace-combs, and making the
ascension of the queen less likely where
excluder zinc is not used. If this idea be at
all possible (and I mention it with diffidence
as a novice) it would be better than the
inverse method of using a |-in. eke with
" W.B.C." hanging section-box, to make a
shallow frame box, because this is but a make-
shift and involves an extra joint.

There is just one point in the "W.B.C'
hive which I think I should like diff'erent, and
that is, if the length for frames were 16 in. or
17 in. instead of 15, my idea being that the
disadvantage of the extra inch or two in extra
weight and bulk of the hive would be com-
pensated for by the greater ease of manipula-
tion of frames in the brood-nest. As a novice
it seems in theory so much easier to manipulate
. with some spare room in working 10 frames, by
removing a dummy or two, than to get out and
hang up somewhere the first of 10 frames
closely packed and filling the box. Does your
experience disprove this idea 1

Thanks for your note on my remarks on the

length of the new wide ends [1729]. Having
now a complete set fitted on frames, I find
they are so exactly of the specified length that
they go easily into the theoretical span they
should occupy with no need for play. — F. S.
A Lancashire Novice.

[The reply to our correspondent's question
as to allowing extra frame space, appears in
our foot-note on p. 87, and was inserted there
inadvertently, instead of at end of our corre-
spondent's letter. — Eds.]

PEOPRIETORSHIP OF THE "BEE
JOURNAL."

[1781.] As Mr. C. N. Abbott was the
originator of the British Bee Journal,
doubtless some of your readers will be under
the impression that Messrs. Abbott Brothers
have still a direct connection with its pro-
prietorship. From the tone of your remarks
on foreign competition I infer that this is not
the case ; but a categorical denial of the sup-
position would, I think, be welcome to many,
and beneficial to the Journal. — James
Henderson, Knockbuckle House, Benfreiv-
shire.

[In expressing thanks to our correspondent
for drawing attention to the above, we beg to
say that the gentlemen referred to have
no more connection with the proprietor-
ship tiian our correspondent has himself. We
thought this fact was generally known to
readers. — Eds.]

SPACING FRAMES IN SURPLUS
CHAMBERS.

[1782 ] Last year in report of the "Royal '
Show at Chester, you kindly expressed a
desire to hear the results of my method of
spacing frames by wood blocks or " nuts'' which
are not of "variable widths," but {^-in. long
and §-in. square. I may say I have put aside
the pieces of wood strung on a wire, preferring
the above nut to which a brass screw is so
fixed as to run easily in grooves on the sides
of hives.

I was successful in securing combs more
than two inches thick, when unfortunately I
found the bees had got ahead of me and
begun to seal the cells. I must, therefore, for
the future endeavour to keep the hives on
which extra thick combs are being worked
separate from the rest, as they require more
frequent inspection.

I claim for my method that though it can
be worked with other " ends," with a view to
producing thick combs — in comparison with
them it regulates the frames at more varied
distances. Beginning with twelve frames
spaced at 1 j in. and as soon as they are worked
out withdrawing two, and so on, until the
crate holds only six splendid blocks of honey.
So that when ten supers are started with
twelve frames each, they become gradually

9g

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Marcli 8, 1894.

twelve, fifteen, twenty supers in two or three
weeks of a good honey flow. I claim further
that the wood nuts are better non-conductors,
and keep the temperature of hives more even
than the metal ends. I claim also that when
once people have triei my system they will
know how to get better results with less
appliances, e.g. : — 1. When they can thus pro-
duce the handsomest combs they will have no
occasion for using sections, for, here I would
say, I thoroughly agree with those who have
written during the past year iu praise of
honeycombs in shallow frames, and especially
with the report respecting the Chester Show,
under Class 340, " Best three shallow frames,
&c." : — "Nothing in honey-production can, to
our mind, surpass a well-fiAished shallow frame
of good honey. It far exceeds a single section
in beauty.'' And I would add if built extra
thick on full-size drone foundation, it sur-
passes the section in every way, and so I have
come to the conclusion that it is time to think
of putting aside sections, as the advantage
there is in packing them is counterbalanced
by the woody flavour they impart when deli-
cate honey is kept in them.

2. I am almost convinced that the bees will
winter as well on two crates of shallow frames
as on ten standard frames. I intended testing
this problem more ; and if I find it is so, then
the standard frame must go overboard. This
move would simplify matters wonderfully in
an apiary, for with stock and super-chamber
alike there would be required only an outer
case such as you have been lately describing,
but of course a little stronger — say, floor-board
of I in. stuS", and the sides ^ in. thicker ; for I
have often regretted some hives being light,
but never when they were fairly heavy and
strong.

It only remains for me to waimly invite you
to come down here the first week in August
and see my apiary, and also accompany me to
the Yorkshire Agricultural Show at Beverley,
as the Y.A.S. Council have again most kindJy
granted me two compartments in bee-shed-
ding, and I hope to show in the process of
extracting a new uncapping machine at work,
plenty of combs worked on full-size drone
foundation from a new mill, as well as the
bottling of several gross of "globes" (1 lb., ilb.,
and Jib.).

Wishing the B.B.K.A. and the Editors of
our Journal a prosperous season.— Richahd
M. Lamb, Bu7-ton Pidsea Eectory, Hull.

[964.] Fixing Foundation in Shallow
Frames. — I hope this year to make a new de-
parture and produce some extracted honey.
Would you be so good as to tell me, 1. How
many sheets to the pound of foundation
would you use for shallow-frames, and how
would you fix it ? 2. After extracting from

frames, is it necessary to return them to the
same hives from which they were taken ?
3. Would any harm result from giving the
bees the frames back again wet from the
extractor ? 4. Could you give me a recipe for
making white paint for hives ? 5. What do
you consider the best covering to be used over
American cloth .P—W. K., Widford, March 2.

Reply. — 1. Use the ordinary brood-founda-
tion, which, when cut to size for standard
brood-frame, runs six or seven sheets to the
lb. These sheets cut in two are large enough
for shallow-frames. To fix the sheet insert a
small screw-driver, with a point about j in.
wide, into the saw-cut in top bar of frames on
the upper side. A half-turn of the screw-
driver parts the saw-cut, and allows the sheet
of foundation to be slipped in, and on with-
drawal the foundation is gripped, and held
firmly in its place. 2. Frames should be
returned to the bees after extracting to be
cleaned up ready for storing away for future
use. 3. They must be always given so. Set-
ting them on at dusk, after the bees have
ceased work for the day. 4. The ingredients
are : — White lead, boiled linseed - oil, and
driers, with colouring matter as required.
Good paint, ready mixed, may be had for 5d.
per lb. 5. We prefer grey felt under-car-
peting.

[965.] Driving Bees fr^on Box-Hives. —
How can I drive bees out of a hive made on
the following plan 1 — The hive is a wooden
box, the lower portion being for brood rearing
and a set of drawers above for section honey,
connected with the brood-chamber by narrow
slits cut in the board that divides the two com-
partments ; strips of zinc cut off communica-
tion when desired. The only movable parts
are the drawers. There is no way of getting
the combs out of the bottom box except by
knocking the sides or bottom out, Avhich are
nailed. I have four stocks of bees, all strong ;
two are in hives as described above, and two
in straw skeps. I am going to introduce bar-
framed hives of standard dimensions. I shall
not winter more than six stocks. Will you
kindly give me your modus operandi and the
best time to operate ? — W. K. K , CormvaU.

Reply. — There is no means of driving the
bees without first removing the bottom of box
and reversing it, as is done with a skep. The
drawers would have first to be removed, of
course.

[966.] Length of Top Bars. — 1. I have a
bar frame hive with standard frames, excepting
that the top bar is only 15| instead of 17 in.
long. I wish to transfer into a new hive. Is
there any objection to this ? 2. What is the
reason the top bars are made so long ? — -
Aliquis.

Reply. — 1. Provided the new hive is made
to take the shorter top bar, there is no objec-
tion to its being used. 2. The top bar of
standard frame is made 17 in. long in order

March 8, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

99

that the projecting end?, or " lugs," may reach
beyond and outside the hive body, when this
enables the bee-keeper to get hold of the
" lugs" when handling frames, without having
to dip ill among the bees at all. The shorter
top [bar works "in a rabbett cut in the hive
sides, and is generally used in single-walled
hives.

[967.] Preventing Swarming. — Which is
the best (mid simplest) mode of procedure to
endeavour to prevent swarming ? My idea of
working is as follows. Am 1 right, or can I pro-
ceed on a better plan ? First give the bees room
in advance of their needs, to discourage if pos-
sible the idea of swarming ; but in case of a
swarm issuing notwithstanding, to destroy all
queen cells, insert a couple of frames of founda-
tion (whole sheets), taking away frames of
brood, if necessary, to make room for them,
and then in the evening returning the swarm
to the same hive. I much wish to prevent
any increase of my stock this season, but to
concentrate their energies upon honey-
gathering. — W. K. B., Hunts, March 5.

Eeply.— Beyond giving shade and ventila-
tion in hot weather, we can recommend no
better plan than the one proposed. See that
the brood removed is promptly given to
another stock to hatch out.

(Scltat^ from tk giM.Q.

Bovey Tracey, Devon, February 28. — Bees
here have come through the winter very well,
and are flying very strongly every fine day,
most of them carrying in pollen. The weather
being unsettled is rather against them. I
have wintered thirteen stocks, two of them
being driven bees of last August. Besides
my own, I am looking after about a dozen
hives for others, so I am looking forward to a
livtly time amongst them soon. Fruit buds
seem very plentiful this year again, and, with
pears and plum almost bursting, and peach-
blossom already out in some sheltered places,
we ought to have an early season. I am sur-
rounded by fruit-orchards (mostly apple), and
last year had sections off completely full by
the first week in May. Hope I shall repeat
this in 1894. — Ambrose Godsland.

Beemount, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire,
March 3. — Four weeks ago to-day I had a
peep into most of my hives to see whether
any of the quilts required changing : now this
afternoon I partially overhauled five of my
stocks to see if stores were getting low. I
Avas agreeably surprised to find there was
abundance of food in three of them, and a
fair amount in the others. To stimulate
breeding, 1 uncapped E0i#e of the combs, and
placed a bottle of syrup over the frames of
those hives where the stores were not so
plentiful. Doubtless several tee - keepers,
when they read what I have done, will say I
am too early with my u!:capping stores

and feeding with syrup ; but, seeing that
apricots have been in full bloom for several
days now, and gooseberries are nearly in full
leaf, and being desirous of getting some honey
from the fruit-blossoms, I thought it advis-
able to prepare in good time. 1 did not pull
the brood-nest to pieces to see what quantity
of brood there was, for I consider it does a.
deal of harm to disturb the frames at thii
time of the year.

When I wrote to " our " Journal the other
day I said I intended trying S. Simmins'
method with two of my stocks, but I regret to.
say circumstances have since arisen that will
compel me to abandon the project for this
season. — Percy Leigh.

Deatb of mv, C. IR. Bbbott.

Just before going to press we were
much grieved to learn that our old
friend Chas. N. Abbott is no more. We
hope to give further particulars of his
death, and of his life, next week,
and in the meantime, on behalf of
thousands of bee-keepers Avho knew
and esteemed him, we offer our sincere
condolence with his widow and family
in their bereavement.

WEATHER REPORT.

Westboubne, February, 1894.

Rainfall, 2-01 in.
Heaviest fall, 33 in.

on 17th.
Rain fell on 15 days.
Above average, -38 in.
Max. Temperature,

53' on 27th.
Min. Temperature, 23°

on 23rd.
Minimum on Grass,

18= on 23rd.
Frosty Nights, 15.

Sunshine, 96 4.
Brightest Day, 9-3.
Sunless Days, 10.
Average, — .
Mn. Maximum, 44-8°.
Mn. Minimum, 33 3°.
Mean Temperature,

39-05".
Maximum Barometer,

30-59° on 4th.
Minimum Barometer,

29-40 on nth.

L. B. BiRKETT.

LECTURE ON BEE-KEEPING.
The Rev. E. Davenport, of the Worcester-
shire Bee-Keepers' Association, gave a lecture
on this subject in the Assembly Room, Broms-
grove, on Friday, the 9th ult., County
Councillor Jefferies presiding. The lecture
was illustrated by limelight views, which wore
shown by Mr. C. Harvey, of Stoke Prior. In
introducing the lecturer, the Chairman touched
upon the importance of the subject, and in the
course of his remarks the Rev. Mr. Davenport
said bee-keeping was both a profitable and

100

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [March 8, 1894.

healthy occupation, and one which the poorest
could engage in. He gave the audience prac-
tical advice on the selection and management
of bees. At the close several questions were
asked. County Councillor Parry proposed a
vote of thanks to both the lecturer and chair-
man, and said he came there that evening to
see how the grant of the County Council was
being disbursed, and he should go away per-
fectly satisfied with the manner it was being
spent, and he hoped bee-keepers in the dis-
trict would form a local branch to help the
labouring classes by practice and precept to
become bee-keepers, for he could see the
nucleus of much good to those in and around
Bromsgrove. The Chairman and the Kev. E.
Davenport suitably replied. — Communicated.

NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM
BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

I have pleasure in reporting that a series of
six lectures has just been delivered in this dis-
trict by Mr. G. Wells, of Aylesford, Kent.
Three of the lectures were held under the
auspices of the Northumberland County
Council, and the Northumberland and Durham
Bee-keepers' Association was responsible for
the remainder. The results have been highly
satisfactory to all parties concerned. Thanks
to the Bee Journal and Record, north-
country bee-keepers are more or less familiar
with Mr. Wells' system, but the prospect of a
personal visit was widely appreciated. The
centres chosen were : — Newcastle-on-Tyne,
Consett, Whittingham, Cambo, Bedlington,
and Riding Mill, and at of all these places the
audiences were numerically large and drawn
from a wide area, ranging from one to fifteen
miles. The first lecture was held at Newcastle,
and was reported in your issue of last week.

On the following day the town of Consett
was visited, and a very successful meeting
was held. J. Winter, Esq., of Leadgate,
efficiently discharged the duties of the chair,
and bee-keepers were present from Durham
City, Rowley, Waskerley, Castleside, Medoms-
ley, &c , a good many of whom joined the
Association. The proceedings closed with a
vote of thanks moved by Mr. Calvert, of
Medomsley.

A meeting was next held at the pretty
village of Whittingham, in the centre of the
most fertile vale of Northumberland, which
appeared to Mr. Wells to be a perfect
Eldorado for bee-keeping. The schoolroom
was crowded to the doors, and a true North-
umbrian welcome was given to the lecturer.
At the close the chairman, the Rev. William
Shield, joined the Association, together with
several other gentlemen who were present.

The other three meetings were held at
Cambo, Bedlington, and Riding Mill, and
were well attended notwithstanding an in-
clement change in the weather.

Mr. Wells is to be congratulated upon the
complete success of these pioneer meetings.

The addresses were admirably delivered, and
embellished with homely wit, which kept the
audiences in excellent humour. The hives
and appliances used for the lectures have been
purchased by the Association, and will be in
the hands of Mr. McClay, bee appliance
dealer, 4, Cloth Market, Newcastle, during
the month of March for inspection by members
and others.

The Committee hope to follow up the
success of these meetings with another lectur-
ing tour, and the following have pro-
mised to give their services as lecturers
should any meetmgs be arranged, viz. : —
Rev. R. E. Taylor, Councillor F. E. Schofield,
County Councillor T. R. Dodd, and Mr.
Wakinshaw. The Secretary will be glad to
receive applications for lectures from any part
of the two counties. Mr. Wells was much
gratified with the success of his visit, and has
expressed his hearty ackaowledgment of the
hospitality received on all hands. In leaving
the hives, &c , for a nominal sum, he accom-
panied the favour with a donation of a guinea
to the funds of the Association. He has also,
in accordance with promises, sent the Secretary
seeds of the Chapman honey plant and Melilot
clover, which he grows for his own bees, with
which members will be supplied on making
application,

J. A. KiDD, Hon, Secretary,

1, Havelock-terrace , Gateshead-on-Tyne.

Notioesto Correspondentsand Inquirers.

All queries forwarded loill he attended to, and those
only of personal interest loill he answered in this column.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufac-
turers or correspondents, or whei-e appliances can be
purchased, or replies giving such information, can only
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries, and replies is m,eant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. Wa
wish our Con-espondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in advanoe of the date of
issue, queries cannot alivays be replied to in the issue
iminediately following the receipt of thoir oommuniea-
tion.

Mr. G. Wells, of Aylesford, Kent, asks us to
make known his very reasonable request
that persons writing him for information on
what is called the "Wells system of bee-
keeping '' must in all cases enclose a stamped
addressed envelope, otherwise he cannot un-
dertake to reply to their inquiries.

"Patience Tried" (co. Cork). Disinfecting
foul broody hives. — In such a case we should
wash every portion of the hives with a
strong carbolic acid solution, and afterwards
give two coats of paint — carefully painting
into every nook and cranny — -before using
them again. Burn the frames out of sight.
Use naphthol beta for medicating bee-syrup.

W. (Swansea). — Please refer to above for
reply.

Several Queries and Letters are in type and.
tvill appear next weeTi,

March 15, 1894.] THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

101

(f ditoriHl Malices, ^c.

THE LATE CHARLES N. ABBOTT.

Last week it was our painful duty to
mention that our old friend, C. N.
Abbott, had passed away, and now we
wish to bring before our readers a short
sketch of the career of this pioneer of
British bee-keeping. There are thou-

Hanwell, Middlesex, on October 5, 1830,
and was in the G4th year of his age at
his decease. His father was a builder
in a large way of business, and a man
of high repute and sterling worth.

Early in life, while still a lad, an
errant swarm of bees found its way into
his father's garden, which, having been
hived in a flat-topped skep, having a
small window at the back, was a con-
tinual source of wonder and delight to

sands of bee-keepers still who knew Mr.
Abbott when he was entirely engaged
in advancing bee-keeping, but there are
many thousands now who only knew
him by name, and by whom a sketch of
his life will be welcomed.

Charles Nash Abbott was born at

k

the lad. On his return to school his
thoughts often reverted to his own stock
Avhich, in, the ensuing holidays, swarmed
and increased into three. These were
the dark days of bee-keeping, and the
" taking up " of one of these hives in
autumn was always a dreary remem-

102

THE BRITISH BE£ JOURNAL. [Marcii 15, 1894.

brance. The day of light, the existence
of the Journal, was then far distant.

Many years passed before Mr. Abbott
had the opportunity of renewing his
acquaintance with bees, but in 1865 his
father died, and this event relieved him
from business necessities and permitted
him to return to the dream of his youth.
An opportunity now presented itself of
gratifying his thirst for knowledge of the
honey-bee. He received an appointment
as an officer at the Central London
District School at Han well, and here he
came in contact with the Medical Officer,
Dr. Coster, a bee-keeper of note, and an
ardent enthusiast of the moveable-comb
system. From him Mr. Abbott acquired
his first real lesson in advanced bee
culture — lessons almost daily repeated
and enforced by practical demon-
strations. Mr. Abbott was a willing
scholar under a patient and able
master — one who took nothing on
trust, and who insisted on verifying the
varied experiences of the leading men of
the day. Numerous were the experi-
ments made in hive-construction to test
the suitability of the Woodbury, the
Langstroth, atid the Quinby hives for the
English climate. Well do we remember
when at a later period the question of a
standard frame was discussed, the
experience gained was brought to bear
upon the subject, and was a great factor
in the adoption of the present standard
frame. In the experiments alluded to
above Mr. Abbott's knowledge of
carpentry proved of great service, for the
hives were made under his eye, and the
merits of each discussed with great
earnestness.

Mr. Abbott having now learned •' the
more excellent way " of bee-keeping, was
eager to communicate his new-found
knowledge to others not so happily
circumstanced. The local newspaper,
the Middlesex County Times, opened its
columns to his pen, and he thus became
a ready source of information to all Avho
sought it.

In 1870 Dr. Coster died, Avhen Mr.
Abbott, having purchased the doctor's
apicultural assets, became a bee-master
on a more extensive scale than formerly,
and thoughts and aspirations arose in his
mind as to whether bee-keeping might
not be an industry of national attention.
With this idea in view he became a

writer in the English MecJianic, advocat-
ing most Avarmly the fi-ame-hive system.
It was as a writer in this paper that we
first became acquainted with Mr. Abbott
by name, and gladly welcomed his
determination at a later period to provide
a special organ for bee-keepers, by the
establishment of the British Bee
Journal. By means of his writings in
the English Mechanic and also in some of
the gardening papers, Mr. Abbott
laboured in the cause for many 'months,
each day becoming more convinced of
the importance of the bee - keeping
industry, and surrounding himself with
the friends of the honey-bee, in constantly
increasing numbers, until he thought that
the time had arrived when he could
concentrate the whole of his attention on
the pursuit, and with this object in view
he gave up his appointment at the
Central London Schools.

There was no special paper devoted to
the science of bee-keeping in this country,
though a limited correspondence on the
subject appeared in some of the garden-
ing papers. There was, however, no
leader of the "party of progress," and
Mr. Abbott in 1873 determined to
initiate a journal which wolild give itself
wholly to this object. As soon as he
made known his object all those desiring
progress rallied round hira, and the
realisation of his project was made
certain.

It would be impossible within the
limits of this sketch to recite all the
difficulties and obstacles encountered by
Mr. Abbott in starting the British Bee
Journal. Suffice it to say, notwith-
standing the jealousy which was at the
bottom of these difficulties, that in time
his dominant will and his persevering
energy enabled him to overcome every
impediment, and we have also reason to
rejoice that he held on his way with
steadfastness, for no one can deny the
immense good which has resulted from
the teachings of the Journal. With
the establishment of the Journal bee-
keeping received a new impetus and
fresh developments. One of these was
the establishment of the British Bee-
keepers' Association in 1874, in a great
degree due to the strenuous advocacy
of Mr. Abbott in the Journal. This
led to the exhibition of manipulations
with live bees, the idea originating with

March 15, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

lOS

Mr. Abbott. The first exhibition which
ever took place in EngUind at which the
operations and the mysteries of manage-
ment of bees were explained was
organised by the British Bee-keepers'
Association, and took place at the
Crystal Palace in 1874. At this exhibi-
tion Mr. Abbott was the chief operator
and took the foremost place, delighting
and astonishing the vast multitudes who
attended to witness the operations, and
it Mas at this show that we became
personally acquainted with him, having
previously only corresponded.

For many years Mr. Abbott served on
the Committee of the British Bee-
keepers' Association, and always brought
to bear his practical knowledge and
business capacities on the various subjects
discussed. He was also selected to serve
on the Sub-Committee of practical bee-
keepers and most successful honey pro-
ducers appointed to consider and report
on a standard frame, and in 1880 he and
Mr. W. Carr, of Newton Heath, Man-
chester, were sent by the British Bee-
Keepers' Association on a mission to
Ireland, which resulted in a great de-
velopment of the industry in that island.
Mr. Abbott continued to conduct the
British Bee Journal for a period
of nine years till December, 1892,
when he vacated the editorship and
proprietorship in favour of the Rev.
Herbert R. Peel. As soon as it was
ascertained that Mr. Abbott had deter-
mined to leave the editor.ship, a Com-
mittee Avas formed to raise a fund to
present him with a testimonial in token
of his unswerving faith in his convictions,
his patient perseverance, and untiring
energy in accomplishing his purposes
during his editorship. We and the late
Mr. G. Henderson were deputed to make
selection of the testimonial, which re-
sulted in the presentation of a handsome
black marble dining-room clock, designed
after the style of the temple at the foot
of the Acropolis at Athens, affixed to
which was an inscription-plate stating
that it had been presented to Mr. Abbott
b}^ a few friends in appreciation of the
services rendered by him to bee-keeping.

There is many a bee-keeper still who
owes his knowledge of bees to Mr.
Abbott's instruction, and Avho will recol-
lect Avith what courtesy and patience
every question was answered by him.

Straightforward in character, he detested
anything that was underhanded, pre-
ferred to call a spade a spade, and did
not hesitate to expose imposition and
deceit. With a generous temperament
such as his, it is no wonder that he had
very many friends. During the whole
time that we knew him, although we
frequently differed in opinion, we always
experienced from him the greatest
courtesy, and when the articles of a
" Renfrewshire Bee-Kceper " on the
Stewarton hive and system appeared we
were selected to champion the advantages
of the frame hive.

When Mr. Abbott commenced his
career as a journalist it had not been his
intention to be a manufacturer of hives
and appliances, yet the demand for these
grew so rapidly that he found it neces-
sary to prepare a home for the industr}-.
The business was established at Hanwell,
but gradually grew in extent that it was
deemed advisable to remove to Southall,
where it has ever since been conducted
under the name of Abbott Brothers.

We must not forget the indebtedness
of bee-keepers to Mr. Abbott for his
varied improvements in hives and
appliances during the time he was Editor
of the Bee Journal ; these form a
history in themselves, and the annual
catalogue sent out by the firm bears
ample evidence of his work. Amongst
these inventions the most ingenious and
conspicuous are his Little Wonder
extractor and his Combination hive, both
of which are largely used.

With the exception of writing occa-
sionally to the British Bee Journal,
Mr. Alibott had, in consequence of fail-
ing health, retired for some time from
the beekeeping world, as well as from
other active work ; for it must not be
supposed that he took no interest in
other matters. When the Volunteer
movement was introduced into Ealing,
he was one of the first to join it. For
some time he Avas Poor Law Guardian
and Chairman of the Brentford Rural
Sanitary Authority. Then he was
instrumental in raising funds for build-
ing Trinity Church, Southall. By these
and other"^ acts he will be remembered
and missed by his neighbours ; but it is
with his bee-keeping career that most
bee-keepers will be interested. Since
the Bee Journal was started many pro-

104

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [March 15, 1894.

minent bee-keepers have passed away, but
none whose names will be so closely con-
nected with the progress of the industry
in this country as that of Mr. Abbott.

It was only three Aveelcs ago that
we proposed, at the annual meeting of
the British Bee-keepers' Association, that
Mr. Abbott be elected honorary member
of the Association in consideration of his
valuable services to bee-keeping. As
there were a great many new bee-keepers
present, Ave explained what a debt of
gratitude these beginners owed to Mr.
Abbott, little thinking that while we
spoke our old friend was lying on his
death-bed, Avhere he had been already
for seven weeks, suffering from a painful
and lingering illness. His strong consti-
tution enabled him to battle with the
disease, although for several weeks it had
been manifest to himself and his sorrow-
ing family that recovery was impossible.
Although the distinction desii^ed to be
bestowed upon him was too late, it
marks the honour and esteem with
which ho was held when it was known
that the proposition was passed with
acclamation.

We feel to have personally lost a
friend, and we are sure that we express
the feelings of thousands of bee-keepers
in offering ;ur heartfelt sympathy with
the family i their bereavement.

BRITISH BEE - KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

The first meeting of the Committee elected
for the ensuing year was held at 105, Jermyn-
street on Wednesday, the 7th inst. There
were present Mr. Jonas, Mr. Garratt, Mr. Till,
Mr. Carr, Mr. New, Major Fair, and Mr,
Hooker (ex-officio). John Huckle, Secretary.

Mr. H. Jonas was voted to the chair. Com-
munications were received from Mr. Cowan,
Rev. G. W. Bancks, and Captain Campbell
regretting their inability to be present. The
minutes of the last meeting were read and
confirmed.

It was unanimously resolved, " That the
Committee, having learnt of the death of Mr.
C. N. Abbott, desires to place on record the
sense it entertains of the great loss the Asso-
ciation and bee-keepers generally have
sustained in the death of that gentleman.''
The Chairman was requested to convey to
Mrs. Abbott and family the sincere sympathy
of the Committee wiih them in their great
bereavement.

It was unanimously resolved that Mr. T. W.
Cowan be elected Chairman, and Mr. H.
Jonas Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year

Sub-Committees were appointed as follows : —
1. Finance. 2. Exhibitions. 3. Educational.
4. Northern and Southern Affiliated Asso-
ciation.

The monthly meetings of the Committee
were fixed to be held on the second Thursday
in each month, August excepted. The fol-
lowing fixtures were also decided upon, viz. ; —
Thursday, May 10. — First-class examination
to be held in London.

Tuesday, June 26. — Examination for third-
class candidates, to be held in the showyard of
the Royal Agricultural Society, at Cambridge.

Second-class examination to be held on
Friday and Saturday, October 26 and 27.

Letters were read from the Secretary of the
Notts Association in reference to the decision
of the Committee (and subsequently confirmed
by the general meeting) requiring the affiliated
Associations to make an extra payment for
medals and certificate if oft'ered for competi-
tion during 1894, and the adoption of the
recommendation made by the Northern Asso-
ciations in regard to au increased payment ia
entrance fees by candidates when competing
for first, second, and third class certiticates.
The Secretary was requested to inform the
Notts Association that the Committee had
given much consideration to these matters,
and that in their i-ecommendations they had
endeavoured to minimise as much as possible
the difficulties the Notts Association supposed
would arise in the arrangements which had
been made. Mr. P. Scattergood, jun., repre-
sentative of the Notts Association, was
approved as an ex-officio member of the
Committee.

The prize list for the Bee Department of
the Royal Counties Agricultural Show, to be
held at Canterbury in June next, was resolved
upon and ordered to be circulated.

The following new members were elected,
viz. : — Mr. P. Sexton, Ballyclough, Ireland ;
Mrs. R. Scott, Claygate, Esher ; Mr. E. B.
Gunyon, North Cray, Kent ; Mr. W. R. Lilly,
Lincoln ; Mr. G. Franklin, Ryton-on-Duns-
more ; Mr. J, W. Lowry, St. Melions
Cornwall.

BERKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.

The annual meeting of the above Association
was held at the Victoria Cafe, Reading, on
Wednesday, the 28th ult. Among those
present were Mr. Councillor Parfitt, J.P.,
Messrs. A. L. Cooper, T. Flood, D. Kennedy,
Kingham, W. Long, Williams, and the Hon.
Sec. (Mr, A. D. Woodley) ; also Mrs. R.
Tompkins and Miss Benham, of Goring. The
minutes of the previous meeting having been
read, the election of officers for 1894 was pro-
ceeded with. The President and Vice-Presidents
were re-elected, with the addition of H. Van-
sittart Neale, Esq., of Bisham Abbey. Mr,
A. D. Woodley was re-elected Hon. Sec, and
on account of the increased work under the
Technical Education Grant a Financial Secre-

March 15, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

105

tary was appointed, Mis3 R. Carr-Smith being
elected. The following were also re-elected : —
J. Simonds, Esq. , Hon. Treasurer ; F. Cooksey,
Esq., Hon. Librarian. The election of the
Council followed, and those members willing
to remain in office for 1894 were re-elected,
with the addition of Mr. Councillor Parfitt,
J.P., and two new District Secretaries — Mr.
C. Chatter ton for Faringdon, and Mr. W.
Hommershani for Hungerford. Mr. W.Carter,
Windsor, and Mr. F. Parfitt, Eeading, were
elected representatives at the meetings of the
British Bee-keepers' Association in London.

Drafts of the annual report and balance-
sheet having been distributed, the Chairman
drew attention to some of the leading points,
and in moving the adoption of the report,
said that while there was much of a very
satisfactory nature there was a serious draw-
back in the balance-sheet of the Technical
Education account, the Association being
saddled with a debt of £40, which, unless the
County Council came to the rescue, must
seriously hamper their work in the future.

It was proposed that : " The County Council
be urged to accede to the application of this
Association for a grant of .£100 to carry out
the Technical Education scheme on the same
lines as last year, and to relieve the Berks
B.K.A. of any financial difficulties." This
proposal was carried unanimously, and the
Hon. Secretary was instructed to forward the
same to the Berks County Council.

Another feature in the annual report re-
ferred to is the honey scheme which was in-
augurated some years back, and which has
been so great a success — so much so that most
county Bee-keepers' Associations are adopt-
ing it.

This concluded the general business, and
the meeting afterwards closed with a vote of
thanks to the Chairman for presiding.

COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS AND HONEY
LABELS.

We are glad to note that the question of
labelling members' honey for sale purposes is
being taken up by several county associations,
and in view of the approaching busy season it
is advisable that active measures should be
taken by all who regard the plan favourably
without loss of time. It may be well, how-
ever, that such associations as have already
resolved to adopt a county label should defer
formulating their schemes until the subject
has been discussed from the several standpoints
of those who have given attention to the
matter, in order to ensure the united action so
desirable in the interest of all.

We therefore invite opinions for publication
in our next issue.

HONEY IMPOSTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of February,
1894, was £1,139.— From a return fur-
nished by the Statistical Office, H,M. Oustoms.

^armpnkut

The Editors do not hold themtelves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous comnmnieations, and correspondent!
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
(jive their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should , be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literari/ department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, Jcc, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Stratid, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relatiny to Advertisements, ibc, must be addressed
io"THE Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of Advertisements).

*,* In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
tvill oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page 07i xvkich it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.
[1783.] The weather continues boisterous ;
heavy storms of rain interspersed with periods
of sunshine and rough winds seem the order
of the day. Large numbers of bees are lost
every day, many being swept from the
alighting board to perish in sight of home
with their loads of pollen and water. If we
get a continuance of this kind of weather we
shall hear of a great many instances of spring
dwindling in stocks that are not very strong,
and strong stocks cannot make good progress
as with larger brood nests a larger quantity of
pollen and water will be required, and this
will necessitate a larger number of bees
working to supply the wants, and of course a
correspondingly larger death-rate. The best
safeguard is a supply of water and pollen near
the hives, and the hives in a sheltered position
— unfortunately all bee-keepers are not able
to obtain sheltered spots, but if I was looking
out for a position for an apiary I should
make a point of securing such a position.

Honey sales continue to engage the atten-
tion of the Bee-keepers' Associations, and the
most reasonable device to ensure to the
British public that they are using or consum-
ing British lioney is by using an Association
label ; our Berkshire label is an eflective one,
distinct in design and of a good size for
bottled honey, and the right size to affix to
the top of a section of honey. They are
numbered consecutively, and when sold to
members entry is made of the numbers sold
to each member, so that a reference is easily
made as to who sold the honey when the
label order book is consulted. At one end is a
notice that honey crystallises in cold weather,
and at the other that any complaint as to the
quality should be made to the. hon sec. of the
Berks Association.

In spacing frames, I notice Mr. Lamb men-
tions extra thick combs being produced by his
method of inserting little blocks of wood be-
tween the ends of trames before the cells are
gealed. May I ask if these very thick combs
j.eceive any great damage in the extractor, as

106

TllE feRltl^H BEE JOUMaL. [March is, 1894.

one would think that the half of the comb so
heavy from the increased thickness would
crush the other side very much in extracting,
before the reversing of the comb in the ex-
tractor, and if such is the case the extra thick
combs would require a lot of lepair when
returned to the bees for refilling, and thus
militate against the utili'y of extra thick
comb.

Mr. Lamb's contention that bees will winter
as well on two crates of shallow frames as on
one set of deep combs, have been, and is, veri-
fied in America every season, and those who
have and do continue to use the Heddon hive
(which is a shallow one) assert that they prefer
the hive, and have no wish to return to the
ordinary hive with deeper frames, in fact the
users claim many advantages in the shallow
hives.

This is the month for sowing seed for bee-
flowers to increase the hooey harvest later on.

Prospects are not very promising at present
in this district. Many fields sown last dry
summer with mixtures containing a proportion
of white clover have failed, and are conse-
quently ploughed up. This must curtail the
honey-flow considerably. Vetches are better
than they were last year at this time, but the
quality of tare honey will not compare with
white clover honey either in quantity or
quality. The buds on the lime trees appear
small this spring, probably owing to want of
moisture when formed last autumn. There-
fore, unless we get a growing spring we may
have a limited quantity of stunted blossom
later on.

The snowdrop and the crocus have bloomed
too early to be of much help to the beej!, and
the palm also will soon be over. I have
started to-day a supply of art;ific'al pollen on
shavings in some old skeps. I think it is
some help to the bees if given moderately, but
if given in large quantities I have noticed
some colonies store more than they can use up,
and the combs get somewhat clogged. I used
to think it a great help, but since I have run
an out-apiary, and fiud the out-apiary equal,
and in some instances before, the home-apiary,
I have modified my views on many points in
bee- culture, and this is one of them.

Self-hivers have re-appeared in the pages of
some of the American bee papers. Mr. Dibbern
contributes an article on his style, which is an
empty hive in front of the hive that is to
swarm, and the bees can reach the brood nest,
either through the swarm hive or by way of a
wide passage under the swarm hive ; of course,
the outside entrance is covered with excluder
zinc, s) that after tbe colony has swarmed
the queen coming to the zinc, and not able to
pass, will go up through one of the wire-cloth
cones and into the swarm-receiving hive, which
is fitted with foundation ready to receive them,
and by simply closing the bottom entrance all
the incoming bees have to pass into the swarm
hive. I should say the passage from the stock
hive to the entrance is formed by a slatted

honey board, i.e., a board made of alternate
strips of excluder zinc and slats of wood, so
that until the old hive is removed quite away
bees can still work into it at will, having to
pa.=!s through the zinc in the honey board.
What have our inventive geniuses planned
for the coming (perhaps a very) swarming
season ? — W. Woodley, Beedon, Neiobury.

PREVENTION Ot' SWARMING.

[1784.] If the following plan has never been
tried, perhaps some of yoar readers woald like
to try it- It occurred to me that such must
be effectual if the queen is of average size and
the excluder zinc of the propar size : — When
the stock hive is full of bees and becoming
crowded — -1. Fix a sheet of excluder zinc to
the bottom of the second story box carefully
and securely. This box must be capable of
taking standard frames. 2. Move two frames
of brood and the queen into this upper box,
and fill up with frames of foundation. If the
perforations in the zinc are the proper size, the
queen is now a prisoner, but in no way pre-
vented from increasing the strength of the
stock. 3. Examine all the frames of brood
carefully and destroy all queen cells ; this
operation must be repeated every three or four
days until the brood i? too old to produce
queens. 4. Examine the upper story, too, to
see that the queen is still there. If she has
not found her way down to the stock by this
time I think you may be certain she has tried
and failed, and that the zinc is all right. 5.
Fill up stock ako with found^tion. 6. Jf the
framei of foundation are placed between the
brood in the upper story, one by one, as
drawn out, and filled with eggs, I think the in-
crease won't be very rapid, and there is ample
storage room in the stock a=! the bro^d hatches
them. — A. G. Nicholson, Hants, March 8.

[Without gnng into the merits or demerits
of the plan detailed above, we suggest that
our correspondent himself makes a trial of it
lor a season, and fivours us with results for
publication. — Ed.s ]

THE WEATHER AND THE BEES.

[1785.] In my opinion, this has been an
ideal winter for bees — cold enough to pre-
vent them from flying unduly, and yet
with some fine days to give them an oppor-
tunity for a good cleansing flight. The mor-
tality after that very sharp soap of frost in the
early days of January did not appear to be
large. More dead bees were brought out on
Saturday, February 24, after being confined to
their hives for a week by frost than on the
previous occasion. I happened to be in the
neighbourhood of a couple of bee-keepers
owning about twenty-five hives, and it was a
sight to a bee-keeper to see the bees so strong
on the wing at this time of the year. The
one owning fifteen of these hives is a skeppist
of the old school, but Ins recently started two
modern hives. He told me that he only had
two swarms last year, and took no honey, but

March 15, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

10/

his bees appear to be strong now, and as he is
noted for April SAvarms, that is not to be
wondered at.

The other is a young recruit started last
year, who has got the bee-fever " hot." He
devotes every spare minute to hive-making,
intends to have fifty hives, and is making what
I should call " Wells hives " upwards, or
rather hives three storey high. I am afraid,
however, it is a bad speculation, as he is in a
neighbourhood in which foul-brood has deci-
mated more than one bee-keeper, and yet the
first-named skeppist has lived right through it
all without taking any precaution to check it.
He hives his swarms when they come, and
puts them over the brimstone-tub in the autumn
when he wants the honey. But I am getting
rather wide of what I started to write. My bees
commenced carrying pollen from the crocuses
on the 4th of February, four days earlier than
last year, which was a record-breaker with me,
and to-day (February 27) I see the palm is out
in fall bloom, so that there will be something
for them to work upon. As mj' hives are well-
provisioned, I don't intend doing any early
feeding this spring, but let them jog along at
their own pace. — Man of Kent.

THE B.B.K.A. AND ITS AFFILIATED

ASSOCIATIONS.

[1786.] To all well-wishers of the B.B.K.A.
it is, to say the least, unpleasant information
to read of the falling otf in finances, as re-
ported in BJ. for March 1. This state of
things naturally suggests a cause and a
remedy, and, while not claiming to quite
solve the first, I do venture to point out a
defect and its remedy to my mind that exists
in our county associations, which is curtailing
the sphere of tlieir usefulness both 2J'>'0 ^nd
con. As one of the best methods of strengthen-
ing the hands of the central or B.B.K.A., it
appears to me of much importance that the
county associations themselves, if they are to
carry out the objects for which they exist,
must be more effectually worked than they
are at the present time, and must be more
in sympathy and touch with the c'ass sup-
porting them before they can render more
material aid to the parent society.

Take, for instance, the large county of
Glamorgan, extending from east to west some
eighty miles or so. Here is an association
which, considered comparatively, is fairly
prosperous, just i^aying its way. Most ot
its meetings are held at the east end of
the county. But how many bee - keepers
are practically interested in its working?
What benefits in the way of bringing into
prominence our product? and assisting in their
disposal does it confer ? What opportunity
for the exchange of individual ideas is afforded ?
Setting aside the visit of the expert (which is
not always necessary), what general or social
advantages does it offer to the middle-class or
fairly well-to-do bee-keeper compared to what

might be done ? And this h mainly because
of the narrowness and the very small local area
influenced by its operations. Do you tell me
intelligent bee-keepers are not suflflciently inte-
rested in the matter to plice our Associations
on a flourishing basis ? If you do, I cannot
accept it. Why — I ask in no cavilling spirit
— should not the meetings be held in different
towns alternately, or why should they ba
always held at one end of a county some sixty
miles distant from the other end, or why
should not there exist a branch or branches of
county Associations ? There are many other
ways in which bee-men might ba enlisted to
help not only with local interests, but to swell
the finances so much needed by the British
Bee-keepers' Association. I refuse to think
there is less money or interest in Beedom,
even though admitted depression pervades
commerce. The fact is, our Associations are
too limited and inert to be practical and use-
ful. They are not sufficiently democratic in
their plans to advance with the times and
make the most of the field before them. In
times like the present not to be aggressive is
to be retrogressive, and such seems to be the
condition of some of the lugubrious bodies
known as Bee Associations of to-day. —
Tomtit.

[We regret to hear of the shortcomings
alleged against the Association referred to,
and by way of an effort to remove or lessen
them would suggest that our correspondent
should attend the annual meeting (if not
already held) and propose thereat such altera-
tions as will secure the several advantages he
desires. A few active local Hon. Sees, (him-
self for one, perhaps) would, no doubt, infuse
the needed energy into the management. With
regard to the general question, however, it
must be obvious to all who read the reports
appearing in our pages that many of our
county associations are active and busy
centres of bee-life and interest to their
members. The real difficulty is to get a few
of the " right men in the right place." — Eds.]

EAPwWIGS IN HIVES.

[1787.] In this morning's issue (page 86) it
is stated that you do not know of any better
way to get rid of earwigs than " brushing them
from their nesting places into water and thus
destroying them." May I mention my own
experience i During last year, somewhere in
your pages, it was mentioned that a piece of
naphthaline crushed up and distributed over
the quilts would prevent them making their
appearance there. I tried it and have found
it effectual in their case, and also in that of
ants. — Delta, Gnivesend, March 1.

[We are glad to have our correspondent's
testimony to the value of naphthaline as a
preventive of earwigs about quilts, the use
of which we have advised for keeping quilts
clear of ants and earwigs ; but the query on

108

THE BHITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Aiarch 15, 1894.

p. 86 refers to keeping earwigs out of hives,
and for this purpose we know of no remedy
but brushing them off from their hiding-places
into water, as stated in reply to 1774. — Eds.]

DO BEES HEAR ?

(Concluded from p. 95.)

We all know that bees act at times just
as if desiring to communicate certain things
to us by sound. And that they modify the
notes produced sufficiently to enable those
familiar with them to know approximately
■what they wish to convey. We cannot, there-
fore, imagine how the bees could credit us
with the possession of the sense of hearing
unless themselves familiar with the use of it.

I attempted once to solve the matter by
using the bees of a vagrant swarm I had hived
on frames. I proceeded as follows : — Closing
the hive after dark, I carried it to a corner
of my apiary. Very early next morning,
before any bees were on the wing, I went to
the closed hive, and removed two frames with
adhering bees, which I deftly slipped into a
comb-box, closing both hive and box quickly,
so as to prevent any of the bees knowing where
they were. I then carried tlie comb-box to
the opposite corner of the apiary, and, after
dusting the bees on the two combs with flour,
I threw them down on to the groimd. I then
stood in the centre of the apiary, so as to give
the bees no clue as to the hive from which
they had been removed. The first bees that
took wing came and flew round about me
for some time ; they endeavoured to obtain
from me the situation of their hive, but
I remained motionless, and they then tried
the hives immediately in front of me with no
better success, after which they enlarged the
circle of their researches, and continued doing
so, until at last I heard a piercing noise,
emitted by one of the bees which had chanced
to drop on the alighting board of the closed
hive first referred to. From this moment the
flying bees searching al)out for a home, as
well as those arising from the ground
whereon they had been tossed, all went
straight for the hive from which the loud
"call ''was emitted, and helped to intensify
it, although the hive containing the vagrant
swarm was so turned that the bees on the
wing could not see those on the alighting
boai-d until quite near them.

The natural inference, therefore, is that bees
can hear, yet we cannot obtain quite satis-
factory proof that such is the case, unless we
entirely debar the bees from using the two
other highly-developed faculties of scent and
vision which we know they possess. When,
however, we have found means of depriving
the bees of the use of the senses of sight and
smell, we know then that if they are still
intelligently actuated by external causes
greatly removed from them, it must be by the
use of some other faculty they possess apart
from those we have rendered useless.

I accidentally discovered a way to do this.
One morning, while working among the bees,
a large first swarm issued and settled on the
lower part of the stem of a tree growing at the
foot ot a bank sevei-al feet below the surface
of the apiary. When the swarm had settled
quietly, I resolved not to hive it until later on
in the day, but, fearing the bees might decamp,
I removed its queen and placed her in a
match-box in the tool-shed close by. I then
took no more notice of the swarm until the
bees had fully realised the loss of their queen,
and were on the wing searching for her. At
this point, when only a few bees of the cluster
remained, it occurred to me that if bees really
did hear, I could cause the swarm to settle
again at their old spot without giving them
their queen. Accordingly I applied a corner
of the box containing the queen against the
upper part of the stem of the tree on its
shaded side, where no bees were flying, and
about five yards above the remnant of the
swarm. Immediately on my doing this, the
few bees remaining on the spot where the
queen had settled with the swarm began
calling their fellows by the usual buzzing of
their wings, and I kept the box in contact
with the tree until most of the swarm on the
wing had settled a second time. I repeated
this experiment at intervals several times
during the day, and always with the same
result. The bees, after dispersing, would again
cluster at their old spot when the box contain-
ing the queen was applied as before, notwith-
standing that in each case it was applied at a
distance of not less than 15 ft. from where the
swarm clustered.

It seems evident that the bees were practi-
cally debarred from using their sense of sight
in detecting the queen through her confinement
inside the match-box, while their sense of smell
was placed at a disadvantage, causing them to
mistake the scent the queen had leic behind
for that of the queen itself. In this condition,
by the use of what appeared to be a keen and
highly-developed sense of hearing, they were
enabled to recognise the movements of their
queen from those of every other bee in the
colony, and this notwithstanding the fact of
her being fifteen feet away from them. This
particular distance was only one of convenience,
and the same experiment can be carried out at
any greater distance by the use of a suitable
sound - conductor and terminals. We may,
therefore, reasonably infer that in the same
way bees are able to recognise the members of
their colony from stranger bees, just as we
recognise certain members of our family by the
sound of their footsteps. Also that bees are
enabled to distinguish between the movements
of a worker and those of a drone, or between
those of a young or of an old bee, as well as
the imovements of the different varieties of
brood in the cells. And that they are, by the
same means, kept apprised of everything that
is going on in the working of an active colony,
— Peter Bois, Jersey,

March 15, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

109

^urm and ^^Im.

[968.] Begimiers and the " Wells " System.
— As a beginner -with frame hives, I am very-
anxious for information on how to start the
" Wells " system. 1. Would it'be best to buy-
two stocks in standard frame hives just now,
and transfer them into the " Wells," or wait for
swarms which would prob-ably not come
off before the first week of June 1 2. If I
buy stocks, which kind of bee would be best,
seeing that I have only the evenings to attend
to them, and could never watch for swarms ? —
D. M. G., Oban, N.B., March 5.

Eeply. — As '•' a beginner with frame-hives,"
and unable to attend to the bees during the
day, or look out for swarms, you would stand
a very small chance indeed of succeeding with
hives managed on the " Wells '' plan. Our
advice is — gain more experience before court-
ing failure by trial of a system which, of all
others, demands not only attention at the
proper time, but knowledge of what to do
under conditions not within the ken of any
but an experienced bee-keeper. We shall do
all in our power to dissuade novices in bee-
keeping from rashly venturing into the
" Wells " system under such conditions as
those in which our correspondent is placed.

[969.] Mouldy Pollen in Store Comhs. — On
looking over my stock of empty combs in the
shallow extracting frames, to get them ready
for the coming season, I have found that there
is a considerable quantity of pollen in some
of them, and some of the pollen has gone
mouldy. I thought that it would save founda-
tion if I were to remove the cells and pollen
as completely as possible down to the founda-
tion, and then let the bees repair these combs
in the summer. I found, however, that it was
impossible to remove all the pollen. Would
you kindly advise me, therefore, in the Bee
Journal whether a little pollen lying about
would be removed by the bees, or would it be
left, and so spoil the colour and flavour of
honey stored in those combs ? Had I better
melt down those combs for wax, and give the
bees fresh sheets of foundation ? Thanking
you in anticipation of a reply in an early-
issue of the Journal. — " Country Doctor,"
Neivarh, March 7.

Eeply. — In dealing with such combs, other
than by melting down, we have never had
satisfactory results . Far better to have new
combs built as proposed.

[970.] Novices and Hive-making. — I
intend working a hive on the " Wells " system
this year, and would be glad if you could give
me a few hints on the manufacture of such a
hive.

I am but a novice with respect to bar
frames, having kept ray bees for a number of
years in skeps, and latterly in what you would
term make-shift hives, and as I am a new

subscriber to your paper, I have no back
numbers to refer to. I intend to make the
hive myself, and would be glad if you could
give me the measurements of the hive proper,
frames, shallow frames, crates, &c., and thick-
ness of wood desirable to use in such a case.

I wish to have it made what is known as
the " standard " size. What that size is I do
not know, so that in order to make the thing a
success, I should be enlightened as to the size
to make the frames, &c. I wish to make the
hive on the doubling system, to hold, say, two
crates shallow frames, or three crates sections.
A description of the system, and rough sketch
of hive through the medium of your paper
would be very acceptable. — Forster Lbe.

Reply. — We advise our correspondent to
obtain a copy of the "B.B.K. Guide-Book,"
price Is. 8d., post free, wherein will be found
details as to frames, hives, section-racks, &c.,
besides other information indispensable before
a novice can understand the making and
management of frame-hives on the modern
system. It is like groping in the dark to
work without the aid of a reliable guide-book,
seeing how impossible it is for us to give all
the necessary instructions in our "Query"
column. By way of illustrating this latter
fact, and without desiring to discourage
queries on the part of beginners, we may say
that the preparation of a full reply to the
above queries w'ould entail an expense equal
to the amount of five or six years' subscrip-
tion to the Journal. The standard 'frame is
14 in. by 8^^ in., outside measure, and the
shallow frame 14 in. by 5^ in., both having a
top-bar 17 in. long and f in. thick. Frames
accurately cut by machinery may, however, be
bought so cheap as not to be worth making at
home. For description of the " Wells " hive
and system we must refer our correspondent
to what has already appeared in past numbers
of the B. J., which may be had post free for
Hd. each.

[971.] Transferring combs infected xvithwax-
moth. — I have a skep which I believe is in-
fested with the grubs of the wax-moth, and
which I wish to transfer to a frame hive— how
can I do so ? My idea is to destroy the skep
and combs, and make a swarm of the bees.
When should I do this, if it is the best way to
proceed ? — Oastel Oane, East Dulwich,
March 7.

Eeply. — If the skep is really infested with
wax-moth it augurs badly for the stock being
worth transferring at all, because only weak
stocks allow the moth to gain any foothold in
the combs. And weak stocks are not suitable
for transferring. If, however, the bees are
fairly strong at end of April, and weather is
warm, they may be driven entirely from the
skep, and such combs as contain brood be tied
into the frames before introducing the bees.

[972.] Hot-Beds near Hives.— I. Will you
kindly tell me if bees object to the smell of

110

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Mftfch 15, 1894.

Maaure ? Our gardener ha-s put up a hot-bed
close to tlie bee-hives, and I wish to know if
it should be taken down . 2. At the beginning
•of December I packed ray hives for the winter
■^pith qiiilts, old papers, &c., and put cakes of
•candy under the quilts. Will it do harm by
lifting the quilt to renew the supply ? 3. At
what date should I begin the w<irk of " spring
management ? " I fancy that here in the
Highlands it must be begun several weeks
Jater than in England. — L. Everard Jones,
Fortwilliam, N.B.

Reply.—]. Without going so far as to say
that positive mischief will occur from the
proximity of the hot-bed to the hive.=!, we
f-hould certainly have it moved, if convenient,
for obvious reasons. 2. The candy cakes may
be renewed when necessary, if care is taken to
pask the quilts closely down on all sides when
re-arranging coverings. 3. If food is plentifwl
in the hives, the best ''spring management''
in your Highland district will be to leave the
bees undisturbed for some weeks to come.
When they are seen busily gathering pollen,
and are out working daily, some artificial help
may be given, but too early stimulation is to
be avoided.

[973.] Scraping Top Bars of Frames. —
Will you give me a few hints as to scraping
top bars of frames in the hive ? 1. What do
you find is practically the best instrument to
use? 2. In future should I scrape them just
after supers are removed l — T. B., Upper
Clajjton.

Reply. — 1. The ordinary spatula (2^ in.
wide) used by painters when mixing paint.
Any bee-appliance dealer will supply them for
cibout Is. 3d. Failing this, we have often
used the back edge of an old carving knife.
2. The proper time to scrape top bars is when
packing up the hive for winter.

Honey-Gott, Weston, Lcaminglon, March
10. — According to the season, the bees seem
in good form, although as yet they have not
been able to get much pollen in our neighbour-
hood. The watering-place is visited in great
numbers, showing unmistakably that breeding
is going on well at present. March has not
come up to what it was last year. The plum-
trees begin to look as though we might have
some blossom out in a few days. I was very
sorry to hear of the death of our dear old
friend, Mr. C. N. Abbott, whom 1 have known
for many years. In the last letter I had from
him, in January, 1893, in the latter part of
same he wrote : — " But, thank God, it is not
so bad as it might have been — things never
are, if rightly looked at, for there is a silver
lining to every cloud, if we have hearts and
eyes to look for it. Fancy ! it is nearly twenty
years since the British Bee Journal first
started, and during that time we have seen a

good many ups and downs, not altogether ill
our own persons, but quite enijugh to make us
grateful that we are not as many others are.
Of course, I do not mean iii the sense implied'
by the Pharisee of old, but because we are still
alive and able to praise the Almighty, and
say — ' God be merciful to me a sinner.' — Yours
as of old, C. N. ABBOTt ." It may interest
some readers if you can see your way to put
this in the Journal. — John Walton,

Notices to Corresponden tsandinq uirers*

All queries /(frteardid ivill be attended to, and those
onln of personal interest will be answered in this column.

The Secretary of the British Bee-keepers'
As'^ociation, J. Huckle, King's Langley, will
be gild to hear of some ons who will advise
a poor widow residing at Claygate, near
Esher, in the management of her bees.

Apis (Blackrock). Dead spctrroics and hoUed
chicken for beefoocL—'SvLch. foods (?) as the
above for bees, and the statement that they
' ' thrive amazingly on them '' may be set
down as so many old women's tales, at
which sensible bee-keepers only smile.

H. 0. W. (Lee Ford). Excluders for " JVelh ''
hives. — The excluder — covering twenty
frames — should be in two parts, but when
the single surplus-chamber is set on, ia
early work, a portion of it extends over both
excluders, and the remaining part is quilted
down until such time as the whole frame-
surface of both compartments is used.
Personally we set the excluder flat on frame
tops.

Wm. Geo. Kiqht. — We have written the
dealer referred to on the subject of your
complaint, it being altogether unusual to
give advice on such matters in print.

L.B. Mildewed Pollen in Combs. — There is
nothing more serious in comb than that the
cells are nearly all full of mildewed pollen.
The fact of one side of the " Wells '" hive
being deserted or beeless accounts for this
condition. If the whole of the combs are
in a similar state we should melt thera
down ; but the bees may be left to remove
the mouldy surface if there is not too much
of it.

G. PiCTON (Swansea). How to Prepare
Honey for Showing. — There have been no
special articles written on this subject, nor
could we write anything half so useful as
taking a few object-lessons by visiting a
good show to see " how honey is prepared
for showing."

F. Smith (Nantwich). Joining the B.B.K.A. — ■
The Secretary of the British Bee-keeper*'
Association, Mr. J. Huckle, King's Langley,
Herts, will be happy to enrol you as a mem-
ber of that body on receipt of subscription
of 5^. upwards.
Articles are in type from Thos. K. New-

higging, Percy Leigh, G. Gordoji Samson,

" N. & N. E. K," and G. J. Simpson, all of-

which will appeqr i%ext iveeh

March 22, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

Ill

(Kiitorial ^DtiaB, ^l

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — We still miss even an
approach to what may be called genuine
winter weather, although seasonable
March winds and heavy rains have been
plentiful enough since our last " Hints "
appeared. But these have now left us ;
the days are warm, the nights clear and
cold with keen frost, consequently bees
are not getting on so fast as last year at
this season. April supers will, we opine,
be missing in 1894 unless a very rapid
change takes place. Consecutive night
frosts, such as we are now experiencing
— no matter how warm the sunny part of
the day may be— greatly retard breeding,
and almost entirely stop the secretion of
nectar in the early flowers. Readers
must, therefore, " bide a wee," and glance
over what was said on p. 61 of our issue
for February 15 before starting active
operations.

Stimulating and Chilled Brood. —
Early feeding in spring once begun
should never be suspended until natural
food can be had. It is this truism which
makes us urge that merely stimulative
feeding should never be started until
bees are gathering natural pollen freely
and flying daily. Nothing is more dis-
couraging to the beginner — after working
his bees up to rapid brood-rearing in
March or early April — -than to find whole
combs of brood chilled and dead from
the utter inability of the bees to cover
all the brood in the hive owing to the
considerable shrinkage the cluster under-
goes through sudden and unlooked-for
night frosts, with an outside temperature
twenty or thirty degrees lower than that
of the daytime. Left to themselves, this
sort of mishap would rarely or never
occur, but when roused to abnormal
breeding by constant artificial feeding,
the bees act more or less as if the season
of natural honey gathering had arrived,
Avith sometimes serious consequences to
the inexperienced bee-keeper.

These remarks are made not with the
view of discouraging what is known as
modern methods of managing bees, but
rather for the purpose of urging beginners
to act with caution, and so save them-
selves the necessity for sending us
samples of chilled brood in early spring

with the query, " Is this foul brood 1 "
If Ave are uskecl how best to safeguard
novices against chilled brood, we reply —
know enough of the consequences of in-
judicious carelessness to avoid risks, or
else keep the bees confined to just so
many combs as they cover until such
time as the weather may be safely
reckoned as free fi-om night frosts.

Shallow-frame Brood-chambers. —
Our correspondent, Mr. Lamb (1782,
p. 97), expresses his intention of testing
the " problem '"' whether bees will not
" winter as well on two crates of shallow
frames as on ten standard frames," and
says if he finds it is so "the standard
frame must go overboard." Our personal
connection Avith Avhat is called the
shallow-frame for both brood and surplus
chambers is Avell known to most old
hands at bee-keeping, though, appar-
ently, not to our correspondent. We
therefore ofi"er him the benefit of our
experience for what it is worth. A\ e
formerly used two boxes (or crates) of
shallow frames as a brood-chamber (sec
p. 44 of " The Guide Book," _ tenth
edition, Avhere our " Bebington Hive " is
illustrated), and, after exhaustive trials
extending over tAvelve or fifteen years,
we gave up the idea, though it Avas our
pet notion at the time. Noav, instead of
the standard frame for hrood-chamhers
" going overboard " it has become a very
firm fixture indeed in our apiary.

Disinfecting Hives. — The question
of disinfecting hives is cropping up just
noAv by reason of stocks being found
either already defunct or affected Avith
foul brood. A Avord of advice on disin-
fecting hives may therefore be useful at
this season. First then, Ave recommend
the total destruction by burning of all
combs and frames. The hive and floor-
board— after being Avell scraped and all
debris got rid of — should then be
scrubbed Avith very hot Avater, in which
a large handful of common soda has been
dissolved. This done, it is coated
thoroughly, inside and out, Avith a
solution of soluble phenyle in Avater (tAA-o
teaspoonfuls to a quart of Avater). In
mixing, the Avater must ahvays be
poured on the phenyle, and on shaking_ it
forms an emulsion. As an alternative
plan, the hive, after the first operation
of scrubbing Avith hot water and soda,
may receive tAvo coats of good oil paint
inside and out.

112

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [March 22, 1894.

DEATH OF A SCOTCH VETERAN
BEE-KEEPEE.

Another devoted veteran of our craft has
joined the great majority in the person of
Mr. Wni. Sword, of Falkirk, who passed
quietly away at his residence, on the 24tli ult.,
in his 78th year.

INIr. Sword was well known and highly
esteemed among his fellow-towasmen as a
pioneer and active worker in every effort that
had for its object the well-being cf those by
whom he was surrounded. After a long and
successful business career, from which he
was enabled to retire with a comfortable com-
petency some fifteen years ago, he continued
to take a lively interest in what might be
termed his hobbies, chief among which may
be named floriculture and bee-keeping.

So long ago as the first show ac the Crystal
Palace in 1874 Mr. Sword was a prominent
bee-man, and formed one of the Scotch bee-
keepers who travelled to that show, bringing
with them their famous Stewarton supers of
comb-honey which made such a stir among
us bee-keepers at the time of their exhibition.
As a personal reminiscence the writer well
remembers taking a tracing of the glass-
covered combs of oae of these supers (possibly
one staged by Mr. Sword himself) to show
the beautiful regularity of the combs to his
bee-friends on returning northward from the
show. For many years afterwords Mr. Sword
was a recognised authority in Scotland on bees
and honey, and frequently acted as judge at the
more important exhibitions, besides winning
prizes himself at leading shows.

A man of sterling worth and integrity, he
won the esteem of all honoui'able men with
whom he came in contact, and his loss will be
mourned by a large circle of friends. Colonel
R. J. Bennett, who was hon. sec. of the Cale-
donian Apiarian Society— of which Mr. Sword
was a member so long as it continued to exist
— in a letter just to hand writes of him : —
One of nature "s gentlemen, he was ever the
same, always willing to give advice, and
sparing neither time nor money in assisting his
brother bee-keepers. A hardy oak ; he has
fallen at last in the full ripeness of his seventy-
eight years. Peace to his ashes, and may his
memory be ever green among us.

HEREFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The annual general meeting was held at the
Free Library, Hereford, February 27, 1894 —
Rev. F. S. Stooke Vaughan in the chair. The
reports and balance-sheets were received and
adopted. It was resolved to apply to the
Counly Council for a grant of ^85 for the
purpose of the Bee- Van Tour ; to offer a
bronze medal for competition at Flower Shows
in accordance with a more definite scheme
than in previous years, the wording of the
class: b?ing defined; to off'^r a ch9mj)ion

silver medal at the Honey Fair, open only to
the winners of the bronze meials at the
local Flower Shows. The Officers were
re-elected with some minor changes.

Among the items of general interest in the
Hon. Secretary's annual report may be men-
tioned (1) Bee- Van Tour. This continues to
be a very satisfactory branch of the Asso-
ciation's work, the co^t being defrayed out of
the grant of £65 made by the County Council
for this special purpose. Thirty-seven working
days were devoted to the Van, against twenty-
eigbt last year. Decidedly more interest is
shown in the lectures than in the past season,
and the attendances have increased. The pro-
cedure has been the same which worked so
well in the past year — viz., an afternoon de-
monstration in some bee-keeper's garden at 4,
a talk from the Van at 7.30, and a short lec-
ture at the Van, illustrated with the lime- light
lantern at 9 o'clock. The lantern lecture inva-
riably secured a good audience and close
attention.

The Berkshire Bee-keepero' Association
have followed the lead of Herefordshire in this
matter, and have organised a similar tour in a
van built at Hereford to the same pattern.

Members. — Thirty-eight new names have
been added since printing the last list, and it
is satisfactory to note a considerable reduction
of the financial deficit with which the year
commenced (chiefly due to the purchase of the
bee van), and members' subscriptions have
amounted to about £8 more than last year.

It is proposed to again apply to the County
Council for a grant of £85 tor the Bee- Van
Tour.

A discussion took place on the desirability
of providing a central depot for the sale of
members' honey wholesale, in order to secure
uniformity of package and grading, but no
decision was arrived at. — Alfred Watkins,
Hon. Sec.

SOUTH OF SCOTLAND BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

A BIG PRIZE LIST.

Sirs,— I have much pleasure in sending you
herewith copy of prize schedule of our show
to be held on August 10 and 11 next, at
Dumfries, in connection with the South of
Scotland Horticultural Society's Show. In it
we offer five silver cups, twenty-four solid
silver medals and over £14 in cash.

We have two classes open to the world,
namely, for six 1-lb. bottles, prizes : first,
silver cup and 40s. ; second, silver medal and
20s. ; third, silver medal ; and for six 1-lb.
sections : first prize, silver cup and 203. ;
second, silver medal and 10s. ; third, silver
medal. But any one may cotnp'^te in all the
classes by paying the membe.ship subscrip-
tion of 2s. Gd.

We have two novel cl isses, namely, 6 and 7,
of which I would lik<^ your opinion ani that

March ■2-2, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

113

of your readers. No. 6 is for one super of
honey to hold approximately 10 lb. This
super is supplied by the Society, it will bear
the stamp of the Association, and a number
and can be shown only in name of party
making entry. No. 7, twenty-one 1-lb. sec-
tions will be supplied by the Society, similarly
stamped and numbered, and eighteen of these
must be shown, all bearing same number.
The entrance fees in both cases cover cost of
super and sections; entries close May 31.
Should we have a good season we hope to
have a grand display of honey, and the attrac-
tions offered by the Flower Show Committee
is sure to attract a full complement of visitors.
I am sure you and all your readers will wish
us all success in this our second venture. —
Thos. K. Newbigging, President, Ste^vart
Haf/, Dtwifries, March 5.

DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

LECTURE OX BEE-KEEPING.

In connection with the technical education
scheme of the Derbyshire County Council, a
capital lecture, arranged by the Derbyshire
Bee-Keepers' Association, was given in the
Abbey-street Higher Grade school on Satur-
day morning, the 10th inst., on " Bees and
Bee-Keeping." The lecturer was Mr. T. W.
Jones, of Etwall, first-class expert of the
B. B. K. A. In the course of a clever dis-
course he dwelt at great length on the natural
history of bees, beside^ giving a number of
valuable hints on agriculture. The lecture
was illustrated by lantern views, and proved of
the most successful character.— CoTiMrtttnica/fc?

LECTURE ON BEE-KEEPING.

At the monthly meeting of the Society of
Jersey Gardeners, held on the 8th inst. at the
Beresford Cafe, Jersey, Mr. Peter Bois, the
President, gave a very interesting lecture on
bees and bee-keeping. ■ The remarks of the
lecturer were illustrated by about fifty lantern
slides, some from Messrs. Newton & Co.'s list
and others especially prepared for Mr. Bois's
use, forming together a most perfect educa-
tional code of bee-keeping. Mr. Vardon
operated at the lantern. The lecturer passed
in review several very interesting points in the
natural history, anatomy, and physiology of
the honey-bte which are desirable to be known
by those who interest themselves in, as well as
by those who actually cultivate, that most
fascinating, useful, and industrious insect. He
went through the principal details of the intel-
ligent management of the bee as practised by
the most advanced bee-keepers of the present
day. The lecturer was repeatedly applauded,
find at the close he was accorded a hearty vote
of thanks for his interesting and highly in-
structive paper. A vote of thanks was also
given to Mr. A. Vardon for his services. —
Vovimnnicafed.

^mt^amlmtt

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expresaed hi/ correspondents. No notice will be
taken of antniynwiis communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
tjive their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, brit as a guarantee of rjood faith. Illustra-
tions should ,be drawn on separate jncces of paper. We
do 'not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the litcrari/ department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Qiteries,
Books for Review, cOc, inust be addressed only to " The
Editors of the 'British Bee .Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business cominuni-
cations relating to Advertisements, <i:c., must be addressed
fo"THE Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Oj^ee, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." {see Ist
page of Advertisements).

*,* Ln order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as xvell
as the page on which it appears.

COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS AND
HONEY LABELS.

[1788.] In reference to the correspondence
which has now been going on advocating
Association labels for different counties, I
suppose it may be taken for granted that the
principal reasons for advocating such are as
follows : —

1. As a protective measure for British
produce.

2. To facilitate the sale of members' honey.

3. And to educate the British public to aslc
for English honey instead of foreign.

The style of label as at present in use in the
Berkshire district so far as I can judge from
Mr. Wm. Woodley's letter on p. 105 — which
no doubt is working satisfactorily to that
association — would in my opinion be disas-
trous to the interests of British bee-keepers if
extended and allowed to become general all
over these islands ; in fact, I go so far as to
say it spells ruin as far as profitable bee-
keeping is concerned. My reasons for saying
this are briefly stated in the three heads, as
follows : —

First, I have seen honey advertised in the
B. J. in bulk at 3d. and also at 8d. per pound.
Now, take for granted, or for the sake of argu-
ment, that both these samples were produced
in the same county, the result would be that,
if the public were educated to ask for Associa-
tion-labelled honey, the price of the one would
be raised, while the price of the better quality
would be reduced ; and, to carry this to a
logical conclusion, the bee-keeper has only to
be sure that his honey is absolutely pure, and
that it is gathered in the district of the Asso-
ciation label, to immediately have it labelled
with the Association label, and it is trans-
formed into the best quality of that county.

I notice that the Berks label has printed
on it, " Any complaint as to the quality of
the honey to be referred to the Secretary," or
some such wording ; but we must recollect
that people do not make complaints in this
sense, but simply cease to buy the article

114

THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL. [March 22, 1894.

complained of. To this extent the measure,
which is simply meant to be a protection,
might easily in any county become a source
of weakness instead of strength, thereby im-
proving the sale of high-class foreign honeys,
which are in some cases much superior to the
inferior English product.

Secondly, whilst it would conduce to sell
those members' honey who up till now have
had a difficulty in disposing of their produce,
it would be a most serious drawback to those
bee-keepers who by patient grading and by
allowing nothing to be sold but what was
first class, have always been enabled to readily
dispose of the whole of their harvest.

Thirdly, the British public will buy what
suits them best, and is in their opinion worth
the money asked ; no other arguments are the
slightest use. Patriotism is all very well
upon a platform, but entirely melts away in
every-day "shopping." One standard is calcu-
lated to lower the price of British honey,
instead of raising it, and the Association label
is in my opinion calculated to do this at a
remarkably rapid rate.

Any of your readers who, whilst being bee-
keepers, are largely engaged in commercial
houses in any part of the country, will, I am
sure, readily agree with the above remarks,
and also as to the decidedly disastrous results
which always follow any endeavour to reduce
any article of consumption to a dead level of
quality and price. Diiferences of quality and
diflerences of jDrice are the soul of profit, as far
as bee-keepers or any other undertaking is
concerned. Moreover, a bee-keeper who may
be noted for excellence of honey may be almost
coerced for the first season or two to adopt
the Association label in his own interests,
only to find that he can only get the same price
for very choice goods, as another bee-keeper
may be getting for an inferior article, notwith-
standing that it may be "pure" and " English."

The other alternative as suggested in your
issue of a fortnight ago, namely, of a guarantee
label only, allowing everybody to use their
own label, is of the two in my opinion the
lesser evil, notwithstanding that although it
might possibly serve the purpose, there is a
serious risk that it will only produce a similar
result. — E. "W. Nickso^, Frodsham, Cheshire.

[1789.] Keferring to the question of honey
sales by the County Associations, I hoped the
mutter had been well thrashed out at the
meeting of the B.B.K.A., fully reported in
B.J. of October 26 and November 2of last year,
but judging from No. 1,780, p. 95, the Taunton
District B.K.A. are starting de novo instead
of taking advantage of the six years' experience
of the Berks B K.A. In the light of that
experience, I see many difficulties ahead for
them if they carry out the idea conveyed in
his letter, and I do not envy the Hon. Secre-
tary the job of filling in the number on each
label— say 500 labels. I fancy he will soon

tire of it, and give it up in disgust. With all
respect, I say if Mr. Wolfe will follow out the
directions given in my paper (see B. J., Oct. 26,
1893) he will save himself an immense
amount of work and worry.

The leading feature of our scheme, and
which experience has proved of the greatest
value, is that our labels are numbered con-
secutively, and as the design is registered, they
can only be obtained through the Association,
and we supply them only to our members and
agents. We usually purchase them in a set
numbered from 1 to 20,000, packed in lots of
500, and it is the easiest matter for the Hon.
Secretary on receipt of an order to take from
the set in course of being sold, entering them
in a register as follows : —

John Brown, Reading
W. Jones, Windsor ...

100
300

1 to 100
101 ,, 400

1/3/94
1/9/94

Thus we have with the least possible amount
of work a complete reference, and in case of
complaint we can at once trace the offender.
The only references to labels so far received
have been from inquirers as to Avhere they can
get more Berkshire honey,, and our label is
now so well known that many buyers will only
purchase honey with it on.

Another important feature of our system is
that it is automatic, but costless ; in fact, it is
a small source of revenue to the Association,
the labels being sold at a small profit. This
is a matter of importance to associations with
rarely more than sufficient funds to pay their
way.

Before closing I must say a word as to our
difficulties ; chiefly with members who have
to be educated. First as to the best style of
" putting up " honey. We have advanced a
long way from the red pan for run honey and
an earthenware dish for that in comb, and we
hope soon to see the Berkshire honey success-
fully compete with ihe fbreigner in this re-
spect. We also impress upon members — as
seen in printed form enclosed — -to put labels
upon none but the best samples. This is our
method of solving the question of " foreign
competition." One other difficulty to contend
with is that members are sometimes a little
imjjatient, and expect us to find a customer
almost before the honey is removed from the
hives, forgetting that many months must
elapse before the season comes round again,
and agents cannot be expected to hold a stock
sufficient to last the year round. It is also
very important that the supply should, if
possible, meet the demand. We are, how-
ever, getting over this difficulty, and this year
agents have been kept going up till now, A
word of caution to associations who are about
to take the matter up : don't enlarge your list
of agents more than you feel you can keep
supplied. It is better to " go slow " in this
respect.

March 22, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

115

We claim, for the Berks system : — 1. It is
simple ; 2. Practically automatic ; 3. Self-
supporting ; 4. It opens a local trade among
dealers who have been in the habit of dealing
in foreign honey ; 5. It educates and pro-
motes a taste for the native product produced
at our own doors.

I have had communications from several
county Hon. Sees, regarding the difficulty of
obtaining a suitable label at a reasonable price,
and in several cases the committee of the
Berks Association have consented, under
certain conditions, to allow our label to
be localised and used by other counties.
Our idea was that the British Bee-
keepers' Association might have taken the
matter up and produced a national label,
which could have been localised by all or any
of the counties. I ventured to hint as much
at the annual meeting the other day, but it
was not taken up very kindly. We shall be
pleased to help any county association in this
respect as far as we are able. — A. D. Wood-
ley, Hon. Sec. Berks B.K.A., Marled -place,
Reading.

[1790.] Referring to your request on p. 105
of this week's Bee Journal, I send you copy
of the Berks label which I hope you can repro-
duce in type, showing it full size, Sj by 2 in.*

he should engage that the labels shall not be
use on inferior or on foreign honey. The
member or user should keep a register of sales
and label numbars, for inf(jrmation in case of
abuse of the system in third hands ; and the
labels should be of a design that could nob be
easily (^.c., cheaply) imitated.

I think the address of the hon. secretary
should be omitted on label — addresses change.
The label should not be altered when once
adopted. I would also add the following-
information to the Berks matter : —

Comb honey should not ho stored in cold or damp
atmosphere, nor in contact with anything from which it
is likely to acquire a flavour.

To liquefy candied honey place jar in warm water.
Action of fire destroys flavour.

If five or six associations — say Kent, Essex,
Notts, Derbyshire, Shropshire, and Lancashire
and Cheshire — would join and buy 100,000 or
150,000 labels it would greatly lighten the
burden for the individual association. The
outlay would come bick quickly with a profit,
and each could get a supply of an ornamental
label of expensive design for an outlay of
about £5. As an experiment it would be
unwise for one association to order 100,000,
and they cannot be economically bought in
less number, i.e.., not of really artistic design
and colouring, which is desirable to prevent
imitations.

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COUNTY
ARMS.

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The label is printed in colours — grey,
vermilion, gold, and black.

The Kent B.K.A. design (not yet decided)
is only 3^ in. by If in., which is still too wide
for the narrowest part of a "four-bee-way"
section when cut away to li in. The Kent
size is a bit small for matter required on it,
but is handier for small jars. Its colour is
straw ground with blue and terra - cotta
colouring, " Pure Honey " in prominent white
letters.

The Berks Association charge Is. per 100
for labels to their members. Each purchasing
member should sign for his labels in order to
trace the user or the apiary, and on the receipt

* Unfortunately our page is not elastic, consequently
we cannot show the label full size as requested. — Eds.

The Kent B.K.A. would also like to issue
window transparencies to agents (small enough
to fit a cottage window-pane), ornamental and
looking like a piece of stained glass, so as to
be attractive too in the best shops (the best
shopkeepers should always be selected where
possible) ; but the expense stands in the way.
One thousand is the smallest number to be
bought advantageously. The agents _ would
probably pay for the window-bill ; its cost
would be not more than 3d. or 4d., and would
last for years — a constant advertisement in
every town and village of the coimty bee-keepers'
association.

Now cannot some or all of the associations
enumerated communicate with the lion, secre-
tary of the Kent B.K.A., to get this business
through quickly for the present season ? The

116

THE BmTlSH BEE JOtJMAL. [March 22, 1894.

labels sell at a good profit, so that all the
money would come back as income — a good
part in the present year. I should explain
that this wouLd mean the adoijfcion of one form
of label — the name of the association would be
IDi'inted in at a separate j)roces3 — it would
necessitate the omission of tlie county arms,
which is not important.

If the work is to begin this season not a
moment should be lost. — T., Eijnsforcl,
March 16.

A VISIT TO AN IKISH APIARY.

A GOOD REPORT.

[1791.] I had a kind invitation from Canon
Procter in September last to see his apiary at
Tullamelan Rectory. September 9 was the
day fixed on for the visit ; the early morning
of that day looked most unpropitious, and the
rain came down in torrents when on the way
to the nea.rest railway station, some seven
miles distant ; but bee people have some of
the nature of the little bee who, when it has
made up its mind to get to a place, it is a very
serious obstacle indeed can prevent it, and
7 a.m. found me on rail, bound for Clonnie],
fifty miles distant. This town— the town of
the Vale of Honey (Clon — vale ; mel — honey),
is almost surrounded with hills, which, in
passing, I could observe were brown with
heather. The rectory is seven miles from
(Jlonmel, and a drive on an outside Irish car,
with a locally well-informed and chatty driver,
along the banks of the river Suir, terminated
in a warm and hospitable welcome from the
Canon and his estimable lady, Mrs. Procter.

The Canon and I were soon out to the bees.
On the way to the garden were to be seen bee
shrubs of the berberis family. Our first move
was to the garden-house ; there Avas to be
seen a jjile of boxes, canvas underneath, filled
with cork dust, ready to take the place of
removed section crates ; also a leather-covered
book of Royalty, containing ages, &c., of all
Queens. Our next move was to a corner of
the garden from which the whole apiary could
be seen at one time. A huge bunch of apples
in the shape of a cluster of bees overhung the
walk on the way up — the bees had evidently
,been there. Ic is probable it was from the
view at this corner that Mr. C. N. Abbott, on
a visit here about fifteen years ago, exclaimed,
" An American apiary — a real American bee
farm." I should call it a " Bee Grarden," as
the hives, about sixty in number, and painted a
light colour, enliven the garden ; and the
apple-trees, with their rosy red fruit, set oft"
the hives to perfection. There is no ground lost
here ; the hives are ranged along the walks,
entrances for the most part inwards, and open
from the walk behind, and the ground is
tilled to the front of the hives. The garden
and apiary help one another — they are "all
one." The Canon had a surprise in store. He
had placed Porter bee escapes under six crates
on five hives the evening previovis, and we

proceeded to take off. Each rack held thirty-
five sections, and in the whole 210 sections we
found but four bees. The hive with two
racks had previously given two similar racks
or 140 sections altogether, and the harvest was
not yet over. Some of his racks hold forty to
forty -five sections each. He has a few only
of twenty-four to twenty-eight. No 21 section
racks. Several of the hives had glass both
sides and back, with thick hinged shutters to
close in. The bees seemed doing very well in
them. One hive had three stocks, entrances,
ends and front.

The hives were all Langstroth make, with
frames 16 in. by lOin. ; a hive of Mr. Lang-
stroth's first pattern was still in use slightly
altered for modern requirements. What struck
me as peculiar about these hives was their
size, solidity (inch timber being worked in
everywhere possible), and fine finish. A call
now to further put to a test the worthy
Canon's and his lady's hospitality and a sub-
sequent visit to the workshop, where were to
be seen a hive in construction, the splendid
inch planks used, a circular saw, and too!s in
abundance, brought to its close a visit very
enjoyable, and which left much food for
thought. I append an account of returns of
his apiary in the Canon's own words, from a
letter I had from him on the 15th of
this month. He states: — "My unvarj-
ing success through all seasons for
the past fifteen years is remarkable ;
as I have neither fed, nor stimulated, nor re-
queened, nor done anything to promote
greater activity among my bees, so I disclaim
nil credit for my success, except that of pro-
viding room and material to work upon.
1892' was generally a bad season, yet ray take
of finished sections amounted to 1,792, and
from unfinished 3j cwt. of extracted. Notwith-
standing the gre.it interruption of work by
swarming, no less than forty out of fifoy-five
that had made advance with section work
having swarmed again and again ; but the
late tiarvest made up lost way. Again,
1893 was a very broken season, so much
so that when you visited me I told
you I did not expect to exceed 1,400
finished sections ; yet, although the weather
continued much of the same character, I
obtained over 1,800 finished and 5^ cwt. of
extracted ; all of the latter, and 1,728 of the
former, I sold to one firm in London at, I may
say, a high price, and with high praise as to
the quality of both, so I have reason to be
satisfied with my results." This is not bad
for an octogenarian (considerably over a ton of
honey last season from fifty Avorking hives),
and lor one who has often no time to attend
to his bees when they require it. They
swarmed six times last year, five of which
swarms he lost, having been obliged to be from
home on more important duties than bee-
keeping. I have noticed that this apiary
has yearly, for these last seven years, turned
out very nearly a ton of honej^, and can come

Marcii 22, 1894.] THE BfeiTlSH BEE JOtJMAL.

Il7

to no conclusion but that the L-mgstroth frame
has a great deal to say to such high " results."
The CanoawrltJS in reply to a query of mine :
" With regard to the Langstroth frame, it
certainly gives greater scope to the working
powers of our stocks which would be cramped
in small standard frames, especially if used in
my locality." The firm to whom the Canon
sold this year, and to whom he refers above,
wrote " they hoped he might be long spared
to send them many consignments of his beau-
tiful lionej^, with which wish, coupled with,
and to show them how to produce it, no doubt
all bee-keepers and readers of the Journal
will heartily join. — W. B., Patrickswell, Co.
Limerich.

TRANSFEPwRING BEES IN THE WEST
INDIES.

[1792.] I send herewith samples of founda-
tion I imported from an English dealer as
" best brood." To my mind it is dirty, and
of very unequal thickness. The paper between
the sheets was old newspaper. I purposely
refrain from mentioning the dealer's name as
I have no wish to quarrel with him, and only
invoke your opinion because L am a newhaad
at bee-keeping, and my remonstrances may
need backing up with authority.

I bought some bees in hives which, from
their shape, rendered it very difficult to drive
the bees as directed in " Cowan's Guide-book,"
so I determined to proceed somewhat on the
lines recommended by Root, in his " A B 0
of Bee- culture." I accordingly, with the aid
of a smoker, cut the combs out of one hive,
shaking and brushing the bees oft' on to a sheet
in front of a moveable frame-hive, and,
lastly, poiiriog the bulk of the bees which
remained in the old hive on the sheet.
I found the queen and assisted her to
the entrance of the new hive, and soon after
had the gratification of seeing every bee safely
housed. I waited a few days, then cut away
the tapes used in transferring some of the
brood combs, and closed up the division-
boards to the requirements of the hive, and up
to the present time the bees are doing nicely,
drawing out foundation, and otherwise work-
ing well. The transferring was done in
January. Feeling that my experiment was a
success, I was emboldened to repeat it on the
five remaining hives I had to transfer. The
first was done without a hitch, and the bees have
tiken to the hive and are working well
up to the present time. I immediately
b'^gin operations on another, and thought I had
sncce ded admirably, but next day when I
went to examine and contract the brood nest I
found that only about hilf a pint of bees
remained in it with the queen, clattered on a
frame of brood I had transferred. The third
hive I transferred as soon as I had finished
with the second. It was rather a weak stock,
aad I faile 1, after a most careful search, to find
a queen, bu-, the bees catered the new hive
rathe: more etg^rly t'la-i th >S9 in th^ two

first hives had done. I hoped the queen was
among them, although I had not seen her.
Next day on examination I only found five or
six bees in the new hive, and no queen. On
the day I transferred the three stocks last
mentioned I thought the bees seemed to be
rather excited, and I determined to cease
operations until they became quiet. I trans-
ferred at a distance of 20 yards or so from
the apiary, and was most careful not to set the
honey running, and when I found any was
spilled I immediately had it wiped up and the
place washed with water. Towards afternoon
everything seemed quieter^ and I resumed
operations with the two remaining stocks. After
I had got them into their new houses and seen
the queen safe with them, I went into my
h)use to transfer any combs of brood that
were worth the trouble, and left a friend to
observe the bees in my absence. In a short
time my friend sent to call me, saying the
bees seemed to be leaving one of the hives
and clustering on a tree near by. I returned,
found it was so, and shook the bees into a
metal pail and returned them to the hive. My
friend thought they had left. Next morning
I examined and found I hid given the bees
from the tree to the wrong hive, as one was
simply crapimed with bees, and the other had
only the queen and half a dozen bees. As
they appeared to have united peacefully, I did
not regret it, and secured the deserted queen
with the intention of giving her to the hive
that appeared to want a queen on the pre-
vious day, but, as I have already related, I
found that hive deserted. Was it not strange
that these bees which clustered on the tree
should have deserted their queen, who, as I
have said, remained in the empty hive until
next morning ? Did I do wrong to transfer
so many hives in one day? I knew my
method was not orthodox, but as it had suc-
ceeded so well with the first hive, I really
hoped I should have done equally well with
the others.

I have written you a terribly long epistle,
and am giving you lots of bother, but I trust
you will help me with your advice, as there is
no oie here who can advise me. I am making
a sincere effort to introduce scientific bee-
keeping into this island. I am a subscriber to
your journa', and have studied all the bee
literature I can put my hands on. I have a
Cowaot's "Guide," Root's "A, B, C," and am
expecting a Dadant's " Langstroth " by next
American steamer, I hope you won't throw
cold water on my efforts — everything here is
so diff'crent from what it is on your side of the
water.

With many apologies, J. G. Simpson,
Bridgetown, Barhadoes, February 10, 1894.

[For a first attempt it cannot be said that
your " transferring " ended badly, after all,
seeing that three established stocks remain-
one containing a double lot of bees — from the
five hives with queens operated on. It is
difficult for us to account for the partial

118

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [March 22, 1894.

failure] of the later attempts ; perhaps the
excitement of continuing caused you to be less
bareful as the work went on. Anyway,
beyond this, there is no reason why the same
result should not have happened in each case,
other conditions being alike.

Eeferring to the simple of comb-founda-
tion, it has all the appearance of old stock,
being, as stated, " dirty " in condition, and, if
sent out so, is not very creditable to the dealer
who supplied it.

We shall be pleased to have further reports
of your bee-experience in the West Indies. —
Eds.]

THE GLAMORGANSHIRE B.K.A. AND
ITS CRITICS.

[1793.] Your correspondent " Tomtit "
(1786, p. 107), who, as I think, tries to stab
in the dark the Glamorganshire Bee-keepers'
Association, makes most unjust charges
against our Society. He asks with indigna-
tion, " What benetits we offer in the way of
bringing honey into prominence and assisting
in its sale," and says, "What opportunity for
the exchange of individual ideas does it
confer ? " To this there is a full and complete
answer : — Every year we combine with the
Glamorganshire Agricultural Society in their
annual show. This show is held each year in
different parts of the county, and is attended
by thousands of visitors. Around the bee-
tent there is always a throng of ardent bee-
keepers exchanging views, and in the honey-
tent a large sale is constantly going on. I sold
in this show at Bridgend last year about £10
worth of honey, and " Tomtit " could have
done the same if his honey is good.

Instead of trying to run down the G.B.K.A.,
let " Tomtit " come boldly forward and throw
his energies into the work. Some years ago
another anonymous writer tried to find fault,
but happily he became converted, and has
since helped us materially. — E. J. Gibbins,
Neath, March 15, 1894.

PREVENTION OF SWARMING.

[1794.] Judging by the results, my writing
must have been difficult to read, for in my
letter (1784, p. 106) there are two errors
which render it rather unintelligible, viz . : —
In second line from end " won't be very rapid"
should read " ivould be very rapid," and the
last word should be " (litre, " and not " them."
I also see that paragraph 3 would be clearer
if the words "in the stock" were inserted
after " frames of brood."

I am sorry that I shall not be able to try
the experiment myself, as I return to India on
April 6, by the P. & 0. Himalaya, and
though I am taking out four hives I have
found great difficulty in getting them to
swarm at all there, and so, perhaps, some of
your other readers will try it and let us know
the results. — A. G. Nicholson, March 16.

FERTILISATION OF FLOWERS BY
BEES.

[1795.] I should much like to call the atten-
tion of your readers to an article in the March
number of Harpcr''s Monthly, entitled "The
Welcomes of the Flowers," by Mr. Hamilton
Gibson. It deals chiefly with the cross-
fertilisation of flowers by bees, tracing the
discovery of this important function of the
bee, and illustrating the methods adopted by it
to secure this effect, in a manner which I am
sure will interest and instruct all bee-keepers
and lend an added zest to every country walk.
— F. J. Cribb, Morton, Gainshoro', March 17.

WEATHER REPORT FOR FEBRUARY.

COUNTT ASSOCIATIONS AND B.B.K.A. MEDALS.

[1796.] When reading report of the annual
meeting of the B.B.K.A., I was more than glad
to see ttiat affiliated associations will still be
able to procure medals from the parent asso-
ciation. I feel su.re that many bee-keepers
would be very disappointed if they no longer
had a chance of winning the much-coveted
B.B.K.A. medal. I should be for one.

Referring to weather for February : — -
1"75 in. of rain fell here during last month.
The greatest rainfall for twenty-four hours
was on the 17th ult., when 0"7 in. were
registered. Rain fell on thirteen days. I
find the February of this year was the wettest
one since 1885, for then 271 in. fell. The
February of 1881, when 3"1 in. were noted,
was the wettest for the last seventeen years.
The maximum shade temp, was 54 degs. on
the 26th, and the minimum 21 degs. on the
19tli. The mercury in barometer stood at 30
— the maximum — on the 19th and 20th, but
fell to 29 '05 on the 12th. — Percy Leigh, Bee
Mount, Stohe Prior, March 17.

^mrm mri |l0|lies.

[974.] Transferring Bees, Wax-moth in
Quilts, &C.—1. I have three strong stocks of
bees in skeps, which I wish to transfer to
frame hives. Would it be judicious to drive
them the first warm day or wait until later in
the season 1 2. On examining many of my
quilts I find a large number of white grubs or
maggots in them. Are these larvee of the wax
moth or common cloth moth ? Surely it
would be the wrong time of the year for them
to be in larva form ? 3. What preparation
could I use to prevent their appearance in
future ? 4. I have just moved a stock of bees
a distance of two miles and painted the hive,
and I now notice the bees are suftering from
dysentery. Is this caused by the excitement in
moving, or by the paint. Will the dysentery
disappear now that the bees are quiet and

March 22, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

119

settled down, or should I further disturb them
by giving them a clean hive ? 5. Among six
hives I have only one which I believe contains
any drone comb. Is there any necessity to
supply any of the hives with drone foundation?
— Harold M. Bryans, Malpas, Cheshire,
March 13.

Eeply. — 1. "We should not transfer till
the first or second week in May in your
district ; but before transferring at all kindly
read our reply to 955 on p. 77 of B.J. for
February 22. 2. The larvje will no doubt be
that of the wax moth. The warmth of quilts
causes their early development. 3. A few
pieces of naphthaline between the quilts will
keep the moths away. 4. It is probably only
a false alarm, the specking noticed being
simjily the result of disturbance. 5. If the
combs are really free from drone-cells (which
we doubt) cutting out a piece at the bottom
edge will soon cause drone-cells to be built in
the space formed.

[975.] Distance below Frames. — ^Hiding
Floor-Boards. — I am about to make a bee-
hive to take " Lee's patent frames,'' and
should feel very much obliged if you would
kindly say : — 1, At what distance from the
floor-board in the hive should the bottoms of
the frames be, so as to allow the bees to reach
the frames after entering 1 2. Would it be
better to have a false floor-board inside the
hive, so as to pull out from the front or back
of the hive, to facilitate cleaning when neces-
sary ? — H. S. L., Ilford, Sussex.

Eeply. — 1. Half an inch. 2. It is quite
common to have hives with fixed legs, in
which the floor-board is made to slide on
runners slanting upward to the back of the
hive. The floor-board, after being pushed
home, is wedged up in front by a slip of wood
provided for the purpose.

[976.] Mildewed Combs. — Wax Exiractiwj.
— 1. I notice my shallow extracting frames are
getting slightly mildewed. They have been in
an open rack in the attic, but to-day I have
put them in a ventilated cupboard. What is
best to do previous to using them this summer ?
2. In melting up old combs, how much oil of
vitriol (sulphuric acid) is required to keep wax
a good colour ? Is it put with melting combs
or into pan catching clean melted wax ? — East

SUSSKX.

Reply. — 1. If combs are only "slightly
mildewed" the bees themselves will readily
clean them before storing honey in the cells.
Where there is more than .slight mouldiness
they may be syringed with salicylic acid
solution and put through the extractor to dry
them ; but very mouldy combs should be
melted down. 2. Sulphuric acid is of course
only used when combs are melted in the
water, not by the steaming process. A tea-
spoonful of acid is sufficient for a half-gallon
of water.

[977.] Moving Bees. — I am about to pur-
chase some stocks of bees now located some
30 miles oft". Would it be best to move them
by rail or road ? If by road, would a light
wagon be a suitable conveyance % and would
the present time be too cold ? 2. In the event
of my moving some hives to a new place only
half-a-mile from where they now stand, would
the bees be likely to return to their old home?
• — Anxious, Ttaibridge Wells, March 14.

Reply. — 1. If railway station is at all con-
venient to beginning and end of the journey,
the rail would be far the best mode of convey-
ance. Otherwise a light vehicle on springs
should be used. Choose a cold day, and the
sooner the bees are moved the better. 2. Not
if moved at once, before the season's work is
properly started.

[978.] Mildeived Pollen in Comhs.~l.
Will you please tell me what is the cure for
the mildew on the pollen in the combs ? Will
the bees carry it away or should I do anything ?
2. Will it be safe to give a swarm, when it
comes ofi", to my neighbour in the next garden,
or is it too near ? — Cuthbert Bede, Durham.

Reply. — 1. If the pollen is soft and fit for
the bees' use the mildew could be got rid of
by applying salicylic acid solution ; but as we
fear it has become hard, and consequently
useless, it would be false economy to give it to
them to clear out at an enormous expenditure
of labour. 2. Quite safe.

[979.] Renewing Combs in Hives. — I have
been told that when combs get to be two or
three years old they turn a blackish colour,
and consequently are not so good for the
bees. As my stock is now two years old,
would it be to my advantage to drive the
bees into a ncAv hive after they have swarmed
this season ? They are now in an ordinary
box, so I have no means of ascertaining the
state of the combs, &c. If it would be ad-
vantageous to drive them, how soon after
they have swarmed should I do so ? and what
time of the day to operate ? — D. W. Lewis,
Fishguard, Fern., March 17.

Reply. — It will certainly be advantageous
to do away with the " box '' in which the
combs cannot be examined ; otherwise there
is no need for renewing them because they
are two years old. Combs are often kept five
or six years with no appreciable disadvantage.
The proper time for " driving '' is twenty-one
days after the bees have swarmed. Any time
in the day will do,

[980.] Cli2)pi'ng Queen-Bees' Wings. — I
have made up my mind to try the plan of
clipping the queen-bees' wings this year, as
advocated by Mr. Boomhower in British Bee
Journal some time ago. To-day I clipped
three of my queens, but it just struck me
whether I was doing right, and, before doing
the others, I thought it best to write and ask
whether it was too early to do it. I am under
the impression that it might be done at any '

120

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 23,

1894.

season of the year, providing that the queens
are fertile and laying. Please say if my
assumption is correct. — Dorset.
Eeply. — Yes.

Beemount, Stolce Prior, Worcestershire,' March
9. — When -walking through my garden last
night about 9.30, my ears were assailed by a
sound which proved to be a genuine " Echo
from the Hive." It came from one of the
stocks I commenced feeding last Saturday, and
reminded one of the humming heard at the
close of a sultry June day. This stock has
been taking down about a quarter of a pint of
syrup daily, since last Saturday. I, yesterday,
weighed a stock I have in a skep, and found
it lighter than was safe, so gave it a pint of
syrup over the hole in crown, and intend re-
plenishing the supply every fourth day while
needed. 1 greatly approve of having hive
roofs fitted with ventilators of perforated
zinc, front and back. This allows a good
current of air to circulate in the space above
the quilts, and tends to keep the wrappings
dry. My hives, so fitted, are much drier than
the others. Weather this month, so far, has
been fairly mild, but wet. — Pekcy Leigh.

Hurst monceux, March^ld. — My bees, so far,
have passed through the winter very well, and
as far as outside appearance they seem very
strong ; they are very busy at the crocuses and
willows, now in full bloom, pollen being carried
in very plentifully. I have made no inside
examination yet, only giving soft candy over
the feed-hole in quilts. I want to examine one
hive soon, for drones have been flying from it
for two or three days. Last year I had drones
flying on March 5, but the hive never did
anything all the summer, and I had to unite
two lota to them to carry them through the
winter, and they appear to be all right at
present. I have now only five hives, as I had
no swarm last season, and I lost one stock
through the wasps after a very fierce battle.
My best hive last season gave me eighty-two
sections and 10 lb. extracted honey, and, after
losing one hive altogether, and another giving
no returns, I made a clear profit of £8. 5s. 4d.
from four hives. I started the spring of 1893
with six stocks, and I hope that the season of
1894 will prove as profitable for myself and
my fellow bee-keepers. — S. Newnham.

School House, Combe, Woodstoch, March 18.
— I this day received a live drone from a
neighbour, who has upwards of twenty stocks
in frame hives. Is it not remarkable for a
drone to make its appearance so early in the
season ? I should very much like to have
your opinion of the early appearance. I am
told that hundreds of worker-bees are flying
from the same hive, which faces due north.
My own apiary contains ten stocks in frame
hives,_ and I never recollect seeing such large
quantities of bees flying so early in the seaso n

There are several woods close to my apiary.
I went this morning to gather a few sprigs of
palm, and the palms were completely covered
with bees, my little son remarking that " I
ought to fetch a hive, as he was sure there was
a swarm." 1 hear very little complaining
about the wintering of bees, and should the
weather continue fine no doubt there will be a
greater number of swarms than last year,
During last wintei', when lecturing on bee-
keeping under the auspices of the Oxfordshire
County Council, I was often asked why there
were such few swarms last summer. — -Thos.
Hughes.

Morton, Gainsborough, March 17. — Bees
had a splendid fly here to-day^best this year.
All my five new queens raised last autumn are
on business bent, if I may j udge by the pollen
going in. — F. J. Cribb.

l\lo tices to Oorrespon den ts and Inquirers.

All qxieries forwarded will 6e attended to, and those
only of personal interest will he ansivered in this column.

Letters or queries ashiny for addresses of manufac-
turers or correspondents, or %i>here appliances can he
purchased, or replies giving such information, can only
he inserted as adcertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries, and replies is meant for the general
good of hee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to bear in inind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in ths issue
immediately following the receipt qf thair eommunioa'
tion.

*j^* Errata. — An obvious error occurred in
the middle of first col. on p. 103 last week.
In our obituary notice of the late Mr.
Abbott, when referring to the date of his
vacating the editorship of this journal — the
year should have been 1882, not " 1892," as
printed.

C. E. Appleby (Leeds). Superincj " WelVs "
hives. — Mr. Wells gives surplus-room in the
ordinary way, excepting that the single
super first given extends over both compart-
ments of the hive. See reply to H. 0. W,,
on p. 110, last week.

W. W. Davies (East Dulwich). — We cannot
trace foul brood in comb sent, and without
further details can oflfer no reliable opinion
as to the cause of the brood failing to hatch
out. Have you been over medicating the
hive ?

Percy Leigh. Sugar for bee-food. — No. 1 is
an unrefined sugar, and as such (whether
cane or not) is unsuitable for bee-food. No.
2 will answer well if pure cane, but we
should require the grocer's guarantee before
using it.

Fredk. S. Fletcher (Ottershaw). — We think
you are in error in supposing the Surrey
Association to be in the condition stated ;
but in any case a post-card to the secretary
of the B.B.K.A. (Mr. J. Huckle, King's
Langley) would obtain for you some in-
formation as to the Bath and W.E- Agricul-.
tural Show at Guilford,

March 29, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

121

im, ^L

COUNTY ASSOCIATION AND
HONEY LABELS.

The manner in which the invitation
offered in our issue of the 15th inst.
(p. 105) has been responded to cannot be
regarded as other than highly satis-
factory. It is, of course, impossible to
print in one week more than a selection
from the many letters referring to this
particular subject owing to the limited
space at our disposal ; but the communi-
cations on p. 113 and two following
pages sufficiently embrace the several
aspects of the case to make them fairly
representative, seeing that each writer
approaches the subject from a different
standpoint, and that between them the
whole ground is moderately-well covered.

Mr. Nickson, in his excellent letter
(1,788, p. 113), takes a view of the
question which we should be sorry to see
ignored by those interested, because,
whatever may be resolved upon in the
endeavour to foster the sale of British
honey, the purely business, or "shopping,"
aspect of the question must be kept
steadily in view as being one of the
important factors in the case. It is not
what we bee-keepers desire that honey
consumers should do under certain cir-
cumstances, but what business experiance
has proved that they very probably will
do, which must guide our action in this
matter, and we entirely agree with our
correspondent in believing that any
attempt to reduce prices to a " dead
level " regardless of quality would have
a disastrous effect on those it is intended
to benefit. But it is an error to suppose
that such intention exists. In none of
the schemes so far formulated is any-
thing of the kind attempted ; on the
contrary, buyers and sellers are left to fix
prices between themselves, entirely
regardless of the County Association or
its label. We have not even heard of
any suggestion as to "fixed " prices, and
it is quite certain that producers will sell
and dealers will buy according to quality,
while prices are bound to Be regulated
by the inexorable law of demand and
supply. It is always well to '' get at "
the practical sido of questions of thia
kind, and in this connection we can
assure our correspondent, and those who
think with him, that whoies^ale honey

buyers soon acquire the knack of know

ing the qualit}^ of honey usually gathered
in the district from Avhich the producer
hails, consequently, the name of the
latter becomes a sort of " brand " as to
quality — good or bad, as the case may
be. Moreover, it would be absurd to
suppose that the mere affixing of a
County label would cover faults as to
quality, or do anything beyond guaran-
teeing its being County honey, which, as
is well known, varies considerably in
quality within a radius of ten or twenty
miles. This variation is neither over-
looked nor unprovided for. As the
Hon. Sec. of the Berks Association
observes, on p. 114, "We impress on
members to put labels on none but the
best samples," and his subsequent state-
ment as to the favour -with which the
Berks label is regarded by honey con-
sumers makes it apparent that the
admonition has had the desired effect.

Our personal knowledge of the locality
from which Mr. Nickson dates his letter
quite accounts, to our mind, for the dis-
favour with which he regards the equalisa-
tion of prices for honey. Time was when
our own bees gathered Cheshire honey in
no small quantity, and of such quality
that we had no difficulty indisposing of all
our surplus at Is. 4d. to Is. 6d. per 1 lb.
jar. But those days have gone by —
" big prices " along with them — and we
are faced to-day with altogether different
conditions. Moreover, improved methods
have so added to the quantity of honey
per hive now obtainable that if former
prices ruled, along with the brisk demand
of our early experiences, honey-produc-
tion Avould be so profitable an industry
that it would be swamped by the recruits
joining our ranks.

To return to the question as it presents
itself under the vastly different conditions
of to-day, it cannot be denied that some-
thing is needed in the two-fold direction
of developing a taste for honey as an
article of food, and the formulating of a
practical scheme for aiding those who,
while able to fulfil the first requirement
of successful bee-keeping, to wit, the
harvesting of honey in good quantity,
find it difficult to sell their produce.

Bee associations would fail in one of
the main objects for which they exist if
they ignored this question, and the
desire of those who are moving in tho
matter is to confer an addition to the

122

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [March 29, 1894.

"advantages of membership " by remov-
ing the difficulty referred to. And we see
no reason why it should be done at the
expense of others who, fortunately for
themselves, are free from the trouble
complained of.

It would seem as if the " awful
examples " of cheap honey culled from
our advertisement pages Avould always
crop up in such discussions as we are
now engaged in; that " Extracted Honey
3d. per lb. " being, no doubt, a sore point
Avith bee-keepers located in a district
where honey usually sells at not less
than a shilling. But in the advertise-
ment referred to the honey is neither
quoted as "British" nor (jood ; let us,
therefore, charitably assume that it is
"Foreign" and had, in order to save the
seller's credit, and if our assumption be
correct the price asked Avill doubtless
rejiresent its full value.

As already said, we Avere fortunate
last Aveek in being able to present the
case of honey labelling from the several
aspects in Avhich it is regarded by bee-
keepers, Avho each vieAv the matter in a
different light, and our Cheshire corre-
spondent's letter has only been selected
for special reference because of its tone
and general bearing tending against the
County Association point of vieAA^, Avhich
has many advocates among Bee Journal
readers. There is, hoAveA^er, no reason
Avhy all sides should not be heard, and
our own earnest hope is that selfish or
narroAv-minded vieAvs may have little
Aveight in considering AA'hat Avill tend to
the greatest good of the jrreatest number.

ULSTER BEE-KEEPEES'
ASSOCIATION.

The tenth annual general meeting of this
association Avas held at 41, Waring-street,
Belfast, Mr. E. Smith presiding. The report
of the committee for 1893 showed a fairly
prosperous year as regards the association, but
only an average one from the bee-keeper's
point of vieAv ; for, AA'hile Avant of sun spoiled
the seasons of 1890-91-92, the excessive supply
of it in 1893 proved almost as bad, the nectar
of the flowers being very scarce through the
drought. The depot for the sale of honey
continues to thrive under the care of Messrs.
A. Dickson & Sons, supplies being Avell main-
tained by the members, and the demand fairly
good. The office-bearers and committee Avere
unanimously re-elected, Mr. S. Cunningham
being induced to again accept the hon.
treasurership, and Mr. A. W. Child, 3, Albert-
square, the hon, secretaryship.

A CUEE FOE THE SWAEMING
FEVEE.

In my last article I related some experi-
ments made Avith the self-hiver as preventing
swarming. The result was that the swarming
fever would persist as long as there was a
queen or a queen-cell, or even unsealed larvm
or eggs in the hive, but after the colony had
been hopelessly queenless a few days, all
thoughts of swarming were given up, and the
colony would go to work again regularly, even
if left queenless.

.This was new to me, and entirely unex-
pected. I knew that many of our leading
bee-keepers remove their queens during the
swarming season, but I thought it Avas simply
to prevent the issue of a swarm, or, in other
words, a preventive against actual swarming,
instead of a cure against the swarming fever.

The next step was to find out among our
bee-papers what had been already done in that
line. Messrs. Doolittle's, Miller's, and Manum's
experiments are not very definite. They have
very frequently removed the queens in order
to save the honey that the rearing of " useless
consumers " would have employed, and com-
paring the queenless colony to one working
under normal conditions, found the queenless
colony rather at a disadvantage. Frequently
they cage the queens in the hives instead of
removing them entirely. They seldom left
the colonies hopelessly queenless, often giA'ing
them brood from other colonies, if necessary,
rather than having them without unsealed
brood, and thus missed the most important
point in overcoming the SAvarming fever, that
is, to have the colonies hopelessly queenless
for a few days.

I will now quote from Messrs. Elwood &
Atkin : —

"Caging the queens does not cure the swarm-
ing fever. Takmg them out does.'' (P. H.
Elwood, in Gleanings for April, 1890, page
255.)

" He who allows his bees to increase by
natural swarming at their own good (?) plea-
sure, may be called a bee-keeper ; but it is
only he Avho has learned to control increase
that has earned the title of bee-master. When
running bees for extracted honey, it is com-
paratively easy to control SAvarming ; for by
giving a large amount of room for both brood
and honey, and extracting the old honey, and
afterward the new just before the main flow
commences, there will be, usually, no attempt
to swarm ; with reasonable attention to ex-
tracting afterward. When comb honey is
produced, it is much more diflicult to control
increase. The Avell-filled. brood-nest, so neces-
sary to the successful production of comb
honey, is also very ftivourable to th" forcing
out of swarms. Cutting out quecL-cells, the
withdrawal of brood, only delay, but do not
prevent swarming, while there is danger of
throwing the colony in the state known as
' swarming fever.' In this state work, to a

March 21), 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

123

larjfe degree, will be suspended, and the bees
?how by unmistakable signs, that thej' are
dissatisfied. The bee-keeper will be similarly-
affected when in the midst of a koney-liow he
comes to look into the surplus receptacles.

"In every apiary there are some colonies
that will work right along without any attempt
to swarm. When no increase is desired, there
is no need of molesting them, as they usually
produce their full share of comb honey. All
other colonies, as they complete their prepara-
tions for swarming, should have their queens
removed with 'one or more combs of brood,
and enough workers to protect it, and be
placed in another hive or small receptacle pro-
vided for her. All queen-cells old enough to
hatch within nine days ought to be removed.
On the eighth or ninth day after, all cells
should be broken, leaving the colony hopelessly
queenless. In a week or ten days longer, the
old queen may be smoked back into the hive."
(P. H. Elwood, in the A2')ic\dturid for June,
1888, and Bcvkw for June, 1888.)

"Mr. Cushman asks if the great stimulus
or increased working energy of the natural
swarm is not lost by this method. In a con-
test with our queenless colony a natural swarm
falls behind from lack of numbers before the
expiration of three weeks. The natural swarm
for the modern 'small hive, usually none too
strong at the start, is rapidly losing, while the
queenless colony is rapidly increasing in
strength from hatching brood. In the expe-
riences of Capt. Hetherington and myself it
has been noticed that the first eight days' work
of the queenless colony, while rearing queen-
cells, is the poorest. The second eight days'
work when hopelessly queenless is much better.
If, during this second period, the colony is
permitted to rear another crop of cells, the
result will not be nearly so good, thus proving
that a colony hopelessly queenless will work
with greater energy than one of equal strength
still possessed witti the swarming impulse. The
third period of eight days after re-queening is
when the greatest energy is shown. During
this period, with the largely-increased strength
of the old colony, it far surpasses the natural
swarm in results. The loose honey occupying
the nearly broodless brood-nest is rapidly trans-
ferred to the surplus receptacles, and with
honey coming in from the field, very satis-
factory progress is made." (P. H. Elwood, in
lievicw for April, 1889.)

" After May 1 we get bees, and keep getting
bees. The more bees we get, the happier we
are. About June 5 or 10, I watch the honey-
flow, and anticipate as nearly as possible when
the flow will begin ; but I keep getting bees,
and, if possible, have every comb in each
colony full of brood. If the flow is expected
to begin June 15, about June 8 or 10 I'jaut a
super on each colony. The bees loaf in it, and
get used to it as part of their home.

" An apiary in such condition will (espe-
cially if the honey-flow comes suddenly) pre-
pare en maf.sc for swarming, Just as soon as

the flow begins I hunt out each queen, and
take with her enough bees and one comb of
brood to make a nucleus colony. I then clip
out every queen-cell that may be started. It
won't do to miss one, even if it is necessary to
shake the bees from every comb. On the
eighth or ninth day remove every queen-cell
from each colony, leaving them hopelessly
queenless.

" It will answer to Jeave one cell, and allow
the bees to re-(]ueen, yet I prefer not to do so.
The first objection is, that many of those cells
are from three or four days' larvjc — we don't
want such queens. The second is, that the
swarming fever is not entirely off, and some
colonies make a feeble attempt at swarming
when the young queen goes out to mate. For
these reasons, instead of re-queening in this
way, I leave the colony hopelessly queenless
for four or five days before giving a cell. If
left a week or more, laying workers begin to
appear, and they are perfect nuisances." (R.
C. Aikin, in Review, April, May, and June,
1892. See also an article in Eeview for May,
1891, page 125.)

" The success of the apiarist lies in having
only strong colonies to gather honey — the
stronger the better. Concentrate that strength ;
instead of running the same bees in two hives,
run them in one, and it brings in the surplus.
It takes but few bees to run a brood-chamber
and make a colony sufficient to winter over,
but three to five times as many are needed
before they can do good work in the supers."
(R. C. Aikin, in licview for May, 1892.)

" This is not all theory with me. By
observing Doolittle's teachings to have a hive
full of bees during the honey-flow, I have not
failed, save once in fifteen years, to get a fair
crop of honey. I seldom get less than 50 lb.,
and usually 75 to 100, and one season 227 lb.,
as an average per colony, spring count." (R.
C. Aikin, in Review for June, 1891.) — Adrian
Getaz, in American Bee Journal.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed bi/ correspondents. Jio notice tvill be
taken of anonymous commitnications, and co^-respondcnts
arc requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, hut as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should , be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literan/ department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, (kc, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William,
street. Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <i:c., must be addressed
to "The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Ojffice, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." {see 1st
page of Advertisements).

A QUEEN MONSTROSITY.

[1797.] I write you a marvellous tale about
a wonderful queen bee, which was born at
Sinnington, a village not far from Pickering,
Yorks, in the month of June, 1893. In this

124

THE BKITISH BEE JOUKNAL. [March 29, 1894.

pretty little -village resides an old bee-keeper,
■who, six years ago, when I first commenced
keeping bees, was noted as having the largest
and best-kept apiary in this part of Yorkshire.
At that time he farmed over 40 hives, i.e.,
moor-hives, with bars about 13 in. loDg by 6 in.
deep. This, I presume, was to get over the
difficulty of vibration caused by long journeys
in a cart to the moors. I got four of these
hives before I understood much about bees,
and it was my first payment on account for
knowledge. However, to return to the tale, I
give you it in pretty much the old bee-man's
own words. " The queen bee,'' he said, " was
from an old stock, which swarmed the first
week in June. Then at the ninth day, as usual,
I went to listen to her calling up for the second
swarm ; I saw an extra rush of bees which
very soon went back, but I kejjt on watching
at the hive for some days, but saw no more
until a month or six weeks after, when I took
the cover off the hive, and what should I see
but a hat full of dead bees and this enormous
queen amongst them ! I came to the conclu-
sion that for some reason or other she could
not get out of the hive at the entrance, as
I am positive she would have swarmed, so had
found her way up above the quilt and starved
to death with all the bees with her."

Some time after the above conversation took
place the narrator made us a present of this
monstrosity for our collection, and as I had
never seen the like before, nor heard of such a
one, I thought I had better write you in order
to ascertain if this was of common occurrence.
The following is a rough measurement : —
Length of bee from front of head to tips of
wings, 21 in. ; length of outer pair of wings
from articubation to tip, 2 in. ; length of inner
wings from articubation to tip, 1 ^ in. ; breadth
at widest part of wing, -| in . ; length of abdo-
men from thorax, 1| in. ; breadth of abdomen,
widest part, § in. ; the thorax itself is ^ in.
broad by ^ in. long ; length of head trom
thorax, | in. ; width across eyes, ,\ in. ; length
of antenna, f in.

If all queens were like this there v/ould
be no difficulty in finding them when driving.
The question- would be who dare pick them up !
So far as one can judge she is a perfect bee in
every respect. I have not compared the parts
in detail, but when I do will let you know the
result.— JSr. & E. E.

[If our correspondent will forward to us the
queen bee (1) referred to, we will probably be
able to clear up the matter so far as the "mon-
strosity" is concerned. — Eds.]

NOTES BY THE WAY.
[1798.] The weather is more settled ; warm,
sunnjr days, with frosty nights, has been our
experience during the past week ; bees busy
during the day, a fair quantity of natural
pollen being carried into the hivea ; saw first
bumble beo tOKlay— Easter Monday ; killed
several queeii w^sfg in wraps of hives last

week when taking a peep at the contents.
Mr. Bois' interesting article (1779 p. 94) on
question " Do Bees Hear," leads lis to the
conclusion that they possess senses that we do
not, but I think investigators in all branches
of animate sciences come to the conclusion
that the brute creation have senses adapted to
their particular form of life, differing con-
siderably from each other, yet contributing to
the perpetuation of the species. No one will
question the many evidences of ratiocination in
the insect world even in the minor forms of life.
Queenless colonies should be united to the
next stock, a little flour sprinkled on each lot
of bees to be united takes the fight out of them,
and the combs can be given as required to
other colonies, or can be used as stimulators
for the colonies by placing a comb uncapped
behind the dummy, and carefully covering
same -with a wrap to prevent bees getting to it
except under the dummy from the inside of
the brood-chamber. Swarms will soon be
looked for by those following the Simmins'
stimulating plan. Let us have facts, friends,
for or against the system. I get a good few
inquiries from novices or beginners in bee-
keeping asking prices of stocks on frames. To
these inquiries I give nearly all the same
advice — buy swarms. Why do I do so ?
Well, I will give a few reasons why I should
always advise swarms for a beginner. 1. The
swarm is easily introduced into the hive. It
comes at a season when the utmost efforts of
the bees are put forth to secure a surplus of
honey for winter sustenance. 2. The bee-
keeper starts the apiary with new hive, new
combs, and is consequently for several years
in the possession of a stock at its best.
3. The purchase of a swarm from a distance
is one of the best preventives to the spread
of foul brood ; the swarm starts off gorged
with new honey from the fields, is confined
in a box for two or three days, and when it
reaches its destination the swarm is put into
the new hive on foundation, and thiis, as I con-
tend, even when swarms are sent from tainted
districts, the chances are for the future healthi-
ness of the colony. 4. When stocks are sent
per rail on frames, there are many risks even
with careful packing. The queen may get
injured in transit, and part of the brood may
get damaged, so that the future progress of
the colony will be considerably retarded.
Then when sudden changes occur there is
danger of chilled brood while on the journey.
I could name other reasons, but I think the
above will be enough to convince the careful
bee-keeper that to commence well a swarm is
the initial step in successful bee-keeping — ^
W, WooDLEY, Beedon, Newbury,

DO BEES HEAR ?

[1799.] — This is a question which has often

forced itself on my attention, and, as Mr, P.

Bois suggests, can be better digcusised in the

quiet montb§ of the year ; taking bis hint, I'll

March 29,-1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

12.5

endeavour to give a few of my observations on
he subject.

The question had suggested itself to me long
before I knew that it had occurred to others.
There exists a custom among skeppists in this
neighbourhood, and I have no doubt the same
is common to other neighbourhoods, of tinkling
a pestle and mortar, or a tin pot or can, while
bees are swarming, in the belief that the noise
arrests the attention of the bees, and causes
theai to settle instead of continuing their flight,
to the loss of the owner. One seems very much
inclined to laugh at the utility of such a prac-
tice, but when it is considered how many hives
swarm and are captured on Sunday mornings
as the bells ring out for service one is inclined
to ask what connection can there be between
the swarming of the bees, as far as arresting
their flight is concerned, and the sounds from
the tinkling of cans and the ringing of the
bells ? If sounds have anything to do with it,
and bees cannot hear, it must be from the
vibrations which sounds make in their passage
through the air. If we put our hand on the
pipes of an organ we become sensible to such
vibrations when that instrument is being played,
and if God has denied these creatures the
sense of hearing, he may have given them this
sense of feeling to such a wonderful extent as
to make up for it. We know how wonderfully
sensitive must be their powers of feeling to
enable them to collect the infinitesimally
small particles of pollen from the stamens and
anthers of flowers which they visit. Another
point has come under my notice with regard to
this sense of feeling ; it scarcely matters how
lightly you tap the hives when the bees are
not in a state of torpor, you will be sure to
hear a buzzing sound from them, yet they do
not seem to take any notice when one engages
in ordinary conversation near the hives. Mr.
Bois seeks to prove that bees do hear by in-
stancing an experiment he has made by shaking
some bees from the frames of a hive on to a
floor in a dark room, and by finding that they
are all able to make their way to where the
queen is ; but may not this also be a matter of
feeling the vibrations of the kinds of sound
made by the bees when they have their queen
with them ? — W. H. B. Catford, Axminster.

THE "WELLS" SYSTEM.

DIFFICULTIES WITH PERFORATED DUMMIES.

[1800.] To-day I examined my six stocks in
frame hives, and found brood (some more,
some less) in all of them. Some were well
stocked with honey, and others almost on the
verge of want.

In the autumn I adjusted a combination
hive on the " Wells " plan, and obtained a
perforated divider from a well-known dealer j
but I find all the holes tightly propoHsed, I
consider this divider is a failure in view of the
purpose intended.

Doubtlesa the divider supplied by Mr.
Wells is the stire thing, but I find that what

he supplies does not exactly fit the hives of
the btst makers. It is difficult to adapt even
to an eighth or a quarter of an inch, because
of the strips of tin on the sides and bottom
corners. These would scarcely stand much
filing before you would spoil one. I favour
making hives to fit exactly his divider, rather
than altering the divider to fit the hives on
hand. A little makes a difference that would
be awkward, if not fatal. — An Enthusiast,
March 17.

[Our correspondent must surely be in error
in supposing that the " Wells " divider will
not fit any hive made to take standard frames.
We are quite sure it will fit any properly-
constructed hive, whether by the " best " or
any other maker. Will our correspondent
kmdly measure his " Wells " divider and say
if it is not 14| in. by 9 in. ?— Eds.]

"THE WEATHER AND THE BEES."

[1801.] Under the above title, a letter
appears in your issue for March 1-5 (1785,
page 106). In it a "Man of Kent'' speaks of
a young recruit having the bee fever "hot."
Well, 1 suppose, Sir, that you are doing your
best to spread the fever, but " Man of Kent ''
throws a wet blanket over this particular
patient ; a very unwise thing to do with a
"fever" patient, is it not? However, I do
not think he can do nmch worse than his
neighbour bee-keeper with "no honey" and
" no swarms,'' or, at least, only two swarms
from fifteen stocks. As I believe I know who
this " Man of Kent " is, and also the " Young
Recruit,'' will you allow me to say that,
although only " a beginner last year,'' he does
not take in the B.B.J, and Record for nothing,
but gives some of his spare time to the study
of what is therein, as well as making " Wells
Hives '' upwards. Perhaps those who have
failed in keeping bees in frame-hives in the
neighbourhood did not have just scales and
weights, and so made mistakes in syrup and
candy making. " Young Recruit " intends to
try what he can do, although the start has
been bad enough, respecting the said " Wells
hives " upwards. That they are rather heavy,
I admit, but they only consist of stand with
floor-board 10 in., body for brood 9 in., shallow
body 6 in., lift 6 in., and cover ; and his
experience this winter has been that the only
stock he has lost so far has been in a hive he
bought new from a well-known maker, which
hive also is the only one out of eleven that
let in any wet.

And now. Sir, as you invite opinions (on
p. 105) respecting honey labels, I think it
would be a good plan for the B.B.K.A. to get
out a label and show-card to issue to all the
associations at a small charge over cost pric?. ;
there would then be uniformity of labels all
through the country at a minimum of cost ;
for, if purchasers get used to a label in one
county and then remove to a different county
they \\'ouIc| be iqore satisfied if they fqund the

126

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Maich 29, 1894.

same kind of label they had been used to
before ; this would be the case whether it is
in respect of honey or other goods.

"With respect to associations and their
finances, I think our friend Mr. Woodley hits
the right nail on the head in his " Practical
Notes/' on pages 28 and 29 of Record for
March, ra cottager?. I cannot see how an
association can avoid bankruptcy if you con-
tinue to give .5s. for 2s. 6d. or less. And yet
I find that " cottagers " in the Kent Associa-
tion have more privileges than an ordinary
member, and in many cases an ordinary mem-
ber may not be in such good circumstances as
a "cottager.'' And now. Sir, I think I have
had a good say, considering I am not in the
habit of writing to papers, and therefore
subscribe myself Ignoramus, Tonbridge,
March 20.

BEE ASSOCIATION AND HONEY
LABELS.

[1802.] Being fortunate enough to hear the
views of bee-keepers on the honey label ques-
tion after the annual meeting in London, I
should like to express my opinion of the great
indebtedness of bee-keepers to the Berks
Association for bringing this matter to per-
fection. "We had a committee meeting of our
association in Leicester the week following,
and I suggested the matter to them, with the
result of it being unanimously adapted, one of
our committee who was present being asked
to design a label, a specimen of which I send
you. We are having a block of same prepared,
which will be printed in report, and one of
which we shall be pleased to send you for
illustration if you think well to have it.

As a guide to cost I may say our quotation
for labels as sample, but wider and printed
with secretary's name, &c., on, is 20,000 for £6.
We have al.?o an offer of 1,000 transparencies
for £7. This may be a guide to some associa-
tion.— W. P. Meadows, Syston, nr. Leicester.

[Sample sent is a very nice label indeed. —
Eds.]

HONEY LABELS.

[1803.] I send herewith specimens of honey
labels and members' cards used by our
association, such as are, I think, suitable for a
small association like ours (fifty members).

Hoping tbe question of labels will be
decided in good time for the coming season. —
G. W. SwoRDER, Hon. Sec , Bisho2)\s Stortford
and District B.K.A.

[On back of member's card sent is printed
the following: — "Special Eule. — The holder
of this card undertakes to supply only
pure British honey, which has been gathered
by the bees in the natural way, and that no
sugar syrup has been used as food for the bees
during the time this honey has been collecting.
Any breach of this rale will entail forfeiture
ot the card and expulsion from the associa-
tion." And the " honey label '' has on it as

under :— " The contents of this package are
guaranteed to be pure English honey. Any
complaints as to quality to be made to Mr.
G. "W. Sworder, Secretary, Bishop's Stortford
and District Bee-keepers' Association." — Eds.1

AFTERNOONS WITH SOUTH AFRICAN
BEE-KEEPERS.

NO. I. — Mr. L. H. ATTRIDGE.

[1804.] A letter to the Editor of the
British Bee Journal informing him that I
was about to start on a trip to South Africa,
and asking him what he could tell me of bees
and bee-men out there. A speedy reply with
the names and addresses of several bee-
keepers in all parts of the Colony. Such is a
courtesy which every bee-man knows he may
expect from another.

A voyage of three weeks, with a stop at
St. Helena — where I said "Good-day" to
several bees that were busily engaged nectar-
gathering, but was far too much intent on
reaching Napoleon's tomb to spend, any time
on impioving my casual acquaintance with
them — and I found myself at Capetown once
more. It was the end of December when I
arrived, and therefore nearly midsummer,
January out here corresponding to June at
home. Three weeks passed, during which I
was too busy with other matters to think
about bees, and then I remembered our
Editor's letter. Hastily unearthing it from
the recesses of my writing-ca.se, I found that
one of the apiarists mentioned lived at Sea
Point, a suburb about two miles from Cape-
town. Without delay I despatched a letter
asking if I might see this apiary, and by
return I received a reply from the owner, Mr.
H. L. Attridge, with a most cordial invitation
to come over on the following Saturday.
Promptly at the time appointed I arrived, and
as I entered the garden Mr. Attridge came
forward to meet me. Before proceeding to look
at the bees we sat down in the cool shade of the
verandah (or "stoep," as they call it), which runs
round all the houses out here, and had a chat
about bee-matters in general. In many ways,
Mr. Attridge told me, the condition of bees
just now corresponds to their condition during
the winter at home. The long drought of
summer has parched up the vegetation, as it
always does at this time of the year, and honey
gathering is absolutely at a standstill. There
is no brood — or at any rate not more than a
few square inches — in any of the hives, and
the bees, instead of working all day, only
come out very early in the morning and again
just before sunset. In the Eastern Province,
Mr. Attridge said, matters were different, for
there they got their rains during the summer,
and consequently honey was to be obtained
just now ; but in the neighbourhood of Cape-
town the rains come entirely during the winter
and early spring. In winter the weather is
usually too cold to tempt the bees out a very
great deal, and for the same r^son but little

March 29, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUIiNAL.

127

nectar is secreted by the flowers, of which
there are an abundiince — principally bulbous
rooted kinds — in bloom at this time. Never-
theless, the bees manage to obtain sufficient
honey all through the Aviater to enable them
to breed at a most rapid rate. They comuieace
to do this in the latter part of March, when
the tall aloes come into bloom. From this
time until the beginning of September the
amount of honey gathered is rarely more than
sufficient to supply the requiremeuts of brood
rearing, and consequeatly nearly every cell iu
the hive is empty and available for this pur-
pose ; moreover, the South African queens are
exceedingly prolific, and seldom allow an
empty cell in the hive. Thus, by the begia-
ning of September, every hive is boiling over
\vith bees in a manner which we English bee-
keepers have no idea of.

Mr. Attridge showed me a i^hotograph of
two hives, taken during the winter. In both
cases there were huge swarms of bees cluster-
ing on the outsldes of the hives, around the
large porches. I should say that there would
not be less than 3 lb. of bees in these clusters,
and there are far more bees inside than there
are out. These cases are the rule, not the
exception.

When the honey flow really begins, the bees,
if left to themselves, will still go on breeding
at this tremendous pace ; but experience has
taught Mr. Attridge that it is not good policy
to allow them to do so, and he has made it a
practice to confine the queen, by means of an
excluder dummy, to the six frames at the
front of the combination hives he uses, leaving
the portion behind for storing honey, as well
as the space above, which is sometimes occu-
pied by shallow frames, and occasionally by
crates of sections, though for several reasons
Mr. Attridge does not find these latter so
desirable out here as shallow frames.

The first hive we examined was one which
possessed a rather curious history. The queen
was a young one, and at the age of seven
weeks she had not laid an egg, and was,
therefore, Mr. Attridge thought, not fertilised.
A week before my visit, however, M-hen
examining the hive, he had discovered a good-
sized patch of eggs in one of the frames. The
question that naturally rose to his mind was
whether or not the (]ueen would prove a drone
breeder. Upon examining the hive together,
on the occasion of my visit, Ave found all traces
of the eggs had vanished. There was a little
honey in the hive, though not much, and one
would naturally have been led to suppose that
the bees, having been so long deprived of eggs,
would have tended these Avith especial
jealousy, instead of thus destroying them. The
question that occurred to Mr. Attridge was,
whether this could be a case of sterile eggs,
such as Professor Cook mentions. Anyway,
he came to the conclusion that the queen —
Avhich Avas, to all appearances, a fine, large,
fully-developed one — Avas worthless, and must
be replaced as ^oon as possible, fqr the stock

has now dwindled down till it only ctvers
about six frames.

South African bees vary considerably in
colour. Not only ara some stocks much
brighter than others, but in the same hive
some bees are much brighter than the rest.
They are slightly sniuller than blacks, slim,
and strongly built. The thorax is yellowish-
grey, quite as light as a Cacniolan, but more
yellow. The abdomen has sometimes three,
sometimes two, and sometimes only one orange
band, while occasionally one comes across a bee
without any yellow band at all. In general,
they very closely resemble Ligurian hybrids,
and they stick to the combs during a manipula-
tion iu the same characteristic way. Mr.
Attridge handled them with as much care as
one Avould give to a hive of Cyprians or
Syrians, and under this treatment they were
perfectly quiet and tractable, even throughout
long manipulations.

After seeing ihe apiary we Avent to an out-
house at the back, devoted to bee-appliances,
and inspected the extractor (made iu the
Colony), the foundation, and other odds and
ends. Mr. Attridge recently imported a
machine, and I think he may well be proud
of the foundation — both prood and super —
that he makes. The samples that I saw
would be considered very fair in England,
while the wax of Avhich they were made was far
above the average.

It was Avith not a little regret that I had to
say good-bye to my kind host at the end of a
long and most pleasant afternoon ; and I left
with a hearty invitation to come and see the
bees again later on, when the honey gathering
commenced, and Avith yet one more instance of
that unfailing and proverbial kindness which
apiarists invariably meet Avith from their
brethren throughout the world. — G. Gordon
Samson, Cape Toxon.

(Queries and ^e^Ite.^.

[981.] Bee-keeping for Profit. — For some
time past I have been thinking of starting
bee-keeping as a means of increasing my
income. I have no room at my home, birt
some friends living in the country with a large
garden about one mile and a half from where
I live will alloAv me to keep some bees there.
I undei-stand they do not require a lot of time
for looki»g after them. 1. Kindly favour me
with a reply stating Avhether you think I
could make them pay under the above circum-
stances ? 1. Perhaps you can also me tell
the name of a good guide-book, suited for the
novice, containing all necessary instructions
from beginning to end ? — S. J. H., Tfoivhridfje.

Eeply. — 1. There is no reason why a few
hives might not be kept Avith profit nnder the
circumstances stated, presupposing that your

128

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [March 29, 1894.

friends are able and willing to give such atten-
tion to the bees as is required in the swarming
season. Without this help there would be the
almost certain loss of swarms, besides other
possible mishaps ; in fact, to leave bees with-
out some little supervision during the busy
season will inevitably lessen the profits to be
got from them. 2. Cowan's " Guide Book."

[982.] Working " Wells" Hives.— Raising
Queens. — I shall be glad if you will answer
the following small batch of queries : — 1.
Would there be any advantage for storing
more honey in putting two stocks now into a
" Wells" hive than leaving them singly ? 2.
I want to raise young queens for my stocks.
Would you feed with syrup the strongest
colony now and on through April, and when a
swarm issues kill the three-year-old queen,
and then divide up in a nucleus hive ? 3. Is
there any remedy for restoring mouldy combs,
or is it better to destroy the affected part
only ? 4. Can you suggest a platform for
bell-top skeps on which I might put a box of
combs for extracting honey ? — Enthusiast,
Glos.

Eeply. — 1. This is entirely a matter of
opinion. Mr. Wells' own reports are printed
in our pages, and, strictly speaking, his system
should be judged by his own results. On the
other hand, some who have tried it declare
the advantage of the double-queen system to
be less than is claimed, just as there are
others who report most favourably of it. 2.
If we were trying the double-queen system we
should raise queens as recommended by Mr.
Wells — dividing the j brood and bees of the
parent stock after swarming into nucleus
colonies, and allowing a queen-cell to each. 3.
See reply to 976 and 978 on p. 119 last week.
4. A light square board of the required size,
with a leg at each eorner cut to the proper
length, is all that is needed, except seeing that
the super is well weighted down when put on
to steady it. A hole in board cut to corre-
spond with that in crown of skep will admit
the bees,'.and on the upper side of board may
be fixed a square of excluder zinc. Care
should be taken to pack the junction of board
and skep, so as to keep out the cold from
super.

[983.] AUoioing Bees [to Transfer Them-
selves.— Last autumn I bought a stock of bees
in a very old skep, and towards the end of
last month I placed the skep upon the top of
the frames in a bar-frame hive. Some of these
frames in the latter were filled with comb,
others with foundation. 1. How long will it
take the queen to work her way down below,
so that I may safely put on excluder zinc, and
remove the skep ? Tbe^ bees have worked
busily this month through the entrance of the
hive — in fact, began to do so almost at once.
Pollen is going jn in large quantities. To-day
(M.arch 26) I liftefl up ^ pardboard box in
Fhich I put a pound "of candy a month ago,

and found that the bees were building comb
in it. I gave them two more frames with
foundation- to fill up the whole of the hive.
2. Should I now give them a super with sec-
tions or a box of shallow frames with
foundation so as to get them worked out ?
There is a good show of fruit blossom about
here. — Oestbensis, March 26.

Reply. — 1. It will depend on the prolific-
ness or otherwise of the queen, but we should
not set the excluder on until such time as the
bees have entered into full possession of the
lower hive and brood is plentiful therein. 2.
When the frames are all fairly covered with
bees the surplus-chamber may be given.

[984.] Transferring Old Combs from
Skeps. — I have just received a strong stock of
bees in a skep. Would it be most to my advan-
tage to transfer in April to bar-frame hive, or
to wait until thev swarm, and then transfer
the old stock ?— F. O., Kent, March 20.

Reply. — We strongly advise stocking the
frame-hive with a swarm, rather than transfer
the old combs from skep to it. Nor would
we transfer the old combs from the latter after
the skep had swarmed. Our plan would be
to allow the skep to swarm a second time
after the usual interval of eight or ten days,
and return the swarm the following morning.
The surplus queens would thus be got rid of.
Then twenty-one days after the issue of first
swarm, drive the whole of the bees from skep,
and, after setting a frame-hive on the stand
whereon the skept stood, run the bees into it
as a swarm, and let them build new combs.
The old 3ombs in skep will only be fit for
melting down.

[985.] Backward Colonies. — 1. One of my
stocks of bees appears to be very weak ; they
take in very little pollen, and seem to linger
about the mouth of the hive ; they have plenty
of stores. What can I do with them ? They
gave me very little surplus honey last season.
If I uncapped some of their stores would it
stimulate them "? or would a flour-cake improve
them, and a little syrup ? 2. When is the
best time to re-queen? — An Anxious
Oxonian, March 24.

Reply. — 1. The combs should be examined
forthwith, as the symptoms point to either
disease or a worn-out queen. 2. There is
little use in re-qiteening a " very weak '' stock,
and if the bees are diseased, we fear no good
at all can be done with them.

[986.] Markings of Hybrid Bees.— I am
sending you by to-day's post, in tin box, two
live bees (alive when sent off). Are they the
progeny of the same queen ? 2. If so, is the
difference in the marking of them (you will
SGG one has a reddish band and plainer stripes
on its body) accounted for by the respective
ages 1 3. If not of game blood, what cross
hfis occurred in the one with the red band, as

March 29, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

129

they are both out of the same hive ? 4. If
crossed, will the bees in hive gnidually change
from the ordinary black to the other, or vice
versa, as at present ? The banded bees seem
to be in a comparatively small minority. —
Hartwood, Rimshaiv Hall, Lanes, March 19.
Eeply. — A geneial reply may be given to
all the above queries as follows : — Bees when
received were soaked in the liquid honey con-
tained in box, and, of course, dead. Jusc
sufficient of the markings, or bands, was, how-
ever, discernible, to show that they are
Ligurian hybrids ; and, regarding these, it may
be said that in the bees of one stock will be
found several varieties in marking so far as
" bands " go, just as in one human family
will be found children with hair of different
shades. The distinctness in colour of bands
also changes according to the age of the bees.
When quite young, the bands are distinct in
colour, but as they lose their pubesence (or
hairiness), the bands become duller and less
distinct.

[987.] Moving Becs.—l have to move my
bees about 150 yards from their present
stands, do you think if I removed them about
a mile away in the first instance, and left them
there for a fortnight or thereabouts, and then
brought them to their new locality, that I
should lose many ? I might mention that
they are now flying freely. — J. B., Plummer^s-
p'ain, near Horsham.

Reply. — Yes. The temporary removal
proposed will quite avoid any risk of loss.

(tt\\u^ from Ik giMs,

Beemount, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire,
March 24. — Fruit trees are now assuming a
white appearance. Although not so forward
.as a year ago, yet I consider they are quite
forward enough. Temperature has not yet
been very high this month, 55 degrees on Good
Friday was the maximiim. The maximum for
March, 1893, was 63 degrees. A few frosty
nights thermometer fell to 23 degrees — the
minimum — on the 15th inst. Three nights
this week I have heard three of my stocks
merrily humming at 9.30. I expect to have a
look at my stocks next Saturday, the 31st
inst., and hope then to find the majority of
them ready to take a few extra frames, and
intend putting a crate of shallow frames on
the strongest ten days or so later, should the
weather, &c., prove propitious. A friend of
mine who resides at Bromsgrove tells me he
saw a drone issue from one of his hives last
Sunday, March 18. Very early for such a
sight, was it not ?— Percy Leigh.

^e^ ^hm to ^mn.

June 12 to 15. — Eoyal Counties Agricul-
tural Show at Canterbury. Entries close

May 31. Hives, honey, &c. Secretary, Bee
Department, John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's
Langley.

June 25 to 29. — Royal Agricultural Show
at Cambridge. Entries close May 1. Post
entries at double fees till May 12. Secretary,
John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's Langley.

PREVENTION OF ROBBING.

The first thing to be done by way of
preventing robbing is to take every precau-
tion against the possibility of it occurring.
Here is where the beginner is the most liable
to err. Entrances to weak colonies are often
left open full width, hives opened in the middle
of warm, days, or honey left scattered about
in such a manner as to entice the bees to rob,
rather than use methods to restrict the natural
propensities of bees to rob each other. A man
once came to me with the complaint that his
neighbours' bees were robbing his, and wished
I would go and see that neighbour and see if
he would not shut up his bees before they
" cleaned his entirely out." I told him I Avould
go home with him and see how things were
there before I went to the neighbour. On
arriving I found his one hive set up on half-
inch blocks all around from the bottom-board,
while in a dish a few feet away was a lot of
comb that had the appearance of having con-
tained honey an hour or two before. I asked
what that dish of comb meant. The reply was
that he thought perhaps the bees did not have
honey enough, so he set out a little to feed them.
I told him that, should he leave all the doors
of his house open at nights, scatter a few
twenty-dollar gold pieces around by the gate-
way, and let it be known that he had thousands
of dollars in the house, he would not expect it
would be long before there would neither be
gold by the gateway nor in the house ; and yet
he had placed his bees in the same position
regarding other bees that he would be jjlacing
himself and his gold in regarding any thieves
that might be prowling about should he do as
above. Without carrying this story further, I
wish to say that the first means, looking
toward the prevention of robbing, is to know
the condition of the colony as regards its
numbers before any really warm days come in
the spring ; for if a colony is weak in numbers
it is almost sure to be robbed out unless extra
precaution is taken. Again, if a colony is
queenless and broodless in early spring, that
colony is almost sure to be robbed ; and if
robbing is once started on such colonies a
general row may be expected throughout the
apiary. I make it a point to look at each
colony some cool day in early spring to see how
many spaces between the combs they occupy,
the number of which is set down where I can
see it at a glance. Now, suppose the colony
occupies from five spaces between the combs
upward, I call that colony a good one ; and to
each good colony I allow an entrance during
the spring months, say, 3 in. long by f in. high.

130

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [March 29, 1894.

If the colony occupies only four spaces, the
entrance given is 1^ in. If it occupies only
three spaces, only f in. is given, and I rarely
contract an entrance more than this. It is easy
to say " Contract so that one bee at a time can
just get through," but whoever so contracts
will find that trouble comes by way of dead
bees being removed from the hive, for such
cannot be drawn through this space, and con-
sequently the entrance is stopped up entirely.
If the cluster in any hive does not occupy
three spaces to a sufficient amount to enable it
to care for itself, or occupies less spaces, then
all the combs are taken away except one of
honey and one for brood, and a division-board
is inserted, placing the comb of honey next the
side of the hive, the comb for brood next this,
and the division-board next the comb for brood,
while the entrance, of about the size of the
smallest given above, is placed at the opposite
side of the hive, so that the bees in going out
and in must travel over the vacant space
between the division-board and the entrance.
Fixed in this way a colony must be so weak
that it is good for nothing if it does not pro-
tect itself from robbers.

As proof of the effectiveness of this plan I
will say that I have not had a colony robbed
since I adopted it, and it is rare that any
attempt is made to rob even weak nuclei. If
a colony is found c[ueenles?, supply it with
brood from some other colony till you can pro-
cure a queen for it, providing it has plenty of
bees. It it does not have plenty of bees, unite
it with a colony having a queen. Now, if
through careless handling, or from any cause,
robbing is started, I think the best thing
to do first is to throw a sheet over the hive
that is being robbed, fixing it all around on
the ground so that no bees can crawl under it.
In half an hour suddenly lift it from over the
hive so as to let the robbers which have col-
lected on the under-side out, and the bees from
the colony (shut out by the sheet) go in. Re-
place the sheet for another half-hour, when it
can be removed, a handful of dry grass or hay
put over the entrance, and another handful of
wet hay put on top of this, which will allow
them to dwell in peace the rest of that day, as
robbers do not like to crawl down through wet
hay.

Now, as I said, this will stop the robbing
of any colony good for anything where the
entrance has been fixed as above ; and, with
one exception, if a colony will not take care of
itself the next day after being treated as I
have given, I would take the combs away from
them, allowing the few bees to go with some
other colony rather than to run the risk of
having the whole apiary demoralised by the
bees taking the honey from the hive at some
time wlien we were not present to stop it. The
exception above alluded to is where a colony
may be very weak, but have a choice queen
that we wish to save, but have no place to put
her just at this time. Should this be the case,
treat the colony to the sheet and wet hay as

given above, and when night comes carry such
colony to the cellar, and keep it there till you
can use the queen. If you are very anxious
to build the colony n-p, and it is strong
enough to live in the cellar till the bees can
gather pollen, it may then be set out and given
some hatching brood to strangthea it ; for
after the bees secure natural pollen freely the
disposition to rob seems to leave them to a
great extent.

I have been thus explicit in this matter, for
there is no one thing so vexatious in the
spring as the robbing of bees.-G. M. Doo-
LiTTLE. — Condensed fi'om " Gleanings.''

TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED.

John H. Howard, Holme, near Peter-
borough.— Mr. Howard re-issues his very full
and complete list of last year, Avith several
pages descriptive of some important novelties
for 1894. These latter include a new " Wells "
hive with perforated dummy of a " corrected
and approved pattern," together with new
forms of supers, wide frames for surplus
chambers, &c., the whole being profusely
illustrated.

George Neighbour & Sons, 127, High
Holborn, London, W.C. — Judging from
the compendious list of bee goods,
72 j)p., now issued, this old-established
firm seem determined to keep in the
forefront of appliance dealers ; and with
INIr. James Lee at the head of the machine
shop and manufacturing department, the ex-
cellence of the work sent out is assured.

The Falconer Manufacturing Co., James-
town, New York, U.S.A. — Messrs. Falconer's
will be chiefly useful in this country for whole-
sale buyers purchasing hives in the flat. It
comprises an immense variety of bee-goods,
and the reputation of the firm for good work
is well kown on this side the Atlantic.

Noticesto Correspondentsand Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will he attended to, and those
only of ])ersonal interest will he answered in this column.

H. J. W. (Shifnal). — BroocUess Hives in
March. — Unless the stock be very weak
indeed, or the queen aged and nearly worn
out, it may be reasonably assumed that
hives containing no brood or eggs in March
are broodless.

J. H. Moore (Welshpool). — Transferring Bees
and Comhs from Shej) to Frame-hive. — •
Kindly read reply to 984, p. 128.

A. L. (York). — Bees and Confectionery Worlds.
— Unless the laroprietor of the works re-
ferred to was willing to cover the windows
with wire gauze we should not advise keep-
ing bees in such close proximity to a place
of that kind. The bees would not only be
a nuisance to those Avoi-king, but they would
be destroyed in thousands each year by
their persistence in visiting the place.

April 5, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

131

€dit0riEl ^i)tif cs, ^(,

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — Quite summer weather
has prevailed in most parts of the United
Kingdom for several weeks, and seems
likely to continue. Moreover, the night
frosts referred to in our last " Hints "
have disappeared, and with them the risk
of present damage to the fruit bloom now
showing in abundance, while the addition
of a few warm April showers coming just
when wanted has tended to make all
vegetation put on a most promising
appearance. As a result of these very
favourable Eastertide conditions bees are
doing well everywhere we hope, but
certainly here in the south.

Stimulative Feeding. — The fine
Aveather has also had so stimulative an
effect on the breeding propensities of
prolific queens that stores, if none
too plentiful, will be soon reduced to
dangerously risky condition — in con-
sequence of the heavy drain on the food
through brood-rearing — if not supple-
mented by the feeding-bottle and a
supply kept continuously going. As to
the choice between syrup and soft candy
for feeding at this season, preference
should be given to thin syrup (warm
Avhen put on) so long as the bees are
taking daily foraging flights; but if candy
is made so soft as to be readily consumed
by the bees it will answer very Avell. It
is the very hard candy which is so
objectionable as bee-food at this time for
stocks of bees almost on the verge of
starvation.

Artificial Pollen. — Beneficial and
exceedingly useful though it undoubtedly
is to give pea-flour to bees as nitrogenous
food in places where during the early
season pollen is scarce, or altogether
absent, some discrimination must be used
in this particular item of spring stimula-
tion. It must be borne in mind that
natural pollen is, and has been for weeks
past, so abundant in many districts that
giving the artificial article in large
quantities, as some inexperienced bee-
keepers do, is not only taking useless
trouble, but is positively mischievous and
harmful, as filling up with a substance of
no use to the bees thousands of cells

which would otherwise be filled with
brood, to the advantage of the stock.
There arc scores of districts where, as
we have said, natural pollen is so plenti-
ful that combs have to be destroyed
annually in consequence of being
rendered useless by it. Not only is this
so, but the unwary bee-keeper is often
deceived when calculating the amount of
store in his hives by combs heavy with
what has every appearance of sealed
honey, but which really contain only
pollen, with a thin layer of honey on its
face, artfully j^laced there by the
bees before sealing the cells over
to preserve it from becoming unfit for
use.

Re -queening. —Following on the
accounts of early drones, we now have
reports of swarms in March, and learn of
hives being in very forward condition in
many places. If — as is foretold — the
coming summer is to be much the same
as that of 1893, plentiful swarming may
be looked for as a result of the non-
swarming of last year, by reason of their
being so many old queens now at the
head of stocks. In view, therefore, of
this, it will be well to prepare for coming
events by thinking out plans before-
hand, and arranging for the re-queening
in autumn of such stocks as did not
swarm last year, and are headed by
queens now in their second season.
This may be done by giving surplus
room in the usual Avay, and allowing the
bees to swarm naturally. After hiving
the swarm remove the surplus chambers,
and divide the bees and combs of the
swarmed stock into about three nucleus
colonies, giving to each a fair portion of
the queen-cells, bees, brood, and food,
and caring for them in the usual way.
Then prepare a frame-hive for the swarm ;
set it on the original stand, and — after
again fixing the queen-excluder above the
frames — replace the surplus chambers and
return the swarm to the hive so prepared.
Supposing that, say one in every three
stocks will SAvarm naturally in this way
and are so treated, sufficient young
queens will be on hand to re-queen every
stock needing it at the close of
the honey season, and this with a
very small diminution in the honey
harvest.

Seasonable Hints. — As Spring
advances time becomes more precious,

132

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [April 5, 1894.

and everything which can" be got ready-
now will save time in the future —
sections, supers and frames may be fitted
Avith foundation ready for use, and stowed
away till wanted. Provide a few rough
boxes without toj) or bottom, made of
^-in. stuff. They must be of the same
dimensions as insides of the hives used,
and are very useful for holding frames
fitted with full sheets of foundation or
when extracting.

THE BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION AND ITS WORK.

We have received communications from two
correspondents, severely criticising the action
of the British Bee-Keepers' Association. Of
course no objection can be taken to this, but
we do wish our correspondents would make
some endeavour to master the facts of the case
before assuming the office of critics. For their
enlightenment we, therefore, desire to explain
that the work done by the B.B.K. A. is entirely
for the benefit of its affiliated associations, and
as a matter of fact, it is the only bee associa-
tion whose members receive no actul j^arsonal
benefit at all from their sabscriptions ; its
efforts being devoted entirely to the promotion
of the interests of British bee-keeping through-
out the United Kingdom. But beyond this,
it is now the recognised central authority iu all
matters connected with the pursuit, and we
fail to see how the county association could
have any official standing without it ; therefore
it seems to us vital to their interests that the
central association should be strong and well
supported. To ask " What does the ' British '
actually give us for our money 'I " is, in our
view, putting the argument on a very low level
indeed ; and it is to be hoped that there are
still among us some with sufficient philanthropy
and public spirit left in them to support the
B.B.K. A. for the general good it is doing,
without descending to the selfish motive of
merely individual interest or profit. If the
Central Association had no subscribing mem-
bers at all it would, we think, be the duty of
county associations to give it their support, in
their own interest, and we are not without hope
that a little calm reflection and inquiry -will
bring this fact home to our correspondents.

TWO FOUL BROOD PROPOSITIONS.

On page 301 American Bee Journal, of
September 7, 1893, a request was published
to send me specimens of foul brood for micro-
scopical examination ; the request was made
by Mrs. Jennie Atchley, of Beeville, Texas,
■whose desire it was to have the subject tho-
roughly investigated, trusting to me entirely
the course to be pursued.

This was the source of furnishing me with

specimens of foul brood from several sources,
from which I have made more than one hun-
dred cultures. For the benefit of bacterio-
logists, I will state that the culture media
employed were potato, gelatine on plates and
in tubes and stab cultures in agar-agar.

Proposition I. — That the queen does deposit
eggs in cells containing the dark coffee-
coloured dried mass, resulting from the drying
of tbe viscid ropy remains of foul brood,
which, though tougher than the wax, yet
easily dissolved in water, contains the germs
of foul brood with sufficient vitality to produce
the disease.

Proposition II.— That honey is stored by
the bees in these foul cells, and sometimes
capped, thereby retaining the germs of foul
brood as long as the combs last ; that the
honey in these cells is not detrimental to the
vitalitj' of either spores or bacilli whicii are
productive of the disease, and that in such
cells the spores and bacilli are found sus-
pended in the honey still retaining their
vitality.

I received from Hon. E. L. Taylor, of
Lapeer, Mich., September 11, 1893, the first
specimen of foul brood, whicli contained
brood from five or six days old up to sealed
brood. On careful examination it was found
that the youngest brood Avas diseased, and in
a few cells there was the brown dried mass of
foul brood which attracted my attention, and
cultures were made from those found in the
empty cells, and besides the bacillus alvei
other micro-organisms were found which I
shall merely mention here.

The next important specimen was received
from D. D. Johnson, of Summit Mills, Pa.
This was interesting as many cells contained
the dried mass, the remains of foul brood,
though the cells Avere empty, besides dead
sealed and unsealed brood. This Avas received
September 19, 1893.

From C. P. McKinnon, of Bangor, Iowa,
September 27, 1893, I received a very foul
specimen, Avhich was found to contain the
same as the first. Cultures were made from,
each of these specimens.

No one up to this time had sent me combs
containing honey Avhich I had hoped to
receive, so I wrote to Wm. McEvoy, of Wood-
burn, Ont., asking him to send me combs of
foul brood with honey in the adjacent cells ;
and not receiving word from him in due time,
I addressed him a second time, stating ex-
plicitly what I Avanted. He sent me two
combs, 6 in. by 8 in., containing brood of all
ages, foiil brood of all stages, and honey stored
by the bees in the adjacent cells, some of
which were capped or sealed. It was the
foulest mess I ever saw and the foulest smell
I ever smelt. Of this specimen I sent to Mrs.
Jennie Atchley, of Beeville, Texas, a piece
4 in. square out of the worst, and in a few
days received the following regarding its
characters : — " It is sure enough foxil, and as
dangerous as yellow fever."

April 5, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

133

The work of dissecting these combs revealed
the same facts as before in regard to the young
brood in the foul cells ; and, further, in regard
to the honey, very few cells were sealed. In
nearly all the unsealed cells were found the
hard, dark, coflee-coloured mass of decayed
foul brood, containing the spores and bacilli of
foul brood. To make sure that I might not
be deceived, I carefully examined the cells,
every one, which were capped by the bees,
and in nearly every instance was found the
same hard mass of old foul brood ; these were
carefully dissected out and examined, and
found to contain both the s2)ores and bacilli,
from which cultures were made. With these
I had less trouble in obtaining pure cultures,
as I had fewer micro-organisms to contend
with, which was as I anticiimted. My next
move was to take the honey dii:)ped out of
these sealed cells, without disturbing the cell-
walls, and examine with the microscope,
which revealed both spores and bacilli sus-
pended, from which pure cultures were
obtained.

After communicating these facts to Mrs.
Jennie Atchley and Mr. Wm. McEvoy in
detail, they urged me to make known at once
the results of my investigations in this line.
Not wishing to be in too great haste to rush
into print, I carefully went over my work
again, taking extreme precautions that no
error might be made. I arrived at the same
conclusion as before.

In making these last cultures from honey
twelve were on potato, six on gelatine plates
both excluded from oxygen, and eight stab
cultures in agar-agar, each giving satisfactory
results.

I am now preparing the manuscript for the
entire report of my investigations, to be pub-
lished in pamphlet form, in which these
experiments are given more in detail, bringing
to light many more important facts regarding
the biology and histology of the bacillus of
foul brood, and its pathological relations to the
disease, which when fully understood will
greatly simplify its eradication.

Appended to this report will be given a
review and free examination of the theories
held by the writers of the day, in which each
one will be treated fairly and honourably,
without bitter personalities, but from a scien-
tific standpoint, and should I differ from any
one I am willing to go over the ground with
them and let further demonstrations prove the
right. — Dr. W. E. Howard, in Canadian Bee
Journal.

A MARCH SWARM.
A correspondent sends a cutting from the
East Anglian Daily Times, which reads as
follows : — " On Good Friday, a hive of bees
belonging to Mr. Andrew Adams, of Long
Melford, ' swarmed.' The owner followed the
migrants, and successfully hived them in Mr.
Henry Richold's garden. The occurrence is an

extremely rare one ; apiarists seldom look for
swarms leaving their ' colonies ' before May."
Swarms in March are usually set down as
" hunger swarms,'' :ind rightly so, for bees in
normal condition rarely swarm even so early aw
April. The weather has, however, been so
exceedingly summer-like for several weeks past
that we hesitate in giving an opinion on the
above, and are endeavouring to ascertain fur-
ther particulars of the case.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymotis communications, and corres^jondents
are re-quested to urite on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, biit as a gnarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should ibe drami on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, Ac, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All biisiness communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, d:c.,must he addressed
to "The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of Advertisements).

•»• In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or qtiery previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

A LADY'S BEE EXPERIENCE.

[1805.] I have been asked to send you my
experience in bee-keeping, having been fairly
successful in the pursuit. On commencing (in
1891) I was a perfect novice, had never seen
bees handled nor yet a swarm of bees. There
are a few kept in this neighbourhood, but only
in skeps ; so, having all to learn, I pre-
ferred to begin on the modern system. A
neighbour promised me his first swarm, but I
had no idea where to get wood hives from.
Eventually, however, I was enabled to to call
on a well-known Yorkshire appliance dealer,
and not only saw his stock, but received from
him valuable instruction how to proceed and
how to get. the best results; in fact, I owe
much of my success to his practical advice.
The season of 1891 being a late one I did not
get my promised swarm till the second week
in July. I hived them on full sheets of
foundation in a new hive and fed for a few
days, but the white clover being in full bloom
I then left the bees to themselves, and finding in
September they had sufficient supplies, packed
them well up and did not touch them till the
following spring.

Early in April I gave the bees a gill of syrup
daily for a week, then put on a box of shallow
frames, and later a crate of sections, and
although 1892 was such a bad year, I took
42 lb. of honey from that hive, besides a good
swarm, which I placed in a frame hive. The
second week in May I also got two swarms
from a friend — one I placed in a frame-hive,
the other I left in the skep, and it swarmed

134

THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL. [April 5, 1894.

in the following July. The summer of 1892
being so windy and wet I got very little honey,
but the skep swarmed ; and I had also a cast
early in August from a neighbour, who did
not want to bother with them ; these I put in
a skep and fed them well. So that in August
I had three stocks in wood hives and the
three skeps ; two of the latter we drove, and,
tying the best combs of brood and honey in
frames, placed them in a " Wells '' hive, along
with four frames of honey taken from my
frame-hives.

In September I had two strong lots of
driven bees given me, one of which I put in a
frame-hive, and gave them four frames of
honey and brood and three sheets of founda-
tion. The other bees I joined to the two lots
of driven bees in the " Wells " hive, as they
were not very strong. So that I had seven
.stocks to face the winter with. I fed them up
well in September. I packed the hives well
with corkdust cushions for the winter. This
completed my bee-work for 1892.

I did not disturb them till the first warm
day in January, 1893, when I glanced into the
hives, and found all strong, and well off for
stores, but, to make quite safe, gave a little
candy to each. I did not disturb them again
till early in April, when all got a gill of syrup
every other day for a fortnight. A little later
I put on the shallow frames. On May 3 I had
a swarm from one of the skeps, and hived it
on sheets of foundation, and a frame of honey
and brood taken from another hive, and from
that swarm I took over 45 lb. of honey later
on. From the seven stocks I began 1893
with I took 450 lb. of honey and ten swarms,
one of which flew away after being hived
twenty-four hours, and one I gave my man to
put in a frame-hive he had made" himself
during the winter.

The best results were got from the " Wells "
hives ; the one with the driven bees of 1892
giving me over 90 lb. of honey, but no swarm.
With some of that honey I took first prize
at the Yorkshire Show, second at Goole, and
commended at the Dairy Show, London, these
being the only times I entered it for exhi-
bition.

In another " Wells '' hive (fifteen frames) I
placed a swarm on June IG, on full sheets of
foundation, and two days later another swarm
in the other compartment. As honey was
coming in so fast, and I was leaving home, I at
once put on the excluder and shallow frames.
When I looked under the quilt on my return
a fortnight later to see how the bees were
getting on, I was astonished to find the
frames full of honey, and all sealed over. Our
honey returns were quite a revelation to some
of the old bee-keepers here, and when they
heard the result of our first day's extracting,
asked my man if I would mind their coming
to see the operation next time we extracted.
Being only too glad to further the bee-keeping
cause if I can, of course they came, and one
who had kept bees for thirty years said he

could not have not believed it had he not seen
it with his own eyes. I tried one or two
swarms in bass hives, but shall not do so again
— the result in honey is so small, and the mess
and dirt of running it out so great. I was
fortunate again last autumn in not having to
use much sugar in feeding, seven stones being
all I used for my thirteen stocks.

We looked through my hives ten days ago
and found all in splendid condition as to stores
and bees, except in one hive, in which the
stores are rather low. Some are so full of
honey that if the weather continues favourable
I shall not have to feed at all this spring.
There is a great quantity of fruit grown in the
village — stone-fruit, raspberries and straw-
berries— so that the bees find plenty of forage.

My Wells hives did not swarm last year,
but I think the reason was we had several
days of wet and cloudy weather just at the
time they were ready, as the bees were hanging
out several days.

I send you a photo of my hives, taken on
the last day of extracting last year. We are
in our bee-veils and working dress, as you
will see.

I sold my honey well, getting Is. per lb. for
most, Is. 4d. for some, and 10s. per dozen 1 lb.
jars for the rest, and could have sold much
more if I had had it.

I expect I have written more than you will
care to print ; but if you find anything to
interest readers you might use it. — Helen
Lawrence, Clitheroe Ifouse, near Leeds,
March 28.

[A very interesting and satisfactory report,
which speaks for itself as to the results obtain-
able under intelligent management, as evi-
denced in the above details and in the excellent
photograph received, for which we are much
obliged. — Eds.]

THE GLAMOEGANSHIRE B.K.A. AND
ITS CRITICS.

[1806] The tapping of " Tomtit " has drawn
out one of the most esteemed members of the
G.B.K.A. (1793, p. 118) to write in its
defence. Now, '' Tomtit " holds so high an
opinion of your correspondent, Mr. Edward
Gibbins, that he would actually refrain from
tapping his hives even if he had the oppor-
tunity of doing so ; but, on the other hand, he
could easily prove, if necessary, that his honey
was of a better quality and was readily dis-
posed of at a higher price than probably he
(Mr. G.) obtained at the G. Agricultural
Society Show. Our friend thinks it a full and
complete answer to the general question of
how can we benefit the finances of the
B.B.K.A. and more generally interest the
bee-keepers of a country by saying in an oft'-
hand manner, " We hold a show once a
year."

My reply to this is that is the very least you
could possibly do to exist as a society at all.
The larger view of how to expand operations

April 5, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

135

is evaded altogether. I ask again — and in
doing so I reiterate the whole of my former
queries also — is it a satisfactory state of things
that a society should b3 stagnant when bee-
keepers all around it are multiplying in num-
bers ? Is it satisfactory that their meetings
should always be held sixty miles away from
at least one-third of its supporters, who cannot
attend without considerable expenditure of
time and money '( Are these the unjust charges
Mr. Gibbins complains about.

The tinge of lofty pity bestowed on poor
" Tomtit " in the last j^aragraph is wasted, for
he has long mourned over the shortcomings of
his society, which he would delight to see
active and flourishing ; just now he is peering
from the topmost boughs and saying '* tweet,
tweet," where is the annual report of the
meeting held at Cardiff a month ago ? — Tomtit.

"WELLS" HIVES AFTER THE
WINTER.—" PLUMPING."

[1807.] The last few days we have had here
have been really glorious, the sun being nearly
as hot as in July. Plum-trees tha^ two days
ago scarcely had a blossom oa are to-day in
full bloom. The bees last winter practised
the strictest economy, having used less honey
than in any other winter since I have kept
them. Those in the " Wells '' hives, after they
had apparently settled down for the winter,
stored the majority of their food in the combs
nearest the perforated divider, in many hives
completely emptying the outside comb,
although the honey in it was sealed over.
Instead of the two colonies forming one winter
cluster with the divider in the centre, they
each form one in the centre of their own
combs ; and, what is still more strange, they
extended their brood-nest in the usual way,
nob as I expected they would do — begin breed-
ing on those combs nearest the perforated
dummj^

Nuclei clustered on either side of the
dummy, and began breeding on those combs
next to it. This behaviour was not caused by
my dummies, as the same thing occurred in
the hive containing the dummy Mr. Wells was
kind enough to send me ; by the way, the
holes in this dummy are also blocked up. I
find it necessary when manipulating to give a
glance at the entrances now and again, as
those bees being operated on are apt to walk
into the adjoining colony. A little carbolic
acid placed in the centre of the floor-board
soon put a stop to this. March has gone with-
out hearing of any swarms. I hope those who
have given Mr. S.'s method a trial will give us
the benefit of their experience.

The colony mentioned in my last (1766,
p. 76) was not, as Mr. S. infers, " plumped "
in a haphazard manner, the quantity of eggs
and larvpe were taken into careful considera-
tion before they were given more. It will be
noticed that in the ordinary way the bees
never have an immense quantity of brood in

any one stage, which will be the case in the
Simmins method — leaving out of the question
the extent of the brood-nest so early as March
—which will force upon them a lot of one
kind of work at a time. Can they do it ? The
best affirmative answers will be reports of
March and April swarms, and in the negative
by reports of chilled brood; the latter we shall
scarcely expect, as persons are shy at reporting
their failures. If the colony cares for the
larvfe, what will be the result ? The combs
containing honey between the larvte will be
rapidly emptied, the queen finding abundance
of empty cells in the centre of the brood-nest
will add at a great rate to the already suffi-
ciently numerous larval population, for if, as I
said before, the brood-nest is not touched the
queen can measure the nursing capability, and,
if a good one, will lay up to it ; but when you
begin placing combs in its centre she becomes
deceived. — Leonard Smith, Ehtoii:, Beds ,
April 2.

COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS AND HONEY
LABELS.

[1808.] I cannot let our respected Editor's
able article of March 29 upon the subject of
honey labels pass without a few remarks. I
am thoroughly alive to the fact that there is
no intention to reduce prices to a " dead
level " regardless of quality, but such I fear
will be the ultimate result ; for when the
public are educated to ask for Association
labelled honey the retailer will be obliged to
meet the producer in this way : —

" Mr. , I cannot give more than — —

per lb. for your honey, because I can buy
Association labelled honey at a lower price,
and the public do not discern what you and
I do — namely, that the quality is different ;
and, besides, So-and-So across the street is
selling Association labelled honey at 2d. per
jar less than I can sell it, and my customers
say it is just the same."

The above may point out a little more
clearly what I mean. This argument might
no doubt be met by saying that only one agent
will be appointed in each town or village, but
what would become of all the other dealers
who have a connection for English honey ?
They certainly will not stand by and see their
trade taken from them.

No doubt quality should govern prices as
between wholesale dealers and the retailers,
but in reality the price that retailers can get
for Association labelled honey will govern that
of the wholesale dealer, and in his turn that
of the producer ; this would be done away
with if everybody held out for a fair price,
but there will always be found some who are
" weak sellers," and are anxious to realise at
the first obtainable price ; result, a heavy fall
in the market value of Association labelled
honey. The mere affixing of county labels
would not, I am sensible, cover all faults as to
quality, but the thought will, of course .

136

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [April 5, 1894.

suggest itself to the actual consumer that one
must be as good as another, or if not why are
they labelled the same, hence parity of price !
Moreover, if this became general, the labelling
of satisfactory honey could not so easily be
controlled as it evidently is in the small area
named, and the fact that opinions differ so
much as to quality would be an ever-present
evil.

1 am as anxious, I believe, as any of your
readers to advance British bee-keeping, and
my previous correspondence attacking the
Association label was prompted not by any
narrow-minded view of the subject, but simply
because I felt that the means which were
being advocated were wrong, and the result
would be exactly opposite to that which was
intended. I trust that the committee of our
Association' (the Lancashire and Cheshire), will
take this matter up at an early date, so that
some plan which may commend itself to the
majority of the members may be adopted for
this season. — Eichard W. Nickson, Frod-
sham, Cheshire.

QUEEN-REAKING IN CANADA.

[1809.] I have received the enclosed letter
from Mr. John McArthur, of Toronto, which
I think may interest readers of the B.J. if you
can find space for it. When in Canada last
year I heard of Mr. McArthur's apiary at
Toronto, and I called on him and saw both his
home apiary and that in Toronto Island, where
he is able to control the mating of the queens
he rears. As I was pressed for time, Mr.
McArthur promised to write me some parti-
culars of the island and the observations he
had been able to make, which he has now
done. — John M. Hooker, March 30.

"Toronto, January 16, 1894.
" Mr. J. M. Hooker.

"Dear Sir, — Before going into details on
queen-rearing, permit me to give a description
of our location. Toronto Island is a tract of
land formed of sand washed up by the rivers
Niagara, Dan, and Humber, and is situated in
Lake Ontario, right in front of the city, and
two miles from mainland. It embraces 5,000
acres ; width 1| miles. Ten years ago it was
a barren desert with little herbage of any
kind. During the past fifteen years, however,
Toronto has doubled its population, and a
demand was made by the citizens for more
park accommodation, and 300 acres was set
apart for that purpose on the island. Thou-
sands of honey-producing trees have been
planted, clover grows luxuriantly, and the
once sandy desert blossoms as the rose. I
attempted the raising of queens here ten years
ago, but owing to its barrenness I had to
abandon the project. I then commenced to
remedy the evil, and have been busy sowing
seeds ever since, and have during the last four
years managed to establish a small apiary on
the island, my idea being to try and make

queen-rearing one of the attractions of the
place. I have succeeded in establishing
the scarlet lobelia ; it produces a beautiful
honey. Sweet clover is getting a foothold, and
by next year there will be sufficient to main-
tain quite a large apiary. It will then be one
of the best on this continent for experimental
purposes. It is somewhat exposed, and liable
to be laid waste by hurricanes. Three of those
storms or cyclones visited the island last season
— in July, August, and October respectively.
August and October were cyclones, that of
August leaving me only five standing colonies
out of forty-five, and doing considerable
damage to houses and trees. With this excep-
tion the island is perfect for queen-rearing
and other experiments that may require
isolation.

" I commenced with Carniolans first because
I found them a very gentle bee to handle, and
my apiary was close to one of the busiest
thoroughfares of the citj''. After breeding them
for some time I saw one objection — the diffi-
culty in finding the queens. They were so shy,
and always seeking cover by hiding among the
bees, it was almost impossible to find her.
The bees, however, were quiet, good honey
gatherers, and wintered well. A perfect bee, I
thought, if they had the colour. So I selected
the best queen in the yard and raised nine
queens from her, and sent them to the island
with hand-picked yellow drones from my best
and gentlest colony of Ligurians. I only suc-
ceeded in mating one out of the nine. This
cross produced workers about half and half.
The eggs from this queen were given to a
colony to raise queens from, and crossed again
with the same drones. This was repeated
four times in one season, the first cross
showing the most marked change ; any
subsequent change being slow and gradual.
Four straight crosses were made before much
change was noticeable in the drones, but the
bronze colouring gradually rose up and closed
over the first segment next to the thorax.''
{To be continued.)

METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.

March, 1894.

Locality : Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.

Height above sea level : 225 ft.

Rainfall, '80 in. ; heaviest fall, '24 in. on
12th.

Rain fell on 10 days.

Max. shade temp., 64° on 26th and 30th. Min.
temp. 23° on 15th.

Max. shade temp, at 9 a.m. 51° on 30th,

Min. temp, at 9 a.m., 28° on 17th.

Frosty nights, 10.

Max. barometer, 30° on 23rd. Min. baro-
meter 28-7° on 13th.
On the Avhole an excellent month for bees.

Above the average of sunshine. Very few

strong winds, chiefly light winds from E.S.E

April 5, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

137

A feAv foggy luornings ; a falling barometer
since 25th. Pear, plum, cherry, and goose-
berry in blo-ssom. Some newly gathered
nectar deposited in hives during last three
days. Pkrcy Lkiqii.

WEATHER REPORT FOR MARCH,

1894.
Westboubne, Sussex, 1894.

Rainfall, 1*65 in.
Heaviest fall, '32 in.

on 12th.
Rain fell on 14 days.
Below average, '41 in.
Max. Temperature,

61° on 27th.
Min. Temperature, 27°

on 18th.
Minimum on Grass,

19=^ on 5th
Frosty Nights, 8.
Sunshine, 219"1 hours.

Brightest Day, 27tli,

11-65.
Sunless Days, 2.
Above average, 505.
Mn. Maximum, 51-6°.
Mn. Minimum, 36-5°.
Mean Temperature,

43-9°.
Maximum Barometer,

30-52° on 23rd.
Minimum Barometer,

29-20 on 13th.

L. B. BiRKETT.

^\mm mA ^i^lm.

[988.] Drone - Brood and Sioarming. — I
find in one only of my hives a patch of drone-
brood sealed over and apparently nearly hatch-
ing. Does this indicate a near approach to
swarming ? I ask this, because others of my
stocks are more forward, and yet have no
drone-brood in them. The brood is on the
centre comb.

Reply. — The drone - brood is no doubt
owing to there being a patch of drone-cells in
the centre comb, as stated.

[989.] Detecting Bobbing in Hkejys —
Destroying Queen Wasps. — 1. How is a
beginner to detect robbing and best guard
against it in straw skeps ? 2. Also, how best
to destroy queen wasps — by traps or other-
wise ? My record of victories in this direction
is twenty-six already — by stalking! — W. H. M.,
Glastonbury, Marxh 31.

Reply. — 1. Robbing is detected by observing
strange bees flying about entrances and trying
to enter the hive, and the efforts of the lawful
inhabitants to repel the intruders. If the
mischief is noticed in its early stage, and the
bees of skep are fairly strong, reducing the
size of the entrance, so as to allow passage for
only about two bees at a time, will generally
guard against it ; but if it assumes the
character of a general onslaught, and the
defending bees are weak, it is very difficult to
stop. It has been recommended to remove
the hive indoors for a few days, setting an
empty hive in its place to deceive the robbers
into the idea that there is no more plunder to
be had there. 2. Queen wasps cannot well be
" trapped ; " the only methods of destruction

are searching them out among hive-wraps and
such-like, and " stalking," as described.

[990.] Blade Bobber Bees.— The bees of
one of my stocks seem to linger about the
mouth of the hive, and occasionally three or
four of them are to be seen fighting and
hauling out of the hive a bee of smaller size
and black-bodied. They seem strong, and,
judging by the weight of the hive, they have
suflicient provisions. I have been wondering
whether they belonged to the hive, and that
the bees wished to destroy them, or are they
robbers ? If you will enlighten me on the
question and inform me what had I better do
in the matter I should feel much obliged. —
D. W. Lewis, Fishguard, March 30.

Reply. — There is no cause for alarm in
what you have seen. The " black -bodied " bees
are thieves, and the blackness is caused by
their being robbed of their pubescence (or
hairiness) through the rough usage they
receive at the hands of the bees whose
property they endeavour to carry off".

[991.] Transferring from Skejjs to Frame-
Hives. — Moving Bees IShort Distances. — 1.
I have two stocks of bees in skeps, and one in
a frame-hive. I want to get all into hives of
the latter type this season by a way which I
know very little of, viz. — by placing each skep
over a frame-hive and allowing the bees to
work down. Will you please give me par-
ticulars how to do this properly ? 2. In a fort-
night or so I shall have to move my bees
about a hundred yards, I cannot move them
in either of the ways advised in the " Guide
Book." Could I move the bees some night to
their future stands and keep them confined to
their hives during the next day l Do you
think if so confined they would return to their
old stands ? — J. E, Wilkes, Wolverhampton,
March 29.

Reply. — 1. Kindly refer to Bee Journal
for February 8 (page 58) for reply. 2. It is
certain that more or less bees will be lost in
moving the hives so short a distance at this
season. Instead of confining them to the
hives as proposed, the risk of loss Avill be
lessened by fixing up some temporary arrarige-
ment for a few days which -will alter the
appearance of the hive entrance as much as
possible, and so cause the bees to notice the
change of location.

[992.] Small v. Full-sized Queens.— WovXA.
you kindly answer the few following queries 1
— 1. Is a small queen generally as prolific as
a large one, and is it a disadvantage for a
queen to be small ? 2. Are Ligurian queens
smaller than black queens '? 3. If I give
full sheets of foundation in sections, am
I likely to get as much comb-honey
as if working for extracted honey i
4. I had a very weak stock a short time
ago, which I united to another. I found that
the queen had been laying, but the larvae had
died from cold, as there were not sufficient

138

THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL. [April 5, 1894.

bees to cover them. What is the best thing
to do with these combs, as I do not want to
risk the bees getting foul brood ? 5. I have a
stock which just covers all the frames in the
hive, and a considerable quantity of blossom
is out ; should I put the super on now, or wait
a short time until they become thicker ? — G.
J. Brown, Surrey, March 1.

Keply. — 1. Small queens — other than
dwarfs — are sometimes as prolific as large
ones, but not " generally " so, hence it is that
full-sized queens are preferred. 2. Nr>. 3. No .
It is calculated that about one-third more is
got by the extracting plan. 4. Combs con-
taining dead larvae should be melted down.
5. Defer supering till the upper portion of
the combs in brood- chamber show whitened
edges, caused by the bees beginning to
lengthen the cells out for storing purposes.

[993.] A Beginner's Queries — 1. Is it
necessary to raise the rack containing sections
above the frames in any way, to allow the
bees easy access, more the ordinary bee-ways
between the sections ; if so, in what way ?
2. Is it necessary to cover the space left open
by the rack, not covering all the frames which
may be in the hive, so as to make the bees
more readily work in the sections in the
crate ? 3. If a swarm of bees Avere purchased
and put into a frame-hive, with foundation
fixed in the frames, either in the first or second
week in April, would they require feeding,
and how soon would it be necessary to look at
them to see how they are progressing ? —
Beginner, Ilfonl, Essex.

Eeply. — 1. So long as the sections are
raised § in. above the frame-tops, in the usual
fashion — as they are in all properly-constructed
racks — no other passage-way is required. 2.
Every space or opening by which the warmth
of the lower hive can escape (except into the
sections) must be carefully covered up and
the rack itself made as warm and cosy as pos-
sible to induce the bees to start working in
the sections. 3. Yes. A swarm in April will
require feeding for a few days ; indeed, so
long as natural food is not to be had outside.
A glance might be given a couple of days
after hiving to see if tne sheets of foundation
are safe in the frames, and that no break-down
has occurred, after which there is no need for
further inspection till supers are required.

[994.] Using Combs not "■Cleaned Up" by
the Bees. — Just after finishing extracting last
year I was taken with a serious illness, which
prevented me getting the combs cleaned up by
the bees. What course should I follow ? May
I put the supers on again, and trust to the
bees making them right before storing in
them ?— Stretton, Lincoln.

Reply. — If the combs have in them any
appreciable quantity of granulated honey, they
should be syringed with water and put through
the extractor before being again used.

[995.] Driven Bees Deserting Hives in
March. — Early Swarming. — On March 25
my bees — driven in September, 1893 — issued
from three hives, leaving them empty, and
joined into one cluster. I put them into a
fresh hive, but they came out again the next
day, when I again hived them, giving a comb
of brood from my strongest stock. This seems
to have settled them down, and they are now
quiet and contented. I have lately been
feeding on syrup. My hives are all bar-
frames. Could you kindly give me any
reason for this strange proceeding 1 I ought
to say there was no brood or eggs in any
of the deserted hives, though some food
remained. I moved all my bees about 50
yards last Christmas. A natural swarm also
issued on March 26. — A. J. H., Wishaw.

Reply. — We should say that some at least
of the driven lots were queenless, and, without
being able to explain the absence of brood or
eggs from all three deserted hives, it is certain
that that was the primary cause of the bees
decamping. If there is no queen with the re-
hived driven bees, queen-cells will probably
be found on the brood-comb given by this
time. Examine the hive from which the sup-
posed natural swarm issued on the 26th ult.,
and see if you are not in error in supposing it
to be a normal swarm.

(&t\xu% from iU gir^.^.

West Glamorgan. — The fine weather has not
only awakened the bees, but the bee-keepers,
too, to think of the spring " doing up " in the
hives. My ten stocks have wintered well
without serious loss or inconvenience. I gave
them all a look in on Easter Monday and found
a satisfactory state of progress in the brood-
nests. The country is looking bare and but
little forage is abroad for the bees, yet busy
workers are bearing in pollen, and a merry
hum and sweet odours indicate a healthy and
happy condition, so gratifying to the ear, in
the spring time more especially. A general
scarcity of bees in skeps is prevalent here, no
doubt consequent on the non-swarming of
last year. — E. Bunney.

Beemount, Stohe Prior, Worcestershire,Mctrch
31. — What grand weather we have had this
last week ! Easter Monday and yesterday the
thermometer registered 64 deg. in the shade^ — •
the maximum — and to-day it has been only 2
deg. less. Early this morning we had a very
refreshing shower, of "10 in. I observed count-
less bees upon the plum, cherry, pear, and
gooseberry blossoms to-day, busily employed
extracting the delicious nectar. This arternoon
I spent a very enjoyable time amongst my
bees. Happy to say £ found brood in every
hive, and in one, some newly stored honey.
In this hive I added three frames fitted with
Leake's thin brood foundafion back of the

April 5, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

139

brood nest. I think it far better to place
fextra frames as I have done, than to insert
them in middle of brood-chamber so early in
the season. Saw eight queen wasps this week
but am sorry to say I did not succeed in
killing them. — Percy Leigh.

*' Honey Cott,^' Weston, Leamington, April
2. — For the last week or two bees have had
nice weather, and, consequently, have been
very busy gathering pollen, with what honey
they can get, from the few plum trees around
us. We have had a little rain, temperature
up to G5 deg., enabling the bees to take first
chance at the opening of early fruit blossoms,
such as gooseberries, &c. I have a quarter of
an acre of sainfoin, just beginning to look nice
and fiesh, and if it turns out well I shall try
and induce some of our farmers to go in for
growing it as a regular crop. About a fort-
night ago, when examining a double-queen
stock, I removed the perforated dummy, and
substituted one the propolised perforations
of which had been opened up by re-burning
the holes. I found that the queen had laid
in three frames of one compartment, but on
the other side there was no brood at all, so
I feared that division was queenless ; however,
when replacing the frames, I saw the queen,
and a night or two ago I had another look,
and found that she has since started laying,
and there is now brood on three frames. This
shows it is not always well to conclude that a
stock is queenless when we fail to see the
queen, and there are no eggs or brood even in
March. I know that the queen is only in her
second year, and have no doubt the stock will
be up to the mark by the time honey harvest
arrives, if all goes on well. I am using a
bottom feeder for stimulating this season, and
on showing a friend last night how rapidly I
could feed some stocks, he timed me, and I
fed thirty-five stocks in exactly five minutes !
A very different thing to feeding on the top
with the bottle-feeder. After trying it well
this season, I shall be able to give a more
decided opinion of it. Look out for the queen
wasps, they are on the move now. Have
killed two already among the bees. — John
Walton.

ADULTERATION OF HONEY.

In view of the discussion which has
appeared in the American bee journals
on the adulteration question as to the
possibility or otherwise of detecting
adulterated honey, the following article
from the pen of the Editor of Gleanings
will be read with instruction and interest
by British bee - keepers. Mr. Root
says : — ■

For several years back reports have been
coming to us to the effect that James Heddon,
of Dowagiac, Mich., was selling honey adul-

terated with glucose. Believing him to be a
good straight man, and one of the veterans
among honey-producers, we assured each one
who wrote us that there must be some mistake,
for we said it was not possible that Mr. Heddon
could think of doing anything so unwise and
foolish. At the Ohio State Convention in
Cleveland, however, held on February 19 and
20, 1890, a sample tumbler of honey was shown
us, after one of the sessions, said honey having
been purchased of one of Mr. Heddon's cus-
tomers. I had a talk with the man who
brought the honey, and I told him that, from
my acquaintance with such mixtures, I was
satisfied in my own mind that the sample con-
tained a large per cent, of glucose. The
matter was talked of more or less between all
the sessions by quite a number of the bee-
keepers ; and although we discussed it in a
quiet way, a rejjorter for a large daily got hold
of it, and had it written up in flaming style.
As soon as Ernest got wind of it, he button-
holed the reporter, and desired him to keep
the whole out of print because he (Ernest)
thought there must be some mistake, and there
the matter dropped. Complaints still kept
coming, however, and finally, by my direction,
Ernest asked a well-known bee-keeper to
purchase two cans of honey from Mr. Heddon
and forward them on to us. This bee-keeper
did so, and also sent an afladavit to the effect
that the same honey was reshipped to us with-
out taking from the depot, and this we have
in our possession. The honey was received
with Mr. Heddon's tag attached to the cans,
and it seemed to be (judging from the taste)
adulterated largely with glucose, and a poor
quality at that. A sample was submitted to
Prof. H. W. Wiley, chief chemist at Washing-
ton, D.C., through Prof. Cook, and here is his
report : —

Prof. A. J. Cook, Agricultural College, Mich.
Dear Sir, — The sample of honey sent by
you on the 20th inst. , numbered 100, has been
entered as Serial No. 11,653; on analysis it
gave the following numbers : —

Per cent.

Direct polarisation at 23 deg 56 '3

Ditto, ditto, after inversion 48'7

Sucrose (calculated from above readings) 5 '8
Reducing sugar, calculated as dextrose) 58 '11

Ditto, ditto, invertose 59'95

Water 21-30

Ash 00-28

The sample is undoubtedly adulterated Avitli
at least 50 per cent, of glucose, although, as
you know, it is not possible to determine the
exact amount on account of the difference in
rotation of the various glucoses.

Trusting that this analysis will be satisfac-
tory, I am, respectfully,

H. "W. Wiley, Chemist.
(11,653— E. E. E.— J. S. C.)
Washington, D.C., April 1, 1893.

A sample was also submitted to Prof. Cook,
and was by him also pronounced adulterated
with glucose.

You may ask why we did not write to Mr

140

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [April 5, 1894.

Heddon in regard to this thing. We did so,
but received anything but a satisfactory-
answer.

I believe we practise and preach that kind
of charity that " is kind, and suffereth long ;"
and that is the reason why we did not publish
the analysis before ; but the affidavit below, of
a more recent case, it seems to me, demands
that the bee-keepers of our land be notified of
these things.

The State of Ohio, Cuyahoga Co., ss.
Personally appeared before me, John C. Hera-
meter, a Notary Public for and within said
County, Geo. G. Willard, who being by me
first duly sworn upon his said oath, says :
That he is conducting a general merchan-
dise business at No. 270, Pearl-street, in the
city of Cleveland, County and State afore-
said.

That on or about November 15 last, affiant
received a shipment of honey from James
Heddon, doing business at Dowagiac, in the
State of Michigan ; that said honey so shi^jped
and received by the affiant hereof Avas repre-
sented to be a pure and unadulterated article ;
in accordance with said statement of repre-
sentation of its purity, did authorise the selling
of the same to the trade by his agents. That
on or about December 7, following, one of the
affiant's agents was arrested by the State
authorities for offering and selling an adul-
terated and impure honey, and subpcened to
appear for trial before a legal tribunal, having
jurisdiction in the jsremises ; affiant, in con-
junction with said agent, appeared in said
court on the day set for trial, heard the hear-
ing of said agent, and all the witnesses in
connection with the case, including that of
the State's chemist.

That the Judge, after summing \ip the evi-
dence, rendered a verdict as charged, and
fining said agent 25 dols. and the costs of pro-
secution (aggregating the sum of 64 dols. 85 c. ),
Avhich amount the affiant hereof paid.

Whereupon affiant procured another samjile
out of same shipment, and delivered same to
Professor Hobbs (being the Professor of Che-
mistry at the Cleveland College) for further
analysation, who, upon performance of the
same, coincided Avith the State chemist, in
pronouncing it "adulterated and impure."
Fiirther, affiant saith not.

Geo. G. Willard.
Sworn to before me, and by the said George
G. Willard, subscribed in my presence Feb-
ruary 9, A. D. 1894.

John C. Hemmeter, Notary Public.

Mr. Willard says he Avrote to Mr. Heddon,
asking him to secure him by giving him an
affidavit that the honey was pure, toAvhich Mr.
Heddon made no reply ; at least he (Willard)
received none. He also says he (Mr. Heddon)
finally took back the honey and returned the
money. The "cheap honey" that Mr. Heddon
has been advertising for a number of years,
together with his recent utterances on the glu-
cose question, and which we have criticised,
seem to give colouring to the statements of the
four diflPerent chemists.

We have other evidence, not depending upon
analysis, but think best to withhold it for the
present. — OUanings.

^.u ^Iwiiij) ta dftrm^.

June 12 to 15. — Koyal Counties Agricul-
tural Show at Canterbury. Entries close
May 31. Hives, honey, &c. Secretary, Bee
Department, John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's
Langley.

June 25 to 29. — Eoyal Agricultural Show
at Cambridge. Entries close May 1, Post
entries at double fees till May 12. Secretary,
John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's Langley.

TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED.

A. W. Harrison, Potters Bar, Middlesex. —
This catalogue has been considerably extended
for the present season, many items being
included not usually found in lists of bee
goods. We also notice a " Scientific and
Literary " page, embracing optical and micro-
scopical appliances. Mr. Harrison also
publishes the conditions under which he is
prepared to purchase the surplus honey of his
customers upon equitable terms.

W. Bushtov, 17, Sta?iley-street, Bedford. —
This is a short but concise list of all the most
needful requirements of a modern apiary.

/Notices to Correspondents andlnquirers.

All queries forwarded will he attended to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will he answered in this column.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of inanufac-
turers or correspondents, or where appliances can he
purchased, or replies giving such information, can onl^
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries, and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to hear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always he replied to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of their communica-
tion.

Plain English. — If our correspondent refers
to the instructions at head' of "Corre-
spondence" column, he Avill find that "no
notice is taken of anonymous communica-
tions."

Anxious (Tunbridge Wells). — Fermented
Sijruj) for Bee- food. —The sample of honey
melted along with the wax " will do quite
well for bee-food, but the fermented syrup
must be boiled for a few minutes— after
adding a little water to it — before being
given to the bees.

X. Y. Z. (Ipswich). — Thanks for sending cut*
ting, but the fable it deals with is of so
ancient a date as to make us marvel that a
newspaper should dcA^ote leaded-out type to
such rubbish.

April 12, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,

141

SPRING EXAMINATION OF
HIVES.

As a result, apparently, of some
observations we made in this month's
issue of our monthly, the lleconl, several
correspondents have written in terms
which fully confirm the necessity for the
few words of caution conveyed in the
article referred to. Instances are reported
wherein queens have been " balled "
during the last four or five weeks, and
there can be little doubt that had the
hives been left untouched manj^ now
queenless colonies would have been
prospering stocks to-day. One corre-
spondent, whose letter appears on p. 147,
has been particularly unfortunate, and
now bewails the loss of queens clearly
alive before any disturbance of the re-
spective hives took place, and as clearly
" balled," or otherwise destroyed, immedi-
ately after the said disturbance.

We by no means desire it to be taken
as our view that no spring manipulation
at all should take place, but would merely
impress on those who — unaware of the
risks involved — take no extra care at all
when making these early inspections of
their hives. It is not enough to say that
experienced bee-keepers seldom or never
have these mishaps, because the proba-
bility is that the latter arc intuitively
careful when obliged to examine their
colonies in the early spring, and operate
in an entirely different style to that
necessary later in the season. What old
hands have long known, viz., that gentle-
ness and care is needed at this time, the
reports which have reached us during
the last few days further and fully
confirm.

Another point likely to strike the close
observer as showing where the trouble
arises is the fact that in the majority of
instances where queens have been lost
the mischief has occurred in double-
queened hives. Now we know that if
the young bee-keeper has a special
anxiety about his bees at all — and who
has not i'n such a spring as this ? — it is
sure to have reference to his " Wells."
He does want to know how it, above all
others, is getting on, and, in consequence,
begins quarrying into brood-chambers,

with the unfortunate result sometimes of
finding his dual-cjueened stock perforce
turned into a single one. There is just
one comfort about the business, and that
is the ease with which the bees of the
two compartments of the " Wells " hive
may be joined up to make a strong
colony, so that the only loss is that of
the additional brood which would have
been raised had the second queen been
preserved. But the lesson to be learnt
is an obvious one, and, with the object
of forcing it home to readers, we Avillingly
comply with the request of a corre-
spondent to reprint a portion of the
article — -the publication of which has
given rise to the correspondence to
which we have referred — and which
reads as follows :—

"Balled" Queens. — The month of
March, at no time wintry in character — ■
seeing that bees have been flying almost
daily — closes with an Easter-tide as
charming as could be desired, and the
summer-like holiday time will, no
doubt, have been taken advantage
of by bee-keepers in making an in-
spection of their hives and the contents
thereof. For this it would ill become us
to blame them ; indeed, it is an essential
part of our teaching that no stock of bees
should be allowed to suffer from neglect
at this season, and wherever the need
for a thorough examination really exists,
it should be gone through. But, Avhile
an inspection of some kind may be con-
sidered indispensable in good bee-manage-
ment, judicious spring examinations are
aften exceeded or supplemented by such
a pulling about of the frames of brood-
nests as are always injurious, and not
seldom fatal, to the future of the colony.

It Avould surprise many who consider
themselves fairly well up in bee-matters
to know how many queens are " balled "
and killed, entirely through roughly-
managed and too early spring manipu-
lations ; there being no doubt in our mind
that it is in a time of summer warmth
such as we are now enjoying that the
mishaps referred to most frequently
occur. Though March is still with us
as we write pollen is being gathered in
abundance ; breeding is getting into full
swing, and everything tends to create in
the bees what seems to be extreme
anxiety for the queen's welfare ; but,
being subject to modern methods, they

142

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [April 12, 1894.

show their affection for the " mother
bee " in very extraordinary fashion some-
times when interfered with in the way
Ave have stated.

Why this is so we need not stoj) to
enquire, it is enough to know that it does
happen, and that a very large percentage
of the fatalities to queens every spring
may be safely attributed to the habit we
have ventured to deprecate. So that,
whenever a dead queen is cast out of a
hive subsequent to an examination of the
frames,' or "a ball of bees somewhat
larger than a walnut " — as a correspon-
dent puts it— is seen on the combs or on
the floor-board while a hive is being
examined, the operator may be sure that
the " ball " will contain the unfortunate
queen in process of being " hugged " to
death by her own subjects.

To prevent this mishap it is only need-
ful to exercise extra care just at this
time — especially when making a first
examination — and the avoidance of any
more handling of frames than is abso-
lutely necessary. If brood and food are
seen to be plentiful the frames should not
be lifted out at all, nor even drawn apart
more than can be helped, the hive being
closed up at once and all coverings care-
fully readjusted. No "balling" of
queens will follow an examination which
goes no further than this, and in course
of a fortnight or three weeks the matri-
cidal tendency on the part of the bees
will probablj^ have passed away. If,
however, a complete overhaul of the
combs is found to be really required, all
lifting out and replacing should be done
as gently as possible ; using no excess of
smoke, and avoiding anything like
jarring or jolting about the liive, such as
tends to excite or alarm the bees. There
are good reasons for believing that a
comparatively trifling slip in handling the
frames will sometimes cause " balling "
in spring, and the fact of its often occur-
ring at so early a date that there is no
chance of a young queen being raised
renders the mischief doubly annoying.

BEITISa BEE - KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATIOX.

Impoitant Notice. — The annual examination
of candidates desirous of competing for first
and second-class certificates will be held in
London on Thursday, May 10. Intending

candidates must give notice to the secretary,
John Hackle, King's Langley, not later than
Saturday, April 21.

LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

The quarterly committee meeting of the
above association was held on Friday, April 6,
in the secretary's office of the Lincolnshire
Agricultural Society, Lincoln, Lord St. Vincent
in the chair. Present — Gerard J. Young,
Esq., J.P., Claxby ; Dr. Carline and Messrs.
Emmerson and Marshill, Lincoln; Dr. P.
Sharp, Brant-Broughtou ; Mr. Allen, Mether-
ingham ; Mr. F. J. Cribb, Gainsboro', expert ;
and Mr. R. Godson, Alford, secretary.

After the minutes of the previous meeting
had been read and signed by the chairman, it
was decided that the affiliation fee to the
British Bee-keepers' Association be increased
by £1. Is., in order that the medals of the
B.B.K.A may be presented at the show of the
Lincolnshire Agricultural Society, to be held
this year at Grimsby. The question of the
designs for the medals of the association, to be
given for the first time this year at the same
show, was referred to a sub-committee, con-
sisting of Lord St. Vincent, Mr. F. J. Cribb,
and Mr. Godson. The usual votes of supply
for the subscriptions to the dilferent shows
were then proceeded with, and the secretary
authorised to arrange witli ]Mr. H. 0. Smith,
of Louth, for several Bee-Chats daring the
summer months at various centres. It was
also decided to purchase two copies each of
the " British Bee-keepers' Guidd-book " and
" Sinimin's Bee-farm," for the use of members,
and to accept Mr. Blow's offer of prizes to be
given at the Blankney show. After passing
some accounts and electing Mr. Fisher
(Lincoln) a member of the committee, the
usual vote of thanks to the chairman closed a
very successful meeting.

IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

A conversational meeting of the above
Association was held on Wednesday, the 4th
inst., by kind permission of Dr. Tiwill, at his
rooms. Trinity College, Dublin, Dr. Traill
presiding. There was a fair attendance of
members and their friends.

Mr. Turlough O'Bryen read a paper on the
" Sale of Honey." He stated that the large
increase in the production of honey raised the
question whether prices would fall so low as
to make bee-keeping unprofitable. He thought
there was danger of this if all were to send
their honey to the same market, but not if
bee-keepers would do what they could to pro-
vide a market at home. The amount paid for
bad imported honey showed that there is little
fear of Ireland really producing too much
honey if the sale is sufficiently dispersed.
When he was bee-keeping in Clare he used to

April 12, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

143

bottle and label run honey, and send it to
small village shops and to his grocer. At first
there was an objection to take it, though the
conditions were " sell or return," as there was
an idea that, like pitch, it was not easy to
handle ; but when they saw how clean and
attractive-looking^ the bottles were, they were
willing to place them in their windows.
Sections, too, they took, when samples of six
were put into neat cases with glass fronts, the
rest being packed in a box. After the first
year he fi>und no difliculty in selling in this
way from 2 cwt. to 3 cwt. of run honey and
as many hundred sections. He advocated
moderate prices ; for, even at such prices, a
quick and ready sale, without the expense and
risk of a long journey, would make honey give
a larger profit than perhaps any other produce
of the farm, and the efl'ect of supplying it at
moderate prices, would be, it may be hoped,
that before long on every breakfast - table,
whether in cottage or in manor, the honey-pot
would be as sure of a place as the tea-pot.
While anxious, however, to encourage local
markets as much as possible, he did not the
less appreciate the great advantages that
members of the Association derive from having
a central depot.

Mr. Hargraft mentioned that he had been
successful in selling honey at Parsonstown.

Later on in the evening Mr. Read described
an experiment he had made in wintering hives
on the " cellaring" principle. He had placed
them in an outhouse enclosed in large outer
cases, completely surrounding them with chaff',
and covering them with it to the height of
about 6 in., a layer of chaft', about 2 in. deep,
being also placed under them. A wisp of
straw went up through the chaff", so that the
air could percolate slowly through it, and air-
space was given below the frames by means of
a lift. He had found this method very satis-
factory in the case of weak stocks. The re-
sults had varied in the case of strong stocks,
the least satisfactory case being where two
stocks previously strangers to each other had
been placed in the same hive, divided by a
perforated dummy, the excessive mortality
Ijeing probably due to their keeping one
another in a state of excitement.

Various other subjects of interest were dis-
cussed, and Mr. Thos. Lynch gave an en-
couraging instance of profitable bee-keeping,
by stating that last year he made an average
profit of £2. 10s. per hive from ten hives.

HIVE ENTRANCES.

INTERNAL CONDITION JUDGED FROM OUTSIDE.

Placing hives near together saves travel and
land where space is limited ; but, when every-
thing is considered, it is advisable to space
them about seven feet apart, and face the
entrances in one direction, which is toward the
honey-house or workshop, that all the entrances
may be seen at the same time*

Thus arranged it forms what may be termed
a face or countenance for the apiary, and is of
equal importance to having the scholars in a
schoolroom facing the master. If a queen is
lost, the store of food is gone, or a colony is
preparing to swarm, there is usually an indica-
tion of it in the manccuvres of the bees at the
entrance. Much can be learned as to the
state of the colonies by walking along and
glancing at the rows of entrances in the even-
ing. If some colonies roar louder than others
it will be found that it is because they either
are stronger in bees or are gathering more
honey ; and it is not always necessary to take
the combs out of the hives, but it may usually
be determined by the dropping of loaded bees
at the entrance, or the appearance of bits of
new wax on the combs, on simply removing
the covers.

When it is dark, and all the bees have
retired within the hives, and a colony is heard
to mutter in a restless fashion, it should be
made a subject for examination the next day.

Again, in the early morning it may be
noticed that some colonies are exceptionally
lively at the entrances, and have brought out
dirt, pieces of comb, and dead bees. This
may indicate that the brood-space or space for
new honey is being enlarged. Strength of
colonies, or the evaporation of honey, is also
denoted by the amount of moisture which con-
denses on the alighting-board — the breath of
the colony, so to call it.'

A few bees at the entrance in a disturbed
mood, when all the rest are still, may be
caused by the loss of their queen, which may
be carried out and dropped near by, and be
easily discovered in the morning ; and later in
the day, when the l^ees come to fly, a little
bunch of " mourners " will collect around the
dead queen, and more bees than usual stand
idly about the front of the hive.

As the apiarist reviews the colonies some
morning, he might be heard to remark in
surprise, "Well, those bees in this hive are
hustlers," noting an entrance where the bees
are passing out and returning much more
lively than at others. Examination of the
combs shows that they are getting honey or
pollen, continuing right on, even in the rain —
utilising every minute of sunshine, while many
other colonies are doing nothing, and are slow
to put on business airs when the sun shines
and honey has become quite plentiful in the
flower?:.

In the season of 1891, while mowing before
the hives early in the morning, one hive was
noticed where the bees seemed to be always
out. Continuing to rise earlier and earlier,
these bees were found dropping down upon
the alighting-board with heavy loads, while it
was yet quite dark — so dark that the incoming
workers could not be seen until they had
alighted at the entrance. They held out thus
industrious all through the fall ; and where no
other colony laid up above two or three
pounds of fall honey, this colony stored

144

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [April 12, 1894.

between thirty and furty. When one-half or
less of the entrances in the apiary are visible
■we do not record these exceptional colonies,
because of the liability of the other half con-
taining several even more industrious ones.

By observing the progress of the colonies
all the time, from early spring up to the
honey-harvest, the surplus-receptacles may be
placed on the right colonies at the right time
instead of watching the progress in the recep-
tacles and making numerous changes and
surprising mistakes after the harvest begins.
The peculiar traits of the different colonies
from which to rear queens will also be known.
[Mr. Dayton makes an excellent point here ;
viz., entrance diagnosis from day to day will
determine better than any other means what
colonies will be likely to require supers before
others. — Ed. Gleanings.']

In no country is this study of the bees more
neglected than here in California. If the bees
are not managed entirely by hired help, the
owner seldom spends more than four or six
■weeks in the apiary during the harvesting of
the annual crop — a season of fatiguing labor,
stings, and perspiration. The apiarists, or bee-
owners, are mostly nurserymen, fruit-growers,
shoe, harness, and dry-goods merchants, grocer •!,
hotel-keepers, tradesmen, dairymen, stock-
buyers, small capitalists, &c. The bees,
fixtures, and land occupied, is called a " bee-
ranch." The prominent distinction between a
ranch and a farm is that a ranch is a place
■where labouring people and animals stay,
■while a farm includes a home. An apiary
ma-i/ be a place where bees are JcejJt for love,
study, and improvement. A ranch is a place
■where bees star/ so long as they are a profitable
speculation. If they are black bees it is all
the same — stings belong to the hired help,
and starving colonies to dry years, not always.

The bee-keeper -who spends no more than
six weeks in a year with the bees cannot learn
enough about them to create a desire for the
improvement of stock or fixtures, any more
than the boy can get an education by attend-
ing school but six weeks in the year.

In my last article I said considerable about
chaparral, thinking chaparral and greasewood
to be one and the smre plant, as I nad several
times been told. I have since learned that
they are somewhat difl'erent. "Wherever I
used chaparral it should be changed to grease-
wood. Chaparral grows there, but not so
much as greasewood (or chemice).

[The main reason why we have the entrances
face difl'erent directions at our apiary is that
the bees may be better able to mark their
entrances. The similarity of the grape-vines,
the absence of other foliage or stumps, and
other distinguishing objects, render this neces-
sary ; but in many localities a stump here, a
shrub here, a mound there, trees of various
sizes throughout the apiary, serve to mark
each locality, and hence there would be a big
advantage in having the entrances all one
■way. We have diagnosed colonies at the

entrances in much the same -way as Mr.
Dayton speaks of ; and was and is quite a
hobby of ours. — Ed. Gleanings.']

C. W. Daytox, in " Gleanings."

^ormpnkut

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice ivill be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to ivrite on one side of the paper only, and
'give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be dratmi on separate pieces of paper. We
do not U7idertake to return rejected coinniunications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shoivs, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Revieiv, ti-c, must be addressed 07ily to "The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business comnmni-
cations relating to Advertisements, (i:c., must be addressed
«o"The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King Williain-strest, Strand, London, W.C." {see 1st
page of Advertisements).

*,* In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1810.] The grand bee Aveather of the past
fortnight has given a decided impetus to our
craft, and, to use a nautical phrase, we are
fairly under weigh. The high temperature,
combined with brilliant sunshine, has de-
veloped abundant forage for the bees. Fruit
trees are snowy white with bloom, the v?ild
cherries, of which we have a few in the neigh-
bouring woods, are laden ■with blossoms, while
the fields of grass and meadows are studded
with the golden yellow of the dandelion ;
copse and dell are ■white with the mint flower,
the wild anemone. Then, in the near future,
sycamores and hollies promise a wealth of
bloom, and the fields of trifolium and vetches
will increase the breadth of our bee forage by
leaps and bounds ; the dark green of the fields
of sainfoin also betoken an Eldorado of blossom
and honey later on. We are hoping for an
early rain, ■which would increase the chance
of a gleaning from the white clover, of which,
I am sorry to say, Ave have a sparse jjlant in
the grass ley, owing to the prolonged drought
last year.

The present settled Aveather should give an
opportunity of overhauling the hives and
clearing out the accumulations of winter.
Where the apiary is in a healthy condition, a
very expeditious plan is to start with a clean
empty hive. Lift the first hive containing a
colony from the spot on ■which it stands, and
place the empty hive in its place, then transfer
your colony of bees into tbe clean hive, and
during the kw minutes you are doing the job
take note of the condition of the colony, and
act accordingly. The dirty hive can be
thoroughly cleaned out, and colony No. 2
transferred into the hive that erstwhile con-
tained colony No. 1, and so on, to the end of
the job. This method gives a view of the

April 12, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

145

whole brood-nest, takes but a short time to
complete, and gives the bee-keeper an oppor-
tunity of knowing the exact state of every
colony in the apiary.

I should advise bee-keepers to place their
orders for bee appliances promptly, as there
seems every prospect of an early summer, and
manufacturers will be rushed with an influx of
orders all wanted at once, so soon as the news
spreads of a few early swarms in each vicinity.
I called on Mr. Flood, of Reading, last week,
and he showed me some supers of shallow
frames fitted with the wide metal ends, aad
in discussing the points, I certainly think that
we shall reqiiire a wider frame also. Time, of
course, will tell ; but it appears to me that wit^i
very thick honey the combs will receive much
damage on the side that is extracted first
(perhaps Mr. Lamb may enlighten us on thi?
point), my contention was that a wider frame
would protect the comb from injury when
extracting, and also strengthen the comb by
allowing more attachment to the greater sur-
face of the wood. The spacing of brood
frames will be an interesting subject to
discuss. I have always used the "Abbott"
wide - shouldered frames, and bought a
gross of this pattern of Mr. Walton, of
Newark, a few years back ; these frames were
made similar to the Abbott frame, the end
pieces being glued on instead of cut all in one
piece, as in the original, and instead of being
1^ in. were only If in. wide, so that, of course,
was the distance from centre to centre. Now,
the combs built in these frames are the most
perfectly interchangeable of any in my apiary.
The combs are as flat as a board, but with the
li in. spacing the stores project somewhat in
most combs, and render frames unsuitable for
transfer excej^t they are pared down to fit,
and this makes a messing job sometimes. The
only objection I had to the It in. frames was
the fact that I had got so many of the ends
loose from the glue perishing. If Messrs.
Abbott would take the hint, their frames will
be perfect as regards the interchangt^ability of
combs, and if the top bar is increased in
width to l-i'e in. wide, the -^'e in. space beiAveen
top bars would prevent brace combs, or an
increase of width of top bar to 1 in. would,
with the diminished width of shoulder to Ijl,
reduce the present space of g to |. This,
I contend, would efl'ect a great improvement,
both as regards the uniform thickness of the
combs and also the quantity of brace combs
built between the tops of combs brood. — W.
WooDLEy, Bcedon, Newbury.

EARLY HONEY.

[181LJ It has baen my lot for two seasons
past to report a copious honey-flow from the
willows, and again this spring I have to
" echo " the same pleasant tale. This time it
comes to a greater extent than ever. Most
hives seem to be blocked full with new hon^-y.

much of it already sealed. One hive that had
not been touched since August last, when the
surplus honey was removed, was left in a very
slovenly state pending a convenient oppor-
tunity to pack it up for winter ; bat that con-
venient opportunity did not arrive until two
days ago, when, upon tearing off' the doubled-
up quilting, &c., I found, instead of nice clean
frame-top?, a lot of beautifully white, awfully
ugly comb honey. Wherever there was an
open space in the carelessly-thrown-on pack-
ing, it was built up full and stored with new
honey. Every frame (eleven) was blocked full
with either honey or brood, and of course the
hive crammed with bees, despite the fact that
the poor things had had no winter passages
cut, or even a bit of soft cmdy. I never re-
member the bees looking so forivard and
promising at this season of the year before. I
am quite convinced that my best way to get
forward stocks in spring is to allow the bees
to settle down in August; on an abundance of
their own gathered stores, arranged in the
combs just according to their own ideas ; pack
a good covering of sound quilting on the
frames at that date, and not remove it until
March or April following. My opinion is
that, treated so, the queen ceases laying very
early in autumn, and both queen and workers
are resting from that time until almost late in
spring — at any rate, until genial weather
arouses them to activity, when they will go
right ahead without a check as a rule ; and
and stocks that have been stimulated and
pulled to pieces late in autumn, and then
again early in spring, and terrified the winter
long with sofc-candy messengers, will be
found coming along behind — if, indeed, they
are coming at all.

A plentiful supply of honey in the willows,
and warm sunshine, or, failing that, well-
stored hives, is the best spring stimulation. —
Hy. Neve, Heaihfidd, Sussex, April 6.

BEE PROSPECrS IN YORKSHIRE.

[1812.] Bees in this neighbourhood are very
forward, several swarms being already an-
nounced, and all stocks are doing well. I
wonder who Ciin tell us the value of a swarm
in March ? Supposing that " a swarm in May
IS worth a load of hay," a swarm in March
ought to be worth a whole stack. April
swarms will be quite common this year, i.e.,
weather permitting. We have abundance of
food, which the proverbial April showers are
bringing forth. So far everything augurs well
for another splendid summer. By the way,
wasps in this district had a fine time of it last
season, going in and out of hives as though
they belonged to them, and no doubt helping
to distribute foul brood not a little. It seems
to me there is more fear from this source than
from the bees themselves. Bee-keepers in
this district lost a Ijrge number of hives after
sending to the moors, and in most instances
seemed to bhime the wasp for both eating

146

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [April 12, 1894.

honey and broocl. I know they are general
scavengers, having watched thena decapitate a
drone bee in about half a minute and start
chewing away at something which they found
in the head ; but I never gave them credit for
going in for eating the brood ! My bees did
very well at tbe heather. Several of ray best
hives brought me back over 1001b. of honey
each, although there was barely a week's honey
flow, the dry weather making a very short
harvest. — S. Chadwick, Malton, Yorks.,
A])ril 7.

TROUBLE WITH " WELLS ' DIVIDERS

[1813.] In reference to the letter of your
correspondent, " An Enthusiast," in B. J. of
March 29 (1801, p. 125), who complains of
trouble with a perforated divider supplied by
me, I think the hive must be in fault, and not
the divider, as they are all made to fit hives
taking the standard frame, unless any special
size has been ordered, If your correspondent
required a special size divider, and omitted to
mention the fact. However, as the divider
appears to be a little too long to fit his hive, I
may explain that he need not file the tin in
order to shorten it ; a little gentle pressure
will cause the tin to slip ofi" the end quite
easily ; the wood cm then be reduced to any
length required, and the tin replaced as before.
If the divider is too deep, both ends must be
removed, and the tin binding shortened, and
the wood in like manner. If "Enthusiast''
does not care to go to that trouble, I would be
very pleased to make him one to fit his hive
if he will send me the exact measurement
required. — G. Wells, Aijlesford, Kent, April 9.

A QUEEN (?) MONSTROSITY.

[1814.] Enclosed you will find the "queen
bee " I wrote about, and which you desired to
see (1797, p. 123 of your issue for March 29).
I got permission to take it from the Associa-
tion's collection so that I might let you have a
look at it. Kindly let me have it back as soon
as possible after inspection. — N. & N. E. R.

[The " queen (?) monstrosity '' is neither
more nor less than a death's-head moth. — Eds.]

MEAD MAKING.

[1815.] 1 beg to ask if you will call the
attention of friend E. Chapman to his letter
(1764, p. 75) in B. J. of February 22, and the
request iu your footnote ? I should be pleased
to have his recipe for mead making, and have
no doubt that many others would share my
pleasure in seeing his method in print in your
pages.— A. J., Yeo, near Cardiff.

[We will draw Mr. Chapman's attention to
your request, and no doubt he will favour us
with the recipe.— Eds.]

EARLY SWARMING.
[1816.] We were rather surprised to learn
from a paragraph in the local papers that an
old bee-keeper and a neighbour had success-
fully hived two swarms of bees on Easter
Sunday. Naturally, all sorts of remarks were
passed, and sundry doubts expressed as to the
genuineness of the report, witli comments both
as to cause and eftect if true. But as no one was
in a position to give any definite information
we were obliged to wait for further news.
Fortunately, the solution of the problem was
soon put an end to by the appearance of the
luckj'' individual himself, who, on interro-
gation, said it was quite true all the papers had
stated. The first swarm came out of a strong
hive just about noon, and was followed by a
second from another hive about an hour after-
wards. He had put the first into a skep hive,
which had both comb and honey in it. The
second was hived in a skep without any comb,
and this he had fed since with sugar ; both the
swarms are going on all right. The old hives
were working hard carrying in pollen on every
day. He said that he once before had had a
swarm in April, but had never heard of one in
March before. On being asked how long he
had been a bee-keeper, he said as long as he
could remember ; his father had kept bees
when he was a boy. His father was the
general factotum for the famous Sidaey Smith
when he lived at Foston, near Barton Hill.
James Robinson, the owner of the bees, has
lived nearly all his life at Coneysthorpe, in
connection with the Castle Howard estate.
When he was told about the advantages to be
derived from working bees in bar-frame hives,
and asked why he had not tried them, a quiet
smile came over his face as he said that he had
done very well with skeps up to now. —
S. Chadwick, Malton,

QUEEN-REARING IN CANADA.

(Concluded from, page 136.)
[1817.] At the eighth cross yellow blotches
could be seen making their appearance all over
the abdomen. At this cross the workers were
evenly marked — three banded. It has taken
eight more crosses to secure the fourth and fifth
band, the seventeenth cross producing every bee
five banded. The drones are not yet so bright
as I would like. Drones from the same queen
have been used in breeding for four years. I
have not been able to give a reason why a
queen producing uniform stock as regards
colour should not produce queens evenly
marked also, but they don't. In thus breeding
I have been able to establish the gentle
character of the Carniolan, which is now larger
than the original, and have a yellow bee with
five bands and all the good qualities I have
already enumerated ; easily handled without
smoke or veil at any hour of the day, whether
honey is plentiful or not ; queens and drones
being perfectly yellow in colour. We are being
rather misled on this side on this queen

April 12, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

147

business ; no doubt they can be raised in great
numbers, but this will cease, because there is
not proper care given to the rearing; nor
mating. There is too much mechanical work
about the business. We liave onlj' to look at
the queens, they are shrivelled bits of things,
and not the long, deep-bodied queens we tind
produced under natural conditions. These
latter are the sort I want to produce.

Queens cannot be raised so cheap on the
island as on the mainland. The loss so far in
mating has been heavy, owing, I believe, to
our having so much -water about.

This season I had the pleasure of seeing
several queens mated, and it was interesting
to watch the conflict between the drones at
this time. They fight most desperately,
proving that they are not the quiet, timid
creatures we think them. In fact, the " lazy
drone " has the faculty of combativeness
largely developed when occasion requires it.
They assemble in a little swarm, so to speak,
and surround the queen ; sometimes they
come to close quarters, and can be seen striking
and catching at each other, when two or three
will get hold of one another, and can be seen
tumbling nearly to the ground, only to rise
again and renew the fight. I once saw a
newly-mated queen drop within 100 ft. of the
hives. There is a little lagoon in front of my
bee-yard, shallow water with many rushes
growing in it ; seeing her drop in the water, I
waded in, and found her clinging to a rush.
I gave her ten minutes to straighten up and
locate her hive. I was afraid to leave her lest
she should again drop in the water, so I cut
the rush and took her to a stock that had lost
their queen in mating the day previous. I
let her run in, and she was accepted without
any trouble, and proved an Al queen.

It is most interesting to watch the queens
during their mating excursions ; very remark-
able, too, is the diff^erence in the time occupied
in mating ; some are mated on their first trip ;
others will fly out every bright day for many
days and still escape fertilisation, eventually
becoming drone-breeders. Others, again, when
long in mating, will be " balled '■' by the bees ;
and at times escape from their murderous
embrace ; then make another trip ; get mated,
and in returning actually get " balled " again.
This latter is, however, a rare occurrence, it
being very unusual for a colony to reject a
newly-mated queen. As a rule, the home-
coming of the latter is made the occasion of
great rejoicing, in remarkable contrast to the
state of the colony when a queen gets lost in
mating ; in which case nothing restores the
bees' tranquillity but giving them either a
queen-cell or a comb containing eggs and
larvffi. Some queens also are very slow at
leaving the hive on their mating trip, remain-
ing cold and indifferent for over thirty days,
then get mated and do well. Experience leads
me to say that the largest, and to all appear-
ance the strongest, queens are, as a rule, the
most difficult to get mated.

It is desirable that close breeding should be
resorted to in order to make the desired
characteristics indelible. Had not this been
done in the c ise of our domestic animals, the
ett'ects of a cross on any inferior stock would
have been scarcely recognisable. I say, then,
in-and-in breeding among bees is very neces-
sary, because after all it is only natural selec-
tion, and no inj ury can result from this source.
Another peculiarity 1 observed was in the
motion of the drone flight when circling around
the bee-yard. His movements resembled
those of the workers when on long excursions ;
they fly backward with a circular or wobbling
motion with their head to the wind, keeping
an eye, as it were, on the bee-yard.

This is certainly a grand spot to make obser-
vations of this kind, there being nothing to
mar the vision. Any movements can be seen
at a long range with good eyes, and this
watching occupation is very much enjoyed by
myself, as is everything tending to throw any
light on queen-breeding.

The queen I have been breeding from this
past season is a flne yellow one, producing
perfectly yellow drones. The bees are evenly
marked, only four banded, and great honey
gatherers. Last year I secured 200 lb. from
the hive before the stock was sent to the
island. It was sent about the middle of July,
and gathered an additional 100 lb. there,
besides giving me an additional strong colony
by dividing, and four nucleus stocks that
winter safely. It has also supplied all the
larva for queens, and raised from 15,000 to
20,000 drones. Not a bad record.

So far as the latest system of queen-rearing
goes, I love genius, but I do think there are
too many mechanical operations about this
latest plan of queen-rearing. Like the auld
wife, I think '• the auld ways are best,'' and
from them will come the best results. I also
tested the power of drones, the oftspring of
fertile w^orkers, and found them perfectly
capable of mating queens, but cannot say
much about the stock till next season. If
raised in drone cells I believe these drones are
just as good as those from a fertile queen.

I would like to have said something about
Cjueen-introducing, as there is something in
tnis that batttes all my ingenuity, but this
letter is already too long, so I must defer
adding anything till a future day. — John
Mc Arthur, Toronto, Canada.

(^m'm mi ^i^lm.

[996.] Lo£s of Queens in Sprinc/. — Can
you explain and advise me concerning the
following ;— Last autumn I put two stocks,
both rather weak but with good young queens,
into a " Wells " hive, where they had every-
thing they could wish for, including a maho-
gany dummy i in, thick and pierced with 480

148

THE MlTlSil BEE JOURNAL. [ApHl 12, 1894.

holes of the proper bize. Both stocks wintered
well, and both queens bagan to lay early. On
March 8 I gave all my bees some flour-candy
to stimulate them. I was so well satisfied
with the look of the bees in the " Wells " hive
that I did not make an examination until
March 26. Then I looked into the one side
only and found lots of sealed brood and every-
thing g)ing on well. I did not look iato the
other compartment because the bees in itseemed
just as strong and brisk. No bees could or did
get past the Wells- dummy, which was fixed
in guides on the sides of the hive to prevent
the possibility of warping. The wood had not
shrunk and the quilt had not been moved or
creased or puckered at the top. On March
28 our Association expert came round
and we examined the untouched half of the
hive and found no queen, no eggs, all the
brood hatched out — some newly-hatched bees
being seen — and plenty of stores. The holes
in the Wells dummy were all propolised up.

1. What had become of the queen ? The
entrances are cloie together as in other " Wells"
hives I see advertised for sale. There was
plenty of sealed brood next to the Wells
dummy in the other stock. I removed the
Wells dummy, replacing it with an ordinary
one, and opeued about 100 holes and put it iu
again. Two days later, when I thought the
bees would have acquired the same scent,
united the two lots and put them on one side
of the hive.

The loss of the queen ha? not be^n my only
misfortune, however, for as I h.id determined
to try the Wells system I began to move the
next hive — a ten-frame Sriogle one — towards
the Wells hive, in order to put the stock of
bees into the empty half of the Wei's hive.
But, observing that the bees were not working
as they ought to have been doing, and were not
bringing inmuch pollen, lyesterday (April 2) ex-
mined this &tock,which I hadnot touched before,
except to place a cake of candy over the feed-
hole. Neither queen nor egg>^, pit- nty of stores,
a little sealed brood, and one or two unsealed
larvai, showing that the queen was there until
about a week before— that is, before I had
begun to move the hive, and long after I had
put the candy in. There is one queen cell
sealed over — a very small one — on one of the
combs, but I could see no drone cells. 2.
What shall I do ? Is it any good leaving the
bees to themselves on the chance of the queen
hatching out and getting fertilised by chance
drones from other places '( There are certainly
no drones in my ap ary yet, and are not likely
to be for three weeks, 1 should say. I think
of uniting these cjueenless bees with those in
the " Wells " hive, and so getting a strong
single lot of bees and working them on the
single plan, and then I should remove that
queen cell. 3. Would this be the best thing
to do ? My candy was made of cane sugar
and lentil flour according to the recij^e in the
JB.B.K. guidcrbook, and the bees like it. My
other five lots are doinff well aad increasing;

fast. 4. What has become of my No. 5 single
hive queen ? There has been very little
robbing, and that only by single bees. 5. Do
single robbers kill the queen ? — Aubrey
Edwakds, Orleton, April 3.

Eeply. — 1. Excepting for your tell-tale
dates we should have judged the loss of
queen in the " Wells '' hive to be one of the
misfortunes to which all colonies of bees are
more or less liable. But when we read of
" newly - hatched bees being seen " just
twenty daj's after "stimulating'' was began
on the 8th ult., it becomes apparent that the
mishap to the queen occurred on that date,
and that no eggs were laid subsequently.
2. Here, again, dates seem to point conclu-
sively to the fact that the queen was lost or
killed on the day the hive was first moved.

Of course, it is not fur us to say whether the
respective operations referred to were or were
not carefully carried out, but it is certain that
in early spring bees are extremely sensitive to
anything like awkward handling or injudicious
interference. We have referred to the matter
more fully on another page, to which please
refer.

As to what should be done in the second
case of loss of queen, there does not seem
much to hope for in the " very small queen
cell" now in the hive, so we should
examine it (the cell) at once — as it will be
due for hatching — and if, as we expect, it
should prove a barren cell, remove it, give the
bees a comb with eggs and brood from another
hive, and let them try again. Should they
stare queen cells, there will be drones by the
time they are due.

[997.] Returning Second &warms. — May I
trespass upon your kindness by asking a few
qitestions respecting your reply to F. 0., Kent
(984, p. 128), Bee' Journal of March 29 : —
1. We will suppose the first swarm from the
skep is run into a frame-hive. When return-
ing ilie secon I swarm on the morning after its
issue from the skep, would you return the
queen of that swarm, as well as the swarm, to
the skep ? 2. As the old skep would be stuck
t J floor-board, in order to 'return the second
swarm would you throw it in front of the old
skep, or would you adopt any other method 'I

3. How would surplus queens be got rid of by
returning the second swarm to the skep ?

4. When, on twenty-first day after the issue of
the first swarm, the whole of the bees are
driven from the skep, would "you place them
in frame-hive containing the first swarm, or
would yoit rua them into another similar
frame-hive ? I have so far refrained from
troubling you, hoping your valuable and most
useful paper would contain the desired infor-
mation before transferring time. I propose
this year to discard .skep^ in favour of frame-
hives. — Fredk. Lewis Helps.

Reply. — 1. Yes. 2. The skep will, of
course, recpire to be released from iloor-board
and raising up an inch or so in front to allow

April 12, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

149

the bees to run in. 3. Leave that to the bees.
4. Treat them exactly as a swarm by giving
another fraiue-hive.

[9.98.] Using Fa-mcutcd Honey as Bee-
Food. — I have some bottled honey that I had
reserved for bee-food. Some was crushed out
of old store combs, and contains a little pollen.
Theiest v/as the last few inches left in the
extractor. All of it has fermented a little,
and smells of beer. Must it be thrown away,
or could it be used to make vinegar, or other-
wise ?— H. 0. W.

Reply. — The very presence of pollen in the
honey would account for the fermentation
under the conditions stated. If boiled along
with a little water we should not scruple
about using it for bee-food at this seaf-on.

[999.] Bees Propolising "■Wells" Dummy.
— 1. Please say of what variety is tbe enclosed
bee. It is one from a strong colony I have
iust bought, the description of which was not
given at the time. They are fairly quiet to
handle, and are working well. Would you
advise queen raising from this stock for my
other frame-hipes? 2. In looking at a new
" Wei's" hive 1 made, I find the dummy sup-
plied by Mr. Well;--, altbouoh put in but a
fortnight' since, has its holes filled up with
propolis. iSeeing this is so, does not this
seem a fatal defect since the scent can
scarcely be general through both com-
partments of the hive ? 3. What would you
do with a queenless stock in a skep ? The
bees are quiet and carry in no pollen. Should
1 fix. up some of the brood-combs in frames
and put the skep on the top of a frame-hive ?
Comparing my stocks now being stimulated
with those that are not, there is a marked
difference in the ones fed from the others. —

E^•THUSIAST.

Reply. — 1. Bee sent is, we think, a cross
between Ligurians and Carniolan. We should
not hurry to le-queen all other stocks from
the stock it came from, till the merits or
otherwise of the bees have been te-ted for a
season. 2. If the bees in both compartments
are not crowded on to the perfoiatea dummy
when first put ioto the hive, it is almost
certain that the perforations will b^ stopped
up. The fatal defect lies in not taking care
tint both clusterj of bees are kept in close
proximity to each other. 3. We should ex-
amine and see th^t the bees in skep are free
from disease before doing anything by way of
utilising them, and, under any circumstances,

would do no more than unite them to another

stock wanting bees.

(^t\\m% from tlic §irw,

Privdt, Ayling, Hants, Ajyril 7 — I ex-
amined my hives on April 3. Bees have all
come through the winter well, having only
lost one stock ; the hive was full of ^tores bv^t

bees all gone, I think through loss of queen,
I find honey is now being stored in combs,
which is very early for this neighbourhood,
Ihe fine weather is everything a bee-keeper
could wish for ; the trees are coming into
blossom very (arly. — F. G. Ayling.

HOW TO MAKE BEE-KEEPING MORE
PROFITABLE.

Condensed from a Faj^er 7\(td before (he
Ontario B.K.A. of Canada, by R. F.
HoLTERMANN, Ed. " Canadian B.J."
Greater exercise of intelligence, greater appli-
cation, and greater thought, applied to any
calling, makes it more remunerative and more
profitable. In treating this subject however,
it is not my intention to deal directly with
that phase of the question. The successful
production of any agricultural product depends
upon that which lit-s within the power of man,
and that which is b stowed by .Divine Provi-
dence. After the recent triumphs of our bee-
keepers at the World's Columbian Expojition,
and after the distinction we have always won
when our honey wys entere.l into competition
with the world, I need not do any more than
leniind Canadians that Prjvidence has richly
endowed our land with the best climate, soil,
and flora under which the choicest honey can
be produced in paying qnaatitie?. No Cana-
dian will wish to dispute this, no other dare
deny i^. Those engaged in agricultural pur-
suits can primarily increase the profits of their
calling by decreasing the co&t of production
and improving its quality, making it more
desirable in the markets of the world. To
decrease the cost of producing honey we must
ad0f<t the best known methods, and then look
for still better. There is no doubt that by
better methods in preparing bees for winter
and better " wiotering,'' an immense gain can
be made. At present too often queenless and
enfeebled colonies are wintered. The apiary
should be caieTully examined, and anything of
a doubtful Datura in this respect destroyed.
Next, instead of guessing that bees have
enough for winter and finding out when too-
late that they have insufficient stores, they
must be e.\;amined and weighed as soon as the
combs are fairly free from brood, say about.
October 1. Any one not able to do this should
not keep bees. The capital being the same
and without much increase in labour, by proper-
preparation for winter and care during that,
season, colonies will come out of winter quar-
ten as strong as many now are when clover-
blossom opeos, and therefore we would be
enabled to get in an average season fully fifty
per cent, more honey from our apiary.

Again, whilst the entire prevention of
swarming will probablj' never take place,
excessive swarming could be prevented by
means of room givfii in the hive aft the proper
time, shading during the middle of hot summer
days, and proper ventilation, and t)he novice
would get honeys \u.s.tead, o^; ig.rrea&e-.. The-

150

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [April 12, 1894.

majority of bee-keepers use only one super
•whether working for comb or for extracted
honey. Thi«, in either case, is the falsest of
economy. I would sooner have less hives and
more supers on them.

Bee-keepers should also turn their attention
in the direction of desirable strains of bees.
More attention paid to results and less to
colour of bee would be a step in the right direc-
tion. Where would our milking and beefing
breeds of cattle be unless practical utility had.
been kepi in view in breeding ? The quality
of honey, too, can be improved in various
ways. In comb-honey a clean section, free
from travel stain, well filled, of even surface
and not weighing more than 14 oz. or 15 oz. is
desirable. Clean sections can be obtained by
having A^entilation only from the bottom or
entrance of the hive, with clean hives and
the bees kept close to the swarming impulse,
removing sections as soon as the harvest is
over. Even surfoced sections, and sections
not too heavy can be secured by means of
separators and a section 4^ by 4J;-, seven to the
foot or less. The day has gone by for making
comb-honey without separators. It has gone
by for a section any wider than above-men-
tioned. In extracting honey we must be
careful not to allow dark and light honey to
mix. Nothing has injured the development
of our markets more than the practice of ex-
tracting honey before it is properly ripe. To
talk about ripening honey after taking it from
the hive is impracticable, visionary ; and to
take unripe honey and advocate such a prac-
tice only leads to having it placed upon the
market in bad condition and stopping its con-
sumption in many homes to which it is taken,
to the great injury of bee-keepers.
(Conclusion next week.)

Notices to Correspondentsand Inquirers.

All queries forwarded uill he attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be ansrvered in this colnmn.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufac-
turers or correspondents, or where appliances can be
purchased, or replies giving such info rmaiion, can only
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to jiress in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot ahcays be replied to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of their communica-
tion.

George Molton (Tye-green). — If increase of
stocks is desired, you cannot do better than
allow the skeps to swarm naturally ; this
they will probably do early if now strong
and no super room is given. To transfer
the bees, as proposed, would only tend to
stop increase. Many thanks for sending
particulars regarding the " Good Friday
swarm.''

F. B. Booth. Treatment of Foul Brood. — We
are sorry to say the successful treatment of
foul brood requires a deeper knowledge of
the disease than our correspondent appears

to possess at present. Mixing phenol
ajicl salicylic acid in syrup for bee-food is
proceeding without much knowledge of the
ingredients used, or the reasons for their
use, and it causes us to be doubtful as to our
correspondent's ability to say with certainty
if the disease exists in the hive at all. We
should be glad to have a sample of the comb
with dead brood in it for inspecti( n before
advising further — particularly as ■« e lind no
reference to "hooking out deadbiooi" in
the article on page 132.

R. Hefford. — Comb sent is unmistakably
affected with foul brood.

Henry Linstead (Garboldisham). — Honeij-
coivh Designs. — These are advertised in our
issue of the 8th ult , by Mr. Cox, of
Brampton, Northants.

Amatter (Sydenham). — There should be no
difficulty in keeping a hive of bees in the
space stated.

F. Jellico. — -If the frames referred to have
proved perfectly satisfactory in your hands,
we should not advise any change. Both
kinds serve the same purpose. It is merely
a matter of personal preference.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Sitxiations. Publications, Bee Plants, <fcc. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
ivords or under. One Penny.

WANTED, Good CARPENTERS or .JOINERS, for
Bee-hive work. All piecework, at good prices.
Thomas B. Blow. AVelwyn, Herts.

ANTED, a few SfOCKS of Healthy BEES, with

or without hives, for cash. Address, William

Robertson, Keirfield Cottages, Bridjre-of-Allan. B 51

EES (Carniolans) FOR SALE" Swarms (including

skep), 24s. each ; two, 44s. C. MouREr, Five Ways,

Neston, Chester. I> 52

Tj-OR SALE, a FEW Prime Laying QUEENS, at 5s. ;

Jj also strong flourishing STOCKS. Hy. Neve,

Heathfield, Sussex. D 53

KREE"~BAR7FRAMED hives. Supers and 'Ekes,

(Jomb and Honey in Frames, Smoker, tliirty Jiee~

Keepers' Eecord. and Appliances. Price £2. 10s. B.. 125,

Rushey-green, Catford, Kent. D54

ANTED, CYLINDERr~EXTRACTOR, in good con-
dition, for cash. Thomas Ellerker, Nawton,

Yorks. D 55

L^NGLISH and ITALIAN BEES for SALE. T. HiLL,
rL Scotlands, v.\Tnnock-road, Wolverhampton. D 56

FOR SALE, 100 Straw Hives, Is. each ; Observatory
Hive for two frames, in black and gilt case, and one
single frame ditto, fit for "Royal" Show; al«o new
"Wells" Hive. What offers? H. Seamark, Willing-
ham, Cambs. D 57

OR SALE.—" Wells " Hive, with 20 standard frames
and dummy; also Frame Hive, with 11 standard
frames ; 1 gross 2-lb. Tie-over Honey Jars ; six 3s. Frame
Box-Feeders ; 2 Queen-cages ; A-gross Standard Frames
in the flat ; 3 Pair Gloves with sleeves ; 3 Pair Gauntlets ;
3 Bottles "Cheshire Cure for Foul Brood"; 3 Y'ucca
Brushes : Straw Skep with comb ; Stand and Zinc
Cover ; Zinc Skep-cover and Stand ; 500 Gummed Labels,
"Pure English Honey " ; 4 Spray Disf users ; 2 Winter
Passage Cutters ; Show Case for 12 sections, with spring
travelling crate; 2 Supers of 30 (4Jx4ix^) sections.
Accept S5s. the lot. Offers invited for portion.— Walter
SiMNETT, 76, Guild-street, Burton-on-Trent. D 50

ANTED, SECTIONS (any quantity), and HONEY in
bulk. State price, &c. Orders also given for
coming season. Packages sent. AA(\Te&s,'B.., Bee Journal
Office, 17, King William-street, Strand. IQg

Gr\r\ LBS. BEST QUALITY' HONEY. What offers
\J\J\J per lb. Saiuple 2d

Ascott, Oxford.

Apiarist, Fairspeir,
Ii44

April 19, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

151

#dit0riiil ^0tia5> i^r*

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — The Avarmth and sunshine
of a week ago has, here in the south,
given place to a cooler temperature and
very copious rains, which, however
irritating to the bee-keeper who realises
only the fact that it has put a stop to
honey-storing for the time — is doing in-
calculable good to the agricultural in-
terests of th3 country generallj'. Honey
was being stored with tremendous
rapidity for a few days in many of the
southern counties before the welcome
April showers began and put a stop to
foraging, and Avill no doubt be resumed
if the weather again becomes dry and
Avarm, while the orchards are still in
bloom. But the want of rain Avas be-
ginning to be so badly felt that bee-
keepers Avould indeed be thinking onl}'' of
self if they grudged their own small loss
Avhen so enormous a majority are bene-
fited by what has in a trifling degree
lessened iheir profits. There is also
abundant promise of a fine time for
the " May .leathering ' in the present foi-
ward condition of stocks. A condition
which should encourage entries for the
" Royal" at Cambridge and others of our
earlier summer shows. It may be- well
here to remind those desiring to exhibit
at the " Royal," that entries may be
made up to May 1, with the advantage
of having the entry-fees returned should
the weather bo so unfavourable for
honey-gathering as to prevent them from
sending their exhibits.

Honey-clogged Brood-chambers.—
Judging by accounts received from
various quarters in the south, there is
considerable danger^ — in early fruit dis-
tricts— of queens being cramped for
breeding space in consequence of the
brood-combs being completely filled with
honey. We are told of bees "hanging-
out " as if preparing for swarming, but
on examining the combs it is found that
no cells are left for brood, all being
choked up with honey. In such cases
not an hour should be lost in clearing
two or three frames by putting them
through the extractor, uncapping other
honey that may be sealed over, and (after
replacing the empty combs) setting on

surplus chambers so that the bees carry
some of the contents of the honey-
clogged combs into the upper storey.
Where hives have been contracted for
Avinter there is also urgent need just noAV
for attention lest room be Avanted for
egg-laying.

Spring Feeding and Stimulation.
— It is a comfort to hear how little of
spring-feeding Avill be required this year,
and, so far as can be gathered from
reports coming in, not much spring
stimulation either, because of the abund-
ance of income in many parts. The
latter fact is not only gratifying but
advantageous in every Avay, seeing that
no possible stimulation of an artificial
character can approach in effectiveness
that given by Avarm, sunny Aveather, and
the consequent plentiful supply of natural
food available to the bees in such bloom
as is seen at the present time in the
fruit orchards of our southern counties.
In later districts, feeding Avill be very
helpfulif judiciously done, i.e., by making
the syrup thin, giving it AA^arm, and
keeping up the supply slowly and con-
tinuously as advised in our last " Hints."

Another AVasp Plague. — If the
frequent letters now appearing in leading
morning papers are to be taken as pos-
sessing either accuracy or reliability, Ave
are likely to be "in " for another " Avasp
plague " this year. For many days past
accounts appear of the large number of
queens already appearing in their usual
haunts, and calling for the extermination
of the pests. We don't knoAv hoAV far
the exterminating process is to go, but,
even for the sake of variety only, it was
refreshing to read a plea for the poor
Avasp in a recent issue of the Standard,
Avherein the Avriter says : — " While your
correspondents are triumphantly record-
ing the number of queen Av-asps they are
daily destroying among their fruit-trees,
it may not occur to them that these insects,
Avhich they so ruthlessly destroy, are in
the act of rendering them a most useful
service. At this season of the year the
buds and young shoots of fruit-trees are
ravaged by various sorts of aphides, &c.,
and their attacks not only affect the
present year's groAvth and crop, but
tend to permanently injure the health
of the trees. It is for the purpose
of seizing, carrying off, and devour-
ing these marauders that the Avasps are

152

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. .[April 19, 1894.

now visiting the fruit-trees, in which so
many of them have met their unhappy
fate." He also contends that only a small
portion of the cjueens which come out in
spring ever succeed in establishing a
" nest,"and concludes as follows : — "I also
venture to think that the destruction of
queens at this season serves no useful
purpose, but only deprives the destroyer
of the good offices of those insects which
have found their way to, and are in the
habit of frequenting, his fruit-trees."

Having said this good Avord for the
much-hunted vespa, "we leave bee-keepers
to deal with her according to her
"merits."

BRITISH
BEE - KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Meeting of the committee, h^ld at 105,
Jermyn - street, on Thursday, 12oh inst.,
present : — Mr. H. Jonas (vice-chairman) in
the chair, Major Fair, Messrs. W, B. Carr,
J. Garratt, W. 0. B. Glennie (treasurer), E. 1).
Till, J. M. Hooker (cx-officio), and J. Huckle
(secretary').

Commuoications were received from Mr.
( 'Owan and Mr. P. Scattergood, junr., regrpt-
ting their inability to be present. The
minutes of the last meeting were read and
confirmed, the statement of accounts to March
31 were submitted by the fioance committee
and approved. On the motion of Mr. Hooker,
seconded by Mr. Jonas, it was resolved " Ihat
the committee do tender to the Rev. L>r.
Barcrum on his retirement from the com-
mittee, their grateful recognition of his long
and valuable services to the association during
the many years that he has officiated as a I
member of the committee." The chairman
was requested to communicate this resolution
to Dr. Bartrum on behalf of the committee.
Letters were read (1) from the secretary of
the Bach and West of England Agricultural
Society, promising support towards the
necessary outlay incurred in providing lectures
and instruction in bee-keeping at their auniiLil
exhibition to be held at Guildford. Resolved
unanimously that the offer of the Bath and
West of England Agricultural Society be
accepted, and that the necessary arrangements
be made by the secretary. (2) From the secre-
tary of British Dairy Fanuer.V Association,
soliciting the support of the British Bee-
keepers' Association towards the fund to be
offered as prizes for honey at the annual
JJairy Show of 1894. It was resolved to
suggest to the Dairy Farmers' Association
that classes be arranged /or the exhibition of
honey in commercial packages of 7, 14, and
28 lb., suitable for the wholesale trade, and
that, subject to the adoption of the proposal,
the Pritish Bee-keepers' Assoclanoa would

contribute a specified sum towards the amount
awarded in prizes.

The Exhibition Sub-committee presented
their report, recommending that arrange-
ments be made far holding a meeting
of bee-keepers in the show-yard at Cambridge,*
and also at Canterbury, in connection with the
exhibition of the Royal Counties Agricultural
Society to be held at Canterbury. Resolved
that the proposals of the Exhibitions Com-
mittee be adopted.

The following new members were elected,
viz : — •

Mr. A. Allott, Kesbro, near Barnsley ; Mr.
C. Long, Cottenham, near Cambridge.

Arrangements were made for conducting the
annual examination of candidates for first-
class certificates to be held in London on
May 10.

* This meeting will be held on either Wednesday or
Thursday in the show week, as convenient to the
Eoyal Agricultural Society.

Ofarrapaud^nce.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice vrill be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a [/uarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be draivii on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relatiny to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shoics, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, ctr., must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British P.ee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, li-c, must be addressed
to "The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King WilUam-strest, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of Advertisements).

',' In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
iBhen speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

A DWINDLING STOCK.

QUERIES AND REPLIES REVIEWED.

[1818.] I started the Journal with the
new ycir, and in consequence of having kept
bee 4 in skep for some year or so, so that I
might learn " how to do it,'' the query and
your reply (996, p. 147) this week makes me
place before you a few observations, and if you
can help me I shall feel much obliged.

Last autumn I put together two stoclis
from skeps in a frame-hive, made sure of one
queen being there, and fed with about 16 lb.
of syrup. They wintered well, were strong in
February, and busy carrying j^ollen only about
four wet-ks ago ; smce then I find on examina-
tion that only ab^ut a handful remain, yet
there are young bees and brood (and dead
brood), plenty of stores, but they only con-
sumed abouc 1 lb. of candy given in January.
I find no trace of a queen ; so inquire for your
verdict ? Also, what I can best do with the
hive ? Await swarms, or make an artificial

April 19, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

153

one from a skep ? which I see is fast coming
on to swarm. Referring to the skep mentioned,
I see, on the ground, in front of it, (|uite a
tablespoonful or more of pollen dropped by the
bees. The entrance is free enough, and I
should like to know how you account for it, as
neither of the other hives is like it, and I have
noticed but very little robbing.

And in your reply to 9U7 (p. 148) will
you kindly explain why you do not advise
uniting the stock, twenty-one days alter, with
the swarm in the framt-hive ? My idea was
that, if the old queen were removed from the
swarm, and the stock with the young queen
nnited with them, they together would work
faster and better, and store more freely during
the honey flow than would be the case if
working in separate hives. — W. H. M.,
G/astonbury, April 14.

[If a piece of comb containing the " dead
brood "' mentioned is sent, it will assist us
much in arriving at a verdict, and in advising
as to your future dealing with tbe hive. We
cannot account for such quantities of pollen
being foimd en the ground — nothing but an
inspection of the skep would enable us to ofl'er
any explanation of so unusual an occur-
rence. We deprecated adding the bees to the
original or top swarm because, under the cir-
cumstances detailed, they would be quite
strong enough in themselves to form a good
stock ; besides seeing other obvious advantages
in the course we recommended. — Eds.]

A CASE FOR THE BENEVOLENT.

[1819.] I have jtist received a letter from an
old friend and bee-keeper, with whom I got
acquainted at the first Crystal Palace show in
1874, and whereat he was a notable prize-
winner. He has been trying for the last three
years or more to get his daughter admitted as
an inmate of the Earls wood Asylum for Idiots.
He tells me the next election takes place on
April 26, and as the case is a most deserving
one, I thought if you would kindly insert this
letter, asking ladies or gentlemen who,
being readers of the B.J., have votes, they
might, after incpiry into the merits of
the case, kindly give them in the interest
of Bertha Martin, aged 18, daughter of
William Martin, a cottager bee-lieeper, Well
Cottage, Downley, High Wycombe. — John
Walton, Weston, Leamington, April 11.

NATURAL STIMULATION.
[1820.] I am particularly and personally
interested in Mr. Henry Neve's report of
early honey from the willows (No. 1,811, p.
145), having recently secured a location in the
Heathfield district for the establisliment of a
large apiary. When visiting the place at the
latter part of winter I noticed the great abun-
dance of these early pollen-bearers — a sight
I had missed for many years. I do not think
there is anything of greater advantage in early

spring for waking the bees up to the fullest
activity, but it is only in such unusually mild
springs as this and the last that any amount
of liquid store is secured from that source.

In this district (Seaford) Ave have little in
the way of natiual assistance until the field
crops come in ; but then in the autumn honey
is stored heavily long after the bees in wooded
districts have been lying idle. Jn Mr. Neve's
locality I should want to help those natural
resources (as I hope to do ia my own case),
and use up much more of the early stores in
develojiing a larger brood-nest in preparation
for the greater harvest to come My expeii-
ence has been that where the brood-chamber
is overcrowded with stores early in the season,
the bees are placed at a great disadvantage,
and seldom do si well thereafter, as the owners
anticipated. ''Plenty of honey in the wil-
lows and Avarm sunshine," as Mr. Neve says,
cannot fail to stimulate the bees to great
acivity ; but where those blessings are not
enjoyed, many a bee-keeper has to thank his
own exertions for brintjing up his stock to the
right condition in time for the first honey-
flaw.

That those golden willows may continue
each year to yield their bounteous gifts, and
that the merry sunshine may always smile
upon the wingtd labourers in their frequent
journeys while gathering the harvest, is the
earnest wish of — S. Simmins.

HOW TO MAKE WHITE MEAD.

[1821.] The following recipe for making
white mead is a hundred years old ; I have
tried it myself and found io a good one ; you
might perhaps insert it in Bek Journal : —
" Take a gallon of honey and 8 gallons of
water, put on together in a kettle, and boil it
well till it comes to 6 gallons ; then pour it out
into a large vessel of earth or lead, let it stand
till it is almost cold, then put to it a little
yeast to make it work ; when it has worked a
while put it into a barrel and stop it close.
Let it stand five months, then bottle it off and
put into every bottle a clove and a little lemon-
peel." — T. Hill, Wolverhampton, April 15.

HOPEFUL PROSPECTS FOR THE
COMING SEASON.

[1822.] In our little village, I am glad to
say, no 1 ceding is wanted this spring, as all
the bees 1 have seen (and they are not a few)
are storing honey more like midsummer than
April, including my own. One of my stocks
has had a box of sliallow frames on all winter.
I cut all comb out of it at the end of last
season, and gave the bees the dripping frames
back to clean up. On looking into this hive
on the last day of March th's year, in order tc
remove the frames and put foundation in
them, I found that the beea had more than
half-filled them with honey and comb, built

154

THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL. [April 19, 1894.

nearly as straight as the bars. If the present
fine time continues I shall have a full crate of
shallow frames to take off in a fortnight's time,
or less. I do not remember ever to have
heard of such an early season. I may say the
stock mentioned is a very strong one, and was
also a strong one in the early part of last year,
when on a hot day in June I raised the quilts
and cover a few inches to give the bees air,
and, behold ! a strong stray swarm took
possession of the roof and joined the stock.
The combined forces then settled down quite
peaceably, and went to work with a will ; and
I think I never saw such a mass of bees, not
being able to part them, so gave plenty of
room, and they did well. They are also
giving me every promise of doing better this
year. I have put crates of sections on one or
two others of my neighbours' hives. Wishing
you and all other bee-keepers a prosperous
year. — Taos. Adams, Baihvay Cottages, Ely,
near Cardiff', Ai)ril 10.

BEE PEOSPECTS IN BERKS.

[1823.] I have just made a first examination
of all my hives, three weeks later than I did
the same thing last year, as I then lost four
queens by disturbing them so early. They
have come through the winter very satisfac-
torily. All are strong, healthy, and very fur-
ward, with a large quantity of brood in every
hive, some havin^ seven frames of brood.
Drones are out, and two queen-cells started in
one hive. Little feeding wanted if this warm
weather lasts, as bees are getting honey fast.
Horse-chestnut and apple coming into bloom.
I am hoping we shall have a better honey-
year than in 1893, which was the worst year I
have experienced since taking to the bar-frame
hive ; my average was under 20 lb. per hive
last year. — G. Head, WinhfieJd, April 14.

DO BEES HEAE ?

[1824] Referring to Mr. Bois' article, ^^Do
Bees Hear ? " on page 95 of B.J. for March 8,
the question meets an authoritative answer in
Gilbert White's letter, No. XXXVIII., dated
from Selborne, February 12, 1778. His letter
is on the subject of an echo, and he remarks : —

" One should have imaguied that echoes, if
not entertaining, must at least have been
harmless and inoffensive ; yet Virgil advances
a strange notion, that they are injurious to
bees. After enumerating some probable and
reasonable annoyances, siich as prudent owners
would wish far removed from their bee-
gardens, he adds : —

■ aid uhi concava ptilsu

Saxa sonant, vocisguc offensa residtat imago?

"This wild and fanciful assertion," Gilbert
White goes on to say, "will hardly be
admitted by the philosophers of these days,
especially as they all i^ow seem agreed that

insects are not furnished with any organs of
hearing at all. But if it should be urged that,
though they cannot hear, yet perhaps they
may feel the repercussion of soitnds, I grant it
is possible they may. Yet that these impres-
sions are distasteful or hurtful I deny, because
bees in good summers thrive well in my outlet,
where the echoes are very strong, for this
village is another Anathoth — a place of re-
sponses and echoes. Besides, it does not
appear from experiment that bees are in any
way capable of being affected by sounds, for I
have often tried my own Avith a large speak-
ing-trumpet held close to their hives, and with
such an exertion of voice as would have
hailed a ship at the distince of a mile, and
still these insects pursued their various em-
ployments undisturbed, and without showing
the least sensibility or resentment." — A Kent
Bbe-keepbr.

APPLIANCE DEALERS

AND THEIR CUSTOMERS.

[1825.] I do not wonder at bee-keepers
crying out at the treatment they receive at
the hands of appliance dealers if they deal
with the manufacturer whose name I enclose.

I sent him an order for appliances early in
January, and afcer sending me a receipt he
took no further notice, until I called the
attention of our editors to the subject, thouyh
I wrote three times to know when my order
would be fulfilled. After our editors c-illed
the attention of the dealer referred to
to this matter, he coolly wrote to me to say,
" He did not intend running away with my
money, and had he known I was in want of
appliances, he would have sent on before.''
This in itself was not true, as he did know.
I have heard nothing of appliances up to this
date, 10th inst., and have stocks ready for
supering, and there is a fine flow of honey
from fruit blossom.

I am quite aware our editors cannot helia
these things ; yet I think it only right they
should know how readers of our Journal are
sometimes served by those who advertise
therein.— W. G. Kight.

WEATHER REPORT.

Abbot's Leigh, Hatward's Heath, Sussex,
1894,

Week endins

Mar. 24.

Mar. 31.

April 7.

April 14.

Max.

temp.

... 58°

62°

70°

72°

Min.

... 27°

32°

38°

36°

Mean

max.

... 51-5°

60-1°

66'5°

46-1°

min.

... 35-1°

35°

40-1°

421°

temp.

... 43-3°

47-5°

53-3°

53-1°

sun.

... 62-5°

77-6°

78-6°

76'2°

Rain

(in.).

—

•06

•03

•34

Wind

, ,..

...N&NE

NE

N&NE

NE&SW

B. Inglis.

April 19, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

155

NOVELTIES FOR 1894.

meadows' new method of

wiring frames.

The inventor of the
above, in describing the
method of wiring, says : —
"The difficulty hitherto
has been to know how to
wire frames easily and
with little trouble. This
has been overcome, as is
made clear in the sketch.
Another difficulty has
been in getting the frames
to stand the wiring. This
is remedied by the intro-
duction of two small tin
girders which fit ioto the
top bar through the slot
made for foundation, and
another takes the place of
the wood bottom bar,
which is not really neces-
sary, bat can be split
through and half put on
each side of girder."

THE NEW COWAN EXTRACTOR.

This machine is made on the principle of
that designed by Mr. Gow^n in 1875, with
several important imp.ovements added.
Be.'^ides the addition of M^adows' patent
backing to the cage^, the principal new feature
introduced is a special gearincr, which is
turned at the side of machine. The cages are
reversible, so that both sides of frame can be

extracted without taking out to turn. The
cages may also be instantly lifted out for
cleaning, or to pack pieces of comb in. They
can be re-fixed when full. The whole inside
may be removed by unscrewing two nuts, so
that cylinder may be used for other purposes.

^m'm and |lf^ltf.!i.

[1000.] Catching Sivarms from Hollow Trc.
— 1. A larye swarm of bees about three yeais
ago settled in a hollow tree, the aperture being
about 30 fo. from the ground. Last season a
swarm came out twice, but returned to the
hole. Can any one suggest a way of catching
the next swarm 'I Would an empty hive be
of any use placed near the tree ? 2. Which is
the best kind of foreign bee ; also the best way
of introducing them ? 3. What advantages
can they claim over the English bees ? 4. Can
they extract honey from the red clover, or
from any plants that the English bees cannot ?

5. In which numbers of your Bee Journal
could I find good accounts of foreign bees ?

6. Which would be the best variety to cross
with the English, and the best way of doing
it 1 The climate here is very mild. 7. Which
pays best to work for, comb or extracted
honey? — Bee-keeper, Cardiff, April 11.

Eeply. — 1. Under the circumstances, keep-
ing a look-out for the swarm and securing it
in the ordinary way after clustering is the
only plan of "catching" we can suggest.
2. By those who like foreign bees the Car-
niolan is often preferred on account of i's
quietness, but it is much given to swarming.
Some, however, choose the Ligurian in prefer-
ence. 3. Not a few experienced bee-keepers
consider they possess no iid vantage whatever
over the native bee for use in this country, but
rather the reverse. 4. No. 5. Our journal of
late years contains more adverse accounts than

156

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [April 19, 1894.

otherwise of foreign bees, but we cannot
undertake the labour of searching out the
pages wherein such accounts appear. Advo-
cates of the Ligurian bee declare that failure
with that variety ia this country arises from
the difficulty in obtaining queens of a really
good strain. 6. As already stated, it is a
matter of personal preference ; there is no
"best" foreign bee to cross wiih the native.
Ciossing is effected by introducing the foreign
queen to a native stock. 7. Ic depends on
which is in most demand in your neighbour-
hood. Extracted honey is the most reliable
kind to work for, as it takes no harm by
keeping as comb-boney does.

[1001.] Brood cast out of Bxf. — Taking Btci^
to Heather for Profit. — 1. I have noticed
several grubs of brood cast out of a strong
stock in a skep after supering it. I am at a
loss to know what this indicates. Caa you
help me? Honey is being stored, and the
bees are working well and peaceably. 2. If
bees discdrd the syrup -bottle, does that
suggest it is better not to press it upon their
attention, but stop stimulative feeding ? 3.
Where are the best districts for heather in the
IVIidlands ? 4. Would it be worth one's while
taking a couple of stocks, say, fifty miles to
secure another take of honey after the usual
clover flow ? — Enthusiast.

Reply. — 1. It indicates either lack of
sufficient income, or a sudden lowering of the
temperature of the hive, caused, perhaps, by
supeiing. 2. Bees should not refuse syrup at
this season. Mayhap they cannot get at the
food, or it is not readily accessible. 3.
Perhaps some bee-keeper located in the Mid-
lands will kindly reply as to good heather
districts. 4. We cannot advise taking two
stocks fifty miles to the heather, if profit only
is studied.

[1002.] Finding Queens on Combs. — Arti-
ficial Siuarms for Beginners. — Being a new
beginner in bee-keeping, I have got the
" Guide-Book,'' and it describes the queen,
&c. I had a look on April 11 to see how
my only stock was getting on and find the
queen if possible. I looked very carefully,
but could not see her, as the combs were so
thickly covered with bees. I therefore ask.
Which frame would be the most likely frame
she would be on, as I should like to make an
artificial swarm ? but if I cannot find the
queen I shall not be able to do it.— R. M. C,
Boston, Lines., April 13.

Reply. — Beyond saying that the queen is
usually found on one of the combs where eggs
are seen in the cells, the other indications of
her probable presence are only acquired by
experience. We must also observe that it
looks very like courting failure for a " new
beginner '' to launch off into artificial swarm-
ing operations so soon after commencing bee-
keeping. There is no road to success in the
craft 60 easy of travel as our correspondeat

apparently supposes, and he will do well to
defer swarming his bees artificially until he
has hived a natural swarm or two. It should
be borne in mind that the advice given in the
" Guide-Book " presupposes the bee-keeper
to have had some experience of the work of
handling bees before undertaking such opera-
tions as that referred to.

[1003.] — Uemoving Honey from Brood-
frames. — In each of my four hives I find
brood, but the greater part of combs are
filled with honey. Ought I to put any of the
frames through the extractor, or will un-
capping some of the honey each day do ? The
br.es have been very busy this fine weather,
and have gathered a good deal of honey. In
two of my hives I found the boxes which had
contained candy had been filled with new comb
and honey. Queen wasps are very plentiful ;
I have already killed sixteen of them. — C.
Payne, N. Devon, April 12.

Reply. — If the queens are cramped for
egg-roam some of tbe honey-charged combs
should be put through the extractor without
delay. We should operate on no combs con-
taining brood so far as extracting, but clear
some of the others ; and, if necessary, uncap
some of the sealed food in the former, allow-
ing the bees to remove it themselves into the
emptied combs. The stocks should have sur-
plus room given them if storing is going on so
rapidly as described ; but carefully avoid
chilling the brood-chamber in all yon do.

[1004.] Loss of Queen in "-Wells" Hive.
— Jpon examining the bees in my "Wells"
hive to-day (April 10), I found one compart-
ment minus the queen. The frame next the
perforated divider had six queen-cells on it,
four of which were capped. In the same hive
was also a small patch of drone brood already
capped over. 1. Do you think the drones
reared in this hive will fly in time to fertilise
the queens ? 2. If not, would it answer if I
obtained half-a-dozen drones and introduced
them to the hive ? If you think the latter
plan the safer, perhaps one of your numerous
readers could let me have a few drones, I
would gladly pay postage, &c. — H. J. Free-
MAX, Norwich, April 10.

Reply. — 1. Yes ; there is every chance of th e
queen being fertilised if weather is favourable.
2. For several reasons, which we need not go
into, it is very unlikely that any good would
result from the plan proposed.

[1005.] 1. Hiving Swarms in Frame-
hives. — Having recently purchased a " W.B.C."
hive, I am anxious to know whether a movable
divi-ijn-board should not be used in the body-
box to contract the space ? 2. What is the
object of the two strips of wood provided by
the makers in addition to the frames ? 3.
What should be the size of a good swarm that
I propose to purchase ? 4. What is the best

April 19, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

157

method of hiving a swarm into this particular
kind of hive ? As I am making a start in
bee-keeping, I should be obliged for any hints.
— Ignorant, Cowbridge, April 12.

Reply. — 1. A division-board may be ii?ed
whenever needed, but there is no actual neces-
sity for providing permanent room for it in the
hive, as that means enlarging all body-boxes
and surplus chambers. 2 The "strips" re-
ferred to are for inserting between the
shoulders of the metal ends on outer frames
and the hive sides to increase the distance
between the latter and the face of comb.
Without them the bees are apt to build brace-
comb, or attachments, to the side of the hive.
3. The larger the better if a natural swarm ;
if an artificial one, bought at a given price, it
should not weigh less than 3 lb., while all
beyond that weight makes the swarm more
valuable. 4. Prepare the hive as in sketch,
where the entrance slides are used to prop up
the front of outer case 1 in. or more. Provide
a temporary pUtform, in some such fashion as

shown in the cut, and cover the board inclined
in front of the entrance with a table-cloth
large enough to hang over the sides of plat-
form. Shake or throw the bees on to the
latter, and they will soon run in.

[1006.] Bees Hanr/ivg Out in April. — 1. In
the second week in February I saw several
drones on the entrance-boai'd of my strongest
stock. Can you tell me why they appeared
so early ? 2. All my stocks were strong at
end of February. I fed them for a week on
syrup. I then hail to leave home for a fort-
night, consequently feeding was stopped. On
my return three stocks had dwindled down
very much, but I think they will work rounii,
.as they are now all taking in pollen well.
Was it the stop in food that caused the
dwindling ? 3. One stiaw skep has had
about a gallon of bees hanging out for a time,
but they do not swarm. Are they waiting fur
drones', or queenless ? — Bees- Wax, Dover,
April 12

Reply. — 1. Simply because the stock is in
very forward condition. 2. It is quite pos-

sible the increased breadth of brood requiring
attention after stimulating has caused extra
weir and tear to the bees and consequent loss
of number?. 3. The bees are waiting for you
to give them more room for working in.
Queealess stocks never "hang out."

[1007.] Comh Built in Candy-frame. — What
should 1 do under the following circumstances
with regard to one of my hives ? A frame of
candy was given to it last year, and where it
is eaten away (the lower half) is now filled
with drone comb, and drone-< are hatching. 1.
How shall 1 get rid of this misshapen comb ?
The adjacent combs to the latter were so
drawn out in places as to project into the
upper part of it where the cake of candy was
thin. The projecting pieces of comb con-
taining honey I cut off level with the surfiice
of the wood frame, and dropped them on the
floor of the hive at the biick. 2. Will the bees
clean this up? I gave each of my hives a
half-filled frame of honey (uncapped). 3.
Do they require any syrup as well ? They
seem to be breeding very fast. 4. Could [
boil up spare candy (broken) to make syrup ?
Fruit-trees are well in bloom litre. — G. H.
Strong, Twickenham, A2)ril 9.

Reply. — 1. If the upper portions of fraiie
is filled with bee-candy, and the lower half
with misshapen and undesirable drone-comb,
obviously the best way of ridding yourself of
it is to remove the frame, cut the whole out,
and replace with a sheet of comb foundation.
2. The bees will clear out the honey, but if
pieces of comb remain on the floorboard they
should be removed, or the bees may attach
them to bottom bars of frames. 3. Not if
honey is being gathered. 4. Yes.

[1008.] Uarhj Drones in the North.— Put-
ting on lS^(pers. — Last Wednesday, the 11th,
I transferred the contents of a Wells hive,
and, on looking to-day into the old hive, I
found five dead drones in one side. 1. Is not
this very eirly for the north, and does it
portend early swarming ? 2. When should
supers be put on up here ?— Cuthbert Bede,
Durham, April 15.

Reply. — 1. Other conditions connected with
the appearance of drones being normal, April
certainly is early, and it betokens forwardness
in the stock and preparation for swarms.
2. Do not super until the hives are populous
and honey is coming in, which latter point
" will b9 shown on raising the quilt and ob-
serving the outer edges of the combs being
added to with light-coloured wax.

[1009.] Carbolic Acid Solution for Quieting
Bees. — Superivg Sleeps. — 1. Kindly tell how to
prepare the solution uf carbolic acid for quiet-
ing bees ? 2. Do you consider it better than
the smoker ? 3. Do you dip the cloth in and
wring it dry before using it ? 4. I have six
stocks in flat-topped skeps ; could I work
shallow-frames on some of them with success ?

158

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [April 19, 1894.

How many frames on a skep onght I to put,
and ought I to put queen-excluder zinc over
hole on°the skep 1 5. I have a stock on seven
frames with combs not quite built out last
autumn ; the bees are now busy drawing them
out to bottom ; when ought I to add the three
remaining frames ? 6. A friend of mine has a
" Little Wonder '' extractor ; would that do for
extracting such frames ? I have been a con-
stant reader of British Bee JourKxVL for the
last six years, and I dou't know what I should
do without it. — A Dorset Brother, April 14.

Reply. — 1. The ingredients are li oz-
Calvert's No. 5 carbolic acid, 1^ oz. glycerine.
1 quart of warm water. Mix the acid and
glycerine well before adding the water. Shake
the bottle before using. 2. We prefer the
smoker. 3. Yes, but do not wring it " dry."
4. Your success will depend largely on making
the box of shallow-frames warm and snug for
the bees fo work in it, and getting them to
pass readily through the queen-excluder. The
latter is, of course, a hindrance, and you might
dispense Avith it if the queen has plenty of
egg-room below. 5. They should be given at
once, and should be fitted with full sheets of
foundation, or you will have too much drone-
comb built. 6. Yes.

[1010.] Re-queening Stocks. — I have several
stocks I want to re-queen this season with as
little lo?s to my harvest as possible, or to next
year's prospects. V\ hen is the best time to
remove queens in order to do thi-^, and enable
the bees to re-queen ihemselvesl — M. H.,
Tunbridge Wells, April 16.

Eeply. — A fortnight before the income of
honey begins to show signs of slackening off
for the season is the best time. Or it may be
safely done after the removal of supers in July,
if bees are fed (in case of scarcity) and drones
are plentiful at the time.

HOW TO MAKE BEE-KEEPING MORE
PROFITABLE.

{Concluded from p. 150)
Well ripened honey isafood which has already
undergone the first stages towards digestion.
]t has also in it essential oils distilled by
flowers, and whatever its source may be it
has virtues which unripe honey or other sweets
can never imitate. We have all the difficulties
to contend with that those engaged in other
branches of agriculture have, and yet the
latter have the assistance of men specially en-
gaged in discovering the hidden secrets in
their calling, making investigations which
shall enable those engaged in that calling to
produce better articles for less money, and to
do battle with the difficulties vkhich crop up
owing to the times we live in. But not so
with apiculture. Let the bee-keepers of the
province of the Dominion make their voices
heard in this respect. Bee-keepers aie a
peculiar people, and theirs is a peculiar calling.

The wheat grower — indeed, the producer o
almost every other crop upon the Canadian
farm — is at least free from the suspicion of
adulteration ;fbut bee-keepers, be their pro-
duce as free from adulteration as it can, have
to contend with public opinion, which is ever
ready, through ignorance and evil thought, to
suspect wrong. We have had to fight this in
the past and have been able to do so with
some degree of comfort, but recently this has
become a more difficult task ; difficult, because
some calling themselves bee-keepers have
f.dopted methods of adulteration which did
not even suggest themselves to the honey con-
sumer. These methods have assumed first one
guise and then another ; at one time it is to
fill imfinished sections by giving a bye-product
called by that untruthful name " sugar-honey.''
At another, the use of the same product is sug-
gested as being necessary to keep extracted
honey from granulating when fed back ; but
the trail of the serpent is over it all, and if we
compromise with principle you may be sure we
will suff"er as bee-keepers. There is but one
course for the honest, uncompromising bee-
keeper, who must show himself to the public
as in no way countenancing the fraud. To
him such a suggestion must be a crime against
morality. He must show that in no way will
he support such an idea or support a man, be
he king or peasant, who has so lost all sense of
right as to refuse to see the evil of such a
suggestion.

Failing this, he must have the stigma rest
upon him that he openly tupports or secretly
winks at adulteration, and as soon as Canidian
bee-keepers do this they must say good-bye,
not only to an enlarged home market, but a
large proportion to the market they now have.
They must also say good-bye to the foreign
market within their reach. There are only two
paths, the honourable and upright, yet uncom-
promising, one which will lead our bee-teepers
still higher in the moral scale, or the down-
ward. Our markets are peculiarly interesting
to bee keepers. Anything influencing them for
weal or woe must increase or diminish the
profits to be derived from bee-keeping. It
will not be here wise to mention the lowest
figure at which first-class honey has changed
hands during the last few years, but I am safe
in saying that there are numbers of bee-
keepers Avho will be willing to sell their crop
in bulk free of all expense at six cents per
pound. That as the methods of production
improve, in other words the cost of production
decreases, and through experience the risks are
lessened in any calling, competition must
reduce the price. Yet aside from this the un-
certainty of a market has tended to depreciate
the value of honey in Canada. Those selling
have been beaten down in price, often through
misrepresentation as to what others are selling
at. If there was a standing off'er of six cents
per pound net for our surplus honey, it would
be a great relief to our country. Let me also

April 19, 1894.] THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

159

fay that our home market is not developed as
it could be by united effort on our part to
produce a well ripened honey, and bring it
more prominently before the public. I could
not help thinking when Prof. Robertson was
delivering a lecture on cheese and butter as a
food, how much could be done for bee-keepers
by placing the value of honey as a food before
the public. Could we not do good by uniting
more in bringing this matter before our people ?
Next, we allow too small a margin to the
retailer ; 10 cents per pound is not too much
for honey, in fact the price is low, and if any
cutting has to be done let us allow the
retailer more. This will be a step in the right
direction.

RENDERING BEESWAX WITH ACIDS.

I wish to take exception to the item on
purifying wax with acids, as given on page 138.
We do not believe in this practice unless it is
absolutely necessary, owing to the wax being
mixed largely with residues after having been
improperly rendered. Combs may be rendered
into wax just as well without the use of acids
— at least we can, and always do, render all
our combs with only pure water, and always
succeed in getting bright yellow wax from
them even if they are dark.

Although the acid does not practically dete-
riorate the wax, it so completely removes all
other substances that it takes away all its
perfume, and the honey and bee odour which
is so pleasing and attractive to the bees. We
have, hundreds of times, smelled the odour of
the honey in foundation. Such would not
have been the case had these cappings been
rendered with acid, but, on the contrary, there
would in many cases be a little sour smell
remaining. Every one of the hands in our
shop remembers the fine perfume which pei-
vades our shops whenever we have a chance
to handle a ton or two of Southern California
capping-wax.

At a meeting of some local Michigan asso-
ciation, a few years ago, some one made the
remark that we must use honey in lubricating
the rolls of our mills, because our foundation
smelled so sweetly of honey, and was so readily
accepted by the bees. The credit of this sweet
smell did not belong to us, but to the parties
who had rendered this wax. All our credit in
the matter consisted in preserving this good
flavour as much as possible.

If the practice of rendering combs with acid
becomes universal, the quality of the wax will
be greatly lowered, and we can assure Mr. N.
S. H. that bees will notaccept comb foundation
made from such wax as readily as when it
retains the bee and honey smell. If much of
acid-rendered -wax should come on the market,
we should certainly offer less for it than for the
other grade.

We will gladly give directions for rendering
combs with water in a satisfactory manner to
any one who may desire them, — C. P. Dadant,
American Bee Journal.

[As the information that Brother Dadant
could give about rendering wax with only
water would doubtless be interesting and help-
ful to all our readers, we suggest that he send
us the directions for publication in the Bep:
Journal. Being the largest comb foundation
makers in the world, whatever comes from the
pens of Chas. Dadant & Son on this subject
could be implicitly relied upon. — Ed. A. B. J.]

[In response to the above request, Messrs.
Dadant & Son subsequently contributed the
following article on the subject of

RENDERING COMBS INTO WAX,

which appeared in the next issue of the A.B.J.
—Eds. B.B.J.]

The very best method of all to render clean
comb into wax is by sun-heat. Tbe sun -wax-.
extractor of some shape is an indispensable
adjunct of a well-conducted apiary. The only
case in which the sun wax-extractor can render
no service of any value, is when the combs are
so old and thick that all the wax, when melted
in the sun, would be absorbed by the residues.
la this case we melt the combs with water. In
the first place, the combs should be crushed
as well as possible while cold and brittle, to
break the cocoons or cast-skins of the larvix?,
which, if left entire, would in many cases
encase small particles of wax which it would
be impossible to dislodge. Then these combs
should be soaked in water for a few days to
dampen all the impurities and prevent them
from becoming soaked with melted wax.

The wax will be lighter if clean water is used
when melting, as the wafer in which the combs
are allowed to soak will be quite darkened by
the soaking.

The combs should be melted in soft or rain
water, in any kind of tin or copper boiler, the
boiler kept about two-thirds full, and heated
slowly to prevent boiling over. If the floor
around the stove is kept wet, any wax that
may drop may be easily peeled off. During
the melting, lower into the boiler a sieve made
of a piece of wire-cloth bent in the shape of a
dipper, from which you will dip out the wax
with a ladle as it strains into it. If the whole
is thoroughly stirred and well heated with
plenty of water, very little wax will be left.

The wax that is dipped out can be put into
any kind of a vessel, and later on remelted
with water and allowed to cool slowly to
thoroughly purify it. The slower the wax
cools, the cleaner it will be, as the impurities
settle to the bottom. As a matter of course,
cappings and bright combs can be rendered in
the same way.

When wax is once damaged by burning, it
is very difficult to bring it back to its natural
colour without the help of acids, and for this
reason it is important to melt it properly the
first time.

The above directions have been given by us
to a number of our leading honey-producers
who had found it difficult to render their combs

160

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [April 19, 1894.

properly, and we do not know of a single
instance where they have not succeeded, when
the directions were properly followed.

We would advise all bee-keepers to have a
special vessel or boiler, in which to render up
their wax, which should be used for no other
purpose, for it is very difficult to cleanse a
boiler that has beea used for wax so as to
employ it for other purposes, and the house-
wife cannot be blamed if she objects to her
wash-boiler being used in anything relating to
the honey-bee. — Ohas. Dadaut & Son, in
American Bee Journal.

COMB HONEY EIGHT YEARS OLD.

We have just finished eating a three-pound
box of comb honey that was eight years old.
It has been kept, too, under unfavourable con-
ditions a part of the time, having been moved
from kitcheo to garret several times, and last
summer, while we were building, it was exposed
to all the changing moods of climate for three
months out-of-doors. But it would not stand
everything. In handling it somehow got
broken, began to leak, and we were obliged to
eat it to save it — as the lion protects the Iamb.
The honey was all right. No one at the table
suspected that it was old. It was not granu-
lated in the cells, and I think never has been.

This is no remarkable affair, I suppose.
Probably most bee-keepers know that honey
can be preserved almost indefinitely if properly
taken care of. By the way, I believe I have
now an almost ideal place to keep honey in--
an attic, where it will always be dry and warm —
under a tin roof — Eugene Secor, in Ameri-
caii Bee Journal.

June 12 to 15.— Royal Counties Agricul-
tural Show at Can tei bury. Entries close
May 31. Hives, honey, &c. Secretary, Bee
Department, John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's
Langley.

June 25 to 29.— Royal Agricultural Show
at Cambridge. Entries close May 1. Post
entries at double fees till May 12. Secretary,
John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's Langley.

Notices to Corresponden tsand Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
on.y of personal interest ivill be answered in this column.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufac-
turers or correspondents, or ivhere appliances can be
purchased, or replies giving S2ich iiiformation, can only
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of their communica-
tion. I

A CORRESPONDENT inquires if bee appliances
can be obtained in Sheffield, and where. Per-
haps some reader will kindly supply the
information required.

Sannyer A.tkin (Highgate) — German Bee
Journals. — Illustrierte Deutsche Bienen-
zeitung, by Gravenhorst ; subscriptions to
be sent to Schwitschke & Sons, Brunswick,
Germany ; monthly. Bienenzeitung, by
Vogel, Beck, & Co., Nordlingen, Germany,
fortnightly. This is the organ of the
German and Austrian Bee Society.

O.^H. {\N\\tfi).—Foul Brood— If the bees are
strong at this season, we should remove all
the combs and put the bees on full sheets of
comb foundation, and feed. Use the N.
Beta as directed in preparing syrup for food.

G. Head (Winkfield). — Honey Samples. —
No. 1 is good in colour, but possesses very
little real honey flavour, and none of its
aroma. No. 2 shows signs of slight fer-
mentation, and is not a good flavoured
honey.

Novice (Norwich). Super Foundation.^
Sample of foaudation sent is very good.

An Anxious One (co. Mayo).— 1. Syrup-food
is most suitable at this season. To make : —
Add 3^ pints water to 5 lb. refined cane
sugar ; boil one minute, then add h oz. each
of vinegar and salt. 2. Candy burnt in
making is entirely unfit for bee-food, and
should be removed at once.

E. Hancox. — Comb sent is unmistakably
affected with foul brood.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, &c. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for exiery additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

FOR SALE, HOXEY-COMB DESIGNS. Fit for Royal
Show. From Is. per Letter. Two-Framed Observa-
tory Hive, new, blaclc and gilt. H. Seamark, Willin."-
ham, Cambs. d 64

C WARMS, 3 lb., 10s. 6d., STOCKS, yuuiig- queens, hi
. ? Gayton hives, full of bees, 25s. each. Rose,
Feltham. d 63

"Lj^OR SALE.— 500 l)est white basswood lib. SECTIONS
Jr (Blow's), four bee- way, grooved, 7s. 6d., or 100 for
2s. OBSERVATORY HIVE, takes one standard frame,
cost 10s. 6d., sell 6s., all new. W. Hinson, Westholm,
Reigate, Surrey. d 59

XCHANGE new Roger's FRETSAW, nearly new, for
strong STOCK ENGLISH BEES in Skep. MOOKE,
44, Worcester Street, Bromsgrove. I) 62

WANTED to EXCHANGE splendid Humher pattern
TRICYCLE for five good STOCKS of BEES in Bar-
frame Hives, together with a Cylinder Extractor.
Apply, J. & F. Gregory, Millstone Manufacturers,
Hathersage, near Sheffield. D 61

BEES FOR SALE] Strong stocks in standard frame
hives, ready for supering, 25s. to 30s. each. Good
stocks in skeps at 15s. and 20s. each. Berryman,
St^C^olumli. D 60

H^ONEY-COMB DESIGN.— LONDON for a design, a
grand thing with every instruction, post free, 10s.
Apply, Charles Cox, Brampton, Northampton. D 58
ANTED, SECTIONS of COMB HONEY (any quan-
tity), and HONEY in bulk. State price, &c. Orders
also given for coming season. Packages sent. Address,
H., Bee Journal Office, 17, King William-street, Strand,
London. 199

CARBOLIiVE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stnng,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles post free. T. Hollida'Y,
Astbury, Congleton. 187

STOCKS, NUCLEI, SWARMS, and QUEENS FOR
SALE. Address, The Rev. C. Breeeton, Pulborough,
Sussex. 192

April 26, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

161

(Editorial Julias, ^(.

ASSISTING BEE-KEEPERS.

The remarkably uncertain character
of the weather daring the last few days,
and the effect it has had on the hopes
and prospects of bee-keepers and bee-
keeping, causes us to reflect on the way
in which we can best render assistance
by advising them " what to do, and how
to do it." We are, however, at the very
outset confronted with no end of difficul-
ties, because of the impossibility of
accommodating our advice to the varying
surroundings of those whom we address.
This very trouble calls to mind a com-
munication received some time ago from
a correspondent — whose kindly meant
desire to help us is here gratefully
acknowledged — wherein the writer ex-
pressed his views as to the way in which
the Bee Journal might be made more
interesting and generally useful to readers
by making certain changes in the arrange-
ment of the matter, and in other ways.
We need not here enter into all the
proposed alterations, but one item in
particular strikes us as illustrating the
difficulty of doing that which Ave so.
earnestly desire to do, as stated above.
Our correspondent starts out Avith the
plan of having at the head of the first
page of every issue a short calendar of
operations for the Aveek following that on
Avhich the JOURNAL appears, and gives
the details thus: — "Work for the week
ending April 26. District, Kent. — North
Counties a Aveek later : —

1. Continue feeding ; or commence at
once.

2. Supply artificial pollen.

3. See that Avater supply is constant,

4. Be on guard against, robbing, &c.,
&c."

He then goes on to say :— " I need not
point out the advantages of such a thing
— they are self-evident. The " knoAving
ones ' and the ' old handa ' may or
may not cry 'Bosh,' but beginners will

hail Avith gladness this small but most
important support to their tottering steps.
No longer Avill the cry be ' When shall I
do this or that 1 ' or your answer be the
oft repeated ' You are too late ! '

Every one Avill be abreast of the times,
and the advantages to our industry Avill
be, to say the least, of great importance.
I knoAV Avhat applies to your apiary may
not exactly suit mine to the very day,
but surely I can estimate the difference
for myself Avithout going a mile out of
my Avay."

This is, of course, very good and Avell
meant, but, even Avith the disadvantage
of having only to regulate the Aveek's
work tAvo or three days before the Bee
Journal is in the hands of readers, that
short interval might very easily upset the
little arrangement most completely.
AVho that has kept bees for any time
does not realise that he may find it
necessary to open the entrances to his
hives one morning to alloAV the croAvds
of busy Avorkers room to get in, while
honey is being stored so fast that full
supers are almost Avithin arm's length,
j^et a couple of days later finds him
reducing entrances to keep the biting
cold winds from chilling the brood, and
maybe for a Aveek or ten days folloAving
hardly a bee is seen out-doors.

This is Avhere the remarks made up
beforehand might by the irony of the
bee-keeper's fate be made to look almost
ridiculous in print, and this is Avhat
makes the cautious editor look up and
around very carefully ere he even
ventures to predict what it may be use-
ful to do or to leave undone in bee
work.

Again, an arrangement of " Avork for
the week " might possibly be made to
suit a local paper circulating in, say, a
hundred - mile radius, but the B. J. has
readers reaching from " John-o'-Groats to
Land's End," and the point Avould be to
say which place must the " Avork " be
dated from ^ It is not enough to add
" Northern Counties may be a Aveek
later." As a matter of fact, reports Avhich
appear in our pages of queens croAvded
out of brood combs through the latter
being clogged with neAAdy-gathered honey
the first Aveek in April read very like
"romancing" to bee-keepers in some
parts, where Ave have accounts of stocks
perishing from starvation a fortnight

162

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [April 26, 1894.

later on in spring. These variations —
Avide as the poles apart^should show to
those who judge only from the outside —
or from their own bee-stands — how very
difficult it is to meet even this one item
of the "improvements" in journalism,
which seem so easy of accomplishment
to those unable to see from the inside as
editors are compelled to see.

We do not believe there is a single
pursuit in which more conflicting and
opposite individualities, methods, degrees
of aptness, and surroundings have to be
considered than in that of bee-keeping ;
and to follow any one person's ideas, or
to consider any one district first, would
only lead to justifiable irritation all
round. This is what renders it neces-
sary that editors and readers alike
should bear with the continued reitera-
tion of the most elementary inquiries
which reach us ; not the least trying
part to us being the frequency with which
we are asked to reply to queries and
render assistance where a little trouble
by way of reference to former issues
would save trouble to all concerned.

The post of editor of a journal where
personal correspondence enters so largely
into the duties as ours is not generally
regarded as a bed of roses, and, while we
endeavour ungrudgingly, Ave hope, to do
all Ave can in assisting those Avho apply
for help we must be alloAved to take a
very Avide view in judging of Avhat is
best for the greatest number.

ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SHOW.

We would remind our readers that entries
for hives, honey, &c., at this exhibition close
on May 1. The exhibition is to be held at
Cambridge, commencing on June 25, being
one week later than the time fixed during the
last few years. The fact of the shoAv being
held somewhat later than usual coupled with
the probability of an early honey harvest,
should produce a much better display of honey
at this year's exhibition. The schedule pro-
vides for the return of the entrance fees in
those cases where the exhibitor is unable to
send his honey, owing to unfavourable weather
for honey gathering having prevailed. Taking
all these favourable conditions into con-
sideration, we hope that a very large entry
will be made.

The locality of the exhibition is very
central, and we anticipate that good results
will accrue to the exhibitors of appliances who
stage their goods. We hope to see a good
competition in the appliance classes.

LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE B.E:.A,

We are requested to invite the attention of
bee-keepers in the counties of Lancashire and
Cheshire to the competition for a prize of a
" Wells " hive, offered by Mr. Rose, of Liver-
pool, for the best-managed apiary of not less
than three hives. No entrance fee is charged,
bvit intending competitors must send in a
written notice to the hon. sec. Dr. Jones,
Treckieton, near Preston, by May 1, who Avill
furnish all particulars required.

LEICESTERSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The twelfth annual meeting of the Leicester-
shire Bee-keepers' Association was held at the
Mayor's Parlour, Old 1 own Hall, on Saturday,
April 14. The Mayor (Alderman Hart) pre-
sided, and there was a large attendance, in-
cluding Alderman Underwood, Dr. and Mrs.
Fulshaw, Rev. T. C. Deeming, Miss Throsby,
Messrs. W. P. Meadows, J. S. Shenton, T.
Carter, Fewkes, T. B. Widdowson, Cummings,
Martin, Perkins, C. Foxon, J. Waterfield, J.
Waterfield, jun., A. Silcock, G. Munday, J.
Cooper, Black, Henry, and H. M. Riley
Speaking with regard to the objects of the As-
sociation, the Chairman said the habits of the
bee had been a matter of interest from the
earliest ages, and an association of that kind,
having for its object the promotion of the cul-
tivation of the bee for purposes that gave so
mnch pleasure and comfort to humanity, should
be heartily supported. He congratulated the
committee on the precaution they had taken
for the protection of those who were interested
in honey producing.

Among other matters referred to in the annual
report, it was stated that the summer of
1893 was a glorious one for the busy bee, and
the honey yield was equal, if not superior, to
any previous season.

The annual shows, held in connection with
the County Agricultural Society, and Abbey
Park Flower Show were also mentioned as
having been most successful. No further
grant had been received from the County
Council, but the committee were now in com-
munication with the County Coimcil committee
on the subject, and hoped to be able to get a
sufficient grant to enable them to engage a man
permanently during the summer to visit all
the villages in the county, and. to show in a
simple and practical manner hoAv bees may be
profitably and successfully kept. The in-
creased and better fruit obtained as the result
of keeping bees has tended to a greater interest
being shown in the matter throughout the
country.

After stating that steps had been taken to
assist members in disposing of their honey,
by providing attractive labels for jars and
sections, and that a beginning had been made
in arranging for duly authorised agencies for
the sale thereof throughout the county, the
report concluded with .an expression of regret
at the resignation of the hon. secretary, Mr.

April 26, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

163

Eiley, who had, however, consented to act as
financial secretary and treasurer.

The financial statement showed a balance in
hand of £6. 5s. Id., after the years expenses
had been paid.

The report and balance-sheet having been
adopted, Mr. W. J. Martin, of Cossington,
was elected secretary, in succession to Mr.
Riley.

The committee was re-elected, with the
addition of Messrs. Waterfield, jun. (Kib-
worth), Dr. Emmerson, and Dr. Fulsbaw.

At the conclusion of the general business,
Mr. Meadows delivered an address on " The
Successful Handling and Marketing of Honey,
with General Hints on Bee-keeping," which
was listened to with much attention, and at
its conclusion the lecturer was, on the motion
of the chairman, heartily thanked for his
interesting address. A vote of thanks to the
Mayor for presiding terminated the pro-
ceedings.

IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The annual general meeting of this associa-
tion was held on the 19th inst. The chair
was taken first by Miss Rutherfoord, after-
wards by Mr. Monaghan. The report, which
was adopted, first records the important assist-
ance obtained from the Congt'sted Districts
Board and Commissioners of National Educa-
tion, an account of which has already appeared
ill the Bee Journal. It then gives a summary
of what the association has accomplished by
itself during the year, which includes visits by
experts to apiaries, lectures, assistance given
to bee-keepers for the prevention and cure of
foul brood, and sale of members' honey both
in Dublin and at Cork. In Dublin, where
honey is sold wholesale, and only 5 per cent,
commission charged, 2,350 sections were sold
at an average of more than 8jd. ; 391 lb. run
honey at 6d., 2 lb. at 5d. ; and 2 skeps of
honey for 13s. These prices may be considered
satisfactory when it is remembered that all
genuine honey, however inferior in quality, is
accepted. At Cork, where the sale is retail as
far as practicable, and the commission 15 per
cent., 627 sections were sold at lOd., and
twelve at 6d. (Run honey is not accepted at
the Cork depot.) Mr. Chenevix and Mr. Read
were re-elected hon. sees., Mr. Read having
undertaken to act when Mr. Chenevix is
absent from Dublin, which will probably be
the case during the month of June, at any
rate. The other officers also were re-elected,
and, in addition, the Countess of Aberdeen,
who has become a life member, was elected
one of the vice-presidents.

HONEY IMPORTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of March,
1894, was £1,452. From a return furnished
by the Statistical Office, H. M. Customs,

aformpiKtfiiic^.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice mil be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a (juarantee of yood faith. Illustra-
tioiis should be dratvn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relatitvj to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, etc., must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, >i:c. , must be addressed
(o"The Manager, 'British Bee Journal" Office, 17,
King William- street. Strand, London, W.C." {see 1st
page of Advertisements).

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1826.] We have had a break in the fine
weather,"and the " prophets " who predicted a
drier, hotter summer than last are mistaken in
at least one of their points. During the past
week it has been real April weather, sunshine
and showers. The rain has freshened up the
fields and woods wonderfully, and farmers are
hoping to secure a better crop of hay and
spring corn than they did a fortnight ago,
when the weather seemed very like the spring
of '93. The seasonable weather has also raised
the hopes of bee-keepers ; it will increase the
chances of a better flow of honey. Strong
luxuriant plants are better calculated to yield
a good crop of honey than parched diminutive
ones, other conditions being equal during a
honey flow. I never remember a greater pro-
mise of bloom on the whitethorn (may), the
sycamores, and the chestnuts. The two latter
will be in bloom in about a week, while the
" may " will follow in a short time, especially
in sheltered positions. The seed fields of
turnip, swedes, &c., are now in full bloom,
and I have no doubt apiaries situated near
them will secure a good return of early honey
if bees are in a condition to take advantage of
the bloom.

I never remember my bees in better con-
dition at this period of the year ; brood in
eight frames out of nine or ten, as the case
may be, some frames nearly full from bottom
to top. My spring examination dates on
registers from April 18 to 21, only the
casual peep before this to see that stores were
holding out, and this, I believe, is nearly the
latest date of overhauling ; but, as stated in a
previous note, I attribute the condition to
earlier preparation for winter, a good supply
of food and young queens, and the let alone
principle in early spring. The fussy, in-
quisitive novice is rarely a success in any
pursuit, and especially is this the case in bee-
keeping.

Another item that militates against success
is re-queening late in the fall by inexperienced
hands, often getting queens cheap from those
who have them to spare from driven bees.

164

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [April 26, 1894.

These queens are of no particular age, pro-
bably two or three years old, queens that have
had their day, and are past their prime, and
the following year the purchasers who have
invested in them find their stocks dwindling
in the following spring instead of progressing.
Ofctiraes queens that are fairly good and miy
possibly grow into good, prolific ones the
next year are deposed to make room for
a successor of less value intrinsically. This
may raise the question, " Is it good policy to
re-queen, or let the bees re-queen at will ? "
To such question I would reply, re-queen, cer-
tainly, but do it judiciously and with dis-
crimination. If you have a good strain of
bees select your queens from the best of your
stocks noted for gentleness, industry, prolific-
ness, and — if you work for comb honey — good
" cappers." There is a great diS'erence in the
quality of work done by bees in regard to the
finish of the product. "When working f Jr comb
honey, if I run my apiary for extracted honey
I should breed for bees that totted up the
largest lump or pot of honey. I do that now,
other conditions being equal in the production,
but beauty of comb and finish in capping or
sealing is lost in the extracting room. Then,
if you have not got a good strain, buy your
queens from a reliable dealer, who has probably
spent years in breeding up a good strain by
careful selection — men whose reputation is at
stake, in the transaction — and you will get
queens of reputed worth, queens of a definite
age, queens reared under the best possible
conditions to secure a large army of workers
ready for the harvest.

Messrs. Abbott Bros, sent me a sample
dozen of their broad-shouldered frames made
to the width of top-bars and ends I suggested
a fortnight ago. 1 am pleased with the altera-
tion, and have no doubt that in the near
future the wider top-bar, with a If in.
end, will be the adopted standard width. I
have noticed that in overhauling my hives
during the past week, the narrower frames
contain the combs best adapted for inter-
changeability, and when practical bee-keepers
have given the If in. spacing a trial, the advan-
tages will be patent to each one. The frames,
as altered, are stronger, better able to sustain
the weight of tiered supers, and the closer
spacing will help to crowd the bees into the
supers, while the wider top-bar reduces the
bee space to the prevention of brace or burr-
combs, thus effecting a saving of useless bee
work, and also time (and sometimes the
temper) of the bee-keeper when removing the
supers from the hives and storing them away.
Then the contracted space between the top-
bars will help to prevent the queen from
going up into the supers, and where working
for section honey reduce the expenses, as
excluder zinc will not be required. — W.
WooDLEY, Beedon, Newbury.

Errata. — For " mint flower " in par. 1
(1810, p. 144), read wint, or wind flower.

THE "BEITISH BEE JOURNAL"

AND EUCALYPTUS HONKY.

[1827.] As you have inserted a rather
strong personal article in B.B.J, of No-
vember 30, 1893, doubtless you will permit
me to reply to it. " The Heathen " in the
same number says " he is old enough to know
better than to indulge in personalities." I
also have always thought " persoaalities " a
mistake ; abuse and bluster never strengthen
a case. If eucalyptus honey cannot be written
about without losing one's temper or throwing
mud at each other, it had better be left alone
altogether.

When you assert in your article that I am
"neither just nor accurate," one naturally
thinks you ought surely to take especial pains
to be accurate yourself. I fail to see now the
slightest inaccuracy in my quotation you refer
to. Bat let me point out what a very mis-
leading idea you impress on your readers
respecting the same by inadvertently or care-
lessly— I will not say intentionally — omittimi
the, date on which the letter was written that
you complain of. Briefly, you build up the
case against me in this wise : On October 5
and 12 certain letters of mine, with com-
ments of yours, appeared in the B.B.
Journal ; that I, after having thus had fall
opportunity for expressing my views, &c.,
adopted unfair methods by carrying the
controversy into other channels, &c. — to wit,
the columns of a newspaper, on October 23.
Now, why did you not say that the date that
letter was written, as stated in the newspaper
cutting before you, was August 27 ? — five to
six weeks before, not after, the letters appeared
in your October issues. Moreover, I did not
see your October numbers till December —
more than three months after my letter was
written to the newspaper.

In view of these facts, what becomes of the
agony you pile up in your article ? As for the
article I wrote, I see nothing wrong about it ;
neither can I understand why 1 should be
debarred from writing to any other pap=^r
simply because I wrote a letter to B.B.
Journal, seeing that for years I have been in
the habit of writing both for newspapers and
journals on both sides of the world.

Now, respecting the tirade against myself.
It does me no harm — and if it amuses you, or
entertains your readers, it may even do some good.
I do not, however, as you seem to think, care
a red cent about publicity. Had I written
under a nom depluyne people might have said,
here is a man firing from behind a hedge, so
whenever I write ''more forcibly than polite,"
I always sign my name in fall. You need not
print it unless you like — especially as you
seem so to grudge the " free advertisement " —
else why refer to it three times in your leader.
Don't regret it, friend, I trust the recording
angel will put that " free ad.'' down to your
credit as one of the good actions done without
hope of reward.

Let me, however, assure you that I cannot

April 26, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUKNAL.

165

possibly derive any benefit from that free
adv., because I have no eucal/ptus honey
to ship this season at all, and I have hitherto
had more orders for it than I could supply.
When our production gets ahead of oar
demand, then I may probably see the desirable-
ness of advertising in your esteemed journal,
and I shall not then ask you to insert it gratis.
In support of my statement allow me to point
out that the name of our a^ent has never yet
been published, s) where does the value of the
free advertisement come in.

Controversial nutters, like this about
eucalyptus honey, sometimes serve to enliven
the pages of a publication and furnish the oft-
tired-out editor with a new theme to manipu-
late ; therefore the gain, whichever way you
look at it, should in this case accrue to the
Editors of B.B. Journal.

Respecting eucalyptus honey, 1 have nothing
•whatever to withdraw from what I have
■written ; if anything, I can only emphasise it
by saying that, whenever any one discovers a
great fact or truism, he can aftbrd to advocate
and hold on to it, whilst the world at first
laughs and sneers, and then ultimately turns
round to his view of the subject.

The main point I wished to impress on our
English friends (in contradistinction to your
opinion) was that if any Australasian honey
was unfit for table use, the eucalyptus tree
was not to blame for it, and you must look
for some other cause.

You write somewhat sarcastically about
the wonderful honey produced at our
apiary. You are, however, quite right. It
is wonderful, and, as you seem to challenge
the fact, I will tell you something more. I
have never yet seen a sample of honey equal
to it in all points outnde this district, and I
do not think there is any better produced in
any part of Australasia.

Mr. Grimshaw appears to be the only person
who, without prejudice, has approached this
subject with a desire to thoroughly investigate
it, without regard to anybody's preconceived
opinions. Hence he has ventilated a most
important point — the difference between oil or
extract distilled from the blossom of trees or
flowers, and that obtained from the leaves. Be
good enough to refer to his letter — then look
at the matter in this light. Genuine euca-
lyptus honey is gathered by the bees from the
blossom of the gum trees.

Bogus E. honey is any kind of honey you
please flavoured with oil or extract obtained
Irom the leaves. Nine-tenths of the euca-
lyptus oil is obtained from the leaves of the
"E. Araygdalina, and not from the E.
I Globulus-, as is generally supposed. The
[•percentage of oil in the leaves of each of the
labove is-E. Amygdalina, 3"3i;3, and E.
Globulus, only "719. The cost of obtaining
the oil from the blossom would be enormous,
[as the trees would have to be destroyed, it
fbeing a sheer impossibility to gather the
' blossom from trees averaging 200 ft. in height.

Excuse bothering you and trespassing so much
on your time and space, and thanking you in
anticipation of your courtesy to insert this. —
John- Smith, Montrose Pay-h Apiary, Mount
Cotton, near Brisbane, Queensland, February
27, 1894.

[We print the above coinmnnicAtion ver-
batim et literatim, and purposely refrain from
aiding a word of comment on it. We say
"purposely" because of our desire to avoid
even the risk of further "reply" to -whatever
we might feel it incumbent on us to say re-
garding the statements of our correspondent.
All that has been done or said iu the matter
by the Editors of this Journal is recorded in
print ; they are perfectly content to bs judged
thereby, and think the controversy should now
cease. Readers, however, for whom the sub-
ject possesses interest may refer to back
numbers of the B. J. for the way ia which^
to quote Mr. Smith — " You build up the case
against me."

The numbers referred to are those for Sep-
tember 21, October 5 and 12, and November
30, 1893. And that there may be no suspi-
cion of avoiding publicity on our part, they
will be sent free to any one requiring them on
receipt of stamps to defray cost of postage.—
Eds.]

A VISIT TO "BEE MOUNT."
[1828.] Feeling inclined to roam, and the
day being all that could be desired from a
bee-keeper's point of view, I started from
home not knowing where my roving would
lead me to ; but finding myself in the
parish of Stoke Prior, it occurred to me that
Mr. Percy Leigh resides somewhere in this
parish — which, by the way, is one of the
largest in England — and I determined, if
possible, to find out Mr. Leigh and Bee
Mount. After several inquiries, and a long,
but pleasant, walk, I at length found myself
near the parish church, and the residence of
Mr. Leigh was pointed out to me ; and a
splendid place it is, too, for bees, surrounded
with thousands of fruit trees, including apple,
pear, plum, and cherry, in full bloom, and
making a picture of loveliness, together with
acres of gooseberry bushes and raspberry
canes, and an acre or more of strawberries^
just the place to cheer the heart of a bee-
keeper. I had not gone far before being
made aware that an apiary was near at hand
by the hum of the busy bees on all sides. I
stood several times and watched them
flitting from flower to flower ; it reminded
me of swarming time, so loud was the hum
and so thickly were the trees laden with
bees. At length I arrived at the wicket
leading into the garden, and a very nice sight
here met my gaze. Nicely-painted bar-
framed hives taking up one side of the garden,
the other given over to bees in skips. Seated
on a rustic seat in the shade of an old yew-
tree I found the genial owner of these hives,
to whom I introduced myself, and was

166

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [April 26, 1894.

invited to have a look througli his
hives with him. Mr. Leigh is proud of
his bees, and rightly, too, for all have
■wintered well and are now strong. In looking
through them we found brood and newly-
stored honey. We now made our way to the
old yew-tree, seated beneath which we smoked
the pipe of peace, and talked bees and their
doings. I cannot forget how quiet and
peaceful the country seemed, so different from
a busy town life. No wonder town-bred
people strive to get into the country for a few
hours when everything in nature is looking
grand. During the conversation with my
friend — for I now look upon him as a friend —
Mrs. Leigh appeared, and after being intro-
duced, she very kindly invited me to tea, an
invitation I readily accepted. I found she
Avas as deeply interested in the bees as her
husband, in fact, I learnt she had one stock in
her own right. On entering the house, among
the first things to catch the eye were several
nicely-bound volumesof the British Bee Jour-
nal. I found Mr. Leigh had designed a very
nice hive, referred to in B.B.J* for February,
1893 (p. 46;, he believes it will turn out well.
It consists of a double-walled brood-chamber
containing thirteen frames, the niutli having
fixed on it a piece of queen-excluder zinc, con-
fining the queen to the front of the hive,
leaving four at the back for honey ; then
another body-box, 10 inches deep, fits on top of
brood-chamber into which is fitted a second
chamber with twelve standard frames ;
the body-box and roof allowing ample
room for a crate of sections. I have not
seen a more nicely arranged apiary than that
at Bee Mount, the owner of which has lately
been appointed local secretary to the Worcester-
shire B.K.A., and if the Association does not
extend its numbers I shall be surprised. Mr.
Leigh has done much to assist bee-keeping,
sucli as organising bee lectures, &c , his last
work being to persuade the local flower show
committee, of which he is a member, to give
prizes for displays of honey at the forthcoming
show, and at which he is trying to get the
Worcestershire bee tent. Now, as all things
have an end, so must my visit to Bee Mount,
and, after spending a pleasant afternoon with
Mr. Leigh and his good wife, with a hearty
shake of the hand and an invitation to call
again, I took my departure homewards, con-
vinced that my friend is striving to leave the
world a little better than he found it. —
Wilfred Hardie, Bromsgrove, April 11.

"BALLED" QUEENS

AND UNTIMELY MANIPULATIONS.

[1829.] No doubt I am a very unobservant
person, but I have kept bees for exactly ten
years, and have never had (so far as I know)
a ci'se of a " balled " queen. Yet I do not let
my hives alone. I have ten now, all strong
and well, but what have they had to go through
this spring ? Every lot has been moved out of

its old hive into a clean and freshly-painted
one. I starred this little job on February 28,
and ended on April 9. Each hive has been
opened up on an average three times this year ;
they have been stimulated with uncapped
honey, put into the middle of the brood nests,
and the weiker lots strengthened with combs
of sealed brood from the stronger ; yet for all
this handling no queen has been " balled " so
far as I know, and I had interviews to-day
with nine of the queens, the tenth hive being
left unopened. I am not over gentle ; I jar a
frame sometimes. Now, why under such
provocation have I not had the pleasure (!) of
seeing the " hissing mass, about the size of a
walnut,'' which betokens a " balled " queen 1
E. S. R., Stockbridge, Hants, April 17.

[Notwithstanding our correspondent's en-
deavour to make clear the fact that he is not
a good bee-manipulator, we maintain the
contrary, even if he does chance to be " not
over-gentle'' in his handling. Moreover, he is
extremely lucky — and we congratulate him
accordingly — in not having seen a " balled "
queen during his ten years' experience. May
he be ten more ere he does, say we. But,
while thinking sorrowfully of the number of
less fortunate ones who write us relative to
their mishaps in this line, we leaned back in
our editorial chair, and, with a sigh, refiected
on the relief it would be to our right hand if
all readers of the B.J. were as free from (bee)
faults as the writer of the above— that is, sup-
posing him to be ordinarily observant while
operating. But, alas ! who is quite perfect
among us ? And we must confess to a sort of
half-fear that there is some justification of our
esteemed correspondent's charge against him-
self of being an " unobservant person," seeing
that the envelope containing his communica,-
tion was handed to us with the remark, " Un-
stamped ; tuppence to pay, sir ! " Seriously,
though, it must be taken a? one of the
curiosities of our craft that some bee-keepers
have as many odd, out-of-the-way experiences
— some disastrous, some almost comical — in
one year as others have in twenty ; but there
is no doubt whatever that the number of
cases coming to our knowledge each year more
than justify all that was said on the subject
in our issue of the 12th inst. — Eds.]

OPENING HIVES TOO EARLY.
[1830.] I am obliged for the reply you
give me on p. 152 of this week's Bee Jour-
nal, and am very pleased to say I have no
brood-comb to send for your inspection. To-
day I took the frame containing it (the brood),
and after examination, found only three or
four dead brood — the whole of the remainder
had hatched out — so I placed it in another
hive, after removing the dead brood. The
dwindling stock is in much the same state as
mentioned in my former letter. I am think-
ing of restocking the hive with the first
swarm that comes off flies. Is there any other
course you can suggest'? [Not if combs are

-April 26, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

1G7

free from disease. — Eds.] As I mentioned, I
have had very little experience, but I am
much inclined to think that a large proportion
of failures are the result of too early opening
the hives, when the weather is too cold and
the brood, &c., gets chilled, specially in the
case of young beginners, who," very naturally,
are slow in movement, I mean nervous and
fussy.— W. H. M., Glastonbury, April 20.

\

DEALING WITH FOUL BROOD.

[1831.] I thank you for reply to my query
on page 150 of B.J. for the 12th inst., and
send by this post'a piece of comb, as suggested,
for your inspection, Avhich I think contains
foul brood, and with which I feel certain you
will agree.

During the twelve years I have kept bees,
this is the second time the disease has ap-
peared in my apiary. On the first occasion I
iried both Mr. Cheshire's phenol and the
salicylic acid treatments as given in the
" Guide Book," but without effect. It began
to spread to other hives, and when four were
attacked I removed the remaining unaffected
hives to another farm some miles away. The
four affected stocks, in spite of my efforts, got
worse, and eventually died out. I have not
had any sign of its reappearance until this
second occasion, which happened this spring,
when I found it had broken out in a very
strong colony. I immediately removed it to
another farm, and none of my other hives have
any sign of disease. I shall be pleased to try
anything you may recommend, in order, if
possible, to effect a cure. I may add that I
have always fed my bees with syrup prepared
according to the " Guide Book,'' with a solu-
tion of salicylic acid.

I also send specimens of bees, and .should
like to know to what species they belong.
With regard to " hooking out dead brood ' in
the article referred to in my last (page 132,
B.B.J. ), I understood that the bees would fill
the cells with honey in which brood has died,
and traces still remain, and so continuing the
disease indefinitely. I therefore thought
unless the dead brood was cleared out com-
pletely it would be impossible to exterminate
the disease. — F. B. Booth.

[After careful examination of comb sent we
found only one cell in which any trace of foul
brood could be seen. The rest was " chilled
brood," and as such would form a dangerously
favourable media for the propagation of the
disease if left in the hive. We advise removal
of all combs containing dead brood, and the
substitution of frames fitted with full sheets of
foundation ; feeding with medicated syrup,
and, in addition, placing a few pieces of
naphthaline on the floor-board of the infected
hive — indeed, of all hives — to prevent the
further spread of the disease. The bees sent
show slight traces of the foreign element, but
not more than is found in many apiaries where
no pains have been taken to introduce it. —
Eds.]

^uxm m\A ^^Im.

[1011.] Preventing Swarming. — 1. How
can I prevent my bees swarming ? They are a
strong stock in a straw skep, and I wish to
transfer them to a frame hive. 2. I saw two or
three drones at the entrance of the hive the
other day, and when I jjuUed two pieces of
wood out of entrance to enlarge it, I saw some
small maggots ; will they do any harm to the
bees ? — A Beginner, Cambridge.

Reply. — 1. The most oftective way of pre-
venting swarming in your case will be to pre-
pare the hive as advised in B.J. for February 8
last (p. 58), and let the bees transfer them-
selves. 2. The " maggots " would be the larvae
of the wax moth. So long as the stock is
strong, they can do little harm to the bees.

[1012.] Bees Casting out Immature Brood.
— 1. Do bees get honey from the beech tree ?
as we have a lot of these trees close to us, and
the bees are very busy in them. In one of my
skeps the bees are casting outside grubs, one I
noticed was a drone almost full grow^n. What
is the cause, I think they have plenty of food
and are very strong. — J . E. R., Bcrlchampstead,
April 23.

Reply. — 1. Yes. 2. The casting out of
brood is caused usually by an adverse change
in weather and consequent stoppage of income.
The mischief will cease when honey begins to
come in again. If food is not plentiful in the
hive the bees should be fed.

[1013.] Sa.ym'teJ, Foul Brood. — I have
forwarded to you a piece of comb which I
think is affected with foul brood. The bees
in the hive it can.ie from were fairly busy until
a few weeks ago, when they all died off", leaving
about 7 lb. of food. If you would kindly give
your opinion of the comb, and say if it is
diseased, also what is the best thing to do
with hive and the combs, then I can show it
to my friends to whom it belongs. — E. Sims,
SmeetJi, Kent.

Reply. — The brood in comb sent is
" chilled," not foul. We can only account for
death of bees by supposing it to be from cold
and lack of vitality through paucity of
numbers. Perhaps the bees have died of
starvation at one side of the hive while the
food was at the opposite side ; but, of course,
only an examination will clear up these points.
As it might also reveal signs of disease in
other portions of the combs, so we should
advise melting the latter down before using
the hive again.

[1014.] Best TVay to Find Queens. — Canyon
tell me : — 1. Whatisthe address of the secretary
of the Hants and I. W. B. K. Association ?
2. Are the " American cloth " quilts jjlaced
above the ordinary calico quilt, and which side

1(

THS BRITISH BEE JOtJENAL. [April 26, 1894.

downward towards the bees— the glazed
smooth side or the other ? 3. What is the
best way I can gain information as to finding
the " queen " bee ? I have often examined
the frames, but could never " spot " the queen.
— Aspirant, Lymingion, April 19.

Eeplt.— 1. Mr. E. H. Bellairs, Wingfield,
Christchurch. 2. Glazed side down. 3. By
getting some experienced bee-keeper to point
out the queen on a comb and explain the
general indication of her presence while he has
the hive open before you. It is next to im-
possible to convey the information in print.

[1015.] Moth-Infested Combs.— I have many
frames of empty combs which I intended to
use this season, but find they are infested with
the wax moth. Would it he safe to use them ?
— B. H., Launceston, April 19.

Reply. — If the combs are badly infested,
having the septum or " midrib " of the comb
bored through and partly eaten away, they
will be of little use to the bees, and should be
melted down for wax. If, on the other hand,
the damage is trifling, the larvse and the pas-
sages they have formed may be picked out
with the help of a pin, and the bees will repair
the combs. It is a pity to have good combs
destroyed by the moth larvfe when so simple a
remedy as a few pieces of naphthaline will
protect them from their ravages.

[1016.] Suspected Combs and Uniting Bees. —

1. Is the comb enclosed infected with foul brood ?
The stock from which I took it is very weak
— barely covering four frames. This is the
only comb in which the brood has failed to
hatch out. Will this stock do any good if
stimulated ? — or had I better unite with
another stock ? 2. What is the breed of the
enclosed bees marked 1 and 2 I They both
came from the same hive. The ones with the
golden band appear to be increasing more
rapidly than the others. — Castel Cane, East
Duhvich.

Eeply. — 1. There are slight traces of foul
brood in one or two cells, but the bulk of the
dead brood is simply "chilled" owing to
insufficiency of bees to maintain the heat
necessary lor its develojiment. If the bees
are crowded up on so many frames as they
cover, wrapped warmly, and fed on medicated
syrup — given warm — tlie further progress of
the disease may be checked, and if brood is
hatching out, as stated, the stock may be built
up to fair strength by the time the honey harvest
proper begins. On no account, however,
should the bees be united to another stock.

2. The queen is evidently crossed with a
Ligurian or a hybrid drone,

[1017.] Bees Perishing for Want. — A neigh-
bour of ours had a skep of bees which appeared
very strong, hanging out as if ready to swarm,
about three weeks since. Last week he found
them all dead. He says they had plenty of

food. I am sending a few bees and a piece of
the comb. Can you kindly tell me the cause ?
— S. M. Hardy, Aldbrough, Hull, April 19.

Reply. — Notwithstanding the owner's asser-
tion as to "plenty of food," the indications
point very clearly to hunger as the cause of
death. Comb quite dry, dead bees in cells
head - foremost, brood almost mature with
cappings eaten through, all tell their own tale,
and — ^judging by sample of comb sent — your
friend may take it from us that he has lost his
bees for lack of a little timely feeding.

^t\\u% |r0m i\\t

Kingston - on - Thames., April 10. — Not
hearing an echo from this district lately, I
send one ; and, to put it fairly, I think one's
failings as well as successes should be
chronicled. Bees here have wintered well,
and are now strong in numbers, with a splendid
show of brood, which augurs well for the
coming season. There have been one or
two 1 jsses, however, during the week of
extreme cold, some time ago, when the
thermometer registered 22 to 26 deg. of
frost. At this time weak lots succumbed,
even with plenty of stores. I regret to
say this was particularly the case with my
own bees, for two stocks, headed by young
queens, died, all having plenty of honey at the
sides of the combs, but all had been cleared in
the middle. Then, as if that was not dis-
appointment enough, two lots have since
decamped, one, I fear, through starvation, the
other deserted from a skep. The last-named
were in the skep on Good Friday certain,
and ten days later there was not a live bee in
the hive, and only two dead ones, the skep
being firmly fixed down on the floor-board.
On raising it I found quite three or four slabs
of honey sealed over in comb. This skep
was placed about 3 yards away from a fowl-
house, but which is kept scrupulously clean.
Could there be any unpleasant smell that was
distasteful to the bees 1 I have only one
weak lot left novv, and these are queenless and
dwindling. Have since removed them several
yards away, 1 ft. every two days. As my
stock is novv reduced so low, I should be glad
to purchase a swarm, if any reader has one to
sell cheap. — H. C.

[We cannot attribute the flight of the bees
to the proximity of the fowl-house ; there
must be some other reason not apparent on
the surface. — Eds.]

Beemount, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire,
April 17. — Sorry to say I found a few drone
grubs cast out of one of my hives yesterday
to which I had added three extra combs last
week. This morning I foand at the entrance
of another hive five dead fu'ly developed
drones — a sure indication that little or no
honey is being stored. The wea her here has

April 26, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

169

been cold, wet, and far from favourable lately
for bees — in fact, on some days hardly a bee
has been visible, so very different to a week or
so ago. The pear, plum, and gooseberry
bloom is now over, and, although apple and
currant blossom is fairly plentiiul, bees are
unable to take advantage of it. — Percy
Leigh.

Somersham., Hnnts, April 19— Bees very
strong. I have some already working in
shallow frames and sections, but the last few
days no surplus has been gathered, as the
nights are very cold. I am afraid we shall
hear of many cases of " chilled brood " in our
district, the fruit-bloom, which has been so
plentiful, having caused queens to lay in every
available cell. I have several stocks with
seven and eight sheets of brood, but not in
single-walled hives. All my strongest hives
are on the " W. B. C." principle — i.e., body
box with outer case, and three inches of chatf
all round, and chaff cushion on top. I have
put feeders on the hives that are not supered,
with about a pint of warm syrup just to keep
things going. Eleven o'clock p.m. — ^.just been
out, and find two degrees of frost. Bad look-
out for us poor fruit-growers ! But nil des-
peraiidtim. — R. Browx.

The Paddocks, Snieeth, Kent, April 17. — T
had a very strong swarm from a straw hive on
the 11th inst. — W. M. Allfrey.

TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED.

Abbott Bros., Southall, and High Holborn,
London, W.O. — This full aad well-got-up cata-
logue of forty pages has been thoroughly revised,
altered, and rearranged for the present year,
not the least important changes being the
reduction in price of many of their well-
known hives and bee goods. Messrs. Abbott
include quite a number of articles not found
in other catalogues, and have made every
effort to keep their list abreast of the times.

T. Lanaway & Sons, Station-road, Redhill,
16 pp. — Messrs. Lanaway illustrate five
patterns of hives in their list to suit various
tastes and pockets, along with particulars of
all needful requirements.

H. Hutchings, St. Mary Cray, Kent.— This
is another small, but compact, list of bee
goods, some of which appear unusually low in
price.

%u ^\\m^ to dj-omc.

June 12 to 15. — Royal Counties Agricul-
tural Show at Canterbury. Entries close
May 31. Hives, honey, &c. Secretary, Bee
Department, John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's
Langley.

June 25 to 29.— Royal Agricultural Show
at Cambridge. Entries close May I. Post
entries at double fees till May 12. Secretary,
John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's Langley.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded ttdll be attended to, and those
only of periional interest will be answered in this column.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufac-
turers or correspondents, or where appliances can be
piirchased, or replies giving stich information, can only
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries, and replies is meant for the r/eneral
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for xm to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of their communica-
tion.

Replying to the inquiry in last week's B.J.
as to where bee appliances can he had in Shef-
field, a correspondent writes :— " The nearest
reliable dealer to Sheffield is Mr. W. Handby,
Hasland, Chesterfield."'

Edwin Griffin (Upton-on-Severn). — Dividing
a Strong Stock of Italian Bees. — We should
not advise dividing the stock in the manner
proposed. Instead of doing eo, wait until
settled warm weather may be safely counted
on, and honey is being gathered freely. Then,
in the middle of a fine clay — when bees are
working well — lift out a comb on which the
queen is found, and place it in the centre of
a new hive, already prepared with frames
fitted with full sheets of foundation. Cover
up warmly, and place it on the stand where
the Italian stock stood, and move the latter
to a new location some distance away, first
closing up the frames and inserting a frame
at side to replace the one removed. As to
your dividing the "English stock'' in tho
same way and giving an Italian queen, if
you would not spoil the chances of a harvest
in 1894 we should recommend limiting,
dividing, and breaking up stocks to the one
referred to for this year at least. A good
guide-bjok on bee management would also
be very helpful to one somewhat inexperi-
enced, as the letter received leads us to sup-
pose you are.

J. J. W. R. — Frames forExtrading — 1, It is
of no consequence whether frames for ex-
tracting are fixed at right angles or parallel
to entrance. 2. The pollen pellets have
probably got dislodged from the bees' legs
when crowding into the hive during the
busy gathering time. It will not have been
thrown out. No notice need be taken of it

G. McGregor (Croftamie). — Bee Flowers. —
So far as can be judged from the flattened
sprig of bloom received we think it is the
maple. If correspondents would send fresh
specimens of blooms packed in a box and
stuck into a piece of potato, they keep fresh
for several diys, and are much more easily
recognisable.

J. Thomson. — Brood Cast Out. — If the bees
have a pint of warm syrup given them, the
trouble complained of will probably cease
io course of a day or two.

170

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [April 26, 1894.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, See. — f7j> to
Twelve words, Sixpence; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

ANTED, intelligent LAD, with some knowledge of

gardening. Age about 15. Must be willing and

obliging, and of good character. Board, lodging, and

small wage first year. Badcock's Floral Depot Bexhill-

on-Sea. n 65

6r\ l-LB. bottles pure extracted ENGLISH HONEY
^ What offers

Surrey.

Ernest Davis, Great Bookhani,
1)66

FOR SALE, empty FRAME-HIVES. Some new.
Wright, Penkhull-terrace, Stoke-on-Trent. D 67
ANTED, two FRAME-HIVES (on legs preferred),
complete. Stocked with Carniolans. Delivered
free at address below. State price for immediate
delivery. Thomson, 1, Hampstead-road, Preston Park,
Brighton. D 69

B^EES (Carniolans) FOR SALE. Svvarms (including
skep) 22s. each. Ready early in May. Order early.
C. MORREY, Five Ways, Neston, Chester. D 68

ANTED, EMPLOYMENT in Apiary by YOUNG
MAN. Used to bees and appliance making.
Seven years in trade. T. Earl, Lowfield Apiary, Craw-
ley, Sussex. D 70
URE HONEY, in tins 15 lbs. each, 6id. per lb.
Sample two stamps. POMERV, Kethem, St. Mawes.
Tijl

WANTED, SECTIONS of COMB HONEY (any quan-
tity), and HONEY in bulk. State price, &c. Orders
also given for coming season. Packages sent. Address,
H., Bee Journal Office, 17, King William-street, Strand,
London. 199

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Preventsgetting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles post free. T. Holliday,
Astbury, Congleton. 187

TOCKS, NUCLEI, SWARMS, and QUEENS FOR

SALE. Address, The Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough,

Sussex. 192

"YE OLDE BNGLISHE BEE."

PURE, Prime Swarms of my Selected Strain of English
Bees, all 1893 Queens, Packing-box, and put on Rail
free, price 15s. Address, W. Woodley, World's End,
Newbury.

Telegrams—" Ilsley, or Harapstead Norris."
^ Porterage Is. 6d.

BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the
CENTRAL SUPPLY STORES
for all BEEKEEPERS' REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL
at the OLD SPOT, 50, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET,
GEORGE ROSE, successor to P. Harbordt.

Why pay carriage from long distances when you can
buy cheaper and quite as good quality locally, and have
your orders promptly attended to. Catalogues gratis.
Send now. 14 varieties of Bee Flowers (full directions to
each), Is. Cash with order. 201

Yes! if you want Honey. Now is the time to learn
" H o"w to prevent bwarmina: " in bar-frame hives,
and to " Transfer Stocks from Skeps to i^'rame-
hives." Every bee-keeper should also know " Bo'w
to make an artificial Swarm " successfully. All
these &c., 3d. only.

DON'T DELAY.
W. RUSHTON, Hive Factory, Bedford.

^3

THE YORKSHIRE
Bee-keepers' Supplies

WILLIAM DIXON,

5, Beckett St., Leeds.

Hives, Extractors,

S m o k er s , Feeders

Foundation, &c.

Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver, iSjBronzeMedals.

226

FOR SAi-E,

LARGE FREEHOLD HOUSE

(The Shrubbery),

at Southall, G. W. R., 20 Minutes from Loudon.

Close to station and church, containing 40 large Rooms,
heated by hot water. Perfect new drainage system and
ventilation. Every modern convenience. Very sub-
stantially built and in good repair. Extensive Grounds.
Suit Large Family, >School, or Institution. Photo sent.
Can be seen without notice at any time.

ABBOTT BROTHERS,

Bee-Hive Manufacturers, Southall.

209

THE "WELLS SYSTEM"

Descril:ied by the Originator,

GEORGE WELLS,

Price e^d. Post Free.

To he had of the Author onli/. 206

5or

Of SySTON. Nr. Leicester. APPLiANCt)

WORK BENCHES <J'°TO0LS fo'' CARPENTERS .^^'SLQYD WORK

See large Advertisement first Issue of the
month.

nURTT, CLOUCESTE

D

EE-APPLBAIMCE

MANUFACTURE

R

I am very careful to hive only well-seasoned wood

used, and solicit a trial.

ILLUSTEATED CATALOGUES FREE.

SPECIAL NOTICEJOjRISHBEE-KEEPERS.

Mr. Kiewan's Article has caused him to receive a
great number of letters asking who makes the special
Sections that he has been so successful with.

They are the PATENT GROOVED
SECTIONS made by Thomas B. Blow,
Welwyn, Herts.

Illustrated. Catalogue giving f%tll details of these
Sections will be sent gratis and post free on application.

COMB HONEY IN SECTIONS.

During the pa^t winter I have purchased between two
and three tons of the above. It has been bought in-
discriminately from the Bee-Keepers of Great Britain
and Ireland. I hope to require five tons during the
coming autumn and winter, and shall purchase by
preference from those Bee-Keepers, who are among my
customers for appliances. Special arrangements can
be made to take the whole Comb Honey product of large
apiaries, and special prices can be given for the Honey
where part payment is taken in appliances. Spring
crates are lent free to insure safe transit by rail. Any
quantity of English Bees- Wax can also be purchased.

NSS«I»'|SSSS'|SS*|»|SSSNSS^S«|*|

THOMAS B. BLOW,

Manufacturer of Bee-Keeping Appliances,

WELWYN, HERTS.

May 3, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

171

I

Editorial ^atias, ^L

USEFUL HINTS.

"Weather. — After some days of heavy
ra!-i, which, however good for agricul-
tu;-.', is against honey -storing, warmth,
coipled with dry sunny days, is now
muoli to be desired for the bees. There
is still abundant bloom in some orchards,
but a good deal of it has wasted its
sweetness so far as bees go, the wdnd
having been too cool and the air too
moist for the work of honey -gathering.

Results from " Wells " Hives. —
This being about the time Avhen plans for
the coming season are being matured, we
venture to ask those of our readers Avho
possess hives being Avorked on the
" Wells" or double-queen system, to keep
a careful account of the results obtained
from such hives for publication in our
pages in the autumn. It goes without
saying how much of interest to members
of the bee fraternity such reports would
possess, because, while admitting the
undoubted success of the plan in Mr.
Wells' own hands, there seems to be
some doubt as to the advantage it pos-
sesses for the ordinary bee-keeper, and
we think no one will be no more desirous
of putting the plan to this test than its
introducer himself.

Swarming and Young Queens. — The
signs continue to increase that the year
'94 is not going to be a " non-swarmer "
like that of '93. Once the season is in
full swing, natural swarms are likely to
be plentiful, and as old queens are in the
majority in many apiaries it will be well
to preserve so many young queens as
may be needed to replace those which
have passed their second year. This
should not be difficult Avhere swarms
issue in settled warm weather from
supered stocks, by following the plan of
providing the swarm Avith a hive fur-
nished with full sheets of foundation,
and, after setting it on the old stand,
giving all surplus boxes or section racks
to the swarm to complete. The brood-
combs of the parent stock are then
formed into nuclei as may be required,
and the queens reared therein will take
the place of older ones deposed in
autumn.

Disinfecting Hives. — A Avell-known
American bee-keeper, writing to the
B. K. Review, referring to a method of
disinfecting foul-broody hives, which he
states has for several years proved "a
grand success," says :^

" Scrape the inside of the hive until
most of the bee glue for propolis is re-
moved, then paint the same with kero-
sene. Place inside a piece of burning
paper and let the kerosene burn off, and
you have a clean hive, thoroughly dis-
infected, and no harm done to the
outside, whether painted or not. Don't
let the fire burn so long as to char the
wood, but when slightly charred no
special harm is done, as it can be scraped
off. One person can thus disinfect fifty
hives in a few hours. The fire can be
quickly put out by laying a board over
the top, or simply by turning the hive
over. Try one empty hive, and see how
nicely the plan works.

"The first person I know of to dis-
cover and put into practice the disin-
fecting of foul-broody hives by the
kerosene and burning plan was George
Thompson, Geneva, Ills., who lost his
apiary twice by foul-brood. No foul-
brood has reappeared in any hive thus
treated, and such hives have now been in
use in his apiary for several years. The
plan is so simple, non-expensive, and
effective, there is now no excuse for using
such hives not disinfected."

Beginners' Queries. — We should
like to impress on beginners the absolute
necessity for obtaining a complete work
of some kind on the subject before
venturing into the modern system of
bee-keeping. Such a book is indispensable,
and it is no less unsatisfactory to our-
selves than to correspondents to be com-
pelled to deal briefly and incompletely
with queries which would take columns
of reply to be of much service. We
endeavour to help readers out of their
difficulties, but cannot pretend to teach
the whole art of bee-keeping through our
query and reply column, as some appear
to think ; and, although every efforton
our part is made to grasp the meaning
intended to be conveyed, the details sent
are often so vague and incomplete, and
leave so much to be imagined, that, as
we have said, it is impossible for
I beginners to get on without a book of

172

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 3, 1894.

reference Avhicli deals fully and in detail
with all the more important items of bee-
management.

DEATH OF MR. S. CORNEIL,

OF ONTARIO, CANADA.

A very brief notice in current number of
the Americcm Bee Journal, jnst to hand, con-
veys the sad news of the death of Mr. S.
Corneil, of Ontario, Canada, which occurred
quite suddenly in his garden on March 7
last. Our contemporary had only time to
insert a short paragraph announcing the sad
event before going to press, further details
being promised in next issue.

The deceased gentleman will be remembered
by not a few, who, along with ourselves, had
the pleasure of making his acquaintance,
together with that of Messis. D.A. Jones andR.
McKnight, as the Canadian delegates Avho
visited this country in charge of the fine
exhibit of Canadian honey staged at the
Colonial Exhibition held in London in 1886.

Mr. Corneil was one of the foremost bee-
keepers of Canada, and at the time of his
untimely death was secretary of the Ontario
Bee-keepers' Association. He was also a
frequent contributor to and an able corre-
spondent of the bee journals across the
Atlantic, taking an active interest in all that
is good in the crafc. We sincerely share in
the sorrow with which his more immediate
friends will lament his terribly sudden end.

WORCESTERSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The annual meeting was held at the Guild-
hall, Worcester, on Saturday, the 14th ult ,
when Mr. F. W. Jones presided. There were
also present: The Rev. E. Davenport (hon.
sec), Messrs. C. H. Haynes, H. O. Huntley,
Mrs. James, Messrs. Thorpe, Neale, F. W.
Rolling, Corbett, Bullock, Percy Leigh, and
others. Apologies for absence were announced
from the Earl of Coventry, the Rev. W. M.
Kingsmill, and Mr. Alfred Baldwin, M.P.

The Secretary read the eleventh annual
report, in which, among other matters, the
committee warmly congratulated the members
on the present condition of the affairs of the
association. The income kept pace with its
needs, the balance was not diminishing, and
the membership was larger than last year.
With the increased interest that had been
awakened in the objects of the association, by
means of the lectures and practical demon-
strations given during the past year, it was
expected that the membership would be still
further increased. The committee acknow-
ledged the liberal assistance given by the County
Council in their grant of £100. The trea-
surer's report showed that the total income was
£138. 2s. lid, the balance in favour of the
association being £18. 3s. 4^d.

The report and statement of accounts were
then approved and adopted. The Right Hon.
the Earl of Coventry was re-elected president,
and the vice-presidents were re-elected, as was
also Mr. George Hogarth, treasurer, and the
Rev. E. Davenport, secretary.

The committee were elected as follows : —
The Rev. W. M. Kingsmill, Messrs. W. S.
Latham, A. H. Martin, Haynes, J. Fehren-
bach. Griffin, J. Partridge, P. Leigh, W. E.
"Woodyatt, and Messrs. A. Baldwin and F.
Jones as the representatives appointed by the
County Council.

Messrs. Davenport and Haynes were ap-
pointed as representatives to the quarterly
conference, and Mr. Martin appointed ex
officio member on the committee of the British
Beekeepers' Association.

The Secretary explained that owing to the
depressed state of its finances just now, the
B.B.K.A. had been compelled to curtail
certain of the privileges hitherto accorded to
county associations — such as granting silver
and bronze medals and certificates at shows,
and the sending down of official judges to
shows, &c. — unless the affiliation fee paid by
county associations were increased.

After some discussion it was resolved to
raise the subscription to the Central Asso-
ciation to £2. 2s. per annum.

The question of dividing the county into
districts was referred to the committee for con-
sideration of details. It was resolved that
the next annual meeting be held at Kidder-
minster. A vote of thanks was accorded to
the chairman.

The draw for hives afterwards took place,
the winners being the Rev. E. Davenport and
Mr. Woodward.

NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM
BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The annual meeting of this Association was
held on Wednesday, April 11, in the Caf6,
Mosley-street, Newcastle, the chair being
taken by the Rev. R. E. Taylor. Amongst
those present were J. W. Wakinshaw, T. R.
Dodd, C.C, J. Darling, R, Brooks, J. Turn-
bull, and S. Arnott, Newcastle ; J. Atkinson
and A. Surtees, Gateshead ; R. J. Hindmarch
and T. Gardiner, Low Till ; T. Russell,
Wilson Ritson, J. L. Dent, C. Thompson, J.
Cuthbertson, W. Pearson, W. Johnson, T.
Talbot, and W. Richardson. Several letters
were also received from prominent members
in several districts regretting their inability to
attend.

Whilst partaking of refreshments, the
members adverted to the present populous con-
dition of their hives, from which it was gene-
rally anticipated that if the favourable weather
continued swarms in May would be the rule
rather than the exception.

The report showed that sixty new members
had joined since its formation in May last,
and in congratulating the members upon the

May 3, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

173

remarkable success of the " Wells " lectures,
the committee acknowledged the cordial co-
operation of the Northumberland County
Council, Mr. C. Williams, acting on their
behalf, having taken over the arrangements
for three lectures, and contributed a grant of
£5 towards the expenses of Mr. Wells' visit.
The report also draws attention to the fact
that arrangements have been made for volun-
tary expert assistance to be rendered, and
members who desire to be visited are requested
to advise the secretary. The financial state-
ment, although showing a slight deficit, was
considered satisfactory.

The following officers were elected for the
year ending February 28, 1895 : — Committee
— Messrs. J. C Angus, J. Darling, County
Councillor T. R. L)odd, Wm. Richardson,
Wilson Ritson, Councillor F. E. Schofield,
and the Rev. E. E. Taylor, and the local
correspondents. Hon. Treasurer — Joseph W.
Wakinshaw. Hon. Sec. — J. N. Kicld, 1,
Havelock-terrace, Gateshead-on-Tyne.

After disposing of the ordinary business,
an inspection was made of the apiarian appli-
ances that had been brought together by the
members. A very enjoyable evening was
brought to a close by a hearty vote of thanks
to the chairman.

ESSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

HOW THEY MANAGE A COUNTY SHOW IN ESSEX.

At a meeting of the committee of the Essex
Association, held on Saturday, the 21st ult., it
was decided to accept the offer of the Essex
Agricultural Society to take charge of the
honey and hive department at the County
Agricultural Show, to be held at Colchester,
June 13, 14, as they have done for the past
four or five years. The Agricultural Society
find the necessary covered shedding and give
.£10 towards the prizes, the association under-
taking all other expenses. Conditional upon
receiving a grant similar to that given at Rom-
ford last year from the local committee, and
adequate support from inhabitants of the
neighbourhood in the shape of special prizes,
it was decided to issue a schedule based on
the same lines as previously, and arrange for
demonstrations and lectures in the bee tent.
The Essex Bee-keepers' Association are in the
unique position on these occasions of getting
no gate-money, so that all expenses incurred
have to be met by special grants and donations.
At Romford last year the local committee
made a grant of £20, and liberal donations
■were made towards the prize list, so that the
association -were able to hold a big county
show, and offer prizes to the value of close
upon £30, at a cost to their general fund of
only £5. It is intended this year to have an open
class for Collection of appliances, with prizes of
£3 and £1, in the hope that exhibits will be
sent to Colchester on their way to the " Royal "
at Cambridge the following week.

OfontBpiuknt^.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous comtnunications, and cor7-espondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, 7iot necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should \be drawn on separate pieces of_ paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Coinmunieations relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Sho7vs, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, Ac, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <kc., must be addressed
to " The Manager, ' British Bee Journal ' Office, 17,
King WilUam,-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of Advertisements).

AN OPEN LETTER TO MR. WELLS.

[1832.] Will Mr. Wells kindly answer the
following as regards his double queen stocks ?
— 1. Do you keep them chiefly in hives that
only hold seven frames on each side of the
dummy, and tier up on top with a box of
shallow frames, continuing the dummy up to
the top of this first box, thus giving the
queens opportunity to extend the brood nest
upwards ? 2. At the end of the season what
do you usually do with these frames of comb ?
As I take it, there will be a lot of pollen and
honey in them, for I presume the brood nest
is reduced down to the bottom lot of frames.
3. In the case of swarms issuing from these
stocks when you take the combs and brood
away to form nuclei, do you return the set
of shallow frames next to brood nest 1 I ask
this supposing the queens may have been up
there, and that there will be brood in these
shallow combs. 4. Do you keep to these
four teen-frame hives entirely, or do you use
some holding ten-frames on each side, as several
makers are advertising them ? 5. When
giving surplus chambers — on top of the
shallow frames to which the queen has access,
and on which excluder is placed — do you tier
up with boxes of shallow frames on which the
excluder is placed with boxes of shallow
frames full length, so as to extend over all
the brood frames of both lots of bees ? In
giving the first lot of shallow frames to extend
the brood nest, do you give worked-out combs
or sheets of foundation for preference. — John
Walton, Weston, Leamington.

MORE LIGHT WANTED.

BEES FIGHTING AMONG THEMSELVES.

[1833.] One of my stocks — headed by a
queen raised in 1892, and which last year gave
twenty-one partly-filled sections, and wintered
well— on A-pvil 14 commenced fighting among
themselves, attacking bees returning to the
hive laden, and causing great destruction
among their own community, about a pint of
bees being found outside dead. After smoking
them, I at last succeeded in restoring quiet-
ness, only to find them fighting again on the
21st. I looked for the queen, and found they

174

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[May 3, 1894.

were balling her. I released her, but found
they still continued fighting. They ha^e
plenty of food, sealed grubs, eggs, &c. ; but
the eggs and brood are in patches on every
frame, and all over the place, just as if the
queen had been hunted about. Can you, or
any of your correspondents, throw any light
on this caso ? I may say the bees had not
been tampered with before the first outbreak.
Why do they fight, and what can be done to
prevent another outbreak ? This is no case of
robbing, as I have watched them for hours,
other stocks working well without excitement.
Drones made a fine show of themselves on the
21st inst. My other stocks are doing well. —
C. A. B., Tottenham, April 23, 1894.

[We should ourselves require "more light"
to enable us to safely say what ha? caused the
trouble referred to. There are so many cir-
cumstances which may possibly have influenced
the result — and of which no outsider can have
any knowledge — that at best it would be mere
guess-work, possessing little value. Only those
who have had a similar experience — which we
have not — can throw any useful light on the
matter without going into it at more length
than our space could afford. We shall be glad
to know if the queen has not been again
" balled " and killed since she was released on
the 21st ult , as we should certainly expect
that result. In any case it may be expected
that the bees will return to decent behaviour
now that work is being found for them in the
fields.— Eds.]

BEE-PLANTS.

[1834.] Last spring a gentleman offered,
through your columns, Canadian balsam
plants to any one sending stamps for postage
of same. I availed myself of his offer, and
received some plants that developed into
magnificent specimens.

1 shall now be very happy to follow his
example, and send any who care to have
them seedlings (self-sown), on receipt of
stamps to cover postage.— E. H. Hopkins,
Green Hill, near Bromsgrove.

OWNERSHIP OF STRAY SWARMS.

[1835.] Will the Editors of the B.B.J, give
their opinion on the following ? Supposing
me to have hived a swarm in the public high-
way, and putting them on a stand, would not
this constitute a claim to the bees ? If not,
seeing that there are several bee-keepers in the
neighbourhood, and having understood that
swarms will travel several miles, how am I to
know to whom a stray swarm belongs ? — A
Reader of B.B.J., Tetsioorth, April 29.

[If a swarm of bees settles on any part of a
public highway, and the owner of the hive
from whence they came, or some one acting in
his behalf, is not present to identify and claim

the swarm, the bees are, in the eye of the law,
" wild," and as such are claimable by the
person who secures them. On the other hand,
as has often been set forth in our columns,
the owner of a hive from which a swarm is
seen to issue can follow and claim them (if
not lost sight of while on the wing) wherever
they may go ; and any person who refuses to
give up the swarm, or to allow the owner to
take it, may be sued for its value. — Eds.]

WIDE-SHOULDERED FRAMES.

[1836.] I quite concur with Mr. Woodley's
suggestion in his notes (1810), that the top
bar (or, better still, the whole frame) should
be increased in width to 1 in. or l-V in? with
a corresponding diminished width in the
shoulders. I have always thought that the
g in. frames generally were rather too narrow,
and in consequence the combs more or less
project too far from the frame. I might also
suggest one or two other improvements in the
wide-shouldered frame — that is, the bottom bar
should, I think, be increased in thickness
from i in. to j in., and the side bars should
have a groove in them about ^ in. deep, and
just wide enough to take Abbott's new
foundation. Then I think the combs may,
with ordinary care, be put through the ex-
tractor without risk of damaging them, and
that, too, without the tedious and troublesome
process of wiring. I hope the firm referred to
will see their way clear to adopt the suggested
alterations in their frames, which I am of
opinion would be great improvements. —
"Buzzing," Broadway, April 25,

TAKING BEES TO HEATHER FOR
PROFIT.

[1837.] I notice a question is asked in B.J.
for April 19 (1001, p. 156), whether it is worth
while conveying two stocks of bees fifty miles
to heather to secure a second take of honey.
You do not advise it if profit only is studied.
I think, however, that if two or three joined
and sent two stocks each in charge of a man it
would pay. Anyway, I give my own expe-
rience last year, if you think it will help in
deciding the question. I took five stocks
twenty-five miles to heather, and got from four
of them 104 lb. of honey — the fifth being weak,
gave nothing. The expenses came to 33. 5d.
each way per hive, and they were away a
month. I would not scruple to take six or
eight stocks fifty miles, though there is always
a risk in the weather turning out bad for
honey gathering. — J. B., i2., April 25.

[We are very pleased to learn that our
correspondent made a success of his heather
journey last year, but, so far as the reply
given on p. 156, the facts stated above tend to
confirm the soundness of the view we ex-
pressed therein. — Eds.]

May 3, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

175

EARLY SWARMING IN THE NORTH.

[1838.] Sirs, — I just send you a bit of
news ; if you think it worth while jnit it intr)
the Journal. On Saturday morning, April
28, a hive that had been wintered on twelve
frames gave me a very large swarm, which we
consider very early up here in the North,
where the end of May or well into June is
about the time when swarming is usually
commenced. I do not encourage swarming,
but would keep them back if I could. All
my hives are in a very advanced state, and
though this morning (Monday) is dull, cold,
and a bit wet, I have at one hive a large bunch
of bees hanging out. I have not had to feed
neither last autumn nor this spring, so I think
things are looking well with us in the North.
Charles Scott, Gaton, Lancaster, April 30.

the ordinary twenty-one 1 lb. section rack,
and the queen-excluding adapting board and
super may be used with such.

When filled with honey and sent or taken
to shows or for sale the super is placed top
side down upon a carpet or felt-covered board,
with a plain board to protect the underside.
Either of these boards may be used as a stand
for show or shop purpose?.

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LACE-PAPER FOR SECTIONS.

[1839.] Perhaps some of your correspon-
dents may be able to inform me, through the
medium of the B.J., where I can get lace-
paper for sections the proper length, and, if
possible, with V-cuts for the corners. The
paper is a great embellishment to sections, but
the labour of cutting each strip the right size
and fitting the corners is too much, where, as
in my case, " time is money."

Favourable reports from this district.
Stocks wintered well, and are in good heart. —
Argyll, Campbeltown, April 29.

HOWARD s

((

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New and approved pattern.

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NOVELTIES FOR 1894.

This useful super is largely u^ed by Mr, W.
Hogg, of Castle Douglas, N.B., to whom I am
indebted for the p.\t!;ern.

THE ' SHEPPARD METAL DIVIDER.

HOWARD S

The super (;

CASTLE DOUGLAS ' SUPER.

as illustration) is same size as

For sectional work, and for ensuring perfect
work in 1 lb. sections.

THE " J.H.II.'' FRAME.

These frames are heat-retaining, self-fitting,
and self-distancing ; also perfect for extract-
ing. Eight frames just fill the space of ten
spaced to the ordinary standard distance the
one inch and thirteen-sixteenths distance is
just as freely accepted by the bee for storing
surplus honey as the narrower distance.

For illustration of frame, see advertise-
on p. iii of advertisements.

urm End |le|}I«s.

[1018.] Paching Bees for Transit in Frame-
hive. — I should be obliged for your opinion as
to best method of packing a stock in a " Sau-
dringham" hive — Lee's frames — "W.B.C."
ends, to travel 300 miles by rail and steamer ?
My own idea is to screw a piece of wood along
top of frame ends, back and front of hive, to
prevent upward motion. Remove slides at
entrance, fix on a piece of perforated zinc,
whole width of entrance. Then tie hive with
a rope to prevent cover coming off. Hive, of
course, will be packed down " winter height."
— J. W. Chalmers, Greenock, April 25.

Reply. — If the hive and bees are not in
charge of any person, but left to take their
chance on such a journey, a " distance rack "
should be aflixed across centre of floor-board
to keep the frames spaced on their lower sides,

176

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 3, 1894.

as the metal ends keep them at the top. The
" rack " is made from a slip of wood h in. thick
and 1 in. wide by cutting projections in its
narrow side to within f in. of the depth.
These projections pass up between the frames
and keep them apart. For the toj) make a
frame of wood I5 in. deep, and of such a size
that its front and back rest on the metal
ends while the other two sides rest on the hive
top. Cover this frame with " scrim " cr
cheese-cloth stretched tightly across, so that
when the frame is in position and screwed
down a space of 1^ in. is afforded above the
frame- tops into which the bees can pass for air
if overheated. Fix perforated zinc before
entrance as proposed, cord the hive strongly,
and "label live bees, with care." We need
hardly add that only combs well secured to the
frames, and over a year old, are fit to send on
such a journey as the above.

[1019.] Dealing loith Qiieenless Hive. — I
should be much obliged if you could help me
in any way as to the following : — 1. I have
two stocks. One seems to be very strong, the
bees covering about ten frames, with plenty of
brood ; the other covers five. I examined the
latter about a week ago and saw neither brood
nor eggs, and I have looked the combs over
to-day again and find them still in the same
condition. Is it not a sign of queenlessness ?
The bees take syrup well and are carrying in
pollen. Supposing there is no queen (2)
would it do to give them a frame of brood and
eggs from the strong stock in order to rear a
queen ? 3. How much syrup ought bees to
take in in spring ? Would half a pint a day
be too much ? — J. Morgan, Southjjort,
April 27.

Eeply. — 1. If no eggs or brood is present
at this time the stock will no doubt be queen-
less. 2. You might try them with a frame
from the strong hive as proposed, and they
may raise a queen, but if the bees have been
a long time queenless it is not certain they
will do so. 3. A pint of syrup per week is
ample for spring feeding.

[1020.] Advice to Beginners in Bee-heejnng. —
As a beginner I wish to ask : — 1. Should the
metal ends (Neighbour's) of frames be outside
or inside of the inner walls of hive ; would
they not afi"ect the temperature of hive too
much if inside ? 2. Should the frames which
are not covered in a hive by a section crate be
covered with a calico quilt stretched over
them, and then a piece of board on top of
quilt ; also, should the top of crate be covered
with the quilt pressed close down on the top
of sections, and board over quilt, or ought
there to be a passage left for the bees to pass
over from section to section 1 3. What distance
should the two outside frames be from the
dummy or sides of hive, to prevent bees
attaching the frames to them. 4. Would the
same way as described and illustrated in last
week's issue for hiving a swarm be suitable for

a hive with floor board that fits in and under
the outside walls of hive — with frames running
across the entrance — if raised at side instead
of front ; and will the queen go in with the
other bees, or will she have to be caught and
put in separately first ? 5. Which is the best
and simplest feeder and smoker for a frame
hive ? — Beginner, Ilford.

Reply. — We may say at the outset that no
beginner in bee-keeping on the modern plan
should omit the purchase of a Guide Booh of
some kind which supplies all the details of
bee- management. It is impossible to obtain
the needful information in our reply column.
For the rest : — 1. Obviously one face of the
metal end must be inside the hive, because of
the 'end' only spacing the frames but keeping the
bees from getting outside. 2. Any frames not
covered by the section-rack should be carefully
and warmly quilted down — as the brood-frames
always are — with several thicknesses of carpet
or felting, the top of sections being covered
down in the same way. Bee-passages are pro-
vided in a properly-made rack, and to leave
the openings in upper side of sections un-
covered would stop the bees from taking pos-
session of them, 3. Quarter inch from hive
sides and | in. from dummy. 4. It is ditficult
to answer this question without knowing the
exact form of hive being dealt with, but as it
would do no harm to raise the front of hive
one inch for the short time during which the
swartn is entering, we should not advise
raising it at the side, especially if the hive is
made to take more frames than are required
for the swarm. 5. There are dozens of good
feeders and smokers on the market, and it
would be palpably unfair for us to say which
is " the simplest and best " to the detriment
of all others, when it is so clearly a matter of
personal opinion.

[1021.] How to Judge when Honey-floio
Begins — Using Queen Excluders. — 1. How can
one know for a certainty the right time to
put the section-crate on the hives ? I should
like to know Avhether there is any unmistak-
able sign of the honey-flow setting in ? One
reads in guide 6ooZ;s what is to be done " when
the honey-flow has set in," but how is one to
know for certain 1 If it is determined by the
dropping of loaded bees at the entrance of
the hive after their foraging expeditions, or
the appearance of bits of new wax on the
combs, then I should say it had set in here, as
these signs are visible : the hives are crowded
with young bees, and bee forage very plentiful.
If I should be right in my conjecture, would
you advise my putting on section-crates at
once ? 2. Do you consider the zinc queen-
excluder indispensable before putting on
sections ? — B. W., Barnstaple, April 25.

Reply. — 1. Experience soon teaches the
bee-keeper when honey is coming in, but in
the meantime there is no more sure method of

May 3, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

177

ascertaining when surplus room is required
than by raising tlie quilt a little, so as to
expose the first frame on each side. If a good
few bees are seen in the space between the
outer combs and the hive-sides there are bees
enough ; then go a little further, and note if
the cells in upper part of combs are being
lengthened with light-coloured wax— this is a
certain sign. Judging by the indications
stated by our correspondent, no time should
be lost in giving sections, but Ave should take
a peep under the quilts nevertheless, to make
quite sure of the condition. 2. It cannot be
said that queen - excluder zinc is " indis-
pensable," excepting as a means of ensuring
the queen's exclusion from the compartment
of the hive below which it is placed. For the
rest, it is a matter of opinion, especially in
using sections. Many use it even with these,
some don't, the latter declaring that the queen
very rarely enters properly made section
racks. But we think nearly all concur in our
view, that it is very bad practice not to use it
below frames worked for extracted honey.

[1022.] Suspected Foul Brood. — I have a
stock of bees affected with foul brood. The
stock is fairly strong and very active now, and
the combs are fairly well filled with brood.
The foul brood can be detected by the eye and
also by the bad smell. If the disease is not
dealt with I am afraid it will spread during
the summer and get worse. Please give your
advice as to what I had better do. — J. E. S.,
per H. S., Arnold.

Reply.— We much prefer being certain as
to the presence of foul brood before advising.
Kindly cut out a piece of the comb containing
dead brood and forward it in a tin box — or
some such package — when we will be better
able to deal with the case. So many mis-
takes are made in judging whether brood is
diseased or not, we cannoc do less than ask
that this should be done.

[1023.] f; Dwindling Stock. — 1. I have two
Stocks of bees, one of which is doing remark-
ably well, but the other is dwindling down
instead of increasing in numbers. On opening
the la,tter to-day, I saw the queen, and found
thej' had plenty of stores, and some bees were
taking in pollen. Do you think — as the
frames are full-^that the queen has no place
to lay, and that breeding is therefore not
going on as fast as it ought ? What do you
advise me to do 1 2. How many frames ought
a hive to contain before sections are put on ?
3, How do you account for the floor of the
hive being damp, as the roof is quite sound ?
— F. W. Hamlyn, Totms, April 27.

Reply. — 1. If the combs are full of honey,
and there are no vacant cells in which the
queen can deposit eggs, it is obvious that no
increase in population can take place. The
remedy is to remove a comb or two of sealed
food, and either replace with full sheets of
foundation or extract the contents and return

the empty frames. 2. About ten of " standard ''
size. 3. The dampness is the result of con-
densation of the warm air of the hive on the
cooler surface of the hive wall, the moisture
running down on to the floor-board. It does
no harm at this season.

[1024.] Pahlishing Nanus of Ejohihitors.^
Now that you have the names of the hive
makers who <vill exhibit at the Royal show at
Cambridge, could you not publish them in the
British Bek Journal. I have lost a day's
work visiting shows on purpose to see person-
ally certain hive makers, only to find they
were not there, nor exhibiting, and perhaps
other readers of the British Bee Journal
have been disappointed in a similar way. — ^W.
Ford.

Reply. — We do not kaow why our corre-
spondent assumes that ive have the names of
intending exhibitors at the " Royal '' show
Anyway, he is entirely in error. No one has
the names but the secretary, and we may safely
say that gentleman knows his dutie? well
enough to keep the information to himself. A
postcard to all the best known makers would
only cost a few coppers, and perhaps obtain
for our correspondent the desired inform ition.

[1025.] Queen cast out of Hive. — 1. I have a
stock of bees covering six frames, and four of
which contained brood. They were doing-
well, and I hoped to have them ready for the
clover, but yesterday I found the queen dead
outside the hive. In my other two hives,
there is plenty of capped drone brood. Do you
think if I let them requeen themselves I
should get any surplus from them ? 2. In
how many days is a young queen likely to
hatch out, and how soon will it be before she
commences to lay ? 3. If, as the brood
hatches out, I put the empty combs in one or
other of my other hives to be filled with eggs,
and then replace them again, do you think it
would answer, or would it burden the other
three hives, which at present are very strong
ones, having a super on ? 4. If I did this, do
you think they would be strong enough to
super by the middle of June ? An answer to
the above queries would greatly oblige, as I
am rather doubtful how to act. — F. C. Bell,
Dulwich, April 30,

Reply. — 1. Of course, the time which must
necessarily elapse before any addition can be
made to the population will seriously lessen
the chances of a harvest from the stock, though
the progeny of the new queen would be at
work by mid-June, and so they may yield
eome surplus. 2. She may hatch on the
twelfth or thirteenth day, and may not until
the sixteenth, the diff"erence depending on the
age of the larva chosen to raise her from. 3.
You might help the stock with a comb of
brood from each of the other hives, which
would assist the queenless bees very much.
By inserting a full sheet of foundation for
combs of sealed brood you will not retard the

178

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 3, 1894.

other stocks in any appreciable degree. 4.
That would depend largely on other circum-
stances being favourable or adverse.

[1026.] Clippinff Queens to Prevent Swarm-
ing.— I have four stocks of bees, the care of
■which I shall be obliged to give over to a lady
who is anxious to prevent swarming as much
as possible, she having no time to watch for
the swarms. Would you recommend me to
clip the wings of the queens ? I see this plan
is spoken of in bee-books, but as I have never
heard of its being used, I should like your
advice. — J. D. B.

Reply. — "Clipping" queens will not pre-
vent swarming ; nor is it supposed to do so.
It is only intended to stop the swarm from
decamping by reason of the queen's inability
to accompany the would-be runaways. The
mutilated queen, being unable to fly, drops to
the ground, where, if discovered, she is joined
by the bees of the swarm, but they require
hiving in the ordinary way. There is no sure
way of preventing swarms. Giving timely
room, ventilation, and shide in hot weather
lessens the risks very much, but only that.

[1027.] Swarms from '^ iVells" Hives. —
To-day (29th) I had a swarm from my
" Wells '' hive which settled on a hedge.
There were two distinct clusters, and I took
them to be two swarms. We hived them
easily in separate boxes, soon put them into
spare hives, and all went quietly, when about
•two hours later I found that one of the swarms
had disappeared. The other lot is going on well.
Do you think they were two swarms ? — W. R.
Traviss, WUlesden Green, N. W.

Reply. — If both compartments of the
" Wells " hive swarmed, there would be two
queens, and the probability is that both were
hived in one of the " clusters " named. If
this is so, no doubt the bees of the swarm
which " disappeared " either joined the one now
doing well, or returned to the parent hive.

[1028.] Bees Dying in Sjning. — A. friend
of mine has three stocks of bees, which I occa-
sionally assist in managing. About three
weeks ago the bees of one hive began to die
off in great numbers, and in a very short time
at least a quart were lying on the ground. I
have never visited them during the daytime,
but in the evening the bees that had been
thrown out during the day were still moving
their legs. I have opened the hive, but could
find no apparent reason. They have plenty of
food, and were at the same time fed with a
stimulating feeding-bottle. I have had a note
to day saying, " Hundreds more have been
thrown out." I send you a box of the bees
that have been thrown out, and would be glad
if you could enlighten me as to the cause of
death. — Lake District, April 21.

Reply. — The symptoms described rather
point to it leing a case of that mysterious

bee-complaint known among bee-keepers as
the " nameless disease,'' for which no reliable
remedy has been found. In Germany it is
called the " May disease," because of it
usually making its appearance in that month.
After continuing about two or three weeks,
it nearly always stops, and the hive then goes
on as usual.

(&t][U% frijm lite liMs,

Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington, April 26.
— On Saturday, the 21st inst., I moved some
single stocks into hives intended for working
on the double-queen system, and was agreeably
surprised to find them very forward for the
time of year ; lots of brood and plenty of
drones on the conibs. Since then whenever
it has been fine about middle of the day, there
is no mistaking the heavy hum of the drones,
even though the bees were as though they
were all going to swarm together after a good
spell of wet weather that will make the beef
and mutton grow (as some folks say), also the
honey plants. I was standing under a syca-
more tree about six o'clock last night, the sun
thining bright and warm at the time, and the
sree appeared to be literally alive with bees,
so thick were they on the blossoms. The
weather having been showery for four or five
days, I took three large cakes of candy to
put on some stocks, a mile away from home,
just to cheer them up a bit while the wet
lasted. When I got there the bees were taking
full advantage of the bit of fine weather, the
pollen-carriers did bundle in. I have been
gently feeding with thin syrup at my home
apiary, and am well satisfied with the result,
although I lefc about six stocks to themselves
just to see which I thought did the best.
There are vast quantities of dandelions in
bloom all around, and lots of bloom of turnips
and greens, &c., which I have left in the allot-
ment specially for the bees. The hawthorn
will be oat in a few days ; apples and pears
are just now at their best and alive with bees.
Lucky are people that have got plenty of bees
near to them, so that when it is fine the bees
may fertilise the blossoms. When it is so
stormy and squally, bees seldom venture very
far from home as they do in more settled
weather. — John Walton.

SEASONABLE QUESTIONS.

ANSWERED BY G. M. DOOLITTLE.

Pollen Nezessary for Brood-Rearing .

Question. — Is it necessary for bees to have
pollen in the hive for them to raise brood ?

Answer. — I believe that if such a condition
were possible as not having a single particle of
pollen in a hive, and where none could be
obtained by the bees from any source, no

May 3, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

179

brood could be reared and brought to perfec-
tion ; but I doubt the possibility of there
being such a condition as absolutely no pollen
in any hive containing a colony of bees that
has passed the winter in such hive. All honey
contains more or less floating pollen ; combs
in which pollen has been stored previously
contain many particles of the same, according
to Professor Cook, and if nothing else is avail-
able bees will collect fine pirticles of wood and
use in place of farina from tlovvers, as I have
frequently seen them doing from a pile of fine
sawdust which was taken from the shop where
I used my plane-saws. Elisha Gallup told in
the American Bee Journal, years ago, how he
hived a swarm of bees so late in the season
that they built only three pieces of comb,
about as large as the hand, and, as an experi-
ment, he fed them honey all winter, and in
early spring they commenced brood-rearing
before being taken from the cellar, finally
building up a fine colony and storing con-
siderable surplus honey that season. 1 have
had similar experiences, but find that the less
pollen there is in the hive the less brood will
be reared ; and where there is scarcely any
pollen, or, as most people would say, none at
all, there would be but few cells of brood
raised, and this brood be scrimped in food and
appear weak and sickly. Nothing incites
brood-rearing like plenty of pollen in the hive,
with the necessary honey ; and with the
advent of new pollen brood-rearing commences
in earnest. I have fed the bees meal and flour
many years, thinking that it would take the
place of pollen from the flowers ; but after a
careful watching I am satisfied that such is
not the case, and I doubt its paying to feed
bees in this way, aside from the fun there is
in seeing the bees work on the flour, where
pollen is to be had from the flowers in from
forty to fifty days previous to the honey
harvest, — Gleanings,

Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

km% ta (^^mt

June 12 to 15. — Royal Counties Agricul-
tural Show at Canterbury. Entries close
May 31. Hives, honey, &c. Secretary, Bee
Department, John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's
Langley.

June 25 to 29. — Royal Agricultural Show
at Cambridge. Entries close May 1. Post
entries at double fees till May 12. Secretary,
John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's Langley.

August 10 and 11. — At Dumfries. South
of Scotland B.K.A. Very liberal prizes.
Schedules from W. Wilson, Acrehead, Dum-
fries.

August 22 and 23.— At Derby. Derby-
shire B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. At]iins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby. " ~'

All queries forivarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest ivill be answered in this column.

J. E. Wilkes (Wolverhampton). — We are
glad to hear that the advice given on p. 137
served the purpose so well. Replying to
queries : — 1. The presence of drones at this
season indicates preparations for swarming,
2. When hives are fall of bees, and honey is
coming in, supers should be set oa without
delay. 3. Old brood-combs, though per-
fectly healthy, are always dark in colour.
4. Honey stored in old broo<:l-combs is sure
to be more or less adversely affected both in
flavour and colour compared with that in
white virgin combs.

H. TwENTYMAN (Castlecrofo). — Drone-traps
are rarely used now, preference being given
to the better plan of keeping combs free
from superfluous drone-cells. Meadows' new
" swarm-catcher " makes an excellent drone-
trap.

Thos. McMurdo. — Weight of Honey gathered
by Bees in a Single Day. — -We cannot put
our hand on the "record" return of honey
gathered by a stock of bees in one single
day in England ; though we think the
increase in weight gained by a single
stock belonging to the senior Editor of this
journal, Mr. T. W, Cowan — 20 lb, in one
day— has rarely, if ever, been exceeded in
England.

John Norry (Ironbridge). — Queen Deposed.-^
The queen sent is a very fine one, and bears
no appearance of being old and worn out.
But for your statement that the hive had
never been opened this year till after the
queen was cast out, we should have feared
some injury to her had occurred while lifting
out the frames ; as it is, however, the case
is quite a mystery. Give the bees another
chance to raise a queen by inserting a comb
. containing eggs and young larvie.

E. TuRNHAM (Herts). — Pollen-choked Combs. —
No trace whatever of foul brood. The comb
is choked with pollen, the sealed cells
having a slight covering of honey. Perhaps
there are no empty cells for brood, as you
state that " there are a fair amount of bees,
but they are not very busy." It is either so
or the hive is queenless.

I. U. Tersot^.— Suspected Foul Brood. — Of
the three samples of comb received only one
has any sealed cells at all, and these only
two or three in number, without the slightest
trace of any contents. The other samples
are merely pieces of old mouldy and mis-
shapen combs, which ought to be removed
and melted up forthwith. There is no
reason to suppose the hive is foul-broody.

R. J. (Bentham). — The insects sent belong to
the andrena species of British beeSj and f^rei
^ommonly known as " si\ncl bees,.';

180

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[May 3, 1894.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situationg, Publicationg, Bee Plants, d-c.—Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

BEE PLAXTS, Limnanthes Donglasii, 100, Is. 3d.
Iceland Poppies, 25, Is. 3d. Limnanthes Dougiasii
Seed, 6d. paclcet. HuxTiXG, Loddon, Norfolk. D 78

NGLISH and ITALIAN BEES FOE SALE . T. HlXL,
Sutlands, Cannock Road, Wolverhampton. D 79

FOK SALE, STOCKS of BEES on Standard Frames or
in Straw Skeps. Jas. Weathekhead, Elj-, Cam-
bridgeshire. D 77

PUKE ENGLISH BEES. Splendid strain Swarms
from 10s. 6d., Nuclei 5s. on rail, Queens 3s.
delivered. Alsford, Expert, Blandford. D 80

FIRST SWAPaifi of my splendid strain of BEES,
which cannot be excelled, 15s. packed free. John
Waltox, Honey Cott, West on, Leamington. D 72

BEES (Carniolan) FOK SALE. Swarms (including
box) 22s. each. Keady early in May. Order early.
C. MOKKET, Five Ways, Neston, Chester. D 76

A

PIARY. — Young man requires SITUATION in

above. N. , 7, ilerton-street, Banburj'. D 73

GUARANTEED HEALTHY NATURAL SWARMS,
- (Pure Natives), 3.4 to 4 lb. each, price 12s. 6d.
Packing included. Expected middle May. Orders in
rotation. Address, C. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundou,
Clare. Suffolk^ D74

TTTANTED, SECTION CRATES in exchange for good
\ V extractor. William Parsons, Esq., Ashurst-place,
Langton, Tmibridge Wells.

WANTED, intelligent LAD, with some knowledge of
gardening. Age about 15. Must be willing and
obliging, and of good character. Board, lodging, and
small wage first year. Badcocks Floral Depot Bexhill-
ou-Sea. D 65

FOK SALE, empty FRAME-HIVES. Some new.
Wright, Penkhull-terrace, Stoke-on-Trent. D'67

ANTED, EMPLOYMENT in Apiary by YOUNG
MAN. Used to bees and appliance making.
Seven years in trade. T. EARL, Lowfleld Apiary, Craw-
ley, Sussex. D 70

PURE HONEY, in tins 15 lbs. each, 6id. per lb.
Sample two stamps. Pomery, Kethem, St. ifawes.
irri

WANTED, SECTIONS of COMB HONEY (any qgan-
tity), and HONEY in bulk. State price, &c. Orders
also given for coming season. Packages sent. Address,
H., Bee Journal Office, 17, King William-street, Strand,
London. 199

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee:
stings like Magic, and prevents the hon-ible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stxmg,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. Holliday, Astbury,
Congleton.

STOCKS, NUCLEI, SWARMS, and QUEENS FOR
SALE. Address, The Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough,

Sussex. 192

" YE OLDE ENGLISHE BEE."

PURE, Prime Swarms of my Selected Strain of English
Bees, all 1893 Queens, Packing-box, and put on Rail
free, price 15s. Address, W. WOODLET, World's End,
Newbury.

Telegrams — " Ilsley, or Hampstead Norris."

Porterage Is. 6d.

BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the
CENTRAL SUPPLY STORES
fo.r all BEEKEEPERS' REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL
at the OLD SPOT, 50, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET,
GEORGE ROSE, successor to P. Harbordt.

Why pay carriage from long distances when you can
buy cheaper and quite as good quality locally, and have
your orders promptly attended to '? Catalogues gratis.
Send now. 14 varieties of Bee Flowers (full directions to
each), Is. Cash with order. 201

THE YORKSHIRE
Bee-keepers' Supplies

WILLIAM DIXON,

5, Beckett St., Leeds.

Hives, Extractors,

Smokers, Feeders

I'oundation, &c.

Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver,ii:BronzeMedals.

226

THE "WELLS SYSTEM"

Described by the Originator,

GEORGE WELLS,

Price 6id. Post Free.

To he had of the Author only. 206

HONEY AND ITS USES. By the Rev.
Gerard W. Bancks, M.A. 3/6 per

100, 8/- i^er 250, 14/6 per 500, carriage paid.
By freely distributing this Pamphlet, a ready
market for Honey may be made in the
Bee-keeper's own neighbourhood.

Specimen Copy on ((ppUcation.
Address Durham House, Green Street

Green, Dartford. 176

MOST IMPORTANT

Yes', if you want Honey. Now is the time to learn
" H o'w to prevent b-warmina: " in bar-frame hives,
and to " Transfer Stocks from Skeps to Frame-
liives." Evei-}' bee-keeper should also know " How
to make an artificial Swarm " successfully. All
these, (tc, 3d. only.

DON'T DELAY.
W. RUSHTON, Hive Factory, Bedford.

203

URTT, GLOUCESTER

EE-APPLIANCE T\

MANUFACTURE! I

I am very careful to hive only well-seasoned wood
used, and solicit a trial.
ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUES_FREE.

is the Oldest Es-
tablishment in
the United
Kingdom
wholly devoted
to Bees and

manufacture of Bee-keepers' supplies. His prices will
compare most favourably with those of any other Maker,
while for quality of material, suitability and workman-
ship he has no rival.

A large consignment of the beautiful

"FALCONER" SECTIONS,

both 4 bee-way and 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct importation.

Price 2/6 per 100 ; cut to receive Foundation, 3/- per 100.
By Parcel Post, 1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which "contains more practical and reliable hints
than all the large, expensive books," post free for
2d. stamps.

Address S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent.

N.B. — More than 500 Silver and Bronze Medals, First and

other Prizes, and Testimonials innumerable.

AIDWIN'

0

May 10, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

181

,h.

MANUFACTURED COMBS.

Among the novelties for 189-4 already-
introduced, and those anticipated, it is
questionable if any single one "will be
regarded with more curiosit}^ if not
interest, by bee-keepers than that just
brought under our notice by Mr. Otto
Schultz, of Buckrow, Germany. Whether
or not faults may reveal themselves in
the new " bee-appliance " when practi-
cally tested Ave do not stop now to
inquire, but we have presented to us a
sample of finished comb — made from
genuine beeswax with worker cells h in.
deep — which has never been touched by
bees at all, but is just as it comes from
the machine of the manufacturer.

That it is heavier than natural comb is
seen at once, but if acceptable to the
bees, and fulfilling its purpose effectually,
the fact of artificially-made comb being
not only possible, but actually before us
and on the market, may have a consider-
able effect on the future of bee-keeping.
Our first impression was that it takes too
much wax and will, consequently, be too
costly for frequent use ; but apart from
that aspect, and ?/ it works out right in
other respects, combs may be bought ready
fitted — or for fitting — into frames in such
a way that all the devices for ensuring
straight combs, the many and various
contrivances for having them built
securely in frames and attached to the
wood on all sides, the difficulties in con-
trolling or regulating the number of
drone-cells, in fact, quite a lot of troubles
to the bee-keeper, will vanish as if by
magic ! The sample piece of comb is
just as true, straight, and level as a piece
of planed deal-board an inch thick. It
fits the box in which we received it
quite close all round, no packing is used,
and, when the lid is on, it may be dropped
on the floor Avithout being broken.

AVe can Avell imagine bee-keepers
asking such questions as — («) What
will the bees do Avith it ; Avill they pare
the side Avails doAvn to the normal thin-
ness of natural comb 1 (h) And if they
do, Avhat becomes of the superfluous
Avax 1 or (c) Seeing that the cells are
minus the upward tend of natural comb,
hoAv Avill the bees like that 1 (d) What
will it cost 1 and so on — All of Avhich

questions — saving the last one — we leave
unansAvered for the present. We hope,
however, to make a practical trial of the
neAV article, and Avill report results.

Meantime, and lest our foundation-
makers should feel any alarm for their
future trade, it is reassuring — from their
standpoint — to knoAv that bee-keepers
Avill not be too ready to spend ten shil-
lings or so per hive for fitting it up with
artificially - made combs. hoAvever good.
And thisAvill be about the cost, according
to the prices sent, Avhich are as foUoAvs :
Frames, ready-fitted Avith comb, size,
14i in. X 9 in.. Is. 6d. ; ditto, 9 in. x
7^- in., 9d. — these being the sizes used in
Germany. " Standard " frames should
run about Is. 2d. each, at these prices.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The monthly meeting of the committee of
the above association Avill be held at 103,
Jermyn-street, W.. on Thursday, the 10th
May, at four o'clock sub-committee meetings
being held, as usual, at 17, King William-
street, prior to the above meeting.

At six o'clock p.m. the Quarterly Conver-
sazione will take place at Jermyn-street, Avhich
all members and bee-keepers connected Avith
affiliated associations, Avho happen to be in
town, are cordially invited to attend.

ACCIDENT TO MR. J, M. HOOKER.

We regret to record a rather serious accident
Avhich betel the above gentleman on the morn-
ing of the 21st ult. Mr. Hooker had, by
request, journeyed to the North of Scotland
A\'ith the purpose of imparting instruction in
modern methods of bee-keeping among the
members of the bee-society established by the
Hon. Miss Eraser on the estate of her brother.
Lord Lovat, near Inverness. He had already
spent a Aveek there, and Avas, Ave understand,
getting on pleasantly and Avell Avith the
northern bee-keepers Avhen the unfortunate
accident occurred. While being driven in a
dogcart by one of Lord Lovat's grooms the
horse bolted and became unmanageable, and
wh'le going at a great pace one of the Avheels
collided Avith a gate-post, and Mr. Hooker Avas
thrown into a duch some considerable distance
below the level of the road, sustaining severe
injuries in his fall. He Avas conveyed back to
Beauley Avith ail speed, and on being examined
by a medical m;in there his collar-bone and
three ribs Avere found to be broken. At his
own request he Avas removed to the Infirmary
at Inverness, where he noAv remains, attended
by his daughter, Avho on hearing of the mishap
at once proceeded north to be with her father.
Mr. Hooker's many bee friends will be pleased
to hear that he is doing very Avell, and hopes to
be all right again in a few weeks.

182

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [May 10, 1894.

WARWICKSHIKE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The annual meeting was held on Thursday,
April 26, in Birmingham. Mr. R. Ramsden
presided, in the unavoidable absence of Mr. P.
A. Muntz, M.P. The annual report showed
that steady progress had been made during
the year. The Chairman, in moving its adop-
tion, said he was sorry to see that there was
an adverse balance of £ld. He should have
liked to have seen a bigger grant made by the
County Council, and he did what he could to
obtain more. Still he did obtain a grant,
which he considered rather better than nothing,
but the association did not seem to think so,
seeing that they refused it. He emphasised
the pecuniary value of bee-keeping to cot-
tagers. The Rev. J. Hatton seconded, and
remarked that the adverse balance was due to
the increased expenses in connection with the
Solihull show. There had been a material
intjrease in the number of subscribers and
members. The resolution was carried. On
the motion of Mr. Pearson, the jjresident and
vice-presidents were thanked for their services
and re-elected. The committee and honorary
treasurer and auditor were also thanked and
re-appointed, and Mr. J. N. Bower re-elected
honorary secretary, Mr. J. R. Ingerthorpe
assistant secretary, and Mr. W. B. Webster
expert. The business concluded with the
usual vote of thanks, after which Mr. W. B.
Webster (the expert) delivered a lecture upon
" Supering, extracting, and marketing of
honey."

HUNTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION,

The annual meeting of the Hunts Bee-
keepers' Association was held on the 14th inst.
at the Fountain Hotel. Mr. A. W. Marshall
presided, and among those present were the
Hev. F. Jickling, the Eev. C. G. Hill (hon.
sec), Messrs. J. Linton, W. H. Woods, R.
Brown, C. N. White, Sharpe, Watts, E. Allen,
Hicks, and Mrs. Allpress.

After some preliminary business had been
gone through, the hon. secretary read the
annual report, which recorded a very favour-
able season for bees last year, and gave useful
advice as to grading honey. It was stated that
technical lectures on bee-keeping had been
giveri by Messrs. Howard and White ; also,
that if the funds of the Association permitted
the expenditure it would be desirable to follow
the plan of employing experts to visit members
needing their services. The accounts show a
balance in hand of £1. 3s. 4d.

The report was adopted, as was a motion to
increase the subscription to the B.B.K.A. to
two guineas this year instead of one guinea as
formerly.

The officials of the Association were re-
elected en bloc, and on the conclusion of the
business Mr. C. N. White read h'm promised
paper on " Bee Diseases," for which he was
accorded a hearty vote of thanks.

IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The committee met on 1st instant. Mr.
Read in the chair. It was resolved to give
lectures and demonstrations in the bee-tent in
June at or near Castlederg, followed by an
evening lecture, illustrated with lantern
slides, on bee-keeping.

(JforMpid^itts.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should , be draion on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected coinmunications.

Communications relating to the literary departtnent,
reports of Associations, Shoios, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Beview, ttc, m-ust be addressed only to "The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All busiiiess communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <S;c. , must be addressed
«o"The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of Advertisements).

*,* Ln order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1840.] We have reached the merry month
of May, though up to the time of writing the
temperature is more like March than May —
dull, cloudy days, with cold, boisterous winds
and occasional glimpses of the sun ; bees busy
for an hour or two in the middle of the day,
though many must get lost in the fields by
chilly weather and cold storms, as we do not
get spells of warm sunshine afterwards to
revive the weather-beaten little labourers, and
enable them to reach home with their loads of
honey and pollen.

Our swarming season has not opened yet.
One in Newbury district and one in a cosy dell
near here were the earliest instances this
season. I heard of one at Peasemore, some
two miles from here ; but these returned to
the parent hive next day. Probably an empty
hive, no furniture, and no larder, coupled
with a cold day and colder night, decided the
record-breaking swarm to return to more
normal habits, and await a more propitious
opportunity to establish a new home. The
Newbury swarm was in good hands, likely to
receive a supply of food, and in the other case
I gave instructions to feed continuously till a
break in the weather.

Stocks in both my home and out-apiaries
are progressing satisfactorily, and I have no
doubt swarms will soon be on the wing, weather
permitting. How are those March and April
swarms prospering that the new method was to
produce ? I trust those who have given it a
fair trial will enlighten us on the success or
otherwise of their endeavours to secure ab-
normal bees, and also if the " plumping " uj}
of weak stocks has been successful. I am too

May 10, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

183

busy myself to give these new ideas the atten-
tion required to insure their success, therefore
hope to hear from others -who can devote the
time to experiments.

Mr. McEvoy reports that foul brood is de-
creasing in Canada, and Dr. Miller relates in
Gleaninf/s a case of foul brood being cured by
naphthaline placed in the hive. The dead
brood was cut out of the frames, and as the
colony was found to be queenless a week or
two later a small nucleus colony was added,
and naphthaline continued. The colony pros-
pered, aud when the time for packing for
winter came it was one of the best in the
apiary, with no trace of foul brood. This par-
ticular case of curing foul brood occurred in
France, and was first given in the French bee-
journal L^Apiculteur. But it proves the
value of naphthaline as a germicide, and shows
that with a persistent use of the remedy it is
effectual. Possibly, the internal use of
naphthol beta given in food to the bees
would cure more rapidly, but the above
simple plan must commend itself to
even the careless bee-keeper — as there was
no boiling the hive and its fittings, no starving
the bees for forty-eight hours, no expense of
new frames and combs. Either the microbe is
not so tenacious of life as our scientists have
led us to believe, or else the germicidal powers
of the remedy is more powerful than we sus-
pected. Messrs. Abbott Bros.' new cheap
all-wood frame is a marvel of good workman-
ship, and designed to meet a want. There are
some bee-keepers who object to the use of
metal inside the hive ; to such this frame will
come as a boon ; it is also interchangeable
with all the styles of metal ends which are
level with the tops of bars, as the distance-
keepers are on each side on similar hives to
the metal ends. The foundation is fixed in
the centre groove, and held in place by the
usual wedge in the outer groove. This method
of fixing foundation has many advantages over
the old style of saw-cut in the top bars : — 1.
There is a saving of wax, as the groove will
only take a narrow strip of the top part of
a sheet of foundation. 2. The method of
fixing is si(re — at least it has been so in my
hands. 3. There is no place in which the
larva of the wax moth can revel in luxury and
comfort as in the old style saw-cut. 4. The
top bars of brood nest can be cleaned more
expeditiously.

A correspondent suggests that we have a
"beginners' column," or corner, or page, to
contain elementary suggestions helpful to
novices in our ranks. Well, I suppose our
raw recruits want training in the most rudi-
mentary parts of the craft. Some in answer
will say, let the beginner buy a cheap manual
on bee-keeping. Why fill our pages with
milk-sops suitable only for tyros ? Give us
something practical, something useful to the
advanced bee-keeper. HeliJ us to keep abreast
of the times in things apicultural. It we take
this line of argument, what is to become of

the new hands that are now taking — and will
in the future take — hold of the craft, aye, and
be the mainstay of it after we older ones have
joined the Majority ? Therefore, I would say,
let us endeavour to meet the wishes of all
interested in the industry, and if a page can
be given in the Record monthly and a page
for beginners every alternate week (shall we
call it the A B C class?) in B.B. J., these simple
notes may prove instructive and suggestive to
the more advanced in the higher standards. —
W. WooDLEY, Beedon, Newbury.

THE '= WELLS" SYSTEM.

REPLY TO MR. WALTON"s " OPEN LETTER."

[1841.] I see in B.B.J, for May 3, p. 17.3,
our friend Mr, John Walton addresses a few
questions to me, and I have much pleasure in
answering them. He says : — 1. " Do you keep
them (the bees) chiefly in hives that only hold
seven frames on each side of the dummy, and
tier up on top with a box of shallow frames,
continuing the dummy up to the top of this
first box, thus giving the queens opportunity
to extend the brood-nest upwards ? " I
answer, that is exactly what I do ; but I find
that the dummy in this second box need not
be perforated. A plain piece of board from
one-eighth to three-eighths of an inch thick
will answer the j^urpose well, but I would
much prefer the hive large enough to hold
twenty standard frames, and thus confine each
queen to ten frames on each side of the
dummy. By this means all tiering up above
the brood-frames in body-box would be for
surplus honey.

2. Mr. Walton says :— " At the end of the
season what do you usually do with these
frames of comb, for I presume the brood-nest
is reduced down to the bottom lot of frames 1 "
I answer, that is so. I proceed as follows : —
After removing the last surplus box from
above the box of shallow brood-frames, I take
oft' the queen excluder zinc and drive both
c^ueens down into the bottom lot of frames,
and then remove the box of shallow brood-
frames, place the queen excluder zinc over the
brood-frames in the lower body, and set the
box of shallow brood-frames on top of the zinc.
In about three weeks all brood in the latter is
hatched out, the box of shallow frames is re-
moved, a super-clearer is then slipped under,
and when the box is clear of bees it is taken
into the extracting - room and the honey
removed, after which the wet combs are
cleared by the bees in the usual way.

3. Mr. Walton then says : — " In the case of
swarms issuing from these stocks when you
take the combs and brood away to form nuclei,
do you return the set of shallow-frames next
to the brood-nest ? I ask this supposing the
queens may have been up there, and that there
will be brood in these shallow-frames." That is
so in every case. Everything is put back on
to the hive as it was before the swarm issued.
Of course, the lower brood-nest is filled up

184

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 10, 1894.

either with clean empty combs or full sheets of
foundation.

4. He next says, "Do you keep to these
fourteec-frame hives entirely, or do you use
some holding ten frames on each side ? " I
answer, Hives holding fourteen-frame hives
are used, although I have two taking twenty
frames in each with entrance at one end, and
in order to adopt these to the two-queea sys-
tem, another entrance has been cut at the side.
But I do not like them so well, as the floor-
board cannot be lowered and raised as in the
others, being all in one piece, and if lowered
at the end as arranged when working with one
queen only it would leave a space under
dummy, and so allow the two queens to meet.
Hence my not favouring these hives. I think
a hive to hold twenty standard frames with
entrance the whole length of one side and the
frames at right angles to it is much to be pre-
ferred in the two-queen system.

5. Mr. Walton then says : — " When giving
surplus chambers — on top of the shallow-frames
to which the queens have access, and on which
excluder is placed — do you tier up with boxes
of shallow-frames on which the excluder
is placed with boxes of shallow - frames
full length, so as to extend over all the
brood - frames of both lots of bees ? " I
answer, certainly, and this is one of the main
features in the system. He also says : — ■" In
giving the first lot of shallow-frames to extend
the brood-nest, do you give worked-out combs
or sheets of foundation for preference?" I
prefer to use the same combs in shallow-frames
which have previously been used for brood
again and again, until considered advisable to
melt them up into wax. In fact, use them
just the same in every way as I do my stan-
dard-size frames.

I have endeavoured to make plain to friend
Walton what he is not clear about, and if any-
thing is still uncertain I do not mind trying
again ; but I fear I have taken up too much
space, anyway you know how to use the
scissors where required. — G. Wells, Ayles-
ford, Kent, May 7.

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING.

HOW I DID IT.

[1842.] On April 29 I noticed a cluster of
bees just above the entrance of one of my
skeps, and, as drones were flying very freely,
I determined to make an artificial SAvarm. On
May 1, about three o'clock in the afternoon,
after getting ready the materials required, I
commenced in the orthodox manner by send-
ing a few puffs of smoke into the hive, and
after giving the bees a minute or so to gorge I
inverted the skep. And what a sight met my
gaze ! Not a portion of a comb could be seen
for the quantity of bees the skep contained.
The day being dull, doubtless nearly all the
bees were at home. I was obliged to divide
the mass with my hand before I could see in
what position to iix the empty skep prepara-
tory to driving. When I had this right, and

began fixing the skep, I found two of my
driving-irons were missing ; so I was obliged
to hold the empty skep in position with one
hand, and drive the bees with the other.
After three minutes' driving I concluded I
had got sufficient bees, so proceeded to hive
them in a bar-frame hive already prepared ;
but, as I had not as yet seen " her majesty,"
I was not very sanguine as to the result.
However, I gave them some food, re-
adjusted the quilts, and, as the bees seemed
settled in their new home, began to think all
was right. But alas ! my hopes were short-
lived, for soon the bees were seen to issue
pell-mell and make for their old abode. I
thought to myself, this won't do, for it was
now getting chilly and dull, so as I had not
yet found the missing irons I determined to
resort to the old plan of close driving ; this 1
did, and after beating the under skep for
about two minutes with both hands, threw
the bees that had ascended out upon a board
in front of the hive — as so often advised in our
journal, and soon had the pleasure of seeing
the queen, together with her progeny, march
into their new abode. I now knew my after-
noon's work was not altogether futile.

I found the following morning that the
"swarm had drained the feeder, and have
since taken down two more pounds of food, so
I guess they are " all serene." I shall examine
them next Tuesday, and hope then to find
good business done. — Percy Leigh, May 4.

STINGLBSS BEES.

[1843.] A correspondent writes : — •" Kindly
let me know in your next issue where sting-
less bees can be had for sale."

Supposing the above to be meant seriously —
and the name of our correspondent' leads us to
think it is not intended otherwise — we reply
there are no stingless bees in cultivation or
under control. There is the tiny stingless
wild bee of Brazil — belonging to the Genera
Trigona — -which gathers a minute quantity of
honey in its native home. But which is, of
course, utterly useless for the bee-keepers
purposes.

We are aware that some dealers of a suffi-
ciently imaginative temperament have been
wont to describe pure Carniolan bees as
" i^ractically stingless '' so disinclined are they
to use their stings, but these statements are,
as a rule, rather discounted in practice, and
our correspondent may rest assured that it
would be a bad day for the industrious little
hive bee, if ever it should be induced to part
with its only weapon of defence.

BEES BUILDING COMB IN A TREE.

[1844.] As I believe it is a very rare thing
to see a swarm settle on the branch of a tree
and commence to build comb in the open, I
am sending you a small branch of a loguat-tree
on which a swarm settled. They were re-
moved three times, and on each occasion

May 10, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

185

returned to the exact spot and went oa biiild-
ing comb. However, on my return here, I
succeeded in housing the swarm. Two large
leaves have been joined toijether with comb,
and another piece of comb (enclosed with
branch) was built on at the end of another
leaf. The latter piece, however, unfortunately
came off when I took the swarm. The swarm
was working in the open for ten days. —
H. T. H.-H., Gibraltar, April 30.

[Box, with contents (which are very inte-
resting), to hand safe. Many thanks for
sending them on. It is certainly very un-
common for swarms to build combs on the
spot where they settle, though not at all
unusual for bees to build combs in the open
under certain circumstances. What is rare,
however, is the fact of the swarm persisting in
returning to the spot and going on with the
comb-building after being three times hived.
—Eds.]

BUYING SUPER-FOUNDATION CUT
TO SIZE.

[184.5.] It has often occurred to me that
most bee-keepers would avail themselves of
super-foundation cut to the size of the 1 lb.
section, and supplied in packets of, say, fifty.
A very considerable loss results from the
foundation required for the 1 lb. section not
being in area an even multiple of the sheet
supplied for the regulation-sized section, viz.,
4| in. by 4j in. Manufacturers could utilise
the scraps left ovei\ Perhaps, after all, this
letter may elicit the fact that such small 1-lb.
section-pieces are already supplied cut to
size. — Amanishah, Bideford.

INTRODUCING QUEENS.

RAPID BUILDING-UP OF QUEENLE3S STOCKS.

[1846.] On the evening of April 6 I intro-
duced Italian queens into two queenleas
Encflish stocks. I nacurally looked forward
with great interest to the time when young
bees would hatch. On Saturday last (28tli) I
examined both stocks, f mnd hatching in full
swing, and to-day (30th) at one p.m. quite a
number of young Italian bees were on the
wing. Is this unusual ? It is certainly very
interesting. — W. Newbigging, IStcwart Hall,
Dumfries.

[Though not unusual, it does not very often
happen that alien queens begin to lay imme-
diately when introduced, as in your case, and
their progeny flying in twenty-three days
afterwards. — Eds.]

BEE SUPERSTITIONS.

[1847.] I Avould like to tell you a little of
my recent experience of the superstitions and
prejudices of some old bee-keepers I met with
in my starting in bee-keeping. It miy inte-

rest some readers. Being off duty at 6 p.m.
on April 9 last, I took a stroll in search of
some bees, and after walking about \h mile I
noticed two skeps in a cottage garden. I
inquired of the owner (an aged, infirm man,
but very clean and neat) if he had any bees
or honey for sale. They had a few pounds
left, and eventually I agreed to take some at
9d. per lb. While the daughter was prepar-
ing my honey I tried to buy a stock of bees
from the old man ; but he declared if he sold
one stock the other would be sure to dwindle,
and do no good. I then tried to buy both,
but he would not deal. In answer to my
inquiry, he said I might buy some bees a
little further on, the owner — a very old woman
— having lately died, and her relatives
would likely sell the bees ; but he " was not
sure if any one had been at midnight
to rap at the hives and tell the bees their mis-
tress was dead.'' I asked if that was necessary.
" Oh yes," said he, " very. I have been to
many lots at midnight, rapped the hives, and
told them of the death of the owners, and you
should have heard the moaning noise they
made." I thanked him for enlightening me on
these things, bade him good night, and trotted
ott' in search of the bees. I soon found them, and
inquired of a woman near, if the bees were
hers, and if for sale. She said " Yes.'' On
my inquiry as to the late owner, she said " The
bees never were my aunt's, though always in
her garden ; they were always mine, though
aunt used to sit by the hour and talk to the
bees." She also said that in this case it was
not necessary to put crape on hives and tell
the bees at midnight of owner's death,
"because,'' she urged (with emphasis), " they
never were aunt's." She evidently thought I
would not buy them without some such
assurance. A few words more and a bargain
struck for four stocks, three in straw skeps,
and one in a wooden bucket. I paid all she
asked for them, telling her I would fetch them
next night. I did so, and packed one skep
on top of six frames, four having full sheets
foundation, and two half-sheets only. Another
I put on top of a large, new skep, fitted with
two frames of foundation, securing the joints
well with mortar. The stock in bucket I put
on a stand, and hope to get a swarm from it.
The other skep I sold to a friend. Do you
think bees will transfer themselves into frame-
hive and straw skep respectively ? — I. J
EiiTLER, Stoke Prior.

[There is no reason why they should not do
so^ but the half-sheets of foundation should be
replaced by full sheets. — Eds.]

CHECKING ROBBING.

KARLY SWARMS IN CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

[1848.] I have been very unfortunate this
year with some bees I bought, losing two
stocks out of three purchased, and about a
month ago the last of the three was attacked
by robbers, and never having seen "robbing"

186

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [May 10, 1894.

among bees before, I did not know what to
do. However, after referring to " Guide Book "
and Journals, I am pleased to say by setting
up a square of glass on the alighting-board in
front of hive, and hanging a carbolic cloth
over, renewing it every few hours, the
robbing was checked, but it took several
days before it ceased altogether. They
are going on all right now. My four other
stocks are doing well.

Two swarms came oif near here on Sunday,
April 29, and one about four miles away at
Baldock, so we are among the early ones. —
W. J., Royston, Cambs., May 5.

TAKING BEES FROM HOLLOW TREES

[1849.] In your issue of April 19 (1,000,
p. 155) I notice a letter inquiring as to the
best way to catch swarms from hollow tree.
If " Bee-keeper,'' Cardiff, will write me to the
address below or see me personally, and get
the owner's permission, I will take the stock
from the hollow tree and put them in a frame-
hive for him. I should be glad if you will
kindly insert this in your next issue, in the
hope it may meet the eye of your correspon-
dent.—Thos Adams, 1, Baihvmj Cottages, JEIy,
near Cardiff.

EARLY SWARMS IN SCOTLAND.

[1850.] A skep of bees' belonging to
Malcolm C. Thomson, Esq., Park, Inchinnan,
swarmed on Saturday, April 28. Another
skep belonging to the same gentleman swarmed
on Monday, the .30th ult. Surely this breaks
the record for N.B. Skeps left severely alone.
No 'J plumping "—a la Simmiiis.~C. M. R.,
Inchinnan, near Paisley, May 2.

EARLY SWARMING.

[1851.] I had a swarm of bees on April 23,
and another yesterday, the latter weighing
8^ lb. Is this a good one ? — Johk U.
Teeson, Dover, May 3.

[Yes. A swarm weighing 8i lb. is a very
good one. — Eds.]

[1852.] I had a heavy swarm from a
" Wells " hive to-day (May 1). This is very
much earlier than usual in this district. —
Alfred Watkins, Hereford.

FORWARD STOCKS IN SCOTLAND.

[1853.] Grand weather for the bees. Never
had stocks in so forward a condition at this
time of the year as they are just now. I have
twenty-five stocks in capital form. —William
Smith, Kelso, N.B., May 1.

^mm md ^t^lm.

[1029.] Giving Naphthaline from the Outside
of Hive. — 1. I have a hive of the " Cowan "
pattern, and find the inside of roof is always
wet with condensed moisture, apparently
caused by the heat of the swarm ; there are
two holes 1 in. diameter in it covered with
perforated zinc, should I have other two holes
in the back roof ? 2. As it is not always
convenient to open the hive for the purpose
of putting in naphthaline, would it do to cut
a hole in the floor-board and cover it with
perforated zinc ; and put the naphthaline
beneath instead of in the hive ? The fumes
would of course pass upward through the zinc
into the hive. — R. G. Benfrev'shirc, May 1.

Reply. — 1. It is always better to have both
back and front ventilation in roofs, but if the
frames are well quilted down with plenty of
warm coverings no condensation of moisture
should be found inside a water-tight roof.
2. We must confess our preference for lifting
the hive from its floor-board and placing the
naphthaline iust where we want it on the
floor. If, however, a contrivance coiild be
made in the shape of a box fitting close up to
under-side of floor-board, and an aperture by
which the fumes could ascend into the hive,
it would no doubt be very advantageous in
many ways. It is a good idea, and we hope
our correspondent will carry it out and report
how it answers.

[1030.] ^'■Feeding Back'' Honey : Estimating
a BeeDistrict. — I have four stocks — two in bar-
frame hives and two in skeps. On one of the
bar-frame hives arriving, it was found that
the queen was dead, so I removed a frame of
brood from the other hive, and gave it to them.
This happened on April 9, therefore twenty-
eight days have elapsed. They have been well
fed with syrup, and carry in plenty of pollen.
I have not been able, to look in the hive since,
as the weather has been unfavourable. A
short time ago I observed a dead drone on the
alighting - board. 1. May I conclude from
this that they have a queen? 2. As this
stock is weak in bees, would it be advisable to
drive the bees from cne of the skeps and unite
them with it ? I have also become possessed of
a number of frames containing a great deal of
honey, but they are not standard sizes, and
the wax is very old and black, so I do not
want either the combs or frames. A bee-
keeping friend told me to feed the honey back
to the bees by uncapping the combs, and
placing them about fifty yards from the hives.
I did this for two days, but the excitement it
caused in the apiary was so great that I feared
the bees might start robbing, so I removed
them. 3. Is it safe to feed the rest of the
combs back in this manner 1 If not, how ?
— as the honey is valueless to me, and the

May 10, 1894.] THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

187

frames will not go ia any of my hives. 4.
The lower parts of these combs are filled with
some substance that the bees do not touch.
If pushed out with a pin, it comes away in
cup-shaped flakes. It is quite as black as the
wax. Will it harm the bees to go on so old a
comb ? 5. I have round here about thirty or
forty lime-trees, and within the mile radius
are twenty more, while at a distance of a mile
and a half is the finest avenue of limes in
Suftblk. Are these last near enough to be
any use to me, and are the above-mentioned
sufficient to count on for the production of
surplus honey ? Besides these, our house is
placed in a wood of about .300 acres filled
with wild flowers, and all around are farm-
steads, and heaths covered with whins. But
none of the farmers seem to grow white clover,
though there is plenty of pasture-land. Would
you think from this that there is sufficient
profitable bee-pasture for twenty or thirty
hives ? There are no other bee-keepers near
me. — F. R. Kent, Ipswich.

Reply. — 1. The fact of the stock being
weak and having drones in it rather points to
its having been queenless for a long time. The
combs must therefore be examined to see if a
queen has been rai»ed, and also to make quite
sure they are free from disease. 2. If the
stock in skep is now doing well, it would be
very bad policy to stop their prosperity by
robbing it of bees to patch up the weak lot in
frame-hive, to say nothing of the sacrifice of
brood that might ensue from your inexperi-
ence. We judge you to be a beginner in bee-
keeping, and as such would do well to refer to
" Useful Hints " in our last issue. 3. Safe
enough when sufficient experience has been
gained to regulate the time and method of
doing it, but terribly risky otherwise. The
" robbing '' trouble will, however, diminish as
the season for honey-storing draws near.
Meantime you might try the plan of storing
the combs in empty hives, setting them out-
side, some distance from the apiary, and
reducing the entrance to a single bee-space.
The combs should not b6 uncapped. If the
honey in combs is liquid and good in quality,
the " feeding back " should take place when
supers are on ; to defer it till autumn would
not be safe in a novice's hands. 4. No.
5. The district is a promising one for lime-
honey if the weather is favourable while the
trees are in bloom. Altogether we should
judge it, from the description, to be a locality
where bees would be profitable in fairly good
reasons.

[1031.] Aywri/i(jf Foul - broody Stocks. —
Referring to my former letter, and your reply,
as to a foul-broody stock, a sample of comb of
which I sent you, I am sorry to inform you
that on examining another of my hives to-
day, previous to putting on a super, I find
that it is infected with the disease, although
by no means so badly as the former one. It

is a strong stock, with brood in about seven
frames, and this gives me hope it may be
possible to save it. The disease does not
seem to have taken a firm hold of the stock,
or else it has only just begun to show itself, as
the affected cells are but few on a comb, and
are scattered here and there ; in fact, I had
examined two or three combs before I noticed
anything amiss. Under these circumstances
I shall be obliged if you will advise me by
answering the following questions : — -1. Is it
necessary or advisable to destroy the bees and
combs ? 2. If not, what can be done to effect
a cure ? 3. Will it be any use to feed with
medicated syrup, as honey is coming in, and
the bees will probably refuse the syrup ? 4. I
have naphthaline in every hive, placed there
as soon as I knew the former hive was
diseased. — W. J. S.

Reply. — 1. No. Moreover, if the quantity
of brood which fails to hatch is limited to "a
few scattered here and there,'' and the stock
is strong as stated, the case is evidently a mild
one, and we should not hesitate to give the
super, trusting to the naphthaline on floor-
board for keeping down the spread of the
disease. The preventive has evidently re-
stricted its ravages, and, in view of wanu
weather and new honey coming in daily, it is
quite possible the stock may do well this
summer, while the medicated-food treatment
may be deferred till autumn. The above will
suffice for reply to queries 3 and 4.

[1032.] Foul Brood. — I find we have a
very slight attack of foul-brood in our apiary,
a thing never before experienced here. The
bees are working well, so I ask, would you
remove all sections and shallow-frames now
on while giving remedies ? — H. S. W.

Reply. — The surplus chambers will not
need removing while giving naphthaline on
floor-boards, and, if the attacli is really a very
slight one, as stated, the medicated food may
not be necessary, especially if the bees are
working well in surplus chambers. See reply
to W. J. S. above.

[1033.] Danger of Cross Fertilisation by
Bees. — I should be much obliged for your
opinion on the following matter : — If there
were four acres of Swede, and four acres of
" Thousand-head " cabbage in bloom at the
same time, but one-quarter of a mile apart,
would there be any danger of hive-bees inocu-
lating theSwedeand "Thousand-head"flowers ?
This is a matter of great importance to seed-
growers in the neighbourhood. — R. T. S.,
Rochford, Essex.

Reply. — In writing of " Swede " we suppose
our correspondent refers to Swede turnip, and
if so, then no harm would follow the bees
visiting the flowers of the latter after foraging
on the cabbage-bloom. In any case, however

188

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[May 10, 1894.

the fact of the two pastures being a quarter of
a mile apart would reduce the risk of harm
from cross-fertilisat'OQ to a minimum.

WEATHER KEPORT FOE APRIL,

1894.

Westbourne, Sussex, April, 1894.

Rainfall, 2*26 in,
Heaviest fall, '85 in.

on 24th.
Rain fell on 14 days.
Above average, '81 in.
Max. Temperature,

67° on 7th.
Min. Temperature, 30°

on 22nd.
Minimum on Grass,

26^ on 14th
Frosty Nights, 1.
Sunshine, 188"2 hours.

Brightest Day, 10th,

13 hours.
Sunless Days, 1.
Below average, 23 "4.
Mn. Maximum, 56"7°.
Mn. Minimum, 41-8°.
Mean Temperature,

49-2°.
Maximum Barometer,

30-22° on 29th.
Minimum Barometer,

29-39" on 16th.

L. B. BiRKETT.

ETEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.

April, 1894.
Locality : Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.
Height above sea level : 225 ft.
Rainfall, 1-61 in. ; heaviest fall, "3 in. on 10th.
Rain fell on 15 days.
Max. shade temp., 68° on 11th.
Min. temp., 29° on 19th.
Max. shade temp, at 9 a.m., 55° on 2nd and

28th.
Min. temp, at 9 a.m., 36° on 19th.
Frosty rights, 3.
Max. barometer, 30-05° on 30th.
Min.. baroneter, 29-15 on i6th and 17th.

On the whole a poor month here for bees.
Below the average of sunshine. Several days
very dull and cold. No warm genial showers.
Winds very variable, but chiefly E.S E. A
rising barometer at close of month. Straw-
berry and raspberry in blossom. E.icteaded
brood nests, but no surplus of honey. — Perct
Leigh.

^tlxn^ from tite gitiw,

Beemount, Stoke Prior, Worcester shir &,
May 4. — May has come in very dull and cold.
Winds variable, one time blowing N.N.W.,
and within an hour the vane points S.S.E.
Raspberry and strawberry now in blossom,
besides a host of woodland trees and shrubs.
On April 29 bees were flying very freely, and
from six stocks drones were on the wing. On
Saturday I gave a hurried glance into the
super crates, but the foundation had not even
been touched. The extra frames placed at
back of brood-chamber on March 31 were,
however, crowded with worker eggs arid grubs.
I saw only three queen wasps about the hives
during April. Wind now blowing a gale
from the N.N.W., and extremely cold. —
Percy Leigh.

THE REARING OF GOOD QUEENS.

Dr. Miller seems to think that a young
queen emerging from a cell not less that ten
days after the bees commence to give it full
attention, ought to be all right, according to
the observations of Herr Reepen. It is true
that they should be all right, since no doubt the
queen and worker larvae are fed upon the same
kind of food up to the fourth day, and, theo-
retically, at least, they should be as good, but
practically they are not. And here we have
again an illustration of the difference between
mere theory and practice.

Dr. Miller seems to have quite overlooked
one very important item, and that is the rela-
tive amount of food the worker and queen
larvoe receive if designed from the moment of
hatching. A queen-larva hatching in a queen-
cell in a colony making preparations to swarm,
is invariably flooded, so to speak, with the
royal jelly, while all larvee designed for workers
are invariably scantily fed at the start, or for
the first four days.

Now my observation shows that the most
prolific, and especially long-lived, queens were
abundantly fed during the first four days of
the life of the queen -larv.'«, and I think I will
be fully sustained in this observation by all
experienced queen-breeders.

On the other hatd, I never saw a
good queen that had not been pro-
perly fed for the first four days of her
life ; and I think I was one of the first, if
not the first, to rear queens by transferring
small larvfe, from eighteen to thirty hours old,
to queen -cells well filled with royal jelly after
the removal of its occupant. These queens
would all hatch on the tenth day after, and
would often be large and fine, to all appear-
ance. Still, I never reared one in this manner
that was extra prolific and long-lived, and
hence I abandoned this way of rearing fine
queens, because in developing a new strain of
bees, as 1 have been doing for the past nine
years, it became absolutely necessary. The
result has been an improved bee, highly pro-
lific, and great workers.

Out of swarming time it is possible to bring
about all the conditions for rearing perfect
queens as follows : —

Catch and cage the queen of a strong colony
full of young bees, and take away all of their
brood and give them a comb of honey and
empty combs. Place the caged queen upon
the frame to keep them quiet.

At the end of three days take away the
queen in thd evening, and the next morning
give them a frame of cells with just-hatching
larvii.', on the Alley p'an. Not more than
twenty larvce should be given them. Now
feed them well for five days. Eggs may be
given in the same way, but they will not quiet
the uproar in the colony like the young larvae,
and black bees have the singular habit of
eating all of the eggs, but will accept the
larvEe.
- Should a comb of just-hatching eggs be

May 10, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

189

given to the colony instead of the fifteen or
twenty cells prepared on the Alley plan, it
will be found in a few hours that every larva
in the comb will be swirarainfi; in royal jelly,
showing that all are fed as if to rear queens,
although but fifteen or twenty queen-cells will
be completed.

Thus reared, I have many times got queens
that lived four years, and were highly prolific
to the last. With such queens I have obtained
the equivalent of two ten-frame Langstroth
hives full of brood by June 10, but the ordi-
nary queen would harJly fill eight Langstroth
h'lnies under the same conditions.

Of late there has been some talk of having
two queens in a hive in the spring to build up
large colonies, but from the above it will be
seen that one good queen is enough for any
colony.— Dr. G. L. Tinker in American Bet
Journal.

TKADE CATALOGUES EECEIVED.

W. P. Meadows' Syston, near Leicester. —
Mr. Meadows' new catalogue for 1894 (6fty-
two pages) is the most attractive list of bee
and other goods he has hitherto issued. The
illustrations are numerous and excellent,
including representations of many interesting
novelties for the coming season. It is quite
plain that no trouble h<is been spared to make
the list complete and up to date.

T. B. Plow, Welwyn, Herts, 78 pp. — An
exceptionally large and well-illustrated cata-
logue. It goes beyond the usual range of a
trade list in general interest, besides including
several pages on the manRgement of bees, very
useful to beginners. The Ford-Wells hive
also is illustrated by some half-dozen specially
prepared diagrams, which make c'ear its
working parts. We can well understand the
charge of 3d. for this special edition of Mr.
Blow's annual catalosue.

%n ^Imm ta (^m\t

June 12 to 15. — Royal Counties Agricul-
tural Show at Canterbury. Entries close
May 31. Hives, honey, &c. Secretary, Bee
Department, John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's
Langley.

June 25 to 29. — Eoyal Agricultural Show
at Cambridge. Entries close May 1. Post
entries at double fees till May 12. Secretary,
John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's Langley.

August 10 and 11. — At Dumfries. South
of Scotland B.K.A. Very liberal prizes.
Schedules from W. Wilson, Acrehead, Dura-
fries.

August 22 and 23. — At Derby. Derby-
shire B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkin-s, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby.

No tices to Corresponden tsand Inquirers.

All queries forieanled will he attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

Letters or queries asiking for addresses of inanufae-
turers or correspondents, or where appliances can b«
purchased, or replies giving such information, caii only
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of their communica-
tion.

Thos. Faragiier (Douglas). — Many thanks
for photo of ap'ary. It is creditable to your-
self and gratifying to us to learn that the
good-looking dozen or so hives have all been
made by yourself " from instructions in the
' Guide-Book.' " Considering Avhat busy
men florists and market-gardeners usually
are, it is a ruattpr for wonder how you have
found time to do so much at bee-keeping
and make it a success.

H. S. W.-The " W. B. C' Sedion-hox.^
Anyone can make and exhibit the above,
there being neither patent nor "protection"
of any kind attached to i^.

M. E. P. (Shrewsbury).— ^o6?>«- Bees?.— The
" black shiny-looking bee '' is a confirmed
robber, the others of the Fame colour being
ditto. The black appearance is caused by
the pubescence (or hairiness) being torn or
pulled off its body in the struggle for booty
with the bees of the hive robbed. The
"brown, downy-looking" bee is a young
one which has never flown.

P. W. S. A. Parsons. — 1. It is quite possible
that a small piece of beilthy brood may be
taken from a diseased stock. In fact, it
sometimes happens that only a few cells are
aff'ected in a Avhole colony, and yet the
disease may be present. 2. The " Bee-
keepers' Guide Book" will suit your
purpose.

Subscriber (Boyle). — Honeycomb Designs. —
We can send you a copy of our monthly,
the Record — wherein appear full particulars
of making honeycomb designs — for 2|d. in
stamps.

A. Black (Durham). — Preventing Swarming.
— Give plenty of room, a little in advance oi
requirements, and wedge the hive up from
its floor-board a quarter-inch during very hob
weather.

D. McG. (Ohixii).— Suspected Comh.—Comh
sent contains nothing but healthy pollen and
honey. No trace of disease about it.

Old Eeader. — There is foul-brood in comb
sent, though most of the dead brood is
simply "chilled," and will, of course,
develop foul-brood very rapidly if it remains
in the hive. Under the conditions described
we should destroy all the combs and frames,
reducing the stock to the condition of a
swarm ; they may then have a good chance
of overcoming the di-sease if fed on medi-
cated food until new combs are bu'lt. Use
naphthaline on all floof-l^Oi>rds.

190

THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[May 10, 1894.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, &c. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for enery additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

FOR SALE, CHEYLESMORE TRICYCLE, or would
Exchange for Bees. Mastee, Workhouse, Lich-
fleld. . D83

BEES, NATURAL SWARMS, healthy and strong,
free from foul brood, 10s. 6d. each, boxes 2s. 6d. if
not returned. E. Long, Cottenham, Cambs. d 87

STRONG, Healthy S^VARMS, 3s. per lb. Packed free.
Apiarist, I'airspeir, Ascott-Wychwood, Oxford.
D81

SWARMS of ENGLISH BEES, 3s. per lb. Packing
box returned. Garner, Broom, Biggleswade, Beds.

^ D82

CECRETARIES of BE,E ASSOCIATIONS, apply for
O tract, "Honey and Beeswax," free. George
Stocks, Sandiway, North wich. D 84

OBSERVATORY HIVE, two frames, part mahogany
and stained to match, gained first prize with Bees,
Derby, 1893, will EXCHANGE for one good STOCK of
BEES on Frames or Two Swarms. F. Walker, Cattle
Market, Derby. D 85

A (DOUBLE HIVE, Wells System, been used, will
carry either Standard or Shallow Frames on Second
Storey, will EXCHANGE for a STOCK on Frames or
good Swarm. No hives required. F. Walker, Cattle
Market, Derby. D 86

RElTOVrNG"— MUST BE SOLID NEX I' WEEK, conr
plete BEE- APPARATUS. 8 miles north of London-
Includes 4 hives, 16 to 40 standard frames each (two
W. B. C.s'), "Raynor " extractor with cover, 5-section
crates, &c. All in first-rate condition. What offers?
Separately or lot. H. Perkin. .50, Mark Lane, E.C.

EE PLANTS, Limnanthes Douglasii, 100, is. 3d.

Iceland Poppies, 25, Is. 3d. Limnanthes Douglasii

Seed, 6d. packet. Hunting, Loddon, Norfolk. d 78

FOR SALE, STOCKS of BEES on Standard Frames or
in Straw Skeps. JAS. Weatheehead, Ely, Cam-
bridgeshire. D 77
PURB~ENGLrSH~BEES: Splendid strain Swarms
from 10s. 6d., Nuclei 5s. on rail. Queens 3s.
delivered. Alsford, Expert, Blandford. p 80

FIRST SWARMS of my splendid strain of BEES,
which cannot be excelled, 15s. packed free. John
Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington. i> 72

B' EES (Carniolan) FOR SALE. Swarms (including
box) 22s. each. Ready early in May. Order early.
C. MORREY, Five Ways, Neston, Chester. D 76

UARANTEED HEALTHY MATURAL SWARMS,
(Pure Natives), 3i to 4 lb. each, price 12s. 6d.
Packing included. Expected middle May. Orders in
rotation. Address, C. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundon,
Clare, Suffolk. d74

WANTED, SECTIONS of COMB HONEY (any quan-
tity), and HONEY in bulk. State price, &c. Orders
also given for coming season. Packages sent. Address,
H., Bee Journal Office, 17, King William-street, Strand,
London. 199

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. Holliday, Astbury,
Congleton.

STOCKS, NUCLEI, SWARMS, and QUEENS FOR
SALE. Address, The Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough,
Sussex. 192

"YE OLDE ENGLISHE BEE."

PRIME natural Swarms of my selected strain of English
Bees, all 1893 Queens, Packing-box, and put on Rail
free, price 15s. Address, W. WooDLEY, World's End,
Newbury.

Telegrams — " Ilsley, or Hampstead Norris."
Porterage Is. 6d.

BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the
CENTRAL SUPPLY STORES
for all BEEKEEPERS' REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL
at the OLD SPOT, 50, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET,
GEORGE ROSE, successor to P. HARBORDT.

Why pay carriage from long distances when you can
buy cheaper and quite as good quality locally, and have
your orders promptly attended to ? Catalogues gratis.
Send now. 14 varieties of Bee Flowers (full directions |to
each), Is. Cash with order,

THE YORKSHIRE
Bee-keepers' Supplies

WILLIAM DIXON,

5, Beckett St., Leeds.

Hives, E.xtractors,

Smokers, Feeders

Foundation, &c.

Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver, d;BronzeMedals.

THE "WELLS SYSTEM"

Described by the Originator,

GEORGE WELLS,

Price 6?d. Post Free.

To he had of the Author onh/. 206

' of SySTON. N/. L^'ces^er.APPllANCt)

WORK BENCHES »H°TO0L5 f"''CARPENTEH5Ar*°S1.0Y0 WORK

See large Advertisement first Issue of the
month.

MOST IMPORTANT

Yes! if you want Honey. Now is the time to learn
" Ho-w to prevent awarming" in bar-frame hives,
and to " Transfer Stocks from Skeps to Frame-
hives." Every bee-keeper should also know " Hotv
to make an artificial S"W"arm " successfully. All
these, etc., 3d. only.

DON'T DELAY.
W. RUSHTON, Hive Factory, Bedford.

203

B

J

EE-APPLBANCE

IVIANUFACTURE

R

I am very careful to hive only well-seasoned wood

used, and solicit a trial.

ILLUSTRATED CATALOaUES FREE.

BALDWIN'

is the Oldest Es-
tablishment in
the United
Kingdom
wholly devoted
to Bees and

manufacture of Bee-keepers' supplies. His prices will
compare most favourably with those of any other Maker,
while for quality of material, suitability and workman-
ship he has no rival.

A large consignment of the beautiful

"FALCONER" SECTIONS,

both i bee-way and 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct importation.
Price 2/6 per 100 ; cut to receive Foundation, 3/- per 100.
By Parcel Post, 1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which "contains more practical and reliable hints
than all the large, expensive books," post free for
2(i. stamps.

Address S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent.

N.B. — More than 500 Silver and Bronze Medals, First antl

Other Prizes, and Testimonials innumerable.

May 17, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

191

" BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

The monthly meeting of the committee
was held at 105, .Jerrayn-street, on Thursday,
]Oth inst. There were jiresent : — Mr. T. W.
Cowan (in the chair), the lion, and Rev.
Henry Bligh, Rev. G. W. Bancks, Major
Fair, Messrs. H. Jonas, W. B. Carr, W. O'B.
Glennie (treasurer), E. D. Till, J. H. New,
W. J. Sheppard, Rev, E. Davenport (ex-
officio), and the Secretary.

It was unanimously resolved that the
Secretary be requested to convey to Mr.
Hooker the sympathies of the committee in
the serious accident which had befallen him
recently, and to express a hope that he may
soon gain his usual health and strength.

The Secretary reported that the Royal Agri-
cultural Society w^ould be pleased to give
facilities for holding a meeting of bee-keej^ers
in the Show- yard at Cambridge on either the
third or fourth day of the Exhibition. The
Secretary further reported that the entries for
the bee-dejaartment of the Royal Show at
Cambridge were of a satisfactory character.

The following new members were elected,
viz. : — Mrs. E. Cruikshank, Sandridge, Herts ;
Mr. H. Seamark, Willingham, Cambridge ;
Mr. J. Blyth Clarke, Braughing, Herts ; Rev.
A. JoUye, Aslacton, Norfolk ; Messrs. John-
son & Son, Soham, Cambs ; Mr. E. Walker,
Erith ; Mr. S. Atkin, Highgate ; Mr. J. S.
Fletcher, Ottershaw ; Miss Russell, Upper
Hamilton-terrace, N.W. ; Mr, Jas. Goldhawe,
Reymerston, Norfolk.

The following corresponding members were
also elected : — Miss Gayton, Much Hadham,
Herts ; Mr. W. Lees McOlure, Lytham,
Lanes ; Mr. F. J. Cribb, Morton, Gains-
borough ; Mr. R. T. Andrews Hertford ; Mr.
A. H. Martin, Evesham.

It was resolved that, owing to the Royal
Counties Show taking place during the week
ending June 16, the monthly meeting of the
committee be held on Wednesday, June 20.
Other matters of a routine character were
disposed of, and the committee adjourned,

CONVERSAZIONE,

The second quarterly conversazione of this
year was held on Thursday, May 10, at 6 p.m.,
and among those present were the Revs.
C. G. Bancks and E. Davenport, Major Fair,
Messrs. H. Jonas, H. W. Brice, W. B. Carr,
W. O'B. Glennie, E. D. Till, T. F. Leadbitter,
J. H. New, W. J. Sheppard, R. P. Wailes,
Mr. and Mrs. W. Soar, and others.

Mr. W. O'B. Glennie, treasurer of the
Association, presided, and in briefly opening
the proceedings called upon Mr. W, B. Carr,
who he believed had some novelties interest-
ing to bee-keepers, which he had kindly
brought for the inspection of those present.

' Mr. Civrr Siiid un'^ortunately the apicultv.ral

items with which he hoped to arouse their
interest were few in number, but they must
make the most of what liad been placed in his
hands for exhibition. First there was a new
swarm-catcher, sent by Mr. Meadows, which,
as would be seen, was made entirely of queen-
excluding zinc, and was intended to be fitted
on the projecting porch of the hive. The pro-
ducer had endeavoured to make the contri-
vance to some extent elastic, so that it would
suit hives of different widths. Tha bees in
their ordinary work passed through the ziac,
but in the act of swarming the queen was
captured in the upper portion of the "catcher,"
and being imprisoned there was found by the
flying bees of the swarm, which remained with
her there until hived by the bee-keeper. At
least, this was the view of the inventor of the
contrivance, who, after many trials of different
methods of catching swarms, averred that the
one now presented had been quite successful.

Mr. Brice suggested what he considered to
be an improvement on Mr. Meadows' inven-
tion, and at some length explained to those
present how he proposed to remove some faults
which to his mind existed in the one before
them.

During the discussion which followed, Mr.
Carr said Mr. Brice evidently desired to do
away with the looseness of the elastic part.
Of course, if a bee-keeper made the con-
trivance for his own particular hive, he need
not trouble to provide the elasticity. The
maker's object was to allow of the catcher
being adaptable to any width of hive. It
would, no doubt, be easier to remove the
swarm by Mr. Brice's method. At the same
time, they were told that Mr. Meadows had
made a number of experiments before he pro-
duced the present article, which he declared
was quite satisfactory, and as against that
Mr. Brice's system had not yet been tried.

The specimen swarm-catcher was handed
round to the members present, and its meiits
further discussed conversationally.

Mr. Carr next exhibited a '• Wells dummy,"
or perforated divider — also made bj' Mr.
Meadows — with the lower edge of the tin
binder so arranged that if there happened to
be a slight difference in the depth of hives — ■
as there often was — the bottom edge of the
dummy could be raised or lowered at will.
The article was passed round, critically ex-
amined, and generally approved.

The next novelty shown was a s imple of
artificial comb made in Germany, and sent by
the manufacturer to the Editor of the Bek
Journal for inspection and criticism. The
sample had been already submitted to the
Committee of the BB.K.A. earlier in the
afternoon by the chairman, Mr. Cowan, who
was unable to stay for the later proceedings —
and it now devolved upon him (Mr. Carr) to
bring it before the notice of those present.
As would be seen, it was made from beeswax,
with cells I in. deep on each side the midrib,
and was -ah fully drawn out ancf complete us

192

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [May 17, 1894.

the bees could have made it, although it had
never been in a hive or touched by a bee. He
thought this a considerable advance in bee-
appliances, and it would bj fiifhculfc to say
what the outcome would be if the bees were
induced to use it for all their purpose?. It had
not been tried in this country, but he believed
it had in German}^, and no doubt the cost of
production would tell heavily against its
general use.

A general discussion took place as to the
merits or otherwise of the novelty, which
created much ioterest, audit was handed round
for inspection, several of those present ex-
pressing their intention of making a trial of
it, if only for the sake of experiment.

The complete set of lantern slides on bee-
keeping, as prepared by Messrs. Newton &
Co. for exhibition at the World's Fair, Chicago,
from which they have just been returned, were
next produced for inspection, and as arranged
ia a stand and illuminated by means of the
electric light, showed to great advantage. They
were closely examined, and much admired by
all present.

At this stage of the proceedings, Mr. Glennie
was obliged to leave, and Mr. H. Jonas, by
request, assumed the chair.

Mr. Brice, in compliance with the invitation
of Mr. Carr, then explained to the meeting the
result of his experiments — as yet incomplete —
in regard to queen-rearing on Mr. Doolittle's
plan. He had studied with some interest
the American methods, although he knew that
however successful these methods might be on
the other side the Atlantic, the variable climate
of Britain was a factor which upset all calcula-
tions when the same plans were tried in this
country. Mr. Doolittle's plan had struck him
most, and he had therefore confined himself
to it for several reasons. He had moulded his
queen-cells, or '" cups," according to the in-
structions, using a lead pencil as a dipper, and
placed them " on a stick '' as directed. The
stick was then attached to the underside of the
top-bar of a frame, the young larvte —which
must be under thirty-six hours old— placed in
the cups, and the frame inserted in the hive.
He gave the bees six cells prepared in this
way on the afternoon of Saturday, the 5th
inst., as a first trial, and on Monday evening
found three of the six had been accepted, and
queens were being raised therein. In fact, he
had never seen queen-cells of the same age
with such an abundance of royal jel'y in them.
On the morning of the 9tti the three cells were
capped over ; he consequently removed them,
and dividing the combs and bees of the upper
chamber in which they were being reared into
three compartments, gave a cell to each. Of
course he had not seen the queens, for they
were not yet due, but he would write a full
account of the proceedings to the Bee Journal
when his experiments were concluded.

Mr. Carr thought Mr. Brice's experiences
Avould be very interesting to bee-keepers, and
be loQ'^ed forward with pleasure for a more

detailed recital, explaining further develop-
ments, in the pages of the Journal. In
England they had not reduced queen-rearing
to such a mechanical process as in America,
where it was known they were able to raise
queens by the thousand. Personally, his pre-
dilections had been towards naturally raised
queens, but he could not deny the advantages
of the artificial system, if it could be satisfac-
torily transplanted on this side of the Atlantic.

Mr. Brice said it was necessary to be care-
ful always to place the small larva right at
the bottom of the cell to be successful. In his
case only three cells were accepted out of six,
but that was his first attempt. He made the
cells in the same way as an ordinary dip
caudle was manufactured, the first dip being
three-eights of an inch, the next a little less,
and so on. When completed they were strong
and hard, and pinching made no impression
on them.

Mr. Carr said great care must be used in
transferring the larvae, it being necessary in
lifting them to get whatever instrument was
used well underneath the tiny grab for fear of
injuring it.

Mr. Brice agreed, and said he had used a
silver toothpick tiled down to a flat point.
Mr. Doolittle used a quill, but he preferred
the former. He ought to say that it was neces-
sary and all-important, before putting the
larvae in, to have a supply of royal jelly on
hand, obtained from other hives compelled to
raise queen-cells for the purpose. A supply
of this jelly is put into each cup at the bottom
before introducing the larvae. Of course
temperature was also important when removing
the larvfe or it micrht chill and die. His place
was heated up to 85 degrees. He transferred
three of the larvae, and his wife the other
three ; and it was now a matter of dispute
between them as to which was the successful
operator (laughter).

In answer to several interrogators, Mr.
Brice said that the queen-cells were raised in
a full colony with a laying-queen, with queen -
excluder between the brood-chamber and the
shallow-frame box where the cells now are.
He (the speaker) was now carrying out a series
of experiments for the purpose of inducing
the bees to raise queens from the egg direct.
He was endeavouring to discover the egg
within a few hours of its being laid, to mark
it on the fourth day, and put the royal jelly to
it so as to float it on its course. That was a
delicate operation, and, probably, several trials
would take place before the right larvas would
be taken to. But if it was secured the ce^l
would be sealed by the eighth day. He only
made the base of the cells, the bees built them
out. There must be at least l^lb. to 2 lb. of
bees in the part of the hive where a queen was
being raised to render success possible ; but,
once the queen-cells were sealed, everything
would go right. Good queens could not be
raised in small stocks.

Referring to the question, raised by Mr,

May 17, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

193

Till, of re.iriiis queeus by means of an ordinary
incubator, Mr. Brice observed that he had
hatched ninny eo-gs in incnbator?, but had
fctopped short at bees' ecrj^?. It was, however,
within the knowledge of several present that
queens had been, and were being, reared in
this way.

Major Fair exhibited a sample of lime-
honey gathered lhis sprintr in the i>l;tnd of
Montsprrat, in the West Indies. This was not
the ordinary lime-honey as genera'ly under-
stood, but from the blossom of the tree from
the fruit of which lime juice is manufactured.
The honey was inspected and tasted by most
of those present, the general opinion being
that the flavour was fairly good, though pecu-
liar and somewhat pungent.

The last of the objects of interest shown was
in the nature of a curiosity which, Mr. Carr
explained, had been sent to the Bee Journal
ofHce by Colonel Hughes-Hallett, who was at
present stationed with his regiment at Gibraltar.
It was a small branch of the loquat tree,
whereon a swarm of bees had clustered and
at once began to build combs. It was only
after being hived again and again in a frame-
hive that the bees were at last induced to
remain therein, and cease returning to the tree,
and give up their work of comb-building there.
The pieces of comb attached to the leaves of
the branch submitted for inspection Avere
partly filled with bright-coloured pollen, appa-
rently showing that breeding was intended in
the open, and thus affording another illustra-
tion of the saying that "bees do nothing in-
variably."

The further proceedings had reference to the
use of honey labels by county associations,
and a general conversation upon the subject
ensued, the prevailing opinion being in favour
of the adoption of labels by all county associa-
tions.

A very enjoyable evening was then brought
to a close in the usual way.

STAFFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

The annual meeting of the Staffordshire
Bee-keepers' Association was held, by permis-
sion of the Mayor of Stafford, in the Guildhall,
on Saturday, the 28th ult. Col. F. D. Mort
was voted to the chair, and amongst those
present were the Rev. A. R. Alsoj) (lion, sec),
the Rev. J. D. Glennie, Messrs. E. Clowes, T.
Cooper, E. E. Crisp (hon. treasurer), J. R.
Critchlow, G. Farrington, W. Stendall, E. W.
Turnor, H. E. Twentyman, W. Williams, H.
Wood, members of the committee ; Robert
Cock, J. Greensill, J. H. Collier, J. Pellington,
Thos. Walinesley, jun., E.Gould, A. Goldsmith,
E. Pitt, G. C. Price, Mrs. Alsop, Mrs. Critch-
low, Miss Stubbs, &c. The Chairman said he
had every 'reason to believe that the report
which would be submitted Avas a most favour-
able one, and would show that the association
during the past year had accomplished ex-

cellent work, and was in a very flouridiing
condition, both financia'ly and otherwise.

The report, as read by the Secretary, wa'^
adopted, after which that gentleman expressed
his wish to retire from the secretaryship —
while willing to retaia his place on the com-
mittee— and to propose the name of Mr.
Harold Twentjman as bis successor. This
was agreed to, with an expression of the
thanks of the committee lor Mr. Alsop's
valuable services in the pas*".

The treisurer submitted the financial state-
ment, from which it appeared that the expen-
diture had been £22. 12s. 2d., leaving a
balance in l^ivour of the associatio'i of
£15. 4s. 7d. after defraying a deficit of £10. 3.-'.
on the Lichfield Show account. The accounts
were passed, and a vote of thanks was ac-
corded to Mr. Crisp for his able conduct of the
financial affairs of the association. The next
business was the election of officers. Mr. A.
H. Heath was unanimously re-elected presi-
dent, and the committee were re-appointed
with the addition of Messrs. R. Cock and J.
H. Collier to the list. Mr. Harold Twenty-
man was elected hon. secretary, and the
auditor (the Rev. J. D. Glennie) and hon.
treasurer Avere re-elected.

The general business having concluded, Mr.
Cock delivered an address on "Bee-keeping,"
after which the proceedings terminated in the
usual way.

HONEY IMPORTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of April,
1894, was £2,100. — From a return furnished
by the Statistical Office, H.M. Customs.

dfarMjjaiuIciia.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. iVo notice will be
taken of anonyuious coinmunications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
piMication, but as Oj guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected covrmmnications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shoivs, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, cfcc, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi'
cations relating to Advertisements, (He, must be addressed
io"THB Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of Advertisements).

*,* /?» order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page' on which it appears.

WORLD'S FAIR APIARIAN FACTS
AND RESULTS.

[1854.] Bee culture was well represented
at the great Columbian Exposition. Besides
an immense amount of honey of different
kinds, of both comb and extr,icted, all the

194

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[May 17, 1894.

mechanical appliances necessary in the art of
modern bee-keeping were on hand from different
countries ; also beeswax, artistically moulded,
in a great variety of forms, as well as honey-
cake?, honey-vinegar, honey-wine, and other
honey-drinks.

Seventeen States of the American Union
made apiarian exhibits, while about the same
number of foreign countries participated in
the display of ne3tar. The largest exhibitors
were New York, Illinois, and the Province of
Ontario, Canada. The two states named had
the largest quantity of comb-honey, while
Ontario had the largest amount of extracted
honey. With the exception of Great Britain,
which showed a fair quantity, other foreign
countries than Ontario had comparatively
small exhibits. Nor was the quality at all
equal to the Ontario honey and that from
some of the American States and Great
Britain. Besides Great Britain and Canada,
the foreign exhibitors in the apiarian line
were Italy, Greece, Eussia, Spain, Siam,
Ceylon, Costa Eica, Ottoman Empire,
Germany, Hayti, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala,
Ecuador, Argentine Republic, and Venezuela.
About seventy awards in all were made in
the apiarian department. These were appor-
tioned about as follows : — The seventeen States
of the Union, 40 ; the Province of Ontario,
Canada, 17; and all other foreign countries,
about 13.

The United States, Canada, Great Britain,
and Germany no doubt lead the world in the
science and art of apiculture, as well as in
honey production. The Linden honey of
Ontario, Canada ; the clover honey of the
United States and England ; and the heather
honey ot " Auld Scotia '' stand at the head of
the world's most delicious sweet, viz., honey,
which, as displayed at the great World's Fair,
was lit for gods and men or angels and
women.

Most of the honey at the Chicago World's
Fair was disposed of at the close of the Exposi-
tion. Ontario sends a consignment of the
choicest of her World's Fair exhibit to the
Antwerp Exposition in Europe to open in
May.

The North American Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion held its annual meeting in Chicago in
October, and, as might naturally have been
expected, was the largest and most successful
meeting the association has ever had in the
twenty years and upwards of its existence.
Not only were the United States and Canada
well represented, but bee-keepers from across
the ocean were present. Professor Wiley, of
the Agricultural Chemistry Department at
Washington, was present, and delivered an
address on "Adulteration." Professor Eiley,
of the Department of Entomology, was also
present one or two sessions.

Bee culture, as a legitimate branch of agri-
culture, is gradually assuming the important
position to which it is fairly entitled. Grai;x
pxhausts the goil, as also does stocjk more oy

less. The ultimate source of honey is the
atmosphere. The vegetable kingdom secretes
and stores up a surplus of nectar from " the
heavens above " exceeding its requirements.
The bees gather the surphis nectar and convert
it into honey — the best, most wholesome and
palatable of Nature's sweets. Instead of being
a luxury merely on our tables honey is be-
coming a staple article of food. Between the
two oceans, in ths United States and Canada,
millions of pounds are now produced annually,
and other millions are "wasted on the desert
air." There is room for a much wider exten-
sion of the industry, and the World's Fair
must inevitably give impetus to such develop-
ment and extension.

You will have heard ere this, probably, of
the death of Mr. S. Cornell, of Lindsay, On-
tario, secretary of the Ontario Bee-Keepers'
Association, and for many years in official
connection with the society. In his death
Canadian bee-keepers have sustained a great
loss. In apiculture, both as a science and an
art, he was well posted, and Avas one of our
ablest writers on bee culture in America. —
Allen Piungle, Selby, Ontario, April 27,
1894.

THE TWO-QUEEN SYSTEM.

THE SEASON IN THE " FYLDE '' DISTRICT,
LANCASHIRE.

[1855.] Since the two-queen system has been
brought so prominently before the notice of
bee-keepers, I have, like many others, taken
great interest in the reports, article?, &c., that
have appeared on the subject from time to
time in the Bee Journal and Hecojxl. I
have also started a "Wells" hive, in order
that I might find out for myself its merits or
demerits. Many I'm afraid, nay, know, have
commenced hives on this plan, believing it to
be a thoroughly tried and firmly established
system, by means of which they were, if not
going to make their fortunes, at any rate going
to achieve results in honey-getting anything
between 25 and 50 per cent, more than from
any two hives on the ordinary plan. Hence,
I suppose, Mr. W. B. Webster's article in
May Mecord warning beginners and others not
to rush into the system headlong, but to wait
a bit and see. 1 am afraid, however, it comes
rather late, though it may act as a good
deterrent hint to many, even yet. I do not
want jt to be thought that I am
crying down the double - queen system or
its originator ; by all means give honour
where honour is due ; but let us hear
reports from those who have tried the plan
and carefully watched it. Thus the opinion of
the majority will be got, and that will probably
be very near the truth, which is what we
want, and should have, before the practice of
the system is recommended universally. With
this object, I will now give my experience and
impressions up to date, trusting th=^t Qther§
■\vill follow.

May 17, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

195

Firstly, ■with regard tr> ■wintering, I found
that the bees did not duster close up to the
perforated dummy, but about the centre of
each division.

Of course, breeding commenced ia the
centre of each cluster, and spread, as far as I
could see, equally in both directions, so that a
few days before ■writing there "was no brood oij
the frame next the perforated dummy in either
division. (I re-arranged the brood -nest,
putting the centre comb of brood next the
dummy, and so on, thus making the dummy
ihe centre of the common brood-nest, -which is
as it should be, I believe, in theory.)

From this it will be seen that, ia this ca=e
at any rate, the additional -warmth from the
clustei'3 being together was uot obtained,
neither did the spring breeding benefit from
the same ; in fact, the two stocks acted just
as two stocks in separate hives would have
done.

If this occurs in every case, then the system
loses its most valuable jsoint ; for, if it does
not help — and very materially — in wintering
and spring breeding, I myself fail to see its
value (for any system almost will get lots of
bees in summer), and that the simple fact of
having a common super over the two stocks
will increase the honey yield, as it is said to
do, seems to me rather a phenomenon.

I think the vitality of the system lies in the
points I have mentioned, and should like to
hear other reports on the matter, and shall be
glad to report further results at the close of
the season. So far the stocks in the double
hive are not one whit better than others under
exactly the same circumstances in single hives,
and in some cases not so good.

I should like to see the matter thoroughly
ventilated for the large cumbrous hives, addi-
tional care and difficulty in manipulating
needed and trouble likely to be experienced
with swarms, which are some of the draw-
backs of the system; need I think a somewhat
certain and substantial recompense, and the
hives I opine should not be generally adopted
till such time as the matter is placed on a
more sure footing. And this will be when we
have heard a little about the failures as well
as the successes, which latter, I may say, I
have not heard much of in this district.
The weather here recently has been blustering
and wet. We had a very fine spell commenc-
ing about April 1, or little earlier, during
which stocks came on rapidly, and it appeared
to be going to be another 1893. Things, how-
ever, suddenly {changed, and our bees found
themselves with somewhat large families and
little capital or income, hence we heard of
drone brood being cast out in several instances,
and even of hatched drones being turned out
of the hives to perish. Several stocks that I
have seen in this neighbourhood were quite
without stores and needed feeding, and my
own bees have had the syrup bottle on for
more than the past week, although, as I write,
(May 12) sycamore, hawthorn, ghestqutj o^nd

some apple trees are in full bloom. (This,
however, is not a well-wooded district.) It,
however, shows signs of clearing up, and I
trust that the bad spell is over. White clover
is our sheet anchor, and we are looking forward
to a good time early in June. — Uenj. E. Jones,
Frecldeton, near Frestou, Lanes.

FOUL BROOD AND RE-QUEENING.

[1856.] Having been trocbled for several
ye.irs with more or less of " foul brood,'' I
venture to suggest if bee keepers were to turn
their attention more to the raising of young
queens, we should not hear so much of the
dreaded disease as at present. Instead, how-
ever, as a rule, bee-keepers are all for the
prevention of swarming, and so it goes on
year after year until we get queens that, being
old and worn out, lay eggs of diminished
fertility ; and, from these eggs the bees raise
their c[ueen after superseding the old one to
go on again through the same routine, only
still worse, till we have a queen of no cpiality
whatever, except what is bad. We thus have
brood and bees of a weakly race far more
liable to infection than if the bees were of a
first-rate stamina and quality. I would like
to ask your readers if ever they have failed in
stamping out foul brood after giving a young
C£ueen from a healthy siock with clean combs
to start with again ? I have been reading up
Bee Journal of 1887, which contains a great
number of letters on the subject, but I cannot
see anything of a definite character as regards
a cure for foul brood. In my humble opinion,
aged queens have more to do with it than a
good many are aware of, and if you prevent
swarming you must adopt a regular system of
queen raising, so as to keep up the supply of
young and vigorous mother-bees if you are to
be freed from this bee-keeper's pest. — " South-
West," Sussex.

^ntx'm and ^e^Iifs.

[1034.] Transferring Bees and Combs. —
As a beginner in the craft I would value your
advice as to what is best to be done under the
following circumstances : — Yesterday I moved
a stock of bees after dusk from a place about
a mile away. These had appeared to me a
strong stock, and I risked, perhaps foolishly,
some of the older bees returning. They were
carefully handled, conveyed by train the short
distance, and, it being about eight p.m., I
attempted at once to transfer them to a
" Gayton" hive. Their original domicile was a
sort of travelling box, covered with perforated
zinc, which had, however, all the perfora-
tions completely plugged with propolis. On
raising the zinc I found that it was firmly
fastened down by the bees, and when removed
•—through there lip^ving beeij i;o dummy addeii

196

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [May 17, 1894.

to" the seven frames — the empty space behind
was occupied with brace and crops-combs.
These gave way and fell, breaking about half
of the two adjoining inside frames, and doubt-
less half - drowning the bees with honey.
Some of the frames have metal ends,
some no ends at all ; so that on placing
them in the new hive last night, and
moving them together this morning, I had
to judge distances by my eye partly. I
added one frame of my own with full sheet of
foundation, and on leaving home fur town
this morning the bees were partly in each
hive. Those in the " Gayton,'' where the
frames are, seemed th<^ q^^ieter, the others
having buzzed up angrily when I raised the
lid in order to look at them. For want of day-
light I could not see either queen, brood, or
honey, except what little of the latter was
spilled outside; and although it was nearly
dark during the time my "operating'' was
in progress, very few bees were killed or
injured, so far as can be seen, outside ; but
the origiaal box must be a mass of broken
honeycomb from the bits of the two frames,
and all the brace-combs. I have not tried to
give the bees any food, but only wrapped
them up as warmly as possible, and am very
anxious to know Avhat I ought to do next,
whether to leave them alone or feed them, or
attempt to finish transferring by driving the
remaining bees from original box and adding
them to the others. At present the box
and the hive stand close together. — Edwin H.
Wilson, Bcckenkani.

1 should add that the former owner had
kept these bees for two years, just as they
were given to him in the box, without
handling them or being able to secure any
honey from them. Several swarms, hoAvever,
had issued during the time.

Replt. — It is quite certain that the queen
is in the "Gayton," and the bees in box will
probably have joined her before this appears
in print. If they have not done so, we should
contrive some means of giving the bees access
to the box from below, and then, after pro-
viding a feed-hole in quilts of frame-hive, set it
above the frames so that the bees may rejoin
their queen ; and if the honey in damaged
combs is uncapped they will soon carry it
below.

[1035.] — Unfertilised Queen. — Will you
please tell me whatto do under the following cir-
cumstances ? One of my stocks has raised a
new queen, which was hatched out more than
a Aveek since. I examined the hive a week
ago to-day and saw two or three drone-cells
but no drones. I also saw the empty queen-
cell, from which I presume the queen had
hatched. To-day I again examined the hive,
and saw two drones had hatched since I last
looked at them ; there was no eggs in the
combs, and only about a dozen or so of worker
bees left in the comb,? to hatch out from sealed

cells. I also saw the young queen going over
the comb, narrowly looking into each
cell, as if anxious or about to commence to
lay, and I do not think there are any drones
in my other hives, as I have seen none on the
wing yet, and as I cannot see any information
in " Guide Book " as to the best thing to do, I
write for your advice. 1. The bees cover nine
fj'ames. The past week or more the weather
here has been dull, very showery, and cold ,
which did not give the young queen much
chance to fly. Do you think the queen will
become fertile all right, or would you advise
me to get a fertile queen and introduce at
once ? 2. Do queens often commence laying
before being fertilised ? 3. Whatever you
may advise me to do, I propose taking two
empty combs from then], and put in two
frames of brood from another hive, to keep the
population up. Will not this be a wise step
to take ?— W., Dorset, Ajml 12.

Eeply.--1. The queen will most probably
be laying all right in a day or two. 2. Not
unless hatched at a time when drones are not
in existence. 3. If the other hives are strong
enough to spare frames of brood without
bringing their population down appreciably,
only good will follow. Otherwise will it not
be " robbing Peter to pay Paul ? "

[1036,] Sivarms from " Wells '' Hives —
Helimifj Beginners. — I thank you for reply to
my query (1027, p. 178) in Journal of 3rd
inst., and beg to say that on Saturday last I
walked along with a friend on to the allot-
ments where my " Wells " hive is kept — ^just
to see how all was going on, and if the swarm
of the previoixs week was all right — when my
attention was called to some bees apparently
gathering in the hedge. On my friend and I
going up to the spot, to our surprise, we saw
a swarm as large as one's head, in the middle
of a thick hedge. We got a pail, and after
carefully cutting away branch by branch till
we could get at them, succeeded in securing
the bees in our pail without much trouble, and
then hived them in the hive from which they
had decamped last Aveek. They settled down
very quietlj'", and all went well. I then thought
I would look at my " Wells '' hive, and in the
side that had always been the strongest, prior
to the swarming, I found two queen-cells had
recently been opened ; but there seemed to be
no brood, nor did I see the queen. I then
looked into the other compartment of the
hive, and found the ten frames crowded with
bees, and plenty of brood in all stages. I was
at a loss to know Avhether it was best to return
the swarm we had just hived to the broodless
part or to give the latter a comb of young
brood. Eventually, I took the latter course.
The bees were very excited and evidently
meant war, but I could do nothing, so left
them for the night. Next day my friend
advised me to super the strongest side, as he
feared the bees wanted room, I therefore

May 17, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

197

covered the weakest side with American cloth,
placed the queen-excluder on the other, and
put on the sections, giving access to them
only to the bees of the strongest side, and
shutting the weakest lot out for a time. I may
mention that where the swarm had clustered
the bees had commenced to build comb.

1. Do you think it possible for those bee? to
have been there for the whole week unnoticed,
or had they returned to the hive again and
SM^armed once more afterwards ? In such a
case, what would you have done ? I am
pleased to say that both swarms are now doing
well, only, in the part of the " Wells " hive
that swarmed last week, the bees have taken
nearly two pints of syrup, yet we do not yet
see any signs of brood. 3. Is it too early to
expect to see brood yet? — W. R. Traviss,
WiUesden Green, N. W., May 6.

Eeplt.— 1. We think there is little doubt
that the bees removed from the hedge on the
5tli inst. constituted the second swarm from
the"Wells^' his'e. It is also probable that
there would be sealed brood and also a young
queen in the swarmed portion of the " Wells ''
hive, but they have escaped your notice.

2. Seeing that the young queen would only be
just hatched when the swarmed hive was
examined, there could be no brood from her,
but some of the progeny of the old queen
would be still unhatched at the date named
in the parent hive. As we have frequently
had occasion to remark of late, beginners, who
desire to become bee-keepers, cannot expect to
make satisfactory progress in their work
without the aid of a guide book of some soit
on the subject, wherein all such points as are
involved in the above queries are made clear,
nnd the reasons why fully explained. It is
like groping about in the dark to be ignorant
of such elementary details as how long an
interval takes place between the laying of the
egg to the hatching out the bee, be it queen,
drone, or worker ; also about the issue of
swarms, cast«, mating of queens, and such
like. Our correspondent seems to possess all
the aptness needed to make a bee-keeper if it
U guided aright, and for this he needs a hooh
on bees.

[1037.] Dealing ivith Foul-Broody Stock. — •
A few weeks ago I examined my four stocks
of bees and found them all except one in good
condition ; but the one in question I found
rather weak, and t ) be suffering from what I
at first thought to be foul-brood, but on a
second consideration concluded it was chilled.
However, I took the precaution of removing
all the brood and gave a frame of foundation,
and, on examining a fortnight later, I was
surprised to find that the queen was a drone
breeder. So not wishing to unite the bees to
another stock, as I still feared foul-brood, a
week later I removed the queen and inserted
a frame of brood and eggs from a healthy
stock, and hope to have drones flying in
time to feftilise the young queen, whicl}

I found them to be rearing yesterday. But,
still finding the brood of the late queen
to be diseased while that in the frame which I
gave seemed healthy, I concluded that it
must be foul-brood. I then transferred the
stock into a clean hive, removed all the
affected brood from them, gave a comb of
honey, and placed a bottle of syrup on. The
bees at present cover five frames. I herewith
send you a piece of the comb and brood re-
moved yesterday, and will be glad if you will
kindly answer the following questions : —

1. Is enclosed foul - brood or only chilled ?

2. Is it possible for a fertile queen to become
a drone breeder ? or, 3. Is it more likely that
they have lost their queen, and the bees have
raised another which, owing to the absence of
drones, could not be fertilised ? 4. Do you
think that the bees can make themselves
strong in time to take advantage of the honey-
flow, say in June or July, if they succeed in
raising a queen and she becomes fertilised 1
— John Cutiibertson, May 14.

Reply. — 1. Comb is affected with foul-
brood. 2. Yes. Aged and worn-out queens
frequently produce only drones. 3. In this
case we think it most bkely the queen had
not been superseded, but was cild. 4. Tlje
chances are rather against the stock yielding
surjilus honey this year, seeing that so long a
time must elapse befjre the queen hatches,
becomes fertile, and produces bees fit for
gathering honey in sufficient numbers to take
to surplus chambers.

[1038.] Remedying " Sj^oiW Bee Food.—
I herewith send you a sample of honey which
has been boiled in the comb, mixed with
fermented syrup, boiled again with water, and
I am afraid spoilt ! I have about 80 lb. of it,
I shall be much obliged if you will let me hear
through your paper whether it is safe to use
it as bee food ?— P. W. S. A. P., Tunhridge
Wells, May 8.

Reply. — If a pound of sugar is added to
every three pints of the syrup, the latter being
warmed (not boiled again) sufficiently to melt
the sugar, it would do as summer-food for
swarms, or for stocks short of provisions. But
it would not be suitable for autumn feeding.
We must confess to certain doubts as to suffi-
cient care being exercised generally in our
correspondent's modus operandi or plan of
operating. The syrup has a flavour which
gives the idea of its being over-boiled, or half-
burnt, in a pan placed in direct contact with
the fire, instead of being simply melted in an
inner vessel plunged into a pan of hot water.
Far too much water has also been added, and,
finally, we must be excused for saying it was
not considerate to ourselves to send a 1 lb.
jar of syrup in a loose tin box without even
screwing on the cap of jar, so that his letter
had to be washed well before being readable.

[1039.] Bees Killing Drones in April. — I
lioiight a hive of bees last autumn; they

198

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 17, 1894.

appear healthy, and are working well. On
the 18th of last month and three following
days they killed and carried out a large
number of drones, some of them being not
fally developed. Can you inform me why
drones should be killed so early in the season ?
It is my first experience with bees. —
' Novice,'' Wrexham, May 10.

Eeply. — Whea a change for the worse
happens in the weather during springtime it
is quite a common occurrence for drones to be
cast out, especially if food is running short in
the hive. They are supposed to be killed off
by the bees because of the untoward condition
putting a stop to all idea of swarming, and
the consequent necessity for drones.

[1040.] Jjestroying Foul Brood Comhs, —
Be-Queaning.—l enclose a piece of comb from
a hive, the bees of which have dwindled very
much. 1. Will you kindly tell me if it has
foul brood, hnd if so, ought I to destroy the
frames of clean empty combs that are in the
hive ? 2. What sugar is the best to feed bees
on, the raw brown, or white loaf, or what
kind? 3. iShould I remove the old queens
from three of my stocks and replace them with
queens from casts, or would you advise me to
wait till the end of the season ? — A Man of
Kent, May 11.

Reply. — 1. Comb is badly affected with
foul brood. We should burn all frames and
combs containing brood, and melt the other
down for wax. Putting the bees to death
would also be a merciful proceeding, since a
weak lot of foul-broody bees are worthless and
dangerous to keep. 2. Refined cane sugar is
the only kind suitable for bee-food. 3. Unless
the queens are unprolific, we should defer re-
queening until the honey harvest is nearing its
close.

THE " CASE FOR THE BENEVOLENT.''

Referring to the appeal made on behalf of
William Martin, who was desirous of obtain-
ing for his daughter admission to the Earls-
wood Asylum for Idiots (see Bee Journal,
April 19, 1819 p. 153), Mr. John Walton
writes : —

'' I received a letter a day or two ago from
friend Martin, informing me that his daughter
was successful in obtaining admission into
the asylum, for which he is most
thankful."

EARLY SWARMS.

The following reports of early swarms have
been received since our last issue :—

KENT.

The Rev. F. T. Scott, of The Cedars, Hythe,
Kent, writes that he had the first swarm of
bees iu his apiaiy on iSaty,rday, Api'il p8.

This is the earliest time in the reverend
gentleman's forty years' experience as a bee-
keeper. Another swarm is reported from Ben-
nington on Monday, the 30 th ult.

NORTHANTS.

Mr. Geo. Page, of Holcot, Northants, who
has tept bees for upwards of twenty-two years,
had a swarm on Sunday, April 29. Last year
he was fortunate enough to secure one swarm
in May, but this year he beats the record. We
are a' so informed of another early swarm at
Helmdon. The bees belong to Mr. Hopkins,
and the swarm issued on May 1.

WARWICKSHIRE.

On Tuesday, May 1, Mr. Joseph Russell,
manager for iNIessrs. Kay & Company's lime-
works. Long Itchington, Warwicks., had a
large swarm of bees,

WESTMORLAND.

Mr. Burton, of Wood Heads, (irange, near
Kendal, successfully hived his first swarm of
bees on Saturday, April 28. Though the
weather was certainly very fine on that day, it
is something like record-breaking as regards
date in this locality.

THE USES OF HONEY.

A correspondent forwards a cutting from
the latest issue of Tit-Bits in which a writer,
under the nom ch idume "Honey is Money,"
says ; —

" For some years I have been a great
believer in the plentiful use of honey, boih as
a valuable medicine and as an invigorating
food. In this country we suffer very greatly
from foul air, improper ventilation, and sudden
changes of weather, which cause no end of
throat and bronchial troubles. Before 1 used
honey my family were frequently laid up with
sore throats, and rarely frte from various forms
of chest complaints.

" Since, however, I have made use of a
plentiful supply of honey in my household I
haA^e found these ailments almost entirely
vanish. Good butter is most wholesome, but
in these days of adulteration it is very difficult
to procure. Honey is a most desirable and
economical substitute for it, and, as a rule, is
less than half the price. Since honey was
introduced into my household, my cook has
used it for quite a number of different pur-
poses. It may be used to replace sugar in
almost every article of food, and in the making
of light puddings the flavour of honey is much
more delicious.

"In former years I was wont to use sugar for
preserving a large supply of fruit which was
kept for winter use, now I use honey, and
find that fruit keeps sweet very much longer,
and that, while sugar preserves become stale
in a short time, honey preserves never do so.
J'pr cljildren, a litter?.! use of hoR^y i§ really ia-s

May 17, 1894.] THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

199

valuable ; and since I began to use it I have
not spent a shilling on doctors' medicines,
■whereas formerly I used to spend a good
many.

" My wife discovered a remarkable use for
honey quite recently. After being out at a
theatre and coming home late, she was Avont in
the morning to look jaded and faded, her skin
becoming dry, red, and harsh-looking. One
night she tried the effect of rubbing gently
a thin coating of honey on the face before
going to bed. The result was surprising, and
almost tempted me to set up in business as an
imitator of the renowned Madame Rachel,
who became famous by making ladies beautiful
for ever. Honey is one of the finest cosmetics
in the world, and can be safely recommended
to all ladies — and gentlemen, too, for that
matter — who wish to preserve a beautiful
complexion,

[After the above, bee-keeping should cer-
tainly look up, for, if true, it goes to show that
'' honey '' is not only " money " but a good
many useful things besides. — Eds.]

TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED.

W. Bazdei/, Sheep-street, Northampton. —
48 pp. Another excellently-got-up catalogue,
though mauy of the illustrations seem familiar.
Besides bee-appliances of all kinds, and several
items and methods of dealing to which special
attention is invited, there are included several
pages interesting to naturalists, taxidermists,
and microscopists.

E. J. Burt, Stroud-road, Gloucester. — 24 pp.
A well-arranged, if not very pretentious, list
of bee-goods, containing only useful things for
the apiary.

Im ^\wm id (Home.

June 12 to 15. — Royal Counties Agricul-
tural Show at Canterbury. Entries close
May 31. Hives, honey, &c. Secretary, Bee
Department, John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's
Langley.

June 25 to 29. — Royal Agricultural Show
at Cambridge. Entries close May 1. Post
entries at double fees till May 12. Secretary,
John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's Langley.

August 10 and 11. — At Dumfries. South
of Scotland B.K.A, Very liberal prizes.
Schedules from W. Wilson, Acrehead, Dum-
fries,

August 22 and 23. — At Derby. Derby-
shire B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby.

September G. — At Castle Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1 lb. jars

extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, sec. Castle Douglas, N.B.

July 18, 1!), 20.— Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at (^reat Grimsby. Bees,
hives, honey, and appliances. Liberal prizes.
Entries close June 29. S. Upton, secretary,
St. Benedict's-square, Lincoln,

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal intercut will be ansioered in this column.

*#* ff'^c are compelled to hold over " Useful
Hints " till next week.

R. Bayley (Plymouth). — Early Money. — The
honey sent is very fair in flavour and
aroma, excellent in colour, and to have
been taken so early in the season is certainly
a good sample. It is from the various
fruit trees lately blooming.

I. F. T. (Cambs.). — There is assuredly fou
brood in comb sent, though only apparent
in a very few cells. The sealed brood is
chilled, but the chilling has occurred some
days ago, all the unsealed larvae being
plump and healthy-looking as could be.
Have you naphthaline on floor-board of the
hive?

J. W. Chalmers (Greenock). — Packing Bees
for Transit. — Leave the scrim, referred to
on p. 175, entirely uncovered, unless the
bees are uncared for on the journey and
likely to be exposed to rain or cold.

J. F. R. Aylex (Capt. R.N.)— Many thants
for photo of your neat little " Town Garden
Apiary." The hives, home-made though
they be, are good-looking structures, with
not a little of the solidity of the " R.N."
about them, and reflect much credit on
yourself as the maker. We are very pleased
to learn that the bees Avith you are a success.

Geo. Dale. — Foul- Brood. — Comb sent is
very badly affected with foul-brood. Since
you have the '' Guide Book," but '• have no
time to attend to the directions therein," it
is difficult how to advise you, except to say
the combs should be taken away from the
diseased stocks and burnt without delay
If the two diseased stocks are weak, we
should join both lots, and after giving them
a clean hive feed with medicated food while
they are furnishing it with new combs.
Put naphthaline on floor-board of all the
hives.

Mrs. Portman (W'lmhoxne).-— Immature Brood
Cast Out of Hives.— -The carrying out by the
bees of white and immature drones like that
sent may be safely regarded as a result of
the adverse change in the weather, which has
stopped income, and for the time put an end
to the preparations for SAvarming, which the
raising of drones is always a forerunner
No further harm will follow unless food is
short, in which case the bees should be fed a
little.

200

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [May 17, 1894.

S

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, &c. — Up to
Twelve words. Sixpence; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

NEW Double or Single Walled STANDARD FRAME
HIVES ; high roof, lai-ge eke, moveable floor, on
legs; 10s., worth 15s. Crate (24 sections in), 2s. C.
Mekeey, Five Ways, Neston, Chester. v 89

BEST GRANULATED WHITE CLOVER HON^Y ;
2401b. at 6id., or offers. Apiarist, Fairspeir,
Ascott-Wychwood", Oxford. D 90

HEALTHY SWARMS, 3s. per lb. ; 1893 Queens.
Packing free. Lejiin, 72, Hoe-street, Waltham-

Btow, Essex. D 8S

WANTED, SWARMS or STOCKS, and empty Bar-
Frame HIVES. Exchange Honey Extractor and
American Organ, 16 stops. William Parsons, Esq.,
Ashurst-place, Langton, Tunbridge Wells. 217

SCREW-CAP HONEY BOTTLES (English). Bags of
10 doz., 12s. 9d. each. Packing free.
Sheffield Steel UNCAPPING KNIVES. Keen-edged
and thin. No hot water needed. Post-free 3s. each.
W. T. Gaenett, 18, Steade-road, Sheffield.

GUARANTEED HEALTHY NATURAL SWARMS,
(Pure Natives), 3h to 4 lb. each, price 12s. 6d.
Packing included. Expected middle May. Orders in
rotation. Address, C. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundon,
Clare, Suffolk. D 74

OR SALE, CHEYLESMORE TRICYCLE, or would
Exchange for Bees. Master, Workliouse, Lich-
field^ D83

BEES, NATURAL SWARMS, healthy and strong,
free from foul brood, 10s. 6d. each, boxes 2s. 6d. if

not returned. E. Long, Ciittenham, Cambs. i> 87

WARMS of EiNGLlSH liEKS, 3s. per lb. Packing
box returned. Garner, Broom, Biggleswade, Beds.

D&2

SECRETARIES of BEE ASSOCIATIONS, apply for
O tract, "Honey and Beeswax," free. GEORGE

Stocks, Sandiway, Northwich. i> 84

I) KB PLANTS, Limnanthes Douglasii, 100, Is. 3d.
JD Iceland Poppies, 25, Is. 3d. Limnanthes Douglasii
Seed, 6d. packet. Hunting, Loddon, Norfolk. d 7s

P" URE ENGLISH iJBES. Splendid" strain Swarms
from 10s. (id.. Nuclei 5s. on rail, Queens 3s.
delivered. Alsford, Expert, Blandford. D SO
IRST SWARMS of my splendid strain of BEES,
which cannot be excelled, 15s. packed free. John
Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington. D 72
ANTED, SECTIONS of COMB HONEY (any quan-
tity), and HONEY in bulk. State price, &c. Orders
also given for coming season. Packages sent. Address,
H., Bee Journal Office, 17, King William-street, Strand,
London. 199

CARBOLINB POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. Holliday, Astbury,
Congletou. ^

i'OCKS, NUCLEI, SWARMS, and QUEENS FOR
SALE. Address, The Rev. C. Beereton, Pulborough,

Sussex. 192

'■ YE OLDE ENGLLSHE BEE."

PRI ME natural Swarms of my selected strain of English
Bees, all 1893 Queens, Packing-box, and put on Rail
free, price los. Address, W. Woohley, World's End,
Newbury.

Telegrams — "Ilsley, or Hampstead Norris."

Porterage Is. 6d.

BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the

CBlSrTIlAL SUPPLY STORES

for all BEEKEEPERS' REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL
at the OLD SPOT, 50, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET,
GEORGE ROSE, successor to P. Harboedt.

Why pay carriage from long distances when you can
buy cheaper and quite as good quality locally, and have
your orders promptly attended to ? Catalogues gratis.
Send now. 14 varieties of Bee Flowers (full directions to
each), Is. Cash with order. 201

TEE mimm

Bee-keepers' Supplies

WILLIAM DIXOK,

5, Beckett St., Leeds.

Hives, Extractors,

Smokers, Feeders

Foundation, &c.

Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver, &BronzeMedals.

THE "WELLS SYSTEM"

Described by the Originator,

GEORGE WELLS,

Price 6*d. Post Free.

To he had of the Author only. 206

' of SySTON. W. Leicester. APPI.lAN(t>
WORK eENCHt3»i"'TO0LS .o''CARPENTER5«'''5L0YD WORK

See large Advertisement first Issue of the
raonth..

MOST IMPORTANT

Yes! if you want Honey. Now is the time to learn
" Mo"W to prevent ^"warraine:" in bar- frame hives,
and to " Transfer Stocks from Skepsto Frame-
liives." Every bee-keeper should also know " How
to make an artificial S"warui " successfully. All
these, &c., 3d. only.

DON'T DELAY.
W. RUSHTON, Hive Factory, Bedford.

203

STE

EE-APPLIANCE

MANUFACTURE

R

I am very careful to have only well-seasoned wood

used, and solicit a trial.

ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUES FREE.

is the Oldest Es-
tablishment in
the United
Kingdom
wholly devoted
to Bees and

manufacture of Bee-keepers' supplies. His prices will
compare most favourably with those of any other Maker,
while for quality of material, suitability and workman-
ship he has no rival.

A large consignment of the beautiful

"FALCONER" SECTIONS,

both 4 bee-way and 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct importation.
Price 2/6 per 100 ; cut to receive Foundation, 3/- per 100,
By Parcel Post, 1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which "contains more practical and reliable hints
than all the large, expensive books," post free for
2d. stamps.

Address S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent.

N.B. — More than 500 Silver and Bronze Medals, First anei

other Prizes, and Testimonials innumerable.

May 24, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

201

(Editorial ^irttas, ^L

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — The best and worst that
can be said of the weather as we Avrite is
that it still continues good for agricul-
ture, but rather bad for apiculture. Yet
how slight is the dividing line which
prevents it from being equally good for
both, seeing that a change in the direc-
tion of the wind is all that is wanted to
make rapid honey-storing a certainty. Bee-
forage seems everywhere abundant, sunny
days have been frequent, with just
sufficient rain to make things grow
nicely, and yet bee-keepers are com-
plaining; not without reason either, for
supers, though full of bees, are not being
filled with honey. The wind for some
days past has been northerly, varied
only by an occasional veering to the
east, which is still Avorse, and, so long
as it keeps there, Ave must wait, and
hope, and feed the bees if needful.
To-morroAv all may be changed and
honey coming in fast, but just noAV,
as the old fisherman said, " The Avind's
agen us, an' it's no kind o' use fitin' it."
The paragraph above Avas Avritten on the
evening of the 19th. On the following
night six degrees of frost Avas registered
in our part of Kent, and this morning
(21st) passing through the fields on our
Avay to train for toAvn, Avhat a sight Avas
presented to vicAv ! Whole fields of
potatoes, before looking full of promise
for ?. fine crop, completely blighted, the
haulm blackened and dropped to the
ground, as if a plague had passed over
the land. The loss to farmers must be
very severe.

Management of Swarms. — The fre-
quency Avith Avhich sAvarms haA'e been
reported during the last tAvo or three
Aveeks makes it safe to assume that
many of the new colonies Avill be
in a bad way if not fed. It is in
such precarious times as the present
that a feAv pounds of food is of the
utmost importance . for neAvly - hived
swarms to keep them in good heart
pending a change for the better in the
weather. In vicAv also of the return of
Avarm Aveather, further sAvarming may be
expected and should be prepared for, not
only by getting hives ready for swarms,

but the after - treatment of sAvarmed
stocks should be thought out and a plan
of proceedure resolved on beforehand. A
fcAV makeshift hives are always useful to
have in stock, especially Avhen they are
so constructed as to be readily adapted
for nuclei.

Bees Casting out Brood. — Some,,
alarm has been created of late in the
minds of correspondents — Avho are
beginners — by their bees casting out of
the hives a considerable quantity of pupa
or immature brood. This generally
happens Avith strong stocks, and, as a rule,
is a sign of impending scarcity in the
food department ; but sometimes drone
brood is thrown out Avhile food is plentiful
inside the hive, and, in the latter case,
indicates nothing more serious than that
the adverse change in the Aveather causes
the bees to give up preparations for
sAvarming for the time, and the poor
drones suffer in consequence. The
trouble first referred to is remedied
by giving a feAV pounds of thin syrup,
Avhile the drone-killing Avill be given up
as the Aveather becomes more favourable.
Fixing Foundation in Hia^es. — We
Avere not a little surprised Avhen, at the
conversazione of the B.B.K.A. the other
evening, several beekeepers present con-
fessed themselves entirely ignorant of
the fact that there was a Avrong and a
right Avay of hanging sheets of comb
foundation in frames and sections before
placing them in hives for the bees' use.
That the question has not cropped up
before is, to say the least, curious, nor
should Ave have raised it ourselves now
because of taking it for granted that the
frequent opportunities afforded to bee-
keepers of handling and observing combs
built by bees without the help of founda-
tion would enable them to know almost by
intuition hoAv a natural bee cell is built.
The question, hoAvever, arose during the
discussion Avhich took place on the occa-
sion referred to Avith regard to the
sample of artificial comb mentioned on
p. 191 of our last issue, and we are glad
to have the opportunity of here making
the matter clear, because it is quite
certain that a sheet of foundation is far
more liable to sag or give Avay when
set Avrong way up in the hive than
Avhen properly fixed. Without enter-
ing into the question of the marvel-
lous instinct displayed by the bee
in fixing upon the nearest approach

202

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [May 24, 1894.

to mathematical accuracy — so far as
utilising space — in the formation of its
cell, it will be apparent to any one
capable of realising the simple architec-
tural value of an arch for strength, that,
if left to itself, the bee secures this
important advantage by constructing the
cell Avith a pointed arch for its roof, and
the side walls resting on the apex of
the roofs of the two cells immediately
beneath, as shown in Fig. 1. With the
expenditure of a mini-
mum of material it thus
secures a maximum of
weight-bearing strength
for its delicately-formed
little store-house. On
the other hand, if the
bee-keeper carelessly, or
Fig- 1- inadvertently, or igno-

rantly gives to his bees foundation so
hung that the cells are built with side
Avails not vertical, as in Fig. 1, but
diagonal Avith the lines of roof and
floor horizontal, as in Fig. 2, obviously
the comb is consider-
ably less calculated to
bear Av^eight Avithout
sagging, and is dete-
riorated in conse-
quence. A very brief
study of the above
diagrams Avill so fix
the outline of the cells in the memory
that no bee-keeper need make a mistake
by hanging foundations in frames other
than right AA^ay up.

^W^W^

-^

^S^^R

s^

^s^^f

^\^

^^^

S

Fi2. 2.

TO OUE READERS.

Owing to an an unexpected demand for last
Aveek's number of the Bee Journal the Avhole
of the edition is sold out, and several applicants
for copies have been disappointed in conse-
quence. Deeming it likely that some readers
— who do not preserve their Journals for
reference — may attach no value to them after
being read, we Avill be very pleased to have
such returned, if of no use to their owners.

BEE SHOW AT CANTERBURY.

The first important bee show of the present
season takes place at Canterbury on the 12th
and three following days of next month, in
connection with the Royal Counties Agri-
cultural Show, and we would remind readers
of the number and liberality of the prizes
offered for competition, as well as the fact
that entries close on the 31st iust. jNIr.

Huckle, King's Langley, is secretary of the bee
department, and Avill supply schedules to all
applicants.

dfarrsspiulena.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Revieiv, <bc., must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal," 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <kc. ,inust be addressed
fo"THE Manager, 'British Bee Journal' OJice, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see Ist
page of Advertisements).

*,* In order to facilitate 7'eference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1857.] A fortnight has passed since I last
wrote, and there has been no improvement in
the Aveather. In the apiary things are very
quiet, hives that had every appearance of
swarming a few weeks back are now as clear
of bees around the entrances as they generally
are in March and April. The wind — " cold
enough to strip a feather,'' as our Berkshire
folk-lore has it — still blows from north-east.
The nights are frosty, and tender vegetation is
cut off, Avhile by day the skies are cloudy with
occasional glimpses of the sun ; and so the
month rolls on, favourable, no doubt, to the
farmer, but not to the bee-keeper and
gardener. I notice some colonies are throwing
out immature drone-brood ; where anything of
the kind is seen food is promptly given, and
generally stops the slaughter.

If we had got a continuance of good bee
weather we should this year have been in the
middle of the swarming season ; but, owing
to the continued cold spell, we cannot now be
much earlier than in ordinary seasons. There
is and has been a good breadth of forage, the
bulk of it lost to us this time ; still, Ave must
hope on, though " hoj^e deferred maketh the
heart sick." 1 hear of early swarms that have
been many days building snjall pieces of comb
which in good Avarm weather is usually done
in as many hours.

Our editorial answers prove that foul-brood
is still with us in various parts of the country,
therefore I A^euture to give Mr. W. McEvoy's
method of cure for the benefit of all who are
unfortunate enough to get the disease in their
apiary. Mr. McEvoy has in a recent number
of the A.B.J. ansAvered the criticisms of his
method which has appeared during the past
winter in the American bee papers, and then
closes a somewhat long article with his method

May 24, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

203

of treatment, which, he says, has proved a
radical cure of tlie disease in so many apiaries
in Canada : — " Where there is only a little of
the disease in many colonies and most of the
brood is sound, 1 would, in the eveninrjs in the
honey season, remove all the brood-combs from
the stronr/est colonufi, and j^ive them starters.
I would then cage the queens in the weaker
colonies, and tier up on them the brood I took
from the strongest colonies, and leave it there
for eight or cea days. I would then remove
all the combs from these colonies, and give the
bees starters, and let the queens out of the
cages, and either make wax of the combs, or,
better still, burn the lot at once. I would
remove the starters from every colony at the
end of four days, and give every colony full
sheets of foundation. Do all the work in the
cveninr/s, and either make wax of all the new
combs made out of the starters during the four
days, or burn them as soon as they are taken
from the bees, then the cure will be complete."

The McEvoy treatment of the disease is
plain and practical, and at small cost. The
principal one is the cost of frames and
foundation to replace the old ones, Avhich
should be burnt ; but even here there is the
advantage of having new combs in all the
colonies, which Avill enhance the well-doing of
the colonies for the following years. At any
rate, the system is worthy of a trial, and if
(though Mr. McEvoy says there are no ifs in
the matter) — yet, I repeat, if the method is a
cure let us be ready to give honour where it
is due.

Does Mr. Meadows' swarm-trap hold the
swarm till ^.the queen is released, or does it act
as a guide to a hive ready to receive the
swarm ? If only a swarm-trap, the bee-
keeper would require to visit the apiary every
day, and if it Avas far from home the journeys
and " traps " would cost as much as a
"watcher." The present season will pro-
bably give opportunities for testing the
various devices, yclept swarm-catchers or self-
hivers ; but the different styles ought to be
tried under one management, and in sufficient
numbers to put each kind to a practical test.
On this line our American cousins are far
before us with their experimental stations and
farms. — W. Woodley, Bredon, Xewbury.

SWAEM-CATCHERS.

SUGGESTED IMl'ROVEMENTS IX CONSTRUCTION.

[1858.] With reference to the appliance
shown at the conversazione of the British Bee-
Keepers' Association on the 10th inst., and
my remarks thereon alluded to in your report
on p. 191, will you allow me to say I have in
use, in my apiary, several arrangements in-
tended to fulfil the same purpose as that of
Mr. Meadows, and I would like to oiler a few
suggestions by which the article, as at present
constructed by that gentleman, might, in my
opinion, be much improved. Mr. Meadows'
swarm-catcher may be efficient in its working,

but it lacks rigidity, which would, without
the greatest care, cause the loose parts to get
misplaced, and so, by blocking up the per-
forations in the zinc, it would fail just when
it should succeed. The parts I do not like
are, first, the sliding or overlapping front,
which, being in the centre of the hive exit,
Avould. even if properly fixed, hinder the bees
somewhat when leaving and entering the
hive, whilst if not exactly adjusted would
stop egress and ingress altogether where the
parts overlap. Second, the shape of top
chamber, and the necessity of shaking a swarm
out at one end, and that a small one. I cannot
quite see how the apparatus is to fit perfectly
close all round so as to prevent the queen
leaving for a certainty. 1 therefore suggest
the following alterations : — 1. That wooden
sides be made to fit close down to the hive
sides with a thumb scresv on each side to fix
it in its place. 2. That the perforated zinc
front be one piece of Dietal, and firmly nailed
or fastened to the wooden sides. 3. That the
top chamber, formed by a plain metal half-
back carried at an acute augle between the
wooden sides to meet the triangular piece —
forming the passage by which the queen enters
the upper chamber — be carried up and over
such triangular piece, leaving only sufficient
room for a queen or drone to pass, but extend-
ing, as his now does, right along the line.
4. That the upper chamber be fitted with a
perforated zinc lid, easily removable. 5. That
the triangular piece before mentioned should,
instead of being triangular, be carried straight
down until it meets the slanting jjerf orations
forming the lower part of the front. The
benefit of this would be that, instead of the
queen wandering about under the present
wooden triangular piece, she would run up the
slope, and, finding no exit, would continue to
ascend straight into the upper chamber. I
have also found that a strip of wood — fixed to
the alighting-board and brought up level to
the lowest holes in the excluder zinc — placed
along the front of the appliance is a great
assistance to incoming bees, as there is then
no struggling up the piece of metal running
along the flight-board before the bees can enter
the hive.

The advantage of an easily removable lid is
that when the queen and bwarm are in and on
the upper chamber one can easily take the
whole apparatus from the hive to which it is
affixed, go to the new hive, move the lid off,
and lay the whole concern down on the flight-
board,"^ when the bees and queen will soon
enter the home prepared for them, without
shaking or jarring of any kind.

I think that th"e appliance as altered is the
basis of the swarm-cdtcher of the future.
It also serves the purpose of a drone-trap, and
the drones can be easily released — if wanted—
or destroyed. In releasing the drones at this
time of the year one need not be troubled about
their future welfare, for on finding that they
cannot enter the hive of their birth they make

204

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 24, 1894.

tracks for the nearest hive that is open and
are readily received. If the drones can be
removed in this way it does not require me to
tell readers that it reduces the chances of
swarming. With hives having movable
porches no difficulty would be experienced in
adjusting the appliance ; but otherwise the
bee-keeper must devise some means of adapting
the appliance to the fronts of his hives. —
H. W. Brice, Thornton Heath, May 16.

AN EARLY SWAEM,

AND OTHER BEE ITEMS.

[1859.] A friend of mine, living at Perry
Barr, near here (Birmingham), has had the
earliest swarm I have ever heard of in the
Midlands. It came off on April 24 ! Six
days later tlie old stock sent off a cast, and
two days after this a third, or '' colt.'' His
only other stock swarmed May 1. This is a
cold district, and our average time for swarms
is the middle of June. If it be true that '' A
swarm of bees in May is worth a load of
hay,'' what would that swarm be worth 1 Not
so much, perhaps, when we consider that they
have had to be fed ever since to keep them
alive. To-day, May 20, it is bitterly cold, and
snowing a little as I write. All hives are
killing mature and immature drones, although
they have been fed daily.

It is a sad sight at any time to see brood
cast out, and, if a result of starvation, must
cause the old sister bees many a pang to have
to do it. There are other causes, however,
beside starvation, for brood may be killed by
careless " spreading,'' and I have known sudden
cold spells of weather compel the bees to leave
some uncovered in untouched hives, so that it
died. I have also known bee-keepers make
artificial swarms — making three stocks out of
two, &c. — and hives thus denuded of all their
flying bees have afterwards cast out much
brood, beside many bees born deformed, owing
to cold in the pupal, or malnutrition in the
larval state. These things speak for them-
selves, but there are other causes which I
cannot explain, except by the theory that bees
in their babyhood may be troubled with con-
vulsions, measles, whooping-cough, &c., and so
go the way of all flesh. And why not ? Why
should every bee-egg come to be bee-chickens ?

I see at last we have the long-promised
artificial comb (not that we want it) — and it
comes not from Minnesota either. What will
happen now ? Will my poor bees ere long
forget how to make those delicious cells ?
Shall we raise bees that will not swarm ? — those
troublesome but dear swarms— as Minorca
and Hamburgh hens have forgotten how
to sit. What with honey (?) made in America,
comb in Germany (?), and an invention which
I am going to make (not to be behindhand !),
the poor bees won't know where they are !

My invention will be a device fixed on to
the mowing machine. The clover and all
flowers amohg the grass— what a multitude

there are ! — will pass through this device, and
the honey will be extracted from them in their
passage. The invention of sugar gave the
hive-bee a knock from which it has scarcely
recovered, but the above device will be a
settler. How delightful to be able in years to
come to go into a shop and say, " A penn'orth
of mignonette honey, please I " for we shall
grow it by the acre then solely for this
machine.

Ordinary brood foundation is an expensive
item in a large apiary whose owner will have
straight combs. On the score of economy we
have used foundation, wired, ten sheets to the
lb., and, by getting it worked out in April
between fully-built combs, have not had a mis-
hap. Our idea is that the apiarian ought to
be a producer of wax, but so far we have not
found a way since the old skep days. I can't
understand the ways of those in the appliance
trade. Many of them cut the foundation
scarcely wide enough, yet too deep, for the
standard frame, and super-foundation is made
too small to get eight squares to fit standard
sections. As the great majority use the
standard sizes, why do they not cut it to fit ?
Another grievance is the wretched metal caps
sold with honey bottles. They appear to be
made of soft lead, and are of no use after being
screwed on and ofli" occasionally. I have day-
dreams of getting 1,0001b. of honey this year,
even by the old-fashioned system of collection
by bees' tongues into bees' comb. This said
honey will want neat bottles with strong screw
caps. What obliging bottle merchant will
make one — if for no one else — for Lordswood 1

"WELLS" HIVES.

[I860.] As I am constantly receiving letters
asking advice re above hives, will you kindly
allow me to say, through your columns, that
until larger " takes " of honey are recorded by
their use, I fail to see much advantage to the
honey producer. It appears to me the manu-
facturers are the people who benefit most from
them at present. The simpler the hives are
the better. The " Wells " hives are cumber-
some, and there are many disadvantages in
having two colonies under one roof. While I
can get from 100 lb. to 162 lb. (without touch-
ing the brood-chamber) with very simple hives
I shall be quite satisfied with them. This is
what they gave me last seasoo, and I hear of
similar amounts being taken by others. Much
more depends on having a good, young queen
than upon the hive. — C. Brereton, Pul-
horour/h, Sussex.

BEES FIGHTING AMONG
THEMSELVES.
[1861.] I had this spring a similar case to
that described in Bee Journal of May 3,
(1833, p. 173), of bees fighting amongst them-
selves. It began on March 24, and on that
day, and also the 25th and 30tli the front of
hive on the ground was thick with bees Avhich

May 24, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

205

had been killed. This was in excellent bee
weather, and the bees had not been disturbed.
The queen is all right, and it is now one of my
best stocks. I can give no explanation of the
matter. Weather here bitterly cold, the sun
has hardly been visible for nearly a week.
Bees casting out drones and drone-brood. There
is abundance of blossom of all kinds, best I
have seen for years, so hope soon to have better
weather. Stocks are all ready for supers, but
have to feed to keep them alive just now.

I enclose two bees from this hive above
mentioned, kindly say to what race they
belong. — Hy. Mark, Hosetvdl, Midlothian,
May 19,

[Bees are hybrids of the usual type. — Eds.]

THE DOUBLE-QUEEN SYSTEM.

THANKS TO MR. WELLS.

[1862.] I beg to thank Mr. Wells for his
very courteous reply (1841, p. 183) to my open
letter addressed to hira. I wanted to ascertain
several thing-!, which he has (to my mind)
satisfactorily answered. — Joii:; Walton,
Weston, Leamington, May 21.

^urm and |le|Iies.

[1041.] Trapping Queens for maJcing Arti-
ficial Sivarnis. — I endeavoured to make an
artificial swarm on Saturday, the 12th inst.,
but was unable to find the queen, so I placed
two frames of eggs and brood in the new hive,
hoping the queen might be on one of them. I
feel certain, however, from the appearance of
the bees that she is not there. 1. Will the
bees, if left to themselves, re-queen ? And will
this prevent the old stock swarming '? 2. Will
the plan mentioned in a back number of the
B.B.J. , of " sifting the bees through a drone-
trap," be of any use for finding the queen ?
3. If I place a drone-trap on the entrance of
hive, and allow the bees to swarra naturally,
will the trap retain the queen, so that I can
make an artificial swarm the following morn-
ing ? I ask this as I am away from home
during the day. — A. Vigor, Bamsgate,
May 15.

Reply. — 1. We fear you have not
thoi'oughly grasped all the points to be ob-
served in .making an artificial swarm, and to
attempt such operations without that know-
ledge is to court failure. Anyway, we cannot
properly advise on this query without know-
ing what position — with regard to the original
stand — ^the swarm and stock respectively
occupy. 2. We have some recollection of a
plan of sifting bees through excluder zinc to
find the queen, but not through a "drone-
trap." Can you refer us to the B.J. in which
it appears ? 3. With most of the droQe-traps

used there is always the risk — when the trap
is left on all day — of mishaps through the per-
forations becoming blocked up with the bodies
of the unfortunate drones trying to get out.
Some risk also attends the queen when im-
prisoned in the same way. If, however, some
such trap as is described on p. 203 is used,
the queen might be caught and dealt with as
proposed. But, after all, it is so easy and so
nmch simpler to watch for the queen when
" driving,'' we wonder at the failure to see
her.

[1042.] Queen unable to Fhj with Swarm. —
I have 'read your valuable Journal for the
last few years, and learnt heaps of good things
therefrom ; but I am puzzled to know the
cause of enclosed queen not being able to fly
from the hive after coming out with a swarm.
She only got a short distance, and dropped to
the ground. The swarm came oft' on Sunday,
the 13th inst., between ten and eleven o'clock.
I only got to the apiary in time to see the bees
returning to the hive, and noticed something
was wrong by them hunting over the front of
hive and on the ground for their queen. I
found her surrounded with a bunch of bees,
and, getting her into a cage, kept her warm
till the bees had got over their excitement,
then put her on floor-board, and she ran in
pleased enough apparently. The swarm came
off" again on Monday, and on searching I found
the queen below the back of the hive outside,
with a bunch of bees as before. So I got her
away, and send her on for your opinion. The
hive has on a rack of twenty-one sections
crowded with bees, and honey is being stored
in the sections. I should like the queen
returned if she is likely to be of any good to
me. I took a swarm for a friend yesterday,
and the queen seemed disposed to act as mine
did, getting under the floorboard, but after
hiving they were all right. — Lansdown, Bath,
May 15.

Reply. — Queen reached us dead, though
the v/orker bee was still alive. She has pro-
bably met with some injury to her power of
flight when the hive was being manipulated.
In no other way cam we account for what
occurred, as her wings seem perfect.

[1043.] Dealing with Foid-Brood.—I for-
ward in Ijox a piece of comb which I suspect
to be foul-broody. I had no idea whatever of
its presence until Saturday, when I had occa-
sion to put the bees into a new hive. I had
noticed the stock weaker than the rest for
some time, but foul-brood never once entered
my head, as I have never had the slightest
experience with it, or seen it under any cir-
cumstances. I fancy from what I have read
time after time this is a genuine case ; and if
so, what is the best course to take with the
rest of my hives, eighteen in number ? I
promptly destroyed the bees from which I
took the piece of comb, and I have removed
comb^ and aU to a place apart until I hear

206

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 24, 1894

from you. My idea is to melt down the
combs (I suppose they can be still used for
wax), and boil or scald the frames, hive, and
all fittings ; then disinfect with a weak solu-
tion of carbolic acid, or anything better which
you might suggest.

I have a terrible dread of the spread of the
thing, and I have no reason to believe it is or
has been in the neighbourhood ; but ia the
meanwhile, what is the best course to take to
prevent its spreading, or to cure it, should any
of my other hives be affected ? Apparently
there is not the least sign of the pest. I
never had the stocks as strong in bees as
they are at present, at the same j)eriod. They
are covering generally ten and eleven frames,
with eight and nine frames packed with
seemingly healthy brood from top to bottom,
and working splendidly during fine days.
Lately I have been following a course of
stimulative feeding, and as the bees in the
infected hive have taken a considerable
(juantity, and very little now present in the
combs, I am afraid pilfering has been going
on, and the pest may have spread. My
inquiry resolves itself into this : — 1. What
ought I to do with the infected hive ? 2.
What method of procedure ought I to take
with remaining stocks '! I do not want to
dally with it, but stamp it out if possible. —
J. J. K., Westmoreland.

Reply. — Comb received is undoubtedly
affected with foul-brood. All comb3 with
brood in them from the infected hive should
be burnt, frames and all (not melted for the
wax). The broodless combs may be melted
down, and the wax used for household pur-
poses. 1. For disinfecting the hive, wash well
with hot tvatcr in which a good teacupful of
common washing soda has been dissolved.
When well dried, paint inside and out with a
solution of soluble phcnyle — two teaspoonfuls
to a quart of water. The phenyle can be had
from any chemist for 6d. 2. Use naphthaline
on the floorboards of all the other hives Avith-
out delay, and if any feeding is required,
medicate the syrup with the naphthol beta that
you have by you.

[1044.] Fish-Glvc for Securing Foundation
in Sections. — Kindly inform me whether you
consider the taste of honey in sections is affected
in any way by the foundation ? I have cut
my foundation to the size of the sections, and
am told that the taste of the honey will suffer
in consec^uence, and toughness in eating be
the result. I should like to have your opinion.
2. Supposing I fix in the foundation with
liquid fish-glue — is the effluvia enough to
prevent the bees going up? — B.W., Barnstaple,
May 17.

Reply. — 1. If the best and thinnest make
of super foundation is used there will be no
appreciable difference in eating between it and
that of natural comb, and in any case the
quality of the honey will not suffer, 2. We

should not use fish-glue or anything having an
offensive effluvia in fixing the foundation.
Why not use melted beeswax ?

[1045.] MaJdng Artificial Swarm from Sleep.
— I have a stock of bees m a straw skep, which
I want to transfer into a bar-frame hive. I
have six or seven frames of comb, standard
size, drawn out. Would it do to drive them
this month ? I thought they would perhaps
do well, having the comb already drawn out
for the queen to start laying in. Reply in
next issue will oblige. I have read reply to
936 in Bee Journal for January 18, p. 29,
but you mention about having a swarm first,
and I don't intend mine to swarm at all. — T.
Mead, BirkdcUe, May 17.

Reply. — No harm would come to the swarm
if driven this month under the conditions
stated, but the brood left in the skep after the
bulk of the bees had been removed would
probably suffer if the weather was not settled
and warm at the time.

[1046.] Bees Dwindling. — Can you tell me
what has been the matter with a stock of bees
I have turned out of a skep to-day ? It was
a natural swarm of last summer, purchased ia
July. The skep was then quite full of combs
and honey, and I placed it as it was in a hive
that had not been lined. It did admirably
until February, when I found the bees were
dying in large numbers. I then commenced
to feed with barley-sugar and syrup. The
mortality soon ceased, they strengthened
again, and did well. I continued to feed, and
six weeks ago put a rack of sections on the
skep. Since then the swarm has dwindled.
On driving them into another skep to-day, and
adding them to another stock, I looked into
their skep, and found it entirely full of beau-
tiful golden-coloured comb, and very little
honey indeed. But what surprised me was
that though I had seen no queen, I found
three queen cells, in two of which there were
large white grubs quite alive and sealed up — -
one had a live bee inside with it. There
were only about one dozen other cells with very
young brood in them, and the number of bees
driven could not have exceeded 1,000. I
should like to know (1) what would have hap-
pened if I had left the skep alone ? Also (2)
if the queen cells prove the presence of a
queen ? (3) the cause of dwindling ? I
found no dead bees in the hive. I have just
commenced with an apiary of twenty hives,
and am purchasing swarms to fill them.
There was not the slightest evidence of
foul-brood in the skep, or chilled- brood. — •
Annone, Ashbourne, May 18.

Reply. — There are several things which,
as described, are incomprehensible to us ; and
so we must confine ourselves to queries
enumerated. 1. If the queen-cells were
normal, and contained queen pupa, no doubt

May 24, 1894.] THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL.

207

one or more queens would have hatched out
from them. 2. Queen-cells and no eggs in the
combs generally go to prove the absence of a
queen. 3. It is just possible that putting the
sections on without carefully packing the
junction— and at a time when there were not
bees enough in the skep to warrant giving
more room — may have so reduced the tem-
perature as to put a stop to breeding, and so
cause dwindling. We trust our correspondent
will carefully read up a good book on bees
before entering upon the management of so
many as twenty stocks.

[1047.] Bees Dcsertinfi Foul-Broody llivcx.
— I am sending by this post a piece of comb
taken from a neighbour's hive, who had only
two stocks, which were strong and all right,
with plenty of stores in the autumn, when I
took the super off. When I opened them to-
day there was not a bee, except the one
enclosed, in either hive, and from ten to fifteen
lbs of honey in each. I should like to
know if it is foul-brood ? My own opinion is,
the tom-tits have killed all the bees. — J. H.
W., May 19.

Ebply. — Comb sent is badly aflected with
foul-brood. It is little short of a marvel to
learn that the bees have deserted the diseased
hives — leaving only one dead bee behind (which,
by the way, happens to bs a queen) — and the
honey left is noc cleaned out by other bees.
Any way, we trust you acted promptly on
advice sent by postcard, to close hives at once,
in order to prevent robbing. The honey may
be used for household purposes, but if got at
by bees, it will spread contagion wherever it
is carried to. Brood-combs and frames should
be burnt, and hives disinfected before using
again.

[1048.] Bees and Shcp v^infercd above
Frame-Hive. — On June 2, 1893, I wished to
transfer a skep of bees and honey to a bar-
framed hive, but as it was a late swarm of
1892, and, consequently, the combs very
tender, I did not attempt it, but placed the
skep (which had a fair quantity of both honey
and bees) on the top of the frames filled with
foundation. It remained there without inter-
ference until yesterday, when a friend and
myself drove the bees and removed the old
queen ; we then threw the bees in front of the
hive and let a young queen run in with
them, and then, after placing excluder zinc
over the frames, returned the skep in order
that the brood may hatch, when I shall remove
it, and in due course give shallow frames. Now
as no honey was taken last year from them
and five hives close by yielded an average of
60 lb. from surplus chambers, I naturally ex-
pected to find plenty of honey, but this was
not the case ; there was a little in the skep,
and the frames were not worked out at all.
Will you kindly tell me (1) what was the
cause of this scarcity of honey ; (2) why did
not the bees work on the frames below ; (3)

whether the plan I adopted Avas right ? I may
mention that I never noticed any robbing
either last year or during this spring. —
A. P. J., Norfolk, May 19.

Reply. — 1. The fault would appear to lie
with the queen unless the stock is diseased.
2. Because of there being room enough in the
skep for their requirements. 3. You do not
say if the bees were numerous ; and, if not,
placing excluder zinc between skep and the
unfarnished frame-hive may cause the bees to
pass into the skep to care for the brood
therein while the queen is left below to
perish.

[1049.] Transferring Bees from Skeps. —
On May 1 1 put a strong stock in a skep above
the bars of a frame-hive — i.e., the skep on to
seven frames fitted with foundation. 1 . How
soon is it probable that the foundation will be
worked out, and the queen and bees have
gone down from the skep, so that I should put
the queen-excluder on top of frames ? 2. Why
are the bottom bars of frames made so slight 1
Why should they not be, say, j in. thick, as
wiring couldthen be so much better done ? 3.
Has papier-mdchc been tried for foundation ?
Will not bees take to it if coated thinly with
wax ? It would be strong, and not need
wiring. — Aliquis, Solihull, May 19.

Reply. — 1. We cannot well fix even a pro-
bable date for the bees taking possession of
lower hive, it varies so. Bitt why do you
propose to put excluder between the skep and
frame-hive ? There is no need for this. More-
over, if it is done, there may be drones in the
skep which will want releasing. 2. The
strength of bottom bar was determined on
when the standard frame was established ; but
frames may be had with strong bottom bars
from any maker. 3. No ; ijapier-mdche has
not been tried for the purpose to our know-
ledge, though wood has, and was not found to
answer.

[1050.] Making Artificial Swarms. — In
making an artificial swarm from two stocks of
bses, as spoken of in your monthly, the
Record, how will the bees in No. 1 hive
receive the flying bees of No. 2, when jiut on
No. 2 stand '? Will they not fight ?— W. F.,
Staffs.

Reply. — No. Carry out the instructions
given, and all will go well.

[1051.] Extractin;/ Wax. — Will you kindly
tell me how to manage my refuse comb,
cappings, &c., as I do not understand how to
render it fit for use as beeswax ? 1 may add
that I have only a few hives, and hardly
require a proper wax-extracting machine. —
L. Clews, Birmingham, May 18.

Reply. — Several homely contrivances for
extracting wax have been described in past
numbers of the Bee Journal. But perhaps
the most simple and inexpensive way is' to fill

208

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 24, 1894.

a pan to within a couple of inches of the top
with the combs, cappings, &c., and just cover
with water, place it on the fire, and as the wax
melts and rises to the surface skim it off into
a vessel of cold water. Be careful the wax
does not boil over into the fire. We should
add that there is a simple wax extractor on
the market which only costs about half-a-
crown or so, and does its work well.

<f ttocs jwm ih Mm.

TJfford Heath, Stamford, May 14. — Until
the 10th we had no rain of any consequence,
and, as the good eftects of that have gone, the
bees are now nearing starvation-point. I am
obliged to feed a little, as four stocks had
begun to throw out pupa. There have, how-
ever, already been several swarms in the
neighbourhood. Kefering to the new per-
forated dividers for sections, I have used
such for years. Mine have holes large enousrh
for the bees to pass through, and they answer
capitally.— J. K. Truss.

Bee Movnt, Siolcc Prior, Worcestershire,
May 16. — Yesterday morning one of my
stocks in a frame hive swarmed, and settled
xipon the trunk of a damson-tree, covering the
surface for nearly a yard in length. After
vainly trying to secure the swarm by the means
of a feather and then by smoking, I deter-
mined to brush them oft' into a skep ; this I
did, and got not a few stings for my trouble,
and about two hours after I successfully hived
them in a frame hive. Weather here this
Whitsuntide has been on the whole cold, dull,
and wet. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday
were, however, fairly fine during the early
morning. The artificial swarm I made May 1
is doing splendidly. I have, of course,
been liberally feeding it, seeing the weather
is so unfavourable. Dutch clover, limes, peas,
and broad-beans now in blossom. tlnfor-
tunately there are not sufficient limes about
here to give a surplus. Great number of drcnes
daily cast out.— Percy Leigh.

Honey Cott, Westo7i, Leamingtcv, May 18,
1894. — I have only had two swarms as yet,
and the weather is very tantalisirjg just at
present. We have had tcarcely any snn, but
several thoroughly wet and very cold dajs,
the temperature this morning being only
64 deg. Everything looks grand if we can
get some warm weather. The hedgerows are
white, with miles of hawthorn in full bloom ;
the meadows and clovers look beautiful,
aff'ording a great variety of bee forage. All
we want is old Sol to favour us more and this
beastly east wind to disappear, or to change
to south, and then we?ballhave lots of honey,
— Joi^N Walton,

Wylcle Green, Birmingham, May 18. — The
echoes from my hives are loud and ceaseless —
a cheerful, happy hum-humming of the little
inmates. Honey is coming in fast from the
many flowering trees, such as chestnut, haw-
thorn, sycamores, &c. My hives are well
situated, as there are so many honey-yielding
trees and plants close around. An avenue of
lime-trees which partly overshadow them will
find plenty of occupation later on, as well as
the clover-fields. Sections are already sealed
over on a hive which contains a '92 " after-
swarm," and which so far has proved the most
profitable of all my hives. Even the heavy
rt\in which fell almost ceaselessly yesterday
did not daunt the courageous little mites, who
braved the elements most defiantly. I never
saw bees so strong and active ; and they seem
to have no intention of swarming, but are
crowded in the sections instead, to my intense
satisfaction, as hitherto I have had more
swarms than honey. I helped to hive an
immense swarm on Tuesday last very success-
fully. The bees marched into the skep like a
troop of soldiers, It was A'ery funny. I hope
all " echoes " may be as pleasant as mine. —
(Miss) L. 0.

Romford, Essex, May 21. — I took ten
finished sections, and left fifteen others nearly
finished, on two hives two miles from here on
the 18th inst., but since then it has been
bitterly cold. Yesterday (20th) we had hail,
and at night a severe frost, and the potatoes
are very much blighted. — Wm. Lovedat.

n ^mm to i&mxt

June 12 to 15. — Royal Counties Agricul-
tural Show at Canterbury. Entries close
May 31. Hives, honey, &c. Secretary, Bee
Department, John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's
Langley.

June 25 to 29. — Royal Agricultural Show
at Cambridge. Entries close May 1. Post
entries at double fees till May 12. Secretary,
John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's Langley.

August 10 and 11. — At Dumfries. South
of Scotland B.K.A. Very liberal prizes.
Schedules from W. Wilson, Acrehead, Dum-
fries.

August 22 and 23.— At Derby. Derby-
shire B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby.

Sei- tember 6 — At Castle Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1 lb. jars
extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, sec. Castle Douglas, N.B.

July 18, 19,20. — Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Great Grimsby. Bees,
hives, honey, and appliances. Liberal prizes.
Entries close June 29. S. Upton, secretary,
St. Benedict's- square, Lincoln.

May 24, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

209

June 7 and 8. — Wilts Agricultural Show at
Devizes. The Wilts Bee-keepers' Association
will attend as usual. No prizes. For parti-
culars apply to W. E. Burkitt, hon. sec,
W.B.K.A., Butterniere Kectory, Hungerford.

June 13andl4. — Essex B.K.A.at Colchester.
Entries close May 29. Post entries at double
fees. Fifteen open classes. Hon. secretary,
F. H. Meggy, Chelmsford.

Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only oj personal interest iviU be answered in this column.

W. Williams (St. Briavels).— 1. The old
comb received affords no clue as to foul
brood or otherwise. A piece containing
some indication of brood in the cells must
be sent before we can say anything as to its
condition. 2. Subscriptions to Bee Journal
can commence from any date, and the paper
will be delivered by post on Thursday
morning.

An Enquirer and Beginner. — Bees are
hybrid ligurians, and are considered fairly
good honey gatherers. The queen is an
adult, but we cannot tell her age other than
s.aying that she bears no appearance of age
or infirmity.

D. Storrie (Perthshire). — Lee's patent frames
and sections are manufactured solely by
Neighbour & Sons, 127, High Holborn,
London, W.C. Porto Kico sugar is not
known or sold by any other name to our
knowledge. It is not much used now as
food for bees.

R. G. (Renfrewshire). — Confining Queen to
Hive to Prevent Swarming. — We do not
see how the proposed arrangement would
work. You cannot confine the queen to
the hive without confining the drones also,
and this latter leads to complications of
.many kinds. It is well-nigh impossible to
manage bees only seen once a week with-
out having some one near to hive a swarm
if it should issue.

Morris Jones (Llanafan). — Raising Queens
hy Bees taken from Chimney. — If several
queen-cells arc started, leave them all in,
and let the bees themselves settle which is
to head the stock.

A Beginner (Bromsgrove). — Time a Sivarmed
Sleep is Queenless. — The young queens
usually hatch out in about eight or nine
days after the issue of the first swarm.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, &c. — Up to
Twelve words. Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

ENGLISH and ITALIAN BEES FOR SALE. T. Hill,
Scotlands, Cannock Road, Wolverhampton. K 1

GOOD SWARMS, packed free, lis, each. LEONARD
Smith, Elstow, Beds. d 94

Predaid Advertisements (Continued).

TINNED WIRE on i-lli. Reels. JOHN WOODHKAD,
Wire Manufacturer, 8, Celland Road, Bdghouse,
Vorks. D 92

FOR immediate SALE, FIVE STOCKS of healthy
BEES, in modein hives. Extractor, section crates,
&c. Complete outfit, in capital condition. Price £r>.
Wcllburn, .Tesmond, Newcastle-on-Tyne. D 90

'• YJTOLDE ENGLLSHE BEE."

PRI VIE natural Swarms of my selected strain of English
Bees, all '93 Queens, carefully packed, and put on
Rail, lus. per swarm. W. Woodley, Beedon, near
Newbury.

Porterage on Telegrams, Is. 6d.

L,^OR SALE, nearly^new, BLOVVS^HONBY EX-
1? TRACTOR for small Apiary. Price 5s. Address,
J. Martin, Littleport. d 91

ONEV and BEESWAX, valuable recipes for use of ;
10s. per 1,000, four a penny. Will increase local
demand. Vendor can print or stamp own address on.
George Stocks, Sandiway, Northwich. i> lOO

GAR NliTi^ "^XPERT^SiIUKER~(Patent applied^
for). Most simple and ))est little smoker ever
invented. Both hands at liberty to work frames. Can
be carried in the coat pocket, and used by non-smokers.
Post free 2s. 2d. W. T. Garnett, Steade Road.
Sheffield.

YOLTNG, pure bred IRISH RED SETTER DOG in
EXCHANGE for Two Swarms of Bees. JAMES
Mack, Lisburn, Ireland. D 99

F" IRST^WARllSlS my splendid strain of BEEST
which cannot be excelled, los., packed free. John

Walton, Honey Cott., Weston. Leamington. D 95

URE ENGLISH BEES, splendid strain, swarm early,

good gatherers. Small swarm with nueen, 5s.,

larger, lOs. 6d., superior, 15s., nuclei, 5s., all on rail ;

queens, 3s. delivered. Alspord, Expert, Blandford.

D98

Foil SALE, 3 doz. lib. JARS of HONEY and 1 doz.
SECTIONS. What offers. John Bainbridge,

Hutton Rudby, viaYann^ I> 93

UAR.ANYEEI)~llealthy Natural SWARMS, ready

for delivery, 3^ to 4 lbs. each, price 12s. 6d.

Packing included. Is. each allowed for boxes returned.

Address, C. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare,

Suffolk. B2

ANTED to EXCH-INGE, Patent AMERICAN"

CHICKEN REARER, nearly new, cost 35s., for

Swarms of Bees. Hilton, Witham Bank, Boston. E 3

NEW, Double or Single Walled STANDARD FRAME
HIVES ; high roof, large eke, moveable floor, on
legs; lOs., worth 15s. Crate (24 sections in), 2s. C.
MoRREY, Five Ways, Neston, Chester. D 89

H^ ^ALTHY"^S^VARMS, 3s. per lb. ; 1893 Queens.
Packing free. Lemin, 72, Hoe-street, Waltham-
stow, Essex. d88

BEES, NATURAL SWARMS, healthy and strong,
free from foul brood, 10s. 6d. each, boxes 2s. 6d. if
not returned. E. Long, Cottenham, Cambs. i) 87

SECRETARIES of BEE ASSOCIATIONS, apply for
tract, "Honey and Beeswax," free. GEORGE
Stocks, Sandiway, Northwich. d 84

WANTED, SECTIONS of COMB HONEY" (any quan-
tity), and HONEY in bulk. State price, &c. Orders
also given for coming season. Packages sent. Address,
H., Bee Journal Office, 17, King William-street, Strand,
London. 199

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Preventsgetting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. Holliday, Astbury,
Congleton.

STOCKS, NUCLEI, SWARMS, and QUEENS FOR
SALE. Address, The Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough,
Sussex. ^ W2

BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the

CF.NTRAL SUPPLY" STORES

for all BEEKEEPERS' REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL
at the OLD SPOT, 50, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET,
GEORGE ROSE, successor to P. Harbordt.

Why pay carriage from long distances when you can
buy cheaper and quite as good quality locally, and have
your orders promptly attended to? Catalogues gratis.
Send now. 14 varieties of Bee Flowers (full directions to
each), Is. Cash with order. 201

210:

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Mn,y 24, 1894.

of SySTON, N/. Le'«5ter.APPI.lANU)
WORK BENCHE5 V'TOOIS >CARPENTERSAr<''SLOYD WORK

See large Advertisement first Issue of the
month.

TBE YORKSHIRE
Bee-keepers' Supplies

WILLIAM mm,

5, Beckett St., Leeds.

Hives, Extractors,

Smokers, Feeders,

Foundation, &c.

Prizes Atvarded, Gold,
Silver, d'BronzeMedals.

MOST IMPORTAIMT THE "WELLS SYSTEM"

Yes! if you want Honey. Now is the time to learn
" H o"W" to prevent S"warmino: " in bar-frame hives,
and to " Transfer Stocks from Skepsto Frame-
hives." Every bee-keeper should also know " B.O"W
to make an artificial Svrarui " successfully. All
these, &c., 3d. only.

DON'T DELAY.
W. RUSHTON, Hive Factory, Bedford.

203

Described by the Originator,

GEORGE WELLS,

AYLESKOI^D, X:ENX«

Price 63d. Post Free.

To be had of the Author onh/. 206

WM. BAZELEY,

BEE

NATURALIST, NORTHAMPTON.

MIYE St. AF»F>1-IAWCE M AWUI^ACTURER.

THE CHEAPEST AND THE BEST.

SPECIAL FEATURES FOR 1894.

All thoroughly Tested before beingf sent out.

NEW ANTI-EARWIG LEG. NEW WELLS HIVE DUMMIES. NEW SMOKERS' FUEL.

NEW SECTION SHOW CASES,
RECD.

NEW PATENT SECTIONS.

NEW BARS.

NEW HONEY TINS.

NEW HIVES FROM 5/- TO £5.

NEW W.B.C. ENDS.

NEW SUPER-CLEARERS:

Catalogue (Post Free), 45 pages, over 100 Illustrations of
Goods, Carriage Paid.

E. G. WALTON,

MUSKHAM, NEWARK.

The "WELLS" Hive.

CONTAINING—

Twenty Standard Frames with ends, Two
Dummies, Excluder, "Lift" made to take
"C'arr" Shallow- Frames, Perforated Divider,
Two Moveable Floor-boards (which can be
lowered as desired), Eoof, Porch, Contractors,
&c., complete.
Price, as above, with Crate of 42 One-lb. Sections

(or Lift with 20 shallow frames), 24s.

Three, Carriage Paid to any station in England,

APPROVAL WITH PLEASURE.

ALL KINDS OF GROOVED, SPLIT, AND PATENT
SECTIONS KEPT IN STOCK.

FOLDING SECTION CASES, in a variety
of colours, 2s. doz.

Our "MARVEL" Hive

Is still the Clieapest and Best in tlie market.
Will be sent on approval. Deposit with Editor.

When writing, please say which you want — ■
Bee-Appliance, Poultry-Appliance, or Green-
house and Portable Building Catalogue, any of
which will be sent post-free.

May 31, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

211

A NIGHT'S FROST!

A good deal of natural disappoint-
ment is felt among bee-keepers because
of the very adverse character of the
"weather during the last few weeks, and
the consequent money loss to all con-
cerned in the pursuit through the
enforced idleness of bees while the un-
toward weather conditions existed. In
this connection bee-keeping takes its
place and its chance among other in-
dustries entirely dependent upon favour-
able climatic conditions for ensuring
success ; and no amount of scientific or
of practical skill can contribute one iota
in the way of warding off failure if the
favourable conditions are lacking upon
which everything depends. If we could
change the current of the wind,
for instance, what would it not mean
to those watching and waiting for the
secretion of nectar in the flowers
which may, perchance, be bloom-
ing everywhere around ? Fortunately,
however, we cannot turn it an inch to
the right or to the left, strive as we
please ; we say fortunately because one
may Avell wonder what would happen if
such a power were placed in the hands
of human kind.

We are led to these reflections, first,
from the tone of our unpublished bee-
correspondence of late, and, second, from
having witnessed the effects of a few
hours' frost on vegetation and the agri-
cultural interest between the night of the
20th and the morning of the 21st inst. If
one can feel for the bee-keeper, whose
otherwise willing workers are passing
their time in enforced idleness because,
like Poe's raven, they "can't get out,"
v'hat shall be said for the loss to
f; rmers, fruit-growers, and the more
humble dependents on the produce of
the land when we hear of a "grower"
in Kent who, referring to the strawberry
crop alone, declares that, instead of
employing a hundred "pickers" this
year, he will hardly find Avork for
twenty-five, and that this means a loss
to him of many hundreds of pounds !
During that few hours of "six below
freezing," fruit, early potatoes, hops,
peas, dwarf-beans, and all tender field-
crops received an enormous amount of

damage which nothing can repair. More-
over, the loss will fall on a large portion
of the village-dwellers in counties Avhere
field-work is so largely relied on for the
income of the labouring classes.

We look upon the loss — in many cases
only amounting to disappointment — to
bee-keepers as the merest trifle compared
with Avhat has been and will be incurred
by the classes to which we have referred.
Agriculture has suffered, no doubt, from
a very iintoward month of May, but
when we gazed upon what might be
called the devastation caused by that
single night's frost it made us feel for the
big troubles of the farmer and labourer,
and forget the so very much smaller ones,
by comparison, of the bee-keeper. JFe can
" pull up," if weather suits ; our willing
bees only await the sunshine and the
warmth to give us a good harvest yet ;
but for the others, the effect of that frost
will be felt for a long time to come.

OXFORDSHIRE AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

ANNUAL SHOW — HONET DEPARTMENT.

The annual show of the above society was
held at Wallingford on the 23rd and 24th
inst. Unfortunately, the first day of the
exhibition opened inauspiciously, being cloudy
and cold, and during afternoon rain fell for
some time, so that the attendance of visitors
•was somewhat diminished on the opening day,
when we were present. The honey depart-
ment of the show very palpably showed how
little honey had been secured in time for
showing. A fair number of entries had been
made, but only a limited proportion of the
exhibitors were able to stage their produce,
and so the display was necessarily a small one.

Owing to some misapprehension, an exhibit
of three shallow combs of honey, shown in a
glass case, was staged in the class for glass
super of comb honey, and being the only
exhibit in the class, the judge (subject to the
approval of the show committee) awarded a
second prize to it.

Mr. W. B. Carr officiated as judge, and
made the following awards :—

Class 105 (glass super of honey) : Second,
W. H. Drinkwater, Thame.

Class 106 (six 1-lb. sections) : First, W. H.
Seymour, Henley-on-Thames ; second, W. H.
Drinkwater ; commended, Spencer Hancox,
Oxford.

Class 107 (extracted honey, not less than
41b.): First, W. H. Seymour; second, 0.
Anstey, Gianport, Oxon ; commended, A. D.
Woodley, Cavershani.

Class 108 (beeswax, not less than 41b.) :
First, S. Hancox ; second, H. W. Seymour ;
commended, A. D. Woodley.

212

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [May 31, 1894.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice ivill be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &e., must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c., must be addressed
to "The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C" {see Ist
page of Advertisements).

%• In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

" THE "WELLS" SYSTEM^

[1863.] I am glad to see in British Bee
Journal for May 17 (1855, p. 194), that Mr.
B. C. Jones lias had something to say respect-
ing the " two queen system " of bee-keeping,
as I believe that the views of correspond^ts
who have made trial of the plan will assist in
bringing about the end we have in view,
namely, to get larger crops of honey with less
labour, less expense, and with more certainty.
For this reason I also, like your correspondent,
desire to see in print what others have to say
upon the subject, but we want the experiences
of bee-keepers who have tried it strictly upon
the lines laid down, or of those who may have
turned aside in order to introduce what they
have thought to be something better, and have
succeeded. It is not right for one to go a
little way on the road, and then turn aside to
suit his own ideas, and if, by so doing, he does
not succeed, to blame anything or any one
rather than himself for failure. Your corre-
spondent says his bees " did not cluster close
up to the perforated dummy " ; that was not
the fault of the system, nor of the bees, nor
the originator, but is to be found either in the
dummy or the manipulator.

Most bee-keepers know that when two lots
of bees, strange to each other, are put into one
hive, they at once display bitter enmity, and
the thin perforated dummy being placed be-
tween them does not make them friends. We
also know that bitter enemies never pitch their
tents as close together as they can, hence your
correspondent ought not to have given his
bees a choice in this matter ; by so doing he
lost most of the advantages to be gained during
the winter months. There is nothing Avhat-
ever strange in what has taken place with his
bees in this particular hive ; all that happened
was just as I should have expected, and I
affirm confidently that if everything had been
done as it ought to have been done, your cor-
respondent's eyes would have been turned
another way and his writing had a different
tone, for he would have achieved success. He
writes now as if he considered that he had
given the system a fair trial, whereas it has

been no trial at all, and I should judge his
failure has been brought about for want of
knowledge in a few little but essential points.

I wish bee-keepers to clearly understand that
I have nothing to gain by their adopting my
system. The probability is that I believe I
would have been a financial gainer by keeping
the system to myself, and I have been blamed
by many for not doing so, but I have not
desired to try and fill my pockets by emptying-
others, hence my making it public. I do not
ask any one to adopt it, but I merely say what
I have done with it, how I have done it, and
given the results, and I leave it open for others
to follow or leave it alone, just as they choose ;
but in consideration of your space, I will
refrain from saying more here, as I know you
cannot allow me .room, neither liave I time to
write details to every one, but if the advertise-
ment columns are consulted, it will be seen
where and how a list of instructions from my
own pen and practice may be had. When bee-
keepers have carried out the instructions
therein given to the letter and failed, then,
and not till then, should they blame the system
or its originator for their want of success. —
Gr. Wells, Ayhsford, Kent, May 22.

WHAT SOME OF US WANT.

A MARKET FOR OUR HONEY.

[1864] I have lately had two sej)arate
deputations of working men to visit my
apiary ; they live a good four miles away as
the bee flies. This shows, I think, a little
energy on their part. I showed them my
hives, bright with fresh paint, bee-tackle, &c.,
and they professed themselves highly pleased.
There was the extractor, all clean and shining ;
the section-crates ready to go on ; piles of
frames, fitted with foundation ready for
swarms ; a gross of empty honey-bottles ; a
queen cage or two, &c., &c. I put my visitors
up to a few dodges, showed them a queen*, and
they went home happy in the idea that honey-
growing, though it costs a little trouble and a
little money, pays in the end (as it certainly
does). And they promptly go in for hives
after a pattern I recommended, and write to
me triumphantly to say how one and another
has got a swarm into these new hives.

But all the time I felt myself a little bit of
a humbug I for what are these men going to
do with their honey when they have got it ?
I can sell all I grow, but if I take their honey
I become a sort of middleman, and shall pro-
bably get no thanks from either the producer
or the purchaser. Our bee associations profess
to help the cottager. Now a market at the
door is what the cottager wants. He buys at
his door ; the grocer's shop is in these days
almost unknown to him ; he knows the
grocer's cart. If he could sell his honey at his
door, even at 6d. a section, it would pay him ;
but he cannot, or he will not, seek a market.

* N.B. — The queen was not balled, and I have not
seen a balled queen yet.

May 31, 1894.] THE BKITISH BEE JOURNAL.

213

Last year a neighbour of mine, a water
keeper, with one hive which he bought through
me, grew some of the finest sections I have
ever seen. He got a first prize at our local
show ; he would have got the same at many
a larger sliow. He had about thirty saleable
sections. The local grocer would not look at
them, so they hung on his hands. He used
most of them in his house, but as I had an
unexpected order I relieved him of a few.

Could not our county associations help the
cottager to a market ? I see the Hants and
Isle of Wight Association are going to discuss
at their annual meeting " some proposed new
methods for facilitating the sale of honey." I
hope these methods will not begin and end
with a flaming label. It is not the label but
the market that the cottager wants ; in towns
the chief demand for honey exists. The pro-
blem is how to bring the shillings of the town
to the door of the small producer of honey,
and to get the golden honey of the small pro-
ducer cheaply on to the breakfast table of his
brother the artizan,

I could write a great deal more on this sub-
ject, but I am afraid that already the length
of this letter will frighten you ; but if you
should think fit to publish this, and it excites
any correspondence, I shall, with your leave,
have something more to say. — Robert S.
EoTTTH, Stockbridge, Hants, May 25.

[It is within our own knowledge that not a
few cottager bee-keepers are able to dispose of
their honey by simply displaying a section or
two and a few jars of extracted honey in their
cottage window, together with a label notify-
ing its being on sale during the season. A
clean cottage, and scrupulous cleanliness and
neatness in the get-up of the honey thus
shown, are quite attraction enough to make
consumers often go" a long way in order to
procure home-grown honey in preference to
that obtainable in shops. Again, does it not
seem hard that honey is not to have some
effort made for its disposal 1 The wives of
cottagers who grow surplus girden-stuff — be it
fruit, flowers, or vegetables — take their
baskets on market days and turn the produce
into cash ; some women taking their neigh-
bour's few " extras " for sale along with their
own. In this Avay we have seen honey taken
and sold — for a good price, too — the bee-keeper
allowing his friendly neighbour a commission
for doing the selling. We quite admit the
difficulty our correspondent desires to over-
come, bvit fear that whoever has produce to
sell must in these competitive times make
some personal effort to sell it. — Eds.]

NOTES FROM NOTTS.
[1865.] I was pleased to see your editorial
remarks respecting foundation, as I am sure
that very many bee-keepers do not discern
the difference in the way the cells should run.
The thin-wired foundation imported from

America some years ago was cut in the wrong
direction, and I was much surprised to see a
lot of foundation supplied by one of our best
appliance dealers this year also cut so that
the parallel sides are horizontal instead of
vertical.

I have often expected to see some of your
correspondents ask why entries for the
"Royal" shows have to be made such an
absurdly long time before the date on which
the show takes place. Even post-entries at
double fees close on May 12, nearly a month
sooner than ordinary entries might reasonably
be accepted. I feel certain this must, espe-
cially in good years, tell against the show
being more popular. We in Notts always
try to keep entries open till as near shows as
possible, and I think it might be done with
all-round advantage in the case to which I
have drawn attention.

Following the good example of Berks
B.K.A., we have adopted Association honey
labels, a sample of which I submit for your
inspection. — A. G. Puqh., Hon. Sec. Notts
B.K.A

[Referring to our correspondent's complaint
of the early date on which entries for the
" Royal " shows close, he loses sight of the
enormous extent of the preparations required
for what is justly known as the largest annual
Agricultural Show held in the world. Space
has to be apportioned and allotted a long time
beforehand, the official surveyor requirnig a
plan of each department and the space re-
quired many weeks before the show takes
place, in order to facilitate the arranging of
the ground, as well as the preparation of cata-
logues, &c. All this is unavoidable iu a show
of such magnitude as the "Royal.'' Bee-
keepers, however, have the privilege of claim-
ing the return of their entrance-fees if, owing
to;bad weather, their exhibits cannot be com-
pleted in time, and this arrangement should
go a long way towards removing the hardship
of closing entries so long beforehand. — Eds.]

EARLY HONEY IN YORKSHIRE.

DOUBLE-QUEENED HIVES.

[1866.] On examining my hives to-day
(May 19) I found four completed sections, and
see that there are about thirty more nearly
finished. Looking back to dates, you will see
that I have beaten my record of May 24, 1890,
at which date I asked you about the double-
queen system, and, getting no reply from any
bee-keepers, I tried the system myself, and
found it to answer. I did not. however, try
it with the Avooden dummy. You will find
my letter, headed "Co-operation Among
Bees," in B.J. of June 5, 1890. I had a
double hive at the time I wrote, but, as the
Bee Journal was difficult to get here, I lost
all record of what might have been in its
pages ; but now that I am getting it I see
that Mr. Wells has adopted the double-queen
system. I do not know whether he took my

2U

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[May 31, 1894.

hint or not. If Mr. Wells should see this, he
might kindly reply in the Journal if it was
his own idea or if he got it from the letter I
refer to. I have a bell glass on one of my
hives nearly completed ; its weight will be
about 28 lb. when finished. I think I do well,
as my apiary is two miles from me, and I only
see the bees once a week. I seldom get
swarms, as my hives hold twelve and fourteen
frames, so they have plenty of room. There
have been swarms about here last week from
straw skeps, and many more have them hang-
ing out. I sometimes wonder how Mr.
Wood, of Ripon, is getting on, as he has not
been writing lately. — Thos. Kothery, Tad-
caster, Tories, May 19.

PUTTING ON EARLY SECTIONS :

IS IT HARMFUL ?

[1867.] Could you advise in the next issue
of the Bee Journal ? I saw in the DubUu
Weekly Freeman's Journal of May 18, that
anyone putting on sections then would regret
it, giving no reason why. Now, as I have on
crates since May 11, and am about adding
second tiers of the same, while to-day (May 27)
I saw sections partly sealed and finished, I
cannot understand advice that may prevent
others from putting on sections in Ireland
until they may be sorry for not having done
so sooner ! Your advice may be of value to
many who may have been led astray by the
remark I allude to. — T. Kirwan, co. Gahvaii,
May 27.

[No doubt whoever penned the advice re-
ferred to had in view the very adverse weather
conditions of the last week or two, but if bees
are actually storing honey in such quantities
as to need second stories of sections as stated,
the inference is that the writer of the " advice"
either is located in a poor district or is not in
close touch with his bees. Given full and
strong colonies of bees it can never do harm
at this season to give room, even if honey is
not coming in, but with weak stocks any-
thing tending to lower the temperature of
hives may do harm, and qonsequen'ly cause
regret. — Eds.]

TRANSFERRING BEES.
a beginner's mishaps through
inexperience.
[1868.] I should be grateful for advice
respecting one of my stocks of bees, as I am
quite a beginner, and do not know how to
treat them. They are a swarm of 1892 ; they
were then hived in a straw skep. In 1893
they did not swarm at all, though repeatedly
they appeared to be on the point of doing so.
Last September I drove them into a wooden
hive — a home-made one, Avithout frames, and
merely with parallel strips of foundation fixed
in it, and without any means of opening or
examining it. I found the skep full of combs,
mostly very dark in colour, and, as far as I

could judge on consulting " The Bee-keeper's
Guide,'' full of foul brood. The combs were
all destroyed after straining off the honey,
which, however, proved useless, for as soon
as it was bottled it fermented. I kept
the bees alive all the winter by feeding
them through a hole in the top of the hive, •
using syrup in the autumn and candy in the
winter as directed. On May 18 I wished to
drive this stock into a Cowan hive. In the
evening I drove the bees as a preliminary into
a skep, but by the time that was done it was
dark and cold, so I left the bees in the skep
for the night, and put the box-hive, full of
comb and brood, in a somewhat warm place
indoors. In the morning I transferred all the
combs to frames, with which I filled the
Cowan hive, and then successfully hived the
stock of bees. I did not see the queen, but
the combs were full of drone and worker
brood in all stages, besides a good deal of
honey ; I could not detect any foul brood.
Some of the comb M'as very dark, considering
it had only been worked out from foundation
last autumn. I am now afraid all the brood
must have been chilled, or killed outright,
by the cold evening air when the bees were
driven, and by the night spent away from
them. I enclose a specimen of comb and
brood, and my questions are these : — 1. Is
foul-brood present ^ 2. How can I tell if the
large quantity of brood in the hive is dead or
chilled — as I think it must be ? and if so (3)
what should I do ? Some of the brood I know
was killed by breaking of the combs during
transferring, but the bees have not thrown any
out, and seem working well. 4. What are
the dark cells in the specimen of unsealed
honey-comb ? 5. How had I better treat this
stock for the rest of the season — if they
swarm, for instance ? — A Beginner, Hants.

[We should neither do justice to our corre-
spondent nor ourselves by witholding our
opinion that the method of beo-management
indicated in the above was all through in-
judicious to a degree. And to avoid anything
which may even seem discourteous to our
querist (a lady), we give the following reasons
for saying this much : — 1. To drive bees from
their combs and stores in September and put
them into a home-made empty box without
frames, was, well — unwise. 2. Judging by
what took place subsequently we should say
there was no disease at all about the bees.
3. If it had been " full of foul brood,'' as
stated, to extract and bottle the honey— pre-
sumably for future use — from such a
stock was about the worst thing that
could be done with it, save giving it as
food to healthy bees. However, the foregoing
having been got over safely, and the bees
apparently doing well, we ask what eul
genius could have prompted our correspondent
to break up the combs in such adverse bee
weather as the present in order to transfer
them to a fresh hive ? so that, while experi-
enced bee-keepers are wrapping up their colo-

May 31, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

215

nies to protect them from the bitter weather,
this unfortunate stock has its bees driven from
the combs, thus depriving the brood of its
natural warmth during the whole of a cold night
for no possible advantage that we can see.

We are quite hopeful that these — shall we
say fatherly >. — remonstrances, coming from an
" old hand " at bee-keeping, will be taken as
good-humouredly as they are intended, and
trust that our correspondent, who we know is
only a beginner, will " not do it again." Having
written this much, we may add the brood in
comb sent Avas in the finest condition before
being disturbed, but now it is all chilled
and dead through cold and the exposure to
which it has been subjected. "We cannot
render much help in undoing the mischief,
and so reply to the queries enumerated as
follows :^1. No. 2. By the sealed brood
failing to hatch out in course of the next ten
or twelve days. 3. We should feel inclined to
throw the whole of the brood into the fire
unless something, of which we are not cog-
nisant, led us to suppose that some of it was
still alive. 4. Simply the signs of comb having
been bred in. 5. As the stock is '" working
well " we should super it — if room is needed —
when honey is coming in. There is, we fancy,
not much fear of its swarming if the bees have
to fill the hives with new combs.

We gladly accept jour apologies for length
of letter, &c. , and offer our own for the plain
speaking of this reply. — Eds.]

REMOVING BEES FROM TREES.

[1869.] Could you advise me how to get a
stock of bees from a tree ? I have tried to
drive them out, but failed. I then fixed a
tube through the back of a wooden hive, and
the other end of it in the hole in the tree by
which the bees entered, but to no purpose.
They used the tube as a passage into the tree,
but took no notice of my hive. It is a good
stock, and I should much like to get them out.
Perhaps some reader of the B.J. would give
an opinion how to proceed, as I have seen
similar cases mentioned in it. — W. Adams,
Wehvyn, May 20.

[There is much difficulty ia advising what
to do without inspection of the tree and sur-
roundings. Usually, however, it necessitates
cutting down before a stock of bees can be
got from a tree without destroying them. —
Eds.]

DO LIMES BLOOM IN MAY ?

[1870.] Surely your correspondent, Mr.
Percy Leigh, must have made a mistake in
his note on page 208 of your last issue. He
says, "Dutch clover, limes, peas, and broad
beans now in blossom.'' This was written on
May 16. Except in 1893, I never remember
seeing limes in full bloom before the end of
June or beginning of July. From my diary
I see the following are the dntes of lime-tre^s

being fully out for the last four years : —
1890, July \)i ; 1891, July 15 ; 1892, July 8 ;
1893, June 18. — A. L. Y. Morlky, Northants
May 27.

[We confess to having inadvertently failed
to notice what must have been a "slip" oa
the part of Mr. Leigh, as limes, even in the
south, rarely bloom before the second week in
June. — Eds.]

THE BAD WEATHER.
[1871.] I have had five swarms up to the
present date, the first on April 29, and have
removed eight filled sections. The season;
however, is rapidly passing, and as we rarely
get any honey in this district after the third
week in June, it makes us anxious for a
change of weather. My first swarm was from
a " Wells '' hive. I did not put it back,
because of wanting some sections from it ; but
I have had to feed the swarm up to now. —
W. H. Woods, Hemingford, May 28.

HONEY BOTTLES.

[1872]. In reply to " Lordswood ' (1859,
p. 204), please allow me to state that the
honey bottles advertised by me have " strong
metal caps," and may be used any number of
times.

If " Lordswood " will send me his address,
shall be pleased to forward sample. — W. T,
Garnett, 18, Steade-road, Sheffield.

EARLY SWARMS.
[1873.] I had another swarm on Whit
Monday. That is the third swarm I have had
this year ; two from a " Wells '' hive, and one
from a " Gayton." This time I had the plea-
sure of watching the bees from the commence-
ment.— W. R. Traviss, IVillesden, May 22.

^utr'm and Jle^Iies.

[1052.] Queen Cast Out. — I herewith send
you a small box containing a queen and three
workers (all dead). The queen belonged to a
friend of mine, who found her yesterday
lying dead at the entrance to one of his
hives. The stock was transferred to a new
hive May 5, the bees left the frames and
clustered under the alighting board ; they
were then thrown in on the top of frames, and
hive moved to a fresh site. Queen thrown
out yesterday. May 20, fifteen days after
transfer. Stock was overhauled soon after
queen was found, and three open queen-cells
discovered , and three frames deserted by the
bees. Sealed brood in some of the other frames,
but neither queen, eggs, nor grubs to be seen.
1. Do you think the stock has recently

216

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [May 31, 1894

swarmed ? 2. Is the queen sent a young or
old one ? 3. What do you consider to be the
cause of her decease ? The three workers are
from one of my stocks. Bees last year from
same stock were much darker than now.
4. What cross are they ? 5. Are they a good
strain ? — Perct Leigh, May 21.

Eeplt.— 1. It would rather appear likely
that the queen was injured when transferrin o-
the bees to the new hive, as there are signs o1'
such injury on her thorax, 2. She is an
adult. 3. The one stated above. 4. Ligurian
hybrids. 5. As owner of the stock you
should be the best judge of that.

[1053.] Foul Brood and Disinfecting Hives.
Will Naphthaline and N. Beta Spoil Honey ?
— Thanks for your advice on foul brood. I
see in B.B.J, of May 3 disinfecting is advised
by painting hives with kerosene, then burning.
I have tried to get kerosene at the chemists',
but they do not keep it. 1. Where can I get
some ? If I put naphthaline in the hive will
it make the honey taste of it ? 2. Does not
the naphthol beta also get mixed with the
honey if the bees don't clear it all off for food,
and so spoil the honey ? 3. If a strong stock
has foul brood and the bees are put in to a
clean, new hive, will they not take the disease
with them ?— R. S., Dover.

Reply. — 1. Kerosene may be had from any
oil merchant dealing in burning oils. It is,
we think, nothing more than a better quality
of paraffin oil. 2. We should not recommend
the use of naphthaline or n. beta in hives if it
had any such effect on the honey as you su<^-
gest. Used as directed it does no harm at all
to the honey. 3. No doubt it considerably
assists in curing a foul-broody stocli to remove
the bees from the diseased combs and put
them into a clean hive on sheets of founda-
tion, some going so far as to claim that doing
so will eradicate the disease. We do not^
however, by any means go so far as this,
and only acknowledge the removal as one
among other means necessary to attain the
desired end.

[1054.] Transferring Hecently-hived Stcarms.
— I should be very glad of your advice on the
following points : — 1. I have purchased two
swarms, both nearly three weeks old. Shall
I transfer them now from straw skep to frame-
hives, or wait until autumn ? 2. One is about
a mile and a half away. Shall I bring it home
now, or wait until autumn ? 3. Would you
advise a skep-super holding sections being
placed over straw skep (stocks or swarm) ? —
Doubtful, Tonbridge, May 25.

Reply, — 1. By all means leave transfei-ring
till autumn. To transfer combs and brood
from a skep only three weeks after hiving
would require a very experienced hand at bee-
work, and we judge you have not been long a
bee-keeper. 2. So few opportunities for bee

flights have occurred during the time the swarm
has been hived, it might be removed now if
there is anyone at hand to show you how to
reverse the skep for carrying without causing
the tender combs to break down. Probably
there will be very little honey in the combs,
owing to the cold weather, otherwise we should
advise deferring removal till autumn, as a
break-down might so easily occur. 3. Yes,
when the bees require room for surplus
storing.

[1055.] Do Bees Remove Larvcn ? — Kindly
say how the produce of black queen mated
with a ligurian drone would compare in
appearance and colour with the reverse cross,
i.e., a ligurian queen mated with an ordinary
Eoglish drone 1 2. Do bees ever remove
larvse from one comb to the face of the one
opposite ; say, for instance, if there were
greater facilities for constructing queen cells
on the other comb ? — Mouche a Miel,
Wolverhampton.

Reply. — 1. Though the drone is generally
supposed to impress its characteristics on the
progeny through the queen, the difference is
not so marked as to be indicated in words.
2. No. It is believed that bees do sometimes
move eggs from one cell to another, but not
the larvie.

[1056.] Dealing with Sivarms and Sivarmed
Hives. — I got swarms to-day from each of two
small box-hives in my apiary and hived them
in bar-framed hives. As the swarmed hives
are too small to take section crates I thought
of putting on each of them a small box con-
taining a few shallow frames. 1. Is this ad-
visable ? 2. Would there be any danger of
the queen getting into the upper box ? 3.
Should it be done at once 1 4. About how
many pounds of honey does a shallow-frame
hold ? 5. Should I allow the hives to swarm
again this year — they are both very strong ?
6. When should I give sections to the new
hives [with to-day's swarms? — Ballina, Co.
Mayo, May 24.

Reply. — 1. Yes, if the second swarms are ^
returned to the hives when they issue, 2. m
There is, of course, some danger ; but less
than if the hives had not SAvarmed. 3. No ;
not until the second swarm has been put back.
4. From three to five pounds, according to the
width apart the combs are worked. 5. Deal
with these in accordance with above replies.
6. If weather is good and honey abundant give
sections in about ten or twelve days.

[1057.] Swarms Entering Strange Hives. —
Q^iezns Killed.— ^On Friday, May 18, I had a
swarm from a bar-framed hive, which I re-
turned, but in doing so was unable to capture
the queen. Three days later a swarm issued
from the same hive, and went into a bar-
framed hive full of bees. There appeared to
be much excitement and fighting, hundreds of

May 31, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

217

bees being killed. On the ground near the
mouth of the hive I discovered two queen
bees apparently dead, but the warmth of my
hand quite revived one, which I gave to a
friend, who had a queenles^ stock ; the other
queen bee I enclose ti you. 1. Do you think
both queens came out with the swarm I 2.
What age is the queen sent ? Any further
explanation will be gratefully received. — C. A.
Newmax, Bristol, Mai/ 22. P.S.— I quite
look forward to your interesting paper every
week.

Reply. — 1. Only an examination of both
hives would quite clear up the point as to why
two queens were cast out. The queen received
his tbe appearance of an adult, and this view
is strengthened by the fact of the bees swarm-
ing again so soon as three days after the swarm
— queen and all — was returned to the parent
hive. If this theory is correct, the inference
is that in the excitement and fighting the
queens, both of the swarm and the hive into
which the latter entered, were injured. Ex-
amine tbe latter, and see if the bees have
raised queen- celh. If they have, be sure the
bees found outside were the parent queens of
the hives referred to. 2. Reply to this
query is contained in the above.

[1058.] Improving Strains of Bees. — i
wish to improve my strain of bees, and pro-
pose getting an Italian queen from the south
and an English one from the north (both from
dealers who for several years have been breed-
ing by selection). I propose starting queen-
cells in the Italian, and breeding the drones
in the English stocks, about the first week in
August, of course feeding the drone-rearing
lot, as the drones in neighbouring apiaries
would be killed off" by that date. My neigh-
bours, however, tell me they are a most vicious
cross. As I mean to form nuclei for raising
queens to requeen all my stocks, perhaps
you can tell me of a more gentle and hard-
working strain if the above statement is cor-
rect ; or if you think pure Italians would do
better for the Midlands.— G. F. D.

Reply. — It is an accepted fact that the pure
race of most varieties of bees are more gentle
and more easily handled than when crossed
with another variety. We cannot, however,
take the responsibility of recommending par-
ticular crosses in order to secure an improved
strain of bees. What we do advise is that you
obtain a good laying queen of the particular
pure race or of the cross yoti desire to pro-
pagate in your apiary, and see if the improve-
ment is worth the trouble proposed to be
taken ; this will afford an opportunity for
testing merits, or otherwise, and enable you to
make a selection on safer grounds than by the
plan proposed.

[1059.] Observatory Hives for Shoics. — 1.
Is comb sent affected with foul brood ? 2.
What variety of bees are the enclosed, marked

1 and 2 ? 3. How would you fix a bell glass
to get it nicely and well filled for show
purposes ? 4. Having made a single-comb
observatory hive with double glass (on each
side) and air space between, is it necessary to
put on shutters to keep the bees in the dark ?

5. Should it be ventilated at the top, when
there is about 3 in. of space below the frame 1

6. How long may bees be kept confined in it
without the opportunity of getting out to fly 1
— Isaac Crawford, Castlcdcrg, co. Ti/rone.

Reply. — 1. No ; it contains only pollen —
some of it mildewed. The hive it came from,
however, sadly needs refurnishing with new
combs. 2. Bee marked 1 is a ligurian, 2 the
ordinary native. 3. Fit it with comb-founda-
tion as guides, wrap it warmly up, and give it
to a strong stock to fill. 4 and 5. We must
know for what purpose the " observatory " is
to be used before replying. 6. Bees in single-
comb observatory hives are supposed to be
only kept in them for a few hours — say at a
show — and they are not suited for anything
beyond this ; although the bees would take no
harm by being confined a couple of days in
suitable weather.

[1060.] Trapping Drones to Prevent Swarm-
ing.— I have a hive of bees which I do not
wish to swarm this season. 1. Shall I be doing
right in trapping the drones now ? and 2.
Would doing so in any way help the bees in
making a better harvest ? Of course, my idea
is to get rid of a lot of loafers who I take it
will not be wanted. — Darfield, Yorls.

Reply. — 1. There is no doubt but ridding
hives of drones tends to stop swarming, and
the sooner they are trapped the better. 2.
That is a moot point, many experienced bee-
keepers holding the view that bees put more
energy into their work when there are few
drones in the hive.

SEASONABLE QUESTIONS.

ANSWERED BY G. M. DOOLITTLE.

Spacing Frames.

Question. — I think of spacing my brood-
frames l/o in- apart. At present they are 1 .
My apiary consists of about 100 colonies.
What do you think of the venture ?

Answer. — Well, to be candid, it is a venture
that I should not want to go into. If I thought
I could see some gain in such close spacing, I
would try it on, say, ten of the 100 colonies
for a year or two, and then if it pleased me I
would fix the other ninety in the same way.
Here is something that so many lose sight of,
and rush headlong into any project which
seems good to them, using the whole apiary to
experiment with, when they could try the
experiment just as well with half a dozen colo-
nies, and if the pet project proved a failure, as
is apt to be the case four times out of five, but

218

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[May 31, 1894.

little loss would be the result ; while such an
experiment, carrying the whole apiary with it,
often results in a loss hard to be borne. I
really wish someone competent would tell us,
in a logical way, what there is to be gained in
a real, practical dollar-and-cent way by this
close spacing of frames, which seems to be a
craze j ust now. I have carefully experimented
for several years to find out whether I was
wrong in using 1 J in. from centre to centre of
frames — that being the average, as I measure
it, of combs built by the bees when they have
their own way — and so far see no practical
reason for changing to either a greater or less
distance. If there could be artificial heat
used, so that the hive could be kept warm
enough for broq^-rearing in any part of it
during the spring months, then the case would
be different from what it is where it is neces-
sary for the bees to create the heat sufficient
for brood-rearing inside of the cluster of bees,
and not inside of the hive. To thus create
and preserve heat inside of the cluster, the
bees must have more space than for a single
tier of bees between each range of combs. In
my experiments I have found that far more
brood will be brought to perfection during the
cool days of April and May with If spacing
than there will be with 1| spacing ; but when
we come to July weather, then the most brood
will be produced with 1| spacing. But all
know that, as a rule, one square inch of brood
in May is worth ten square inches in July ;
and,_ as we do not wish to be continually
spacing our frames, we cannot well adopt 1|
for May and 1^ for July, so I strike the happy
medium of U in., and use the same the luhole
year through.

Contraction for Swarms.
Question.— At the Chicago International
Convention some favoured hiving new swarms
on four or five L frames to obtain the most
surplus comb honev, according to the report of
that convention. In so doing is it necessary to
fill the empty part of the brood-chamber,
where comb foundation is used in these five
frames, to prevent the bees building comb
therein ? Also, is it necessary to use a queen-
excluder over such colonies 1

Answer. — It will be necessary to shut the
bees out of the vacant part of the hive while it
is thus contracted to four or five combs, other-
wise the bees will build comb in this vacant
space in preference to going into the sections
and working there, for it is more natural for
beesto fill up the apartment where the queen
presides rather than to go into separate apart-
ments away from her. In fact, bees will store
more surplus honey in an apartment with the
queen, if that is large enough to accommodate
them, than they will in any other way ; and
the object of contraction is for the purpose ot
compelling the bees to enter tlie many surplus
apartments made by the diiferent sections.
The best thing I know of to till up this vacant
.space at the sides of the four or five frames

given is what are termed " dummies." After
you are satisfied regarding the number of
frames you will use, then make dummies out
of thin lumber, so that one on each side of the
frames used will exactly fill up the room. This
is easier than to use a number of division-
boards, although the latter will answer the
purpose, but will require more labour in
handling. You will also need to use a queen-
excluder, for in a contracted hive the queen is
quite liable to go up into the sections and
deposit eggs, which the bees will nurse into
brood ; and brood in sections is one of the
most provoking things that ever confronts a
bee-keeper. — Gleanings.

HONEY IN A PETRIFIED TREE.
An interesting find has been made in Texas.
While workmen were digging a well on a farm
near Bandora, they unearthed a petrified tree
at a depth of 46 feet. The tree was hollow,
and the cavity was filled with honey. The
comb was in a perfect state of preservation,
and the cells were filled with honey that tasted
sweet, fresh, and pure. How old this honey
is cannot be known, but it must have taken
hundreds of years to have buried the tree to
that depth and caused its petrification by
natural cduses.— -Science Siftings.

TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED.

Chas. Redshaw, South Wigston, Leicester.
— Mr. Redshaw's 32-page list for 1894 is ex-
ceeding well arranged and complete, the in-
formation for guidance of purchasers being so
exhaustive and clearly put that no mistakes
need occur between buyer and seller. The
number of prizes gained at important shows
by the various hives illustrated sufficiently
attest their general excellence. We also note
many articles not found in other lists, among
them the "Rietsche" hand press for the
manufacture of home-made foundation.

E. J. Burt, Stroud-road, Gloucester. — 24pp.
A well-arranged, if not very pretentious, list
of bee-goods, containing only useful things for
the apiary

June 7 and 8. — Wilts Agricultural Show at
Devizes. The Wilts Bee-keepers' Association
will attend as usual. No prizes. For parti-
culars apply to W. E. Burkitt, hon sec,
W.B.K.A., Buttermere Rectory, Hungerford.

June 12 to 15. — Royal Counties Agricul-
tural Show at Canterbury. Entries closed.
Hives, honey, &c. Secretary, Bee Depart-
ment, John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's Langley.

June 13 and 14. — Essex B.K. A. at Colchester.
Entries closed. Post entries at double fees.
Fifteen open classes. Hon. secretary, F. H.
Meggy, Chelmsford.

May 31, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

219

June 25 to 29. — Royal Agricultural Show
at Cambridge. Entries closed. Secretary,
John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's Langley.

July 18, 19, 20. Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Great Grimsbj'. Bees,
hives, honey, and appliances. Liberal prizes.
Entries close June 29. S. LTpton, secretary,
St. Benedict's-square, Lincoln.

August 10 and 11. — ^At Dumfries. South
of Scotland B.K.A. Very liberal prizes.
Schedules Irom W. Wilson, Acrehead, Dum-
fries.

August 22 and 23. At Derby. Derbyshire
B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby.

September 6. — At Castle Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1 lb. jars
extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, secretary, Castle Douglas, N.B.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded vnll he attended to, and those
only of personal interest will he answered in this column.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of mamifac-
turers or correspondents, or where appliances can be
purchased, or replies giving such information, caji only
be inserted as advertisements. 2'he space devoted to
letters, queries and replies is tneant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied, to in the issile
im/mediately following the receipt of their commuriica-
tion.

H. W. Clafkson (West Hartlepool). — 1.
Eefined cane sugar should be used for bee
food, either lump or crystals. 2. Svrarms
should be fed so long as weather is cold and
no honey coming in. 3. Hives should be
set level. 4. Only pure wax should be used
in making foundation. 5. The plan you
propose is sure to damage the swarm more
or less.

E. F. Williamson.— Comb is badly affected
with foul brood.

P. W. Parsons (Tun. Wells).— Though we
cannot find positive traces of foul brood in
comb received, it is apparent the stock from
which it came is in a bad way at present.
Some brood has been chilled, rendering foul
brood easy of development, and in several
instances eggs are duplicated in the cells,
showing either queen or bees to be in fault.
If there are so few bees as you say it is
worthless. On no account put combs out-
side to be cleared of their contents by the
bees, as you suggest.

Verax (St. Ives). — Our correspondent will
pardon us for saying it is scarcely fair to keep
comb with rotting brood in it " lying about
for a mouth ' before sending it on for in-
spection. So far as we can judge, the brood
is "chilled,"' not foul, but the comb is in
such horribly foul condiliou that the soontr
it is burnt out of sight the better for your
apiary, and all bees within reach of it.

Amery (Gloucester). — There is no reason
why you should not feed the beos if they need
it, and there are no super's on the hive,
There need be no fear of the bees carrying thQ
syrup into the supers.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, &c. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

SITUATION required by Young Man, to manage Bees ;
garden. N. X., Mertou-street, Banbury. E9

HONEYCOMB DESIGNS.— "VR." cannot fail to
please you. Post free, 4s. 6d., with instructions.
Charles Cox, Brampton, Northamptonshire. e 7

SPLENDID HIVES, on the \V. B. C. principle; 'fitted
complete for use ; strongly made ; no extras, 18s.
Combination Hives, 10s. ; Champion Hives, ,^s. Od. (All
made of pine). Particulars on application. C. Morkey,
Five Ways. Neston, Chester. E 5

BEES.— FOR SALE, several NEW SWARMS of this
month for SALE. Apply to the Gardener, Kew.
hurst, Bexhill, Sussex. E 8

FOUNDATION MILL,— WANTED, a Second-hand
FOUNDATION MILL, to alter for experiments.
Bazkley, Naturalist, Northampton.

"YE OLDE ENGLISHE BEE."

PRIVIE natural Swarmsof my selected strain of English
Bees, all '93 Queens, carefully packed, and put on
Rail, 16s. per swarm. W. Woodley, Beedon, near
Newbury.

Porterage on Telegrams, Is. 6d.

HONEY and BEESAVAX, valuable recipes for use of ;
10s. per 1,000, four a penny. Will increase local
demand. Vendor can print or stamp own address on.
George Stocks, Sandiway, Northwich. d 100
IRST SWARMS of~my splendid strain of BEES,
which cannot be excelled, 15s. packed free. John
Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington. D 95
Ore ENGLISffBEE.S, splendid strain, swarm early,
good gatherers. Small swarm with queen, 5s.,
larger, 10s. 6d., superior, 15s., nuclei, 5s., all on rail ;
queens, 3s. delivered. Alsford, Expert, Blandford.
D98

GUARANTEED Healthy Natural SWARMS, ready
for delivery, 3^ to 4 lbs. each, price 12s. 6d.
Packing included. Is.'each allowed for boxes returned.
Address, C. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare,
.Suffolk^ K2

B~ EES, NATURAL SWARMS, healthy and strong,
free from foul brood, lOs. 6d. each, boxes 2s. 6d. if
not returned. E. Long, Cottenham, Cambs. P 87

W' ANTEU, SECTIONS of COMB HuNEY (any quan-
tity), and HONEY in bulk. State price, &c. Orders
also given for coming season. Packages sent. Address,
H., Bee Journal Office, 17, King William-street, Strand,
London. 199

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. Holliday, Astbury

C ongleton.

^TOCKS, NUCLEI, SWARMS, and QUEENS IX)R

SALE. Address, The Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough,

Sussex. 102

BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the

CENTRAL SUPPLY STOBES

for all BEEKEEPERS REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL
at the OLD SPOT, 50, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET, .
GEORGE ROSE, successor to P. Harbordt.

Why pay carriage from long distances when you can
buy cheaper and quite as good quality locally, and have
your orders promptly attended to? Catalogues gratis.
Send now. 14 varieties of Bee Flowers (full directions to
each). Is. C^sli with order. 201

220

THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL. [May 31, 1894.

BALDWIN'S

is the Oldest Es-
tablishment in
the United
Kingdom
wholly devoted
to Bees and

manufacture of Bee-keepers' supplies. His prices will
compare most favourably with those of any other Maker,
while for quality of material, suitability and workman-
ship he has no rival.

A large consignment of the beautiful

"FALCONER" SECTIONS,

both 4 bee-way and 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct importation.
Price 2/6 per 100 ; cut to receive Foundation, 3/- per 100.
By Parcel Post, 1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which '.'contains more practical and reliable hints
than all the large, expensive books," post free for
2d. stamps.

Address S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent.
N.B.—More than 500 Silver and Bronze Medals, First and
other Prizes, and Testimonials innumerable.

APIFUGE.

The Original and ONLY PERrECT

Preventive ag-ainst STINGING.

Price again reduced. Quality superior.

In Is. & 2s. Bottles. Post Free.

Cash must accompany Order.

SPECIAL TERMS TO THE TRADE.

One Correspondent says :— "I have used it on removing
a particularly irascible colony into a clean hive, with
perfect success."

Another says :— " I have kept bees for thirty years and
have lately purchased a bottle of this wonderful stuff,
and cannot persuade my bees to sting me do what I will
with them."

DARCY CRIMSHAW, HORSFORTH, LEEDS.

Invaluable to Travellers Abroad as an Insectifuge.

THE YORKSHIRE
Bee-keepers' Supplies

WILLIAM DIXON,

5, Beckett St., Leeds.

Hives, Extractors,

S mokers. Feeders,

F'oundation, &c.

Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver, &BronzeMedals.

226

EASY SMAVIWG
THE

The Mab Razoi is a levelation to those who have
habitually used the big, clumsy Razor of the period.
The ease with which it is manipulated enables the
user to shave in half the usual time. The blade is
manufactured of the finest English Steel, and can be
had either plain or hollow ground. At the great
Shaving Contest at the Royal Aquarium recently, little
Nellie Wick Shaved Five Men in 4 min. 42 sec. with
the ilAB Razor.

Can be ITsed Entirely -witliout Stropping.
M.any Jlattering notices from, the Press, and unsolicited
Testimonial s.
"South View, Queen's Promenade, Douglas.
" I beg to say I am delighted with the Mab Razor,
which is an excellent little instrument.

Yours, &c., H. BAERON."
Prices— Black Handle, 2s. 6d. ; Ivory, 3s. 6d. Pair in
case (Black), 7s. 6d. ; Ivory, 9s. 6d., post free.
" MAB " CO., 94, Newhall St., Birmingham.

HOLME,

Near Peterboro'.

CATALOGUE K 1? E E .

To introduce our PRIZE MEDAL FOUNDATIONS, J. H. H. will, till farther notice, send
lib, of his BEST SUPER FOUNDATION post free for 2s. 9d.

NOVELTIES AND

SPECIAL

FEATURES

WORTH NOTING.

See Large Advt. each

SEND FOR

1894

CATALOGUE.

Wr. BAZELEY,

NATURALIST, NORTHAMPTON.

IMPROVED PATENT

" Unique " Extractors, f ^

High-class Awards and numerous Testimonials.

Strongly made ; Loose or Fi.xed Cages ; E.xtracts Th
Frames ; Skep Combs or Sections ; Saves Time i i '
Standard Size, 21s. Fitted with best Mod i i
Gearing, 7s. 63. extra.
CATALOGUE FREE.

Labour.

Inventor and Patentee

Section Extractors, 7/6

T. LpWTH, Riseholme, Lincoln.

June 7, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

221

Ikmi ^diim, $cl

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — At last, and after a dis-
appointing time lasting for several weeks,
there are now sufficient signs of coming
settled and normal June warmth to en-
courage bee-keepers in their work and in
the reasonable hope of a remunerative
season. Bees, by their present activity,
show that nectar is now being stored in
such blooms as remain of May flowers,
though there is, unfortunately, not the
Avealth of blossom to gather from which
was so abundant a few weeks ago. What
are known as " fruit honey '"' districts
will have suffered most in this respect,
because of the main or summer bee-
forage not being yet due for blooming..
This Avill, no doubt, have an adverse
effect on the earlier bee and honey shows,
but it should serve as a stimulus to those
who are fortunate enough to have honey
on hand — whether of this or of last year's
gathering — to stage all they possibly can,
both for their own sakes (in prizes) and
for the credit of bee-craft and of the
shows.

Swarms and Swarmed Hives. — Both
of these Avill need attention at this time,
the former by feeding — especially in dis-
tricts where all early forage is now over
and summer food not available — the
latter for the same, and the additional
need of making sure that young queens
are safely mated. The bad Aveather of
the past month has, without doubt,
played sad havoc with the chances of
cjueen fertilisation, consequently all
swarmed stocks should be examined to
see that worker brood is being reared ;
otherwise, or where queens have failed
in mating and are breeding drones only,
they must be removed as soon as con-
venient, and replaced with a " ripe "
queen-cell on the earliest opportunity
when such are available. In the same
way, second swarms Avill need looking
to, and if their young queens are found
to be safely mated and laying, they must
be valued proportionately as forming the
most valuable stocks for next year's
work.

Preserving Surplus Young Queens.
— Too much emphasis cannot be "given to
the importance of having all colonies
with prolific and vigorous young queens

at their head, this being the one item of
bee - management which constitutes the
difference between the reasonable chances
of large and small harvests of honey.
Not that we advocate for a moment the
destruction of queens known to be doing
as well as queens possibly can do merely
because of their being — as recorded in
the " Bee-keeper's Note Book " — thought
to have passed the age of usefulness.
This is carrying " management " to a
risky extreme, for we have often known
of stocks headed by queens which,
according to the aforesaid " Notes,"
ought to be old and worn-out, yielding
the very best results. Whether this is
owing to prolonged maternal vigour and
fecundit}'- in the queen, or the result of
the bees having re-queened themselves
"without leave," need not be discussed,
and we only refer to it because of the
almost fatuous way in which the finest
queens are sometimes destroyed for want
of a little consideration.

Some bee-keepers have also the bad
habit of joining two, three, or more
" casts " — or third swarms — in order to
make up a strong lot of bees to form a
new stock, instead of following the wiser
course of returning them to the parent
hives so sadly depleted of bees after much
swarming. They attach no value to the
young queens sacrificed in these "unit-
ing " operations, all of which by a little
care could be fertilised and used now in
replacing queens doing badly, or pre-
served for use during the coming autumn
in re-queening stocks known to require
it. When removing old queens and sub-
stituting queen-cells, it should not be
forgotten that time must be allowed for
the bees to realise their loss, and be
taking steps to raise a new queen, before
introducing a sealed queen-cell, otherwise
the cell may be torn down and the
embryo queen destroyed by the bees
themselves.

SuPERiNG. — Where not already in opera-
tion, supering will, we hope, soon be the
order of the day, and where stocks are
very strong in bees, with honey coming
in well, surplus room must not be
sparingly given if the prevention of
swarming is desired. When bees are in
full possession of a surplus chamber —
be it a rack of sections or a box of combs
for extracting — and a slight examination
reveals the fact of honey being sealed
over, a second rack or box should at

222

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Juno 7, 1894.

once be given below the first one. We
cannot, however, too strongly impress on
readers the necessity for carefally wrap-
ping supers so as to conserve in every
possible way the internal warmth thereof.
Surplus chambers are not seldom, so to
speak, thrown on to hives ; no care what-
ever being taken to surround them with
any but the flimsiest of coverings, or to
exclude the cold air at the junction of
hive and super. The bees, in consequence,
either refuse to enter the super at all, or
do so in half-hearted fashion, and several
days elapse before a full cluster ascends
and begins work in real earnest. It needs
but to realise how high a temperature is
required for the secretion of wax and the
manipulation of. it in comb-building to
understand why bees will, in the early
season, make double the progress when
working in a warm, cosy super, when
compared to what can be done in a cold,
draughty one. Hence it is we always
use slips of papers — folded to a "knife-
edge " — and pushed in wherever an aper-
ture is found, besides covering the super
with all the winter wraps which have
been in use about the hive. When
the season is further advanced and
weather becomes hot, a good portion of
the Avrapping may be removed, but during
this month supers should be kept very
warm for rapid working.

Direct Hiving of Swarms. — A cor-
respondent Avrites : — •" I wish some of
our appliance dealers would bring out a
contrivance for the direct hiving of
swarms on to the frames they are eventu-
ally to occupy, so that the subsequent
operation of ' throwing out ' the bees in
front of their new domicile might be
dispensed with. I have on two occasions
successfully got swarms into the hiving
skeps, but have made a mess of the job
when doing throwing out business, to
my great annoyance, for one of the
swarms was lost and the other involved
a lot of ' work ' before it was got safely
into its permanent home."

We quite admit that some experience
is needed if swarms are transferred at
once from the hiving skep into the frame
hive, and always advise beginners to
defer the latter operation till evening,
when the swarm may be knocked about
a good deal without attempting to take
wing. A contrivance used and described
in our columns some few years ago,
however, so exactly meets the case Just

mentioned that we reprint it here for the
benefit of our correspondent and others
similarly situated. The writer says : —

A year or two ago ray swarms gave me a
deal of trouble by rising agaia whea turned
out on a sheet or on top of the frames ; or
even if they did eventually go in they took so
long a time that I tried the following experi-
ment, and have been so pleased with results
that I never hive a swarm now without it : — ■
I got a thin box, and made it right to hold six
frames, with bee-entrance at one end, but about
4 in. deeper than frames required. I had two
clamps made at our smith's, as shown in

sketch, to clamp six frames together, which
they do to perfection, providing they have
shoulders or " ends " to keep them apart,
holding the frames as firm and rigid as if
they were one piece. The thumbscrews of

clamps are passed through the ends of a piece
of leather strapping a little longer than the
clamps, thus forming convenient handles for
lifting by, as shown. The lid has deep
pUnths, and is held firmly to the box by
four thumbscrews passing through the plinths
into sides of box, this in its turn holding
the whole set of frames quite firm, which

allows me to use the box bottom upwards,
exactly as one would a skep, and hive the bees
direct upon the frames they are to occupy, or
if the box (of course bottomless) is propped
above a swarm, ic is astonishing how quickly
they will take possession and cluster
among the frames. As soon as they have
had a minute or so to cluster, which they
will generally do in less time than it takes me
to remove the old stock and place a hive
ready for them, I stand the box in its own
bottom board, which has plinths all round,
with bee-entrance at one end. I carry them
at once to the stand they are to occupy (often

June 7, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

223

having to cross a low wall or two from my
neighbour's garden) : being entirely enclosed
in the box, it is quite equal to the occasion.
Having brought the swarm to their stand, it
only remains to unscrew the lid of the box
and lift out the frames Avith adhering bees by
the leather straps into their hive, when
scarcely a bee will take wing. Indeed, they
hardly seem aware of the change, for, on lifting
them out, the full-sized quilt used above frames
in the box drops down on each side of the
swarm, so that very little sun reaches the
bees. As soon as lifted into their hive I at
once take one thumbscrew out of each clamp,
when the clamps can be drawn from beneath
the frames, and the job is done.

The whole operation takes but a few
minutes, and several neighbours can testify
that I have had the swarm quietly settled on
the spot they issued from in less than fifteen
minutes. I keep two sets of clamps, so as
always to keep one set filled with frames in
readiness. Starters of foundation only must
be used, and they need to be fixed tightly in
centre of frames. Possibly some of your
readers might care to try the plan, as it is
inexpensive. — G. W. Hole, Patcham, Sussex.

No doubt an adaptation of the above
could and would be easily made to sell
at a small cost, if there was a demand
for it.

SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATIOaX.
The third annual meeting of the members
of the Scottish Bee-keepers' Association was
held in the Imperial Hotel, Edinburgh, on
Saturday, May 26, Eev. E. M'Clelland,
Inchinnan, Renfrew, presiding. Mr. John
Wishart, assistant secretary, read the annual
report, which stated that since last year two
local associations had been affiliated to the
association, making nine in all. The associa-
tion considered it desirable that local associa-
tions should make application to their respec-
tive County Councils for grants to enable them
to obtain the services of a competent lecturer
to tour the country and give instruction in
bee-keeping. The Dumfries C.C. had granted
£15 for the purpose. At December 31st 228
members had paid their subscriptions, which
amounted to £25. 15s., as against £7. 17s. 6d.
in 1892. Since the commencement of the
year £22. Is. 3d. had been received from 114
members. The total membership was now
318, of whom 109 had been enrolled during
the year. During last year the association
gave as prize-money over a hundred pounds,
viz. : — £42. 5s. to the summer show, £22 to
the Glasgow show, and £38. 5s. to the Edin-
burgh autumn show. Had it not been for
donaticns from friends of the association
there would have been a considerable
deficit. Another set of books was presented
to the Association Lending Library by
Sir T. Gibson-Carmichael, making sixty-six

volumes in the library. The report was adopted.
The Marquis of Lothian was re-appointed pre-
sident, and Sir T. Gibson-Carmichael, Bart.,hoD.
secretary. A committee, including the nine
secretaries of the affiliated associations, was
also appointed. The assistant secretary stated
that there was a feeling among the members
that the association should not exhibit at the
Highland and Agricultural Society's show in
Aberdeen this year. The chairman said the High-
land and Agricultural Society had treated the Bee
Keepers' Association in very niggardly fashion.
They had given the association accommodation
to exhibit, but that was all. While other
industries were encouraged by grants, the
association got nothing. After the matter had
been discussed, it was finally decided to send
no exhibits to the Aberdeen show, and the
secretary was instructed to inform the society
to that effect.

It was also decided unanimously that the
forthcoming illustrated annual report should
not be furnished to those members who are in
arrear with their subscriptions. A cordial vote
of thanks was accorded to Sir Thomas and
Lady Gibson-Carmichael for the great interest
they show in the welfare of the association,
and a similar compliment was paid to Mr.
M'Clelland for presiding.

TO OUR READERS.
We must heartily thank those of our
readers who, in response to the request made
on p. 202 of our last issue, have kinjdly for-
warded copies of the journal for the 17th inst.
They have released us of a difficulty and
obliged some of their brethren of the craft, who
will no doubt join us in this acknowledgment.

CANTERBURY SHOW.

IMPORTANT TO IKTENDIXG EXIIiniTORS.

We are requested to state that owing to the
untoward weather for honey-gathering of late,
the time for making entries to the above show
has been extended, and that they may be
forwarded to Mr. Huckle, King's Langley, up
to the 10th or 11th inst. Those who have the
arrangements in hand are doing their best to
counteract the efiects of the late disappointing
weather, and we trust that exhibitors will also
make an eft'ort in the same direction.

Honey of this season has been secured with-
out doubt in a few districts, and there should
still be on hand some of last year's produce,
which could be staged with all-round advan-
tage. We therefore urge readers who are in
a position to enter either honey or appliances
to communicate their willingness to do so to
Mr. Huckle without delay. Every atteutioQ
will be paid to the wishes of such as are unable
to stage their exhibits personally ; and, apart
from the duty whic^ devolves on all who are
interested in bee-keeping, to assist those who,
in the face of unforeseen difficulties, are endea-
vouring to make the show even a qualified

224

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 7, 1894.

success. There remains, from the more per-
sonal side, the fact that the prizess are libera],
and should be well worth the trouble of an
attempt to secure them.

al0rrt^pitdeitcc.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of angny mous communications, and correspondents
are requested to xcrite on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not iiecessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

%• In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speakinj of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1874.] The month of June has opened as
the month of May closed — unpropitious for
both bees and bee-teeping. The last fort-
night in May was cold, with sharp frosts, and
chilly storms of rain at frequent intervals
made things very uncomfortable, and has
frustrated all our efforts and hopes of an
early and good bee season. June came in
■with a rainy, dull day, but with a rising
barometer. Saturday finer ; but rough winds
with barometer falling. Sunday, raining
nearly all day, though warmer, and barometer
rising again and again. We hoped that to-
morrow would be fine and warm ; but "hope
lives eternal in the human breast," &c., espe-
cially in the hearts of bee-keepers.

What have we been doing to tide over the
results of nearly a month of enforced idleness
of the would-be busy bees ? Well, after wait-
ing for the sumcner weather that came not, we
individually set to work feeding every stock
that M'as short of stores — and that was nearly
all, for those that had a good supply a month
ago have run short by having to feed a large
family with such a small income. How it has
been in some cases where stores were short
and colonies strong, and no help has been
given, one can only conjecture. The
early swarming we hoped for and got
prepared for has been postponed (and in
neglected apiaries, I expect, till another
year). This postponement is trying to bee-
keepers who sell swarms, very often to
parties who have not kept bees before, and
expect when they send an order for a swarm
that it wiU be sent forthwith. There are so
many contingencies that prevent bees from
swarming naturally in untoward seasons like
the present. Take a colony of bees that was
ready to swarm by May 15, queen-cells started,
&c., then a week or ten days cold, unsettled
weather, the young queens are probibly de-
stroyed, the started queen-cells torn down, and
a fortnight later, with, say, a few fine days, the
process of forming a second batch of queen-
cells has to be gone through by the colony

before the prime (or in some parts called the
top) swarm issues. If we could foresee these
things and know about when the weather
would take up we could work accordingly.

Packing Honey for Show.?. — The list of
bee and honey shows to come grows longer
every week in Bee Journal, and I think a
few hints oa packing honey to send to the
shows will be opportune just now. Those who
have had the management of honey shows,
and especially the staging of the various ex-
hibits, know the wretched mess some arrive
in. This is not only vexing to the secretary
in charge, but an hindrance to the staging
committee, and doubly disappointing to the
exhibitor, who, after all his care in working
up to the point of dispatch, so full of hope for
the blue ribbon, or medal, or otherwise, to
find all lost through the careless handling
of his exhibit by a posse of railway porters and
carmen, perhaps nearly rushed off their legs by
the extra influx of goods for show. Where
shall we place the blame ? I think we must
go to the exhibitor, and rather than blame him
try and help him by a few hints — how to do
it so that his exhibits may reach the show
ground in good condition.

In the matter of comb honey I always pack
mine — and my exhibits alivays reach their
destination in good order — in hay. I first
wrap my sections in a sheet of brown paper,
tie with strong string, place a layer of hay at
the bottom of box, now place the parcel in the
box and pack hay all round it and over the
top — 1 in. or 1| in. thickness of hay suffices ;
fasten lid, and cord so that the porters can
lift by the cord. Those who can afford the
expense of a travelling crate for sections
cannot do better than invest in one of the
kind, in which springs serve the purpose of
preserving the sections against sudden jolting.
For bottles the same style of packing as first
mentioned for sections has always proved
successful in my hands. Procure a grocer's
box the size required, put a layer of straw or
hay, then pack your bottles of honey (first
wrapping them in paper) with some hay
between each bottle, and if packed tight and
careful, honey in this shape will withstand any
railway jar. A neater method, and nearly as
cheap, is to get a box a little larger than the
exhibit, and place a little layer of hay or packing
on the bottom of the box, then a sheet of corru-
gated paper over the hay, and then cut some
corrugated paper large enough to reach round
and up to the shoulders of bottles, tie around
each bottle not very tight, and stand your
dozen bottles in the middle of the box, and
pack the space around the bottles with hay,
then another piece of corrugated paper over
the top, and fill box with hay ; screw lid down
and cord. By this method the staging execu-
tive can remove the bottles of honey without
disturbing the packing, and when repacking
after the show this expedites matters ; and,
again, if the exhibit is sold, the box can be
used to pack the honey, as the gross value of

June 7, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

225

bos; would be under 6d. Yet, again, the
most neat and cleanly crate — minus the ex-
pense—is one made as shown in the cut
belcy : —

This is divided into compartments, one for
e\ch bottle, and each compartment is lined
wich corrugated paper. The bottom is covered
with corrugated paper also, and the lid is
covered with the same protecting material.
The exhibits are easily removed, and as easily
packed again.

For larger quantities of honey — say, four or
six dozen — I always use grocers' empties,
generally cube sugar boxes, wrap the honey in
parcels of half-dozen or in one dozen parcels,
then pack in hay a two-inch layer at bottom,
then as many parcels as can conveniently be
placed so that there is room for a margin of
packing all round them ; another layer of hay,
and another layer of parcels of honey. A
Martineau's cube-sugar box holds half a gross
comfortably. Tate's cube boxes are not quite
wide enough, but by knocking off one side,
nailing on an inch strip of wood, and then the
side on again, they will take the half-gross of
sections all right. — W. Woodley, Bcedon,
Neichurij.

SINGLE V. DOUBLE QUEENED
HIVES.

[1875.] I see a letter in last week's B.B.J,
from a Mr. Rothery (1,886, p. 213), asking
what has become of me I Well, I am still
keeping bees (I have twenty-five stocks) with
success, although I do not go in for the
" Wells " hives ; indeed, I am afraid I can't
recommend them to my friends, although I
have never given them a trial, as I really do
not see where the advantage comes in. Mr.
Wells has been most kind in making public
his system ; but I can certainly get larger
results from the worst two of my single hives
than he seems to get from his two queens,
which, of course, are really two hives. Then,
again, I know of several cases where stocks
were simply put one on the top of the other
in spring (of course, with excluder between),
and both entrances left open, with the result

that neither stock killed their queen, and both
worked in the same sections with large
results. But, still, they were two stocks the
same as the " Wells " hives.

I have given up single walls, and now have
forty double-walled hive?. I do not get better
results from the double walls, but I was much
bothered with rats getting under the roofs
past the frame ends and playing havoc with
everything. The double walls are also much
more convenient to pack for the moors.
Last year I had 1,454 lb. from twenty-one
hives, but I was experimenting with two
hives, and one was a weak stock which did not
give me much. Bar those three hives, any
two of the others would have beiten any
double-queen hive that I have yet heard of ;
and then again about half was comb honey,
and I see Mr. Wells had only a small pro-
portion of sections. My advice to those who
wish to sell their honey well is to send out
nothing but what is the best. Let the sections
all be dean and ircll filled. My best customer,
who will give me an order for five or six
hundred sections, said to me one day, "I
always prefer dealing with you to anyone else ;
we never have to open your sections out to see
what they are like, but pass them over the
counter just as we receive them from you."
This is one great secret of making a market.

Now^ about those two hives I was experi-
menting with. It may or may not, according
as the four I am trying this year turn out,
make a stir in the bee- world. I tried an
entirely new way of preventing swarming.
The bees were kept on nine frames only, with
no sections on (so as t3 give the system every
test), and the queen and drones had free
access to the open air. In spite of this, and
although every space was filled up with honey,
and the bee? idle up to June 18, they had not
even commenced building queen-cells. I then
put a crate of sections on each, which they
had just time to complete, so of course the
results were not large. They did not swarm.
This year I am trying four hives on the same
system, but of course have put on section-
crates, as I only left them without last year to
put them to a severe test. If it does not
answer, you will probably h-^ar no more
about it.

The weather here is miserable. Some two
or three stocks are casting out drone-brood,
and of course I have fed them at once. —
Arthur J. H. Wood, BeUivood, Ripon,
June 2.

DOUBLE-QUEENED HlVES.

WHO OPaGINATED THE IDEA ?

[1876.] On reading the letter of your corre-
spondent", Mr. Eothery (1866, p. 213), I at
once referred to my B. J. for 1890, finding
therein the mention of double-queened hives
as stated. In reply to his question as to
whether I got the idea of the two-queen
system from that letter or not ? I can only say

226

THE BRITISH BES JOltENAL.

[June 7, 1894

that to the best of my knowledge I never saw
his letter at all till now, and I most certainly
did not get the idea of the system from it. I
have in the pamphlet lately published stated
fully all about the. two-queen system in my
hands from the first trial of it until the end
of last year.

I also observe that another correspondent of
yours, in same issue (1871, p. 215), had a
swarm from a " Wells " hive on April 29,
which he " did not put back because of want-
ing some sections from it.'' Now who would
have thought of a bee-keeper making such a
mistake ? Why, to put the swarm back was
the very thing he ought to have done if
he wanted his sections filled ! In fact, the
swarm should have been dealt with according
to my own method, as described in print, and
by so doing he would have saved some young
queens for future use, and got his sections filled
in addition. Eeference to back numbers of
Bee Journal, or to my pamphlet, will clearly
show this. — G. Wells, Aylef<ford, Kent,
June 4.

A SELF-HIVER SUCCESS.

[1877.] I am pleased to be able to report a
trial with my self-hiver. You will probably
remember I had four hivers on last season, but
did not get one swarm from twenty hives.
On Whit Tuesday last I was pleased to be
summoned to my garden, as the bees were
swarming, and found they were coming from a
hive that had the hiver placed against it. The
swarm flew about in the air for four or five
minutes, then clustered completely over the
" hiver;" but in a few minutes all were inside,
and in the eveninff I found there was about a
gallon and a half of bees. I found, when put-
ting them in a frame-hive in the evening, they
had built a small piece of comb in the box. I
have placed that identical " hiver '' against
the hive of a friend a few miles off, with the
comb my swarm builb in it, and hoped ere
this to have been able to report more trials ;
but the last four days have been very cold,
even strong hives, with supers on and half-
filled, were throwing grubs out on May 21. —
G. W. Hole, Patckam, Sussex.

EAELY YORKSHIRE HONEY

AND THE CLAIMANT OF THE " WELLS "

SYSTEM.

[1878.] I am pleased to see by your corre-
spondent (1,866, p. 213), that we in the West
Riding of Yorkshire are not all busy feeding
our bees. Seeing that the honey-gathering
days so far can be numbered on our fingers,
it would be interesting to know if your corre-
spondent's bees are weather-proof.

Surely Mr. Wells has tried to do his best
for bee-keepers, and he deserves their best
thanks for his eflorts, as by his letter (1,863,
p. 213), he states that he would have been a

financial gainer if he had kept his system to
himself, and I, for one, fully think that if
bee-keepers carry out his instructions and
advice, published in the B.B.J., they will not
be disappointed, seeing that Mr. Wells has
done so well. I have no doubt that a number
of your readers would like to have a whisper
from some of our Yorkshire bee-keepers. I
think in the majority of cases it will be feed-
ing, not taking sections ott'. I saw in your
Journal that a Tad caster gentleman was
going in rather largely for bees ; perhaps he
will take up his pen and let us know the con-
ditions of honey gathering in his apiary.

If Mr. Rothery is as open in his intentions
as Mr. Wells, he wUl, through your columns,
let us know how he worked his double hive.
If my memory can run back to four years ago,
he said he had not tried the double system ;
and later than that, I fancy, if he is one and
tbe same gentleman, he has stated that he has
not tried it. —Hawk Eye, Tadcaster.

EARLY SWARMS.
[1879.] The earliest swarm of 1894 I have
heard of in this neighbourhood was from a skep at
North Frith on April 10 ; the next earliest at
Dunk's Green on April 17. The weather here
is cold, dull, and rather wet ; not much pro-
spect of surplus honey if it continues so, and
very much against getting anything for the
Canterbury show, which I gather from the
schedule is open to all the world — at least,
there appears to be no separate classes for the
Kentish members, who will thus be placed at
some disadvantage. — Ignoramus, Tonhridge.

BEES DWINDLING.

[1880.] Your correspondent, Annone (1046,
p. 206), asks the cause of bees dwindling.
I suggest it was either loss of queen, or else
the queen was a drone-breeder. The grub
in royal cell would probably be a thick drone-
grub produced from the egg of a fertile worker,
or a drone-breeding queen. The weather and
scarcity of food would account for the few
grubs or drones in the hives ; perhaps the bees
cast out dead in spring were small drones
raised in worker cells, and shortness of food
caused the bees to kill them, which feeding
would stop. — J. R. Truss, Staivford.

REMOVING BEES FROM TREES.

[1881.] Like your correspondent, W. Adams
(1869, p. 215), 1 have also a very strong stock
in view. Could one not drive them, fix a
skep over hole, and use a mallet, if necessary,
to obtain sufficient jar through the thickness
of the tree. What do you think, Messrs.
Editors ? — Mouche-a-Miel, Wolverhampton.

[We can hold out no hope of success in any
attempt to " drive " bees from a tree in the
manner proposed. — Eds.]

June 7, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

227

^mm mul ^^\m.

[lOGL] Transferring Stoch to " JVdls" Hive :
Dividing for Queen -raising. — I have a veiy
strong stock in a two-story hive (twenty
standard frames), with no excluder lietween,
so that nearly every frame is well filled with
brood. There are also several new queen-
cells formed. The hive is a very old one, and
I want to transfer them to a new " Wells "
hive, and divide the stock by putting the
bulk of brood and a queen-cell in one com-
partment with about half the bees ; and in the
other putting the queen, the rest of the bees,
and the frames with the least brood. If this
plan is not feasible, what had I better do ? —
Baildon.

Reply. — If the stock is so strong as stated,
the transfer may be safely performed without
risk. It is not quite certain that the lower
chamber will be found so full of brood as
imagined ; but in any case the combs contain-
ing such, from both upper and lower cham-
bers, should be put close together, so that the
bees will form a continuous cluster, divided in
centre by the thin perforated dummy only.
After selecting the best queen-cell, the others
should be removed if swarms are not desired.
A sheet of foundation inserted in the division
where queen is left would also tend to lessen
the chances of swarming.

[1062.] Sectioning Skcps for Beginners.-^
From reading the British Bee Journal,
which I see weekly, I have commenced to take
a very great interest in bee-keeping, and have
consequently become the possessor of a swarm
which were hived in a skep just a fortnight
since. For a week I fed them ; now I ob-
serve they are particularly active, notwith-
standing the unfavourable weather, and are
carrying pollen in great quantities. During
bright sunshine to-day I almost expected them
to swarm ! I find skep has no hole on the
top, and I write this to ask — 1. What course
I can adopt to get if possible some nice section
honey from my bees this season, and how I
must set about it ? This is my first possession
of bees, and I shall feel grateful for any in-
formation how to proceed with them. 2. I
have an empty combination hive with frames
and sections ; can I utilise this by putting
skep on frames filled with foundation ? I am
afraid to attempt driving. — M. P. Heale,
Crcditon, June, 2.

Eeplt. — 1. It will be necessary to cut a
circular hole in the skep before fixing thereon
a " skep section rack," which can be had from
any dealer in bee-appliances. Some care will
be required in fixing the rack firmly on dome
shape of skep, in order to prevent its being
blown off or capsized, and it would be Avell to
procure one of the pattern with sides fitting
down over the skep. In Messrs. Neighbour &
Sons' Catalogue several patterns of skep crates

are illustrated. 2. By proceeding as pro-
posed, the bec^ might during the season work
their way into the lower hive for breeding, in
which case the skep would be used as a store-
room for surplus honey, but no sections would
be got in that way this season,

[10G3.] Drone-lrecdlno Stocks.— Oae of my
stocks of bees lost its queen early this spring.
I gave two frames of eggs and brood from
another hive for the bees to raise another
queen from, and to-day failed to find a queen,
but I found eggs in drone cells, also drone
brood, but none in workers' cells. 1. Will
this prove a fertile worker to be laying ? and,
if so, 2, would it be safe to unite a swarm to
the stock ? There are full five seams of bees
now. — W. NoTT, Alhrighton, June 2.

Reply. — 1. If no queen is present a fertile
worker must be. The combs, however, will
show by queen cells whether a young queen
has been raised from the eggs and brood given ;
if one has been so raised she will have missed
mating in consequence of the kte adverse
weather, and consequently be a drone
breeder. 2. It will not be safe to unite a
swarm to the drone-breeding stock without
taking precautions to prevent the bees of the
latter attacking the swarm. They should be
removed from the combs into a skep, and after
the swarm has been hived into the frame hive,
be thrown out in front, and allowed to run in
along with the last of the swarm.

[1064.] Increasing Stochg.—l. I had a swarm
from a straw skep on May 13 which was
hived on seven full sheets of foundation, and
has been fed slowly ever sine?. When looking
at them on the 25th I found one frame had
brood both sides, and, desiring a few more
stocks, I ask do you think it possible to make
them throw oft" a swarm this year in time to
build it up for winter, or would it be best to
try for surplus honey, and not a swarm ? 2. I
have " Cowan's Guide-Book " and " Honey
Bee." Will you please tell me the next best
work to obtain, and the price and publisher
of same ? 3. I thought of getting two or
three Italian queens from Silvio Galletti, who
advertises in B. J. Will it be the proper way
to send a cheque for the amount stated in
B. J. direct to him, or could I send it on to
you for forwarding to him ? 4. What is your
opinion of Italians— are they as hardy and
good as the English ?— Ignoramus, Tonhridge,
May 29.

Reply.— 1. It is not at all likely that the
bees Avill swarm this year under the condi-
tions stated ; but the stock, if strong, may be
divided about the middle of July into two, or
perhaps three, portions, and, with attention,
all three be got into condition for wintering.
It is for you to say whether increase or surplus
is best for your purpose. 2. The books you
already have should be sufficient for all pur-
poses, if carefully studied. 3. A foreign money-

228

THE BRITISH BEE JOtJENAL.

[June 7, 1894.

order (not cheque) should be sent in payment.
They may be had at any money-order office.
Cash for Mr. Galletti must be sent to him
direct. 4. Good Italian queens are highly
thought of by many experienced bee-keepers ;
but, as " Sairey Gamp" says, "comparisons
is ojus," so we do not care to make them.

[1065.1 Honey from High and Low Lands.
— 1. When bees collect honey from similar
plants, where do they gather the best quality
from — high land or fen land 1 2. Admitting
that tbe extractor is by far the best means of
removing a larger quantity of honey from the
combs, still sometimes when wanting a small
amount of run honey I have used an ordinary
flannel jelly bog, but, finding that the wax
adheres to the flannel, I ask, Is there a better
substitute or a better Avay ? — J. P. Fisox,
Horningsia Ish, May 29.

Reply. — 1. The finest honey is gathered
from the highest altitudes. Low-lying, damp,
fen land is usually supposed to be the least
suited for honey gathering. 2. We should
prefer to use a fine wire strainer to a jelly bag,
but there is a small extractor in which the
honey is removed by centrifugal force^very
useful for extracting from small pieces of
comb, up to 4j in. square, which only costs 3i.
Messrs. Abbott Bros, are the makers.

Jane 7 and 8. — Wilts Agricultural Show at
Devizes. The Wilts Bee-keepers' Association
will attend as usual. No prizes. For parti-
culars apjjly to W. E. Bnrkitt, hon sec,
W.B.K.A.., Buttermere Rectory, Hungerford.

June 12 to 15. — Royal (bounties Agricul-
tural Show at Canterbury. Hives, honey, &c.
Secretary, Bee Department, John Huckle,
B. B.K.A., King"s Langley.

June 13 and 14. — Essex B.K. A. at Colchester.
Entries closed. Post entries at double fees.
Fifteen open classes. Hon. secretarj^, F. H.
Meggy, Chelmsford.

June 25 to 29. — Royal Agricultural Show
at Cambridge. Entries closed. Secretary,
John Hackle, B.BJv. A., King's Langley.

July 18, 19,. 20. — Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Great Grimsby. Bees,
hives, honey, and appliances. Liberal prizes.
Entries close June 29. S. Upton, secretary,
St. Benedict's-square, Lincoln.

Augu-it 10 and 11. — At Dumfries. South
of Scotland B.K.A. Very liberal prizes.
Schedule? from W. Wilson, Acreheid, Dum-
fries.

August 22 and 23. — At Derby. Derbyshire
B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby.

September 6. — At Castle Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1 lb. iars

extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, secretary, Castle Douglas, N.B.

May 26. — Notts B.K.A. Annual County
Show at Southwell. Entries close July 19.
Secretary, A. G. Pugh, Mona-street, Beeston,
Notts. Other shows connected with the
Notts B.K.A. will be held as follows : —
Lowdham, July 19 ; Hucknall Torkard,
July 24 ; Beeston, August 6 ; and Moor-
green, September 4.

August 1, 2, and 3 — At Beverley, Yorks.
Prizes for bees, honey, and appliances. Entries
close June 23. Marshall Stephenson, secretary,
York.

Noticesto Gorrespondentsand Inquirers.

All queries fonoarded will he attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

Inquirer. — Bees sent are drones, which, so
far as can be judged, have been soaked in
water or else drowned before sending. In-
structions for using Naphthol Beta in bee-
food are sent with each packet.

D. 0. Harrington (Reading). — 1. Yes, they
are eggs. 2. Swarms usually build more
or less drone-comb if left to themselves, so
there is nothing wrong about what you have
observed. 3. Certainly, candied honey may
be given to bees as food, but Avhen melting
or liquefying a little water should be added
to thin it down somewhat.

F. (Leeds). — A mere inspection of the dead
bees received gives no clue to the cause of
death. Only an inspection of the hive or a
personal knowledge of the circumstances
can do this. It may, however, be said that
the fact of dead bees being found as stated
is not an infrequent occurrence, from which
no appreciable bad results follow. And it
not seldom happens with strong hives.

Alf. Wolfe (Taunton). — County Council
Grants to Bee Associations. — All the infor-
mation we have on the subject has appeared
in our columns, and we trust our cor-
respondent will himself refer thereto for
what he requires.

Elihu Clowes (Newcastle, Staffs.).— ^ As to
the sample received being " genuine English
beeswax,'' that is a point no one can posi-
tively decide, but for the rest, the sample is
beeswax of excellent quality, and one re-
garding which we have no hesitation in
saying that — according to our judgment — it
is perfectly pure.

John Chapman (Rorasey). — Of the four bees
sent three are queens, the other a worker.
1. It is not probable that more than one
queen will remain in the hive so long as the
bees are not separated. The fact of two
queens having "lived at peace with each
other '' is one of the curious things in bee-
life which do happen occasionally. 2. Yes.
3. Yes, the bees Avill now settle matters in
their own way.

June 7, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

229

D. Anthony (Cardiff)- — No trace whatever of
foul brood in comb sent, only old dried-up
pollen .

Thos. H. ISIettum (Acock's Green). — Brood
from Second Sivarm. — 1. The probability is
that the fertilisation of the young queen has
been delayed by the late adverse weather.
If eggs and brood do not apjjear a few days
hence, then you may fear a raishajj. But
why not search for the queen on the combs ]
2. When weather is favourable eggs are
usually found about the time stated — -ninth
day after hiving. Queens always select a fine
day for the mating flight. 3. Queens are
found by searching the combs over care-
fully till she is seen. Search should not be
made for her on cold days. 4. Leave
matters for a few days longer, and if no
eggs appear a comb of brood should be
given from one of your neighbour's hives.
5. Only a " turn-out,'' which often occurs.

Percy H. Gray (Herts). — Oah Floor-boards
for Hives. — We should regard the state-
ment that oak floor-boards will cause the
death of bees as " an old woman's tale,"
unworthy of a moment's thought.

A Beginner (Cambs). — If the " slightly
fermented " honey is heated to almost
boiling-point by immersing the jar contain-
ing it into a pan of water, it may be given
as food to bees at this season, adding a very
little water to thin it slightly.

F. B. J. (Ilkley, Yorks).— 1. Comb sent is
perfectly healthy, but queen evidently worn
out, and a drone breeder. 2. So long as
young queen took no harm from the return-
ing bees of the stock on whose stand she
was placed, your plan of procedure will be
quite satisfactory.

G. S. (Market AVeighton). — Bees Casting Out
Immature Drones from Swarmed Slcef. — 1.
The bees cast out are immature drones ; it
is not an unusual occurrence, bwt the skep
might have a little syrup food given with
advantage, as it betokens " short stores.'
2. Bee sent is the common or native varietj^

Owen Welsh (S. Devon). — Foodless Hives
after Swarming. — The only explanation that
can be given of the state of things dis-
covered after the issue of swarm is the very
untoward season and the consequent absence
of honey in the flowers.

Several Letters, &c., are in type, and will
appear next v:eek.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, <i:c. — Up to
Tivelve words. Sixpence; for every additional Three
■words or under. One Penny.

FOUR STRONG STOCKS of ITALIAN BEES.
Guaranteed strong and healthy. 45s. each.

E. Owen, Devonshire Villa, Grovo Park, Chiswick. E 10

EXTRACTOR (tinned steel), full size Raynor, with
reversing cages, good as new, only used once,
price £1. G., 1, Pembury-avenue, Tottenham. E 11

■^ r\r\ Latest Bee Journals and 13 Records, 2s. 6d. lot
*-^^ Badois, Grange-road, Eghara. E 12

Prepaid Advertisements (Coniuuird).

ON SALE, a MANIPULATING TENT, in good con-
dition. For price and particulars, Mr. ISAAC
Bush, Beeclifield Nursery, Howdon. 223

EE TENT on HIKE. Kor terms, apply to G. GUNSrON,
Bradley Green, Wotton-uiider-Edge.

B

H

"YE OLUE ENGLISH BEE."

PRIME natural Swarms of my selected strain of the
aliove, headed with lSf)3 Queens, carefully packed,
and put on Rail, 16s. each. The ungenial weather
during May has made the swarming season unexpectedly
late. Customers may rely on every effort being made
to fill orders as promptly as possible. W. WOODLEY,
Beedon, Newbury.

Porterage on Telegrams, Is. Cd.

ARKET for RLTN HONEY (new and old),

SECTIONS (any quantity), and WAX. State

price, &c. Prompt cash. Packages sent. Address,

H., Bee Journal Office, 17, King William-street,

London.

OP ALE, sparkling, refreshing, made for 3d. gallon.
Recipe 7d. Turner, Limpsfield, Surrey. E 14

WANTED AT ONCE, strong stock pure CARNIOLANS,
'93 or '94 Queen. Send particulars and price to B.,
Bradford Club. Bradford. Yorks. E 13

FOR SALE, natural MAY SWARMS in straw hives
and on standard frameii, ready for immediate
delivery. Orders booked for June swarms. Linstead,
Garboldisham , Thetf ord. EJ6

A FEW QUEENS FOR S.\LE, mated in May and
now laying, price 3s. 6d. each. H. W. Brice,
Heathfield Villas, Beulah-road, Thornton Heath, Surrey.
E15

HONEYCOMB DESIGNS.— "V R." cannot fail to
please you. Post free, 4s. 6d., with instructions.
Charles Cox, Brampton, Northamptonshire. E_7

SPLENDID HIVES, on the W. B. C. principle fitted
complete for use ; strf)ngly made ; no extras, 18s.
Combination Hives, 10s. ; Champion Hives, 5s. 6d. (All
made of pine). Particulars on application. C. Morrey,
Five Ways, Neston, Chester. E 5

BEES.— FOR SALE, several NEW SWARMS of this
month for SALE. Apply to the Gardener, Kew-
hurst, Bexhill, Sussex. E 8

HONEY and BEESWAX, valuable recipes for use of ;
10s. per 1,000, four a penny. Will increase local
demand. Vendor can print or stamp own address on,

George Stocks, Sandiway, North wich. d 100

IRST SWARMS of my splendid strain of BEES,

which cannot be excelled, 15s., packed free. John

Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington. D 95

PURE ENGLISH BEES, splendid strain, swarm early,
good gatherers. Small swarm with queen, 5s.,
larger, 10s. 6d., superior, 15s., nuclei, 5s., all on rail ;
queens, 3s. delivered. Alsford, Expert, Blandford.
"^^ D98

UARANTEED Healthy Natural SWARMS, ready

for delivery, SJ to 4 lbs. eaeh, price 12s. 6d.

Packing included. Is. each allowed for boxes returned.

Address, C. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Huudon, Clare,

Suffolk. ___^ "2

BEES, NATURAL SWARMS, healthy and strong,
free from foul brood, 10s. 6d. each, boxes 23. 6d. if
not returned. E. Long, Cottenham, Cambs._ i> 87

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning iutlammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. HOLLIDAY, Astbury,
Congleton^^

STOCKS, NUCLEI, SWARMS, and QUEENS FOR
SALE. Address, The Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough,
Sussex. 1^

BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the
CENTRAL SUPPLY STOBES
for all BEEKEEPERS REQUISITES is in LI\ERPOOL
at the OLD SPOT, 50, GREAT CHARLOTl-E STREET,
GEORGE ROSE, successor to P. Harbordt.

"Why pay carriage from long distances when you can
buy cheaper and quite as good quality locally, and have
your orders promptly attended to? Catalogues gratis.
Send now. 14 varieties of Bee Flowers (full {lirections to
each), Is. Cash with order. ' ■ 201

330

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [June 7, 1894.

BALDWIN'

is the Oldest Es-
tablishment in
the United
Kingdom
wholly devoted
to Bees and

manufacture of Bee-keepers' supplies. His prices will
compare most favourably with those of any other Maker,
while for quality of material, suitability and workman-
ship he has no rival.

A large consignment of the beautiful

"FALCONER" SECTIONS,

both i bee-way and 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct importation.
Price 2/6 per 100 ; cut to receive Foundation, 3/- per 100.
By Parcel Post, 1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which "contains more practical and reliable hints
than all the large, expensive books," post free for
2d. stamps.

Address S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent.

N.B. — More than 500 Silver and Bronze Medals, First and

other Prizes, and Testimonials innumerable.

BEE-KEEPING^ its Excellence and Ad-
vantages. Price 3d. British Bee Jovrnal
Office, 17 King William-st. Strand, London, W.C.

HONEY AND ITS USES. By the Rev.
Gerard W. Bancks, M.A. 3/6 per
100, 8/- per 250, 14/6 per 500, carriage paid.
By freely distributing this Pamphlet, a ready
market for Honey may be made in the
Bee-keeper's own neighbourhood.

Specimen Copy on application.
Address Durham House, Green Sti'eet

Green, Dartford. 176

TnE YORKSHIRE
Bee-keepers' Supplies

WILLIAM DIXON,

5, Beckett St., Leeds.

Hives, Extractors,

Smokers, Feeders,

Foundation, &c.

Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver, d-BronzeMedals.

220

EASY SMAVIIMG
WITH i
THE

The Mab Razor is a revelation to those who have
habitually used the big, clumsy Razor of the period.
The ease with which it is manipulated enables the
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had either plain or hollow ground. At the great
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Nellie Svick Sha^'ed Five Men in i min. 42 sec. with
the Mab Razor.

Can be Used Entirely TvitliOTit Stropping.
llany Jlattering notices from the ±ress, and unsolicited
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" I beg to say I am delighted with the Mab Razor,
which is an excellent little instrument.

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Prices— Black Handle, 23. 6d. ; Ivory, 3s. 6d. Pair in
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•' MAB " CO., 94, Newhall St., Birmingham.

SEND FOR

CATALOGUE.

W?? BAZELEY,

NATURALIST, NORTHAMPTON,

FOE BEST BEE APPLIANCES.

NOVELTIES AND

SPECIAL

FEATURES

WORTH NOTING.

Sec Larpe Advt. each
Month.

MUSKHAM, NEWARK.
The "WELLS" Hive.

CONTAINING —

Twenty Standard Frames with ends, Two
Bummies, Excluder, "Lift" made to take
"Carr" Shallow- Frames, Perforated Divider,
Two Moveable Floor-boards (which can be
lowered as desired), Roof, Porch, Contractors,
&c., complete.
Price, as above, with Crate of 42 One-lb. Sections
(or Lift with 20 shallow frames), 24s.
Three, Carriage Paid to any station in England.
APPROVAL WITH PLEASURE.

ALL KINDS OF GROOVED, SPLIT, AND PATENT

SECTIONS KEPT IN STOCK.

FOLDING SECTION CASES, in a variety

of colours, 2s. doz.

Our "MARVEL" Hive

Is still the Cheapest and Best in the market.
Will be sent on approval, Deposit with Editor.

When writing, please say which you want—
Bee-Appliauce, Poultry-Appliance, or Green-
house and Portable Building Catalogue, any of
which will be sent post-free.

June 14, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

231

(Editorial ^otias, ^L

COMB FOUNDATION.

HOW IT SHOULD HANG IN FRAMES.

Eeferring to the allusion to the above
subject in Bee Journal for May 24
(p. 201), we have received the following
communications : —

Dear Sir, — I am greatly surprised at the
very positive statement made in the British
Bee Journal and Jtiecord on the above sub-
ject. That there is a difference of opinion I
am aware, but that either way is a distinctly
right or wrong way I am not prepared to
admit. Years ago I gave months of most
careful attention to this subject, and my con-
clusions were the exact opposite to those you
have arrived at. Practical experiments, tried
in my own apiary, led me to these conclusions,
and theory had nothing to do with it. Many
hundreds of sheets of foundation were tested
under exactly equal conditions, and in no case
did sagging or breaking-down occur in those
sheets having top and bottom cell walls hori-
zontal, as in your diagram No. 2, whereas
(with swarms especially) both sagging and
breaking-doM^n did occasionally occur when
the cell walls were as shown in your diagram
No. 1. So great did I think the advantages
of the No. 2 form, that I had foundation mills
specially made to enable me to turn out
foundation in this manner, and my mills
turning out jjattern No. 1 have been idle ever
since. We must bear in mind that the strain
in a comb is a pulling strain, not a crushing
strain, and the flat top to the cell is better
adapted to resist this particular strain than is
the arch top — this latter being more adapted
to resist a crushing strain. Now let us see
what the bees do when they build their combs
naturally, without the aid of foundation. I
had looked to this years ago, and then decided
that they built their cells both ways in about
equal proportions. To-day I examined four
colonies. The first has three newly-built
combs. Two of these have the cells arranged
as in diagram No. 2, one has the cells arranged
as in diagram No. 1. The second has three
combs as in No. 1, one comb as in No. 2.
Ttie third has three combs as in No. 1, three
combs as in No. 2. The fourth (an old stock)
has five combs as in No. 1,
three combs as in No. 2.
I send you, with this letter,
one of the combs naturally
built as No. 2. — Yours
faithfully, Thomas B. Blow,
Welunjn, June 5, 1894.

The second letter is as
follows : —

Gentlemen, — I feel obliged to express
dissent from your dictum respecting the

natural formation of the bees'-cell as expressed
in your "useful hint,'' p. 201, on "fixing
foundation in hives." When reading the
ixxragraph, there happened to be lying on ii
table near to hand a piece of newly-built
natural comb, which I took up that I might
the better follow your remarks ; but, singular
to relate, I found the cells built quite the
opposite to what you say they ought to be.
This naturally stimulated further inquiry, and,
by observations I have made, I find that the
bees build cells indifierently in either position.
As any bee-keeper has it in his power to
satisfy himself on this point, I need say no
more. I simply state the result of my par-
ticular observations.

Your deductions respecting the form of the
cell and the equilibrium of arches are very
pretty, but for all that by no means accept-
able. The arch is only adapted to resist
compressive forces upon the extrados, but,
bearing in mind that the combs as built by
the bees are suspended from above, and not
supported below, the forces tending to produce
rupture are tensile, and to resist such strains
the arch is absolutely unfitted.

Leaving philosophy and coming to the prac-
tical point, I am of opinion that if there be a
right and a wrong way of fixing foundation
in frames, it is a matter for manufacturers of
foundation to attend to, and adopt a uniform
plan. Bee-keepers are, in a measure, obliged
to use the article as it comes to their hands.
I make this remark because a sheet of founda-
tion now before me is impressed with the cells
the contrary way to what you lay down as
correct. — Yours faithfully, A. Donbavand,
Whitby Heath, Chester, June 5, 1894.

If our esteemed correspondents will
refer to the chapter on comb construction
in Cowan's " The Honey Bee," they will
find the question respecting cell construc-
tion fully treated therein on pages 183
and 184. That bees do build combs
naturally at any angle we freely admit,
but in the majority of combs, when left
to themselves, they endeavour to com-
mence them in such a way as to have
parallel sides hanging vertically. In this
case the first row of cells is, as repre-
sented in the diagrams (a) and {h)
below taken from page 184 of "The

B

Honey Bee," and the cells have five
sides, one of which is formed by the

232

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [June 14, 1894.

surface of the top bar to which they
are attached. We will now allude
to the practical bearing of the matter,
more especially with regard to comb
foundation, for it is here that it most
concerns bee-keepers. It is not simply a
difference of opinion, but a practical
matter of fact, and we were sorry to
have to differ entirely with Mr. Blow,
for our experiments have long ago
proved to us the verj^ opposite to what
he states. We were amongst the very
first to use comb founda-
y tion, long before the
B. B. J. was established,
and had to face the pro-
blem of both stretching
and sagging foundation.
Our experiments Avere
carried out with different ,
makes of foundation, and
comparisons were made between sheets
made by the same dealers, fixed both as
in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, page 202, B. J. In
every instance we found sheets fixed as
in Fig. 2 considerably
stretched, whereas
those fixed as Fig. 1
comparatively un-
affected. Moreover,
the thinner the founda-
tion the more marked
the difference. AVith-
out going very deeply into the matter
we may say that the proportion of
stretching is as 3-5 for No. 1, to 6-0
for No. 2 — that is to say, that Avhereas
in a sheet fixed as No. 2 and 6 in.
deep the Avhole of the vertical depth
of 6 in. is capable of stretching,
whereas in sheets fixed as No. 1,
and 6 in. deep, only 3| in. of the
vertical depth is capable of stretching.
Of course, we are here alluding to comb
foundation fixed without Aviring the
frames, and about 6 square feet to the
pound. Stouter foundation and Aviring
the frames have been adopted for the
purpose of getting over the difficulty of
combs stretching. We should certainly
not think of using foundation with cells
as No. 2, and as recommended by Mr.
BloAV, without wiring the frames. The
strain of the comb is not a lateral pulling
strain, but a doiomoard pulling strain, and
it is the parallel sides Avhich resist the
elongation, and the arched top that
prevents the parallel sides from approach-
ing each other. We therefore have no

hesitation in saying that Avhere comb
foundation is used Avithout wiring
frames the only proper way of fixing it
is with the parallel sides vertical, and if
only such foundation Avas made Ave
should hear little or nothing about
stretching. The same remarks apply to
sagging, against Avhich the arched cell
offers the greatest resistance.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
Arrangements haA^e been made for holdlno;
a meeting of bee-keepers in the show-yard at
Cambridge on Wednesday, 27th inst., at three
o'clock. The Eoyal Agricultural Society have
kindly granted the use of their council tent
for the purpose. Bee-keepers Avishing to be
present, and being desirous of bringing forward
any subject for discussion, will kindly commu-
nicate with the Secretary, John Huckle, King's
Langley, Herts.

We are very pleased to learn that the
Shropshire Bee-keepers' Association has con-
tributed £5 to the funds of the British Bee-
keepers' Association.

THE BEE VAN.

The latest outcome of County Coiincil grants
in aid of technical instruction in bee-keeping,
to wit the " Bee Van," by means of which
energetic and earnest propagandists are work-
ing in the good cause are already in evidence
for the season. The van — or vans, for there
are two of them — of the Hereford and Berk-
shire Associations respectively, accompanied
by the experts, have started "on tour," and,
we hope, will meet with large and appreciative
audiences of the villagers for whose benefit
the work is being done. The hon. sees, of the
associations referred to have favoured us with
copies of the bills distributed in advance in
such districts as the van passes through, giving
a full programme of the day's proceedings,
and the arrangements detailed could not well
be improved on.

Both bills are drawn on the same model, the
work of each day beginning at about four p.m.,
with an afternoon lecture and demonstration
whenever possible, and where the use of a
convenient apiary or frame hives are available.
On these occasions the best methods of hand-
ling living bees are shown, the spectators
being protected by a net-Avork screen erected
in front of the operator.

At 7 or 7.30 practical instruction is given
in the uses of modern bee-appliances and the
best methods of bee-keeping. These meetings
are more or less conversational, and intended
to take the form of " bee-talks '' with the
audience — questions being invited and
ansAvered. Then at 8.30 a short lecture is
given from the platform of the van and illus-
trated with photographic-lantern views shown
on a screen fitted in rear of the van.

June 14, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

233

Not a bad day's work, it will be admitted,
but not quite all. for we read with much
pleasure the following footnote attached to the
programme : — " The expert is also instructed
to render practical advice and assistance as far
as possible to all bee-keepers on or near the
line of route. All instruction given on this
tour is absolutely free and open to all, and no
fees are permitted."

A pleasant and profitable time to the Bee
Vans, and may their number increase say we,
and no doubt our wish will be echoed by all
right-minded bee-keepers.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. iVo notice will be
taken of anonymoi<,s communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper oiUy, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should [be drawn 0)1 sejjarate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Gommunioations relating to the literari/ department,
reports of Associations, Shoivs, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books fur Revieiv, <i'c., must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating toAdoertisements,<i:c.,must be addressed
to" The Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of Advertisements).

*,* In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as icell
as the page on which it appears.

HONEYCOMB IN SECTIONS.

HOW I PREPARE FOR PRODUCIXG IT.

[1882.] Those among us who remember
honeycomb cut out of bell-glasses and large
supers somewhat regretfully leave these on the
shelf and take to the modern section. To
keep even with the times, we must produce
honeycomb in this portable form, and it must
be good in ipiality, clean, and cheap, if we are
going to persuade the public to use honey for
food as well as medicine. No doubt it is very
pleasant and profitable for the bee-keeper to
get one shilling per section, but if we bee-
keepers had to pay that price how many
sections should we buy in a year for our own
consumption, considering most of us could,
and would want to, eat one for tea ? After
trying all sorts and sizes, we have decided to
use no other than the standard i^- square two
bee-way section, and we insist on having the
very best quality obtainable, these being
pleasant to look upon when empty, but, when
rilled with clover honey, perfectly irresistible !
The four bee-way section I have personally
discarded because it was almost impossible to
handle them without breaking some cappings,
when leakage utterly spoiled them, neither did
I find them better tilled than the others. The
latest improvement is to make them thinner.
This, like the " four bee-way " is in my view a
retrograde step.

"When sections are received from the London

Docks the cases are made dust-proof, and are
stood in a dry room. About the beginning of
April I proceed to make them up. Nothing
is gained by doing it earlier, for besides the
extra space required for storing they will be
sure to get dusty, the foundation will become
hard and scentless, and where full sheets are
used (as here) many will develop flaws and
break down. The same may be said of frames
— wired or unwired. I tie about twenty
sections in the flat tightly together with the V
grooves all running the same way ; these are
laid down slanting, so that when the scalding
water is poured into the grooves it quickly
runs through, so toughening the wood that
not one in a hundred will break. The mitred
ends are left dry. I now have ready some of
the best glue it is possible to get— being
withal light in colour and exceedingly
tenacious — and large boxes to contain the
made sections. I bend and hammer the
section'? together, forcing them lightly into
the square form as much as possible ; then
hand them to my assistant, who pulls the
mitred end apart, inserts a little glue, presses
them together again, and places in the box.
When the latter is full the whole lot is
wedged together against the sides, weights are
placed on the top, and when dry the sections
come out perfectly square. Thus we do a
great many in a short time. Now comes the
foundation process. There are many ways of
doing this, such as fitting into a grooved
section (I pity those who have to cut the
foundation), or pressing the upper edge of the
foundation into the wood, which throws it out
of the perpendicular as soon as the bees
cluster upon it (but nothing to matter
particularly) ; or it may be fixed by
slitting the bottom bar, which then becomes
the top, into two pieces, laying the foundation
against one, then closing the other. The last
is the worst of the lot, for besides getting the
bottom of the section to the top, thus showing
the unsightly mitred edge on the one side,
and the slit with foundation in the centre,
there must be two separate pieces to glue, and
if full sheets are used, sagging I think would
be certain. After many year^' experimenting',
I still use the block and melted wax. By
practice it is possible to do them very quickly.
Everything is got ready first, a buard is
marked so that three cut^ with a knife makes
eight squares of foundation the proper size.
All that is wanted is then cut. Wax is melted
in a pot — within a pot — and I use a bent spoon
— our wax-smelter having beea sent to the
British Museum. The wooden block i? boiled
to prevent wax sticking to it. Then I take a
section, insert the block, place the foundation
against, it and run a little wax along the angle ;
next place the middle finger — which was
evidently made on purpose — against the
foundation, take out the block, and run
a little more wax along the other side. Then,
fair — or plain — reader, set them on your
hives and trouble no more, for not one in a

234

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [June 14, 1894.

thousand will ever break down. Cases holding
twenty-one are used, also wooden separators
in preference to zinc, as being so much warmer.
The bees, however, gnaw the edges of these to
such an extent, and so many get broken, that
I am sorely tempted to overlook that one
fault, and use the zinc ones in future. The
fact of the bees taking to these cases and
filling them with exquisite honeycomb is one
of the wonders of modern bee-keeping. How
pleasant to go to the modern hive and, lifting
up the full case, place a clearer underneath,
which automatically, as it were, empties it of
bees ! How pleasant to take it into the
honey room and take out the sections one by
one, knowing there is no danger of one break-
ing because of our best glue, and all clean
except for a little propolis ! Before sending to
market a thin shaving is taken off the edges
of each one with a sharp knife. This is a
little trouble, but is fully repaid by the extra
cleanliness obtained. Years ago I always
worked a score or more glass sections, the four
pieces of glasfs being fixed to the inside of the
wooden section by bits of tin, until filled,
when the comb kept the glass together.
These were much admired, and we Ihould
work some now but some one was sup-
posed to have patented them, and I gave them
up in consequence.

Soiled sections— every bee-keeper has some
— make capital nail-boxes, six being fixed in a
shallow box, or a bottom of wood nailed inside
each one. Cut up, they are very useful as
plant labels or tallies. Scores of them at
work might be seen by some enterprising
interviewer if he [could find his way into the
back regions — where bees hum and cats sing —
of the demesne where dwells — Lordswood."

HELPING COTTAGERS.

HOW A HANTS COTTAGER SELLS HIS HONEV.

[1883.] Seeing that vour correspondent, Mr.
Routh (1864, p. 212, May 31), is desirous of
helping cottagers and working men who are
bee-keepers, I beg to say I have always sold
the whole of my honey without much trouble,
and being one of the same class I am very
pleased to say how I do it. As soon as I take
off my first super of honey I put up a notice
on the wall of my cottage iu large letters
" Honey for Sale," and stage some of it in the
window, so that passers-by can easily see it.
I also send round to houses near, and my
sister, when only twelve years old, has herself
in a small town near sold £2 worth in one
day. Many cyclists riding by have stopped on
seeing honey in the window, and become
purchasers ; some of them send regularly every
year from London for several pounds. Last year
I staged 140 lb. in sections, bell glasses, and
bottles at the local show. It gained first prize.
I brought it home and staged it up in my
cottage window the same as at show, and sold
the lot in about a week. Let it be known
that you have good honey for sale, and, after

buying once, purchasers will be sure to come
again. Do not ask or expect too high a price,
for the day of Is. 6d. per lb. for honey has
gone by, although some of our bee-keepers
expect that price now. Mine averages about
8^d. per lb. In this way I have sold 7 cwt.
in one season, and have almost got into hot
water with the good wife because of so seldom
having any for our own use, for it is a rare
thing to have a pound left after October.

I have this year increased my stock of bees,
and hope to get twice 7 cwt., and I have no
fear of being able to sell all I get. The
weather, however, is not at all favourable for
honey-gathering at present. I think that the
County Association honey labels should help
to sell the honey of those who are not good
hands at making a market for themselves.
That we may all have plenty of honey, and
more customers than we can supply is the wish
of — H. RowELL, Hooh, Winchfield.

REMOVING BEES FROM TREES.

[1884.] I see in this week's Journal
(1881, p. 226) a question about removing
bees from trees.

I and my man removed some two years
ago successfully. The bees entered by an
opening a little distance up the trunk, and
the night before removing them we nailed
perforated zinc over the hole, thus making
the bees prisoners. We then sounded the tree to
see how far up it was hollow, and then bored
a hole with an augur large enough to take one
end of a lamp-glass. The first hole was too
low ; but our second attempt was more suc-
cessful, for we came to the new-made comb ;
we then plugged up the holes for the night.

Next morning we took down a skep-hive,
securely corded to a floor-board, and we first
slung the hive to a small branch of the tree
above, then placed one end of the lamp-glass
chimney in the hive, and after removing the
plug in the tree fixed the lamp chimney to the
hole ; then commenced to puff in smoke
through the hole covered with zinc. For
above an hour we thought we should not
succeed ; but at last the bees, becoming tired
of the smoke, began to work their way
through the glass, the queen being almost the
last to leave the tree and enter the hive.

As " Hawk-eye," Tadcaster (1878, p. 226),
infers, we Yorkshire bee-keepers have not all
been so successful as Mr. Rothery in gatheriog
surplus honey. Although only nine miles
further down the Wharfe, and in the midst
of plenty of bloom, I have been obliged to
feed my bees. Although, when the winter was
over, my hives were well stocked with honey,
if the weather had been in any way favour-
able I should not have had to feed ; but my
hives are all large, and well stocked with
bees, but we have had no swarms yet.

I had a honey-box made last year some-
thing like the one shown on p. 225, but a
little deeper, and at the bottom of each com-

June 14, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

2S5

partment is a little square of oiled butter-
paper filled with paper shavings, and sealed
up so as to prevent litter. On the top I have
a large square the size of the box packed with
paper shavings, so that it holds the bottles
tight ; but we put the corrugated paper round
each bottle, as Mr. Woodley suggests, and on
the top is a strong wooden handle, so that the
box cannot be set the wrong way up. — (Miss)
Helen Laurence, East Keswick, near Leeds.

REMOVING BEES FROM TREES.

[1885.] I notice your correspondent, W.
Adams (1869, p. 215), in Bee Journal of
May 31, inquires as to taking stock of bees
from trees. Having taken four or five lots
from hollow trees, my plan may be of use to
him. First, with centre-bit bore four or more
holes round the entrance, something in the
natiire of a square, so as to have it nearly a
foot each way. Then run a fine saw through
from hole to hole, and the piece of wood so
sawn can then be got out. Next bore a hole
in back of tree, and use the smoker ; by this
means he will cause nearly all the bees to take
wing ; he can then insert his hand, and with
the help of a knife take out the combs one by
one, and tie them in his frames. Of course, it
must be understood the queen will not take
flight, and on finding the comb on which the
queen is seen he can then drive out the few
bees remaining in tree. Replace the square of
wood at the entrance, stopping up the holes
and also the one at back of tree with clay.
The flying bees will join the queen in the
frame hive, and he can remove it when they
are settled down and quiet in the evening if
its future location is two or more miles away.
Otherwise it should be left near the tree till
the end of season. If the above plan is
carried out with ordinary care and courage, I
think he will get his bees, as I have done, and
have yet to learn what the word fail means
so far as this job goes.

I am sorry we are having so much wet
weather just now, as hives here are all
crammed with bees, and cannot do much for
want of sunshine. — Thos. Adams, My, near
Cardiff, June 4.

BEES IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
[1886.] I had a note, June 8, from a second-
class expert, Avho says: — "It is wretched bee
weather here ; stocks are dying of starvation

where they are not fed. I was at Mr. 's

rlast evening, and transferred the bees from

his two boxes to frame-hives. In both cases

there was not a drain of honey, and in one

box the bees were too weak from starvation to

feven fly. I had to give warm syrup to move

ithem. No unsealed brood or eggs in either

[Stock, and all drones killed off. He is now

[feeding all his stocks." I fear the above

account will illustrate what things are like

[here. Swarming was very early, and in skep-

pists' apiaries I am told that some swarms are
already dead from starvation. Not a very
bright look out ! — E. Godson, Alford.

(^uxm and Jle|U£s.

[1066.] Hiving my Fird Swarms. — How
to deal with Them. — My first experience with
a swarm occurred to-day ; it came off about
12.30, and rose in the air in the vicinity of the
hive ; then, after a short time, the outside of
the parent hive became densely covered with
bees, small clusters forming here and there,
and large on^s under the porch ; so I thought
I had better get them into a skep, which was
done in the usual way, but they did not
remain there, for in a short time the bees re-
turned to the hive they came from. I can see
now that I was too hasty in interfering, for, on
walking in my garden at 6.30, I saw a tiny
cluster of bees hanging from a twig of an
apple-tree, about the size of an ordinary hen's
egg, which I removed, twig and all, and, as
expected, found the queen there. I put her
in a long queen-cage, with a few workers,
giving a supply of " Good '' candy at the bottom ,
and placed it between the quilts of a strong
stock. The swarm came from a stock pur-
chased on six frames early in April. How can
the queen be turned to best account ? Shall I
form a nucleus from this hive, letting her pre-
side, or make an artificial swarm and join her
to it ? Another swarm will come from the
parent hive shortly, will it not ? — T. W..
Cheltenham.

Reply. — Unless there is some special reason
for preserving the old queen, we should not
trouble either to form and nurse a nucleus
colony, or to make an artificial swarm in order
to save her life. She will most likely now
be in her second — if not third — season, and
consequently will need " replacing'' in autumn.
It will, therefore, be best to discard her and
preserve the young queens now being reared
in the parent hive, if more than one addi-
tional stock is desired. The whole swarm
having returned after missing the queen,
what is practically a " top swarm " and second
swarm combined will issue, headed by a young
queen, after the usual interval of eight or
ten days, and if you can manage to divide the
combs and brood of the parent hive into
three lots — dividing the bees also —giving the
young queen to one and a just-hatching queen-
cell to each of the others, three stocks may
be formed. On the other hand, it will be
safer and much more simple to be content
with two, in which case only the ordinary
procedure will be needed.

[1067.] Suspected Loss of Queen. — On Whit
Monday, May 14, my only stock swarmed. I
hived them in a "Gayton" on eight frames,
and they are doing well. On May 24 a second
swarm, weighing 4i lb., came out, and not

236

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [June 14, 1894

wishing to increase my number of stocks I
returned the swarm, after cutting out the
queen-cells. Had they not come out of the
hive I should never have thought they could
have gone in, so numerous were the bees ;
but they did, and I jDut on a crate of sections
to give them more room. Acting on the
advice given in " Useful Hints " in this week's
Journal, I examined the hive last night,
June 8, but failed to see the queen, and not
a sign of brood of any sort. Do you advise
procuring a new fertile queen for them, as I
have no queen-cells to give them ? There is
sealed honey in the upper portions of the
combs, but the lower portions are empty. The
bees are in the super, but do not appear to be
working. — Thomas H. Pringle, Westcombe
Park, S.i:., June 9,

Keply, — We should defer giving another
queen for a few days longer, the weather has
been so bad of late. Mating may either have
been delayed, or the young queen may still be
in the hive and eventually prove a drone
breeder. So soon as you can be quite sure
there is no queen introduce one, but an alien
would be killed if introduced while the young
one is in the hive.

[1068.] Excluder Zinc and ■ other Hive
Details. — 1. In using sheet excluder in
"W.B.C." hive is it practicable to cut and
fix it to lie within the walls so as not to enter
any joint between brood and super-box? In
the width there is no difficulty, the edges over-
lapping the dummies or end frames with their
slips, and yet being kept clear of side walls ; but
lengthwise the zinc would have to be cut,
placed, and secured, so that no queen-space is
left between its edge and the tin ends of frames,
and yet clear of the inner walls of super-box
lying over frame ends. I think the zinc could
be cut 1^8 in- less than the 14|in. distance
apart of walls, and that with accurate boxes
it would be practicable and safe. I dislike
sheet-zinc with its slots and imperfectly true
surface entering and spoiling perfect joints.
2. Do you deprecate the use of any excluder
zinc which has slots perceptibly less in width
than the "B.B.J.'' pattern by test with
gauge 1 3. Does oilcloth quilt on supers
retard evaporation and sealing of honey, and
sufficiently so to make preferable the disad-
vantages of a pervious quilt, i.e., the gnawing
and propolising work caused thereby l 4. Do
you see any practical objection to trying
'• W.B.C." hanging section frames in shallow
frame boxes, the extra depth of box being
filled by a loose § in. wood grid laid on the
lower frames and allowing the shallow frame
box to fit easily over it ? The grid placed with
its bars at right angles to frames might prevent
brace combs. — F. S., A Lancashire Novice,
June 9.

Reply. — 1. We do not think there would
be much difficulty in cutting the zinc to secure
the end desired, but we prefer the edge of

surplus box to lie on the zinc all round and so
keep it firmly down and rigid. If the junc-
tion is packed carefully as we have described,
there need be no appreciable escape of heat.
2. Yes, to lessen the width perceptibly will
obstruct the worker bees. 3. Personally, we
always leave the ordinary cover of American
cloth on surplus chambers containing combs
for extracting, and have found no disadvantage
in so doing. With sections it is somewhat
different, and propolised covers are apt to soil
the wood ; but it is only on that account that
a clean porous covering of ticking and felt is
used. 4. It might be useful to try the plan
proposed, but we have no experience to warrant
us in saying how it will act.

[1069.] Bees destroying Queen-cells. — 1. I
am sending you a bee, and would like you to
tell me if it is a young queen. Yesterday,
June 7, two hives beside each other swarmed
together, both settling on a tree — one at the
top, the other below. We put them into skeps
till the evening, when we found both swarms
had gone into the same skep. On being
shaken out and driven into a hive, we found
two queens and the enclosed, which was at
once stung to death by the bees, and the other
young queen was being " balled," the old one
passing in unmolested. During the day a
good many bees had been killed. 2. I should
also like to know why a nucleus tore down and
destroyed queen-cells 1 I gave them a frame
with three cells, from same hive as the bees,
and all the cells were destroyed, and the bees
are quite contented, and all the young brood
has hatched out, but, as they have no queen,
they are now preparing queen-cells when no
use. Is it usual for cells to be destroyed if
put in with the bees 1 — H. H. Woosnam,
Newton Abbot, June 8.

Eeply. — 1. Bee has not yet reached us. In
hiving the swarms you have managed to get
both queens into the same skep, hence the bees
uniting of themselves in that one. 2. Other
conditions being right, it is not at all usual
for bees to destroy queen- cells from their own
hive after dividing it into nuclei. You should
state exactly the conditions under which the
nucleus was farmed before we can endeavour
to explain the occurrence. Any way, they
would not be likely to destroy a cell if given

[1070.] Preserving Surplus Queens. — This
week has given me turee swarms, one weighing
6 lb. I I have been for a walk through the
fields, but did not detect the flower of the
white clover. There is an abundance of other
flowers in the hay-fields. I should be glad if
you could answer : — 1. What do the bees
gather from the bvtttercups ? 2. Do they
gather from the red clover 1 There is a great
crop of it here, but I have never seen a bee
on it. 3. I am expecting casts on Saturday,
the IGth, from two skeps. It has occurred to

June 14, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

237

me that possibly you would help me by sug-
gesting how I could best secure the surplus
queens in the casts. Would it be best to hive
eiich in a frame hive, and in the evening pick
out all the queens but one, and put them into
little boxes with air-holes'^ If I did this suc-
cessfully, could I not make nuclei, and give
a queen to each two or three frames ? 1 want
to re-queen this year my ten stocks in bar-
frame hives. — Enthusiast, Stonchouse,
June 8.

Reply. — 1. A good deal of pollen and some
honey. 2. In some seasons bees are known to
work on second-crop red clover, though we
do not think it can be regarded as a honey-
producing plant for hive bees. 3. If the
queen-cells are easily get-at-able in the skeps,
and are carefully removed, they may be hatched
out in cages inserted between the combs of
strong stocks, but it requires some study of
the process of preserving them for use, and
dealing with nuclei, as described in bee-books,
before success can be ensured.

[1071.] Sending Artificial Swarms to
Heather. — I propose making artificial swarms
from my hives after the clover harvest is over,
and then sending the old bees to the heather,
some 1^- miles away. 1. Can you suggest any
better method ? Hitherto I have divided my
hives at the end of the honey harvest, and now
I don't know much about the ages of the
queens. 2. In the case of " Wells " hives,
what would be the best method of making
swarms ? — N. N., Norwich, June 8.

Reply. — 1. We should require further
details of the plan proposed before we could
give an opinion regarding it. Personally,
however, we should never think of conveying
" old bees " to the heather in bare, foodless
hives to take the risk of either gathering
surplus or starving, according to the weather,
during their stay there. Indeed, it seems to
us rather a cruel practice to do so, after the
bees have gone through the labours of the
main honey season. We should let them go
in their stocked hives, and take our chance of
further surplus being gathered in sections
overhead. Some bee-keepers extract the honey
from a few sections, replacing them — dripping
wet with honey — along with partly-filled ones
for refilling or completion at the heather.
Mixed clover and heather honey got in this
way makes a delicious " blend." 2. Wells
hives are not suitable for making artificial
swarms^from.

[1072.] Cheap Wax Extractors. — In your
reply to query 1051, p. 207 of B.J. for
May 24, mention is made of " a simple wax
extractor on the market which only costs
about half-a-crown or so, and does its work
well." I will feel thankful if you say in your
next issue where this machine can be had. —
Subscriber, Glanmire, co. Cork.

Reply. — The cheap extractor referred to in
Our reply can no doubt be had from most

dealers. From a few catalogues before us, we
notice it is mentioned in those of Messrs.
Redshaw, of South Wigstone ; Meadows, of
Syston ; and Howard, of Holme, Peterborough.

[1073.] Making Bees-wax Without Bees.—
Can you inform me of any process (other than
by the bees themselves) of making wax from
honey, and the cost of so doing ? Oftentimes
bee-keepers have a quantity of old, rough,
unsaleable honey by them, and if it could be
made into wax, and so saleable, it would be
an advantage. — R. T. Andrews, Hertford,
May 30.

Reply. — There are, we are sorry to say, no
known means of superseding the bee in the
manufacture of its own wax ; and we may
safely assume that there never will be. Modern
science does wonders, we know, but the hoped-
for " advantage '' in our correspondent's query
seems to us fairly analogous to hoping for
means whereby we may manufacture milk from
herbage without the aid of the meek but very
useful cow.

(^t\\u% front \\\t giuw.

World's End and Beedon Apiaries, near
Newbury. — Another week has passed, and
we have had no improvement in the
weather. Accounts of losses by starva-
tion, of the early swarms and also of esta-
blished stocks, reach me, others on the verge
of starvation, instead of having honey ready
to take off as was the case last year at this
time. I am busy feeding every evening,
one evening at my out apiary, and the next
at my home apiary. The season that opened
with so much promise in March and April
has been during May and June as disastrous
as was the season of 1888. The continued
cold, dull, unsettled weather accounts for the
emptiness of hive^ coupled with the large
populous colonies that inhabit them. The out-
look is not very cheering at present, but the
knowledge, coupled with the hope, that a
change in the weather to normal conditions
would effect a transformation scene in the
apiary, and the dejected feeling as one walks
among the hives crowded with a host of
workers would in a short time be the centre
of activity, and colonies now living from hatid
to mouth on charity would be revelling in
wealth and plenty. Temperature during the
past week from 45 deg. to 55 deg., only ex-
ceeding 55 deg. one afternoon, when it touched
62 deg. ; nearly every hive appeared as if
going to swarm for an hour or two. — W.
Woodley.

Hone^i Cotf, Weston, Leamington, June 9.
—The dull, cold weather here still continues,
making it bad for the bees, and not promising
for the bee-keeper, who, to keep bees in good
trim, must dip rather deep into his pocket.
Although it has been so cold, we have had some

§38

THE BRITISH BEE JOtJRNAL. [June 14, 1894.

few nice days, during which I have had about
eighteen swarms at home and four from some
stocks I have a mile away. I do not think in
all my experience that I have seen my hives
more full of bees than they are now, and have
been more thaa a month past ; many combs
are full of brood from top to bottom. The
thermometer has been many times down
to 43 deg., and scarcely ever up to 60 deg. ;
then the bees can scarcely get in their hives,
although I have given them a lot of surplus
room. When I look round and see them so, I
fancy what will it be if we can really get a
change of Aveather, and the thermometer up to
80 deg. or over ; they will need all the ven-
tilating that can possibly be done. When the
sun does make his appearance there is such a
commotion with bees and drones one has to go
right up among them to make sure that they
are not swarming. I do not know why there
seems to be a lot of objection to the "Wells "
system on the part of some bee-keepers. I
have half-a-dozen double-queen stocks that
have immense numbers of bees, as they
are tiered up and quite full of bees. Perhaps
if it came very hot they might tease me a bit
by swarming, &c. ; but I do not suppose I
shall be able to keep any separate account of
their doings, as I have not time. I was rather
surprised myself to see that our friend W. H.
Woods did not put his swarm back to com-
plete his sections. I wondered how he was going
to get them filled after the queen and bees
were gone, as the young bees hatched out of
their cells, the honey would be likely to be
deposited there instead of in sections. — John
Walton.

Whitby Heath, Chester, June 5. — Bees in
this locality are not progressing so satisfac-
torily as could be wished. Severe night frosts
have played havoc with vegetation, and the
wet that has succeeded confines the bees to
their hives. I have had a case of " queen
deposing " this spring, not to be accounted for
by over-manipulation. The successor raised
by the bees was an unusully long time in
starting oviposition ; so long, indeed, that I
had made preparations to supersede her, but
just in "nick of time " I discovered that that
step was unnecessary. — A. D.

Beemount, St'jke Prior, June 9.— Weather
still keeps very unfavourable for the secretion
of honey. Had it not been for the remarkably
fine weather here at Easter, I feel sure I should
have lost several of my stocks from starvation,
providing I had not fed. When overhauling
five of my stocks this week, I failed to find a
particle of food. On the 6 th I saw a dead
queen being hauled out of a weak hive, and
upon examining the hive I could discover
neither queen, eggs, nor brood, but saw several
open queen-cells. Perhaps this stock has re-
queened itself. J, however, inserted a comb
of eggs and brood. This comb I was able to
take from my artificial swarm of May 1. Not-
withstanding I only used two inch starters,
there were yesterday eight full combs of bees

in all stages, but scarcely any food stored,
although I have given this swarm a pound jar
of syrup daily since May 1. I had seriou?
thoughts of ordering about 4 cwt. of sugar and
begin feeding rapidly for stores for winter,
seeing the empty state of the hives ; but have
now decided to wait a little longer, and hope
for better times. — Percy Leigh.

WEATHER EEPORT FOR MAY,

1894.
Westbourne, Sussex, May, 1894.

Eainfall, 1-Olin.
Heaviest fall, '23 in.

on 12th.
Rain fell on 11 days.
Belowaverage, I'lS.in.
Max. Temperature,

69' on 17th.
Min. Temperature, 29°

on 30th,
Minimum on Grass,

24'' on 22nd.
Frosty Nights, 3.
Sunshine, 223-3 hours.

Brightest Day, 30th,

14'15 hours.
Sunless Days, 1.
Below average, 15 hrs.
Mn. Maximum, 55-4°.
Mn. Minimum, 44-2''.
Mean Temperature,

49-8°.
Maximum Barometsr,

30-41° on 1st.
Minimum Barometer,

29-38" on 7th.

L. B. BlRKB,TT.

METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY,

May, 1894.
Locality : Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.
Height above sea level : 225 ft.
Rainfall, 2-49 in, ; heaviest fall, 048 in. on

11th,
Rain fell on 16 days.
Max. shade temp., 64° on 25th.
Min. temp, 27° on 27th.
Min. on gras?, 20° on 27th.
Max. shade temp, at 9 a.m., 56° on 6th.
Min. temp, at 9 a.m., 40° on 26th.
Frosty nights, 5.
Max. barometer, 3015" on 24th.
Min. barometer, 29-4° on 28th and 29th.

A very poor mantli here for bees, far worse
than April. Wet, cold, and windy. Frequent
hail and thunder storms. Strong N.E. winds.
Dutch clover, pea', and beans in blossom.
Severe frosts of 20th and 27th greatly
damaged potatoes, beans, and strawberries.
Hives far lighter at close of month than at
the beginning. Drones thrown out wholesale.
Very few swarms. — Percy Leigi[,

June 13 and 14. — Essex B.K. A. at Colchester.
Entries closed. Post entries at double fees.
Fifteen open classes, Hon. secretary, F, H.
Meggy, Chelmsford,

June 25 to 29. — Royal Agricultural Show
at Cambridge. Entries closed. Secretary,
John Huckle, B.B.K.A., King's Langley.

July 18, 19, 20. — Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Sliow at Great Grimsby. Bees,

June U, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

239

hives, honey, and appliances. Liberal prizes.
Entries close June 29. S. Upton, secretary,
St. Benedict's-square, Lincoln.

July 26.— Notts B.K.A, Annual County
Show at Southwell. Liberal prizes. Open
classes for appliances, hives, and extracted
honey. Entries close June 19. Secretary, A. G.
Pugh, Mona-street, Beeston, Notts Other
shows connected with the Notts B.K.A.
will be held as follows : — Lowdham, July 19 ;
Hucknall Torkard, July 24 ; Beeston, August
6 ; and Moorgreen, September 4.

July 27. — North Norfolk Bee-keepers'
Association. Great show of honey at Melton
Constable Park. Liberal prizes. Entries close
.July 18. Schedules from C. J. Cooke, Edge-
field, Melton Constable.

August 1, 2, and 3 — At Beverley, Yorks.
Prizes for bees, honey, and appliances. Entries
close June 23. Marshall Stephenson, secretary,
York.

August 10 and 11.— At Dumfries. South
of Scotland B.K.A. Very liberal prizes.
Schedules trom W. Wilson, Acrehead, Dum-
fries.

August 22 and 23. — At Derby. Derbyshire
B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby.

September 6. — At Castle Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1 lb. iars
extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, secretary, Castle Douglas, N.B.

NoticestoGorrespondentsand Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will he attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column

Inquirer. — 1. Bees reached us almost as wet
as the first lot, the bodies being nearly black
with moisture which has no doubt been
caused as before. It is impossible to judge
of the " race " to which the bees may belong,
as the markings have about disappeared.
We fancy, however, there is a trace of the
ligurian element visible. 2. The adverse
weather has no doubt delayed fertilisation
of the young queens. Had our correspondent
sent name and address, as per rule, we
should have returned bees for his inspection.

B. H. (Launceston). — Ants and Earwigs about
Hives. — Powdered naphthaline sprinkled
among quilts assists greatly in keeping ants
away. Earwigs only harbour about hives
chiefly for shade and dryness, and, except
for being somewhat uncleanly, do no harm
to the bees. Carbolic acid smeared about
their nesting places usually drives them
away. We usually sweep the whole fiiraily
when found into a vessel of water and
drown them.

J, Edwards (Devon). — 1. Brood in cells is all
dried up, but we find a trace of foul brood
sufficient to warrant us in saying the stock
was diseased. 2. We think the common
name for sulphate of potash is alun;, but apy
chemist would tell yoi;,

CuTiiBERT Bede (Durhaui). — Much obliged
for your pointing out our having inad-
vertently quoted Poe's " Raven '' instead of
Sterne's " Starling." We wrote, perforce,
hastily while one of our printers' (un-
nameable) messengers waited for " copy,"
and ourselves discovered the " slip " when
just tjo late to correct it.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Pxthlications, Bee Plants, &c. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

WANTED, strong newly-hived SWARMS or STOCKS
in straw or frame hives. EXCHANGE rich-toned
AMERICAN OUaAN, 15 stop?, good condition, large
honey extractor, two very elaborately worked pieces of
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CHOICE YOUNG QUEENS, excellent strain, pro-
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Pulborough, Sussex. 229

PRIME HEALTHY SWARMS, over 4 lbs., 10s. each.
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PURE ENGLISH BEES, splendid strain. Small
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15s., queens, 3s. all on rail. Alsford, Expert, Bland-
ford. E 19

NEW HIVES, standard size, takes eleven frames,
with second story for extracting, stocked with
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time. RiCHD. Illman, Florist, Strood, Rochester.

E17

N SALE, a MANIPULATING TENT, in good con-

dition. For price and particulars, Mr. Isaac

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EE TENTon HIRE. Forterms, apply toG. GUNSi'ON,

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B

"YE OLDE ENGLISH BEE."

PRIME natural Swarms of my selected strain of the
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Porterage on Telegrams, Is. 6d.

ARKET for BUN HONEV (new and old),

SECTIONS (any quantity), and AVAX. State

price, &c. Prompt cash. Packages sent. Address,

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H

OP ALE, sparkling, refreshing, made for 3d. gallon.
Recipe 7d. Turner, Limpsfleld, Surrey. e 14

FOirs~ALE, natural MAY^SWARMS^in^ltraVhives
and on standard frames, ready for immediate
delivery. Orders booked for June swarms. Linstead,
Garboldisham, Thetford. E 16

HONEY and BEESAVAX, valuable recipes for use of ;
10s. per 1,000, four a penny. Will increase local
demand. Vendor can print or stamp own address on.
George Stocks, San di way. North wich. d 100
IRST SWARMS of my splendid strain of BEES,
whfch cannot be excelled, 15s., packed free. John
Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington. D 95

BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the

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240

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [June U, 1894.

BALDWIN'S

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A large consignment of the beautiful

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For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
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Address S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary , Brcmley, Kent.

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12 frames 10/3 (all double walls on legs), 16 frames 15/-.

These are rare value for money.

SUPERIOR COMB FOUNDATION, SECTIONS, &c.

Swarm Preventing, Artificial Swarminr/, Feeding,
Transferrinf) from Skepa, all Post Free 3d.

W. RUSHTON, Hive Factory, Bedford.

SCREW-CAP HONEY BOTTLES,

English Make. STRONG METAL Wadded Caps.

CHEAP. CLEAN. HANDY.

16 oz. size. Mats of 10 doz V2s. 9d. each.

Best Sheffield Steel ITncapplug Knives, 3s., post-free.

GARNETT, Steade Road, Sheffield.

OMAS LANAWAY & SONS,

2@, SXAXIOW ROAD, REDMI1.L,

n Exhibit Bee Hives and other Appliances,&c.

At CANTERBUEY SHOW, June 12 to 15. Shed 14. Stand 73.

SEND FOR

1894

CATALOGUE.

NATURALIST, NORTHAMPTON,

FOR BEST BEE APPLIANCES.

NOVELTIES AND

SPECIAL

FEATURES

WORTH NOTING.

SIse Large Advt. each
Month.

EASY
WITH £
THE

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Nellie AVick SHAATiD Five Men in 4 sun. 42 sec. with
the MAB Razor.

Can be Used Entirely witliout Stropping.
Many flattering notices from the tress, and unsolicited
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Prices— Black Handle, 23. 6d. ; Ivory, 3s. Cd. Pair in
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lances

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POTTER'S BAR, MIDDLESEX.
NEW CATALOGUE FOR 1894

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SNOW-WHITE SECTIONS

Per 25, 9d., Post, 4*d.; Per 50, 1'5, Post, 7id.

Per 100, 2/6, Post, 1, - ; Per Case of 500

as imported, 10/6 ; Per 1,000, 20/-

^___^WIDE-SHOULDERE[i
m> :^^^m TOP BAR,

With Groove for Foundation. Metal end unnecessary.
Top bars only. Is. 3d. per doz. ; post, 4Jd. Frames com-
plete (in the flat). Is. 8d. per doz. ; post, 7id. Dove-
tailed Frames, complete (in the flat), 2s. per doz. ; post,
7id. Best Brood Foundation, 2s. per lb. ; post, 4id. Best
Super Foundation, 2s. 8d. per lb. ; post, 4kl. Reduction
on quantities.

June 21, 1894.] THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL.

241

(f iitorml ^otia^, &r*

FOUL BROOD.

HOW THEY DEAL WITH IT IN CANADA.

The reference made by Mr. AVilliam
Woodley, on p. 203 of our issue for
May 24, to the method of treating foul-
broody stocks adopted by Mr. W.
McEvoy, Foul Brood Inspector for the
province of Ontario, Canada, has resulted
in inquiries as to our opinion of the
" McEvoy plan," as it has been termed.
In reply to these inquiries — and, pending
further investigation, we may say there
is so much in the plan of treatment
followed which on the face of it is opposed
to all scientific teaching, that further
experience and testing will be needed
before sufficiently reliable results are
obtained to enable us to form an opinion
likely to possess much value. In view
of what is known regarding diseases
caused by the ravages of the multifarious
forms of bacilli, and the investigations
being made by the most eminent bacteri-
ologists of the day on the subject, we
should be slow to jump at conclusions
so directly opposed to the teaching of
science as some details of the special form
of treatment under consideration appear
to be. In this connection we are glad
to learn that the method advocated by
Mr. McEvoy has been dealt with from
the scientific standpoint in a little work,
recently published in America, with
Avhich we hope soon to be made ac-
quainted, and we shall probably have
something further to say after it reaches
us.

But, apart from this, the plan of dealing
with foul brood referred to, so far as its
main principle goes, is not novel, and
certainly cannot be called new, though the
method of carrying it out is in some
respects decidedly original. The main
idea is that the disease is transmitted
alone and entirely through the honey in
the afiected hive, and that, notwithstand-
ing all theories and scientific teaching to
the contrary, a diseased stock of bees
Avill become perfectly healthy if removed
from the foul-broody combs, and so dealt
with as to ensure that every particle of
the infected honey carried off by the
bees in removal is consumed in comb-
building before any of the wax formed

from it is used in forming the new
combs with which the infected hive is to
be refurnished.

Why this has been called the " new
McEvoy method " is not easy to say,
because Mr. D. A. Jones, another well-
known Canadian bee-keeper, practised it
several years ago, and, to go still further
back, we find that in June, 1877 — seven-
teen years ago — when dealing with the
same subject, the then Editor of this
journal, after advising removal of queen
to stop brood production, and giving a
healthy queen cell wherewith to raise a
successor, concludes his observations as
follows : — •" As soon as this has been
effected, the whole of the combs should
be removed from the hive and treated as
before suggested (i.g., biirnt), and the bees
left as a naked swarm for twenty-four
hours; after which they should be shaken
into another hive and allowed to remain
there for a like period, until the honey
brought with them in their honey-bags
has been consumed, when they may be
furnished — in a third hive — with clean,
wholesome combs on which to start
afresh." The plan of removing bees from
diseased combs and compelling them to
build new ones was also advocated in
Germany more than half a century ago.

All this has, however, little to do with
the efficacy or otherwise of the method,
except for the purpose of — as Mr.
Woodley puts it — " giving honour where
it is due." And our object in referring
to it here, is to say that the present is
the most favourable month in the whole
year in which to give it a trial on
exactly the lines recommended by Mr.
McEvoy. The points to be borne in
mind, then, are, as we understand it, to
reduce the diseased colony to the condi-
tion of a swarm by shaking the ?jees
from the combs back into the hive, and
substituting for the removed combs
(which are burnt) frames fitted with
starters only of foundation. The bees
are left thus for four days, when the
frames are again removed, the partly-
built combs cut out and melted down
for wax. Full sheets of foundation are
then substituted, and the colony, is by
this simple process, supposed to be
completely cured.

The curious and really original part of
this method is that it gives the consider-
able advantage of doing away with the

242

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [June 21, 1894.

need for changing of hives, and all the
trouble and expense connected with
either disinfecting or providing new
ones. Nor is any precaution necessary-
further than operating only on fairly
strong stocks, and doing the work in the
evening.

All this is at variance with precon-
ceived notions as to the highly-infectious
character of the disease, and the means
by which it may be transmitted from hive
to hive ; and, as we have already said,
our object in now referring to it is, first,
in reply to inquiries, and, second, because
the present is the most favourable time
for giving it a trial. We, therefore, leave
the matter in the hands of such of our
readers as are specially interested, only
adding the recommendation to use pre-
ventives in all hives and at all times in
districts where the disease is rife ; and,
wherever feeding is needed to assist the
bees in the formation of new combs, to
medicate the syrup given while the
process of comb-building is going on.
We have always advised the i)rorapt
removal and destruction of all combs
containing diseased brood, and if the
tedious, troublesome, and costly work of
renewing or even of disinfecting hives
can be dispensed with by any such
simple process as the one described, it
will be a matter for all-round congratula-
tion and thankfulness. Nor do we think
that bee-keepers will be lacking in
gratitude to Mr. McEvoy or any one else
who renders help in bringing about so
desirable a result.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

"Koyal" Show at Cambridge.

Communications to the secretary, posted from
now till Thursday next, June 28, should be
addressed to c/o Mrs. Ellis, Eaton Hurst,
Carlyle-road, Chesterton-road, Cambridge.

The committee will be glad to be fiiTOured
with small consignments of flowers for the
embellishment of the Bee Department at the
Boyal Show. Parcels may be consigned by
Parcels Post, or by rail (in the case of short
distances) addressed to the Secretary, Bee
Department, Agricultural Show Ground,
Cambridge. The committee will be glad to
refund the outlay incurred in posting such
parcels.

ANTWERP UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION.

In connection with the Antwerp Exhibition

there will be a temporary bee and honey show,

which is to be held from September 2 to Sep-

tember 9 next. Medals and money prizes are
offered for the diiferent races of bees, hives,
appliances, honey, wax, and products and
various things of interest in connection with
bee-keeping.

There are in all seventy classes, and there
will be no entrance-fees to pay, but applica-
tion for space and schedules must be made to
the secretary, M. V. Van den Broeck, Chateau
de Tyberchamps, Senetle, Belgium, before
July 15, on proper forms. The Belgian
Government has appointed a special jury
of experts from different countries, our Mr.
T. W. Cowan being selected as one of them,
to adjudicate and award the prizes.

We have had twenty-five schedules sent to
us, and we shall be pleased to send them to
intending exhibitors on receipt of addressed
and stamped wrapper forwarded to our office,
17, King William-street, Strand, London, W.C.

ESSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

COLCHESTER EXHIBITION.

The annual show of the Essex Bee-keepers'
Association, in connection with the Essex
Agricultural Society, was held at Colchester
on Wednesday and Thursday, June 13 and 14,
at Lexden Park, the residence of Captain
Naylor Leyland, M.P. The schedule of prizes
was on as liberal a scale as usual, and all the
classes, excepting those for cottagers, were
open to the United Kingdom. In spite of the
unfavourable weather during the last few
weeks, the show of honey was very creditable.
The sections, as a matter of course, were not
so good as they would have been had the bees
been able to fill and seal them over quickly ;
but most of the extracted honey was quite up
to the usual standard of excellence. Mr.
Meadows, of Syston, made a good display of
appliances, in addition to the articles specified
in the schedule. Messrs. Dines & Sons, of
Maldon, ran Mr. Meadows close for first
honours in this class. In the class for new
inventions, an uncapping machine was exhi-
bited by Mr. H. Rowell, of Winckfield, Hants,
which gave such evidences of the knowledge
and ingenuity displayed by the exhibitor that
the judges had no hesitation in awarding it
the special prize off"ered by the association.
The Bee Tent was well attended on both days
to witness the manipulations of Mr. W.
Debnam, the expert, and to listen to the
discourses on bee-keeping by Mr. Durrant,
Mr. Meggy (hon. sec), and other gentlemen,
who kindly undertook the task. The judges
were the Eev. J. L. Seager and Mr. W. J.
Sheppard, who made the following awards : —

Collection of Hives and Ajjpliances. — 1st,
W. P. Meadows, Syston ; 2nd, Dines & Son,
Maldon.

Useful Inventions. — Special Prize, H.
Rowell, Winchfield, for uncapping machine.

Twenty-five 1-lh. Sections. — 1st, T. Colyer,
Good Easter ; 2nd, A. May ell, Bradwell.

June 21, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

243

Ttcenty-iive. l-lb. Jars of Extracted Honey.
—1st, T. Colyer ; 2nd, A. Mayell.

Collection of Comb and Extracted Iloneij,
12 to 20 Ih. — 1st, F. H. Brenes, Brent-
wood ; 2ud, J. C. Chillingworth, Bradwell-on-
Sea.

Three Frames of 1894 Comb Honey for
Extracting. — 1st and. 3rd, not awarded ; 2nd
F. H. Brenes.

Twelve Ub. Sections of 1894. — 1st, T.
Colyer ; 2nd, A. M. Collins, Tillingham.

Six l-lb. Sections of 1894.— 1st, F. J.
Carter, Salleywood ; 2ad, F. A. Stratford,
Hornchurch ; 3rd, A. Mayell.

Single Section of 1894. — 1st, A. Mayell;
2ad, W. W. Collins; 3rd, F. J. Carter.

Twelve l-lb. Jars 1894 Extracted Honey. —
1st, F. H. Brenes ; 2ad, W. Loveday, Rom-
ford ; 3rd, F. J. Carter.

Six l-lb. Jars 1894 Extracted Honey. — 1st,
W. Loveday ; 2nd, W. W. Collins ; 3rd,
C. M. Collins, Tillingham.

Six l-lb. Jars Granulated Honei/. — 1st, T.
Colyer; 2nd, J. C. Chillingworth' ; 3rd. T.
Jackson, Tillingham.

One l-lb. Jar Extracted Honey {exhibits to
be the property of the E.B.K.A.). — 1st, F. A.
Stratford, Hornchurch ; 2nd, W. Loveday ;
3rd, A. Mayell.

Bees'- Wax. — 1st, J. C. Chillingworth ; 2nd,
F. J. Carter ; 3rd, T. Colyer.

Cottagers' Classes.

Best Collection of Comb and Run Honey>
12 to 20 lb.— 1st, W. Loveday ; 2nd, H. Hale,
Broomfield ; 3rd, C. M. Collins.

bingle Section of 1894. — 1st, A. Mayell ;
2nd, H. Hale ; 3rd, W. W. Collins.

Six l-lb. Sections o/ 1894.— 1st, A. Mayell ;
2nd, W. W. Collins; 3rd, A. Rayner,
Kelvedon.

Six l-lb. Jars of Extracted Honey. — 1st, W.
Loveday ; 2nd, A. Mayell ; 3rd, C. M.
Collins.

Bees'-Wax.— 1st, A. Mayell; 2nd, C. M.
Collins.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expremed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be draimi on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

*,* In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.
[1887.] To-day we reach the longest day,
and on Sunday next Midsummer Day so-
called ; but I trust it will not be midsummer;
if it is, our summer in 1894 will be a very
short one, for the summer daya hitherto can be

counted on one's fingers. The first warm day
we had was Friday, the 13ih. Thursday was
a fair bee day, but rough winds made it hard
work for the little labourers. Friday was a
grand bee day, and Saturday, 16th, opened
fine and hot, and I had ten swarms within an
hour, seven of which went together. Fancy
handling such a mass of bees without veil, and
with sleeves rolled and in front of some fifteen
hives busy at work ! Yet I got no sting except
two or three slight punctures in the hands
when putting the bees into the different straw
skeps by the double-handful at a time. I have
had to ask the indulgence of my customers
waiting for swarms on account of the inclement
weather of May and June, but a few such days
as Saturday last and all will be served.

Fixing foundation in sections appears to be
done by various methods. We began with
Abbott's original fixer, and although I have
seen nearly all those that have been brought
out since, we have made no change ; we still
use it and still like it ; a cup of clean water
and the fixer is all that is required in warm
weather to fix foundation, even full sheets for
sections, so firmly that not one in a thousand
is pulled off by the weight of the bees. Then,
as to sagging, why, I was surprised to see that
there was a right and a wrong way in which it
should hang, to prevent it sagging. Now,
Messrs. Editors, it is really too bad to have
kept this secret in your pigeon-hole all these
years, and not told us before ; I will admit that
when combs are empty (combs in sections, I
refer to), the way the foundation is put
in makes a difference noticeable ; but
when full of honey sealed to the outside,
well, only the man with a mathematical eye
would detect the difference in the majority of
honeys. There is honey of a kind that the
bees seal with projecting caps. I mean the
caps stand out distinctly, similar to the
capping of brood in a new comb. Now a
dozen sections of this honey capped all alike,
with the rows of cells running in straight
rows, look very pretty, and I staged one
dozen such at a show at Windsor, I think in
'84 or '85, and I remember the remark of
some one when I put them on the table,
" that they were as much alike as peas in
a pod." Of course, I was awarded first prize
for them, or possibly it may have been for the
honey in the combs, as at that time judges
tasted the exhibits. Yet, notwithstanding the
acknowledged beauty of uniformity in appear-
ance, we own to the fact that we have never
troubled which way our foundation for sections
has been cut, so long as the pieces were of the
size required, and we have turned out a fair
number of finished sections during the last
decade. In the matter of stock foundation,
this is a question for our manufacturers to
take up. Years ago, when I used full sheets
of six to the pound, I have had some
stretch about 1 iji. or U in. from top bar
and some out of same parcel that did not
stretch, so I began to look into my method of

244

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [June 21, 1894.

working for the cause, and what do you think
it was ? Why, over-heating. I put in full
sheets, and then put a large swarm of
bees gorged with honey into the hive and
laid on the wraps, so that the bees should
be able, as I thought, to manipulate the
wax into cells and not build on the founda-
tion. Very nice in theory. Now let old
practice speak : — 1. I blamed the founda-
tion-maker, thought it must be well mixed ?
Yet on finding combs iu some hives stretched
and in others not, I had to look for the cause,
and I found that putting on too many wraps
was the cause, and now, although I use foun-
dation of seven sheets to the pound, I get no
stretching. When I hive swarms in hot wea-
ther I should use only one thickness of hemp
carpet ; if cool weather, only two thicknesses,
until the combs are built. I have also dis-
carded the trouble and bother of wiring either
the frames or the foundation; as I have
before stated, I use only wide-shouldered
frames. I fix with the wedge in the
groove, and the foundation Mr. Howard has
made for me is full length for the frame. I
cut off about -J of an inch, so that it hangs
just clear of the sides of the frames, and this
shred of wax I fix in little pads on each side
of each end of the sheet of foundation, near
the bottom of the sides of frame. These little
lumps of wax keep the sheet of foundation in
position until fixed or built out by the bees to
the frame. This method answers my require-
ments year after year. There are devices to
hold the sheet of foundation in its place.
One manufacturer has by this day's post
sent me a sample of his broad-shouldered
frames ; they are diff'erent from " Abbott's "
in that the distance-keepers are on both sides
as the metal ends, and in the frame under
notice the foundation is inserted into a groove
in the centre of the top bar, which is cut
nearly through, thus allowing the groove to
open to receive the edge of the sheet of
foundation. Then the two sides are also
grooved and toothed ; these are pressed or
driven into the notches on each side of the top
bar, holding the foundation in the centre of
the frame ; the bottom bar is also toothed, so
that, with a little glue, no nails are required in
making the frame. The top bar is 17 in. long,
but has no distance-keeiiers for the sides of
hive. It is interchangeable, with metal
ends, and, as the top bar is cut in
one piece, there is no chance of the
shoulders coming off'. The method of fixing
the foundations is simple and effective.
I have just put in a full sheet, and there does
not seem the slightest chance of the founda-
tion pulling out of the groove ; in fact, a 2-in.
square piece tore apart rather than come out
of the groove when fixed (a patent in this
frame is, I believe, applied for). Our
American bee brethren are using galvfi,nised
iron cylinders for their honey, and find no ill
eff"ects. It appears the bee men of California
were the first to use these galvanised tanks.

No doubt our scientists will be surprised to
know that honey does not deteriorate in
quality in these iron storing vessels. The
advantages of galvanised iron over tin are
extra strength and less liability to rust. — W.
WooDLEY, Beedon, near Newbury.

"WELLS" HIVES.

DO THEY CONTAIN ONE OR TWO COLONIES ?

[1888.] I hope my too frequent letters will
not become tiresome to you or to your readers,
but when I continue to see criticism in the
B.J. more or less adverse to the double-queen
plan from bee-keepers who have either not
tried the plan at all, or have made an unfair or
imperfect trial of it, some little indulgence
may be fairly claimed in order to put my
critics straight. I refer now to the letter of
Mr. Arthur J. H. Wood (1875, p. 225, B. J.,
June 7), and, while pleased to hear that he is
still keeping bees successfully, I would ask.
Does he think it would be fair or right for
him to either condemn or '• recommend to his
friends '' a system which he has never tried,
and of which he has no practical knowledge
whatever ? And if he admits the unfairness,
why refer to it at all? It is clear he must be
very favourably located for honey-getting, but
to declare that the results from his worst two
stocks beat my average is, to my mind, no
comparison at all, and tells neither against
nor for the two-queen system. Because he
does so well with single- queen stocks is no
argument that he would not succeed still
better with double-queened ones ! Compari-
son, to be worth anything, must be arrived at
by working both plans side by side, with equal
attention and care. Mr. Wood and others
will also persist in calling each of my hives
two stocks, while I (and I am very pleased to
have the concurrence of well-known and able
authorities in this view) maintain that they
should be counted as one. Just let me try
once more to show that this is the right view.
Suppose Mr. Wood and I have each a hive of
equal strength, the bees covering eight frames
well in September next. Well, he keeps his
bees on the eight frames and winters them so.
While I — working on my system of preserving
my surplus queens, instead of allowing them
to be killed by the bees — slip in a perforated
dummy in the centre of the hive, dividing the
combs into two compartments of four frames
in each. Thus far I hardly think even Mr.
Wood will insist that I have united two stocks
to make one " Wells " hive. We now go a
little further, and I add a young queen — pre-
served as already stated — to the queenless
compartment of the hive. Does the addition
of this single bee make it into two stocks 1
I say emphatically, it does not. But I go
further, and put it m another way — I say most
wise bee-men rear young queens every year to
replace old ones in autumn. And in this re-
queening business many queens are sacrificed
to make way for successors not so good as

June 21, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

245

those killed. Well, by my plan I am not " oflF
with the old love before I am on with the
new,' for I assure myself of a youn^ queen
every year, and keep the old one alive for
another season, often to my manifest advan-
tage, in that I keep up a supply of young
queens while getting all the good out of the
older ones, instead of killing them.

It may be said that I add, not a " single
bee," but a nucleus colony to my hives in
autumn ; granted, but I only form the nucleus
to preserve the queen, and I am placed at no
disadvantage so long as the extra " single
queen-bee " is there, seeing that my stocks are
usually so strong at the " uniting " time that I
have bees enough and to sjjare in each hive.

Take another illustration. Suppose a
cottager has four skeps, each containing a
second swarm of this year of equal strength,
and none of which has bees or food enough to
stand the winter. Let us further suppose that
Mr. Wood and myself each buy two of these
skeps, and go our respective ways, each to deal
with the bees according to his own fashion.
Mr. W. joins his two lots on six frame %
allowing the queens to fight it out in the
orthodox way, one being killed, of course. On
the contrary, I drive my bees, but before
hiving I divide the six frames by my per-
forated dummy, on each side of which I put
one lot of the driven bees, and allow no fight-
ing or killing of queens. We work our hives
the following season each according to his own
plan, and if I chance to get double the quan-
tity of honey to that obtained by Mr. Wood,
can he fairly retort that my result is from two
stocks while his was only from one ? If he
can, I have no more to say. If he cannot, I
think we should hear no more of a '• Wells "
hive oeing counted as two stocks of bees. —
Apologising for the length of this letter,
George Wells, Aylesford, Kent, June 13.

EEQUEENINa

AND BUYING QUEENS.

[1889.] As one often sees both advice and
warning in your journals on the above subject,
it occurs to me that my bitter experience may
induce some people to " let well alone," as I
intend to in the future ; at any rate as regards
buying queens.

Last autunm I desired to requeen two
hives ; I therefore bought a queen, for which
I gave 8s. 6d. ; and having removed the old
queen from No. 1, I introduced the young one
by Simmins' direct method, and was perlectly
successful in the operation.

Thinking 8s. 6d. rather a high price to pay.
I decided to buy a cheaper one for No. 2, and
accordingly bought a queen for 2j. Gd. from
another well-known dealer. On receiving this,
even I, a comparative novice, could see that
she was old, and no better than the one I had
removed ; but to make certain I showed her
to an expert at a show. He asked me where I
got her, and on hearing the name he siid " she

was sure to be all right from such a source,"
but did not examine her. I, however, de-
cided not to adopt his advice, and bought
another from the first dealer, giving 7s. 6d. for
this one, and introduced her safely. A kw
days after that an expert visited me, and T
showed him the queen I considered old,
Avithout saying where I had obtained her. He
examined her carefully, and said that she was
" not le5s than three years old."

In order to be doubly sure, I sent that queen
to you, sir (dead), and you kindly replied in
the Journal, " Queen sent is evidently an
old one." I had requeened No. 2 on August 4.
On August 22 I again found them queenless,
possibly from being handled too soon after re-
queening. I therefore wrote to a third dealer
for another young queen, for which I paid
33. 6d., the receipt describing it as " one 1893
fertile queen." She was safely introduced, and
the hive fed and packed up for winter. On
April 10 last I made my spring examination.
No. 1 was all right, but in No. 2 I found no
worker-brood whatever, but a large quantity
of drones and drone-brood. I concluded that
the hive was queenless (as I could not find
her), and had a fertile worker. I therefore
gave them a comb of eggs and brood from my
strongest hive (which latter " balled " its
queen in consequence), but they raised no
queen cells. Then we had a long spell of bad
weather, and I was unable to do anything
for them, and the drones increased in numbers
while the workers diminished. At last, on
May 25, I examined them thoroughhj ; there
were hundreds of drone', a score or so of
workers, and a queen.

Of course, the stock was useless, so I re-
moved the queen, and sent her to the chief
expert of my association (with whom I had
already had some correspondence on the sub-
ject), and he replied that the queen was " an
old drone-breeder," and being rather small, I
had failed to find her. The hive that had
'• balled " their queen had raised another,
which is now laying, I am glad to say. I do
not think that it is quite honest of dealers to
advertise young queens at 2s. 6d. and 33. 6d.
if they intend supplying old ones to people
whom they think are novices. — P. S., Newark.
June 12.

EA.ELY HONEY IN YORKS.

THE DOUBLE-QUEEN SYSTEM.

[1890.] On looking over my hives to-day,
June 9, I took off a few more sections, but
the weather has been very bad this last week
for the bees. Your correspondent, " Hawk
Eye " (1878, p. 226), seenn rather incredulous
as to me trying the double-queen system.
My hive was made in 1890, when I wrote
about it in your columns. The system did
well for m9 that year with the eirly honey,
but living two miles from my bees, I lost them
the following spring through being away and
no one to look afcer them. If " Hawk Eye "
had given his name and address instead of

246

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [June 21, 1894

using a nom de plume, I should have known
to whom I was replying, and if he has any-
personal knowledge of me, or is a resident of
Tadcaster, he could have asked me himself
about it. I rather think he hails from about
Knaresborough, and if he is feeding bees, I
can only say there are a lot about here who
are not, and have no need to. There may be
a few instances where feeding is needed, but
mine are not among them. Nor have I per-
formed any special operation to make my
bees " weather proof" I am in a good locality
for early honey gathering if the weather is
favourable, and if " Hawk Eye " could have a
peep at a bell glass now three parts finished
on a hive, it might surprise him, as it has
many who have been to see it lately. I am
glad Mr. Wood is still to the front. — Thos.
KoTHERT, Stutton, near Tadcaster, Yorhs.
June 14.

BEES IN LINCS. AND CAMBS.

[1891.] June 1st opened splendidly, and,
doubtless, many besides myself hoped it was
the commencement of real bee weather. We
have, however, been disappointed, and instead
of being busy piling on supers, and doiug
other work that a good hoaey-flow in fine
weather necessitates, we are, as far as our
apiaries are concerned, comj^aratively idle. I
feel I must now find time to jot a few lines to
the paper I look out for so anxiously every
week.

The untoward weather has seriously affected
stocks and swarms, except where they have
been liberally fed. In view of the nearness to
us of the " Eoyal " show, I have been hiving
instead of selling swarms ; and while noc
expecting much for a display at Cambridge, I
am looking forward to a busy time in July
and August, when about 50 acres of honey-
producing plants will be in bloom close by.

The weather of May has been very much
against us, who, being in the midst of an exten-
sive acreage of orchards, naturally look for
full supers ere June 1 ; but this is of little
importance compared with the anxiety caused
by the spread of foul-brood in Cambs. Last
spring when lecturing in a village in that
county, I found a case, and warned my
neighbours to give the district a wide berth.
In the autumn a neighbour of my own, who
had some stocks standing in the district to
which I refer, reported the discovery in
another part of the same vdlage of stocks
rotten with the disease ; and a very sickening-
sight it was for me to find, when I went over,
the foul-smelling combs thrown into a hole in
front of the other stocks and only half buiied !

A well-known expert told rae some time
since that he inspected an apiary containing
several bad cases, and now I find that some
e:pially bad cases have existed in other dis-
tricts of the same county. A few weeks ago
I was very nearly the innocent cause of giving
the disease a lodgment at St. Ives. When
passing through a railway station in company

with the same expert I took up a stock and
left it for a friend at St. Ives. I made no
examination of it, but I was informed by
letter the next day that it was affected with
foul-brood. I sent a messenger by the next
train advising destruction of the stock, and
my recommendation was at once carried out.
It is time that Associations or other bodies
were empowered to direct an inspection of
apiaries in or near infected areas, and take
steps to stop the spread of the disease for the
general good. Stocks have, to my certain
knowledge, been sent out of infected areas,
and while this goes on the disease must spread.

You have stated that you can name infected
areas by the queries you receive. Has not the
time arrived when undoubtedly infected areas
should be known to bee - keepers through
your columns, or by some other means 1

I take it to be a positive duty to warn
members of the craft who are introducing
new blood into their apiaries to shun, as they
would a leper, those districts known to be
infected. — C. N. White, Somersham, Hunts.

^mfm m& Jlc|I«s.

[1074.] Making Artificial Sioarms. — 1.
Adverting to your reply to 1071 (p. 237), I
wish for some new queens and an increase of
stocks about the iniddle of next month. I
propose moving the old hives from their stand
and putting new ones in their places to receive
the old flying bees ; then to find queens and
put each with five or six frames in new hives,
and leaving bees in old hives to raise new
queens. 2. As to the " Wells " hives, I
thought of putting an ordinary hive in place
of the old one, and then transferring both old
queens into it with sufficient frames. Bees in
the Wells, I suppose, will raise a queen on each
side of divider, will they not ? .3. It was with
a wish to save my bees the trouble of travelling
to the heather (some two and a half miles
there and back), as they did last year after the
clover harvest, that I proposed sending the
old bees there — not to fill supers but brood
frames. As I am only a novice, I should be
glad of your further advice . — N. N., Norwich,
Jxme 14.

Reply. — 1. If the usual precautions are
observed in making the artificial swarms, and
drones are flying at the time, there is no reason
why the plan proposed should not succeed.
But the method described in " Guide Book "
is more reliable. 2. As before stated,
" Wells," or double-queened hives, are unsuit-
able for making artificial swarms from for
several reasons. Your plan of dealing with
the one referred to may succead, but we can-
not say that queens will be raised in both
compartments of hive. If tried we shall be
glad to hear result. 3. It should not he for-
gotten that bees are sometimes unable to
gather anything at the heather, and if sent
there foodless might starve for want.

June 21, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

247

[1075.] About "Chilled Brood."— ^. Is
there any way to tell whether capped brood is
chilled ? 2. What ought to be done with
frames containing chilled brood ? 3. Does
chilled brood ever hatch out after a delay ? If
so, what is longest period possible 1 4. Will
bees clear out cells of capped chilled brood ?
5. Do queenless hives ever start queen cells,
when no eggs or larvaj are present 1 6. What
is lowest teoiperature, and for how long will
capped brood endure successfully this low
temperature ? 7. Would bees store honey in
August here (Norfolk) ? The '• Guide Book "
says that bees do little from middle of June to
middle of August. Is this generally true in
Eastern Counties ? 8. What is honey got
from in August, and after ? — Novice, Norfolk.

Eefly. — 1. If unsealed, the larva- turns
black in colour ; if sealed, it fails to hatch out
at the proper time. 2. Cut out the combs
and burn them. 3. No ; if chilled, the brood
dies. 4. Yes, if not too great in quantity ;
but they should not be allowed to do so. 5.
They sometimes just start cells, but go no
further. 6. We do not know that the lowest
temperature has been accurately determined,
but for all practical purposes it is enough to
say that Avhen it goes below 60 the sealed
brood takes harm, and if kept at so low a
temperature as that, would die. Unsealed
brood should not bs long exposed to a tem-
perature below 70 or 75, or mischief would
follow. 7. All depends on the flora of the
district. Bees do little honey-storing after
July, except in districts where an abundance
of heather grows.

[1076.] Qiicens and Fertile Workers. — A
cast was hived on May 22, and fed daily.
Twelve days later it was examined, but no
queen eggs nor brood seen. A frame contain-
ing eggs and unsealed brood was inserted four
days afterwards, w;ith the idea that queens
would be reared. Ten days after this hive was
again opened, but no queen-cells were visible,
and, strange to say, eggs, larv?e, and a little
sealed brood were in the frame next to the one
that had been inserted. The eggs, &c., were in
worker cells. No queen could be seen. 1.
Do you think the queen is in the hive, or is a
fertile worker present ? 2. If the latter, what
peculiarities has she by which she may be
easily detected and removed '<— Henry For-
rester.

Reply. — 1. The queen is evidently all
right, and will not be difficult to pick out
when she becomes a little more " matronly ''
in appearance. 2. Fertile workers cannot be
distinguished from the ordinary worker bee.

[1077.] Managiri'j Swarms. — I have bought
a scock of bees in a skep, and wish to divide
the bee? into two bar frame hives. 1. Could
I let one swarm come off, and then put the
skep above the top-bar^ of another frame-
hive ? 2. If I did this, would another swarm
come off ; and if so, how could I prevent it ?
Being a skep I cannot well cut out ({ueen-cells.
3. If the second swarm comes off, when should

I return the bees with safety without running
the risk of them again coming off? 4. Where
can I get instructions for making a fumigator 1
— " Fumigator," West Hartlepool.

Reply. — 1. Yes. 2. If — in addition to
setting the skep above a frame-hive after
swarming — you move it to a new stand some
distance away, and put the first swarm on the
old stand, it is probable no second swarm will
issue. 3. If, however, it should swarm a
second time after the usual interval of eight
or nine days, keep the swarm in the hiving
skep till about six or seven a.m. on the fol-
lowing morning, and then return it. 4. The
pamphlet, " How to make an Extractor and a
Bellows Smolcer," may be had from this office
for 6jd. post free.

[1078.] Bees ''Balling" Queen in "Wells''
Hive. — When supering a "Wells" hive yes-
terday I had a look in at the brood-nest, and
found the queen being " balled." I released
her and dispersed the bees with smoke, but
last evening, after dark, I found her on the
alighting board dying. Will the bees raise
another queen, and, if not, what had I better
do ? I am thinking that being a " Wells "
hive the queen in the other compartment will
satisfy the bees. — E. C. R. W., Salisbury,
June 15.

Reply. — Only an examination of the combs
will decide the point.

[1079.] Introducing Queens to Supered Stock.
— 1. Is enclosed comb affected with foul-brood ?
it was taken from a weak stock yesterday. 2.
Can you tell me the best way to introduce a
valuable laying queen 1 3. The stock is
supered, and I propose to take out the combs
with the bees, and shake them off in front of
the hive, replace the combs, and let the queen
run in with them. If this is right, how long
before should the old queen have been deposed ?
4. Will naphthol beta retain its virtue any
length of time, if kept in an air-tight vessel ?
— D. R., June 13.

Reply. — 1. Comb is affected with foul-
brood. 2. Personally, we should not hesitate
to follow Simmins' plan of direct introduction,
but in inexperienced hands it would be safer
to cage the queen. 3. We should not risk
running queen in at entrance as proposed ; if
supering arrangements prevent introduction at
top, she should be caged for twenty-four hours
afcer removal of old queen. 4. Yes.

(Kcftae.^ from tite ^Im.

Winhjield, near Windsor, June 11. — Bees
are all strong and in the supers, but doing
nothing. I was obliged to feed the last week
in May. They are now getting enough to
keep them going. If the weather clears up
and becomes warm, I think the honey would
come in fast, bees are so ready for it. Clover
is beginning to bloom but will be rather

248

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [June 21, 1894.

scanty ; may be better later on. Limes show
well, but bloom will not be out before July.
There is time for a good harvest yet if the
weather gets better eoon, but our harvest here

fenerally finishes about end of July. — Geo.
[ead.
Fairspcir, Ascott-Wychuood, Oxford, June
11. — Up to date very little or no honey has
been gathered in this district. Clover, sain-
foin, and beans scarcely in blossom yet.
Swarms have done badly /owing to the bad
weather, and robbing has been prevalent. I
fear that it will in any case be a poor yield
of honey in this district, for our chief source
— white clover — has in very many cases had
to be ploughed up owing to last year's
drought destroying the young plants. I had
intended trying the "Wells "' system, but
having to buy suitable hives or to alter one's
old ones, makes one pause a little. Added to
which, I cannot help thinking that single
stocks headed by young queens, and well pro-
vided with stores, will give almost as good
returns as the double hives. Any way, I have
had single stocks in a good season yield from
70 lb. to 130 lb. surplus each. We are, how-
ever, much indebted to Mr. Wells for giving
us the benefit of his experience. I wintered
several lots of driven bees on the " Wells "
system, but although in every case I ustd per-
forated dividers of the proper thickness, yet
every hole was propolised up, and the bees
were not clustered next each other as they
ought to have been. Some bees I look after
for a friend swarmed on April 25. Two more
hives also swarmed on May 5. But the
swarms have done badly. — Apiarist.

S. Derbyshire, June 16. — Bees in this
neighbourhood came through the winter in
capital condition— the mild open weather in
February and March enabled them to work on
the spring flowers on most days. In April,
abundant stores were gathered from damsons,
plums, currants, and gooseberries, whilst
drones were flying freely on the 21st, quite a
month earlier than usual. Several swarms
also came off at the end of April and early in
May. Since the middle of May, however, the
weather has been most unfavourable for bees.
Although supers have been on about a month,
they were not taken possession of until the
last few days. Stocks which have been well
looked after will now begin to store heavily,
if weather is favourable, for the white clover
and lime are our mainstay, and surplus is
rarely secured before July comes in, the end
of the latter month being generally the close
of our season. Seldom do bees here lake to
the supers freely much earlier than the time
when the elder is in flavour, and as only a few
white patches are yet visible upon the bushes,
our bee-keepers need not despair. White
clover in the meadows looks splendid, whilst
the heavy rains which have accompanied the
thunderstorms have cleared the apbis ofl" the
limes, the young growth and flower-buds of
which look most promising. — T. W. Jones.

June 25 to 29.— Eoyal Agricultural Show
at Cambridge. Entries closed. Secretary,
John Huckle, B.B.K.A.

July 18, 19, 20. — Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Great Grimsby. Bees,
hives, honey, and appliances. Liberal prizes.
Entries close June 29. S. Upton, secretary,
St. Benedict's-square, Lincoln.

July 26.— Notts B.K.A. Annual County
Show at Southwell. Liberal prizes. Open
classes for appliances, hives, and extracted
honey. Entries close July 19. Secretary, A. G.
Pugh, Mona-street, Beeston, Notts. Other
shows connected with the Notts B.K.A.
will be held as follows : — Lowdham, July 19 ;
Hucknall Torkard, July 24 ; Beeston, August
6 ; and Moorgreen, September 4.

July 27. — North Norfolk Bee-keepers'
Association. Great show of honey at Melton
Constable Park. Liberal prizes. Entries close
July 18. Schedules from C. J. Cooke, Edge-
field, Melton Constable.

August 1, 2, and 3. — At Beverley, Yorks.
Prizes for bees, honey, and appliances. Entries
close June 23. Marshall Stephenson, secretary,
York.

August 10 and 11. — At Dumfries. South
of Scotland B.K.A. Very liberal prizes.
Schedules from W. Wilson, Acrehead, Dum-
fries.

August 22 and 23. — At Derby. Derbyshire
B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby.

August 23. — At Horsham. Twelve classes
for bees, hives, and honey. Entries close
August 18. Schedules from R. Gilburd,
Horsham.

September 6. — At Castle Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1 lb. jars
extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, secretary, Castle Douglas, N.B.

Noticesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column

Letters or queries askint; for addresses of manufac-
turers or correspondents, or where appliances can be
purchased, or replies giving such information, can only
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries, and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of their communica-
tion.

M. H. (Hants). — Dealing with Foul Brood. —
The comb is afi'ected with foul brood. Ynn
did quite right in removing (and, we hope,
destroying) the combs and reducing the
bees to the condition of a swarm. Use the
remedies as directed, and hope for the best.
The sections may be given in ten days or
so, if weather keeps fine in the interim.

June 21, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

249

Jas. McKean- (Castleblaney). - -Without a
sample of the comb containing brood, we
can give no opinion as to what is wrong with
the hives or bees, and it is hardly worth
trying remedies for what is complained of
until you know something of the cause.

Beginner (Hants). — 1. Excluder zinc should
always be placed between hives and boxes
of shallow-frames, but with sections it is a
matter of opinion whether the zinc is advan-
tageous or otherwise ; some use it, others
don't. 2. A little practice should enable
you to shake the bees from the combs very
easily, and, when properly done, the act of
shaking subdues rather than irritates them.
You should be shown the way to do it
properly, if possible, by some one who knows
how. 3. Bees are usually less manageable
when little or no honey is coming in. A
careful but firm method of handling will
generally keep bees under control, and if
the opportunity occurs it would be very
helpful for you to watch liow an expert goes
about his work when manipulating a hive,
say at some show.

E. J. B.— 1. The bees found will probably
have died from want owing to the very
adverse weather since the swarms were
hived. Give a little food at once. 2. A
queen is not considered an "adult " till she
has been fertilised and is laying.

H. S. L. (Ilford).— 1. Lift the frames carefully
without disturbing bees more than is needed.
About the middle of day is best time. 2.
Yes , if a break-down is suspected.

H. RowELL. — An illustration of the " Hooker
Uncapping Machine" certainly appears in
ninth edition of the "Guide Book," and
every edition issued since. •

D. C. (Oswestry). — Feeding Svpered Hives. —
To feed supered hives is rightly considered
a most improper proceeding, because M-hat
syrup given is stored in the cells, and in
consequence the consumer gets sugar syrup
instead of honey. By the time this appears
in print it is more than probable that no
feeding will be needed.
•E. Kirk Brown (Preston). —The " Nameless ''
or "May" Disease among Bees. — Through
being enclosed in a close tin box the bees
reached us soaking wet with condensed
moisture, and nearly all dead. They afford
no clue to cause of death, but from symptoms
we judge the stock to be affected with what
has been called the " Nameless Disease."
In Germany it goes by the name of " May "
disease from making its appearance usually
in the month of Ma3^ Several remedies
have been recommended, but none are known
to be effectual, and if left alone the stocks
affected — which are nearly always strong
ones — will recover of themselves.

R. J. H. (Swaffham). — Bees may be called the
ordinary or " common '' kind, though there
is a slight trace of the carinolan in them.
Instructions for feeding will be found in
"Guide Book" sent.

Genista (Manchester). — 1. We should syringe
the sections with either soluble phenyle or
salicylic acid solution before using again. 2.
The chemist who did not know pbenyle,
but had it as " creolene," should at least be
certain that the two products are synony-
mous. We do not know " creolene," but
soluble phenyle is advertised as being ob-
tainable from all chemists, or from the
makers, Morris, Little, & Sons, Doncaster,
and we should not use the other as a sub-
stitute.

W. G. (South Cave). — 1 . Honey sent is not
aphidian, as you suppose. Its flavour is that
of honey often gathered in early spring from
the various fruit blossoms. It is quite good
for use. 2. Some bee-keepers prefer to use
dummy boards having a bee-space below,
but always take the precaution to prevent
the bees entering the empty portion of the
hive at such times as honey is being stored.
Dummies of perforated zinc would not be
at all suitable for many reasons.

John Torps, Jun. (Bottesford.)— (^w^cn Cast
Out.— Qo far as we can judge from details
given, and an examination of queen sent,
the bees had made preparations for swarming
prior to your inspection of combs on the 6th
inst., but the subsequent cold weather
delayed it, and in consequence of this delay
the bees have for some reason deposed the
queen, which, though we judge her to be
over a year old, is a very fine one. An
examination will probably show that she
has been succeeded by a young queen.

H. Seamark. — Boi/al Skou:. — Exhibitors'
passes in the bee department are sent out
by Mr. J. Huckle, King's Langley.

H. M. (Taunton). — The matter is dealt with on
first page of this issue.

J. Clark (Maryport). — It is so contrary to
nature for a common humble bee to frater-
nise in a skep with hive bees that we must
be excused for being a little creduloits on
the point, unless actually seen by yourself,
which is not made quite clear in your
note.

Ignoramus (Pulborough). — Comb contains
nothing worse than fresh gathered pollen.

H. (Norfolk). — The inference is that some
mishap has happened to the queen, when
hiving swarm in the frame-hive, unless an
examination of parent skep shows that the
swarm has not returned to it. In the latter
case the bees must have decanqjed ; but this
is not at all likely. It is safer to throw
swarms out in front of the hive they are to
occupy, and allow the bees to run in than
hiving them at the top as you have done.

W. P. T. — Comb is affected with foul-brood.

T. W. Lemin. — We see no reason to suppose
that foundation sent is not pure bees-wax.

Several letters, queries, <&c., (.re in type, and
will appear next week^ ci/S loill report of
(JaV'terhnry Shouu

250

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [June 21, 1894.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, <kc. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

o

NB or TWO fine SWARMS FOR SALE.
72, Hoe-street, Walthamstow.

Lejiin'

E 24

SWARMS, large, from select English Bees, excellent
workers, 1893 Queens, 12s. or 14s. each. Tkesidder,
Warhani-road, Croydon. E 22

BEES, NATURAL SWARMS, healthy and strong'
free from foul brood, 10s. 6d. each, boxes 2s. 6d. if
not returned. E. Long, Cottenham, Cambs. e 23

OR SALE, ten Hives of BEES, SECTIONS, HONEY,
and all just as they stand in the Apiary. W. G.
Doughty, Wood Norton, Dereham, Norfolk. e 25

FOR SALE, FIRST SWARMS of splendid Honey
Gatherers, all '93 Queens, packed free 10s. 6d. Safe
arrival guaranteed. J. Pargeter Smith, Cropreay,
Leamington. E 21

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
hig and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. Holliday, Astbury,
Congleton.

CHOICE YOUNG QUEENS, excellent strain, pro-
duced by seven years' careful breeding, guaranteed
fertile, post free 5s., virgins, 2s. 6d. Rev. C. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex. 229

PURE ENGLISH BEES, splendid strain. Small
swarm with queen, 5s., larger, 10s. 6d., superior,
15s., queens, 3s. all on rail. Alsford, Expert, Bland-
ford, e 19

NEW HIVES, standard size, takes eleven frames,
with second story for extracting, stocked with
strong MAY SWARMS of English Bees on eleven
frames and foundation, wired in, packed and put on rail
for 33s. each ; or ofliers for several. Can be seen any
time. RiCHD. Illman, Florist, Strood, Rochester.
E 17

ON SALE, a MANIPULATING TENT, in good con-
dition. For price and particulars, Mr. Isaac
Bush, Beechfleld Nursery, Bowdon. 223

B

EE TENT on HIRE. Forterms, apply toG. GUNSION,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

"YE OLDE ENGLISH BEE."

PRIME natural Swarms of my selected strain of the
above, headed with 1893 Queens, carefully packed,
and put on Rail, 16s. each. The luigenial weather
during May has made the swarming season unexpectedly
late. Customers may rely on every effort being made
to fill orders as promptly as possible. W. Woodley,
Beedon, Newbury.

Porterage on Telegrams, Is. 6d.

MARKET for RUN HONEY (new and old),
SECTIONS (any quantity), and WAX. State
price, <fec. Prompt cash. Packages sent. Address,.
H., Bee Journal Office, 17, King William-street,
London.

H

OP ALE, sparkling, refreshing, made for 3d. gallon.
Recipe 7d. Turner, Limpsfleld, Surrey. e 14

FIRST SWARMS of my splendid strain of BEES,
which cannot be excelled, 15s., packed free. John
Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington. d 95

BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the

CENTRAL SUPPLY STORES

for all BEEKEEPERS' REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL
at the -OLD SPOT, 50, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET.
GEORGE ROSE, successor to P. Harbordt.

Why pay carriage (from long distances when you can
buy cheaper and quite as good quality locally, and have
your orders promptly attended to ? Catalogues gratis.
Send now. 14 varieties of Bee Flowers (fujl directions to
each), Is. Cash with order, 201

THE YORKSHIRE
Bee-keepers' Supplies

WILLIAM DIXON,

5, Beckett St., Leeds.

Hives, Extractors,

Smokers, Feeders,

Foundation, &c.

Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver, (tBronzeMedals.
226

MOST IIMPORTANT

SUBSTANTIAL SEE HIVES,

12 frames 10/3 (all double walls on legs), 16 frames 15/-.

These are rare value for money.

SUPERIOR COMB FOUNDATION, SECTIONS, &c.

Swarm Preventing, Artificial Swarming, Feeding,
Transferring frotn Skeps, all Post Free 3d.

W. RUSHTON, Hive Factory, Bedford.

YORKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Patron: H.R.H. THE Prince of Wales, K.G.
President : The H't. Hon. Lord Herries.

THE FIFTY -SEYMTH ANNUAL SHOW

WILL BE HELD AT BEVERLEY-

On the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd days of AUGUST, 1894,

"WHEN PRIZES AMOUNTING to £2,460

Will be Offered for

CATTLE, SHEEP, PIGS, HORSES, SHOEING, BUTTER,

CHEESE, & BEE APPLIANCES.

The ENTRY CLOSES on Saturday, June 23rd.

Prize Lists and Forms of Entry for Stock and Implements
will be forwarded on application to

Marshall Stephenson,

Secretary.
York, June 1st, 1894.

Telegraphic Address : " YAS, YORK."

HONEY AND 'ITS USES. By the Rev.
Gerard W. Bancks, M.A. 3/6 per
100, 8/- per 250, 14/6 per 500, carriage paid.
By freely distributing tliis Pamphlet, a ready
market for Honey may be made in the
Bee-keeper's own neiglibourhood.

Specimen Copy on application.
Address Durham House, Green Street

Green, Dartford. 176

F\ ¥ "T T\TTT¥TkT1 f% is the Oldest Bs-

BALDWINS lis-:

to Bees and
manufacture of Bee-keepers' supplies. His prices will
compare most favourably with those of any other Maker,
while for quality of material, suitability and workman-
ship he has no rival.

A large consignment of the beautiful

"FALCONER" SECTIONS,

both 4 bee-way and 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct importation.
Price 2/6 per 100 ; cut to receive Foundation, 3/- per 100.
By Parcel Post, 1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which "contains more practical and reliable hints
than all the large, expensive books," post free for
2d. stamps.

Address S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary,Bromley,Kent.

y.B. — More than 500 Silver and Bronze Medals, First and

other Prizes, and Testimonials innumerable.

June 28, 1894.] THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

251

(BiIit0riHl ^(rtias, ^c.

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — What a welcome change
has taken place in the weather during
the past ten days ; and, it may be added,
how doubly welcome would the change
have been to large numbers of anxious
bee-keepers had it " come " but ten days
earlier still ! We say this in view of
what is regarded as the most important
bee show of the year, viz., the "Royal "
now being held at Cambridge. It is a
long time since so large an entry has
been received in the honey classes for
the "Royal" as this year, and had the
present bee-weather extended backward
for even a week, the withdrawals would
probably have been as few as they were,
unfortunately, numerous. But, shows
apart, the change will, no doubt, infuse
new hope into the hearts of many lately-
desponding bee-men, just as it renders
more cheerful our task of periodically
saying something about the weather and
the bees. It seems, then, as if normal
summer warmth had really come at last,
and wo may look for reports of supers
filling to take the place of feeders
emptying in the near future, if — and
we do not omit that much-meaning little
word — the present beautiful weather
continues.

July Swarms. — It is more than pro-
bable that the summer warmth, so long
deferred, will result in the issue of a
good number of swarms from supered
stocks, and a corresponding disarrange-
ment of plans for securing surplus before
the honey season comes to an end. As
a rule, we cannot have both honey and
increase the same year, but when
swarming is deferred till June has
passed it becomes still more difficult.
The point, therefore, is to deal with
swarms and swarmed stocks with un-
finished supers on them in such a way as
to obtain the best results under present
circumstances. With this end in view,
all top swarms which issue should — as
soon as settled — be set in the hiving
skep on the stand of the parent stock,
the latter being moved to another part
of the apiary. In preparing a frame-
hive for the reception of the swarm,
contract the body-box or brood-chamber

to about six frames and fit these with
full sheets of foundation ; next remove
all surplus chambers containing unsealed
combs from the swarmed hive to that
intended for the swarm, replacing the
whole with queen excluder above frames,
as before. Set the hive on the old
stand, wedge the front up an inch
or more, and run the bees into it.
Leave the front raised for a day or
more if the weather be warm to keep the
hive cool and prevent a break-down with
the foundation through overheating.
Care must also, of course, be taken to
keep the bees from entering the part of
the brood chamber not occupied with
frames, either from below or (through the
surplus chambers) from above.

Returning to the parent hive, it will
be found that owing to the lateness of
the season and its being depleted of all
the flying bees will considerably reduce
the chance of a second swarm coming off,
but removal of all surplus cells on the
seventh day after the first swarm issued
Avill quite remove the risk. On the other
hand, if surplus queens are desired the
brood-combs of the old hive may be
divided into two or more nuclei, and
leaving a good queen-cell or two to each
portion in the usual way. It must also
be borne in mind that special care is
required in order to succeed with nuclei.

If the above arrangement is carefully
carried out it will, we think, yield the
only chance of getting unfinished surplus
work completed, seeing that we get to
work on it almost the whole of the honey
gatherers of the swarmed stock by secur-
ing all the flying bees in the swarm, and
Avith only a limited brood chamber, and
little or no brood to care for, they can
devote themselves mainly to surplus
storing during the short time the honey
season lasts.

Comb-foundation. — We have received
several letters again referring to the
question of " how foundation should hang
in frames," and if there was in them any-
thing tending to throw further light on
the subject we should not hesitate in
giving readers the benefit. The matter
has, however, as we think, been fairly
dealt with in our issue of the 14th inst.
and may now be allowed to rest, seeing
that it is in some respects a manufac-
turer's question, and we have little fear
but all will come right in the end.

252

THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL. [June 28, 1894,

BRITISH BEE-KEEPEES'
ASSOCIATION.

Meeting of the committee held at 105,
Jermyn - street, on Wednesday, 20th inst.
Present : Henry Jonas (in the chair). Rev.
G. W. Banks, W. B. Carr, Major Fair, W. H.
Harris, J. H. New, E. D. Till, and H. F.
"Witherby. With Messrs. J. M. Hooker and
A. H. Martin, ex officio, and J. Huckle,
Secretary.

Letters were read from Mr. Garratt, the
Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh, and the Rev. E.
Carrington (who had previously attended a
sub- committee meeting) regretting their in-
ability to be present.

The statement of accounts for the month
ending May 31 was submitted by the Finance
Committee and approved. A letter was read
from the Chicago Exhibition Commissioners
intimating that an Award of Merit had been
made to the British Bee-Keepers' Association
in respect to their exhibit of honey.

It was resolved that the Third-class Exami-
nation, fixed to take place during the time of
the Cambridge Exhibition, be held on Wed-
nesday, June 27.

The following new members were elected,
viz. : —

Mr. John Hurst, Broad Oak, Groombridge,

Mr. R. Ware. Frant, Tunbridge Wells.
■ Mr. T. W. Jones, Etwall, Derby.

Mr. G. E. Clarke, Leyton, Essex.

Mr. D. H. Durrant, Acton, Middlesex.

Mr. W. C. Smith, Walton Bridge, iCanter-
bury.

Mr. G. T. Dunkley, Harpenden.

Other business of a routine character was
transacted, and the committee adjourned to
Thursday, July 12.

ROYAL COUNTIES AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

SHOW AT CANTERBURY.

This show was held at Canterbury on
Tuesday, June 12, and three following days.
The first two days were dull and showery, but
the third and fourth proved warm and genial,
consequently the attendance on the latter days
amounted to upwards of 20,000 persons.

The bee department, which was organised by
the British Bee-Keepers' Association, materially
aided by the Kent Association, proved an im-
portant attraction, and a complete success.
Although the quantity of honey displayed was
by no means imposing, its arrangement created
a pleasing effect, and elicited many expressions
of admiration. The space provided by the
society— 60 ft. long by 15 ft. wide — was well
filled with exhibits of the usual description.
Messrs, Green & Sons, C. Overton, and H. S.
Hutchings, competed in the " Collection of
Appliances " class ; whilst in that for hives
Messrs. Redshaw, Lanaway & Son, and those
above mentioned, filled eleven entries, all of
which were excellent specimens of material
and workmanship. The first-prize hive, shown

in the class for cottagers' hives, was a marvel of
cheapness at 10s. 6d. The trophy of honey
exhibited by Mr. E. Longhurst, containing
nearly 300 lb., was strikingly effective, and
reflected highly his public spirit in giving, at
much cost and trouble, such valuable help
to the occasion. Considerable interest was mani-
fested in Mr. Hole's device for catching aswarm,
the process of which was explained to the
visitors. The task of judging was undertaken
by the Rev. R. Errington, and Messrs. W. B.
Carr and John M. Hooker ; the office of
stewards of departments being borne by Mr.
J. Garratt and Mr. E. D. Till. Mr. Roland
Green lectured in the bee tent ; and Mr. G. J.
Wright, the energetic local secretary for the
Thanet district, gave very valuable assistance
throughout the show in a variety of ways.
With a view to bring British honey into
prominence, it was arranged that small sample
bottles of honey, bearing the new distinctive
label of the Kent B.K.A., should be on sale at
a charge of threepence each, and it is satis-
factory to state that a considerable quantity
was disposed of. Evidence abounded that
bee-keeping is regarded with no small degree
of favour in East Kent, its practical outcome
being that a large number of orders were
placed with the manufacturers of appliances,
and an important addition made to the roll of
members of the Kent Association.

List of awards : — Collection of Hives and
Appliances. — 1st, H. S. Hutchings, St. Mary
Cray, Kent ; 2nd, Green & Sons, Rainham ;
commended, C. T. Overton, Crawley, Sussex.
Ohservatory Hives and Bees. — 1st, Green &
Sons ; 2nd, C. T. Overton. Best Frame
Hive. — 1st, C. Redshaw, South Wigston ; 2nd,
Lanaway & Sons ; commended, H. S. Hutch-
ings. Cottagers^ Hives. — 1st, H. S. Hutch-
ings ; 2nd, C. Redshaw ; commended. Green
& Sons. Section Backs. — 1st, H. S. Hutch-
ings ; 2nd, C. Redshaw ; commended, C. T.
Overton. Twelve Sections. — 1st, W. Wood-
ley ; 2nd, H. L. Hertslet ; 3rd, Rev. G. W.
Bancks ; commended, E. Longhurst. JEx-
tracted Honey .—1st, W. Woodley ; 2nd, E.
Longhurst ; 3rd, Rev. G. W. Bancks ; highly
commended, G. T. Tomkin. Three Shallow
Frames of Comb Honey. — 1st, E. Longhurst ;
2nd, G. Wells. Collection of Honey.— 1st, E.
Longhurst ; 2nd, C. Overton. Bees'-Wax. —
1st, E. Longhurst ; 2nd, A. J. Carter ; com-
mended, H. S. Hutchings.

The judges accorded a special high com-
mended to the " Swarm Catcher " exhibited
by Mr. H. W. Brice, and to the " Self Hiver "
by Mr. Hole, and for Mr. Durrant's fine
collection of pressed Bee Flowers.

WILTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

SHOW AT DEVIZES.

At the annual meeting of the Wilts Agri-
cultural Society on the 7th and 8th inst., the
Wilts Bee-keepers' Association, as usual>

June 28, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

253

attended with the bee tents, and a capital
collection of hives and appliances by various
makers was exhibited by Mr. S. M. Filtness,
of Old Swindon, also a great variety of sweets
made from honey, for all of which there was a
good demand. Demonstrations were given
five times each day in the bee tent, which, the
weather being fine, were fairly patronised. The
takings, as usual, hardly covered expenses,
but several new members were received and
visits from the experts arranged.

In consequence of the unfavourable weather
no honey was exhibited, though six weeks
before there was a good promise of having a
considerable quantity staged.

DEATH OF MR. JOHN D. McNALLY

We learn with much regret of the death of
the above-named gentleman, which took place
at his residence, Laurencetown, co. Down, on
the ISthinst. Mr. McNally was a frequent
contributor to our pages, chiefly in connection
with bee and honey shows, and was known as
a successful exhibitor thereat. Though not so
prominent in the pursuit as his elder brother —
our well-known and esteemed correspondent,
Mr. Wm. McNally, of Glenluce — he was an
enthusiastic bee-keeper, and, after leaving his
native Scotland to engage in business in the
North of Ireland, he stoutly advocated and
upheld the excellence of Irish honey as being
equal to any in the kingdom.

A few months ago Mr. McNally was —
mainly, we believe, through overwork — stricken
with a serious illness, which terminated in his
death as stated. It seems only a short time —
though over two years ago — since we an-
nounced his marriage and permanent settle-
ment in business at Laurencetown, co. Down,
and we now respectfully tender our sincere
condolence and sympathy to his young widow
and sorrowing relatives on the early termina-
tion of a promising business career.

dfurmiund^ntfi.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous coinmunications, and cm-respondents
are reqtiested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be draimi on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

*,* In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

NOTES FROM DERBYSHIRE.

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION IN BEE-KKEPING.

[1892.] The D.B.K. A. has this year again been
fortunate enough to obtain a grant from the
County Council in aid of technical instruction
in bee-keeping. Up to the present some

fourteen lantern lectures have this year been
delivered in different places within the county,
the average attendance being slightly over 100.
A large amount of interest has been evinced,
and, judging from this and the questions which
have been asked at the lectures, bee-keeping
will, no doubt, become more general in the
near future. Without at all wishing to be an
alarmist,' I desire earnestly to urge all bee-
keepers within the county to take precautions
regarding foul-brood. That the fell disease is
with us is without question, and that the area
infected is extending is, I am afraid, no less
true, several cases having been reported, as
existing to the N. of the Trent. The bee-
keeper should see that the utmost cleanliness
and order is maintained in his apiary— any
broken or old combs should be melted down,
whilst old coverings and propolised quilts
should be renewed. Hives out of use should
also be scalded and thoroughly disinfected.
One or two pieces of naphthaline should also
be placed on the floor-board of every hive, and
when it is time to feed the bees naphthol beta
should be used. Any bee-keeper who finds
his bees are suffering from foul-brood should
report the fact to the secretary of the associa-
tion without delay, so that steps may be taken
to assist him to treat his own bees and to
protect those of his neighbours. — T. W. Jones,
Etwall.

TAKING BEES

FROM WALL OF HOUSE IN FEBRUARY.

[1893.]— It may interest your readers to
hear how I got a lot of bees out of a house
which had the plaster blown off one side of it
during a gale of wind in February, 1893. It
was an old-fashioned house, and plastered both
sides of the studs, leaving a hollow space, in
which the bees had | ensconced themselves.
There had been a white frost the night before,
and thinking the bees would not be much
trouble if attacked early, I started operations
about 8 o'clock a.m. The bees being 20 ft.
from the ground, I mounted a ladder, and
found them clustered very closely in the centre
of the combs. I began by getting the honey
first, and sent about 6 lb. to the owner of the
house. The rest of the combs, including bees
and honey, were put in a box brought for the
purpose, and carried home. I could not secure
all the bees, but got into my box a good-sized
swarm , There was a patch of brood on oppo-
side sides of two combs as big as my hand, but
I did not see the queen. The bees were kept
confined in an unused room till the last week
in March, when they were taken outdoors and
set in a warm corner. About the middle of
April I put them into a clean hive with two
frames of drawn-out combs and one frame with
brood on out of another hive, making a sort of
nucleus of them, and giving 2 lb. of syrup.

They reared a queen, and I kept adding
frames as the bees got crowded, till they had

254

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [June 28, 1894.

seven frames in the hive by July. I
them 7 lb. of syrup about the middle of August
and left them for the winter of 1893. That
hive now is the strongest I have got, and filling
the shallow body fast. I don't suppose I
should have kept them going if it had not
been for the very warm spring last year. I
have used the wide W. B. C. end for the first
time this year in shallow bodies, but fancy the
bees do not begin working in the frames quite
so soon as when spaced by the narrow ends,
although I put them on bars which I had ex-
tracted from last year. 1. Is this your expe-
rience 1 Three of my hives with 1892 queens
have swarmed, but four which I re-queened
last year have not. 2. Do you think keep-
ing young queens in hives with plenty of
room prevents swarming 1 3. I find the hives
■with old queens are simply ''chock full " of
drones, while those with young queens have
very few.— Wat. King, Suffolk, June 13.

[1. No, our experience with the wide end
this year is quite a success, so far as the season
has allowed it to become one. 2. Young queens
are always less inclined to swarm than old
ones, and in consequence it lessens swarm-
ing to keep only such. 3. There is no
reason for having hives " chock-full of drones "
other than that too much drone-comb has been
built, which means bad management on the
part of the bee-keeper.— Eds.]

A BEE-KEEPER'S LAMENT!

[1894.] Pity the sorrows of a poor young
bee-keeper, or rather bee-loser, for I have just
discovered my only remaining — or as I thought
remaining— stock has fled ; disappeared without
leaving more than a couple of poor straggling
bees behind. 1 will endeavour to tell you the
history of my bee experiences : — In the spring
of 1892 I began with a swarm which went on
all right in a bar-frame hive, but doing
nothing in the sections. At the end of the
season the bees were packed for winter by an
old bee-keeper, who told me they would
" weather the cold," but, alas ! in the early
spring of 1893 I found them all dead, with
their heads sticking in the combs. I had
taken no honey from them, and did not under-
stand feeding. I at once determined to get
another lot of bees, and accordingly obtained
a fresh swarm, which did well last year, inso-
much that I took quite a couple of pounds of
honey from them, and still left them ample.
Nevertheless I fed them in the autumn and
again in the early spring. They were going
on beautifully, and when the warm weather
came in March I ventured to put on a crate of
sections. They got checked a bit in April,
owing to a fire occurring not far from my
garden, and the firemen bringing their hose
through I had to shifc the hive, but returned
it next morning to old spot, apparently none
the worse. There was plenty of honey in the
combs, heaps of bees, and they had been fed up
to end of March with syrup. Then the cold

weather came in, and I watched the hive care-
fully, not disturbing the inmates, and when
the fresh warm weather came on Sunday last
the bees turned out, working well. A heavy
rain came on "Wednesday, and on Thursday
evening I wondered on looking at the hive
how quiet it seemed. During the day, I
should tell you, in my absence, ray wife had
transplanted some flowers, rather tall ones,
within 2 ft. of the hive ! In the evening, being
alarmed at the non-appearance of bees, I
opened the hive, and, as already stated, found
all — queen and every bee but two — had
entirely vanished. Now, that puzzles me.
I may state that there are building operations,
in consequence of the fire already referred to,
going on near — not ten yards away. I am not
to be daunted, however, and I have already
another swarm ordered.

What do you think was the cause of the
bees leaving ? There was some honey in comb,
though not much, but they had been working
well for some days before. It is strange — to
me. — Geo. Eooke, Salisbury, June 8.

It is, of course, very discouraging to have so
many mishaps, and encouraging to know that
our correspondent is still undaunted. We
would, however, suggest an additional invest-
ment to that of buying another swarm, in the
shape of a good book on bee-management. If
this is carefully read and its teachings taken
to heart, our '' poor young bee-keeper '' will,
we think, have a more cheerful record to send
us next time. We cannot tell why the bees
decamped, but very probably could if we lived
next door to our correspondent. But he may
rest assured that his bees will not be difficult
to keep alive, and yield him a better harvest
than " a couple of pounds of honey " in a
season if he will take a little trouble in
learning " how to do it," as we have suggested.
—Eds.

AFTERNOONS WITH SOUTH AFRICAN
BEE-KEEPERS.

NO. II. — MR. HOLDSWORTH.

[1895 ] On the main road between Cape
Town and Simons Town lies the little village
or suburb of Rondebosch, and here it was that
I went one afternoon in January or February
last in company with a friend to see the apiary
of Mr. Holdsworth, a bee-keeper who is very
well known locally. Mr. Holdsworth is a
builder, and we found him in his garden
busily engaged putting up a greenhouse, for it
was a Saturday afternoon, and horticulture is
one of his chief hobbies.

It was not long before we had a look at the
bees, of which there were twelve or fourteen
hives, all of Mr. Holds worth's own make. As
will be seen from the illustration (which is
from a bad photograph taken in a high wind
and failing light), each of the hives is pro-
vided with a hinged side, fitted with glass
internally, for inspection ; several large augur
holes are also provided for ventilation, which
Mr. Holdsworth considers very necessary in

June 28, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

255

this climate, where the thermometer frequently
registers 100 degrees in the shade during the
summer. Although the summer^ are so hot
and dry, I have never seen water supplied to
bees at the Cape ; but this may in part be
accounted for by the fact that the night dews
are often very heavy, and condensing on such
large-leaved plants as the banana (a leaf of
which is seen in the illustration just in front
of Mr. Holds worth's arm, and a tall plant of
the same just behind him) may readily be
utilised by the bees la the early mornings
before the powerful heat of the sun has had
time to dry it up.

Mr. Holdsworth works principally for comb-
honey, and, with very little available time or
attention to bestow on his bees, usually
manages to secure a surplus of from 20 lb. to
30 lb. a hive. His hives are all single-walled,
and the sides of the frames stand about an
inch clear of the hive walls ; yet he tells me
that he is never troubled by the bees building
comb in this space. Propolis and the large
red bee-parasite are both very troublesome in
this apiary, as they are also in Mr. Attridge's
at Sea Point. At the time when I saw them
the bees were, of course, doing practically no
work, and I had not time, unfortunately, to
avail myself either of Mr. Holdsworth's or
Mr. Attridge's kind invitation to see their
bees again in May (the early autumn), when the
first flowers begin to yield a supply of honey
sufficient to make itself appreciable in the
increased activity of the internal economy of
the hives ; bnt I hope to have an opportunity
of doing 80 next year. — G. Gordon Samson,
25, Edgar-road, Margate.

[It is very interesting and curious to learn
that bees in South Africa will not fill up
with comb a 1 -in. space between frames and
hive sides. We should have thought it
certain they would act as in this country, and
there would be no mistake about their doing
so here. We trust, however, our correspon-
dent may have an opportunity of verifying
the actual measurement when next he visits
the colony and Mr. Holdsworth's apiary, and
that he will send in a line of report thereon.
—Eds.]

BEES AND MARTINS.

[1896.] As I stood in my apiary to-
day, I noticed six martins continually
flying among the bees overhead, and,
sometimes coming quite close to the hives,
catch several bees on the wing. The latter
seemed to chase the martins when they came
close to, so, " thinks I to myself," I will see
whether you eat them or not. I got my gun
and soon brought one down, and on having a
2wst mortem exam., found legs, wings, and
other parts of the bee's body in it. I have
always been a good friend to the martin ; have
let him build his nest in my lodge, rear his
young, come and go every year, never dis-
turbed him, and listened to his twittering

with joy on his return, to think that we have
summer with us once again ; but I fear for
the future he has made me his enemy.

I shall be glad to know if you think the
adverse weather we are having is the cause of
them taking bees, as no doubt it has stopped
all progress in insect life, and being short of
food, they have to take what they can get. If
any of your correspondents have noticed any-
thing similar, they ought to take the precau-
tion, and destroy all the young and old they
can, as it must be a tremendous strain on the
hives when they take them as they do, for they
are at it all day long to feed their young. —
John Lyon, Soham, Camhs.,June 11.

[We have never classed the martin as one of
the bees' enemies, and your idea that scarcity
of insects on the wing at the time has caused
the mischief is probably correct. — Eds.]

" WELLS " HIVES.

do thet contain one or two colonies ?

[1897.] I should much like, with your
permission, to reply to Mr. Wells' letter (1888,
p. 244) in last week's British Bee Journal.
Mr. Wells thinks it unfair I should depreciate
his system without having tried it, but he goes
on to stoutly maintain that his double-queened
hives are only one stock. This I have always
demurred to^ and until I had persuaded myself
that his two-queen hives are only one stock it
was useless experimenting with them. I think
this question might, with advantage, have been
long since ventilated in our journal, because
unless you can call the two-queened hives one
stock the system is valueless.

Mr. Wells says, " Does this adding of a
single bee make the hive two stocks ? " I reply,
" (Jertainly not, at the time of introduction^' h\xt
then at that time Mr. Wells is getting no
advantage from his two queens. In the spring
those two queens breed up until they are as
strong as any other two stocks in single hives,
and then they are certainly two stocks. Where
would his other hives be without that " single
bee ? '' Where would the wasps' nests be with-
out that " single queen wasp ? '' There must
he a time when your nucleus hives become
established stocks whether wintered in double
hives or by themselves, and that time most
certainly arrives Avhen they have bred up in
the spring.

Mr. Wells makes a point of showing that
his system costs nothing extra because he gives
his single stocks spare queens, which would
otherwise be useless ; but it is not a question
of cost of production, or I might add a swarm
that was given me to another of my own, and
say the honey result was from one stock (or
swarm).

Again, it is quite possible to divide a strong
stock in the late summer into four nucleus
hives, which would build up strong in the
spring, and if you then made them, which is
quite possible, work in one super, does Mr.

256

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [June 28, 1894.

Wells still mean to say they are only one
stock ? I think we are much indebted to
those bee-keepers who make their experiments
public in the B.B.J., and I always read Mr.
Wells' letters with interest, although I do not
agree with them. Mr. Wells is quite right in
saying it is impossible to compare different
districts.

This is only a poor honey district, although
occasionally we get large results. After the
meadows are cut there is no white clover any-
where near. Of course, I am speaking of my
own inimediate neighbourhood. There is still
very little honey coming in here, but the
white clover in the meadows (not the sheep
pastures) is not yet out, so that if it keeps
warm and fine for the next two or three weeks
we may still have a fair harvest. — Arthur
J. H. Wood, Bellwood, Bipon, June 23.

"WELLS" HI7ES.

DO THEY CONTAIN ONE OR TWO COLONIES ?

[1898.] In endeavouring to prove that twice
one does not make two, and after explaining
a neat way of making two by division, Mr!
Wells (1888, p. 244) asks the question, "Does
the addition of a single bee make it into two
stocks ? " I have no doubt that Mr. Wood
will answer most emphatically, "Yes, under the
circumstances it does ! " And, further, if Mr.
Wood asserts that every queen with more than
one brood-comb constitutes a colony, he will
be in no danger of contradiction by able and
well-known authorities. But what, I would
ask, has this to do with the success or advan-
tages of the " Wells " system ? We have been
waiting patiently for reports of the heavy takes
of surplus honey which would entitle Mr.
Wells to all the credit he deserves ; but if the
success of the system depends upon counting
two stocks as one, and if he is offended because
some of us prefer calling a spade a spade, then
he is simply courting ridicule instead of grati-
tude, for no amount of argument will alter
plain facts. Suppose the young queen which
he introduces after slipping in the perforated
dummy is a ligurian, while the other is black,
will he have the hardihood to say. Here is a
single stock of bees, half of which are foreign
and half English? If so, he will have to
invent another name, because " swarm,"
"stock," and "colony" cease to convey a
definite meaning, and I should like to know
what name Mr. Wells would give to the same
colony which he describes in his letter referred
to, supposing the dummy which separated
the two parts were of solid timber instead of
being perforated ? Is it possible the " Wells "
dummy has this magic power of making what
is undoubtedly two separate stocks one stock
only, and that, too, for the sake of comparison
with other systems ?

If this is what Mr. Wells claims, I ask his
able and well-known authorities to declare
themselves.— Thos. F. Ward, Highgate.

SWARMS FOR WELLS HIVES.

[1899.] Oh I that my name were A. J. H.
Wood, and that I lived at Ripen ! It seems
I did not make myself clear when referring to
a swarm from Wells hive on April 29 (1871,
p. 215). In fact, I did not write for print, but
was having a friendly word with the
" Manager," forgetting that —

A chiel's amang ye, takin' notes,

An faith he'l prent 'em.
The hive was not supered at the time it
swarmed, and as honey was coming in from
the fruit trees, I tried an experiment with
the sioarm, risking the loss of a big surplus
from the parent stock, and if I do lose it, shall
not condemn Mr. Wells' system for the result.
The said swarm swarmed yesterday (Friday,
15th inst.), what is here termed a "maiden
swarm," and the other compartment of the
" Wells " hive swarmed to-day, with an abun-
dance of room in the super; both lots were,
however, pat back to where they came from.
I have a few sections, but riot from a hive
"after the queen and bees were gone." In
the slack season, as friend Walton suggests
on page 238, I may, with the editor's permis-
sion, give an account of my experience with
a double- queen hive, when Mr. Wells will be
able to point out other mistakes ; but perhaps
not more clearly than I shall be able to see
them myself then. I extracted some honey
from shallow frames just a week ago, and it is
now granulated, both in the manipulating
house and in a warm room. — W. H. Woods,
Hemingford, June 16.

THE " WELLS " SYSTEM.
another advantage of the system.

[2000.] On Thursday last a large swarm
was placed in one compartment of a home-
made " Wells " hive upon worked-out comb
and stores. In the other compartment there
were about twenty bees and a queen also upon
worked-out comb and stores. That evening
the entrance of the swarm was contracted so
as to compel some of the bees to pass out
through the chamber containing the small
quantity of bees and a queen. Next day the
two chambers were occupied by a busy
tenantry, and now, on Midsummer's-day, the
two queens are laying.

In another " Wells " hive used last year,
and this, the perforated division board in
which the holes were burnt has not been pro-
polised. — " W.," Poyston, Pembrokeshire.

A CHEAP ROOF-PROTECTOR.

[2001.] In "Notes by the Way" (1887,
p. 24), Mr. Woodley truly says that heat is
the cause of foundation stretching. In fact,
a breakdown may happen in less than an hour
during hot sun at mid-day, though it might be
cold enough at night. My own plan of lessen-
ing the risk is to always use ordinary
roofing-slates on the roofs of all my hives. The

June 28, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

257

size I use are 24 in. by 12 in., and two of
these are just the size to cover my hives ; they
cost me only 2d. each. I leave them on all
the year round. In winter they serve for pre-
venting roofs being blown off, and not a drop
of water can get in, though there are many
cracks, of course, in my roofs. During snowy
weather also, all my roofs are dry and airy,
and I can lift off the slates and throw away all
snow in a moment. While in summer the
great heat will not touch the roof at all,
because there is about 1 in. (more or less,
according to the construction of the hive)
between the roof and the slate.

If the roof is perfectly flat like a table, a
piece of wood will be required to hold up the
slate from touching it, so as to make a little
airy space, and during the hot weather of last
summer I had always a small stone under the
edge of the slates on both sides, to make still
more air space, say, about 2 in. or 3 in., and
by this treatment all my hives have always
nearly the same degree of heat. This makes
me suggest some sort of double roof, the
upper of hard metal, made to hinge together
at the middle, so as to fit roofs of different
size and shape, as well as to lift up the lower
edges during hot weather. This would make
a splendid shade for keeping off heat. Slates,
of course, may get broken, but with care they
will do for years. — Constant Keader,
Pwllheli, June 23.

^mrm m& ^t^lm.

[1080.] Failures in Nucleus Forming. — A
swarm came ofE from one of my hives (a
W.B.C.) to-day at 12.30, being the third in
twenty-two days. The first, on June 7, missed
the queen and returned to parent hive, con-
cerning which I wrote you (see reply to T. W.,
1,066, p. 235, in B.J. of June 14). The second
swarm came off a week after the first, which
you said in reply would be a first and second
swarm combined. This I hived on the old
stand, after forming three nuclei of the parent
stock. I have fed them (the swarm) about a
pound of syrup each evening since. The swarm
which came off to-day clustered three doors
away on a gooseberry bush. I hived them in
a skep, and not having seen from which of my
four hives it issued, I knew by seeing some
hybrids among them that it must have come
from one of my two hybrid stocks, so naturally
thought they came from the one that had not
swarmed this season ; but such was not the
case, for I found the hive crowded as usual
this season, and on taking out the frames not
a single sealed queen-cell was to be seen, only
a few just started. I therefore concluded that
the other mixed hive was the one, which on
examining I found to be right, so returned the
swarm after searching the combs for eggs or
brood, and finding no trace of either. Of the
three nuclei formed "eight days ago one has a

queen and no brood, another a queen-cell
capped, and the third neither cell, queen, or
brood. I shall thank you for advice as ta this.
— T. W,, Cheltenham, June 23.

Reply. — If a ripe qaeen-cell was given to
each of the nuclei formed, we cannot under-
stand the result as stated, except by supposing
one was managed rightly and queen is there,
that only an abortive cell was given in second
case ; but what of the third, if given at all ?
This being so, the second and third nucleus
stocks must be re-joined to the first.

[1081.] Preserving Queens. — 1. Is the en-
closed queen an old one ? I removed her from
a foul - broody hive, and replaced her by
another. 2. Is naphthaline a sure preventive
of foul-brood ? 3. Can you tell me how to
fix the enclosed robber-trap on hives ? I had
it and several similar given me, but do not
know how to use them ; also the name of
maker. 4. Is enclosed candy suitable food for
a queen in a travelling cage ? 5. How long
would it be advisable to keep a queen in a
cage if a fresh supply of candy was given ? —
Geo. Dale, Stafford, June 18.

Reply. — 1. Queen is an old one. 2. It is
only claimed for naphthaline that it is an
excellent preventive against the spread of foul-
brood if constantly kept in hives. To call it
a " sure preventive " is going further than we
care to, though we have had cases reported of
not only preventing, but curing, the disease.
3. We do not understand fixing the trap sent,
nor see how it can answer the purpose of stop- ,
ping robbing or trapping robbers. 4. Candy
will be better than sugar if finer grain is used.
This mixture into a stiff" paste of sugar and
honey is known as " Goode " candy. 5. The
cage sent is for the purpose of introducing
queens, and not suitable for keeping them in
for several days. If a dozen or more bees are
put along with a queen in a combed section,
with a little food in the cells, they may be
kept alive two or three weeks with warmth
and care.

[1082.] Helping Swarms. — About the be-
ginning of last May 1 got a swarm which I
hived on ten frames with full sheets of founda-
tion, and through the bad weather they have
only filled about six frames with comb, &c.,
and so I want to know whether it is necessary
that I should still continue to feed them, or
whether they can now feed themselves ? —
Beginner, Shortlands, Kent, June 20.

Reply.— If the present fine weather con-
tinues there should be no need for feeding
swarms of last May.

[1083.] Why Swarms Beturn to Hives. — Can
you give any reason for swarms returning to
hive time after time after being hived in
skeps ? One of my stocks appeared to swarm
on 14th, but returned instead of clustering ;
they came out again on l-5th, and clustered
after flying about for five minutes ; they were

258

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [June 28, 1894.

then hived in skep, which they left after half
an hour and went back a second time. On
17th the swarm came out again, I got them
into skep, and all seemed quiet for about an
hour, then they returned again to the parent
hive ; can it be I hived them too soon, or was
the queen not with them 1 Would the bees
have clustered on a tree without the queen
being with them? — J. W. Whitaker,
■ Chatham, June 19.

Reply. — As a rule, the return of swarms to
the hive is caused either by some physical
defect in the queen which prevents her from
taking wing with swarm, or because of some
mishap to her during the process of hiving.
The usual course of deciding which of the two
causes named are accountable for the return
of the swarm is either to examine combs to
see if the old queen is still there, or to await
the usual interval of eight days and listen for
the queen "piping " which may be heard on
placing the ear close against the hive in the
evening of eighth or ninth day.

[1084] Bees and Trifolium. — Do bees
gather honey or pollen from the flowers of
trifolium ? There is a plot of about two acres
close to my hives, and I find it is literally
alive with bees on sunny days. I have a two-
fold object in asking this question, first to
satisfy my own curiosity ; and, second, because
I find trifolium is almost unknown in this
county (Lincoln), although I understand a
great quantity is grown in the south. If it
is really good for bee and beast, bee-keeping
farmers would find it to their interest to grow
it, — Novice, Lines., June 19.

Reply. — All clovers are included among the
various trifoliums, but that which is com-
monly called by that name is trifolium incar-
natum. It yields honey in good quantity, but
not of such excellent quality as that from white
clover.

[1085.] Queen Fertilisation. — Foundation
for Swarms. — 1. On Saturday, the 16th, I
had a first swarm from a bar-frame hive. On
an examination for the queen-cells supposed to
be left I found none. To make sure, I went
carefully over comb twice. Is not this unusual 1
I saw no eggs, but advanced brood in abun-
dance. Do you suppose there was a young
queen hatched out preparatory to the swarm
issuing 1 2. What would be an approximate
date for young queens to be laying in nuclei
made up on June 4, supposing successful
hatching and fertilisation ? 3. If a second
swarm does not come off a skep, am I likely to
have a small super filled if put on 1 4. Which
is better for swarms, starters or full founda-
tion ? This query is suggested to me by
several full sheets of foundation giving way
in recent swarm. — Enthusiast, Gloucester,
June 19.

Reply. — 1. If jou are quite certain that
no trace of queen-cells are in the hive the

occurrence is to us unaccountable. 2. Qaeens
begin to lay in from six days to as long as
thi'ee or even four weeks from date of hatching
out, the variation in time depending on the
weather. 3. As before, we may say all depends
on weather and the amount of honey secreted.
Seasons differ so in this respect that no safe
guess may be ventured on. 4. Full sheets,
but they must be made secure. Care must
also be taken that the foundation does not
give way through the high temperature which
often prevails during the first day or so in
hives after being peopled with a good swarm.

[1086.] Bees Dying. — I have two hives
from which during many weeks past the bees
are continually falling ofi" the alighting-board,
trembling and creeping on the ground, and then
die, quite a heap every day, and yet they keep
very strong indeed. On looking into the hives
the only thing I see wrong is a lot of the bees
dead in the cells — bees that have entered and
died therein. I would be much obliged if you
could tell me the cause and the remedy? — 'A
Subscriber from No. 1, Caton, June 19.

Reply. — The symptoms first described point
to the complaint referred to in reply to " E.
Kirk Brown " on p. 249 of last week's issue,
to which please refer. On the other hand, bees
dying in the cells after entering them as
stated suggests famine, or that they had got
separated from the cluster and the food in very
cold weather, and so perished for want.

Mxu% from the gitiM,

Bcemount, near Bromsgrove, June 16. —
The weather has been a trifle better these last
three days. On Thursday the thermometer
registered a shade temperature of 70 degrees,
the maximum for this year at present. Some
honey was stored in the hive during the day.
Upon inspecting the hive in which I had
inserted eggs and brood I found two capped
queen cells, and as it was then only the seventh
day from the time comb was given to this
stock, the queens are, I suppose, being reared
from larvce and not from the eggs. I always
thought pea-blossom yielded nectar, but this
year I have failed to see a single bee upon it ;
the broad-bean bloom is, however, greatly
patronised when weather permits. — Percy
Leigh.

Whitby Heath, Chester, June 18. — White
clover is just showing blossom here and there,
and bees would do well if the right weather
would but set in. I have heard of a few
swarms rising from those old-fashioned and
miserably cramped small hives that are still to
be found in this part of Cheshire. The queen
I mentioned previously as successor to a de-
posed one, which I at first supposed had not
been fertilised in time, is doing very well. I
mention this because my case, as far as I can
judge, is much the same as that of querist

June 28 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

259

1,067, p. 235. I was much concerned in flnding
cells empty of brood for a full four weeks, but
as you see all has come well in the end.— A.

DOUBAVAND.

Northampton, June 24, 18.94. — Extreme
disappointment is the general feeling pre-
valent among bee-keepers of this neighbour-
hood at the unpromising condition of their
stocks. Contrary to long experience, the bees,
after a mild winter, came out unusually
strong, and made steady progress in February
and early March. On the 25th of the latter
month a spell of glorious weather set in, and
the bees forged ahead amazingly. Calls for
more room were urgent, supers were put on,
and partly filled ; entrances opened to the
fullest extent, and by the third week in April
swarming commenced in earnest. Then, alas !
a change came o'er the scene ; cold, windy,
and wet weather set in ; swarming ceased ;
supers were cleared ; drone larvre cast out ;
and brood-rearing was discontinued. May
and the first three weeks in June were,
with the exception of a few days, quite
a dead failure so far as bee - foraging.
The longest day brought warmer weather ;
for four days a fair amount of work
on beans, raspberries, and blackberries ■was
done ; clover is scarce at present ; and the
limes are not yet in bloom. It is difficult to
see how the season can be saved now, as an
entrance of 2 in. is at present amply sufficient
for stocks which six weeks ago required one
extending the whole hive front. Queen wasps
are still searching for nesting places. Honey-
dew is superabundant. — F. C. B.

Solihull, Birmingham, June 25. — I had to-
day a big swarm, which weighed Gh lb. The
bees are hybrids from a stock I bought on five
frames from a dealer at the end of March last.
Shallow frame supers were on the hive, which
still seems full of bees. — B. Boothroyd.

%u ^hxm id Opcme.

July 18, 19, 20. — Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Great Grimsby. Bees,
hives, honey, and appliances. Liberal prizes.
Entries close June 29. S. Upton, secretary,
St. Benedict's-square, Lincoln.

July 20 and 21.— Bristol District B.K.A. at
Knowle. Schedules from Messrs. J. Brown and
E. A. S. Cotterell, 42, Baldwin Street, Bristol.

July 21. — Wotton-under-Edge, B.K A.
Show of honey, &c., in the Fete Ground.
Entries close July 14. Hon. Sec , G. Gunston,
Wotton-under-Edge.

July 26.— Notts B.K.A. Annual County
Show at Southwell. Liberal prizes. Open
classes for appliances, hives, and extracted
honey. Entries close July 19. Secretary, A. G.
Pugh, Mona-street, Beeston, Notts. Other
shows connected with the Notts B.K.A.
will be held as follows : — Lowdham, July 19 ;

Hucknall Torkard, July 24 ; Beeston, August
6 ; and Moorgreen, September 4.

July 27. — North Norfolk Bee-keepers'
Association. Great show of honey at Melton
Constable Park. Liberal prizes. Entries close
July 18. Schedules from C. J. Cooke, Edge-
field, Melton Constable.

August 1, 2, and 3 — At Beverley, Yorks.
Prizes for bees, honey, and appliances. Entries
close June 23. Marshall Stephenson, secretary,
York.

August 10 and 11. — At Dumfries. South
of Scotland B.K.A. Very liberal prizes.
Schedules from W. Wilson, Acrehead, Dum-
fries.

August 22 and 23. — At Derby. Derbyshire
B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby.

August 23. — At Horiham. Twelve classes
for bees, hives, and honey. Entries close
August 18. Schedules from E. Gilburd,
Horsham.

September 6. — At Castle Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1 lb. jars
extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, secretary, Castle Douglas, N.B.

Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded mil be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column .

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufac-
turers or correspondents, or where appliances^can be
purchased, or replies giving such information, can only
be, inserted as adeertisernents. The space devoted to
letters, queries, and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish^our Correspondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press i?i advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of their communica-
tions. __^

Miss Cooke. — Glazing Section.— By the term
" glazing sections " is meant fixing a square
of glass same size as the sections on both
sides thereof. The glass is usually fixed by
a narrow margin of lace- paper pasted over
the junction of wood and glass.

A. Pratt (Exeter). — As there is no trace of
brood at all in comb sent, it is impossible
for us to say if the stock is foul-broody or
not.

R. W. Heathcote (Ringwood).— Lime Trees
not Flotvering. — We know of no species of
the lime tree which never flowers. Perhaps
your trees have not yet reached the age of
flowering.

Leathers ARROW {Bivk^slo).— Judging Age
of Honey. — Experience only enables a
person to judge whether honey is of the
current year's gathering or not.

D. W. Lewis (Fishguard). — Drones^ with
Swarms. — 1. It gives cause for suspicion to
see drones tolerated with swarms for some
time after hiving ; but why not examine
the frames to see if queen is all right ?
2. Feeders are set above the feed-hole in
quilts, -with a feeding-stage on which the
bottle is set.

260

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [June 28, 1894.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plantg, &c. — JTp to
Twelve words, Sixpence; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

FINE SWARMS, 3A lbs., 10s. 6d. each, packed free-
Lemin, 72, Hoe-s"treet, Walthamstow. E 31

WANTED, two strong SWARMS of BEES. Exchange
Extractor, good condition. William Parsons,
Esq., Ashurst-place, Langton, Tunbridge Wells.

A BARGAIN.— Six Neighbour's " SANDRINGHAM "
HIVES (painted), been used, in good condition,
A^3 IPs. A. A., King William-street, Strand. E 27

FOR SALE, "WINDSOR" EXTRACTOR, by
Meadows, good as new, price 9s. R., Bee Journal
Office, 17, King William-street, London. E 26

NEW HIVES, standard size, ten frames, stocked with
strong swarms, packed on rail, 18s. each.
Crawshaw, White Hill Apiary, Welwyn, Herts. E 30

FRESH KERRY BUTTER at Is. per lb. and postage.
Apply Miss Fitzgerald, Glanleam, Valencia Island,
Ireland. E 29

STRONG stock of BEES, in standard bar-frame hive,
33s. carriage paid. Young, prolific QUEENS,
3s. 6d. post free. William H. Bulcock, Riversdale,
Clitheroe. E 28

BEES, NATURAL SWARMS, healthy and strong,
free from foul brood, 10s. 6d. each, boxes 2s. 6d. if
not returned. E. Long, Cottenham, Cambs. E 23

FOR SALE, FIRST SWARMS of splendid Honey
Gatherers, all '93 Queens, packed free 10s. 6d. Safe
arrival guaranteed. J. Pargeter Smith, Cropreay,
Leamington. ' E 21

ARBOLINE POMADE (Thlid Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. Holliday, Astbury,

Congleton.

/^HOICE YOUNG QUEENS, excellent strain, pro-
V^ duced by seven years' careful breeding, guaranteed
fertile, post free 5s., virgins, 2s. 6d. Rev. C. Breekton,
Pulborough, Sussex. 229

PURE ENGLISH BEES, splendid strain. Small
swarm with queen, 5s., larger, 10s. 6d., superior,
15s., queens, 3s. all on rail. Alsford, Expert, Bland-
ford^ E 19

ON SALE, a MANIPULATING lENT, in good con-
dition. For price and particulars, Mr. Isaac
Bush, Beechfleld Nursery, Bowdon. 223

EE TENT on HIRE. For terms, apply to G. Gunston,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

B

"YE OLDE ENGLISH BEE."

PRIME natural Swarms of my selected strain of the
above, headed with 1893 Queens, carefully packed,
and put on Rail, 15s. each. The ungenial weather
during May has made the swarming season unexpectedly
late. Customers may rely on every effort being made
to fill orders as promptly as possible. W. Woodley,
Beedon, Newbury.

- Porterage on Telegrams, Is. 6d.

ARKET for RUN HONEY (new and old),

SECTIONS (any quantity), and AVAX. State

price, <fec. Prompt cash. Packages sent. Address,

H., Bee Journcd Office, 17, King WilMam-street,

London.

H

OP ALE, sparkling, refreshing, made for 3d. gallon.
Recipe 7d. Turner, Limpsfield, Surrey. e 14

FIRST^SWARMS of my splendid strain of BEES,
which cannot be excelled, 15s., packed free. John
Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington. d 95

BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the

CENTRAL SUPPLY STORES

for all BEEKEEPERS' REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL
at the -OLD SPOT, 50, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET.
GEORGE ROSE, successor to P. Harbordt.

Why pay carriage from long distances when you can
buy cheaper and quite as good quality locally, and have
your orders promptly attended to ? Catalogues gratis.
Send now. 14 varieties of Bee Flowers (full directions to
each), Is. Cash with order. 201

THE TORKSHIRE
Bee-keepers' Supplies

WILLIAM DIXON,

5, Beckett St., Leeds.

Hives, Extractors,

Smokers, Feeders,

l^oundation, &c.

Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver, &BronzeMedals.

SUBSTANTIAL BEI! HIVES,

12 frames 10/6 (all double walls on legs), 16 frames 15

These are rare value for money.

SUPERIOR COMB FOUNDATION, SECTIONS, &c.

Swarm Preventing, Artificial Swarming, Feeding,
Transferring from Skeps, all Post Free Sd.

W. RUSHTON, Hive Factory, Bedford.

If you want to handle

your Bees with COMFORT,

and not get STUNG,

TRY APIFUCE

Numerous Unsolicited Testimonials.
To be had of all Appliance Makers and

DARCY GRIMSHAW, HORSFORTH, LEEDS.

Price Is. and 2s. post free-
Cash must accompany Order.

LINCOLNSHIRE AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY,

GRIMSBY EXHIBITION,

July 18, 19, 20.

The PEIZES offered for POULTRY, HONEY,
HIVES, BUTTER, EGGS, &c., amount to nearly £120.
ENTRIES CLOSE 29tli JUNE. For Prize Lists and
Entry I'orms apply to

STEPHEN UPTON,

Secretary.
St. Benedict's-square,

Lincoln, loth .Tune, 1894.

BALDWIN'S

is the Oldest Es-
tablishment in
the United
Kingtlom
wholly devoted
to Bees and
manufacture of Bee-keepers' supplies. His prices will
compare most favourably with those ef any other Maker,
while for quality of material, suitability and workman-
ship he has no rival.

A large consignment of the beautiful

"FALCONER" SECTIONS,

both 4 bee-way and 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct importation.
Price 2/6 per 100 ; cut to receive Foundation, 3/- per 100.
By Parcel Post, 1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which "contains more practical and reliable hints
than all the large, expensive books," post free for
2(i. stamps.

Address S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent.

N.B. — More than 500 Silver and Bronze Medals, First and

other Prizes, and Testimonials innumerable.

July 5, 1894.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

2G1

,^(,

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — The continuance of the
hot weather and its probable eftect on
bees warrants us in adding a few " hints "
to those of last week, it being very likely
that some at least of our less experienced
readers Avill be needing advice just now
if they have half-a-dozen or more stocks
in hand. We expect that bees Avill, for
various reasons, be very irascible during
the hotter part of the day, and inclined
to sting if interfered with. If this is
found to be so, they should be left
severely alone between the hours of
9 a.m. and 5 p.m.^ — an hour earlier and
later will be all the better, if convenient.
Any manipulating actually needed will
be got through with far more comfort
and quietude if performed before 7 a.m.
or after 6 p.m., until such time as the
bees have had another week or so at in-
gathering, which will tend to make them
more amenable to handling. Meantime,
shade, ventilation, and storage must be
provided ; do nothing which will tend to
irritate the bees, and they will soon
resume their quieter habits. Signs are
not wanting of the present heat cul-
minating in a thunder-storm, but we are
hoping for a few days more of honey
weather before a change occurs.

Swarms. — As expected, swarming has
become very general, and in some places
excessive, not a few bee-keepers being
quite perplexed what to do, so plentiful
have they been. AVe have reports of
swarms issuing simultaneously and joining
while on the wing, thus rendering it
difficult to return them even Avhere in-
crease is not desired. In such cases it is
best to let the bees remain for hiving in
one lot, and use some quieting agent if
signs of fighting are seen. A good
dredging with flour as the combined
swarms are running into the hive will
usually stop slaughter, or they may be
sprinkled with very thin syrup — little
more than well-sAveetened water — scented
with a few drops of aniseed or pepper-
mint, after throwing them out of the
hiving skep. A large lot of bees, con-
sisting of several swarms, joined in this
way, may have a good Aveight of surplus
work given them at once above their new
brood-chamber, and will render a good

account of themselves if the bee weather
holds out for a couple of weeks longer.
The stoppage of swai'ming this season,
just when, in the ordinary course, it
would have taken place, has also resulted
in the deposition of a number of old
queens, Avhich otherwise would have
accompanied the first swarms, and in
consequence the latter Avill have virgin
queens at their head. Care should there-
fore be taken to watch for queens as they
run in with the bees, and if seen to bear
the more slender and taper form of the
abdomen which bespeaks non-fertilisa-
tion, it will relieve the mind of the bee-
keeper as to re-queening in autumn.

Wide Combs in Surplus Chambers.
— We have, in common with others, had
a little unforeseen trouble Avith these,
Avhich may in a measure be attributed
to the season, in this way : — Some boxes
of shalloAv frames being used Avith the
neAv " AA'ide ends," and nearly full of
honey at the time, had for certain reasons
the second boxes of ready-built combs
given over instead of under those first put
on. The frames of the latter chanced to
have very narrow bottom bars, and Avhen
the late rush of honey came the bees
completely built these narrow bars into
the comb, continuing the latter doAvn to
the combs below and joining the two
boxes into one so far as the sealed combs.
Of course,, we shall have to revert to a
disused plan of draAving a Avirc betAveen
the tAvo boxes to sever the attachments,
and by inserting a thin Avedge at each
corner, raise the upper box |th of an inch,
and alloAV the bees an hour or so to clean
up the dripping honey before removing
the surplus. In preventing a recurrence
of the trouble, Ave are again bringing
into use the long discarded adapters — ■
formerly used under all supers — of thin
AA^ood, cut the same size as the shalloAV-
frame boxes, and having narroAV slots
along tAvo sides, Avhich admit the bees to
the upper chamber. They have also
narroAv strips of Avood on the under sides
to give a bee-space above the frames of
lower boxes. These adapters prevent
combs in duplicate chambers being joined
together in the manner of Avhich Ave have
been complaining. Moreover, the bottom
bar of frames is sometimes so effectually
built into the comb as to be out of sight
altogether. Consequently it gives the
frame of comb a very handsome appear-
ance for exhibition.

262

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 5, 1894.

ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

THE SHOW AT CAMBRIDGE.

The fifty-fifth annual show of the "Royal"
was held at Cambridge oa Monday, June 25,
and four following days, in beautiful summer
weather, which continued without a break
during the whole time the exhibition lasted.
The showyard was situated on Midsummer
Common, a convenient piece of ground some-
what limited in extent when compared with
some Royal shows we have attended, but easy
of access from the station, and close in to the
town. The show opened under the most
favourable auspices, having a popular president
in the Duke of Devonshire, the promise of his
usual visit from the Prince of Wales and his
son the Duke of York, together Avith the fact
that the total number of entries in every
department of the show reached the large
figure of .Q,210. There needed but sunshme
to make everything go off well, and this was,
as we have said, abundantly granted.

The total number of visitors who passed the
turnstiles daring the five days was 110,311,
and it is, therefore, safe to say that the Cam-
bridge year will be reckoned among the
Society's successes. It is now fifty-four years
since the last visit of the R. A. S. to the University
town, and the contrast is worth noting in that
the show of 1840 was then counted as the
largest of the kind ever held, the entries
numbering 452 !

THE BEE EXHIBITS.

In the Bee department, with which we are
more immediately concerned, the entries
reached the respectable figure of 222 — the
largest entry for some years past in the honey
classes, which numbered 166 of the total
number. On this account it wa? doubly dis-
appointing to have the show opening in
splendid honey weather, while bees were
gathering nectar fast, but just a week too late
in starting to enable more than a very
diminished portion of the honey exhibits to
be staged. It i?, however, gratifying to note
that bee-keepers who are honey-producers on a
fairly large scale still maintain their interest in
this the premier show of the year, the fact
being evidenced by no less than eleven entries
— six of which were actually staged — in that
most troublesome of all classes, the one for
collections, or most attractive displays, of
honey in any form. Viewing the honey
classes as a whole, the enforced withdrawals,
caused by the adverse weather of the few
weeks preceding the show, told heavily against
the fulness of the display, but, considering
all things, a fairly good show was made, very
creditable in particular to those who pluckily
stuck to their entries, and held on so late as
to bring their sections with them to the town
and the show strais^ht from the hives.

It -was matter for regret that in the class
for collections of bee-appliances only two
competitors appeared. Tlais made the compe-
tition less interesting than it might otherwise

have been, but the quality and quantity of the
goods displayed in a great measure helped to
atone for the limited competition, and whether
satisfactory or not to the exhibitors who sent
collections, it may be very safely said that
their goods would have been difficult to beat
by whoever opposed. On the other hand, it
is not easy to understand why prizes of £5 and
,£2. 10s. should not be worth competing for by
more than two manufacturers at a show which
most persons take to be the most important of
the whole year ; held, moreover, at a season
when orders are still being given for bee-
goods.

APPLIANCES.

Class 302. Collection of Hives and Ap-
pliances.— The first prize collection of Mr. W.
P. Meadows was a large and highly meritorious
one. Nothing either faulty or stale did we
notice in the whole of the goods shown, while
the number of novelties contained in what is
known as the " extras " portion of the display
was quite remarkable. Among the most pre-
tentious of the novelties was another attempt
to solve the question of providing an efficient
uncapping machine for rapid work in large
apiaries. It was worked by foot-power with
knives of novel construction, and we hope to
see this machine staged in an appropriate
class, where its merits might be more fully
gone into as a separate exhibit, and its applica-
tion to the use for which it is intended put to
a practical test. We have not space to enu-
merate even a part of the large number of
things shown on this stand. The hives were
replicas of those shown in other classes, and
the tinwork of all kinds for bee-purposes was
unusually large and comprehensive.

Mr. Redshaw's second prize collection was
also a very excellent one, not so large as the
first-named, but of excellent make and effi-
ciency throughout.

Class 304. Best a'nd Most Complete Frame-
hire for General Use. — With exactly the
same number of entries (nine) as last year,
Mr. W. P. Meadows got first place for what
he terms his "XL hive on the W. B. C. plan,"
price 21s. An exceedingly well-made and
complete hive at the price quoted. It em-
braced loose stand and floor-board combined,
body-box of ten standard frames with dummy,
shallow-frame box, also holding ten frames,
rack of 21 sections, outer-case, lifts, porch,
having a simple but cleverly-contrived adjust-
able entrance, and good roof with bee-escape
ventilation, making up a very "' complete
hive for general use,' as per schedule. Though
affording ample protection against wet and
cold, all the working parts were made as light
and portable as possible consistent with dura-
bility. The second prize was awarded to Mr.
0. Redshaw for a similar hive (price 24s.) to
the one with which he gained first at Chester
last year, and at Warwick in 1892. The same
exhibitor also gained third prize for his well-
known " Royal Notts Hive,'' price 18s. 6d.

I

July 5, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

263

Several other good hives were staged, but,
as we observed in our report of last year's
" Royal '' show, it was surely an oversight to
enter hives of an elaborate and complicated
type — constructed for working bees on the
double-queen system — in a class specially
designed to bring out the best hive for general
use. We cannot believe that any manufacturer
would seriously contend that such hives come
within the category intended by the framers
of the schedule. Size, unwieldines?, compli-
cation in working, and high price, all combine
to place this type of hive outside the compe-
tition in the class under notice. Moreover,
the fact of the judges at Chester last year
having apparentely taken this view by passing
over hives of this kind, renders their ro-
ajjpearance at Cambridge the more unac-
countable to us otherwise than as an oversight
on the part of the exhibitors.

Class 305. Most Complete and Inexpensive
Frame-Hive for Cottagers' Use. — The compe-
tition in this class was unusually limited, only
four competitors appearing. It makes one
wonder why this should not be the largest
class in the show, in view of the fiict that the
inexpensive hive should be the popular and
most generally-used one, if it can be made to
possess efficiency along with cheapness. How-
ever, we have only to record what took place
without inquiring why there were so few
entries for moderate - priced hives. Mr.
Meadows and Mr. Eedshaw again divided
the honours, as in 304, the former taking first
prize with a neat little hive (price 8s. (id.), for
which sum was provided a loose floor-board,
body-box with ten standard frames, rack of
twenty-one sections, excluder, quilts and roof.
Extra good materials and workmanship com-
bined to help this hive into top place. Mr.
Eedshaw, as before, carried otf second and
third prizes with hives priced lOs. 6d. each,
but of diflferent types, each having surplus
chambers and all needful requirements for a
complete working hive. The unplaced hive
might, we thought, have been in a different
position had it not lacked quality both in
wood and workmanship when compared with
the winning exhibits ; in fact, but for the de-
merits mentioned, we liked it as a good work-
ing hive, quite as well as some of those placed
above it.

Class 306. Best Honeij - Extractor (five
entries). — Here, again, Mr. Meadows took
first prize with " The Cowan Eapid," a fine
machine with reversing steel cages, non-splash-
ing arrangement, chain-gearing, and cover,
priced £2. 10s. ; the same exhibitor securing
second prize for his latest improved form of
the " Raynor,-' with patent open steel cages,
non-splashing arrangement, chain-gearing, and
cover, price £2. Both are excellent machines
and had a close run for first place. The
" Cowan '' is, however, more easily unshipped
for cleaning, and has the advantage of the
combs being reversible without removnl. On

''he other hand, the " Raynor " will extract
four combs at once as against two in the
" Cowan." For those who desire a lower-
priced machine several well-known and useful
ones were staged at prices from 21s. to 28s. 6d.,
a H.C. being given to Mr. Meadows for his
well-known " Guinea " machine.

Class 307. Best pair of tiection Backs fitted
for use and interchangeable. — Another limited
competition, the three winning exhibits all
having hanging frames of the same type for
the sections. The first prize pair were similar
to those shown last year by the winner, but
reduced in size so as to fit the ten-frame hive
for which they are intended without over-
hanging a little on one side as the original
had.

Class 308. Best Rapid Feeder. — Both first
and second prizes were taken by precisely the
same form of feeder exhibited by the same
winners last year at Chester.

Class 309. Best and most perfect Bingham
Smoker of British Manufacture (prizes offered
by Mr. T. W. Cowan). — Those who have had
any experience with the original " Bingham "
smoker — and we fancy the donor of the prizes
must be included among them — -are usually
very firmly convinced of its superiority over
all other forms of smokers on the market.
Any way, we suppose no British bee-keeper
had an opportunity of testing the particular
form of " Bingham " shown by Mr. Meadows at
Cambridge, and the exhibitor was quite right
in staging the latest and most perfect form of
the smoker devised and sent out in America
by Mr. Bingham himself. It is, nevertheless,
an uncanny looking afiair, with its queer cap
and the wire-arrangement for lifcing which
surmounts the nozzle, besides having the
bellows fixed "wrong end up.'' In one parti-
cular the American pattern has been departed
from in its having an all-round hand-guard
an improvement in the wrong direction to our
mind, the real " Bingham " guard being lighter
and all sufficient. The new form of smoker
may possess all the advantages claimed for it
when one gets used to its working, but we
must confess to a mighty liking for the older
form, and, in any case, we would prefer the
bellows fixed wide end down, as in the original.
The prizs smoker of Mr. W. Dixon was good
but decidedly an Anglicised " Bingham."

Passing over, for the present, the classes for
honey, we come to Class 318. For any
practically Useful Invention connected iuith
Bee - Keeping introduced since 1892 (ten
entries). — This was a fairly interesting class,
including some things which may possess
merit, but which we should say undoubtedly
require a season's practical trial before
receiving recognition at the hands of judges
who have had no opportunity of testing them.
The reversible super clearer with adapting
slide, shown by Mr. Meadows, was awarded a
bronze medal, and Mr. John Walton got a
high commend for his slow bottom feeder, a
useful contrivance for feeding in spring and

264

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 5, 1894.

autumn with a minimum of trouble and with-
out lifting ofl' roofs or disturbing the bees=.

Class 319. — Most interesting and indructive
exhibit of any kind connected with bee culture
not mentioricd in the foregoing classes, and to
which prizes have not been previously awarded.
(Nine entries.) By far the " most interesting
and instructive exhibit '' (according to the
wording of the schedule) in this class was
that shown by Mr. Brice, illustrative of cer-
tain " modifications of Mr. Doolittle's method
of queen-rearing rendered necessary by the
exigencies of the English climate." This was
shown in a neat glazed frame, in which
were arranged in progressive order the cells
used for queen-raising from the first stage of
preparing the ' ' cups " by the bee-keeper to
the perfect queen-cells as formed from them in
the hive by the bees themselves. A bronze
medal was awarded to the exhibit. Mr. T. B.
Blow received a certificate for a fine collection
of honey vessels in glass and pottery, as did
Mr. C. N. White for a good collection of
samples of honey gathered from various
sources and places at home and abroad, all of
which were named. The combination hive
for cottagers' use shown by Mr, H. Seamark,
and Mr. W. Dixon's swarming or self-hiving
arrangement, were each commended.

Messrs. W. Broughton Carr, J. M. Hooker,
and F. J. Cribb officiated as judges, and the
following is the

List of Awards (AprnANCEs).
Collection of Hives and Appliances. — 1st,
W. P. Meadows, Syston, Leicester ; 2nd, C.
Redshaw, South Wigston, Leicester.

Observatory Hive. — 1st, T. B. Blow,
Welwyn, Herts; 2nd, W. Dixon, Becket-
street, Leeds ; highly commended, C. Bed-
shaw.

Frame Hive for General Use — 1st, W. P.
Meadows ; 2nd, C. Eedshaw ; 3rd, C. Ked-
shaw.

Frame Hive for Cottagers Use. — 1st, W. P.
Meadows ; 2nd, C. Redshaw ; 3rd, C. Red-
shaw.

Honey Extractor, — 1st, W. P. Meadows ;
2nd, W. P. Meadows ; highly commended,
W. P. Meadows.

Pair of Section BacJcs. — 1st, C. Eedshaw ;
2nd, W. Dixon ; 3rd, W. P. Meadows.

Itapid Feeder. — 1st, W. P. Meadows ; 2nd,
C. Redshaw.

Bingham Smoker, of British Manufacture.
—1st, W. P. Meadows ; 2nd, W. Dixon.

Uscfid Invention introduced since 1892. —
Bronze medal, W. P. Meadows, for improved
super clearer ; highly commended, J. Walton,
for slow bottom feeder.

Bee Cultiire Exhibit. — Bronze medal, H. W.
Brice, for method of queen raising ; certifi-
cates, C. N. White, for honey samples, and
T. B. Blow, for honey vessels in glass and
pottery ; commended, W. Dixon, for swarming
arrangement, and H. Seamark, for cottager's
combination hive.
The Honey Classes will be dealt with next iceek.

^mt%p\uUut

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous coinmunications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, bxit as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be draivn on separate pieces of_ paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected coinmunications.

*," In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previoiisly inserted,
Vfill oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

"EE-QUEENING AND BUYING

. QUEENS."

[2002.] I observe in your issue of the 21st
ult. a letter on this subject (1889, p. 245)
signed " P. S.," that he, after making about as
big a hash of his bees as was possible, has come
to the determination to " let well alone " in
future. I am afraid this is one case among
many of our young bee-keepers who, in their
commendable desire to do the best they can
for the prosperity of their bees, undertake
delicate operations without sufficient ele-
mentary training. I have no desire to criticise
his letter, except in the most friendly way,
and with every desire to help him, but from
his own statements I must say he has, in my
opinion, deliberately laid himself open to be
imposed upon. This is not an isolated case, as
I had a similar one under my observation only
last year, where high prices were paid for
queens which turned out not as represented,
but " otherwise." As to the sums of 8s. 6d.
and 7s. 6d. being paid for home-bred queens,
well, there is an adage about some people and
their money being soon parted, although I do
not assume " P. S." to be one of these,
still the price is far more than such queens
are worth. I consider that hybrid queens of
the current year— which are to my mind far
superior to pure-bred ones — are not worth
more than 3s. 6d. each in the autumn, when
" P. S." purchased, and earlier in the year
5s. 6d. Although, if a stock has to be broken
up in winter or early spring for the purpose of
supplying queens, then the latter is worth the
value of the stock ; and the value of queens
of the previous year is not more than 2s. 6d.
It is in no way certain, however, that a current
year's queen will be superior to one a year
older. I have one in my mind now in her
third summer which can give points and a
beating to any other two queens I have yet
come across young or old, and I do not con-
sider her saleable value to be more than
2s. 6d., though I should sing " She is all the
world to me '' ; but, of course, even a queen
like this would afford no excuse for loell-known
dealers (as "P. S." puts it) practising decep-
tion on beginners by passing them ott" as the
current year's productions. With ordinary
care no queen-rearer need ever make a mis-
take in the age of his queens ; and we cannot
too strongly condemn the palming off of

July 5, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

265

ffoods, be they queens, honey, or anything else,
as other than what they are ; it is neither more
nor less than a fraud. Gluwin.g de,wn'j>lio)it;
of goods for >iale is a bait which I am very sliy
at even nibbling at, much less swallowing
whole.

Another point I should like to say a word
upon, and that is, how was the " expert " re-
ferred to enabled to declare that the queen
was " not less than three years old " ? Young
queens, especially in large colonies, soon lose
their bloom (the hairy pubescence), and in one
short year a queen that hns done good work
might certainly be stated to be an adult or
even "old one," as our editor very properly
put it, and, as 1 read you to mean, evidently
not a young one. I have known queens at six
months to look old, ragged, and worn out by
being kept breeding at high pressure, and
might be easily judged to be " getting on for
forty," but I cannot for the life of me make
out how the expert mentioned can declare any
individual queen without having her pedigree
to be "not less than three years old.'

Now, reverting to your correspondent's own
practices, as shown by his letter, in removing
No. 1 to introduce the new queen, I would lika
to ask did he destroy No. 1 ? and if so, did he
do well to be " off with the old love " before
he got the new one accepted ? Again — with
the first queen he bought for No. 2 — how did
that queen, though " old," come to be dead so
soon? and is it not a strange coincidence that
the second queen for No. 2 should also be
gathered to its foremothers in eighteen days !
iStill stranger is the sequel to this story when
we find that the third queen bought for No. 2
is a " wrong 'un.'' But a ray of light is given us
by "P. S." at the end of his letter, when he says :
"At last I examined them thoroughly.''
Yes, friend " P. S.," it is this last little word
which, in my opinion, is the answer to your
plaintive cry, thoroughness and the doing of
things thoroughly is what is wanting not only in
bee-keeping but on every hand. We bee-keepers
are not as a body so painstaking as we should be ;
the rush and bustle of every-day life is against
our taking proper pains, and if we examine
our hives and carry on our bee-keeping in the
same hasty manner with which most of us eat
our breakfast and rush off to catch a train, so
surely shall we fail to be successful in delicate
manipulations such as handling queen?, &c. It
is our fault in not seeing the cause of our
failures at our own doors, when we cast around
us for the first object we can find and lay the
blame thereon accordingly, moralise, and then
make a firm resolve in future to "let well
alone," and go from bad to worse.

Now, to show your correspondent that I
raise a " plaintive cry " myself occasionally, I
desire to say that I too have a grievance, and
that is the season of 1894. Bees did well in
April, especially those in " Wells " hives. May
was bad, very bad, and up to Friday, June 22,
all stocks in single-queen hives had to be fed to

jjrevent starvation, but with those in hives
worked on Mr. Wells' system the bees had
sufficient surplus to more than biing them
through the late trying season. On the last-
mentioned date came a welcome change, and
for two or three days it seemed as though the
surplus chambers would rapidly fill, but to-
day, July 1, another change has come ; the
ruthless scythe has laid low the whole of the
clover, and, with a rich harvest at hand seven
days ago, the cup of sweetness has now for a
time been dashed from the lips of my little
workers. They don't like it, neither does your
humble servant.

I also notice in the columns of jour ex-
cellent journal reference is made to bees raising
queens from the egg. But I say they do not
do so. In fact, they do not seem to take any
notice of the egg until it is hatched. This f
have proved often and recently. Many of
your readers have no doubt kept fowls, and
have observed how a sitting hen at ditt'erent
times shifts the position of the eggs upon
which she is sitting ; those who have raised
chickens by incubation also know the absolute
necessity for turning the eggs every twelve
hours ; the reasons for this being, first, to
supply the top warmth to all sides of the egg
equally ; second, to aerate the eggs from
difl^erent sides which is necessary for the weJl-
being of the embryo ; and, third, to prevent
the embryo from becoming fixed to the side of
the egg, by being too long in one position, for
the embryo always floats on the top of the
fluid (the yolk or vitellus) within the shell.
And so it is with the egg of the bee, but
instead of the queen visiting the cells to turn
the eggs, this is done by the workers, and thus
gives them yet another office of usefulness,
which to the present I do not think they have
been accredited with. To prove my point let
me say on May 30 last I had four eggs laid in
adjacent cells Avhich I uuirked ; these eggs
were in a perpendicular or vertical position in
the cells, with the curvature of the eggs to the
left ; on May 31 they were all inclined to an
angle of forty to the right, and the eggs had
been turned over, as the curvature of the eggs
were reversed. Then on June 1 these eggs
were all in a horizontal position and the cur-
vature of the eggs was reversed, also being now
upwards ; the next day they were hatched,
and since then I have seen the nurse bees every
time I go to a hive, which is every day (weather
permitting), busy dipping their he ids into
cells containing eggs. This has made quite
clear to my mind that which before had puzzled
me, viz , why they went to so many cells for
nothing. Now we have got to the stage when
the egg hatches, and even in queenless colonies
it is not for thirty-six hours that the newly
hatched larva3 is fed at all, I confess to having
found a few larvae fed at t«Feoty-four hours, but
very few ; and even in colonies in the condition
above-mentioned, I have failed to find royal
food given to larva? until between the second
to fourth day ; so I do not s?e how it can be

266

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 5, 1894.

said that queens are, under ordinary circum-
stances, raised from the eggs, when it is well
known that in 999 out of 1,000 cases they are
raised from larvas over forty-eioht hours
old — in most cases, much older ; in fact, so old
that the resultant majesty is only half a queen
and half a worker. Let bee-keepers think of
this ; it is no fancy picture, but a solid truth,
and then they will cease to wonder why queens
for which high prices have been paid are worn
out before their time, and appear older than
they should, and so even deceive the judgment
of the most expert. — Henry W. Brice, erst-
while "The Heathen,'' Thornton Heath,
July 1.

PUTTING^ SWARMS TOGETHER.
[2003.] In your valuable ■' Hints" last week
(p. 251) you seem to suppose that your readers
will usually know the hive from which a swarm
issues. With a large number of hives and two
or three " bee settlements " in our house, we
can by no means always tell from what hive a
swarm has come. The plan which has been
adopted this year with its endless swarms
seems a great success, and some of your readers
may like to try it. We keep a swarm in a
skep until one or two more are out, then at
eventide we make up a hive with seven or
eight frames and three racks of shallow frames
or sections ; we syrup the bees in each skep,
throw them on to the cloth placed on a board
in front of the hive, syrup them again (taking
care to sprinkle or spray them only), and thus
build up an enormous stock, which unites
without any fighting or further trouble. One
stock not ten days old, made up in this way,
appears already to have amassed .30 to 50 lb.
weight of super honey. — E. Bartrum, D.D.,
Wake's Golne Rectory, Essex, June 29, 1894.

STARTING BEE SHOWS.

[2004.] I trust you will give me a little
space to say the editor of the South-West
Suffolk Echo, Mr. Ronald Smith, of Haver-
hill, is taking much interest in the poultry
and bee departments of the Wickhambrook
(Foal and Colt) Show, at Great Thurlow,
July IS, 1894. These department? of the
show are entirely new departures, and it is to
be hoped they will command the success
which the energy of the committee deserves to
achieve.

Mr. Owen Dowsett, Great Thurlow, is the
secretary for bee and honey classes. Mr. C.
Whiting will lecture and give demonstrations
in modern bee-keeping. The competition is
limited to a twelve-mile radius, and bee-
keepers eligible to compete should do all they
can to back the committee in their efforts. It
is a discouraging season for bee-keepsrs, and
therefore there is the greater necessity that,
every bee-keeper in the districts round Great
Thurlow should apply for schedule and stage
some honey in one or more of the five classes.
There is also a class for mead, and another for
home-made hives, with good prizes. I suggest

another excellent class for general adoption
another year — i.e., honey vinegar. It is easily
and cheaply made. Proportions are one part
of honey to four parts of pure water. Cover
the crock with fine gauze, and expose the open
vessel to the sun for six weeks. No bee-
keeper will use any other vinegar when once
he has tried this deliciously wholesome
product. It needs clarifying by filtering
properly. Real honev vinegar only needs to
be known to command a ready sale. — E. D. T.,
Eynsford, June 30.

" HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR IS
DUE."

[2005.] When at the Cambridge Show
I spent some little time in the tent of the
B.B.K.A. with the object of seeing what was
new and which of the appliance manufac-
turers had been successful in the various
classes. I noticed on every exhibit that had
obtained a prize the catalogue of a well-known
manufacturer. I thought to myself what a
fortunate man this is to have carried off so
many prizes. Judge of my surprise when I
found, upon looking at the official catalogue,
that not one of the prize articles had been
exhibited by the individual who had the
audacity to cause his own business catalogue
to be placed upon them, who, by so doing,
was trying to mislead the public and endea-
vouring to benefit by the honours gained by
other manufacturers.

Upon calling the attention of the secretary
to the fact, he said he had already spoken to
this person of his unfair way of advertising,
and had twice removed the catalogues from
articles not belonging to him. Those who are
capable of such dishonest practices should be
made an example of, and not be allowed to
compete in future exhibitions of the B.B.K.A.
— A Lover of Pair Play.

"WELLS" HIVES.

DO THEY CONTAIN ONE OR TWO STOCKS OF
BEES?

[2006.] Referring to the letters (1897 and
8) in your issue of June 28, 1 feel that no good
parpose can be served by prolonging the pre-
sent controversy concerning the double-queen
system, and therefore content myself by
saying I have nothing to withdraw from what
I have previously written, although I might
add much. I think enough has been said to
enable bee-keepers to form their own opinions,
and I am quite content to leave the matter in
their hands, for after all it does not make one
iota of diff'erence by whatever name the system
is known, or whether a " Wells' " hive is to be
counted as one stock or ten stocks, it will not
alter the plain facts of the system. In repeat-
ing that I have nothing whatever to gain by it,
it is certainly far from my wish to cram the
system down the throats of bee-keepers. At
the same time I feel greatly indebted to those
who have given their time in writing for the

July 5, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

267

benefit of others those things which they have
proved to be good for themselves, and I hope
the numerous friends who are fast swelling
the ranks of bee-keepers will continue to do
the same. I shall be very pleased to answer
any questions through your columns or other-
wise which may be put to me upon the sub-
ject, but beyond that I feel there is no need
for me to go any further at the present. — G.
Wells, Aylesford, Kent, June, 30.

IMPERFECT COMBS.

[2007.] Where whole sheets of foundation
are not used in the frame in a hive it fre-
quently happens that a large quantity of drone
comb is built ; if this is cut out it is usually
built again and again. The only sure way of
remedying this is to insert pieces of worker
comb in the place of that cut out. Frames of
comb so treated often have an ugly look where
they are made to join by the bees. A simple
way to do this satisfactorily is as follows : —
Take a tin pastry cutter, or any tin box or
preserved fruit can, as near the size of the
portion of the comb to be cut out, and press
the sharp edge into and through the objec-
tionable part of the comb, which must be first
placed on a board firmly. Remove the comb
from the tin, and then cut a piece of spare
worker comb with the same cutter. This will
be found to exactly fill the place of that
removed from the frame. The bottom must
be unsoldered from any tin proposed to be used
should it have one, or there will be difficulty
in removing the comb without damage. — John
M. Hooker, June 30.

THE SEASON IN ESSEX.

We have been requested to reprint the
following cutting : —

" One of our representatives had an interest-
ing chat with Mr. W. Debnam, of Chelmsford,
the exjjert of the Essex B.K.A. Within his
long and varied experience he never remembers
a year which has been more prolific of swarms.
Mr. Debnam has already taken from his own
stock 50 lb. of this season's honey (in sec-
tions), and twice that quantity for Mr. Regi-
nald Christy, of Boyton Hall, near Chelmsford
— these being inter alia. Since his visits in
the spring, Mr. Debnam has heard from all
parts of the county of the numerous ' flittings '
that have taken place, and he has been busy
going hither and thither to see what has been
going on, and to offer counsel where needed.
Amongst others may be mentioned Mrs. Cobb,
of Great Waltham, whose seven hives have
increased to twenty-one, all in sound, healthy
coudition, making honey fast. Mr. Ellis, of
High-street, Witham, has had five capital
swarms from one hive within about a month.
At Mrs. Taylor-Iiowe's, Gosfield Hall, Hal-
stead, where the head-gardener, Mr. Morgan,
has charge of the apiary, the original hives
liave nearly trebled, and now number between

thirty and forty. Another instance is that of
Mr. Coe, blacksmith, of Bannister Green,
Felstead, a prominent bee-keeper, whose
garden is practically full of hives, over thirty
having resulted from ten. Mr. E. Jex, of
Springfield, has also had several excellent
swarms. It appears as if it were not so much
a question of ' to be ' as to be without bees, for
their marvellous fecundity and methods of
seeking fresh fields and pastures new have put
the Essex keepers to such stress in the matter
of hives that recourse has even been had to
rabbit-hutches. It is satisfactory to learn that
the number of apiaries, owing to the intelli-
gent activity of the County Association,
assisted by the Technical Instruction Com-
mittee, is steadily increasing, and with appre-
ciable profit to those who resolutely determine
to become bee-masters, not haphazardly, but
with an eye to business as well as pleasure." —
East Anglian Daily Times.

HONEY IMPORTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of May,
1894, was £2,173. — From a return furnished
hy the Statistical Office, JJ.M. Customs,

(^mm mi %t^Xxt%.

[1087.] A Beginner's Queries, — I com-
menced bee-keeping this year by purchasing a
stock five weeks ago, the bees in which seem
to be vicious. 1. How should I use the
smoker in order to subdue them 1 2. Having
found stock rather strong (covering ten frames)
I put a super on, but, as there was not much
honey to be gathered, I put the feeder on top
of the super. If bees are scarce of food will
they go up and take the syrup ? 3. I saw the
bees carry some white substance from the hive
and dropped it some distance away. What is
that ? 4. I send you some bees from my hive.
Can you say what race they are ? Judging by
the Guide Book they seems to be Italians, but
so vicious ? — E. J. Barton, Ancrley.

Reply. — 1. It would be a simple matter to
slioio you how to use the smoker, but since you
have the Guide Booh, in which a half-dozen or
more pages are devoted to the description of
how to subdue and handle bees, it is not easy
to see that anything can be added. 2. Bees
should never be fed with syrup while supers
are on. They will store it in the combs. 3.
Probably a larva or grub which had died in
the cell. 4. Bees are hybrid carniolans, and
have no trace of the ligurian about them.

[1088.] Moidding Wax. — 1. I have a mould
made of metal, in the bottom of which certain
letters, nearly 1-16 in. in depth and breadth,
are engraved. I propose rimning wax into it,
but am afraid the wax may stick in the letters.

268

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,

[July 5, 1894.

How can this be prevented ? 2. Some wax
rendered from old combs only has no smell to
it. Can the scent be imparted by meltiug this
wax with honey, or otherwise ? — T. B ,
Middlesex, June 29.

Reply. — 1. The usual course is to dip the
moulds in warm water just before runaiug the
wax in. 2. More or lesj of the scent of honey
may be imparted to the wax if a little honey
of good aroma is mixed with it.

[1089.] Ownership of Swarms. — I had a
swarm of bees from one of my hives on
June 21, about 9 a.m. I hived them in a
straw skep, and about 2.30 they left the skep,
flew off, and went into an empty hive belong-
ing to a neighbouring bee-keeper who lives
about a quarter of a mile away. I have
a witness who saw them go in. I went
down and saw the owner of the hive referred
to, and she declared that her own bees had
swarmed that same morning, and went into
the same hive, and that mine followed them
in the afternoon, and she refused to let me
have the bees unless I gave her 10s., which I
did. To-day (June 23) another swarm has
issued from the same hive, which, according
to her statement, swarmed two days before,
and to which mine was supposed to have
joined. She has only that one stock, and
the swarm which came from it on the 25th
weighed five or six pounds. I ask you : — 1.
Is it possible for a second swarm to come off
four days after the issue of the first one ? And
2. Can I compel my neighbour to return ray
IDs. as asked, and which she refused to ? —
T. F.

Reply. — 1. There is strong evidence to a
practical bee-keeper that only your btes
entered the hive on the 21st, and that your
neighbour's bees did not swarm at all on
that day ; but whether there is legal evidence
or not is another question. 2. As the case
would have to go before a County-court judge,
we could not venture to say how he would
decide the point.

[1090.] Transferring Stocks in Sheps to
" Wells'^ Hives. — I started bee-keeping last
year by the purchase of a single skep of bees
in April. I had two swarms from it. The
first I put into a frame hive, and the second
into another skep. All three stocks wintered
well, the frame-hive being especially strong.
This year I have transferred the two skeps to
a " Wells'' hive, not by cutting out the combs
as usually advised, but by placing the skeps
above the frames in the " Wells,'' and allow-
ing the bees to work down into the lower part.
So far as I can judge, the operation has been
successful. The first skep was put on eleven
days ago, and the second five days liter. 1.
What I want to know is, when should I take
the skeps off ? Shall I remove them twenty-
one days after putting ihem on— that is,
after all the brood is hatched out above — so as
to enable me to get a few sections filled in

Auoru^t from the heather, which is abundan*;
in this neighbourhood ? Or (2) shall I keep
the t^keps oa till the end of the honey season,
and allow the be^^s to fill the skeps with
surplus honey ? The clover is just coming
into bloom now, and the weather is all that
can b3 desired. We are much later here than
up south ; but it is to the heather we look
for Oiir main crop. — John McInnes, Throp-
ton, Bothbury, June 30.

Reply. — 1. It is far from safe to assume
that the queen and bees will have taken
possession of the lower hive immediately, so
that without examination you cannot say when
all the brood will be hatched out from the
skeps. If, however, it is made clear that the
queens have descended, and are laying in the
lower hive, a sheet of excluder may be placed
above the frames to keep them below. That
done, the skeps may be removed when clear
of brood, and by allowing both lots to work in
a common super some sections may be secured
at the heather, if weather keeps fine. 2. By
leaving the skeps to become chambers for
surplus storing, a safer result may be counted
on, but on the other hand it is very disadvan-
tageous to have heather honey stored in old
brood-combs, such as the skeps would contain,

[1091.] Bees Dying. — T enclose piece of
comb and would feel obliged if you
would say in next journal whether it is
tainted with foul brood or not. I have
taken it from a stock which has, since the
month of April, thrown out a very great
number of dead bees, and something like a
civil war goes on every day on the alighting
board, and a lot of bees crawling on the
ground. It had only two patches of brood in
April, though now it has five combs of brood.
It is just behaving in the very same way as
mentioned on page 258, query 1086. There
are a great number of young bees, but some of
the sealed brood has a decidedly yellow tinge,
though no foul smell. Your kind attention
will greatly oblige, — A Very Old Sub-
scriber, Wigtown, June 29.

Reply. — There is certainly no sign of
brood failing to hatch in comb received, as is
shown by the fact that young bees sufficiently
matured have hatched and are hatching d^tily
since comb was despatched to us. We think
it very probable the stock will be all right in
a few days, or when natural food is plentiful,
and the bees can get abroad daily. In any
case there is no need for alarm as to foul
brood in the stock referred to.

^t\wt% from the '§m^.

Lancaster, June 29. — Splendid bee weather
has come at last, and honey is rolling in. The
smell of it can be felt some yards away from
my hives. — W. Drink all.

July 5 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

269

§« ^\mm ta ((^mt

July 18, 19, 20. — Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Great Grimsby. Bees,
hives, honey, and appliances. Liberal prizes.
S. Upton, secretary, Lincoln.

July 20 and 21.— Bristol District B.K.A. at
Knowle. Schedules from Messrs. J. Brown and
E. A. S. Cotterell, 42, Baldwin Street, Bristol.

.July 21. — Wotton-under-Edge, B.K A.
Show of honey, t&c, in the Fete Gtound.
Entries close July 14. Hon. Sec, G. Gunston,
Wotton-under-Edge.

July 26. — Notts B.K.A. Annual County
Show at Southwell. Liberal prizes. Open
classes for appliances, hives, and extracted
honey. Entries close July 19. Secretary, A. G.
Pugh, Mona-street, Beeston, Notts. Other
shows connected with the Notts B.K.A.
will be held as follows : — Lowdham, July 19 ;
Hucknall Torkard, July 24 ; Beeston, August
6 ; and Moorgreen, September 4.

July 27. — North Norfolk Bee-keepers'
Association. Great show of honey at Melton
Constable Park. Liberal prizes. Entries close
July 18. Schedules from C. J. Cooke, Edge-
field, Melton Constable.

August 1 , 2, and 3 — At Beverley, Yorks.
Prizes for bees, honey, and appliances.
Marshall Stephenson, secretary, York.

August 10 and 11. — At Dumfries. South
of Scotland BJ^.A. Very liberal prizes.
Schedules, W. Wilson, Acrehead, Dumfries.

August 22 and 23. — At Derby. Derbyshiie
B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby.

August 23. — At Horsham. Twelve clashes
for bees, hives, and honey. Entries close
August 18, Schedules from R. Gilburd,
Horsham.

September 6. — ^At Castle Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1 lb. jars
extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, secretary, Castle Douglas, N.B.

Shows have been arranged in connection
with the Lincolnshire Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion as follows : — July 7, Winterton ; 10th,
Scotter ; 17th, Brant Broughton ; 24th,
Heckington ; 26ch, Wragby, Waltham, and
Swinderby ; 31s", Morton (Bourne) ; August
Ut, Blankney and East Stockwith ; 2nd,
Stickney ; 6th, Eltham ; 9th, Wainfleet ; 16th,
Mablethorpe.

Noticesto Gorrespondentsand Inquirers.

All queries forwarded tvill be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column .

H. E. Marsh (Somerset). — Driving Bees
from Skep after SvMrviing. — The proper
time for driving under the conditions named

is twenty-one days after the issue of the
first (or top) swarm. By that time all brood
left in the hive will be hatched out. If
several weeks has elapsed since the first
swarm came off" the young queen will pro-
bably be laying. As to "tjing the old
combs into the frames of the new hive,"
we should not advise it, but rather have
new combs built instead. It is not likely
that the driven bees will be able to do any-
thing in yielding surplus in sections, or
otherwise ; the season is too far advanced
for that.

Nymph is that of a

W. (North Wales),
queen.

G. H. Strong (Strawberry-hill). — If the
outside sections are so nearly filled as stated,
a second rack should certainly be added
below without delay, providing that the
flora of your district still continues to yield
well, but not otherwise, if the object is to
get all well sealed and finished. Fine
weather alone will not enable bees to gather
nectar, there must be flowers to gather from
or very little surplus will be stored, conse-
quently we cannot give a date when you
'' may cease to expect any more honey in
sections "

C. Marks (Kingsbiidge). — Bees Hanging Out.
— The bees evidently require ventilation,
and should have the hive raised in front or
all round, if convenient. It will do no good
brushing the hanging-out cluster away, the
bees will only return to the same spot. If
you give room and air, they will work
instead of hanging out.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, &c. — Up to
Twelve words. Sixpence; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

STRONG Stocks of BEES, in Standard Bar-frame

Hives, ySs. carriage paid. Also a few young laying

QUEENS, 3s. 6d. post free. WILLIAM H. BULCOCK,
Kiversdale House, Clitheroe. E 37

PURE ENGLISH BEES, splendid strain. Swarms
with Queen, suitable for building up, 5s., Queens,
3s., on rail. Swarm Boxes 2s. 6d., Queen Boxes Is., unless
returned. Alsford, Expert, Blandford. E 38

PREPARE for the HE ITHER.— Good Swarms of
BEES, 10s., packed free. John Walton, Honey
Cott, Weston, Leamington. E 32

FINE SWARM of BEES to SELL. SuTTON, 22, Shel-
gate-road, Clapham .Junction, London. E 39

OUTDOOR OBSERVATORY HIVE, two or four
Frames, good as new, 10s. 6d. C. Townsheni>,
Glenlee, Moseley. E 36

A BARGAIN.— Six Neighbour's " SANDRINGHAM
HIVES (painted), in pood condition, £3. 10s. A.,
Bee Journal Of&ce, King William-street, London, W.C.

HONEY.— Finest White Clover and Heather HONEY
WANTED. Post samples and lowest prices,
stating quantities. Spring, Brigg, Lines.

(See IV",)

270

THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[July 5, 1894.

Prepaid Advertisements (Contimied)

HANDSOME ST. BERNARD, £2, worth £5. EX-
CHANGE for BEES, or offers. Address, T.
Charlton, Grange Villa, Chester-le-Street, Durham.
E35

FOR SALE, Two STOCKS of BEES in sleeps (flat-
topped). Miss Cooke, High House, Litchani,
Norfolk." E 34

WANTED, a respectable YOUNG MAN, to take
charge of horse, garden, and bees. Comfortable
home ; indoors. D. Anthony, Chemist, Cardiff, e 33

BEES, NATURAL SWARMS, healthy and strong,
free from foul brood, 10s, 6d. each, boxes 2s. 6d. if
not returned. E. Long, Cot'tenham, Cambs. e 23

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. HOLLIDAT, Astbury,
Congleton.

CHOICE YOUNG QUEENS, excellent strain, pro-
duced by seven years' careful breeding, guaranteed
fertile, post free 5s., virgins, 2s. 6d. Rev. C. Beereton,
Pulborough, Sussex. 229

ON SALE, a MANIPULATING TENT, in good con-
dition. For price and particulars, Mr. Isaac
Bush, Beechfleld Nursery, Bowdon. 223

EE TENT on HIRE. For terms, apply to G. GuNSTON,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

B

"YE OLDE ENGLISH BEE."

NATURAL SWARMS of my Selected Strain of
ENGLISH BEES, 10s. 6d. and 12s. 6d., accordirg
to size ; 1894 QUEENS, carefully packed and put on rail.
Packing Boxes free.

W. WooDLET, Beedon, Newbury.

MARKET for RUN HONEY (new and old),
SECTIONS (any quantity), and WAX. State
price, &c. Prompt cash. Packages sent. Address,
H., Bee Journal Office, 17, King William-street,
London.

FIRST SWARMS of my splendid strain of BEES,
which cannot be excelled, 15s., packed free. John
Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington. e 20

BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surroundmg Districts please note that the
CENTRAI, SUPPLY STORES
for all BEEKEEPERS' REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL
at the OLD SPOT, 50, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET
GEORGE ROSE, successor to P. Harbokdt.

^Vhy pay carriage from long distances when you can
buy cheaper and quite as good quality locally, and have
your orders promptly attended to? Catalo^es gratis
Send now. 14 varieties of Bee Flowers (full directions to
each). Is. Cash with order. 201

HONEY AND ITS USES. By the Rev.
Gerard W. Bancks, M.A. 3/6 per
100, 8/- per 250, 14/6 per 500, carriage paid.
By freely distributing this Pamphlet, a ready
market for Honey may be made in the
Bee-keeper's own neighbourhood.

Specwien Copy on application.
Address Durham House, Green Street

Green, Dartford. 176

THE "WELLS SYSTEM"

Described by the Originator,

GEORGE WELLS,
AYJLESF-ORD, KENT.

Price did. Post Free.
To be had of the Author only. 206

THE YORKSHIRE
Bee-keepers' Supplies

WILLIAM DIXON,

5, Beckett St., Leeds.

Hives, Extractors,

Smokers, Feeders,

Foundation, &c.

Prizes Axvarded, Gold,
Silver, &BronzeMedal8.

SUBSTANTIAL BEE HIVES,

12 frames 10/6 (all double walls on legs), 16 frames 15/.

These are rare value for money.

SUPERIOR COMB FOUNDATION, SECTIONS, &c.

Swarm Preventing, Artificial Swarming, Feeding,
Transferring from Skeps, all Pat Free 3d.

W. RUSHTON, Hive Factory, Bedford.

If you want to handle

your Bees witli COMFORT,

and not get STUNG,

TRY APIFUGE

Numerous Unsolicited Testimonials.
To be had of all Appliance Makers and

DARCY GRIiVISHAW, HORSFORTH, LEEDS.

Price Is. and 2s. post free.

Cash must accompani/ Order.

W. P. MEADOWS

SYSTON, ^i-y^L LEICESTER,
ENGINEER and IRONMONGER,

— WHOLESALE —

MANUFACTURER OF BEE APPLIANCES.

Many Novelties for Season. Send for new 4S-page

Cat — a — Log. Xhe best published.

THE COWAN REJ/ERSIBLE-CEARED EXTRACTOR.

Price, complete with cocers, 60s.
As approved by Mr. Cowan at the Annual Meeting (see
B.B.J. March S, and April 19, 1894). My own make, not
a Yankee ; all guaranteed, they are interchangeable and
can be renewed or repaired if necessary.

'^ 23 S

Specialities in Hives, ^Viriug Frames, New W.B.C.

Ends, etc., &c. Don t order before seeing my new

Cat— a— Log.

July 12, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

271

MEETING OF BEE-KEEPERS

AT THE "royal" SHOW, CAMBRIDGE.

As notified on p. 232 of our issue for June
14, a meeting of bee-keepers was arranged to
be held in the show-yard at Cambridge on
Wednesday, the 27th ult. The meeting was
convened by the Committee of the British
Bee-keepers' Association, mainly because the
visit of the Boyal Agricultural Society
was considered an opportune occasion for
making an effort towards the resuscitation of
the Cambs. Bee-keepers' Association, whicla
from some cause has dropped out of existence.

It is well known that the county is one of
the best in the kingdom for honey production ;
most persons would therefore have supposed
that an effort in the direction referred to would
meet with the hearty co-operation of those
who were officially connected with the now
defunct association, and the proffered help of
the " British " welcomed and furthered in every
possible way. Such, however, was not the
case, so far as the action of one gentleman was
concerned, and for some reason quite beyond
ordinary ken the idea was viewed in a spirit
so hostile by Mr. C. N. White, who was a
prominent official in the late Cambs. Associa-
tion, as to be entirely incomprehensible to any
one but himself.

The meeting was fixed for three o'clock in
the Council Tent of the R.A.S., a good
number of bee-keepers being present. The
Chairman of the B.B.K.A., Mr. T. W. Cowan,
presided, and was supported by Mr. H. Jonas,
Vice-Chairman, and several members of the
committee ; Monsieur Ed. Bertrand, Editor of
the Revue Internationale (V Apiculture, also
occupying a seat on the platform. After a
few observations by Mr. Sworder on his expe-
rience in connection with the Bishop's Stort-
ford Association, and Mr. J. P. Sambels on the
work of imparting technical instruction in
bee-keeping under the auspices of County
Councils. Mr. C. N. White rose and began a
speech which, so far as its general import
could be gathered, was intended as an attack
on the committee of the B.B.K.A., for not, in
his opinion, doing sufficient for tlie encourage-
ment of bee-keeping among cottagers. Mr.
White's remarks were, perforce, cut short by
the time for which tlie use of the tent had
been granted having expired, and this necessi-
tated an adjournment of the meeting till later
in the afternoon.

On resuming, the Chairman again called on
Mr. White, and that gentleman continued
much in the same strain as before. The purport
and object of Mr. White's remarks may have
been clear to himself, though we — along with
all who have expressed an opinion on the
subject — entirely fail to see the slightest justi-
fication for what was said, or what good
purpose could be served by saying it. A

complaint was made of some supposed dis-
courteous treatment of the secretary of the
late C/ambs. Association by the committee of
the "British," which, upon the chairman
askino; Mr. White for an explanation, was
admitted by the latter gentleman to be a
mistake on his part, and had reference to the
Cambs. Association only. Another grievance
against the central body was the exclusion of
cottagers from representation on the committee
— a charge not only unfounded but absurd on
the face of it. We should like to know what
cottager bee-keeper could, or would, afford the
time and expense of attending the monthly
meetings of the committee, which must of
necessity be held in London %

On the conclusion of Mr. White's remarks,
Mr. Bevan strongly protested against the
accusations made against the Committee of
the B.B.K.A. and its President, the Baroness
Burdett-Coutts, who bad, the speaker said, to
his own knowledge, spared no pains or expense
in promoting bee-keeping among cottagers.

The Chairman elso protested agamst the
accusations, as being entirely without founda-
tion, and pointed out that the ( 'ommittee had
continuously laboured in the interest of
cottagers.

After some further discussion, the Chair-
man announced that Mr. Chas. Kent, formerly
Secretary of the Cornwall Association, was
willing to act as Hon. Sec. pro fern, if any-
thing could be decided upon as to restarting
the Cambs. B.K.A., and eventually the names
of about a dozen gentlemen willing to co-
operate were handed to the Chairman.

The proceedings then terminated, not quite
without results, in spite of the hostility we so
much regre ted, from the quarter where it was
least expected. There are plenty of persons
desirous of taking up bee-keeping in Cam-
bridgeshire. The county is, as we have said,
a good one for honey, and Avith the Organising
Secretary of the County Council himself
taking a kindly interesting in bee-keeping, it
only needs combination on the part of a few
gentlemen having sufficient public spirit to
place the good of the many before personal
interests of any kind, in order to see real pro-
gress to bee-keeping in Cambridgeshire.

THE "ROYAL" SHOW AT
CAMBRIDGE.

{Concluded from page 264.)

The Honey Exhibits.

Of the honey classes it may be said that,

while creditable for the season and under the

circumstances, they were not of such general

excellence as will probaby be staged at later

shows. The " Royal " will always be more or

less heavily handicapped by the early date on

which the show takes place^ seeing that the

best of the season's honey has hardly a fair

chance to ripen fully by the time the show

opens. Bearing this in mind, the prize

, samples of extracted honey of the current

272

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [July 12, 1894.

year were very good, indeed. The class for
granulated honey was also a most excellent one,
showing fine keeping qualities and extra good
flavour among those lots which had awards.
The class for collections of honey were, per-
force, made up almost entirely of last year's
produce. The 1st prize collection was, how-
ever, a good oue, and tastefully displayed, and
the others which received awards were also
good ; but several well-known exhibitors were
conspicuous by their absence here, as they
were in some other classes — solely through
the season — in occupying positions in the
awards not usual with them. The following
are the

Awards for Honey,

Twelve 1 lb. Sections of 1894 Honey. — 1st,
"VV. H. Woods, Hemingford Grey, St. Ives ;
2nd, W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury, Berks ;
3rd, J. Blyth Clarke, Braughing, Herts.

Six 1 lb. Sections of 1894 Honey. — 1st, W.
Woodley ; 2nd, Miss M. L. Gavton, Much
Hadham, Herts ; 3rd, W. H. Woods.

Twelve 1 lb. Jars Extracted Honey of 1894.
— 1st, E. B. Cooper, Leicester ; 2nd, Rev. R.
S. Routh, Langstock Vicarage, Stockbridge ;
3rd, B. G. Brocklehurst, Brocklehurst House,
Ludlow ; highly commended, E. C. R. White
and W^. Woodley.

Timlve 1 lb. Sections of any Year. — 1st, W.
Woodley ; equal 2nd, E. C. R. White, Wood-
ford Mills, Salisbury, and J. Walton, Weston,
Leamington ; 3rd, W. Dixon ; highly com-
mended, Rev. G. 0. Bancks, Dartford, and T.
H. Jackson, Kirby Moorside, York.

Three Skalloiv Frames of 1894 Comb Honey.
— 1st, George Wells, Aylesford, Kent ; 2nd,
G. E. Fancourt, Stamford ; 3rd, C. R. Pigott,
Landebach, Cambs.

Twelve 1 lb. Jars of Extracted Honey, any
Year. — 1st, T. B. Widdowson, Leicester ; 2nd,
W. Dixon ; 3rd, W. Woodley ; highly com-
mended, Capt. Ord, Bury St. Edmund's,
Lieut. H. C. Hawker, Longparish, and H.
Wood, Paradise, Lichfield.

Twelve 1 lb. Jars Gramdaied Honey. — 1st,
S. J. Cooper ; 2nd, Lieut. H. C. Hawker ; 3rd,
E. Oakes, Broseley, Salop.

Display of Honey in any Form. — lst,W.P.
Meadows ; 2nd, W. H. Woods ; 3rd, G. E.
Fancourt.

SHOW AT FARNINGHAM.

An exhibition of honey and bee products
was held in connection with Annual Rose
Show at Farningham, Kent, on the 3rd inst.

Making allowance for our two sunless and
honeyless months of May and June, and for
the fact that the competition was limited to
members of the Rose Society and cottagers,
the exhibits were all that could be expected,
and better than many anticipated.

Mr. J. M. Hooker, who undertook the task
of judging, made the following awards : —

Tivelve l-lb. Sections. — 1st, Rev. G. W,
Bancks ; 2nd, E. D. Till ; 3rd, Miss Smith.

Shallow Frame of Honey for Extracting. —
1st, E. D. Till ; 2nd, Rev. G. W. Bancks.

Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — Ist
and 2nd, Rev. G. W. Bancks.

Cottagers^ Prize. — 1st, R. Wheeler.

Collection of Honey.- — Special prize, E.
Longhurst.

Mr. and Mrs. Bancks obtained a V.H.O. for
a splendid collection of preserved bee flowers
and paintings of bee flowers by Mrs. Bancks.
The name and relative values as a honey and
pollen producer were on each specimen,
making it an instructive as well as an attrac-
tive exhibit— had there been a class for pre-
served and painted flowers these would have
certainly gained a prize.

Samples of Kent honey in Lilliputian screw
caps, with the Kent label attached, were
distributed, or, rather, sold, by the K.B.K.A.
Home-made honey vinegar and mead shown by
Mr. Bancks were freely sampled. The stronger
demand was on the latter, of course, but home-
made honey vinegar attracted a good deal of
notice, and ought to become a feature in honey
shows. Mr. Bancks's samples were made
from one part honey to four of water — just
double the strength of the honey vinegar
usually made by Continental bee-keepers. So
wholesome a product, so easy to make, and so
economical, ought to become common in every
bee-keeper's home. As you increase the pro-
portion of honey the vinegar partakes of the
character of an acid beverage most agreeable
when diluted as a summer drink.

The bee-keepers at Farningham had the
great privilege of meeting Monsieur and
Madame Bertrand and Mr. Cowan there.
Monsieur Bertrand came with the object of
inspecting some Kentish apiaries. His name
is well known to all readers of bee literature
as the leading and most prominent bee-keeper
in Switzerland. Like the celebrated Huber,
he is a Genevese, and resides on the banks of
the Lake of Geneva. Monsieur Bertrand was
delighted with the floral exhibits, but the
honey section of the show claimed him most.
Honey ought to be, as far as possible, a pro-
minent feature in every flower show. Honey,
after all, is a "refinement" on the flowers, for
is it not a veritable " Extrait de Fleurs " ? —
{Communicated.)

HELPING HONEY SHOWS.

AN INVITATION TO EXHIBITORS OF HONEY.

We invite attention to the show of honey
which takes place at Bolton, Lanes, on the
26th inst. In doing so, we go a little out of
our usual course, because the instances are not
too numerous in which the executive of Agri-
cultural Societies evince so great an interest in
bee-keeping as to themselves take the initia-
tive, devote a department to it, and offer
liberal prizes for honey. This is, however,
the case with the Royal Lancashire Agricul-
tural Society, and we trust their encourage-
ment of our pursuit will be appreciated by

July 12, 1894.] THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

273

bee-keepers as it should be, viz., by sending
an exhibit or two ; entries for which will be
received up to Saturday next, the 14th inst.

Bee shows, as a rule, are dependent for
much of their success on the direct help
afforded by the various county associations,
and where that assistance is not enlisted
there may chance to be a lack of support
which would otherwise be forthcoming. This
is, we believe, the case with the show referred
to, and we much regret to hear that the
liberality of the Society has not met with the
response hoped for in offering good prizes for
honey. But it is not yet too late, though
nearly so, for those who have honey on hand
to write at once for a schedule. This is our
reason for specially drawing the attention
of readers to the show in question. For
particulars see " Shows to Come " on another
page.

THE BEE TENT AT CHINGFORD.
Mr. S. J. Baldwin, the well-known bee
expert of Bromley, has been engaged by the
local Technical Instruction Committee to
lecture on bee-keeping at Chingford at Satur-
day afternoon, July 21 next, in Mr. J. B.
Riding's nursery-ground. The bee tent belong-
ing to the Essex County Council will be used
for the occasion, and as far as possible practical
instruction will be given in the use of modern
appliances, and in manipulating bees. Admis-
sion is free, and as the Chingford Flower Show
will be held on the same afternoon in the
Parish-room opposite, there should be a good
attendance. — {Comtnunicated.)

^ormpixkut

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Fllugtra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

%* In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[2008.] We have had a fortnight of fine
weather, and the busy bee has improved the
shining hours. Hives on the verge of starva-
tion on the longest day are now heavy with
abundant stores, not only in the brood-nest for
future wants of the colony, but also in the
snpering compartments to cheer the heart of
the bee-keeper in the future when he or she
will be marketing their harvest. There has
been a good few swarms in this locality, and a
few maiden swarms from those early swarms
that did not succumb to the untoward weather
of May and June.

I am glad to see our friend Mr. Brice (" The

Heathen"), 2002, p. 264, has answered the
grumble of a queen buyer of the previous
week, therefore 1 cannot advance the matter
by anything I can say ; yet I would like to
add that I have heard " experts " give very
decided opinions on subjects which are as yet
beyond the ken of practical hands, and the
age of queens, judged by appearance has been
one of them. Possibly the queen was sent in
a small box, with a portion of " Goode " candy
fixed in one corner (that is my own way of
packing, when sending queens off). The
queen may get some of the food on her body
by the many "jars" she and her attendants
get when in the mail-bags, and the subsequent
cleaning up may give the old worn-out appear-
ance, and account for the " expert's " con-
clusion, so quickly arrived at, that she was, as
the little boy told his father on seeing the new
arrival in the family, (sans teeth, sans hair).
" Oh, pa, you have been * had.' She's an old
'un ! "

T have sent off a good few swarms this
season, every one of which has reached their
destination in good condition, and many testi-
monies have been returned on certain points,
some on my method of packing, some on the
gentleness of the bees, some on the fine
queens. Now on the matter of queens and
their age I would like to say that one of my
best stocks this season has not swarmed. It is
headed with a late '92 queen. Last year the
colony did practically nothing, and I made up
my mind to supersede her, and had a fine
queen of '93 ready to do so, but a pressing
request came from a bee-keeper to send
him a queen per return and I parted
with her, and as my spare queens
on hand were limited, and I hoped to
get a few lots of driven bees to build up into
stocks. I wanted to hold a few of my own
young queens to place at the head of the
colonies, so I thought I would give her another
chance, and this year they have just boomed
without swarming, and are filling up the supers
in good style. This queen last season was not
noted for size, but this year she has Avonder-
fully improved in size, ia fact is quite matronly,
if I may use the term. The above is not in
the interest of dealers in queens, but it is a
fact, nevertheless, and I have no doubt that
other bee-keepers have had similar experiences.
The season now drawing to a close has been a
swarming one in some parts. How have the
mechanical devices to catch the swarms come
out on trial ? Perhaps those Avho have given
them a trial Avill report for the benefit of the
craft.

I notice one of our editors has had some
trouble in having bottom bars of shallow
frames square and narrow instead of flat, and
with wider combs we shall require wider,
frames all round. Who among our readers can
supply the information by actual test 1 Now
with combs 1^ in. thick I consider our frames
should be 1 in. wide all round, with bottom
bar same width as ends, and at least ^ in.

274

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [July 12, 1894.

thick. This would remove one of the prin-
cipal causes of carrying the combs down below
the frames, and joining them to the combs in
the box under the top one.

The idea a few years back, when the Com-
bination hive first came into use, was that we
should, by having an extended brood-nest,
have a larger and stronger colony, and reap an
increased harvest of honey, but results have
not proved the correctness of the theory, and
instead of increasing our brood-nest by giving
extra frames to the number of twelve or
fourteen, we rather confine, or in some cases
contract, the brood-nest to nine, or at most
ten, frames for the honey harvest, and thereby
increase our output. I was told by a bee-
keeper the other day that he, by the advice of
a good bee-keeper, had increased his brood-
nests by extra frames this year. Although he
had supered, and the weather was good, with
clover and limes in bloom, his bees had not
taken to the section?, and he was afraid he
should not get any sections filled. ' My advice
was to contract the brood-nest to eigh'f^r nine
frames at most, and force the bees into the
supers. This tried on half his hives would
prove the matter as between my practice and
the other good bee-keeper's theory. — W.
WooDLEY, Beedon, Newbury,

"RE -QUEENING AND BUYING

QUEENS.''

[2009.] In reply to Mr. H. W. Brice's letter
(2,002, p. 264) I wish to thank him for his
friendly criticism of mine on p. 245 on the
above subject. I regret having made such a
'* hash of my bees " as Mr. Brice says I have,
but I distinctly said in my letter that I should
" let well alone . . . . as regards buying
queens^' so that I hope not to be an instance
of the old adage quoted by Mr. Brice. Thanks
to Mr. Brice I now know that 7s. 6d. is too
much to give for home-bred queens. Though
my case was not a parallel to the one quoted,
as it was not the high-priced queens I found
any fault with, only the cheap ones. To answer
Mr. Brice's questions : I did not destroy the
old queen of No. 1 until I had made certain
that the introduction of the other had been
safely effected. The first queen bought for
No. 2 died of starvation in the box she
was sent in, as I had decided not to use her,
and consequently did not attend to her wants.
As regards the death of the second queen
bought for No. 2 in eighteen days (or less), I
suggested in my letter that i thought that
hive was examined too soon after her intro-
duction, as I received a visit from an expert
on August 11, and he examined all my hives.
Mr. Brice takes exception to my not examin-
ing the hive thoroughly before May 25, and
preaches me a little sermon on the text of
thoroughness in all we do. Again I thank
him ; but I had a reason, which was that in
thoroughly examining them in early spring I
was in fear of chilling the brood (if there was

any), and also of having the queen balled if
she were in the hive.

I sincerely hope that I shall not fulfil his
gloomy prognostications, and " go from bad to
worse," but that I may with experience and
thoroughness gain that skill and knowledge of
which it is evident Mr. Brice has so large a
share. — P. S., Newark, July 2.

SWARMING.

HOW TO KNOW THE HIVE FROM WHICH A
SWARM HAS ISSUED.

[2010.] Doubtless so experienced ft bee-
keeper as Dr. Bartrum knows the following
method of determining the parent hive,
although he does not mention it in his note
(2003, p. 266) of your last issue. Those to
whom it may not be known will, I think, find
it useful.

When a swarm has to be hived, unless you
are quite certain whence it came, take a flour-
dredger with you as well as a skep. There
will generally be a few bees somewhere outside
the skep after turning it over. If not, detach
a few from the cluster and give them a
thorough dusting, repeating it if necessary.
Forthwith remove the skep and place it where
the bees are not likely to find it ; it need not
be taken far, if well concealed. The dusted
bees, disheartened by the flour, and having
lost their fellow-swarmers, will before long
make their way to the apiary, where they will
be seen roaming disconsolately, like belated
bee-ghosts. In from five to thirty minutes
from their dusting they will be fanning
vigorously on their own alighting-board, and
all doubts as to the parent hive will be at an
end.

In my neighbourhood swarming has been
very persistent this season. — South Devon"
Enthusiast, July 6.

THE SEASON IN DUMFRIESSHIRE.

[2011.] In this neighbourhood — Annandale,
Dumfriesshire — we have had a very bad
season for bees. My first drones appeared
on April 26, and up to May 10 all seemed
very promising, and I put supers on two hives.
These hives were on the principle of Mr.
Wells's hives, but diff'erent so far that they
had five perforated zinc slides between them
working in a wooden division. My opinion
as to the " Wells system " is that it very
materially helps to keep the bees warm in
winter and in early spring, and induces early
breeding ; but on that account we must take
care to keep our bees very warm during such
a very changeable spring as we have had, and,
in fact, in all springs. On May 10, having
put on two supers, and having wrapped them
up very warm, I left home for a fortnight.
During that time the weather, though bad,
was not severely cold. The bees made no
progress, and had very sensibly remained
below. On my return I removed the supers
and fed. I saw signs of the drones being

July 12, 1894.] THE BKITISH BEE JOURNAL.

275

persecuted. As far as I can hear, most
experienced bee-keepers in this neij^libour-
hood have fed^ but some inexperienced have
been much surprised. They have seen their
hives well filled with bees, and they have
not considered whether, after the weather we
have had, there is any honey in the flowers,
and did not think feeding necessary. For
some days after my return home we had many
very cold nights, and I, in consequence, con-
tinued to feed. A change came, we had
warmer weather, and as I had young queens
in my hives, I had no wish for swarming. I
again put on the supers, keeping all warm. I
placed a bit of carpet on the top of one-half
of each excluder sheet, and divided each super
by means of a dummy, so as to keep one end
of each warm. I put in a feeding-box for a
night or two. This brou'];htup the bees, and
they occupied the remaining sections, and,
though they did not get enough syrup to
cause them to store any, yet it encouraged
them, and they have now, I hope, permanently
occupied both supers, but no sign of honey
yet in them. The clover is just beginning,
and if only the weather would take up, I still
hope for the best, as the bees are numerous. —
F. McC, Ecclcfechan, N.B.

\

" HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR IS

DUE."
[2012.] We don't know the writer of the
letter (2005, p. 266) in last week's B.J. with
above heading, but beg to thank him very
much for drawing attention to an unfair
practice ; and, secondly, in self-defence as
exhibitors, beg to say the goods showed by us
were our own manuf;icture. This is the
second year the same thing has happened at
the " Royal " Show. An entry or two is made
in order to gain a legitimate standing in the
bee department, and admittance for the
exhibitor, distributors, and a boy, and the
former then sends more in weight of old
catalogues than exhibits, the consequence
being that the bee department is made very
untidy by these lists, many dated 1888, to the
detriment of hond-Jich collection exhibitors,
the greater part of the people coming into the
tent having catalogues forced upon them. This
is one of the tricks of the trade, but we do not
think it should be allowed again at the
" Royal.' We heard several quite dis-
interested parties complaining to the secre-
tary, and one gentleman who came to us about
it was very much disgusted. Many people
came with the catalogue complained of and
asked where certain things could be found —
W. P. Meadows, Chas. Redsuaw.

BEES PERFORATING FLOWERS.
[2013.] The enclosed bee I found yester-
day working on the wild vetch. It was swift
on the wing from flower to flower, pierced with
its sharp, serated mandibles each flower at the

base, on the outside, as quick as thought. I
secured it, aad as I have no doubt this is the
species that perforate the bean and heather, I
send it for identification, as I have never seen
any statement as to what insect really makes
the holes— for getting at the honey — in the
base of the flowers named.

Please name it and give us your views, to
oblige inquiring minds. — G. Stocks, ISandi-
way, Nortluoich.

[The bee seat belongs to the genus Megachile,
or leaf-cutters. It is doubtful if it perforates the
blossoms, but it visits the perforations made by
bumble-bees in the flowers of the wild vetch.
—Eds.]

GALVANISED HONEY VESSELS.

[2014.] In the Journal for June 21, p. 244,
Mr. Woodley in " Notes by the Way" recom-
mends galvanised vessels for holding honey.
I must caution your readers against them
(unless coated). Several years ago, during
the editorship of the late Mr. Abbott, I found
in packing over forty stocks for the winter the
combs contained dead sealed brood (whole
combs of it). I forwarded a portion to the
Bee JotTRNAL Office, and Mr. F. R. Cheshire
wrote in reply, " brood healthy, well fed,
symptoms of poisoning, what had I fed the
bees with, and in what vessel had it been
placed ? " I answered. The vessel was a
galvanised one. The food was a little thin
honey standing a month in vessel to which
was added 1 cwt. sugar made into syrup
and fed to bees. It was afterwards found out
that the acid in the honey had acted on the
zinc and slightly poisoned the syrup — not
sufficiently so to kill the bees, but sufficient to
kill the whole of the larvre, and, if so, it must
be a bid thing to store honey in. — J. R. Truss,
Ufford Heath, Stamford, July 2.

NOTES FROM THE APIARY.

BY A SCOTCH BEE-KEEPER.

[2015.] I am sending you, under separate
cover, a piece of comb which I consider to be
badly aff'ected with foul-brood ; and I would
stake my reputation that the hive from which
I got it forms as nice a little nursery for the
disease as is to be found in the south of
Scotland.

Of cours^, you will understand that, as I am
not endowed with infallibility, and having
never seen a case of this disease up till now, I
may be mistaken ; but in this instance I do
not think it possible, as the smell of the rotting
matter is quite perceptible at a distance of
some feet from the hive ; the internal ajjpear-
ance also closely resembles the description
given in the " Guide Book," I advised the
cottager to whom the stock belonged to
destroy the bees — about a handful — burn the
frames and comb, scald the hive, and disinfect
it with burning sulphur. This he faithfully
promised to do ; but as it has been robbed by

276

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [July 12, 1894.

ts neighbouring stock, and also very probably
by other bees in the district, I have little hope
of the eradication of the disease for some time
to come, especially as I find bee-keepprs very
unwilling to admit that their bees are diseased
until they are so far reduced in numbers as
not to be worth saving.

Now, Messrs. Editors, I am going to offer a
little evidence in corroboration of what I
suppose was the purport of Mr. J. Clark's
letter, your answer to which appears on
p. 249 of Journal for June 21. On June 14
I received the present of a stock of bees from
a friend, and during the afternoon of that day,
while watching them, I saw a large bumble
bee enter the hive, and after staying a few
minutes come out. I also observed it doing
the same thing in the afternoon, and again in
the evening at about 9'30 I observed it go in,
but although I waited a considerable time, I
did not observe it come out, so I came to the
conclusion that it had made up its mind to
spend the night in the hive. The next day I
made a new floor-board for this hive, and placed
it beneath about noon. In the evening I went
to examine the stock, and on lifting out the
first frame of the cluster I found this bumble
bee on the outskirts of the legitimate occupants
of the hive. Of course, I conveyed it to the
open air. The same night I again observed it
trying to gain admittance, but as the entrance
was too small by reason of the new floor, it
was unable to do so. The next day I observed
it still hovering about, but since then it has
not been seen near the stock.

Honey is going to be very scarce in this
district ; we have only had a week in which
the bees have had any chance of gathering
surplus, and as it is late in the season it is
hopeless to look for a big yield. Many bee-
keepers were feeding up to June 26.

As I will very probably be helping cottagers
to get rid of foul-brood should ic have a hold
in this district — as I hope it has not — I shall
be very glad of any information.regarding the
cure of the disease. The Editors have my
address, and I am sure they will, with their
usual kindness, forward any letters addressed
to the " Droke.''

[Comb received is badly infected with foul-
brood. Beyond the use of preventives we
cannot add much to what has appeared and is
appearing in our pages week by week on the
subject. We may say, however, that it is far
better, where possible, to induce cottagers to
destroy badly - diseased stocks, rather than
attempt to cure them. — Eds.]

East Fife, N.B. , July 2.— In this part of
the East of Scotland (a late and coldish dis-
trict) June 26 was the first day on which any
honey was gathered. I have now got on my
second tier of supers on three stocks, storified

as directed in " Guide Book." There seems a
good deal of honey in the combs. I had two
swarms yesterday and one to-day, which last
one returned to the hive after losing its queen
as I suppose. I cut out all queen cells but
one, and gave upper stories to stop further
swarming. My ten stocks are wedged up in
front for ventilation. We are now having
heavy rain. — Andw. Mason.

Newport, Mon., July 3. — Lime trees and
white clover are now in full blossom here, and
bees are reported as being very strong in the
district around. I know of one prime swarm
being thrown off the last week in April, Avhich
is daily expected to send out a virgin swarm.
The second swarm came out ten days after the
first, and, through not being fed, nearly
perished from starvation during the dull
weather in May. It was, however, fed for
about a week in the early part of June, and is
now building up rapidly. Queen wasps were
very numerous in April. Humble bees ditto,
Eun honey was sold in the market last autumn
at Is. and Is. 2d. per lb. — J. S.

Cattle Marlet, Derby, July 5, 1894.— Bees
working gloriously. Grand bee weather.
White clover blooming well. If this weather
continues during July, all is success. My
twenty-five stocks can be heard humming fifty
yards away. — T. Walker.

New Hedges, Tenhy, Jidij 5. — I have had
six swarms, one 8 to 8^ lb., and expect one or
two more, though I am trying to check the
stocks. This month has opened well for the
bees, and mine are wonderfully busy. I put a
crate of twenty-one sections oa a good stock
on May 12, but did not prevent the swarm
which issued about the middle of June, though
there was no surplus honey. This fine weather
continuing they will do good work. Several
stray swarms are reported in this district. — J.

QUARTERMAIN.

(^mm and Jlf|Iiea.

[1092.] Forming Nucleus Hives. — Selecting
Queen-cells. — 1. If two or three combs and
bees are taken from a stock to form nucleus, is
it safe to introduce a queen- cell from another
stock the same day as the nuclei is formed, or
must they stay three or four days before intro-
ducing the queen-cell to enable the bees to
realise the loss of their queen 1 2. Is one cell
quite sufficient for a nucleus stock, or may
two cells be introduced a' will ? 3. Some-
times when a stock has swarmed I find, per-
haps, one or two young queens already hatched,
and several not hatched. In suich a case,
should a young queen be left to re- queen hive,
or would you advise removal of young queens
and all cells but one ? 4. Advice is sometimes
given to preserve the best queen-cell when

July 12, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

277

cutting thein out, and I have also seen it
advised to remove all queen-cells but one not
too far advanced. Will you please tell me
what one has to go by to know when to pre-
serve the best cell, or when it is not too far
advanced, and isthelatter advice given because
it will produce the best queen, or to check the
bees until their swarming fever is over ? —
Anxious, Dorset.

Eeply. — 1. Queen-cell may be given same
day, but it is safer to allow twenty-four hours
to elapse. 2. If you cannot rely on your own
judgment in selecting a reliable cell, give two.

3. Leave a hatched-out queen by all mtans.

4. Without knov/ing the circumstances under
which advice is given, we cannot say- how far
it applies to particular cases ; but to imply that
as a general rule a queen-cell, " not too far
advanced," must be preserved for rc-queening
a stock would, we fear in too many cases, lead
to its being left queenless.

[1093.] Worhing Bees for Honey. — 1 have
a stock in straw skep and three early swarms
in bar frame-hives. My skep swarmed last
week, and a vagrant swarmcame to my garden;
both of these swarms have been put into straw
skeps. Honey being my object — not increase
of stocks. 1. What would you advise ? Let
them be as they are till autumn, and then
unite those in skeps to those in hives, or do it
now ? 2. Is there any Bee Association in this
county ? — R. J., Sitjfolk.

Reply. — 1. In view of the very short time
lefc before the year's honey gathering ends,
we should allow all the stocks to do their best
in the hives they now occupy. When the
season is over, the several hives may be dealt
with according to your desires as to increase and
the condition in which they may be found.
2. None that we know of.

[1094.] Swarming Mishaps. — The stock of
bees first referred to in my letter of the 12th
ult. on re-queening as doing well swarmed on
June 8 ; but being a dull day the swarm
returned to its own hive. The following days
were cold and wet until the 14th, when the
swarm again issued, and, after hiving in a
skep, was placed on a board. An hour or two
later my groom noticed a considerable number
of bees flying round the skep. Later I in-
spected them, and found large numbers of
dead and dying bees on the board and under
the skep. We therefore at once prepared a
frame-hive, having in it fully worked-out but
empty combs, placing it in the position oc-
cupied by the hive which had swarmed, and
which we moved a little distance away, in
order to strengthen the swarm with the flying
bees. We then hived the swarm, and, putting
a feeder on, left them. In the evening we
weighed the dead, and they amounted to ^ lb.
This morning I saw a large number of bees
around the old hive, and, on inspecting the
hive in which I had put the swarm, found it
deserted, except for a very few bees, which

were cleared out, and the hive closed. We
then inspected the old hive, and found it
crammed with bees, and on the only frame I
took out were two queen-cells. 1. In front of
the old hive we found the enclosed dead bee.
It looks too small for a queen, but not the
shape of a worker. Which is it ? 2. Could
you tell me the cause of death of so many of
the swarm ? — P. S., Neivark.

Reply. — 1. Bee received is a young queen.
2. W^e can only suppose that a partial attempt
at swarming by the bees of another hive has
occurred simultaneously with the issue of
swarm referred to, and, both lots of bees
having united in one cluster, a fight resulted.
If in the melee the queen accompanying the
swarm got killed, it would, of course, account
for the bees returning to the parent hive. It
seems clear, however, that preparations for
swarming had been made prior to the 8th,
when the top swarm actually came off, and
that the old queen met with some mishap on
that day. Otherwise there would not have
been a young queen hatched out six days
later, viz., on the 14th.

[1095.] Making Foundation from Foul-
Broody Combs. — I gather from your journal
that wax from foul- broody combs should not
be used for foundation. Now I make my
own foundation " off a plaster cast," and have
at present about il4 lb. of wax tainted with
foul-brood which I would like to utilise for
foundation. If it were possible to disinfect it
— and I think it ought not to be an impossi-
bility— kindly let me have your opinion, and
perhaps some one else who may be similarly
situated might have something to say on the
matter. — John H. Atkins, co. Cork.

Reply. — The question as to the possibility
of foul-brood being propagated by using wax
from diseased hives in the manufacture of
comb-foundation has been discussed pro and
con, but opinions still difter on the subject.
We should certainly ourselves avoid risk by
selling the wax known to be foul-broody for
household use, and pay the extra cost for wax
not known to be from diseased hives. If the
wax was boiled gently for eight or ten hours it
would reduce the risk to a minimum, and
there is no other ready method of destroying
the spores but boiling.

[1096.] Preventing Sivarming.—l. Would it
be a practical way of preventing swarming by
taking the queen away, and forming with her a
three-frame nuclei, putting the frames back
to the queenless stock as often as the brood in
the combs was sealed over (say, about once a
week) ? The stock being queenless would be
unable to swarm, while the nuclei would be
always too weak to do so. 2. Lately, when
I have opened my hive, the lower part of
brood-chamber has been very wet on sides and
floor. As this hive is rain-tight, what causes
this ; and how can it be prevented if harmful
to the bees ? — Chas. Townley, Liverpool

278

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [July 12, 1894.

Replt. — 1. The plan proposed is not prac-
ticable, nor do we see any good purpose to be
served if it could be carried out, for it is quite
certain that no surplus honey would be stored
by bees treated in that way. 2. The moisture
is caused by the warm atmosphere of the hive
interior condensincr on the cooler surface of the
hive sides. It will do no harm.

[1097]. — Iloiv Long may Brood he Exposed ?
— 1. How long may quilts be left off and
frames of brood exposed to the open air with-
out injury to the brood, as I am far from
expert in discovering and catching queens ? 2.
Is it too late to raise young queens, and which
is the most simple way of raising them ? 3.
Which is best method of spacing frames ?
Distance-pins that allow bees to get to the
extreme edge of hive or " metal ends " that
prevent this ? — J. G., Tonrridge, June 23.

Eeply. — 1. So long as the outside tem-
perature is up to about GO deg., no harm will
result from leaving quilts off hives while
examining frames. If the frames are replaced
after examining for queen they need not be
kept out of the hive for more than a few
minutes at a time. 2. This is the best time
for queen -raising. As to the most simple way,
a book giving full details of the operation is
indispensable to any one attempting queen-
raising for the first time. 3. Most persons
prefer metal ends when the " Standard " top
bar of 17 in. long is used, but with a IS^ in.
bar distance-pins should be used.

[1098.] Introducing Virgin Queens. — Can
virgin queens be introduced successfully by
direct introduction, as stated in B.B.J.,
Vol. xviii., 1890, pp. 559-60 ? If not, will
you state the correct method ? — J. H. New,
Watford.

Rfply.— If a stock is but recently rendered
queenless, or has queen-cells formed, a virgin
queen may be run in at the entrance, and is
usually accepted.

[1099.] Increasing Stocks. — I want an
increase of stock, and know I must sacrifice
surplus, as you say in answer to 1064, in
June 7 number. 1. Can I remove a hive to
another stand, and when the flying bees have
taken possession of the fresh hive, on old
stand, introduce a queen to them ? If so, how
soon after the removal ? If this way will not
do, please say what is an easier way of getting
an increase ? 2. In the case of a fertile worker
or unmated queen, must it be removed before
the fresh queen is introduced ? — William
Oliver, Shreiv&hury.

Reply. — 1. Increase of stock should be
obtained in the tried and oithodox manner of
making artificial swarms, described in any good
book on bee-keeping. The plan you propose
would end in failure. 2. If an unmated
queen is in the hive, she must be removed,
but a fertile worker cannot be distinguished
from the ordinary bee.

[1100.] Fertilisation of Queens. — Drone
Breeders. — 1. Are drones from a drone-breed-
iug queen produced frotn worker-cells or only
from drone-cells ? 2. Would killing queen
issuing with swarm cause bees to return, even
if they settled down after that was done ? 3.
Is the young queen fertilised when a second
swarm comes off, at time of issuing, or will it
be necessary for her to leave the hive again ?

Reply. — 1. A non-fertilised queen deposits
her eggs in worker-cells, and. the bees elongate
them to accommoddte the drone larvte. 2.
Yes. 3. No ; she usually issues on her
mating trip a day or two after hiving. —
A. G. M., Devon.

'>\\m% t0 Cfame,

July 18, 19, 20. — Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Great Grimsby. Beea,
hives, honey, and appliances. Liberal prizes.
S. Upton, secretary, Lincoln.

July 20 and 21.— Bristol District B.K.A at
Knowle. Schedules from Messrs. J. Brown and
E. A. S. Cotterell, 42, Baldwin Street, Bristol.

July 21. — Wotton-under-Edge, B.K A.
Show of honey, &c., in the Fete Ground.
Entries close July 14. Hon. Sec, G. Gunston,
Wotton-under-Edge.

July 25 and 26. — At Victoria Park, Leices-
ter. Annual show of the Leicestershire Bee-
Keepers' Association. Nine classes for bees
and honey.

July 26. — Goole and District" B.K.A.
Honey show at Victoria Pleasure Grounds,
Goole. Entries close July 23. J, Ludding-
ton and G. L. Brown, hon. sees.

July 26.— Notts B.K.A. Annual County
Show at Southwell. Liberal prizes. Open
classes for appliance?!, hives, and extracted
honey. Entries close July 19. Secretary, A. G.
Pugh, Mona-street, Beeston, Notts. Other
shows connected with the Notts B.K.A.
will be held as follows : — Lowdham, July 19 ;
Hucknall Torkard, July 24 ; Beeston, August
6 ; and Moorgreen, September 4

July 26. — At Bolton, Royal Lancashire
Agricultural Society's Show. Five classes for
honey. £8 in prizes. Entries close July 14.
For schedules apply Jas. Birch, secretary,
3, Brunswick-street, Liverpool.

July 27. — North Norfolk Bee-keepers'
Association. Great show of honey at Melton
Constable Park. Liberal prizes. Entries close
July 18. Schedules from C. J. Cooke, Edge-
field, Melton Constable.

August 1, 2, and 3. — At Beverley, Yorks,
Prizes for bees, honey, and appliances.
Marshall Stephenson, secretary, York.

August 6 and 7. — Northants B.K. A.
Show of honey, &c., at Delapre-park, North-
ampton. Special prizes, 20s., 15s., 10s., 5s.,
and 23. 6d. (open free to all comers), for

July 12, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

279

single 1 lb. jar of honey. Entries close July
25. Robt. Hefford, hon. sec, Boughton,
Northampton.

August 7. — At the Abbey Park Flower
Show, Leicester. Honey show and fair of the
Leicester Bee-Keepers' Association. Applica-
tions for space and schedules to A. J. Martin,
Cossington, Leicester, before July 28.

August 10 and 11. — At Dumfries. South
of Scotland B.K.A. Very liberal prizes.
Schedules, W. Wilson, Acreheid, Dumfries.

August 22 and 23. — Shropshire B.K.A.
Annual show in connection with the Horticul-
tural Society's great fete in " The Quarry,"
Shrewsbury. £35 in prizes for bees, honey,
hives, and appliances. For prize-lists, &c.,
apply T. Whictingham, Uptou Magina, near
Shrewsbury.

August 22 and 23. — At Derby. Derbyshire
B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby,

August 23. — At Horsham. Twelve classes
for bees, hives, and honey. Entries close
August 18. Schedules from K. Gilburd,
Horsham.

September 4 and 5. — At Coventry. In con-
nection with the Warwickshire Agricultural
Show. Annual show of the Warwickshire
B.K.A. Liberal prizes for honey, bees, and
api3liance3. For schedules apply J. N. Bower,
hon. sec, Knowle.

September 6. — At Castle Douglas, N.B.
"Very liberal special prizes for three 1 lb. jars
extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, secretary, Castle Douglas, N.B.

Shows have been arranged in connection
with the Lincolnshire Bee-keepero' Associa-
tion as follows : — July 17th, Brant Broughton ;
26th, Wragby, and Swinderby ; 31s", Heck-
ington, Morton (Bjurne) ; August 1st, Blaakney,
Sutton Bridge, and Jiast Stockwith ; 2ncl,
Stickney ; 6th, Ellham ; 16th, Mablethorp?.

Notices to Corresponden ts and Inquirers.

All queries fortoarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

J. E. Wilkes (W. Hampton). — The bees were
evidently preparing to take full possession
of the lower hive, and bre-eding would no
doubt have been started there soon. The
added frame of brood will facilitate their
taking up their quarters below. The cone-
clearer is only suitable for use during the
early part of the season ; the " B oQ' " can
be used at all times.

D. H. DuRRANT (Acton). — If bees complete
two racks of sections they will do well. A
third rack is not likely to be filled if added,
and will retard completion of the others.

R. H. — We should not advise dividing stocks
for increase later than end of this month,
unless surplus fertile queens are on hand for
adding to them.

E. P. J011N.SON {L\xiox\).— Queens in " Wells"
Hivei^. — 1. If one compartment becomes
queenless the bees frequently fraternise in
both without attempting to raise a successor.
2. We attribute the queens not meeting
more to good lock than good management,
as it is altogether wron? to leave a space
round the dummy in a " Wells " hive.

A. M. (East Fife). — The contents of the few
scaled cells in comb sent are so thoroughly
dried up that no signs of brood is left in
them. In one ctll, however, we find a trace
sufficient to warrant us in saying that the
stock has been affected with foul brood.
Why did you not send comb containing
fresh brood ?

J. S. (Newport). — We cannot tell whether
dead queen sent is from a foul broody hive
or not. Nor is there any probability of the
drone referred to having caused the mischief
you suggest.

W. H. S. (Fienioxi).— Getting Rid of Fertile
Worker. — If the bees are strong and worth
saving, a laying queen may be given in the
usual way. If accepted, the fertile worker
eggs will soon disappear.

J. A. (Stourport) —Unsealed Honey for Keep-
ing.— Honey which has not been sealed over
by the bees is more or less unripe, and, in
consequence, liable to fermentation if jarred
off for keeping.

JuHN Dempster (Kirkgate). — Cut out all
queen-cells after second swarm comes otl",
and then return the swarm.

Several Letters, Queries, &c., are in type, and
will appear next iveeh.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dc.—Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every cidditional Three
words or under. One Penny.

w
w

ANTED, Good CYLINDER EXTRACTOR. W.

GuEEN, Bishops Waltham, Hants. E 45

'ANTED, Strong, Healthy SWARM (Cainiolans).
¥., 43, Plymouth-road, Penarth, near Cardiff.

E 44

EW HONEY in SECTIONS WANTED. Best
quality only taken. Cash. T. Smith & Co., 17,
Cambridge-street, Hyde Parlv, London. E 40

RUN HONEY safely carried, with great ease, by using
the NEW TAPE HANDLES for tie-over jars.
I^uickly lixed on the jars. Greatly appreciated at shows.
2s. Bd. gross, Is. 3d. half-gross. Post free. F. RUDD,
Griniston, King's Lynn. E 43

BEES for the HEATHER. — Guaranteed healthy
3-Frame Nuclei, 12s. 6d. ; 6-Franie Stocks, 17s. 6d. ;
S-Krame Ditto, 20s. ; 4-lb. Swarms, 12s. 6d. Packing-
included. C. WHrriNG, Valley Apiary, Hundon, Suffolk.
E42

HONEY.- To INCREASE DEMAND, use my Recipes
with each jar. Print your name on them. Si.x, lid. ;
100, Is. 6d. ; 500, 6s. ; 1,000, 10s.
WANTED, good CLOVER HONEY. Sample, &c.
Geo. Stocks, Sandiway, Northwich. E 41

(See over.)

280

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 12, 1894.

Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)

WANTED, SECTIONS (any quantity), BUN HONEY
and WAX. State price and quantity. Prompt
cash. Packages sent. Address, H., £ee </o«/'«aZ Office,
17, King William-street, Strand, London.

FOR SALE, on account of moving into Surrey, Eiglit
Strong, Healthy Stocks of BEES, in Bar-frame
Hives, with Section Crates; also Two Stocks in straw
Bkeps. Erancis Tubes, Kingston Hall, Harlow, Essex.
E 46

PURE ENGLISH BEES, splendid strain. Swarms
with Queen, suitable for building up, 5s., Queena,
3s., on rail. Swarm Boxes 2s. 6d., Queen Boxes Is., unless
returned. Alsford, Expert, Blandford. E 38

PREPARE for the HEA.THER.— Good Swarms of
BEES, 10s., packed free. JOHN Walton, Honey
Cott, Weston, Leamington. e 32

A BARGAIN.— Six Neighbour's " SANDRINGHAM
HIVES (painted), in good condition, £3. 10s. A.,
Bee JournalOf&ce, King AVilliam-street, London, W.C.

HONEY.— Finest White Clover and Heather HONEY
WANTED. Post samples and lowest prices,
stating quantities. Spring, Brigg, Lines.

WANTED, a respectable YOUNG MAN, to take
charge of horse, garden, and bees. Comfortable
home ; indoors. D. Anthony, Chemist, Cardiff. E 33

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. HOLLIDAY, Astbury,
Congleton.

CHOICE YOUNG QUEENS, excellent strain, pro-
duced by seven years' careful breeding, guaranteed
fertile, post free 5s., virgins, 2s. 6d. Rev. C. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex. 229

ON SALE, a MANIPULATING TENT, in good con-
dition. For price and particulars, Mr. Isaac
Bush, Beechfleld Nursery, Bowdon. 223

EE TENT on HIRE. For terms, apply to G. Gunston,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

B

BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the

CENTRAL SUPPLY STORES

for all BEEKEEPERS' REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL
at the OLD SPOT, 50, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET.
GEORGE ROSE, successor to P. Harbordt.

Why pay carriage from long distances when you can
buy cheaper and quite as good quality locally, and have
your orders promptly attended to? Catalogues gratis.
Send now. 14 varieties of Bee Flowers (full directions to
each). Is. Cash with order. 201

MOST iiViPORTANT

SUBSTANTIAL BEE HIVES,

12 frames 10/6 (all double walls on legs), 16 frames 15/-

These are rare value for money.

SUPERIOR COMB FOUNDATION, SECTIONS, &c.

Swarm Preventing, Artificial Suarming, Feeding,
Transferring from Skeps, all Post Free 3d.

W. RUSHTON, Hive Factory, Bedford.

THE "WELLS SYSTEM"

Described by the Originator,

GEORGE WELLS,

AYl-ESKORD, KEWX.

Price 6Jd. Post Free.
To bt had of the 4Mthor onl^. 30^

THE YORKSHIRE
Bee-keepers' Supplies

WILLIAM DIXON,

5, Beckett St., Leeds.

Hives, Extractors,

Smokers, Feeders

Foundation, &c.

Prizes Aioarded, Gold,
Silver, <i:BronzeMedals.

Unprecedented

Success,

ROYAL

SHOW,

Cambridge,
1894.

,1st Prize — Collection of Appliances.
,' 1st & 2nd Prize— Extractors.
1st Prize— Best Frame Hive.
! 1st ,, Best Cottager's Hive.
"j 1st ,, Best Smoker.
1st ,, Best Feeder,
hst ,, Best Collection of Honey.
^B. B. K. A. Medal Super Clearer.
Send for Cat— a— Log with Leaflet.

W. p. MEADOWS,

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If you want to handle

your Bees with COMFORT,

and not get STUNG,

TRY APIFUGE

Numerous Unsolicited Testimonials.
To be had of all Appliance Makers and

DARCY CRIMSHAW, HORSFORTH, LEEDS.

Price Is. and 2s. post free.
Cath must accompany Order.

SHROPSHIRE
BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

THE ANNUAL EXHIBITION

BEES, HONEY, HIyImI^D APPLIANCES,

Will be held in

THE QUARRY, SHREWSBURY,

in conjunction with the
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S GREAT FETE,
On Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 22nd & 23rd.
PRIZES to the Value of £35 -will be awarded
For Prize Lists, Entry Forms, and Information, apply
to T. WHITTLVGHAM,
Upton Magna, near Shrewsbury.

HONEY JARS-CHEAP!

All Sizes and Patterns in stock.
Screw-capped (fitted with Cork Wads),
i-lb. . . Per gross, 20/-. Per dozen, 2/- ; posta,
i-lb. .. „ 21/6. „ 2/4; „

2-lb. .. „ 37/6. „ 3.9; „

Tie-overs.
i-lb. .. Per gross, 14/6. Per dozen, 1/5 ;
i-lb 15/-. ,, 1/6;

1/-

1/6

» 1/0

postage, 1/-
» 1/6

Uncapping Knives, 1/6, 2/-, 2/6, and 2/9 each ; postage,

3d. each extra.
Honey Ripeners to hold lOO lbs., fitted with Lid and

close-fitting Tap, 9/6 each.
Honey Strainers and Ripeners (combined), fitted with

Lid and close-fitting Tap, 15/- each.
Cardlioard Section Cases, glass one side, l/s per doz.

post 1/-.
Ditto, glass two sides, 2/- per dozen, with gilt edging ;

post, 1/-.
Metal Section Cases (coloured), glass both sides, 2/3

per dozen ; post 1/-.
Little Wonder Extractors, 7/6 each.
The Cvlinder Extractors, from 21/- each, with close-

•' fitting Tap, &c.

Extractors, with Gearing, <fec. , <fec. , 29, 6 each.

A. W, HA^RRIIs6N,yoffER'S BAR.

CATALOGUES FREE. 148

July 19, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

281

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.

The monthly meeting of the committee was
held at 105, Jermyn-street, on Thursday, the
12th inst. Present : — T. W. Cowan (in the chair),
W. B. Carr, W. H. Harris, J. H. New, E. D.
Tell, J. Garratt, and J. M. Hooker. Ex-officio
John Huckle, secretary. Communications
were received from the Hon. and Rev. H.
Bligh, W. O'B. Glennie (treasurer), and the
Vice-chairman (who had previously attended a
sub-committee meeting, regretting their in-
ability to be present.

The minutes of the last committee meeting,
held on June 20, were read and confirmed.
The following resolutions were moved by the
chairman and carried unanimously : — 1.
" That the best thanks of the association be
given to the Rev. R. Errington, Mr. W. B.
Carr, Mr. Cribb, Mr. Hooker, Mr. Jonas, Mr.
Garratt, and Mr. Till for their valuable services
in acting as judges and stewards of the Can-
terbury and Cambridge Exhibitions.'' 2. " The
association desires to tender its best thanks to
all those who contributed plants and flowers,
and in other ways gratuitously assisted the
committee in making the Canterbury and
Cambridge Exhibitions successful."
The Finance Committee's report recommending
payment of the prizes awarded at the Canter-
bury and Cambridge exhibitions, together with
other accounts in connection therewith, was
considered and adopted.

A letter was read from Miss Eyton, hon.
secretary of the Shropshire Association, inti-
mating that in the event of it being deter-
mined to hold a meeting of representatives of
the Northern Associations at Shrewsbury the
Shropshire Association would be pleased to
entertain those attending the meeting to
luncheon on the show ground. Resolved : —
" That the best thanks of the committee be
given to the Shropshire Association for the
kind ofler made through Miss Eyton."

Mr. Garratt called attention to the fact that
as yet little had been done towards giving
effect to the recommendation of the committee
which met at Shrewsbury last year, in refer-
ence to the formation of centres lor conducting
third-class examinations. The matter was
discussed at some length, it being the general
opinion of the meeting that the question of
centres, and the arrangements —financial and
otherwise — by which the proposal could be
successfully worked would be best determined
upon by the affiliated associations, they having
the greater knowledge of local requirements.

Resolved that the following Midland and
Northern affiliated associations be invited to
send a representative to attend a meeting to
be held at Shrewsbury on Wednesday, August
22, at three p.m., viz., Bristol, Derbyshire,
Glamorganshire, Herefordshire, Lancashire,
Somersetshire, Lincolnshire, Notts, Oxon, Salop,

Staff;!, Warwickshire, Worcesterihire, and
Yorkshire, and that the subject of centres and
arrangements for third-class examinations be
taken into consideration.

In ^response to an appeal made by County
Councils, it was resolved to make the necessary
arrangementf! for granting certificates after
examination for lectureships in bee-science.

Other routine business was transacted and
the committee adjourned till Thursday, Sep-
tember 13.

A PLEASANT GATHERING.

An exceedingly pleasant gathering of bee-
keepers took place on the afternoon of Wed-
nesday, the 4th inst., at the town residence of
Mr. T. W. Cowan, Hampstead, on the invita-
tion of that gentleman to meet a distinguished
continental bee - keeper in the person of
Monsieur Ed. Bertrand, of Myon, Switzerland,
Editor of the Revue International d' Apicul-
ture.

M. and Madame Bertrand have been stay-
ing in England for over a month past as the
guests of Mr. Cowan, and after spending some
time at the latter's place at Fowey, a beautiful
part of the coast of Cornwall, they returned to
town a fortnight ago, since which time visits
have been paid to several representative
English apiaries and appliance manufacturers.
M. Bertrand was also present at the " Royal ''
show, Cambridge, and at the exhibition of
the Farningham (Kent) Rose Society, in con-
nection with Avhich a show of honey was also
held. A close and interested observer, M.
Bertrand has thus had an opportunity of
seeing for himself the conditions under which
bee-keeping is carried on in this country, and
has, we understand, been highly gratified with
all he saw.

At the particular function to which refer-
ence has at the outset been made there were
present — besides M. and Madame Bertrand
— Mrs. Bancks, Miss Edith Cowan, Miss
Tate, the Revs. Dr. Bartrum, F. T.
Scott, G. W. Bancks, C. Brereton, and
Henry Sharpe, Major Fair, Messrs. W. H.
Harris, J. M. Hooker, J. Garratt, W.
Broughton Carr, E. D. Till, F. H. Meggy,
W. J. Sheppard, T. B. Blow, and J. H.
Howard.

After luncheon Mr. Cowan said it was his
earnest wish that his friend, M. Bertrand,
should — before leaving for his home in Switzer-
land— have tha opportunity of becoming
personally acquainted with a few representa-
British bee-keepers ; hence the present
gathering. In formally introducing those
present to his friend and guest, he wished to
say of the latter that he is not only well known
as an authority in all lands where bee litera- '
ture is read, but as a gentleman who has done '
more than any other to raise bee-keeping to '
its present standing in Switzerland, where it is
recognised and assisted by the Government,
besides possessing a strong and well-organised

282

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [July 19, 1894.

association, having for its object the promotion
of the pursuit and the good of bee-keepers.

In replying, M, Bertr^nd, who was most
cordially received, expressed his appreciation
of the honour done him and the pleasure he
felt in meeting with some of the best-known
gentlemen connected with bee-keeping in this
country. He had, thanks to his friend Mr.
Cowan, been enabled to see a good deal of
British bee-keeping during the last week or
two, and had been both interested and
delighted with the visits paid. As a regular
reader of the British Bes Journal, he was
kept conversant with what was going on in
this country, but it was an increased pleasure
to see with his own eyea that the methods
followed left nothing to be learned from
other countries, so far as bee-keeping went.
M. Bertrand concluded with some very
complimentary remarks having reference to
the high estimation in which his host is held
on the Continent. By desire, however, of our
Senior Editor, we ask that M. Bertrand's " too
laudatory remarks may be taken as read."

The meeting afterwards partook of a con-
versational character, and was enjoyed as bee-
keepers know how to enjoy such opportunities
for the interchange of thought on an occasion
admitted by all present to be a "red-letter
day " in their experiences. Before parting a
souvenir of the event was demanded, and Mr.
Cowaneventuallyiuducedtoconform to popular
custom by good-humouredly producing his
camera for the " inevitable photo," this time
an impromptu and " home-made " one. A
very enjoyable gathering was brought to an
end by wishing bon voyaije to M. and Madame
Bertrand, who left for the Continent on the
6th inst.

Qlffrmpimdena.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice vrill be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are reqiiested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not -necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

•»• In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
vxill oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

THE MEETING OF BEE-KEEPEES AT
CAMBRIDGE.

[2016.] In to-day's issue of the B.B.J,
reference is made to the remarks I made at
the conference at Cambridge in terms that are,
I think, not only unnecessarily severe, but
really unfair, as the only inference that can be
drawn from your report of the proceedings is
that I am hostile to the formation of an asso-
ciation in Cambridgeshire. You have shown
up the dark side of the picture as far as I am
concerned, without one redeeming feature. It
s not true that I am hostile to the formation

of the association, for I stated most em-
phatically that I welcomed the effort that was
being made, and wished it a successful issue ;
and further, that anything I could do to help
on the work I should gladly do. The course I
took was dictated by a sense of duty, and I
desired my remarks on the relationship of the
B.B.K.A. to the affiliated associations to be to
the ultimate benefit of both in carrying on the
work for which they were formed. Mr. Bevan
protested against an accusation I never even
dreamt of bringing against the president, the
Baroness Burdett-Coutt?, and of this he was
reminded by some gentlemen near him when
he sat down.

I said that with that noble lady, noted
throughout the land for her philanthropy, at
the head of the association, more ought to
have been accomplished ; and I venture to
assert that the jjrophecy of the late Kev. H.
E. Peel in 1879, that there would be an asso-
ciation in every county within ten years of
that time would not have been uttered if that
gentleman had not thought such a result of
the work then going on not only practicable
but extremely probable.

While admitting that others may fairly
doubt the propriety of criticising the work of
the B.B.K.A. on the occasion referred to, I
must say that I considered both the time and
place appropriate for a fair criticism, with a
view to getting a definite statement on the aim
and objects of an association to be formed in a
county where, for various reasons, several
secretaries have tried their hands and failed. —
C. N. White, Somersham, Hunts, July 12tb.

[We are glad to receive the above disclaimer,
and to believe that our correspondent was
actuated by the best of motives in the line he
chose to take on the occasion referred to. We
are, however, reminded that : —

" It's all very well to dissemble your love,
But why did you kick me downstairs ?"
and certainly Mr. White's method of "dis-
sembling " was very effective indeed, as is the
application of the last line of the couplet
quoted when judged by his words. Moreover,
our estimate of his remarks has been endorsed
on all sides by those who heard them. Fair
criticism no one can object to, but when there
is no foundation for adverse comment, and
nothing beyond assertion to justify it, such
criticism is 7iot fair. It is, however, satis-
factory to learn that Mr. White is willing to
help on the work of reconstructing the Cambs.
Association, and we shall not be slow in
thankfully acknowledging any practical assist-
ance he may render in that direction. — Ers.]

SELF-HIVEES.
[2017.] I am sending you a brief account
of my experiences with my self-hiver. I
have this season had altogether three swarms
hive themselves nicely. The first I sent you
an account of. The second swarmed and

July 19, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

283

returned to the hive, owing to the queen
escaping back down the passage and re-
entering the hive. I find the top set of drop
doors or plates want hanging differently to
what I now have them, to make them im-
passable backwards. I did not interfere with
the hiver then, and the next morning the
bees swarmed and hived themselves nicely in
the presence of several onlookers. The third
lot entirely upset all my calculations. They
swarmed out at about ten o'clock, and, with-
out settling, came back into the box in capital
style, making me think it was really all that
could be desired ; but half an hour later they
vacated the box and returned to the hive,
leaving the queen and a score or so of drones
in the box, along with one or two workers. I
should like your opinion on that point, for it
looks as if the swarm will often be saved at
the expense of the queen. About midday I
ran the queen back into the hive. That was
on June 21. On the 26th they swarmed
again, this time going over a high wall and
settling on a currant-bush in an unfriendly
neighbour's garden. I felt pleased to think I
had not got to go there for them, as I could
see the queen was again trapped ; but, as the
bees of the swarm were over ten minutes
before they commenced to rush back, I was
again in suspense ; however, they were all
nicely self-hived in about twenty minutes
from starting. I wondered what would be
their antics if given a night of it, seeing that
in the evening they were still clustering con-
tendedly in the box. I determined to tiy
them — and as they remained loyal to their
queen, I indulged them with having their
photo taken at 7.30 next morning (27th). A
copy enclosed.

I wonder now if my two friends who are
trying my self-hivers for me on their hives at
Withdeane — whose hives looked like throwing
off swarms much more than mine — have had
disloyal swarms, and have thrown their queens
away for drones themselves in the evening
when clearing the trap. It must be either
that or else the hivers are very great deter-
rents to swarming ; but the way their bees
have worked with the hivers on, and the
splendid racks of sections on them, now
nearly choke-full, have delighted them more
than swarms could have done. Neither of
my friends can distinguish a queen.

My only other experience was most dis-
appointing. I had forgotten to place the re-
ceiving-box on one hive — which was otherwise
in proper working order — and was attending
to two other swarms that came off simul-
taneously from hives that had no hivers on,
when 1 saw the swarm boiling up through
hiver with no receiver on ! I hurriedly put a
box on, but too late : the queen had passed
up and all three swarms joined together. I
am preparing a hiver for all but one of my
hives for next season, as one stock will keep
the other hives supplied with drones. As
already said, I should like to have your

opinion about that disloyalty to queens on the
part of swarms, as it looks as if perfection is
impossible in any form of self-hiver. — G. W.
Hole, PatcJiam, Sussex.

[It would appear as if swarms will at times
act as stated, no matter what form of self-
hiver is used, but, after all, the percentage of
desertions has not been great in our corre-
spondents' experience. Besides, the loss of
the swarm is in any case prevented, and that
is a great point gained. — Eds.]

« WELLS " HIVES.

do they contain one or two stocks of

bees'?
[201 8. J I was not a little surprised to find
Mr. Wells (1888, p. 244) contending that his
hives should be considered as one stock ;
neither can I see the use of persons telling us
what they have obtained from a certain stock
in a certain season. What we want is a
system that will give us high results on the
average both on stocks and a number of years.
Far from opposing the idea of a " Wells " hive
containing only one stock, it is charitable of
any one to say it consists of two only, for
does he not at the end of each year add a
nucleus to each hive ? — such a nucleus as is
fast approaching the condition of a stock. Mr.
Wells can, if he likes, call it the produce^ of
one hive ; so might any one having a hive
large enough to hold a dozen stocks. It is not
how many cwts. of honey can be produced
from the least number of hives, but how many
can be produced with the least labour ; for
what does it matter whether you call the
" Wells " hive a nucleus, a single stock, two,
or a dozen stocks if the labour required to
produce a certain quantity of honey from it
equals that required by two ordinary stocks in
ordinary hives. Does Mr. Wells mean that a
" Wells " hive is no more trouble than an
ordinary hive 1 In the letter referred to he
argues about dividing a stock in the autumn,
and giving a queen to the queenless half. I
would remind him that this is not the system
that has given him the good results he has
published, and which will not do so._ From
the time the dummy is inserted it is con-
verted into two small stocks requiring in
future double labour.

Again, as to " not being off with the old
love," &c. — how does he make it fit the case
when he kills off his old queen ? And if Mr.
Wood and I purchased a second swarm, &c.,
in my opinion there would be no chance in it.
I am certain that he cannot get double the
amount of honey under the circumstances he
relates unless he gets two exceptionally good
queens, and a very bad one heads the two
swarms in the single hive. — Leonard Smith,
Elstow, Bedford.

[2019.] As to whether a double queen
stock should be called one or two colonies, it

284

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [July 19, 1894.

seems to me that as each lot requires about as
much food and room as two stocks, they may
claim to be considered as two colonies, and
their yield reckoned accordingly.

An ordinary stock requires at least 30 lb. of
stores to carry it safely through the winter to
the main honey flow, and a double queen
stock with the perforated divider between also
seems to require about 30 lb. each of stores ;
and, as each lot requires about ten frames for
brood and winter storage, they are practically
two stocks — the only difference being that the
two colonies work together in one surplus
chamber. At least, that is my experience of
wintering such stocks.

Where the advantage of the double queen
system comes in is of having the united
surplus population working together in one
chamber in a short honey flow. Still, I am
inclined to consider them as two stocks. —
Apiarist, Oxford, July 14.

[We think the above controversy may now
be allowed to drop. — Eds.]

BEES IN A THUNDERSTORM.

QUEEN LARV^ KILLED IN THE CELLS BY
LIGHTNING.

[2020.] I shall have occasion to remember
the storm on Friday night, the 6th inst., when,
as usual, I was with my son busy with the
bees feeding the young stocks. At about 8.45
the sky became so black that we were obliged
to stop ; a few peals of thunder, with rather
vivid flashes of lightning, made my son go in-
doors, while I went into the bee-house to
watch the storm. In a few minutes I altered
my mind. I do not know why, but the
irresistible something seemed to say " Go out
of this shed," and I went. After walking
about fifteen paces, there came a report so loud
that even now I do not think I can grasp its
intensity, and in an instant I found myself
prostrate on the ground. Half dazed I
scrambled to my feet, naturally looked towards
the bees, and from the bee-house I had just
left there shot up a lurid flame ! I grasped
the situation at once, the bee-house, containing
twelve stocks of bees, had been struck by
lightning, and was on fire ! A very few
moments sufficed to enlist the help of the
whole of my family to save the bees, and with
such help, though we had some sixty yards to
carry the water, I am grateful to say the
fire was put out, and very little damage was
done. I was myself rather badly shaken, but
very thankful for my providential escape, a
hole in the roof of bee-house, the rafters
blackened, being the worst that followed. I
have, however, to note one particular after-
effect which has an interest for bee-keepers
quite apart from me and my personal surround-
ings, and that is the way in which the shock
of the electric fluid acted upon the queens
under process of being reared in the hives.
Out of twelve queen-cells which were going oa

nicely till the storm, eight of the embryo queens
were killed outright, the queen larvse turning
black and smelling very ofl'ensively in a short
time. I don't know if this has Iseen before
noticed, but I thought it well to place the
circumstance on record, for the benefit of the
craft. — H. W. Brice, Thornton Heath.

FORCING BEB3 TO SWARM.

[2021 .] On July 3 I put a queen-cell in the
top of a skep, the bees of which had been
hanging out for about fourteen days ; half-an-
hour after a large swarm came ofl^. The same
night I looked into the skep, and found the
queen-cell firmly built into the comb. I then
put the skep on to a frame-hive. On the 4 th
I found the queen hatched out, and on the 6th
many young drones were cast out of the skep.
They have not swarmed again. I should like
to know what your readers think of this plan
of proceeding, as it was my own idea. —
FuMiGATOR, West Hartlepool, July 15.

[Judging by results, the plan is a very good
one, and is well worth trying where convenient.
—Eds.]

SWARMING VAGARIES.

[2022.] I can answer " T. F.'s " first query
(1089, page 268) in the affirmative. It is
possible for a second swarm to come off four
days after the issue of the first one. On June
12 one of my double hives swarmed, and, to
my surprise, the cast or second swarm came
out from it on the 16th. As I actually saw
them both issue, there can be no mistake about
it. The swarm was an enormous one, and was
joined on the wing by a swarm from a single
hive, and they all pitched together on an apple-
tree. I, fortunately, got the double and single
swarms separated, but the two queens having
got together, I could not separata the two
halves of the double swarm, so could not
return them. I hived them in a combination
hive with fourteen frames, and gave them a
crate of thirty sections, which are all but
finished off to-day. The cast was also a large
one, and had so many young queens with it
that I had no difficulty in getting the two
halves separate, and returned them to their old
quarters. In doing this I found no fewer than
forty-six queen-cells — twenty-three on each
side — two on each side being unsealed, and the
rest either sealed or empty. It is clear that
we cannot calculate on bees always doing
things in the same way. Bees about here
have pulled up a bit lately, but it is going to
be far from a bumper season. — N. Lowis,
Bridgwater, July 13.

HONEY IMPORTS,

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of June,
1894, was ,£5,492. — From a return furnished
hy the Statistical Office, H.M. Customs.

July 19, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

285

Honey Cott, Weston, Lmminijton, Jtdy
7, 1894. — Although we have had s^me hot,
dry weather, hooey has not come ia so well
as might have been wished ; not the fdult of
the bees, however, but the ruthless mower
that has lain the crops low. Beans are nearly
over, there only remains the wild mustard.
Bees have lain out very much since the tem-
perature has gone to 80 deg. and upwards. A
little thunder was heard yesterday, and it is
cooler. If we could get a good soaking rain we
might get some white clover honey yet, though
I expect the blackberries, which are beginning
to bloom, willj give some dark stuff, but any
port in a storm. Unfortunately we have no
limes. — John Walton.

Padstow, Cornwall, Jult] 9. — The continued
drought of 1893 having dried up the pasture',
prevented any possibility of the expected
yearly surplus. However, after the middle of
July, enough was stored to carry my bees
safely through the.past winter, and they were
ready for the first flowers of our very early
spring. By the end of March some drones
were on the wing, and at the ead of April the
majority of my twenty stocks were far in
advance of ordinary years, and waiting for the
necessary temperature to swarm. May proved
a wretchedly bleak and wet time, in which
little advance could be made. On May 18
one hive was doubled, tweaty-one days after
young queens had been hatched, but no
swarm issued until eighteen more days had
passed. Rather strange, is it not 1 [Very
unusual. — Eds.] On June 14 a favourable
change came, and the swarming fever com-
menced as soon as the temperature rose. On
Saturday last my first sections were taken, so
with continued propitious weather the season
promises to be a fair one. — Peter Tonkin.

Groughton, Brackly, July 10. — My bees
have done well since the longest day, but
won't come up to last year, I think. I like
the wide ends for shallow frames ; they give
some grand slabs of honey, and go through the
extractor better, I think, than narrow ones. I
have not had a breakage yet. I have had
unusual experience this year with swarming.
The first was hearing '' piping '' before the
swarm came off. This was in a frame hive.
In another case, after giving a swarm and a
cast, the parent stock has dwindled down to
very few bees, and is now queenless. One
large swarm flew away and entered into a
hollow tree, where it could not be got at, as it
is a large elm, and the hole is a long way up
the tree trunk, besides being very small. I
have had more swarms than usual this year,
but not like some which have been reported
in the Journal. White clover is very thin
about us this season. Lime-trees are just
beginning to bloom, and are very full ; if the

weather comes right we shall do well from
them, buc some years they yielded very little
honey though full of bloom. — -J. Lambert.

Fairspeir, Ascoit-Wychwood, Oxford, July
14, 1894. — The season in these parts is almost
over, the sainfoin and what little clover there
was having been cut a fortnight since. The
honey flow coramensed about June 15, up to
which date every one's stocks were in a starva-
tion state. The bees have done fairly well
lately from the wild mustard, but it will not
have been a good season — starting so late and
finishing so soon. I doubt if an average of
more than 20 lb. per hive will be secured. —
Apiarist.

^mrm mA ^t^lm.

[1101.] Mis-shapen Combs. — I have a stock
of bees in a hive of ten frames ; the two back
combs are built straight three parts of the way
across the frames ; the next frame is built
about the same length, and then across the
two back frames the comb is in semicircular
form, and so on, the other ends of frames
being made up of small pieces of comb. The
bees seem to be capital workers. I should be
very glad of your advice as to what way to
proceed, whether to put the bees on new
frames filled with foundation, or to let them
winter as they are ? I should have said the
frames are quite immovable, therefore the
benefits of frame hive are lost to me. I have
but recently commenced bee-keeping and
reading your valuable paper, which 1 find
extremely interesting and instructive. — E. J.B.,
Enfield, Middlesex.

Reply. — If the frames with the mis-shapen
combs can be removed from the hive together,
the distorted parts niiy be cut out, and with
a straight underedge to start from, a strip of
foundation may be fitted close up to it, which
the bees will eventually join on to and com-
plete the combs.

[1102.] Driving Bees. — As the season for
driving the bees of condemned stocks is now
coming on, will you kindly say ; — 1. Suppose
you were about to drive six stocks in a cot
tagei's garden, would you, while driving one
stock, stop up the entrances of the remaining
five ? 2. After having driven the stock, would
you place the bees on the old stand with the
entrance open to receive the flying bees ? Or
3. If you wanted to drive two lots of bees
into one skep, what would you do with the
flying bees I 4. I have been advised by a
friend to procure a queen to replace an old
one from a certain strain advertised as good
for the heather. I am given to understand
she would be descended from a Syrio-native
mother mated with a Carniolan drone. I
should like your opinion before purchasing
one. — J. 0. Wilson, Guildford, July 10.

286

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [July 19, 1894.

Eeply. — 1 and 2. Supposing the bees to be
driven before work for the day was over, we
should move the skep to be operated on to a
shady spot some distance away, and set an
empty skep on the old stand to occupy any
bees that might be away in the fields. After
driving, the skep and driven bees should be
set in its original position to gather in all
stragglers. If the work was done in the even-
ing when all was quiet, the other five stocks
of bees might with advantage be confined, but
allowing free ventilation. .3. An empty skep
should always be put on the stand from
whence the stock has been removed for driving
to keep the flying bees from entering other
hives. 4. If your adviser has had favourable
experience of the bees referred to, you might
be guided by him. We do not recommend
any particular bees of which we have had no
personal experience.

[1103.] Vicious Bees. — I have lately started
a Mve of bees in my garden, but cannot work
within some yards of it without getting more or
less bees buzzing about me. I should not care,
but to a novice it is not pleasant to have a
bee on one's neck or ear, where they invariably
get entangled in my hair and then sting ! 1 .
Is all_ this usual ? for it makes it difficult to
work in my garden when the bees follow me
about, as they usually do in the day-time.
When transferring the swarm to the hive from
travelling- box I was only stung twice — yet
simply working near them I this morning was
stung three or four times. 2. By the bye, is
it true — as country people say — that bees only
sting once, and the act kills them ?— Axe,
Axminster, Jidy 11.

Eeply. — 1. It occasionally happens that
particular stocks of bees are naturally irascible,
and inclined to sting without provocation.
When this trait continues there is no remedy
but re- queening. Much may, however, be
done in quieting by not interfering with them
more than is needed for a few weeks to come,
and doing any hoeing or raking about the hives
in the early morning or in the evening. Bees
have been more than usually disposed to be
troublesome for a week or two past, but this
will soon pass away. 2. The bee may live for
some time after losing its sting, but does no
good afterwards.

[1104.] Introducing Queens. — Having a
queen which I desired to replace, I, on 27th
ult., removed her and made up a nucleus on
four frames, as I did not want to destroy her
until her successor was doing well. On 30th
found several queen-cells started in stock, and
on 1st inst. inserted new queen by the " direct
introduction" method. Was unable to
examine hive as intended on 7th, but on
arriving home on 13th inst. found bees had
swarmed. I returned them to original hive,
but before doing so I examined combs and
found several empty queen - cells, and two
(apparently) still occupied. Next morning I

found queen — sent herewith (wrapped in paper)
— thrown out, and later in the day three more,
two of which I send. I also enclose a couple
of drones and a few workers for inspection, and
shall be glad to know — 1. Is the first queen
found fertile or a virgin % 2. If the latter, is
she sister to other queens ? 3. Are bees
hybrids ? If so, what races are most probablj'
crossed ? 4. Likely cause of introduced queen
being rejected. 5. In view of young queen
being probably raised irom weaned larva,
would it be advisable to procure another
fertile one, or would you allow matters to
remain as they are 1 I may say, original queen
shows no bands at all, and in the older
workers they are very indistinct. Bees are
very gentle and industrious. — Heather,
Lambeth, July 14.

Reply. — 1 and 2. No ; we take her to be
the queen introduced on the 1st inst. 3.
Bees are slightly crossed with Carniolan blood.
4. We can only suppose it to be through
faulty introduction. 5. Leave matters as
they are.

[1105.] Dividing Stocks for Increase.'^—
Birds Carrying Off Bees. — In reply to 1064,
p. 227, of B.J., June 7, you recommend
dividing a strong stock into two or three
portions, and, being a young beginner, I
thought this date was too late for rearing a
queen in time to be mated safely this season.
Is this so or not ? Mr. Lyon (1896, p. 255)
writes that martins are taking his bees ; but
here I have had swallows, starlings, common
house -sjjarrows, bluecaps, chaffinches, tree-
creepers, and even robins carrying off" my bees
for a year past. I have, however, now bought
a gun, and with its help they are less trouble-
some now. A neighbouring bee-keeper tells
me that the sparrows have been fetching his
bees off" his aljghting-boards, but the rascals
about here wait on the house-tops, about a
distance of 50 yards or so, and dart up in the
air, catching the bees as they were flying past.
2. Is there a better remedy than shooting
them, as they get further away out of the
reach of a gun 1 The weather has been beauti-
ful here for bees since 21st ult. till to-day
(July 2), which is cloudy, my weakest hive
(a skep that has swarmed) increasing 2 lb.
daily. — S. H. Tollington, Hathern, Leicester-
shire, July 2,

Eeply. — 1. There is still ample time to have
queens reared and mated if care is taken that
drones are not killed off before the young
queens are fertilised. 2. Shooting and trap-
ping are the only remedies for troublesome
birds, though, when the mischief is excessive,
some bee-keepers stretch an open net in front
of the hive-entrances to keep the marauders
off" alighting-boards.

[1106.] Sicarms Returning to Parent Hive.
— On Saturday, June 16, 1 had a swarm from a
frame hive. My wife saw them settle down

July 19, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

287

on a bush about twenty yards away from the
hive they came from, and, as I was due home
in about half an hour, she decided to lexve
them for me to hive. On going again to look
at them twenty minutes later, she found the
swarm gone, and, from the great number of
bees clustered on and flying round the parent
hive, we both csncluded that the b^es had
returned to it. 1. If they had, how do you
account for them not having swarmed again,
seeing that to-day is the thirteenth day after ?
2. What do you think was the reason of their
returning ?— A. H. E., Leeds.

Rkply. — 1. Only by supposing that some
accident has befallen the old queen on the
issue of the swarm, and that the young one
has been allowed to head the colony without
further swarming, just as happens when no
second swarm comes off after the first has left.
2. Above reply covers this query, but when-
ever a prime swarm returns to its hive and
does not issue again in a day or two, the fate
of the old queen may be safely determined by
listening at the hive for " piping " on the
evening of the eighth or ninth day afterwards .

[1107.] Swarm Deserting its Queen. — On
visiting a friend of mine, I found one of his
hives had swarmed. Several attempts had
been made to hive the swarm, but without
success, for when I arrived in the evening I saw
that the swarm had returned to the original
hive, and were hanging out. On examining
the hive I found that the space at back of
the dummy (which had been partly filled with
paper-packing for warmth) was crowded with
bees. As it was getting late I left them, but
on passing through the garden I noticed the
skep on a table in which the swarm had been
hived, but subsequently deserted. It was
empty, but on closer examination I noticed a
queen and one solitary bee on the outside of
the skep. I placed her in the skep, and then
brushed in a few bees from the cluster at the
hive entrance along with her. I then turned
the skep on to a board, raising the entrance,
and shook all the bees from the paper at back
of the hive ; when these had run in, I lifted
the skep, and placed it over the back of the
hive and drove those below into skep as well.
I then replaced the skep on the board as be-
fore, and shook two frames of bees from the
parent hive and let them run in. I intend this
evening to transfer the bees into a frame hive.
1. What reason would you suggest for the
swarm leaving the queen ? Also did I act
correctly under the circumstances ? 2. Will
the bees in the old hive now be likely to settle
down and give up the idea of a cast in eight
or nine days, if I place a super on top, or give
more frames at the back ? My seven stocks,
two of which are in " Wells " hives, seem
strong, and are now in the supers, but up to
the last week of June the weather has been
cold and wet and not, given the bees a chance
to work. By giving plenty of room I have not
had a single swarm this season. Others round

here have had swarms, but in all cases no
supers have been on. — Wm. Greener, Gower-
toivn.

Reply. — 1. We can only suppose that the
desertion arose through want of experience on
the part of whoever made the attempt at
hiving the swarm. 2. If the added bees have
stayed with the queen, and formed a swarm,
it proves that you acted correctly. 3. We
think it probable that a second swarm will
issue from the parent hive. Any uncertainty
on the point may, however, be removed by
listening for the usual " queen piping " on the
evening of the eighth or ninth day after the
first swarm issued. If that is heard, a
swarm may safely be looked for, even though
super room has been given.

[1108.] Honey from Foul-broody Stocks. — •
My hives, I fear, have foul brood. I took the
frames from six of them, and gave them
starters to go on. I found one double-queen
hive not so badly affected, and deeming it a
pity to destroy such a great number of young
bees, treated it thus : — I took the frames from
below, replacing them with starters and full
sheets alternately. Then, with excluder zinc
between, I put all frames that were below on
top. Now I find the frames are nearly all
full with sealed honey, and I therefore ask : —

1. Is the honey from these frames any good ?
In some of the hives there are frames full of
sealed honey at the side of stock. 2. Can any-
thing be done with this honey when trying to
cure them i — H. R.

Reply. — 1. There is no reason why honey
from the stocks referred to should not be used
for all ordinary household purposes. 2. We
should remove every particle of honey from
stocks under treatment for foul brood.

[1109.] Bees not Entering Sections. — I
bought a stock of bees in frame hive about the
middle of April, the bees covering nine
frames, there being also two frames with full
sheets of foundation which the owner had just
put in. Early in June I noticed two or three
scores of dead bees and grubs in front of hive,
so I fed them liberally with syrup until
weather became warmer. About ten days
ago all seemed to be going well, and the bees
covered ten frames, so I took away the last
one, moved up the division board, and put on
a rack of sections containing foundation ; but
up to the present time they have not taken
possession, so I can only suppose they are
storing honey in the brood combs. 1. Can
you say why they do not work in the sections,
and how I can obtain any honey this year ?
I should say that a frame of queen excluder
zinc was placed between brood nest and sections.

2. How can I tell sealed honey cells from
sealed brood cells ? — ^J. H., Manchester.

Reply. — 1. If sections are carefully and
warmly wrapped, so as to conserve the internal
heat as much as possible, and bees do not take
possession, it must be from one of two causes

288

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [July 19, 1894.

' — viz., the bees are nob sufficiently numerous,
or else honey is not plentiful in the district.
We should try them without the excluder for
a day or two. 2. Once you see see both sealed
honey and sealed brood on same frame of comb
you wiU have no difficulty in distinguishing
between the two.

[1110] Dealing with Foul Brood. — I for-
ward a piece of comb which I suspect ta be
foul broody. I never saw the pest before, and
never heard of it iu this neighbourhood,
although I have kept bees off and on for thirty
years, but only lately adopted the modern
system, through seeing your valuable little
journal (which was put into my hand by a
friend), and I have been a constant reader
ever since. I was led to suspect this hive
through having no surplus from it last year,
though the bees always appeared strong, and I
determined then to destroy them, but owing
to the scarcity of swarms they were allowed to
stand. This season they again appeared to
come on slowly, for while the adjoining hive
had filled their crate of twenty-four sections,
and given off two fine swarms, this stock was
working very tardily in a super. Having a
new combination hive on hand, I determined,
on the afternoon of the 30th ult., to transfer
the bees to it, and give them their brood at
back of dummy ; but, upon examining
the frames afterwards to make sure
I had not missed the queen. I discovered this
mess to my consternation. I shall be glad if
you will say — 1. If you consider it a bad case ?
and 2. Whether I ought to allow the bees to
remain in new hive, and trust to naphthaline
and naphthol beta later on ? The bees are
very numerous, and are at work with a will,
seeming quite pleased with their new quarters.
3. Is it likely I have other hives affected 1
The adjoining hive to the infected one was
stocked in 1887, and has never been moved or
raised from its stand sinoe, nor has its crate
which holds the sections been taken oft' bodily
since it was first put on. I have always taken
the sections out one by one, and left the crate
with some sections in on the hive all winter.
It has never missed swarming twice or thrice,
besides giving me a crate or more of sec-
tions every year, except 1881, till last season,
when I had seventy good sections from it, but
no swarms. I shall be glad if you can help
Avith any advice or comment. I have com-
mitted frames, with contents, to the fire this
morning. 4. Shall I burn hive and crate ? I
shall examine all in turn. — East Coaster.

Reply. — 1. The comb received has a large
quantity of dead larvte in the cells, but we
only find a slight trace of foul-brood in the
whole. It would appear that the brood has
become chilled, and so perished from the fact
of the bees — for some reason known only to
yourself — not having access to the combs con-
taining it, which were placed behind the
dummy. 2. Having destroyed the combs
of dead brood, we think there is every chance

of the bees getting rid of the disease if naph-
thaline is used continuously in the new hive.
3. Only inspection will show this, but if the
bees are doing well the inference is that they
are all right. 4. No ; but they should be
thoroughly disinfected before using again.

July 18, 19, 20. — Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Great Grimsby. Bees,
hives, boney, and- appliances.

July 20 and 21.— Bristol District B.K.A. at
Knowle.

July 21. — Wotton-under-Edge, B.K A.
Show of honey, &c., in the Fete Ground.

July 25 and 26. — At Victoria Park, Leices-
ter. Annual show of the Leicestershire Bee-
Keepers' Association. Nine classes for bees
and honey. A. J. Martin, Sec, Cossington,
Leicester.

July 26. — Goole and District B.K.A.
Honey show at Victoria Pleasure Grounds,
Goole. Entries close July 23. J. Ludding-
ton and G. L. Brown, hon. sees.

July 26.— Notts B.K.A. Annual County
Show at Southwell. Hon. Secretary, A. G.
Pugh, Mona-street, Beeston, Notts. Other
shows connected with the Notts BJ^.A.
will be held as follows : — Lowdham, July 19 ;
Hucknall Torkard, July 24 ; Beeston, August
6 ; and Moorgreen, September 4.

July 26. — At Bolton. Royal Lancashire
Agricultural Society's Show. Five classes for
honey.

July 27. — North Norfolk Bee-keepers'
Association. Great show of honey at Melton
Constable Park.

August 1, 2, and 3 — At Beverley, Yorks.
Prizes for bees, honey, and appliances.
Marshall Stephenson, secretary, York.

August 6. — Berks Association (Newbury
District). Show of honey, &c. Entries close
August 3. Special prizes for best 1-lb.
section. Entry forms of Mr. W. Hawkes,
hon. sec, Newbury.

August 6 and 7. — Nortbants B.K.A.'
Show of honey, &c, at Delapre-park, North-
ampton. Special prizes, 20s., 15s., 10s., 5s.,
and 2s. 6d. (open free to all comers), for
single 1 lb. jar of honey. Entries close July
25. Robt. Hefford, hon. sec, Boughton,
Northampton.

August 7. — At the Abbey Park Flower
Show, Leicester. Honey show and fair of the
Leicester Bee-Keepers' Association. Applica-
tions for space and schedules to A. J. Martin,
Cossington, Leicester, before July 28.

August 10 and 11. — At Dumfries. South
of Scotland B.K.A. Very liberal prizes.
Schedules, W. Wilson, Acrehead, Dumfries.

August 16. — -At Audlem, Cheshire. Liberal
prizes for honey and beeswax. Entries close
August 9. For schedules, apply T. H. Smith,
solicitor, Audlem.

July 19, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

289

August 16. — At Maidenhead, Berks. Show
of honey, bees, iind appliances. Windsor
District, Berks B.K.A., in conjunction with
the Maidenliead Horticultural Society. Over
£~ value in prizes. For schedule apply to
hon. sec, W. S. Darby, Consort-villas, Clewer.

August 22 and 23. — Shropshire B.K.A.
Annual show in connection with the Horticul-
tural Society's great fete in " The Quarry,"
Shrewsbury. £35 in prizes for bees, honey,
hives, and appliances. For prize-lists, &c.,
apply T. Whittingham, Upton Magina, near
Shrewsbury.

August 22 and 23. — At Derby. Derbyshire
B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby.

August 23. — At Horsham. Twelve classes
for bees, hives, and honey. Entries close
August 18. Schedules from R. Gilburd,
Horsham.

August 29 .and 30.— Staffs. B.K.A. At
Stone. In connection with the Staffs Agri-
cultural Society's meeting. Nineteen classes
for bees, hives, honey, &c. Entries close
August 4. Schedules from Harold Twenty-
man, Wolverhampton.

September 4 and 5. — At Coventry. In con-
nection with the Warwickshire Agricultural
Show. Annual show of the Warwickshire
B.K.A. Liberal prizes for honey, bees, and
appliance?. For schedules apply J. N. Bower,
hon. sec, Knowle.

September 6. — At Castle Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1 lb. jars
extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, secretary, Castle Douglas, N.B.

September 15. — In the Corn Exchange,
Jedburgh. Roxburghshire B.K.A. Annual
show of honey, &c. Twenty-seven classes.
Eight silver medals and liberal money prizes.
Entries close September 11. Thos. Clark,
secretary, Pleasants, Jedburgh, N.B.

Shows have been arranged in connection
with the Lincolnshire Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion as follows : — July 26th, Wragby, and
Swinderby ; 31s% Heckington, Morton
(Bourne) ; August lit, Blankney, Sutton
Bridge, and East Stockwith ; 2nd, Stickney ;
6th, Eltham ; 16th, Mablethorpe.

Notices to Correspondentsand Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

E. C. R. White. — Queen sent is an adult,
and has no appearance of old age about her ;
but it is impossible for any one to even
guess with any degree of certainty as to
age of dead queens by their appearance.

W.Perkins (VVickwar). — Bees sent (hybrid
ligurians) are usually good honey-gatherers;
but as to viciousness, they vary, some being
troublesome, while others are quiet. A few
weeks' experience will test them in this
respect.

J. EwEX (Ash). — Having had no practical
experience with the particular form of

double- queen hive referred to, we are not ia-
a good position to advise as to the defects
named. Our correspondent should refer his
question to the maker of the hive, and get
his explanation of the weak point men-
tioned.

Wm. Gke^-ser.— Abscondhig Swarms. — 1. It
occasionally happens that the runaways
become scattered and the bulk of the bees
lost through mishaps, but they usually have
a place sought out before swarming. They
often travel so far as a mile away. 2. If
freed from bees, the sections may be put on
any stock for completing.

A. G. M. (Devon). — 1. Bee is a queen. 2. No
bee we know of has " a red stripe." 3. Bees
are more or less agitated till her return. 4.
Not necessarily so, but drones are tolerated
so long as there is no breeding in the hive.

J. Fielding-Smytii (Co. Down). — Drone
Comb for Sections. —If comb is clean and
perfectly white it will do equally well as
worker comb.

Beginner (Shortland?, Kent). — It is generally
understood in Kent that the honey flow
stops when the limes have bloomed, -i.e.,
about end of second week in July.

John C. Waltham (S.W.). — A stock so
small as to be reduced to three frames will
be difficult to start comb-building at this
season, but in any case they are not likely
to build drone comb as feared.

T. C. Porter (Alford). — Combs containing
brood should never be put through the ex-
tractor. With supers above we should defer
extracting till the latter are removed, and
then only extract from such combs as are
broodless.

Pressure on our space again compels ^ls to
hold over several articles till next iveek,
including " Usefid Hints."

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, &e. — Up to
Twelve words. Sixpence ; for every additional 2'hreg
words or under. One Penny.

FOR SALE, Several STOCKS and SWARMS in skeps.
What offers? Miss Cooke, High House, Litcham,
Norfolk. E51

SECTIOJ^ CANS, for Exhibition, glassed both sides,
18s. per gross ; Is. 9d. per doz. J. S. Gkeenhill,
80, Graham-road, Wimbledon.

TRONG Stocks of BEES, in Standard Bar-frame
Hives, 33s. carriage paid. Also young laying
QUEENS, 3s. 6d. each. William H. Bulcock, Rivers
dale House, Clitheroe. E 50

FRAME HIVES (SPECIAL VALUE).— Eighteen New
Double- walled, thoroughly substantial HIVES;
take 13 frames on metal runners ; floor, body, super, roof,
nailed together, lis. 6d. ; in flat, 8s. lid. ; body, floor,
and roof only, 6s. lid., packed free. E. Bunney.

Swansea. E 48

TTOR SALE, a limited number of DRIVEN BEES,
X^ headed with 1894 queens, for delivery in August
and September, Is. 6d. per lb. Orders executed in rota-'
tion. C. Haynes, Hanley Castle, Worcester. E 52

OR SALE, Nine STOCKS of BEES in Standard
Frame Hives ; wired frames, two crates, sections
in full work on each. In perfect condition. May stand
until end of season. Off'ers to S. Turner, Docker's-lane,

Berkswell, Warwickshire. E 47

(See over.) -

290

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [July 19, 1894.

Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)

WANTED, a SAFETY BICYCLE, in EXCHANGE for
Modern Hives and Appliances. G. DALE, Little
Haywood, Stafford. E 49

WANTED, in September, a few good 1S94 HYBKID
QUEENS. Lowest price to ERNEST E. Davis,
Great Bookhani, Surrey. E 53

WANTED. Two Strong SWARMS of BEES, just out.
EXCHANGE good Honey Extractor. William
Parsons, Esq.,Ashurst-place, Langton, Tunbridge Wells.

NEW HONEY in SECTIONS WANTED. Best
quality only taken. Cash. T. Smith & Co., 17,
Cambridge-street, Hyde Park, London. E 40

HONEY.- To INCREASE DEMAND, use my Recipes
with each jar. Print your name on them. Six, l^d. ;
100, Is. 6d. ; 500, 6s. ; 1,000, 10s.
WANTED, good CLOVER HONEY. Sample, &c.
Geo. Stocks, Sandiway, Northwich. E 41

MARKET for SECTIONS (any quantity), Run HONEY
and WAX. State price and quantity. Prompt
cash. Packages sent. Address, H., Bee Journal Office,
17, King William-street, Strand, London.

PURE ENGLISH BEES, splendid strain. Swarms
with Queen, suitable for building up, 5s., Queens,
3s., on raiL Swarm Boxes 2s. 6d., Queen Boxes Is., unless
returned. Alsford, Expert, Blandford. E 38

HONEY.^Finest White Clover and Heather HONEY
WANTED. Post samples and lowest prices,
stating quantities. Spring, Brigg, Lines.

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. HOLLIDAY, Astbury,
Congleton.

CHOICE YOUNG QUEENS, excellent strain, pro-
duced by seven years' careful breeding, guaranteed
fertile, post free 5s., virgins, 2s. 6d. Rev. C. BRERETON,
Pulborough, Sussex. 229

EB TENT on HIRE. For terms, apply to G. GITNSION,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

B

BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the

CENTRAIi SUPPLY STORES
lor all BEEKEEPERS' REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL
at the OLD SPOT, 50, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET.
GEORGE ROSE, successor to P. Harbordt.

Why pay carriage from long distances when you can
buy cheaper and quite as good quality locally, and have
your orders promptly attended to ? Catalogues gratis.
Send now. 14 varieties of Bee Flowers (full directions to
each). Is. Cash with order. 201

MOST IMPORTANT

SUBSTANTIAL BEE HIVES,

12 frames 10/5 (all double walls on legs), 16 frames 15/-

These are rare value for money.

SUPERIOR COMB FOUNDATION, SECTIONS, &c.

Swarm Preventing, Artificial Swarming, Feeding,
Transjerring from Skeps, all Post Free Zd.

W. RUSHTON, Hive Factory, Bedford.

THE"WELLS SYSTEM"

Described by the Originator,

GEORGE WELLS,

AYl^ESFORD, KEWX.

Price 6id. Post Free.
To i* had qf the Author only. 206

THE YORKSHIRE
Bee-keepers' Supplies

WILLIAM DIXO«,

5, Beckett St.,Leedi.

Hives, Extractors,

Smokers, Feeders

Foundation, &c.

Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver, &BronzeMedalt.

MBADOWS,

Syston, Leicest«^r.
Unprecedented ^Ist Prize— Collection of- Appliances,
1st & 2nd Prize— Extractors.
1st Prize— Best Frame Hive.
1st ,, Best Cottager's Hive.
1st ,, Best Smoker.
1st ,, Best Feeder.
1st ,, Best Collection of Honey.
"B. B. K. A. Medal Super Clearer.

w. p.

Success,

ROYAL

SHOW,

Cambridge,
1894.

V

Send for Cat— a— Log with Leaflet.

If you want to handle

your Bees with COMFORT,

and not get STUNG,

TRY APIFUCE

Numerous Unsolicited Testimonials.
To be had of all Appliance Makers and

DARCY GRIMSHAW, HORSFORTH, LEEDS.

Price Is. and 2s. post free.

Cash m,ust accompany Order.

SHROPSHIRE
BEE ■ KEEPERS;_ASSOCIATION.

THE ANNUAL EXHIBITION

—OF —

BEES, HONEY, HIVES, kn APPLIAKCES,

Will be held in

THE QUARRY, SHREWSBURY,

in conjunction with the

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S GREAT FfeTE,

On "Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 22nd & 23rd.

PKIZES to the Vahie of £35 will be awarded

For Prize Lists, Entry Forms, and Information, apply
to T. WHITTINGHAM,
Upton Magna, near Shrewsbury.

SPECIAL NOTICEj;OJMBEE-KEEPERS.

Mr. KiRWAN's Article has caused him to receive a
great number of letters asking who makes the special
Sections that he has been so successful with.

They are the PATENT GROOVED
SECTIONS made by Thomas B. Blow»
"Welwyn, Herts.

Illustrated Catalogue giving full details of theae
Sections will be sent gratis and post free on application.

COMB HONEY IN SECTIONS.

During the past winter I have purchased between two
and three tons of the above. It has been bought in-
discriminately from the Bee-Keepers of Great Britain
and Ireland. I hope to require five tons during the
coming autumn and winter, and shall purchase by
preference from those Bee-Keepers who are among my
customers for appliances. Special arrangements can
be made to take the whole Comb Honey product of large
apiaries, and special prices can be given for the Honey
where part payment is taken in appliances. Spring
crates are lent free to ensure safe transit by rail. Any
quantity of English Bees-Wax can also be purchased.

THOMAS B. BLOW,

Mtmufacturer qf See-Keeping Applianett,

WELWYN, HERTS. 200

July 26, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

291

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — " Generally unsettled " is
the very appropriate Press term em-
ployed just now Avith reference to the
weather, Southern bee-keepers mean-
time being kept on the tenter-hooks of
uncertainty as to the ultimate result of
the " lime " harvest — now their only
hope for the year. It fortunately
happens that the lime, though a pre-
carious and uncertain source of supply
at the best, is less subject to vicissitudes
from rain than are many others of our
honey-yielding plants. Given warmth,
with an absence of cold Avinds, and bees
will gather freely and abundantly from
the lime-bloom, even in the midst of a
drizzling rain. Besides, during the
season when the limes are at their best
the little labourers will be found hard at
work on a Avarm but dull and sunless
morning by 5 a.m., and Avill not have
ceased their busy hum — Avhich causes a
good lime in full bloom to give forth a
sound like that of the fly-Avheel of an
engine at Avork — at 7 or 8 p.m.

All this contributes to the hope that
the next few days will see the com-
pletion of some sections and combs
for extracting — now sadly needing
*' finishing off " — in spite of the frequent
showers so prevalent of late. It should,
however, not be forgotten how necessary
is AA'armth and cosiness to the bees
working in supers while there continues
to be so great a difference betAveen day
and night temperatures. With only a
week or ten days to finish off in — for
this is as long as the lime bloom lasts —
every day is of consequence, and cold
supers, or too much surplus room, Avill
tend to lessen the ingathering not a little
in weather like the present. The trees
in our district are getting past their full
bloom as Ave Avrite ; the foliage is beauti-
fully clean through the heavy rains, con-
sequently there is no sign of honey-dcAV,
and a sample of really good lime honey
should be secured, but it must be got
quickly if at all ; this is Avhy Avarmth is
needed in supers in order to keep the
bees in them sealing over the honey
when gathered, and making it ready for
prompt removal when the season is really
at an end.

It looks very much as if Southern bee-
keepers are destined to again take a back
place so far as honey results in 1894. If
reports are to be relied on the North
Avill yield a far better average than Ave of
the South can hope for, but Ave must
avoid grumbling ; there is still the
second crop of clover to come, and the
rain has helped it forward finely since
the hay Avas got in. This Avill add to the
crop North and South, especially so if the
late or fall season should turn out so
good as in 1893.

Renewing Queens. — A good number
of our readers seem to be intent on re-
queening their stocks in the coming
autumn, judging that a change of queens
is needed, because of so many hives hav-
ing failed to swarm at all in 1893. They
think that in consequence of the present
queens being so old and Avorn out this
year they Avill be quite unfit for further
use at its close. This resolution is, in
some cases, arrived at, notwithstanding
that the condemned queens have proved
eminentlj'" satisfactory in every Avay
during the season noAv ending. Ex-
perienced hands, hoAvever, knoAV Avell hoAV
unreliable is the mere fact of a stock not
swarming in determining the age of
queens, and that old queens are deposed
and replaced by young ones — more often
than is supposed — without any outAvard
sign of the change being Adsible to an
unobservant bee-keeper.

In this connection the AA'ant of prac-
tical experience has also this year led to
misconception regarding SAvarms, it being
argued that second swarms frequently
come off in a couple or three days after
the first swarm has issued. Such, hoAV-
ever, is very rarely the case, but Avhat
has been a matter of rather frequent
occurrence this year — oAving to the
peculiar Aveather and other conditions —
is that stocks have made preparation for
SAvarming, and, having been "put off''
for several days, have "balled" and
killed the old queen, leaving the " top
SAvarm" to issue AA'ith a just recently
hatched queen at its head. When this
occurs, the second sAA-arm is, of course,
" due " in a day or tAVO, and comes off
accordingly, folloAved, maybe, by a third,
and so on.

We never forget the adage " bees do
nothing invariably," but it may be safely
taken as a rule that top SAvarms are

292

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 26, 1894.

headed by the old queen, and that after-
swarms arc due about the eighth or
ninth day afterwards.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.

Arrangements have been made for holding
an examination of candidates desirous of com-
peting for third-class certificates at Shrews-
bury, on Thursday, August 23. Particulars
may be obtained of the secretary, John
Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.

LINCOLNSHIRE AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

HONET SHOW AT GRIMSBY.

This large and evidently popular show was
held at Grimsby on the 18tb, 19th, and 20th
inst., and included, as usual, amongst its
attractions a very creditable display of honey
and appliances, as well as lectures and mani-
pulations with bees in the tent of the Lincoln-
shire B.K.A. There were sixty-six entries in
the various classes, and although a special class
was on this occasion provided for cottagers
(entry free), and for six 1 lb. bottles of run
honey, one exhibitor only entered. This
should be taken careful note of by those "who
appear so anxious regarding the welfare
of the cottager. For the silver medal
offered by the'B.B.K.A. " for the best exhibit
of comb and extracted honey" there were
four competitors, the winning stand being an
excellent collection of honey in standard and
shallow frames, sections, and extracted in
bottles, tastefully arranged, the honey being
of excellent quality in colour, flavour, and
density. The same exhibitor obtaining the
pilver medal of the L.B.KA. for extracted
honey in another class. There was a fair
exhibit in the class for twelve sections, and
twenty entries in the class for extracted honey
of 1894, some very excellent clover honies of
remarkable consistency being shown. In the
appliance classes, W. P. Meadows and Chas.
Redshaw, both of Leicester, made another
attempt to surpass themselves with collections
of the various appliances and hives, which in
material, workmanship, design, and price
other manufacturers might well emulate to
produce as being " worthy of their steel."

Mr. W. O. Brown, of Appleby, was the
steward of this department, and the exhibits
were judged by Mr. F. J. Cribb, of Morton,
Gainsbro'. The awards were as follows : —

Best Exhibit of Comb and Extracted Honeij. —
1st, A. Weatherhogg, Willoughton ; 2nd, R.
Godson, Alford ; 3rd, D. Seamer, Grimsby.

Best Tiuclve Sections. — 1st, R. Godson,
Alford ; 2nd, Miss B. Kirk, Grimsby ; 3rd,
D. Seamer ; 4th, T. Coates, Grimsby.

Best 12 l-lb. bottles Extracted Honey. — 1st,
Miss Ethel Chester, Melton Mowbray; 2nd,
A. Weatherhogg ; 3rd J. Herbert, Barton-ou-

Humber; 4th, G. Catley, Hull; h.c, T.
Coates, Grimsby.

Best 6 lb. of Bun Honey (Cottagers only). —
1st, F. Davy, Leybourne.

Best 3 lb. of Bees-wax. — 1st, J. Herbert,
2nd, T. Sells, Uffington.

Best Observatory Hive Stocked loith Bees
and Queen. — 1st, D. Seamer ; 2nd, R. Godson.

Best Collection of Bee Appliances. — 1st,
Chas. Redshaw, South Wigston ; 2nd, W. P.
Meadows, Syston.

Best Bapid Feeder.— 1st, W. P. Meadows ;
2nd, C. Redshaw.

Best and Most Complete Hive for General
Use. — 1st, W. P. Meadows; 2nd,C. Redshaw;
3rd, W. P. Meadows ; h.c, C. Redshaw.

For the Best Hive, price not to Exceed
12s. 6fZ.— 1st, 2nd, and 3rd C. Redshaw.

Best Honey Extractor, — 1st and 2nd, W. P
Meadows.

Best Fair of Section BacTcs. — 1st, 0. Red-
shaw ; 2nd, W. P. Meadows.

Lectures in the bee-tent were given at
intervals by Mr. R. Green, of Rainham, Kent
to large and appreciative audiences. — Com-
municated.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondent^. Mo notice will he
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should \be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associatioiis, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, ttrc, m,ust be addressed only to " The
Editors of the 'BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All busiiiess commiuni-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c. , must be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

*,* In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

" WELLS " V. " W.B.C." HIVES.

A SEASON OF OVER-SWARMING.

[2023.] The season of 1894 has been fraught
with disappointments. During my short
experience — five years — I have never seen my
stocks in such good form as they were in
April. Then, alas ! came the change in
weather, and feeding-bottles had to take the
place of supers. My strongest stocks were
those (or that '?) in a " Wells " dummied hive
of twenty frames, and one in a "W.B.C.'' win-
tered on twenty standard frames. I had
hoped to have compared the two systems, but
the bees have settled it otherwise. During
the ungenial weather, the " W.B.C." held a
slight advantage, as the " Wells " had to be
fed.

My first swarm came off at an out-apiary
on May 6, a mQe from home, and clustered
on a chimney. The man in charge lit his

July 26, 1894.] THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL.

293

fire, and off went the bees to be seen no
more. On May 13 1 saw sainfoin and white
clover in bloom, and a farmer told me that he
had a field of the latter, well out, about a mile
from my hives, but with the exception of an
occasional " by " day, the weather kept the bees
at home, and in the meantime most of the
sainfoin was cut, but not carried for weeks on
account of the weather. On June 3, the
" Wells " hive swarmed and united with a
swarm from the next hive, I took half the
brood and all queen-cells away, fi.lled up with
full sheets, and returned swarm, giving a
super of narrow frames with starters, under the
" W.B.C." section crate.

On June 8 the swarm came out again, so I
hived on a new stand. On June 9, whilst I
was away fishing, the "W. B. 0." swarmed
(a cast, as I found on examination, the top
swarm having " vamoosed " when I was away),
and evidently feeling that the " Wells " bees
were in rivalry with it, the swarm entered the
hive occupied by the "Wells "swarm. A battle-
royal ensued which lasted till next morning —
for I did not reach home till j)ast 10 p.m. —
when I floured the whole lot, and so restored
peace, but not before thousands had been
slain, and the stock much weakened. On
June 11 the "W.B.C." threw another cast,
which I returned. On the 16th the cast came
out again, and joined a cast from another hive.
I put them both into the "W.B.C," using flour
to unite, and they have worked well since,
filling the standard and two shallow bodies.
The " Wells " swarm threw a " maiden," which
was lost, and then a cast, which I returned,
finding no less than Jifteen slain queens
thrown out next morning. It cast yet again,
this being returned, and eventually it repeated
the performance a third time, the cast getting
clean away without having stored 20 lb. of
super honey.

All my hives but three have behaved in
much the same way, those swarms hived in
May having swarmed again and cast till I
was sick of returning the casts, and I don't
think I shall gather 500 lb. of honey from
fourteen hives, though last year I got 900 lb.
from ten, spring count. One consolation is
that all the hives but three have young
queens. I have tried the shallow frames with
Ij in. bottom bars, eight to a ten-frame
body, with side slips, and I like them. The
combs are more evenly built than in the ordi-
nary shallow frame with wide ends, and are
certainly more handsome in appearance. I
got five sets of these frames, and only wish
that all my extracting bodies were fitted with
them. I hoped to have had some for show at
Cambridge ; but though they were filled the
sealing was not completed. I also had the
misfortune to have one of these bodies
stolen, amongst other things, from my honey-
room one fine night.

As a consolation to "a poor young bee-
keeper,'' I may say that though a " duffer '' at
bee-keeping, I had at the end of last season

paid for all my bees and plant, and found
myself in possession of fourteen stocks, and
had £14 in hand. This is a good neighbour-
hood to gather honey in, but very bad for
selling, 8d. per lb. being the highest 1 have
ever got for honey in bulk. I am heavily
handicapped by the position of my hives. A
double row of large elms grow fifteen yards
behind them, and the swarms love clustering
in the highest branches. (Often they are not
seen — I only secured one top swarm from ten
hives last season !) My plan is to " swarm " up
the tree myself, taking a long rope and a saw,
pass the rope over a higher branch, make i t
fast to the branch on which the bees are
clustered, saw it oflF, lower bees and all till
near the ground, then shake into a skep in the
ordinary way. — H. C. H., Longparish, Hants
July 17.

SHALLOW FRAMES.

[2024.] Mr. Woodley, in his remarks (2008,
p. 273) on the experience related in " Useful
Hints" of July 5, asks for information by
tests as to best width for wide-spaced shallow
frames. I therefore give the result of an
experience which occurred under somewhat
similar circumstances to those you describe,
and from which I think a clear deduction can
be drawn.

A box of seven shallow-frames spaced by
the wide tin ends at Ig in., was worked out
quicker than I was aware of, and a second box
not being ready, and the bees evidently
crowded, I placed above it a box of hanging
sections which was ready for another hive, just
to give room temporarily. In twenty-four
hours this box was taken ofl", and another
shallow-frame box placed under the first.
Now, in taking it ofl', I found that from four
of the seven shallow frames the combs had
been extended upwards and attached to the
wide bottom bars of the hanging section
frames, not quite completely in so short a time,
but evidently the bees' intention was to enclose
the shallow frame top bars, and, doubtless, if
the upper frames had been ordinary frames,
with narrow bottom bars and the box left on,
the combs in the two boxes would have been
joined up into single combs. But the remain-
ing three frames were entirely free from any
building ujj of comb, and the reason of this
is clear and striking, namely, that the width
of the top bars of these three frames was
Ijl in., thus nearly covering the wide combs,
wJiei'eas the other four frames were of the
standard width of § in., the combs in their
case, of course, projecting well beyond the
sides of the top bars.

I placed the two widths of frames in the
same box expressly for the purpose of experi-
ment, the wide ones being together at one
end of the box, and the narrow ones at the
other, and all at 1§ in. spacing ; and I have
other boxes under similar conditions, but do
not yet know the result.

My own preference is strongly in favour of

294

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [July 26, 1894.

wide frames for wide combs, but as a novice I
felt bound to give narrow frames a trial under
the different opinions expressed when the
question was dealt with at the meeting of the
B.B.K. Association, thouprh I don't rightly
understand the difficulty suggested in uncap-
ping and extracting wide frames so long as the
frame is not wider than the comb. My wide
frames have top bars and sides Ig in. x § in.,
and bottom bars | in. x | in., which make an
excellent and strong frame for a 5-lb. comb,
and one which, from its wide bearings, goes
together very true and firm.

A disadvantage to some may be that for
wide frames split top bars are hardly possible,
the width preventing sufficient spring probably
for opening sufficiently. But with the several
excellent methods of top - bar fastening —
Abbott's among them — or the good old method
of groove and waxing, the split bar is no loss
with its several disadvantages. If the bees
draw out the wide-spaced combs fully, and
make out that allowing § in. space between
them for two layers of bees, the width of
combs will be over If in. (m in.), which
would make a li-in. wide bar better than
If in.

Will Mr. Woodley say whether he thinks
that the width and thickness of bottom bar
aflfect the matter much if the top bars of lower
frames are wide enough to cover the combs 1

What a fine show these wide combs make !
Thanks for the wide tin ends.— F. S., A Lanca-
shire Novice, July 17.

TAKING BEES TO HEATHER.

[2025. I should like to have the opinion of
experienced bee-keepers on the following
matters : —I purpose sending my hives to the
moors, two miles away, at the end of July —
they are to be placed under the care of a
farmer. _ As I shall not be at hand to regulate
the closing or opening of the sliding doors of
my hives, I think of removing them alto-
gether, and replacing them with strips of per-
forated zinc 1|^ by 18 in. long, securely nailed
on. The zinc has holes in it the size of a bee's
head, and I thought of cutting an entrance in
the middle of each piece of zinc about one-
third of an inch high by ]^ in. long. The
bees could then pass in and out of their hives,
while they would not have too large an
entrance to guard against wasps and robber
bees. There would also be plenty of venti-
lation. Would there be any objection to this ?
I cannot help thinking this might be a good
way of giving free ventilation to all hives
during hot weather.

_ A July swarm I purchased last year (hybrid
Ligurian) threw off three good-sized swarms
this spring, each of which I have placed in a
separate hive, and the old stock is strong and
doing well, though it was only an ordinary-
sized stock to commence with. I left it
entirely alone till February 26, then began
giving it and others pea flour in small shallow
tins on the floor-boards, as well as barley sugar

and syrup above. On looking into it during
the first week in May I found there were still
three frames of foundation— out of ten given —
unworked, and yet the swarms were thrown
on May 25 and 30 and June 3, and all doing
exceedmgly well ; quite as well as most of the
eighteen swarms I have just bought. Is this
owing to early feeding combined with Ligu-
rian strain ?

I have hit upon a very quick and effectual
way of filling sections with comb foundation.
I have a small " Astral " paraffin stove on the
table beside me, and on it I heat an " oyster
opener " over the flame. The stove being flat
at the top the knife can be left there when not
in use, so as to heat in readiness. I then place
fifteen sheets or so of comb foundation in a
heap on a board, and cut it straight through
with the hot knife to the required size. I call
it a knife, for it is very much like one, being
quite flat, but rather narrower at the point and
well rounded. This implement also does
admirably for pressing down the foundatiouin
the sections and melting it at the same time.
I get a folded section, and, taking a piece of
foundation in my left hand, hold one end of it
over the stove till it melts, at the same time
holding the knife over the flame also. Then I
quickly place the melted part where it should
be in the section and pass the heated knife
along the side that has to be pressed down.
This has the effect of making the foundation
very secure, and the process is a quick one.

In answer to my last communication (1,046,
p. 206) you thought fit to advise me to " care-
fully read up a good book on bees before
entering upon the management of so many as
twenty stocks."' I had before then already
read seven of the best books published on the
subject, amongst which (I trust you will con-
sider this an encouraging compliment) was
Cowan's Guide Book. — Annone, Derbyshire.

DECAMPING SWAEMS.

[2026.] May I ask you for your wise
counsel, as I am quite a novice, but anxious to
become an expert. I have for some months
taken in your valuable journal, and have
learned a little of my ignorance, which I hope
may in due course vanish.

A friend presented me with a large hive of
Ligurian bees last October. I brought them
safely over from Paisley, N.B., to the " Green
Isle." which proceedings they apparently did
not demur to, and seemed to enjoy the long
sea trip. On May 10 I had a swarm, secured
same in a skep, and I in the evening smoked
them down into a frame hive provided with
seven frames of foundation. Four days later
another swarm issued, which I treated exactly
the same. On the 18th still another swarm,
but not having a hive ready I determined to
try and secure the queen, and put them into
my first swarm, which were apparently doing
well. I dusted the swarm with flour, also
having shaken some flour down the sides of
the frames into the hive of which it was my

July 26, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

295

intention they should go, but " the best-laid
schemes of mice and men gang aft agley." I
watched for the queen, but my inexperienced
eye could not detect her ; most of the swarm
returned to the old hive, but a considerable
number went into tlie new. All went " merry
as a marriage bell " till yesterday. In the
meantime I had fed with syrup every day for a
fortnight, till June 14, the two new hives till
all the frames were covered with bees and
comb ; then I put on the sections. Observing
that the sections were filled with bees, I
yesterday sought for the honey, but when I
drove the bees down by using a cloth satui'ated
in carbolic acid, I found every section filled
with comb ; two nearly filled with honey, but
not quite sealed. On going to the other new
hive I found the bees had swarmed, and had
left the sections, although each of the boxes
were filled with beautiful white comb. Can
you tell me what is the reason, " and will they
ne'er come back again." A friend told rac he
saw a swarm in a garden close by, but I could
find no trace of them. I feel, as they say in
America, " Away back." — T. R. Warner,
Bathmines, Dublin, July 6.

[It is quite impossible to account for
swarms decamping at times, but there is a
strong probability in this case that the mishap
has occurred ^through adding the cast to the
hive from which the bees decamped. — Eds.]

FORCING BEES TO SWARM.

NOTHING NEW IN IT.

[2027.] In March number of the American
Bee Journal for 1872 (page 200), in an article
by that veteran bee-keeper, Elisha Gallup, is an
article on the twin-hive as a non-swarmer. I just
copy a bit from same article, in order to show
"Famigator" that his is not an original idea,
but was practised more than twenty years ago.
Mr. Gallup says : — " Still there was no disposi-
tion to swarm, so we inserted a comb, contain-
ing a sealed and nearly mature queen-cell, and
the following day out came the largest swarm
we ever saw.

" Right here we will state that we have re-
peatedly brought out swarms by the above
method of inserting queen-cells. It order to
succeed, it must be done at a time when the
hive is populous with bees and brood, and the
bees must be gathering forage rapidly.''

So you see, Mr. Editor, there is " nothing
new under the sun." — John Walton, Honey
Cott, Weston, July 21.

A HOPEFUL REPORT.

[2028.] Never in the annals of bee-keeping
has a more complete transformation-scene been
effected than during the first fortnight in July,
1894. From starvation to the land of plenty
was but a " turn," but how anxiously it must
have been looked for both by the bees and
their owners, who, by the way, may take
another lesson from the fiict to make the most

of opportunitj' when it does come. Bees have
been working vigorously, and are still pouring
in honey to complete and seal over the
promising supers. On the 12Lh inst. I took
eight shallow frames from one stock, all
beautifally sealed, yielding about 30 lb. of
honey, leaving two behind not quite sealed
sufficiently for removal. The same stock is
refilling the same comb?. Fine weather is all
that is needed here to make this quite ai
average season. Several hives give promise of
from 50 lb. to 60 lb. of honey, all gathered in
little over a fortnight. — E. Bunnev, West
Glarnorgan, July 16.

A RE-START WITH BEES.

MY BEES AND MY PIPE.

[2029.] I have this summer re-started bee-
keeping by purchasing a swarm from a neigh-
bour on June 16. The swarm first Issued
some days previously, but on that o3casion re-
turned to the parent hive. Being a joiner by
trade, I had made a good "Cowan" hive,
frames included ; fitted them with " W. B. C."
ends on metal runners, and they work to per-
fection. I hived my swarm on six frames
fitted with full sheets of foundation, wired. I
fed swarm for a week, then examined, and
found combs being worked out nicely. On
June 30 bees had nearly completed all the
six combs, while there was a patch of white
larv£e size of palm of the hand, and a little
honey in combs. To-day (July 9) there is a
nice lot of brood, but not much honey, so I
have started feeding again.

I had bees in two frame hives and a skep
twelve years ago, when B.J. changed hands,
but sold out on leaving home, and on taking
up the Journal again, eighteen months ago,
to read up latest wrinkles on bees, the desii'e
to start again became so strong on me in
July, 1893, that I said I would give up my
pipe for twelve months, and buy bees, &c.,
with the money saved, so that I could say my
bees came out of my pipe, while hoping they
would not " end in smoke." Well, I have
now got them, and this week the twelve
months' abstinence from smoking ends, so I
have a h lb. of " weed " on order to start level.

I want to a^k — 1. If I continue to feed the
bees slowly till they cover the six frames well
with bees and brood, can I artificially swarm
them early ia Augast ? I would then
purchase a fertile queen to give to swarmed
stock, feed both lots till they have enough
brood and food to fill six frames in each hive,
and so have two stocks to come out in spring,
instead of one only, as at present. I shall get
no honey this year, so want to increase stock
if possible by continuous feeding.

2. Are the ounces mentioned in various
recipes in " Guide Book" avoirdupois weight,
16 to the lb. ? 3. How long should a queen
be caged when giving her to swarmed stock ?
— Buzzing, Addlestone, July 9.

[1. From details given, it is certain that the

296

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [July 26, 1894.

swarm is headed by a young queen not arrived
at her greatest fecundity. This being so, we
should not advise dividing the stock in
August, unless it can be worked up to ten
frames before division takes places. Remember
one good stock is better than two poor ones.
We think that better results would follow if a
trifle extra cost was incurred in buying a
second swarm, not strong enough to winter
unfed, and building it up for winter in the
second frame hive. 2. For drugs, chemicals,
&c., apothecaries' weight (12 oz. 1 lb.) is used.
Otherwise 16 oz. 3. From thirty-six to forty-
eight hours. — Eds.]

OWNERSHIP OF SWARM.

[2030.] A few weeks ago a hive of mine
swarmed, and the swarm took flight and left
my garden ; my wife followed them for about
a quarter of a mile, when they came to a
garden having an unused hive in it, here the
bees took possession. I went to the owner of
the hive, and asked him for the swarm, but he
declined to give them up ; he offers me 2s. 6d.
for them. I told him they were well worth
10s. 6d., but as they were in his hive he might
have them for 7s. 6d. ; he now offers me
3s. 6d. His neighbour tells me he has already
taken about 12 lb. of honey from them. 1
am only a working man, and cannot afford to
lose them. Can he lawfully detain them ? If
not, what steps should I now take to get them
back ? If I summon him in a County-court,
do you think I should get the decision of the
judge in my favour? — Arthur J. Smyth,
for J. C.

P.S. — 1 do not want to sell them. I only
offered the swarm for 7s. 6d. to get the matter
settled.

[If your wife saw the swarm issue, and
never lost sight of the bees till they entered
the vacant hive of your neighbour, you have a
good case for the County-court. It would be
well, however, to read the case quoted fully
in our monthly, the Record, for June last,
which can be had by post for 2M. in stamps.
—Eds.]

MY EXPERIENCE WITH WIDE
FRAMES.
[2031.] I have all my surplus frames, both
standard and shallow size, made with top bars
li in. wide, sides the same, and a bottom bar
i of an inch wide. Where I spaced them
about i in. apart, the combs were worked out
very nicely, some few of these being joined
together (where they were tiered up) from the
bottom bar to the top side of the frame in box
underneath. I had not put pieces of old
excluder on top of the frames of the bottom
box, as I usually do, as I have found by that
means it stops the bees from joining them
together, but where I put one frame of comb
less in a box, making ttiem from | to | inch
apart, the bees joined them at bottom, and in

many cases built pieces of comb in between,
which made it rather messy in taking them
out. If all is well, I shall not forget the
excluder to lay on frames to stop the joining
together. I had pieces of combs built all the
way down from frames of full standard size.

I do not use any metal ends, nor do I find
the bees lodge up among the ends of the
frames very much. I have the ends notched
out to I in., which make them very convenient
to handle. — John Walton, Ifoney Gott,
Weston, Leamington, July 21.

PHENOL AND PHENYLE,

[2032.] Referring to pages 164-5 of the
" British Bee-Keeper's Guide Book," will you
kindly inform me what is the difference be-
tween phenol and phenyle ? Is the " pure
phenol in crystals'' identical with Calvert's
No. 2 medical carbolic acid, phenol C^HgO'?
— H. 0. W., BucUeigh, Salterton, July l6.

[The difference consists in Phenyle being
entirely non-corrosive and non-poisonous as
regards human beings and other animals,
although destructive of insects when adminis-
tered in large doses. Even in concentrated
form it is not injurious to human beings, but
Phenol is weU known to be extremely corrosive
and poisonous, hence we recommend phenyle
in preference, more especially as the disinfect-
ing properties of the one are fully equal to
those of the other, when used in equal quanti-
ties. Phenyle mixes with water in any pro-
portion, and this is why it is called soluble.
The " pure phenol in crystals " mentioned on
p. 164 is same as No. 1 Carbolic Acid. — Eds.]

QUEEN RAISING.

AN amateur's experience.

[2033.] Following your instructions as to
queen raising, I placed a frame of drone comb
in a strong stock, and when drones were
flying freely I removed all unsealed brood,
took a frame with larvae three days old, cut
the comb in two parts, cut V-shapes, and
broke down cells, destroying the young as per
Alley ; five days after they had three sealed
queen-cells, the bees taking down 2 lb. of.
syrup each day. On the twelfth day from the
laying of eggs I divided the combs into three
lots, giving each a queen-cell ; one lot deserted
the next day and went into the nucleus about
a yard away. Then came a fortnight's cold
frosty weather and on looking into nucleus
No. 2 found they had deserted, and from the
dead around soon located their retreat into a
small skep which was very strong before.
The stock raised a fine queen, which 1 had the
pleasure of seeing mated on the seventeenth day
from leaving the cell, and gave them a frame of
brood from the removed portion ; it is doing,
well. Will some one tell me where I was
wrong in forming nuclei, was it for want of
warmth through the cold weather coming
back ? or was my method wrong in forming
them ? I thought queenless bees would stop

July 26, 1894.] THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

297

■where put. I mean to try again next month.
If some friend will give me a wrinkle I shall
esteem it a great favour, and it might be
helpful to others like myself trying to make
headway. — C. Harvey, Bromsgrove.

WEATHER REPORT FOR JUNE,

1894.

Westboubne,
Rainfall, 1-75 in.
Heaviest fall, '37 in.

on 6th.
Rain fell on 13 days.
Above average, "12 in.
Max. Temperature,

82'^ on 30th.
Min. Temperature, 41°

on 1st.
Minimum on Grass,

32' on 14th.
Frosty Nights, —
Sunshine, 177"3 hours.

Sussex, June, 1894.
Brightest Day, 29 th,

15-20 hours.
Sunless Days, 3.
Below average, "37 hrs.
Mn. Maximum, 62-7".
Mn. Minimum, 49-8°.
Mean Temperature,

56-2°.
Maximum Barometer,

30-62° on 30th.
Minimum Barometer,

29-81° on 2nd.

L. B. BiRKETT.

^ntr'm and |lejl«s.

[1111.] Eeneioing Queens. — 1. When it is
necessary to remove an old queen and place
a younger in her stead. 2. What is the best
method of doing so ? Last year I caught the
old queen by shaking the bees on a quilt some
distance from the hive, and while the bees
were on the wing back to the hive I introduced
the nucleus stock. In some cases the queen
was not accepted. 3. Was it because the bees
had not time to realise their loss ? 4. I sup-
pose any tipie after July would do for the
purpose. — Inquirer.

Reply. — 1. When the "old queen" begins
to fail in prolificness. 2. After her removal,
the young one may be introduced, either by
the " direct " method or by caging for forty-
eight hours. It is merely a matter of opinion
which is best. 3. It was because your plan of
re-queening is not a good one. The old queen
should have been removed from the comb
quietly, and the nucleus colony added after
queen-cells were started. 4. So long as queens
in nuclei are fertilised and laying, they may be
added to queenless stocks any time during the
autumn.

[1112.] Melting very Old, Comhs for Wax. —
When brood combs are old and black, is it
worth the while to melt them down for wax ?
If so, what is the best method where no wax-
extractor or special appliance is used ? I have
sometimes thought so very little wax seemed
to come from these combs it would almost be
better to destroy them. — Inquirer, West-
moreland.

Reply. — When combs have become old and
black, they are not worth melting for wax.
They consist of little beyond the cocoons or

skins of successive generations of bees which
have been bred in them.

[111.3.] Moving Bees from Church Roof. — ■
Using Cyanide of Potassiiom. — In a church
roof, within two miles of this house, there has
existed for about five years a very strong
stock of bees. It has now become imperatively
necessary to remove them, as they will let no
repairs, &c., be carried out. I have sought
the advice of an experienced brother bee-
keeper, and he tells me it is impossible to get
both bees and honey out at the same time, as
the high road is within 10 yards of the nest,
and along it there is a constant traffic. Besides
this, the bees have to be removed immediately,
or else I would fix a hive as near nest as
possible, and tie in combs with brood on from
the nest, with the bees attached. In conse-
quence of this, I propose to go at about eight
o'clock one night and bore two or three holes
in the back of roof, place inside two or three
spoonfuls of cyanide of potassium, and stop up
both holes and entrance. In the morning I
expect to find all bees dead ! What I wish to
know is. Will the cyanide injure the honey,
and make it poisonous ? If so, can you tell me
what to use instead ? Also the best method of
procedure ? It sounds barbarous, indeed, to
have to destroy a fine stock of bees in the old-
fashioned way, but it must be done, and that
at once. — F. R. Kent, Ipsieich.

Reply. — Cyanide of potassium is so highly
dangerous a substance to use — besides being
very poisonous — that we should not employ it
in removing the bees. They might be easily
rendered perfectly harmless for a time if sub-
jected to the fumes of chloroform, and, after
removal, could be utilised. If the operation
was begun at 5 a.m., and judiciously got
through, the bees and combs could be removed
•while in a state of semi-torpor, without any
risk to pa'ssers-by. As to " the best method of
proceeding," it is impossible to advise on this
point without having seen the place and its
surroundings.

(f cfojs |r0m the Itca.

East Fife, N.B., July 21.— My stocks,
though storified, have mostly swarmed, and
swarms been returned. Much rain and
thunder for the last ten days, which has
stopped honey storing a good deal. Clover
very abundant here ; if weather becomes dry
and warm it should yield well. — Andrew
Mann.

Hemingford Orey, Jitly2\. — I expect the
season is over with us, and is very far from
being a good one. The bees have commenced
killing off the drones. We have had an
abundance of lime bloom, and the bees seemed
to work it well, but have not stored much of
it in the supers. — W. H. Woods.

298

THE BMTISH BEE JOURNAL. [July 26, 1894.

3m ^hm to ^mt

July 27. — North Norfolk Bee-keepers'
Association. Great show of honey at Meltoa
Constable Park.

August 1, 2, and 3 — At Beverley, Yorks.
Prizes for bees, honey, and appliances.
Marshall Stephenson, secretary, York.

August 6. — Berks Association (Newbury
District). Show of honey, &c. Entries close
August 3. Special prizes for best 1-lb.
section. Entry forms of Mr. W. Hawkes,
hon. sec, Newbury.

August 6 and 7. — Northants B.K.A.
Show of honey, &c., at Delapr^-park, North-
ampton. R. Hefiford, hon. sec, Boughton.

August 7. — At the Abbey Park Flower
Show, Leicester. Honey show and fair of the
Leicester Bee-Keepers' Association. Applica-
tions for space and schedules to A. J. Martin,
C "ssington, Leicester, before July 28.

August 10 and 11. — At Dumfries. South
of Scotland B.K.A. Very liberal prizes.
Schedules, W. Wilson, Acrehead, Dumfries.

August 16. — At Audlem, Cheshire. Liberal
prizes for honey and beeswax. Entries close
August 9. For schedules, apply T. H. Smith,
solicitor, Audlem.

August 16. — -At Maidenhead, Berks. Show
of honey, bees, and appliances. Windsor
District, Berks B.K.A., in conjunction with
the Maidenhead Horticultural Society. Over
£7 value in prizes. For schedule apply to
hon. sec, W. S. Darby, Consort-villas, Clewer.

August 22 and 23. — Shropshire B.K.A.
Annual show in connection with the Horticul-
tural Society's great fete in "The Quarry,"
Shrewsbury. £35 in prizes for bees, honey,
hives, and appliances. For prize-lists, &c.,
apply T. Whittingham, Upton Magna, near
Shrewsbury.

August 22 and 23. — At Derby. Derbyshire
B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby.

August 23. — At Horsham. Twelve classes
for bees, hives, and honey. Entries close
August 18. Schedules from R. Gilburd,
Horsham.

August 23. — At Madresfield, in connection
with the Madresfield Agricultural Society ;
fourteen classes for bees, hives, and honey.
Entries close August 18. Rev. E. Davenport,
hon. sec, Burlish Lodge, Stourport.

August 29 and 30.— Staffs. B.K.A. At
Stone. In connection with the Staffs -Agri-
cultural Society's meeting. Nineteen classes
for bees, hives, honey, &c. Entries close
August 4. Schedules from Harold Twenty-
man, Wolverhampton.

September 4 and .'J. — At Coventry. In con-
nection with the Warwickshire Agricultural
Show. Annual show of the Warwickshire
B.K.A. Liberal prizes for honey, bees, and
appliances. For schedules apply J. N. Bower,
hon. sec, Knowle.

September 6. — At Castle Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1 lb. jars
extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, secretary, Castle Douglas, N.B.

September 15. — In the Corn Exchange,
Jedburgh. Roxburghshire B.K.A. Annual
show of honey, &c. Twenty-seven classes.
Eight silver medals and liberal money prizes.
Entries close September 11. Thos. Clark,
secretary, Pleasants, Jedburgh, N.B.

Shows have been arranged in connection
with the Lincolnshire Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion as follows ; — 31sfc, Heckington, Morton
(Bourne) ; August 1st, Blankney, Sutton
Bridge, and East Stockwith ; 2nd, Stickney ;
6th, Eltham ; 16th, Mablethorpe.

1^0 tices to Gorresponden ts and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column,.

South Walian (Penarth). — If you will send
us a sample of the " stock of bees '' referred
to as occupying " a hole in a field," we will
do our best to enlighten you as to taking
them.

Gaffer (Gosport). — Cone-CUarers in Boof.
Vicious bees. — 1. Make the mouth of cone
Jin. in diameter. If there is a clear passage-
way to cone, and no light can enter except
through it, we cannot account for dead bees
found on quilts. 2. Unless bees are natur-
ally of a vicious strain (in which case re-
queening is the only remedy) there must be
a something not apparent on the surface to
account for the propensity to sting. You
might try and manipulate your friend's bees
without causing trouble ; if you succeed we
should l.iy the blame on your own bees.

James Adams (Dunfermline).— Thanks for
cutting. We had already received the sam&,
but it would serve no good purpose to print
such alarmist reports in our pages, besides
they obtain all the publicity needed in the
daily press.

James Broughtox (Barnoldswick), — Though
not stated in note, we suppose that one
good queen-cell was left in the hive when
you " cub out royal cells on the following
day '' ? If this is so, there may be a young
queen now in the hive, which has nob com-
menced breeding yet. In any case no harm
was done by giving a frame containing eggs
and larvae. But your note is too vaguely
worded for us to clearly understand the
case.

G. H. Strong, A. M., T. Mitchell, and " In a
Fix " (Notts), have respectively sent samples
of comb all of which are affected with foul
brood. In every case we advise the prompt
destruction of all combs Avith dead brood in
them, and if our correspondents will refer to
our issue of June 21 last, p. 241, they will
find details of the plan we advise for dealing
with their respective cases. It is no use
trying to save or utilise weak lots of bees

July 26, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

299

from foul broody hives, but if they are fairly
numerous — covering, say, six or seven
frames — they may be saved.

East Coaster (Colchester). — We trust you
have destroyed all the combs containing
dead brood, whether " foul " or " chilled."
There is every chance of the stock being
cured, but while they are building out
the foundation it will be well to help them
with medicated food. 1. If the napthul beta
be weighed into four equal portions, and
one of these portions is divided into three
equal parts (easily done by the eye), there
will be sufficient in each part to medicate
121b. sugar. 2. It is only safe to give
full sheets of foundation by way of spreading
brood when the bees are numerous and
weather warm. After the experience you
have had of " chilled brood " we should
avoid " spreading '' it.

Elnor (Cheshire). — 1. Thesymptoms described
make it very probable the bees were turn-
ing out the drones. 2. The hive referred
to will answer quite well for wintering.
3. We are not sure about bee-tent being at
Bolton Show,

A Beginner (Bristol).— 1. We see no reason
for you to suppose that queen is not mated,
but if it was so she is not likely to be
fertilised now. 2. Comb No. 1 contains
pollen only. No. 2 has chilled brood in
it, but whether it was " chilled " when
taken from the hive or not we cannot say.
3. The " substance " is pollen.

E. A. McLaren (Sidbury). — Dealing with
Driven Bees. — If the driving cannot be de-
ferred till within a day or two of your return
home, you will have a very difficult job
indeed in dealing with them. To keep the
bees in boxes building combs for three
weeks or more will render them entirely
unfit for transporting to a distance without
a breakdown of the newly-built combs, and
a consequent mess at end of journey, which
could not be repaired so late as end of Oc-
tober. Can you not drive the bees, and send
them home in boxes to be dealt with there ?
Beferring to removing surplus, it should be
done before " beginning of September," or
much of it will be carried below.

H. J. WiSBEY (Cambs). — We see nothing to
indicate that the brood was dead when comb
was cut out. It seems perfectly healthy, and
should have hatched out all right. More-
over, the cells on opposite side of comb con-
tain newly laid eggs in every cell, so we
cannot see that anything is wrong. Please
write again if brood fails to hatch out.

G. HEAD(Winkfield). — Honey Samiyles. — 1, 2,
and 3. Good in flaA'our, consistency,and colour
(No. 1 extra good in last point). 4. Flavour
only moderate, colour ditto, consistency
poor. 5. Flavour fair, consistency poor,
colour fairly good.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, &c.—Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence; for every additional Thrt4
words or under, One Penny.

WANTED, HONEY RIPENER and STRAINER.
W. J. Green, Bishop's Waltham, Hants, e 57

BEES for THE HEATHER— Guaranteed healthy
3-Frame Nuclei, 8s. ; 4-Frame, 10s. ; 5-Frame, 12s.
Also NEW HIVES for THE HEATHER at 8s. Cd.
Apply, J. Trebble, Romansleigh, South Molten.
E 55

WANTED, good HONEY EXTRACTOR, approval.
Cooper, Rose Cottage, Totteridge-road, High
Wycombe, Bucks. e 53

LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Four neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, Sd., post free
500, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury'.

WANTED, SECTIONS and RUN HONEY (pny
quantity). Best quality only taken. Prtf i{)t
CBsh, AJjFREp HANSON, Bingley, Y'orkshire. E 69

'OR SALE, several STOCKS of BEES in skeps. Misa
COOKE, High House, Litcham, Norfolk. E 58

SPECIAL STRAIN.— VIRGIN QUEENS for August,
from stocks that have given 1001b. surplus this season,
8s. 6d. each. Webster, Middle Pavement, Nottingham.

E56

WANTED, CY'LINDER EXTRACTOR. 2-frame,
reversible speed wheels. C. Reeves, Coursehorn,
Cranbrook. e 54

FOR SALE, good STOCKS BEES, guaranteed healthy,
with young queers. Apply, F. GAY, Edmond-
shani, Cranborne, Salisbury. e 61

GUARANTEED HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES, ready
for delivery. Is. Cd. per lb., for 5 lb. lots or
over, queen included. Warranted 1894 fertile queens,
3s. 6d. each. Safe arrival. Packing included. Address,
C. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suffolk.

E60

SECTION CASES, for Exhibition, glassed both sides,
18s. per gross ; Is. 9d. per doz. J. S. Greenhill,
80, Graham-road, Wimbledon.

FOR SALE, a limited number of DRIVEN BEES,
headed with 1894 queens, for delivery in August
and September, Is. 6d. per lb. Orders executed in rota-
tion. C. Haynes, Hanley Castle, Worcester. E 52

HONEY.— Finest White Clover and Heather HONEY
WANTED. Post samples and lowest prices,
stating quantities. Spring, Brigg, Lines.

HONEY.- To INCREASE DEMAND, use my Recipes
with each jar. Print your name on them. Six, IJd. ;
100, Is. 6d. ; 500, 6s. ; 1,000, 10s.
WANTRD, good CLOVER HONEY. Sample, &c.
G EG. Stocks, Sandiway, North wich. e 41

MARKET for SECTIONS (any quantity). Run HONEY
jiiid WAX. State price and quantity. Prompt
cash. ]'ai kages sent. Address, H., JSec JoMniai Office,
17, King William-street, Strand, London.

PURE ENGLISH BEES, splendid strain. Swarms
with Queen, suitable for building up, 6s., Queens,
3s., on rail. Swarm Boxes 2s. 6d., Queen Boxes Is., unless
returned. Alsford, Expert, Blandford. e 38

(See over.)

300

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [July 26, 1894.

Prepaid Advertisements (Contimied)

B

EE TENT on HIRE. For terms, apply to G. GUKSrON,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

CHOICE YOUNG QUEENS, excellent strain, pro-
duced by seven years' careful breeding, guaranteed
fertile, post free 5s., virgins, 2s. 6d. Rev. C. Breeeton,
Pulborough, Sussex. 229

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. Holliday, Astbury,
Congleton.

BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the
CENTBAL SUPPLY STORES
for all BEEKEEPERS' REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL
at the OLD SPOT, 50, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET.
GEORGE ROSE, successor to P. Harbordt.

Why pay carriage from long distances when you can
buy cheaper and quite as good quality locally, and have
your orders promptly attended to ? Catalogues gratis.
Extractors, Uncapping Knives, Foundation, Frames, &c.
1-lb. Screw-Cap Bottles, 2s. per doz. ; 1-lb. Tie-over
Bottles, Is. 2d. per doz.

SPECIAL NOTICEJOJMOEE-KEEPERS.

Mr. Kirwan's Article has caused him to receive a
great number of letters asking who makes the special
Sections that he has been so successful with.

They are the PATENT GROOVED
SECTIONS made by Thomas B. Blow,
■Welwyn, Herts.

Illustrated Catalogue giving full details of these
Sections will be sent gratis and post free on application.

COMB HONEY IN SECTIONS.

During the past winter I have purchased between two
and three tons of the above. It has been bought in-
discriminately from the Bee-Keepers of Great Britain
and Ireland. I hope to require five tons during the
coming autumn and winter, and shall purchase by
preference from those Bee-Keepers who are among my
customers for appliances. Special arrangements can
be made to take the whole Comb Honey product of large
apiaries, and special prices can be given for the Honey
where part payment is taken in appliances. Spring
crates are lent free to ensure safe transit by rail. Any
quantity of English Bees-Wax can also be purchased.

THOSVaAS B. BLOW,

Manufacturer qf Bee-Keeping AppUancet,

WELWYN, HERTS. 200

is the Oldest Es-
tablishment in
the United
Kingdom
wholly devoted
to Bees and

manufacture of Bee-keepers' supplies. His prices will
compare most favourably with those of any other Maker,
while for quality of material, suitability and workman-
ship he has no rival.

A large consignment of the beautiful

"FALCONER" SECTIONS,

both 4 bee-way and 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct importation.
Price 2/6 per 100 ; cut to receive Foundation, 3/- per 100.
By Parcel Post, 1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which "contains more practical and reliable hints
than all the large, expensive books," post free for
2d. stamps.

Address S.J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent.

N.B.—More than 500 Silver and Bronze Medals, First and

other Prizes, and Testimonials innumerable.

THE YORKSHIRB
Bee-keepers' Supplies

WILLIAM DIXON,

5, Beckett St., Leeds.

Hives, Extractors,

Smokers, Feeders,

Foundation, &c.

Prizes A warded, Gold,
Silver, &BronzeMeda Is.

w

M EADOWS,

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Unprecedentsd /ist Prize— Collectwn of Appliances.

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1st & 2nd Prize— Extractors.
1st Prize— Best Frame Hive.

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Send for Cat— a-

Best Cottager's Hive.

Best Smoker.

Best Feeder.

Best Collection of Honey.
A. Medal Super Clearer.
-Log with Leaflet.

If you want to handle

your Bees with GOMFQRT,

and not get STUKC,

TRY APIFUCE

Unmerons Unsolicited Testimonials.
To be had of all Appliance Makers and

DARCY GRIMSHAW, HORSFORTH, LEEDS.

Price Is. and 2s. post free.
Cash must accompany Order.

TO BEE-KEEPERS.

J. S. CREENHILL (27 years with
G. Neighbour & Sons)

OFFERS HIS SERVICES FOR APIARY WORK OF ALL KINDS.

Bees attended to and put in order by the day, month,

or season. Terms moderate. HONEY in SECTIONS

WANTED FOE, CASH.— 80, Graham-road, Wimbledon.

NEW REMEDY FOR FOUL

In view of the disastrous spread of Foul Brood-
especially in certain districts — I beg to announce that I
have just brought to a successful conclusion a long
series of experiments with a new agent, which I have
found to be an absolute and simple CURE for this
disease in all its stages — the first remedy that will
destroy the spores, and at the same time be harmless to
the Bees.

Half-pint Bottles, 2s. 6d. Pint Bottles, 4s.

With full Instructions.

THOMAS B. BLOW,
WEJLWYK, MERTS-

THE "WELLS SYSTEM"

Described by the Originator,

GEORGE WELLS,
AYl-ESKORD, KEWX.

Price 6id. Post Free.
To he had of the Author only. 206

Aug. 2, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

301

RUNAWAY SWARMS.

THE LEGAL RIGHT OF OWNERSHIP IN
THEM.

The frequency with which we are
applied to for a clear definition of the
law on the right of ownership in run-
away swarms, causes us to very heartily
wish that the " legal right " was as clearly
defined as is the moral right to the
possession of what is so undeniably a
marketable commodity as a swarm of
bees. In the great majority of cases
coming under our cognizance, the trouble
arises from the hostile attitude of the
party on whose premises the swarm
settles, usually the outcome either of a
morbid antipathy to bees, or of a quarrel
with their owner. In several instances
reported, the bee-keeper has not only
been refused permission to take his
swarm, but the bees have been deliber-
ately and cruelly destroyed in his
presence. Such high-handed action is
not only to be reprobated, but deserves
punishment, but it is wise to keep well
wnthin the law in all that is done. It
must be borne in mind that forcible
trespass renders the trespasser liable for
damages, and to claim the right to follow
a swarm on to another man's premises in
defiance of the occu])ier is the nice point
of law which bears upon the question of
this right.

In reply to a correspondent, we last
week, on page 296, gave what we believe
to be the generally-accepted view of the
law of the case ; another correspondent
(1,119 p. 307) again raises the question,
and, in a private note, requests us not to
refer him to cases reported in past num-
bers of our journal, but — for the benefit
of those to whom back numbers are not
available — to print something authorita-
tive on the subject for their guidance.
A third, whose case is now aAvaiting trial
in a court of law, writes to say that, as
at present advised, decisions reported in
newspapers do not constitute " legal
evidence," or are not received as such in
court. In view, therefore, of the import-
ance of the matter, we print below full
details of a case from a former issue of
our journal which bears directly on the
point of refusing permission to follow a.
swarm, and, moreover, does constitute

" legal evidence," in that it embodies the
opinion of no less an authority than
Blackstone, as Avill be seen from the
report, which reads as follows : —

"A sitting of the Marlborough County-
court was held on Tuesday, October 13, 1891,
before his Honour Judge Caillard and Mr.
Kegistrar Merriman.

"His Honour delivered judgment in the
case of Charles Brooks v. Thomas MacArthur.
In this case the plaintiff, who lives at Cadley,
sought to recover lOs. from the defendant, a
neighbour, for the loss of a swarm of bees
which flew into his garden. According to the
evidence given at the last court by the plaintiff's
wife, an immense swarm of bees came out
of her husband's hive, in their garden, and
flew over some buildings into the defendant's
garden. She followed the bees, and did not
cease ringing to them. As soon as they began
to pitch on a gooseberry-bush the defendant
threw stones and a bucket at them, disturbing
them. She was standing just outside the de-
fendant's gate at the time. The defendant
fastened up his gate and forbade her coming
on to his ground . He began throwing at the
bees again. Then — and tliis was important,
his Honour said— they settled 'again on the
same gooseberry-bush, after which Mrs. Brooks
went indoors for some time, thereby losing
sight of them for a considerable time. When
she came out again they were gone. From
the evidence it appeared she lost sight of them
for two hours before she came out. To show
the law on the matter, his Honour read the
following extract from " Blackstone's Commen-
taries " : — ' Bees are fcnn natune ; but when
hived and reclaimed a man may bave a
qualified property in them, by the law of
nature, as well as by the civil law ; and to
the same purpose, not to say in the same
words with the civil law, speaks Bracton :
occupation— that is, hiving or including tbem
—gives the property in bees ; for, though a
swarm lights upon my tree, I have no more
property in them, till I have hived them, than
I have in the birds which malse their nest
thereon ; and, therefore, if another hives them,
he shall be their proprietor; but a swarm
which fly from and out of my hive are mine
so long as I can keep them in siaht and have
power" to pursue them ; and in these circum-
stances no one else is entitled to take them,
but it has also been said that with us the only
ownership in bees is ratione foil; and the
charter of the forest, which allows every
freeman to be entitled to the honey found
within his own woods, affords great coun-
tenance to this doctrine that a qualified
property may be had in bees, in consideration
of the property of the soil whereon they
were found.' The judge said he had not been
able to find anv other authority. Therefore
the leading principle to be kept in view as
regarded the plaintiflPs right to have this
swarm of bees was that he or his wi^e should

302

THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[Aug. 2, 1894.

not have lost sight of them. Although
tliere was some ill-natured and unneighbourly
conduct on the part of the defendant, there
was nothing to prevent the plaintifi's wife from
steadily keeping the bees in sight after they
again settled upon the gooseberry-bush. How-
ever, she went away for two hours, and lost
sight of them. When she came back, the
bees were gone. What became of them did
not appear. Somebody else must have had
the benefit of the swarm. He thought the
plaintiff was not entitled to recover. The order
of the court was that there be a non-suit,
without costs.''

It will be observed that in the above
case Judge Caillard, in non-suiting the
plaintiff, mentions as his reason for so
doing, the leading principle to be kept
in view, viz. : that to constitute a right
to the swarm of bees they must not be
lost sight of by the claimant or his repre-
sentative from the time they leave the
hive till they are claimed. This is the
point we have always emphasised in
giving advice, but the question of enter-
ing premises belonging to another and
taking forcible possession of a swarm
found thereon is a very risky proceeding,
and one to be deprecated. The right to
follow the swarm should be respectfully
claimed — in the presence of a witness —
and if refused, there is a good case for
action in the county court for the value
of the swarm.

MOVING BEES TO HEATHER.

Quite a number of letters having
reached us requesting information as to
moving bees to heather, we reprint
the following from the August number
of our monthly, the Record ;—

In making preparations for removal to
the heather the first point to be ob-
served is, only take strong , hives — those
Avith a brood-nest of nine or ten frames,
and the super or crate well filled with
bees. Plenty of bees, young queens, built
or drawn-out crates of sections, or
shallow frames that have passed through
the extractor, is the secret of getting
lieather honey. Any late swarms coming
off at home should be taken out and
joined to those at the heather if increase
is not wanted. I have been in the habit
for some years of having a few empty
hives rigged out with half-sheets founda-
tion, and placed at the heather. Any
late swarms that come off towards end of

July are taken out and put in these
hives. Later on crates of drawn-out
sections are given to them, and I seldom
fail in getting a surplus of honey by
this method. To the beginner the
greatest care is necessary in packing up
hives for removal. One day at least
previous to the journey those intended
to be taken should be selected, floor-
boards secured with nails, and crates
firmly fixed down. For ventilation, open
cheese-cloth should be tied firmly down
over the crates with strong cords, or
strips of wood screwed on ; everything
made in readiness for removal except
the closing of the entrance. On the
evening they are to be taken out, as
soon as all the flying bees are in, hav e
ready a strip of perforated zinc, and tack
over entrance. It is better if the
journey can be accomplished the same
evening, because should any mishap
occur the darkness will come on, and
give a chance to put the bees straight
before daylight next morning. Having
the hives at their destination, they should
be all placed in position, and just before
leaving remove the zinc from the
entrances. Some days later another visit
may be made to see how they are pro-
gressing, and, if need be, to give addi-
tional room, which in the hurry of the
former visit was left unfinished. — Wm.
M'Nally, Glenluce, N.B.

(^mnpwkut.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous coimmmications, and correspondents
are reqxifsted to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected cominunicatiotis.

*,* In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or quei-y previously inserted,
will oblige by mentiojiing the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[2034.] We have now reached the end of
our honey harvest for 1894, and as soon as it
is removed to the storehouse will be in a posi-
tion to estimate the quantity and compare
with previous seasons. That the season's re-
sults will be disappointing is certain, when we
remember the roseate hues of the opening of
the bee season and the later disastrous breaks
experienced in weather suitable for the in-
gathering of the honey crop. The bee-keeper

Aug. 2, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

303

located within reach of the heather may yet
hope to secure the latter harvest, provided we
get the promised dry, hot August our weather-
prophets predict.

Thanks, friend Truss, for item re galvanised
vessels for storing honey ; the matter of
actual contact of honey and the sides of
the vessels can be very easily remedied or pre-
vented by the use of the same material in
which the busy bee stores her food — viz., wax.
Heat the vessel, and then, whilst still hot, rub
the inside with a piece of wax and you will
have an immense cell in which to store your
honey free from all contamination from any
possible oxide of zinc if the honey should fer-
ment. I opine it wa'^ fermentation that caused
the mischief ; and, again, ripe honey would not
ferment. Here in this country our takes of
honey are very small compared to our bee-
friends on the American continent. I notice
one of the bee-keepers away down South
lamenting in an American bee paper that his
crop was so small this year, though he ad-
mitted that he had the modest little lump of
17 tons ; these are the men who want strong
storing vessels.

I have referred in previous numbers to the
McEvoy plan of dealing with foul-brood ; if
any readers have tried the method fjiithfuUy,
carrying out the instructions, perhaps they will
verify Mr. McEvoy's assertions that the
method cure?.

The season for extracling is with us. I
would counselbeginnersto extractfromunsealed
combs first, and keep their ripe honey separate
from the honey extracted from combs that are
not (and will not be) sealed over by the bees
. this year. A tall tin vessel, called in the
catalogues of our appliances a '' honey ripener,"
signifying that although it does not actually
lipen unripe honej'^, yet it will by the force of
gravity place all the best of the honey, i.e., the
thickest, at the bottom of the vessel, ready to
be drawn off into bottles, and the top part of
the contents of the tin (which is considerably
thinner, especially when combs only paitly
sealed are extiactecl, and the whole run to-
gether) may be used as food for the bees, not
sold as honey. The price of honey seems to
require some authoritative statement. When
shall we be enabled to have a price current for
honey, collected from different central markets,
say London, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow,
Edinburgh, and published in alternate issues
of the British Bee Journal ? I have no
doubt our editors would publish a list if
supplied, and I feel sure that ot;r readers
would welcome such a statement as a
great help. "Who among readers in
these centres will send the wholesale prices
that comb-honey in sections, glazed and un-
glazed, are making, also extracted honey in
bottles. I myself have received some few
letters asking if I knew the price of comb-
honey this season. I know what I am charging
myself, and I know that some of my old cus-
tomers are asking for a supply at a reduction

on last year's prices. That, of course, is out of
the question, but it shows how eager buyers
are for a cheap line, though, when they get it,
it is often a question if the public reaps any of
the benefit. I sold a few dozen unfinished
sections to clear off, averaging perhaps 12 to
13 oz. each, and when I passed the shop in
London a short time afterwards, the sections
were marked up at cent, per cent, profit to
the retailer — not a bad profit for hard times.
I notice from schedule of Newbury Show, to
be held on Bank Holiday, that prizes of £1
and under are offered in an open com-
petition for the best section of comb-honey, no
entrance-fee, only the section of honey to
become the property of the committee ; entries
close August 3 ; Eev. W. E. Burkitt, judge.
Hope to see a full class. — W. Woodley,
Beedon, Newbury.

SAVE THE BEES !

[2035.] I have fourteen skeps of bees
I wish to destroy — five golden (?) swarms,
five top swarms, and four casts. The last
swarmed June 28, the first May 4. Will
you kindly tell me the best way to do this
and obtain the honey ? I have kept bees three
years (starting with one swarm) in skeps,
using the improved skep-supers, which worked
well last year, but the bees have done nothing
in them this. I am now taking the Bee
Journal, and have carefully studied two
guide-books, but have not sufficient confidence
to " drive" them, and only know of the old-
fashioned method of burning with sulphur. I
should also be glad to know the time it ought
to be done ? All being well, I intend to try
frame-hives next year. I shall leave nine
skeps for stock, seven of '93 and two of '94.
Is it best to leave casts or swarms ? — A. B. C,
Cambs, July 24.

[We transfer the above query from the
usual reply column in order to give it a little
extra prominence here, in the hope that some-
thing may be done to save the poor bees from
the sulphur-pit. And we trust our correspon-
dent (a lady) will pardon us for making an
effort to prevent such a holocaust ! If only
the honey is wanted, there should not be much
difficulty in securing an operator willing to do
the " driving " if he had tlae bees for his
trouble. We therefore venture to defer reply
to "A. B. C.'s" query describing "the best
way to destroy the bees " in the hope that
some competent bee-keeper located near New-
market, Camb?, will volunteer to "drive"
them, and send us his address, which shall be
forwarded to the right quarter. — Eds.]

EXPECTATION V. REALISATION.

[2036.] We should never prophecy until we
know. Our weather is mostly " samples," and
the honey harvest, like all others, is at the
mercy of the weather. The glorious bee
weather in early July did not continue. The

r3Q4

THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[Aug. 2, 1894.

cold, wet, and stormy period intervening
arrested all surplus gathering for about ten
days, which is a serious business at this season
to all bee-keepers. My realisation will be
about half my expectation, and I have no
doubt this will be the experience of many.
My increase in numbers of colonies by swarms,
&c., has been rather more than desirable, thus
still further reducing my honey harvest, and
by the time these lines get in print (if they
escape the '' W.P.B.") I shall be making pre-
parations to go into winter quarters. Thirty
stocks will be made secure for wintering ;
and I am hoping by the experience gained
this season to be better prepared for
emergencies and obtain a more satisfactory
return another year.

No wasps have I seen since the queens were
flying. The late severe frosts no doubt proved
a "frost " to them. Two of my swarms last year
were destroyed by the wasps. On visiting
my bees after a few days' absence, I found one
hive contained more wasps than bees. The
bees had lost the power to fly, and were
dropping off the alighting board, and as they
reached the ground they were cut in two by
the surrounding wasps and carried awny ;
the remainder i buried at once. The other
swarm (in a straw skep) I removed home,
hoping by change of place to give them a rest
and enable them to recover ; but in a few
days every tee had vanished. Is it possible
they, had returned to the apiary four miles
away and been slaughtered ! I heard that
fighting had been going on at the apiary about
that time.

I shall not experiment again with the
" Wells system." During two seasons my
hive has been stocked with two colonies, and
in a short time both colonies have shown a
decided preference for one compartment (of
course, both entrances are in front). Either the
position of the hive, the extra activity of one
queen over the other (or is it the nearest
entrance which attracts their attention) ; and,
no objection raised, the two stocks fraternise,
thus reducmg the strength of one end at the
expense of the other. Both this year and last,
after perceiving one colony reduced and the
other crowded, I have drawn the dummy and
let the bees unite, leaving the queens to settle
the matter of the survival of the fittest.

Bee-keepers experience strange things at times.
One of mine took place during a hot July
Sunday in 1893 :— I and a friend started out
with skep and veil to secure a stray swarm.
Our informant said they were located in an
extensive osier bed a few miles out in the
country, and had built combs as large as his
hat. For a sum of 5s. he had promised to
protect these bees until I could secure and
carry them home. Through the smiling
fields and by the winding river Derwent we
strolled along. Past the fatal spot where
several have gone to their death by bathing
in this secluded, deep, and seductive place^
until we arrived at the osier beds. Osiers

thick and thin, high and low, from three to
six feet high. We struggled along, beginning
to feel ours was a fool's errand, there being no
welcome hum of bees to be heard. Presently
our guide shouts, " Here they are ! " We
saw we smiled, and said, " It's a wasps' nest."

*' Nothing of the sort," says the man. " I
have seen the bees working sure enough.
What about the 5s. ? "

I remarked, you take that nest to the
Derby museum. The curator will be very
pleased to receive it. As for us, we will
hurry home to dinner, and the royal salute in
store for us. A few weeks afterwards, on
meeting our old guide, I remarked, How is
that swarm of bees getting on ? When, look-
ing very wise, he said, " Ah, that was a bad
job, wasn't it ? '' — F. Walker, Derby.

A GIGxVNTIO SWARM.

[2037.] The enclosed cutting is from the
Horncastle News of June 30, and to me has
the appearance of a very " big goosebery." If,
however, the paragraph is bond fide, I hope
Mr. Garner will write to the B.B.J, and give
some particulars. Was it from a "Wells"
hive and thus a double swarm, or was it from
a single hive, and, if so, what was the capacity
of the hive ? I have had some very heavy
swarms this year, say about 7 or 8 lb., indeed,
I never knew bees so plentiful, but, alas ! up
to a week or ten days ago they have only
swelled the great army of the unemployed.
However, matters are looking brighter now.
White clover is in full swing, and limes just
coming into flower, and looking into a super
of standard frames spaced at 2 in. to-day, I
had the j)leasure of seeing the combs extead-
ing beyond the top bars, and I got my first
view of '94 honey. — J. W. Wilson, Eevesly.

[The cutting referred to reads as follows,
and the swarm mentioned will no doubt con-
sist of several swarms which have issued
simultaneously and united on the honey. —
Eds.]

" Mr. Garner, of Dyke (hon. secretary for
the Bourne district of the Lincolnshire Bee-
keepers' Association), had last week a pheno-
menally large swarm of bees. The swarm
weighed 24 lb. The average weight is 4 lb,
such a swarm containing usually about 3,500
bees. The swarm in question might therefore
be computed at 84,000.

A BEE STORY.

BEES AT A CONFECTIONERY WORKS.

[2038.] Enclosed please find a cutting from
the Daily Telegraph of July 3, which may
interest readers of the B. B. J. : —

" Not in the neighbourhood of Regent's
Park alone is natural history going wrong —
probably owing to the heat. Mr. F. Cordeux-
Rhys writes from the Alliance Confectionery
Mills, Stamford Hill, to say that if any bee-
keepers feel astonishment at finding their

Aug. 2, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

305

hives emp'y, the loss may be explained by
the fact that ' a mighty horde of insect
marauders visited Stamford Hill, and by sheer
dint of overwhelming numbers compelled the
makers of confectionery to vacate their posts,
leaving the enemy in full possession. The
victory of the bees was by no means a blood-
less one, as thousands upon thousands
perished, but their human opponents suffered
severely from stings. Sir John Lubbock, in
some of his charming books anent insects in
general and bees in particular, holds the latter
up to admiration as the incarnation of all the
virtues. I fear it would have been a rude
awakening for him had he witnessed the
scandalous manner in which these particular
bees behaved, for, not content with invasion,
they took to robbery, and then, as if this was
not bad enough, they got hopelessly, helplessly,
and irretrievably intoxicated on liquid sugar.
Through their debauchery, however. Nemesis
overtook them, for it is an absolute fact that
we swept up half-a-dozen large pailfuls of
these insect paragons and consigned them to
the crematorium — or, in other words, the
engine fire.' ''

1 have two hives at Stamford^ Hill which
are doing fairly well, considering that they are
in London, and I looked through both of them
on the 3rd ult., but apparently they have not
lost many at the " Alliance Confectionery
Mills,'' though it is, perhaps, impossible to
tell, owing to the number of newly-hatched
bees. The question is, will the bees, now
that the limes are in bloom, get honey from
them in preference to the sugar at the above
mills, and how could such an immense number
of bees have collected together ? It seems
almost as if a systematic attack had been
made. — A. A. C, Stamford Hill, N.

[We received quite a batch of copies of the
cutting referred to ; so numerous were they,
and addressed apparently to every paper in
London, that it suggested a mighty good
"free ad." for the firm in question. We
should like to know whose bees suffered in
any appreciable degree as being part of the
" half a dozen large pailfuls " ? The whole
story as told suggests a pailful or two drawn
from the imagination of the writer. — Eds.]

BEE-KEEPING IN SOUTH AFRICA.

[2039.] I send the enclosed cuttings from
local Cape Papers as they might be of interest
to you — not necessarily for publication.

There was every probability at one portion
of the present Session of our Cape Parliament
that municipalities would be given the power
to "prevent" bee-keeping in villages. I am
glad to say, however, that before the Third
heading the matter, with regard to bees, was
withdrawn.

I have kept bees for the last eight years, and
have been a subscriber to the Bee Journal
for that period. I was thus in a position to
draw attention to the article on p. 614 of your
issue of Dec. 20, 1888 — vide cutting below.

I regret, however, that owing to pressure on
space the article referred to could not be
inserted along with the letter. The latter, I
believe, has had soma effect in disabusing the
minds of several persons, to my knowledge,
who blamed bees for being the cause of damage
to fruit, &c. — Bee, Gape Town, July 4.
To the Editor of the " Cape times.'''

Sir,— I notice that it is contemplated by
the Village Management Act Amendment Bill
now before the House of Assembly that bee-
keeping within the limits of towns and villages
is likely to be prevented in the future, pre-
sumably owing to an unfortunate accident
whereby a man was stung to death by the
insects which are now perturbing the Legis-
lative mind. Surely this would not be a
sufficient reason for driving away bees from all
the towns and villages in the colony ? I very
much doubc if there is such a law in existence
in any other part of the world. On the con-
trary, bee-keeping is generally encouraged, and
I believe some Governments grant pecuniary
aid for the purpose. It is well known that
bee? will not attack unless molested or angered
in some manner, and I do not think they
should be blamed for consequences resulting
from simple self-defence. If the bees are
kept in such a position as to prevent pigs,
horses, &c., and also children, from coming
into close proximity of the hives, there will be
no trouble or danger.

It appears from your report of the Parlia-
mentary proceedings of the 16th inst. that
Mr. De Waal accuses bees of "seriously
damaging " vineyards. Now, I may mention
that probably the highest authority on this
subject — the British Bee Journal — in its
issue of December 20, 1888, page 614, gives a
" Report of Special Agent M'Clain to Entomo-
logist of the Department of Agriculture,"
dealing specially with experiments for the
purpose of showing whether "Bees Injure
Fruit " (grapes), proving beyond doubt that
those insects cannot injure sound fruit, and
showing that other causes must injure the
fruit before the bes can obtain access to the
juice. The immense amount of interest con-
nected with a well-kept hive is worthy of
many hours' study, and it would be a great
pity to cause the removal from villages of bees
which, in many instances, add to the resources
of the cottagers, besides providing a delicacy
for the table which few persons would decline
or fail to enjoy.— I am, &c., " Bee."

TAKING BEES TO HEATHER.
[2040.] Your correspondent "Annone"
(2,025, p. 294) asks for hints for taking bees
to heather, and, as he says he intends using
zinc that the bees can get their heads through,
let me caution him against doing so. If he
could arrange a hole for every bee, no doubt
the plan would be a great success ; but as that
is impossible, it is only the few who get their
heads throxigh that benefit by the large holes,

306

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Aug. 2, 1894.

and the others run a great risk of suffocation ;
and I had several hives smothered one year by-
using zinc with large holes.

I have also large sheets of zinc with a frame
round them to drop over the top of crates, so
as to give a good through ventilation. —
A. J. H. Wood, Bellwood, Bipon, July 28.

WORKER BEES IN QUEEN CELL.

The following letter was received by Sir
Thomas Gibson-Carmichael who — deeming it
to be of general interest to bee-keepers— has
sent it on to us for insertion and comment, by
way of explanation, as he has himself had no
experience of a like kind : —

"Brae Port, Dunblane, Perthshire,
"June 20,1894.
" Dear Sir, — Speaking casually to me at
the last H. and A. S. show in Stirling, you
said you were always* interested in abnormal
occurrences among bees. I send you by this
post a queen cell, with two apparently well-
formed but small workers ; I have not taken
them out, though their position has been dis-
turbed. On June 1 I accidentally deprived
the hive of its queen, as the sequel shows. On
the 13th it threw off a swarm which returned,
so 1 set to work to cut out queen cells, of
which there were three. Noticmg that there
was neither egg nor larva?, I replaced two.
Next day, as failure is rare, I removed a second.
Then ' piping ' began, which showed me there
must have been a virgin in all the time,
hatched out, that is, before I investigated. So
I cut away the last royal cell on the 16th.
Piping continued, but I coixld hear no an-
swering bark. Rain all the 17th. Swarm left
on 18tl3. On 20th I looked in and found two
queen cells where I could not have overlooked
them ; of these I have cut out one, which I
send you ; the other I have left for a while, if
it be really a queen they must have carried the
egg from another hive, for though I introduced
a frame of brood, that was before the 13th at
latest, and far removed from where these two
royal cells have appeared. The bees seem to
have been so set on swarming that they left
no proper provision, and the remainder must
have joined two advanced worker cells together.
—J. T. F. Fauquiiar (Rev.)."

We have had cases of one worker being
found sealed up in a queen cell, but it is very
unusual for two to be so found. They are
generally head downwards when so discovered,
and are sealed in by the worker bees when
they go into the cell to clean it out. The
hinged capping being still on the cell it is soon
fastened up, and the unwary bee is trapped
and made prisoner. Mr. Farquhar suggests
that the bees referred to have been reared in
the cell, two worker cells being formed in its
construction, but this is very improbable, even
from the position in which the workers were
found.

^ux'm and Jle|Itcs.

[1114.] A Swarm with two Q^t,cens. — I
found a very large swarm of bees on a tree
about 200 yards from my apiary. Not wish-
ing to increase the number of my stocks, I
searched for the queen in order to destroy
her. In doing this I found there were two
queens. I did not see the swarm come off,
but having killed the queens the bees all went
back to one hive. Is it likely the two queens
came from one hive ? — Fleming, Farnham.

RErLY.--Yes; it has not been at all un-
common this season for swiirms to issue having
two or even more young queens with them.

[1115.] Do driven Bees forget their old Home. ?
— 1. Do bees just driven from a skep (when
"taking up" honey) partake of the same
nature as a swarm in forgetting their old
home — i.e., can I run the driven bees into a
frame-hive about 200 yards away from their old
home ? 2. Will bees hived now oa full sheets
of foundation, and fed well, travel without
fear of combs breaking down about Christmas-
time ? — P. H. Gray, Ivinghoe, July 25.

Reply. — 1. Driven bees do more or less
forget their old home after driving ; but not
entirely so. Not much loss would, however,
result. 2. Combs not built so late in the
year and not bred in would be risky for
transit, but could be made safe by " wiring "
the foundation.

[1116] Transferring Swarms from Straiv
Sleeps : Reneiuing Combs. — I have a number
of natural swarms this year hived in straw
skeps. 1. When should they be transferred
to frame-hives ? 2. Would it do to remove
the honey from the combs in the skeps and
feed with syrup ? I have a number of old
combs in bar frame -hives, which hives have
swarmed this year. 3. When should these
combs be remosed and replaced with founda-
tion, the combs beiag two years old ? 4.
What is the size of the standard frame 1 5.
What is the usual size of the best frame-hives
as to inside dimensions of body of hive 1 —
Cymro, Buahon, July 25.

Reply. — 1. If transferring is determined on
the sooner it is done the better after the middle
of August, when breeding for the year is
falling off. We cannot, however, help express-
ing regret — in our correspondent's interest —
that the combs were not built directly in the
frames. Combs transferred from skeps to
frame-hives usually mean patched-up and poor
ones, not conducive to comfort or ease in
manipulating. 2. If combs are heavy with
honey, some of it mast be extracted to ensure
their not breaking down when tied into the
frames, but we should leave all honey stored
above brood. 3. There is no need at all for
removing combs because they are " two years
old." The best course is to give a couple of

Aug. 2, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

307

sheets of foundation — ia lieu of old combs
removed — ia the early summer of each year ;
and thus they are gradually renewed. 4.
14 in. by 8| in. outside measure, with 17-in.
top-bar. 5. A hive holding ten or eleven
frames and a dummy is generally considered
the best size. The internal dimensions allow-
ing 5 in. below frames and | in. between side-
bars and hive walls.

[1117.] Transferring to Frame-hives. — Can
I transfer a stock of bees from a straw skep to
a bar-frame hive now, or should I wait until
later, and drive the bees into the hive ? The
bees in the skep have neither swarmed, nor
made any surplus honey thU year, but it is a
strong stock. I have filled the frame-hive
with ten sheets of foundation, and purpose
putting the skep on the top of the frames, so
that the bees may work down into them. Can
I do this now ? The skep is at present placed
on a stand about 18 in. off the ground.
Would it matter if the bar frame-hive were
placed on the ground, so that the entrance
would only be raised about 6 in. off the
ground, instead of 18 in. ? I propose to take
away the stand altogether. — E. C. Bird,
Brixliam, S. Devon.

Reply. — It is now too late in the season
for hoping that the bees would work down
into the frame-hive this year. It would, how-
ever, do no harm to try them, and the bees
would winter in the skep as fixed quite well
if they chose to take up their winter quarters
in it. Another course would be to drive the
bees from skep and run them into the frame-
hive. Cut out one comb of brood and tie it
into a frame and insert it in lieu of one of
those fitted with foundation. Set a queen ex-
cluder above the frames, and set over all the
skep with remainder of combs. When the
brood has hatched out from skep and queen is
breeding below, the skep may be removed.

[1118.] Feeding Driven Bees and Late
Sivarms for Winter. — 1. If I drive two skeps
at end of August and unite the bees on, say,
ten frames with full sheets foundation, feeding
them with 1 lb. syrup daily for twenty-one
days, will they be able to build out combs
and store sufficient for winter so late as that ?
2. In rapid feeding how long ought a stock
be given to take down 101b. of food? 3. I
have three late swarms that will want about
25 lb. of food ; will it do if I feed them up in
the beginning of October ? 4. Is there any
practical method of putting sugar in a feeder
and supplying it with water in such quantities
as will occupy the bees a week in emptying ?
5. I am very much troubled with ants ; one
hive (with legs) I looked at yesterday was
swarming with them outside dummy. Another
without legs, (a " W.B.C.") had | pint of ants'
eggs between outer and inner cover. Is there
anything more effective as a preventive than
turpentine ? 6. I have some foundation now
I had last year ; will this be usable another

year 1 7. There is heather a full mile off
here, is that too far for bees ? 8. There are
any amount of lime trees about here, but
they do not flower. I see in the B. B. J. this
is the case somewhere else. Are you sure
that there is not a non-flowering species. — H.,
Yarmouth.

Reply. -1. Yes. 2. A strong stock will
take down 10 lb. of food in a single night. 3.
Yes, but September is better. 4. Any dealer
in bee appliances will supply you with a
suitable feeder for such a purpose, but a large,
wide-necked glass jar may be made to answer
all requirements, and if thick calico is used
for covering it will take several days to empty
an 8-lb. jar of syrup. 5. Standing the legs in
vessels containing water is the most effectual
remedy. With the "W.B.C' hive sprinkle
powdered naphthaline between hive and
outer case. 6. Yes. 7. No. 8. We can
only repeat our reply to query referred to.

[1119.] The Legal Right of Ownership in
Swarms. — Has a bee-keeper a legal right to
enter a field or garden belonging to another
person in order to take a swarm (belonging to
the bee-keeper) which has clustered there,
even if the owner of the field or garden
objects ? If he has this right, could you refer
to any Act of Parliameat or legal decision by
which ic is secured ? — H. C, Diihliii.

Reply. — As nearly as can be easily defined,
it would appear that a bee-keeper has a legal
right to follow his swarm to wherever it may
go, provided that he, or someone representing
him, never loses sight of the bees from the
time they leave the hive as a swarm. If he is
refused permission to enter and secure his
bees, after formally demanding them, he can
recover their value in the county-court. This
is the only definition of the " legal right " we
are able to give ; but a case directly bearing
upon the point involved is very fully reported
on p. 301 of this issue, to which please refer.

[1120.] Swarming: When do Second
Swarms Issue ? — A correspondent in the Bee
Journal of July 19 (2022, p. 284) mentions
that he has had a second swarm on the fourth
day after the issue of the first. I have recently
had a similar experience on the third day. Ou
the 8th ult. a swarm came off from one of my
hives which had two lots of shallow frames on it,
and was successfully hived. Three days after-
wards a second swarm of fair size came out. I
saw the first swarm issue from the hive and I
saw the bees (the queen having been caught)
return to their old home in the second case.
1. Is not this an unusual occurrence ? 2. Can
you account for the fact that vagrant swarms
year after year seek refuge in the same spot,
say, a hollow tree or chimney ? 3. Are bees
supposed to mark a future home before they
swarra ? as occasionally a swarm appears to go
in a straight line from the parent hive to some

308

THE BKITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[Aug. 2, 1894.

hollow tree. I obtained a good swarm a few
weeks ago by driving the bees from under the
floor of a bedroom in a dwelling-house, to
which they had obtained access two or three
days before through a narrow space between
two bricks. — E. C, Ince, Cheshire, July 24.

Reply. — 1. This peculiarity of the present
season is referred to in " Hints " on p. 291
last week. 2, It is a well-attested fact that
vagrant swarms will locate themselves for suc-
cessive years in the same spot, and the only
way of accounting for it is the attraction of
the combs contained in the place chosen.

[1121.] Making Artificial Sivarms. — Bees
Deserting Brood. — I was much interested in
your reply to " Novice " (1075, p. 247), in
Journal of June 21, on the subject of chilled
brood, because I made, about that date, an
artificial swarm by taking four frames of brood
and eggs from a swarmed hive, which I put
into another hive, and stood it on the stand of
a_ very strong stock, which I moved some
distance away. The next morning I found
that the bees from stock had joined the next
hive instead of taking to frames of brood. I
thought that brood would be probably useless,
but put it into another hive, and it hatched
out all right. 1. Can you suggest any reason
why the bees left the brood, the day being
bright and warm 1 I had a swarm on the
14th inst, and, not wishing the stock to swarm
again, I opened the hive yesterday (19th) to
cut out queen-cells, and was surprised to find
queen hatched, and the queens in cells walked
out as I broke them off. 2. How do you account
for queens hatching so soon ? Weather is still
very broken, and temperature low— rarely
above (JO deg. during the last week. Swarms
have been plentiful, but honey very scarce.
Do not think the average will be more than
10 lb. per hive from flowers and clover, but
hope weather may clear up before heather
blooms, which it is showing no sign of at
present. I have had a good many sections
spoiled by brood this year, so am convinced
that excluder zinc is necessary, although I
have never had reason to complain before of
many spoiled sections. I have had one hive
which deposed old queen, and another, which
I attend to for a friend, did the same. Hoping
weather may settle soon, that we may not have
much feeding to do.— Hy. Mark, Rosewood,
NB.

Eeply.— 1. Probably the bees did not
wholly desert the brood till the morning, when
they were missed, and so many have kept the
brood from chilling during the night. Your
method of making the artificial swarm was,
however, defective and against rule— hence
the failure. 2. A good number of cases have
occurred this year where top swarms have
issued headed by young queens— the old one
being deposed beforehand. Yours may have
been another instance of this.

(f cltcres frcin Wt Iidm.

Ballindalloch, N.B., July 23. — From a bee-
keeper's point of view the weather here during
the past fortnight has been most dis-
appointing— every day rain has fallen almost
continuously, consequently bees have been
confined to their hives. It is doubly dis-
appointing when we note that the two best
weeks of the year have been lost. At this
date last year I had thirty to forty sections
from some of my hives, and to-day there is not
a finished section on my best one. Should
the weather become favourable a fair harvest
would yet be secured, but at present there is
no appearance of any such change. — Alex.
Strathdee.

North Notts, July 30. —My hives — seven in
number — came out very strong and fresh last
spring. No feeding required, but weather
only settled down jast in time to prevent me
having to do it. Clover honey is our main-
stay, but for the first ten days or a fortnight
the bees could do nothing ; the last week of
June and beginning of July, however,
made amends. Since then we have had a
fortnight's bad weather ; very disheartening to
see such abundance of clover bloom, and the
bees not able to work on it. However, it has
again taken a turn for the better ; we may get
a little more surplus, but if not, ray yield will
be a fair one, I think. I have not done much
extracting as yet, but the quality is everything
one could wish. Only one swarm from seven
stocks, and that was returned after cutting; out
queen-cells, as I did not want increase. There
are very few frame-hives in this neighbourhood
— I know of none within several miles. Skeps
as a general rule swarmed late, and often only
once, and — probably due to the weather —
many of them not at all. — Stratton.

Sutton, July 24. — My collection of honey
up to last Saturday was as follows : — No. 1
hive, 17ilb. ; No. 2 hive, 14|lb. ; No. 3
hive, 13 lb. I may mention that I keep my
hives in the garden of a friend residing at
Boxhill, my own garden not being suitable for
bees. Do you think my result is a good one
considering the bai weather we were having ?
— A. Sprtghtling.

[In a poor season of course anything in the
way of surplus may be considered " good,''
though 45 lb. cannot be regarded as a good
result from three hives. — Eds.]

ikM to (^^mt

August 6. — Berks Association (Newbury
District). Show of honey, &c. Entries close
August 3. Special prizes for best 1-lb.
section. Entry forms of Mr. W. Hawkes,
hon. sec, Newbury.

Aug. 2, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

309

August 6 and 7. — Northants B.K.A.
Show of lioney, &c., at Delapr^-park, North-
ampton. R. Hefford, hon. sec, Boughton.

August 7. — At the Abbey Park Flower
Show, Leicester. Honey show and fair of the
Leicester Bee-Keepers' Association,

August 10 and 11. — At Dumfries. South
of Scotland B.K.A. Very liberal prizes.
Scheduler, W. Wilson, Acrehead, Dumfries.

August 16. — At Audlem, Cheshire. Liberal
prizes for honey and beeswax. Entries close
August 9. For schedules, apply T. H. Smith,
solicitor, Audlem.

August 16. — At Maidenhead, Berks. Show
of honey, bees, and appliances. Windsor
District, Berks B.K.A., in conjunction with
the Maidenhead Horticultural Society. Over
£l value in prizes. For schedule apply to
hon. sec, W. S. Darby, Consort-villas, Clewer.

August 22 and 23. — Shropshire B.K.A.
Annual show in connection with the Horticul-
tural Society's great fete in " The Quarry,"
Shrewsbury. £35 in prizes for bees, honey,
hives, and appliances. For prize-lists, &c.,
apply T. AVhittingham, Upton Magna, near
Shrewsbury.

August 22 and 23. — At Derby. Derbyshire
B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby.

August 23. — At Horsham. Twelve classes
for bees, hives, and honey. Entries close
August 18. Schedules from R. Gilburd,
Horsham.

August 23. — At Madresfield, in connection
with the MadresBeld Agricultural Society ;
fourteen classes for bees, hives, and honey.
Fntries close August 18. Rev. E. Davenport,
hon. sec , Burlish Lodge, Stourport.

August 29 and 30.— Staffs. B.K.A. At
Stone. In connection with the Staffs Agri-
cultural Society's meeting. Nineteen classes
for bees, hives, honey, &c. Entries close
August 4. Schedules from Harold Twenty-
man, Wolverhampton.

September 4 and .5. — At Coventry. In con-
nection with the Warwickshire Agricultural
Show. Annual show of the Warwickshire
B.K.A. Liberal prizes for honey, bees, and
appliances. For schedules apply J. N. Bower,
lion, sec, Knowle.

September 6. — At Castle Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1 lb. jars
extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, secretary, Castle Douglas, N.B.

September 12 and 1.3. — Scotti.sh Bee-
Keepers' Association, in connection with the
show of the Caledonian Horticultural Society,
Waverley Market, Edinburgh. Schedules
ready shortly. John Wishart, Assistant
Secretary, Castlecraig, Dolphinton, N.B.

September 15. — In the Corn Exchange,
Jedburgh. Roxburghshire B.K.A. Annual
show of honey, &c. Twenty-seven classes.
Eight silver medals and liberal money prizes.
Entries close September 11. Thos. Clark,
secretary, Pleasants, Jedburgh, N.B.

No tices to Gorresponden ts an d Inquirers.

All queries forwarded mill he attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

J. EwiNS (Ash). — A Beginner's Queries. —
We fear that you are " beginning " at the
wrong end of bee-management to command
success. Why not be content with ordinary
hives and ordinary bees until a little expe-
rience has been gained ? Managing " Wells"
hives and Italianising the bees are matters
which should not be indulged in the first
season. Add a couple of lots of driven bees
to the " Wells " in the autumn, as you wish
to, and can get plenty of driven bees, but
pray leave italianising for a season, if you
will take our advice. Replying to other
queries : — 2. Either loose paper or hay will
do for packing. 3. Good paint is the " best
waterproof er," with thin sheet zinc for roofs.
4. A self-hiver is used for hiving swarms
automatically. 5. The hives will do better
in the open if well packed.

J. H. Childs (Teddington). — Colour of
Honey. — Some honeys are very light in
colour, others very dark, yet both equally
pure, and there is certainly no reason why
the dark should not be used in your house-
hold, or for "feeding the bees on," if the
flavour is, as you say, equally good as the
light.

D. W. Lewis (Fishguard). — If on examination
of the combs of the swarm one is now
found suitable for showing it had better be
removed at once and wrapped up carefully
till wanted. It will be found on the outside
if at all, as the centre ones are sure to con-
tain brood. Replace with a sheet of founda-
tion.

A. Pollock (Hyde). — Comb contains only
freshly-gathered pollen. Its dark colour is
simply due to the source from which it is
gathered. So far from being harmful to
brood or bees, it is the main food of the
former.

Tyro (Rusholme). — 1. Comb is affected with
foul-brood. Sea reply to A. Strong and
others on p. 298 last week. 2. Yes.

W. Hawkes (Royston). — Bees moved 150
yards at this season will return in consider-
able numbers to the old stand, and miy be
lost in consequence.

J. W. N. (Westmoreland).— Both samples of
honey received are quite fit for show pur-
poses. They are very much alike in quality,
and have been apparently gathered in the
same district.

Heather Bell (Alloa), Buzzer (Lanes.), J. D.,
and Others. — Moving Bees to the Heather.
— ^Full instructions for moving will be
found on (p. 302), and no time should be
lost in getting the bees to the heather, as
the season is getting advanced for heather
work.

A. B. — Queen is a young one, and has all the
appearance of a virgin.

310

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Aug. 2, 1894.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, Jcc. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES, with Queen, Is. 6d.per
lb. Packing-box returnable. Gakner, Broom,
near Biggleswade, Beds. E 64

ANTED, Two 5-lb. Lots Healthy DRIVEN BEES.
EXCHANGE Cock Canary, full song. Approval.
0. Puck, G, Handworth-avenue, Hale End, Chingford.

E62

OR. SALE. 62 STOCKS BEES, and 11 NUCLEI, in

splendid condition, with the whole of the season's

Honey. Sold through leaving. I'or particulars apply

William Lane, Peaton's Farm, Lytchett Matravers,

Poole. E 63

EES for THE^^HETTHER— Guaranteed healthy

Nuclei, 3-Frame 8s. ; 4-Frame, 10s. ; 5-Frame, 12s.

Also NEW HIVES for THE HEATHER at 8s. 6d.

Apply, J. Trebble, Romansleigh, South Molton.

E 55

ACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Four neat

patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, 8d., post free.

600, 2s. 9d., post free. W. WOODLET, Beedon, Newbury.

FECIAL STRAIN.— VIRGIN QUEENS for August,

from stocks that have given 1001b. surplus this season,

3s. 6d. each. Webster, Middle Pavement, Nottingham.

E56

T?OR SALE, good STOCKS BEES, guaranteed healthy,
X^ with young queens. Apply, F. Gay, Edmond-
shani, Cranborne, Salisbury. E 61
UARANTEED HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES, ready
for delivery. Is. Cd. per lb., for 5 lb. lots or
over, queen included. Warranted 1894 fertile queens,
3s. 6d. each. Safe arrival. Packing included. Address,
C. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suffolk.
E 60

SECTION CASES, for Exhibition, glassed both sides,
18s. per gross ; Is. 9d. per doz. J. S. Greenhill,
80, Graham-road, Wimbledon.

HONEY.— Finest White Clover and Heather HONEY
AVANTED. Post samples and lowest prices,
stating quantities. Spring, Brigg, Lines.

0 N E Y.-To INCREASE DEMAND, use my Recipes
with each jar. Print your name on them. Six, lAd. ;
100, Is. 6d. ; 500, 6s. ; 1,000, 10s.
WANTED, good CLOVER HONEY. Sample, &c.
Geo. Stocks, Sandiway, Northwich. e 41

ARKET for SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY^
and WAX. State price and quantity. Prompt
cash. Packages sent. Address, H., Bee Journal Office,
17, King William-street, Strand, London.

EE TEINTon HIRE. For terms, apply to G. GUNSXON,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

B

CHOICE YOUWG QUEKNS, excellent strain, pro-
duced by seven years' careful breeding, guaranteed
fertile, post free 5s., virgins, 2s. 6d. Rev. C. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex. 229

ARBOTlNE~POMADE (Third Season).— Kill7"Be"e-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. Holliday, Astbury,

Congleton.

EEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the

centbaTj supply stores

for all BEEKEEPERS' REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL
at the OLD SPOT, 50, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET.
GEORGE ROSE, successor to P. Harbordt.
' Why pay carriage from long distances when you can
buy cheaper and quite as good quality locally, and have
your orders promptly attended to ? Catalogues gratis.
Extractors, Uncapping Knives, Foundation, Frames, &c.
1-lb. Screw-Cap Bottles, 2s. per doz. ; 1-lb. Tie-over
Bottles, Is. 2d. per doz.

THE^'^WELLSSYSTEM"

Described by the Originator,

GEORGE WELLS,
AYl-ESF-ORD, KENX-

Price 6Jd. Post Free.

To bt had of the Author only. 203

TO BEE-KEEPERS.

J. S. CREENHILL (27 years with
G. Neighbour & Sons)

OFFERS HIS SERVICES FOR APIARY WORK OF ALL KINDS.

Bees attended to and put in order by the day, month,

or season. Terms moderate. HONEY in SECTIONS

WANTED FOR CASH.— SO, Graham-road, Wimbledon.

If you want to handle

your Bees with COMFORT,

and not get STUNG,

TRY APIFUGE

Numerous Unsolicited Testimonials.
To be had of all Appliance Makers and

DARCY GRIMSHAW, HORSFORTH, LEEDS.

Price Is. and 2s. post free.
Cash must accompany Order.

SPECIAL NOTICyCHRMBEE-KEEPERS.

Mr. Kirwan'S Article has caused him to receive a
great number of letters asking who makes the special
Sections that he has been so successful with.

They are the PATENT GROOVED
SECTION'S made by Thomas B. Blow,
"Welwyn, Herts.

Illustrated Catalogue giving full details of these
Sections will be sent gratis and post free on application.

COMB HONEY IN SECTIONS.

During the past winter I have purchased between two
and three tons of the above. It has been bought in-
discriminately from the Bee-Keepers of Great Britain
and Ireland. I hope to require five tons during the
coming autumn and winter, and shall purchase by
preference from those Bee-Keepers who are among my
customers for appliances. Special arrangements can
be made to take the whole Comb Honey product of large
apiaries, and special prices can be given for the Honey
where part payment is taken in appliances. Spring
crates are lent free to ensure s.afe transit by rail. Any
quantity of English Bees- Wax can also be purchased.

THOEVaAS B. BLOW,

l£anufaciurer qf Bee-Keeping Appliances,

WELWYN, HERTS.

200

BALDWIN'

is the Oldest Es-
tablishment in
the United
Kingdom
wholly devoted
to Bees and

manufacture of Bee-keepers' supplies. His prices will
compare most favourably with those of any other Maker,
while for quality of material, suitability and workman-
ship he has no rival.

A large consignment of the beautiful

"FALCONER" SECTIONS,

both 4 bee-way and 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct importation.
Price 2/6 per 100 ; cut to receive Foundation, 3/- per 100.
By Parcel Post, 1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which "contains more practical and reliable hints
than all the large, expensive books," post free for
id. stamps.

Address S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent.

N.B. — More than 500 Silver and Bronze Medals, First and

other Prizes, and Testimonials innumerable.

Aug. 9, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

311

(Editorial ^(rtia^, ^t

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — As the bee season draws
to a close the interest taken by bee-
keepers generally in the weather — as
some one has said — "grows gradually
smaller and beautifully less," while for
the southern half of those who are of the
craft it is "about all over for '94." Bees
are reported to be still doing well in the
north, but the rain continues to interfere
with steady honey gathering, and makes
it doubtful if more than a very moderate
crop will be secured, even in the more
favoured northern districts. This view
gathers confirmation as the various show
reports reach us, wherein we learn of
good honey being staged, but nowhere in
very great quantity. Another fortnight,
however, will enable us to tot up the all-
round results with some degree of cer-
tainty.

Prices Current of Honey. — When
correspondents make application to us for
market prices for honey — as they do'
oftener than we like, because of our
entire inability to give any satisfactory
reply — just so often does it make us
regret the seemingly insurmountable diffi-
culty in the way of publishing regular
reports of prices current for honey, be-
cause of there being no obtainable
reports to publish regarding the market
value of the home-grown product. We
should probably not have much trouble
in getting at the only market prices avail-
able, viz., those of foreign honey ; but we
see no advantage to the British bee-
keeper in knowing for how many — or
how few — shillings per cwt. this can be
bought. For the rest, it is so largely
a question of supply and demand that
it seems impossible to regulate the
prices in anything like an all-round satis-
factory manner. Only the other day a
correspondent, when asking our help in
finding a market for his honey, offered to
leave the price entirely to us ; but, with-
out discounting this mark of kindly con-
fidence in ourselves, we could not avoid
thinking of another correspondent who
once wrote to say that " sooner than
take less than a shilling a pound for
my honey it goes back to the bees."
Consequently, we were silent as to price.
In fact, so well informed are we on the

wide divergence of ideas as to the value
of honey among our many readers that
we are perforce compelled to leave the
market price to settle itself between
seller and buyer, and the demand in the
district concerned. On the other hand,
and touching the broader aspect of the
question viewed as a national one, we
may say that none would welcome more
heartily than ourselves any arrangement
by means of which information of real
use and value to the bee-keeper of this
kingdom could be published. The very
nature of the position we hold, however,
enables us — more than most people — to
realise how great are the difficulties in
the way of obtaining such information as
would enable us to publish a reliable
weekly report such as would satisfac-
torily solve the question so far as it con-
cerns British honey. As for the foreign
article, we have no hesitation in saying
that to print in our pages the market
price of all honey imported would do
some harm and no good. Before quit-
ting the subject, it occurs to us to say
that, as some misapprehension appears
to exist in the minds of honey-sellers
as to what is a fair wholesale price for
honey in bulk, we have often thought
that some one of those who buy in bulk
and "jar off" for sale to shopkeepers
would do good service — by way of re-
moving prevalent notions as to the
profits of " the middleman " — if we could
have a report from a buyer of the cost
attendant on buying and selling; or
between the time the honey leaves the
hands of the producer and is placed in
those of the shopkeeper.
{The number of show reports compels us to

hold over completion of '^Hints'' till

next week.)

ROYAL LANCASHIRE AGRICUL-
TURAL SHOW.

Held at Bolton, in beautiful weather, on
July 26, 27, and 28, and well attended through-
out. The Lancashire and Cheshire B.K.A.
had their tent on the ground, in which Mr.
W. J. Anstey, the association expert, gave
lectures and demonstrations twice daily to
lartie audiences.

The honey department was large and con-
veniently fitted up, a collection of honey-
producing plants in frames being hung round
the walls, and in the centre Mr. Geo. Rose, of
Liverpool, had a stand, with a good collection
of appliances. There was a very good show

312

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Aug. 9, 1894.

of honey, the entries being numerous, espe-
cially in the open classes. The extracted
honey shown was mostly of the very best
quality. Sections not so good as is sometimes
seen, a few specimens, however, being very
fine, the first prize in the open class being very
superior. The Eev. J. F. Buckler officiated as
judge, and made the following awards : —

Twelve li'ections 1894 Honey {open). — 1st,
Miss Susan Ward, Hadnall Hall, Shrewsbury ;
2nd, Wm. Woodley, Newbury ; 3rd, T. E.
Horton, Harley Tower, near Much Wenlock.

Twelve Jars 1894 Honey {open). — 1st, Kev.
E. Charley, Ince Vicarage, Chester ; 2Qd, J, F.
Williamson, Fleetwood ; 3rd, E. W. Nickson,
Frodsham, Cheshire.

Twelve Jars 1894 Honey, light coloured {col-
lected ^uithin the county). — 1st, Dr. B. E.
Jones, Freckleton, near Preston ; 2nd, Fredk.
H. Taylor, Fallowfield, Manchester ; 3rd, John
Hale, Croston, near Preston.

Twelve Jars 1894 Honey {o'hcr than light
coloured). — 1st not awarded ; 2ad, Fredk. H.
Tavlor.

Twleve Sections 1894 Honey. -1st, Dr. B. E.
Jones ; 2nd, Fredk. H. Taylor. — {Communi-
cated.)

NOTriNGHAMSEIEE B.K.A.

The annual show of the above associition
was held on July 26, in connection with the
Southwell Horticultural Society. The asso-
ciation provided a very full list of prizes both
for honey and appliances. In the appliance
classes, however, there were no entries. This,
no doubt, arose from the fact that one of the
clauses in the conditions of exhibition was as
follows : — " The first prize will be withheld
unless three or more exhibits are staged." A
manufacturer would not go to the expense of
making an exhibit upon ibis chance, consid'^r-
ing that the second prize was oaly 20s. There
were also several other shows being held at
about the same time. The honey classes were
well filled with exceptionally fine samples of
honey. There were the large numbers of
nineteen entries in one class and sixteen in
another. The class for observatory hives with
bees was well patronised, there being seven
entries. The stewards, who performed their
work admirably, were Messrs. G. H. Elliott
(Southwell), J. Holmes, and W. Measures,
with the indefatigable Mr. A. G. Pugh as hon.
secretary.

The bee-tent (open free, a? it always ought
to be) was well attended. Lectures were given
by a well-known expert from the British Bee-
keepers' Association, who, in conjunction with
one of the stewards —Mr. Holmes— acted as
judge.

The following is a list of the prizes : —

Open Class.

Best Six 1 lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st,
George Wood; 2nd, W. Lee; 3rd, Lieut.
Hawker, E.N.

Members' Classes.

Best Exhibit of Honey in any form, not to
exceed 112 ^6.— 1st, A. G. Pugh ;'2nd, G. H.
Elliott ; 3rd, W. Lee.

Best Twelve 1 lb. Jars Extracted Honey. —
1st, Mrs. White ; 2nd, W. Lee ; 3rd, Geo.
Wood ; 4th, T. Maskery ; 5th, H. Cartledge.

Best Six 1 lb. Sections. — 1st, H. Wiggat ;
2nd, G. Marshall ; 3rd, W. G. Elliott.

Best Six 1 lb. Jars Gramdated Honey. —
1st, H. Merry weather, jun. ; 2nd, A.
Mortimer ; 3rd, T. Eiley.

Best Frame of Honey for Extracting. — 1st,
H. Eaven ; 2nd, A. Mortimer ; 3rd, G. H.
Elliott.

Best Six 1 lb. Jars Extracted Honey {pre-
vious non-winners only). — 1st, G. E. Mi'ls ;
2nd, J. Herods ; 3rd, G. Bell.

Best Three 1 lb. Section'^ {previous non-
winners only). — 1st, W. G. Elliott ; 2Qd, Mrs.
Harrison.

Best Glass Super. — 1st, A. Mortimer.

Mr. T. B. Blow's Special Prizes.

Best I'welvt 1 lb. Ssctions in Blow's Sections.
—1st, A. Mortimer ; 2nd, W. G. Elliott.

Best Twelve 1 lb. Jars Extracted Honey in
Blow's Jars. — 1st, E. Mackindon ; 2 ad, W.
Measures.

Beeswax. — l3t,H. Eaven; 2ad,W.Broadbury.

Bees with Queen in Observatory Hive. —
1st, H. Merry weather, jun. ; 2nd, A. Mortimer ;
3rd, W. Measures ; 4th, G. Wood. — {Com
municated.)

HONEY AND BEES AT THE
YOEKSHIEE SHOW.

The fifty-seventh annual show of the York-
shire Agricultural Society took place this year
on Auguist 1 and 2, at Beverley, the capital of
the East Eiding. Beverley is an old minster
town just at the commencement of the geolo-
gical rise of the land known in the south as
Downs and in the north as Wolds. On the
rising, rolling land is the ancient racecourse,
which was utilised as the show ground, and
some idea of the magnitude of the Yorkshire
show may be gathered from the fact that the
whole extent of the course was occupied by it.
To proceed to the exhibits which interest us
most, we notice that the show of honey is
slightly under the average in point of quantity,
but in quality — extracted honey in particular
— there is a decided annual improvement, so
much so this year that it seems impossible for
finer samples than some of the best to be pro-
duced anywhere, such honey having a base of
white clover.

It will not be much consolation to dis-
appointed exhibitors to reflect that prizes all
along the line -hives, appliances, bees, and,
honey (extracted and in sections, heather and
clover) — have gone to prominent members of
our associations, British, county, or district.

The continued advancement made by Mr.-
W. Dixon, Bsckett-straet, Leeds, and Mr.

Aug. 9, 1894.]

THE BKITISH BEE JOURNAL.

313

A. 0. Jeraieson, Dringhou?es, York, in hive
and appliance manufacture, leaves nothing to
be desired, their productions being quite up-
to-date and noticeable for high finish.

It is a matter of satisfaction that Miss
Lawrence, of East Keswick, who has only been
a bee-keeper three years, under the tuition of
the Y.B.K.A., and who took the premier prize
last year, reached the second place this year.

Although the weather was mostunpropitious,
Mr. Grimshaw managed to snatch intervals
for his lectures in the bee-tent, and the interest
was such that when rain did come oa during
their delivery the audiences were not dispersed
by it, those even who had not umbrellas
remaining until the conclusion of the lecture.
There was the usual amount of question
answering between whiles, which almost
ran one lecture into another.

The Rev. R. M. Lamb, assisted by Mr. A.
C. Jemeison, also had a special glass extract -
ing-house erected by the committee, in which
they gave interesting exhibitions of the
process of uncapping, extracting, and bottling
honey, under the public eye, finding a ready
sale for their production. One remarkable
item at the show which should be noticed
was the testimony given by some bee-keepers
to their siiccess with the " Wells " system ; at
the same time, the most prominent bee-keepers
gave it condemnation because of its weakness
at swarming time, two queens and their
workers coming forth when only one part of
the hive was ready, and again, because they
insisted that a "Wells" hive consisted of two
stocks, the workers of which joined their
forces in the common attics or storehouses
above the separate breeding-houses.

Whilst the Yorkshire show may not be so
financially successful this year in consequence
of the persistent rain, yet from a bee-keeper's
point of view there is cause for the li^'eliest
satisfaction, that thanks to the help of the
Yorkshire Agricultural Society and Marshall
Stephenson, Esq., their secretary, the York-
shire Bee-keepers' Association are beginning
to reap the harvest slowly and quietly sown
by them year by year, in the fact of a distinct
unmistakeable advance being perceptible
amongst the bee-keepers of the county.

The Rev. J. L. Seager officiated as judge,
and made the following awards : —

Most Com2}hte Frame-Hive. — 1st and 2Qd,
W. Dixon, Eeckett-street, Leeds.

Most Complete Frame-Hive, price not to
exceed lOs. — 1st, W. Dixon ; 2nd, A. C.
Jemeison, Dringhouses, York.

Honey Extractor. — 1st, W. Dixon ; 2nd,
A. 0. Jemeison.

Honey Extractor, for Sections. — T. Rothery,
Sutton, Tadcaster, York.

Exhibit of Bee Furniture. — 1st, W. Dixon ;
2nd, A. C. Jemeison.

Novelties or Useful Inventions. — 1st, A. C
Jemeison ; 2nd, W. Dixon.

Observatory Hive, with Bees, Queen, — 1st
W. Dixon.

Eighteen l-lb. Sections.— 1st, Rev. R. M.
Lamb, Burton Pid»ea, Hull ; 2nd, T. Har-
rison, Driffield.

Twelve l-lb. Sections.— lat, W . ^mith, Pres-
ton, Hull ; 2nd, W. Dixon.

Six l-lb. Sections of Heather Honey.— 1st,
W. Dixon, Leeds ; 2nd, Mrs. Kirk, Easing-
wold, York.

Twelve l-lb. jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, W.
Dixon ; 2nd, H. Lawrence, East Keswick.

Twelve l-lb. jars Granulated Honey.— 1st,
W. Chester, Goole ; 2nd, J. Woodhead, Hull.

HONEY IMPORTS.
The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of July,
1894, was £3,049. — From a return furnished
by the Statistical Office, H.M. Customs.

^mBpwkut

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be dravin on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communicationa relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Me view, d.-c., must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the 'BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, ^c, must be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

*,* 'in order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

QUEEN-REARING.

DEALING WITH NUCLEI.

[2041.] On reperusal, I rather fear that the
tone of my letters may have created an un-
favourable impression on the minds of those
whose communications to your columns I have
attempted to reply to, but I should like all
whom I have endeavoured to assist to under-
stand that, in taking upon myself what may
appear a monitorial office, I have only done so
because I felt the questions put forward were
of universal interest to beekeepers generally
My remarks in reply have been made, not as
criticisms of individuals, so much as of the
doings of bee-keepers as a body. In all cases
of failure reported in your columns, only a few
principal facts can, of necessity, be recorded.
There are many reasons for this. "Bees do
nothing invariably," we know, but they do a
very great many things which even those who
devote the whole of their sj)are time to them,
and make (as I have done) a special
study of their little ways and means,
cannot understand ; hence one feels in
replying to queries that there are many

314

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Aug. 9, 1894.

details which perhaps the querist himself is
unaware of, which, if known, would make the
solution of some of the most unaccountable
cases clear. In your last issue, C Harvey
(2,033. p. 296) asks for help in making up
nuclei, and I will, with your permission, en-
deavour to elucidate the matter, so far as I can,
for the benefit of all interested. But, in order
to give some little weight to my observations,
I may first say that for the last three years I
have made certain branches of the art of bee-
keeping my especial study, that of scientific
queen-rearing standing first. During the last
two seasons 1 have raised queens by the dozen
to that end ; this has necessitated the forming
of a large number of nuclei, and although I
have, owing to the badness of the late season,
had to reduce them somewhat, I have still over
thirty such nuclei on hand at the present
moment. Of these, I am glad to report that
many are rapidly advancing to the stage when
they wUl be considered fairly good stocks,
headed by some of the finest queens of this
year I have ever seen.

Now "C. H." says his queens were reared
from larvse three days old. If this be so, he
should indeed be thankful that his nuclei
possessed intelligence enough to desert the
hives containing such miserable productions
as queens made in forty-eight hours. How
could he hope to succeed when the develop-
ment of his queens stand thus : — Egg stage,
three days; workerstage, three days ; queen, two
days, making up the eight days when feeding
stops and the cells are sealed I No, friend
" C. H.," such a beginning as this, even with
the most carefully-made nuclei, could not
possibly have been satisfactory.

There are several ways of making up nuclei
successfully, and many things to be con-
sidered, the primary consideration being that
you must of necessity give the bees a quid
'pro quo, or you won't be in it with them. I
mean if you take bees old or young from a
happy, prosperous home, and place them in a
perfectly strange place without the comforts
and associations they have been used to, with
no inducement for them to stop there, they
won't stop — would you ?

It may be argued that a queen-cell is an
inducement, and no doubt is ; but everything
depends upon what's inside the cells, and how
soon "mother may be expected," &c.

A queen cell on the point of hatching will
induce a large proportion of otherwise queen-
less bees to stay in a new position ; but a cell
containing a queen not much better than a
worker, and perhaps not due to hatch for a
week, is not powerful enough to alienate them
for old associates and ties, even though
motherless. But if the queen cell be nearly
due to hatch, and they have a frame of very 1
young and a frame of hatching brood, along
with about three times as many bees as were
ultimately wanted, and the operation is carried
out in the evening, as many bees will be found
in the nucleus after twenty-four hours as ar&

necessary, because bees are very loth to desert
young larvae, and nearly all the nurse bees
would stop, besides many of the old ones, and
by the time the old bees — whose afi'ection for
the old home had taken them back to it — had
left, the frame of hatching bees would have
furnished quite a nice nucleus, just, in fact,
what was wanted.

I- do not like the system of confining bees
for the purpose of making nuclei ; it is an un-
satisfactory method, excepting when you have
a young queen to give them. The bees then
have a very strong inducement to stop where
placed, and as I have proved over and over
again, are willing to stop, and only go back to
their original position through their inability
to find the new situation, although I have
known bees to vacillate between the two posi-
tions, sometimes going to the old, and an hour
afterwards going to the new, and doing this
for weeks before they were finally lost sight
of.

I have one bee that I painted on her back
which I have seen quite recently enter no less
than five hives, seemingly quite at home with
all, and she is now doing " sentry" for a hive
almost the farthest from the one in which she
first sampled honey. I am certain of one
thing, and that is, there is nothing that will
induce bees to mark and stay in a new position
so much as a laying queen, and my own prac-
tice is to take the fullest advantage of this fact,
and when I want further nuclei I take the
queen of the hive to be divided, all the brood
save one frame, and all the bees to a new
position, or move the hive bodily, as recom-
mended in B.B.K. " Guide Book," placing a
fresh hive on the old position, and giving it
the one frame of brood and two or three of
food. All the flying bees will go to the hive
on the old position, and in twenty-four hours
a good queen-cell should be given them.

On no account should they be allowed to
rear queens, as they have no nurses in the hive,
and you cannot get good queens unless the
larvag be properly nursed. Then in a week or
ten days' time this process may be repeated
with the original stock, and so on until you
have got all the nuclei you require. This
method I know is tedious and slow, and where
many nuclei are wanted at once, not practi-
cable, but three or four hives so treated Avhen
the honey flow is over would generally be
enough for most bee-keepers, and it has the
advantage of being absolutely safe and sure.
So far as I am personally concerned there is
nothing I dislike so much as weak nuclei.

Another method I like is to take two frames
of hatching brood and one of food and the
bees (no queen) and allow them to remain in
a box with the lid raised for about five minutes
on a warm day, and then carry them indoors,
close down, and keep them in a warm room for
twenty-four hours. The bees in the box are
then all young ones, and at the end of tweuty-
foi;r hours, if the combs of brood have been
well chosen, you will have quite a nice strong

Aug. 9, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

315

nucleus ready to accept any sort of queen or
queen-cell, and guaranteed to stop where
placed. The temperature of the room must be
regulated by the number of bees which remain,
state of weather, &c. If, however, a number
of nuclei are required at once, and there are
only a limited number of stocks to make
them from, there is no very easy or simple
mode of getting same ; try as you will
they are troublesome, and require constant
attention and careful watching for four
or five days, and if any of them get short of
bees they must be made up every evening
until enough bees stop, or until sufficient bees
hatch out to form a small stock. A great deal
of success or failure in making a number of
small nuclei from a single stock depends upon
the careful preparation of such stock before
division. A hive with nine frames of brood
ready nearly to hatch and plenty of combs of
honey on hand is what is required, and from
such a hive last May I made four capital little
stocks, which, after twenty-four hours' close
watching, stayed where put, and are there
now ; but before breaking the stock up I
placed four queen cells, due to hatch within
forty-eight hours, in it, one on every other
frame of brood, and after twenty-four hours
made my nuclei, and had a young queen at the
head of each little stock almost before they had
time to "slope off." Thus I gave them the
greatest inducement — save that of a fertile
queen — to stay where placed. Of course all
this entails work and careful attention, and,
as intimated before, it does not follow that our
most carefully laid plans are bound to be suc-
cessful, as I have often found that where plans
seemed surest (at any rate in bee-keeping) I
have more often than not found them most un-
satisfactory, and when this is so, I go to a
quiet part of the garden and just "think it
out," with the result that, like friend "C. H.,"
I determine not to be done, but to try again.
I have had as many failures as most people
along the path I have chosen to tread, but I
can assure your readers that from my successes
I have learnt but little, while from my failures
I have learnt, well, all I know of practical and
scientific bee-keeping. — Henry W. Brice,
Beulah-road North, Thornton Heath, Surrey.

A BEGINNER'S TROUBLES.

[2042.] 1 began bee-keeping last year,

buying a hive and a strong stock of bees, and

got about 20 lb. to 30 lb. of honey. Before

the summer was over, however, something

seemed to go wrong with them ; they would

not go into the supers, and seemed to rapidly

diminish in numbers. I thought that I had

perhaps accidentallj'' destroyed the queen. I

packed them carefully for the winter, but

, when the spring arrived, as no bees came out,

I opened the hive, and found it full of dead

"drones.'' I don't think there was a single

r worker bee among them. There was plenty of

1 honey, but the combs were dirty and mildewed.

1. Do you think I had killed the queen ?

One or two bee-keepers (men who have kept
bees for years) came and examined the hive,
and declared they had never seen anything
like it before. After examining the combs,
they assured me that there were no signs of
foul brood, and that I might safely use the best
of the comb? if I got a fresh swarm. So I
bought another strong hive, and in due course
got a swarm from it, which I put into the old
hive with the old comb. The bees accepted
the hive, but did not seem to work properly,
so I took out some of the old combs, and re-
placed them with sheets of foundation ; they
then began to work and the queen to breed.
She had hardly laid any eggs up to this time,
though the swarm had been some time in the
hive — indeed, I am not sure that she had laid
any e^gs at all before I removed the combs.
After the new combs were built out, the
strength of the colony increased very much,
and I put supers on, but not a bee would go
into them. So a few days ago I thought I
would see if anything was wrong, and on
examining I found signs of foul brood in two
frames. The worst one I burnt at once, but I
left the others, as there were only a few cells
tainted. I had never seen the disease before,
and as the comb was full of healthy larvae and
sealed-up brood and sealed honey, I did not
like to destroy this. The disease has increased,
I am afraid, on this comb, but it has not
attacked any others so far, and I find the bees
have pulled out the foundation I gave them
about three days ago, and the queen has filled
it with eggs.

I have been studying the " Guide Book " to
find out what to do. I see several remedies are
named, but 1 cannot make out which, under
the circumstances, I ought to try. Can you
help me ? 2.1 have not a spare hive to move
the bees into, and I hardly like to buy anew
one for the purpose or I may taint it. I have
three other stocks of bees, and I am afraid the
disease will now find its way into all of them.
3. The bees of the hive from which the swarm"
came won't go into the supers ; they have
killed the drones, and do not seem to be doing
anything, ^nor , does the hive look full as it
did. I cannot open this one as the comb has
been built in all directions and the frames
won't coma out. What ought I to do with
this hive 1 4. I have forgotten to mention
that when I examined the combs of the hive
that died out l^^s*; winter I found a large
number of fully-formed bees dead inside the
sealed-up cells, and I suppose this is why the
new swarm did not take very kindly to the
combs, and I imagine this is what has started
the foul brood, or was it foul brood that killed
the colony last year ? I have not yet been
able to find the queen in any of my hives, and
I cannot understand why. I think I know
what she ought to be like. — S. D. K., JVeston-
supcr-Mare.

[1. Without knowing what amount of
" manipulating '' was indulged in by yourself,
we can hardly judge whether you have killed

316

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Aug. 9, 1894.

the queen or not ; but the symptoms show-
conclusively that the stock became queenless
in the autumn of last year. 2. It is the
greatest folly to save old combs — with dead
brood in the sealed cells — for use with swarms,
nor can we understand any bee-keeper of
experience advising such a course. Supposing
that you are right in declaring there is foul
brood in the hive, it is too probable that the
brood now being reared will develop the
disease later on ; if it does, the whole of the
combs had better be removed, and the bees
compelled to build new ones from full sheets
of foundation. They will require feeding
while the combs are being drawn out, and
naphthaline shoizld be placed in all the hives as
a preventive of infection. Refer also to B. J.
for June 21 last (p. 241). 3. It is quite a
• common occurrence for the bees of swarmed
stocks to refuse to enter supers, for the simple
reason that they are so reduced in numbers
through swarming as not to need surplus room.
We fear you will require more experience in
bee-work before undertaking the task of
straightening the misshapen combs referred
to. 4. Without a more intimate knowledge
of the facts, we cannot say with any certainty
" What killed the colony last year," but it
was —as we have said — most unwise to use
combs for the swarin with rotting dead brood
in them. — Eds.]

WANDERING QUEENS.

A CURIOUS INCIDENT.

[2043.] I send you the following, on the
chance that it may interest some of your
reader^!, and elicit some kind criticisms : —

1. About three weeks since, my attention
was called to a small knot of bees on my lawn
in front of the three-frame bee-hives I kept
there. I soon discovered that the lumps of
some two dozen bees were apparently " ball-
ing " a queen. After trying in vain to free

.her and give her her liberty (as I did not think
she came from any one of my hives), and after
losing her once, only to find shortly that she
was being " balled " worse than ever, I at last
captured herself and her companions in a
tumbler, got ready a spare hive, inserted her
and them under excluder zinc, transferred
above it two lifts of shallow frames from
another hive full of bees on frames of honey
and (through a defect in that hive) brood in all
stages, and left the whole arrangement to settle
down. All went well, and it is now one of
my most promising hives.

I think this Avas a stranger queen come to
mate with one of my drones. I found one
close by her in a very excited and apparently
unhappy state, but had no time to do more.

Can any one throw any light on this curious
experience 1 It is any easy way of getting
another hive, but I should suppose it is an
incident of rare occurrence.

2. It occurred to me some time ago that it
would be a great advantage if I were to fit a
pane of glass flat on the top of the frames or

sections in my hives, so that I could inspect
the state of afiairs by simply raising the over-
lying quilts, without opening the hive or dis-
turbing the bees each time.

I accordingly procured some sheets of glass,
17 in. by 15 in., accurately squared and cut
(smaller for the section-crate), and dropped
them in. The comfort and convenience have
been immense. I can examine the bees at
any time, and show them to others, without
the slightest inconvenience. The bees have
become so accustomed to the lifting of the
coverings that hardly one stirs, unless I keep
the light on too long ; and I believe it has
made them much tamer whenever it becomes
necessary to open the hives. They appear to
work in perfect comfort close up to the glass.
There is a slight crevice all round, which
perhaps affords sufficient ventilation through
the quilts put on above all.

Shall I be able without detriment to the
bees to continue this arrangement all through
the winter ? It would be invaluable in allow-
ing one to see at a glance at any time, with-
out letting any cold air into the hive, or
upsetting the bees, what the exact state of
affairs was.

I shall be glad to know if any one else has
tried the plan, and if it succeeds. — W. R. N.,
Sussex, July 31.

BEES AND RED CLOVER.

[2044.] In a characteristic article by
" Ouida," published in a popular monthly for
June, this sentence occurs : —

'■ As well call sterile the red clov&r, which
yields its fecundating pollen to the bee in the
glad sunlight of a summer day ! "

You have, I believe, stated in the B. B. J.
that the " English bee does not work on red
clover." Has " Ouida '' made a mistake in
her statement, or does the quotation 1 have
taken from your columns refer solely to the
bees' power of extracting honey from this
clover ? — E. H. Hopkins, Bromsgrove.

P.S. — May be wrong in attributing the
above quotation to your pen, but I fancy not.

[We fail to see that "Ouida" has made any
"mistake in her statement." The ordinary
hive or honey bee, Apis Mellifica, is not in
any way specifically alluded to in the extract
quoted, and, as red clover is almost, if not
entirely, fertilised by the common bumble
bee, the authoress mentioned has in no way
erred in her reference to a well known fact.
We cannot call to mind having written the
words attributed to us by our correspondent,
but it is generally admitted that the hive bee
does not work on red clover, except on very
rare occasions and under exceptional con-
ditions . — Eds.]

TAKING BEES TO HEATHER.
[2045.] May I give a little of my experience
in taking bees to the heather in reply to
" Annon6 " (2025, p. 294) ? The sort of zinc

Aug. 9, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

317

named would be more of a hindrance than
otherwise. If the bees are strong in numbers
they will protect themselves; if weak, reduce
the entrance. But always have them as strong
in supers is possible. They will take no harm
under the farmer's care, but it will be a great
mistake to send the hives with entrances
covered with zinc of so large a mesh as to let
the bees get their heads through ; many bees
will have no heads lefc on if this is done. The
main point is to have lots of ventilation at the
top during the journey, and even with this I
have seen a good many breakdowns in my
time. I have often thought it would be a
great improvement in hives for the heather if
ventiliition could be given in every story, with
a wood slide to cover it down in cold weather.
I notice there has been a lot of talk for and
against the " Wells " hive in your pages, and
as my contribution to the subject, I would just
say I had the pleasure of looking after a
" VVells ' last summer for a gentleman who
has now gone to Africa, and it certainly did
better in honey returns than any other three
he had. It weighed 159 lb. at the end of the
heather season last year, and stood far above
any out of forty hives at the time. — J. B. R.,
fVfdf. Cumberland, July 30.

WEATHER REPORT FOR JULY,

1894.

Rainfall, 5 '38 in.
Heaviest fall, I'SO in.

on 29th.
Rain fell on 20 days.
Above average, 2 '50 in.
Max. Temperature,

82" on 1st.
Min. Temperature, 46°

on 14th.
Sunshine, 192"3 hours.
Brightest Day, 5th,

15 hours.

Very little honey,
swarms.

Westbourne, Sussex.

Sunless Days, 3
Below average, 5 '49

hrs.
Mn. Maximum, 65'4°.
Mn. Minimum, 53-4".
Mean Temperature,

59-4°.
Maximum Barometer,

30-58° on 1st.
Minimum Barometer,

29-46° on 12th.

Average number of

L. B. BiRKETT.

(&t\iu% fxzm \\\t §trw.

Whitehill, Rosewell, N.B., August 1. — The
weather has been grand for the last week.
Limes just blooming, and I hope to have a
better average than expected, probably 30 lb.
per hive instead of 10 lb., as given in my last
letter. — Hy. Marks.

Wadebridge, August 2. — The weather for
the last month has been very unfavourable for
the honey harvest, though, on the whole, 1
cannot complain. Owing to want of time, am
obliged to reduce my stock ; in order to assist
reduction, a large swarm issued from one of
the hives yesterday, August 1, leaving from

30 to 40 lb. of sealed honey in super of shallow
frames. I am not selling part of my bees
because bee-keeping does not pay ; it has paid
me very well, thanks to your valuable Bek
Journal — H. Lander.

Burnt/an Gardens, Durliam, August 5. —
You will be pleased to hear that, on the whole,
this has been a very good year for the bees in
this neighbourhood. Honey is plentiful, it
seems, and my takings up to date have been —
from No. 1 hive 39 lb. ; No. 2, 20 lb. (all
1-lb. sections). I am very well satisfied. Bees
are doing well yet, and we have the heather
before us. — R. Black.

(f uems and |le|lics.

[1122.] Mishap to Queen. — Bequeening. —
1. Would you kindly inform me how long it
takes for a cast to settle down with one queen
only ? A very strong cast (a top swarm and
cast in one) was hived and several queens seen.
Ten days after we found a queen on the ground
in front surrounded by bees. We lifted her
and found that one of her wings was defec-
tive and that she could not fly. We placed
her on the alighting-board and she ran in. I
fear we have committed a mistake. Do you
think she would be an extra queen thrown
out, or the queen of the hive ? Is it likely
that the bees would be destroying surplus
queens ten days after being hived ? 2. Would
it be of any use to introduce a fertile queen
without first capturing the other ? 1 am
anxious to preserve the cast, as it is a very
strong one, and we have the prospect of a good
heather harvest.— K. Eraser, Largs, Ayr-
shire,

Reply. — 1. When several young queensare
seen with a swarm the question of " survival
of the fittest" is usually decided by the
second day after hiving. The circumstance
related is moreover so unusual that the combs
should be examined to see if the queen is still
there and laying. 2. No, if there is a queen
in the hive she must be removed before intro-
ducing an alien.

[1123.] Sxoarms from Swarms: a Disputed
Point— Will you kiadly give me your opinion
to the following in your valuable journal, in
order to settle a dispute in regard to a swarm
of bees supposed to have issued from a swarm
hived eight days previously : — 1. Is it pos-
sible for two queens to work together in a
straw skep for eight days, and then of them-
selves break up into two lots or " casts," which
are then put alongside of each other as close
as 18 in., and work as if they had come forty
miles apart 1 2. Did you ever hear of a cast
swarming when it was only eight days hived ?
— C. McG., Campbelioivn, N.B.

Reply. — 1. Without venturing to declare
what is "possible" in bee-keeping, we may

"318

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Aug. 9, 1894.

say it is very improbable indeed that such a
thinor could occur as is set forth in the query
above. The chances are, we should say, about
as remote as possible against it. 2. No ; nor
has any one else, we fancy.

[1124.] Transferring Swarm from Skep. —
On June 10 I had a swarm of bees, and not
having a frame-hive by me at the time put
them in a skep, where they have since remained.
I have now bought a fresh hive. 1. Would it
be right for me to transfer them to it seeing
they are working well in the skep ? 2. Is now
or about end of August the best time to
transfer 1 — Lancashire Novice, Lowton.

Eeply. — 1. In deciding to transfer the bees
and combs to frame-hive there is the risk,
especially to a " novice," of bringing about
disaster, which would not be likely to occur if
the bees had been left in their first home, or if
the help of an experienced bee-keeper could
have been enlisted. 2. It is not a very
difficult operation to transfer bees and combs
as proposed, yet we do not like to recommend
it for a " novice." The stock will probably
be safe if left where it now is and will winter
well. If transferring is decided on and
attempted it may end in disaster. Under the
circumstances we should recommend getting
the advice of some one experienced in bees,
who cou'd examine the stock as it now stands
and rej3ort safely on the expediency or other-
wise of disturbing it. The beginning of Sep-
tember would be the best time for transferring,
if it be decided on.

[1125.] Bees Destroying Queen -Cells in
Nucleus Hive. — Would you kindly tell me if
these enclosed dead brood are queens or not 1
They have been thrown out from a nucleus I
made a few days ago. There were about six
queen-cells in the combs (three in number),
and quite sufficient bees remained to take care
of them and the brood, which is coming out
well. I am afraid there can be no queen in
the hive if these are young queens ; if so,
what can be the reason of their all being
thrown out ? I have not seen anything like
them thrown out of the other nuclei, and all
the queen-cells were open two days after I
made this nucleus. — F. Fox, Epsom, August 2.

Reply. — Whether brood sent were queens
or not it is impossible to say, for what we
received was brood in the nymph stage, we
suppose, but smashed to pulp in post and
entirely beyond recognition. We could not
even count them. Bees do sometimes refuse
to accept queen-cells, and tear them down, as
in this case ; but the reasons why can usually
only be made clear by the operator himself.
Please refer to Mr. Brice's letter on nuclei,
(p. 313) which may help you.

[1126.] Transferring Bees from Sleeps. — Re-
ferring to reply 1116, p. 306 of last issue, 1.
Would it not be weU to transfer the bees at

once, provided " foundation " is used instead
of the combs in the skeps ? 2. I am two
miles from the heather ; is it worth while to
move my hives there ? 3. Do not " honey
squeezers " waste much honey by mixing it
with wax ? 4. I have a quantity of granu-
lated clover honey from last year in sections.
What is the best use that I can make of it ? —
Cymro.

Reply. — 1. If the combs containing brood
be noc transferred, a large portion of the
young bees, so valuable for wintering, will be
sacrificed. 2. Yes, if the heather is yielding
well. 3. They are not of much use in an
apiary of more than one hive. 4. Cut the
combs up, put in an earthenware vessel, and
insert the latter in a pan of water hot enough
to melt honey and wax. When melted,
allow it to cool ; the wax may then be lifted
off the liquid honey in a solid cake.

[1127.] Will Bees of Run-aivay Swarm
Return to Hive ? — I had a strong stock in
frame hive, where the roof only permitted one
rack of twenty-oae sections. I did not want
a swarm, and as the hive did not permit a
second rack, I removed each separate section
as finished, stipplying empty ones fitted with
foundation. Without previous warning, and
with plenty of empty comb in brood-nest, a
large swarm issued on July 31, which my wife
hived by shaking into a straw skep placed on
a table near over the orthodox white cloth.
About half the bees returned to the branch
where they first settled, 8 ft. from the ground,
so she took the skep and fixed it over the
bees, loosely hanging a white cloth over all,
but they never took possession, and about
4.30 flew away. I have not been able to find
the swarm, and the two following days were
very wet ; but even during the rain bees were
noticed entering the hive all through the
second day. This causes me to ask : — 1. If
swarm was not hived, would bees be likely to
return to old hive 1 2. The stock being
weakened, ought I to remove sections at once,
or leave them to be finished, feeding after-
wards ? 3. To prevent a cast, should I remove
all queen-cells but one ? or, as it is now getting
late, ought I to cut out all queen-cells and
introduce a fertile queen. 4. If I allow the
bees to raise a queen in the natural way, how
long will it be before she commences to lay ?
and will the stock dwindle in conseqttence, as
it is now getting late in the season ? — T. H.,
Manchester, August 3.

Reply. — 1. The probability is that some one
has tried to secure the swarm, and made a bad
attempt to hive it ; this being so, it is more
than likely that the bees observed were part
of the swarm returning to the old home. 2.
There can be no harm in leaving the sections
on till the honey harvest ends, if it has not
done so already. 3. If a cast is coming off,
" piping " will be heard by placing the ear
close on to the hive cover on the ■ evening of

Aug. 9, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

319

the 8th or 9th inst., and it will be both easier
and safer to let the cast issue, and cut out
queen-cells before returning it to the parent
hive on the evening of the same day. 4. Take
the course advised above ; it is scarcely worth
troubling about a fertile queen so long as
drones are about.

[1128.] Feeding Bade Honey Taken from a
Tree. — I am sending a piece of comb which I
lately took with a stock of bees from a tree in
which they had been working for four or five
years. I put the bees on comb foundation
and left the old combs in a basket four or five
days; to-day i had a look at them, and they
look suspicious. Please say if it is foul-brood
or not, as I have some honey I took from
them and I thought of feeding another stock
with it to help them finish off some sections.
F. W. MoKEY, Ventnor, Isle of Wight.

Reply. — Though the precaution is fortu-
nately unnecessary in this case, we are very
pleased you were careful enough to make the
inquiry, so risky is it to give healthy bees
honey taken from stray bees located in trees.
There is no trace of foul-brood in the comb
Sent.

[1129.] Straightening Misshapen Combs. —
I have lately come into possession of a home-
made frame-hive. There are a large number
of bees in it on ten frames, which have not
had any foundation in them, and all the combs
are built every way but the right way, and
are fastened to each other and to the sides of
the hive. The person from whom I bought it
had once made an attempt to get the combs
out, but has broken some of them, and, being
stung, left the broken combs in the bottom of
the hive. I wish to put everything ship-shape
and in workable order. Will you kindly
state in detail how I ovtght to proceed ? —
J. W., Northampton.

Eeply. — It will be absolutely necessary to
get the opinion of some experienced bee-
Jieeper, who could inspect the hive, and have
some knowledge of our correspondent's com-
petency to undertake so difficult a " bee-job "
as the above, before giving advice "how to
proceed."

SftMS t0 dpom^.

August 10 and 11. — At Dumfries. South
of Scotland B.K.A. Very liberal prizes.

Augusiie. — At Audlem, Cheshire. Liberal
prizes for honey and beeswax.

August 16. — At Maidenhead, Berks. Show
of honey, bees, and appliances. Windsor
District, Berks B.K.A., in conjunction with
the Maidenhead Horticultural Society. Over
£1 value in prizes. For schedule apply to
hon. sec, W. S. Darby, Consort-villas, Clewer.

August 22 and 23. — Shropshire B.K.A.
Annual show in connection with the Horticul-
tural Society's great fete in " The Quarry,"
Shrewsbury. £35 in prizes for bees, honey,

hives, and appliances. For prize-lists, &c.,
apply T. Whittingham, Upton Magna, near
Shrewsbury.

August 22 and 23. — At Derby. Derbyshire
B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby.

August 23. — At Horsham. Twelve classes
for bees, hives, and honey. Entries close
August 18. Schedules from R. Gilburd,
Horsham.

August 23. — At Madresfield, in connection
with the Madres6eld Agricultural Society ;
fourteen classes for bees, hives, and honey.
Entries close August 18. Rev. E. Davenport,
hon. sec , Burlish Lodge, Stourport.

August 29 and 30. — Annual show of the
Staffs. B.K.A. At Stone. In connection with
the Staff's Agricultural Society's meeting.
Nineteen classes for bees, hives, honey, &c.
Harold Twentyman, sec, Wolverhampton.

September 4 and .5. — At Coventry. In con-
nection with the Warwickshire Agricultural
Show. Annual show of the Warwickshire
B.K.A. Liberal prizes for honey, bees, and
appliance?. For schedules apply J. N. Bower,
hon. sec, Knowle.

September 6. — At Castle Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1-lb. jars
extracted honey. Entries close Septembtr 3.
T. Myers, secretary, Castle Douglas, N.B.

September 12 and 13. — Scottish Bee-
Keepers' Association, in connection with the
show of the Caledonian Horticultural Society,
Waverley Market, Edinburgh. Schedules
ready shortly. John Wishart, assistant
secretary, Castlecraig, Dolphinton, N.B.

September 15. — ^In the Corn Exchange,
Jedburgh. Roxburghshire B.K.A. Annual
show of honey, &c. Twenty-seven classes.
Eight silver medals and liberal money prizes.
Entries close September 11. Thos. Clark,
secretary, Pleasants, Jedburgh, N.B.

Noticesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will he attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be ansivered in this column .

South Wold (Boston).— 1. Stocks before pack-
ing away for winter should have about 20 lb.
of food in store to carry them safely over
till the following spring. There are various
forms of feeders on the market, but a wide-
mouthed jar or bottle will serve the pur-
pose. 2. An eight-framed hive is too small
if the frames are of standard size. 3. A
sunny aspect is the best for hives in winter.

W. B. (Maidstone). — 1. The bees had best ba
driven as soon after end of this month as
the owner will allow. 2. Queens may be
left to settle which queen is to reign unless
an extra good one is worth specially saving.
3. Ordinary wheaten flour is used in uniting.

320

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Aug. 9, 1894.

Hartwood. — There is certainly an admixture
of honey-dew in sample sent, which spoils
both colour and flavour. We should give it
back to the bees as food.

"W. A. Balcombe (Faversham). — Bees in Sleep
Refusing to Work Dotvn into Frame-Hive.
— The bees have required no additional
room since the skep was placed on the
frame-hive, hence their refusal to work
down into it. We should advise wintering
the bees in the skep as they are, instead
of driving and transferring, with all its
attendant risks.

PoRTMAN (Berks). — Securing Worker Bees to
Send with Queen. — If queen is got into a
small box (say a match-box) beforehand,
there should be no difficulty in running a
dozen workers into the cage by sliding it
open across a comb. Then, when the re-
quired number are trapped, open the box
over the aperture and let the queen join
them.

T. B. (Staflford).— Feed at once to get the
foundation drawn out. Swarms usually
return to hives because the queen is not
with them.

T. KiRWAN (Dunmore). — Bees Working on
One Side of Foundation Only. — One side
of foundation has been left unworked by
the bees in section received apparently
because of their not having free access to
the unworked side. Without an inspection
of the section rack we can only suppose
that the mischief occurred in outside sections
only, and in these it is well to cut a s'ngle
" pop hole ■' in one corner of the sheet of
foundation, or turn the section round when
one side is found to be neglected by the
bees. It is also better to adopt the four
bee-way section when full sheets of fornda-
tion are used.

G. Williams (Essex). — Claim for Damage in
Hiving Sivarm. — We do not quite know
what is expected of us by our correspon-
dent's letter. No question is asked as to
what we think should be doue, but details
given of what took place in trying to hive
a swarm in a neighbour's garden after per-
mission to enter had been granted. Judging
from what appears in the letter before us,
there is good ground for refusing to pay the
13s. 6d. demanded in the "lawyer's letter."
So, if our opinion be what is wanted, we
offer it for what it may be worth.

" In Dubiis '' (Bognor). — Honey received is
from various flowers, and has no pronounced
flavour to fix its main source. It is not a
high-class honey, but fairly good for home
use. Being a little unripe, it might ferment
if kept long.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, Jec. — Up tO-
Twelve words, Sixpence; for every additional Thrtt,
words or under. One Penny.

THIS SEASON'S HONEY, in bulk. What offers?
Sample free. Bird, High-street, Daventiy. e es

FFERS WANTED for Worked-out SECTIONS, with
or without crates. Rose, Feltham. e 72

o

Stv'.ral reports of Shotvs, Letters, ^-c, are in
type, and loill appear fit'xt week.

FOR SALE, Three Strong, Healthy STOCKS of BEES,
in Frame Hives. Also two Stocks in straw skeps.
Lady Cave, Ashby-de-la-Zouche. E 69

HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES, Is. 3d. per lb. ; in 5-lb.
lots. Boxes to be returned. Ed. Long, Cottinham,
Cambs. E 70

HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES, Is. 6d. per lb. for 4 lb.
lots or over. Queen included ; packing free. F.
Gay, Edmondsham, Cranborne, Salisbury. E 71

F-OR SALE, Strong Healthy STOCKS of BEES foi-
the Heather, in Combination Hives, one Observa-
tory Hive. H. Lander, Alandale, Wadebridge, Corn-
wall. E 65

BEKS for SALE, at sacrifice, as they must be moved.
Five Stocks, in superior Bar-framed Hives, and 1
in straw skep, with season's produce, and all necessary
appliances. Russell, Upton Park, Slough. e 66

FOR SALE, Young Fertile Native QUEENS, 3s. 6d/
each. Also strong Stocks of Healthy Natives,
with young Queens on Standard Frames, with or with.,
out hives. H. Witt, South Ascot, Berks. e 67

GUARANTEED Healthy 1894 FERTILE QUEENS
3s. 6d. each ; safe arrival. DRIVEN BEES-
Is. 6d. per lb. for 5-lb. lots or over, Queen .and Packing
included. Address, C. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundon,
Olare, Suffolk. E 64

FOR SALE, cheap, owing to owner leaving the
country, 12 STOCKS BEES, and an equipment
replete with every modern accuracy. Write for particu-
lars. This is an opportunity not to be missed. Francis
Jones, MuUinabra, Waterford. e 64

EALTHY DRIVEN BEES, with Queen, Is. 6d.per
lb. Packing-box returnable. Garner, Broom,
near Biggleswade, Beds. E 64

BEES for THE HEATHER— Guaranteed healthy
Nuclei, 3-Frame 8s. ; 4-Frame, 10s. ; 5-Frame, 12s.
Also NEW HIVES for THE HEATHER at Ss. 6d,
Apply, J. Trebble, Romansleigh, South Molton.

E 55

LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Four neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, 8d., post free.
500, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.

FOR SALE, good STOCKS BEES, guaranteed healthy,
with young queens. Apply, F. Gay, iidmond-
sham, Cranborne. Salisbury. E 61

SECTION CASES, for Exhibition, glassed both sides,
18s. per gross ; Is. 9d. per doz. J. S. Greenhill,
80, Graham-road, Wimbledon.

HONEY.— Finest White Clover and Heather HONEY
WANTED. Post samples and lowest prices,
stating quantities. Spring, Brigg. Lines.

MARKET for SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY,
and WAX. State price and quantity. Prompt
cash. Pa< kages sent. Address, H., /?pe ./o?(njai Office,
17. King William-street, Strand, London.

EE TENT on HIRE . For terms, apply to G. GUNSION ,
Bradley Green, Wot.ton-under-Edge^

B

CHOICE YOUNG QUEENS, excellent strain, pro-
duced by seven years' careful breeding, guaranteed
fertile, post free 5s., virgins, 2s. 6d. Rev. 0. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex. 229

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. Holliday, Astbury,
Congleton.

Aug. 16, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

321

(Kiitoral ^otim, ^t.

USEFUL HINTS.

{Concluded from p. 311.)
Removing Surplus Honey. — The
unusual lengthening out of the honey
season of '93, and the many indications
of a similar late gathering this year, will
no doubt have induced many bee-keepers
to defer taking off still unfinished sur-
plus-chambers long after the usual date
of their removal from the hives. But,
seeing that mid-August has now passed,
it becomes necessary to bear in mind
that sections and frames of sealed combs
in the unfinished condition named may
have a considerable portion of their
contents carried below into the brood-
chamber by the bees themselves if left on
the hives for a couple of days after the
honey flow has really ended for the year.
In view of this, and the fact that the
honey season is now practically over — in
all but heather districts — all surplus
intended for removal should be at once
got quietly from the hives and taken
indoors. We use the Avord " quietly "
because of our constantly including
among our readers those who are so
entirely new to the craft that we deem
it of the utmost importance to them that
their first " taking " of honey should
neither be an unpleasant event to them-
selves or to their neighbours. Only a
day or two ago a beginner of this year
wrote us congratulating himself on
having been able to take the honey —
including some frames from the brood-
nest — from his single hive in his dinner
hour, without veil, or smoke, or stings ;
but on returning home at night found
himself threatened with pains and pen-
alties— including the poisoning of the
bees if he did not remove them — because
an unfriendly neighbour's goat had been
stung by a bee !

Our correspondent appeals to us to
know (1) if he can be compelled to
remove his bees because of the goat
sting 1 and (2) can he sue for damages if
his bees are poisoned 1 We would much
rather have been asked, " What can be
done to avoid such mishaps in the
future 1 " because to keep bees in close
proximity to neighbours who are neither
agreeable in themselves nor look with

friendly eyes on the bee-hive, may very
easily be a constant source of friction
and annoyance to all concerned. Under
such circumstances, however, a policy of
conciliation is better than fighting, either
through the law or any other way. It
is also due to the neighbour that every
reasonable care be taken to prevent
annoyance from the bees, and this brings
us to the point, because, if proper care is
taken in removing honey, there is no reason
why it should not be got from the hives
without the smallest upset either to the
temper of the bees, the bee-keeper, or
the irate neighbour ; and, as briefly as
we can tell it, this is how it may be
done : — 1. Provide a " super-clearer,"
know how to use it, and do the work at
the proper time ; bearing also in mind
that we are especially referring to cases
where annoyance to others than the bee-
keeper is to be carefully avoided. 2.
Choose a fine morning and begin at
6 a.m., before any one is about; have
every requirement ready to hand as
wanted ; don't smoke the bees at the
entrance, but quietly remove roof and
" lifts " — when such are used — so as to
leave the junction of surplus-chamber
and lower hive exposed and free for
"getting at." Gently prize up one
corner of the surplus-chamber with the
point of a screw-driver (we use a common
oyster-knife for preference), so as to
insert a small Avedge about h in. wide —
•a bit of a broken section is just the thing
— do the same at each corner, when,
although the surplus-chamber is raised,
no bee can escape, give a puff of smoke
in at the junction on all sides, to slightly
alarm the bees, and after a screw-like
movement, which severs any brace-combs
if there are such, quietly take off the
surplus-chamber and set it down on the
" lift," which allows space below and
prevents crushing bees. If the bees now
exposed on tops of frames are quiet, set
on the super-clearer ; if they are not,
give a puff of smoke to make them so ;
and, after another puff below the surplus-
chamber, lift the latter, set it on the
clearer, and the job is complete. If pro-
perly done, and all jolting and jarring of
the hive avoided, not a bee will have taken
wing, and the bees of the brood-chamber
will be unaware of what has taken place.
In the evening — or next morning if the
surplus-chamber is not entirely free from

322

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Aug. 16, 1894.

bees — the honey is lifted off the hive
without disturbance. In a word, trouble
over the removal of honey is, or ought
to be, a thing of the past.

We have dealt with the removal of
honey by the use of smoke only as a bee-
quieter, because of noticing since the
above was written that our correspondent,
Mr. W. Woodley, on another page, has
fully described the use of carbolised
cloths for the same purpose.

Taking Honey from Brood-Nests.—
After all that has been proved against the
unwisdom of disturbing brood-chambers
for the purpose of stripjDingthem of most of
the available food they contain in autumn,
one would have thought that no further
argument was needed to put a stop to
the practice ; but there still keeps crop-
ping up bee-keepers who deem it the
best of " management " to get all the
honey they can from the bees so long as
syrup is given in return. No greater
mistake, however, could be made ; there
is no profit in it ; the labour involved is
worse than thrown away, for it wastes
the strength and the energies of the
bees at a time when both should be con-
served for the work of another year. It
is bad enough to have to feed when
brood-nests are found almost bare of food
in autumn ; but to undertake the labour
of emptying the nicely-sealed combs of
natural food, and inflict on the bees the
work of refilling them, with all the
attendant risks of feeding, is little less
than folly, whichever way it is looked at.
Uniting in Autumn. — This is another
point requiring attention. It is no use
trying to carry over the trying winter-
time stocks with too few bees in them to
stand against a fortnight's frost. Now
is the time, therefore, to think about
deciding what lots are to be " joined up "
at the end of next month, and to gradually
bring them closer together so that they
may occupy stands as nearly touching as
maybe before the actual uniting takes
place. Hives from which two or more
swarms have issued will also need seeing
to, both as to the number of bees they
contain and the fecundity or otherAvise
of the young queens in them. If either
are unsatisfactory, a small late-SAvarm —
which has not made much progress in
or food-storing — may be
old hive during next
advantage of both. In

fact, what remains of the season may be
usefully employed first in thinking out
what uniting is required, and, when this
is decided, no time should be lost in
feeding, preparatory to the. actual
"packing-up" for the winter time now
so rapidly approaching. The sooner
the bees are quieted down the better,
for all the work and worry saved
to them in the late aatumn is, as we
have said, so much strength conserved
for next year's labour.

GOOLE AND DISTRICT BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

The annual show of the above society was
held in connection with the Goole Flower
Show, in the Victoria Pleasure Grounds, Goole,
on Thursday, July 26, and the meeting was
favoured by Queen's weather. Several pro-
minent exhibitors in the north of England
competed, and a fair quantity of honey was
staged, local exhibitors fairly well holding
their own against their powerful opponents.
Sections were only moderate in both quality and
quantity, but the extracted honey classes were
well filled with good samples. Mr. J. H.
Howard, Holme, Peterborough, was the judge,
and during the afternoon delivered a lecture to
a large and interested audience.

The prizes in the open classes were offered
by the Goole Horticultural Society. Awards: —
Open Classes.

Observatory Hive. — 1st, W. Chester, Goole.

Six 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, Mrs. Rimmer,
Knedlington, Howden ; 2nd, J. Giddy.

Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — Ist,
W. Smith, Preston, Hull ; 2nd, W. Dixon,
Leeds.

Most Interesting and Instructive Exhibit. —
1st. W. Dixon.

Two Frames of Comb Honey. — 1st, Dr.
Arbuckle, Thome ; 2nd, W. Smith.
Members^ Classes.

Six l-lb. Sections. — 1st, Mrs. Rimmer; 2nd,
Dr. Arbuckle.

Six l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, Dr.
Arbuckle ; 2nd, W. Chester.

Super of Comb Honey {not Sectional). — 1st,
Dr. Arbuckle ; 2nd, E. Wainman, Howden.

Two l-lb. Sections and Two l-lb. Jars Ex-
tracted Honey. — 1st, Mrs. Rimmer ; 2nd, W
Ramsey, Rawcliffe.

Three l-lb. Bottles of Granulated Honey. —
1st, A. Woodhead, Goole ; 2nd, W. Chester. —
{Communicated.)

comb-building
added to the
month to the

SHOW AT LLANEGWAD, SOUTH
WALES.

The annual show of the Llanegwad (Car-
marthen) Horticultural Society was held on
the 25th ult., in the grounds of Alltyferiu
(close to the mansion) by permission of E. H.
Bath, Esq., president. In addition to the

Aug. IG, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

323

usual display of flowers, &c., there was in-
cluded for the first time a department for
honey, and Mr. A. Hamer, of Llanarthney,
who acted as judge, also delivered a lecture on
bee-keeping, which attracted quite a number of
interested listeners. As a first attempt, the
honey show was a success, some very excel-
lent samples being staged, Messrs. J. Taylor
and Lewis taking first and second prizes, in the
order named, for both sections and extracted
honey. — {Communicated.)

SHOW AT BLANKNEY, LINCOLN-
SHIRE.

The annual show of the Blankney Horticul-
tural Society was held on August 1, by
permission of the Eight Hon. H. Chaplin,
M.P., in the private grounds adjoining the
Hall, and included amongst its attractions an
excellent display of honey, wax, and bees—
this portion of the show being iinder the
auspices of the Lincolnshire Bee-Keepers'
Association. The bee-tent of the association
formed a great attraction, lectures being given
in it during the day by Mr. F. J. Cribb, of
Gainsboro', and as both a skep and bar-frame
hive of bees were provided, the advantages of
the modern system were readily illustrated.
Mr. E. Thorpe, of Swineshead, judged the
honey, the awards being as follows : —

Best Observatory Hive. — 1st, J. Coulson ;
2nd, E. Godson ; 3rd, J. Emmerson.

Best ] 2 Sections.— l^i, E. Godson ; 2nd, G.
Godson ; .3rd, A. Barnes ; 4th, Mrs. Taylor.

Best 12-Ib. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, A.
Barnes ^ 2nd, J. Taylor, jun. ; 3rd, H. Bancks ;
4th, A. Weatherhotf.

Best Six Sections {Cottagers only). — 1st, A.
Barnes ; 2nd, J. Coulson ; 3rd, Mrs. Taylor.

Best Sic 1-lh. Jars {Cottagers only). — 1st,
Mrs. Taylor; 2nd, W. Phillips: 3rd, A.
Barnes.

Best Glass Super {not under 10 lb.). — 1st,
J. Hammond ; 2nd, W. Baker.

Best Beesivax. — 1st, T. Hawley ; 2nd, J.
Emmerson ; 3rd, A. Barnes. — {Communicated.)

DERBYSHIEE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The Derbyshire Beekeepers' Association
had classes for honey, &c., at the Draycott and
Wilne Floral and Horticultural Societies' show
on Saturday, August 4, where Mr. Chas.
Wootton gave an interesting lecture and
demonstration in the bee-tent on behalf of the
Derbyshire County Council in quite a heavy
fall of rain ; but the public evinced so much
interest that the tent was crowded with atten-
tive listeners all the time.

Mr. Arthur G. Pugh, Hon. Sec, N.B.K.A.,
acted as judge, and gave following awards : —

Best Six 1-lb. Sections and Six Jars of Ex-
tracted Honey. — 1st, Ch. Wootton, Draycott ;
2nd, H. Hill, Ambaston.

Best T'welve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. —
1st and 2nd prizes divided between W.

Southall, Borrowash, and J. Smith, Long
Eaton ; 3rd, W. Coxon, Ambaston.

Best Observatory Hive loith Bees and
Queen. — 1st, Ch. Wootton. -{Communicated.)

NORTHAMPTONSHIEE BEE-KEEPEES
ASSOCIATION.

The annual show of the above association
was held on Bank Holiday, August 6, and
following day, in Delapre Park, Northamp-
ton, and proved to be one of the best ever
held by the association.

In the open class for single jar of honey
over sixty exhibits were staged on step
staging, making a remarkably fine and attrac
tive display, the like of which had neve
before been seen in this county. Mr. A.
Hamer's two exhibits were awarded second
and third prizes, but the rules precluded one
exhibitor taking more than one prize in any
class.

Mr. James Adams, West Haddon, was
awarded a special prize for a case of twelve
sections and ten shallow frames.

Special mention should be made of some
very fine glass sections exhibited by l^Ir. A.
Sid dons, of Wellingboro'.

The duties of iudging were' undertaken by
Messrs. W. Winterton, Wellingborough ;
J. Perry, Banbury ; and J. E. Truss, Utford
Heath, Stamford, who placed the awards as
follows : —

Best Tivelve l-lb. Sections.— 1st, 0. Orland,
Flore ; 2nd, C. Cox, Brampton ; 3rd, James
Adams, West Haddon ; 4th, Thos. Salmon,
Brackley.

Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st,
Lewis Jordan, Holdenby ; 2nd, W. Tustain,
Farthinghoe ; 3rd, .James Adams ; 4th, Chas.
Wells, Uxendon ; H.C., O. Orland.

Six l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey, any year. —
1st, C. Cox ; 2nd, H. Collins, Berry Wood ;
3rd, J. Adams.

Best Exhibit of Super Honey. — 1st, W.
Tustain ; 2nd, H. Williams, Overstone ; 3rd,
C. Cox.

Beeswax.— 1st, W. Tustain ; 2nd, 0. Orland ;
3rd, J. Adams ; 4th, H. Collins.

{Non-Previous Winners Only.)

Six l-lb. Sections.— 1st, A. Siddons, Wel-
lingborough ; 2ad, G. H. Wright, Thornby ;
3rd, T. Meacock, Flore.

Six l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, E.
Underwood, West Haddon ; 2nd, Silas Cole,
Althorp ; 3rd, C. Wells ; 4th, A. Brayshaw,
Brix worth.

Best Super. — 1st, Mrs. O. C. Hollis,
Boughton ; 2nd, A. Siddons.

1. {Open.) Special Frizes. — Best l-lb.
Jar of Extracted Honey.— 1st, W. Tustain ;
2nd, A. Hamer, Llanarthney ; 3rd, E. Under-
wood, West Haddon; 4th, W. Litchfield,
Muscott ; 5th, E. Oakes, Broseley, Shropshire.

2. {Subscribers only.)— Best l-lh. Section. —
1st, C. Cox; 2nd, J. Adams; 3rd, John
Spencer, Northampton. — {Communicated.)

324

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Aug. 16, 1894.

LINCOLNSHIKE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The annual general meeting of the L.B.K.A.
was held on the Show Ground, Grimsby, on
Friday, July 20, being the last day of the
Lincolnshire Agricultural Society's annual
show. There were present at the meeting
Gerard J. Young, Esq., J.P. (chairman),
Walter Martin, Esq., Mr. H. O. Smith, Mr.
F. H. K. Fisher, the hon. secretary, Mr. E.
Godson, and many others. After the minutes
of the previous annual general meeting had
been read and confirmed, votes of thanks
were accorded to the treasurer, auditor,
committee, expert, district hon. secretaries,
and hon. secretary, all of whom were re-
elected.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Winchilsea
and Nottingham was then unanimously
elected the president of the association in
succession to the late Bishop of Nottingham,
who had held that important position since
the formation of the association in 1875.

It was unanimously resolved to ask the
British Bee-Keepers' Association to reduce
the present fee of five shillings to one of two
shillings and sixpence for the third-class
expert's certificate.

The matter of the expert's autumn tours
was discussed, and it was left in the hands of
the hon. secretary to arrange the same.

Mr. Martin mentioned that there were some
cheap diagrams of bee life, &c., now pub-
lished for educational purposes, and the hon.
secretary was instructed to ascertain the
price of the same and report it to the com-
mittee.

A hearty vote of thanks to the chairman
for presiding closed the meeting. — {Communi-
cated.)

^dxmpwAtntt

The Editorg do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice ivill be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not iiecessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Renew, tic, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the ' BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street. Strand, London, W.C." All busiiiess communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <i:c., must be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

•»• In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[2046.J Results of honey season will now be
the principal topic with bee-keepers. What
sort of a season have you had with your bees 1
What's your average this year? How did

your bees do on the limes ? and similar ques-
tions assail one when in the company of bee-
keepers, and to all and sundry one is obliged
to acknowledge that the season has been a
poor one, though better than 1888. The
averages are small this year. I often say to
friends who inquire what my average is, I
have none, or, at least, I never tot up the
average of- my stocks. How can one who sells
swarms, — i.e , the honey-gathering population
of the hive — expect to have good averages ?
Therefore, I do not average per stock, but
leave the result of the year's working to the
balance-sheet of debtor and creditor. 1 again
tried the swarm- catchers I mentioned last year.
I mean the bavins of underwood stood out
singly leaning on a forked stick, and towards
the hives, some 6 or 7 yards away from the
front of the row of hives ; then in and around
the forked stick I wound a strip of black
material, and a good pait of my swarms
selected the shady side of the bavins as
swarming-places. These form very convenient
places from which to hive them. I also tried
them at my out-apiary, and they proved just
as useful there as at home and as attractive to
the bees. A method similar and perhaps
better adapted to swarm-catching is given by
Mr. B. Taylor in an American paper. It is as
follows : — " Cut a quantity of bushes, 2 ft. long,
and one bush a little longer, tie them into a
bundle with the longest bush, which should
have a hook at the end to hang the bundle up
by. These bundles can be hung in convenient
places during the swarming season, aud have
proven helps in catching, and more so in hiving,
the swarms, as they can be detached from the
tree or fence so readily with the bees clustered
on them ; or, if two or more swarms aro inclined
to unite, if one is settling before the second
gets fairly on the wing, the first one can be
taken to a secluded spot and another catcher
put in its place to receive the flying swarm.

Referring to the carbolic cloth, and how to
use it, I have received inquiries recently
asking how to carbolise a cloth for bee work
One says his cloth has no effect, another (by
overdoing it and bungling the job) drove all
the bees out of the hive by using the cloth.
Our late lamented friend and counsellor, the
Rev. Geo. Raynor — in his multitudinous
" Useful Hints "—gave 1 oz. of Calvert's No.
5 carbolic, and 1 oz. of glycerine, well mixed
together first ; then 10 oz. of water to be
added, the glycerine being used to make the
carbolic acid mix with Avater ; this solution to
be kept in a bottle, corked, and labelled
'•' Poison." The cloths — say half-yard of calico,
unbleached — saturated in the solution, and
then wrung as dry as possible, and the residue
returned to the bottle for future use. I have
used "Izal" and carbolic acid — either the
crude sort or Calvert's No. 5 — in equal pro-
portions this summer, this I keep in a bottle
without water (although the combined acid
and " Izal " mixed freely with water). My
cloths are just dipped in water and then

Aug. 16, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

325

•wrung out as dry as I can twist them, then
two of the cloths are spread out one on the
other and a few drops of the mixture sprinkled
from the bottle over the cloths, and then both
cloths rolled up together tightly, till I am
ready to open the hive or take oft" the
supers. These cloths are always ready, do
not go out like the smoker, just when
the bees get lively — they act as a
deterrent to robber bees following the
bee-keeper from hive to hive, as is the case
in a large apiary. After the honey-flow is
over they are a great saving of bee life when
used properly. One of their best points is
that they cover the whole of the frames at
once, or the top of the whole super, be it a
rack of sections or a box of shallow frames ;
then with new " clearer " they are simply
indispensable. When putting the clearer
on the hive, whether it is on top of another
crate of sections or on the top of the brood-
combs, the cloth by one action secures every
bee and confines them where the bee-keeper
wishes them to be. No smoking the entrance ;
in fact, no molestation of the colony to rouse
their ire. The hive is very gently opened, the
clearer (of which unique article I gave a
description a week or two back) placed
ready on a box or stool or a light crate
made of laths, which is a very handy platform
to work with. Now take oft' your wraps,
except the carpet or quilt next to the sections,
shake out your carbolised cloth, and, as you
lift off the super, allow the cloth to fall on
super below or brood-frames, whichever it
happens to be, while you continue to place
the super on the clearer ; then take oft" the
cloth and replace the super and clearer on the
hive, the whole operation not taking two
minutes. I never bang about amongst my
bees like a buzz -fly in a room, but
endeavour to work as quietly and adroitly as
possible. Then when your super is cleared of
bees and you remove it, the super clearer can
be taken off and the carbolised cloth dropped
on, and the adhering bees shook off on to the
ground in front of the hive with a bump, and
the quilt replaced in a short time — even
before the sentinels at the entrances can
realise that anything unusual has taken place
in the hive. — W. Woodley, Beedon, Nexchury.

HOW I COMMENCED BEE-KEEPING.

SOME USEFUL HINTS FOR BEGINNERS.

[2047.] I don't know whether the following
account of the beginning of my bee-keeping
life will be considered by the editors as
having sufficient interest to justify insertion
in their admirable paper, but I propose to jot
down a few notes of my initiation and pro-
gress in the art. I have never seen any
account of an absolute novice beginning with
driven stocks, and being successful in esta-
blishing an apiary in that manner. I had
been a bee-keeper three years before I bought
a bee. I then purchased a skep. Once, and

only once, I set up a swarm on its own
account, otherwise from the time I started I
have increased my apiary solely by driven
bees.

I know that my way is open to many objec-
tions, and that there are many chances of
failure ; but an intelligent and careful method
will, I think, lead to success. A friend of
mine who commenced the year after I did, and
set himself up in bees in the same manner, has
had nothing but bad luck ; for which I cannot
account, except on the supposition of Avant of
care. His outward circumstances with regard
to situation, &c., are equal, if not superior, to
mine, and still he keeps losing his bees. Time
after time I have driven bees for him, but at
the present moment he has but one stock in a
skep. He has a way of thinking that any-
thing in the nature of a makeshift will answer,
and his " Oh, it'll do," may have some
connection with his ill-success.

My first connection with bee-keeping in any
shape or form occurred thus- wise : — ^I am a
country pedagogue, 'and it is one of the privi-
lege? of my position to be called upon to fulfil
all sorts of little duties for my neighbours.
One of these had a swarm of bees issue on one
of those days when no one was at hand who
knew anything about "hiving," and the good
lady dared not approach them herself ; so, of
course, the schoolmaster must be sent for. In
response to an urgent message, I hurried up to
find that I had to hive a swarm of bees, a
thing I had never seen done or even heard
described. I naturally raised some objections,
but these were all overruled, and giving way
to good nature and the lady's representations,
I let her dress me up in the approved fashion,
while she told me how to go on. My dress
consisted of an old muslin curtain wound
round my head and tucked under my coat,
and two pairs of old stockings on my hands
and arms. Thus rendered bee-proof, I sallied
out, feeling pretty much as I imagine David
did in Saul's armour, but closely following my
instructions, I succeeded in hiving the swarm
— it was in a very favourable position— without
mishap. This contact with the bees raised a
strong desire to know more about them, and I
begun to talk to bee-keepers about their Lees.
I was made acquainted with a gentleman who
kept bees on the new system, and on his re-
commendation I obtained Mr. Cowan's " Guide
Book." Although so clearly written, I was
somewhat in a fog, but a visit to the " Royal ''
Show, where I witnessed the operation of
" driving," cleared every difficulty away, and
in the autumn I drove two stocks for a neigh-
bour from skeps. I united them and wintered
in a skep, and thus for the first time became
the possessor of bees. This stock came out
strong in spring, but did not swarm. It was
driven and the combs containing brood trans-
ferred to a bar-frame hive which I had made
during the summer. Another driven stock
was united with them. Another frame hive of
my own construction was, the same autumn.

3^26

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Aug. 16, 1894.

stocked with driven bees. For this hive I had
bought some frames of comb from the gentle-
man mentioned above. These stocks did well
the following season, and I was now fairly
started on my bee-keeping career. I make my
own hives (most of them on Mr. Cowan's
plan), and use bought frames, which I wire,
using full sheets of foundation. I mostly
manage to have a box of standard frames as a
super, on one hive, and this comes in handy
for driven stocks. For the other hives I have
section crates or shallow frames.

I have now seven strong stocks all supered,
and six of them were established from driven
bees. I have had very few swarming troubles ;
and, with the exception of one swarm, all
have been put back. I also bought one stock
in a skep with the intention of transferring,
but the combs were so uneven and crooked,
that the bees were driven and united to
another driven stock. I have lost very few
colonies, and those I have lost have always
been in one particular hive, in which I used
an impervious American • cloth quilt. Three
or four times stocks have perished in that
hive. It may be merely a coincidence, but I
cannot help connecting the quilt with the loss.
{Conchision in our next.)

HELPING BEGINNERS.

[2048.] I notice in last week's B.J. (p. 309)
an answer to " Tyro " (Rusholme), " Comb is
affected with foul brood." As my place is
only half a mile from above, I am anxious to
know and meet the above amateur. I
accepted early in the year the hon. secretary-
ship of the L. and C.B K. A. for this district. I
am a keen bee-man, and am anxious to be in
touch with all such in my district, and am
ready to give advice and practical assistance
to all, whether members of the Association or
not. I am located but three miles from Man-
chester Exchange, yet in this bad season I
have taken nearly 180 lb. of honey— extracted
and in comb, and shall have more yet. This
from a spring start with four hives. I have
lost four swarms (through my absence), secured
one — made two nuclei before putting back
swarms — and had a virgin swarm destroyed
through the ignorance of the taker of it.
This I call "not bad." The secret is " young
queens" and "strong stocks." Moreover,
my honey secured three second prizes
at the show at Bolton (my first appearance as
an exhibitor). If you have further communi-
cations from bee-keepers in this neighbour-
hood, I would be glad if you will put them in
communication with me. I am trying to work
up a good local society, and arrange meetings
for interchange of views and practical bee-
work. One of my friends, about twelve miles
away, has made a beautiful three-comb obser-
vatory hive, and on Sunday last we had the
keen enjoyment of witnessing her majesty
lay eight eggs. We also saw the plates of
wax on the abdominal wings of the wax-

makers and comb-builders. We hope to gain
much knowledge from the above hive, such
as you read about but don't often get a chance
of verifying with one's own eyes. Again ex-
pressing my desire to help or receive help
from my brethren in this district, believe me,
dear sir, yours very sincerely, Frederick H.
Taylor, Birch Fold Cottage, Old Hcdl-lane,
Fcdlowfield, Manchester.

[We will draw the attention of " Tyro " to
the above. — Eds.]

PRICES OF HONEY.

[2049.] As some are clamouring at the
enormous harvest reaped by the " middle-
man,'' and in reply to the request made in
" Useful Hints " (p. 311), perhaps you will
permit me, as one who buys and sells largely,
to show the great profits I am making on
buying and selling honey. The bef^t wholesale
prices I can possibly get for honey in glass
jars is 9s. per dozen, each holding full 16 oz. of
honey, in most cases only 8s. 6d. per dozen.
Now, let us see what this honey has cost. I
have just received 1 cwt. of good honey from a
distance of 225 miles, and will give you the
price of this particular lot as a fair sample : —
1121b. honey at 6d. per lb. ...^2 16 0

Freightage per goods train... ... 0 4 S

Glass jars for above... 0 16 0

Boys' time straining, bottling, and

labelling, including labels, say ... 0 3 0
Cost of getting same on the London

market, say, 3d. per doz. ... 0 2 3

£4: 1 11

I have not reckoned anything for the time
and trouble required in finding a market for
such large quantities, so that you will see that
this honey has cost me 8|d. per lb. , without
taking waste into calculation, so that by sup-
posing that I get the best price, I make one
farthing per lb. profit I But this leaves out
of consideration the primary outlay required
to enable one to deal with honey on a large
scale. I myself have had to fit up a large,
specially-made double-cased boiler for melting
granulated honey, tins cased in wood for hire
to my customers to send the honey in, besides
numerous other incidental expenses. You
will say at once the business isn't worth doing.
]!\o, it is not ! but as my customers take ap-
pliances in exchange for the honey, I make my
profit on that transaction and am content to
forego it on the other. Some who have re-
ceived my circular have concluded that a
market where tip-top prices could be obtained
was opened to them and have expressed dis-
appointment at this not being the case, but
surely it must be a convenience to bee-keepers
who experience difficulty in disposing of all
their produce to receive appliances in exchange
for their surplus. Anyway, I can assure them
there is not much fortune-making in it for the
sometimes much-abused " middleman.'' — A.
W. Harrison, Potters Bar, August 11.

Aug. 16, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

327

SELF INTRODUCTION.

[2050.] This summer I formed two nuclei
ia the roughest fashion by simply putting in
the frames at either end of a box about 2 ft.
long, 1 ft. deep, and 14^ in. wide, hanging bits
of carpet over each nucleus, reaching to the
bottom, and covering the whole with some
rough stuff. One queen became fertilised ;
the other, I think, was lost in her flight. This
nucleus made the usual abortive efforts with
queen-cells. On July 21 I gave it a frame
containing eggs, and on the 28th, upon exami-
nation, found in it a laying queen, and in the
other no queen, but newly-formed queen-cells,
one of which was left them, and which progressed
as usual. The openings were only square ^-in.
holes at the extreme distance, and there was
no alighting-board. I can only conclude that
the queen, with or without invitation, quietly
made her way under the carpet ends from one
nucleus to the other, and was well received,
and her own family at once wisely resolved
upon raising a more faithful mother. — S. J.,
Bristol, August 10.

P.S. — It is dangerous, after Mr. Brice's
interesting letter on nuclei (2041, p. 313), to
show how easy it sometimes is to form them,
and how capital a plan is Mr. Micawber's of
" waiting for something to turn up ? ''

" STRAIGHTENING MIS-SHAPEN
COMBS."

[2051.] Referring to query with the above
heading, on page 319 of B.J. for August 9,
if your correspondent will send me his address
I shall in all probability be able to help him
with his " bee-job." — Robert Hefford, Hon.
Sec, Northants B.K.A., Boughton, Northamp-
ton, August 11.

TAKING BEES TO THE HEATHER.

A MISHAP.

[2052.] One day this week I took my hives
to the heather, seven miles away. Being un-
avoidably detained in setting oat, the day-
light had faded as;iWe neared our destination.
While climbing the hillside the lorry unfortu-
nately gave a lurch, and my best hive, con-
taining fifteen frames of brood, was pitched on
to the road side, and the crate of sections,
blankets, bar-frames, &c., got sadly mixed up.
Having drawn the horse out of reach of the
infuriated bees, and sent off a messenger to a
farmhouse — about one-eighth of a mile off —
for a lantern, I put back the frames into the
hive as well as I could, leaving it on the spot
for the crawling bees to find their way, if
possible, into their home.

We then proceeded to the site selected,
and deposited the other hives in their respec-
tive places, getting home about midnight. The
following day I visited the fallen stock, and
found the ground black with dead bees, rain
having descended during the night. The

" lugs " were broken off some of the bar-
frames, but the hive itself was uninjured.
The bees, however, were furious, and it was
impossible to tell whether the queen was alive
or not. I had the hive placed alongside the
other stocks. What ought I to do with this
hive 1 1 fear the brood has been chilled, as
the night fell cold, and the frames lay some
time on the ground. Could I tell from outside
observation whether the brood was certainly
chilled ? I calculate that I lost one-half of
the bees, and consequently did not put on the
sections. — R. J, P., Elgin, August 11.

[It is impossible to tell what damage has
happened to the brood without examination of
the combs, and we should take first chance of
overhauling the stock and seeing what the
mischief really amounts to. You will soon
see if the queen is gone, as in that event queen-
cells will be started. — Eds.]

QUEEN REARING.

[2053.] Will you allow me, through the
columns of Journal, to thank Mr. Brice for
his kindly help (re nuclei forming) in answer
to my appeal, and his encouraging remarks
towards close of letter (2041, p. 313) will be
an additional spur towards success. I had
formed two nuclei on July 4 by removing
stocks to another site and inserting ripe
queen-cells, and was successful in both cases.
1 also moved two skeps which stood side by
side, and allowed the flying bees to enter a
skep placed between the two sites, and gave
them two frames of brood and one stored
comb with feed bottle to raise a queen, which
1 should not do again, after reading Mr.
Brice's letter ; they raised seven cells, but, as
Mr, Brice points out, they would not be
properly nursed, and so be inferior in quality.

I fear I have made a mistake in describing
the larvie as three days old ; it should have
been from the laying of the egg, the founda-
tion only being inserted in a strong stock four
days and a-half before using, and the larvfe
only just formed at bottom of cell, and when I
looked on the fifth day from insertion into
queenless stock, they had not quite finished
sealing up one of the cells. Again thanking
him for his plain, straight, wholesome advice,
and hope we shall have many such communi-
cations from his pen. — Charles Harvey,
Stoke Prior, August 11.

« SAVE THE BEES."

We have been much gratified by the nume-
rous offers (including one from a lady) made
by our readers to drive the bees referred to on
p. 303 of the Bee Journal for August 2,
and take this opportunity of thanking those
who volunteered for the work. We are not
less pleased that our effort has, we suppose,
saved the bees, than at the fact of there being
plenty of competent hands ready to put out
the fire of the hateful sulphur pit.

328

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Aug. 16, 1894.

METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY. •
June, 1894.

Locality, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.

Height above sea-level, 225 ft.

Rainfall, 1'60 in. ; heaviest fall, '40 in.
on 4th.

Rain fell on eleven days.

Max. shade temp., 75° on 29th.

Min. temp., 35° on 18th.

Max. shade temp, at 9 a.m., 65° on 25th.

Min. temp, at 9 a.m., 49" on 5th.

Frosty nights, nil.

Max. barometer, 30-15° on 29th.

Min. barometer, 29 '4° on 2nd.

The first three weeks of the month very
dull, cold, and wet. No surplus gathered. On
the 20;h not an ounce of honey in some of ray
hives ; in fact, at starvation point. From 2 1st
until 29th honey stored very rapidly, but
supers not soon taken to owing to the empty
state of the brood-nests. Several swarms
reported, but virgin queens several days old
before getting mated. A steady barometer at
close of month.

July.

Rainfall, 2 "57 in.; heaviest fall, r04 in.
on 29th.

Rain fell on twelve days.

Max. shade temp., 81° on 1st.

Min. temp., 40° on 3rd.

Max. shade temp, at 9 a.m., 68° on 5th.

Min. temp, at 9 a.m., 54° on 17th and 22nd.

Frosty nights, nil.

Max. barometer, 301° on 1st.

Min. barometer, 29-2° on 12th.

Weather on the whole favourable for the
secretion of nectar, but the mower has ruth-
lessly laid bare the " happy hunting grounds.''
Not much honey stored after the first week.
What little is now being stored is of a poor
quality, chiefly from the blackberry and beans.
The honey season in this district has been a
poor one. Some large " takes '' reported, but
to the detriment of other stocks, so the average
is comparatively small. — Percy Leigh.

^Mx'm mA "^i^lm.

[1130.] Bees Carrying Pollen ivhm Fertile
Worker is Laying. — 1. When the queen of a
hive is lost and a fertile worker is laying, do
the bees bring in pollen and work in the same
manner as when the queen is laying ? 2.
When attending to a hive which had been
dropped and the super shaken out of position,
a noise was heard within like a hen calling her
chicks (at a lower pitch), or like tlie croak of
a frog, (a) Was this the queen 1 or (fc) what
does it indicate ? 3. Upon putting a super
below others partially filled, the bees tore
down the pieces of starter foundation, and for
some time did no work in it. Please explain .

4. Do bees when killing drones destroy drone
brood and throw it out o£ the hive ? — A.
Yorkshire, August 10.

Reply. — 1. The bees bring in pollen, but
certainly do not " work in the same manner "
as when they have a queen and normal brood-
rearing is going on. 2. (a) No. (6) We
should imagine it to be nothing more than a
bee which had got stuck partly fast in some
way and made a noise, as a fly does when
caught in a spider's web. 3. With only the
few words above to guide us, we can only sup-
pose that the " starters '' were insecurely fixed,
or that the foundation used was, for some
reason, disliked by the bees. 4. At the
general drone-killiog time — i.e., the end of
honey season — there is usually no drone-brood
in the hive, but when drones are cast out in
times of impending famine the brood is also
thrown out.

[1131.] Uniting Driven Bees. — Although we
have kept bees for a number of years on the
old skep plan, I am quite a novice at the more
practical modern system, and, being anxious
to learn something of the latter, I am com-
pelled to seek your advice as under : — I have
bought two new frame- hives of approved
make, but so far have no bees in them. So I
thought of taking ofi" a super now being worked
on a skep, drive the bees from it, lotting them
return to the skep. Then cut out the combs
and tie them into the frames of my new hives.
I have the promise of several lots of bees from
a neighbour for the driving, and also have the
" Guide Book '' to inform me how to proceed ;
my question, therefore, is :— 1. Will the bees
take to the combs from the super and unite
without fighting if I join two lots of the driven
bees together ? also, must I sprinkle them
with syrup when uniting ? In answer to
"Inquirer" (1,113, p. 297) it is stated that,
when removing bees from a roof, the fumes of
chloroform should be used. There are bees
in the roof of a summer-house here which I
want to remove, and will have to take away
part of the ceiling to do it. 2. Is the chloro-
form put on paper and used in an ordinary
smoker, or how i I have tried my hand at
transferring one stock from a skep, but the
bees do not seem to work well (though I gave
them some honey-combs alongwith the others),
and there seems to be no brood, so I fancy
they are queenless. 3. Should I add a driven
lot of bees to them ? Bees are destroyed
about here in large numbers every autumn by
means of sulphur ; I am, therefore, going to
try and introduce the frame-hive, so as to
stop this practice if I can. — H. Pugh, Bary
St. Edmands.

Reply. — 1. Bees will take to the combs
quite readily, but you should see that each
frame is properly filled out with worker comb,
not partly tilled, or they will be completed
next spring chiefly with drone comb. If you
can unite the two driven lots by throwing

Aug. 16, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

329

them together in one skep, after driving and
shaking them well up, as you would so many-
peas in a basket, so as to thoroughly mix the
bees, they will run into the frame hive without
lighting. Otherwise use vtry thin scented
syrup as directed in " Guide Book." 2.
Chloroform was only advised to meet the
special circumstances of a sjDecial case, not for
general use in removing becHlfrom roofs. It is
not used in a smoker but on a cloth damped
with the drug, and so placed that the fumes
reach the bees. 3. Yes, if they are queenless.

%u $'km% to ^mt

August 22 and 23. — Shropshire B.K.A.
Annual show in connection with the Horticul-
tural Society's great fete in " The Quarry,"
Shrewsbury. £35 in prizes for bees, honey,
hives, and appliances. For prize-lists, &c.,
apply T. Whittingham, Upton Magna, near
Shrewsbury.

August 22 and 23. — At Derby. Derbyshire
B.K.A. Thirteen classes for hives, bees,
honey, and appliances. W. T. Atkins, secre-
tary, 12, North-street, Derby.

August 23. — At Horsham. Twelve classes
for bees, hives, and honey. Entries close
August 18. Schedules from E. Gilburd,
Horsham.

August 23. — At Madresfield, in connection
with the Madresfield Agricultural Society ;
fourteen classes for bees, hives, and honey.
Entries close August 18. Eev. E. Davenport,
hon. sec, Burlish Lodge, Stourport.

August 29 and 30.— Annual show of the
Staffs. B.K.A. At Stone. In connection with
the Staffs Agricultural Society's meeting.
Nineteen classes for bees, hives, honey, &c.
Harold Twentyman, sec, Wolverhampton.

August 31.— At Knighton, Eadnorshire.
In connection with annual Flower Show In-
dustrial Exhibition, Military Tournament,
and Horse, Dog, and Poultry Show. Prizes
for Sections, Extracted Honey, and Collections
of Honey. Schedules from F. L. Green and
Joseph Blower, hon. sees., Knighton.

September 4 and 5. — At Coventry. In con-
nection with the Warwickshire Agricultural
Show. Annual show of the Warwickshire
B.K.A. Liberal prizes for honey, bees, and
appliances. For schedules apply J. N. Bower,
hon. sec, Knowle.

September 6.— At Castle Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1-lb. jars
extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, secretary, Castle Douglas, N.B.

September 12 and 13. — Scottish Bee-
Keepers' Association, in connection with the
show of the Caledonian Horticultural Society,
Waverley Market, Edinburgh. Scljedules

now ready. John Wishart, assistant
secretary, Castlecraig, Dolphinton, N.B.

September 15. — In the Corn Exchange,
Jedburgh. Roxburghshire B.K.A. Annual
show of honey, &c. Twenty-seven classes.
Eight silver medals and liberal money prizes.
Entries close September 11. Thos. Clark,
secretary, Pleasants, Jedburgh, N.B.

Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All querieg forwarded will he attended to, and thost
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

F. R. S. (Cornwall). — The fact of your only
giving postal addres-s when ordering does
away with any chance of obtaining redress,
supposing that the goods will eventually
reach you. Otherwise the matter might be
carried, farther. The firm can hardly be
blamed for not examining books to verify
address sent hj yourself.

Oxfordshire. — The best course to follow,
under the circumstances, is to take no notice
of your neighbour's threats, which are not
at all likely to be carried out. It is not
easy to define the law on the points you
ask advice upon, and the less you have to
do with litigation the better. Refer also to
" Useful Hints " on first page.

W. J. Raby (Southam). — We advise you to
be content — as a beginner — with the four-
teen sections taken from your hive, and
leave the honey in brood-chamber for the
bees' use. If, however, you are resolved on
taking some combs from the latter, on no
account remove more than the two outside
frames, and these only if they contain no
brood. Letters should be addressed direct
to office, not to our publishers.

Derby Excluder. — 1. Honey will take no
harm in a " treacle tin " if kept in a warm,
dry place. 2. Honey cannot be prevented
fro!n 'granulating. To reliquefy, place the
vessel containing it in hot water till the
honey dissolves.

Thomas Harris (Coombe). — Wintering
Driven Bees in Frame Hive. — The five
frames of comb proposed to be given will
be enough to winter the bees on. To give
either full or half-sheets of foundation in
addition to the built-out combs at this
season is not advisable.

X. G.— The company referred to was wound-
up a few years ago, and some sort of trifling
dividend declared, but we have not the par-
ticulars at hand.

T. J. Ankins (Swanscombe). — Dealers in Bees-
wax:— There are firms in both London and
Liverpool who deal in beeswax wholesale,
but the bulk of the wax imported is, we
believe, sold by the produce - brokers to
whom it is consigned by the exporters
abroad. We are not in a position to give
names, &;c,, oi fi.rma so dealing with it,, but

330

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [Aug. 16, 1894.

have no doubt that several of our advertisers
who are foundation makers on a large scale
could and would sell wax by the ton if the
occasion arose.

J. C. Barnlett (Penzance).— No description
of a " Wells hive on the W.B.C plan" has
appeared in our pages. The only maker we
know of who manufactures a hive and
names it as being specially constructed on
that plan is Mr. Meadows, of Syston. _ As
to dummies and lowering floors, you might
write Mr. Wells on these points.

S. Crawford (Castlederg).— Brood is chilled
(not foul), and is probably a result of there
not being sufficient bees in the nucleus hive
to keep the brood warm.

D. H. H. Church (Warlingham).— Heather
sent is the right kind for honey (erica
vulgaris). The second bloom was too much
crushed for identification, but we do not
think it is of much value as a honey-plant.

Chas. B. Cockin (Hull). — Moving Bees
Fifty Mi7e.s.— Presupposing that the hives
to be moved do not contain swarms of this
year, we should defer removal ti'l the end
of September. Great care will also be
required in packing to make the bees safe
for the journey, as a very small amount of
bad management or want of experience might
cause disaster to the stocks.

F. A. HuTCHiKS.— Comb is foul-broody. If
bees are numerous, we should at once
remove them from the combs, and burn the
latter, reducing the bees to the condition cf
a swarm. You might also refer to B.J. of
June 21, p. 241, for treatment.

E. Batluy (Plymouth).— i^acfs of Bees.—
The five specimens of bees sent may be
classed as the ordinary brown bee of the
country, Nos. 2 and 3 having perhaps a
shade of the Carniolan element, but nothing
worth thinking about.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations. Publications, Bee Plants, Jce.—Uv to
Twelve words. Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

ICVCLE Offered in EXCHANGE for Bees and
Appliances. B. Plumb, Eisley, Derby. E 81

B

FOR SALE, Two Healthy STOCKS of BEES. E.
Brock, The Abbey, Kobertsbridge. E 83

ANTED, SECTIONS of HONEYCOMB(first quality).
Prompt cash ; packages sent. Any quantity. E.
Hurst, Bexhill, Sussex. 235

C^ OOD Healthy Straw Skeps of BEES, with Queen,
.T lis. each. Properly packed free on rail. R. BfioWN,
Flora Apiary, Soniershani, Hunts. E 74

EALTHY DRIVEN BEES, Is. 3d. per lb., with
young Queen. Packages free on rail. R.Brown,
Flora Apiary, Somersham, Hunts. E 73

FOR SALE, HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES, with
queen, Is. 3d per lb. ; package, Is. John DAVIES,
Bee-Keeper, Newport, Salop. E 78

WANTED at once, SECTIONS of DRAWN-OUT
COMB. W. SMITH, 118, Villa-street, Lozells,
Birmingham. E 80

GOOD Guaranteed '94 ENGLISH QUEENS, 2s. each. ,
WooLDRiDGE, Parllament-strect, Chippenham,
Wilts. E 79

Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)

HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES, and their Queen, Is. 3d.
per lb. Young Queens at 2s. 6d. each. Address,
E. Garner, Broom, near Biggleswade, Beds. e 86

FOR SALE.— Finest ENGLISH HONEY. \ cwts. 8d.
per lb. Tins! free. Sample 2d. Deposit. R.
DuTTON, Terling, Witham, Essex. E 82

FOR SALE, about 5oO lb. of Pure Extracted CLOVER
HONEY. Offers wanted. Also several Dozens of
well-fllled Sections. Address, George Crombie,
Hotham, R.S.O., East Y'orkshire. E 77

THE CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY'S SHOW.— Glazed
SECTION-CASES (both sides) for E.xhibition or
Sale. 18s. per gross, or Is. 9d. per doz. J. Greenhill,
80, Graham-road, Wimbledon.

ENAMELLED METAL SECTION CASES for Exhibi-
tion ; glassed both sides. Have been used, but in
good condition. Is. 6d. per dozen packed. H. Wood,
Paradise, Lichfield. E 85

FOR SALE, Fifteen Colonies of BEES in Bar-Frame
Hives complete, or only on frames. Cheap. Fiee
from disease. Also Driven Bees, Is. 6d. per lb. ; packages
free. THIS SEASON'S QUEENS, 2s. 6d. E. Hanoox,
Sandford-St.-Martin, Oxfordshire. E 76

CHOICE, FERTILE, 1894 QUEENS. Post free 3s.
3-lb. Swarms, with choice young Queen, on rail, 10s.
Beautiful White Clover HONEY, in 28-lb. tins ; on
rail, Sid. per lb. Samples sent. Finest 'NMiite Clover
SECTIONS, 12s. per doz. on rail. Packing free. .Tohn
OuLTRAM, The Apiary, Kingsley, Frodsham, Cheshire.

E 75

HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES, Is. 3d. per lb. ; in 5-lb.
lots. Boxes to be returned. E. LONG, Cottingham,
Cambs. E 70

HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES, Is. 6d. per lb. for 4 lb.
lots or over. Queen included ; packing free. F.
Gay, Edmondsham, Cranborne, Salisbury^ E 71

F-OR SALE, Strong Healthy STOCKS of BEES for
the Heather, in Combination Hives, one Observa-
tory Hive. H. Lander, Alandale, Wadebridge, Corn-
wall. E65

FOR SALE, Young Fertile Native QUEENS, 3s. 6d.
each. Also strong Stocks of Healthy Natives,
with young Queens on Standard Frames, with or -with-
out hives. H. Witt, South Ascot, Berks. E 84

GUARANTEED Healthy 1894 FERTILE QUEENS,
3s. 6d. each ; safe arrival. DRIVEN BEES,
Is. 6d. per lb. for 5-lb. lots or over. Queen and Packing
included. Address, C. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundon,
Clare, Suffolk. E 64

BEES for THE HEATHER— Guaranteed healthy
Nuclei, 3-Frame 8s. ; 4-Frame, 10s. ; 5-Frame, 12s.
Also NEW HIVES for THE HEATHER at 8s. 6d.
Apply, J. Trebble, Romansleigh, South Molton.

E 55 _

LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Four neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, 8d., post free.
500, 2s. 9d., post free. W. WooDLEY, Beedon, Newbury.

ONEY.— Finest White Clover and Heather HONEY

WANTED. Post samples and lowest prices,

stating quantities. Spring, Brigg. Lines.

MARKET for SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY,
and WAX. State price and quantity. Prompt
cash. Parkages sent. Address, H., Bee Journal Office,
17, King William-street, Strand, London.

EE TENT on HIRE. For terms, apply to G. GUNSION,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

B

CHOICE YOUNG QUEENS, excellent strain, pro-
duced by seven years' careful breeding, guaranteed
fertile, post free 5s., virgins, 2s. 6d. Rev. C. Brerkton,
Pulborough, Sussex. 229

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. Holliday, Astbury,
Congleton.

Aug. 23, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

331

BEGINNERS' QUERIES.

THE NEED FOR A TEXT BOOK.

We have before now had occasion to
remark upon the frequency Avith which
correspondents of a not too reflective
turn write us for information on bee
matters, and in so doing put a series of
questions so numerous and withal re-
quiring replies necessarily so voluminous
that it is impossible for us to deal satis-
factorily with them in the limited space
at our command. We should not entirely
complain of this were it not that corre-
spondents do neither themselves nor us
justice in supposing that anyone can
launch into a pursuit requiring so much
of pre-acquired knowledge as that of
keeping bees successfully, with no other
personal help or guidance than is afforded
by the query and reply columns of their
Bee Journal.

A letter recently received serves to
illustrate the point we have in view,
because of its being typical of many
having much the same import, and we
insert it below not for the purpose of
replying seriatim to the queries put, but
rather with the object of showing to our
correspondent — along with others who
may be similarly situated — how unlikely
it is that they will succeed as bee-keepers
if they begin by getting on to the wrong
track at the very outset. The letter is
as follows : —

Having started bee-keeping this season
with a June swarm in bkep, 1 want to
know the best way to put them in a frame
hive, so as to obtain a little honey without
destroying much brood, if it can be done 1 The
swarm weighing about 5 lb., I put a smaller
skep on top (two weeks after hiving), but no
queen excluder between. 1. Which is the
best and easiest method for getting bees into
frame hive ? 2. How long can I let them
remain before transferring ? 3. Would frames
with full sheets of foundation with a brood
comb from skep in middle of hive do ? 4.
How can I arrange s-kep to obtain all young
bees from brood into hive ? 5. If I feed bees,
what quantity will an ordinary stock require l
6. Can I feed them now, so they will not
require feeding during the winter? 7. What
food do you recommend ? Bees are at Breat-
wood, not here in Loudon. — J. W. M., Poplar,
E., Atcgust 14.

The very nature of the questions asked
in the above show that our correspondent

is quite a novice at bee-keeping, and also
point to the conclusion that he has not
hitherto read any comprehensive work on
bee management. His own impression
apparently is that transferring a stock of
bees from a skep to a frame hive in the
autumn is a very easy job, imagining also
that if sheets of foundation are given,
and the bees are fed, all will be right.
He also asks for instructions how to per-
form bee-operations — requiring both skill
and experience to be successful — as if it
needed but a word or two of explanation
from us to enable anyone to rightly
manage such jobs. But the chances are
sadly against any such satisfactory result,
and it is more than probable that bees
transferred under such conditions would
come out very badly in spring, even if
they survived the winter at all.

We have repeatedly declared our
opinion that one of the first things a
beginner in bee-keeping should furnish
himself with is a reliable book on bee-
management. Moreover he should read
it carefully, as a preliminary to taking
upon himself the management of even a
small apiary. As much more may be
afterwards done by way of acquiring
practical experience with live bees as is
agreeable to the taste or convenience of
the would-be bee-keeper ; but less than a
text book, and a careful perusal thereof,
will not be likely to lead to success. The
price of such a book as we suggest need
not exceed eighteenpence — a simple
handbook may be had for sixpence — so
that cost is no obstacle ; but, as Ave have
said, a guide-book of some kind is
indispensable to the beginner aspiring
to manage bees according to modern
methods.

At the same time we trust that
learners Avill not underrate the value
attaching to our reply column when the
question of lengthened experience comes
in. It is one thing even to know how
to get through bee-operations without a
breakdown or a failure, but quite another
to judge safely what the ultimate result
of such operations are likely to be. As
a means, therefore, of em phasing this
point, and at the same time fulfilling our
obligation to help "J. W. M." in his
difficulty, Ave advise him to let the bees
remain in the skep they now occupy.
Lift off the " smaller skep " — or super —
and if it contains no brood, it may be

332

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Aug. 23, 1894.

appropriated as surplus. If, after re-
moval of the super, the skep does not
weigh something like 25 or 28 gross
pounds, it must be fed up to that weight
during the last week of September. It
is far safer to winter the bees in the skep
than incur the various risks attendant
on transferring bees and combs to a
frame-hive at end of the season.

Having said this much, we conclude
by repeating our remark on the value of
a reliable text-book to beginners, and the
communication printed above forms a
case in point, for it is quite certain that
in any such work as we have referred to
our correspondent would have the sub-
stance of a fuller and more complete
reply to his seven queries than there is
space for in our reply columns. In fact,
the latter are, perforce, intended not for
grounding beginners in the elementary
stages of bee-craft, but as a help when
difficulties arise owing to circumstances
outside the scope of an instruction book.

TO BEE-KEEPERS.

The following circular — which explains
itself — has been forwarded to us with a request
that wo should bring it before readers of the
Bee Journal. We have pleasure in doing
so, as we also have in saying that it lies within
the reach of many of our charitably-disposed
readers to render assistance to a cause, the
goodness of which none will question, at a
very small sacrifice to themselves, by sending
a present of honey, or a promise to that eflect,
addressed, "The Managers, Bee Exhibit,
Y.M.C.A., Derby.

YOUNG men's christian ASSOCIATION.

August, 1894.

We have very much pleasure in calling your
attention to the fact that we propose devoting
one night, Wednesday, September 5, to a
novel, but instructive and intensely interesting
entertainment, which is being given on behalf
of the building fund of the Derby branch of
the Y.M.C.A.

The following is a preliminary programme :

1. A lecture on "Bees and Bee-keeping"
(illustrated by a series of beautiful lime-light
pictures), by Mr. T. W. Jones, of Etwall,
(first-class bee expert and lecturer to the
Derbyshire Bee-keepers' Association).

2. An exhibition of bees in observatory
hives.

3. A sale of honey, fruit, flowers, and re-
freshments in one of the rooms.

4. Music and singing at intervals.

We shall be very glad to receive presents
(small or large) of honey— in jars or sections —
for sale in any form. Those intending to send

anything will kindly communicate with us at
the earliest possible moment.

All presents will be duly acknowledged, and
report of proceeds will be given in the October
number of Derby Young Men.

F. Walker and C. W. Cotton,

Hon. Sees.
Arthur K. Yapp, Hon. Treasurer.

SO UTH OF SCOTLAND B.K.A.

The annual show of the above association
was held in Palmerston Park, Dumfries, on
August ]0 and 11, in conjunction with that of
the South of Scotland Horticultural Society,
and the exhibition of bee produce was ad-
mittedly an attractive feature on the field.
There were no less than 300 entries, against
240 in 1893 — a result not to be wondered at
considering the number and value of the prizes
offered, including silver cups, medals, and cash
from 40s. downward, to the number of sixty
prizes in all. Altogether the display was a
grand one for what is considered to be a rather
" shaky " bee-season. In the class for Designs
in Honeycomb, the first was taken by Mr.
Newbigging, and shows a crown with scales,
and the word " Justice " below. Mr. Eoebuck's
2nd prize design consisted of the letters
" V. R." and the Avords " Great Britain ; "
while Mr. Newbigging also secured third with
one in which the words are " Scotland for Ever."
Regarding the general show, it may be said
that the classes " confined '' are of first-rate
merit. In the " open classes " there is a mag-
nificent display of sections, and though the
English sainfoin honey leads the way, and all
the wins go south, Scotch quality follows close.
Extracted honey is here also excellent, with
few exceptions. The prize lots ran each other
very close. In the " open competition " for
extracted honey the Englishmen were again to
the front, but local men got into the minor
list.

The Rev. R. McClelland undertook the
duties of judging, with Messrs. Alex. Gardner
and Wm. Jardine as assistants, the following
being the awards : —

Display of Honey. — 1st, T. K. Newbigging,
Dumfries.

Design in Honeycomb. — 1st and 3rd, T. K.
Newbigging; 2nd, Sidney Roebuck, Dumfries.

Su2:)er Under 25 lb. — 1st, Wm. Hogg, Castle
Douglas ; 2nd, Ross & Kerr, Dumfries ; 3rd,
T. K. Newbigging ; v h c, S. Roebuck.

Super Under 15 lb. — 1st, Wm. Hogg; 2nd,
Peter JeS'rey, Kinmount ; 3rd, Ross & Kerr ;
V h c, George Will.

Sujjer Under 7 lb. — 1st, Wm. Hogg ; 2nd,
S. Roebuck ; 3rd, T. K. Newbigging.

Bell Glass Under 20 lb. — 1st, David Leith,
Borgue Village ; 2nd, John Scott, Langholm ;
3rd, G. Will ; v h c, S. Roebuck ; h c, T. K.
Newbigging.

Super of Honey in Super Supplied by Asso-
ciation.—1st, Wm. Hogg ; 2nd, P. Jeffrey ;
3rd, James Learmonth, Balmaghie ; v h c and
h c, T. K. Newbigging.

Aug. 23, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

333

Eighteen \-lh. Sections. — 1st and 2nd, Ross
& Kerr ; 3rd, J. Learinonth ; v h c, W. Gil-
christ, Castle Douglas ; c, T. K. Newbiggint;.

.S'i.(; l-Ih Sections. — 1st, Win. Hogg ; 2nd,
Ross & Kerr; 3rd, G. Will; v h c, W.
Robson, Auldgirth ; c, Alex. Chalmers,
Terregles.

Two 1-lb. Sections. — 1st and 3rd, Ross &
Kerr ; 2nd, Wra. Boyes, Auldgirth ; v h c,
Wm. Hogg ; h c, A. Chalmers.

Six 2-lb. Sections. — 1st, Ross & Kerr; 2nd,
Wm. Hogg ; 3rd, P. Jeffrey ; v h c, J. Lear-
month ; h c, J. F. Hyslop, Auldgirth.

Three 2-lb. Sections. — 1st, Wm. Hogg ; 2nd,
Ross & Kerr ; 3rd, J. Learmonth ; v h c, Wm.
Richardson, Cowhill ; h c, Walter Graham,
Cummertrees.

Twelve 1-lb Jars Extracted Honey {not
heather). — 1st, Ross & Kerr ; 2nd, P. Jeffrey ;
3rd, Wm. Hogg ; v h c, T. K. Newbigging ;
h c, S. Roebuck.

Six l-lb. Jars E.vtracted Honey {not heather).
—1st W. Graham ; 2nd, Ross & Kerr ; 3, T.
K. Newbigging ; v h c, G. Will and W.
Robson ; h c, J. F. Hyslop.

Two l-lb. Bottles Bun Honey. — 1st and 2nd,
Ross & Kerr ; 3rd, P. Jeffrey ; v h c, T. K.
Newbigging and G. Will ; c, J. Learmonth
and W. Graham.

Bees' rj^'ax. — 1st, Wm. Hogg; 2nd, J. F.
Hyslop ; 3rd, Miss S. J. Cooper, Leicester ;

V h c, R. Martin, Moniaive ; h c, Ross & Kerr.

Two l-lb. Sections Honeij {mernbers owning
not more than six hives). — 1st, Wm. Rogerson,
Durisdeer ; 2nd, W. Graham ; 3rd, G. Will ;

V h c, Wm. Richardson ; c, J. Tweedie,
Mouswald.

Best Two 1 lb. Jars Extracted Honey
[members owning not more than six hives). —
1st, W. Graham ; 2nd, G. Will ; 3rd, Wm.
Rogerson ; v h c, J. Boyes, Auldgirth.

SPECIAL CLASSES — OPEN.

Six l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey (not heather).
— 1st, Jos. F. Williamson, Fleetwood, Lanca-
shire ; 2nd, Owen Roberts, Rowton Grange,
Chester ; 3rd, Edward Charley, Ince Vicarage,
Chester ; v h c, Ross & Kerr and Samuel
Cartwright, Shawbury, Salop ; c, J. Boyes,
J. F. Hyslop, and J. T. Nickels, Day House,
Shrewsbury.

Six 1-lh. Sections. — 1st, John White, Tod-
dington, Winchcombe ; 2nd, Wm. Woodley,
Beedon, Newbury ; 3. D. Sheppard, Tod-
dington, Winchcombe ; v h c, T. K. New-
bigging ; c, James Boyes and Ross & Kerr.

LAUDERDALE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
This Association's Annual Show of Honey
was held on Saturday, August 11, in the
Eagle Hough, within the Thurlestane Castle
Policies, the seat of Lord Lauderdale. The
schedule of prizes comprised two classes : —
Class I. being open to all-comers, whilst

Class II. was confined to bee-keepers starting
the season with not more than three stock
hives. The display of honey was large, and
competition keen, there being no fewer than
111 entries; excellent sections were staged,
whilst, owing to the dry season, the extracted
honey ■was excellent in colour, flavour, and
consistency. Mr. Geo. D. Clark, Eagles
Cairnie Maine, officiated as judge, and the
prizes were awarded as follows : —

Class I. — Ten l-lb. Sections. — 1st, Countess
of Lauderdale ; commended, John Buckham,
Lauder, and W. Murray, Lauder.

Six l-lb. Sections. — 1st, W. Murray ; 2nd,
D. Pringle, Chapel ; 3rd, J. Buckham.

Six l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, R.
and G. Robson, Lauder ; 2nd, W. Murray ;
3rd, D. Pringle ; h.c, John Turnbull, Lauder.

Heaviest Two Sections, l-lb. Size. — 1st, Geo.
Leon, Boghall ; 2nd, D. Pringle ; 3rd, Wm.
Murray, Lauder.

Best Display of Honey. — 1st, R. and G.
Robson ; 2nd, the Countess of Lauderdale ;
3rd, Wm. Murray.

Best Non-sectional Super. — 1st, Geo. Leon,
Boghall ; 2nd, R. and G. Robson ; 3rd, Wm.
Scott, Burn Mill.

Best Beeswax. — 1st, R. Bruce, Lauder ; 2nd,
Helen Robertson, Kirktonhill ; 3rd, R. and G.
Robson.

Class 11. — Five l-lb. Sections. — 1st, W.
Murray ; commended, J. Buckham.

Three l-lb. Sections. — 1st, Wm. Hattrick,
Lauder ; 2nd, Wm. Murray ; 3rd, J. Buck-
ham.

Three-lb. Jars Liquid Honey. — 1st, Wm.
Murray ; 2nd, Adam D. Hutchison, Lauder ;
3rd, Geo. Rutherford, Lauder.

Best Super in Straw. — 1st, Helen Robert-
son, Kirktonhill (medal) ; 2nd, the Countess
of Lauderdale ; 3rd, David Sommerville,
Lauder. — {Communicated.)

BEE AND HONEY SHOW

AT MABLETIIORPE, LINGS.

The Annual Horticultural Show at this
popular seaside resort took place on Thursday,
August 16, and for the second year prizes for
bees and honey were offered, this department
being in connection with the Lincolnshire
Bee-keepers' Association. The bee-tent of
the association was present in charge of Mr.
H. 0. Smith, Louth, who gave lectures with
manipulation of live bees at intervals during
the afternoon, and large numbers of the
visitors showed great interest in these lec-
tures. The honey classes were all well filled,
that for extracted honey having sixteen ex-
hibits of excellent quality staged. The judges,
Messrs. F. H. K. Fisher and W^ R. Lilly,
made the following awards : —

Observatory Hive with Bees and Queen. —
1st, D. Seamer ; 2nd, R. Godson ; h.c, H. J.
Banks.

Twelve l-lb. Sections. — 1st, R. Godson, 2nd
N. Duckering ; 3rd, Rev. Dr. Honey.

334

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Aug. 23, 1894.

Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, R"
(xodsoa ; 2nd, H. J. Banks ; 3rd, A. and
H. S. Godsmai'k ; 4tb, J. Emerson.

Six i-lb. Jars Extracted Honey (cottagers
onlij). — 1st, J. Taylor ; 2nd, Mrs. Holmes ;
3rd, J. Searle.

Bell Glass, over 10-lb. — 1st, N. Duckering ;
2nd, Miss Pickering; 3rd, A. and H. S.
Godsmark.

Beeswax. — 1st, J. Markham ; 2nd, Mrs.
Holmes ; 3rd, A. and H. S. Godsmark.—
{Communicated.)

BEE-KEEPING IN CARMARTHEN-
SHIRE.

On Thursday, the 9 th inst., the Aber-
guilie Horticultural Society held their annual
show in the Palace grounds, which were
thrown open by permission of his lordship the
Bishop of St. David's. A better exhibit
could not well have been secured than was
shown in every department of the show.
There were both open and local classes for
honey, Mr. Rice, Castle Piggin, taking first
for six fine l-lb. sections in the former, the
second going to Mr. Taylor, AUtyfersill. For
six l-lb. jars extracted honey P. C. Thomas
got first and Mr. Rice second. In the local
class P. C. Thomas secured first for both
sections and extracted honey. Mr. Spurrell,
Carmarthen, judged the honey classes.

During the afternoon an instructive lecture
on bees and the advantages of the modern
system of bee-keeping was delivered by Mr.
A. Hamer, of Llanarthney, who had quite a
large audience of attentive listeners. In order
to illustrate his subject, the lecturer exhibited
bees, honey, and appliances, using each to
enable the audience to better understand his
points as he went on, Mr. Taylor assisting Mr.
Hamer by extracting shallow frames of honey
before the visitors. At the conclusion of the
lecture the Bishop of St. David's, who was
among those present, spoke in very favourable
terms of the instruccive address they had
listened to, and several persons afterwards
gave their names to Mr. Hamer as willing to
become members of the Bee Association,
while others pressed him to make an effort in
re starting the Carmarthenshire B.K.A., and
it is understood that steps will shortly be
taken in that direction. — [Communicated.)

THE HONEY INDUSTRY.

The Times (August 14), under the heading
of "The Honey Industry," remarked "that
few rural industries offer greater opportunities
for profitable extension than that of bee-
keeping," and "that the production of honey
In this country might be enormously in-
creased."

Singularly enough, on the same day at
Hawarden, Mr. Gladstone expatiated on the
advantage of developing every branch of
smaller cultivation, inasmuch as "whatever
is produced from the earth in excess of what

we have previously had confers a double
benefit." Mr. Gladstone specially mentioned
the " care of bees,'' and remarked that,
" although the transaction in a small garden
may appear unimportant, as it cannot be on a
very large scale, nevertheless, when the aggre-
gate of transactions came to be made up, it is
a vast aggregate, and commerce derived im-
portant extension from the development."

It is encouraging to the British Bee-keeping
Association and to its affiliated county societies
to have their object thus publicly advocated.
It is encouraging to know, too, that despite
the unfavourable character of the present
season, the bee-keeping industry is, without
doubt, steadily extending.

Oformpnd^ncc.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Comtnunications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shoivs, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Heview, Ac, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the 'BritishBee Journal," 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <&c., must be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

TREATMENT OF FOUL-BROODY
HIVES.

THE CANADIAN METHOD.

[2054.] I do not see that any of your
readers have yet given their experience of the
above, so I venture to send mine : —

I am experimenting on one of my stocks
the history of which is shortly this : — It was a,
swarm of 1892, and hived in a skep. It gave
two swarms last year (1893), was strong this
spring, and in April this stock appeared to be
my best this season. It then came to a stind-
still, and got no stronger ; in the hot days of
June the bees clustered outside a? if about to
swarm. I watched and waited, but no swarm
came, and in May a bad smell was quite per-
ceptible to any one standing a few feet away.
I wanted this hive to swarm, and so placed no
sections on it. On July 6, at 1 p.m., I drove
the bees, and hived them on six frames fitted
with Ij in. starters of foundation. I then took
their former domicile, and placed it over burn-
ing sulphur, where it remained for several
hours exposed to the fumes, with a view of
destroying everything in it having life. All
went well with the swarm for four days, so on
the 10th, at half-past one p.m , I opened the
hive, brushed ofl:' the bees from the combs,
and let them run back into the hive. I then
took the frames — with combs partly built from
the starters — indoors, substituting frames with
full sheets of foundation.

Aug. 23, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

335

After covering up the hive and making all
tidy, I was watching the entrance, when I
saw a rubh made from the hive, and in a
few seconds the bees were all in the air, the
queen going last, and I saw her distinctly
circling in the air several times before she
was lost to my view amongst the bees.
After a short time the swarm was secured in a
skip, and thrown out in front of the frame-
hive as usual. About half of them had run
in when a heavy shower came, and half-
drowned the remaining portion. I managed,
however, to shake them off the cloth into the
empty part of the hive. Next day I found
the halt-drowned bees had joined their com-
rades by passing under the dummy, and all
were engaged carrying out the sugar I gave
them the previous evening.

I went out at six in the evening to have
another look, and feeing all veiy quiet I
raised the quilts, and to my great surprise
found the bees gone again ! They were
clustered in exactly the same spot as on the
previous day. The swarm was again secured.
a bottle of hot syrup placed in the hive, and
the bees seem to be going all right, and work-
ing hard at the time of writing. What can
have caused the bees to desert the hive in this
way ?

I am sending by this post, in separate
packet, a piece of comb cut out of the
old hive from which I drove the bees ;
but I may say from bitter experience I have
no doubt but it is a case of foul brood.
Mr. McEvoy's treatment may be good, but, in
my opinion, stocks so dealt with are lost to the
beekeeper, so far as honey and swarms are
concerned, for the season.

Later on I shall send you a report of bee
doings in this district. — M. K., Piltoivn, co.
Kilkenny.

[Comb sent is badly affected with foul-
brood. We do not know what caused the
bees to desert the hive unless the fumts of the
sulphur remained, and was too strong for their
liking. — Eds.]

A PLEASANT TRIP TO THE
HEATHER.

[2055.] Back from the hills once more,
having left behind our industrious little
friends, snugly wrapped up — for the nights are
chilly now in the glen — and securely located
with a splendid outgo to the grand old hills
just beginning to flush with the purple glow
of the heather bloom.

For many years now we have made our
annual double journey an undivided party,
but this time, to the great regret of all, John,
most careful and painstaking of bee-keeper-t
(about whom his wife remarks, " It's a guid
thing John hasna' his time in his ain hands,
for he wad spend it a' anions: thae bees ") has to
remain behind at duty's call. His place is

taken by "The Grieve'' — a douce, quiet,
lovable man, who has not accompanied the
expedition since that eventful night when, our
old " stance ' being abandoned, " The Grieve "
acted as our guide to the new " stance,''
and somehow went astray. I shall never
foryet that night. On trudged " The
Grieve,'' and after him the lorry with
about twenty hives, the rest of us walk-
ing alongside. We only realised that " The
Grieve" had gone astray when we got in
among some grand old trees, and halted beside
a small lake, with the water-fowl scudding
across it screaming out their alarm. We stood
st 11. " The Grieve " pushed on, looking for
some land- mark to guide him to the proper
road. The water-fowl screamed, and the rain
poured down. Gradually the others set off to
look for " Ttje Grieve," till I and a young lad
were left with " Geordie," our genial driver.
This was at three in the morning, in the
policies of Fasque, the ancestral home of the
Grand Old Man. The rigli!; road was found
at last, our bees were safely set, and we home
by the usual time as cheery as ever. We
heard afterwards that the gamekeepers of
Fasque, thinking we were poachers, and afraid
to attack us alone, were rousing the neighbour-
hood as we moved away. My neighbour
" Willie," most enthusiastic and expert, and I
with " Willie's " eldest son and mine, complete
the company this year.

The thirteen hives safely packed and the
company stowed away somehow, '"Geordie" sets
off about 11 p m. for our four hours' ride. Our
talk is of bees in general, of our own bees in
particular. What this hive has given and
what that hive should have given. My hives
are well known by name, and I tell of what
"London "his done, and how much I have
taken from " Eaitt. ' Tben we must hear all
about " Willie's " new " Wells," made during
the past winter by the careful and skilful
hands of John. 1 tell how Willie crammed
every swarm that he got into " Wells," till
now it is choked, sections and a'l, with bees.
Sunny weather now and " Wells '' will give a
good account of itself " The Grieve " tells how
from his two hives last year he took over sixty
perfect sections (1-lb.) of heather honey. We
know that the tale is true, and our hopes rise
high.

We reach our station before .3 a.m. and set
to work unloading at once. We have a per-
manent seat, or "stance" — two parallel bars of
wood, level, and at the right height, at the
back of a stone d^ke. Soon our hives are set,
and quilts replaced — we travel quiltless, with
a thin covering over sections to keep down
bees — and everything made snug. Then the
perforated zinc is removed from entrances, and
the work is done. The sun is up by this time,
and the hills are flushed with his rosy light
and inviting us to climb. The air is pure and
bracing, and we do not feel at all fatigued
with our sleepless night. After a substantial
breakfast in the farm kitchen we select our

336

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Aug. 23, 1894.

hill and set off. As we rise the landscape
■widens. Away to the south-east lies the
glorious Strathmore Valley, continued north-
eastward by the Howe o'the Mearns. On
the eastern border the sea shimmers in a hazy
light, its nearer and brighter surface dotted
with the dark sails of herring-boats.
Through the \-alley we trace by their smoke
the course of the North British and
Caledonian trains, shooting northward and
southward like a weaver's shuttle, through a
web of green and gold. Smoke clouds here
and there tell where some of Forfarshire's
busy manufacturing towns lie, just waking up
for the day's work. As we mount the grouse
rise croaking and whirring, and we think of
the 12th, and mark here and there the "driving
huts." As we toil upward, some of the grandest
peaks of the Grampians come into view,
notably, Lochnagar — Byron's "Dark Loch-
nagar " — with a cup of mist, and dimly in the
distance ihe hills around the Highland home
of our Queen. A short rest on the heather at
the top— just coming into bloom — and we
begin the descent. As we go down, we carry
with us two or three of the white stones with
which the hills abound, for we always take
this spoil home from the heather, and we each
have a small rockery, annually growing larger
• — the fruit of our bee expeditions. Near the
foot I dislodge a grand but huge specimen,
and roll it down the hill. " Geordie", good
man, allows it be placed with much labour on
the lorry, and now it lies at my gate an object
of much pride to its possessor, and admired
by all who see it. The homeward journey
is uneventful— all sleepy, all happy — and
now, for some time, " My Heart's in the High-
lands ! ''—Schoolmaster, Montrose, N.B.

PROMOTING BEE-KEEPING.

[2056.] As the dairy show of October 12
will afford a fine opportunity for showing what
sort of honey the country can produce —
English, Irish, Scotch, and Welsh— will you
endeavour to infuse into your readers all over
the kingdom a very large measure of public
spirit and inflame them with the desire and
the purpose to make an entry in one or more
of the five classes ere entries are closed, Sep-
tember 10 ? There is no time to be lost.

Public attention has been drawn frequently
during the last twelve months to the advantage
of encouraging the extension of British bee-
keeping. I believe one can see an increased
interest in the subject, and it is of great im-
portance to sustain that interest so that it may
have practical development. It has been an
unfortunate season, but there are good samples
of honey about in one form or another. Let
bee-keepers resolve to make this year's dairy
exhibit one of the finest on record. A really
grand show of honey from every part of the
kingdom will impress the metropolitan visi-
tors and tradespeople with the importance and
extent of the home honey industry. Let the

county honey labels be prominently to the
front ; but the important thing to remember is
that our bee-keepers have to make the show
one of the best on I'ecord, and that the door
closes September 10 ! — A Kent Bee-keeper,
August 16.

HOW I COMMENCED BEE-KEEPING.

SOME USEFUL HINTS FOR BEGINNERS.

{Concluded from f. 326.)

There is a great difference in the amount of
food required to tide stocks over winter. I
hardly ever feed established stocks, and never
take any honey from the brood box. Every
stock I had came out strong this spring,
except the one with the impervious quilt, and
it was starved, although it had plenty of
stores last October. Another lot of driven
bees was made up in September on partially
drawn out combs. I fed them for a while, but
after they had taken down 5 or 6 lb. of honey,
I was taken ill, and could do no more for
them. The feeding-bottle was left on the
whole winter, with no covering over it, just as
I left them at the last time of feeding, and
they came out very strong and fresh this
spring. With regard to wintering I have
come across cases which completely baffled
me. I remember one case of a single
driven stock in a akep. They took
down very little food in autitmn, the
winter Avas a bad one, and many stocks —
especially those in skeps — were lost by my
neighbours, so that I gave them up for lost.
On the first favourable occasion (it was about
the middle of February) I examined them. I
found about a pint of laees clustering on two
or three pieces of comb on the crown of the
hive. They had wintered practically without
combs or stores. I at once started to feed
them with warm syrup, and, before the honey-
flow, that stock filled the skep with comb, and
literally overflowed their habitation. I drove
them early to prevent swarming, put them on
foundation, and even that year they yielded
surplus in their new home.

I have now seven strong stocks, all supered,
and, until the recent rainfall, doing well.

I should advise any one starting with driven
bees to first carefully read a description of
driving, and then see it done before attempting
it ; and in commencing the use of a bar-frame
hive, the novice should go and see one in
actual use. More will be learned by a short
time spent in actual examination than by any
amount of reading.

In putting bees into a bar-frame hive, I
always pack up a board level with the alight-
ing-board, cover it with a cloth, and throw
down the bees on the cloth ; then with a big
spoon (a big gravy spoon is a capital thing) I
put a qitantity of the bees nearer the entrance
and leave them to run in. If I am putting
two driven stocks together, I throw one on
the top of the other, leaving the queens to

Aug. 23, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

337

settle the question of supremacy in their own
way.

When driving bees you often find three and
four sleeps on one board. In such a case,
give the whole of them a dose of smoke, or
when manipulating the one you wish to drive,
you will have the whole street in an uproar,
which will render the work the reverse of
comfortable. I always take the hive quite
avi^ay to some shady corner if there are other
hives near, and put an empty skep in its place
to receive the bees that return to the stand,
which are added to the main body. The skep
containing the driven bees is placed on a sheet
and tied up ; the corners of the sheet knotted
over the top, with a piece of strong twine tied
tightly round the middle (outside), makes all
secure. They may then, with care, be taken
any distance.

In conclusion, I may say that the difficul-
ties of beekeeping are more imaginary than
real. Careful handling reduces the chances of
stings to a minimum. I am not saying you
won't get any stings, for you will, and at times
plenty of them. Always leave the hands
bare, but use a veil. Always have a bottle
of strong ammonia at hand and a pair of
tweezers. Draw out the sting, and rub well
with the ammonia at once. There are also a
few things it is as well to avoid. Don't be
for ever pulling your bees about. Don't be
trying every new thing you hear or read of.
Don't be always thinking your queens must
be getting old, and your hives need requeen-
ing. In the hands of an expert, and when
beekeeping is a commercial pursuit pure and
simple, re-queening may be an advantage ;
but I don't think it necessary with the ordi-
nary run of beekeepers. In my opinion the
bees re-queen themselves oftener than many
suppose.

Whenever you have the opportunity, see
the apiaries of practical men. Beekeepers are
very " clannish," and ever ready to help each
other. Visit shows and examine the exhibits,
and you will pick up a good deal of useful
knowledge, besides having a standard before
you at which to aim. " Make haste slowly."
When you can manage one or two colonies
successfully increase your apiary — and not till
then.— S. I., July 30.

92 LB. FROM A STRAW SKEP.
[2057.] I took 92 lb. of honey from a large
18 by 12 skep on July 20. It was worked on
the method of placing another stock by its
side, and removing it from side to side, letting
the flying bees enter the main stock, which I
placed over nine frames, drove the bees down,
and placed queen-excluder between ; but I
have found they build drone-comb. I have
worked five hives on the principle of starters
under brood-nest, and in every case but one
the bees built drone-comb, the exception
being a Carniolan stock, which swarmed,
although it had several frames under it some

weeks before swarming. A friend has had
similar experience of drone-comb being built
from the starters placed under brood-nest. —
Charles Harvey, l^toke Prior, Worcestershire.

^diU^ from the liu^s.

Castlcderg, Ireland, August 3. — This apiary
has never been so prosperous as at present. 1
have taken two racks of well-filled sections
from a swarm hived early in July. Another
stock which has not swarmed has thirteen
standard frames in body-box, while in surplus
chambers above are twenty-one shallow-frames,
nine with wide ends and twelve spaced at the
ordinary distance. The bees were so strong I
had to give a rack of sections, which they have
also nearly filled in ten days. I never saw
such a stock of bees before. They would have
swarmed if I had not cut out queen-cells.
One swarm I got this season weighed 11 lb. —
S. Crawford.

(^mm mi %t^\m.

[1132.] Over - swarming. — In the Bee
Journal of May 3, query 1018, p. 175, you
very kindly gave me information desired. The
bees were packed according to instructions
given me, and in spite of rough handling in
transit arrived safely — comparatively. Like
many bee-keepers in more southerly latitudes
I have been much troubled with swarming
One stock swarmed five times. The first time
I placed an empty hive over them. They
clustered on a potato ridge. They went in all
right, but returned to their original hive next
day. Seven days after they swarmed on to
potatoes again. I hived them same as before ;
again they returned to original hive. Twice
again, after a lapse of eight days, they
swarmed, and on each occasion returned to
their original hive. Again they swarmed,
when I hived them as before, and divided
queen-cells between hives ; removed old hive
to new stand. Next day found dead queen on
ground. The last swarm came off a fortnight
ago. On examination to-day I found no sign
of brood. Weather here has been changeable,
cold, and showery. 1. Do you think their
broodless condition indicates queenlessness 1
2. I intend examining again on or about
August 22, and if no brood is visible should I
re-queen ? In spite of all, I have got eighteen
sections surplus, and plenty of stores in two
hives, and two good stocks. — W. J. Chalmers,
Orkney, August 18,

Reply. — 1. You render it difficult for us to
give an opinion as to queenlessness or other-
wise by omitting to give the dates of the first
and subsequent swarms. A few days, how^

S38

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Aug. 23, 1894.

ever, will decide the matter by examining for
eggs or brood. 2. If the stock is qneenless,
DO time should be lost in either re-queening
or uniting the bees to the other stock.

[113.3.] Queen Refusing to Breed Droves- —

1. I have been endeavouring to breed drones
for the autumn by placing drone-combs in the
centre of the brood nest between two frames
of brood, but the queen absolutely refuses to
lay in the drone-celJs, but parses them over to
deposit her eggs in tho«e of worker-cells. Can
you account for this ? I have tried with
three stock?, and met with the same result.

2. What will be the best way to proceed,
seeing the season is already w-ll advanced for
late breeding of queens ? I require about
thirty queens, and do not c^re to go to the
expense of paying the high price dealers are
asking for these. All the drones in ray apiary
have been slaughtered. I was away for a
holiday when this took j.lace, or I should have
retained the drones in one s-o:k.— J. J. K.,
Ware, Augitst 19.

Eeply. — 1. The refusal of queens to deposit
eggs in drone-cells at this season is perfectly
natural, and there are no means of inducing
or compelling them to do so. It should be borne
in mind that the instinct of bees is to destroy
the drones in autumn, and that the queen
shares this instinct. So that, although it is
easy to keep drones alive by feeding the stock
constantly, there are no means of compelling
or inducing the queen to resume drone-
breeding out of season. 2. The best course
we can advise under the circumstances would
be to make an offer, other than a " high price,''
to some dealer for a dozen or so of young
queens, and be content to select an equal
number of the queens now on hand, which it
is most desirable to replace, letaining the
others.

[11.34.] Loss of Queens. — Having an ill-
tempered stock, I wished to requeen it, so
took the queen away and gave her to another
queenless stock. I had a young laying queen
in a nucleus, which I inserted three days after-
wards, following all directions as given in
Webster's " Book of Bee-keeping."' This
queen I found dead outside the hive two days
afterwards. The old queen was apparently
accepted by the other stock, but upon fxami-
nation five days after insertion 1 found do
queen or eggs. 1. Is it possible she can have
gone back to the hive she came from 1 2. An
early swarm has swarmed three times, the cast
I returned, which issued again in a few days,
and another after that, which went away. As I
was away from home I could not put it back,
and found on my return the stock queenless
and without brood or queen-cells. Is not this
unusual ? There is still plenty of heather and
clover, but the bees appear to be taking down
the honey from unseiled sections. 3.

Would it be better to leave them on on the
chance of the weather getting better, or to take
them off now ? — B. H. Woos.vam, August 14.

Eeply. — 1. Whatever may be "possible,''
it is very imjDrobable that the queen has gone
back to her former home. It is more likely
that she has been killed by the alien bees. 2.
This seems .^imply a case of queen lost on her
mating trip. Finding no queen-cells built
under the circumstances was quite natural.
3. Better take the sections off, and secure what
honey there is in them ; if left on, it will most
probably be taken down.

[1135.] May I ask you what I should do
under the following circumstances ? — I pur-
chased last spring a frame-hive, but found
the frames were not of standard size, and
placed a new body box with fifteen frames
below the old hive, which is, of course, now
full. I want to take away the old hive. How
should I do it '? Is it necessary to examine
for the queen and secure her presence below
before I separate the hive 1 If she is removed
with the old upper hive, will the bees supply
the want ? How can I get the bees out ot the
old combs, which will still have brood in
them ? I have had shallow frames over these
bees, which have not swarmed, but have given
me a good deal of honey. I only started
keeping a few bees this year, and, with the
aid of your book and journals, have succeeded
fairly well. I bought three old hives of bees,
and treated the other t\vo as I did the?e (I am
writing about), but succeeded in finding the
queen in lower frames eirly in the season, and
with an excluder was able to keep her below
till the upper lot of bees hatched out, when I
took away the old hives. But I could not
find the queen in the third hive, and left her
all the season, which seems to have answered.
— W. E. Monet, St. Asaph, August 19,

Reply. — The upper hive must be left on till
the brood in it (if any) hatches out. Mean-
time, however, all broodless combs may be
removed, and the bees shaken off them so as to
induce them to take possession of the lower
box, besides preventing further egg -laying
therein. As brood hatches out the combs
may be taken away till all are removed and
bees compelled to occupy the lower ones.

[1136.] Bo.ves for Holding Driven Bees. —

1. Will you please .'ay what size "Hudson's
dry soap-boxes," to hold three driven stocks,
Mr. F. G. Cribb refers to in his letter on
p. 505 of B.J. for December 21, 1893 ? 2,
Could I drive the bees into the box with
using a skep ? — Cooper, High Barnet,
August 14.

Reply. — 1. Any box measuring about
16 in. by 8 in., and say 7 in. deep, will do.

2. Not well ; the bees should be driven into a
skep, and run into the boxes afterwards.

Aug. 23, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

339

ilmrs t0 Qfamc.

August 23. — At Horsham. Twelve classes
for bees, hives, and honey. Entries close
August 18. Schedules from R. Gilburd,
Horsham.

August 23. — At Madresfield, in connection
with the MadresBeld Agricultural Society ;
fourteen classes for bees, hives, and honey,
i-ntries close August 18. Kev. E. Davenport,
hon. sec , Burlish Lodge, Stourport.

August 29 and 30. — Annual show of the
Staffs. B.K.A. At Stone. In connection with
the Staffs Agricultural Society's meeting.
Nineteen classes for bees, hives, honey, &c.
Harold Twentyman, sec, Wolverhampton.

August 31. — At Knighton, Eadnorshire.
In connection with annual Flower Show In-
dustrial Exhibition, Military Tournament,
aad Horse, Dog, and Poultry Show. Prizes
for Sections, Extracted Honey, and Collections
of Honey. Schedules from F. L. Green and
Joseph Blower, hon. sees., Knighton.

September 4 and .5. — At Coventry. In con-
nection with the Warwickshire Agricultural
Show. Annual show of the Warwickshire
B.K.A. Liberal prizes for honey, bees, and
appliances. For schedules apply J. N. Bower,
hon. sec, Knowle.

September 6. — At Castle Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1-lb. jars
extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, secretary. Castle Douglas, N.B.

September 12 and 13. — Scottish Bee-
Keepers' Association, in connection with the
show of the Caledonian Horticultural Society,
Waverley Market, Edinburgh. Schedules
now ready. John Wishart, assistant
secretary, Castlecraig, Dolphin ton, N.B.

September 15. — In the Corn Exchange,
Jedburgh. Koxburghshire B.K.A. Annual
show of honey, &c Twenty-seven classes.
Eight silver medals and liberal money prizes.
Entries close September 11. Thos. Clark,
secretary, Pleasants, Jedburgh, N.B.

Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded vyill he attended to, and those
only of pergonal interest will he answered in this column.

*,* Royal Lancs. Agricultural Show
AT Bolton. — We are requested to state that
Mr. R. W. Nicksoa took second, not third,
prize for twelve jars 1894 honey, as stated in
report on p. 312.
Felix Bridgetts (Stoke-on-Trent). — If the

" nest of wild, brown bees " are thQ Qfdinary

honey-bee there is no reason why they
should not do well under their new con-
ditions, but if there is any doubt on the
point, a couple of the bees should be sent to
us for examination.

F. H. Taylor (Fallowfield).— We cannot
guarantee sample to be cane sugar. If it is
so guaranteed by the seller you might use it
for bees

E. S.— Comb is affected with foul brood.

W. Benn (Birchtields). — No. 1 would be a
very fair honey but for its being unripe
when taken off the hive ; this accounts for
its being so thin in consistency. Its pre-
dominating flavour appears to be got from
limes. No. 2 is from mixed flowers, and
has no special flavour to mark its source —
both are of fair quality. The character of
No. 3 sample is poor enough to warrant
your suspicions as to what it is from. It is
partly honey, but very like sugar syrup. It
is, however, not very likely that the
fraudulent practice you mention is carried
out by shopkeepers. The game would not
be worth the candle. Your friend is in
error. The bottle-feeder will not cause the
food to " become aerated " if the syrup is
properly prepared. But for autumn it is
best to use the rapid-feeder.

W. (Aberpergwm). — Extracting Heather
Homy Two Years Old. — No extractor will
remove above. As the honey will probably
be granulated we should melt it down by
immersing the vessel containing the combs
in hot water till all is melted ; then lift off
the cake of wax from top of the honey
when cold.

J. T. (Lauder). — Top portion of cake is wax ;
the " spongv " part underneath is largely
composed of pollen, aod has very little wax
in it.

NoRTa British (Banffshire). — 1. The bees
reached us smashed beyond recognition
in post. From details given in note we do
not see that there is aay cause for alarm ;
but you are wrong in supposing that any
" slaughter of the young bees has been
resolved on." 2 There is no reason why a
" Wells " hive should not be as capable of
ventilation as other hives ; but for several
reasons we should not consider it a suitable
time for conveyance to the heather.

Glexlivet. — The fact of the stock not having
swarmed is no reason for supposing it queen-
less.

H. McGregor (Wye).— -FoocZ Required for
Winter. — To be provisioned for winter the
skeps should now weigh well on to 30 lb.
eacti ; but they had best be left for a week
or two in order to see how the bees get on
dnring that time in late gathering, and then
feed-up to the extent of providing each with
20 lb. at least of winter stores at packing-up
time — say last week in September. The sec-
tions should be at once removed.

Mid-Cheshire. — Judging by comb sent,
the fault is with the queen, though there is

340

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Aug. 23, 1894.

just a trace of foul brood in it. The queen
is evidently worn out and a drone-breeder,
making the stock in its present weak state
quite worthless. You should use naphthaline
in the other hives as a preventive of infection
with twenty-four stocks on hand and foul
brood so dangerously near.
Constant Reader (Newport). — Judging
Honey.— The "points " for extracted honey
are (1) flavour, (2) colour and clearness, (3)
consistency — i.e., denseness or specific
gravity— (4) aroma, (5) neatness in whole
exhibit. For sections, (1) purity of colour
and evenness of comb-cappings, (2) perfect-
ness of sealing, (3) quality of honey in comb,
(4) neatness and cleanliness in putting up
for exhibition. Beyond noting these points,
only practical experience will enable anyone
to judge correctly and well. Plants and
Flowers for Bees. — We can send for sixpence
(post free) a book on bee-pasturage, which
gives all the plants and flowers suitable
for bees, and times of sowing, &r.., but it
may be said that bees mainly rely on white
clover, sainfoin, fruit-trees, limes, and heather
for the main honey supply in this country.

"AnAfiertioon among the Bees in Scotland"
is in type and zvill appear next iveelc.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situationg, Publications, Bee Plants, ice. — Tip to
Twelve words, Sixpence; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

HEALTHY 1894 FERTILE QUEEN, 3s. 6d. Miss
Sharp, Lymington. E 96

HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES, with young Queen,
Is. 3d. lb., packed and put on rail free. S. Bailey,
Itchlngfleld, near Horsham. E 94

STRONG HEALTHY STOCKS, '94 Queens, Gayton
Hives. Excellent condition. £1. Rose, Felt-
ham. E 88

WANTED, 4 DRIVEN SWARMS; EXCHANGE
Jam, Pears, Plant Propagator, &c. Newman,
57, Coldharbour-lane, London, S.E. e 87

FOR SALE, 4 Good STOCKS BEES and Appliances.
Sold through leaving. Apply, J. Headland, Station-
road, New Barnet. E 92

FOUR 15-Months' HENS and MINORCA COCKEREL
given in EXCHANGE for Honey or Appliances.
Coniston-villa, Lelymead-avenue, Totterdown, Bristol.

E 93

T NDISPENSABLE to HONEY DEALERS. — HAR-
± GRAVE'S Folding Cardboard BOXES for 1-lb.
Sections. Sample 3d. post free. Hargrave, Harro-
gate-road, Ripon.

FOR SALE, DRIVEN BEES, guaranteed healthy, at
Is. per lb., with Queen. No orders booked later
than last day of August. Address, Owen Browning,
King's Somborne, Stockbridge, Hants. e 89

HEALTHY BEES, guaranteed, with 1894 Queens.
3-frame Nuclei, 8s. ; 4-frame, 10s. ; 5-frame, 12s.
Also Healthy Driven Bees. Is. 4d. per lb., in S-lb. lots,
with Queen. Apply, J. Trebble, Romansleigh, South
Molton. E 91

DRIVEN BEES for SALE, Is. per lb., with young
Queen. Extra Queens, 2s. each. Guaranteed
healthy. Cases returnable, or Is. each. Apply, S.
Oaten, Expert, PrioF's Park Farpi, PJtminster, Taun-
ton. E 98

Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)

WANTED, at once, DRIVEN BEES, containing a
Large Quantity of Ligurian or Carniolan DRONES.
J. .T. Kee, St. Margaret's, near Ware. E 99

SOLID SAFETY BICYCLE, lamp, bell, brake, all
complete, value £4 ; will EXCHANGE for Three
Frame Hives and Bees. Apply, A. Gooding, Tennis
Cottage, Maidstone-road, Rochester, Kent. E 100

lyo STOCKS of BEES for £80 ; or singly, at following
-* '^ prices each Stock : — 17 in Simmins' Economic
Hives, 23s. 6d. ; 20 Make-shift, 23s. 6d. ; 8 strong Double-
ended, 35s. ; 10 skeps, 20s. ; 4 Six-frame Boxes, 20s. ;
12 Nuclei, 8s. ; and 1 Sectioned Hive, 34s. 6d. Wm.
Lane, Beaton's Farm, Lytchett Matravers, Poole. E 95

BY Mr. THOS. NIELD. — Important SALE of 30
Hives of BEES, a large quantity of HONEY and
Appliances, Fruit and Rose Trees, on WEDNESDAY,
August 29th, 1894, at THE COTTAGE, Boden Hall, 2^
miles from Alsager, N.S. Railway, 3| miles from Sand-
bach, per favour of Mr. Knight, who" is leaving. Sale
at 2 o'clock. E 97

WANTED, SECTIONS of HONEYCOMB(flrst quality).
Prompt cash ; packages sent. Any quantity. E.
Hurst, Bexhill, Sussex. 235

-j r\ GOOD Healthy Straw Skeps of BEES, with Queen,
-'-^^lls. each. Properly packed free on rail. R. Brown,
Flora Apiary, Somersham, Hunts. E 74

EALTUY DRIVEN BEES, Is. 3d. per lb., with
j'oung Queen. Packages free on rail. R. Brown,
Flora Apiary, Somersham, Hunts. b 73

THE CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY'S SHOW.— Glazed
SECTION -CASES (both sides) for Exhibition or
Sale. 18s. per gross, or Is. 9d. per doz. J. Greenhill,
80, Graham-road, Wimbledon.

EALTHY DRIVEN BEES, Is. 3d. per lb. ; in 5-lb.

lots. Boxes to be returned. E. Long, Cottinghara,

Cambs. E 70

EALTHY DRIVEN BEES, Is. 6d. per lb. for 4 lb.

lots or over. Queen included ; packing free. F.

Gay, Edmondsham, Cranborne, Salisbury. e 71

FOR SALE, Young Fertile Native QUEENS, 3s. 6d.
each. Also strong Stocks of Healthy Natives,
with young Queens on Standard Frames, with or with-
out hives. H. Witt, South Ascot, Berks. E 84
UARANTEED Healthy 1894 FERTILE QUEENS^
3s. 6d. each ; safe arrival and introduction.
DRIVEN BEES, Is. 3d. per lb. for 5-lb. lots or over,
Queen and Packing included. Address, C. Whiting,
Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suffolk. e 89
ACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, 8d., post free.
500, 2s. 9d., post free. AV. WooDLEY, Beedon, Newbury.

H' ONEY.— Finest White Clover and Heather HONEY
WANTED. Post samples and lowest prices,
stating quantities. SPRING, Brigg, Lines.

ARKET for SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY".
and WAX. State price and quantity. Prompt
cash. Packages sent. Address, H., Bee Journal Office,
17, King William -street, Strand, London.

BE TENT on HIRE. For terms, apply to G. GUNSrON,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

B

CHOICE YOUNG QUEENS, excellent strain, pro-
duced by seven years' careful breeding, guaranteed
fertile, post free 5s., virgins, 2s. 6d. Rev. C. Brkreton,
Pulborough, Sussex. 229

C' XrBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee^
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. HOLLIDAY, Astbury,
Congleton. ^^_^

MODERN BEE-KEEPINC.

New Edition. 64th Thousand.

In course of preparation. Fully Revised throughout.
Ready in a few weeks. Terms for Advertisements upon
application to the Secretary of the British Bee-Keepers'.
Association, JOHN HUCKLE,

King's Langley, Herts.

Aug. 30, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

341

(Editorial ^0tic{s, ^t.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

A meeting of representatives of the
Northern and Midland Affiliated Associations
was held at Shrewsbury on Wednesday last
in connection with the annual exhibition of
the Shropshire Association. The meeting was
a large and influential one, representatives
being present from the counties of Glamorgan,
Hereford, Notts, Lancashire, Cheshire, Staffs,
Salop, and Leicestershire. Mr. W. Broughton
Carr and Mr. Jesse Garratt, members of the
committee, and the secretary of the B.B.K.A.,
were also present. Considerable interest was
taken in the business of the meeting, prior to
which the representatives were hospitably
entertained to luncheon by the executive of
the Shropshire Association.

The principal item on the agenda was " The
consideration of the best means for giving
effect to the recommendations of the Northern
Association's Meeting, held in 1893, in respect
to the formation of centres for conducting
third-class examinations."

The Rev. J. F. Buckler (Lancashire and
Cheshire) was voted to the chair. In opening
the proceedings, the chairman said he thought
the first duty of the meeting was to express
its thanks to the executive of the Shropshire
Association for their kind invitation to hold
their meeting at Shrewsbury, and for the
hospitality which had been extended to the
representatives ; the vote of thanks was carried
with acclamation.

The secretary read the report of the meeting
held at Shrewsbury on August 23, 1893.
Thereupon, after some discussion, Mr.
McClure moved :— " That the British Bee-
keepers' Association be recommended to make
application to the several affiliated associations
for recommendations as to the formation of
centres for examinations of candidates for
third-class certificates during the following
year, and that the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation do select such centres from the applica-
tions received as seem to them desirable, and
print the same in their annual report." Mr.
Scattergood (Notts) seconded the resolution.

Considerable discussion followed as to the
most suitable times and places for holding such
examinations. Mr. Pugh (Notts) considered
that the second day of an exhibition was most
suitable, as giving the candidates the oppor-
tunity of attending the exhibition and under-
going the examination at a moderate cost.

Mr. Carr considered that in many cases it
would be found difficult for a judge who came
down from the central society for the purpose
of judging at a show to stay a second day to
conduct these examinations ; and he was of
opinion that the examinations should be quite
free from all show work. Mr. Alfred Watkins
(Hereford) strongly supported Mr. Garrs

views. Dr. Jones (Lancashire) supported Mr.
Pugli's sugc;estion. He considered the candi-
date should be taken into consideration.

Mr. Garratt was of opinion thac where a
candidate was in earnest to gain the certificate
little or DO difficulty would arise.

Miss Eyton (Shropshire) suggested that
candidates who merely required certificates for
honour should not be encouraged, but those
who required them for teaching bee-keeping
should receive some consideration.

Mr. Bunney (Glamorgan) suggested that
centres should be arranged other than at shows.
A representative whose name did not reach
us inquired whether any county should not be
allowed to have a centre to itself. Mr.
Watkins further suggested that the meeting
should give the committee of the B.B K.A.
some idea of the coumies that should form a
group for a centre. Mr. Garratt considered
that it would be well to pass Mr. McClure's
resolution with some such suggestion added as
mentioned by Mr. Watkins.

Mr. McClure, in replying to the discussion,
was of opinion that the formation of centres
should be left in the hands of the central
authority, who would be the best judges, after
receiving the applications from the several
affiliated associations.

The resolution was carried.

Mr. Pugh moved "That it be recommended
to the B.B.K.A. that where possible such
examinations be held on the second day of a
county show." Seconded by Mr. Meadows
(Leicester), and carried.

Mr. McClure moved " That the British Bee-
Keepers' Association be asked to arrange
examinations for scientific lecturers at agri-
cultural schools and institutions."

Mr. Bennion (director of Technical Instruc-
tion for the county of Lancashire), at the
request of the chairman, addressed the meeting
in support of Mr. McClure's resolution. He
considered that it was very desirable that such
men as were referred to in Mr. McClure's
resolution should be forthcoming whenever
any public body was prepared to employ them
to lecture on the subject. The knowledge
which such lecturers imparted would tend to
increase the interest which had already been
created in the subject of bee-keeping.

Mr. Carr reminded the meeting that the
committee of the central society had already
taken this subject in hand, and were giving
their best attention to it. Mr. McClure was
glad to hear that the central committee had
this matter under consideration ; there was no
body that could deal with the subject so satis-
factorily as the British Bee-Keepers' Associa-
tion, and it was very desirable that they should
undertake it. He considered that the resolu-
tion which he had proposed as expressing the
opinion of this meeting would greatly
strengthen their hands in deaUng with the
subject.

The resolution was carried.

A strong expression of opinion was mani-

342

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Aug. 30, 1894.

fested that similar meetings should be held at
Shrewsbury in future years.

A vote of thanks to the chairman closed the
proceedings.

THE COMING DAIRY SHOW

AT THE AGRICULTURAL HALL.

A correspondent writes : — " You cannot
urge too strongly on bee-keepers in every one
of our counties the importance of making the
honey exhibits at the coming dairy show the
best representative collection ever seen in the
metropolis. Bee - keepers in Ireland and
Wales, England, and Scotland should vie
with each other in showing what each county
can produce. Heather, clover, saiufoin, and
lime honey must be there in abundance.
Exhibitors who are sellers of honey should
know that even if they do not gain prizes, they
obtain a fine advertisement and almost certain
market for all they send, and probable cus-
tomers for future seasons.

" But samples of fine honey will not alone
suffice. The exhibition must be one that will
instruct and therefore attract visitors, for it is
our duty to interest people in the subject of
honey and honey products. We too often
allow our honey shows to become the counter-
part of a shop window — a mere assemblage of
honey pots, without showing people how we
work for the honey they contain — it is the
process of production that interests people and
instructs them, not the mere exhibition of the
product. Those who have the arrangements
for the honey section must bring together
a number of non-competitive exhibits, objects
which will illustrate the work of the bee-
keeper. An antiquated straw skep with built-
out combs ; an improved flat-topped skep,
with top aperture for feeding and supering;
and then a furnished frame-hive and combs
will make the process of development towards
the modern system quite plain to visitors who
are not bee-keepers (we must remember that
perhaps not one in a thousand keeps or under-
stands bees) ; combs of live bees ; queen-cells,
&c. ; diagram's ; honey products and how to
make them, such as mead and honey vinegar,
will contribute to raise the exhibition to a
level of interest far above that of an ordinary
competition. It will attract attention, and
when you excite curiosity on any subject it
begets a desire to understand more about it.

" The stewards who will help at the show
will be skilful bee-keepers, and be present to
explain exhibits and answer questions ; they
will also be there in the interests of the honey
exhibitors to sell the exhibits. Glazed combs
of foul-brood in its mild and aggravated forms
should be shown, and the remedies and pre-
cautions at present advocated.

" The first thing to urge on bee-keepers is
the importance of sending in entries, one at
least from every county. September 10 is very
close —not a moment to be lost. Every one
who has a choice sample should make a point

of exhibiting it. This being done, there will
be plenty of time to arrange for the supple-
mental part of the show. There will be no
lack of volunteers, and no difficulty in col-
lecting objects. We must beget an interest in
the home-honey industry and home-made-
honey products, so as to increase the demand
and the preference for British honey. Make
a firm impression in the minds of the many
that ' British honey is the best ! ' "

SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS
ASSOCIATION.
The autumn show promises to be a success.
It is to be held as usual in conjunction with
the magnificent exhibition of the Royal Cale-
donian Horticultural Society in the Waverley
Market, Edinburgh, on September 12 and 13.
The Waverley Market is admirably adapted
for a honey show, and it has the advantage of
adjoining the railway termini of several
systems. Easy and economical transit from
all parts of the country is thus assured. The
prize-list is a very liberal one, and all classes
of bee-keepers are provided for — from the
cottager with bis half-dozen hives to the
possessor of the largest apiary in the country.
There are two classes for displays of honey,
the prize money in these classes alonei
amounting to Jll. 10s. The remainder of
the comb-honey classes are for supers and
sections, an equal number being devoted to
the products of flowers and heather. Two
classes are reserved to members of the Scottish
Bee-Keepers' Association who do not possess
more than six stocks of bees. Extracted
honey has never been so much in vogue on
Scottish tables as that in the comb, but the
prizes offered for competition next month
should bring out a good entry both from
England and Scotland, especially in the
"special'' class for three 1-lb. jars of flower
honey, for which most liberal prizes are
ofi'ered. Encouraged by the success of the
confectionery classes at former shows, the
competition for cakes containing honey will be
repeated. The awards in this class will be
made by Lady Gibson Carmichael. The other
judges are Messrs. Carnegie, Clark (Hon. Sec.
Roxburghshire B.K.A.), Greig (Hon. Sec.
Berwickshire B.K.A.), Meldrum, Logierait,
Ballinluig, and Wilson (Hon. Sec. South of
Scotland B.K.A.). Schedules and all in-
formation may be obtained from the Assistant
Secretary of the Scottish Bee -Keepers' Asso-
ciation, Mr. John Wishart, Castlecraig,
Dolphinton.

SHROPSHIRE BEE-KEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.

SHOW AT SHREWSBURY.

This popular annual show of bee produce
was held as usual in connection with the exhi-
bition and fete of the Shropshire Horticultural
Society in the picturesque grounds known as

Aug. 30, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

343

''The Qaarry," Slirewsbury,'on August 22 and
23. The Shropshire B.K.A. are to be con-
gratulated on their good fortune in having
their exhibition associated with so enormous a
gathering of visitors as usually assemble in
The Qaarry during the two days over which
the fete extends, nor was the honey show
unworthy of so large a meeting, for it was
in itself decidedly a big show — so "big" that
few such exhibitions can compare to it for the
weight of honey staged.

There were 267 entries in the forty classes
into which the exhibits were divided ; the
number of entries, however, large though they
be, scarcely indicate the extent of the display,
because in several classes each exhibit contains
about four times the quantity of honey usually
staged in competition, thus bringing up a total
of very large dimensions.

Some fine samples were shown in every
class, and it was matter of regret to see good
exhibits unplaced by reason of their very
number. Where so many were good, we need
not particularise, except to give a special word
of praise to the honey trophies and collections
of bee-flon-ers, all of which reflected much
credit on the exhibitors. Mr. Alfred Watkins's
fine collection of lantern-slides and beautiful
stereoscopic views of subjects connected with
bee-culture were also greatly admired by
interested visitors.

Miss Eyton, the hon. secretary of the asso-
ciation, in the arduous task of arranging so
extensive an exhibition, spared no labour in
making it a success, and, aided by a staft' of
energetic assistants, everything went oft' well ;
the only regret being that the gloriously fine
weather of the opening day did not continue
on the second, heavy rain seriously interfering
with the comfort and pleasure of visitors on
the closing day of the fete.

The duties of judging were undertaken by
the Rev. J. F. Buckler, Mr. Jesse Garratt, and
Mr. W. Broughton Carr.

During both days of the show Mr. W. P.
Meadows, of Syston, delivered lectures on bee-
keeping in a tent contiguous to that in which
the produce was staged.

Prize List.

HONEY (open classes).

Forty-eight 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, T. Cart-
wiight, Shrewsbury ; 2nd, W. G. Preece,
Shrewsbury.

Twelve 1-lb. Sections.— lit, F. M. Bryans,
Malpas Cheshire ; 2nd, Miss T. Ward,
Hadnall Hall, Salop ; com., T. Teldon, Um-
berleigb, Barnstaple.

Forty-eight 1-lb. Jars Exiradel Honey. —
1st, T. Cartwright ; 2nd, J. Carver, Heygate,
Wellington ; h.c, T. Horton, Harty Tower,
Much Wenlock ; com., B. U. Brocklehurst,
Ludlow.

Twenty-four 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. —
1st, B. G. Brocklehurst ; 2nd, J. Carver ; h.c,
G. Stocks, Cuddington, Northwich ; h.c, J.
H. Collier, Stafford.

Twentf/-four 1-lb. Jars Oranulated Honey. —
1st, F. W. Norris, Theanes, Substrood ; no
2nd awarded.

Collection of Distinct Varieties of Honey. — •
1st, A. Beale, Siirewsbury.

Six 1 lb. iSecti07is (Blow's Sections only). —
1st, Ed. Oakes, Lower Church-road, Broseley ;
2nd, E. Pee, Bridgnorth.

Six 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey (Blow's Jars
only).— 1st, T. Cartwright ; 2nd, B. G. Brock-
lehurst ; h.c, T. E. Clark and J. Pritchard,
Buckhill ; com., T. Tetley Nickels, Shrews-
bury.

Forty -eight 1 - lb. Sections (Members of
S.B.K.A. only). — 1st, Phil. Jones, Church
Stretton ; 2nd, T. Cartwright.

Twelve 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, T. Tetley
Nickels ; 2nd, T. Horton ; com ., P. Scott,
Broseley.

Single 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, T.W. Norris; 2nd,
Phil. Jones ; com., J. Bradley, Yockleton.

Forty-eight 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. —
1st, B. G. Brocklehurst ; 2nd, J. N. Cri'tch-
low, Newcastle, Staffs.

Tiventy-four 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — •
1st, B. G. Brocklehurst ; 2ad, T. W. Norris.

24 lb. Dark Extracted Honey. — 1st, J.
Carver ; 2nd, Ed. Oakes.

Novelty in, Honey or Wax. — 1st, J. N.
Critchlow.

Honey Trophy (Open). — 1st, J. Bradley ;
2nd, J. N. Critchlow ; 2rd, T. Tetley Nickels.

Best Hive (price not over I5s.).^ — 1st, C.
Redsbaw, South Wigston ; 2nd, R. C. CoUis,
Wellington.

Best Hive (price not limited). — 1st, W. P.
Meadows, Syston, Leicester ; 2nd, C. Redshaw.

Collection of Applicmces. — 1st, W. P.
Meadows.

New Invention. — 1st and h.c, W. P.
Meadows.

Brood Foundation.— 1st, W. P. Meadows ;
h.c, A. Beale.

Super Foundation. — 1st, A. Beale; h.c,
W. P. Meadows.

1st, Rev. G. W. Bancks, Dartford.

Honey Beverage.— lat, Rev. G. W. Bancks.

Fruit Preserved in Honey. — 1st, Mrs. G.
Lloyd, Wellington.

Honey Cake.— Ist, Rev. G. W. Bancks.

Beeswax. — 1st, J. Carver; h.c, A. Beale
and P. Scott.

Honeif Vinegar. — 1st, J. Bradley.

Bee Floivers.— 1st, G. Lloyd, Overby ; 2nd,
J. Bradly ; 3rd, A. Beale.

Bees in Observatory Hive. — 1st, J. Carver ;
2nd, A. Beale.

artisans' classes.

Twenty-four 1-lb. Comb Honey.— l&t, T. W.
Norris ; 2ad, Phil Jones.

Twelve 1-lb. Sedion.s. — 1st, J. Hammond,
Church Stretton ; 2nd, Ed. Brookfield, Middle,
Salop.

Twenty-four 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. —
1st, Geo. Bullock, Craven Arras ; 2nd, J.
Pritchard.

Super of Comb Honey.— 1st, A. Beale.

344

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Aug. 30, 1894.

COTTAGERS' CLASSES,

Twelve lbs. Comb Honey. — 1st, E. Gough,
Crudginton ; 2ad, J. T. Croxton, Hope
Bowdler.

Twelve lbs. Extracted Honey. — 1st, J. Ham-
mond ; 2nd, J. Thuher, AUscott.

Six 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, C. Mainwaring,
Churton ; 2nd, J. T. Croxton, Hope Bowdler ;
3rd, E. Gougb.

Six 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, C
Mainwaring ; 2nd, J. Hammond ; 3rd, G.
Croxton, Yorton.

Honey CaJce. — 1st, Mrs. G. Lloyd; com.,
Mrs. J. Thuher.

Single 1-lb. Jar Bun Honey. — 1st, G.
Croxton, Yorton ; 2nd, W. Blower, Shrewsbury.

Single 1-lb. Section. — 1st, J. T. Croxton,
Hope Bowdler ; 2nd, G. Croxton, Yorton.

Bee Flowers. — 1st, G. Lloyd.

The prizes were distributed in the adjoining
tent by Miss Eyton, assisted by Miss Alice
Downward, of the Castle, Shrewsbury, at three
o'clock on the second day of the exhibition.

The Eev. E. Donald Carr, chairman of the
committee, presided, and the list of prizes-
winners were read out by Mr. Palmer.

At the close of the distribution the Chair-
man moved a vote of thanks to Miss Eyton
for her kindness in distributing the prizes,
and highly eulogised that lady for the
energy, tact, and skill which she had dis-
played in producing such results as were to be
witnessed in the adjoining teat ; in a word,
he (the chairman) might say that Miss Eyton
was the life and soul of the work. The vote
was passed with hearty cheers.

Miss Eyton, in returning thanks, expressed
the hope that there would be more entries in
the cottagers' classes another year.

SHOW AT MILFORD, DERBY.

The fourth honey show in connection with
the Milford Cottage Garden Society was held
on July 28, and was a better show than any
held in previous years. There was a good
competition in all classes, and the exhibits
were of good quality. The class for medals,
&c., "offered by the Derbyshire B.K.A.,"
brought fine exhibits, which were in advance
of other years. Mr. T. W. Atkins was the
judge, and his awards were as follows : —

Bees in Observatory Hives. — 1st, G. Pal-
lerd, Makeney, near Derby ; 2nd, J. Horsley,
Holbrook ; 3rd, J. Rowland, Holbrook.

Tioelve 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, Mrs.
G. H. Strutt, Belper ; 2ad, G. Pallerd ; 3rd,
G. Brindley, Makeney.

Twelve 1-lb. Sections. -^-Ist, J. Rowland; 2nd,
G. Pallerd ; 3rd, W. Spencer, Belper.

Best Shallow Frame. — 1st, J. B. Mart, Duf-
field, near Derby ; 2nd, G. Pallerd ; 3rd, J.
Rowland.

Frizes given by D.B.K.A.for six 1-lb. Bottles
Run Honey and six 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, G. Pal-
lerd ; 2nd, J. Rowland; 3rd, G. Brindley;
4th, H. Johnson. — (Communicated.)

BERKS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The Windsor district of this association,
which comprises Maidenhead, Winkfield, Ascot,
and surrounding neighbourhood, held a most
successful exhibition of honey, in conjunction
with the Maidenhead Horticultural Society,
on August 16. Prizes were awarded amount-
ing to about £7, and a total weight of nearly
800 lb. of honey, exceptionally good in
quality, was staged in sections and jars. The
exhibits, nearly all bearing the label of the
County Association, formed a very pretty
collection. About 600 lb. weight was sold.
The bee tent attended with the usual demon-
strations and lectures. The Windsor District
Committee, with their energetic hon. secretary,
Mr. W. S. Darby, are to be congratulated
upon their successful management. The
j udges were Mr. W. H. Harris and Mr. G. P.
Cartland, whose awards were as follows :—

OPEN CLASSES.

Collection of Hives and Appliances. — 1st,
W. G. Stoneham.

Best and most complete Hive. — 1st, Chas.
Redshaw ; 2nd, E. W. Goddard.

Rapid Bee-Feeder. — 1st, Chas. Redshaw.

Observatory Hive. — 1st, J. S. Greenhill.

Bee Flora. — 1st, Henry Attfleld.

Twelve 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, H. W. Seymour ;
2nd, J. Butler.

Six 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, H. W. Symour;
2nd, George Head.

For the Best Tw-elve Jars Extracted Honey.
— 1st, Albert Head ; 2nd, H. W. Seymour.

Six 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, Albert
Head; 2nd, E. W. Flower.

MEMBERS OF BERKS B.K.A. ONLY.

Exhibit of Comb and Extracted Honey. —
1st, H. W. Seymour ; 2nd J. Butler.

Twelve 1-lb. Sections, in Blow's Sections. —
1st. Geo. Head ; 2nd, W. H. Seymour.

Twelve 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honetf {in
Bloio's Screio Cap Jars). — 1st, George Wors-
fold ; 2nd, George Head.

Six 1-lb. Sections (Windsor District only).
— 1st, Mark Pottinger ; 2ad, George Head.

Six 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, Geo.
Head; 2nd, George Worsfold. {Communicated.)

DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The thirteenth annual exhibition under the
auspices of the Derbyshire Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation took place in conjunction with the
Agricultural Show on August 22 and 23, and
proved most successful. There was a grand
display of bees, honey, wax, and appliances,
and the exhibition eclipsed any show held in
previous years. The entries were far above
the average, and characterised by all-round
excellence. There were sixteen exhibits of
live bees, 110 entries of honey, and twenty-
four for beeswax, the whole exhibition being
most meritorious. The judging was under-
taken by Mr. C. N. White, assisted by Mr.
W. Burgin and Mr. G. H. Wilson.

Aug. 30, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

345

PRIZE LIST.

Observatory Hive, with Bees. — 1st, C. H.
Dyche, Burton ; 2nd, H. Hill, Ambaston ; 3rd,
T, Walker, Derby ; h c C. Wootton, Draycott,
and H. C. Jacques, Burton.

Observatory Hive ivith Bees (Cottagers
only). — 1st, A. Pearman, Derby ; 2nd, 0.
Clarke, Loscoe Grange.

Twelvel-lb. Sections (Members only). — 1st,
J.Stone, Little Cubley ; 2nd,T.Toone, Etwall ;
3rd, Hon. C. Coke, Longford ; h c K. Giles,
Etwall.

Twelve lb. Sections. — 1st. T. W. Jones,
Etwall ; 2nd, G. W. Foster, Brailsford ; 3rd,
J. Woodhead, Inkersoll.

Twelve l-lb. Jars of Extracted Honey. — 1st,
F. Walker, Derby ; 2nd, H. C. Jacques ; 3rd,
Mrs. Slrutt, Belper ; 4th, W. Southall,
Borrowasb.

Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey (Cot-
tagers only). — Isi, J. Kirklaod, Derby ; 2ad,
R. Bridges ; 3rd, J. R. Bridges, Harstoft ; 4th,
T. M. Bryant, Clay Cr s=i.

Twelve l-lb. Jars of Granulated Honey
(Open to all England). — 1st, R. Bridges,
Harstoft ; 2nd, H. Hill ; 3rd, J. Stone ; h c
W. T. Atkins, Derby.

Six l-lb. Sections (Members only). — 1st,
R. Giles, Etwall ; 2nd, J. Stone.

Six l-lb. Bottles or Jars Extracted Honey.
— 1st, J. R. Bridges ; 2nd, J. Stone.

Exhibit of Honey in any form (Selling
Class, Members only).— 1st. J. Stone ; 2nd,
M. Wootton, Draycott ; 3rd, T. Austin,
Alvaston ; h c A. Cooper, Sunny Hill.

Bees-wax.— Ist. F. Walker ; 2nd, H. Hill.

Bees-ivax (Cottagers only). — 1st, J. R.
Bridges ; 2nd, H. Meakin, Newthorpe ;
special, J. Woodhead.

Collection of Appliances. — 1st, C. Red-
shaw, South Wigston.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice ivill be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspotide'its
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real nmnes and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of_ paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shoivs, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Revieiv, ttc, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the 'BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, ikc, must be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2057.] We have reached the end of August,
and the season of the year when the prudent
bee-keeper will begin to prepare for another
season. It is by forethought and doing every-
thing in season that success is deserved, if not
attained ; but, I must add, that it is mostly
attained. I hear of stocks in some parts

running short of food — that is, the bees have
stored nearly all their gith?rings in the super,
and the bee-master, having taken this from
the hives, must see that the stocks do not
suffer in consequence. If feeding is required,
do so slowly at first, to induce breeding ; then
in a week or ten days give sufficient for winter
stores rapidly. Late in August and early in
September is the best time to feed in winter
stores. Use the pure Demerara sugar in
making your syrup, and add a very little salt,
but no vinegar.

There are many ways of making syrup. I
pour boiling water on the sugar and stir till
dissolved ; some boil the syrup for five minutes,
and another uses a percolater in making syrup,
using cold water only.

Look through your apiary for queenless
colonie'. After a swarming season there are
generally some that have practically swarmed
themselves to death. If such are found, procure
a queen, if sufficient bees remain to build up a
colony ; or get some driven bees and unite to
the stock. Paint your hives during next
month, if required, and when packing hives
for winter, don't fail to drop two or three little
lumps of naphthaline in each hive — or, say,
one in each corner. A chaff cushion filled
loosely will lay over your quilts, and will not
harbour earwigs and moths so much as " ole
clo','' and prove warmer during the winter.

The writer of 2054 (p. 334) ought to have
chosen another heading than " The Canadian
Method " in his attempt to deal with his foul-
broody stock. In the first place, the
Canadian — or, more properly, Mr. McEvoy's
method — is to use the same hive, no cleansing
in any way, and he, McEvoy, very pertinently
says, if your hive requires boiling or fumi-
gating, why don't you boil your bees well.
Certainly, if the matter of cleansing the hives
is so very important, what of the matter of
cleansing the bees, the creatures that have
been bred amidst so much of the rotting
matter, bees that have inhaled the contami-
nating atmosphere of the interior of a hive in
which the foul-brood has been reeking the
whole period of their existence. On the face of
it, one would expect the bees to require a
thorough course of medicine before there was
the slightest chance of curing a disease that is
so insidious and tenacious as foul-brood.

Yet McEvoy cures by his method — simply
shake the bees off the foul combs, give them
starters for four days, then remove the comb
built in the frames during the four days, and
give them full sheets of foundation. All this
is best eft'ected at the beginning of the honey
harvest. At this period of the year constant
feeding will be required, and stocks weakened
by the disease should be united to give
strength to the driven colony to go on with
comb-building. But to return to our friend's
attempt. His failure was evidently caused by
the continued fumigation of his hive with
sulphur. No doubt the interior of the hive
was covered with flowers of sulphur, if he

346

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Aug. 30, 1894.

had examined it with a microscope. Then
another important point he missed was doing
the work at or after sunset, so that there
should not be any chance of his other
stocks getting a taste of any honey from the
hive with tlie risk of carrying the pest to other
hives. If the hive had been scraped out and
scrubbed with hot-water and soft soap and
well dried, he would have had no difficulty
with the bees leaving the hive. I opine it was
the late hiving and bottle of syrup that in-
duced them to stay at last, but the point
" M. K." refers to about McEvoy's treatment,
and the loss of a season to the bee-keeper, in
parenthesis, I ask what is the loss of one
season compared to the bonfire method where
bees, hives, and contents are all lost. " M. K."
says in April and May the hive got no stronger,
an admission that the colony would not
have gathered a harvest for the bee-keeper
if no attempt had been made to cure the
stock ; possibly if the cure had been made
in May the cured colony would have built
up strong, and gathered a surplus in July. I
trust our readers will not think that I wish to
find fault in my criticism. I can assure them
my only wish is to elucidate the truth and give
help. The risk of keeping the old foul combs
about for a month when bees are on the prowl
for a taste of anything sweet is very great. I
hope to hear later on that " M. K." has got his
stock cured.

The sale of the honey crop will be a worry
to some, to others a pleasure. Study your
market, supply the quantities in nice, clean
receptacles at a moderate retail price, and thus
you will create a home market, where you will
be extending the use of honey, benefiting
your neighbours and yourself at the same
time. — W. WooDLET, Beedon, Newbury.

MY FIRST SXPERIENCE WITH A
" WELLS " HIVE.

[2058.] Last autumn I, like many more,
had the " Wells " craze on, and I thought I
should like to try it, so I made a hive to take
twenty-two frames in the brood nest, and
stocked this from two hives that had queens of
'93, besides plenty of bees and stores. I
packed them well down for winter, and in the
spring of this year stimulated them with
syrup and the bees increased very fast — indeed,
so fast that, by the middle of May, I was
obliged to give them a super of drawn-out
combs in standard frames spaced with the new
" wide ends," eighteen of these tilling the
upper chamber. They got well to work in
this super, and I was obliged to add another
eighteen frames above, and this was very soon
filled with bees. The roar in front of stock
hive at night was something tremendous, and
the hive looked like a gigantic dog-kennel with
its three tiers of frames and roof. The weight
of honey from the first super taken ofi", when
extracted, was 120 lb., and from the second
super, 63 lb., making a total of 183 lb. Not

having touched the honey in brood-chamber,
I call this not a bad " take," Messrs. Editors,
and I think you will say the same, considering
this season. I have compared notes with my
single hives, and my best hive yielded 73 lb.
The " Wells" has not swarmed, and is at this
time in splendid condition. I mean to go in
more for Mr. Wells' system, and tender him
many thanks for introducing it to us bee
keepers and the public. It matters not a jot
to me whether the hive is called one or two
stocks, if (as I have proved) it works well. I
think it answers better for extracted than
sections, as che bees are less likely to swarm. —
A. NicnoLLs, St. Johti's Wood, Hazhmere,
Bucks, August 19.

AN AFTERNOON AMONG THE BEES
IN SCOTLA.ND.

[2059.] Having received an invitation to
spend an afternoon among the bees belonging
to two well-known and prominent members of
the South of Scotland Bee-Keepers' Asso-
ciation, some fifteen of us, members of the
Auldgirth Bee-Keepers' Association, found
ourselves occupying a waggonette at one p.m.
on Saturday the 14th ult., and bowling along
merrily towards Dumfries, the weather being
fine and the surroundings all that could be
wished for. On arriving at Dumfries we were
joined by Mr. Sidney Roebuck, who was to be
our guide for the day, and, after a beautiful
drive of two miles we reached " Acrehead,"
the residence of Mr. Wm. Wilson, whom we
knew as a bee-keeper of the first flight, as his
many honours won on the show-bench testify.
Mr. Wilson was soon in evidence, welcoming
all with a hearty handshake, and after supply-
ing bee-veils to those who preferred them, at
once conducted us to the apiary. The hives,
thirty-five in number, are in rows facing south-
west, and are mostly of the bar-frame type,
with a few " Stewartons," and also of the
much-discussed " Wells " pattern. They stand
on ashes, and are surrounded on three sides by
a fence, the fourth side being occupied by Mr.
Wilson's residence, a window of which com-
mands a view of the whole apiary.

On removing some of the roofs or covers, it
was a sight for us bee-men to see such racks
of sections, boxes of frames for extracting, and
supers of various shapes and sizes, everywhere
well forward, many having the combs already
sealed. Attention was specially directed to a
fine octagon super on a "Stewarton" hive,
which was considered unusually good. The
latter hive is evidently a favourite with our
host, who prides himself on the fine supers he
secures from them. Mrs. Wilson now ap-
peared to welcome us, which she did as
heartily as her husband, and we could soon
perceive that our hostess was herself a bee-
keeper, in so far as materially assisting in the
management of the apiary, an example bee-
keepers would no doubt like to see more
generally followed by their " better halves."

Aug. 30, 1894.] THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

347

At this jancture our party was joined by
several other members of the South of Scot-
land Bee-Keepers' Association, and refresh-
ments were partaken of, after which our
investigations among the bees were resumed,
an interesting operation being the procuring
of a queen-cell from one hive and inserting it
in another which was queenles^. Some of our
company, though bee-keepers, had never seen
the extractor used, and so it was determined
to do a little extracting. A box of beautifully-
sealed combs were taken oS a hive, the neces-
sary implements got ready, and in a very short
time newly - extracted honey of excellent
quality was handed round for " sampling."
We next had a look at a "Wells" hive, and
found nearly all the perforations of the dummy
filled up with propolis. Nucleus hives were
then examined, in which young queens were
being successfully reared for requeening in
autumn. And, after being occupied in various
ways especially delightful to bee-keepers, we
wound up our sight-seeing by being shown a
wasp's nest in process of construction in a
corner of the apiary.

Time was now about up, and so, after ac-
knowledging the hospitality extended to the
party, and the pleasure derived from what we
had seen, we bade good-bye to our hostess.
The conveyance was soon reloaded, and we
were on our way back to Dumfries, this time
accompanied by Mr. Wilson. Arrived there,
we were conducted to one of the Town-halls,
where cur entertainers had provided a repast,
which was partaken of with appetites
sharpened by our drive. This over, some
time was pleasantly and profitably spent in
discussing " Bees and Bee-keeping," Mr.
Eoebuck, who presided, opening the discussion
in a few appropriate remarks. A move was
next made to the latter gentleman's apiary,
and here again were found some thirty hives
in the best possible condition, with supers,
" designs,'' bell-glasses, sections, and frames
for extracting, many already sealed and fit for
taking off. But the sun had now sunk behind
the N itbsdale hills, and the gathering twilight
warned us of the time for starting on our home-
ward journey. A move was, therefore, made
towards the rendezvous, where a "stirrup
glass '' was partaken of, and, amid good wishes
of all kinds towards our hospitable enter-
tainers, we again mounted our conveyance,
when an hour's drive landed each one to his
respective home, delighted at having had a
thoroughly-enjoyable " afternoon among the
bees." — Wm. Clark, for Auldgirth Bee-
keepers' Association, Dumfriesshire.

LOSS OF STOCK OF BEES.

I shall be greatly obliged if you can give
me an explanation of the following : — All my
hives came through last winter satisfactorily,
and were well forward in March. In April I
found one short of stores, so fed for a fortnight,

when they appeared to go on all right. About
the middle of May these bees commenced
fighting, apparently amongst themselves, and
have continued to do so all the summer ; daily
they have turned out hundreds, until the
ground has been literally black with dying
bees — young bees with only their wings
injured, so far as I could see ; furthermore,
they were collecting little or no honey. A
few days ago I found they had absolutely not
an ounce of stores, and a lot of bees were already
dead, so I commenced feeding, but too late,
as tbey were too weak to take the syrup.
To-day I have thoroughly overhauled the
combs, Ac, and am sending you by this post
the dead queen, a couple of pieces of comb,
and two beetles, three of which I found in the
midst of the dead bees. 1. What age should
you judge the queen to be ? 2. Do you find
any trace of disease in the combs ? The only
thing I can detect is the odour from the
dead. 3. What are the beetles, and would
their presence have anything to do with the
bees not collecting any honey ? I am positive
there was nothing foreign in the hive when I
examined it in May. I have kept bees for a
number of years, but this lot has beaten me
altogether. I may mention that they were
much given to fighting last year, but neverthe-
less did pretty well, giving me about 35 lb.
surplus.

My bees, on the whole, have done fairly
well, considering the weather. I shall average
about 251b. per hive, best about 401b., this
leaving sufficient for wintering. I have had a
case of the queen laying in the sections this
season, the second time in my experience. — ■
A. T. H., Whitchurch.

[It is entirely beyond anyone at a distance,
and without personal inspection, to say what
has caused the mischief referred to. All we
have to judge by is the contents of box sent,
and a very sorry mess it is. If a dead queen
was enclosed she has been eaten or utterly de-
molished by the beetles which accompanied
her, and to which a great portion of the trouble
in the hive may probably be attributed. The
" pieces of comb " were also reduced to a foul-
smelling mass of filth by the same beetles, so
that we cannot help you at all in the matter.
The wonder is why such vermin was not
cleared out of the hive before the poor bees
had been worried out of existence by them. —
Eds.1

^ntxm and ^i^lm.

[1137.] Dealing with Vicious Bees. — I
know you are always willing to give advice on
all matters that perplex us poor bee-keepers,
so I beg to ask your advice on the following :
Last autumn I bought a queen — a hybrid —
paying a high price for her. She turned out
all right in plenty of progeny and good

THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL. [Aug. 30, 1894.

•workers. But their tempers, 0 dear ! A nest
of hornets would be tame by comparison. They
will not bear looking at, let alone handling ;
and the whole summer they have been a source
of trouble. This morning, I and a friend went
to prepare for removing surplus chambers in
usual way — by lifting them up and allowing bees
to escape — but had no sooner removed roof and
lifts than out the bees swarmed and started
their "innings." They swarmed over us in
hundreds ; they crawled under our clothes,
down into our boots, and stung like — well,
like bees only can sting when they make up
their minds to ! They attacked a man and
some chickens fifty or sixty yards away, and
fairly routed us from the field. I replaced the
roof, &c., as best I could, and then and there
registered a vow that when night came their
fate should be nothing short of " fire and
brimstone" — the effect, no doubt, of some
dozen or more stings. But, on second
thoughts, I came to the conclusion that
that was not a very business - like way
of going to work, and decided to ask your
advice on the following plan, namely, to re-
queen again this autumn. But — and here is
my difficulty — how to remove the queen and
the surplus honey ? I could make myself
impervious to their stings, but being in a
public place, and hundreds of people passing
within a few yards of them daily, I am unable
to protect them, and did they attack any one,
the consequences might be serious.

Could I use chloroform on them, and so
render them harmless for a time ; remove the
surplus and the queen, introduce new one,
shaking them all up together, allowing them
to come ty their senses, and find queen and all
going on as usual ? Or, instead of chloroform,
could I safely use cyanide of potassium ? If
I used in solution, and soaked cottonwool in
it, driving the fumes into hive, would that
in any way aff'ect honey in surplus chambers ?
Can ,you tell me how chloroform is adminis-
tered, or is there anything else I could use that
would quiet them for a time ? If I cannot
find any other means, I must go back to my
old idea, and destroy the whole colony. But
that I am loth to do. Trusting to have your
good advice in Bee Journal, to the arrival of
which I look forward every week with
pleasure. — G. 6. Lyox, Hastings.

Eeply. — We should not th'nk of using
chloroform ourselves in such a case ; for, with
your friend to keep the smoker going, and a
little tobacco in tbe " fuel," it ought to be
possible to make the fractious bees amenable
to handling, especially if a carbolic spray was
brought to bear on them while operating, and
the early hours of the morning chosen for the
the work before any one was astir. However,
it may, perhaps, be best to give the bees a
dose of chloroform by putting a few drops on
cotton wadding, inserting the latter in a bee-
smoker and gently giving a few pufis at the
entrance. We have had no experience of

chloroforming bees with supers on, so do not
quite know how the fumes will affect them in
the upper chambers ; but they must not be
overdosed, or the bees and brood may take
permanent harm. On no account use cyanide
of potassium. Supposing the queen to be
successfully removed, the bees are not likely
to again display their vicious tendencies for a
time at least, and so it would be well to see
them quite recovered and in normal condition
before investing in a queen to unite to them.
You should always use a super-clearer in
taking honey when bees are located close to a
thoroughfare,

[1138.] Mishap to Queen. — I this year com-
menced bee-keeping by purchasing three
swarms and placing them in frame-hives ; two
appear to be doing well, but I am in doubt as
to cause of bees of the third stock all dying or
disappearing. I purchased them through an
advertisement. Upon arrival I found them in
a small box, which contained comb that was
not secured in any way, and was, in consequence,
broken down and laying in bottom of box with
a great number of dead bees. The remainder
I placed in a hive and fed with syrup. They
appeared to begin well, drawing out founda-
tion, but have since gradually disappeared,
until now there are not more than twenty bees
left. I send herewith a frame of the comb
for your inspection, and shall be glad if you
will let me know through your valuable
Journal : — 1, Was it because the bees were
queenless that they have gone wrong ? 2. Is
the extending piece in foundation a queen -
cell ? 3. What is the dark substance in some
of the cells ? 4. Will it hurt to use the foun-
dation in another hive ? — W. W. Kirkman,
Chislehurst.

Reply. — 1. Yes. There is no doubt the queen
has met with some mishap, probably intratisit,
or at time of hiving. 2. Yes, it shows the
cell started. 3. Pollen. 4. The combs will
be very useful for the purpose named, and
may be used with good results.

[1139.] Returning Second Swarm. — I com'-
menced bee-keeping last year with a swarm
received on June 21, which I placed in a
frame-hive. On June 21 of this year they
swarmed, and I successfully hived them in a
new hive. I immediately put sections on to
No. 1, as I wished to prevent casts ; but on
July 1 a small lot came off, which I returned,
securing queen. On July 6 a much larger lot
came off, and after removing two combs and
replacing with sheets of foundation I returned
this lot also, again capturing queen. They
did not take to sections, wtiich were very
carefully wrapped, but this did noc surprise
me, as in some cases the farmers cut the clover
down before the flowers were in full bloom ;
but I was sorely disappointed, on examining
this lot about the end of July, to find that
they were actually dwindling away. I at once
came to the conclusion that in removing eomb

Aug. 30. 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

349

on July 6 I had destroyed the only remaining
queen. On August 4 I noticed the bees in
this hive slaughtering the drones, and (having
studied three good books on bees) this gave
me fresh hope. I fail to find any drones now,
but the population is certainly not on the
increase. It has been wretched weather here
since St. Swithin's, with twenty-six days dull,
showery, and cold, and only sixteen days
warm and moderately fine. I may add that
the majority of the combs are very difficult to
remove, as, being a novice, I did not insert full
sheets of foundation last year. What do you
advise me to do? — Northern, Durham,
A^igust 27.

Reply. — Examine combs for normal worker
brood, and if none is found, it becomes a
question for yourself to decide whether the
bees left are numerous enough :to be worth re-
queening, which we doubt. When returning
swarms under such conditions as you describe,
it is always best to let the queens run in with
the swarm.

[1140.] Some of my stocks of bees, which
have given good results during the honey
harvest, are now without any stores whatever,
having carried all they gathered into the
surplus boxes. Will they winter entirely
upon syrup, if fed up rapidly at once ? — R. T.

Reply. — Yes.

[1141.] Wiring "Starters'^ of Fouvdation. —
About five weeks ago I drove two stocks of
bees (which had swarmed and cast), and
placed them each on eight frames with starters
of foundation, wired with wire similar to piece
enclosed. 1. Will the queen be likely to lay
in the cells through which the wire passes,
and, if so, will the young bees (or larvae) die
through contact with the wire ? Also, would
the other bees remove their bodies (if they
did die) before they had time to cause disease ?
2. The said stocks have only half-bu'dt out
their combs, and have very little, if any,
stores, ought 1 to feed at once, and if so,
rapidly or slowly ? 3. Will they winter well
with American cloth quilts ? 4. Are the
enclosed bees queens, and to what race do
they belong 1 Are they pure blacks ? —
Inquirer, iStaffs., August 27.

Reply. — 1. If properly done, the wire
should be embedded in and covered with the
wax, but there is no need for wiring "starters"
at all. The queen or bees will not take kindly
to cells having bare wire running through
them, but no further harm will result. 2.
Feed at once ; slowly for ten days, and then
rapidly, till sufficient has been stored for
winter. Single driven stocks — from hives
which had swarmed twice— should have had
full sheets of foundation (not ''starters")
given, and been fed until they had built out
the combs. As it is, the bees have been over-
taxed with work ; and, even if safely wintered,
will build superfluous drqQe-cells next spring

in completing the combs. 3. Yes, other things
being favourable. 4. Queens of the common
or ordinary variety.

>hm ta ^mt

September 4 and 5.— At Coventry. In con-
nection with the Warwickshire Agricultural
Show. Annual show of the Warwickshire
B.K.A. Liberal prizes for honey, bees, and
appliances. For schedules apply J. N. Bower,
hon. sec, Knowle.

September 6. — At Castle-Douglas, N.B.
Very liberal special prizes for three 1-lb. jars
extracted honey. Entries close September 3.
T. Myers, secretary, Castle-Douglas, N.B.

September 12 and 13. — Scottish Bee-
Keepers' Association, in connection with the
show of the Caledonian Horticultural Society,
Waverley Market, Edinburgh. Schedules
now ready. John Wishart, assistant
secretary, Castlecraig, Dolphinton, N.B.

September 15. — In the Corn Exchange,
Jedburgh. Roxburghshire B.K.A. Annual
show of honey, &c. Twenty-seven classes.
Eight silver medals and liberal money prizes.
Entries close September 11. Thos. Clark,
secretary, Pleasants, Jedburgh, N.B.

Noticesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will he attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

John Taylor (Altyferin). — Broaching Sec-
tions at Shows. — Of course a judge has his
own opinion as to the necessity or otherwise
for breaking into sections at all when
judging them, and only in a close competition
— or where granulation is suspected — is it
usually considered necessary to do so, but to
" scoop a large piece from the middle of my
best section with a spoon '' shows, to say the
least, a want of consideration on the judge's
part which it is not desirable to see imitated
at shows gfn3rally.

W. H. C. (Tetsworth). — If combs are affected
with foul-brood they should be removed
from the hive and destroyed. Spraying
them with carbolic acid solution will not
cure the stock. All food given to bees in
infected stocks should be medicated. It is
not worth attempting to cure stocks unless
the bees are fairly strong.

Beginner (F.W.A.). — Moving Bees. — Bees,
moved so short a distance as one mile at
this season would (some of them, at least)
return to their old locanon. The honey in
surplus - chambers should, however, be
removed as soon as possible, and the bees
left where they now stand for a month, or as
much longer as convenient, providing that
feedin^-up could, if needed, b§ done where

350

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Aug. 30, 1894.

the hive now stands. Carrying on a hand-
barrow is the best method of transport.

Felix Bridgett. — Bees sent belong to the
genera J5om&ws, one of the common humble-
bee species.

FuMiGATOR. — Bee Food. — 1. The recipe we
recommend for making bee-syrup for
autumn is that given in Cowan's ''" Guide
Book." 2. For extracting wax from combs
nothing excels the "Gerster" wax-extractor,
which may be had from any appliance
dealer. 3. We can give no information re-
garding the bees referred to beyond what
has already appeared in our pages. 4. Mr.
Walton quoted an extract from the American
paper simply to show that your plan had
already been practised there.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, Jcc. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penivy.

BEES, Driven from Skeps, 1.=. 3d. per lb., with
Queen. Giles, Cowsfteld Apiary, Salisbury. F 8

EE TENT on HIRE. For terms, apply to G. GUNSTON,
Bradley Green, Wot,ton-under-Edge.

B

FOR SALE, 150 lbs. Extracted Pure English HONEY.
7J lb. on rail. Samples 3d. Collier, Nayland,
Colchester. F 6

DRIVEN BEES, Is. 6d. lb., or EXCHANGE for
Safety Bicycle or Tricycle. Haynes, Pillerton,
Kineton, Warwick. P 3

CHOICE SELECTED 1894 NATIVE QUEENS, Fertile,
3s. each post free ; safe arrival guaranteed. A. .1.
Carter, Newflekls Apiary, Billingshurst, Sussex. 236

F-OR SALE, Healthy DRIVEN BEES, with Queen,
Is. per lb. Package Is. John Davies, Bee-
keeper, Newport, Salop. F 2

FOR SALE, a limited number of DRIVEN BEES,
headed with 1894 Queens, for delivery in August
and September, Is. 6d. per lb. Orders executed in rota-
tion. C. Haynes, Hanley Castle, Worcester. E 52

NEW HONEY WANTED, any quantity, clean, well-
filled and sealed 1-lb. Sections. State quantity
and price for cash. Address, M. Charlton, Fruit Mer-
chant, Fawcett-street, Sunderland f 1

HEALTHY 1894 Fertile NATIVE QUEENS, 3s. 6d.
each. Four Stocks same strain have this season
yielded over 100 lb. each. A. Simpson, Mansfield Wood-
house, Notts. r 7

HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES, at Is. 3d. per lb., and a
young Queen ; packing-box returned. Choice
young Queens .it 2s. 6d. each. Address, E. Garner,
Broom, near Biggleswade, Beds. f 4

^^C) LBS. FINE CLOVER HONEY for SALE, in
-'■-'-'=-' screw-topped bottles, or in bulk ; 1 lb. sample
bottle sent post free upon receipt of nine stamps.
Deposit. J. Knewstubb, Brackenbar, Appleby, West-
moreland. F 5

GUARANTEED Healthy 1894 FERTILE QUEENS,
3s. 6d. each ; safe arrival and introduction.
DRIVEN BEES, Is. 3d. per lb. for 5-lb. lots or over.
Queen and Packing included. Address, C. Whiting,
Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suff'olk. e 89

HEALTHY BEES, guaranteed, with 1894 Queens.
3-frame Nuclei, 8s. ; 4-frame, 10s. ; 5-frame, 12s.
Also Healthy Driven Bees. Is. 4d. per lb., in 5-lb. lots,
with Queen. Apply, J. Trebble, Romansleigh, South
Molton. E 9x

DRIVEN BEES for SALE, Is. per lb., with young
Queen. Extra Queens, 2s. each. Guaranteed
healthy. Cases returnable, or Is. each. Apply, S.
Oaten, Expert, Prior's Park Farm, Pitminster, Taun-
ton. E 98

Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)

HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES, Is. 3d. per lb. ; in 5-lb.
lots. Boxes to be returned. E. Long, Cottingham,

Cambs. E 70

ANTED, SECTIONS of HONEYCOMB(flrst quality).
Prompt cash ; packages sent. Any quantity. E.
Hurst, Bexhill, Sussex. 235

L^ACB^PAPER^for GLAZING SECTIONS. Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, 8d., post free.
500, 25. 9d., post free. W. WooDLBY, Beedon, Newbury.

NOTICE.— CAR^BOLIC TOWEL, and Samples of my
BEE-SMOKE CARTRIDGES Free (during Sept.)
to all Purchasers of my CARBOLINE POMADE. T.
Holliday.

TNDISPENSABLE to HONEY DEALERS. — HAR-
i GRAVE'S Folding Cardboard BOXES for 1-lb.
Sections. Sample 3d. post free. Hargravb, Harro-

gate-road, Ripon.

ARKET for SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY,
and WAX. State price and quantity. Prompt
cash. Pa(-kages sent. Address, H., Bee Journal Office,
17, King William-street, Strand, London.

HOICE YOUNG QUEENS, excellent strain, pro-
duced by seven years' careful breeding, guaranteed
fertile, post free 5s., virgins, 2s. 6d. Rev. C. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex. 229

ARBOLINB pomade (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. HOLLIDAY, Astbury,
Congleton.

SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS'

GREAT

AUTUMN EXHIBITION

In the

WAVERLEY MARKET, EDINBURGH,

— on—
Wednesday & Thursday, 12th & 13th Sept

TWENTY-FOUR CLASSES.

VERY LIBERAL PRIZES

£11. 10s. -for DispSays of Honey.

£7 for Three 1-lb. Sections and

Three 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.

Wax. Confectionery.

Send immediately for a Schedule to .TOHlNT WISHART,
Assistant Secretary, Castlecraig, Dolphinton, N.B.

HONEY JARS.

A-lb., Is. per Doz ; 10s. per Gross; 9s. per Crate.
1-lh., Is. 3d. „ 123. „ 10s. „

2-lb., Is. 9d. „ 18s. „ 16s. „

BEST METAL CAPPED.

1-lb., 23. per Doz. ; 22s. per Gross ; 18s. per Cra'e

E. COANEY & CO.,

Glass Bottle Manufacturers,

39, DALE END, BIRMINGHAM.

MODERN BEE-KEEPING.

XTew Edition. 64th Thousand.

In course of preparation. Fully Revised throughout.
Ready in a few weeks. Terms for Advertisements upon
application to the Secretary of the British Bee-Keepers'
Association, JOHN HUCKLE,

King's Langley, Herts.

Sept. 6, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

351

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — Excepting:; for a few very
Wet, stormy days between the 21st and
26th ult. the AVeather has continued fine,
and bees have been constantly on the
wing. This leads us to hope for some
good " takes " of heather honey before
the close of September ; but it has
tended to make bees somewhat restless
and troublesome in districts where there
is no natural forage to keep them
employed, because of their tendency to
start robbing in warm, sunny weather,
with no food obtainable.

Feeding - up Light Stocks and
Driven Bees. — It will, no doubt, have
also rendered it difficult to get light-
stocks fed-up for winter without robbing
being started. Driven lots of bees put
on sheets of foundation and requiring to
be fed daily are very liable to attack in
this way unless great care is taken.
Crowds of marauders will sometimes so
harass the poor driven bees that they
are kept fully employed defending their
new home, and they cannot get on at all
rapidly Avith comb - building in con-
sequence. The only thing that can be
done to lessen the evil and help the bees
is to give Avarm syrup after nightfall —
not more than 1 lb. at a time — remove
feeders early next morning, and sub-
stituting a cake of soft candy for the
syrup during the day-time. Entrances
must also be reduced to h in. in Avidth,
and if the attack is persistently kept up,
use cloths damped Avith carbolic acid
on each side of entrance so long as it is
continued.

Young Queens for 1895.— There
seems to be quite an abundance of driven
bees on sale this autumn at very mode-
rate prices. They may also be had in
many districts for a very small cost
beyond the trouble of "driving," so that
if proper precautions are taken to have
only healthy bees, a good deal may be
done in the Avay of ensuring young
queens and plenty of bees for such stocks
as need them. This is Avell Avorth bearing
in mind, in vieAv of the importance of
having the right material in the shape of
young queens and abundance of bees to
carry stocks over the Avinter and start
AA^ell for next year's campaign.

In unitingadrivenlotof bees Avith queen
to a stock requiring strengthening and re-
queening, remove the old queen the day
before, and, Avhen introducing the driven
bees, remove the combs temporarily into
an empty hive, leaving a couple of frames
in the old hive. ThroAv the driven bees
out in front, and as they run in shake
the old bees from each frame on to them
before replacing the latter in the hive, so
that the bees get thoroughly mixed up
together. No fighting Avill take place,
and syruping or scenting Avill be needed.

An Improved Super-Clearer.— We
have not yet reached perfection in super-
clearers, at least, so thought Mr.
Meadows, of Syston, Avho has just made
another move forward, and introduced an
improvement in his " clearer," shoAA'n for
the first time at Shrewsbury the other
day. The ncAV feature will be very help-
ful— especially to amateurs — in times
Avhen bees are troublesome to manipulate,
and AA^hen the exposure of frames in
opening hives is not desirable. By its
means the bees can be admitted to surplus
chambers from beloAv, and shut off again
at the will of the bee-keeper by very
simple means. So that after boxes of
combs for extracting are first cleared of
bees by means of the usual spring escape,
the boxes are then removed, the honey
extracted, and the box of Avet combs re-
placed on the clearer for cleaning up by
the bees, Avhich are admitted at nightfall
by simply moving a slide. Next morning
the entrance from beloAv is again shut off,
and the bees are compelled to pass doAvn
through the escape. In this Avay a single
stock may do the cleaning up of several
lots of combs AAnih a minimum of disturb-
ance to the apiary, and no exposure at
all of bees or risk of stings.

THE DAIRY SHOW

AT THE AGRICULTURAL HALL, LONDOU.

The letter of a correspondent on p. 342 of
last Aveek's issue, calling attention to the above
important show, has aroused a good deal of
interest among our readers, and in response to
inquiries for further particulars, we give below
a summary of the classes for honey, together
with the amount of prizes offered for competi-
tion. We cannot add much to what was so
well said by our correspondent in the letter
referred to, beyond expressing our best wishes
for the success of the exhibition from the bee-
keepers' standpoint, and trusticg that the
interest in the Dairy Show may cause a good

352

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Sept. 6, 1894.

number of entries to come in from all parts of
the kinsdom.

The show takes place at a season when
" cheap trips " to the metropolis are frequent.
There are plenty of attractions besides the
"honey,'' and, moreover, if our honey-pro-
ducers rise to the occasion, it is not impro-
bable that, as our correspondent says, "cus-
tomers may be found for future seasons.'' Bat
no time must be lost in making entries, as list
closes on Monday next, the lOth inst.

The following are the prizes in the honey
classes : —

HOMEY CLASSES.

Twelve 1-lb. Jarr^. Priz-s, 203., 15s., 10s.,
and 53.

Twelve 1-lb. Sections. Prizes, 25s., 153.
10s., and 5s.

12-lb. Granulated, in jars not over 2 lb.
each. Prizes, 20s., 10s., and 53.

Not less than 1 cwt. Honey, in 7 lb., 1 i lb.,
or 28 lb. tins or commercia,! packages, for
wholesale trade. Prizes. 30^., 203., and lOi.

Not less than 28 lb., in packages similar to
above. Prizes, 203., lOs., and 5?.

Schedules may be had from the Secretary
of the Dairy P'armers' Association, Mr. 0. W.
Young, 191, Fleet-street, London, JE.C.

STAFFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

SHOW AT STONE.

This annual exhibition was again held on
August 29 and 30, in connection with that of
the Staftbrdshire Agricultural Society, which
in this instance celebrated its jubilee. The
bee-keepers' display was well worthy of the
occasion, consisting of 165 entries, showing
splendid quality in all departments, and
amounting to nearly one ton in weight, but
the tent accommodation was not nearly
spacious enough, and the splitting of the ex-
hibits detracted from its effectiveness. This
Avas especially noticeable in the lean-to tent,
hurriedly erected at the last moment to
accommodate the " Trophy " class. In a
suitably large tent the whole display would
have produced a splendid effect, of which any
association might well be proud. A most
pleasing feature was the increase in the
number and excellence of the cottagers' ex-
hibits, which were far in advance of previous
efforts. The exhibits of live bees were, as
usual, a centre of attraction during the show,
as were the lectures and demonstrations in the
bee-tent.

Much credit is due to the Rev. A. R.
Alsop, Mr. Crisp, Mr. Twentyman, and Mr.
Cock for their careful staging of the numerous
exhibits. The increasing i^opularity of the
Staffordshire Bee-keepers' Show is well seen in
the following entries for the past four years : —
Leek, 51 ; Stafford, 66 ; Lichfield, 136 ;
Stone, 165.

The duties of judging wee undertaken by

Mr. E. T. Jones, Etwall, Derby, and Mr. John
Palmer, Ludlow, Shropshire ; and on the
second day of the show the latter also con-
ducted an examination of candidates for third-
class certificates of proficiency in apicalture.

Prize List.
Honey (Members' Classes).

In any form not exceeding 150 lb. — 1st, W.
Williams, Lichfield ; 2nd, J. R. Critchlow,
Maer Farm, Newcastle ; 3rd, Elihu Clowes,
Blackbrook, Newcastle ; 4th, A. W. Rollins,
Stourbridge ; 5tb, Joseph H. Collier, Stafford ;
v.h.c, S. B. Fox, Maer ; h.c, Harry Wood,
Paradise, Lichfield.

Twelve l-lb. Sections. — 1st, J. Pellington,
Stafford ; 2nd, J. R. Critchlow ; 3rd, W,
Williams ; 4th, Elihu Clowes ; h.c, Mrs.
R. P. Cooper, Shenston Court.

Twelve 1-lb. Jars JExtracted Honey. — 1st,
Rev. G. W. Skene, Crewe ; 2 ad, E. Clowes ;
3rd, Thomas Cooper, Newcastle ; 4th, George
T. Knowles, Burtin-on-Trent ; v.h.c, J.
Pellington ; h.c, J. H. Collier ; Mrs. Henry
Cooper, Eccleshall ; S. B. Fox.

Six 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, E. Oilman,
Ingestre ; 2nd, J. R. Critchlow ; 3rd, Henry
Wilkes, Sandon Hall Gardens.

Design in Comb Honey. — 1st, J. R.
Critchlow.

Single 1-lb. Section and Jar. — 1st, F.
Harper, Uttoxeter ; 2nd, E. Oilman ; 3rd,
G. Cheadle, Burston ; 4th, J. Pellington ; h.c,
E. Clowes.

Non-sectional Super. — 1st, T. Pearsall,
Stafford ; 2nd, Miss M. J. Fox, Maer.

Six 1-lb. Jars Gramdated Honey — 1st, F,
Harper ; 2nd, Harry Wood ; 3rd, MissWoolfe,
Madeley.

Twelve 1-lb. Jars of Darlc Honey. — 1st,
Henry Wilks ; 2nd, Mrs. R. P. Cooper ; 3rd,
Harry Wood ; h.c, F. Harper and S. B. Fox ;
c, Wm. Stendall, Penkridge.

Three Frames of Comb. — 1st, W. B.
Bagnall, Stafford ; 2nd, E. Clowes ; 3rd, S. B.
Fox ; v.h.c, H. Wilks.

Six 1-lb. Sections {in Blow's Sections). — 1st,
J. R. Critchlow ; 2nd, G. Cheadle.

Six 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey {in Bloiu's
Screw-cap Jars. — 1st, Miss Woolfe ; 2nd, T.
Cooper ; v.h.c, H. Wilks and G. T. Knowles.

OPEN classes.

Twelve 1-lb Sections. — 1st, J. Stone, Sud-
bury, Derby; 2nd, Miss S. A. Ward, Haduall
HaJl, Shrewsbury.

Twelve 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st,
the Rev. E. Charley, Chester ; 2nd, S. Eaton,
Audlem, Cheshire ; v.h.c, J. Pellington ; h.c,
Samuel Cartright, Shawbury ; F. Harper,
Miss Ethel Chester, Melton Mowbray ; c,
Philip H. Rawson, W. G. Bagnall, Rev. G. W.
Skene.

labourers' classes.

Comb Honey. — 1st, G. Cheadle ; 2nd,
Richard Middleton, Stafford ; 3rd, G. Wood-
ward, Admaston.

Sept. 6, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

353

Extracted Honey. — 1st, G. Cheadle ; 2nd,
R. Heathcotc, Blitlifield ; 3rd, G. Woodward;
he, R. Middleton.

Beeswax.~-\ii, S. E. Fox ; 2nd, J. R.
Critchlow ; 3rd, E. Clowes ; h.c, F. Harper.

OI)servatory Hive, with Bees. — 1st, E. E.
Crisp, Stafford ; 2nd, A. W. Rollins ; 3rd,
W. Williams.

Collection of Applimices. — 1st, Charles Red-
shaw. South Wigston, Leicester ; 2nd, Thomas
Walmesley, jnn., Lichfield.

WOTTON-UNDER-EDGE B.K.A.

The annual show of the Wotton-iinder-Ed^e
B.K.A. was held in connection with the
annual ft'te on Saturday, July 21. About
800 lb. of honey was staged, and the whole
display looked very well, and did the exhi-
bitors great credit. Some extracted honey of
excellent quality was staged, and the com-
petition in this class was very keen. Entries
for sections were fewer, no doubt owing to the
fact that the demand for comb honey in the
district is smaller, and in consequence they do
not pay so well for producing. The judging
was performed by Mr. E. J. Burtt, of Glouces-
ter, whose awards were as follows : —

Honey in any Form. — 1st, W. Griffin ; 2nd,
G. Gunston ; 3rd, J. Rudge.

Twenty-four 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, A. H.
Chanter ; 2nd, Mrs. Till ; 3rd, General Burn.

T wenty-four 1-lb, Jars of Extracted Honey.
—1st, W. Hulance ; 2nd, "C. W. Workman ;
3rd, F. Tilley.

Tivelve l-lb. Sections. — 1st, W. Hulance ;
2nd, A. H. Chanter ; 3rd, J. Lovell.

Twelve 1-lh. Jars of Extracted Honey. — 1st,
Mrs. Till ; 2nd, W.' Hulance ; 3rd, A. J.
Brown.

Honey in any Form., not over 50 lb. — 1st,
C. Workman ; 2nd. G. Griffin.

Beeswax. -1st, W. Griffin ; 2nd, G. Gun-
ston ; 3rd, INIrs. Till.

IFasps jSlest. — 1st, A. J. Brown ; 2nd, G.
Parker.

Collection of Bee Flowers. — 1st, A. J.
Brown ; 2nd, G. Griffin.

HONEY SHOW AT DUNFERMLINE.

This show was held at Dunfermline, in the
East End Park, in connection with the Dun-
fermline and West of Fife Horticultural
Society, on Friday and Saturday, August 31
and fceptember 1. The committee had four
classes for honey to be competed for by mem-
bers, and all the classes were fairly well filled.
The honey exhibited was all of good quality.
Mr. Dawson had a good display of bee-
appliances, and Mr. J. L. Broadfoot, Edin-
burgh, acted as judge.

AWARDS.

Six l-lb. Sections.— 1st, G. Philj), Midfield ;
2nd, Wm. Reid, Carnock.

Six l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — Is'', I.
Brown, Baldridgeburn ; 2nd, Wm. Keid.

Two Shallow - Frames Honey. — 1st, G
Weston, Grantsbank ; 2nd, Wm. Reid.

Exhibit (any sort. Bees or Honey). — 1st
(silver medal), Wm. Reid ; 2nd, G. Weston. —
( Communicated.)

DARNAWAY MOYNESS
DISTRICT B.K.A.

AND

The annual show of the above association
was held in connection with the Dyke Horti-
cultural Society's Show on Brodie Castle
grounds on August 1. Considering the very
unfavourable weather for honey gathering in
this district, it was a very good show. Mr. G.
McLean judged the honey and Mr. W. Archi-
bald the hives and appliances, and made the
following awards : —

Straw Super. — 1st, D. McDonald, White-
mire.

Crate of Honey. — 1st, A. McKenzie, Aul-
dearn.

Six l-lb. Sections. — 1st, A. McKenzie.

Three l-lb. Jars Run Honey. — 1st, A.
McKenzie ; 2nd, W. McDonald ; 3rd, J.
Donaldson.

Three l-lb. Jars Heather Honey. — Ist, C.
Johnstone ; 2nd, D. Eraser ; 3rd, A.
McKenzie.

Three l-lb. Jars Granulated Honey. — 1st,
D. McDonald ; 2nd, W. McDonald ; 3rd, C.
Johnstone.

Frame of Honey in Comb. — 1st, A.
McKenzie ; 2nd, Jno. Donaldson.

l-lb. Cake of Wax. — 1st, A. McKenzie ;
2nd, C. Johnstone ; 3rd, Mrs. McKenzie,
Whitemire.

Collection of Ajypliances. — 1st, J. Donald-
son.

Collection Made by Exhibitor. — 1st, J.
Donaldson ; 2nd, A, George.

Observatory Hive with Bees. — 1st, J. Donald-
son.

Glass Super of Honey. — 1st, A. McKenzie ;
2nd, Mr. Brown. Berrylea.

One l-lb. iiection.—lat, W. McDonald ; 2nd,
W. McDonald ; 3rd, D. McDonald.

Two 2-lb. Sections. — 1st and 2nd, C. John-
stone ; 3rd, W. Brown.

Two medals were also given for the highest
number of points. Mr. McKenzie won one,
Mr. J. Donaldson the other .— {Comm^mi-
cated.)

SHOW AT KNIGHTON, RADNOR-
SHIRE.

The committee of the Knighton Horticul-
tural Society encouraged the bee-keeping
interest in their locality by inserting three
classes for honey in the schedule of their
exhibition held at Knighton on August 31.
The entries were not numerous, but were all
of first- class quality, not a second-rate exhibit
being staged in any class. The extracted
honey shown was of uniformly fine colour and

354

THE BKITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Sept. 6, 1894

great densit}'. Sections were exceptionally-
fine and well filled for the aeasoa. The
staging was tffectively carried out by Mr.

A. Hamer, Llanarthney, and Mr. John Palmer,
of Ludlow^, acted as judge : —

Prizk List.
Six \4h. Jars Extracted Honey {open). — 1st,

B. G. Brocklehurst, Ludlow ; 2Qd, Geo.
Bullock, Craven Arms ; v.h.c., Mr. J. Dew-
burst, Pamprenton ; h.c, Mr. T. Pritchard,
Weymore.

Six l-lh. Sections (open). — 1st, T. Lloyd,
Cilmery, Radnor ; 2nd, Phil. Joaes, Church
Stretton.

Best Exhibit of Honey.— 1st, B. G. Brjckle-
hurst.

(lf0rrapnd£n;tt.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice %uill be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real namss and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

BEE-KEEPING AS AN OCCUPATION.

[2060.] Trusting that I am not imposing
too much on your generosity by asking the
following questions, I should like the opinion
of some one more experienced than myself
before coming to a decision, under the follow-
ing circumstances :— I am a young man with
a situation (indoor work, partly writing),
which the doctor tells me is very injurious to
my health, although I am sound. He there-
fore advises me to leave it, and obtain a situa-
tion where I shall be more in the open air.
My present salaiy is £57 per annum.

I know of no occupation I am capable of
following out in the open air except that of
bee-keeping. This I already understand fairly
well, having kept bees in bar-frame hives for
eleven years, and I have also recently obtained
a "first-class " (advanced stage) in scientific
agriculture, taking bee management as one of
the questions. My house is very well situated,
with ample accommodation for carrying on a
large apiary, and the district is considered a
very good one for honey, as the fields are all
pasture — soil, clay loam — and are white with
clover bloom in season ; lime, Spanish nut,
and blackberry are also plentiful ; and just
one mile away is Cannock Chase, where the
bees obtain sufficient heather honey to carry
them through the winter, after taking the
whole of the other honey from them. I think
there are not more than thirty hives kept
within five miles from me any way, about
fifteen half a mile to the north, fifteen half a
mile to the south, and east and wfst ml. I
could stock an apiary with 150 hives, and
still then have £100 left to fall upon in case
of bad season, &c.

I calculate that 150 hives will average
30 lb of honey per hive each year, which, if

sold at 5d. par lb. , would bring in a yearly
income of £93. los., and, allowing £23. 15?.
for expenses, paint, &c , I should have £70 per
annum, an increase of £13 on my present
salary, and better health. I am also an expe-
rienced poultry-keeper, and could fill my spare
time in the winter at other things.

I have taken 30 lb. as an average for good
seasons and bad, and 5d. per lb. for honey, as
I consider this the lowest it is likely to fall to.
I obtain now lOd. per lb. retail, and 8d.
wholesale, and often tike over 60 lb. from a
hive, and I have no winter or spring feeding.
I have also omitted to alloiv for swarms I
might sell. I think you will now understand
what I require, and shall be very pleased if
you will kindly give me your opinion in the
British Bee Journal on the following
questions : —

1. Are 150 hives too many to keep together
in one apiary ? Are there any apiaries so
large as this ? 2.1 have now eleven hives.
Could I increase these to thirty next season,
sixty the following season, 100 the following,
and 150 the next, with a certainty of obtaining
a little honey to cover working expenses ?
3. Do you think 30 lb. per hive a fair average,
and is the price of honey likely to fall below
5d. per lb. ? 4. Could one man manage 150
hives in the season ? 5. Do you think it
likely, "after allowing for working expenses,"
that the average income from 150 hives would
fall below £oO per annum? — Simpleton,
Staffs, August 28.

[Before giving our opinion on the questions
enumerated above, we deem it necessary to
say that our uniform rule is to endeavour to
dissuade persons from engaging in the occupa-
tion of bee-keeping in this country as & sole
means of obtaining a livelihood. From this
rule it is not our intention to depart. There
is, however, in the details famished by our
correspondent much t5 cause us to think
favourably of the position as presented above.
In the first place, he is giving up present
employment from necessity, not choice.
Second, he possesses the great advantage of
eleven years' experience as a bee-keeper, and a
full knowledge of the locality in which he
resides as a honey district. Third, t*ie pro-
spective average is based on what he has
already secured in the pxst, and the price of
his produce is fixed at a much lower rate than
he obtains at present. Fourth, he understands
poultry-keeping and proposes to add it to the
business, besides "filling up spare time in
winter at other things.'' Fifoh, the income
expected is a modest one, and he possesses
sufiicieut capital to enable him to secure '• best
terms '' for all he requires, and would thus
start under the most favourable conditions.

All this tends to clear the way for a plain
reply to the several questions put, which we
answer as follows :— 1. Yes, 150 stocks would
be better and safer if divided into fifties and
located two or three miles apart for several
reasons, but mainly in case of disease breaking

Sept. 6, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

3.53

out. We do nob know of any one in thU
country who keeps so many as 150 hives,
though 'aeveral hive over 100. 2. So much
would depend on seasan for queen-rearin'^f and
safihj dividing for incrja^e at the rate pro-
posed that' we could promise no " certainty "
io the matter. Besides, in the case of m iking
a business of bee-keepincr it would be best to
start with more than eleven stocks. 3. Ye^,
30 lb. per hive is not at all an exfcravag;ant
average to count on, and for good honey 5d. is
a very low price, especially when considering
that a portion would be sold retail. 4. No.
In the bu^y season some help would be
required, particularly in the way of having a
handy person to watch for and hive swarms at
out-apiaries. 5. As we have said, the pro-
spects of realising £50j per annum under the
circumstances detailed above are, in our
opinion, quite likely of fulfilment, but in the
wiiole business it depends as much upon the
capacity and aptitude of the individual as
upon anything else for making it pay.. — Eds.]

A BEE-KEEPER'S HOLIDAY.

[2061.] Your correspondent whose letters
on queen-culture are so appreciated in your
pages (if you please we will call him the
" Thornton Heath-un '') has been devoting a
great part of his holiday to going in and out
among the hives in parts of Kent and Surrey,
rendering bee-keepers a good deal of help.
Not a few are the stocks he has driven that
were condemned to the sulphur-pit. He has
also had confirmation of our bad honey
season in Kent, for most of the skep-conib
was almost bare of stores, and some of this
year's swarms actually starved already. I
can see that practice in queen culture gives a
very special aptitude in " driving " and mani-
pulating bees. Our friend (and his young son,
too) could almost invariably " spot '' the queen
at once, and what is worth observing is that
queen-rearing begets an excessive care in
manipulating lest "mother" should be injured
or fall, and not find her way home. In one
particular instance I " took it for granted "
the queen was safe, although unseen ; but
carefulness dictated a final search, and our
friend at the last moment found her on the
ground. Several days (with intervals for
disinfection of clothing) were devoted to
tracing an outbreak of foul- brood not very
far from Swanley. We examined every skep
— as far as that is possible — but at length
discovered an affected frame-hive 300 yards
northward in a "bee line'' with an old
centre of disease, a mile and a half away.
Both stocks were destroyed. Cottagers have
no time for " curing experiments," and healthy '
stocks are endangered. On a subse-
quent journey in same district we found
three skeps — which had been brought from
the old centre referred to— moved half
a mile further out, so that in two direc-
tions in this particular locality the radius

of mischief had extended itself outward
since last autumn. Thus the disease advances,
and, but for our friend's help, it would pro-
bably have remained undiscovered. The need
in every county is a conscientious, painstaking
expert constantly " on the go '' for eight
months out of twelve. Alas, this is " a big
order,'' but our Associations must till it or fail
in a duty. We found many readers of the
B.B.J, and Record, and, unfortunately, one
or two who made light of " F.B " To such, in
a general way of speaking, probably much of
the existing mischief is due. " Braula cceca "
(the parasite known as blind louse) prevailed
in many stocks, workers usually indulging in
but one of these red-coated parasites. Some
queens had five. One had five of quite a faint
colour. This parasitic preference.for " royalty "
is probably due to broader opportunities and
court fare, but these uncanny insects have too
many human counterparts.

Our friend was unable to join us in a driving
expedition at Lenham. Lenham is half way
between Maidstone and Ashford. The village
has some picturesque points and architecture
of other days, making the spot well worth a
visit. Mr. William Smith, who has a patch in
his garden literally crammed with skeps, gave
us much information and some capital stocks
to drive. We could have had a score from
the neighbourhood, but, for want of time, we
had to be content with saving ten lots from
suliihuring. Lenham district abounds in skeps,
and would make a capital location for some
modern hives. — ^Kent Bee-Keeper, Sept. \st.

AMONG THE BEES.

QUILTS VERSUS WOOD-COVERS OVER THE
BEES.

[2062.] Now I am not going to advocate the
use of honey boards or wood covers instead of
quilts, but, in an American bee journal I read
the following, penned by one who, we may
rely upon it, knows what he ^ is writing
about : " The chief reason why cloths are used
at all is because the bee-spaces are too large,
and the old-fashioned thin top-bars '' (these
are the bars now in use in Britain; " render
them almost a necessity. With thick tap-
bars and proper bee-spaces over the sections, a
cloth or quilt is worse than useless " (the italics
are mine). One cannot but agree that the
last sentence savours a little of dogmatism.
By the foregoing, according to the writer, we
are, by using quilts, doing that which is an
almost imperative necessity in this country,
where thin top-bars and spaces under the
sections are in vogue.

In a large apiary the expense of quilts forms
a rather serious item. They get gnawed, not
only by the bees, but by the larvae of moths,
&c., and, to say the least, at most times look
very untidy. Now, a honey-board or wood
covering to the frames or sections means a
large outlay at first, but they are compara-

356

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 6, 1894.

tively indestructible, the first expense being
the only one. I have had some experience of
wood coverings to the frames, as many years
ago a maker — I don't know who it was —
fashioned his hives with wood coverings over
the frames ; indeed, a well-known London
maker of bee-appliances has made, and may
perhaps make at the present day, a frame hive
having in place of quilts a wood frame filled
in with straw, fashioned in the manner of the
straw of a skep. To be concise, I don't like the
wood covering or the straw. But a few weeks
ago I had to remove both the wood and straw
coverings or honey-boards from oft' several
hives, and, to say the least — the honey
flow having ceased at the time — it was a
trifle lively for a few seconds ; I rather
wished the boards in another part of her
Majesty's dominions. I thought what a
pleasure in comparison it was to quietly peel
off an enamel quilt and subjugate the bees
while so doing. As no doubt many of my
readers are aware, I have not used a smoker
for quite nine years, and now I have even
given up using a fumigator, finding another
and simpler method of subjugation superior to
either. As these means adapt themselves just
nicely to quilts, I, for one, should not like to
see the honey-board or wood covering take
their place, though if found superior either
for the apiarist or the bees to quilts, I could no
doubt find a method of subjugation applicable
to these.

I take it that all the American honey-boards
have a bee-space on the under side — I have,
or rather had, a Heddon hive with such a
space provided in the fiat roof — so they do
not become affixed very firmly to the frame
tops as the Eoglish honey-board does. This
latter is one of the principal reasons for my
dislike to them, as, when prising them up,
they are certain to lift one or more frames
with them. Now, usually one or more of
these frames break away when the board has
been lifted an inch or so, and, falling back
into their places with quite a loud bump,
cause a commotion in the hive, which takes a
lot of subjugation to subdue ; in fact, the bees
are never after, during that manipulation, in a
very " kind " condition. I have noticed this to
frequently take place when lifting off" a rack
of sections, so always make it a rule to push
back all the frames, when a rack is being
removed, by inserting a chisel or screw-driver
down the sides of the super for that purpose.
The honey-board or cover would not adapt
itself to our supers as with the Ameri-
can hives, their section-racks being formed
by the sides of the lift proper, and are
not in the majority of cases a separate
appliance as with us. Wood covers to suit our
frames and racks could easily be made, but
here steps in a difficulty. We should require
two to each hive, one for the frames and
one for the rack. I am rather of opinion that
bees would winter very much better with wood
covers, well cleated together, and a bee space

on the under side. I shall make several of
these this autumn, aud winter a few stocks
with them. I don't exactly " catch on " to all
the American plans. I once wintered two
stocks in a "clamp" with exceedingly gra-
tifying results when removed in early spring,
but they directly after dwindled to absolutely
nothing ; hence, with the results of other ex-
periments I have made, I have 3ome to the
conclusion that what will suit American bee-
keeping will not always suit British, and no
doubt vice versa. — W. B. Webster, Binfield,
Berks.

PROPOLTSING "WELL3" DUMMIES.

[2063.] I notice that from time to time your
correspondents " complain " of bees not clus-
tering on the dummy of a hive worked on Mr.
Wells' method. This in all probability is due
to the entrances being in opposite ends of the
hives instead of side by side. When the
former is the case the bees naturally elect to
cluster near the entrance, and if both stocks
are weak the dummy will not be included in
the cluster. With regard to propolisation of
the holes I find it is a question of race. (Jar-
niolans will propolise in large quantities,
whilst with Italians the holes are never filled
up. As a trifling token of the great amount
of help I have gained from your columns I
beg to forward jou one of my feeders, illus-
trating how convenient I have found ordinary
draught-tubing for close-fitting dummies, &c.,
without jar in manipulation. — Clement Coke,
Longford, Derby, Attgnst 29.

[Many thanks for dummy feeder. W^e have
found it quite useful just now in feeding-up
driven bees troubled by robbers. By giving a
half-pint of syrup in the tin case each night,
and a cake of soft candy in the other portion
of dummy, we have had the syrup taken
during the night, and the candy keeps the bees
"going" all along, without the temptation to
robbing aff'orded by syrup-feeding during the
daytime. — Eds.]

A CORRECTION.

[2064.] In B.J. of August 16 (p. 330), in
reply to J. C. Barnlett (Penzance), you refer
to Mr. Meadows, of Syston, as the only maker
who manufactures the " Wells " hive on the
" W. B. C." plan. Now, as a matter of fact,
my " Wells '' hives have always been made on
this plan, and I was the only one who
originally made them so, and I have advertised
them as such for the past two years.

On introducing the hive to public notice I
called it the " W. B. C. Wells hive," but at
your own request I dropped the " W.. B. C,"
and now call the hive the " Wells," but you
will see by the enclosed printed description
that it is made the same as it originally was,
i.e., on the "W. B. C." plan throughout. I
should be glad if you would, in justice to me,
kindly call attention to these facts in next

Sept. 6, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

357

issue of the 1^ B.J. —Charles Redsiiaw,
Soidk Wiq4on.

[The ioformation furnished on p. 330 Avas
the result of a search among all the dealers'
catiiloijues we had by u.s, Mr. Redsliaw's, un-
fortunately, not amonj^f them, while the fact he
has referred to had entirely passed from our
memory. We do, however, now remember it,
and gladly publish the above correction.
— Eds.1

CURING FOUL BROOD.

[2065.] With your permission I should like
to give niv experience of curing foul brood by
the " McEvoy " .system, or a modification of it,
as I gave clean hives each time, as I soe
your correspondent, " M. K." (2054. p. 334),
in last week's issue, is complaining of want of
success, I had a " Wells " hive formed last
autumn by a stock in one end and some
driven bees in the other. The driven bees
came to hand in very bad condition, more than
half being dead, through being sent in too
small boxes, and improper ventilation. How-
ever, they worked well, and came through the
winter, but not strong. By-and-by I dis-
covered that both lots had foul brood badly,
smelling very strong and hundreds of rotting
grubs in the cells. Sometime ([ believe early
in June) I decided to give the McEvoy
system a trial. I jjut both lots together
in a clean hive on '"starters," and the two
lots combined only made a weak lot.

I allowed them to work four days and again
removed them, putting them back in their old
hive on full sheets of foundation, thoroughly
cleaning the hive, and giving it a coat inside
and out of " Blundell's petrifying liquid,"
which seems to nio to be a mixture of shellac
and naphtha. I fed them on syrup medicated
with " naphthol beta," as the weather was wet.
They did splendidly, having slabs of brood in
a few weeks, with not a single dead grub.
They threw me a fair swarm the first week in
August, which I hived and put in the other
end of parent hive, and they have now a
S2)lendid lot of brood, clean and healthy. And
ou examining the old stock for queen the other
day, I could not see a single cell that the bees
had not hatched out of. Of course, with such
a summer, they have yielded no surplus. But
at the expense of a few shillings for sugar and
a little trouble I have now my "Wells" hive
stocked with healthy bees. I may say I burnt
the frames and combs as a matter of course,
and am quite satisfied with the method
adopted.

Speaking of " Wells '' hives, will you just
allow me to say how I make a cheap and
efficient "Wells" dummy. I get a length of
board used for picture-frame backing, 5 ft. by

II in. for 3d. ; glue it together, one piece
lengthways the other cross, clean it off with
a plane, and get a harness-maker's punch and
punch holes in it, as many and as fast as you
like. Take then a top-bar of a frame, or

similar piece of wood ; insert the wood into
slot, and glue it. Cut to exact s'ze, and if
you like, bind ends with tin ; but being made
with the wood crossed, there is not much fear
of warping, and the thickness is under \ in.
Were it not that the wood is rather knotty,
one could make two for the 3d. — Gr. C. Lyon,
Hastings, August 27.

[The above is very satisfactory ; the only
point not quite clear being whether the bees
were really affected with foul brood or not.
Mistakes are so frequently made by corre-
spondents who send samples of what they
suppose to be foul broody comb to us for in-
spection— basing their opinioa on the very
offensive smell which "chilled brood" his
after being dead in the cells for some days — -
that we are compelled to make this reservation
in the interest of all. — Eds.]

A NOVICE'S REPORT.

[2066.] In reading the report of the South of
Scotland Bee-keepers' Association's show at
Dumfries in Bke Journal of August 23 re
the " Designs in Honey-comb." I am a novice
in bee-keeping, and will be glad to have some
information as to what it is meant by it, and
how it is done ?

I begai bee-keeping in 1892 by taking a
skep of bees that had been condemned to the
sulphur-pit. I had never seen bees driven or
a swarm hived, but always had a mind to keep
bees, but never could manage to raise funds to
purchase a swarm. A friend, however, lent
me a " Guide Book,'' I studied it, and with its
help I constructed a hive, and after buying
some empty combs, a cottager offered me some
bees that he was about to burn. So for the
first time I tried my hand at bee-driving
according to instructions in the " Guide Book,"
and I was successful. I put them on nine
frames, took them home, and gave them 28-lb.
of syrup. They wintered well, and came out
strong in spring, and last year I took from my
hive sixty-three well-filled sections. En-
couraged by my success, I increased my apiary
this year to four hives ; three from driven bees
and one (a double swarm from two skeps
which joined of themselves) was put in box ;
last week I drove the bees out and united
them to a frame-hive. The honey I obtained
from that box weighed 111b. — rather acontrast
from 1893. In fact, all my four stocks this
year will not yield more than one-half of what
the single hive did in 1893. Not very en-
couraging, is it '? But what can't be cured
must be endured, and we must hope for a
better harvest next year. I fear skeppists will
fare badly this year, for I lately felt the weight
of some swarmed skeps, and I am sure the
skeps, honey, bees, and all did not weigh more
than 7 or 8 lb. — Enthusiast, Suffolk.

[Particulars of how to make " honey-comb
designs" appeared in our monthly, the Record,
which will be sent for 2^d. in stamps. — Eds.J

85^

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 6, 1894.

METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.

August, 1894.

Locality, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.

Height above sea-level, 225 ft.

Rainfall, 226 in. ; heaviest fall, 0-33 in.
on 9th.

Rain fell on nineteen days.

Max. shade temp., 72° on 30th.

Min. temp., 36° on 20th.

Max. shade temp, at 9 a.m., 64° on 13th.

Min. temp, at 9 a.m , 52° on 23rd and 29th.

Frosty nights, nil.

Max. barometer, 30-2° on 30 th.

Min. barometer, 29 '3 on 15th.

Weather very showery and cold for the first
three weeks ; afterwards very fine indeed,
giving one a good chance to prepare stocks for
wintering. A few wasps seen about the hives.
Bees inclined to be very vicious, similar to
what they were in 1892. Fightirg also pre-
valent between those even of the same com-
munity. A high barometer at close of
month, but slightly falling. Some heavy
dews and foggy mornings.

Percy Leigh.

WEATHER REPORT FOR AUGUST,

1894.
Westbourne, Sussex.

Rainfall, 2*14 in.
Heaviest fall, 038 in.

on 24th.
Rain fell on 17 days.
Above average, 0'28 in.
Max. Temperature,

70° on 31st.
Min. Temperature, 41°

on 21st.
Sunshine, 162 '5 hours.
Brightest Day, 13th,

11 "3 hours.

Sunless Days, 1.
Below average, 36'5

hrs.
Mn. Maximum, 63'6°.
Mn. Minimum, 52-7°.
Mean Temperature,

58-2°.
Maximum Barometer,

30-49° on 30th.
Minimum Barometer,

29-76° on 15th.

L. B. BiRKRTT.

(^mr'm and |le^lies.

[1142.] Width of Edging for Section.— I.
I should be greatly obliged if you would kindly
inform me what width of edging to the glazed
case is permissible when exhibiting sections'?
or rather what amount of comb area must be
visible ? 2. I discovered a few days ago that
one of my queens (she was hatched last year
and swarmed this summer) had evidently
ceased laying for over three weeks, and had
just begun laying again. Does the result of
your experience tend to show that it would be
advisable to destroy her and give the stock
another queen ? — Clement Coke, Longjord,
Derby, August 29.

Reply. — 1. When width of edging is re-
stricted at shows it is usually limited to § in.
round the whole face of section, but it is well
to conSne the co'^ering-up to this extent e^en

when no restriction is imposed, as no compe'*
tent judge is deceived by hiding faults in Ihi^
way. 2. We should rather suspect the queen'd
productive powers to be failing if breeding
ceased for so long a time at end of July, and
would re-queen, if convenient.

[1143.] Dealing with a Singh Cell of Foul
Brood. — 1. Please tell me to what variety
the enclosed bees belong. 2. In one of my
frame-hives 1 have found oJie cell, the contents
of which answers only too well to the descrip-
tion of foul brood. There is a good patch of
apparently healthy brood on the same and
other combs, and I have cut the bad cell out.
Kindly tell me what to do for this hive, and
to preserve the others from infection. Also,
will section rack, &c., just removed, be in-
fected 'I — Soo, Sussex, Aug. 29.

Reply. — 1. Hybrid Carniolan. 2. Watch
how the remaining sealed brood comes on, and
if it hatches out all right, feeding for winter
with medicated food, together with keeping
up supply of naphthaline in all hives, may
stop further mischief If, however, more
brood is found dead, the bees should be got
off the combs, and compelled to build new
ones from sheets of foundation. 3. If washed
in hot soda and-water the rack may be used
again.

[1144.] Bees-ivcix for Shoiving. — 1. Could
you give me the necessary information regard-
ing the preparing of the bees'- wax for show
purposes ? also to keep it from cracking while
cooling ? 2. Is there any particular way of
keeping it yellow ? I find some of it has
becooae quite white. — Andrew Bon, Mon-
mouth, August 30.

Reply. — 1. Only the finest wax should be
selected, extracted from combs in which no
brood has been reared, or from the cippings of
such combs. Boil and ladle off the clear wax
as it rises to the surface into a vessel of hot
water. When the latter is cold the wax is
lifted off in a cake, and, after scraping from the
underside any discoloured matter, re-melt in
clean water, skimming it off as before. Cooling
very gradually keeps it from cracking. 2.
The colour should not change if the wax is
kept in the dark.

[1145.] Uniting Swarms. — I began bee-
keeping this year, having bought two stocks in
bar-frame hives in April. Both swarmed, and
one threw ofl" a side-swarm, and I united the
three swarms in one hive, allowing them to
choose their own queen. This I did about the
middle of June. I gave them ten frames,
with only half-sheets of foundation^ and fed
them slowly with bottle-feeder up to last
week. On examining them yesterday (29th)
I found no brood in the four centre frames
(the ones taken out and examined), but there
were several queen-cells, a good deal of pollen,
and some drone bees. Is the hive likely to be
queenles^? and, under the circumstances

Sept. 6, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

359

(there are still plenty of bees), what would
you advise me to do'^ — Daniel Manders3N,
The Manse, Minterhurn, August 30.

Reply. — The stock is evidently queenless,
and if a j'oung fertile (j^ueen or— better still —
if a second swanu could be had for a small
sum beyound the trouble of driving, it would
be worth the cost to start the bees again.

[1146.] llcstartirig Bce-lcceping. — Having
been out of the bee-world for a year or two,
I am not an courant, and should be glad to
know (1) if the practice of placing a lift or
" eke " under body of lower hive for winter is
still thought good ? and (2) if dummy is still
used ? Also (3) in feeding up do you reckon
weight of sugar given or weight of .syrup ? —
"Gil Blas," IVakejield, September 1.

Keply. — ] . Yes, to give space below frames
in winter is considered as advantageous as
when first advocated. 2. Yes. 3. Weight of
syrup.

Samlford St. Martin, Oxon, August 25. —
It has not been a bad season here for those
who fed their bees during the spell of cold
weather in June. To those who did not,
either the season or else themselves has been
a failure. I had seveoteen colonies, spring
count ; increased them to twenty-five, and
sold two swarms. I have taken from them
twenty-three dozen 1-lb. sections and 2 cwt.
of extracted honey, so I don't consider the
season has been a bad one for me. — Edwd.
Hancox.

Beauly, N.B., August 31. — As regards the
honey season this has been the worst on re-
cord as far as my experience goes. Weather
continually wet and very little sunshine ; con-
sequently the heather is very bad, and it
begins to get too cold for bees to do much
work. I have only taken 40 lb. of honey off
three hives. — James Shaw.

Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington, Sept. 1. —
The season here has closed, and I have got
a fair amount of extracted honey, having had
a good number of ready-worked-out combs,
both shallow and standard size. In working
for extracted honey this season the bees put
most of it in the upper stories, so that they
will have to be fed pretty liberally to carry
them through the winter, Avhile those stocks
that were worked for sections seem to have
looked after themselves by keeping some
down below. I do not think I have above a
quarter crop of comb honey, but still enough
to make one thankful, considering that at
midsummer the bees were nearly starving and
had to be fed. Being at Winchester the week
before last, myself and wife paid a visit to
friend Wm. \V oodley and his wife, which we
enjoyed very much, though our f^jend had a

bad cold. Hope he is better now. I went
lyith a friend and drove some bees about two
or three miles from Winchester. The skeps
seemed to be about same weight a? several I
have driven in our own neighbourhood, a few
being rather bet'.er than the average. Friend
Martin, of High Wycombe, writes me about
one of his stocks swarming in extraordinary
fashion. He says: — "It swarmed and
'casted' by May 14, and the swarm swarmed
and casted, then ttie ca?t from the old stock
swarmed, and the old stock swarmed and
casted again in July. I never knew a cast
swarm before, and the old stock swarmed and
casted twice in one year." Surely they must
have been an unusually prolific breed of queens.
We are having some nice weather now, so
that it ofl'ers a good chance to get the bees in
order for winter. There is nothing round
here from which the bees can now get anything
in shape of food, so they are on the look
out to get some by stealth if they can manage
it. Wasps, too, are getting rather trouble '
some. — John Walton.

'A\m% ta Ofamc.

September 12 and 13. — Scottish Bee-
Keepers' Association, in connection with the
show of the Caledonian Horticultural Society,
Waverley Market, Edinburgh. Schedules
now ready. John Wisbart, assistant
secretary, Castlecraig, Dolphintou, N.B.

September 15. — In the Corn Exchange,
Jedburgh. Roxburghshire B.K.A. Annual
show of honey, &c. Twenty-seven classes.
Eight silver medals and liberal money prizes.
Entries close September 11. Thos. Clark,
secretary, Pleasants, Jedburgh, N.B.

October 9 to 12. — Dairy Show at the Agri-
cultural Hall, London. Five classes for honey. •
Liberal prizes. Apply for schedules to Wm.
C.Young, Secretary, Dairy Farmers' Associa-
tion, 191, Fleet-street, London, E.C. Entries
close September 10.

Noticesto Correspondents and Inquirers^

All queries forwarded will he attended to, and those
only o/personalinterest will be answered in this column.

John C. Walthen. — Gleaning Wax Extractor
— We know of no better method of cleanmg
than boiling and wiping off any wax ad-
hering to sides while hot. A. wax extractor
after using a few times becomes very un-
suitable for use as a strainer for cappings or
for storing honey in.

B. Bayley, Jun. — Bee received is a very fair
specimen of the Carniolan variety.

W. Williams (Lichfield). — Wax Extracting.
— Notwithstanding the non-appearance of
the article referred to, we thought there had
appeiredv io. our pages so many replies tc^

360

THE MIITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Sept. 6, 1894.

queries on wax-extracting (similar to that
addressed to Andrew Bon on page 358), to
say nothing of descriptions of home-made
extractors and others used by correspon-
dents, as to enable any one to do it well.
We also printed from the American Bee
Journal a long article on " Cleansing and
Purifying "Wax," written by "the largest
comb-foundation makers in the world,''
Chas. Dadant & Son, of the U.S.A., which
should have enlightened our readers pretty
well on the subject.
J. C. (Wolverhampton). — Mesh of Wire for
Extractor. — Ordinary woven wire (tinned)
of about j-in, mesh is used for cages.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, <Ssc. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

BEES, Driven from Skeps, Is. 3d. per lb., with
Queen. Giles, Cowsfleld Apiary, Salisbury. F 8

B

EB TENT on HIRE. For terms, apply to G. GUNSTON,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

EXCHANGE pair of handsome GAME BANTAMS for
Driven Bees.— H. Ckawley, 250, Canbury Park-
road, Kingston-on-Thames. F 16

EXTRACTED ENGLISH HONEY in J CWTS, 8d. per
lb., tins free. Sample, 2d. deposit. Richard
DUTTON, Terling, Withani, Essex. F 12

DRIVEN BEES at Is. 3d. lb. Young queen. Package
free and on rail. Cash with order. R.Brown,
Flora Apiary, Somersham, Hunts. F 11

CHOICE SELECTED 1894 NATIVE QUEENS, Fertile.
3s. each post free ; safe arrival guaranteed. A. .1.
Cakteu, Newflelds Apiary, Billingshur'st, Sussex. 236

HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES, Is. 3d. per lb. ; in 5-lb.
lots. Boxes to be returned. E. Long, Cottingham,
Cambs. E 70

WANTED, SECTIONS of HONEYCOMB(flrst quality).
Prompt cash ; packages sent. Any quantity. E.
HuRST, Bexhill, Sussex. 235

LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, 8d., post free.
500, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.

WANTED, NEW EXTRACTOR in EXCHANGE for
Clover Honey in shallow frames. Wallace, Bee-
keeper, Cheadle, Hulme, Cheshire. F 10

NEW HONEY WANTED, Sections and Extracted, in
bulk. State price and quantity. Honey
Producers' Agency, 17, White Lion-street, Islington,
London. F 13

FERTILE QUEENS, bred by selection, 5s. Very
prolific. Ordinary Fertile Queens, 3s. 6d. Post
free. Safe arrival guaranteed. Rev. C. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex.

FOR SALE, 4 J CWT. pure ENGLISH HONEY at
6d. per lb. Payment by deposit system. Address,
C. M. Eagleton, The Apiary, Parson Drove, Wisbech.

F9

T7INE-TESTED 1894 FERTILE QUEENS, 3s. 6d. each.
X^ Safe arrival guaranteed. 3-frame nuclei, 10s. 6d.
Packing included. Address, C. WHITING, Valley Apiary,
Hundon, Clare, Suffolk. F 15

Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)

NEW HONEY WANTED, any quantity, clean, well-
filled and sealed 1-lb. Sections. State quantity
and price for cash. Address, M. Charltok, Fruit Mer-
chant, Fawcett-street, Sunderland. F 1

HEALTHY 1894 Fertile NATIVE QUEENS, 3s. 6d.
each. Four Stocks same strain have ttiis season
yielded over 100 lb. each. A. Simpson, Mansfield Wood-
house, Notts. F 7

HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES, at Is. 3d. per lb., and a
young Queen ; packing-box returned. Choice
young Queens at 2s. 6d. each. Address, E. Garner,
Broom, near Biggleswade. Beds. F 4

NOTICE.— CARBOLIC TOWEL, and Samples of my
BEE-SMOKE CARTRIDGES Free (during Sept )
to all Purchasers of ray CARBOLINE POMADE. T.
Holliday.

TNDISPENSABLE to HONEY DEALERS. — HAR-
i GRAVE'S Folding Cardboard BOXES for 1-lb.
Sections. Sample 3d. post free. Hargrave, Harro-
gate-road, Ripon.

MARKET for SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY,
and WAX. State price and quantity. Prompt
cash. Packages sent. Address, H., i5ee Jow/naZ Office,
17, King William-street, Strand, London.

WANTED. WELL3 HIVE, complete, second-hand
or shop-soiled ; also Stock of Italian or Carniolan
Bees, cheap for cash ; or Exchange Black Minorca
Cockerels and Pullets, own brothers and sisters to 1st
and special winners. John Barker, Winton, Kirkby
Stephen. F 14

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, poiit free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. HOLLIDAY, Astbury,
Congleton.

TO HIVE MAKERS.

GOOD PINE PLANKS.

Largest Stock in London.
VERY DRY, SOUND, CHEAP.

For price lists, apply, COBBETT CO. Virginia-road,
Bethnal Green, London, E.

DAIRY SHOW,

LONDON.
OCTOBER 9th to 12th.

Five Classes for HONEY.

Reduced entry fee to Members
B.B.K.A. and aflO-liated Societies.

Entries close September lOtli.
WM. C. YOUNG, Secretary,

191, Fleet-street, London.

THE "WELLS SYSTEM"

Described by the Originator,

GEORGE WELLS,

Price 6id. Post Free.
To i* had of the Author only.

Sept. 13, 1894.] THE BRITISH KEE JOURNAL.

3G1

(KiitoriHl ^0ti£^^, ^L

USEEUL HINTS.

( Continued from p. 351.)

Weights and Measures in Bee
Recipes. — A correspondent writes: —
" In Bee-lceepers' ' Guide Book ' several
recipes appear, but I am more or less in
a fog as to whether avoirdupois or
apothecaries' weights and measures are
intended, especially when one recipe is
compounded of ingredients which are
weighed by both standards. I will there-
fore feel obliged if you will," &c.

We imagined it would have been
generally understood that apothecaries'
weights are only used in dispensing.
However, to make the matter quite clear,
let us say all weights are avoirdupois —
16 oz. to the lb. — and liquids are the
ordinary fluid measures — 20 oz. to one
pint. In reply to another correspondent
who in dealing with ncqMhol beta for
medicating bee food has experienced
difficulty in obtaining rectified spirits
of wine, we do not think that any bad
result need be feared by using " pure
methylated spirits " (such as is obtainable
at any chemist's) for dissolving the
crystals of N. beta. When the oz. packet
is dissolved in the requisite quantity of
spirit, the solution may be put in a
phial and "measured off" by pasting a
label on outside, and dividing the liquid
into twelve parts, each of which is
sufficient for 12 lb. of sugar made into
syrup, the solution being added to the
latter while hot.

Feeding-up. — We are glad to note a
continuance of fairly warm and sunny
weather, and trust that full advantage
will be taken to get needy stocks fed-up
without delay. Bees will now take
syrup food rapidly if given warm, but in
the course of a few weeks the "feeder"
may be set over frames in vain, and food
will frequently not be looked at by bees,
even though short of stores.

Uniting Bees. — We have heard of
many methods of uniting bees, but that
of Dr. Miller, as published in Gleanings,
surpasses all for simplicity. He says : — •
" For years I have had colonies unite,
generally when I didn't Avant them to,
hy being in the same hive with a hole or
crack under the division-board. Working

on the same principle, here's the M-ay I
have united lately : — Having the colonies
to be united in two separate hives, I set
one hive on top of the othei-, with a
piece of heavy wrapping-paper between,
the paper having about its centre a hole
large enough for a bee to go through.
That's all. Just put one hive on the
other, paper between. In a few days the
paper is gnawed away, and the bees all
one family. It may fail sometimes, but
not thus far with me."

Subduing Bees. — While upon Ameri-
can quotations we notice a report of Mr.
Heddon's views on subduing bees, which
is quoted in the Bce-Kcepers^ Ueoieio just
to hand. Mr. H. says : — " We believe
that most of our readers understand the
principle of subduing bees (a few may
not) thoroughly, but it certainly can do
no harm to ' stir up your pure minds by
way of remembrance.' Smoke followed
by a jar works nicely, but this same
admixture, when it is a jar and then
smoke, produces very bad results. We
believe it is safe to declare that carefully
avoiding any jar of the hive before apply-
ing the smoke is the text to the subject
of subduing our colonies for handling.
The removing of the shade-board and
prying up the cover may be done quickly,
but it must be done cat-like Avithout the
least jar, when the smoke may be ap-
plied under the cover, and tlicn quick and
rough handling is perfectly admissible.
It is usually well to smoke the guards
upon the first approach to the hive,
especially in times when the bees are a
little more irritable. After a colony is
once irritated by a jar before smoking,
no amount of smoke so completely sub-
dues them."

LEICESTEESHIRE B.K.A.

The annual exhibition of this association
was held on the 25th and 26th ult., in Victoria
Park, Leicester, in conjunctioa with the
Leicestershire Agricultural Society.

There were two excellent collections of
hives and bee-appliances sent by Mr. W. P.
Meadows and Mr. Charles Redshaw, not for
competition. The class for observatory hives
a good one, but the bees had to be conrined
to their hive for both days, no provision being
made for their flight. It is to be hoped that
another year this will be remedied. In the
classes for sections, those obtainirg prizes were
exceedingly good, and the others were quit^
up to those seen at thows this season. The
shallow-frames of comb honey were exceed-

362

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [Sept. 13, 1894.

ino-ly well filled, and the extracted honey class
had a number of entries of excellent honey.
The displays of honey were also very good.
Manipulations in the bee tent were, as usual,
given during the day, which were witnessed
by numbers of persons, who appeared greatly
interested in what they saw. The awards
were made by Mr. John M. Hooker, of
Lswisham, as follows —

Observatory Hive, Stocked ivith Bees. — 1st,
J. Waterfield, Jun., Kibworth, Leicester ; 2nd,
J. Cooper, St. Nicholas'-square, Leicester.

Super Honey, in 1-lb. or 2-lb. Sections, not
over 24 lb. — 1st, J. Waterfield, Jun. ; 2nd,
J. Cooper : 3rd, Thos. Wild, Melton Mowbray.

Three Frames of Honey for EHracting. —
1st, John Waterfield, Jun. ; 2ad, A. Silcock,
Groby, Leicester ; 3rd, W. L. Emerson,
Leicester.

Extracted Honey in Glass Jars not over
24/6.— 1st, Mary Parry, Melton Mowbray;
2Dd, E. Chester, Melton Mowbray ; 3rd, J.
Cooper ; h. c, J. Waterfield, Jun.

Twelve 1-lb. Sections. — Ist, Mary Parry ;
2nd, C. Foxou, Croft, Leicester ; 3rd, T. Wild,
Little Dalby.

Twelve 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st,
E. Chester ; 2nd, W. W. Falkner, Market
Harborough ; 3rd, E,. Tyler, Humberstone,
Leicester.

Display of Honey in Any Form. — 1st, J.
Waterfield, jun.; 2nd, W. P. Meadows, Syston,
Leicester ; 3rd, A. Throseby. Leicester.

Six 1-lb. Sections {in Blow^s Sections). — 1st,
J. Waterfield, jun. ; 2nd, E. Chester, Walton.

Six 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey, Blow's
Screw Cap Jars.— Ist, Mary Parry ; 2nd, J.
Coopar.

WARWICKSHIRE B. K. A.

SHOW AT COVENTRY.

The annual show of bees, hives, and honey
was held in conjunction with that of the
Warwickshire Agricultural Society at Coventry
on the 5th and 6th, one of the most interesting
tents on the show ground being that occupied
by the exhibition held under the auspices of
the Warwickshire Bee-keepers' Association.
In connection with this exhibition there were
practical demonstrations of bee-keeping and
ihe treatment of bees, as well as a capital
display of appliances for use in the production
of honey. During the afternoon Lord Leigh
(Lord-Lieutenant of the county) and Tiady
Leigh visited the tent, and her ladyship pre-
sented the prizes to the successful exhibitors.
At the conclusion a vote of thanks was passed
to Lady Leigh for her kindness. In re-
sponding, Lord Leigh said that he congratu-
lated Mr. Bower and the members of the
association on the capital exhibition they had
got together. He believed it was the largest
they had had for many years, and he hoped
the result would be to stimulate bee-keeping
in the county. He especially hoped the

practice of bee-keeping would spread among
the cottagers. The association had done ex-
cellent work in the past, and he trusted the
efforts of Mr. Bower and his colleagues would
receive increased supporh. A vote of thanks
was also passed to Mr. Bower.

Prize List.

Foreign Bees. — 1st, W. B. Webster.

English Bees. — 1st, A. W. Rollins, Stour-
bridge ; extra, J. Walton, Weston, Leamington.

Best and Most Complete Hive. — 1st, C. Red-
shaw. South Wigston ; 2nd, W. B. Webster.

Hive for Cottagers' Use. — 1st, C. Redshaw ;
2nd, W. B. Webster.

Frame- Hive for General Use. — 1st, G.
Eranklin, Ryton-on-Dunsmore.

Super Honey from, One Apiary. — 1st, J.
Walton.

Twenty-four 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, J. Walton ;
2nd. S. Turner, Berkswell;

Honey in Shallow-Frames. — 1st, J. Walton.

Twelve 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, J. Burman,
Kenilworth ; 2nd, E. C. R. White, Salisbury ;
3rd, G. Franklin.

Extracted Ho?iey. — 1st, G. Franklin ; 2nd,
J. Simpkins, Solihull ; 3rd, A. W. Rollins.

In the cottagers' class, T. Grosvenor, Knowle,
was awarded prizes for an exhibit of honey
from one hive and for twelve 1-lb. sections.
J. Hurst, Hampton, got a second prize in the
last-named class, and a first for twenty- four
1-lb. sections. Extra prizes : — C. J. Grove
(Knowle), W. R. Faulkner (Leamington), J.
S.Greenhill (Wimbledon), and A. J. McMillans
(Kenilworth).

Collection of Hive and Bee Furniture. — 1st,
C. Redshaw ; 2 ad, W. B. Webster.

Beeswax. — 1st, G. Faulkner ; 2nd, W. B.
Webster.

Driving Competition. — 1st, G. Franklin ;
2nd, J. Walton.

HEREFORDSHIRE B.K.A. SHOW AT
HEREFORD.

The tenth annual honey fair and show,
under the auspices of the Herefordshire Bee-
Keepers' Association, of which Mr. James
Rankin, M.P., is the president, took place at
Hereford on the 5th inst. The judges were
Miss Eyton, Secretary of the Shropshire
B.K.A. and Mr. E. J. Burt, Secretary of the
Gloucestershire B.K.A. The show was not
quite so large as that last year, but all the
classes were well filled, and the exhibits were
of an exceptionally good quality. The prize
list was as follows : —

Exhibit not exceeding 200 lb., Comb- and
Extracted (open). — 1st, M. Meadham, Hunt-
ingdon ; 2nd, J. H. Wootton, Byford ; 3rd,
W. Tomkins, Burghill.

Not exceeding 100 lb., Comb and Extracted
(for novices).— 1st, R. Grindod, Whitfield ;
2nd, W. Williams, Canon Froome ; 3rd, H.
Lawrence, Burrington, Ludlow.

Sept. 13, 18^4.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

363

12 1-^6. Jars of Extracted Honey. — Isl, E.
Grinclod ; 2ad, Jos. Thomas, Hereford ; 3rd,
M. Meiidham.

12 I'lb. Jars of Extracted Moncrj (novices). —
Ish, H. Lawrence ; 2nd, A. Anning, Birch ;
3rd, A. Farr, Llandiniloes.

12 1-/^. l^cdlons (open). — 1st, W. James,
Burghill ; 2nd, Kev. F. S. Stooke Vaughan,
Wellington Heath.

12 1-^6. Sections (novices). — 1st, H. Law-
rence, 2nd, J. Thomas ; 3rd, A, Farr.

Tliree Combs of Sealed Honey, in shalloiv
frames. — 1st, W. Hancox, Whitfield ; 2nd, W.
Tomkins.

Honey taken vntliout Killing the Bees. —
l&t, W. Hancox ; 2nd, A. Anning,

Best Exliibit of Honey not exceeding 12 lb.
(Champion prize). — 1st, James Thomas,

Comb Honey in Bloiv^s Patent Sections. —
1st, the Eev. F. S. Stooke Vaughan.

Extracted Honey in Blow's Screiv-cap
Bottles.— l&t, W. tomkins; 2nd, H, Law-
rence,

Comb Honey in "Falcon" Sections. — 1st,
W. Williams ; 2nd, J. Thomas.

Bottles of Extracted Honey. — 1st, J.
Thomas ; 2nd, A, Farr ; 3rd, A, Anning, —
( Communicated.)

AULDGIRTH (N.B.) B.K.A,

The annual show of the Auldgirth Bee-
keepers' Association was held in connection
with that of the Horticultural Society at
Blackwood Holm, on the 18th ult., and the
display of honey was such as to call forth the
warmest praise on the part of the judges. In
fact, for a district show the quantity and good
all-round quality of the honey staged was re-
markable, Mr. E. M'Naught, secretary of
the Bee-keepeis' Association, attended to this
department of the show. The Eev. E.
McClelland, Inchinnan, Eenfrew, and Mr.
T, K. Newbigging, Dumfries, judged the
honey, and made the following awards : —

DISTRICT ONLY.

Siq^er Non- Sectional. — 1st, Jas. Boyes,
Burnhead ; 2nd, Eobert M'Naught, Burn-
head.

Three lbs. Dropped Honey in Glass. — 1st,
Jos. F. Hyslop, Carse Mill ; 2nd, Jas. Boyes ;
3rd, John Duff, Crawston.

MEMBERS ONLY,

Three l-lb Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st,
Maxwell, Blacknesk ; 2nd, J. F. Hyslop ; 3rd,
E. Sloan, Carse Mill ; h. c, E. M'JST aught.

Twelve l-lb. Sections. — 1st, John Duff ; 2nd,
E. Maxwell ; 3rd, E, M'Naught, Dalgonar.

Design by Bees. — 1st, Maxwell.

Six l-lb. Sections. — 1st, John Duff; 2nd,
Maxwell ; 3rd, J, F, Hyslop.

Six2-lb. Sections. — 1st, E. M'Naught; 2nd,
J. F. Hyslop.

One lb. Jars Extracted Honey, — 1st, R.
M'Naught ; 2nd, Jas. Boyes ; 3rd, R. Sloan ;
h c, J. F. Hyslop.

Super of Honey, not under 6 lb. — Wm-
Eobson, Slcewbridge.

Bell Glass. — 1st, Jas. Boyes ; 2nd, Jacob
Milligan, Barjarg.

Beeswax. — 1st, Jacob Milligan ; 2nd, W.
Edwai'd, Closeburn.

Display of Honey. — 1st, E, M'Naught;
2nd, J, F. Hyslop.

Special Prize for 15 l-lb. Sections. — 1st, Jas.
Boyes ; 2ad, E. M'Naught ; 3rd, J, F. Hyslop,

Special Prize for 2 1-Z6 Jars (members under
three hives). — 1st, Jas. Boyes ; 2nd, E. Sloan.

SjJecial Prize for Most Successful Exhibitor.
— E. M'Naught. — {Cotnmunicated.)

NOTTS B.K. ASSOCIATION,

Bee and Honey Show at Moorgreen.

The " combined " annual shows of the East-
wood and Greasley Agricultural and Horticul-
tural Societies was held on Tuesday, Sep-
tember 4, at Moorgreen, and the arrangements
for the show of bees and honey were under
the auspices of the Notts Bee-Keepers' Associa-
tion, for whom Mr. Warner ably officiated as
steward. The arrangements and staging for
the honey department were of the highest
order, and reflected great credit on the manage-
ment. The quality of the exhibits was good
all round, extracted honey being especially so.
Mr. Peter Scattergood, jun., of Stapleford, was
thejudge, and made the following awards : —

Twelve l-lb. Sections. — 1st, J. Annibal ; 2nd,
H. Wiggett.

Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st,
W. Lee ; 2nd, G, Wood ; 3rd, Mrs. White ;
h.c. .J. Eawson.

Observatory Hive with Bees. — 1st, J. Eaw-
son ; 2nd, H. Wiggett ; 3rd, G. Eeeve,

Ttvelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey (local
class).— 1st, H. Wiggett; 2nd and 3rd, A.
Warner and G. Eeeve equal ; 4th, J. W.
Eawson.

Frame of Honey in Comb. — Ist, A. Warner ;
2nd, J. F. Simpson ; 3, J, Annibal, — (Com-
municated).

HONEY IMPOETS,
The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of August,
1894, was £2,937. — From a return furnished
by the Statistical Office, H.M. Customs.

BEES IN BAELEY,

A NOVEL LOCATION FOR A STRAY SWARM.

Mr. John Dunthorn, South Creake,
•nrrites : — "While some harvestmen were the
other dav cutting barley in a field belonging to
Mr, H, 'V, Sherringham, South Creake, they
came upon a swarm of bees which had built
their combs on the stalks of the barley, and
had stored quite a nice little lot of honey in
their cells. But still more surprising was the
fact that they had a lot of brood sealed and
almost ready for hatching out ! "

364

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Sept. 13, 1894

^ormpnimt

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real naines and addresses, not necessarily for
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tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary deparUnent,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, d:e.,must be addressed onlyto"-'ihe
Editors of the 'BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, (Ssc, must be addressed
to " The Manager, ' British Bee Journal ' OJice, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

*,* In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2067.] The promised settled weather of
August has not come to stay. We had one
week of fine warm weather in which the bees
gathered some honey for stores by. Since the
present month September has come, the
weather has been very unsettled, with a low
temperature, one or two remarking that it was
" cold enough to snow." There has been a
good quantity of blossom, from which our bees
would have gathered enough for winter store
if the weather had been suitable, but now I
fear we shall have to do some feeding. Dis-
tricts I know vary, and possibly in some bees
have garnered enough for future wants, while
in others stores may be short. Where such is
the case a supply should be given in quantity
as fast as the bees can store it.

I am glad to hear of Mr. Lyons' successful
treatment of Foul Brood (No. 2,065). If
others have tried the method, please let us
hear of success or failure. Discussion will
elucidate the facts and render help to others
in time to come. To be forewarned is to be
forearmed, and, with a knowledge of a cure,
the first appearance of the disease in an apiary
may be easily stamped out before it has spread,
as there is every probability of its doing if
stocks get into a weak condition with the
disease, and thus become an easy to the others
when on robbing bent.

Mr. Stephenson gives a detailed account of
the "phenol cure " for foul brood in Gleanings
for August 15, but if all the detailed work
there given is necessary, I myself should prefer
to destroy any stock, aad, after cleansing the
hive and its belongings, start a new colony
with a new swarm another year. The editor,
Mr. A. I. Eoot, in a footnote disproves Mr.
Stephenson's opinion and method in one or
two important points, Mr. S. advances Mr.
F. Cheshire's opinion that -the ovaries of the
queen are frequently afi"ected so much that
every egg she lays will contain the disease in
embryo, therefore he (Mr. S.) advocates
destroying the queen as one of the first steps
in the process, Mr. Eoot, the editor of Glean-

ings, says that this contention is diametrically
opposed to their experience and practice when
dealiag with sixty to seventy foul-broody
colonies. Every colony was allowed to have
its own queen. They were treated practically
on the McEvoy method, with tlie addition
that every colony was put into a clean hice,
and in none of these hives did the disease
develop again ; and, to farther disprove the
theory of diseased queens, they have taken
queens from diseased colonies and put them
into healthy ones, and in no case has disease
followed in their wake.

Then, in experimenting with phenol as a cure
for foul brood, experiments proved conclusively
that phenol of the strength proposed by Mr.
Cheshire did not destroy the germs, and with
an increased strength that killed the bees
themselves it did not kill the foul brood
germs. These experiments were conducted
by Prof. Sargent. The cultures of bacillus
alvei grew rapidly, and after treatment with
phenol solution such as is recommended for
feeding the bees. Then, after being treated by
the phenol solution, other test tubes were
innoculated from the cultures (after treat-
ment), and the later test tubes developed the
disejse, showing positively that phenol solu-
tion of the strength recommended by Prof.
Cheshire was not potent enough to destroy
the germs. Mr. Root says that the most he
can say for phenol or carbolic acid was that
it seemed to hold the disease in check.

I have given the principal items in the foot-
note— by the editor — as I consider it an
important point, and one which may save much
labour and loss of time and money to readers
who are so unfortunate as to have foul brood
in their apiaries. If phenol failed in the hands
of such a celebrated bee-master as Mr. A. I.
Root, how could a person with little experi-
ence of bees and their ways hope to cure by
a method that failed in his hands ?

Be my experience with the broader top bars
(in reply to a gentleman inquiring) I would
say that the season has not been a fair test,
the honey has not come in in quantities large
enough to induce the bees to start brace combs
and store cells in every crevice, but this I can
say, there was only one little piece of wax
attachment between the tops of the bars and
the bottom of the crate of twenty-one sections
in a strong swarm hived on them and the brood
combs are all nice and straight. Mr. Walton,
when here the other week, spoke highly of
excluder zinc as a preventive of brace combs,
but I have only used it under shallow frames,
Mr, W. says he finds no difierence in the
quantity stored above^the zinc than in colonies
without it. Well, the fact that most bee-
keepers use it below shallow frames and all
colonies in " Wells' '' hives carry their large
takes of honey through the zinc, points pretty
conclusively to the fact that it is very litule. if
any, impediment to bees in their work of
honey storing, — AV. Woodlev, Beedon,
Newbury.

Sept. 13, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

365

REMOVING SURPLUS HONEY.
[2063.] la the B.B. Journal of August IG
Mr. Woodley (2046, p. :325) states, in " Notes
by the Way," that he gave a description of
the super-clearer " a week or two back." As
I have looked back for two months in the
journals and cannot find it, will he be kind
enough to state in what No. it appears ?
Again, in the same " Notes," he says : — " Lift
off the super, and allow the carbolised cloth to
fall on ... , brood-frames .... then
replace super and clearer on hives, the whole
operation not taking two minutes." Now, the
difficulty I find in taking off" supers is in
loosening them from the brood-frames. It
often requires the use of great force, and jars
the hives, and disturbs and angers the bees.
Has not Mr. Woodley this difficulty to con-
tend with 1 and when he lifts the super
(without smoke) is there not a rush-out of
excited bees before he drops the carbolised
cloth over the frames ? — R. A. S., Uipon,
Sejit ember 8.

DUMMIES FOR " WELLS " HIVES.

MY KEPORT ON SAME AND SEASON'S RESULTS.

[2069.] I was requested by friend " The
Heathen" last November to report progress
made by my bees in a double-queened hive
with a dummy made of wood and perforated
zinc, after it had passed through the winter
with its storms, &e. It is with pleasure I do
so. The stock went into winter quarters on
twenty-four standard frames, with plenty of
provisions. It was not again touched till
March 7. I then examined, and found both
queens doing well, and the stock very forward.
Again, on March 29, I had another peep, and
found brood in eleven frames — ^six on one and
five the other side of dummy. On April 26 I
had to super them to give more room, as the
bees were getting very crowded. About a
month's cold weather then set in, but with a
little feeding I was able to keep them in good
trim, and ready for action when the good
weather set in. They then gave a splendid
account of themselves, for by the end of July
I had taken 256 lb. of extracted honey. This,
I think, is a record-breaker for a double stock
this season, and though there was such an
enormous population of bees, there is not a hole
in the zinc dummy propolised. So I think by
this, friend " Heathen," you will agree with me
that my bees have not suff'ered by the use of
this dummy.

And now, Messrs. Editors, with your per-
mission, I will just add my short report for
this season : — I went into winter quarters
1893 with one double and six single stocks,
and out in spring with one double and five
singles, having lost one stock during winter.
All bees in March were in good form. In
April swarming with the single stocks com-
menced in good earnest ; in tact, it was the
order of the day, and, only requiring two
swarms this season, I had plenty of returri'ng

362

of honey is

Sections
lb.

46
50
12

20

. 128

490

This gives an average of just over 81 lb. per
hive. ■ I have set up another doable hive, and
stocked it with two good stocks. I shall have
to feed up considerably this autumn — I think
about 10 lb. per hive on the average. This
done, and a nice cake of candy on top snugly
tucked up, I think will complete another
successful season for yours truly, — William
TusTAiN, Farthinjhoe Station, September 8,
1894.

PRICE AND DISPOSAL OF HONEY.

[2070.] In view of the interest aroused by
the discussion which appeared some time ago
in B.J. on above subjects, I hope a few lines
under this heading may not be out of place.
That the price of honey has gone down con-
siderably during the past seven or eight years
all will admit, and we must use our best
endeavours to keep it from going lower.
Beginners and others who are inexperienced,
and have honey for disposal should, therefore,
find out the ruling prices in their districts
from a reliable bee-keeper, and not let their
honey go under that price. By holding on a
bit, plenty of caU for it will often come in a
shore time.

The shopkeepers in towns are, as a rule,
prone to bxrgain hard and get it under price
if they can, and once you part with it at a
lower figure than is usual it is all up ; you will
never be able to regain the higher price again.
I remamber about three years ago a bee-keeper
in my neighbourhood sold his honey at a shil-
ling per dozen cheaper than I was getting;
consequently, when I called on my customers
again, I had to drop mine a shilling per dozen,
and the " drop " has been permanent, notwith-
standing the fact that a triend of mine was
told that my honey sold the best of any they got,
and was of much better quality than usual.
Many I know are so anxious to get rid of
their honey that they will let it go for almost
what the shopkeepers choose to offer them for
it rather than keep it for a little time on hand.
I am told that in some districts shopkeepers
wdl not stock sections unless glazed and laced
with fancy paper, and run honey put up in ex-
pensive screw-cap jars. This is a fad which
bee-keepers should never have used them to
unless they were prepared to pay extra to
defray the coit and labour for such decora-
tions. A bell glass large enough to cover a

366

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 13, 1894.

dozen sections is all that would be necessary
to keep them clean.

As a rule we are always able to get plenty
of recruits for the craft, but after working at
it for a time the first question asked is, how" do
you get rid of your honey ? Who do you sell to 1

Of course bee-keepers can and must do a
great deal locally, by way of clearing out
their surplus honey, and I would say to them,
buy a few pamphlets on " Honey and its
Uses," such as the one, or similar to that
brought out by the Rev. Mr. Bancks, and
distribute them in their neighbourhood ; this
they will find to be a great help.

But I am afraid the subjects here dealt with
will not affect us in so poor a season as this
has been, consequently there will not be much
surplus honey on hand to clear out, — Competi-
tion, Dorset, August 31, 1894.

[We have been compelled to considerably
abridge our correspondent's no doubt well-
meant letter, and by way of explanation
venture to observe that it is all very well to
suggest, among other things, that we should
get "two or three of the leading London
papers " to devote space " annually about the
month of July " to a series of articles
expatiating on the virtues and super-excellence
of British honey, but our correspondent's
suggestion comprises a rather large order in
free-advertising, which those very wary
persons, the editors of the aforesaid papers,
might possibly not see in quite the same light
as it presents itself to the vision of the bee-
keeper with honey to sell. — Eds.]

^mm mi '^^Im.

[1147.] A Beginners Troubles^ — I began
bee-keeping this year with a friend who has
kept bees for about twelve years on the
modern system, and should consequently know
all about it. At the end of the season he
extracted honey from a comb containing brood
which was not replaced in the hive for some
two weeks after. I am quite aware that this
is not considered right. I was then told to
raise the dummy J in., and place the frame
behind it, when bees would clear it out. The
bees cleared the honey out, but did not touch
the dead brood. I send you a piece of the
comb. Will you kindly tell me : 1. If you see
any appearances of foul brood ? 2. What is
the moist-looking substance in the cells next
the capped ones 1 I have several store combs
taken from hives with a good deal of it in, and
have always wondered whether it is pollen, or
if it is the milky substance put above the
brood by the bees, as I see mentioned in the
" Guide Book." I am sorry to say that in the
outside frame of the hive referred to I found
some comb rather like the piece I send. The
cappings were almost the same colour, and
perforated with small holes. It did not smell

badly. I removed the frame and took it in,
opened the cells, and found inside a sort of
dark, pasty substance. I took this for
a mild case of foul brood. 3. Do you
think it is so ? I cut out all the comb
except a little honey in the top and burnt it.
The bees are now on six frames ; there are not
very many. I have fed them with ordinary
syrup, and now propose salicylising it and
putting naphthaline in the hive. 4. Can I do
anything else ? The other frames contained
healthy brood (four of them). I was told to
gradually reduce the number of frames to seven
in all my hives, to uncap any honey in the
extra frames and put behind the dummy, when
the bees would remove the honey. I have
done so, but the bees seem to put more honey
in instead of taking it out. 5. How shall I
clear these ? 1 have no extractor. Would it
do to lay the frame on its side on top of the
others ? One hive that has given no honey
this year requeened itself. My partner took
one of the extra queen-cells and put it on a
frame in another hive, killing the old queen.
He evidently did not fix it securely, for I
found it on the floor still sealed. I took it
away, but found nothing inside it but a few
grains of granulated stuff, but there was a
hole in the bottom communicating with an
ordinary cell. He put the cell in two weeks
ago, when he killed the queen. On looking
to-day I found plenty of sealed brood, and the
hive was so full of bees I could not see if
there were any queen-cells or not, as the bees
were so thick on the frames, and I had no
assistant to smoke them when I lifted them
out. The hive was full of drones. 6. Do you
think the queen got out of the bottom of this
cell through the ordinary cell ? Or, if not, (7)
Is it too late to have the queen they are pro-
bably raising fertilised ? Please excuse the
haste in which this was written, and I should
be glad if you would reply to this under the
pseudonym of — Dum Spiro Spero.

Reply. — 1. Yes, comb is foul broody. 2.
Pollen. 3. It is not a bad case. 4. How do
you judge the brood to be "healthy"? A
good portion of it may be dead in the cells.
The combs should be examined a week hence,
and if brood is seen to be hatching out all
right, curative measures may be resorted to,
otherwise we should destroy the bees, combs,
and honey. 5. When the honey income stops
and breeding has ceased, give back such of the
combs of food as are not " cleared out " to the
bees, unless an extractor is available. 6. The
details given are somewhat perplexing to an
outsider, and, without the means of verifying
by inspection, it is out of our power to say
how matters stand. We should suppose the
queen in cell, given a fortnight ago to have
been destroyed, and that a successor has been
raised, has probably just hatched out. This
will account for the hives being " full of
drones " at this season. 7. So long as drones
are tolerated there is a chance of young queen
being mated, and if the former are killed off

Sept. 13, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

367

in a few days it will indicate safe mating, but
only examination of combs for normal worker
brood later on will show clearly what has
happened.

[114S.] Imperfect Bres Cast Out. — I enclose
a lew young bees which I have found cast out
of the hive from day to day during the last
three weeks. They are evidently imperfectly
formed or immature. Can you explain the
reason ? The queen is one got a month
ago, from Mr. Simmins. Your reply will
oblige J. Clapperton, Galashiels, September 4.

Reply. — The diminutive size of young
bees, and their imperfect formation, plainly
point to the fact of their having been badly
nurtured while in the larval state. We should
sujipose that there had been insufficient bees
in the hive to cope with the increased pro-
lificness of the newly-introduced queen, and
that in consequence the brood has been poorly
nourished.

[1149.] Packing " Wells" Hive for Transit.
I am sorry to have to trouble you, but there is
no expert here that I can go to for advice.
Although I have kept bees for a long time, I
have never had to pack any for travelling, and
am in doubt, this being rather a different case
from ordinary. To be brief. At end of July
I bought " Wells " hive. This is on the Ford-
Wells system, air space beneath frames 7 in.
I am now unexpectedly called on to move, and
I want to get this hive into Essex, about sixty
miles, by road or rail. I therefore ask : — 1.
How am I to fix the bottoms of frames to
prevent them from swinging ? Will it do if I
screw down the shoulders of each frame, bear-
ing in mind that the bees were hived on full
sheets wired foundation second week in
August ? 2.' How will it be best to send hive,
by road (carrier van), changing carrier in
London, or by rail, changing through London ?

3. Will it be best to send it first week in
October, or wait till November or Christmas ?

4. If weather is very cold — say, six or seven
degrees of frost at night — must I leave quilt
off top of perforated zinc 1 Bees will cover
seven frames each side. Any help you can
give me will be greatly esteemed by P. H.
Gil AT, Tnng, September 8.

Reply.— 1. Yes. 2. We should, if at all
possible, accompany the hive (by rail) and see
to the handling of it personally. 3. It will
travel best in winter weather. 4. With so
low a temperature quilts should remain on.
There is no disguising the fact that to trans-
port a " Ford-Wells ''' hive safely through the
journey named will be a risky job, and if left
to carriers or railway-porters, with no one by
who understands the contents of the hive,
damage may follow. It is, however, a great
help to have the bees on " wired " combs, and,
with the useful space below frames, together
with careful handling, it should be landed
safely.

[1150.] Swarmed Sleep Cleared Out by
Robbers. — I began bee-keeping this spring by
purchasing a stock of bees in skep for los.,
and a heavy stock it was. A swarm came off
early in the season, and a little later on
another — both fairly strong swarms — which I
hived successfully, the first in a frame-hive
and the second in a straw skep. Both swarms
have done fairly well considering the season,
the first swarm filling all the frames in brood-
chamber and giving me some 6 lb. of honey
in super. A short time since I noticed the
bees in the old or parent stock were not
working well. They seemed to have lost their
energy, and I noticed them running con-
tinually to and fro on the alighting - board
close to the entrance, and occasionally I would
see several bees in fierce combat. Evidently
robbing had started, and I decided to " take "
them a little later on. On the 2nd inst., how-
ever, my suspicions were aroused by noticing
the absence of bsea at the entrance, and by
bees and wasps going in freely without inter-
ruption. On turning up the skep there was
not a bee to be seen, only a few dead ones on
the stand ; no sign of any honey, and the
comb has all appearances of being very old. I
don't understand about foul-brood, but do not
think it is that, for there is no foul smell — on
the contrary, it is an agreeable one. 1. Would
you kindly inform me whether the bees were
gradually overcome and destroyed by robbers,
or have they left the hive in a body ? 2. Is
there any trace of foul-brood in comb which I
am forwarding ?— Frank Gale, Newport, Isle
of Wight.

Reply. — 1. The skep, after swarming twice,
has become queenless, and the bees, having no
means of raising another queen, have gradually
deserted their old home, most of them no
doubt joining other stocks. The few that
remained would soon succumb to the robbers
and depart with them. 2. Comb sent is per-
fectly healthy.

[1151.] Dealing ivith Foul Brood.— In pre-
paring my bees for the winter I find that two
hives are affected with foul brood — stock and
swarm. At the beginning of the year the
stock was in a straw hive, and became strong
very early and swarmed in May. The swarm
rapidly increased, and, although there is no
surplus, the hive is now crammed with bees,
and there is a fair supply of stores. The stock
threw a cast on the ninth day, but it returned,
and was not known to come out again. A
fortnight later I drove the bees from the skep
into a frame-hive on full sheets of foundation,
and fed them for several weeks. During
August I was away from home, and on my
return I find that the bees have only drawn
out some six of the combs, and they have only
a small quantity of honey laid up. In the
hive which contains the old queen many of the
combs have foul brood cells, half a dozen or
so scattered over each side. In the hive con-
taining the young queen there are probably in

368

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 13, 1894.

all not more than twenty-five foul brood cells
altogether. I need not send you any of the
comb for I know it is foul brood. Will you
kindly advise me as to procedure. I don't
think [the case is very bad, and there is no
evil smell about the hives. I mean to save
the bees if possible, but will unite the two
lots. Shall I keep the old queen (1893) or the
young one (1894) ? Is it too late to try the
McEvoy system, feeding up -with medicated
syrup four days on starters, and then placing
the bees on full sheets ? Or do you suggest
another treatment, seeing that matters are not
very bad ? My only other stock of bees is
quite healthy, very strong, did not swarm, and
gave 45 lb. comb honey. — Jno. Beveridge,
Wolverhampton, September 10.

Keplt. — It is certainly late to get combs
built out, but with so many bees to deal with
we should try the plan referred to. By careful
feeding, warm medicated food, and with only
so many frames as the bees can be crowded
on to, they may get into condition for winter
with new combs and young queen.

[1152.] Adding Driven Bees. — I had a
steak of bees in skep, which (after throwing a
strong swarm in June) dwindled considerably.
I suspected queenlessness, and, on driving
them from the skep, found it was so. I hived
them in a frame-hive, gave them a couple of
frames of sealed brood, and introduced suc-
cessfully an Italian queen. This I did at the
end of July. On examining the hive a fort-
night since, I discovered the queen, but could
find no eggs or brood whatever. The hive
was quite empty of stores, and but few bees
left. Would it be advisable to obtain driven
bees and add them to the stock ? If so, what
would be the best way to add them, and if
fighting is likely to occur, how might I pre-
vent it, as I wish to keep the Italian queen ? —
Kaymond Wilmot.

Reply.^ — It is somewhat odd to find " no
eggs or brood whatever," especially when
frames of sealed brood was given to the bees
along with Italian queen. And the question
arises whether the latter is sufficiently prolific
to be worth preserving. In any case we should
save the queen of any driven bees bought for
uniting until her breeding powers are tested
with plenty of bees to induce ovipositing.
When adding driven bees, throw the latter
out in front (after securing Italian queen), and
shake the bees from combs on to them as
they run in.

[1153.] A Late Siuarm. — Autumn Feeding . —
It may interest you to hear I had a small
swarm on Friday, August 31. It only weighed
about 1 lb., and not knowing which hive they
came from, and having no frame-hive ready, I
have hived the bees in a skep and am feeding
them. 1. Can you give nie any probable
reason for such a late swarm, as well as why it
is so weak ? 2. I thought of giving my stocks

the necessary autumn food with the \isual
bottle-feeders, as I found last year that a great
many bees got drowned in the rapid-feeders.
Do you think I can do this successfully ? 3.
I have been stimulating my stocks for the
past three or four weeks (two holes of bottle-
feeder). Do you not think this can be over-
done ? Bees have done badly in this district,
so far as I can hear. Skeps appear to have
done best, as I find some cottagers are taking
ofi" a super here and there. I have had to feed
mine, and have given them 120 lb. of sugar
made into syrup ; how much more they will
want I know not. I have increased my stocks
from nine to eighteen, and have only had
about half a cwt. of honey. Hope for better
results next year. — H. E. Jeal, Pitts' Wood,
Kent, September 3.

Reply. — 1. With no particulars of the
present condition of the stock from which the
swarm issued to guide us we cannot offer an
opinion of any worth as to why the bees left.
They may be a " hunger swarm," or may have
deserted their hive for several reasons at
which no usefal guess can be made. 2. With
a properly-made rapid-feeder there is no need
for bees being drowned. You may, however,
feed up by using large bottles inverted with
the mouth covered by muslin. 3. Stimulative
feeding should now cease, and rapid feeding
take its place, but it has not been " overdone "
in your case.

[1154.] Bees Dying from Unhioivn Causes.
— Will you kindly fay if there is anything in
accompanying syrup - food likely to cause
injury to bees ? At the beginning of August
I had five good stocks — two in a ' Wells "
hive covering twenty-four frames, and three
others raised from nuclei with young queens,
well covering six frames each. About a fort-
night since we had a few very cold nights and
wet days, causing bees, as I think, to cluster
and hibernate, leaving all brood, which is now
dead, in each hive. On Monday, September 3,
I left home for the week, and ta-day, on
looking round, I see thousands of bees dead
and dying, and, what is more surprising, on
looking into and examining the hives, find
there are just about sufficient bees in the three
smaller ones to pull through the winter, when
united together — i.e , under best conditions.
The two stocks in the " Wells " hive have so
dwindled as to be useless as two stocks, and
must also be united. The food given was
made from some "Tate's'' lump sugar, which
had got somewhat dirty, and I bought cheap
from our grocer ; boiled in the usual way
with nothing but waterworks water. — "Con-
ISTON Villa,'' Bristol, September 8.

Reply. — We are unable to say if any dele-
terious substance has got into the sugar. It
has a slightly curious taste, but that, of
course, nnght arise from a dozen causes, all
quite harmless. If the bees were injudiciously
fed during your absence from home a good

Sept. 13, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

369

deal of slaughter could occur through
" robbing," but hardly to the extent named ;
but to get a professional aoaljsis of the syrup
sent would be ccstly, and might not yield
.any satisfaction after all. Your deduction as
to brood also may be in a small measure
correct ; but " all brood " would not be de-
serted by the bees and allowed to chill and
die. So there must be some other reason not
apparent in your note for the present condi-
tion of the stocks. No doubt you have
ceased feeding with the suspected syrup, and
perhaps may have learned something from
that— which we shall be glad to hear — from
the fact that mischief has happened to bees to
Gur knowledge from using damaged sugar
" bought cheap."

§« ^\wm ta Ofamc.

September 12 and 13. — Scottish Bee-
Keepers' Association, in connection with the
show of the Caledonian Horticultural Society,
Waverley Market, Edinburgh. Schedules
now ready. John Wishart, assistant
secretary, Castlecraig, Dolphinton, N.B.

September 15. — In the Corn Exchange,
Jedburgh. Roxburghshire B.K.A. Annual
show of honey, &c. Twenty-seven classes.
Eight silver medals and liberal money prizes.
Entries closed. Thos. Clark, secretary,
Pleasants, Jedburgh, N.B.

October 9 to 12. — Dairy Show at the Agri-
cultural Hall, London. Five classes for honey.
Liberal prizes. For particulars apply to Wm,
C. Young, Secretary, Dairy Farmers' Associa-
tion, 191, Fleet-street, London, E.C. Entries
closed.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

J. C. Bamlktt (Penzmce). — Wells Hives. —
No description, " with details as to con-
struction" of the "Wells" hive has ap-
peared in our columns. As a matter of
fact, we suppose the only one who can
supply such details is Mr. Wells himself.
Descriptions (with illustrations) of several
forms of '• Wells hives," as furnished to us
by the manufacturers thereof, appeared in
our pages during the month of March, 1893.
We have also been informed that, in ad-
dition to Mr. Meadows, of Syston, Mr,
Redshaw, of South Wigston, and Mr. J. H.
Howard, of Holme, manufacture a " Wells
hive " on the " W.B.C." plan.

Shepperton (Middlesex). — Expert Help
Wanted. — By becoming a member of the
county association you will be entitled to
the assistance of the expert when on his
autumn tour inspecting the hives of mem.

bers. Write to the hon. sec, Major Fair,
11, Anlaby-road, Teddington.

W. GooDALL (Yorks), — Comb sent in badly
affected with foul-brood. If the stock is
weak there is no hope for it at this season.
Bees, honey, and combs should therefore
be destroyed by burning, and the hive disin-
fected before using again.

Stonehouse. — - Varieties of Heather, —
No. 1, the common "ling" — Erica (or
Calluna) vulgaris — is the honey-yielding
heather. No. 2, Erica cinera, is known as
Scotch heath, or bell-heatber, and is of little
value as a honey plant.

J. H. Burton (Beaumaris). — No doubt the
dead brood is " chilled," not foul, and there
are no serious grounds for fearing another
outbreak if all food given is medicated, and
preventives against infection are used in all
tenanted hives.

W. B. (Lowestoft). — If sugar is sold as pure
cane, and the tradesman is reliable, it may
be used. It is impossible for us to guarantee
it or condemn it from mere inspection of a
sample.

G. C Lyon. — Curing Foul Brood. — We were
led to make the reservation in footnote to
2065 (p. 357) for the reasons stated therein.
Had we been furnished with the further
particulars since supplied, oiir remarks
would not have been necessary. We were,
however, led to pen them from the fact of it
being only too well known to us that combs
" smelling very strong, and with hundreds
of rotting grubs in the cells," were plentiful
enough in stocks "not strong" at the time
referred to, without them being aff'ected with
foul-brood at all.

Ja.s. Jones (Gloster). — Comb received contains
about 95 per cent, of healthy brood, which
has by some means got " chilled." Foul-
brood is, however, apparently just breaking
out, and, in view of the stock being
•' very weak and dwindling," we should
destroy it by burning combs and the few
remaining bees.

J. H. Horn (Bedale). — Old Honey for Feeding.
— Old honey is scarcely so good for syrup
making as cane sugar, and, having already
been " boiled,'' will require "letting down ''
with water to the consistency of ordinary
syrup for autumn feeding. We should
advise its being mixed with sugar syrup.

C. Hopkins (Droitwich). — Requeening. — Be-
ing a driven stock of last year, it is advis-
able to requeen for '95, though there is
nothing very unusual in the queen having
ceased breeding for the present season,
seeing how little honey has come in for many
weeks past. If the spotting on alighting
board is excessive, it may " mean dysentery,"
but we do not think it very likely. Good
warm food and a dry hive are the remedies
for the latter.

Son of the Rock (Alloa). — Feather cushion
for Bees. — 1. The Cowan hive is, of course,
" a gtock hive," and may be h'ld from any

370

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 13, 1894.

known hive maker. 2. No doubt a feather-
cushion will retain heat very well, but less
costly materials should serve for bee-
purposes.

Hybrid. — Cyprians are known to be very
uncertain in temper, and occasionally
develop extraordinary viciousness.

G. Head (Winkfield).— Of the samples of
honey, Nos. 1 to 4 are all good, and much
alike in quality. No. 3 we think best, and
4 next, but there is really little to choose
between them. There must be some mistake
in referring to No. 5 as being " so thick
that it cannot be got out by the extractor."
It is by far the thinnest honey of the lot.
There is a slight heather flavour about ifc,
but not at all pronounced. The three
queens received show no outward signs
of old age ; we should judge them to be
naturally unprolific.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, <5tc. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

B

EB TENT on HIRE. For terms, apply to G. GtJNSTON,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

THREE HEALTHY STOCKS of BEES, in Frame
Hives, 18s. each. M. Wood, 23, Morris-street,
Rodborne-lane, Swindon. F 23

PURE EN'GLISH BEES.— Queens, 3s. ; Swarms for
uniting with qixeen, 5s. Alsford, Expert, Bland-
ford. F 19

HONEY WANTED.— Will the friends who send me
their Honey send in samples, price, and quantity
early. Garnett, Steade-road, Sheffield. f IS

EXTRACTKD ENGLISH HONEY, warranted pure,
about 1 cwt., Sd. per lb. ; sample free. R. Merckr,
Long-street, Atherstone. F 22

BEAUTIFUL HEREFORDSHIRE HONEY, in screw-
capped bottles, and 4, 10, and 14 lb. tins. Sample
2d. Thos. Charles, Much Marcle, Glos. f 20

DRIVEN BEES at Is. 3d. lb. Young queen. Package
free and on rail. Cash with order. R. Brown,
Flora Apiary, Somersham, Hunts. f 11

WANTED, SECTIONS of HONEYCOMB (first quality).
Prompt cash ; packages sent. Any quantity. E.
Hurst, Bexhill, Sussex. 235

LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, Sd., post free.
500, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.

FERTILE QUEENS, bred by selection, 5s. Very
prolific. Ordinary Fertile Queens, 3s. 6d. Post
free. Safe arrival guaranteed. Rev. C. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex.

FOR SALE, 4h CWT. pure ENGLISH HONEY at
6d. per lb. Payment by deposit system. Address,
0. M. Eagleton, The Apiary, Parson Drove, Wisbech.

F 9

FOR SALE, Good, Healthy STOCKS of BEES ; 15 in
frame hives, two in skeps ; all well stored for
winter. Reference to Secretary, British Bee-Keeper's
Association. Address, J. MarshA.I'I', Home Park,
King's Langley, Herts. f 21

Prepaid Advertisements (^Ccm^m^^ec^^

FINE-TESTED 1894 FERTILE QUEENS, 3s. 6d. each.
Safe arrival guaranteed. 3-franie nuclei, 10s. 6d.
Packing included. Address, C. Whiting, Valley Apiary,
Hundon, Clare, Suffolk. F 15

NEW HONEY WANTED, any quantity, clean, well-
filled and sealed 1-lb. Sections. State quantity
and price for cash. Address, M. Charlton, Fruit Mer-
chant, Fawcett-street, Sunderland. F 1

HEALTHY 1894 Fertile NATIVE QUEENS, 3s. 6d.
each. Four Stocks same strain have this season
yielded over 100 lb. each. A. Simpson, Mansfield Wood-
house, Notts. F 7

NOTICE.— CARBOLIC TOWEL, and Samples of my
BEE-SMOKE CARTRIDGES Free (during Sept.)
to all Purchasers of my CARBOLINE POMADE. T.
Holliday.

T NDISPENSABLE to HONEY DEALERS. — HAR-
1 GRAVE'S Folding Cardboard BOXES for 1-lb.
Sections. Sample 3d. post free. Hargrave, Harro-
gate-road, Ripon.

MARKET for SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY >
and WAX. State price and quantity. Prompt
cash. Packages sent. Address, H., Bee Journal Office,
17, King William-street, Strand, London.

QUEENS, a few of my special 1894 LIGURIAN
_ HYBRIDS for SALE, prior to packing down for
' winter. Safe arrival guaranteed ; 3s. 6d. post free.
H. W. BuiCE, Beulah-road North, Thornton Heath,
Surrey. 244

NOTICE.— I am Uniting a lot of late swarms, and
shall have some young, healthy, natural-raised,
'94 Fertile QUEENS for SALE at 2s. each. Can send
by return post. A. J. Carter, Billingshurst, Sussex.
; 243

O STOCKS, one Nuclei, Healthy BEES, cheap, in bar-
^-' frame hives, complete, 15s. each ; purchaser to
pack, take away. Or EXCHANGE for good Pneumatic
Bicycle. They are worth 180s. ; new Guinea Extractor,
15s. Lyon, Soham, Cambs. r 17

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, &c. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. Holliday, Astbury,
Congleton.

TO HIVE MAKERS.

Largest Stock in London.
VERY DRY, SOUND, CHEAP.

For price lists, apply, COBBETT CO. Virginia-road,
Bethnal Green, London, E.

ONEY AND ITS USES. By the Kev.
Gerard W. Bancks, M.A. 3/6 per
100, 8/- per 250, 14/6 per 500, carriage paid.
By freely distributing this Pamphlet, a ready
market for Honey may be made in the
Bee-keeper's own neighbourhood.

Specimen Copy on application.
Address Durham House, Green Street

Green, Dartford. 176

MY LATEST PRODUCTION.— The "TILLEV
HIVE, made entirely on the principles laid down
by Professor Tilley, and used in his extensive apiaries at
Dorchester. The Tilley hive is no catch-penny article
that the wind and rain will l)low through, but is the
cheapest, most substantial, and sensible hive now on the
market, and when generally known is hound to be
universally adopted. Note the price, 12s. Cd. complete.
Painted three coats of best oil paint, and with zinc-
covered roof. Every bee-keeper should send for my list.
Randolph Meech,

Broadwindsor, Dorset.

Sept. 20, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

371

(KiitoriEl ^0ti(;{^, ^c.

UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
COLLEGES

AND TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION IN BEE-
KEEPING.

A somewhat significant sign of the
favour with which bee-keeping is at
present regarded is afforded by the fact
that it has just now been adopted as one
of the subjects for instruction by Univer-
sity Extension Colleges. The prospectus
of a "Special Course of Instruction in
Poultry-farming, Horticulture, and Bee-
keeping," in connection with the agricul-
ture department of the University Ex-
tension College, Reading, is now before
us, and Ave note that lectures on Bee
culture by Mr. W. H. Harris, B.A., B.Sc.
(one of the examiners of candidates for
certificates as experts to the British Bee-
keepers' Association), and Demonstrations
in Bee-keeping by Mr. A. D. Woodley,
are included in the course.

After what has already been done by
County Councils in various parts of the
kingdom by way of promoting technical
instruction in bee-keeping, it cannot be
otherwise than gratifying to note that
the pursuit in which our readers, along
with ourselves, are especially interested
is now being raised to a higher plane by
its inclusion in the University Extension
scheme.

Considered in connection with the pro-
ceedings which took place at the meeting
of representatives of Northern and Mid-
land Bee Associations, affiliated Avith the
British Bee-keepers' Association — re-
ported in our issue of the 30th ult. — and
the resolution passed thereat having
reference to the parent association,
arranging " examinations for scientific
lectures at agricultural schools 'and insti-
tutions," the extension of the movement
southAvard is doubly interesting. Nor
have Ave any doubt that this latest
development Avill be the means of bring-
ing to the front a class of lecturers on
bees and bee-keeping possessing the
necessary culture and training which
alone will enable them to rank among
the higher class of scientific teachers
now engaged in the Avork of technical
instruction throughout the country.

We trust the next step to be noted

will be the recognition of apiculture by
the Board of Agriculture. Following
that Avill come the much-required legis-
lation relating to so-called " foul brood."

BRITISH BEE - KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

Meeting of the committee held at 105,
Jermyn-street, on Thursday, the 13th inst.
Present — H. Jonas (in the chair), W. B. Carr,
J. Garratt, W. H. Harris, J. H. New, E. D.
Till, and J. M. Hooker (ex-officio). The
Baroness Burdett-Coutts, President of the
Association, wa'? also present, and presided
during part of the proceedings.

Communications were received from the
Treasurer, Mr. W. O'B. Glennie, and from the
Rev. G. W. Bancks, regretting their inability
to be present.

The Secretary was also unable to attend
through illness.

Reports were received from sub-committees.
The Exhibitions sub - Committee recom-
mended that arrangements be made for the
disposal of small samples of honey and litera-
ture, together with the exhibition of bee-
keeping objects at the forthcoming Dairy
Show. The report of the Exhibition Com-
mittee was adopted, and Mr. Till and Mr.
Garratt were appointed as stewards on behalf
of the association to carry out these arrange-
ments.

The sub -'committee appointed to revise
" Modern Bee Keeping " reported that they
had made some progress with their work, but
much remained to be completed in order that
the work might be thoroughly revised and
brought up to date.

Thr President drew attention to a letter
which had appeared in the Times of that day's
date on the subject of beekeeping. It was
resolved that a communication, commenting on
this letter, and drawing attention to the sub-
ject of bee-keeping and the work of the
association should be sent to the Times, bearing
the President's signature.

The following neAv members were elected : —

Mr. S. Aston, St. Albans.

Mr. C. Redshaw, South Wigston.

Mr. H. Twentyman, Wolverhampton.

The committee adjourned to Thursday,
October 11, on which date an evening conver-
sazione will be held.

ANTWERP UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION.

The week's show of bee-keeping appliances,
honey, wax, &c., held in connection with the
above-named exhibition, is of considerable
interest, as showing the advance the Belgians
have made in bee culture since 1888, at which
time their first bee show was held in connec-
tion with the International Exhibition at
Brussels. At that time all the Belgian ex-
hibits were very primitive, as will be remem-

372

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 20, 1894.

bered by those who visited the show or read
the report in the columns of the B.B.J. A
great advance has been made, especially in the
way of putting up run honey. It is safe to
say that in these classes there was not a single
bad exhibit, and many showed the greatest
taste, added to which the whole of the honey
was of high quality and fine colour. It was
very curious to notice that, though Belgium is
a great glass-producing country, yet more than
50 per cent, of the total exhibits of extracted
honey was in bottles supplied by a well-known
English firm. The award of prizes in these
classes were very curious indeed — quite dif-
ferent to the ideas of English judges.

In section honey the Belgians do very
poorly, the total number of sections on show
being only about 100 — the whole, however,
being got up much in our English style, all
being glassed and cased. Many inquiries
elicited the fact that comb honey does not sell
well in Belgium, and therefore very little is
produced.

In the wax classes every exhibit was of high
excellence. The French exhibit of L'Abbe
Bede being very fine indeed. The great
secret of the preparing of this Avax seems to
be not to melt it more than once, the colour
and smell being damaged by repeated melt-
ings. In foundation improvement is needed,
the greater part of that exhibited being very
thick and unevenly made, and produced by
machines of German make, we were told.
Some remarkable flat-bottomed drone founda-
tion was on view, with cells about 3 to 1 in.

Of the general appliances little need be
said, as nearly all were bad copies of articles
made by well-known English firms, the only
exceptions being probably in the wax and
honey- extractor classes. Honey - extractors
were in great force, about fifty standing in a
row all down the wall of the building.
Nearly all were of the same type, with
vertical gear driven by a handle at the side.
Many were useful machines, but very
ponderous, nearly all being to extract four
combs at one time. Several we noticed had a
capital idea for keeping fine wire tightly
strained without the aid of any backing
whatever, which might with advantage be
adopted by our English makers. The most
primitive among the extractors was a paraffin
barrel, painted inside, and fitted with gal-
vanised wire, cages, and a string gearing I

The hive classes were very large, one maker
having fifteen exhibits in one class. The hives
of Mr. Mees and Mr. Varlet were well con-
structed, and both makers had apparently
given a good deal of attention to English and
American models. Little need be said of
any other hives shown. Many were got up in
imitation of houses, &c., and in nearly all cases
had not got beyond the notch-spacing. The
amount of trouble and complication taken in
spacing the frames in all the hives is beyond
conception, and almost reduces some to fixed
comb-hives before they are stocked with bees ,

Assuredly they will be fixed combs after
stocking. The less said the better about the
way the hive prizes were awarded. We
should be much astonished to see prizes given
to hives with elaborate staple-spacing, or with
racks of wire or zinc which would not allow
the combs to slide ; but to see a bronze medal
awarded to a hive covered from bottom to top
with zinc is beyond our imagination, and we
can only surmise that this prize was given be-
cause the whole structure resembles the sort
of ornamental house covered with zirc of
which the Belgians are fond. The floor-board
of this hive rests on four massive metal
Belgian lions' heads.

Only one English exhibitor was present, Mr.
T, B. Blow, and we notice that he has received
twelve awards. With the foreign exhibitors
generally there was a good deal of dissatisfac-
tion, and we fear that in future no bee-keepers
outside Begium will be induced to send goods
to shows in that country, for we consider the
international jury to have been to a great
extent a farce, and its members not to have
been bee-keepers of any high standing or of
advanced knowledge. The manner, too, in
which the prizes offered were Avithheld gave
the greatest dissatisfaction, and was looked
upon as getting people to send goods under
false pretences — one well-known French bee-
keeper going so far as to call the officials
" brigands." To such an extent was this with-
lioldmg of prizes carried, that in several
instances where, say, three or four prizes were
ofi"ered, only one (generally the smallest) was
awarded, and in nearly all cases the better
prizes were awarded to Belgians, and foreign-
ers had to be content with honourable men-
tions. Mr. T. W. Cowan, who was invited
to act on the international jury, was not able
to be present, and therefore did not take part
in the judging, otherwise we feel sure he would
have entered a protest against such unfair-
ness in the judging. We trust that in future, '
if the competition is thrown open to all
nations, more fairness will be done in this
respect, as the foreigner is put to great expense
in sending his goods.

WORCESTERSHIRE B.K.A.

The annual show of the above association
was held on August 23 at Madresfield Court in
connection with the Madresfield Agricultural
Club Show.

A considerable quantity of honey was staged
in a large tent 145 ft. in length, which had
been kindly lent by Earl Beauchamp for the
purpose of exhibiting butter and honey.

The sections of honey which were staged
were not of the average quality, but consider-
ing the unfavourable season through which we
have passed they were fairly satisfactory,
while some of the exhibits of extracted honey
were of very fine quality. Competition in the
classes for honey in bottles was very keen, and

Sept. 20, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

373

the judges had some difficulty in determining
which was best.

Besides honey, there was a display of hives
and appliances used in modern bee-keeping, by
Mr. Huntley, of Worcester, and a very attrac-
tive and instructive display of comb in various
stages of progress, as well as other items of
interest to bee-keepers arranged by Mr. Percy
Leigh, of Stoke Prior.

The entire arrangements of the show were
under the direction of the hon. sec. of the
Association, the Rev. E. Davenport, of Stour-
port. A. H. Martin, Esq., J.P., of Evesham,
an enthusiastic bee-keeper, and a long-tried
friend of the Association, and F. W. Jones,
Esq., J.P., CO., were, by the authority of the
B.B.K.A., the appointed judges, and these
gentlemen discharged their duties in the most
praiseworthy manner.

An episode of a very unpleasant character
occurred whilst the judges were engaged at
their work, and the incident shows the ex-
pediency of having the tent entirely clear of
all exhibitors during the time of judging,
which on this occasion could not well be
done on account of the heavy rain falling at
the time — but expcrientia docet.

The incident referred to occurred thus : — A
certain exhibit was being examined by the
judges, when it was found one of the sections
was not what it professed to be — a fact which
the judges detected, and at once stated ; but
the statement was overheard by the exhibitor,
and he removed the faulty section, and substi-
tuted another in its place, and then challenged
the decision of the judges ; but those gentle-
men discovered the imposition, and though at
first the act was denied, the party has since
acknowledged his fault, pleading ignorance of
customs at exhibitions as his excuse.

The matter is to be referred to the executive
for further consideration.

The awards of the judges were as follows : —

Observatory Hive and Bees. — 1st, A. W.
Rollins, Stourbridge ; 2nd, Rev. E. Daven-
port.

Twelve 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, C H. Haynes,
Hanley Castle ; 2nd, A. W. Rollins.

Six \-lb. Sedions. — 1st, 0. H. Haynes ; 2nd,
J. Styles, Kents Green.

Ttvelve 1-lb. Jars Extracted Soncy. — 1st,
0, H. Haynes ; 2 ad, Percy Leigh.

Six 1-lb. Jars of Extracted Honey. — 1st,
Percy Leigh ; 2nd, Rev. E. Davenport.

Three or Six Shallow-frames of Honey of
1894. — 1st, A. W. Rollins ; no second.

Most Complete Hive {the loork of an
amateur) . — 1st, R. T. Bullock ; no second.

Best Bar-frame Hive suitable for Cottagers.
— 1st, 0. Redshaw, South Wigston ; 2nd,
H. 0. Huntley.

Six 1-lb, Jars Extracted Honey (Cottagers
only).— 1st, R. T. Bullock ; 2nd, J. Edwards.

Beeswax. — 1st, Percy Leigh ; 2nd, H. 0.
Huntley.

Colleciioii of Hives and Ap])lia7iC6s,—l3t,
H. 0. Huntley ; no second.

GIFT CLASS.

Best 1-lb. Jar of Extracted Hone;/.— 1st,
C. H. Haynes ; 2nd, Percy Leigh.

Si)ecial Prize offered by Mr. T. B. Blow, for
bfd Six Sect Ions Of Honey, in Blow's patent
sections. — 1st, C. H. Haynes.

Do., Best Six 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey
in Blow's bottles.— Ifit, C. H. Haynes ; 2nd,
Percy Leigh.

Special Prize for best display of Honey in
Sections and Jars. — Percy Leigh.

^mmpvikntt

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•,* In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previoit,sly inserted,
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as the page on which it appears.

QUEEN-REARING.

THE RESULT OF THREE YEARS' EXPERIMENTAL
WORK.

[2071.] In taking up my pen to lay before
your read!ers the results of my experiments in
queen-rearing, I for the first time realise the
tremendous extent of the work undertaken in
striving to render intelligible the multitude of
notes f have made for the last three years of
the various manipulations carried out, and of
niaking my observations interesting to those
who care to wade through them. On looking
back to the spring of 1892— when it first
occurred to me that the usual run of queens in
our apiaries were not all that could be desired
—and the years that followed and have gone,
as though all the work, the anxious hours
passed in waiting for the result of this or that
experiment, the variable weather, the disap-
pointment over failure and the gladness when
I succeeded; all this seems like one long
pleasant dream spent among the bees and the
flowers they love so well ; winter came and
went, but I seem to remember little, for was
I not even then with the bees, either in the
past or in my mind's eye infuturo, aye, truly.

Now, at the outset I must ask readers to
disabuse their minds of the fallacy that first-
class queens can be reared by simply cuttmg
up a piece of comb containing eggs or larvae
and giving it to the bees. Good queens cannot
be raised by rule of thumb. Some people, to

374

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [Sept. 20, 1894.

suit their own ends, will tell you that queens
can be raised anyhow, and that their pet
method of raising them is the only way, and
that any other which they have not tried, or
tried and failed in, is wrong and necessarily
bad, but most folks know where the proof of
the pudding lies, and after raising queens by
every known method up to the present time
I feel that the experience gained enables me to
a certain extent to speak on this— to bee-
keepers— all-important matter with some con-
fidence. I say all-important, because if readers
would only think it out they would at once
realise that " everything tending to successful
bee-keeping centres in the queen,'' and I am
fully convinced that the royal road to success
in our craft — if royal road there be — is to have
our colonies headed by the finest and most
perfect queens we can rear or otherwise
obtain, and such queens can, in my opinion,
only be reared at the proper time — viz., the
natural swarming season, which is the only
natural season for queen-rearing. Queens can
be reared at other times, it is true, but the
bees rear them from necessity, not by natural
desire, and, as with ourselves, things done un-
willingly or through necessity are rarely done
well.

To rear queens after the honey or swarming
season is over, you have to get them raised in
queenless colonies, which, when the honey
season has gone, are very loth to take the job
on, and will often leave the larvte until it is
three days old before commencing to feed it
properly, whereas if the task be given them in
proper season, and from proper material, the
cells are started at once, and upon larv?e under
thirty-six hours old and fed on the right food
from the commencement. Therefore, one
great fact to be borne in mind is, that if you
want good queens, make sure they are raised
in proper season and under proper conditions.
Then comes the question. What are the proper
conditions ? To my mind they are (1) that
the stock that raises the new queens should be
strong and flourishing, and (2) have a laying
queen in the hive while the new ones are
being raised. And I maintain that only
under such conditions can the best and most
perfect queens be raised. Such queens are
fine, strong, prolific, and long-lived, and will
give such an account of themselves that it
would take half-a-dozen unnatural productions
(called queens) to equal.

Do not think I am desirous of being
accredited with laying anything new before
my readers. What I have to say is not new,
but is the result of thirty or forty years of
study and careful observations of such men as
G M. Doolittle, Dr. C. C. Miller, Henry
Alley, and many other advanced apiculturists
on both sides of the Atlantic. No one has a
right to put forward as new methods with
which he has experimented and made slight
modifications of, but should give full credit
to the originator of the idea, and I wish
it to be clearly understood that although

I have somewhat modified and altered the
methods adopted by other bee-keepers, yet the
ideas are not mine. Indeed, it is hard to say
with whom they did originate, and as Mr.
Doolittle says : " I cannot give credit to all
from whom I have gained knowledge, as there
is scarcely a writer on apiculture from whom
I have not gained light, and, in fact, it is the
many littles of the past that makes the much
of the present."

Undoubtedly, the very worst method of
rearing queens is the " let alone " method. The
bee-keeper, if he wants first-class queens, must
take some portion of the work into his own
hands, and superintend the operations carried
on by the bees within the hive. Take a hive
that has just swarmed, for instance ; on
examination we find several cells in various
stages, some just capped, others only partly
completed. Then comes the important ques-
tion, " What was the age of the larva3 when
the first royal food was given the young grub ? "
The chances are it was too old for good
results, for although bees build rudimentary
cells prior to swarming, I never saw a queen
lay an egg in one yet, and I should require to
see her do it before I would state in print that
she does so. The next question is. Do
bees place eggs in embryo queen cells ?
They may, but I am more inclined to the
view that it is the young grubs that are placed
therein by the bees. Has it ever been recorded
that these empty embryo queen-cells are the
identical cells which are used eventually for
raising queens ? I think not. Often have I
seen cells started prior to swarming, and have
certainly seen these same cells still empty after
the queen-cells on the other parts of the combs
have been sealed. I am, therefore, of opinion
that, though in a few cases eggs and larvte
may be transferred to these empty embryo
cells, yet in the majority of cases the cells are
built round the young larvie, and in practically
every case round larvae over thirty-six hours
old. Anyway, when the swarming fever takes
possession of the bees it is accompanied by a
complete mania for building queen-cells, and
after careful examination of many stocks about
to supersede the reigning queen I have found
queen- cells built over larvfe of different ages.
It therefore follows that cells built over the
oldest larvte will be the first to hatch out, and
if the bees determine to throw no second
swarm this half- formed insect becomes the
mother of the colony. But if a second swarm
comes off, the next hatching queen becomes
mother. This second swarm should there-
fore always be returned ; otherwise the
colony is practically worthless for that
season, and in any case the chances
are that the most perfect queens, i.e.,
those started from the youngest larvae, and
the last to hatch out, are always those de-
stroyed. The theory of the survival of the
fittest is thus in almost every case reversed.
This is so vital a point that I must be forgiven
for dwelling upon it, for, although bees at

Sept. 20, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

375

swarming time will, if left alone, raise the
finest of queens, yet in nearly every instance
an inferior queen is tlie one that eventually
reigns. It was the discovery of these fads,
amongst others, that first led me to inquire
more fully into the question of the quality of
my queens, and endeavour to find a means of
securing queens of the best quality, and pro-
duced under the best and most natural condi-
tions. I obtained and perused the works of
all the authorities on the subject, but, with the
exception of the writings of the gentlemen
I have mentioned above, there was no other
writer whose methods were new, or in my
estimation worthy of attention. — Henry W.
Brice, Thornton Heath, Surrey.

{To be continued.)

PRESERVING SURPLUS QUEENS.

ADAPTATION OF THE " WELLS " DUMMY.

[2072.] Having tried the " Wells " hive for
two years (1893-94), I am sorry to say I could
not give a testimonial in its favour, always
being unfortunate eitherwith one or other of the
queens dying or in other ways being lost ; but
in beekeeping the motto should always be
nil desperandum, for, although unsuccessful
once or twice, we should try again, as there
are so many things that might happen with
the most experienced beekeeper to cause either
success or failure. If a success, tell it to your
neighbours, so that they may also benefit ;
but if a failure pocket it and say nothing.
But I rather think I am going from my text.
Having failed so far to get a " Wells " hive to
be even equal to the average of two ordinary
hives, the idea struck me that the '' Wells ''
dummy might be adapted for an ordinary hive
to keep two queens through the winter, so had
two boxes altered from one to two entrances
with a solid division of 3 in. in the centre. In
one of these I had a colony last winter, and
when it swarmed this year I removed it some
yards away, putting the swarm in its place
(and had fifty-two sections off it). Then I at
once put in a" Wells "dummy (home-made), and
put a frame with a good queen-cell into each
compartment, and also divided the alighting
board with a piece of thin wood to give the
young queens some chance of knowing the
entrance they came out of ; and on looking
in about a fortnight or so after I was pleased
to see plenty of eggs and larvse in both divi-
sions, showing that both young queens were
present and breeding. Then, about three
weeks ago, I divided other two hives with
" Wells " dummies, and, after finding out
which side had the queens, I introduced a
nucleus with a young queen into each of the
sides that had no queen, and, I am glad to
say, all are breeding and doing well.

These double queens in an ordinary- sized
hive cannot be left together long in the spring,
but how very useful they may be for re-
queening in cases of accident to other queens,

and if not required, they can either be sold,
given to a neighbour, make an early nucleus,
or destroyed, after helping to fill the hive
bees and young brood. —Bagcjrow, Oumberland.

QUILTS V. WOOD COVERS.

[2073.] I read with interest Mr. W. B.
Webster's letter in B. J. of September 6
(2062) on the subject of quilts verms wood
covers, as we have been experimenting with
wood covers for over four years. Our quilts,
or rather I should say the fragments which the
bees have left, are now in the Apiary Museum.
We still keep a few quilts to put over con-
demned bees and swarms when we run the bees
in over the frames ; but in a few days these
quilts are replaced by wood covers. A pro-
perly-made wood cover, in our opinion, is 99
per cent, better than any kind of quilt.

We wintered some twenty-four stocks last
winter with wood covers, and they came out
very strong in the spring. Our wood cover is
made in three pieces — 5^ in., 6 in., 5^. The
6 in. is the middle piece, which has a | in.
hole in it for the feeder, should it be required.
Slats I in. by \ in. are nailed on to the three
pieces to provide the bee-space over the
frames. All our supers and section-crates
have wood covers. The supers are 9 in. wide,
and the wood cover made in two pieces, b\ in,
and 3| in. The two side parts of the hive
cover four parts of the super covers.
■ I am quite sure of this, that if properly-
made wood covers are once used, quilts will
never be used again. One great advantage is
the tops of the frames are always clean and
free from propolis. A wood cover renders a
smoker unnecessary. A smoker has not once
been used in our apiary this year.

If anything in the way of subjugating has
to be done, we use a damp carbolic cloth. We
find that our bees, through always meeting
with kind treatment, do not resent the neces-
sary interference, if only it be done at the
right time.

The wood cover enables us during the honey
harvest to take frames out and put empty ones
in without subjugating the bees in any way.
A slight lateral movement loosens the wood
cover, which can then be taken off without
irritating the bees, as the tearing off the quilt
necessarily does. — R. T. Shea, Southend,
September 17.

BROOD IN SECTIONS.

DO BEES CARRY EGGS THROUGH EXCLUDER
ZINC ?

[2074.] On one of my hives I had a small
crate containing twelve sections, all got filled
and sealed, but in the centre of one I had a
lot of drone grubs, about same quantity on
each side of the comb. How did they get
there if the workers had not taken them up 1
for, if the queen had got up would she have
been content to lay fifty eggs and then quietly

376

THE BRITISH BEE JOUJRNAL. [Sept. 20, 1894.

go back through the excluding zinc ? I think
not. There is much conflicting correspondence
on this point in your Journal. With best
■wishes for its prosperity. — H. C Marsh.

[We can only repeat our own conviction —
formed from long experience— viz., that when
eggs appear in quantity above excluder zinc it
is a result of queen passing by some means
into the surplus chamber. Diminutive queens
have often been known to pass through
excluder zinc. — Eds.]

FOUL BROODY HIVES.

THE CANADIAN METHOD.

[2075.] With reference to my letter (2054,
p. 334) of Ber Journal, August 23, Mr.
Woodley finds fault in a friendly way with the
heading of that letter. Now I have the
greatest respect for Mr. Woodley, and always
look forward for his " Notes by the Way,"
from which I have learned much ; but I think
it matters little what the method may be called
providing it achieves its object. The Canadian
or McEvoy method, as it appeared in the
Bee Journal, and recommended by Mr.
W^oodley, inspired and prompted me to operate
on this hive as I have done. I may have
perhaps deviated a little from the treatment
as originally published, but circumstances alter
cases. I wish to make it clear that the sulphur
fumes could not in any way have caused the
bees to leave the hive, because it was the skep
from which the bees were driven that was
exposed to the fumes, and said skep, or its con-
tents, were not in any way brought into contact
with the swarm afterwards. It will be remem-
bered that the bees were hived in a frame-hive
on " starters " of foundation, and at the end
of the four days these starters were simply
removed and full sheets of foundation substi-
tuted in the same hive without any disinfecting
process of any kind ; it was then, and not till
then, the bees deserted the hive.

I performed a like operation on one of my
frame hives (August 9, 1894) which I found
to be badly affected with foul brood on
removing a nice lot of finished sections. I
shook the bees off the frames, and alloTved
them to run into a skep, where they remained
while I prepared their hive. In this case I
have combined another American plan with
the McEvoy method by painting the inside of
the hive with paraffin oil and setting it on fire,
a handy way to remove the propolis, and per-
haps disinfect the hive. Of course, there was
no honey flow here on August 8 ; so I fed up
the bees with good syrup medicated with
naphthol beta. This stock has long since
built out its full sheets of foundation, and
stored sufficient food to winter on. Though
the hive was treated as above stated, and the
smell of the burnt oil quite perceptible, the
bees gave me no trouble, as in the case of
No. 1 hive.

I shall give another case, and the treatment
is different to either of the above. It was a

fine June swarm, belonging to a neighbour ;
he, unfortunately, hived it in a skep, from
which the bees had died of foul brood in
spring, leaving a large quantity of stores.
About August 20 I drove the bees, and set
them up in another skep the owner had pro-
cured. There were three or four nice slabs of
comb built in this hive the present season, but
the poor bees died of starvation. There was
not, nor could be, any starters of founda-
tion used in this case ; the bees were set up
direct on the combs mentioned above ; neither
is there naphthaline or naphthol beta used in
this case. I am not prepared to state that all
three are cured, or, in fact, any of them ; but
the brood in my own two hives looks healthy
and well, as far as I am a judge ; but the
disease may be lurking in some corner unde-
tected by me. I do not like probing or break-
ing the cappings of cells and perhaps destroy-
ing healthy brood. If any expert, either
English or Irish, be travelliog in this country,
and is curious to see and examine for himself
these hives, let him call to Piltown and inquiie
for " M. K., the man that has the bees," and I
shall be happy, weather permitting, to afford
him an opportunity of doing so, and would be
more than pleased to know for certain tliat a
cure had been effected. Failing some such
examination, I cannot with certainty report of
the success or failure of these cases sooner than
April or May next, when the stocks will be
rapidly increasing, if cured, or decreasing if still
diseased. — M. K., Piltown co. Kilkenny.

^mr'm and |le^Ii«s.

[1155.] Bees Fighting. — Will you kindly
advise me on the following questions ? I have
a very good stock of Ligurian bees, which I
have worked up by feeding from a three-frame
nuclei, and they seem to he doing wonderfully
well. I have noticed on frequent occasions
that some of them seem to be having a fair
old " go in," so to speak — fighting with each
other. Two or three of them seem to go for
one bee, and thoroughly " overhaul '' him, and
seem quite excited. Sometimes the whole
four roll off the alighting-board on to the
ground, when they generally disengage, and
return to the hive entrance, there perhaps to
" go for " another sister. They do not seem to
kill each other. Sometimes I have noticed
them *' go for " a bee which has been out and
returned with a load of honey. Therefore,
what I would like to ask : — 1. Is this fighting
likely to seriously hinder the bees, or affect
them in any way ? 2. What do you think is
the probable cause ? How can I remedy it ?
3. Would ants getting in the hive after the
syrup, or large flies being on the alighting-
board and near the entrance be likely to cause
it (the fighting) ?— H. S. L., Ilford.

Eeply. — The "fighting " is probably nothing
more than the result of the bees having

Sept. 20, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

377

to contend either with robber bees from other
hives, or the annoyance from the "large flies "
or iints referred to, and it has aroused their
conibativeness. No harm will follow.

[1156.] Wilder ing Wcah LoU of Bees in
Cellar. — Amongst others, I have three weak
lots of bees (one single driven lot in bar-frame
hive, and two small skeps) ; all three queens
are now laying well ; do not want to join
them, as should like swarms next year. If I
fed well and put them down in the cellar,
would they winter so ? — H. 0. Bowrey,
Croydon, September 12.

Eeply. — It is not at all probable that you
would succeed in wintering small lots of bees by
putting them down in the cellar after feeding up.
They will stand a better chance outside if well
fed and warmly packed by end of this month,
supposing that the queens are young. Most
bee-keepers would join up the two smallest,
and make two stocks of the three weak lots of
bees, but since you are averse to uniting, we
should winter them singly as above. The fact
that all three queens are now laying nicely, is a
fair augury of the bees pulling through safely.

[1157.] ScftJincj a Dispute about Queens.—
A dispute having arisen between two of our
bee-keepers (whoua we will call A and B) as
to the habits of bees with regard to their
queens, I shall feel obliged if you will kindly
say through your Journal which is correct : —
A says "all queens must be bred in the royal
cell,'' while B declares that " should the queen
die outside or away from the hive no sucessor
will be appointed and the hive will break up ;
but should death take place in the hive the
bees will appoint one their queen, and that by
isolation and special attention and feeding she
soon assumes the queenly appearance." — Cam-

BUSLANG.

Reply. — A is right and B wrong, as refer-
ence to any reliable book on bees would amply
prove. Your friend B must surely be a skeppist
bee-man ; for we cannot conceive how any one
— who uses bar-frame hives and possesses even
the most elementary knowledge of the natural
history of bees —could entertain such *' legen-
dary " notions of bees and their ways, as are
conveyed by the views expressed above.

[1158.] Granulation of Honey. — Will you
please say why some honey sets hard while
some will remain in liquid condition for almost
any length of time ? — Loonie, Chester.

Reply. — It is quite beyond us to explain
all the reasons for granulation and non-granu-
lation of honey in a given time. That gathered
from some flowers — notably from mustard —
always granulates very quickly after being
taken from the bees, but the season and the
climatic conditions under which the gathering
takes place have so great an influence on
granulation as to upset all calculations. This
year we know of honey in sections becoming
solid within a fortnight after removal from the

hives ; while in most seasons the produce of
the same district, at the same period of the
year and apparently from the same varieties of
flowers, will keep liquid for several months.

Kitsicell Farm, Dunster, Som., Septeviber
12. — I have a branch apiary down here on the
beautiful Exmoor Hills, and I believe it to be
one of the finest honey districts in England.
Heather here now^out in full bloom ; not such
a good crop known for years. — Ernest A. S.
CoTTERELL, Hou. Sec. Bristol D. and N.S. and
S.G. B.K.A.

Stamford Rivers., near Romford, Essex, Sep-
tember 12. — -Bees have this year done badly in
this part of Essex. Two swarms I had on
Whitsunday have done best for me, storing
about 40 lb. of surplus honey between them.
Some of my swarms which came off the latter
part of June and beginning of July got no
honey at all, so I drove them and united the
bees with two stocks in frame-hives and am
now feeding them. — J. Downham {The Essex
Labourer).

POLITICS IN A BEEHIVE.

Our Vienna correspondent writes : — A
public accustomed to read of wars, rumours
of wars, dynamite explosions, and railway
collisions at its breakfast every morning,
cannot be reasonably expected to grow excited
over an item of intelligence that deals with
such a tame subject as the busy bee. The
only exciting and irritating point about a
bee is its sting, and the only people likely
to feel at all keenly on the subject are those
who happen to be in the position of the lady
thus described by the poet : " Her lips were
red, and one was thin, Compiired with that
was next her chin ; Some bee had stung it
newly.'' And yet it would seem tha'^ there
were still some possibilities unrealised before
the latest meeting of the Austrian Horticul-
tural and Apicultural Societies in Vienna, at
the Bee Exhibition, which is still open to the
public there. A discovery has been made
there which is the talk of the capital at the
present moment, and the truth of which is
vouched for by hundreds and thousands of
visitors, besides being duly attested in writing
by thirteen trustworthy and competent wit-
nesses, including members of the aristocracy,
scientists, and pbysicians. And this discovery
is of a nature to overthrow all the theories
about the political constitution of bees which
play such a prominent part in political and
scientific literature.

Heretofore it was looked upon as an esta-
blished fact, which could not be called in
question by the most sceptical, that each com-
munity of bees was distinguished by its ultra-
monarchical principles and its loyalty to one

378

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 20, 1894.

queen. The members of the hive would never
hear of a pretender, still less of a duumvirate
or a triumvirate, and any attempt to bring
about such a change in their political system
would have produced a revolution. But the
lawful queen herself would not allow things to
go to any such extremes. The moment a rival
presented herself she would, speaking figura-
tively, attack her tooth-and-nail, and the duel
would end only in the death of one or both.
"We have changed all that now," the Austrian
bees seem to say to their human visitors. For
Professor Gatter, of Simmering, has just exhi-
bited a thriving hive, the members of which
are governed conjointly by two queens, and
the bees apparently approve the innovation.
Nay, what is still more remarkable, the two
monarchs get along most satisfactorily, and
without the slightest friction. Not only are
there no signs of rivalry, j ealousy, or attempts
at those feminine amenities which are the last
resort of cultured females of the human race
when compelled to endure each other's society,
but the two queen-bees are positively affec-
tionate — so affectionate, indeed, that one
might be tempted to suspect that one of the
two was a king in disguise, if such a hypo-
thesis were not rendered absolutely untenable
by the strongly accentuated physiological
characteristics of the queen-bee. One of the
greatest authorities on apiculture, Dr. Dzierzon,
whose name is favourably known throughout
the world in connection with several ingenious
inventions for the comfort of bees, sat for
hours at a stretch observing the conduct of the
two queens. They approach each other from
time to time without the slightest antipathy,
and on two or three occasions actually caressed
each other most tenderly, and then separated
quietly and peacefully, followed by their
devoted suite. Professor Gatter has just
received the first prize for his sensational
exhibit, which is attracting crowds to the Bee
Show, and the members of the Apicultural
and Horticultural Societies of Vienna are
proud to think that no such extraordinary
spectacle as this was ever witnessed or
recorded in the history of bees. The docu-
ment, drawn up, signed, and duly attested,
will be preserved in one of the museums of
Vienna, and copies of it will be sent to
apicultural societies throughout the world. —
Daily Telegraph.

WHY SWARMS BUILD IMPERFECT
OR DRONE COMB IN BROOD-NEST.

Ten years ago I was led to believe that bees
■would store more surplus comb-honey if, under
certain conditions, swarms were allowed to
build their own combs in the brood-nest.
Subsequent experiments proved the correct-
ness of the theory. It might be well to
remark, parenthetically, that Mr. R. L. Taylor
conducted a series of experiments in this line
during a period of three weeks in the summer

of 1893, in which the swarms furnished with
combs or foundation came out ahead of those
building their own combs ; but there is another
point in connection with the matter to which
there has not been attached sufficient import-
ance— viz., that while the swarms building
their own combs were outstripped in the
beginning of the race, they soon began to gain
upon their opponents, and continued to do so
at an increasing speed to the end of the
allotted time. I have always regretted that
the test was not for a longer time — say twice
three weeks, covering the whole of white clover
and basswood bloom. I know that it is more
profitable for me to hive swarms on starters
only, when working for eomb-honey. Briefly
stated, I look at the matter something as
follows : —

If given combs in the brood-nest, the first
step of the bees is to fill them with honey.
Having done this, there is a halt, a hesitancy
in commencing and continuing work in the
supers. The disposition of bees to do thus
and so, to begin work or not in a new com-
partment, is a factor to which not enough
attention has been paid. It is not always the
most populous colony that stores the most
surplus. I have seen a colony of less than
average strength pile up super after super of
honey, while another much stronger would do
but little in the supers because the conditions
were such that the bees " didn't feel like it ; "
perhaps they had in some way been "snubbed,''
and were " sulky " in consequence. I have
heard it said that there is nothing in this ;
that, with the honey in the fields, it would be
brought in and stored somewhere— if there
was no room in the body of the hive it would
go into the section?. I don't agree. Let me
illustrate. I have sometimes been so fortunate
as to have in the spring enough drawn, or
partly drawn, combs in sections to enable me
to furnish a part of my colonies with a full
case each of sucQ sections. Colonies so fur-
nished begin storing honey in the sections at
the very beginning of the harvest, and often
have the first case filled with honey, and work
begun in a second case filled with foundation,
when colonies simply furnished with founda-
tion in the" first case are just beginning
work 'n said case. Those clean, dry, empty
combs just above the brood-nesfc are such a
temptation to the bees that they just pitch in
and fill them . This puts the bees in a mood
to store their honey in the supers, and they
keep on doing so. The colony thus early led
to turn its energy superward is more likely to
lay up a goodly store of surplus. But this is
a digression.

If no combs are given in the brood-nest, and
the supers of sections in all stages of comple-
tion are transferred from the old hive to that
of the new swarm, the bees are compelled to
begin storing honey in the supers ; and where
they begin, there will they continue.

Another advantage, altihough I consider it
the least, of allowing the bees to build their

Sept. 20, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

379

own combs is in saving the cost of founda-
tion.

Of the many bee-keepers who have tried
this system, I believe all, or nearly all, have
secured more surplus honey as the result ; the
only objection to the plan being the exacting
conditions necessary to secure the filling of
the frames with perfect worker-comb. Some
have even gone so far as to advocate the fol-
io wing of this system though it involved the
sorting of the combs in the fall, and the
rendering into wax of the imperfect ones.
This is not necessary. For the past ten years
the majority of my swarms have built their
own combs, nearly all of the combs being
perfect worker-combs, and but few words are
needed to tell exactly how such combs may
always be secured. Have young, prolific
queens, and contract the brood-nest. That is
all there is of it. So long as the queen keepi
pace with the comb-builders, all goes well ;
but let them get the start of her, so that comb
is being built to any great extent for the
storing of honey, and at once a change is made
to " store '' (or drone) comb. If tha brood-
nest is too large, the first-laid eggs are likely
to develop into bees that will emerge from
their cells ere the brood-nest is completely
filled with comb ; and it is when the queen
deserts the comb-builders to restock with eggs
the centrally located cells that are being
vacated, that drone comb is being built. I
don't remember having seen a drone comb
among the first built by a newly-hived swarm ;
it is the outer combs, built when the bees have
outstripped the queen, or while she is refilling
with eggs the ones first buil^, that contain the
drone comb. The remedies are a queen so
prolific that she can keep pace with the comb-
builders, and contracting the brood-nest to
such an extent that it will be filled with comb
before the bees from the first-laid eggs emerge
from the cells.

Bulged or crooked combs are also the result
of a large brood-nest. The bees begin comb-
building in the central frames. As a comb is
completed, it is sometimes slightly bulged into
the space between it and the adjoining outside
frame — particularly so if the second frame
contains no comb, or a comb that is not so far
advanced as the one in the first frame. This
causes the comb in the second frame to be
bulged into the next outside frame, and so on
with an increasing bulge as each succeeding
frame is reached. When the last frame is
reached, its space may be so encroached upon
that perhaps no comb, or only a thin, mis-
shapen one, may be built inside it. Proper
and exact spacing will do much to overcome
this state of affairs ; but with a medium or
small swarm in a large brood-nest, something
of this kind may bo looked for. A swarm a
little below the average in size had been hived
three days upon eight Langstroth frames, the
bees also having access to and working
in the supers. The central combs are
half or two-thirds completed, while in the

two outer frames work has only been com-
menced. Had " dummies " been put in at the
sides, reducing the number of frames to five,
all of the combs would have been commenced
at the same time, advanced in growth at about
the same rate, been finished nearly all alike,
and there would have been no opportunity for
bulging. A comb is never bulged when it is
built between two others, the growth of which
keeps pace with its own.

When I began the practice of hiving swarms
upon starters in a contracted brood-nest, I was
using the eight-frame Langstroth hive, putting
"dummies'' at the sides, and contracting to
five frames ; and I secured such straight
worker-combs thtt those built upon foundation
might almos*-. look upon them with envy ; but
with the Heddon hive, unless the swarm is
unusually large, such perfect results, especially
in the one or two outer frames, are not secured.
The trouble is that the brood-nest is com-
pressed the wrong way. It is not the wrong
way so far as work in the supers is concerned ;
it is superior in that respect, but it furnishes
too large a surface at the top of the brood-
nest ; that is, there are to a many frames in
which to begin work. Eeduce their number
to five, and all of the combs will grow at the
same time, aad be perfect, as has been ex-
plained.

Keep young queens, and contract the brood-
nest when hiving swarms on starters only, and
there will be neither drone nor crooked combs ;
if this can't be done, then use full sheets of
foundation, as permanent success is most cer-
tainly coupled with straight, perfect, aU-
worker combs in the brood-nest. — W. Z.
Hutchinson, in Gleanings.

'>hm ta (J|;amt

October 9 to 12. — Dairy Show at the Agri-
cultural Hall, London. Five classes for honey.
Liberal prizes. For particulars apply to Wm.
C.Young, Secretary, Dairy Farmers' Associa-
tion, 191, Fleet-street, London, E.G. Entries
closed.

Noticesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

X. Y. Z. (Swansea). — Comb is badly aff'ected
with foul brood. Under the circumstances,
and at this season, we should make no
attempt to cure, but prevent further mis-
chief by burning the bees and combs and
disinfecting the hive.

A. B. (Stourbridge). — Sugar sent maybe cane,
but it is certainly coloured, as you say, to
give it an attractive appearance. We can-
not say that the colouring matter is harmful
to bees, not knowing of ^Yhat it consists.

380

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 20, 1894.

B. Phillips (Hanwell). — Beginners should,
wherever possible, see the operation of
uniting bees performed by one who knows
how to do it, and how easily fighting is
avoided, before trying it themselves. We
can only suppose that the trouble was
caused through want of experience in
handling bees, as the method described is
so generally successful that it was not
thought necessary to mention sprinkling
with scented syrup or dusting with flour in
order to avoid fighting.

SioAD (Salisbury). — Uniting Hybrid Bees. —
Yes, hybrids unite just as do the ordinary
native bee.

A. E. U. (Camphire). — Honey received is a
very nice sample, good enough for showing
anywhere.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publicationg, Bee Plants, die. — Up to
Twelve words. Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

PURE ENGLISH BEES.— Swarm with Queen, 5s. ;
Queens, 3s. Alsford, Expert, Blandford. F 25

YOUNG Fertile Native QUEENS. A few for SALE,
2s. each. H. Witt, South Ascot, Berks. F 33

B

EB TENT on HIRE. For terms, apply to G. Qunston,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

THE SIXTH YEAR. — Healthy Driven BEES, with
Queen, Is. 6d. per lb. Package free. Young
Queens, 2s. each. Holder, Wimborne, Dorset, r 32

EXTRACTED ENGLISH HONEY in \ CWTS, 6d. and
8d. per lb., tins free. Sample, 2d. Deposit.
Richard Dottow, Terling, Witham, Essex. f 23

BICYCLE, useful, WANTED. EXCHANGE BEES,
fit for wintering. Alsford, Expert, Blandford.
F24

CWT, Sainfoin and Clover HONEY, splendid quality.
What offers? T. Pullen, Ramsbury, Hungerford!

F26

2

D

RIVEN QUEENS (young), at Is. 3d. each. Post
free. R. Brown, Flora Apiary, Somersham, Hunts.

F27

FOR SALE, 3 STOCKS of English BEES, in Bar-frame
Hives. Apply, Geo. Parker, 2, Bradley-street,
Wotton-under-Edge. p 31

GOOD STOCKS of BEES for SALE, in substantial
bar-frame hives. Wallace, Cheadle Hulme,
Cheshire. p 28

-T^WO GLASS SHOW CASES, each with 12 beautiful
1 1-lb. Sections ; First and Second at local Show •
10s. 6d. each. Atkinson, Hasland, Chesterfield, p 29

WANTED, SECTIONS of HONEYCOMB (first quality).
Prompt cash ; packages sent. Any quantity. E
Hurst, Bexhill, Sussex. 235

FIVE STOCKS BEES in Skeps, 8s. each ; Five on
standard-frames (one liroad-shouldered, four
metal ends), 10s. 6d. each without hives ; 15s. and 21s.
with hives. Purchaser to pack and take away.—
FRIiDK. S. FLETCHER, The Maples, Ottersliaw,
(Jhertsey. p 34_

BEES.— FOR SALE, four good STOCKS in Overton's
bar frame hives, with section racks complete ; two
new this season with double racks. — GARDENER
Haven House, St. Mary Bourne, Andover, Hants. r.30

Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)

LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, 8d., post free.
500, 2s. 9d., post free. W. WooDLKY, Beedon, Newbury.

FERTILE QUEENS, bred by selection, 5s. Very
prolific. Ordinary Fertile Queens, 3s. 6d. Post
free. Safe arrival guaranteed. Rev. C. Bbereton,
Pulborough, Sussex.

FOR SALE, 4| CWT. pure ENGLISH HONEY at
6d. per lb. Payment by deposit system. Address,
C. M. Eagleton, The Apiary, Parson Drove, Wisbech.

F 9

FINE-TESTED 1894 FERTILE QUEENS, 3s. 6d. each.
Safe arrival guaranteed. 3-frame nuclei, 10s. 6d.
Packing included. Address, C. WHITING, Valley Apiary,
Hundon, Clare, Suffolk. f 15

NOTICE.— CARBOLIC TOWEL, and Samples of my
BEE-SMOKE CARTRIDGES Free (during Sept.)
to all Purchasers of my CARBOLINE POMADE. T.

HOLLIDAY.

TNDISPENSABLE to HONEY DEALERS. — HAR-
i GRAVE'S Folding Cardboard BOXES for 1-lb.

Sections. Sample 3d. post free. Hargrave, Harro-

gate-road, Ripon.

MARKET for SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY
and WAX. State price and quantity. Prompt
cash. Packages sent. Address, H., Bee Journal Office,
17, King William-street, Strand, London.

NOTICE. — I am Uniting a lot of late swarms, and
shall have some young, healthy, natural-raised,
'94 Fertile QUEENS for SALE at 2s. each. Can send
by return post. A. J. Carter, Billingshurst, Sussex.
243

CARBOLINE POMADE (Third Season).— Kills Bee-
stings like Magic, and prevents the horrible smart-
ing and burning inflammation. Prevents getting stung,
robbing, <fcc. In Is. bottles, post free. Samples of
bee-smoke cartridges, 3d. T. Hollidat, Astbury,
Congleton.

TO HIVE MAKERS.

GOOD PINE PLAKKS.

Largest Stock in London.

VERY DRY, SOUND, CHEAP.

For price lists, apply, COBBETT CO., Virginia-road
Bethnal Green, London, E.

W. p. MEADOWS,

Syston, Leicester.
Unprecedented ^Ist Prize— Collection of Appliances.
Success I ^^^ * ^"*^ Prize— Extractors.

T> /% TT . T h^^* Prize- Best Frame Hive.
ROYAL I 1st „ Best Cottager's Hive.

SHOW, ^ 1st „ Best Smoker.
n V -J 1st ,, Best Feeder.

Cambridge, hst „ Best Collection of Honey.
1894. ^B. B. K. A. Medal Super Clearer.

Send for Cat— a— Log with Leaflet.

MY LATEST PRODUCTION.— The "TILLEY"-
HIVE, made entirely on the principles laid down
by Professor Tilley, and used in his extensive apiaries .it
Dorchester. The Tilley hive is no catch-penny article
that the wind and rain will blow through, but is the
cheapest, most substantial, and sensible hive now on the
market, and when generally known is bound to be
universally adopted. Note the price, 12s. 6d. complete.
Painted three coats of best oil paint, and with zinc-
covered roof. Every bee-keeper should send for my list.
Randolph Meech,

Broadwindsor, Dorset.

Sept. 27, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

381

(Editorial ^otim, ^t

USEEUL HINTS.

Weather. — The last fortnight has
been characterised by an almost general
absence of sunshine in most parts
of the kingdom. Here in the south
a succession of dull, foggy days have kept
the bees indoors, and, no doubt, pre-
venting a good deal of robbing which
otherwise would have resulted from the
want of forage.

Late Autumn Feeding. — The cool
weather and cessation of income has also
pretty well stopped breeding in unfed
hives, besides making it difficult — so we
are told by correspondents — to get bees
to take food down so rapidly as was
desired. The main cause of this is giving
the syrup cold, in spite of our repeated
advice to the contrary. Readers should
not overlook the fact that in so cool an
autumn as this, a rapid-feeder, filled with
a quart or two of warm syrup, is an
attraction to the bees, by reason of the
considerably higher temperature within
the feeder itself. The warmth rouses
the bees to activity, and causes them to
take the food very fast, whereas, if the
syrup is cold, the space within the feeder
is cold also, and the effect of a low tem-
perature on bees takes all the activity
out of them. It is therefore in every
way desirable at this late season to warm
the food and to keep the feeding-place
Avarm and cosy also. Bear in mind, too,
that feeders should be filled after bees
have ceased flying for the day.

Bee Parasites. — Having had sent to
us this autumn rather more than the
usual number of " specimens " consisting
of bees infested with the obnoxious little
red vermin known as braiila cceca or blind
louse, it may be Avell to once more state
that this parasite — of which so little
seems to be known by many — is not
indigenous to this country, and, luckily
for British bee - keepers, it will not
increase here, the climate being too
humid for it to thrive or live long. It
is usually brought to this country on the
bodies of imported foreign bees, and,
although it may increase during the
summer season in the South, our winters
are generally fatal to its continued
existence. The parasite has a special

partiality for the queen - bee, which is
usually pestered by from four to ten of
the active little creatures.

The accompanying illustration repre-
sents the parasite (much magnified, of
course), in its perfect form and also in
its undeveloped condition. Fumigation

with tobacco-smoke causes them to drop
off the bees and combs, when they may
be brushed from the floor -board and
burnt. The floor-board should then be
washed with diluted carbolic acid, and if
this operation is repeated a few times
the stock may be rid of the pest.

Cleaning up Wet Combs after
Extracting. — A correspondent asks if it
would not be "a good dodge "to leave
combs from which the contents have
been extracted, " redolent of honey, and
with a little of the honey left in the cells
and so cause the bees to take to them
more readily Avhen put on next year,"
instead of having them cleaned dry by
the bees before storing them away for
future use 1 We have tried this " dodge "
long ago, but the result was unsatisfac-
tory. The honey left becomes solid and,
as we think, helps rapid granulation in
the honey stored afterwards in the same
cells. No, we much prefer putting the
combs away dry, and if a "bait" is
needed it can be otherwise provided than
as suggested.

Beatb of /Iftr. f. 1R. Cbesbire.

We much regret to announce that the above-
named gentleman died on the 16th inst. while
undergoing an operation for a painful internal
malady, from which he had suffered for some
time. We here confine ourselves to notifj-ing
his decease, and tendering to his widow and
family our warmest sympathy in their bereave-
ment. We hope, however, to give some jxir-
ticulars regarding the deceased gentleman and
his labours in connection with bee-keeping in
our nest issue.

382

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 27, 1894

HONEY SHOW AT CASTLE DOUGLAS.

The above popular annual honey show took
place in connection with that of the Horti-
cultural Society on the 6th inst. in the Town-
hall buildings, this year's exhibition proving
a most successful one. The show of honey as
a whole was a very good one, nearly all the
exhibits staged being of excellent quality.
The entries showed a decrease as compared
with last year, particularly in the run honey
classes, and due no doubt to the unfavourable
season. The principal class, that for three
1-lb. jars of run or extracted honey other than
heather, brought out about thirty competitors.

The prize exhibits — notably that which took
first honours, which was perfect in every
respect— were all most excellent, and the
whole class an exceedingly good one.

The prize exhibits in the class for six 1-lb.
sections were also of very high excellence,
though some competitors were thrown out for
want of a little more tidiness in the get up.
The whole of the exhibits in the class for
large supers were practically faultless.

The Kev. R. McClelland, who officiated as
judge, suggested that classes for beeswax
might be instituted, as well as a special class
for cottagers. He also thought that the
recognition of the honey industry by the
County Council would effect much good in the
district.

The arrangements were of the usual com-
plete character associated with the Castle
Douglas show, a result due to the unflagging
exertions of the officials. Special mendon
should be made of the services of Mr. Myers,
who discharged the duties of secretary, and
other officials rendered valuable assistance.
Prize List.

Three. 1-lh. Jars Exf.racted Honey, other
than Heather.~lst, W. Blackwood, Castle
Douglas; 2nd, Messrs. Eoss & Kerr, Dum-
fries ; 3rd, John Eamsay, Hurlford ; h.c,
Robt. Dodd, Cheshire; c, Rev. E. Charley,
Cheshire.

Six l-lh. Sections.— 1st, W. Hogg, Castle
Douglas ; 2nd, Messrs. Ross & Kerr, Dum-
fries ; 3rd, J. Learmont, Balmaghie ; h.c,
James Bone, Halmyre ; c, John Seldon,
Umberleigh.

Best Super.~lst and 2nd, W. Hogg ; 3rd,
Messrs. Ross & Kerr.

Super binder 12 lb.— 1st and 2ad, W. Hogg ;
3rd, J. Learmont.

Dropped Heather Honey. — lst, Messrs. Ross
& Kerr.

Six 2-lb. Jars Dropped Honey.— 1st, W.
Hogg ; 2nd, Messrs. Ross & Kerr ; h.c, Wm.
Callander ; c, S. M'Murray, Gelston.

Six 1-lb. Jars Dropped Honey. — 1st, Messrs.
Ross & Kerr; 2nd, Jas. Johnstone, High
Park; h.c, .Jas. Learmont; c, W. Hogg.

Three 1-lh. Sections.— 1st, W. Rogerson,
Dumfries ; 2nd, John M'Quarrie ; h.c, John
Wilson, Burnside, Crossmichael ; c, E.
M'Gowan, Bridge-of-Dee.

Three 1-lb. Clear Glass Jars. — 1st, W.
Rogerson ; 2nd and c, Thos. Myers ; h.c ,
W. Callander, Clarebrand. — {Communicated.)

ROXBURGHSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The annual show of this association, which
came into existence a few years ago, was held
in the Corn Exchange, Jedburgh, on Saturday,
the 15th inst. In extent the show corre-
sponded nearly with that of last year. Clover
honey was shown in large quantity, and the
quality was very good. This may also be said
of extracted honey, which was all of the
clover kind. There was a poor show of
heather honey, which is scarce this year.
Granulated honey generally was very fair, and
one or two lots were extremely good. A
number of good cakes of wax were exhibited.
It is characteristic of the season that only one
wasp byke was shown, and it was so small
that it received only a second prize. Silver'
medals given by Lady Gibson Carmichael
were awarded for the best collection of honey
and best observatory hive ; and the Highland
and Agiicultural Society's two silver medals
were the first prizes for collection of appli-
ances and 1-lb. sections of clover honey. The
Marquis of Lothian and Lord Stratheden and
Campbell were among the visitors. The
judges were : — Messrs. Christopher Chouler,
Dalkeith Park ; and John Wishart, secretary
of the Scottish Bee-keepers' Association. The
awards were as follows : —

Collection of Honey, not exceeding 100 lb. —
1st, Thomas Clark, Pleasants ; 2nd, James
Whellans, Camptown.

Observatory Hive, with Bees. — 1st, George
Camming, Langholm ; 2nd, Dr. Fyfe,
Jedburgh.

Collection of ApjMances. — 1st, George
Cumming.

Best Twelve 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, Harry
Wood, Lichfield ; 2nd, George Ormiston,
Knowesouth.

Neatest Design in Honey {open). — 1st,
Harry Wood,

Best Hive, cost not above 20s. — Ist, Nichol
Dodds, Melrose ; 2nd, J. Cranston, Jedburgh.

Six 1-lb. Jars Granulated Honey. — 1st, Dr.
Blair, Jedburgh.

Beesiuax. — 1st, George Ormistou.

Best 1-lb. Section Clover, 1-lb. Section
Heather, l-lh. Jar Clover, and 1-lb. Jar
Heather Honey. — 1st, Adam Oliver,
Jedburgh,

COUNTY PRIZES.

Super of Clover Honey.— 1st, James
Whellans ; 2nd, James Veitch, Inchbonny.

Super of Heather Honey, any Weight. —
Thomas Ord, Falside.

Six 1-lh. Sections. — 1st, James Whellans ;
2nd, George Wilson, Kelso.

Six 2-lb. Sections, — 1st and 2nd, Robert
Millar, Jedburgh.

Sept. 27, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

383

Twelve l-lb. Sections Heather Honey. — 1st,
Thomas Clark.

Six l-lb. Section. 'i Heather Honeij. — 1st,
James Veitch.

Bar-Frame of Hone}/. — 1st, James Kerr,
Birkinside ; 2nd, Dr. Fyfe.

Sujier {non-spctional), any Weight. — 1st,
Walter Oliver, Jedburgh ; 2iid, Thomas Clark.

Super, 7 lb. to 10 lb. — 1st, Thomas Maben,
Jedburgh ; 2nd, James Whellans.

Super Heather Honey, 7 lb. to 10 lb. — 1st,
James Whellans.

Super not lender 10 lb. — 1st, James Whel-
lans.

Six l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, H.
Wood ; 2 ad, William Marr, Jedburgh.

Six l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, H.
Wood ; 2nd, Alexander Anderson, Minto.

6 lb. Extracted Honey. — 1st, Thomas Clark ;
2Qd, Alexander Anderson.

Beeswax. — 1st, George Ormiston ; 2nd,
William Marr.

Wasp Bylce. — 2nd, William Sinton, Jed-
burgh. No 1st awarded.

Invention in Bee-keeping. — Dr. Fyfe.
{CcmmunicatQd )

PROFIT AND PLEASURE IN BEE-
KEEPING.

" Something to add to the happiness, com-
fort, and value of country life is always found
in bee-keeping. Happiness, because one
cannot help but be happy while with the bees,
unless stung by them, and our modern bee-
keeper receives very few stings. Comfort,
because an hour spent with the bees always
has an invigorating effect on mind and body.
Value, because not one country home in twenty
is supplied with that most delicious of all
sweets — honey. Honey, as both food and
medicine, is outrivalled by nothing that can
be produced in the country. And bee-keeping
adds happiness, comfort, and value to those
interested therein, because broader views,
grander hopes, and higher aspirations always
come to such, and they are led to look from
the created things to the great Creator of all
things, and thus led to a higher life."

(3|;0rMpnfI{na.

BEES IN A SIGNAL-BOX.

Some little inconvenience has been caused at
one of the signals near Kettering Station
during the past few days by the appearance of
a swarm of bees. On Friday evening, when
one of the porters ascended the ladder to the
signals near the South Box, he found he could
not put his lamp in the proper place, and on
examining the signal-case (where the lamp is
placed) he found that a swarm of bees was
located there. Later in the evening the lamp
was put in its place, but on Saturday the bees
put out the light. — Northampton Daily
Chronicle. ,

The Editors do not hold themnelvefi responnbU for the.
opinions expressed In) correspondents. No notice will he
taken of anonymous comintmications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
pxMlcation, hut as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should he draimi on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communicatioTis.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queriesi
Books for Review, <i:c., rmist be addressed only to "TiiB:
Editoks of the 'BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, d:c., must be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

*,• In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

' NOTES BY THE WAY.

[2076.] After nearly a week of dull, sunless
weather, reminding one of November rather
than September, we have had a heavy rain
which has cleared the fog and allowed Old Sol
to show his face again. The bright sunshine
to-day brought out the bees as though the
time of swarming was with us again, and a few
were visiting the watering-places, showing that
breeding was going on in some hives at least.
On going through part of the apiary last week
I found a total absence of brood in many
hives ; in one I found an unfertilised queen,
her eggs hatching into drones ; this, of course,
was remedied by adding a nucleus lot from
my out- apiary, first deposing the uncrowned
queen.

Feeding up for winter should be attended
to as soon as possible. Where it has not been
already done, the feeding will probably
induce breeding, and eggs deposited in
September will hatch out in time to get a
flight in St. Luke's little summer— about
October 20 to 25— and go into winter-quarters,
more likely to be of service to the stock
another spring than bees that hatch out late in
October or November, when chances of
cleansing flight may be few and far between.

In reply to your correspondent (2,068,
p. 365), I would recommend " R. A. S.'' to
get a super clearer from Mr. Flood, Reading.
These clearers are fitted with Porter escapes,
and are so neatly and strongly made that they
are useful in many ways — 1st, as a super
clearer ; 2nd, as a platform on which to stand
your extracted box of combs for the bees to
clean up the dripping remnants after extract-
ing. Take out the escape, place your board
on the frames or on the quilt with the central
feed-hole open, and the bees can come up
through the hole, and after the combs are
cleaned up will return to brood-combs ; ;3rd, it
makes a good tray on which to stand sections ;
4th, it is useful as a foundation or tray on
which to stand a number of crates. When
using it in the apiary I take a stool— a light
empty bottle-crate answers well — place my

384

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 27, 1894.

super clearer on the stool or crate, then
shake out my carbolised cloth, and let
it drojj in between the front of the
hive and the section-crate. Holding the two
corners in between the second and third
fingers, I now grasp the crate of sections and
lift them off towards me as I stand at the back
of the hive and allow the carbolised cloth to
fall and cover the frames or the bottom super,
as the case may be. If the job is done adroitly
the cloth completely covers the bees, while a
continued swing lands the crate of sections on
the " clearer." The cloth is then taken off the
frames and dropped on one side, while the
"clearer" and its load are returned to the
frames before the bees have time to recover
from their surprise. Keferring to the difficulty
of removing supers, I have little of those
troubles now. 1st. I use broad-shouldered
frames which are perfectly level at the top.
2nd. I scrape all propolis or brace combs off
the tops of frames before supering. 3rd.
I have my crates all of one size to hold
twenty-one sections, the three rows of sections
standing on slats of wood a quarter of an inch
thick ; and, 4thly, I usually work with
more than one crate on the hive at one time,
therefore my full crates have been detached
once before their final move to storeroom. If
I should have one that is fixed very tight by
the bees, I would prise it loose with a screw-
driver or strong pocket-knife after everything
■was ready for its removal, or perhaps it would
be as well if the loosening was done a few
hours previously.

I do not get any " rush-out " of angry bees
when working, and rarely smoke an entrance
before overhauling a hive, never when the
bees are in a normal condition.

I cannot coincide with our Dorset friend's
(6,070) views that a large bell glass is all that
is necessary to keep sections clean till they
reach the consumer — but please don't think
that I am, or wishing to grind my own axe in
this matter — my aim for several years past has
been to educate our brethren in the craft in
the most cleanly and the most economical
method of putting up comb honey in a mar-
ketable form and, notwithstanding the many
devices in the shape of section holders, I have
not seen the holder yet that surpasses the two
squares of glass attached to the section with
strips of clean lace-edged paper. This method
— if the paper is attached with thin glue,
which fills the pores of the paper — practically
seals the honey, and renders it impervious to
dust, dirt, fumes from gas, and, to a great
extent, from damp. Tin cases answer very
nicely, but unfortunately add 2d. to the cost
of each section of honey, which either the
producer has to lose or the consumer pay for,
thus enhancing the price of our commodity,
and making it more of a luxury, or else
reducing the profitableness of its production
below the old-fashioned strained honey of the
straw skeppist.

I gather, from the editorial footnote, that

our friend "Competition" (2070, p. 365)
would like our craft and its productions
noticed in the press. Qaite recently the D. T.
had an article on two queens in one hive, or
the dual authority, and I notice in this week's
Christian World a quotation from the Times,
wherein it is stated that a farmer could easily
manage thirty hives of bees with his other
work, and make a profit of 503. per hive — so
that evidently our ranks will be swelled in the
near future by the many down-grade farmers
who will wish to stem the tide, even if it be
with a small bee-farm. But, dear friend
"Competition," how shall we — who have a
struggle to make both ends meet now — fare
then, when competition must be keener still 1
— W. WooDLEY, Beedon, Neiobury.

QUEEN-REARING.

THE RESULT OF THREE YEARS' EXPERIMENTAL
WORK.

[Continued from page 375.]
[2077.] Many people have written on this
subject of queen-rearing, but their plans are
either those of the gentlemen already named,
or some modification thereof, or they were
troublesome and unsatisfactory. I have tried
them all exhaustively, and under all conditions,
and for experimental purposes have raised
queens only to destroy many of them at
different stages of their growth to see prac-
tically what they were made of, and to set at
rest some point on whicli I desired to satisfy
myself.

Henry Alley, now over thirty years ago,
was the first to point out that the then
methods of raising queens were not satisfac-
tory, and gave the bee world a new system of
doing so by cutting worker-cells containing
eggs and very young larvre, and giving same
to queenless stocks having no unsealed brood
to raise queens from. This was a marked step
in advance, quickly followed by others on "he
same lines, and, after careful experiment, J » a
bound to say good queens can be raiser by
his method. Jjr. C. C. Miller was, I b' ' i* ve,
the first to'suggest the transference of egg.^ and
larvaj to naturally-built embryo queen-cells,
but it was reserved to Mr. Doolittle to perfect
the method which has proved, in the hands of
others as well as mine, to be most satisfactory,
and to produce the finest results. It is his
method — with some slight modifications of my
own — that I propose to lay before your readers.
No doubt it entails a lot of work, and requires
an amount of care which, to some minds, may
seem unnecessary with so small an object in
view as the raising of a queen-bee, but when
we consider what may be the result of work-
ing out a plan by which a superior race of so
useful an insect as the honey bee may be
obtained, it is, to my mind, worth twenty
times the trouble and care required. It must
also be borne in mind that once the routine of
the work is learnt, and the requirements fully
grasped, it cornea as easy to carry out the

Sept. 27, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

385

necessary manipulations as the ordinary hand-
ling of a bar-frame hive. If the eyesight be
good and the fingers deft, the task becomes
easy, and, to me, all-absorbinL^. It is certain
that when our advancing bee-keepers have
tested the qualities of the queens raised by
scientific methods,'^they will abandon rule of
thumb queens thenceforth.

In carrying out the work about to be de-
scribed, I have largely had to take iatT
account the difference in the climate of this
country and of America, and the uncertain
character of the weather here during the
swarming season, which, as we know to our
cost, is often very bad. The difference must
also be noted in the date of harvesting here
and there, besides the length of the honey-
flow, &c. In this way we must watch for the
time when the bees first evince a desire to
supersede their queen, and, above all things,
to be ready to take full advantage of this desire
at once, for should the weather suddenly
change for the worse, and the honey-flow stop,
steps must be taken to preserve queens in
process of being raised, by giving the bees an
equivalent to the bountiful supply they were
enjoying, or our beautiful queen-cells, queens,
and all, will disappear as if by magic, and
nothing but a bare stick will be left.

In beginning the practical work of queen-
raising, the first necessary is a full colony of
bees, with super on over excluder zinc, and
having a laying queen below, bees working
hard in super, honey coming in fast, and drones
on the wing. These conditions fulfilled, all is
ready for a start by preparing your frame, to
which the artificial cups are fixed beforehand.
If the supers used are shallow-frame ones, a
shallow frame is prepared ; if the standard
size is adopted, use a standard frame of comb
free from brood ; or a frame of foundation
may be used, though I prefer a built-out comb
with a little honey in it. Cut the comb in
half horizontally, remove the lower half, then
take an ordinary top bar of a frame and cut it
so as to fit between the side bars of the frame,
close up to underside of the cut comb. Fix
it in its place with a | in. brad at each end,
then take the portion of comb removed and cut
a piece out of the centre along the now top
edge 7 in. long and l|in. deep ; fix the half-
comb so cut back under the inserted bar, so as
to leave room in the centre for the cells to be
built down ; or, if preferred, the original comb
may be cut so that the bar is made to fit in
and take out, and so save removing any comb
except that portion which is necessary to give
room for the bar to fit in, and the cells ex-
tended downwards. Mr. Doolittle prefers the
latter plan, but, using as I do the shallow
frame, I prefer the fixed centre bar, with an
easily removable bottom bar.

The next operation is to prepare the wax
cups. Here again I have slightly departed
from the Doolittle plan, because I have
succeeded better by so doing. Take a few
ounces of pure beeswax that has never been

overheated ; place same in a small but deep
tin vessel (a small milk-can will do if clean),
add 2 oz. of distilled water and a pinch of
salt ; heat slowly until the wax is all melted,
but keep the temperature as low as possible.
It will, however, be necessary to have your
*' dippers " ready bsforehand. And now comes
the question of size. This caused me con-
siderable delay, and only after careful observa-
tion did I find that the bees were not so
particular on this point as myself, provided
the cells were not made too large nor too small.
By careful measurement I found that the
interior of natural embryo queen-cells were
very nearly the same size as ordinary drone-
cells (new), but they must not be much larger ;
if they are the bees will build a division in
the centre and spoil them by making two of
one. On the other hand, if the cells are
made much smaller they will remove them
altogether. Bub some of your readers will
probably say, " Bees transform ordinary
worker-cells into queen-cells." True, but if
you watched the process you would find that
long before the grub is inconvenienced by the
smallness of the cell the bees have enlarged
the mouth thereof and extended the same so
as to make a three-part formed queen-cell of
it on the top of what remains of the worker-
cell. By watching still more closely we find
that the young grub is con'ipletely floated out
of the worker- cell, and its fast-growing little
form soon fills the royal compartment, the upper
part of the chamber {i.e., the worker-cell
portion) becoming the store-house for the
abundant food supplied at this stage. What
is required, therefore, is a small rounded stick
made to fit nicely into an ordinary drone-cell.
Having prepared such a stick, take a sharp
knife and so cut the dipping end that the
base of the cell when formed is what is known
as a natural base ; three upward cuts on the
end of the " dipper " will do this. It may be
another fancy of mine, perhaps, but I find in
using cups made on cell-formers so cut that
the royal food when placed therein with the
young grub on top is held much better in
position than if the cell is flat-bottomed ; for
should the weather be warm, and consequently
a very high temperature within the hive when
the cells are given, the food liquefies, and the
weight of the larva causes it to slip from its
position and come sliding down the side of
the cell. When this happens, it is promptly
removed by the bees, lor such a state of
afiairs never comes about in nature. It is
best to make two or three ''dippers " at first ;
by doing so much time is saved in not having
to wait while the wax on one dipper sets,
but going on with another or two while the
first is cooling, and so on alternately. Now
place the dipping ends of your "formers" or
dippers in a little salt and water, that they
may get thoroughly wet ; this helps to
facilitate removal of the artificial queen-cells
when made.

Having everything in readiness for this part

386

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 27, 1894.

of the operation, we commence making our
cells by dipping each " former " alternately
in the heated wax, making the first dip the
deepest. I dip mine five-eighths of an inch
the first time, and a little less every time
afterwards. The dipping continues until the
■wax-cell and dij)per together very much
resemble a large fusee-match. The cell cups
are then set to cool, when they can be re-
moved with a little care. I have experi-
mented with cells made deeper, and with
others not so deep, as mentioned above, but
find the depth stated to be the best. — Henry
W. Brice, Thornton Heath, Surrey.

{To be Continued.)

^nxm and Jlcilics.

[1159.] Suspected Queenlessness. — I always
read your paper with great interest, and you
have kindly replied to some questions. Now I
would ask you if colonies are likely to be
queenless if the bees are carrying in pollen ?
Mr. W. Woodley says : — " If there are many
bees on the aiiahting-board, look out for
queenlessness.'' The two sides of a " Wells "
hive have had the alighting-board crowded. I
was going to buy queens, when to-day I see
the bees carrying in jjoUen. I could not see
any brood in yesterday, but I am quite a
beginner and might miss it.— Enquirer, if uZZ,
September 21.

Eeply. — There are other reasons why bees
crowd about entrances in autumn besides the
one referred to, and Mr. Woodley's remark :
" look out for queenlessness " is obviously in-
tended as nothing beyond advising that an
examination of the combs should be made to
make sure that the queen is safe. In the same
way, to observe bees carrying in pollen is
usually taken as a sign that breeding is going
on in the hive, but there are exceptions to this
rule, and, in any case, before buying queens
the combs should be carefully examined before
concluding that a hive is queenless.

[1160.] Jjoubling and Storifying. — Will
you kindly enlighten me on the following
points?—:. Is the " W. B. C." hive suitable
for storifying for extracted honey, according to
method illustrated in Cowan's " Guide Book,"
■with three standard bodies ? 2. Can a pro-
lific queen fill the twenty frames of the two
bottom bodies (when working on above
system), and are the workers able to rear this
mass of brood, so as to have the stock ready
to gather clover honey to advantage ? 3.
Which of the following plans of storifying do
you recommend ? — (a) Tiering up with boxes
of shallow-frames on one standard brood box;
or (6) using three standard boxes, keeping the
top one for extraction, and allowing the queen
access to the two bottom ones? 4. Which
plan, all conditions being equal, do you think

best — doubling or storifying ? Should be much
obliged by your answers to above, as I don't
wish to make a wrong start. — A. B. C, Rugby,
September 22.

Reply. — 1. Yes. It is merely a question of
providing additional " lifts '' to raise the roof,
and so cover whatever brood and surplus-
chambers are used in storifying. 2. Some
queens are so prolific as to need nearly double
the number of frames which keep ordinary
queens fully occupied, but the question of how
many brood-frames may be used with advan-
tage is largely one of district and diiration of
the honey flow therein. Regarding the plan
of doubling and storifying, as dealt with in
" Guide Book,'' it is dealt with as described,
and in a good district and with proper
management yields excellent results, but it is
not so suitable to places where the honey flow
is less abundant. 3. Reply to second query
covers this, but as to choice of plans a good
deal depends on the bee-keeper himself, and
his aptitude for the carrying of them out suc-
cessfully. For the ordinary bee-keeper, and
the ordinary district, we think the first-named
one (a) most likely to succeed.

[1161.] Late Autumn Feeding. — Many
thanks for reply to my query (11 41) of August
30 issue. I have followed instructions as to
feeding, and, up to the present, the stocks
have had about 11 lb. of Demerara sugar each
(made into syrup) in addition to a half-filled
frame, taken from other hives. When I com-
menced feeding rapidly they took about a
quart of syrup each in the twenty-four hours,
but are now only taking it very slowly. The
difficulty you anticipated in the completion of
the combs already presents itself, as I find
they are being built out very unevenly and
chiefly of drone cells, consequent upon rapid
feeding, I suppose. I therefore ask : — 1. How
long shall I continue to feed ? 2. If yoU
think it advisable, how and when shall I re-
place the uneven combs ? 3. I noticed several
wax-builders entering and leaving the hives
(with wax pockets quite full) as ordinary
honey gatherers do. Can you account for
this ? 4. Drone brood has been cast out from
a well-stored and fairly strong hive. Is this
consequent upon the slaughter of drones ?—
Inquirer, Staffs., September 22.

Reply. — 1, Each stock should store 20 lb.
of syrup for wintering on. Refer to " Useful
Hints" in this issue. 2. Not until warm
weather in spring. 3. Only by the rapid
feeding. 4. We presume you refer to what
has happened some time ago. There will be
no drone brood in strong hives at this season
if its condition is right. But when drones are
cast out the drone brood suffers also.

[1162.] Candy Making. — I should be greatly
obliged if you would insert a recipe for soft
candy in the Bee Journal. I forget the
ingredients, but one I have used, and found
most excellent, was made by boiling the mate-

Sept. 27, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

387

rials and cooling before pouring out by stand-
ing in a bucket of water. — Ciiari-i?s E. Cockin,
Etloii Jtectorij, Hull, Septeinher 22.

Reply.— Mr. Wm. Woodley's method of
making soft candy is as follows: — "Into a
large copper-bottomed saucepan put three
imperial pints of boiling water, then add
gradually 17 lb. of pure Demerara crystallised
sugar, into which one and a half teaspoonfuls
of cream of tartar has been mixed ; stir well
till all the sugar is dissolved, then allosv it to
boil ten to fifteen minutes. Now stand the
saucepan of syrup in a vessel of cold water,
and stir briskly until it gets of a thick, creamy
consistency. A little salt may be added, if
desired, just before it is removed from the fire ;
and naphthol beta, dissolved in spirits of
wine, may be added in proper proportioiis
when the stirring begins after the syrup is
taken off the fire. These proportions will
prove right every time, and the candy will be
neither too hard nor too soft."

[1163.] A Very Homely "Nondescript:'—
In taking off" a super from one of my hives I
discovered a nondescript, which I suppose to
be a spider, having much web about him. He
is a very gay fellow, and somewhat of a
gourmand, for he had killed and eaten a great
many bees, leaving the skeletons at the corner
outside the quilt, where I caught him. He is
as round as a top. I have never seen one of
his kind before. Having the work of C.
French on the various insects of Victoria, I
searched to find him, but could not discover
him. I should feel an interest to know some-
thing of his character, therefore have enclosed
him — I hope in a safe conveyance— not doubt-
ing but that you will know him at first sight,
but I do not wish to have any of his destruc-
tive breed. In the super I took off I found
nothing in it — not swarmed this year — and I
fear he is the culprit that has prevented them
from storing any surplus honey. Leaving him
now in your hands to take care of, I subscribe
myself — A Sufferer, G. E., Diss.

Reply. — The insect sent is the common
diadem gpider, one of our most common
spiders. It has no doubt been very destruc-
tive to the bees, as ic feeds on flying insects
that it entraps in its web.

[1164] I bought recently a first-class
*' Wells " Hive. When it came it was put
together as follows : — Shallow frames, wired
foundation below ; standard frames with ditto
next above ; section crates above that ; zinc
excluder over standard frames. Without
seeking expert advice I drove two strong
stocks from skeps into my shallow frames, one
at a time, of course, and divided down middle.
I then started feeding and covered up, putting
deep frames and supers away, also zinc ex-
cluders, for winter. The bees cover and
crowd all their foundation except one bar at
each end, and are rapidly filling and sealing

stores. The point is this : When spring
comes would you put the zinc excluder over
the shallow brood, or would you put on the
twenty frames (deep ones) two or three at
once, as Mr. Wells particularly advises, and
the excluder above these? If the latter,
method is adopted I shall only get sections
filled, I suppose ; because, don't you think,
the deep frames would have a little brood over
all of them ? I would much prefer sections
to frames if I can get a due proportion com-
mensurate to cost of hive and bees. — B.
Walker, Kirkhy- Stephen, September 21.

Reply. — Before replying to above we
should know what form of '" Wells '' hive is
referred to, and the number of frames in
each chamber. But whatever form of
" Wells" is used, it was surely a mistake to
hive the bees on shallow combs. If further
particulars are sent we will endeavour to deal
with the matter.

[1165.] Suspected Queenlessness. — A stock
swarmed on July 31, and threw off a cast
twelve days later, which I put back after de-
stroying queen-cells in parent hive. Does the
presence of drones in parent hive at this time
of the year mean that the hive is queenless ?
I have examined them, and though they have
fairly good stores, I fail to find any sealed
brood — the queen herself might easily escape
my inexperienced eye. Please say if above
are certain signs that the hive is queenless,
and if I should introduce a fertile queen at
once?^T. Hardman, Marple Bridge.

Reply. — The presence of drones in _ a
swarmed hive at this season points almost with
certainty to queenlessness.

SEASONABLE QUESTIONS.

Answered by G. M. Doolittle.

Enamelled Cloth Covering for Bees.

Question.— Is it a good plan to use enamelled
covering over the brood-frames in winter ? If
bees need water in summer, why do they
not need it in winter also? And with the
enamelled cloth over the frames they have
water in winter as well as in summer.

Answer. — This is quite ingenious, to say the
least ; and if I really believed that bees needed
water while in winter quarters I might be
persuaded to try enamelled cloth for that
purpose, as it would be much easier supplying
water in that way than by giving it them in a
sponge at the entrance, as has been recom-
mended so many times, where bees were in
the cellar. But bees use water only when
breeding rapidly ; and as winter breeding is
poor economj', and something I do not wish,
I do not care to supply that which brings on
what is a damage to me, for I believe winter
breeding to be a damage to any bee-keeper
residing at the north. I have tried enamelled
cloth several times over the cluster of bees
during winter, and in every case where tried
those colonies did not come out nearly as

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 27, 1894.

strono; as did those with absorbents over them ;
while many colonies, in proportion to those so
tried, died, or were so weak as to be nearly-
worthless. Some seemed to like enamelled
cloth over the bees in winter ; but with me
the moisture arising from the bees condenses
in drops on the cl&th,and when these drops
become so large that they fail to hold to the
cloth they drop down on the bees, thus keeping
them damp and in a condition not suitable to
their wintering in the most perfect order.
Enamelled cloth for bee-quilts would never
have been thought of, in my opinion, were it
not for its non-sticking character — that is, a
sheet of enamelled cloth will not be glued
down by the bees so, but that it readily
cleaves from the top of the hive by a little
lifting by one corner. This makes it desirable
where a hive is to be opened often, as in the
case of queen-rearing or an experimental hive.

Brood in Sections.

Question. — What is the cause of bees filling
the sections with brood, and drone brood at
that ? What is the remedy for it ? I put on
one case of sections some time ago, thinking
that the bees were crowded for room, and
perhaps would be forced to swarm when there
was no bloom to sustain swarms, and I find
the above result. Would you destroy the
drone comb, or shave off the heads of the
drones in the cells 1 Please answer through
your '' Seasonable Question " department in
Gleanings.

Answer. — The querist seems the more sur-
prised that the brood found in the sections was
drone brood, while if I should find any but
drone brood in sections I should be as sur-
prised as he ; for I have yet to see worker
brood in sections, unless the colony was a new
swarm and commenced housekeeping upstairs,
as is sometimes the case, where sections filled
with foundation are placed on the hive when
the swarm is hived, with nothing but starters
or empty frames below. Where swarms are
hived on empty frames the sections should not
be put on till the bees get well started at
comb-building below — say in three or four
days after the swarm is hived. But where
empty combs or frames filled with comb
foundation are used below, then the sections
can be put on at time of hiving the swarm if
wished. But as to the cause of the drone
brood in the sections, if, as is usually the case
with most bee-keepers of the present time, the
questioner had restricted the drone comb
below, the natural consequence would be drone
brood in the sections, if the bees were allowed
to build their combs in the sections without
the use of foundation, and especially so with
a light flow of honey and plenty of pollen ;
for at such times the bees rear large quantities
of brood, and prepare for swarming by starting
as much drone brood as is possible, the same
being limited only by the amount of drone
comb the queen has access to. I gave up the
idea long ago of having hives absolutely free

from drone comb ; and if I were to be called
to choose between no drone comb in a hive,
or one full frame of the same, I should say the
full frame ; for the bees will have some drones
any way, and I should prefer a full frame of
drone comb, placed in a certain position in
each hive, to having a little patch of drones
here and there all through the combs
and in the sections ; for then I know
just where all the drone brood in each
hive is, and can manipulate it just as I
wish. Don't understand, however, that it is
necessary to have a full frame of drone comb
in each hive ; for where I have things just as
I wish them, I allow about one-fourth of a
frameful to each hive, bnt have that all in one
frame, and the frame having said drone comb
in it in a certain place in each and every hive
in the apiary. Wandering a little.

If I am willing that all colonies should
produce drones, no further attention is paid to
this drone comb during the season ; but if I
do not wish certain colonies to have any flying
drones, then I open these hives at tlae side
where this frame having drone comb is every
twenty-one days ; take out the frame and
shave off the heads of all the drone brood,
using the same knife which I use in uncapping
combs while extracting honey for the purpose.
I have found this plan to be more economical
and less troublesome to the bees than the use
of drone-traps, or, in fact, any other method
advocated for keeping down undesirable drones
in an apiary. Having given the cause of
drone brood in the sections, we will proceed to
the remedy.

There are two ways to remedy this matter ;
and the one which I use most is the filling of
the sections with very light section foundation.
This keeps all drone comb out of the sections ;
and where there is no drone comb there will be
no drone brood, providing we have a good pro-
lific queen ; consequently this trouble with
brood in the sections is remedied by thus
using sections full of foundation having the
worker size of cells. Wandering again.

By thus using sections filled with worker
foundation, we have very much nicer section
honey as to appearance, after the sections are
finished by the bees ; for the capped combs
having the worker size of cells are much more
beautiful than are those of the drone size of
cells, as all who have compared the two side by
side are free to admit. Besides this, we have
none of that wavy or washboard appearance
in the combs of honey, which we often have
where the bees are allowed to build the combs
in the sections, as the bees start on the whole
surface of the foundation in the sections at
once, and thus bring the whole out " bodily," as
it were, so that the slackening or increase of
the honey-flow does not result in the shorten-
ing and lengthening of the cells, as is the case
where the combs are built entirely by the
bees, especially where black and hybrid bees
are used.

The other plan of keeping the queen from

Sept. 27, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

389

the sections is by the use of a queen-excluding
honey-board between the sections and the
brood-chamber. This will effectually prevent
brood in the sections ; but such honey-boards
are expensive, both in time of putting on and
taking from the hive ; room for storage when
not on the hives, and in the money used in
their purchase ; or of material from which to
make ; while they do not do away with the
undesirable looks of the finished product in the
sections, unless the sections are filled with
foundation ; and many claim that they should
rot be used in any event, on account of their
lessening the amount of our honey-crop on
account of the bees being loath to pass freely
through the perforated metal. Eegarding this
latter claim 1 have my doubts, but consider all
of the others as important.

Having given the remedy, what shall be done
where we find brood in the sections before we
knew of or have applied the remedy or pre-
ventive 1 This all depends upon what stage
the brood is in when we find it. If it 's found
before the brood is sealed over, we have little
waste except our time in taking the sections
from and putting them back on the hive again ;
for it is well known that if unsealed brood is
taken from the bees and kept in a cold place
for a week, the same is killed ; and such killed
or dead brood will be removed by the bees as
soon as they have access to it. My plan used
to be, before I learned of the prevention as
given above, to take sections, found with eggs
and unsealed larvse in them, to the cellar, and
there leave them for four or five days, when
they were returned to the hives again ; and if
the queen did not deposit more eggs in them,
they were filled with honey ; and when finished
were as good as if no brood had been in them.
If the brood in the sections had been sealed
long enough so that the larvse have begun to
spin their cocoons, then the best thing to do is
to cut the comb from the sections ; for honey
stored in combs having cocoons in the cells is
not just the thing for table use, unless this
honey is separated from the combs by the use
of the extractor, even though the same be sold
as a second or third grade of comb honey,
which it would have to be if sold at all, on
account of the darker colour the cocoons would
give to the combs. — Gleanings.

HONEY CANDYING.

In a recent number of the American Bee
Journal the following questions were pro-
pounded to the experts who answer questions
through the columns of that journal : — 1. Will
all good pure honey granulate in cold weather ?
2. If not, why not, and how may it be pre-
vented ? The answers are interesting, inas-
much as they clearly show that the cause of
crystallisation is a mystery to all of them ;
well indeed it may be, for I believe the man
has not yet been born who has got to the
bottom of this mystery.

Professor Tyndal delivered a lec^u^e ir(

Manchester some years ago on " Crystals and
Molecular Force,'' in which he summarised all
that is known of the cause of crystallisation.
After describing the varied forms of crystals,
their planes of cleavage as they manifest them-
selves in different substances, and many other
interesting things in connection with his sub-
ject, he says : " Looking at these beautiful
edifices, and their internal structure, the
pondering mind has forced upon it the ques-
tions. How have these crystals been built up ?
What is the origin of this crystalline architec-
ture ? " His reply to these questions is,
"Without crossing the boundary of expe-
rience we can make no attempt to answer
these questions." If the most profoundly
scientific minds of this and former generations
failed to fathom the depths of this mystery,
how can an ordinary bee-keeper be expected
to explain it ?

The theory of scientists as stated by the
Professor is " That polar force may be resident
in the molecules of matter, and by the play of
this force structural arrangement is possible.
The atoms and molecules of which crystals are
built are endowed with definite poles, whence
issue attraction and repulsion for other poles.
In virtue of these attractions and repulsions
some poles are drawn together, some retreat
from each other ; atom is thus added to atom,
and molecule to molecule — not boisterously or
fortuitously, but silently and sympathetically,
and in accordance with lawi more rigid than
those which guide a human builder when he
places his bricks and stones together. From
this play of invisible particles we see finally
growing up before our eyes these exquisite
structures to which we give the name of
crystals." Such is the theory of crystallisation.
While the ca^ise is still within the realm of
speculation, the result is well known. In
many cases the means by which the result may
be brought about is also understood. It is
known to the salt manufacturer. It is known
to the sugar refiner, as well as to the bumpkin
who boils sap in the maple grove. It is under-
stood by the thrifty maiden who converts a
naked wire framework into a thing of beauty
by coating the unsightly skeleton with alum
crystals, and to the confectioner who strings
his " rock candy " on slender threads. While
we are ignorant of the cause of crystallisation,
I say we know the means by which it may be
effected in many substances, and we are also
acquainted with the agent to be employed in,
taking down those crystalline edifices — in
reducing to the freedom of liquidity molecules
which have been previously locked in one
another's embrace ; and, knowing these things,
as practical bee-keepers, we know about all
we need concern ourselves with on the
subject.

Whilst the molecular force to which Pro-
fessor Tyndal refers is present and active in
many substances it is either absent or latent
in others. It is both present and active in
cane and grape sugar^, qf which the greater

390

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 27, 1894.

part of honey consists, hence we have candied
or crystallised honey. It is either absent or
latent in fruit sugar, which is also a con-
stituent of honey. As this cannot be
crystallised, it floats on top of the candied
mass, in a glycerine-like substance, generally
in small, but sometimes in considerable quan-
tities.— R. McKnight, in Gleanings.

%n ^Um to ^mt

October 9 to 12. — Dairy Show at the Agri-
cultural Hall, London. Five classes for honey.
Liberal prizes. For particulars apply to Wm.
C.Young, Secretary, Dairy Farmers' Associa-
tion, 191, Fleet-street, London, E.G. Entries
closed.

Noticesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will he attended to, and those
only of personal interest will he answered in this column .

Gil Blas (Wakefield). — Hive Entrances. —
The German plan of having the entrance to
hives some distance up from the floor-board
is that of Gravenhorst (not Dzierzon), and
has never found favour in this country,
though to a small extent it has been tried.
For ourselves, we think the disadvantages of
such a plan are so obvious as to be no more
worth discussing, in connection with modern
methods, than the unwieldy Gravenhorst
hive — with its frames manipulated from
below, and requiring the hive to be turned
bottom upward before removal — is worth
comparison with a modern frame hive for
utility.

A. G. Gambrill (Ascot). — We think the
mistake was in your not adding the Chris-
tian name in front of surname as in adver-
tisements.

T. Batstone (Bath), Geo. Roberts, F- Par-
ton, and Others.- — Bee Parasites. — Please
refer to " Useful Hints " in this issue, where
will be found reply to inquiries as to para-
sites.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, &e. — Up to
Twelve words. Sixpence ; fcr every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

BEAUTIFUL HEREFORDSHIRE HONEY, in screw-
capped bottles, and 4, 10, and 14 lb. tins. Sample
2d. Thos. Charles, Mucli Maicle, GIos. f 37

ECTIONS. — WANTED to PURCHASE for cash,
Season 1S94, best quality. T. Smith & Co., 17,

Cambridge-street, Hyde Parlf. F 35

OOD^EC'riONS of~CLOVER HONEY Wanted,
glazed. Ajiply, stating lowest price, carriage paid,
to L. Noel, 7, Solio-sqnare, W. Payment by deposit.
F 3()

FOR SALE or EXCHANGE.— "Hive Hoiey Beo "
(Langstroth), 8s. 6d. ; "Rational Bee-keeping"
(Dzierzon), 7s. ; e.xchange for "Honey Bee" (Cowan),
"Cheshire's Practical Bee-keeping," run Honey, Bar-
Framed Hive, Bees, or I'rames of Honey ; EXCHANGE
7 feet Folding Bagatelle Board, Cue, F'ive Balls, and
Marker, 30s., for Portable Shed, Bees, Hives, or Honey
Deposit. ECCLES, Stanbridge, Milnthorpe, Wakefield.

F3S

Prepaid Advertisements f Continued)

BEE TENT on HIRE. For terms, apply to G. GUNSTON,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

THE SIXTH YEAR. — Healthy Driven BEES, with
Queen, Is. 6d. per lb. Package free. Young
Queens, 2s. each. Holder, Wimborne, Dorset, f 32

WANTED, SECTIONS of HONEYCOMB (first quality).
Prompt cash ; packages sent. Any quantity. E.
Hurst, Bexhill, Sussex. 235

LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, 8d., post free.
500, 2s. 9d., post free. W. WooDLET, Beedon, Newbury.

FERTILE QUEENS, bred by selection, 5s. Very
prolific. Ordinary Fertile Queens, 3s. 6d. Post
free. Safe arrival guaranteed. Rev. C. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex.

NOTICE.— CARBOLIC TOWEL, and Samples of my
BEE-SMOKE CARTRIDGES Free (during Sept.)
to all Purchasers of my CARBOLINE POMADE. T.

HOLLIDAr.

TNDISPENSABLE to HONEY DEALERS. — HAR
i GRAVE'S Folding Cardboard BOXES for 1-lb.
Sections. Sample 3d. post free. Hargrave, Harro-
gate-road, Ripon.

MARKET for SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY
and WAX. State price and quantity. Prompt
cash. Packages sent. Address, H., Bee Journal Office,
17, King William-street, Strand, London.

HONEY AND ITS USES. By the Rev.
Gerard W. Bancks, M.A. 3/6 per
100, 8/- per 250, 14/6 per 500, carriage paid.
By freely distributing this Pamphlet, a ready
market for Honey may be made in the
Bee-keeper's own neighbourhood.

Specimen Copy on application.
Address Durham House, Green Street

Green, Dartford. 176

TO HIVE MAKERS.

GOOD PINE PLANKS.

Largest Stock in London.
VERY DRY, SOUND, CHEAP.

For price lists, apply, COBBETT CO., Virginia-road,
Bethnal Green, London, E.

W. p. MEADOWS,

Syston, Leicester.
Unprecedented Ast Prize— Collection of Appliances.
Success ' ■'^^*' * ^'"^ Prize — Extractors.

EOYAL
SHOW,

1st Prize — Best Frame Hive.
1st ,, Best Cottager's Hive.
"^ 1st ,, Best Smoker.
„ , . 1st ,, Best Feeder.

Cambridge, ist „ Best Collection of Honey.
1894. ^B. B. K. A. Medal Super Clearer.

Send for Cat — a — Log with Leaflet.

MY LATEST PRODUCTION.— The "TILLEY"
HIVE, made entirely on the principles laid down
by Professor Tilley, and used in his extensive apiaries at
Dorchester. The Tilley hive is no catch-penny article
that the wind and lain will blow through, but is the
cheapest, most substantial, and sensible hive now on the
market, and when generally known is bound to be
universally adopted. Note the price, 12s. 6d. complete.
Painted three coats of best oil paint, and with zinc-
covered roof. Every bee-keeper should send for my list.
Randolph Meech,

Broadwindsor, Dorset.

Oct. 4, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

391

(f dtorid, ^otias, ^c.

BEE-KEEPING IN CORNWALL.

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION COMMITTEE OF THE
CORNWALL COUNTY COUNCIL.

Sir,— Will you allow me to call your
readers' attention to the excellent work now
l)eing done by the County Council of Corn-
wall ? I particularly allude to that branch of
the work under the superintendence of the
Technical Instruction Committee.

On the invitation of Mr. J. W. La wry, an
active member of this committee, I visited the
experimental farm at Callington, and being
particularly interested in bee-keeping in con-
nection with fruit-growing, I was much
pleased to see that both these subjects received
here their proper share of attention.

Now that it no longer pays to grow corn, if
the land is to be used to advantage, and the
rural population kept from migrating to our
large towns, an interest must be created at
home, and some of the minor industries,
hitherto so much neglected, must be taken up
and encouraged. Amongst such are bee-
keeping, fruit-growing, and poultry-rearing.
It may not be generally known that for suc-
cessful fruit-growing bees are indispensable, as
upon them principally depends the fertilisation
of the blossom, without which there would be
no fruit. The imperfect and deformed fruit
are entirely due to improper fertilisation of the
blossom, either from a scarcity of bees in the
neighbourhood, or from bad weather preventing
bees leaving their hives.

Besides this advantage to the fruit grown,
bees, if properly kept, yield a handsome return
in honey, for which there is a ready market.
In fact, the supply of British honey does not
come up to the demand, and we import from
abroad honey to the value of about ^'3,000 a
month. According to the British Bee
Journal, the official organ of the British
Bee-keepers' Association, during last month
(August) the value of the honey imported was
J2,9.37.

The honey production of the rural districts
is nothing like developed, and it is calculated
that most parishes ought to yield on an
average at least a ton of honey. Probably
not one-sixth of this is actually produced. I
have been much struck in travelling through
Cornwall by the scarcity of bees, and this
notwithstanding that the pasturage is very
good. Clover, which is the chief source from
which honey is derived in this country,
abounds. In many countries this is the only
honey resource, but in addition to this in
Cornwall bees find another harvest from fruit
blossom^, more especially the small fruits, such
as strawberries and raspberries, which supply
nectar early in the spring. All this goes to
waste for want of bees to collect it.

All the way from Saltash to Callington I

did not see a single modern hive of bees, and
only one cottnge where bees were kept in
straw skeps, and this in a neighbourhood
which, in a large measure, depends upon bees
for its productiveness. Much ignorance exists,
both as regards the culture of bees and fruit ;
therefore the efforts of the Technicfil In-
struction Committee to demonstrate at Calling-
ton that both bees and fruit can be profitably
cultivated is specially to be commended, and
in everyway encouraged.

The Callington Farm is planted with straw-
berries, apple and pear trees, and in the midst
of these there are five modern movable frame-
hives in capital order. I had the opportunity
of examining them in the presence of the
committee and friends, and found that the
hives contained a quantity of excellent honey.
It was explained to those present how the
honey could be taken without destroying the
bees, and how much superior it was to that
taken on the old method. I feel sure that t;o
get bee-keeping taken up in the county it is
only necessary for the Technical Education
Committee to have occasional demonstrations
to show the ease with which bees can be mani-
pulated, followed up during the winter months
by a course of lectures illustrated with lantern
slides.

Apiculture as an industry is now being
generally recognised, and many county
councils have made grants for technical in-
struction in bee-keeping, and I do not think
that there is a better plan of bringing the
subject before our cottagers than by practical
demonstration such as could be carried out at
the apiary at Callington. From what I have
seen of Cornwall, I think it splendidly adapted
for bee-keeping, and it is to be hoped that this
departure of the Technical Instruction Com-
mittee will receive at the hands of the public
the recognition and appreciation it deserves. —
Yours truly, Thos. Wm. Cowan, F.L.S., &c.,
Chairman British Bee-keepers' Association,
Penleaze, Foivey, Cornwall, September 19,
1894. — Western Morning News.

LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE B.K.A,

SHOAV AT BIRKENHEAD.

An exhibition show of honey was held at
Birkenhead in connection with the annual
show of the Wirral and Birkenhead Agri-
cultural Society, on September 5 and 6. The
bee tent of the L. and C.B.K.A., in charge of
the Association's expert (Mr. W. J. Anstey),
was on the ground both days. Rain inter-
fered with the proceedings on the first day,
but on the second Mr. Anstey gave a lecture
and demonstration to a large audience.

In the honey department a very fine display
was staged, larger, I believe, than has ever
been before brought together at this show,
there being a totarof sixty-five entries, no less
than fifty-two of which were in the class for
extracted honey, mostly of remarkably fine

392

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Oct. 4, 1894.

quality; indeed, the judge must have had
some difficulty in selectins; the winners.

With the exception of one or two exhibits
amono- the sections, there was nothing really
first-rate.

Mr. W. J. Anstey undertook the duties of
judge, and made the following awards : —

Tivelvc 1-lb. Sections {Open). — 1st, Harry
Wood, Paradise, Lichfield, Staffordshire ;
2nd, H. M. Bryans, Cholmondeley, Malpas,
Cheshire ; 3rd, W. Woodley, World's End,
Newbury, Berks. ; 4th, S. E. Horton, Harley
Tower.

Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey {Open).
— 1st, Dr. B. E. Jones, Freckleton, near
Preston, Lanes. ; 2nd, Eev. J. S. Evans,
Hargrave, near Chester ; 3rd, Eev. E. Charley,
Ince Vicarage, Chester ; 4th, Owen Eoberts,
The Lodge, Eowton Grange, Chester ; h.c,
Alfred Thomas, Eichard L. Fryer, Joseph F.
Williamson, and Wm. Woodley.

Tivelve 1-lb. Sections (District). — 1st, Eev.
J. S. Evans ; 2nd, H. M. Bryans ; 3rd, E. L.
Fryer. Davenhara, near Northwich, Cheshire ;
4th, Wm. CorkhilJ, Edge Hill, Liverpool ; h.c,
Wm. Tyrer, Prescot, Lanes.

Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey (Dis-
trict).—1st, E. L. Fryer; 2nd, Dr. B. E.
Jones ; 3rd, Eev. J. S. Evans ; 4tb, Eev. E.
Charley ; v.h.c, John Hale, Owen Eoberts ;
he, Eev. Allen G. Glenn, John Oultram,
Fred. Dutton, H. Firth, Alfred Thomas,
E. W. Nickson, H. W. Bennion, P. H.
Eawson, J. H. Bennett, and Eev. J. S. Evans.
— ( Communicated.)

OXFOEDSHIRE B.K.A.

The Oxfordshire Bee-keepers' Association
held their annual exhibition of honey and wax
in connection with the Woodstock Show. The
entries were not quite up to the average owing
to the great demand for honey, but there was
a decided increase of cottagers' exhibits. The
silver medal of the ]Mtish Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciaton was won by Mr. H. Edginton, cottager,
of Cassington, for a fine lot of sections. The
bronze medal went to Mr. Slatter, cottager,
Coombe, and the certificate to Mr. Anstey,
Oxford. The judge was the Eev. E. Daven-
porf, of Stourport, and Mr. E. F. Turner, of
Oxford, assistant hon. secretary, was respon-
sible for the staging and management. The
awards were as follows : —

Twelve l-lb. Sections. — 1st, H. Edginton ;
2nd, — Slatter ; 3rd, W. J. Anstey.

Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st,
H. M, Turner, Northleigh ; 2nd, " Grant,
Oxford.

Six l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, S.
Hancox, Wytham ; 2nd, H. M. Turner.

Beesivax. — 1st, T. Hughes, Combe ; 2nd,
S. Hancox.

Specimen Jar. — 1st, H. M. Turner ; 2nd,
W. J. Anstey,

Glass Super of Honey. — 1st, S. Hancox ;
2nd, — Slatter.

cottagers' classes.

Three l-lb. Sections. — -Ist, H. Edginton ;
2nd, Jones, Cassington.

Beeswax. — 1st, Jones ; 2nd, H. Edginton.

Twelve l-lb. Jars Honey.— 1st, H. Edginton ;
2nd, Slatter.

Six l-lb. Jars. — 1st, Slatter ; 2nd, H.
Edginton .

OPEN CLASSES.

Straw Sleep of Honey. — 1st, Thomas Harris,
Combe.

Best and Largest Exhibit of Honey. — 1st
prize, a bar-frame hive, given by Messrs.
Tamer & Sons, Oxford, was won by Slatter,
Gladstone Cottage, Combe. — {Communicated.)

ANTWEEP EXHIBITION,

BELGIAN CUSTOMS OFFICIALISM.

I think a word of warning is needed so that
in future no English manufacturers are de-
luded into sending goods to any future exhibi-
tion in Belgium. The gallery in which the
Bee Exhibition was held was most carefully
guarded with police and customs officers, so
much so that even the smallest article was
promptly stopped at the door if an attempt
was made to take it out. However, during
the night of the closing day of the exhibition
nearly ail my prize honey was stolen, also the
whole of my hydromel ; and other exhibitors
who had even taken the precaution to pack up
their honey before leaving for the night had it
stolen, package and all. In view of the
above-named stringent precautions against
the removal of goods, we can only put
the theft at the door of those whose
duty it was to guard them. The next day
I could get no remedy whatever, and the
customs officials tried in a most determined
way to add insult to injury by attempting to
impose customs duty on the stolen honey. I
resisted, and at last they consented to forego
it. The method of levying said customs
duties on hives was unique. Of course I was
prepared to pay duty on the catalogue price
of these hives ; but no, they insisted on duty
being paid on catalogue price of article plus
cost of packing-case and cost of transit from
Welwyn to Antwerp. This is not much en-
couragement to English manufacturers to go
out to Belgium, and practically make their
show presentable, and also provide the Belgians
with models of goods to copy. I feel sure that
in view of this treatment no English manu-
facturer will again be induced to exhibit. —
Thomas B. Blow, Welwyn, September 27.

EXHIBITION OF BEES AT DEEBY

IN CONNECTION WITH THE YOUNG MEN'S
CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.

Eeferring to the notice which appeared on
p. 332 of issue for August 23, we are very
pleased to receive a cutting from a local paper

Oct. 4, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

393

which records the following gratifying result
of the effort inade by the promoters of the
exhibition : —

" On Wednesday evening last the rooms
of the Y.M.C.A., in St. Peter's Church-
yard, were more than usually crowded. Mr.
Walker, of the ( ^attle Market, an enthusiastic
member of the Y.M.O.A., had arranged a bee
exhibit for the benefit of the building fund.
A large quantity of honey in jars and sections
had been given by friends of the association,
and this was sold, together with an amount of
fruit, flowers, and vegetables. A feature of
the proceedings was the lecturing of Mr.
Jones, of Etwall. A thorough master of his
subject, this gentleman delivered two most
interesting lectures, describing in the first the
province of bees in the fertilisation of flowers,
and in the second dealing more with practical
bee-keeping. At the former Captain Eeid
presided, and at the latter the chair was taken
by Mr. Davidson. Those present were very
much interested in watching the movements of
the bees in the show hives belonging to Mr.
Walker, and altogether an exceedingly inte-
resting and profitable evening was spent. A
vote of thanks to Mr. Walker, Mr. Jones, and
all who had helped by sending honey, fruit,
or flowers, and in other ways, was carried
unanimously. It should be mentioned that
the apparatus used (also the lantern) was
kindly lent by the County Council. Mr.
Walker promised to get up a similar exhibition
next year."

BEE-KEEPING IN DUMFRIESSHIRE.

The Rev. Robert M'Clelland, minister of
Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, who was recently
engaged to lecture on bee-keeping at several
centres in Dumfriesshire, has . presented a
report to the County Technical Instruction
Committee. Dumfriesshire, he says, has been
the first county in Scotland to give a grant in
aid of bee-keeping, and it had conferred
an honour on him in naming him the first
lecturer. The shire as a whole is a good one
for bee-keeping — in many districts particu-
larly so. The prevalence of old pastures rich
in white clover, the nearness of the heather
hills, and the decidedly more favourable
climate as compared with the West of Scot-
land in dryness and warmness, make this
clearly apparent. Again, the amount of
honey tabled at the shows in an unsettled
season like the present is proof positive on
the subject. It was his privilege at every
place visited to meet with bee-keepers of
high standing and culture in the craft, and to
see here and there apiaries of such dimensions
and in a condition to be a credit to any
country in Europe ; but this, he is bound to
say, is the exception. Ignorance, scepticism
as to results, and indifference and carelessness
as to the methods of bee-keeping largely
prevail. Antiquated ways of working, neglected

hives, and the presence of " foul brood " or
" bee pest " call for immediate and radical
reform. It is within the truth to say that
Dumfriesshire in a good year could easily
produce a hundredfold the honey harvest it
now does. This means that there is scarcely a
farmer or cotter but might materially add to
his home comforts and even financial resources
by bee-keeping. He strongly recommends the
County Council to renew its grant next year,
but on a more liberal scale. In England grant.s
varying from =£50 to ^150 have been given in
several counties with the most gratifyirg
results. What is needed is not merely a
series of lectures in difterent centres, but a
three or four weeks' tour of the country, visit-
ing apiaries, and addressing meetings, which
local associations could assist in getting up ;
the County Council to pay the lecturer's salary
and expenses.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.

QUARTERLY MEETING AND CONVERSAZIONE.

The next quarterly conversazione will be
held at 105, Jermyn-street, on Thursday,
October 11, at six o'clock. Members desirous
of introducing subjects for discussion, or to
submit new, improved, or interesting appli-
ances, are requested to communicate with the
undersigned not later than Monday, the 8th
inst. — John Huckle, Secretary, King's
LangUy.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice vnll be
taken of anonymoiie communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be draufn 07i separate pieces of paper. We
do not xmdertake to return rejected corninunications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shoios, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &e.,7mist be addressed only to "The
Editors of the 'BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c.,tnust be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Offi,ce, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

*,* In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
vnll oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

QUEEN-REARING.

the result of three years' experimental

WORK.

[Continued from page 386.]

The cells being ready, dip the end of each
in hot wax, and at once place them in sihi on
the bar before described, preparatory to the
royal food and larvae being transferred into
them. The cells are placed about i in. apart,
alternatively towards the outer edges of the
bar. Here, however, like many others who
endeavoured to follow in Mr. DooUttle'a foot-

394

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[Oct. 4, 1894.

steps, I did not get on quite satisfactorily,
only an average of 50 per cent, of my cells
being accepted ; and so, after many trials, I
departed somewhat from his methods ; but
before touching upon this, it may be well to
finish the outline of Mr. Doolittle's final
operations, as follows : — Having your frame
ready — with artificial cups in position — cut
out a queen-cell containing a good supply of
royal jelly (from a stock made queenless on
purpose to obtain the first svipply), remove
the young larva which it contains, and
place a very small portion of the royal food at
the bottom of the artificial cup (Mr. Doolittle
is rather indefinite as to the quantity neces-
sary)— the amount required, however, is a
small drop about the size of the inflammable
portion of a common safety match ; place this
right in the centre of the artificial cup, and, if
made after my method, it should rest in the
apex of the natural base. Having supplied all
the cups with this food, remove a comb of just-
hatched larv£e from the hive containing your
best breeding queen, and transfer the larvse to
the prepared cells, putting each tiny grub
directly into the royal food already therein.
The larvte must be under thirty-six hours old
to procure the best results. (In case the
operator does not know how to judge the age
of the larvfe, take only the smallest.) Place
the frame of cells in the prepared super. To
do this, of course quickly and well, requires
practice, but one soon gets expert at it, for,
with the cells already on the frames, I have
gone to a hive, removed a frame of brood and
bees, returned with same to my heated work-
room, transferred larvee to the prepared cells
of three frames (nine cells on each), placed
same in three dift'erent supers, and returned
frames of brood to hives, which includes
opening and closing four hives, all in the space
of twenty miautes. In transferring the larvee
nothing answers so well with me as a thin
little slip of wood cut very thin and pliable at
the point, and slightly curved so as to slide
easily and smoothly under the little grub, and
raise it bodily from the bottom of the cell.
By the above method I could count on 50 per
cent, of the cells being accepted and turned
into fine queens. Considering the fickleness
of our climate and other disadvantageous cir-
cumstances beyond control, this was a fairly
good result, yet I was not satisfied, and after
trying many improved methods, including
that adopted by Willie Atchley (of Texas,
U.S.A., who has the repute of being the
youngest and one of the most extensive queen-
raisers in America), I at last hit upon the
following method, by which I can ensure 70
to 80 per cent, of equally good queens every
time : — I prepare the frame and wax cups
exactly as already described, but before
placing either the royal food or young larvae
therein, I set the frame in a prepared super of
a queened stock for acceptance by the bees.
If the bees destroy the cells, or treat them with
indifference, as they will do if they don't want

them — I pass on to the next hive and give
them a similarly prepared frame ; but it is
very seldom they are refused if the hive is
properly prepared and honey is coming in.
Occasionally, however, and from some cause
beyond my present knowledge, I have known
a hive to refuse the prepared cups to-day and
accept them to-morrow. If accepted, they are
converted into perfect embryo queen-cells,
narrowing the orifice and working the thin out-
side edges the same as if starting ordinary queen-
cells. About twenty-four hours usually proves
whether the bees have accepted the cells, and
then, if found right and being worked at, the
royal jelly and larva can be placed at once in
each cell and given to the bees to complete.
This is a sort of "approbation" process, ■
because I give the crude cells to the bees first
"on appro.'' to get them worked at and
modelled to meet their little requirements
before placing the food and young grubs
therein. Far less risk is thus incurred of
having them ultimately refused, and the result
has shown me that I get a far higher per-
centage of cells finished. Some will be refused,
even after acceptance at first ; but, if the right
time is chosen, from 70 to 80 per cent, is the
average of accepted cells.

The actual manipulations connected with the
transference of young grubs from the natural
comb to the prepared cells may seem to many
a tedious and difficult task before trial ; but if
a square inch of comb containing the young
larvffi is cut out, and the cells shaved down to
about g in., the task is much more easy than
it looks. What I desired, however, was to
arrive at some method of retaining the advan-
tages of the Doolittle plan and yet save this
transference of the larvae ; for, although I
succeeded perfectly with it myself, it is very
probable that others less accustomed to so
"natty'' a job, or perhaps through nervous-
ness, might run a great risk of damaging the
delicate little larvte, or of not getting it in it?
natural position, which is essential to success.
After many trials I at last found the following
plan answer well : — Prepare the frame as
before, and get the cells accepted by my
"approbation" plan ; then, with a sharp, warm
knife, cut the accepted cell just above the base
(inside), so that the base is left on the bar, and
the \>Axi cut off forms a collar which fits on
the base. Then with your " former " slightly
enlarge the base of the collar, but avoid
handling the collars more than is neces-
sary, and always have clean hands.
Now cut out a piece of comb contain-
ing suitable larvae (a strip 2 in. or 3 in. long
is now best), shave off the back cells down
to the mid-rib or septum — I find cells that
have been used for breeding once or twice
best for this process, new cells being too soft,
and old comb too tough — and cut the front
cells down to ^ in., taking care not to touch
the larvae, or it will be irretrievably damaged.
Out out as many complete cells containing
larvsB as are required, and remove all the

Oct. 4, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

395

surplus wax of adjoining cells. From the
sides of the chosen ones now place carefully a
small portion of thin royal jelly on the top of
the young larvit, and by the tiLwe you have
placed the jelly in all the cells the young grub
in the first cell operated on will have wriggled
its way to the top of the i'ood, and be seen
floating on the royal jelly. It is then trans-
ferred bodily on to the base of the prepared
cup ; then slip over the " collar " which was
cut off and press well home, and the job is
done. When all cells are fixed and on the frame
I slip the latter into a well-warmed flannel
bag, take it to the hive, and put it in tbe
super as quickly as possible.

All these operations must be carried out in
a temperature of not less than 85 deg. Fah.
I prefer one of a temperature of 90 deg., as the
young grubs are then kept growing, and run
no risk of being chilled. 1 have a small
workroom built expressly for this particular
work of queen-raising, in which the tempera-
ture can be raised at will. It is also necessary
to have a small box into which a block of
heated lead or iron, wrapped in flannel, is
placed for purpose of transporting the larva?,
when cut out, and a bag (large enough to hold
a standard frame) made of several thicknesses
of woollen material. The heated box is also
useful for carrying queen-cells about from hive
to hive when completed.

For the first of these processes I have dis-
carded cutting the combs to obtain the larvie,
and now remove the frames, bees and all, into
my warmed workroom (taking care the queen
is left in the hive). I lay it on a sloping
wired frame and remove the little grubs as re-
quired. My workroom is provided with
a window which swings round on centre pins,
so that if the bees are troublesome and block
the light while I am working, one swing of the
window and they are all outside. This will be
found a great convenience.

In America, where the temperature rises
above 85 deg. for months together, heated
appliances and rooms may, of course, be un-
necessary; but here in England, where in April
and May last the temperature for weeks
together was not more than 54 deg., and on
some days (when I successfully transferred the
little larva? in my heated room) was down as
low as 42 deg. in the open, had I nob
been practically able to control the tempera-
ture, I should have failed. There are no doubt
some days, even in this country, when the
work could be done in the open, or with slight
protection ; but they are few and far between,
and generally occur at a season when the best
results cannot be obtained, as it is too late to
get the finest queens.

One of my experiments has been devoted to
finding out, as nearly as possible, at what
temperature very young larvse will chill and
die, and I find approximately that from four
to five minutes outside at 65 deg. is fatal to it,
while under the shelter of an open shed, pro-
tected from the wind, it is alive after fifteen

minutes at the same temperature. But whether
it would recover the eff'ects of the chill if sub-
jected to subsec[uent warmth I am at present
unable to say. — Henry W. Brice, Thonitoih
Heath, Surrey.

{To be CoiUititied.)

MEN OF FORCE.

[2078.] It is only when one is out of the
prominent few who are ever active in the bee-
world that our own individual littleness is
forcibly brought home to U3. One views the
lights amongst bee-keepers at a distance, and
their effulgence is correspondingly subdued,
because all differences of opinion and opposite
ways of viewing things, ever active when we
are in the thick of the throng, become softened
ofl' by the atmosphere of distance, and faults
and perfections lose their sharp reflecting
faces. Then we get from our Journal the
9ad news that a prominent light amongst us
has been extinguished, and the mind, in sadly
recalling the past, turns i^s telescopic vision
on memories that crowd in upon it to find how
great is the dead and how little are we.
" Nothing of the dead but good " is a most
wholesome motto, so ijermit me, under its
segis, to give your readers a few most prominent
thoughts on two most prominent men who
have left us since I last wrote to the Journal
— F. R. Cheshire and C. N. Abbott. I should
think no two could be more unlike in dis-
position than these, and yet how like ! One
so intensely scientific and theoretical, but
practical withal ; the other how very practical
in all that concerned our art, yet losing nothing
science could teach him that might be brought
to the service of the bee-keeper and the bee.

I well call to mind accompanying Mr.
Henderson (late sub-ed. B.B.J.) to hear a
course of lectures by Mr. Cheshire. The
audiences were scant, and were drawn closer
together in the theatre of the School of Mines,
Jermyn-street, by the lecturer, who said under
the circumstances he would talk to us en
famillej then followed such an interesting
extempore address as he, and he alone, could
give. From that moment I decided to try
and follow in his footsteps, no matter at how
great a distance, and I here admit to you and
in my own mind that the charm of style I
then so intensely enjoyed had more to do with
my future career in bee-keeping matters than
any other thing I can now think of. His
words will live (in my opinion) when his
practical work as a bee-keeper will be for-
gotten, precisely as the work of C. N. Abbott
as a practical pioneer will outlive his writings.
Yet, nay ! How can I say that when I refer
to the early numbers of your Journal and
find them so saturated with words of bee-
keeping wisdom ?

It is one of the signs of age (therefore I am
getting old) when one looks upon the past
generation as being so superior to the present
in everything. We remember our fore-elders

396

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Oct. 4, 1894.

used not to fail in giving utterance to such
sentiments. We look round, and see none
living so great as the dead. la tragedy or
comedy, in music or literature, in singing,
acting, preaching, or writing, none are so
mighty now as then, although

" There are still some lew remaining who
remind us of the past."

May the time be very distant when their
greatness will be accentuated by our loss of
them ! These last whom I name were well
appreciated daring their life ; they did good
work, and were well thought of ; their memory
is sweet to the mind of an old bee-keeper
whose name may be remembered by a few old
hands.— R. A. H. Grimshaw.

SAVING THE BEES.

[2079.] I am glad to be able to tell you
that the fourteen skeps of bees I wrote to you
about (2035, p. 303 of B.J. for August 2)
have been successfully driven. I accidentally
found out that the brother of a friend of
mine would kindly come and show me how it
was done. He drove two for me, and the rest
I managed quite easily. I have united five
lots with the stocks I intend keeping through
the winter, and the other nine I have put
into three skeps.

Will you kindly tell me how to proceed to
keep the three last skeps of bees through the
winter ? I can plainly see that driving is far
better than burning, and certainly should
never resort to the latter again. — A. B. C,
Cambs., September 28.

[If the driven bees have been put into
combed skeps (as they certainly should have
been) it will only be necessary to see that they
each have 15 lb. to 20 lb. of good food for
wintering on, and are kept dry and warm by
some sort of covering. — Eds.]

THE « WELLS " HIVE.

FROM A cottager's POINT OF VIEW.

[2080.] I have now read the British Bee
Journal for many years, and during that
time have had to do with many hundred hives
of bees,but the " Wells " hive seems to be the
master one that I have ever heard talked of.
So far as having a double hive, I tried one
fifteen years ago, but could never get the bees
to store honey in it as others seem to be doing
nowadays ; in fact, I gave mine up as a bad
hive, and it has for years been used as a store-
place for lumber. But after all I read in your
pages, I begin to think I must rub the dust off
my double hive and start it again on another
trial. Friend Nicholls (2058, p. 346), who I
know very well, was at my place some time
ago, and our talk as usual turning on bees, he
complained of it being a bad year with him,
and that he should have to feed. Yet on

opening my journal I found to my surprise
that he had been trying the " Wells " hive and
had taken 183 lb. from it. And that, too, in
a " bad year," when some bees worked on the
old plan were about starving ! Then comes
your correspondent, Wm. Tustain (2069, p.
365), and beats friend Nicholls by 73 lb.,
with 256 lb. from his " Wells," so even
with the 10 lb. of sugar and the " nice cake of
candy " that the hive wants for winter, it is a
big " take." And although I have looked on
my double hive as an old coat that was done
with, I must dust it down, and, after repairs,
try it once more. It would be a great help to
us cottage bee-keepers if some of the success-
ful " Wells '" bee-keepers would tell us how it
is done, or how these tremendous results are
got at. I know our editors are very kindly
disposed towards the cottager, and that these
big takes from " Wells " hives are printed so
that others may benefit and do likewise. This
is rousing us up, and when I see friend John
Walton bringing out his cast-off double hives
again to work them on Mr. Wells' plan, it
makes one want to have his report of their
doings in this — to me — the worst honey
season I have known for years. — W. Martin
High Wycombe, Bucks, September 27.

GLASS COVERS FOR HIVES.
[2081.] No one having taken up my sug-
gestion in a recent letter (2043, p. 316
B. J., August 9) as to using glass as
a hive cover in lieu of wood covers or quilts,
allow me once more to return to the charge.
I have been much interested in Mr. Shea's
letter (2073, p. 375), but I think he will find
my plan has also great advactages. First of
all, I place on the top of the frames a light
framework formed of slats of wood |- in. deep,
and of any width sufficient to give strength
and carry section crates, secured at the corners
with tin strips. These may either be large
enough to go on the top of the body-box or
lift, and be secured by the pressure upon them
of the next lift ; or, preferably, they may fit
neatly inside, so as to remain undisturbed
when lifts are ty.ken off or put on. Upon this
skeleton framework the sheets of glass (or
of excluder zinc) can be placed without crush-
ing a single bee, as is almost unavoidable
whenever glass, excluder zinc, crates, &c., are
placed immediately upon the top of frames.
In fact, the use of these wooden rims has, for
me at least, converted the handling of my
hives from an anxiety to a pleasure, as in
this way a bee-space is provided over the
whole space on the tops of the frames— a most
desirable arrangement in every way. I find
the greatest trouble consists in getting the
sheets of glass accurately cut so as just to fit
nicely within the cavity of the lifts. No two
hives seem perfectly exact in measurements ;
and practically I am obliged to have a sepa-
rate sheet of glass for each hive, or the bees

Oct. 4, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

397

escape. Two-thirds of the length I have a
2-in. rouad hole cut out (which can only be
done by good glass-cutters) for feeding pur-
poses right over the cluster ; this can easily be '
closed, when not wanted, by a cork, a piece of
wood cut to fit, or even a card. Over the glass
any desired amount of quilting, felting, &g.,
can be piled up, which will always be clean,
and removable in a moment. •

The advantages of this plan, I repeat, are
indeed great. At any time, summer or winter,
it is possible to look down through two stories
of frames without disturbing a single bee ;
and they soon become so used to the removal
of the coverings over the glass, and to the ad-
mission of light, as not to resent the inspec-
tion— indeed, they become appreciably tamer.
If it is necessary to remove the glass and
examine the hive, all the advantages claimed
by Mr. Shea and others for the wood cover are
applicable to the glass-sheet, which is much
cleaner, and I should think cheaper. The
cost of mine was 6d. for each sheet, 17 in. by
15 in., and 6d. for cutting out the feeding-
hole in each. This feeding-hole is a great
comfort, as, e.g., I can watch how two hives of
driven bees are progressing with comb-buUding
and storing. The glass sheets can be exchanged
for excluder zinc, or section crates, or quilts
(if desired) at any time, without, as a rule, a
single bee rising, as all these are lifted off and
set down on the wooden rim round the whole
top opening of the hive. Next summer I shall
have at least two of these rims for each hive —
one below carrying the excluder zinc, and
another above, for the top glass sheet, and,
perhaps a third mid-way to carry the section
crates on the excluder zinc. In practice I
find the trouble of brace-combs very small. I
hardly ever use the smoker, but the carbolised
cloth slipped on the top of the frames sends
down every bee, and allows all brace-combs,
propolis, &c., to be rapidly scraped off without
trouble.

I now have four single hives and one
"Wells'' hive fitted up as I have just ex-
plained, and next year, all being well, I will
describe how the bees have wintered, and I
hope prospered. At the present time, all six
(counting the " Wells " as two) colonies are
feeding, comb-building, and storing, most
energetically, under the glass, and are a
source of great interest to friends. I have
given each hive a story of shallow frames over
the body-box, as I believe they will winter
better, and I want the shallow-frame combs
built out to story up on the " Wells " hive
next year.

May I conclude with one warning, derived
from experience, which may possibly explain
why bees sometimes do not take kindly to
supers ? Last spring the hives I then had
were arranged with the frames spaced as
closely together as possible, to ensure straight
combs being built. I put the excluder zinc
down on top of these without thinking. When
I took it off in the autumn, I noticed, for the

first time, that owing to the very close juxta-
position of the frames below there were
positively only two — at the most three — ^lines
of openings through which the bees could pass
up through the excluder zinc ; all other
openings were closed by frames or combs.
Well as my bees did, considering the bad
season, they would, I should think, have done
much better if they had not been so terribly
handicapped in travelling up and down.
With excluder zinc, care should be taken that
the interspaces between combs correspond
with the lines of slits ; or. I think, far better
still, a j-in. deep framework, allowing free bee
space all over top of hive, should carry the
excluder zinc, section crates, &c. — W. R. N.,
Sussex, Sejjtember 28.

[Referring to our correspondent's " warn-
ing," and without here entering into the
question of the advantage or otherwise of a
bee space between tops of frames and the
queen excluder, we would observe that the
latter, when laid direct on to the frame tops,
should always be so placed that the length of
the perforations run across and not parallel to
the spaces between the frames. In this way—
as is well known to experienced bee-keepers — •
none of the openings are blocked up by the
zinc. — Eds.]

^m'm mA |le|li«3.

[1166.] Carrying Driven Bees. — A .Disaster.
— A friend of mine drove the bees of three
skeps into one hive some time ago ; two were
weak lots, and one fairly strong. After driving
we tied them up and carried them a distance
of four miles home. On untying the cloth we
noticed that it was very wet, and on removing
it, to our surprise, fully two-thirds of the bees
were lying in a heap seemingly drowned in
honey. Not being able to do anything, we
left them as they were untied and free, so as
to give them plenty of ventilation, but none
seemed to recover, and we found the next
morning only a weak little lot left alive.
However, we had the pleasure of uniting
another lot to them ; they are going on well
now. Can you tell me what was the cause of
the disaster ? The bees were carried in the
skep mouth downward, but there was no hole
in top for ventilation. — " A Novice " (just
starting), Kidderminster.

Reply. — The bees were without doubt
suffocated. Had the covering been of coarse
open canvas or cheese-cloth, and the skep
carried mouth tipward, all would have been
well and the bees safe. It was the want of
sufficient air that caused them to disgorge the
honey with which they always fill themselves
on being driven, and, fiilling in a mass on to
the covering below, thus made matters worse

398

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Oct. 4, 1894

by stopping ventilation almost entirely. In
carrying so many as three lots of bees in one
skep provision should always be made for a
through-current of air. It is also important
to use an open material for covering, and to
carry bottom upward.

[1167.] Material for Standing Hives on. —
I have a row of frame-hives standing in line
adjacent to garden path. The grass seems to grow
excessively fast all amongst the hives. Would
a layer of tan be a suitable material to put
down to prevent this ; if not, what would you
recommend 1 — Weeds, JVarivicks., Septemler
26.

Reply. — Some means should first be taken
to prevent the growth of weeds by removing a
few inches of soil and filling in with tarred
rubble or other suitable material. This done,
tan, sawdust, or fine ashes — if kept neat —
would answer the purpose referred to. We
have seen concrete used for hives to stand on,
but it forms a colder surface for bees to alight
on in winter than the materials named above.

[1168.] Wintering Weal Stoch in ''Wells"
Hive. — I have a small swarm on three frames
which I do not think will be able to winter by
themselves, but as they have a very good
young queen, I do not want to unite them.
Do you think if I'used a " Wells" dummy, and
put thera in the same hive as another stock,
they would winter so ? or what would be the
best thing to do 1— E. A. Douglas, Under hill-
road, S.E.

Eeply.— If you can so manage the " Wells "
dummy as to get both lots of bees to gather on
it, and so form one continuous cluster, it will,
no doubt, be of great assistance in carrying
the weak lot safely through the winter.

[1169.] Suspected Foul Brood. — 1. Is comb
sent foul broody ? The bees (a swarm of May
last) died or left the hive after building out
only about three of the frames of the founda-
tion. I fancy they had been queenless for a
while, as they got some rough handling before
getting them into the hive at the time of
swarming. 2. Would it be safe to give the
other frames of foundation to bees, seeing they
have been in the hive so long ? ,3. Is there
any way to extract heather honey from brood-
frames without spoiling the combs, or is it
better to remove the two outside combs and
replace them with frames of foundation ? —
D. M'G., Pennyfuir, Oban.

Reply. — 1. Comb is quite free from disease,
but it bears plain evidence of the swarm
having become queenless after hiving. 2.
Yes, quite safe. 3. Heather honey can only
be removed from the cells by pressure and
destroying the combs. If the outside combs
are removed now, the proper time for replacing
them with foundation is in May next, when a
frame may be inserted in centre of brood-nest,
and a few days later the second one.

[1170.] A Beginner's Queries.— 1 have only
just started bee-keeping, and would like a
little advice on the following : — ] . Lately I
' have often found a good tablespoonful of water
in the roof of my hive, drops of water hanging
all over. How can I prevent this if harmful
to bees ? Some bee-keepers say use porous
quilts, so that moisture will escape; others
advise a non-porous quilt of enamel cloth,
which must keep down all moisture. 2.
Which do you recommend ? 3. If bees are
fed on dry sugar or candy will they store it in
cells 1 4. Do bees eat the nectar when gather-
ing, or only after being converted into honey,
and how long does it take to be so converted ?
5. Will syrup from 10 lb. of sugar to 7 pints
of water float on top of honey ? 6. How can I
tell when to take supers off 1 seeing we have
heather about here. 7. Are queens fed with
chyle-food during their whole lifetime or only
in the larvte state 1 Thanking you in antici-
pation, T. Simpson, Farnham, Surrey.

Reply. — 1. We should say the roof leaks,
otheiwise there is no reason for finding water
as stated. 2. An enamel cloth quilt next the
frame, glazed side downward, is our preference
with hives well ventilated from the bottom,
but with others we would use porous coverings.
3. Yes, but bees should not be fed on dry
sugar or candy except under special condi-
tions and at special times. 4. It is of
so little consequence whether or not "bees
eat nectar when gathering " that we never took
trouble to ascertain, nor need you. The bees
discharge the contents of their honey-sac on
returning to the hive, and when the super-
fluous water has evaporated in the cells the
conversion is complete. 5. Yes, but why do
you ask ? 6. They should be removed when
completely sealed over, and only examination
will show this. 7. In larvse condition only.

[1171. J Honey Statistics and Profits from
Bee-keeping. — Information as to the following
points will oblige : — 1. Statistics as to the
production of honey, &c., in the British Isles,
and the amount of imports. 2. The best
source of information as to the profits derived
from bee-keepiog. 3. Whether there is a
good set of lantern slides to be had to illustrate
lectures. — Fifensis, September 26.

Reply. — 1. No statistics are available as to
the production of honey in these islands. The
value of honey imported appears in our pages
every month, and we can only gross the totals
at end of each year. In 1891 the value was
£34,429, in '92 it rose to £62,727, and last
year it fell to £29,087. 2. We know of no
better source than the reports which appear
from time to time in our pages. 3. There are
several sets of lantern slides published, one
of which— those of Messrs. Newton & Co.,
Fleet-street, London — were prepared with the
assistance of the committee of the British
Bee-keepers' Association, and may be hired
from the latter body.

Oct. 4, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

399

[1172.] Queen-Raising. — I have in my
apiary a colouy of bees, which for two years
did not produce more honey than necessary
for wintering them. Others of my stock did
moderately, but this one only produced bees
sufficient to cover ten or twelve frames. I
cannot say they swarmed, and yet the bees
were always very fierce, so I decided to try a
Carniolan queen, which I purchased from a
noted dealer. Having received her safely, I
removed the old one on July 7. They accepted
the stranger quite satisfactorily. She appears
to be doing well, but I cannot perceive mujh
difference in the present bees. I am there-
fore sending a few for you to examine, and
should be pleased to know if they are Car-
niolan. If so, I should like to raise queens
from this colony to introduce to others. Will
you kindly advise me of the best and simplest
method, and when preparations should be
made ?— J. W. Stephens, September 26.

Eeply. — These are not pure Carniolan, but
only hybrids. The best time for preparing to
raise queens is when the natural swarming
season approaches. For the " best method ''
we need hardly say our correspondent must
procure a book in which queen-raising is fully
dealt with before he can hope to succeed. We
could do very little by way of teaching the art
of queen-raising in our Query and Kepiy
column.

(tt]iU% from Wit

Penny fair, Oban, September 21. — We have
had splendid weather here since August 16 ;
we had no ram, and bees are gathering off the
heather yet.— D. McG.

A EEQUEST.
Secretaries of county bee-keeping associa-
tions will please send half-a-dozen specimens
of their county honey-label, this week certain,
to Mr. Jesse Garratt, Meopham, Kent. It is
proposed to exhibit a sheet of labels at the
forthcoming Dairy Show, to illustrate the
scheme of honey labelling.

October 9 to 12. — Dairy Show at the Agri-
cultural Hall, London. Five classes for honey.
Liberal prizes. For particulars apply to Wm.
C. Young, Secretary, Dairy Farmers' Associa-
tion, 191, Fleet-street, London, E.C. Entries
closed.

October 26. — Ayrshire Agricultural Asso-
ciation's annual show at Kilmarnock. Great
honey competition. Numerous classes, with
liberal premiums. For schedules, apply Jas.
McMurthrie, secretary, Ayr, N,B. FJntries
close October 12.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

AH queries forwarded mil be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
Letters or queries asking for addresses of tnanufac-
turers or correspondents, or lohere appliances can be
purchased, or replies giving such infonnation, can only
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries and replies is tneant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issue
im)nediately following the receijJt of their communica-
tions.

We are compelled to postpone biographical
notice of the late Mr, F. R. Cheshire till next
tveek.

A Reader (Kidderminster). — Saving a Weak
Lot of Bees in Skeps. — Bees were so crushed
in post as to be quite unrecognisable. If
the robbers are marked as stated they
would be hybrid Ligurians. It is not much
use trying to preserve a weak lot of bees
that are "now being badly robbed" with-
out resistance. If you have built-out combs
in a frame -hive, and united a driven stock
to them as proposed, they might live — but
is a " weak lot " worth all that trouble ?

A. V. Andrews (Shepton Mallet). — Naphtha-
line for use in Bee-hives. — This article is
sold in various forms and of differing
degrees of strength. It was the frequent
reports of serious mischief to bees-
through overdosing — coming to our know-
ledge that caused us to send it out from this
ofhce in such form and strength as to enable
us to regulate the dose, and so avoid such
mishaps in future. Commercial naphthaline,
as used in some trades, asphyxiates the
larvfe, causing whole combs of brood to
perish.

A Correspondent ("H. C") asks: — What
thickness are the grooved wooden plates in
a " Garstang '' honey-press, and how deep
are the grooves on the same ? Will any of
our readers supply the information ?

Mersey (Ashton on Mersey). — Mouldy Comb.
— If the dead brood remains and has caused
the mouldiness we should cut away and
destroy the j)art so affected, rather than
give the comb back to the bees.

A. B. (Stourbridge). — Wintering Bees at High
Temjyerature. — We have never heard of an
advertisement such as is referred to. Where
did it appear ? In any case, it is found dis-
advantageous in many ways to attempt to
keep bees in an artificially raised and
abnormally high temperature during the
winter months.

Young Tiverton (Tiverton). — Feeding Bees
in Skeps During Winter. — 1. Bees should
not be fed during winter. The needful
amount of food should have been given
before now, but where food is still short it
must be given by means of an inverted
bottle through a hole cut in crown of skep.
The bottle, after filling with warm syrup,
has its mouth covered with a piece of calico
tied securely on, and is then inverted into

400

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[Oct. 4, 1894.

WANTED, BEES. Exchange pure white Homer
Pigeons. T. Jellings, 28, Bright-street, Coventry.
. ^ F39

HONEY WANTED. One to two tons pure English
Honey in bulk. State lowest price to L. Noel 7
Soho-.square, W. Payment deposit. f 40 '

BEES.— Six more STOCKS for DISPOSAL in skeps
7s. Cd. each. Four in standard hives with or with-
out hives. Purchaser to fetch them away. Fredk T
Fletcher, The Maples, Ottershaw, Chertsey, Surrey." '
. F43

FOR SALE, pure extracted ENGLISH HONEY at 8d
per lb., in 56 lb. tins. Tins and packi g returnable
Samples 3 stamps. W. C. Kansom, Great Barton, near
Bury St. Edmunds. F 49

the feed-hole and wrapped round at the
junction with a roll of newspaper to keep
bottle upright and prevent bees from
reaching the food from outside. 2. A
swarm hived so late as August last will
have had a poor chance of filling the skep
with combs at all unless fed. 3. Bees, if
protected from wet and cold, will do better
outside than in an outhouse for winter.

Briggs, — Both pieces of comb are badly affected
with.foul brood. It is now too late in the
season to do more than remove from the
hives all combs containing dead brood and
burn them. Use naphthaline on floors of
all hives as a preventive, and medicate any
food required to be given.

J. Evans (Llanengan). — Honey Samples. —
1. Very good clover honey. 2. Also
good, but not equal to 1, and has honpy
in it from other flowers besides clover. .3.
A very nice sample, almost wholly from
heather. Saving for a lack of density, this
would be a very fine honey.

E. B. (Swansea). — Yours is a very good sample
of clover honey.

J. Shaw.— Comb is afiected with foul brood.
It is now too late in season to expect bees |
to build out sheets of foundation. If you
could give them a few healthy combs, and
bees are sufficiently numerous, they may
take down 121b. of warm syrup from a
rapid feeder, if given at once. This, with
the addition of a large cake of soft candy,
would carry them over winter. But if the
bees are not fairly strong in numbers, it is
very uncertain whether they are worth the
attempt to preserve them.

D. Egberts (Tremadoc). — Brood in comb is
"chilled," not foul.

H. Dudley Arnott (Great Yarmouth). —
Candy Calces. — The candy mu&t be made
according to some good recipe, or it will not
be right for bee-food. As to thickness and
size of cake, it is just a matter of conve-
nience ; moulded in an ordinary saucer it
makes a good size. Instructions for using
N. Beta in candy accompany each packet. °

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, &c.—TTp to
Twelve words. Sixpence; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

SECTIONS WANTED. Good quality. State price
Smith, 118, Villa-street, Lozells, Birmingham.

r41

Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)

BEE TENT on HIRE. For terms, apply to G. Gttnston,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

THE SIXTH YEAR. — Healthy Driven BEES, with
Queen, Is. 6d. per lb. Package free. Young
Queens, 2s. each. Holder, Wimborne, Dorset, p 32

WANTED, SECTIONS of HONEYCOMB (first quality).
Prompt casli ; packages sent. Any quantity. E.
Htjrst, Bexhill, Sussex. 235

SECTIONS. — WANTED to PURCHASE for cash,
Season 1894, best quality. T. Smith & Co., 17,
Cambridge-street, Hyde Park. r 35

LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, Sd., post free.
500, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.

FERTILE QUEENS, bred by selection, 5s. Very
prolific. Ordinary Fertile Queens, 3s. 6d. Post
free. Safe arrival guaranteed. Rev. C. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex.

TNDISPENSABLE to HONEY DEALERS. — HAR-
i GRAVE'S Folding Cardboard BOXES for 1-lb.
Sections. Sample 3d. post free. Hargrave, Harro-
gate-road, Ripon.

MARKET for SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY
and WAX. State price and quantity. Prompt
cash. Packages sent. Address, H., Bee Journal Ofllce,
17, King William-street, Strand, London.

AYRSHIRE AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION'S

GREAT Ai^NUAL SHOW

At KILMARNOCK,

Friday, 26th October, 7894.
LARGEST IN THE KINGDOM. Premiums £483.

DAIRY & FARM PRODUCE, &c.

GREAT HONEY COMPETITION,

Emliracing nmuerous Classes, with Liberal
PREMIU3IS.

ENTRIES CLOSE FRIDAY, 12tli OCTOBER.

Premium Lists on application.

JAMES M'MURTRIE, Sec.
Ayr, 27th September, 1894.

TO HIVE MAKERS.

GOOD PINE PLANKS.

Largest Stock in London.

VERY DRY, SOUND, CHEAP.

For price lists, apply, COBBETT CO., Virginia-road,
Bethnal Green, London, E.

MY LATEST PRODUCTION.— The "TILLEY"
HIVE, made entirely on the principles laid down
by Professor Tilley, and used in his extensive apiaries at
Dorchester. The Tilley hive is no catch-penny article
that the wind and rain will blow through, but is the
cheapest, most substantial, and sensible hive now on the
market, and when generally known is bound to be
universally adopted. Note the price, 12s. 6d. complete.
Painted three coats of best oil paint, and with zinc-
covered roof. Every bee-keeper should send for my list.
Randolph Meech,

Broadwindsor, Dorset.

Oct. 11, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

401

USEEUL HINTS.

Weather. — The advent of October
may be said to close the busy portion of
the bee-keepers' year, because, no matter
how fine the weather may be later, honey
income is practically ended for the
season, and there ought to be nothing to
delay the final closing down of hives and
bees for the latter's long winter rest. In
this way, and viewing the effect of the
weather generally so far as its influence
on the amount of honey gathered in '94,
we need not extend our observations
beyond the six months between April
and September, both inclusive, this period
covering the Avhole time during which
nectar is gathered by bees in any appreci-
able quantity.

There is no denying the fact that the
past season has been, on the whole, rather
unfavourable for bee-keeping than other-
wise. A splendid start was made, April
being an unusually fine month, but after-
wards the weather became generally
unsettled and characterised chiefly by
lack of sunshine and frequent rainy
periods. Consequently much disappoint-
ment was felt, especially because of the
capital condition to which bees had been
carefully and laboriously brought by their
owners, only to wake upon a succession
of dull, sunless days Avhich yielded no
honey.

An interesting article in the Standard
summarises the main features of the
weather during the six months referred
to above, Avhich, somewhat condensed,
reads as follows : —

The mean temperature at Greenwich for the
whole period of six months was 57"3 dee;.,
■which is 0'6 deg. below the average of 50
years (1841 to 1890), the deficiency occurring
solely during the day hours. The greatest
frequency of rain at Greenwich during the
past summer was in July, when rain fell on
19 days, and in August it fell on 16 days.
During the whole summer rain was expe-
rienced on 88 days, which is, roughly, one day
out of every two. The greatest frequency of
rain was 110 days, out of a possible 183, in the
North of Ireland, and the next in order was
107 days in the Channel Islands, which was
closely followed by 103 days in the south-west
of England ; the least number of rainy days
wa.s 87 in the Midland Counties.

The conditions which occasioned such
frequent falls of rain necessarily obscured the

sun, and the records of bright sunshine show
a very great deficiency. In Westminster the
sun was shining for 803 hours, which is 130
hours less than the average during summer for
the ten years 1881 to 1890. The greatest
deficiency was 39 hours in August, and in May
there were 32 hours less than usual, while
September was 29 hours below the average.
The largest amount of sunshine in the British
Islands occurred in the Channel Islands, where
the sun was shining for more than 1,100 hour?,
and in the south-west of England it was
shining for upwards of 1,000 hours. The least
sunshine was in Scotland, Ireland, the North of
England, and in the Midland Counties, where
the amount was only slightly in excess of 800
hours, or approximately in fair agreement with
the record for London.

In the face of o'-ir exceptionally adverse
experiences in the south it has been quite
a pleasure to find that so many readers
have had a considerable amount of success
in honey-gathering this year, bad weather
notwithstanding, and it testifies to the
condition of readiness for work to which
the bees had been brought when we read
of the large quantity of honey stored in
the very few days during which the in-
gathering lasted. On the other hand, it
is a suggestive commentary on the past
season to find in our last week's issue no
less than seven advertisements for honey
against one ofi"er of honey for sale.

Packing Bees for AVinter. — It may
seem rather late in the day to refer to
the various methods of preparing bees
for wintering, seeing that most hives are
— or ought to be — already in winter
trim. The subject is, however, of suffi-
cient importance to Avarrant reference to
it here, as being one on which divergent
opinions will, no doubt, always be held ;
nor is there any reason why bee-keepers
should not agree to difi"er so long as the
object sought for is attained. The main
points of difference are confined almost
entirely to the question of ventilation
and warmth while bees are in a more or
less quiescent condition. Ventilation
comes first, and usually resolves itself
into discussing whether porous or non-
porous materials are best for covering
hives in winter. Some (the writer in-
cluded) like non-porous quilts above
frames, carefully covering down with
American cloth — glazed side down —
before adding the material for warmth
over all. Others — quite as experienced
— clear away everything which obstructs
ventilation through the quilts. Others

402

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Oct. 11, 1894.

again go so far in this direction as
to use no covering at all close on
to the frames, but allow ^ in.
free air-space between top-bars and
covers all the winter. A fourth plan is
to leave on for the winter an empty-
section rack, or a shallow surplus-cham-
ber above the queen-excluder, the latter
being used to keep the queen below. It
is no use declaring that each or any of
these several plans will end in failure,
because there is indisputable evidence to
the contrary, and, in the hands of their
respective advocates they are known to
succeed.

The explanation is simple, consisting
chiefly in the exercise of ordinary intelli-
gence, coupled with common sense, and
some knowledge of the principles in-
volved. If coverings are non-porous,
ventilation must be secured from below ;
if porous, only a passage-way for the bees
has to be considered, so far as the hive
entrance goes. In other words, a certain
amount of vitiated air, generated by
insects as by humans, has to be got rid
of, and replaced by a purer atmosphere
from the outside during the time the
bees are in a half-dormant condition.
This condition is realised in winter,
when no mechanical movement of the
air within the hive is possible, as when
bees themselves do the " fanning " in
summertime, Avhich so constantly purifies
their dwelling. At such times,' there-
fore, some other means must be adopted
to secure the end in view. And so a
space— temporarily provided for the pur-
pose— below frames, and a free entry for
fresh air by the doorway is all that is
needed to make non-porous coverings
answer, while, for such coverings as
allow of upward or through ventilation,
the admission of too much cold air in
winter is prevented by a narrow en-
trance. In the same way, if ventilation
is given by allowing free air space above
the frames, care is taken to protect the
bees from the effects of excessive cold
and damp in frosty weather.

Correspondents frequently inquire
" what covering do you recommend,
porous or non-porous 1 " The reply is not
so easy as it would seem ; so many lateral
considerations are there to take into-
account of Avhich we know nothing, yet
having so much to do with the nature of
the reply that our querists should do a.

little of the thinking themselves to make
our help of real use. To know the reason
why a thing should be done in a certain
way is a long step towards making the
doing of it easy, but framing a reply to
some questions which will suit all persons
and all sorts of — to us — unknown con-
ditions, is unfortunately beyond our
powers. Whereas if our correspondents
would make themselves acquainted with
the principles underlying the various
operations on which advice is sought,
matters would be much simplified for
them and for us.

Packing Down for Winter. — In
attending to this, the final item of out-
door work for the year necessitating the
opening of hives, we trust that no reader
will fail to remove every comb found to
contain dead sealed brood. Whether
" chilled " only or " foul," none should be
left in the hives, but taken away and
burnt. This done, frame-tops must be
scraped quite free from propolis, floor-
boards have all debris removed from
them prior to placing thereon a fresh
supply of naphthaline, after which —
and supposing a full supply of winter
stores to be already on hand — the con-
dition of every stock should be noted for
future reference. Any scarcity can be
remedied by the usual cake of soft
candy, and a final fixing-up of coverings
according to each one's notion of what
is best, will bring us within measurable
distance of the rest-and-be-thankful
period.

THE LATE MR. P. R. CHESHIRE.
Mr. Cheshire, who has taken a more or less
prominent part in the bee-keeping movement
of the last twenty years, and whose death was
announced in our issue of September 27 last,
commenced his bee-keeping career in the
autumn of 1871. He was a schoolmaster by
profession, and being engaged to give a lecture
on bees at a chapel in Hanwell, Mr. C. N.
Abbott, who was the recognised bee-master
at that time, and was living in Hanwell, was
induced by the organisers to exhibit some
specimens of the bees' work. Mr. Abbott
took into the room a glass Woodbury hive
with glass Woodbury super, full of bees and
honey, all sealed, and in splendid condition.
Mr. Cheshire apologised to the audience that
he was not able to go into the question of bee-
keeping, his lecture being on the bee as an
insect, but he had no doubt that in what he
had to say in regard to its power of j)roducing
honey he would be borne out by the great bee-
master who had astonished him and delighted

Oct. 11, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

403

the audience with so splendid a specimen of
their work. Mr. Cheshire frequently quoted
from Langstroth, from which his statements
were taken, and stated openly that until he
had seen Mr. Abbott's super that evening, he
had never seen a super holding more than 6 lb.,
and did not think bees capable of producing ,
any more, and he had never seen a queen until
that evening. Mr. Cheshire was so struck
with what he had seen, that he wished Mr.
Abbott to set him up in bee-keeping the
following spring, and arranged to have his first
swarm of Italians, which was delivered to him
on April 28, and from which he got, under Mr.
Abbott's guidance, 54 lb. of super honey, and
the next year they multiplied into six (British
Bee Journal, 1874, p. 27). Until 1874
he was a constant visitor at Mr. Abbott's
house, and obtained all the information he
could on the subject.

Mr. Cheshire was present at the first meet-
ing of subscribers to the prize fund of the first
bee and honey show held at the Crystal
Palace in 1874, when it was decided to found
the British Bee-keepers' Association. At the
bee and honey show he exhibited several im-
provements in appliances, mechanically in-
genious and, at that time useful, but which
have since been much simplified. He also
embodied several improvements in a hive
which bore his name.

In 1879 Mr. Cheshire exhibited hand-
coloured diagrams, enlarged by him from
Girdwoyne's diagrams, published in French,
and these the British Bee-keepers' Association
purchased for the purpose of issuing in a
cheap form.

In 1880 Mr. Cheshire and Mr. Hunter were
requested by the committee of the B.B.K.A.
to prepare the draft of a handbook for
cottagers, which was revised by the com-
mittee, and issued as " Modern Bee-keeping."

Mr. Cheshire was a contributor to the pages
of the British Bee Journal, and was for
some time, under Mr. Peel's editorship, on
the staff, and answered queries relating to the
scientific part of bee-keeping.

On the resignation of Mr. Symington as
editor of the bee department of the Country
newspaper in 1875, Mr. Cheshire took his
position, and contributed a series of articles on
bee-keeping, which were afterwards collected
and published in book form as " Practical
Bee-keeping," in 187(3.

He was a member of the committee of the
B.B.K.A. till 1881, and contributed the fol-
lowing papers read at the quarterly meetings
of the association : — " Abdominal Distension
in Bees during Winter " and '' Honey as
Food," both of which were issued as
pamphlets.

In 1884, Mr. Cheshire, in conjunction with
Mr. Watson Cheyne, investigated the origin
and nature of foul brood, Mr. Cheshire doing
the experimental part with the bees, while Mr.
Watson Cheyue made the cultivations of the
bacteria. Mr. Cheshire wa;s engaged to com-

municate the results to the bee-keeping world
through the British Bee-keepers' Association,
which he did in a paper read before the mem-
bers on July 25, 1884. In order to enable
Mr. Cheshire to still further carry on his in-
vestigations, he was presented with an objec-
tive and condenser, for which =£32 was
subscribed by some friends.

In 1885 Mr. Cheshire commenced the com-
pilation of " Bees and Bee-keeping," which
was issued in monthly parts, and was subse-
quently published in two volumes, the first
being devoted to the scientific part, and the
second, published in 1888, to the practical part
of the subject.

Mr. Cheshire was a fluent and prolix writer,
but it was more especially as a lecturer that ho
was most in his element. He had a pleasint
voice, a flaency of speech, an aptness for
illustration, an elegance of diction, and such a
mastery of the English language that he was
never at a loss in holding the attention of his
audience. It was because of his capacity for
lecturing that he was appointed, on the recom-
mendation of the chairman of the B.B.K.A.
in 1880, to lecture on bee-keeping to the agri-
cultural students at South Kensington. He
was also frequently engaged by the B.B.K.A.
to lecture for them, more especially on the
relation of bees to flowers.

Since the publication of '• Bees and Bee-
keeping " Mr. Cheshire for a few months took
charge of the Swanley Horticultural College,
retired from the bee-keeping world, and
devoted his lecturing powers to horticulture.

In 1880 he was engaged as lecturer of the
National Temperance League, and up to the
time of his death delivered 2,100 lectures in
metrojiolitan schools, which were valued by
the young people to whom they were addressed.

In 189.3 Mr. Cheshire was elected an
honorary member of the B.B.K.A. at their
annual meeting, in recognition of his services
to bee-keeping.

He was also a Fellow of the Linna3aa
and Royal Microscopical Societies.

SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The autumn exhibition of this association
was held in connection with that of the Royal
Caledonian florticultural Society, in the
Waverley Market, Edinburgh, on the 12th
and 13th ult. The show was the largest yet
held by the Scottish Bee-keepers' Association,
The entries numbered 20.3, and, with a few
exceptions, all were staged. The quality of
the exhibits was, as a whole, very high.

The judges were Messrs. C. Carnegie, Mary-
kirk, Montrose ; R. Greig, Auchencrow,
Reston ; W. Wilson, Acrehead House, Dum-
fries ; 0. G. Meldrum, Manse of Logierait,
Ballinluig; and T. Clark, Pleasants, Jed-
burgh, and their awards were as follows : —

Display of Comb and Extracted lionet/. —
1st, T. Kennedy-Newbigging, Stewart Hall,

404

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Oct. 11, 1894.

Damfries ; 2nd, John McCreath, Dumfries ;
3rd, J. & T. Henderson, Kilmalcolm.

Display of Honey, not to exceed 100 lb. —
1st, William Hogg, Castle Douglas ; 2nd,
Sidney Eoebuck, Dumfries ; 3rd, John
McCreath ; h. c, Eoss & Kerr, Dumfries.

Design in Honeycomb. — 1st, Sidney Eoe-
buck ; 2nd, T. Kennedy-Newbigging.

Non- sectional Super, not exceeding 20 Ih. —
1st and 2nd, William Hogg ; 3rd, David
Cassels, Auchencrow, Eeston ; v.h.c., John
Scott, jun., Langholm.

Non-sectional Super of Heather Honey,
not exceeding 20 lb. — 1st, Andrew Jamieson,
Hopetoun, Bearsden, Glasgow ; 2nd and 3rd,
Thomas Turnbull, Bowhill, Selkirk.

Super not exceeding 10 lb. — 1st and 2Qd,
William Hogg ; 3rd, Wm. Scott, Burnmill,
Lauder ; h.c, Andrew Jamieson.
■ Super of Heather Honey, not exceeding 20 -lb.
— 1st and 2nd, Thomas Turnbull ; 3rd,
Thomas Mitchell, Ettrick Bridge, Selkirk.

Twelve 1-lb. Sections. — 1st, William Hogg ;
2nd, Learmont & Gilchrist, Castle Douglas ;
3rd, James Tindal, Fordoun.

Tivelve 1-lb. Sections Heather Honey. — 1st
and 2nd, Thomas Mitchell; 3rd, 'C. N.
Craik, Dalkeith.

Six l-lb. Sections. — 1st, Learmont & Gil-
christ; 2nd, Andrew Stoddart, Carnwarth;
3rd, James Hogg, Penicuik ; v.h.c, James
Boyes, Auldgirth.

Six lib. Sections Heather Honey. — 1st,
Andrew Boa, Biggar ; 2nd, James Scott, jun. ;
3rd, Nichol Dodds, Melrose.

Six 2-lb. Sections. — 1st, William Hogg ; 2nd,
E. McNaught, Auldgirth.

Three 2-lb. Sections. — Ist, 'William Hogg ;
2nd, James Boyes ; 3rd, E. McNaught.

Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st,
William Hogg ; 2nd, Eoss & Kerr ; 3rd, J.
Aitken, Back Lebanon, Cupar.

Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Heather Honey.
— 1st, J. & T. Henderson.

Tivelve 2-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st,
William Hogg ; 2ncl, Eoss & Kerr ; 3rd,
Sidney Eoebuck.

Tivelve 2-lb. Jars Extracted Heather Honey.
— 1st, Eoss & Kerr.

Three l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st,
Eobert B. Sloan, Auldgirth ; 2nd, J. Aitken ;
3rd, William Hogg ; v.h.c, Eoss & Kerr ;
v.h.c, George Eobson, Lauder.

Three l-lb. Jars Extracted Heather Honey.
— 1st, John Turnbull, Lauder ; 2nd, Nichol
Dodds ; 3rd, John Scott, jun.

SPECIAL CLASSES.

Three l-l'-. Sections. — 1st, William Hogg ;
2nd, Andrew Stoddart ; 3rd, Eoss & Kerr ;
v.h.c, John White, Toddington, Wincbcombe.

Three l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st,
Owen Eoberts, The Lodge, Eowton Grange,
Chester ; 2nd, W. E. Nutley, Dalton, Thirsk ;
3rd, Eev. E. Charley, Chester ; v.h.c, Joseph
F. Williamson, Fleetwood, Lanes ; v.h.c, Eoss

& Kerr ; h.c, Eichard Dodd, Tarporley,
Cheshire.

Beeswax. — 1st, William Hogg ; 2nd, Mr.s.
Anderson, Banff ; 3rd, John Scott, jun.

Honey Cake. — 1st, Mrs. Colthart, Arbory
Villa, Abington ; 2Dd, Miss Jenny Aimers,
Viewfield, Melrose ; 3rd, Miss Eankin, Cross-
land-crescent, Peebles.

Certificates of Merit (2) for Confections con-
taining Honey. — Miss K. Chouler, Dalkeith
Park, Dalkeith.

^atmpn&mt

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will he
taken of anonymous com^munications, and corresponde?its
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Revieiv, <i:c.,must be addressed owZy to " The
EDrrORS of the 'BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <i:c., must be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see l$t
page of advertisements).

*,* In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[2082.] Dull unsettled weather is the chief
characteristic in this district, farmers have
nearly gathered in their crop of corn, the
fields are bare once more of the produce of the
current year, and now our hopes and endea-
vours must be " vorwarts." Last autumn we
began to fear our crop of honey in 1894 must
be of small proportions on account of so much
of the spring-sown grasses failing to germinate
owing to the long drought, or, having ger-
minated, dying from want of moisture. This
autumn our hopes mount high when we walk
through the fields and see the splendid plant
of the grass crops, promising, if all is well,
abundant forage for our busy labourers in the
spring and summer of 1.895.

This past season we had very little white
clover ; in fact, for two or three years our crop
of white clover has been light, so discouraging
to the farmers hereabouts that on one or two
large farms they have planted alsike clover this
year instead of the old familiar white clover.
1 hope the change will improve our chances in
general, and my own in particular, as I am
situated in the centre of the new (to us) honey
plant, and according to replies in Am. Bee
Journal as to the best honey plant, two-thirds
of the prominent bee-keepers placed alsike
clover in either the first or second place. This
raises our hopes, and to get them realised we,
too, must bend our endeavours to attain the

Oct. 11, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

405

object we have in view. Now is the seed-
time for next year's wheat harvest, and now is
the time to lay the foundation of our success
another year in things apiarian, therefore I
would say don't neglect any of the necessary
work in the ajjiary now. Have your stocks
well fed and well housed ; have the food
placed near the clustering bees, or make pro-
vision for the bees to reach it, " Hill's
device '' is a very good one to place on top of
fram'es of brood, then the quilt over it, and
your chaff cushioDS on top, and if you have
any anxiety as to the stores lasting-out a large
cake of candy should be placed over the feed-
hole of quilt before the final packing for
winter.

I have heard of a few cases of robbing this
season, but generally speaking the fault lies
with the bee-keeper himself. I was at a bee-
keeper's driving some bees for him in August ;
the morning was dull, bees quiet, and driving
proceeding very well, when all at once there
was a general uproar at the stock hives, and
bees were coming and going in all directions,
the neighbours' bees joining in the fray. I
closed down my hives, tied a cloth around the
junction of the inverted hive and that lo
receive the bees, and went to investigate the
cause of the commotion, and found that the
bee-keeper had placed the two hives I had
already driven, and from which the honey had
been removed, out for the bees to " lick out,"
as he termed it. It was only the work of a
moment to carry the two hives alive with bees
into the wood-house, close the door, leaving
the bees to get out of any crevice they could
find, and place two quite empty hives in their
place in the garden ; then, with a sprinkling
of the entrances, the hurly-burly was nipped
in the bud, but not before the neighbours were
driven indoors by the excited bees, though I
was thankful no one actually got stung. One
of the weaker stocks had a persistent attack
from the robbers, but I stopped this by a
handful of long, dry grass lightly shaken on
the alighting-board, and sprinkled with
carbolised water. This last dodge I have
proved a certain damper to the most
impetuous att-^ck of robbers; but after
the bees are quiet for the day I always
ascertain if the stock is weak or queenless, and
act accordingly to prevent a recurrence of the
robbing afterwards, when possibly I may be
absent.

By the time this appears in print the Dairy
Show, as far as the judging is concerned, will
be over, though the show will still be on view
at the Agricultural Hall. I trust to find a
good number of exhibits in the honey depart-
ment. There are classes for honey put up in
a different form of package this year ; some-
thing I hope which will develop the demand
for extracted honey. As I am exhibiting in
in both the new classes, I feel inquisitive to
know what our bee-men and honey-producers
consider "commercial packages." My own idea,
so far, are the tins of the Self-Opening Tin

Box Company, of King's Cross, London (who
used to advertise in our columns some years
back), their large tins have covers that are
nearly the size of the end of the tin, therefore
give better access to the contents be it liquid
or solid. Last year I sent to Mr. Meadows,
of Syston, for some 28-lb. honey tins. These
have self-opening lids, but only a 4 in. opening
in a 9 in. (diameter) end. This tin does very
well while the honey remains liquid, but when
the contents are solid with crystalised honey
the larger opening of the S.O.T.B. Company's
tins enables the contents to be cut out if
required. Another point in the large opening
is the ease with which they may be cleaned
before refilling. The old-fashioned pots of
our forefathers were useful, clean, and acces-
sible, but fragile and breakable ; tin in my
estimation is preferable in every way to the
old - fashioned red-ware pot. For small
packages nothing is better than glass, but for
quantities of honey over 3 lb. glass is not the
best article, though its cleanliness and visual
access of contents are beyond question. There-
fore, in my humble opinion, we must depend
on tin vessels for our commercial packages.
There are many advantages : — 1. The tins are
cheap. 2. The railway rates are lower for
honey in tins than in any other receptacle. 3.
The self-opening tins give easy access to
contents, so that the seller may prise up the
cover and allow the purchaser to taste his
wares before closing the bargain. 4. The tin
covers, when forced down, exclude all air from
the honey, thus protecting it from rancidity
or fermentation, if it is in good condition when
put in the tins.

But more anon after the show is over, hoping
to meet many old friends thereat, renewing
and re-opening friendships. — W. Woodley,
Beeclon, Neivhtiry.

QUEEN-KEARING.

THE RESULT OF THREE YEARS' EXPERIMENTAL
WORK.

\_Gontlnued from page 395.]

Another, and perhaps the simplest, method
for the unskilled hand which has occurred to
me is what I call my plan of substitution. I
start a queenless stock raising queen-cells on
worker larvfe, and so soon as royal jelly is
being supplied to the embryo queens I take
the combs containing them to my work-room,
get a frame of young Jarvse from one of my
best breeders, remove the common, or worker,
larvas, and substitute the larvaj from the
selected stock, choosing, of course, larvae of
the right age to produce the best queens.
The cells are then returned to the stock from
which the comb was taken. Sometimes, if
the season is right, I give the cells to a
queened stock as before mentioned, and have
had far finer queens than by any ordinary
method. No hot iron or flame must touch the
cells containing the young larvae, or the con-

406

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Oct. 11, 1894.

sequence would either be fatal or would pro-
bably so injure the inmate that the resultant
queens would be imperfect and, in my opinion,
worthless.

All tools, frames, cups, and other imple-
ments used should be kept in a temperature of
90 deg. for an hour or two before commencing
to work ; the wax is then soft enough to ad-
here firmly, by pressing any two parts
together, without the application of any extra
heat.

In preparing supers to receive the cells,
it is necessary to place a frame or two of brood
in the larval stage, sealed and unsealed, and
some just hatching, if possible. My practice is
to place one frame containing sealed and un-
sealed brood, and one of bees just hatching in
the centre of the super ; twenty-four hours
afterwards the frame of cells is inserted so
that when accepted we ensure a good supply
of nurses in the upper chamber, and the
nurse bees below soon discover what is
going on, and come up too. Nurses, in my
experience, generally know where they are
wanted.

One or two incidents which should be here
recorded, first, as showing the willingness of
queened stocks of bees to raise new queens if
only the proper conditions are brought about ;
and, second, the extent to which' the above
methods may be adapted to a variety of dis-
similar circumstances, all tending to the end
in view. When describing my earlier experi-
ments, I always used the surplus chamber
above a queened stock for raising queens, but
as the work advanced, I had to press all the
stocks in my possession, found to be in good
condition, into service, amongst them a
"Wells'' hive containing two queens of my
own raising in 1893. This hive has already
been mentioned in a previous letter as having
stored 40 lb. of honey at a time when some o1'
my singled-queened stocks had to be fed.
Well, in the shallow-frame super of this
hive — over two queens in their prime —
some of my best cells were raised — in fact,
the very cells that secured me the
medal at the Eoyal Show this year for my
queen-raising exhibit.

Having been so successful in getting queens
reared in surplus chambers, and bearing in
mind some experiments I had carried out with
good results in 1893, it occurred to me to try
what could be done ^mder a stock having a
laying queen above. I therefore prepared a
hive in which was placed two Standard frames
of brood, with adhering bees from a strong
stock, and at the same time I placed a frame
of cells for acceptance, put on the excluder
zinc, and over this set the hive — with its queen
— from which I had taken the brood and bees,
filling the vacancies with frames of foundation.
On examination a few days afterwards, I found
the cells accepted. I then transferred food
and larva; to the same, and had three parts of
them converted into excellent queen-cells.
This method entails a lot of heavy work and

extra trouble, but very good and steady results
can be obtained thereby.

Another method of raising queens in queened
stocks came under my notice by accident or an
oversight, but which I consider, when the
raison cVdre is fully understood, will give
excellent results. Perhaps I had better relate
what actually happened, even at the risk of
being considered long-winded. I had a stock
which it was desirable to re-queen ; the old
queen was, therefore, destroyed, and one of my
special cells given, which latter hatched out in
due course a very nice queen, so peculiarly
marked that I could easily recognise her.
Then the weather went wrong, in fact, was
very adverse, and I got anxious about fertili-
sation ; so on June 13 1 examined the hive, and
behold my beautiful queen was nowhere to be
seen. She was thoroughly searched for inside
and outside of the hive, and I reluctantly con-
cluded that she had ventured out and was lost.

The stock was full of young bees and strong,
so I determined to see what sort of queens
they would raise, in order to compare them
externally and internally with those being
raised contemporaneously in queened stocks.
Accordingly I gave them a prepared frame of
nine cups. On examination after forty-eight
hours five cups were found on the road for
queens. It must be understood that this frame
of queen-cells was not in a super, but in the
middle of the brood nest in the body of the
hive. Three days before the cells were due to
hatch out two of the now sealed cells were
removed for use under the microscope, and on
examining the grubs I was rather taken aback
because of finding them in such excellent con-
dition, and felt sure they would have been
good queens. This being so, I determined to
let the others mature. And therefore on the
day prior to their being due the cells were
intended to be cut out to give them to nuclei,
but on removing the prepared frame I saw
that all three cells left had great holes eaten
in their sides and were empty !

The only way in which this could be ac-
counted for was the assumption that there
must be a queen somewhere here in the hive,
and sure enough on the very next frame was
my supposed lost queen, surrounded by as
fine a batch of brood as need be seen, some of
it capped over, too ! And so the least expected
had happened indeed. But, on consideration,
the explanation was easy enough, and has been
fully verified by me several times since. The
virgin queen, through adverse weather, had
been long in mating. Meanwhile, the bees in
the hive becoming anxious, had, by way of
precaution, started queen-cells (I have since
found they always do this when the same state
of things exists), and, on my giving them the
prepared frame, had at once set to work to
provide for the exigency of their young queen
being lost on her mating trip. Why the
cells were not ripped open before the last
day I am not prepared to say, seeing that the
queen must have commenced to lay about the

Oct. 11, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

407

same time that these cells were sealed. Per-
haps she was too busy over her own affairs to
trouble about her immature rivals until there
was a danger of their coming forth to assert
their authority. It would not do to run the
risk of raising all queens under these con-
ditions; but it is worth noting as a subject
for further experiment.

I have already raised the question whether
queens ever deposit eggs in embryo queen-
cells, and, if so, whether the bees would turn
them into queens. Now, in order to test the
latter part of this question, I several times
transferred eggs to these embryo cells, but
they were always removed. I went so far as to
place the eggs in the cells on the day on which
they were to hatch. I also added royal food,
but always with the same result. Moreover,
I have taken the young larva3 when only a
few hours old, and placed them in prepared
cups in royal food, with the curious result that
some were removed, food and all, but where
this was not so, I invariably had the food re-
moved and the young grub not fed again for
twenty -four hours, when royal food has been
given it and good queens reared. So that I
arrive at the conclusion that it is possible to
choose larvas which is too young. I also find
on one occasion where eight larvae just hatched
from the egg were transferred, three were re-
moved, and four ultimately re-fed, and after-
wards developed into good queens. This
leaves one unaccounted for, as to which my
notes are silent, and I cannot remember what
its ultimate destination was. I see my notes
state " as nearly as I can fix the time the larva?
must have been thirty to thirty-six hours old
before being re-fed.'' — Henry W. Brice,
Thornton Heath, Surrey.

Erratum., — First two lines on page 395
should read : "surplus wax of adjoining cells
from the sides of the chosen ones. Now place
carefully," &c.

{To be continued.

THE "GARSTANG" HONEY PRESS.

[2083.] In reference to " H. C.'s" query
(p. 399), I have one of these presses, but think
it hardly fair to the maker to publish abroad
measurements of its parts which, no doubt,
have cost trouble and money in perfecting. I
recommend " H. C." to apply to Mr. R.
Barton, Garstang, the maker, for the plates
he requires, or better, for the machine com-
plete, the price of which I consider moderate,
and suggest that this will prove his cheapest
course in the end, both for the wood-plates,
wire sheets, and iron-work, which latter has
been improved and altered in strength under
the test of experience.

The wood-plates are simple enough ; the
grooves are formed in a cheap and effective
way, and spaced so that they allow thick
honey to How down them, and yet properly
bear the wire sheets, and the thickness and
quality of the wood should be such as prevents
warping. It ia a capital good press, and strong

enough for anything. In fact, with fair usage
and equal packing of combs, I think the iron-
work might be lightened with advantage. — ■
F. S., A Lancashire Novice.

DEATH OF THE HON. SEO. OF THE
HQNTS B.KA.

[2084.] It is with great regret that I record
the death of the Rev. 0. G. Hill, J.P., who for
six years has been lion. sec. of Hunts B.K.A

For some time Mr. Hill has been in indif-
ferent health, but he returned from Matlock
a few weeks ago in a hopeful spirit. A few
days afterwards he took a chill, from the
effects of which he never rallied.

It is indeed difficult to say in a few lines
all that crosses one's mind about those who are
suddenly taken from us, and it is particularly
the case with me now that I write about our
late friend. Mr. Hill, it may be said, was
never tired of doing good.

The presence of all classes, hailing from all
parts of the county — from the Earl of Sand-
wich to the poorest parishioner — at the funeral
ceremony was testimony, if such were re-
quired, that Mr. Hill's loss was universally
mourned.

As a bee-keeper he was known not only for
the successful management of his small apiary
of about a dozen hives, but for his advocacy
of bee-keeping, particularly among the labour-
ing classes ; while he was ever bringing before
those whom he met, ministerially or magis-
terially, the desirability of spreading a know-
ledge of such an interesting aud profitable
rural industry.

His latest effort in this direction was in
writing from Matlock to the local papers at
home, showing what was being done by, and
asking for funds to carry on the work of,
Hunts B.K.A.— C. N. White, Somersham,
October 6, 1894.

[1173.] Dealing with Driven Bees, — I last
week united three stocks which swarmed in
July, and failed to find queens in either lot.
I dare say in the driving and uniting, owing
to its being my first attempt, I overlooked
them. Will you kindly say (1) if there are
any indications by which I may know the
presence of a queen ? I put the bees on eight
frames, one with sealed honey, one empty, the
others full sheets of foundation. (2) Was that
right ? (3) Where should I have put the
frame of honey and frame of comb in the
hive 1 I found no brood whatever beyond a
few, very few, bees just leaving the cells. (4)
Should there not have been brood, or had the
queens ceased for this season ? (5) How are the
unsealed honey cells and the comb given to
the bees in the hive to clean up ? I am feed-
ing with syrup over the frames, and supplying
it warm as fast as it is carried down. (6) Is that
right 1 (7) When should I look for a queen ?

'408

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Oct. 11, 1894.

And if I i3nd none, when should I introduce
one, and how ? (8) Can you help me in pro-
curing a "94 fertile queen ? Many thanks for
former replies and in anticipation of your
reply to this through the Journal. — W. H. M.,
Olastonbury, September 26,

Eeply. — 1. Tf the bees seem contented and
quietly settled down you may fairly assume
that one of the queens still heads the united
stocks. 2. Partly so, but it would have
been far better to furnish the bees with built-
out combs. 3, In the centre. 4. Not neces-
sarily. The lack of income has, no doubt,
stopped breeding. 5. Pieces of comb con-
taining honey may be given in a box set on a
board above the frames, and giving the bees
access to them through a small hole in
centre of board. 6. Yes. 7. As soon as
convenient, using a cage as directed in "Guide
Book." 8 Consult our advertising columns.

[1174.] Clarifying Honey. — Can really
good honey, which is spoilt by being rather
dark in colour, be clarified without injuring
its taste ? —James L. Maxwell, Highbury
Park, September 26.

Reply. — We have proved by practical ex-
periment that dark honey can be made per-
fectly clear and bright, but the process is too
tedious and difficult to be of much commercial
use. The best way to deal with such honey
as is described by our correspondent is to
allow it to granulate and use it so.

[1175.] Bees Deserting Hive. — I had not
been near my hives for some days, but last
week went to look if there was any honey in
any of the supers, when I was surprised to find
that one of my best hives was entirely empty,
every bee having mysteriously disappeared I
They had never touched the super, and below
the frames were nearly quite empty of honey,
but not quite. The frames were black at the
bottom, but where the honey is left is quite
good colour. Can you tell me the reason of
the bees leaving ? Also if it is any use
keeping the frames, or should I just take the
honey that is left. The hive gave two good
swarms this season, the first swarm yielding
about 301b. of pure heather honey. — Gilby
Edward Sones, Fort WilUa^n, N.B., Octo-
ber 3.

Reply. — The most probable explanation is
that, after swarming twice, the stock became
queenless, and deserted the hive because of
their inability to raise a successor.

[1176.] Use of Phenol in Curing Foul
Brood. — Thanks for reply re foul brood. I
destroyed the combs but retained the bees,
and after four days on starters put them on
three fresh combs, but expect them to die out
unless strengthened by driven bees. On
September 21 I cleared up my other hive for
winter, but found it aff"ected although strong
in bees — perhaps from twenty to thirty cells

with brown coverings per comb. Weather on
27th too cold to open hives with the idea of
removing combs, as they require feeding up
and will take the syrup. I have got some
phenol from address given previous. The
question arises, is it now too late to use
phenol for curing foul brood, as given in
Cheshire's book, 1 oz. crystal to 40 lb. syrup ?
I have 4 oz. c. ; should this be dissolved in
1 oz. water, and then in what proportion of
syrup ? Kindly say in your next, and if there
is any chance of ousting the diseast by phenol
at this time of year, or what best to do ? —
W. G., Yorks, October 2.

Reply. — We have discontinued recommend-
ing jL>7ie??.o^ in bee food. Naphthol beta, besides
being more efi"ectual, is practically flavourless
and odourless, and consequently is preferable.
But it is now too late in the season to use
medicated food for curing foul brood. All
food given should be medicated as a preven-
tive, but combs with cells containing rotting
foul brood must be removed from the hive.
So long as they remain the chance of cure is
about hopeless. The instructions as to pro-
portion of pure phenol in syrup are so care-
fully laid down in the work referred to that
any one trying the method of cure there
advocated must be guided entirely by what is
stated by the author himself.

[1177.] Heather Honey Press. Success at
the Moors. — Would you kindly give me some
information through the medium of your
journal as to the following questions : — 1.
What is the best form of press for squeezing
honey taken from driven skeps and surplus
frames from frame hives ? I saw a cider-press
used last year, but I did not think it at all
satisfactory, as it left the honey rather cloudy.
2. Is it necessary to use a " honey-ripener ''
with treacle-valve for honey so obtained ?
This, I may explain, is a heather district, and
in the latter part of the season I find that my
bees fill up the brood-chamber almost entirely
solid with honey. I don't want the frames of
honey, but I am afraid that they are too well
provided. A bee-keeper in this neighbour-
hood experimented with a hive last autumn by
taking away all frames except two, and fed up
on frames with sheets of foundation. Before the
frost set in this hive was literally packed with
bees, and came out in spring twice as strong
as any hive in the neighbourhood. This year,
after the honey flow was supposed to have
ceased — that is, about a fortnight ago — he
cleared ofE his section crates and took away
several frames from each ,'hive, renewing with
frames fitted with whole sheets of foundation ;
what was his surprise on inspecting his hives
the other day, to find the new frames drawn
out, completed, and sealed, and he is now
thinking of abstracting more frames from
them — all this, mark, without any feeding
whatever. — Duncan McColl, Rosneath,
Dumbartonshire, N.B., October 2.

Oct. 11, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

409

Keply. — 1. The loest machine we know of
for removing; heather honey from combs is the
" Garstang " press. 2. No. Referring to
latter part of your note, we are very pleased
to print — for the benefit of bee-keepers within
reach of Scottish moors— the very favourable
account given of what has been done at the
heather in your district ; but we should not
feel very safe in recommending for general
adoption the plan of removing combs from
brood-nest in autumn and compelling the bees
to build out new combs on which to winter by
feeding. It could only succeed in exceptionally
favourable seasons, and might end disastrously.

[1178.] Be-stockmg a '' Wdls" Hive.— I
have lately had one of the two stocks in a
"Wells'' hive die off; the other stock is
strong and healthy. Ought I to move a stock
into the vacant half from another hive before
the winter, so as to give the stock in the other
half the warmth derived from an adjoining
cluster, or should I wait till I have a swarm
next year to put in, meanwhile filling the
vacant half with a dummy, and other things to
keep it warm ? — F. C. Hodgson, Tivickenha,m,
October 4.

Reply. — So far as keeping warm the stock
of bees now occupying the "Wells" hive,
there is no need to trouble on that score ; but,
on the other hand, if you desire to try the
" Wells " system for honey gathering next
season, the vacant compartment of the hive
should be occupied without delay.

[1179.] Feeding Driven Bees. — A friend
has given me two skeps of driven bees on
ten worked-out shallow frames (empty). 1.
If I give them 20 lb. of warm syrup, will they
seal it for winter food, or is it too late ? They
have taken down a quart each day for the last
three or four days. 2. Will it be best to give
them some candy cakes in preference to syrup,
seeing that it is so late ? — J. E. B., Berkhamp-
stead, October 6.

Reply. — 1. If the bee? take the food so
freely as stated, you had better continue feed-
ing till they have taken the desired quantity —
viz., 20 lb. If kept warm they will seal the
major portion of it no doubt. 2. Only give
candy if the bees stop taking the food before
they have enough to winter on.

[1180.] Re-qufening a Doubled Stock. —
From something I saw in your Bke Journal,
of September 27, I came to the conclusion
that one of my hives was queenless — the one
about which I asked yoa in Journal of
August 23 (No. 1135). It is a two-storied
hive ; that is to say, the old hive was put over
a new one of regulation size, because 1 wished
to transfer the bees from a box of obsolete
pattern to one of standard size during the
summer. I could not, however, find the queen
on the lower frames, and was, therefore,
unable to make the transfer. A large quantity
of bees were hatched out, and during the

season I got more honey from this hive than
from any of the others. I opened the hive
to-day, and on removing the upper box found
the lower frames had no honey, not many
bees, and most of the frames had a great
quantity of pollen in the cells. The upper
box was heavy, and appeared full of bees, and
also of honey, so that altogether I should sav
there were enough bees to cover six or eight
frames. I could see no queen, and the presence
of drones, as well as the empty appearance of
the lower frames makes me suppose the queen
has gone. I could not carry out the advice
you gave. The combs in the old hive are built
anyhow, and only by taking this box bodily
away could I hope to get rid of the bees.
Would you kindly give me advice. Shall I
leave the two hives as they are, introduce a
new queen between bars of the top one, and
trust to there being enough food for the
winter? If I could have got all the bees
down on the lower frames — I have some six
frames of comb I could have given them—
and with feeding they might have weathered
the winter ; but this transfer s no joke, for
the bees are not in the best of humour, and
resented my interference to-day. — W. Money
(Col.), St. Asaph, October 2.

Reply. — By all means leave both chambers
as they are for the winter. If it is certain
the stock is queenless— and the presence of
drones at this season warrants that conclusion
— no time should be lost in re-queening. Next
year the transfer of bees to the lower hive will
no doubt be safely effected, and the upper
story may be U'^ed as a surplus chamber, and
removed when ready.

[1181.] Queenless Stocks— Destroying Foul
Brood 8pores.—l. A stock of bees with abun-
dant stores appears to be queenless. Would
you advise requeening now ? 2. Supposing
bees suspected of foul brood to be fed with
honey instead of syrup, how many grains of
dissolved naphthol beta should be mixed with
one pint of syrup ? 3. At what temperature
does honey lose its peculiar flavour 1 4. At
what temperature would " foul brood " spores
be destroyed by heat, assuming tkem to exist
in honey 'I — Z., Ruabon, October 5.

Reply.— 1. If the bees have been long
queenless, or if they are not fairly numerous
(covering, say, four or five frames) they are nob
worth re-queening. In any case the best
course would be to add a driven lot of bees
with young queen to them. 2. Do not
attempt to feed suspected bees with honey.
Give sugar-syrup prepared as directed. 3.
Well ripened honey kept air-tight will retain
its flavour so long as it remains liquid. After
granulation the flavour changes somewhat,
though it does not lose its " peculiar flavour."
4. Scientists declare that the spores of bacilli
will stand boiling without destroying their
vitality. Bub whether this is so or not, we
should on no account use honey from foul-
broody hives ag food for bees.

410

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Oct. 11, 1894.

^thm pom tk giw^.

North Lancashire, October 7. — The heather
crop has not been good, and very little surplus
stored. A splendid bloom and little rain, but
the lateness of the heather season and the low
temperatures spoilt both nectar secretion and
bee work. One of my hives, on weighing
machine, gained no weight the first week,
ending August 22, and lost a little on the last
week, ending September 25, the records of
•weights showing clearly the influence of
warmer days and nights on increase. I got
291b. from my three hives, and full winter
stores, dispensing with any feeding. Oddly
enough, the weakest lot (though a fair one)
with oldest queen, stored most honey by far,
It came down home with brood on three
frames, instead of on six as the others. The
moral, perhaps, is that a prolific queen breed-
ing late is not always best for the heather. —
F. S. {A Lancashire Novice).

^q ^\\ow^ to alj}mf,

October 9 to 12. — Dairy Show at the Agri-
cultural Hall, London. Five classes for honey.
Liberal prizes. For particulars apply to Wm.
C. Young, Secretary, Dairy Farmers' Associa-
tion, 191, Fleet-st., London, E.G. Entries closed.

October 26. — Ayrshire Agricultural Asso-
ciation's annual show at Kilmarnock. Great
honey competition. Numerous classes, with
liberal premiums. For schedules, apply Jas.
McMurthrie, secretary, Ayr, N.B. Entries
close October 12.

Noticesto Correspondents and Inquirers

All queries forwarded iixill be attended to, and those
only of personal interest tvill be answered in this column.

A. Eayner (Great Hockesley). — Bee sent,
though not a pure Carniolan, is a well-
marked hybrid (first cross).

W. T. E. {Ea]mg).— Making Bee Candy.—
Neither sample of candy sent has been
properly made, and consequently is not
suitable for the purposes of bee-food. The
maker should carefully read a proper recipe
for making soft bee candy, and follow out
the directions given, taking particular care
not to over-boil it, and to keep it constantly
stirred while cooling until it becomes quite
stifi", : before pouring it from the pan. If
salicylic acid is used it must be stirred in
after the pan is removed from the fire, as the
acid acts upon the metal of which the pan is
made, producing an oxide which may be
injurious.

Wanderer (Norfolk). — Hereford has the
reputation of being an excellent county for
bees, and is fortunate in the posssssion of
an active Bee Association, of which Mr.
Alfred Watkins, Imperial Mills, Hereford,
is the hon. secretary. Thanks for cutting sent.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, <be. — Up to
Twelve words. Sixpence; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

TWO STOCKS of BEES with honey to SELL cheap.
S., 22, Shelgate-road, New Wandsworth. F 44

WANTED, six good STOCKS in Skeps. State
particulars, Thos. Sloane, Castlederg, Ireland.

F 45

WANTED to EXCHANGE, two strong STOCKS of
BEES in frame hives for Woodworking Bench,
Wm. Hall, Plamstead, Dunstable. f 46

FOR SALE, several cwt. Pure Extracted HONEY.
Good colour and quality. What offers? G. Ret-
NOLDS, Eaton Ford, St. Neots. F 48

WILL ' EXCHANGE two Belgian HARES (prize
strain) for two PULLETS (Minorca). Hy. Collins,
Berrywood, Northampton. f 47

BEAUTIFUL HEREFORDSHIRE HONEY, in screw-
capped bottles, and 4, 10, and 14 lb. tins. Sample
2d. THOS. Charles, Much Marcle, Glos. f 37

WANTED, SECTIONS of HONEYCOMB (first quality).
Prompt cash ; packages sent. Any quantity. E.
HuRST, Bexhill, Sussex. 235

SECTIONS. — WANTED to PURCHASE for cash,
Season 1894, best quality. T. Smith & Co., 17,
Cambridge-street, Hyde Park. F 35

LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, 8d., post free.
500, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodlet, Beedon, Newbury.

T NDISPENSABLE to HONEY DEALERS. — HAR-
i GRAVE'S Folding Cardboard BOXES for 1-lb.
Sections. Sample 3d. post free. Hargrave, Harro-
gate-road, Ripon.

BULBS.— ScIllaSiberica, 2s ;Grape Hyacinth, Is. 6d. ;
Snowdrops, 2s. ; Crocus, Is. ; Spanish Iris, Is. 6s. ;
Daffodils, 2s. 6d. ; Pheasanteye Narcissus, 2s. per 100 ;
and many others cheap. Send for list. H. .1. Sands,
Harborne, Birmingham. F 49

BEE-KEEPING, its Excellence and
Advantages. Price 3d. BritishBee Journal
and Record Office, 17, King William Street,
Strand, London, AV.C.

W. p. MEADOWS,

Syston, Leicester.
Unprecedented ^Ist Prize— Collection of Appliances,
Success I ^^^ ^ ^^^ Prize — Extractors.

' 1st Prize— Best Frame Hive.

E 0 Y A L J 1st „ Best Cottager's Hive,
SHOW, 1 1st „ Best Smoker.
1st „ Best Feeder.
Camhridge, ist „ Best Collection of Honey,
1894, ^B. B. K. A. Medal Super Clearer,

Send for Cat — a — Log with Leaflet.

MY LATEST PRODUCTION.— The " TILLEY
HIVE, made entirely on the principles laid down
by Professor "Tilley, and used in his extensive apiaries at
Dorchester. The Tilley hive is no catch-penny article
that the wind and rain will blow through, but is the
cheapest, most substantial, and sensible hive now on the
market, and when generally known is bound to be
universally adopted. Note the price, 12s. 6d. complete.
Painted three coats of best oil paint, and with zinc-
covered roof. Every bee-keeper should send for my list.
BANPOLPH Mbech,

Broadwindsor, Dorset.

Oct. 18, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

411

(Editorial, ^iitias, iXrr*

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

Meeting of the committee held at 105
Jermyn-street, on Wednesday, 11th inst.
Present : — T. W. Cowan (in the chair), Hon.
and Rev. H. Bhgh, W. Broughton Carr,
W. U. Harris, W. J. Sheppard, J. Garratt,
J.jf New ; the following ex officio members
■w?i-e also present, viz., Miss Eyton, Rev.
W. E. Burkitt, Rev. E. Davenport, J. M.
Hooker, P. Scattergood, and J. Huckle
(Secretary). Communications were received
from W, O'B. Glennie (Treasurer) and
H. Jonas (Vice-Chairman), regretting their
inability to be present. The minutes of the
last meeting were read and confirmed ; after
which the report of the Finance Committee for
the month ending September 30 was received
and adopted.

On the motion of Mr. Scattergood, seconded
by the Chairman, it was resolved : — " That
the committee have heard with great regret of
the death of Mr. F. R. Cheshire, and desire to
express their sympathy with Mrs. Cheshire in
her great bereavement."

A letter was read from Mr. Alfred VVatkins,
hon. sec. of the Hereford Association, accom-
panied with the gift of a set of lantern slides,
together with a printed lecture for the use of
lecturers on bees and bee-keeping. Resolved : —
" That the best thanks of the Association be
given to Mr. Watkins for his handsome and
useful gift."

The Educational Committee reported (1)
The arrangements made by them for the pre-
paration of the questions to be used by the
candidates competing for second class certifi-
cates on the 26th and 27th insts., and the
subsequent examination of the written papers.
(2) The rules and regulations to be observed
in regard to the granting of certificates for
lectureships in bee science. Resolved : —
" That the report of the Educational Com-
mittee be approved.'' It was further resolved
that a syllabus be prepared, suitable for such
examinations, and when completed to be com-
municated to the various agricultural and
technical colleges throughout the United
Kingdom.

Mr. Harris suggested that some steps should
be taken to secure, if possible, a joint deputa-
tion representing dairy-farming, poultry-keep-
ing, and bee-keeping being formed to wait on
the Minister of Agriculture, with the view of
obtaining Government support for these
industries. The secretary reported that he
attended the meeting of representatives of
affiliated pssociations held at Shrewsbury on
August 22, and that the following resolution
was passed unanimously at that meeting,
viz. : —

" That the British Bee-Keepers' Association
be recommended to make application to the

Several affiliated associations for recommenda-
tions as to the formation of centres for
examination of candidates for third-class
certificates." It vvas resolved that the several
recommendations made at the Shrewsbury
meeting be adopted, and that the secretary do
forthwith communicate with the affiliated
associations in accordance with the foregoing
resolution.

On the motion of Mr. Garratt, it was
resolved that steps be taken towards arranging
a meeting of representatives of the Southern,
Eastern, and Home Counties Associations ; it
was pointed out that whilst considerable
activity prevailed in the Northern and Mid-
land Counties many of the counties in the
east, west, and southern portions of the
United Kingdom were very deficient in regard
to an organisation for the promotion of bee
culture.

The secretary was requested to communi-
cate with the ''Royal Counties Agricultural
Society " with the view of classes being
arranged for hives, honey, &c., at their
annual exhibition to be held at Bournemouth
in June, 1895.

Other routme business was transacted, and
the committee adjourned to Thursday, Novem-
ber 8.

CONVERSAZIONE.

The autumn conversazione was held on
Thursday, the 11th inst., at 6 p.m., in the
Board-room of the R.S.P.C.A., 105, Jermyn-
street, when among the large audience of
ladies and gentlemen present were the Hon. and
Rev, Henry Bligh, Revs. W. E. Burkitt and E.
Davenport, Miss Eyton, Messrs. T. W. Cowan,
W. Broughton Carr, T. B. Blow, K. Brown, H.
W. Brice, D. H. Lurrant, J. Garratt, J. M.
Hooker, A. S. Horlick, John H. Howard,
W. P. Meadows, J. II. New, A. G. Pugh,
W. J. Sheppard, P. Scattergood, G. Wells,
W. H. Woods, C. Atkinson, and others.

Mr. Cowan (Chairman of Committee of the
B.BK.A.) presided, and briefiy opened the
proceedings by inviting any one present to
initiate a subject for discussion, or to show-
any specimen bee appliance which would be of
interest to the meeting.

Mr. Brown (Somersham) regretted that his
" equaliser " had unfortunately got broken in
coming up to town, as he intended to show it
at the meeting. It consisted of a small box,
the bottom being covered with queen-excluder
zinc, and glass at top. In use it is placed over
the two divisions of a double-queened stock,
so that when one colony was stronger than the
other— as in a " Wells " hive — and it was
desirable to equalise them, the bees could pass
over from one side to the other. He had
found it answer very well, and help to prevent
swarming. It also served as an indicator to
show when supers should be put on.

My. Garratt asked what prompted the bees
to pass over from the one stock to the other
just as required ? In reply to which it was

412

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [Oct. 18, 1894.

suggested that possibly the heat and crowding
of the thickly-populated side caused it.

Mr. Brice inquired whether the transference
of the liees was permanent or not.

Mr. Wells thought there was no doubt that
the major part of the bees who left one side
of the hive for the other returned to their old
quarters. He did not think there was any
rule as to which entrance they passed out at ;
probably as much one side as the other.

The chairman said that bees always went
back to their original entrance. He remem-
bered when using supers with separate
entrances to them, the bees, though passing out
that way, did not attempt to enter the supers
from the outside, but always went to their
original entrance.

Mr. Howard said immediately he saw Mr.
Brown's " equaliser " he noticed that it
would be valuable as an indicator for super-
ing. There was no doubt that the bees re-
turned to their original entrance wherever
they flew from. He thought that the
equaliser should be so placed as to allow of
one-third being over the weak side, and two-
thirds above the strong side of the hive, and
he certainly was of opinion that it was worth
an appliance manufacturer's while to take up
the invention and give it to the public.

Mr. Garratt wished to know with regard to
the " Wells '' dummy whether the ordinary
wooden perforation was the only practicable
one, or whether a sheet of finely perforated
zinc would meet the purpose. No doubt in
many cases the dummy became closed by
propolising.

Mr. Blow thought the fact of a dummy
being of metal was sufficient to condemn it, as
with them a cluster could not be obtained,
which was eminently desirable. A thin
wooden partition (a sixteenth thick) perforated
with holes just small enough to prevent a bee
passing through would not be propolised,
whereas if the holes were made very small
they were often quickly propolised. Another
cause of propolisation was giving the bees too
much room. If they were crowded as to the '
dummy, they did not attempt to propolise it.
The metal dummy would do very well perhaps
in the summer, but in the winter the bees
would try to get as far away from it as they
could.

Mr. Wells said a correspondent had written
him to say that he had taken over 200 lb.
of honey from a hive where a metal dummy
was used.

In reply to an interrogator, Mr. WoUs said
that he pierced the holes in his dummy with a
small bradawl, and then burnt them through
with a hot wire -J -in. in diameter. He had
had no trouble with propolisation, but in any
case the bees would not propolise the holes
for several days, and after a week it would not
much matter whether propolised or not, the
partition being just as well solid as per-
forated.

In reply to Mr. Meadows, who asked how

Mr. Wells found his bees cluster in the winter
with the dummy he used, Mr. Wells said he
simply put the dummy in and crowded the
bees so much that they were obliged to cluster
on it. When the cluster was once united he
never found them to separate.

Mr. Howard thought that propolisation
varied according to the district in which the
apiary was situate. He had tried holes of
many sizes, and came to the conclusion that
bees would close any sized hole if they found
no use for it. He had had this year expe-
rience of the bees propolising the whole of the
queen- excluder spaces. No doubt where pro-
polis abounded any sort of a dummy would be
closed up. He contended that a hole i in. in
diameter would not prevent a bee getting
through, and had proved it this year in send-
ing a swarm away by rail in which zinc with
that sized hole was used, and many of the bees
escaped while at the railway station.

A gentleman stated that he had drilled two
dummies with a twist drill, making the holes
i in. wide, and no bees had made their escape
therefrom.

Mr. Howard said that in the case he had
referred to, possibly the fact of the swarms
being in confinement their efforts to pass
through the [apertures would be more pro-
nounced than in a brood-nest.

Mr. Blow thought there jnust be some mis-
take about the exact size of the holes. He
had conclusively proved that a bee could not
get through a hole | in. in diameter. He did
not believe this depended on whether the bee
was fall of honey or not.

The Chairman said he had made many ex-
periments years ago for the purpose of testing
the proper size of the holes, and had used
several hundred queens in the process. He
was astonished to hear of Mr. Howard's
experience.

Mr. Carr^referring to the propolising of
the " Wells " dummy — thought it might be
taken for granted that the best means to pre-
vent propolisation in a perforated dummy was
to crowd the bees on to the dummy, as it was
a well-known fact that bees would stop up
any aperture that admitted air except the
entrance.

The Chairman considered the discussion a
very useful one, as it tended to confirm one of
the first principles of bee-keeping — namely,
that the bees must be kept crowded in the
hives. He agreed with Mr. Howard that pro-
polisation varied with districts. When he
had an apiary in Sussex the propolis there was
very plentiful, and in autumn he had to
remove all his quilts and substitute others,
while in Cornwall his hives were scarcely pro-
polised at all. This was because there was
little or no propolis to be had in the locality,
where very few pines existed.

Mr. Meadows exhibited his improved super-
clearer. He said that in going over his apiary
this season, and wishing to have cleaned up
some frames from which the honey had been

Oct. 18, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

413

extracted, he came to the conchision that
some improvement might be effected in the
appliances hitherto used. He found that if a
little piece of queen-excluder was placed over
a circular hole in the clearer, and a cover of
metal so made as to slip over this hole at will
from the side of the clearer, the bees might be
admitted to the latter from the brood-nest,
and, after being allowed time to clean up the
wet combs, be shut ofl' from below, and so
forced to return through the " escape." This
would enable the Hee-keeper to get a good
many boxes of combs cleaned up by one
stock, and that with almost no disturbance of
the bees at all, because when the super-clearer
was once put on it remained, and the bees
were allowed to pass up into the boxes of
combs as often as needed. The appliance re-
ferred to was then handed round for inspec-
tion.

{Remainder of report next week.)

HONEY AT THE DAIRY SHOW.

The nineteenth annual show of the British
Dairy Farmers' Association took place at the
Agricultural Hall, London, on the 9th inst.
and three following days. The entries in the
honey department showed an increase over
those of last year ; not a large one, it is true,
but in view of the varying character of the
past honey season, very satisfactory on the
whole. In the class for twelve 1-lb. jars of
extracted honey of 1894 thirty-six exhibitors
competed, and, as is usual at this show, an
exceptionally fine lot of samples was staged.
It has been very correctly observed that " a
commend at the Dairy Show is worth a prize
anywhere else," and that this was the
case at the show under notice, the large per-
centage of the total exhibits which received
notice at the hands of the judges fully proved,
no less than seventeen of the exhibits — all
worthy of prizes if there had been prizes to
give — in this class getting awards. It may
be imagined how much labour was bestowed
on a " sorting-out" of this kind.

The class for twelve 1-lb. sections, though
not so largely filled as the foregoing, was also
a good one, ten of the seventeen dozens shown
receiving awards. The granulated honey
class — also having seventeen entries — con-
tained a pretty even lot of samples, not of the
same high character as that for liquid honey,
but still so good as to warrant several awards
beyond the actual prizes for disposal.

The two remaining classes embraced an
entirely new departure from the ordinary prize
schedule, and were added with the view of
off'ering facilities for opening up a prospective
market, which it is hoped will be advantageous
to both buyers and sellers of honey. The
schedule reads thus : — Class 68. Extracted
Honey, not less than 1 cwt., in 7, 14, or 28 lb.
Commercial Packages, suitable for the whole-
sale trade." The importance of providing a
package suitable for the safe transit of its

contents by rail or otherwise, seemed to have
been fully appreciated by several of the ex-
hibitors in these classes, while others had
apparently considered that so long as the
honey was staged in a commercial package the
requirements of the schedule were fulfilled.
This was to be regretted, and we hope that
another year the schedule will be so worded
that no possible misunderstanding may arise ;
but the importance of the point was forcibly
illustrated in the case of one exhibit, half the
contents of one 2S-lb. tin having disappeared
on the journey to the show.

We do not know of any reason why an un-
necessarily well got-up or expensive package
or outer case for the usual strong honey-tin
need have preference in the awards, but what-
ever is used to protect the tin should be staged
in order to prove its effectiveness or otherwise.
The prize exhibits of Mr. Brown and Mr.
Howard were encased in strong wicker-work
and wood-cases respectively, Mr. Brown
having a padlock to each Isasket, and all
capable of keeping the contents secure.

The duties of judging devolved on Messrs,
W. Broughton Carr and J. M. Hooker, who
made the following awards : —

Twelve 1-lb. Jars of Uxtracted Honey. —
1st, Rev. T. J. Evans, Hargrave Vicarage,
Chester ; 2nd, F. Harper, Uttoxeter ; 3rd,
H. W. Seymour, Henley-on-Thames ; 4th,
Theodore Martin, Temple Cloud, Bristol;
v.h.c, B. G. Brocklehurst, Ludlow; Wm.
Woodley, Newbury, Berks ; Miss H. Laurence,
East Keswick, Leeds ; 0. Roberts, Rowton
Grange, Chester; S. Eaton, Audlem,
Cheshire ; and L. Inwood, Uffington ; h.c,
C. Atkinson, Tockwith, York ; W. Dixon,
Leeds ; G. Catley, Goxhill, Lines. ; and F.
Gravil, Cardiff ; c, H. Wood, Lichfield ;
F. H. Brenes, Brentwood; and W. Lee,
Southwell, Notts.

Ihvelve l-lb. Sections.— lat, Wra. Woodley ;
2nd, J. Sopp, Wallingford, Berks ; 3rd, L.
Inwood; 4th, J. Stone, Sudbury, Derby;
v.h.c, R. Brown, Somersham, Hunts ; h.c,
E. C. R. White, Salisbury ; W. H. Woods,
St. Ives, Hunts ; and A. Woodhead, Goole,
Yorks ; c, H. W. Seymour and E. J. Giddy,
Welton, Yorks.

Twelve l-lb. Jars Granulated Roney. — 1st,
J. Thomas, Hereford ; 2nd, E. C. R. White ;
3rd,F. Harper ; h.c,Miss E.Chester, Waltham,
and Theodore Martin ; c, 0. Roberts and
J. Sopp.

Extracted Honey, not less than 1 cwt. in
Coramercial Packages, suitable for Wholesale
Trade.— 1st, H. Blown; 2nd, J. H. Howard,
Holme, Peterborugh ; v.h.c, C. Atkinson :
h.c, Wm. Woodley.

Extracted Honey, not less than 28 lb. in
similar packages to above. — 1st, J. H. Howard;
2nd, H. W. Seymour ; h.c, C. Atkinson and
Lieut. H. C. Hawker, R.N., Longparish,
Hants.

We cannot close our remarks on the above
show without saying how much the thanks of

414

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Oct. 18, 1894.

the British Bee-keepers' Association are due
to -those bee-keepers — outside the ranks of the
members of the committee duly appointed to
act as stewards in charge of the special annexe
attached to the honey show proper — who so
kindly volunteered and gave their services, at
much personal inconvenience, to the interests
of the British B.K.A., and for the help of
bee-keepers who came for information to the
honey section of the Dairy Show. It would
surprise many to know how numerous were the
inquiries and requests, and how much would
have been wanting had the kindly and timely
assistance of those who thus helped at the
B.B.K.A. annexe been lacking. " We have
just started," or we are " intending to begin
bee-keeping," was uttered by so many of the
visitors at the annexe, that it afforded un-
doubted evidence of the increasing interest in
bee-keeping, and of the fruit that is being
borne as the result of the B.B.K.A.'s late
efforts to bring British honey into notice. It
only shows what may be done at these big
shows to help the honey industry and bee-
keepers where this cheerfally accorded co-
operation can be obtained. Most valuable
experience has undoubtedly been gained by
this new if expensive departure of the British
B.K.A. Their annexe with live bees in ob-
servatory-hive— the honey and honey-vinegar
and mead samples, as honey products,
pamphlets, &c. — stood in relation to the
honey industry in much the same relation as
the churning operations at the show bore to
the milk industry — the churning showed how
butter was made — and the B.B.K.A.'s annexe
showed visitors how " honey " was obtained by
exhibiting interesting objects connected with
the hive, not usually seen by the bulk of those
who come to the Dairy Show.

But chiefly thanks are due to those exhi-
bitors who, at considerable expense and
labour, sent exhibits which reflected admirably
the merits of British honey and British bee -
keeping.

Men who send exhibits to such a strong
competition possess a large measure of public
spirit greatly to be commended and encouraged.
Without such exhibitors how could the British
Bee-Keepers' Association have demonstrated
the importance of the native bee-keeping
industry 1 The British B.K.A. annexe would
have been meaningless, comparatively speak-
ing, but the two combined, i.e., the honey
section and the B.B.K.A. annexe, helped the
general well-being, because the visitors were
able to see native honey there in perfection,
and then at the adjacent stall they saw the
live bees and appliances, and the modus
operandi, in a way that interested them
immensely.

Messrs. Howard, Brice, Brown, New, Green-
hill, and others all helped to make the meeting
a success, and, no doubt, did not a little to
make future bee-keepers of many who only
went to look on.

Special thanks are also due to the exhibitors,

and may their honey be found at the " Dairy ''
for many seasons to come, and may the number
of these public-spirited bee-keepers be greatly
increased. We hope the funds of the
B.B.K.A. will allow of a further and extended
efi'ort next year to help bee-keepers, who mean-
time must not forget that space at the " Dairy "
is costly, and heavy expenses they scarcely
expect are necessary for even such a modest
display as the B.B.K.A. annexe.

flj0rmpnd^na.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected convmunications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c., must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William^
street. Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c., must be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Oflice, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

*,• In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

QUEEN-REARING.

THE RESULT OP THREE YEARS* EXPERIMENTAL
WORK.

[Concluded from page 407.]

The preceding portions of this article
may be said to contain a brief resume of such
experience as has been acquired in carrying
out a course of experiments (not a few still
incomplete) having for their object the gather-
ing up of all that is good in many methods of
queen-raising, and adding thereto such im-
provements or alterations of my own as have,
in practice, seemed to me desirable. The
results have been given to readers of the B. J.
in fulfilment of a promise, and although I fear
that too much of your valuable space has been
occupied in the endeavour to place my expe-
riences on paper, I am not without hope that
— when my experiments are further advanced
— I may be allowed to resume the interesting
subject. In a word, I shall go on trying to
make my practice as perfect as may be, and
" tell it out " to readers, if your pages are, as
in the past, open to me.

There are, however, one or two matters
upon which readers who are so inclined might
bring their minds to bear, and publish the
result of their observations for the general
good. I enumerate them as follows : —

1. Why are queens bred late in the season
of a different colour to those bred during the
natural swarming time ?

2. Why is it that there are two sorts of

Oct. 18, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

415

drones in a hive at one time (different in
shape) ?

3. From whence really comes the little
black, shiny bees -which are found in all hives
at certain seasons of the year ?

4. What is the — no doubt — far-seeing pur-
pose which causes the change in the appear-
ance of the worker-bee as the winter ap-
proaches ?

I mention these particular points — not yet
satisfactorily cleared up — from a long list now
before me which go to prove that the mystery
of the bee-hive is still unsolved, and that
there is a wide field of research for inquiring
minds. I have certain data on all these
queries, and have also some not quite definite
theories as to the relation of queens and
drones, but as yet no actual facts to warrant a
positive assertion. We think lightly of the
" cumbrous, lazy drone," but the full part he
takes in the economy of the hive is not yet
ascertained, and, to my mind, until this is
known, and the drone is made an equal object
of study with our queens, we cannot expect to
attain the highest results in our craft.

I well remember on one occasion making up
a small nucleus in which a queen-cell was
affixed, and in this nucleus there was not a
single drone ; but about the eighth day after
the queen had hatched I counted over 200
drones enter that hive, the noise and excite-
ment at the entrance being something to
remember.

I must not ontiit mention of another series
of experiments made for the purpose of
settling in my own mind the question as to
what were the best bees for all purposes. I
took the common native Black or German
bees, Carniolans, Italians, and Cyprians.
These last may be at once dismissed Irom con-
sideration, as I found them vicious, delicate,
bad winterers — in fact, possessing hardly a
virtue to recommend them save, perhaps, the
beauty which is but skin deep. The Caroiolan
I found the best-tempered bee of the lot, and
for those who desire increase or swarms it is
no doubt the best of all bees, but for honey-
getting, combined with good all-round qualities,
1 consider them far behind either Ligurians or
Blacks. Both the latter-named bees seem to
me to possess qualities which, if combined,
would produce a first-rate all-round bee. If
the desire to swarm could be eliminated, the
Italians, according to my experience, possess
most virtues. I find them industrious, hard-
working, good-tempered, disease-resisting, and
excellent winterers, storing honey and breed-
ing after the Black bee has shut up
shop for the season ; but they swarm
more than the Blacks. I don'c say pure Blacks,
because there is an insurmountable difficulty
in obtaining Black bees without more or less
either of the Carniolan or Ligurian element in
them, the Carniolan so largely dominating as
to give them an inherent desire to swarm
almost equally with pure Carniolans. Black
bees, when only slightly tinged with foreign

blood and properly managed, are very satis-
factory to keep— equal to any other bee that
has come under my notice. Having arrived
at this conclusion, I tried several crosses, and
the best result obtained was from a hybrid
composed of two parts Ligurian and one part
Black, which produces a bee possessing all the
good qualities of the former without the desire
to swarm and spread out all over the ground
in swarming, as the pure Ligurian so often
does.

From a known pure strain of Ligurian bees
the first queens were raised ; these were
crossed with as nearly pure Black drones as I
could get, and from the resultant bees were
reared the final queens. Great care, however,
must be taken to get them mated to pure
Italian drones, strangers in blood to those that
raised the first queens. This done, I venture
to say you will have bees eminently satisfac-
tory OQ all points — in fact, a bee that will
make the heart of the honey-producer rejoice.
Of course, the desire to swarm cannot be bred
out entirely, but excessive swarming is certainly
eliminated, and, in my experience, they seldom
raise more than two or three queen-cells at the
best of times, and often not more than one.

As tending to show the vitality of the larvae,
after they have passed into the final stage
— viz., after the cell is sealed and the
cocoon has been spun — I removed one cool
evening three queen-cells and placed them
beneath my vest in a small padded box, to
allow them the warmth from my body. They
were taken a two and a half hours' journey by
road and rail to the house of a friend and
placed on the combs of three nuclei which he
had ready to receive them. On examining a
comb in one of the nuclei 1 found a capped
queen-cell. I cut this out and placed it in the
position lately occupied by the three cells I
had brought, and on arriving home three
hours later I slipped it in between the top
bars of a queenless stock. All four of these
queens hatched out, were duly mated, and are
at the heads of stocks now doing well. I
merely mention this to show what can be done
by studying a few elementary principles and
exercising care.

I must now bring my long story to a close ;
I have encroached largely on your valuable
space, and, perhaps, on the patience of my
readers, although the subject is by no means
exhausted. I feel that enough has been said
for one sitting. I say this, and reserve some-
thing for the future, because I know how easy
it is — even with the most carefully-conducted
experiments — for one to become impressed
Avith a wrong conclusion, especially when
appearances seem to favour the wishes of the
experimentalist. This seems to be the case in
bee-keeping more than in any other avocation
or hobby with which I have had to do. It is
easy enough to correct a mistake ; but where is
the one who, after having stated a thing as a
fact, cares to climb down and admit he is
wrong 1 We all have to do something in this

416

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[Oct. 18, 1894.

line at times, and the man or woman who does
this gracefully and admits an error without
equivocation, is the one I should think most
highly of. " To err is human ; perfection is
for the gods ;'' but our " facts " should be care-
fully verified by repeated proof before stating
them as such in print, and thus causing
perhaps much inconvenience and disappoint-
ment to others by our carelessness in not
making doubly sure that "things are what
they seem." Anyway, I have endeavoured to
speak of things as t found them, and have
tried to avoid the belief that "all my own
geese are swans." Practical experience is what
I attach value to. Theory is often very
pretty, but solid facts are incontrovertible, and
to my mind one of these facts is that the
raising of queens by scientific methods is the
keystone to successful apiculture in the
future. — Henry W. Brice, Thornton Heath,
l^urrey.

DEALING WITH FOUL BROOD.

[2085.] It may perhaps interest some of the
readers of the B. B. Journal if I give my
experience with foul brood this season. It
may be of some little help to those who are
unfortunately troubled with it, as I fear a
good many bee-keepers are. Two or three
years ago it existed about two miles away,
which caused me to fear it might reach here.
I have had several lots of driven bees yearly,
but can form no idea where the disease came
from. The following are some notes of my
treatment : — This spring I scarcely examined
my bees, except to see they were not starving,
until May 10, when I noticed two or three
hives not working much. I had about twenty
stocks standing near to each other, including
three on the " Wells' system." I found No. 12
badly affected, so I burnt the bees, bars, brood,
and quilts, and disinfected the hive. I next
sent off for some naphthaline and naphthol-
beta. May IS, I examined Nos. 4 and 15,
both of which looked suspicious by not work-
ing, and found them bad. I, therefore, burnt
the brood combs of each, and fed No. 4 with
carbolic, IJ drachms to 3 lb. of food. No. 15
with naphthol-beta, 9 grains to 3 lb. of food.
This I poured on the empty cells. I then
obtained some of McDougal's disinfectant
carbolic, and used about three tablespoon-
fuls to one pint of water, and, with
a paint - brush, used it on the frame-
ends, round the inside of hives and floor-
boards, and for our hands, the smoker,
or anything else employed amongst them. I
still keep it at the hives, continually renewing
when necessary. I then examined carefully
all the hives, and found several more or less
affected. I gave naphthol-beta to each in the
food, and used naphthaline in the hives. May
25, I found in No. 4 some clean young brood.
Again fed with carbolic, 1| drachms to 31b.
food. In No. 15 found some clean, healthy

brood. Fed with 9 grains naphthol-beta to 3 lb.
food. May 28, fed again, but found one or
two diseased cells. On this date the bees
were gathering scarcely anything, so went on
feeding the lot — half with 2 drachms carbolic to
3 lb. food, pouring it on the combs ; the other
half, in the same way, I gave 9 grains naphthol-
beta to 3 lb. of food. Most of them were fed
twice in this way. June 18, the expert and I
examined Nos. 3, 4, and 15, and found them
still affected. June 24, No. 3 swarmed ; I
took the bees and bars out of the hive and
painted it over with strong ^carbolic, put in
nine fresh bars of comb and one bar of fresh
brood containing also a queen-cell ; I then
returned both bees and swarm, having found
and destroyed old queen. Many of the bees
joined No. 4, through the hive smelling so
strongly of carbolic. They, however, reared a
queen, and I have found plenty of brood, but
not any disease. June 24, I had most of my
top boxes on, so could do no more doctoring.

Most of them did fairly well, considering
the scarcitv of white clover here. August 5,
took top box off No. 4. I thought it a little
diseased below. Examined No. 3 ; it appeared
to be quite clean. I was recommended to use
phenyle manufactured by Morris, Little, &
Son, sold by most chemists. I have seen it
also recommended in the guide book. I have
also read Simmons's and Cheshire's books on
foul brood. August 5, again examined No. 3 ;
thought them quite clean. No. 4 I found a
little diseased ; I sprayed it with phenyle
(13 drops to 8 oz. water). I use it first on the
bees and bars, then shake off the bees and
spray thoroughly the bare combs. The bees
are, with the spraying, almost as quiet as
flies, and I can recommend it to any one for
manipulating with, except for taking honey,
which it might flavour. During the season I
have found two-thirds of my stock affected,
but this autumn I have frequently sprayed,
and have punctured all foul cells I could find
with the point of a stick continually dipped in
a solution, half carbolic and half water.
September 1, I shook bees from combs of
No. 14 into a straw skep for two days, then
put clean boxes into a clean hive, and poured
on the combs 2 drachms carbolic to 3 lb.
food, then returned bees. So far, they
appear clean. I took the queen from
No. 9 while it was affected. They reared
another, and she has bred all right ; but again
finding several affected cells I shook the bees
into a skep for two days, then took away the
queen, which was reared in the affected hive,
united the bees with a driven lot, put on
eight clean frames, and fed with medicated
food : 2 drachms carbolic to 3 lb. food. The
other queen I kept for two days, and on Sep-
tember 20 joined her to another queenless
hive, being desirous to know whether her
brood would be affected or not. October 5, I
examined these, and fotmd a nice patch of
sealed and unsealed brood, but could not
detect any foul brood. I have been at a

Oct. 18, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

417

great deal of trouble, spraying with phenyle,
washing the hives with carbolic, pouring
medicated food on the combs, and injecting
carbolic into every sealed cell that I found
without brood, and I hope that I have now
succeeded in getting them clean, although I
must wait until sjjring to prove it.

What I would recommend to others finding
a hive badly affected— burn all but the hive.
The bees may be saved if shaken into an
empty straw skep for two days, then put on
clean combs and fed with medicated food. If
one or two bars only are slightly affected, take
them away. If one or two cells are found
affected,pancture each cell with a match dipped
in half carbolic and half water, then spray
the rest with phenyle, 13 drops to 8 oz.
of water. In manipulating my bees I have
treated each hive as though affected. — J.
Wilson, The Gardens, Langford Hall,
Newarh.

THE BEEHIVE AS AN INCUBATOR.

[2086.] I enclose a cutting from the
leathered World of September 21. Here,
surely, is new capital for the enterprising bee-
keeper. He can hatch out eggs for the neigh-
bouring poultry-keeper at so much a dozen ;
or, if a poultry fancier himself, may save the
cost of an incubator.

My brother breeds game bantams, and gets
a lot of eggs (generally thin-shelled, often
shell-less, he does not sit these latter) broken
by the hens, and next year we are going to
try the new plan. — Harold Twentyman,
Hon. Sec. Staffs. B.K.A., Castlecroft, Wolver-
hamjiton, October 13.

" In the columns of my German contem-
porary, the Gejiugelborse, Herr Vonliausen
gives some interesting details of the utilisation
of bees for hatching purposes : — ' Starting
from the idea that in a continuous heat of from
86 deg. to 90 deg. Fahr., with a steady influx
of atmospheric air, containing a certain
amount of moisture, it should be possible to
hatch eggs, Herr Apel, at Stadtlaningen, con-
cluded that the hatching process could be done,
by bees, or rather by the warmth generated
by them in their hive. A bee establishment
consists of two principal parts : the breeding-
room and the honey-room. The former is
mmediately above tiie door of the hive, and
receives the outer air, warmed by thousands of
bees in their entrance and exit. The moist
warmth thus created culminates in the honey-
room above the breeding-room, where it is
necessary to keep honey Huid, and where it
cannot easily escape. Herr Apel took the
temperature of this room, and found that it
was always from 86 deg. to 90 deg. Fahr., with
very slight variations caused by the atmo-
spheric heat and cold. A peasant on his farm
killed a partridge in mowing. Eighteen eggs
were found near the dead bird, and given to
Herr Apel, who immediately used them
for his experiments. First of all he pushed a

board, perforated with pin-holes, between the
breeding and honey room to keep the bees
away. He then deposited the eggs upon the
board. Now, partridge eggs require twenty-
six days for hatching, but the clutch in
question had evidently been set on by the
partridge, for on the fourteenth day sixteen
healthy young partridges broke their shells ;
two others contained dead birds. Herr Apel
thinks their deaths may have been caused by
the eggs not being turned. A second attempt,
when twelve eggs in an advanced state of
hatching were taken from under a partridge,
all the chickens came out on the sixth day.
All these youngsters were given a hen for a
foster-mother, and developed satisfactorily.
When this new method of hatching eggs came
under my notice I at once laid fifteen bantam
eggs into a beehive. The result was twelve
healthy chickens, three eggs were clear. It
would be of advantage to use a wire frame,
instead of the board, to deposit the eggs on.
Very often a hen will leave her eggs, or die
before they are hatched. On such occasions
the hatching by bees might come in useful,
especially as it is not expensive, gives ready
help in a case of need, and has practical
value.' Herr Vonhausen's contribution has
certainly the merit of novelty, but what have
bee-keepers to say to this fresh labour entailed
upon their industrious pets ? ''

GLASS V. WOOD COVERS FOR
HIVES.
[2087.] I should like to thank " W. R. N."
(2081, p. 397) for the idea of using glas3 as a
hive cover, I think glass covers for supers
and section-racks may be of great assistance
to the bee-keeper. I have already made a
glass super-cover. It does not take half an
hour to construct if made with a saw-cut and
the glass slipped in, which is one advantage.
I have a few combs to clean up, and shall use
the glass cover, but of course I cannot test it
properly till next summer. But I see no
reason why it should not answer splendidly.
I fear all my wood super-covers will have now
to retire to the museum. They have served
me well for six years, so it is time now
they were superseded by an improved cover.
This spring I said to my head female foreman
" By next year we will have some glass covers
for our supers and crates." We find sheets of
glass most useful in the apiary. Our July
super-clearer has a glass cover, and it clears
the combs in about an hour. Our June
clearer does not require a glass cover, and
works better without one.

I don't think glass will be found a good
material for wintering bees under. Of course
they will winter under it, and for experi-
mental purposes it might be most useful.
But glass has for this purpose two faults, it is
non-porous and a great conductor of tempera-
ture. I think a -wood cover is more com-
fortable for the bees ; and, as the bees should

418

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[Oct. 18, 1894.

not be disturbed in any ■way during the winter
months, a glass cover as a regular cover would
be of no advantage.

On referring to the B.B.J. I see I advocated
wood covers (or crown-boards, as they were
then called) as far back as December 20, 1888
(letter 1928), and again in letter 2395, Decem-
ber 12, 1889. In the first letter I said : " I
consider the covering of a hive the most
defective part of the hive, and greatly needs
improvement." And I am of the same opinion
still. One fault alone, its murderous propen-
sities, condemns the quilt, in my opinion. I
am quite sure more bees in England are now
smothered slowly to death by the quilt than
by the brimstone pit. I have seen a bee-
keeper myself imprison quite a number of bees
under the quilt, and, when I asked how the
poor creatures were to get down into the hive,
his reply was they must get down as best they
can, which was equal to saying they must
remain there and die. — E. T. Shea, Southend.

EXPERIENCE WITH A "WELLS"
HIVE.

[2088.] On May 18 last I put a lot of bees
headed by a young queen into one department
of a hive on the " Wells " principle — the hive
was the same size, I think, as Mr. Wells has
been in the habit of using, viz., one holding
fourteen standard frames. On June 3 I put a
swarm into the other compartment ; a few
days afterwards I noticed the queen outside
the hive, and I watched her for some time,
when she entered again ; on the 14th I
examined this side of the hive, and as there
was no brood I was sure the queen was dead,
and. therefore I put in another swarm, which
seemed to settle nicely, but soon I noticed on
this side of the hive work was carried on in a
half-hearted manner, while the other side
worked whenever there was a chance, which
was not often, most assiduously. I had
placed fourteen shallow frames above the
excluder zinc, and from these I took some
honey. I had not time to examine the hive
thoroughly until the beginning of September,
and I then found one side of the hive full of
bees and in a prosperous state, while in the
other there was not a single bee or a drop of
honey — the only result is some nicely worked
out comb. Now I should be greatly obliged
if you can account for this state of things.
The bees could not pass from one side to the
other, and they seemed to work harmoniously
in the super of shallow frames in the early
part of the season. The hive is placed north
and south, and it was the north end that was
deserted. Do you think in this dull season
the bees in the north became so disgusted that
they betook themselves to the " sunny
south " ? - -A. P. J., Norfolk, October 8.

[It seems clear that the bees joined forces in
one brood-chamber because of some mishap to
the queen of the deserted compartment.
—Eds.]

IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The committee met on 9th inst., Mr. Gillies
in the chair. The following resolution was
passed unanimously : — " The Committee of
the Irish Bee-keepers' Association takes this,
the earliest available, opportunity of recording
its sense of the loss the association has sus-
tained by the sad death of its respected
treasurer, Mr. John Edmondson." Mr. Henry
Chenevix, of 15, Morehampton-road, Dublin,
was elected hon. treasurer, while still retaining
his office of hon. sec.

WEATHER REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER,

1894.

Rainfall, 3*19 in.
Heaviest fall, '76 in.

on 25th.
Rain fell on 12 days.
Above average, 1*19 in.
Max. Temperature,

67° on 1st.
Min. Temperature, 34°

on 29th.
Minimum on grass, 28°

on 29th.
Sunshine, 140"2 hours.

Westbouene, Sussex.

Brightest Day, 10th,

iri hours.
Sunless Days, 6.
Below average, 24*7

hours.
Mn. Maximum, 58-8°.
Mn. Minimum, 46-6°.
Mean Temperature,

52-7°.
Maximum Barometer,

30-70° on 30th.
Minimum Barometer,

29-83° on 25th.

L. B. BiRKETT.

METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.

September, 1894.

Locality, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.

Height above sea-level, 225 ft.

Rainfall, -98 in. ; heaviest fall, -30 in. on
22nd.

Rain fell on six days.

Max. shade temp., 67° on 1st and 11th..

Min. temp., 30° on 27th and 28th.

Max. shade temp, at 9 a.m., 61° on 1st.

Min. temp, at 9 a.m., 40° on 27th.

Frosty nights, two.

Max. barometer, 30-35 on 13 th.

Min. barometer, 29-55 on 25th.

This month remarkable for its light rain-
fall. The smallest for September the last
sixteen years.

Barometer high during most of the month.

Wasps very plentiful, and bees also greatly
inclined to rob. Percy Leigh.

[1182.] Freparing Hives for Winter. — In
examining one of my hives during the last
week in September I found several queen-
cells — some fully built, some partly built —
which I cut out. I had seen the queen
recently, but since removal of the section-box
I had not noticed these cells before, although
I had examined the hive several times since I
removed it. This was a strong swarm early

Oct. 18, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

419

in May, hived on full sheets of foundation ;
they "worked wel], and would have filled a
second section-box of 21 lb. had weather been
right; as it was, they only partly filled them.
A strong swarm I had from another hive in
May did nothing in the section-box, but had
their brood-chamber tops of frames a little
stored with honey, showing they were very
inferior workers to first lot, although the first
swarra had no honey whatever in brood-
chamber, and have had to feed them up.
How are the hives best cleaned up— by bodily
lifting hives on to a temporary floor-board, or
by lifting each frame out and placing into a
empty hive '? I fear if we attempt to lift them
bodily it will dreadfully shake them. There
is a quantity of rubbish to clear out from
them biting the quilts, quite a lot of fluff
and scraps of wax. Again, the propolis to be
scraped from frame-tops ; how is this to be
best done ? The bees won't like that, I am
sure. Kindly advise a novice, who does not
mind a few stings. — L. T. Badcock, Bexhill-
on-Sea.

Reply. — The hive must be lifted on to a
temporary floor while clearing away all debris.
If quietly done on a cold day not a bee need
take wing. Scrape the floor-boaid well, and
before returning the hive to it place thereon a
few pieces of naphthaline. The frame tops
are cleaned by first driving the bees below
with a few pufl's of smoke and rapidly scraping
oflF the propolis with the back of a knife or,
preferably, a proper spatula made for the
purpose. For a novice, it is well to have an
assistant who will keep the bees down by
giving a little smoke if they come up to annoy
the operator. Then, when all is scraped off,
pass a brush rapidly over the frame and re-
place the quilts.

[1183.] Bees Worki77g on Ivy. — During last
week the bees of my seven stocks have been
out every day, just as if it was summer. Some
are gathering pollen, and others bring in what
I should think is honey. 1. Do they get much
honey from the ivy — they are very busy on it ?
I have had to open the entrances to give them
room, and there is no fighting. I have not
opened the hive since it was closed up for the
winter. 2. Should I do so to look at them ?
Is it not a good sign they are breeding 1 1
have two stocks that have not swarmed since
1S91, if they even did then, as I have no
account before that. When I took some frames
from the body of the hive, I found queen-cells
in them, 3. Is it likely the bees re-queen
themselves without swarming ? We are having
glorious weather here, just like summer for
several hours in midday. Bees are looking
strong and healthy. — 0. Marks, Kingsbridge,
Devon, October 8.

Eeply. — 1. Bees gather a good deal from
ivy in late autumn if weather is at all favour-
able. 2. No good purpose can be served by
opening the hive, and harm might follow. The
bees are evidently doing well, and should be

undisturbed by any interference at this season.
3. Yes, frequently.

[1184.] Transferring for Beginners.— 1 am
just starting bee-keeping, and have procured
two stocks in skeps ; one a June and the other
a July swarm. The one lot is of a notoriously
savage disposition, so a lively time awaits me.
Why did 1 get them ? They were cheap, and
grand workers, so I determined to take the
risk. I am writing to you for a little guidance
on points I cannot find in " The British Bee-
keepers' Guide Book." I will state my case
as clearly as I can, and shall be greatly obliged
for an answer in the Journal, The one
stock I had from a distance of 3^ miles, so
brought it home as it was, stand and all, first
stopping up the opening with a piece of clay,
and spreading a cloth over top of hive, and
tacking it firmly to the stand. Poor bees !
what a wonder they lived through such an
ordeal ; but, fortunately, they seem all right.
On the morrow I lifted tkep and bees on to a
shallow body containing ten frames, 14 in. by
5| in., having cut a hole 4 in. square in the
quilt to permit the bees to get to the entrance.
They are now working away, carrying pollen,
so i conclude all is well with them. My
second stock being but three-quarters of_ a
mile away, I took a hive, containing six-
teen standard frames, and put the skep on
as above. I assume the proper thing to do
will be to "drive" the bees from both skeps
sometime in the spring and transfer the combs
and bees to the frame hives. If this is right,
1. When should it be done? 2. Will there
not be brood in the comb liable to be killed
during transference ? or should the work be
done in a warm room ? If so, what tempera-
ture will be right ? 3. Should the frames
containing the transferred comb be put in a
standard body under the existing body or on
the top % I shall be glad of any instructions
you may feel disposed to give bearing on my
case. I am reading all bee literature I can lay
hands on, so hope to be well up in theory
before the practical work of 1895 commences.
I have made my own hives (four in number)
on the " W. B. C." pattern. Each has standard
body, shallow body, eke and section crate. Two
are 17 in. square inside, one 19 in. by 17 in.,
and one 25 in. by 19 in., but the inner walls
are the regulation width apart — namely, 14^ in.,
and everything else to standard. Frames are
of tough, white poplar, a I in. tin strip binding
the top bar to the sides. Metal runners are
inserted for the frames to rest on, and the
alighting-board is large in each case — ^about
18 in. by 7 in. With every kind wish. —
James G, Godwin, Mayfield Cot' age, Withing-
ton, October 11.

Reply. — 1. There is no positive need for
transferring the contents of the skeps to frame,
hives at all. If the frames of the hives placed
below them are fitted with full sheets of
foundation the bees may be allowed to transfer
themselves jp spring, and, seeing that you are

420

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Oct. 18, 1894.

entirely inexperienced, this will be by far the
wisest course to pursue. We should, how-
ever, substitute standard frames for the shallow
ones below the first-named stock. 2. Yes,
and sealed brood is very liable to damage in
the hands of a beginner. 3. If transferring
was done at all, the combs would have to be
fitted into the frames of the " existing body "
• — not under or over it. But it is so much
safer for a beginner to avoid breaking in upon
the prosperity of a stock in spring by upsetting
the brood-nest and cutting up the old combs
for tying into frames, that we hope all idea of
such a course will be given up. We are
pleased to hear of your determination to use
home-made hives, it shows energy in the right
direction, though it is generally considered
wiser to buy the frames ready - cut by
machinery, so as to secure exactness in dimen-
sions.

[1185.] Appearance of Asphyxiated Brood.
— Will you kindly state what is the appear-
ance of the larvae when naphthaline is used so
strong that it asphyxiates it ? — Ned Swain,
Canterbury, October 8.

E.EPtY. — When naphthaline of an improper
kind is used, or when the right kind is given
in considerably larger doses than directed, the
brood may be killed as stated. In which case
the cappings of the sealed cells are perforated
and partly removed by the bees, so as to show
the white heads of the dead larv£B within.

[1186.] On my hives being returned from
the heather, I found no bees in one, but ten
complete frames of comb, some containing dead
brood here and there, but no honey, and much
pollen. There is no trace of foul-brood. 1.
Will you kindly teil me if I may keep the
frames of comb in a box in a dry room , with-
out a fire, all through the winter, or if the
pollen will go bad ? I want to give all the
combs as they are to a swarm next spring. 2.
Must I melt up the combs that have dead
brood in them, or could I remove each dead
bee with a large pin 1 Eobber bees have
evidently removed whatever honey there was
in the hive, and I can find no dead queen. —
Annone, Derbyshire, October 15.

Eeply. — 1. We fear the pollen will be hard
— probably mildewed— and unfit for the bees'
use if kept as proposed till spring. 2. If the
dead bees in the cells have reached the nymph
stage — i.e, having fully-formed bodies — they
may be removed and the combs as proposed.

^^4 ^\[m% k Clj)m£.

October 26. — Ayrshire Agricultural Asso-
ciation's annual show at Kilmarnock. Great
honey competition. Numerous classes, with
liberal premiums. For schedules, apply Jas.
McMurthrie, secretary, Ayr, N.B. Entries
closed.

Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

Taffy (Merthyr Tydvil) and Novice
(Bristol). — Comb is foul broody. We should
at once remove all combs from the hive
having sealed cells of dead brood, and use
naphthaline as a preventive of infection.

Sam Head (South Devon). — There is foul
brood in comb sent, but the fact of a swarm
issuing, and nearly all the brood having
hatched out since spring, shows that the
disease has been held in check by the
remedies used. Therebeinga rather recently-
built queen-cell on comb sent, an inspection
of combs is desirable to ascertain whether
the queen is safe or not.

W. W. C. (Chelston). — You are quite right
as to combs being diseased, and did well to
destroy them, and fumigate the hive. As a
further precaution, we would either cover
the interior with paraffin and set it alight
to scorch the whole surface, or give a couple
of coats of paint before again using.

G. Johnson (Garth-road). — Comb sent is
choked up with old pollen, but not diseased.
It is no wonder the bees died if the bulk of
the combs were as sample. They are no
better than solid slabs of wood, so far as
being usable by the bees.

Trooper (High Barnet). — 1. Not having had
any experience of wintering bees on the plan
detailed, we cannot give a reliable opinion
as to its efficacy or otherwise, but see no
reason why it should not answer. 2. Our
own custom is to place a 3-in. eke below
frames in winter.

George Fisher (Newport, Devon). — It is so
common and frequent an occurrence for dead
bees to be found outside hives at this season,
that no notice need be taken of it, as it is in
no sense an indication of diseaje. Bee sent
is the common or native variety. The
" Guide Book " will give you all the infor-
mation required.

John Brown (Polyphant). — Comb is affected
with foul-brood, though the dead larviie m
nearly all the cells had dried up. It does
not appear to be a bad case, and if naphtha-
line is used to check the disease from
spreading in spring, it seems a hopeful one
for curing if medicated food is continued
whenever feeding is necessary.

H. Dudley Arnott. — As with other disin-
fectants, camphor is used on the floor-board
of the hive, directly below the combs, not
outside the dummy ; but the latter is usually
put into small muslin bags.

*** Oscford B.K.A. Shotv at Woodstock.—
In our report of the above show on the 4th
inst. the winner of 3rd prize for sections, and
2nd prize for extracted honey, should have
been C. B., not " W. J.'' Anstey — the latter
gentleman not being an exhibitor on the
occasion referred to.

Oct. 25, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

421

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.

CONVERSAZIONE.

{Continued from J). 413).

Mr. Meadows also exhibited a specimen of
the improved Bingham smoker with a new
nozzle and the bellows inverted. The usual
difficulty with smokers was to keep the fuel
alight, and this was obviated by the present
invention, which was made so as to enable the
implement to bo kept always in one position
— upright — whether in the hand or standing
on its own base. There was a guard round it,
and wire to prevent the operator's fingers being
burnt.

The Chairman (Mr. Cowan) did not like hand-
guards, because it increased the weight of the
appliance, which was supposed to be made for
grown-up people to use, and not children ;
besides, a bee-keeper would not be likely to
burn himself with the smoker more than
once ; but, of course, manufacturers were
obliged to study the requirements of the
market.

Mr. Howard said that for a good all-round
smoker nothing beat the original Bingham.
With regard to the super-clearer, he had
practised the plan mentioned by Mr. Woodley
in the B. B. J. of September 27 (p. 383).
Nevertheless, he did not wish to detract from
the merit of Mr. Meadows' invention.

Mr. Carr, speaking of the smoker, said he
preferred to have the bellows attached in the
old-fashioned way. With regard to the im-
proved super-clearer, he thought the improve-
ment very useful indeed. He sometimes had
trouble in getting the bees out of surplus-
chambers, in which wet combs were put for
cleaning, and had known them to clear up the
combs and store the honey so got in one
corner and refuse to leave the box. By this
invention such difficulty was removed.

The discussion was continued by Mr.
Hooker, who spoke in favour of the applica-
tion of Mr. Meadows' super-clearer, which, he
said, involved less exposure of combs than the
plan mentioned by Mr. Howard, besides less
labour.

Mr. Garratt said on one occasion he had a
super-clearer of the ordinary kind in use, but
the bees remained up in the supers, and there
was more honey in those which had been ex-
tracted than there was in the hive below, and
they would not go down. As regards expo-
sure it appeared to him that there was the
same liability thereto in both plans mentioned,
and that was very trifling.

The Chairman corroborated previous
speakers as to the difficulty which occasionally
occurred in getting bees to leave the supers.
He had had such an experience this season,
and finally had to compel them to move by
taking out several of the frames and shaking

the bees off iu front of the hive. This year
after extracting the contents of six supers, he
replaced the wet combs on the frames direct for
cleaning up, but on lifting them off again he
found the boxes almost as full of bees as
before, and had to put the " bee-escape '' on a
second time to clear them.

A gentleman remarked that he had tried the
Porter escape, and never found any trouble in
getting the bees out of the supers.

Mr. C. Atkinson was of opinion that the
difficulty was more or less dependent on the
state of the brood-nest. If the queen was
laying the bees would go down to the brood-
nest, while if not, they would have a tendency
to go up.

After some questions by Mr. Wells relative
to the manipulation and adjustment of the
super-clearer, which were answered satis-
factorily by Mr. Meadows.

Mr. Brice exhibited in a large frame a col-
lection of specimens illustrative of the method
of queen-raising by means of queen-cells
built on waxen " cups " made by himself and
completed by the bees. Mr. Brice explained
that he had been carrying out a long series of
experiments in queen-rearing, and as he thought
the practical, or perhaps he ought to say the
visible, result of his investigations would be of
interest to those present, they were before
them for comment and criticism. But for full
particulars he must refer them to his letters
now appearing in the pages of the Bee Journal,

The frame was passed round among the
audience, and examined with much interest
amid a general conversation on the subject
exemplified.

On the motion of Mr. Carr, a cordial vote of
thanks was accorded Mr. Brice for the time
and trouble he had taken in furtherance of the
science of bee culture, and for kindly giving
the meeting an opportunity of inspecting the
result of his labours.

Mr. Brice returned thanks, and said that he
had taken the subject up partly for amusement
at first, but eventually because he thought that
something could be done to improve the
quality of queens.

The Chairman thought Mr. Brice quite
entitled to take credit for the particular im-
provement he had demonstrated. The method
of moving the dwelling-place with the bee
larva^ was undoubtedly a great advance, for to
transfer the larva; from the cell was a very
delicate operation. It was much less trouble
to destroy three or four surrounding cells, cut
down the wax, and push that cell into a cup
than remove the larva'. He was pleased to see
such beautiful artificial queen-cells as were
exhibited ; they were very fine, and as good
as any the best queen raisers could produce.

Mr. Howard showed his wide shallow frame
beautifully filled out with comb. He said
that the Hoffman frame had led him to adopt
its principles for use in connection with the
frame he exhibited, more from a feeling that
such a thing was required than from a desire to

422

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Oct. 25, 1894.

introduce something new to the bee world. He
thought that eight frames occupying the same
space as tea ordinary ones would give the
most suitable width, and would meet a bee-
keeper s requirements better than the ordinary
shallow frame with the standard top bar. He
had adopted this frame, and been amply
rewarded by his own bees, and in every case
■where he had entered at shows h& had taken
first prize. He admitted that the wide frame
could not be so easily uncapped as the standard
frame, but as against that there was no
danger of damaging the comb in the un-
capping process. It had been reported to him
that when full sheecs of foundation had been
used in every frame and the honey %yas not
coming in freely, the bees were apt to build
from one sheet of foundation to the other
cross-wise, and although he had not personally
had that experience, he recommended the
use of one sheet of foundation and one of
starters in rotation to avoid the evil of the
intermediate work.

Mr. Garratt thought that with such admir-
able specimens as Mr. Howard had shown
little fault could be found. He had had con-
siderable experience in the use of wide frames,
and had heard for the first time of the ten-
dency of bees to build across them, but had
never met with a case in his own apiary.

Mr. Carr said that Mr. Howard's able ex-
planation had not removed his objection to
the wide frames, which he disliked because of
the difficulty of uncapping them He thought
it a great advantage to be able to uncap with
one stroke of the knife, which would be im-
possible with the frame before them, as the
knife would slide on to the wood, although, of
course, everyone would admire the comb. He
(Mr. Carr) then exhibited an old frame with
narrow sides and wide ends attached, which
had beautifully built out comb in it, and for
which he claimed all the advantages of Mr.
Howard's frame, without the drawback as re-
gards uncapping. He (Mr. Carr) had not had
the opportunity of personally trying these
frames, although he had a box fitted up with
them. That was perhaps because there had
been little or no honey to get this year.

Mr. Howard admitted, to some extent,
the force of Mr. Carr's criticism. He had
always felt that the present system of un-
capping might be improved, and he intended
next year to experiment with a little machine
for that purpose. The instrument had several
little lancets, placed one-eighth of an inch
apart, so arranged as to perforate the cell
caps.

The Chairman thought he might be able to
show an uncapping apparatus of the kind
described by Mr. Howard, which had been
used some twenty years ago. It was packed
up with other things presented by him to the
B.B.K.A. about nine or ten years since. The
instrument was introduced m Germany. It
was made something like a curry-comb, and
punctured the cells, but was given up because

it damaged the combs and caused pieces of
comb to become mixed with the honey during
extraction.

Mr. Howard said that with the apparatus
he proposed there would be no jagging or
tearing, provided the uncapping were done in
a proper temperature.

Mr. Garratt believed a perforating instru-
ment would be very detrimental to the comb,
and would accumulate the wax on itself, and
soon become clogged. He thought the best
frame would be a compromise between the
two styles of frames, the narrow and the wide.
If Mr. Howard could see his Avay to reduce
the frame apart from the top bar, still giving
that the same width, he (Mr. Garratt) con-
sidered that would be the nearest approach to
perfection.

The discussion was further continued by
Messrs. Hooker, Carr, and Howard ; after
which the chairman (Mr. Cowan) was very
much pressed to give the meeting some account
of his recent experiments in the detection
of adulterated honey by means of the
polariscope.

Mr. Cowan regretted the lateness of the
hour, which would prevent him from explain-
ing in detail the mode and results of his in-
vestigations ; but he would give a rough idea
of what could be done with the instrument,
and perhaps bring the subject before the next
conversa::ione if the members wished it. Up
to quite recent times there had been a difficulty
in deciding as to the purity or impurity of
honey, which was often largely adulterated
with glucose, and it was always thought that
the polariscope infallibly settled the question
by deflecting the ray of light to the left in the
case of genuine honey, and to the right when
the spurious article was under examination.
The acceptance of this principle caused many
samples of honey to be condemned which
were not impure at all, and later experiments
showed that honey produced from conifers
polarised the ray of light to the right equally
with glucose. Thus it came to be questioned
whether it was possible to tell with certainty
if honey was pure or not.

Dr. Haenle, however, took the matter up,
and discovered that pure honey, although it
might deflect the ray of light to the right,
after being subjected to dialysis for a certain
length of time would return to zero, whereas
if adulterated it would still show some
degrees of deviation to the right. On the
other hand, light-coloured flower honey always
turned to the left ; so that, in conjunction
with dialysiss the polariscope could tell to a
nicety the percentage of adulteration. He (the
chairman) was very much struqk with this
method, read the matter up, and sought an
interview with Dr. Haenle in Strasburg, who
kindly invited him to visit his laboratory, and
there study the method. As a result, when he
was staying in Alsace, in the Vosges Moun-
tains, with his friend M. Bertrand, they ob-
tained a sample of conifer honey from M. Kunz

Oct. 25, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

423

of Hohwald, and took it to Dr. Haenle, and
had it analysed in their presence (a sample of
this honey was handed round for inspection).
The process was not very complicated. One
part of honey is taken to two parts of water,
then all the colouring matter is removed by
filtration through animal charcoal until the
liquid becomes colourlesss, like water. The
liquid is then poured into the tube of polari-
scope, which is placed in position between the
prisms. The instrument is first adjusted, so
that when pure water is in the tube the indi-
cator points to zero. If pure flower honey be
placed there the ray is invariably turned to
the left, and if it turns the other way im-
purity is to be suspected. In this case
the degrees are to be noted, and the
sample then placed on the dialyser as
shown, water being allowed to flow freely, so
that the parchment is depressed. (Mr. Cowan
showed a dialyser such as is used for the
purpose.) After a certain number of hours
the liquid is again examined in polariscope,
and if the ray still turns to the right and
remains stationary at a certain figure, the
honey is adulterated.

Several samples were experimented with in
Dr. Haenle's laboratory, the first being the
conifer honey, obtained of M. Kunz, of
Hohwald. Thirty grammes of honey were
mixed with GO cubic centimetres of water,
clarified with animal charcoal, and filtered.
A portion was put in a test tube, and alcohol
drop by drop was poured in to test the pre-
sence of the dextrine, which was shown by a
white cloud appearing. The remainder was
put in polariscope, and showed a deviation of
36 deg. to the right. It was then put on
dialyser at 6 p.m., and on the next day at
11 a.m. Mr. Cowan found that, after seventeen
hours' dialysis the indicator pointed to zero,
showing that this was pure honey. The second
experiment was made with light-coloured
flower honey, from the apiary of M. Siegel,
SchiJeftersheim. Exactly the same process
was gone through as with the other, but when
this was put in the polariscope, the deviation
was 31 "5 deg. to the left, which was sufficient
to show its purity. The alcohol test showed
no dextrine at all. So far so good, but they
wanted to see if samples they themselves
adulterated could with certainty be detected.
They therefore took 40 grammes of M.
Siegel's honey, to which was added 10
grammes of glucose. The 50 grammes of
mixture was added to 100 grammes of water,
mixed, clarified, and filtered. This was a 20 per
cent, adulteration. AVith alcohol a strong
white precipitate indicated the presence of
dextrine. In the polariscope there was a
rotation of 44 deg. to the right. To arrive at
the percentage Dr. Haenle had worked out, as
a result of a large number of experiments, a
formula, which was now used. The formula

(P+p)x3- ^ ,

IS a== ■ r^ — for flower honey ; x = per

centage of adulteration ; P=polarisation o'

honey that is being examined ; p=normal
polarisation of pure honey. The average
normal polarisation of pure honey being 30
deg., acccording to this formula we have

(44-f-30) X 3
10

=222 per cent. It will be seen

this is very nearly the actual adulteration of
20 per cent., but the diflerence is due to the
fact of the experiment being conducted
hastily, and no account having been taken of
temperature and evaporation. Still even this
is near enough for our purpose. This mixture
was then put on dialyzer at 6 p.m., and at 11
a.m. next day on being again polarised it still
showed a deviation of 22 deg. to the right.
Just in the same way the conifer honey was
adulterated with 30 per cent, of glucose. 1
then turned 137 deg. to the right. The

(P-p)x3.
formula for conifer honey is x= ^q

Therefore, according to this, the adulterated

(137-30)x.3_
honey works out as follows : ^t)

32-1 per cent., with a slight diflerence as
before, due to the same causes.

Mv. Cowan said he had followed up the
subject and carried out a good many experi-
ments which had been of great interest to him,
as they corroborated Dr. Haenle's discovery.
He had got one specimen of adulterated
honey that he had purchased in the tube of
polariscope on the table for the members to
see for themselves. With alcohol it showed
dextrine, and polarised 7 deg. to the right.
According to the formula, this represented an
adulteration of 11*1 per cent. As it was so
late, he would bring the matter more fully
before the members at a future meeting.

In reply to Mr. Howard, the Chairman said
it was possible to clarify dark honey, but in
clarifying for the polariscope so much oharcoal
-was used that the process generally caused the
honey to lose its flavour, although not always.

The polariscope was then examined with
much interest by every member of the
audience present, Mr. Cowan manipulating
the instrument and explaining the process and
method of ascertaining the results described.

A vote of thanks to the chairman for his
very interesting address, proposed by Mr.
Garratt, brought the proceedings to a close.

HONEY AT THE DAIRY SHOW.
An analysis of the Dairy Show Catalogue of
honey entries seems to prove that the bee-
keepers of the North and Midlands are a little
more enterprising than those in some of our
southern counties. On the occasion of a great
metropolitan show it is desirable to have
honey from every county in order to make a
thoroughly representative competition. Berks
headed the list with ten entries ; Yorkshire and
Stafl'ordshire ran her close with nine each ;
Oxon, Hunts, and Wilts had six each ;
Cheshire, 5 ; Essex and Northampton each
with four ; Hereford, Hants, and Somerset,

424

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Oct. 25, 1894.

three each ; Cambridge, Dumfrieshire, Herts,
and Notts with two ; and, finally, seven
counties with a single entry — Beds,
Bucks, Derby, Glamorgan, Leicestershire,
Lincoln, and Middlesex. There were fifteen
prizes to eighty-three entries, so that the
chances of every exhibitor succeeding were as
I to 5^. Berks took most prizes — three ;
Staffordshire and Northamptonshire two each,
and Cheshire, Somerset, Derby, Hereford,
Wilts, Hunts, Oxfordshire, and Dumfrieshire
carried oft' single prizes. Yorkshire honey was
very fine and would have scored but for the
packages not complying with the requirements
of the schedule.

Ireland sent no honey, nor were there
entries from eighteen of our English counties.
If these " eighteen " stirred themselves (and
we suspect that the weather is accountable for
this year's absence), it is easy to see what a
grand opportunity the Dairy Show affords for
advancing the interests of bee-keepers. In
fact, the British B.K.A. have no finer field
in the metropolis for bringing British honey
and British honey products (such as mead,
honey- vinegar, and confections) into promi-
nent notice. Their new departure this year
was wise, and the experiences acquired during
the four days at the B. B.K.A. annexe will
be most useful in planning for another season's
show. The interest of visitors in the honey
and the bees was astonishing, proving what an
attraction to the public the honey section of
the show presents. The honey labels of
various County Associations were exhibited
and the scheme explained. Next year we
hope most counties will be included.

The conversazione at Jermyn-street on
Thursday last was one of the most profitable
on record, and must do much towards
strengthening the bonds that exist between
the E.B.K.A. and the affiliated Associa-
tions. It was a real pleasure to see so many
bee-keepers there, and some from so far.
What we want now is to renew Associations
in counties where they have been allowed to
lapse, form Associations in counties where
they have never existed, and instil fresh blood
into the dormant Associations of important
honey-producing counties where the industry
is lagging behind for lack of vigorous leading.

EXPERIMENTS ON FOUL BROOD.

We have received the following communica-
tion from Mr. Till respecting experiments on
foul brood : —

Mr. Percy Adams, of the Kent County
Ophthalm-.c Hospital, Maidstone, has lately
devoted some considerable attention to
diseases affecting bees, and owing to a notice
in the Kent B.K.A. monthly journal, several
Kent bee-keepers have sent him siiecimens of
comb where doubt h;is existed as to the
presence of foul brood. Mr. Adams says he
has placed all under sterilised glass covers ;
and sterile peptonised gelatine glycerine agar

and gelatine agar with grape sugar were inocu-
lated with each suspected sample, by means of
a platinum wire, both stab, surface, streak, and
plate cultivations were made.

Grape sugar gelatine Avith peptone is a
useful cultivating medium ; the bacilli also
flourish on other media, including potato.
Temperature of inoculator, 35 deg. C. if agar is
added or potato is used. The bacillus should
be stained with carbo-methyl blue, or carbo-
fuschin — these re-agents yield very good results
with ordinary cover-glass preparations mounted
in Canada balsam — subsequently preserving
the mounted slides in a box or drawer, as the
dyes fade on prolonged exposure to daylight.

Out of some ten or more samples received
this year, in four only were the true bacillus
alvei (of Cheyne and Cheshire) isolated. It
is probable that many cases of a condition of
chilled brood are mistaken for and superadded
to subsequently by becoming infected with
true foul brood from elsewhere. In addition
to merely submitting comb to examination, it
is well to know the condition of suspected
colonies, together with history of the attack,
its neighbouring prevalence, or the contrary,
and the approximate distances between in-
fected areas ; a'so all the symptoms, as far
as possible, ought to be reported that are
observable in suspected stocks ; also as to the
characteristic odour, depression of cappings,
dark colour, and decomposed larvte, which
may be present more or less in both conditions
(characteristic odour perhaps excepted). A
medical opinion as to disease in the human
subject is always assisted by considering all
the attendant physical symptoms. The
lowered vitality or even death of the larvpe
following undue exposure to a lower tempera-
ture than 70 deg. Fahr. is sometimes followed
by that condition which is commonly known
as " chilled brood," and those who are not well
acquainted with the special symptoms of foul
brood are apt to mistake one for the other.
Stocks in which larvae have been affected by
chill or the larvse have died from exposure to
too low a temperature have an increased sus-
ceptibility to infection — the stock is debilitated,
and therefore more liable to contract foul brood
if it exists in the neighbourhood,

Mr. Adams says bee-keepers are in the
habit of carrying unprotected frames of brood
some distance from one hive to another, and
expose the brood-frames during several mani-
pulations. One bee-keeper particularly, who
was in the habit of exposing brood-frames thus,
complained to him and brought him specimens
of supposed foul-broody comb from several of
his stocks. In not a smgle instance could the
true bacillus alvei be discovered — it was a
wholesale case of chilled brood — and to guard
against such results in an apiary Mr. Adams
recommended the use of a portable warmed
receptacle for brood combs, not difficult to con-
trive. Another bee-keeper sent him a queen,
some workers, and suspected specimens of
comb, with an accompanying question, to which

Oct. 25, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

425

Mr. Adams merely proposed an answer {sub
judice).

This bee-keeper asks, "Does the baciUus
infest the roature bees and account for their
inactivity ? A dozen bees will leave a single
healthy colony to every one that will leave an
adjacent infected hive, although both may con-
tain a like population."

Mr. Adams says this inactivity is of common
occurrence among bees suffering from " dysen-
tery " as well as F. B., and may be accounted
lor thus : —

(a) The debilitating effects of these diseases
on the health of the bees themselves.

(6) The peculiar trait in the natural history
of the bees ; as exhibited by a distinct loss of
energy, and abandonment, whenever any seiious
calamity happens, affecting the population and
constitution of the hive ; for example, that
manifested upon the death or loss of a queen,
apart from the hygienic and reproductive con-
ditions of the hive and its contents thus
seriously interfered with.

Mr. Adams says preventive and pre-
cautionary measures are greatly to be com-
mended ; but, knowing how inadequate is the
knowledge generally possessed as to the lite-
history of these micro-organisms, he inclines
to the belief that " stamping out " is preferable
to experiments at cure. He truly remarks
that the avarice of individuals, and more fre-
quently ignorance or lack of foresight on the
part of apiarists and agriculturists, often cause
extensive losses of other people's bees and
crops. Reluctance to destroy {pro bono
publico), as Nature, if left to herself, will
assuredly do, is much to be deprecated, for the
focus of infection, like an outbreak of fiie,
can be combatted best at the initial stage.

He adds, woe betide the apiarist who
attempts remedial measures who does not
fully appreciate the difficulties of the task.
Practical and theoretical knowledge is needful
to annihilate the enemy, whose methods of
attack are as assiduous as they are insidious.
The safest and shortest road to ultimate
immunity from the pest is destruction by fire
of all affected bees and combs, and effectual
disinfection of hives, quilts, feeders, and all
appliances by boiling or steaming at a tem-
perature of at least 212 deg. And more than
once is desirable, and on each occasion for
half an hour at least. A proper sterilising
chamber is recommended.

Mr. Adams does not in the least deprecate
the value of naphthol beta in the syrup, and
naphthaline in uninfected hives, especially in
the neighbourhood of infected centres ; but in
vain may the bee-keeper draw around his fairy
ring of carbolic acid and phenolated syrup,
and make his bees dyspeptic with beta
naphthol, unless he also properly disinfects
any infected hive and furniture. Spores that
survive a temperature of even 212 deg. Fah.
demand a thoroughness in all the details or
some will survive. He fays : " Therefore
sterilise your infected hives, but follow the old

motto, quocunque trahunt fata sequamur, so
far as the unfortunate bees are concerned.
Destroy them in toto, or Nature may order a
greater execution over a far wider area."

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinioTis expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, hut as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should [be draivn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communioations.

NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2089.] "Weather continues mild and fairly
dry, and with open, mild weather the work in
the apiary which is often left till the " more
convenient time " may still be done, though
not so well calculated to the future well-being
of the bees as the same work done a month
earlier in the year.

Where the feeding-up has been done, the
winter passages attended to, and the quilts
and wraps or chaff cushions properly adjusted,
the roofs made waterproof and the covers
windproof, then the bees, if strong in numbers
headed with young queens and provided
with plenty of food, may be allowed to rest in
quietness and peace for the winter months.

I always like to clear all weeds from under
the hives before packing for winter. This allows
free ventilation and draught under the hives
or between the legs of stools, and tends to
increase the durability of the hives and sup-
ports, and if my hives rested on plinths I
should give them a coating every other year
with gas or coal tar. This ttuff can be made
to work on as easily as paint by the addition
of paraffin to thin it down to the proper con-
sistency, and is a great preservative of wood
when in contact with the ground.

Yes, I went to the Dairy Show, Islington,
met old friends and new ones' there, though,
when contrasted with the shows at South
Kensington, a decade or more since, the men
have changed, though the object is the same.
Old familiar faces, as I remember them then,
are missing ; nay, many of the prominent ones
of that time are gone to that bourne from
whence no traveller returns ; some are still
with us, though absent from the show, and in
looking down the list of exhibitors I miss the
familiar names that used to compete — not
only compete for, but also carry off, the
prizes.

On the present occasion it was gratifying to
find the Berkshire boys well to the fore, taking
the three prizes for comb honey, showing that
our Koyal county is equal to any in her flora,
and in the extracted honey, though we failed
to win the prize, we got R. and V.H.C.,
V.H.C., H.C., and C. ; thus all Berks exhibits
(that were staged) took prizes or honourable
mention, except 1,189, my own exhibit in the
box and basket classes.

426

THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL. [Oct. 25, 1894.

This brings us to the so-called commercial
classes for honey, which really developed in
the minds oi the judges into a " Box and
basket class." The contents of the tins,
which every exhibitor considered the most
suitable commercial package, received but
little attention at the hands of the judges, and
results would have been the same if the whole
of the tins had been empty. Therefore I
contend that if the same classes are repeated
another year it will be as well to strike out the
words " extracted honey," and insert " the
most suitable package for the transit of
honey," gnd thus give our manufacturers —
be they "box or basket makers" — a class
to themselves. The wording of the schedule
is certainly ambiguous and open to each exhi-
bitor's different rendering, but I for one — and
I know I do not stand alone in my reading of
the words — contend that the package contain-
ing the honey was, and is, the commercial
package referred to in the schedule, and not
the case containing the commercial package,
and if the judges had adjudicated on the
packages and their contents the awards would
most certainly have had a different placement ;
that at least is my opinion, and supposing I
know anything regarding the quality of
honey.

These classes another year, or at another
show, whether it be at " The Dairy " or any
other honey show, should be so worded that
every exhibitor should know for what he is
going to compete. This year, if I had known
it was for travelling cases or hampers, I should
not have entered or taken the trouble and
expense of getting a stock of tins, and sending
the honey to London in unsaleable quantities.
Fortunately I had one tin with a tap, and that
fact sold my exhibit ; otherwise it would have
been returned at end of show to the " "World's
End," and then bottled and sent up to London
again.

Then, from another point of view, who
would think of purchasing a new packing-case
in which to pack tins of honey. If any
customer ordered 1 cwt. of honey I should put
it in four 28-lb. tins, and pack the four tins in
an empty section-box, first putting a layer of
hay or straw, then the tins one in each corner,
then push hay between the tins and between
the tins and the sides of box and on top, and
nail down. Thus you see my box would cost
nothing, or in the event of my not having
empty (1,000 section) cases I should pack
the same quantity in a cube sugar box,
cost price 6d., and if I received an order for
5 cwt. I should not pack in larger quantities
than 1 cwt. in a box, Railway porters are not
always chummy enough with each other to
lend a helping hand, and a large crate, such
as was landed in the honey section at the
Dairy Show, in the gallery, with one lid
squeezed off, and contents dripping, was the
result of packing in too large quantities, and
not using even the precaution of any packing
material. This lot was more than one man could

move about comfortably. I mention this case
as an object-lesson to our exhibitors in the
future. If I produced extracted honey on a
large scale I should have tins made to hold
5 cwt. each with taps, and pack two in one case
— case and tins returnable ; but with the small
tins, and in smaller quantities, the carriage of
empties would be almost as much as the cost
of new tins. — W, Woodley, Beedon, New-
bury.

THE "WELLS" SYSTEM.

[20.90.] Friend W. Martin (2080) wishes
to hear how my hives worked on the "Wells"
plan turned out. As I said some time ago,
I could not find time to weigh my takings
from hives worked on this system, but will
give a bit of experience with half-a-dozen
double stocks this season.

I have only one that holds ten frames on
each side of the perforated dummy, and these
stocks were put in this particular hive last
year. When the hives were full of bees I put
on a shallow super (after putting on the ex-
cluder), filling it up with shallow frames of
worked-out combs. As the bees increased I
put on two supers of standard frames of
worked-out combs, each holding about nine
frames, on top of the shallow super, that was
the full length of the hive. I got this super
entirely filled, and the two supers of standard
frames each about half full. I lifted off the
two top supers, and had to take out shallow
frames one by one and shake the bees off, as
it was too heavy and cumbersome to lift, and
to put an escape under, as I had not another
super of the same size and length ; so, after
taking two or more frames out, I put other
combs in that I had previously extracted, and
so worked through to the other end of hive,
but as our season came to an end there was
very little more put in it.

Of course I put the two supers with full-
sized standard frames on to the top again, and
left them on till I cleared them out at the end
of the season. These hives have required
feeding up for winter. The five other double
stocks did fairly well. I tiered them up with
shallow frames of foundation, as these hives
were only 2 ft. long, so as to give the queens
more room for breeding if they required it — of
course, putting in a shallow dummy to keep
the queens apart. I then put on excluder,
and on the top of that worked-out combs in
shallow frame supers. These did fairly well
for honey, but not enough for the extra
trouble and work they gave compared with
single stock hives that were tiered up with
ready-built combs for extracting. I only had
one swarm from these double hives, and this
one swarmed while I was away at the
Cambridge show ; but as it was late when I
got home I had to defer putting this swarm
back till early the next morning. Of course
I had to take the supers off, as well as the
excluders, and take the shallow frames out
from the one that had swarmed to cut out

Oct. 25, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

427

queen cells. I found these shallow brood
frames joined at bottom to the top bars
of the stock hive below, being built full of
drone comb and brood between bottom bar
and top bar of bottom frame. The other side
that had not swarmed had to be treated in the
same way before I could lift off this super. I
then had to go over standard frames below
to cut out queen-cells, also to cover over the
other side so that the queens should not by
chance get from one side to the other where
bees had swarmed. I examined this lot and
saw the queen, and found that they had not
made any preparations to swarm, so after
putting on the shallow frames again, as well as
excluder and supers, I stopped the entrance of
the one that had the queen in, and then giving
the skep containing the swarm a few puflFs of
tobacco smoke, I threw them on to a tray and
let them run into their old hive again, the one
from which they swarmed. I watched tho
queen go in, and put a carbolic cloth to keep
the bees to their own side of the entrance.
These did fairly well, but at the end of the
season, some time after taking off all supers
and shallow frames which were under the
excluder, and covering them up, I found all the
bees had deserted from that side that did not
swarm and joined the other stock, leaving that
side empty of honey. Since then I have put in a
lot of driven bees, giving them the combs the
bees had deserted. But, first of all, they were
put into another hive close by the side, and
lifted out of that into the double hive, so that
there was no chance for them to go into the
other side. I have had four lots out of the
five that have been minus the bees on one side
into which I have put other lots in a similar
way to the above. I also had one lot last year
that did the same, so no doubt the queens got
killed. I do not like the tiering up with brood
combs or foundation, as there is too much work
about it, but, all being well, I shall give them
another season's trial. I prefer the hive that
holds ten frames on each side of dummy.
Years ago I had three full-size double hives,
but as two of them would not hold standard-
size frames, I had discarded them when I
changed all my hives that were not of standard
size to the standard size. Here I may mention
that I had made many of these hives before
the standard frame was fixed upon. I think,
too, that friend Martin was like me in working
these double hives years ago, that we did not
super them with one super, common to both
lots, but separately. I very well remember
friend Martin being at our place, years ago,
when one of these double-stock hives swarmed;
first one lot came out, and then almost imme-
diately that on the other side came out ; it
appeared as though they both had got the
swarming fever at the same time. 1 cannot
speak very enthusiastically about the system,
but if all's well I will try it again.

Here I may say that our honey flow was so
short that had I not had a lot of worked-out
combs with 1^-in. top bars I should not have

had as nice a lot of extracted honey as I did
get. It is also possible that, if the honey flow
had continued longer, these double stocks
might have done better than they did, in com-
parison to the single stocks. I am sorry to
hear that Mr. Martin has had such a bad
season for honey, but there must have been
some about his locality, or else he would not
have had so many swarms as he told me he
had had, and which I mentioned in my last
echo. The great point seems to me (and this
took me several years to get into my noddle)
that the way to get the most honey in a short
season is either to prevent the bees swarming,
or if they do happen to swarm, to cut out
queen cells and put the swarm back. In 1893
1 did not have a single natural swarm, whereas
this year I had about thirty from about seventy
hives. I see from the Beekeepers^ Review, there
is an extract from James Heddon's quarterly
paper saying he had only had, I think, one
swarm. He thinks he is breeding the
swarming mania out of his bees. Let
him, however, wait another year or two, and
he will probably find he is mistaken. Another
point Mr. Martin mentions is that his friend
NicoUs said he would have to feed. Well, I
have had to feed, as my stocks that were
worked for extracted honey put nearly all of
it in the frames of the top body boxes, and
these I extracted. When I crowded the bees
below, what could be done but feed after
taking all their honey away from them.— John
Walton, Honetj Cott, Weston, Leamington.
October 13, 1894.

BEES IN COUNTY KILKENNY.

[2091.] The season of '9-4 was ushered in
with beautiful weather, with reports of
swarms as early as April. Bees made such
rapid progress during the early part of May
that swarms were quite common, when a
sudden change in the weather brought all
colonies to a standstill, and they remained so
till about June 20, when the swarming fever
returned with renewed vigour. The skepists
have their apiaries increased by more than
half. When the season for the sulphur-pit
arrived, there was scarcely a hive to be found
worth destroying the bees for the stores they
had gathered. I know a skepist who has
twenty-four stocks, and out of that number he
could not get one worth " taking up." I had
made arrangements with him early in the
season to drive some stocks when the time
came, but the hives were so light he gave up
the idea, and, instead of the driven bees I was
to get, he gave me a couple of stocks to take
away undisturbed, as he could not, he said,
feed them all.

A lot of late and after-swarms died from
starvation as early as August. This will give
an idea of the season in this district. Bee-
keepers who have adopted the frame hive are
something better off. I think about 30 lb.
would be about the average for hives well
managed. I secured about 40 lb. myself, but

428

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Oct. 25, 1894.

I have to feed very liberally, as the beeS
carried almost all they gathered to the supers-
To further illustrate what I say of the season,
as well as my own success, I attach one of
several extracts taken from our local papers'
report of the Iverk Farming Society's Show,
held in Bessborough Park on September 25 : —
" Constable Kerry, Piltown, had on exhi-
bition a splendid collection of honey gathered
in the village, which was, however, late for
entry. The tent was crowded during the day
by visitors, who complimented Mr. Kerry in the
warmest terms upon his success."

We have no bee-keepers' association here,
and my object in having the exhibit at the
show was to bring the bee-keeping industry
prominently before the public.

My next letter will be about stray swarms,
and a swarm building combs in the open air
and living there for two months. — M. K., Pil-
town, CO. Kilkenny.

" ROBBING.'

[2092.] "We all know the risk of leaving
honey exposed, especially in weather when
bees are flying, but this is not the worst risk
that bee-keepers have to contend with. I
have just had an unfortunate experience which
shows that we cannot too securely protect our
honey, especially honey going to and from ex-
hibitions. The very fact that the contents are
described on the outside, in order to insure
extra careful handling, acts as an additional
temptation to dishonest hands employed by
the carriers. I and two others agreed to share
a big exhibit of Yorkshire honey in bulk at the
" Dairy." For simplicity it was all ordered to
one destination twenty miles out. On opening
the cases, it was found that one tin of 28 lb.
weight had been entirely emptied of its con-
tents, but the lid of the tin had been carefully
replaced, so that it had all the appearance of a
full package ! The operation had evidently
been carried out under stress of time, much
honey had been spilled in the crate, and the
other tins evidently repacked without the least
particle of care. It shows the great necessity
for some fastening not easily tampered with,
and the advantage of padlocks such as those
attached to the exhibits to which a prize
was awarded at the recent show. My own
unfortunate experience should act as a warn-
ing. It is very vexatious, not to speak of the
money loss and the trouble of endeavouring to
fix the blame on the carriers or railway com-
panies, who are " very adepts " in the art of
shirking or shifting responsibility. — E. D. T.

DAIRY SHOW.
[2093.] In response to an appeal in the
Journal a few weeks ago I decided to become
an exhibitor of honey at the recent Dairy
Show. I sent to the secretary for a schedule,
and was greatly surprised to find that all the
honey to be shown must have been gathered
during 1894. I made an entry in four classes.

and informed the secretary that if it were
insisted on that the granulated honey must be
of the current year I should be glad if he
would cancel my entry in that class. He at
once replied that there could not be a doubt
as to the meaning of the rules, andjreturned me
my entry-fee. Fancy, then, my surprise when
at the Dairy Show I found the judges, while
busy with this class, acknowledging that they
looked on the honey as having been gathered
prior to this year, and awarded prizes regard-
less of the rule. Of course I am not opjjosed
to old honey being shown, in fact I very much
favour it, but I do contend that at a great
show, held so near to headquarters, one ought
to expect better treatment than this.

I also made an entry in the one hundred-
weight and the quarter hundredweight classes,
and in order that there should be no mistake
as to the judge's expectations ?'e " Commercial
Packages,'' I consulted an eminent authority.
He courteously replied that " so long as a
decent commercial package is used suitable
for the wholesale trade, I do not know that
more importance than this need be attached to
it. For myself, I certainly look to contents as
of infinitely more importance than package,
but the honey must be in decent presentable
form on show-bench." After receiving this I
at once set to work and got my honey ready
in 28, 14, and 7 lb. lever tins, which in due
course were packed in box and sent to the
show. At the show after the judges had made
their awards, I was informed that although my
honey was the best, the judges had given the
prizes toother exhibits, because of the packages.
They looked on my lever tins as not being
" commercial packages." Now to meet the
requirements of the judges, let us see what I
must do. In the heavy class I exhibited three
28 lb., one 14 lb., and four 7 lb. tins (the
wholesale trade, I find, does not confine itself
to 2 stone tins), that is, in all I had eight tins.
These I got from the London makers, and in
order to suit the judges I must send these to
a basket-maker (for no appliance dealer deals
in these things), to have each fitted round
with wicker-work, with wicker-work lids and
handles. After that I must get eight little
locks, with eight little keys. When I have
got my packages home and duly filled, I must
write eight labels and forward three miles to
nearest railway station. From leaving my
house, these eight separate packages will have
to be handled by railway or other servants
quite eight diflerent times ere they reach the
show bench in the Agricultural Hall. Now,
come, gentlemen, are these the require-
ments of commercial men of to-day, or are

they those of a lot of well, don't let us be

unkind, say the uncommercial ? If you can't
determine, please go to your grocer and ask
him how he receives and distributes similar
goods — take, if you like, golden syrup. My
grocer tells me he receives it in lever tins
packed 1 cwt. in a box. Surely we cannot be
far wrong if we take these commercial men,

Oct. 25, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

429

who are handling tons of such commodities
as our guide.

We will, however, if you like, simply for
argument's sake, allow that some such package
as that favoured at the Dairy Show is desir-
able. Wouldn't it be fairer to invite appli-
ance-makers to compete in such a class rather
than to have people like myself, who are bee-
keepers pure and simple, spending a good
deal of valuable time, trouble, and money over
exhibits that, be their productions never so
good, must end in failure, and give rise to a
feeling of disgust ?—Chas. Atkinson, Toch-
with, York, October 17, 1894.

[It was, no doubt, a printer's error to state
granulated honey was to be of this year, and
the secretary interpreted schedule as printed.
There maybe differences of opinion as to what
commercial packages should be like, but there
could be no difference of opinion that they
should be such as to ensure the safe transit of
the honey from the bee-keeper to the pur-
chaser. The way golden syrup is packed cer-
tainly insures its safe transit, but from the
fact that our correspondent's honey was
tampered with, and that a whole 28 lb. tin
arrived empty at the purchaser's, shows that
something more than a simple lever lid tin is
required for its protection, as will be seen
by reference to letter headed " Robbery " in
this issue, and that the judges were fully justi-
fied in their awards. The class was open to all,
and not restricted to bee-keepers only, there-
fore our correspondent was not obliged to ex-
hibitin this class unless he chose. — Eds. B.B.JP\

^uxm and Jlcjiies.

[1187.] Drone-hreeding Queen. — I am send-
ing you by this mail a piece of comb from my
hive, and should be obliged for your opinion
of its contents. Up till July 1 had two stocks
— i.e., a parent stock and swarm — both in
frame hives. About first week in August I
suspected queenlessness in both hives, and at
end of August united the stocks, as then I was
sure they were queenless, being broodies.';, so I
united the two lots, and purchased a queen
from a well-known dealer, which arrived on
August 28, and was duly introduced. At end
of nine days there was no brood. I then
began to stimulate by feeding, and at end of
another nine days found brood and eggs in
worker cells, as per comb enclosed in box.
But these have all hatched out drones, no
workers having been hatched in the hive since
queen was introduced ; and the bees continue
to throw out young drones in all stages of
growth, and occasionally drone grubs. Three
frames in centre of brood-nest have been used
in this way ; remainder of frames (seven) are
entirely clear, free from brood in every degree,
and contain nothing but honey and pollen.
Queen sent seemed small, and not very lively.
Do you think; she is a droqe Ipreeder ? It would

seem like it. After introduction of queen
about half a dozen dead bees were found lying
on ground in front of hive, but the queen
most certainly was not among them, as I
looked most carefully. — (Rev.) J. W.
Chalmers, Kirkwall, Orkney, October 2.

Reply.— The sample of comb sent clearly
proves that the queen now in the hive has not
Ijeen fertilised, and consequently is a drone-
breeder. Whether or not she is the actual
queen sold to you by the dealer referred to,
of course we cannot positively say, seeing there
is a possibility that the two stocks were not
queenless when united just before the intro-
duction of alien queen. We think the right
course would be to explain the case to the
dealer who sent the queen, and hear what he
has to say. He may be prepared to vouch for
the fertility of the queen sent, and, if so, what
can be said in contravention by a third person
possessing no means of personally verifying
the facts ?

[1188.] Avoiding Exciting Bees when
Uniting. — During the year I have united a
good many stocks by simply smoking and
alternating combs, so far without any fighting,
the results being always satisfactory. On the
27th ult. I attempted to do the same thing,
putting two combs each of bees into two hives ;
they were apparently accepted, and I thought
all going on well, but the following morning,
to my surprise, I found the ground literally-
covered with dead bees, the strangers evi-
dently having been killed. I may add, I put
shallow frames in at the same time to be cleared
up. 1. Can you tell me why this happened,
as the same occurred in both hives ? 2. Is it
usual so late in the season to use extra pre-
cautions ? If so, what are they. Thanking
you in anticipation. — E. B., Swansea, October 2.
Reply. — 1. We think there can be no doubt
that the giving of frames for clearing up when
uniting caused the mischief. 2. So far from
its being necessary to use extra precaution at
this season, autumn is generally found to be a
good season for uniting, if done at a time
when robbing is not rife. It is certain that
nothing so much excites bees as giving them
wet combs to clean up ; and, when uniting,
everything tending to cause excitement should
be carefully avoided.

[1189.] Carbolised Cloth. — I have seen
carbolised cloth mentioned in your columns as
an alternative to smokers, and should be much
obliged if you will kindly let me know your
opinion of it, also method of use and approxi-
mate cost. It is not kept by the firm with
whom I deal for bee appliances, nor is it
mentioned in any of the lists that have been
sent me. Can you tell me where to procure
it, supposing that you advocate its use ? My
objection to smokers is that they require a
second pair of hands to keep them alight,
which is not always convenient. — C. M., Co.
Meath.

Reply. — Make the following solution : —
Ih oz, C'alvert'^ J^o, 5 carbolic aoid, 1| oi. of

430

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Oct. 25, 1894.'

glycerine, 1 quart of warm water. The acid
and glycerine should be well mixed before
adding the water, and the bottle should be
well shaken before using. A piece of cheese
cloth, 18 in. square, is soaked in this solution,
and, after wringing it, spread it over the hive.
It answers the purpose very well, but, carbolic
acid being poisonous, great care should be
taken not to have the solution too strong. A
good smoker properly charged and kept
upright when not in use will keep alight as
long as the fuel lasts,

[1 190.] Appearance of Asphyxiated Brood.
— I beg to thank you for your reply to my
query (No. 1185) r« asphyxiation of larvse. What
I really wanted to know was the appearance of
the brood in the earlier — the grub — stage,
rather than the sealed nymph, as I cannot
help thinking that what I should call the more
delicate just-hatched grub would be visibly
affected, and I should then be able to save my
" whole combs of brood '' from perishing. My
excuse for troubling you again is the import-
ance of this question to all who are using, or
are about to use, naphthaline. — Ned Swain,
Canterbury/, October 20.

Reply. —The young grubs generally turn
grey, and become iiabby, frequently lying
stretched on the side of the cell instead of
being curled up on the base. At a later stage,
if not removed at once by the bees, they
also become grey and watery.

[1191.] Two Queens in One Hive. — On
Sunday, the 14th inst., I saw a large bee
flying at entrance of one of my hives. I
thought it was a late drone, but, on alighting, I
saw it was a queen. Upon entering, about a
dozen workers followed her, showing no
hostility, I examined the same to-day, six
days later, and I saw the old queen, and on the
next frame found another, apparently a young
one, but larger than the old one, I have now
put a division in centre of frames. 1. Do you
think the young queen is fertilised ? 2. If not,
would she be any good next year, as I could
make another stock if both queens prove
active ? — W. H. Smith, Kingsioood, Bristol.

Reply. — 1. It is impossible to say if the
young queen is fertilised from data given, but
we should think it most probable that she is
not. 2. Certainly, if not fertilised, she would
be no use next year, for usually, if fecundation
is delayed beyond twenty-one days, the queen
would only produce drones.

[1192.] Dead Brood in Hives. — In looking
over my bees the other day I find what I
believe to be a good deal of dead brood. A
friend of mine states that it is " chilled brood."
Will you, therefore, kindly say in British
Bee Journal what I ought to do with it ?
Or will the bees clean it out and make it all
right for themselves. — Charles C, John-
ston, Forres, N.B.

Reply. — Without a sample of the dead
brood to guide us, we cannot advise what is

best to be done. It may be foul brood, but
in any case we should not leave combs in
the hive all winter, with rotting brood in
the cells, whether the brood be "foul'' or
" chilled."

ADULTERATED BEESWAX.
At the Borough Police-court, Warwick,
William Ware Walker, of the General Supply
Stores, Market-place, was summoned for sell-
ing beeswax which was adulterated with 60
per cent, of foreign matter. The town clerk
(Mr. Brabazon Campbell) prosecuted, and Mr,
Slade, of Wallingford, defended. The certi-
ficate of the borough analyist (Mr. Bostock
Hill) was not disputed, but it was contended
that, as the defendant had bought the sub-
stance from the Grocers' Association as bees-
wax, and it was invoiced as such, this
amounted to a warranty. The price paid for
it was Is. 3d. per lb., and it was sold at Is. 9d.
per lb. As soon as this prosecution was insti-
tuted the Grocers' Association were communi-
cated with, and they then admitted that it was
not genuine beeswax, but cerasin. They then
altered their price-lists, and called it " yellow
wax " ; but as the defendant had sold the
article bona- fide as he received it, with an im-
plied warranty, he thought it would be unjust
that he should be convicted. The magistrates
held that there was no warranty in law, but
thought that the defendant had acted honestly
throughout, though he had committed an
offence under the act, for which only a
nominal penalty of 5s. would be inflicted. —
Birmingham Daily Fast,

Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded toill be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

T. Ttocs (Shropshire). — If properly made, and
instructions fully carried out, medicated
syrup will keep any length of time without
crystallising. 2. 27^ grains 1 drachm. 3.
Pure cane sugar No. 7, small crystals.

D, H. H. Church. — The comb sent is affected
with foul brood. As the stock from which
this comb was sent is destroyed, can you not
persuade the skeppist to have his remaining
stocks examined, as it is most probable that
they would also be similarly affected.

R. Bayley (Lockites). — As you say there is
nothing the matter with your bees, and they
work very well, we can only assume tbat
the alighting board slopes too much, or is
too short.

S, Greening.- — You should have completed
your feeding last month. As you say, they
have honey in their combs, you must sup-
plement this with cakes of candy placed on
top of frames, unless you can make sure that
they have enough honey. They will require
about 2 square feet superficial.

Nov. 1, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

431

USEFUL HINTS.

This is the dull season in the bee-
world, though we have but now been
drawing attention in our monthly, the
Record, to the exceptional amount of
public interest which has been aroused
during the year on the subject of bee-
keeping, and siiice the article referred to
was written, quite a remarkable confirma-
tion of the fact has appeared in so far as
we bee-men have had the distinction of
a happily conceived little lyric, spon-
taneously composed for us by no less keen
an observer of the flow of public opinion
than the author of " Pinafore."

Mr. W. S. Gilbert in his latest humorous
opera — destined no doubt to become
world-famous — thus writes of : —

THE WILFUL BEE.

A hive of bees, as I've heard say,
Said to their Queen one sultry day,
" Please, your Majesty's high position.

The hive is full and the weather is warm,
We rather think, with due submission,
The time has come when we ought to
swarm ? "
Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz.

Upspake their Queen, and thus spake she —
" This is a matter that rests with me,
Who dares opinions thus to form ?
I'll tell you when it is time to swarm ! "
Buzz, buzz.

Her ]\Iajesty wore an angry frown.
In fact her Majesty's foot was down —
Her Majesty sulked — declined to sup —
In short her Majesty's back was up.

Buzz, buzz,
Her foot was down and her back was up.

That hive contained one obstinate bee
(His name was Peter), and thus spake he —
" Though every bee has shown white feather,

To bow to fashion I am not prone —
Why should a hive swarm all together ?
Surely a bee can swarm alone 1 "
Buzz, buzz.

Ups'de down and inside out.
Backwards, forwards, round about,
Twirling here, and twisting there,
Topsy-turvily everywhere —
Buzz, buzz.

Pitiful sight it was to see
Kespectable, elderly, high-class b:e,
Who kicked the beam at sixteen stoiiCf,
Trying his best to swarm alone !

Buzz, buzz.
Trying his best to swarm alone !

It is not too much to say that the
above quaintly conceived and admiral)ly
expressed verses will make the " wilful
bee " known to millions of people in all
parts of the world. We must therefore
thank the distinguished author forgiving
us a fine " free ad." in addition to the
pleasure the reading affords us.

\Veather. — A wearying round of cold
wet days, which, as we write, show nc
signs of coming to an end, rendering
everything outside wretched in the
extreme, has no doubt contributed largely
to the neglect of much-needed work in
the apiary ; also to the bees, who are
of course the main sufferers through the
weather, and consequent dilatoriness of
their owners. Where feeding has been
neglected, it may be useful to have here
described a feeder, designed for late
feeding by Mr. W. Hogg, who thus
explains its use : — " I send you sketch of
a feeder that may be of use to some who
neglect to feed up their bees before cold
weather sets in. Bees will not leave the
cluster far in cold weather for food,
therefore many hives perish when food
is placed too far from the cluster. The
sketch, I think, will show how it is made.

The glass that slides over the two open-
ings is not shown. The food is put in a
wide-mouthed bottle and a piece of cloth
held over it till the bottle is turned up
on the sunk ring at the end of feeder,
when the cloth is withdrawn, and the
syrup runs along the four grooves on
each side of the openings ; the bees have
scarcely any distance to come up and
take the food down. It can also be
placed to give winter passages, or when
it is put to run the same way as the
frames the openings are placed right
above two seams of bees." When the
time is past for giving liquid food, a cake
of candy may be set in the feeder and
the quilts laid on above the glass, so
that the condition of the candy may be
seen at any time without disturbing the
bees.

432

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Nov. 1, 1894.

Next in importance to feeding comes
making sure that each stock has a queen
at its head. Where the usual autumn
inspection has not yet been made, and
the presence of a queen assured, it should
be done at once. It is no use wasting
time on queenless bees at this season. If
worth re-queening at all there may yet
be time to do it in, but none too much.
If not worth it, uniting is the only way
of utilising the bees if worth saving at
all. Briefly, then, the points which can
no longer be neglected are (a) queen,
(b) food, and (c) bees. The first should
be young, the second weigh 12 lb. to
20 lb. — the latter for preference — and
the third, not less than four or five
frames, well covered with bees. The rest
must then be left to " time."

EOXBURGHSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

The annual exhibition of this flourishing
association was held in the Corn Exchange,
Jedburgh, on 15th ulc. The association is to
be congratulated on the success of the show
both in point of entries and of the high quality
of the exhibits in every department. The
R.B.K.A. is one of the leading local associa-
tions inScotland. It isaffiliatedtothe Scottish
B.K.A., and has a membership of about 100.
The hall was tastefully decorated with flowers.
Several silver medals were presented as first
prizes by Lady Gibson-Carmichael. Messrs. C .
Chouler, Dalkeith Park, Dalkeith, and John
Wishart, assist. -sec. S.B.K.A., Castlecraig,
Dolphinton, judged the exhibits, and made
the following awards : —

Collection of Honey not exceeding 100 Ih. —
1st, Thomas Clark, Jedburgh ; 2nd, J. Whel-
lans, Edgerston, Jedburgh.

Observatory Hive stocked with Bees. — 1st,
G. Gumming, Langholm ; 2nd, Dr, Fyfe,
Jedburgh.

Collection of Ap^Mances. — 1st, G. Gum-
ming.

Twelve 1-lh. Sections. — 1st, Harry Wood,
Lichfield ; 2nd, G. Ormiston, Jedburgh ;
v.h.c, Thos. Clark ; com., G. Wilson, Kelso.

Design in Honeycomb. — 1st, Avithheld ; 2nd,
Harry Wood.

Best Hive made ly Exhibitor. — 1st, Nichol
Dodds, Melrose ; 2nd, J. Cranston, Jedburgh ;
com., T. Clark.

Six l-lb. Jars Granulated Honey. — 1st, Dr.
Blair, Jedburgh ; com., Thomas Clark.

Beeswax. — 1st, G. Ormiston.

l-lb. Section Clover, l-lb. Section Heather,
l-lb. Jar Clover, and l-lb. Jar Heather Honey.
— 1st, Adam Oliver, Jedburgh,

Siqjer of Clover Honey (county only),—

1st, Jas. Whellans ; 2nd, Jas. Veitch, Jed-
burgh ; h.c, T. Ellis, Jedburgh.

Super of Heather Honey any weight
(county only). — 1st, T. Ord, Jedburgh.

Six l-lb. Sectio7is. — 1st, Jas. Whellans ; 2nd,
G. Wilson.

Sij; 2-lb. Sections. — 1st and 2Qd, Robert
Millar,

Tivelve l-lb. Heather Sections. — 1st, T.
Clark.

Six l-lb. Heather Sections. — 1st, James
Veitch,

Bar-frame of Honey, — 1st, Jas. Kerr,
Birkenside, Jedburgh ; 2nd, Dr. Fyfe.

Super, any loeight. — 1st, Walter Oliver,
Jedburgh ; 2nd, T. Clark.

Super 7 to 10 Z6.— 1st, T, Mabon, Jed-
burgh ; 2 ad, Jas, Whellans.

Heather Su^er 7 to 10 lb. — 1st, Jas.
Whellans.

Super of Honey not under 10 lb. in iveight.
— 1st, Jas. Whellans,

Six l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, H.
Wood ; 2nd, W, Marr, Jedburgh,

Six Founds Extracted Honey. — 1st, H.
Wood ; 2nd, Alex. Anderson, Hawick,

Six lb. Extracted Honey. — 1st, T. Clark ;
2nd, Alex. Anderson.

Beeswax. — 1st, G. Ormiston ; 2nd, W.
Marr.

Wasp Byke. — 2nd, Wm. Linton, Jedburgh.

New Invention in Appliances. — Dr. Fyfe. —
{Communicated).

HONEY SHOW AT KILMARNOCK.

An exhibition of honey and bee-produce
took place in connection with the great Cheese
Show and Fair of the Ayrshire Agricultural
Society, in the Corn Exchange Hall, on the
26th ult., and was attended with gratifying
success. Fortunately, the weather proved
fine, and there was a very large turn-out of
visitors, the amount drawn for admission being
£174. 10s., as against J166. 6s. 6d. last year.

The entries in the bee department numbered
111, and the quality of the exhibits staged
was exceedingly good.

Mr, Geo. D. Gordon, of Glasgow, acted as
judge, and made his awards asunder : —

Six l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, Wm.
Hogg, Castle Douglas ; 2nd, Ross & Kerr,
Dumfries ; 3rd, John Howard, jun.,
Stewarton ; v.h.c, R. Cameron, Stewarton ;
h.c, AV. Gilchrist, Castle Douglas ; c, W.
Graham, Annan.

Six l-lb. Sections. — 1st, W. Hogg ; 2nd,
Ross & Kerr ; v.b. and h.c. Alex. Pollock,
Tarbolton ; c, R. Paton, Galston,

Six 1 - lb. Heather Sections. — 1st, J.
M'Donald, Kingussie ; 2nd, J, and T, Hender-
son, Kilmalcolm.

Six 2-lb. Sections. — 1st, Wm. Hogg ; 2nd,
Ross & Kerr : h.c, J. Murdoch, Kilmarnock.

Six l-lb. Jars Oramilated Honey . — 1st, John
Ramsay, Hurlford ; 2nd, Ross & Kerr ;

Nov. 1, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

433

v.h.c, W. Graham ; h.c, J. and T. Hender-
son ; c, Wm. Hogg.

Beeswax. — 1st, Wm. Hogg; 2nd, Harry
Wood, Paradise, Lichfield ; v.h.c, John
Brown, Newmilns ; h.c, John Kamsay ; c,
Jas. Murdoch, Crosshouse.

Two l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey. — 1st, J.
Ramsay ; 2Qd, Richard Dodd, Tarporley,
Cheshire ; 3rd, C. B. Anstey, Grandpont,
Oxford ; v.h.c. and h.c , Wm. Hogg ; c, A.
Montgomerie, Kilmaurs.

Tivo l-lb. Sections. — 1st, Wm. Hogg ; 2nd,
"W. Graham ; 3rd and h.c , Alex. Pollock,
Tarbolton; v.h.c, John M'Donald ; c, Hugh
Smith, Tofts, Tarbolton.

Design in Honey Comb. — 1st, Ross and
Kerr.

Super of Flower Honey. — 1st and 2nd, Wm.
Hogg ; v.h.c, Ross & Kerr ; h.c, A. Mont-
gomerie ; c, John Walker, Kilmaurs.

Super of Heather Honey. — 1st, John
Walker ; 2nd. J. and T. Henderson,

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to lorite on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should .be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Co7nmunications relating to the literary department,
r&ports of Associations, Shotcs, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Heview, <i:c.,must be addressed only to" The
Editors of the ' BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, i&c, tnu.st be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William- street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

%• In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by tnentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

AWARDS AT THE DAIRY SHOW.

[2094.] I think the editorial note appended
to Mr. 0. Atkinson's letter (2093, p. 428) is
not quite correct. Classes 68 and 69 were for
bee-keepers only, because all the honey classes
were restricted to the product of the exhi-
bitor's bees.

But this is a small matter compared with
the main contention of Messrs. Atkinson's and
Woodley's protests. I sympathise with them
both, and freely admit that to the meagre,
and, therefore, ambiguous wording of the
schedule by the B.B.K.A. committee their
disappointment is largely due, and as a
member thereof I accept my own share of
the blame. I remember the schedule coming
before the committee ; the object of class 68
(112 lb.), and 69 (28 lb.) was to attract exhi-
bits (a) in quantity, (6) in quality, (c) in con-
venient commercial, wholesale form, by which
latter expression I understand that the honey
be put up preseatably in portable shape, and
properly protected. " Presentability " is a
prime commercial consideration, because it

attracts purchasers, and in the term " com-
mercial package " there was wide scope for
the ingenuity of exhibitors to devise present-
able and novel forms, and this point naturally
weighed with the judges. I .sympathise, too,
with the judges, for they have a difficult and
thankless task, and frequently it gives them
positive pain to discriminate in difficult cir-
cumstances to the seeming disadvantage of
the most deserving exhibits.

The committee of the B.B.K.A, should have
added the following clause ; it is similar to
that used for the parcel post egg-package
competition (twelve eggs have to be sent to
the show by post), in which the quality of
the eggs is expressly stated to be an element
for consideration in the awards : — •

"Price of package, exclusive of the honey,
to be stated ; weight, cost, and security of
of package to be taken into consideration, as
well as the quality of the honey."

I hope Messrs. Atkinson and Woodley will
not take their disappointment too much to
heart. The experience (purchased, unfortu-
nately, at their expense) is most valuable, and
they may rest assured that the lesson is not
likely to be lost on the B.B.K.A. As my
initials are found in a trite expression apropos
to the subject, I beg to subscribe myself

" EXPERIEXTIA DOCET."

DAIRY SHOW,
[2095.] I am obliged by your insertion of
my letter in this week's Journal, but from
the tone of your editorial footnote I think you
have not quite understood it. I sent my
honey to show, as I say in my letter, in lever
tins enclosed in boxes. The same were un-
packed, I presume, by the show official, and
placed on the bench, and the empty case put
to one side. When, about noon, I saw my
honey in competition I certainly thought it in
every particular met the requ'rements of the
schedule and could be said to be " in decent
presentable form on show-bench.'' I ex-
hibited something less than twelve stones of
honey, which was sent in three boxes. At
the close of the show I, unfortunately, could
not be present to see to the packing up
of honey, A gentleman, however, kindly
promised to look to it, and this he
did, so he informs me, all save placing on
the lorry. After this, it seems, a dis-
honest hand, employed by carriers, must have
got hold of one of the cases and prised up the
lid, that had been fastened down with nails,
and then — and not till then— could he get ac
the lever lid of the tin. Your footnote says
" that something more than a lever-lid tin is
required for its (the honey's) protection," and
quite ignores (unintentionally, it may be) the
fact of the lever tins being packed inside
wooden case with case-lid nailed down. It
has certainly been a daring theft, but one that
is not by any means unknown. Ca?es of
tinned meats and of Swiss milk have some-

434

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Nov. 1, 1894.

times had the lid of the case taken com-
pletely ofi', and the contents of one or
more of the tins extracted, the em]3ty
replaced, aud all again fastened down. It's not
an uncommon thing, either, to have a cask of
costly wine broached in transit. And yet
nobody would think of charging the purveyors
of these goods with using other than suitable
commercial packages. I should consider it a
more daring stroke to open a nailed-down
packing-case than for a man to take his pocket
knife and in an instant either cut or pull away
or breik the loop, from which the lock hangs
on the Avicker case favoured at the Dairy Show.
Another neat method of stealing from this
package would be to strike the basket vrork a
smart blow under the shoulder of tin, when in
every probability the lid would be started, and
running the honey through the wicker-
work would be simplicity itself. Of course,
the cause of the leakage would be put
down to the chapter of accidents. Since
the Dairy Show I have consulted some of
my customers, and I find that they prefer to
pay for packages and deal with contents at
their convenience rather than have to find a
vessel of their own into which to run the
honey, and also have to pay carriage of my
returned empties, the last item being often
quite one-half the cost of package. For many
years I have sold a fair quantity of extracted
honey packed as previously described, and can
safely say that not one pickage in ten has
been returned empty. It was hardly necessary
in your footnote to inform me that I was not
obliged to show unless I chose. For some few
years now I have been aware of my right of
choice, and have invariably exercised it in one
direction, and I'm quite sure I should not
have troubled to exhibit at the recent
show Had it not been for the request in
the Journal that bee-keepers should support
the show by making a good display. You
also inform me these classes weie open to all,
and not restricted to bee-keepers. The
schedule has it that "the honey shown must
have been gathered by exhibitor's own bees,"
evidently, then, it is restricted to bee-keepers.
But to suppose that I either expect or desire
that appliance dealers who are also bee-
keepers should be excluded from showing is
to put a construction on my letter that I
think it cannot bear. What I contend is,
that the judges did not award the prizes
to " extracted honey in commercial packages "
according to the evident intention of
the framers of the schedule (see the
opinion I quote m my last letter), but that
they gave the awards to the " cases containing
the commercial packages." The B.B.K.A. has
in the past cautioned bee-keepers against new
and untried appliances ; but if this kind of
judging is persisted in, it means that they in
future, if they are desirous of gaining prizes.
will have to join the ranks of ''inventors of
appliances " who show honey. I am pleased to
find Mr. Woodley (whose acquaintance I was

glad to make at the show, bub with whom re-
specting these classes I didn't exchange a
single word) holds views very similar to my
own, but gives them infinitely better expres-
sion.— Chas. Atkinson, Tockwith, October 26,
1894.

[We fear that our correspondent does not
quite appreciate the delicacy of the position
in which individual editors of this journal are
placed under the circumstances dealt with in
the above communication. We may, there-
fore be allowed to say — -gentlemen who accept
the duties of judging cannot (or ought not)
enter into a discussion with disappointed
exhibitors as to the justice or otherwise of the
awards they have felt it their duty to make.
We are still more sorry to find the difficulty
of our position increased by the importation
of an editorial footnote into the discussion,
and trust we shall not be misunderstood in
expressing a hope that our correspondent will
be content with the full ventilation of his
views on the subject which have appeared in
our last two issues, and kindly allow the
matter to drop without a further reply on our
part. — Eds.]

DAIRY SHOW.

" commercial fackages."

[2096.] If you will allow me space, I
would just like to pull friend Woodley up a
bit re his statement on page 426 of last week's
B.J., which seems to me a little misleading, so
far as it implies that Mr. W, considers his
honey would have been placed before mine
but for the package. Now, when at the Dairy
Show, we had some friendly chat, and in course
of it sampled our respective exhibits as staged,
and Mr. Woodley — who should be a judge of
honey — expressed the opinion that my honey
was equal to his own. I don't suppose this
was said to mislead me, but as his candid
opinion, and so what comes of the " box and
basket " winning the prize as stated ?

It seems to my mind a " commercial
package " is to all intents and purposes a
proper receptacle for honey — either a bjx or a
basket — -which does not leave the contents to
the tender mercies of carriers or railway
officials, or any one else who handles it. A
self-opening tin is no protection, and I con-
tend, quite as earnestly as those who take an
opposite view, that my reading of the schedule
of the Dairy Show was a correct one, and
carried out to the letter. My package, though
only of light wicker-work, was strong enough
to travel the world over. It was also pre-
sentable at any gentleman's house, or to stand
in any grocer's window — in fact, more of a
"commercial package" than an old " Hudson's
soap " box.

I should know something of packing stuff
to travel safely, seeing that I pack and send
away every season hundreds of baskets of
fruit — ripe and green — to all parts of the

Nov. 1, 1891]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

435

kingdom, besides roses, e^Ts, and honey ; and
in fifteen years I h.ive not liad one complaint.
What I do I try to do well, and this was the
course 1 followed at the Diiry Show.

I trust Mr. Woodley and 1 are not going to
have any lessening of our friendliness on
account of my plain speaking, but I think he
should read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest
the next schedule, and not be hard on me
because of having gained a first prize over his
head after three years' showing at the "Dairy
Show.'' I must say I enjoyed my week's
holiday at the " Dairy " and the conversazione
very much, and the main pleasure I had was
in meeting our good friend '"JSotes by the
Way '' and other prominent members of the
craft in pleasant fellowship. — R. BiiowN,
tSomersham, Octohcr 2.

BEES IN A ROOF.

[2097.] I send you a short sketch of a bee
visit I made a few days ago. The last time I
saw Mr. Carr he commended my making my-
self useful amongst our bee-keepers in South
Wales, and by what I am about to say, you
will see we are still at work.

Some months back Mrs. Thomas, of Lleth-
erelestry, in the parish of Llanddavy, Carmar-
thenshire, wrote to me in reference to some
bees in the roof of the house where Captain
Thomas now resides, but nothing further was
done until a few days ago, when Mrs. Thomas
obtained permission for me to pay a visit, and
see the position of the bees, and what would
be required to dislodge them. In the mean-
time I had ascertained that bees had been
in the roof of this mansion for upwards of forty
years. I now thought it would be no small
matter to remove them, so I decided to ask a
friend, Mr. Taylor, head gardener to E. H. Bath,
Esq., of Athyferen, who takes a great delight
in bees, to accompany me. Having fixed the
day, the Captain sent his carriage for us, and
on arriving I found the bees going in through
the slates in large numbers. We found a third
person ready to assist us — one of the masons
on the estate, who was very serviceable. In a
short time I took oft' a few slates, and found
that under these there was a good thickness of
cement, or something of the kind, and under-
neath the rafters it was boarded. The bees
had, however, gone right through slates,
cement, and boards, and taken up their abode
beneath the boards, so that there was only a
lath-and- plaster wall between the bees and the
room below. After ascertaining the exact
position, about ten slates were removed, and
one of the boards was sawn in two. Then Mr.
Taylor and I remounted, and commenced to
take out the comb and honey, Mr. Taylor
handing me the tools, and in a very short time
I saw that we had a fine lot of bees, comb,
and honey. By this time the bees had settled
down a little, and both the Captain and Mrs.
Thomas came up to have a look at the finest
show, I suppose, of the kind that has ever

been sjen in Wales. Mrs. Thomas then
measured some of the combs, which were .3 ft.
9 in. long and 23^ in. wide. From this you
will judge that a fine quantity of honey
had been secured. After about three
hours' work bjth bees and honey had been
removed, and the bees placed in a new
frame-hive, into which I had tied some of the
combs with honey. But I found that the
bees, although strong, had no queen. On
returning from there in the evening I came
across a neighbour who had a stock waiting tj
go to the sulphur pit, and I asked him to
allow me to drive the bees instead of killing
them. This I did a few days later, and found
they had a fine young queen. I united these
to the bse? taken from the roof, shaking them
off each frame and dusting them with flour,
and now they are a fine stock for wintering. I
have no doubt, if all goes well, both the owner
and the bees will do good work when the
season comes round, for I am happy to say
that both Captain and Mrs. Thomas are
already enthusiastic in our favourite pursuit.
I may say that Captain Thomas belongs to a
famdy who at one time had over 100 hives in
one of the English counties. I am sure all our
bee-keeping friends will wish them erery
success. — A. Hamer, Llanarthney, Carmarthen-
shire.

A HARD CASE.

[2098.] I discovered last week in a neigh-
bour's garden four bar-frame hives, in one of
which the bees had recently died through
being weak, and then robbed by the other
bees ; this was an old stock. In another old
stock the bees were also weak, and on the
centre of four frames were large pitches of
foul brood. In a third case a swarm of this
year, put into old hive and old combs, was a
ididj strong lot of bees, but had foul brood
very bad. The other hive, a good swarm and
plenty of honey, was, so far as I could see,
free from foul brood. I transferred the frames
and bees from this last stock into a new wood
hive, and put plenty of naphthaline in quilts.
I also advised the owner to burn all contents
of first three hives, but he is not willing to do
so. What would you advise me to do, as I
have eleven stocks within a quarter of a mile
all packed up for winter, and I am afraid the
disease may reach me ? — J.O.

[The above is another notable case exem-
plifying the need for compulsory powers to
compel the destruction of diseased hives
standing in the open, and accessible to the
bees of a whole neighbourhood. How is it
possible to stop the spread of so terribly in-
fectious a bee-disease as foul brood, when
persons will not make an eff'ort to remove the
source of danger ? But, as the law now stands,
we cannot advise anything beyond an appeal
to your neighbour's sense of justice, as well
as pointing out the fatuity of the course fol-
lowed, which makes it impossible to keep bees

436-

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Nov. 1, 1894.

successfully himself, and at the same time
prevents others from doing so. Under the
circumstances detailed above, and at this
season, to attempt to cure the bees would be a
waste of time. — Eds.]

QUEEN-REAEING.
[2099.] I have been much interested in
reading the letters from your correspondent
Mr. Briee, re queen-rearing, but there are one
or two portions which are not quite clear to
me. On page 385, near end of first column,
Mr. Brice says : " I prefer the fixed centre-
bar, with an easily removable bottom bar."
When the preparation of the frame was
described, I do not think the " removable
bottom bar " was mentioned at all. Again,
page 395, column 1, when explaining how he
shaves down the cell containing the grub
to I in., and transfers the remains of the cell
and the grub to the interior of the royal cell,
is there no danger of the contents becoming
displaced when the royal cell is inverted to its
natural position in the frame 1 How are the
cells removed from the prepared frame to
nucleus hives, and how are they fixed in those
hives ? seeing that there is no surplus comb
attached to the queen cell by which it could
be fixed to a comb in the nucleus. I hope my
questions will be excused, as I have no ex-
perience in queen-rearing, but, as I said
before, the letters have created a deep interest
in the subject.— W., Stafford, October 28.

LANTEEN SLIDES.

[2100.] As I continue to receive applica-
tions concerning the hire or sale of the above,
would you kindly allow me to state that I do
not now sell slides on bee-keeping, and have
never hired them out.

Messrs. York & Son, the well-known lantern
slide publishers, have however issued a set of
thirty slides on the subject from new negatives
by me, and also publish a lecture or reading
by me to accompany the set. They have pre-
sented a set to the British Bee-Keepers'
Association, who will, I hope, be able to lend
or hire them out. — Alfred Watkins, Imperial
Hills, Hereford, October 23, 1894.

BEE SMOKERS.

[2101.] Referring to your answer to 1189
(p. 429), I may say that I, as a beginner of
this year in bee-keeping, found the same in-
convenience, i.e., requiring some one to use the
bee-smoker when going through the hives. I
have now completely discarded it, and when I
at any time have to handle the bees, either in
taking supers or examining frames, I simply
light my pipe and blow the tobacco smoke
upon the bees as required, thereby doing away
with the stoppage of operations, which at times
the smoker necessitates (that is, unless you have

some one to help you) ; I also found that I had
greater confidence in handling the bees, pipe
in my mouth, than with the smoker, and when
I say that I have had an average of twenty full
sections which I took out by lifting a portion
of the quilt, blowing a little smoke down,
taking sections out one at a time and brushing
the bees off (brushing down hill) with a feather,
and afterwards examining the frames before I'
closed them down for winter, and was never
even stung once, I think you will acknowledge
that I have not done amis.9. — G. T., Huddei's-
field, October 25.

HUNGER SWARMS.

[2102.] A rather extraordinary occurrence
took place among the bees of a cottager
friend of mine, who has seventeen skep
hives in his garden. On Saturday last,
about 1.30, he was in the garden, and the
sun was shining (for the time of the year)
rather brilliantly, when out of one of the skeps
issued a small swarm about 2 lb. in weight.
They settled on a black currant bush about
2 ft. from the ground and stayed there for
some little time. It so happened that the
man's wife (who is also the "beemaster") was
at the time away from home, so he watched
them, and they shortly returned to the hive.
I thought this may be of interest to your
readers, of whom I am a very interested unit,
and I should also like to know if this is ot"
frequent occurrence, and to what cause it can
be attributed. — Harry E. Stonyer, Hereford,
October 29.

[The skep from which the " swarm " issued
is probably ill provided with food, maybe oa
the point of starvation, for the occurrence can
only be classed as an autumn "hunger swarm,"
which issue at times after a season of scarcity.
—Eds.]

DEATH OF MR. J. J. CANDEY.

Mr. R. J. Stent, Barngreen, Hants, under
date October 23, writes as follows : —

" I herewith enclose a cutting from a local
paper, in case you should not have received
notice of death of Mr. J. J. Candey, who was
a well-known and respected bee-keeper in this
district, and a personal friend of my own. I
hope some one better able than myself to do
justice to his memory will notice his work
amongst bees and bee-keepers in your excel-
lent Journal. I may say that hearing Mr.
Candey lecture on bees aud bee-keeping was
my first introduction to the science, and I am
indebted to him for maoy useful hints and
ideas on the subject."

Somewhat condensed, the cutting referred
to reads as under : —

" We regret to have to record the death of
Mr. John J. Candey, of Commercial-road,
Landporb, who succumbad on Tuesday,

Nov. 1, 1894,]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

437

October 16, to an attack of apoplexy, with
which he wag stricken about a week ago.
Deceased was a highly-respected member of
the community, and from his sterling cha-
racter enjoyed the friendship and esteem of
all who knew him. He was an earnest advo-
cate of temperance, a strong supporter of the
early closing movement, and took a lively
interest in Sunday-school work. Bee-culture
was his principal hobby, and in this connec-
tion he wasjustly regarded as an expert. Mr.
Candey, who was 48 years of age, leaves a
widow, but no children."

[1193.] Self-hivers and Swarming. — I have
only been a reader of the B.B.J, for about
three months, but that is quite sufficient for
me to see of what service it is to bee-keepers.
It reminds me of the pens, as being " a boon
and a blessing to men,'' and bees, for the
matter of that. It not only shows us the way
to escape being stung, and the way to get the
greatest amount of honey from the bees, but
teaches us how to let our busy little workers
die a natural death, instead of murdering them
as of yore, and as, indeed, is now done here in
Monmouthshire. I am anxious that one of
my hives should swarm next season (I have
been in the habit of discouraging swarming
by division, or artificial swarming), and as I
am from home in the part of the day they are
most likely to swarm in, I am thinking of
trying the self-hiver to save the swarm. Will
you kindly give me your experience and
opinion of this appliance ? Also, can I make
one with excluder zinc myself 1 I make all
my hives except the frames. — J. M., New Inn,
Fontyjyool, Mon.

Reply. — Though good progress has been
made in devising a reliable self-hiver, we fear
it cannot yet be said that perfection has been
reached. You will find some full reports
regarding the best of them in our pages. But
why not make an artificial swarm from the
stock you wish to have a swarm from ? That
would be quite an easy way of attaining your
end, and if done at the proper season will be
an easy job.

[1194.] A Beginner's Queries. — As I wish to
commence bee-keeping next spring, will you
kindly answer the following questions ? 1. In
Cook's " Bee-keepers' Guide '' (American), pp.
250, 288, 289, he advises that swarms be
hived upon " starters " in the frames, and the
crate of sections at once put on, when it will
be filled. Is it practicable in England ?
2. What is the average price of an artificial
swarm in April and in May ? 3. Also the
price of a natural swarm in the same months ?
— English bees in both cases,- Ignuratio,
Thornton Ileath, October 24.

Reply. — 1. It is, of course, quite " prac-
ticable " to iry the plan referred to, but how-
ever it may answer in America, it is not found
to succeed here, the plan usually followed in
this country being to allow the swarm time
to nearly fill its hive with combs before setting
on the section-rack. 2. April is too soon for
artificial swarming, and, unless in very for-
ward seasons, bee-keepers are averse to sup-
plying them so early. In May they may be
had at various prices, according to weight —
about 33. or 3s. 6d. per lb. being a usual
charge. 3. Natural swarms are obtainable
from 10s. upwards, our advertising pages at
the time aflfording full information thereon.

[1195.] Drones mid Queenlessness . — About
a month ago, when at the heather, I noticed
one or two drones in a bees' frame hive that
had cast twice, and again a few days ago (the
weather being fine) I saw half a dozen or more
drones still there. The bees were then carrying in
pollen very hard, much more so than in any of
the other hives, and it seems strong in workers.
Will it have a drone-breeding queen ? — J.
Menzies, Du7is, N.B., October 27, 1894,

Reply. — Drones at this season usually
denote queenlessness, but as free-pollen carry-
ing means brood-rearing, the probability is
there is an unfecundated queen in the hive.

[1196.] Space Below Frames in Winter. — •
As it appears to be almost indispensable to
have a space below the combs in winter, will
you kindly inform me (1) if the lower sliding
chamber in the " Ford- Wells " hive has any
board on the top in summer, or is it simply
left in summer as in winter, as shown in the
maker's catalogue ? and (2 ) do the bees climb
through it going in and out ? I want to make
a provision of this sort in some I shall make
this winter. — La Ruche, Wakefield, October 24.

Reply. — 1. There is no covering used for
lower chamber of the " Ford- Wells '' hive either
winter or summer. 2. Yes.

CHOOSING A LOCATION FOR BEES.

UNDERSTANDING A LOCALITY IMPORTANT.

A few days ago I received a letter bearing
on an old subject, that of locality, from a bee-
keeper having formerly lived in the North,
but now removed to the South, telling how
much different the seasons were there, &c., the
writer closing by saying, " I did not know nor
realise before how much was dependemt upon
this matter of location."

From the many letters of inquiry which I
get, it would seem that the matter of location,
although an old subject, was a theme which is
almost entirely ignored by the great mass of
bee-keepers, or, at least, by the greater share
of those who write to me asking questions. I
had been contemplating, for some little time,
writing an article for the American Bee

4S8

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Nov. 1, 1894.

Journal, on the understanding of a locality,
and as the letter lately received has brought
it fresh to mind, I will venture a few words
on the subject, hoping that all who read it
will be led to look into their locality more
closely.

The writer of the letter says, " Different
locations required radically different methods
of management to obtain success.'' While all
of the rest of his letter I think is sound, I can-
not help thinking that this sentence is a mis-
take, so far as the time of commencing to
prepare for the harvest is concerned, for that
should be done in reference to the blooming of
the flowers which yield honey, no matter
where we are.

In nearly all localities where bees can be
kept there are certain plants or trees which
give a yield of surplus honey at a certain time
of year, while, aside from this, there is little
more honey obtained by the bees than is
needed to supply their daily wants. Some
localities give a surplus at three stated periods,
others at two, while the majority give only
one such yield. Hence, it is apparent to all,
that if such a honey-yield, or yields, pass with-
out a surplus, none can be obtained during the
season. From this it will be seen that, in
order to be a successful apiarist, a person must
have a knowledge of his or her locality,
whether they live in New York, Canada,
California, Florida, or Cuba, and also how to
get the labourers (bees) in the right time, so
they can be on hand at the time of the honey
harvest. Failing to do this, there is no profit
in apiculture, and I cannot see why this will
not hold good in any section of the world,
except in the time of commencing to secure
the bees.

First, then, we have the location. Here in
central New York our honey crop comes
mainly from linden or basswood, which blooms
from July 5 to July 15, and lasts from five
days to three weeks, according to the weather ;
while in other localities of this State white
clover is the main crop, coming in bloom
June 15 to June 20 ; and again, in others,
buckwheat, yielding honey from August 10 to
August 20. Other States, without doubt,
have as great a variation as to the time of
surplus honey as has this, and it should be
borne in mind that it devolves upon the reader
of this to ascertain, by careful watching, just
when and what is the source of their surplus
honey crop, so as to work accordingly.

After having determined just when we may
expect our honey harvest, the next step is to
secure the bees in just the right time for that
harvest — not before or afterwards — yet how
few pay any attention to this matter, letting
the bees take care of themselves, and thus they
are generally produced so as to become con-
sumers instead of producers. This is one of
the reasons why so many persons who enter
the ranks of bee-keeping make a failure
of it.

The queen is the mother of all the b3es, she

laying all the^eggs which produce them. She is
capable of laying from 3,000 to 4,000 eggs a
day, yet often she is laying only from 500 to
1,000 eggs daily, at the time she should be
doing her best. After the egg is laid it takes
three days for it to hatch into a larva. This
larva is fed six days, during which time it has
grown so as to fill the cell, when it is capped
over and remains hid from view for twelve
more days, when it emerges a perfect bee,
making a period of twenty-one days from the
egg to the perfect bee. This bee now works
inside of the hive for sixteen days more, doing
such work as feeding the larv£e, building comb,
&c., when it is ready to go outside as a field
labourer ; and at forty-five days from the
time, of hatching it dies of old age, and
another generation takes it place.

From the above it will be seen that the egg
must be laid at least thirty-seven days before
the honey harvest, in order that the bee have
the opportunity of labouring in that harvest
to the best advantage. Now, if the harvest
is Avhite clover, commencing to bloom say
June 18, the eggs for our labourers should be
laid on or before May 2 ; if basswood, bloom-
about July 10, then the eggs should be laid on
or before June 3, and so on, for any yield that
may come in our locality, whether we are in
Canada or Cuba. The principle is the same
for all localities where there is an intermittent
flow of- honey, and I cannot see where any
"radical change" of this mode of manage-
ment can be made, no matter in what part of
the world we may have our home.

If there is a steady flow of honey all of the
year, during which the bees are active, then
we should aim to keep the bees strong in
numbers all the time ; but where one such
place is found fifty others can bs found that
give large yields only at certain periods, when
certain flowers are in bloom. Only as the
locality is thoroughly understood, and the bees
reared to apply to that locality, can we secure
the best possible results. To keep the results
obtained, just as few bees should be reared at
all other times as is consistent with keeping the
colony where it can be gotten in good working
order when we wish it, so as to secure the
harvest, otherwise we are supporting a horde
of useless consumers.

I knaw this is an old theme, but it is the
one which has helped me to secure the results
of the past, namely, that of securing a good
yield of honey during all the past twenty-one
years ; and if understandingly followed it will
Jielp others the same as it has me. Try it,
brothers and sisters and see if I am not right.
G. M. DooLiTTLE, in Am. Bee Journxl.

LIBELLING THE BEES,

A news cutting sent to us says :— "Experi-
ments have been made by Dr. BucLnar in
submitting working bees to a regimen of
alcohollsed honey. The effect is astonishing.

Nov. 1, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

439

They revolt against their queen, and give
themselves over to idleness, brigandage, and
pillage until they are cast out by their
fellows."

STRENGTH OF THE BEE.
A widely-read contemporary is responsible
for the following : — " A London naturalist,
who has a taste for the curious in science, has
recently made a series of experiments to test
the strength of insects as compared with the
strength of other creatures. He finds that, in
proportion to its size, a bee can pull thirty
times as much weight as a horse."

REVIEW OF CONTINENTAL BEE
PAPERS.

BY J. DENNLKR.

1. L'Apiadteur. .Thirty- eighth year.
Editor, E. Sevalle, Paris. — The second number
contains an interesting article on " Bees as
Incubators." A new sort of incubator has
been just discovered by a bee-keeper, M.
Beaune, of Villeneuve-sur-Fere (x-^isne), and
which has been brought to our notice by M.
Petel, of Fere.

Whilst mowing a meadow M. Beaune came
across a splendid partridge's nest containing
fourteen eggs, already partly hatched. This
was in the beginning of July last. After
carefully collecting the eggs, M. Beaune
returned to his house, deciding to attempt the
completion of the hatching. Unfortunately
he had no artificial incubator, and as he could
not find a broody hen for the purpose, an
original idea struck him. Having some frame
hives, amongst them he found an Abbott
hive, containing a strong May swarm, and on
the top of the frames he placed a sheet of
wadding, and on this the eggs, which were
covered with another layer of wadding, and
the box was completely filled with oat-chaff.

Eight days later, without having touched
the eggs, he had the satisfaction of their
hatching fourteen small partridges. They
were removed, placed in a box lined with
wadding near the fire, and fed with a paste
made of ants' eggs mixed with yolk of egg and
crumb of bread. The small birds were then
replaced on the hive. They were thus kept
for four days, and then given to a neighbour.

We thought it would be interesting to know
this method of rearing. H may be that it
will open a new channel of interest to the bee-
keeper and a new method of incubation.

It is not astonishing that this sort of incu-
bation is possible, as tbe temperature re-
quired for hatching is nearly the same as the
average temperature of a hive. Moreover, a
moist heat is required, Avhich obtains in a
hive. It is simply necessary so to arrange
the top of the hive as to best retain the heat
produced by the bees, and there should be no
difficulty in doing this. What is Qurious

about this experiment of M. Beaune, is that
he tells us he did not turn the eggs, as is
usually done with artificial incubators, but he
simply looked at them from time to time.

At any rate, we shall be pleased to know
the result should other bee-keepers try the
experiment.

Russian Method of Mahinrf Hijdromel.-—
Pure honey, 15 kilos. ; water, 45 litres. JJoil
this mixture on a clear fire until it becomes, by
evaporation, of a consistence capable of allowing
an egg to float on its surface. The liquid must
then be divided into two equal parts, one being
placed in a pitcher and put in the coolest
place to be found, so that it should ferment as
slowly as possible ; the other half of liquid
must be placed in a suitable barrel, which
must only be half-full.

The barrel, on a stand, is placed near the fire
or by a stove ; a piece of coarse canvas is put
over the bung-hole, which requires no other
closing. A rapid fermentation commences,
and continues for about three months.

A thick froth pours out continuously from
the bung-hole, and runs into a basin placed
under the barrel to receive it. The loss caused
by the issuing of this froth is made up by the
liquid set apart in the pitcher for this purpose.
When tbe fermentation has ceased, two or
three litres of old wine are added to the
hydromel, the barrel is taken down to the
cellar, and a muslin bag is suspended inside
it, containing crushed cinnamon, a few cloves
or fresh lime blossoms (or instead can be added
later when the hydromel is put in bottles), pure
essence of roses and a little carmine for
colouring.

At the end of a year the hydromel can be
bottled, and it must be kept for another
j^ear if it is desired to have it good, for it im-
proves by age, like other wines, which it very
much resembles. I would add that in many
parts of Russia where this hydromel is pro-
duced, that flavoured with rose or lime
blossoms realises, ior a cask about the same
size as is usually used for Bordeaux wine, ac-
cording to the quality, from 60 to 400 roubles
(£6 to ^40).

Bulletin de la Societe d' Apiculture de la
Somme. Nineteenth year. Vol. V., No. 102.
New Remedy Jot Influenza. — To half a break-
fast cup of hot honey put the juice of a lemon,
and take as a dose two teaspoonsful of_ this
mixture, and as often a^ you can take it, as
hot as it can be borne. In the event of it*
producing nausea, and it cannot be retained,
two or three spoons of milk will remove
the unpleasantness.

A New Honey Plant. — Polygonum Sacha-
liense. — This is a perennial decorative plant
of strong and rapid growth. It flowers during
the summer months, and is eagerly visited by
the bees. Moreover it can be used as a
forage plant, and the young leaves form an
exQeHerit veg^t^^Wg fop the table during

440

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Nov. 1, 1894.

summer, as it is less acid than sorrel, and less
insipid than spinach. Any soil suits it, and
it will stand any amount of cold. It dies
down in the autumn, and throws up shoots 3 ft.
to 6 ft. high during the growing period, and
will give three or four cuttings. It comes
from the island of Saghalien, in the sea of
Okhotsk.

Colmenero Espanol. Editor, Mercader-
Belloch. — Foul brood is plentiful in Spain,
and a number of remedies more or less suc-
cessful are recommended and tried. The new
hives introduced are, for the most part, those
opening from the top on the English plan.

Le Buclier, the organ of the " Soci^te
d'Apiculture de la Eegion du Nord," 11th
year. Vol. V., No. 1. Anarchist bees. — It
appears that there is a method of producing
anarchist bees. This method, from experi-
ments by Dr. Biichner, is both simple and easy.
It consists of subjecting the worker bees to a
diet of honey and alcohol.

These insec's quickly take a liking to this
pernicious food. Under its influence they first
lose the instinct to work so normal with bees,
they then lose that of hierarchy, usually not
less strong in this species. They become anti-
social, revolters, and without the slightest
scruple abandon themselves to robbery and
brigandage. This curious and suggestive ex-
periment has been cited by the celebrated
Professor Lombroso in the Italian archives of
criminal psychology and anthropology.

Trefolium Incarnaium is strongly recom-
mended by " Le Rucher " as both a honey and
forage plant. The early sort flowers end of
April, and the late sort about the middle of
May. It is sown at the end of summer or
early autumn.

American Competition. — It is stated in the
same paper that in America there are more than
twenty companies, each having from five to six
million francs capital (£200,000 to £240,000)
[Rather doubtful this. — Eds. B. J.], which they
employ in covering a large surface of the
American territory with apiaries. Every farm
has its apiary, not only for the purpose of
getting honey, but principally for the fertilisa-
tion of flowers.

According to the experiments of Darwin, it
has been proved that the proportion of plants
fertilised by bees averages between 50 and 60
per cent.

Illustration. October number. Artificial
Honey. — At a meeting of the members of the
" Society of Applied Chemistry," in Bavaria,
a new product, introduced into commerce
under the name of sugar honey, was men-
tioned. This artificial honey is a sort of syrup,
composed of water, invert sugar, some saline
substances, and free acid. It has the taste
and odour of real honey. Chemical analysis
has not detected anything differing from the

honey of bees. Contrary to the usual arti-
ficial products, this honey appears to be an
inoffensive product, not to be detected from
real honey, and costs very much less.
If it is also discovered how to make wax, the
bees will serve no further purpose than to pro-
duce stings. [We do not think this artificial
product will replace honey, for it is the peculiar
aroma of this that gives it its special value.
Chemical composition, as ascertained by
analysis, goes for very little ; but quality,
which is beyond the present knowledge of the
chemist, goes for a great deal. Tea has no
more value chemically than sloe leaves, but a
connoisseur would hardly pay for the latter
what he pays for tea. The composition of
leather and meat are almost identical, but one
would hardly relish the one as well as the
other.— Eds. B.B.J.]

Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be ansioered in this column.

W. G. Langrich (Farnham). — Captain Camp-
bell, Oak Side, Box Grove-road, Guildford, is
hon. sec. of the Surrey B.K.A., and the
Rev. W. E. Medlicott, Swanmore Vicarage,
Bishop's Waltham, of the Hants B.K.A.
Either of these gentlemen will furnish the
information required as to membership, &c.
The best time to buy stocks of bees is in
March or beginning of April, but prices
vary so we cannot name the sum you would
have to pay for a good stock. Consult our
advertising pages at the time, and be very
careful to only buy a healthy, thriving
colony.

"T.," Hon. Sec. (Dalkey).— We should
strongly suspect that your correspondent's
" six combs of brood " found in a deserted
skep at this date will be found to contain
foul brood, and that the bees deserted the
combs in consequence. Get him to send
you a sample of the brood for inspection.

La Ruche (Wakefield).— Write to Mr. R. A.
Grimshaw, Horsforth, Leeds, who will no
doubt give you the information required.

Wm. Gilrot (Knaresboro'). — The granulated
remains left in tie-over jar are so suspicious
in their character, that we will endeavour to
find out by analysis whether genuine or
not, and reply later.

H. T. IciNGBELL (Taunton). — Bee cast out is
a fine adult queen. Nothing less than an
examination of the combs will clearly
explain why she was found outside the hive
dead at this season. She has no appearance
of being an "aged" or worn-out queen, in
fact, she may be from another of your hives
and got killed by the bees of the stock she
attempted to enter. So many explanations
may be offered of such occurrences, it is little
use us hazarding one.

Nov. 8, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

441

~ A WORD TO OUR HELPERS.

If additional evidence were needed of
the continued awakening of public in-
terest in the subject of bee-keeping at
the present time, it is amply forthcoming
in the quite abnormal number of para-
graphs giving more or less accurate in-
formation with regard to it which appear
in the daily press. To use an expressive
phrase, the honey-bee has " caught on,"
consequently the experienced bee-keeper
of to-day finds himself a rather "sought-
after " individual, and in almost all cases
renders willing help to those who ask for
it. That we have no word of complaint
to make against this goes without saying,
the assistance rendered in this way being,
as a rule, both timely and useful. Nor
is there any reason why most persons
suitably located for keeping a few hives,
and judiciously guided, may not do so
with advantage to themselves, and also to
the public as consumers of honey. We
use the words " judiciously guided "
advisedly, and in their fullest sense,
because it unfortunately happens at
times that very sincere friends of the
craft in their impetuous fervour — be-
gotten, maybe, of an exceptionally big
honey return, secured, perhaps, in a good
season and with very favourable sur-
roundings— are apt to paint the pleasures
and profits of bee-keeping in colours
altogether too glowing to stand the test
of everyday practical experience. In
this way persons may be led to start
bee-keeping with an ideal before them
which stands but a poor chance of ever
being realised.

Not only is this so, but writers on bees,
who are usually regarded as tolerably
safe guides by the inexperienced learner —
not seldom overlook the divergent con-
ditions which attach to the pursuit of
bee-keeping as followed in different and
widely-apart portions of the kingdom,
and, in consequence, do harm where only
good is intended. Variation in tempera-
ture, north and south, the difference
between good and bad honey districts,
and also between good and bad seasons,
are such important factors in the case
with which we are dealing, that to
neglect noticing them in teaching bee-
keeping is to invite failure. In other

words, date, season, and locality, are so
all-important, that it becomes impera-
tively necessary that such teachers as are
referred to above do bear in mind the
amount of mischief that can be wrought
in the performance of bee- work under-
taken at unseasonable times, and how
considerable an amount of loss and dis-
appointment may be incurred, less
through the fault of the learner, who
operates injudiciously, than of the teacher
whose instruction is not thorough.

We are in some measure led to write
words of caution to those who possess
claims to be considered helpers in our
craft, in consequence of being favoured
with a communication from an esteemed
correspondent, who, with no personal
interest of any kind to serve, takes con-
siderable interest in the promotion of
modern bee-keeping among cottagers and
artizans in his own county as a means
of bettering their condition. Enclosed
with our correspondent's letter was a cut-
ting from a religious monthly, such as is
usually sold in bulk, and afterwards
localised as a parish magazine in the
various parishes all over the kingdom in
which they are circulated. The cutting
is from a somewhat lengthy article on
" Bees and Bee-keeping," and in alluding
to it our correspondent says: — "The
enclosed is, to my mind, so misleading
on some points, and particularly with
regard to dates in such a district as ours
— where it is being circulated with the
parish magazine — that I cannot help
sending it on to you." For comment,
we suppose.

The article referred to is written by a
clergyman, whose name and address
appear below the title already mentioned,
and the opening portion reads as under: —

Bee-keeping in England ought to be more
cultivated than it has been. Why should we
allow the foreigner to send into England
between £4,000 and £5,000 of honey each
month into our markets, and allow the tons of
honey in the fields to go to waste because we
don't cultivate the honey gatherers 1 Why,
one hive is capable of producing enough honey
to pay a cottager^s rent !

I think if this were realised many would go
in for bee-keeping as an experimenc if for
nothing else. It is possible in a good year to
realise this. At the end of one season my .
profits from one hive stood at £1. 10s. But
this, I will allow, was obtained from an
exceptionally good market. But putting the
sale of good section honey at Is. per lb.

442

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Nov. 8, 1894.

which may be realised in a good market, such
as a sea-side town, what an amateur has done
once — namely, to produce 104 sections of 1 lb.
each, of pure virgin honey, in the comb, out
of one hive — he might do again ; and if one
amateur can do it, why not another 1 Bat
how is it done ? my readers will ask. Well,
it was done by the new style of bee-keeping,
by keeping the bees in the bar- frame hive, and
taking the hive in the month of May and
placing it near a white clover field. Before
this success was obtained the hive, in the
months of March and April, in some of those
warm days that now and again favour us, was
opened, and a general spring cleaning took
place. The roof was removed, Uach frame
was taken up with the bees upon it, then
rudely shaTcen off and examined carefully, and
the jyrojyolis scraped off, and the frame
thoroughly cleaned and overhauled.

Each frame was for a time placed in an
emptty hive, and the same process of examina-
tion gone through with every one. The carpets
were then temporarily placed upon the frames.
Attention was then paid to the cleaning of the
body box and the floor board, and when these
were cleaned the frames were again restored
to their proper place, and the carpets placed
over the frames, and the busy loorkers ivere
allowed to go on undisturbed. A few days
longer and the hive was again visited by the
bee-master, when an outside comb, ivhcre sealed
honey had been stored, was taken from its
place, the caps of the honey (not the brood)
were sliced or shaved off, having first shaken
off the bees that remained clinging to the
comb. After this operation the combs were
put aside or divided in the centre, and the
uncapped frame was placed in the gap, and
the carpet put back again. You ask what
was the object of this ? It was to stimulate
the hive to action. The bees from this would
imagine that the honey harvest had begun,
though perhaps a good three weeks before the
flow of honey in the fields had commenced.
The bees then set to work and empty the
unsealed honey, and carry it back to the out-
side combs inside the hive, and the queen shares
in the stimulus given, and proceeds to fill the
empty cells with eggs. The same 2}rocess ivas
repeated after a few days, till the whole hive
was brought up to a state of efficiency, when
on or about May 20th, the hive loas removed
to a lohite clover field to take the fullest advan-
tage of the honey harvest that commences at
that time.

Excepting those in the first paragraph
the italics are our correspondent's.

It need hardly be said that we un-
reservedly accept the accuracy of the
above details and the statements con-
cerning them. But we must none the
less point out the almost fatuous un-
wisdom— from the bee-keeper's point of
view— of attempting to carry out such

bee-manipulations during " the months
of March and April" in the north of
England where the article complained
of is being read, or, indeed, anywhere
else except under the most favourable
conditions possible.

The special operation named is that
known as " spreading the brood," which
has, to a large extent, fallen into disuse
because of the mischief wrought by it
when performed by inexperienced hands
at unseasonable times.

In a word, it is so difficult to believe
how the work detailed could be got
through in an ordinary season without
resulting in "chilled brood" or worse,
that it would in the vast majority of
similar cases have to be set down as due
rather to good luck than good manage-
ment. "Save us from our friends" is a
trite maxim, and while giving due credit
to those who desire to assist our craft
and who — according to their lights — do
their best to promote its interests, we
must, nevertheless, venture to suggest
(1) that such help as is given — when
writing on bees for the enlightenment of
beginners or for general reading — should
be accompanied by a reasonable modera-
tion as to the profits possible from bee-
keeping; and (2) that it be borne in
mind how easily may disaster to the
beginner be brought about by detailing
— without any reservation whatever —
operations which must inevitably fail
when attempted at the wrong season or
in the wrong place.

To sum the matter up, it should be
borne in mind by all who assume the
offices of teachers or helpers, that to
make their teaching sound or their help
of real service it should fairly bear out
the promises given in it. Otherwise there
will be no permanent success for either
teacher or pupil.

HONEY IMPORTS.
The total value of honey imported into
the United Kingdom during the month of
September, 1894, was ^3,550. — From a return
furnished by the Statistical Office, H.M.
Customs.

WHITE BEES (?).
A correspondent, whose bee-keeping expe-
rience is no doubt somewhat limited, sends us
a press cutting which reads as follows : —

SOMETHING INTERESTING.

" Sib, — Can any of your correspondents who

Nov. 8, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

443

know anything about bees throw any light upon
the following ?

"On the 11th ult. I counted seven white bees
— the common honey-bee — flying about the
balsams in my garden, and several of them
remained for two or three days afterwards. On
the same day I noticed a perfectly white ear-
wig. A lady, to whom I mentioned the fact,
said she had noticed a half-white wasp, but
had never seen white bees. An old clerical
entomologist became quite enthusiastic, pro-
nounced the white bee unique, and gave me
minute instructions how to secure a specimen ;
but, unfortunately, they have now all disap-
peared. Last summer, or rather autumn, I
saw a white sparrow, but it is not quite so
rare as the white bee."

Our correspondent asks if we can throw any
light on the subject ? to which we reply : —
When the balsams — which will no doubt be
the giant variety, usually grown outside — have
done flowering, the " white bees " will dis-
appear too. It is well-known to bee-keepers
that when bees are busy in autumn, gathering
pollen from the pocket- shaped blossoms of the
giant, or Canadian, balsam, they present the
appearance of having been dipped in a bag
of flour ; hence the white bees.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymoiis communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should .be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Revietv, Ac., must be addressed only to " The
Editoks of the 'BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, Ac, must be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
Ki7ig William- street. Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

•»• In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or qxiery previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

' NOTES BY THE WAY.

[2103.] The past fortnight has been a con-
tinuance of mild weather ; in the week just
ending we have had some heavy rains. In fact
the weather has been so wet that outdoor
work has been practically brought to a stand-
still, not only in things apicultural, but in the
major industry of the country, viz., agricultural.
If the feeding up of bees has been neglected
or put on one side for more important duties,
the bee-keeper must fall back on the sheet-
anchor of the tardy one, a large lump of candy.
This I would make with pure crystallised
Demerara cane sugar, in preference to the
white lump sugar often advised in books on
beeculture. The season of 'S8 impressed on
my mind the adaptability of pure cane sugar
as a good food for bees, and I have used it
solely since then. I should not object to beet

sugars for spring feeding, but for winter stores
I should certainly do so.

I feel that after my " notes" re Dairy Show
I must ask for our Editors' indulgence for a
further comment, and my excuse will be that
by these discussions, we get at the necessary
knowledge for a future avoidance of the things,
or errors ? in question.

1st. — Kg the editorial footnote to 2093.
When I read it, I was very sorry for its tone.
Said I to myself, that is not " oil on the
troubled waters.'' In future schedules, the
class for granulated honey should certainly
admit granulated honey of any age — in fact,
the age of it should, in my opinion, register
points in its favour ; don't you see, friends, if
we can secure the keeping qualities of honey,
we are benefiting bee-keepers. Then as to the
safe transit of honey, the golden syrup packed
in tins in a case nailed down reached the
grocer safely, the same as my honey has always
done, and I have not resorted to a padlock yet,
neither should I consider that my honey would
be any safer under the protection of a common
padlock that in nine cases out of ten could be
opened with a bent wire. Now, I have sent
honey to all parts of the kingdom — in fact,
beyond the shores of Old England — labelled
" Honey. This side up with care,'' packed in
every instance in cases nailed or screwed down,
yet have not lost a single pound, except on
one occasion, when I had the temerity to aspire
to the " Championship of the World," and
sent an exhibit to Castle Douglas, and by
some means one out of the three bottles was
lost. Again, after appealing in recent numbers
of B.J. for bee-keepers to rouse up to the
occasion, and make a good show at Islington
to give one who has done so the " cut direct,"
and say you need not show unless you choose.
Now for a word with one of my new friends,
" Brown." This I am sorry to have to
reply to, though duty calls for a reply
on my part, after the assertion in No.
2096 (p. 434), that my note was " misleading."
Re box and basket classes, I have nothing to
withdraw, but if space permitted much to add.
Now the facts, as impressed on my memory,
run thus : — We, i.e., Brown, Woods, and
Woodley, tasted my exhibit of honey ; Brown
says, " What do you think of this (a samjjle of
his honey in a bottle) ? '' and, after tasting it, I
said it was equal to mine that we had just
tasted in consistency, but not so good in
flavour. But nothing was said of colour, in
which my sample was as 5 to 3, if not 5 to 2
in comparison with friend Brown's. Then
afterwards friend John Howard came on the
scene and we sampled the honey over again,
and friend John (who is no mean judge of
honey) observed, "Ah, Dick, your honey will
stand no chance ; it is like mine, tastes too
strong of the mustard-pot, but perhaps your
packages will help you." This was before
the judging. After the judging, and the
awards were made we had another confab on
the " classes '' and " commercial packages," and

444

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Nov. 8, 1894.

as a result I claim that I correctly named them
the " box and basket classes." So under the
circumstances I felt then, and do feel still,
that I was perfectly justified as a chronicler
of thing? en passant to take note of it, and my
humble opinion is that if our judges had had
the honey in tins only to adjudicate on, the
first prize would have gone to York,* and
second to Berks, or vice versa, and that the
prize-takers now would have been out of it.
I may add that my tins contained honey that
had never been beaten in competition, so that
I knew the contents were first-class.

Now as to commercial packages, I contend
that it is the package that contains the com-
modity and not the case in which the packages
travel. Take as an instance Huntley & Palmer's
biscuits in tins ; these tins are commercial
packages, and travel the world over, not in
wicker baskets or hampers, but in wood cases
of different sizes, taking a certain number of
tins to suit the customers' requirements — just
as our honey should be packed when sold in
commercial quantities. Last month's Gleanings
contains a list of advertisements of honey for
sale, 10 tons, 8 tons, 10,000 lbs., a carload, —
now what kind of commercial packages do you
think these big lumps of honey is offered
in ; why, principally in 601b. square tins
packed two in a case ; this bears out what
I said in a previous note, not to put a larger
quantity in one case than can be con-
veniently handled. What would be the result
if the 10 ton lot of choice extracted honey was
put up in 7, 14, or 28 lb. tins, and each little
tin was incased in a neat wicker basket,
secured with a nickle-plated padlock ? Why,
half the value of the honey would be swallowed
up in the trappings, and a great increase in
the carriage would again detract from the
producer's year's balance-sheet. No, my
Mends, in the future as in the past I shall
certainly advocate the cheapest travelling cases,
even if it be a " Hudson's soap box " or a
"Sunlight soap box." The first for twelve
bottles or twelve sections, or 3-14 lb., tall tins
of honey cost 2d. or 3d. — the *' Sunlight " box
holds five dozen sections, with ample room for
packing (cost 4d.), the cube sugar box takes six
dozen sections and costs 4d. to 6d. Every one
of my customers have complimented me on
my system of packing, which defies all ordi-
nary railway "jars." The baskets are useful
articles for fruit and vegetables, and may act
as protectors to a jar of the " Dew off Ben
Nevis." But I don't think that we shall ever
see any quantity of honey sent in wickered
tins ; if so, we shall want a tin with a small
opening, which can be sealed down, otherwise
we shall hear of continual losses in transit of
part of the contents, as a pocket-knife or a
friendly (?) kick will easily prize ofi' the lid,
even when locked, so that the contents can be
run out into Mr. "Porter's" honey-pot. — W.
WooDLEY, Beedon, Newbury.

[We trust that the above very full elucidation
of our correspondent's views on the awards

at the late Dairy show will render further discus-
sion thereon unnecessary. Bat, contrary to
our usual custom of printing Mr. Woodley's
valued " Notes by the Way " without comment
of any kind — whether or not we happen to be
fully in accord therewith — we cannot help ex-
pressing our regret that desultory conver-
sations (or " confabs," as he terms them)
should be imported into a discussion of this
kind. They seldom do good, and the words
''friend Tom,'' or "friend Harry," happens to
let drop in friendly chat, are not always very
valuable as evidence. Anyway, we do not
think that either Mr. Atkinson or Mr.
Woodley have any reason to complain that
their respective views have not been fully
placed before our readers, and so, as already
said, we trust that both gentlemen will now be
satisfied to let the matter drop. — Eds.]

QUEEN EEARING.
[2104.] Replying to the request of your
correspondent " W," in last week's Bee-
Journal (2099, p. 436), I am happy to do
what I can to make plain anything not quite
clear in my paper on queen-rearing, but in
writing I had of necessity to leave certain
minor details, not affecting the main question,
to the ingenuity of my readers. Now, in
answer to his first query, I would say that,
with a standard frame, a movable bottom bar
is out of the question, as the space between the
bar on which the cells are built and the bottom
bar is filled with comb which it would be a
great pity to disturb. But, as stated on p. 385,
" using as I do the shallow-frame, I prefer an
easily removable bottom bar,'' because with
the bottom bar removed the queen cells on the
centre bar are much more easily get-at-able
and more conveniently manipulated. It is a
very simple matter to make the bottom bar
removable by means of strips of tin nailed on
to the side-bars so as to overlap the bottom
bar at each end. The bottom bar would slide
in and out, and if made to fit tight would be
perfect. I myself use two small screw-eyes,
one in each side bar with a slot cut at each
end of the bottom bar to fit on to the eyes,
and a half turn is all that is necessary to keep
the bar in its place. By the time each batch
of cells are raised the bees will have built the
comb on right and left of the cells down to
the bottom bar, and attached the comb to the
latter, but after removal of the cells, and
when the frame is wanted for use again a
warm knife run along the inside of
the bottom bar will separate the comb
from it, and with a half-turn of the screw-
eyes the bar is free. Replying to the second
query, as to the contents of the royal cell be-
coming displaced. If "W." refers to lower
part of second column on p. 394 he will find
that I say " then with your ' former ' slightly
enlarge the base of the collar," &c. This en-
largement is to overcome the very difficulty he
foresees. The collar, when cut off, baiely fits
over the reduced worker cell (containing the

Nov. 8, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

445

young grub) from which the surplus wax has
been removed, and in removing such surplus
wax a little ledge is left round the bottom
thereof. The collar is then enlarged to the
depth of ^ in. fidl; this done, the whole
thing fits exactly, and— aided by the slight
ledge already mentioned — there is no fear of
its being dislodged or slipping, as the bees get
to work on the cells, putting them straight,
almost as soon as the frame is given them.
But in case there is a slight irregularity inside
the cell when complete, a " former " inserted
in the mouth of the cell (not deep enough to
touch the grub, mind), and given a half-turn,
will at once set matters right. I have, how-
ever, rarely had to do this, because, after a
little practice I CDuld tell what was required
to a nicety.

With regard to his third and last query —
" How are the cells removed when finished
and how fixed in the hives?" your corre-
spondent has touched upon one of the great
advantages of the methods I am advocating.
He must bear in mind that cells built accord-
ing to the directions given are sound, sub-
stantial concerns, and are consequently easily
handled compared to those built naturally by
the bees. The base of the artificial cells are
so solid that they can be removed by running
a knife along the face of the bar. Indeed,
when not put on too firmly, I have safely re-
moved many by merely pressing the base of
the cells in an upward direction when I have
not had my knife at hind. As a rule, how-
ever, it is much safer to use a knife for the
purpose, though nothing short of rough hand-
ling or a sudden jerk will damage the cells or
hurt the embryo queens in them. When
fixing the cells in nucleus hives, take out a
centre frame, break down the walls of a few
cells with a finger to allow for the mouth of
the queen cell to hang free, place the latter
with its solid base just above the broken cells,
press it ivell into the comb, and return the
same to the hive. Or, as an alternative plan,
if the weather be warm and the hive fairly
strong, uncover the frames, move the two
centre ones slightly apart, lower the queen-
cell down until just below the top bars, and
holding it so, close up the frames together
stiffly against the base of the queen-cell and at
once cover the hive down. The bees will, in
both the above cases, at once set to work to fix
the cells securely, and, if good ones, will take
proper care of them.

The many letters I have received from bee-
keepers in various parts of the country testify
to the interest evinced in the subject of
queen-rearing, and have been very gratifying
to myself ; but I think it only right to say
that, however interesting this particular
branch of bee-culture may be as a study, I do
not think there is a more trying or a more
disappointing phase of the science of apicul-
ture than queen-rearing. I, therefore, feel it
incumbent on me to especially warn beginners
against too much mpetuosity in trying

experiments which may end in disappoint-
ment, if not disaster, perhaps losing a whole
honey season, and bees into the bargain ; in
a word, none should start queen-rearing until
they have mastered and become thoroughly
conversant with the art of practical and
scientific bee-keeping in all its branches.
Queens may be raised easily enough, but to
have batches of from ten to fifty of them lost
during the " mating " period in consequence
of our uncertain climate, or to have virgin
queens occupying hives until too old to mate
for the same reason, is a state of affairs tend-
ing, I admit, to make even an advanced bee-
keeper hesitate before he sacrifices his best
stock, and a reason to this ; end. Much, of
course, depends upon the natural aptitude of
the bee-keeper for this special work, and
although I have come across many who are
far in advance of myself in the art of honey-
getting, yet I find but few who have naade
a success of queen-rearing. So many things
need considering, and so many disadvantages
are met with in this country of notoriously un-
certain weather, to say nothing of the short-
ness of our honey season, that I should be
failing in candour, after my own experience,
if, while pointing out the advantages of having
first-class queens, I failed to give a glimpse of
the reverse side of the question, and by so
doing perhaps save some from entering on a
task° which might possibly only yield them
disappointment and loss. — Henry W. Brice,
Thornton Heath, Surrey, November 2.

THE WILFUL BEE.

[2105.] Referring to your allusion to "The
Wilful Bee " in last week's issue, I may inform
you that Mr. W. S. Gilbert has kept bees—
or rather I have for him — for the last eight
years, and he has always shown an interest in
them. On one occasion I found the queen for
him to see. " Her fort was down and her
back was up " is extremely good. — Geo. Wall,
(Gardener to W. S. Gilbert, Esq.) Grim's
Dyke, Harrow Weald, November 5.

[We are very pleased to receive the above
communication and to welcome Mr. Gilbert as
"one of us."— Eds.]

AWARDS AT THE DAIRY SHOW.

THE GRANULATED HONEY CLASS.

[2106.] I was surprised to see the statement
in your issue of the 25th inst., re honey at the
dairy show, that the commercial class was
open to all, when the schedule distinctly
states that the honey was to be "Gathered
during 1894 by exhibitors' own bees at the
time of gathering." Surely the schedule
should be strictly adhered to, or else all
exhibitors should be advised of any alteration
or mistake. I am afraid that unless these
rules are adhered to it will greatly injure the
success of future shows. I also consider it
very unfair to have admitted granulated honey
of any year, except that gathered in 1894,

446

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Nov. 8, 1894.

after the very plain statement of the schedule,
and if I had had the slightest idea that such
was in the prize-list, I should certainly have
lodged an objection with the show committee.
— E, C. R. White, Salisbury.

[Referring to our correspondent's complaint
as to the class for " Granulated Honey," the
error in schedule was so obvious that it is a
wonder any experienced bee-keeper could be
misled by it, A class for granulated honey
gathered during the current year only would
be an absurdity, and one for which there is no
need whatever. The idea in establishing this
particular class, was to afford an opportunity of
staging in competition honey of any year, and
the older the sample — other points being equal
— the greater merit in it .

Since our personal action in this matter has
rather unfairly — for obvious reasons — been
brought into prominence, we are glad to be
able to say — without departing either from the
reserve dictated by good taste, or proper
official reticence — that, as one of the judges on
the occasion referred to, and (speaking for
our colleague as well) we should have pro-
tested against being called upon to do other-
wise than as we did, viz., to take a common-
sense view of what was plainly either a
printer's or a clerical error, and treat it as
such. Nor have we any doubt the majority of
the exhibitors did the same. — Eds.]

APIS DORSATA.

[2107.] My experiences with Egyptian
swarms led me to look up what references I
could concerning this species, but the only
account of any value I could find is that con-
tained in the Record of June, 1891, pp. 80-81.
The illustration there given might have been
taken from combs which I saw attached to
trees here, but which I was unable to reach,
and in knocking them down they became too
bruised to be worth keeping as specimens, but
I have secured four or five small pieces.

1 had noticed that irrespective of the time
of day, the direction of the wind, or the ordi-
nary line of flight from the hives, that swarm
after swarm clustered on precisely the same
spot on certain trees, remained — if iDeyond my
reach, for a few days, and then decamped,
leaving two or three small combs attached to
the bough. An old guardian told me that the
bees do this each year. One specimen of comb
I secured has the edges of the cells perfectly
round, though the angles are distinct at the
base of the cells ; the spaces which would
naturally occur in a series of circles laid on a
plane are filled with wax. In this specimen the
queen had laid eight or ten eggs in each cell ;
the comb is yellow. In another specimen
honey and pollen was stored. The only oppor-
tunity I had of placing a shade over a cluster
was lost owing to a native's stupid interpre-
tation of some regulation concerning the
Government garden, in part of which the
apiary ia situated. Noticing the pioneer bees

at work, and a swarm circling, as I was obliged
to go to town I asked my wife to go to the
spot and as soon as the swarm had clustered
either to sprinkle it or arrange a shade over it
until my return . On attempting to go to the
place her way was barred, and her sister who
accompanied her to assist in the operation was
seized by the arms and pushed out of the
garden. Mr. Mann might have carried his
prophetic letter further than he did. On
returning home at noon the swarm had taken
wing again. I was sorry for this, as I would
have been quite ready to sacrifice the swarm
and the interesting experiment I was looking
forward to, for the pleasure of hiving it and
allowing Mr. Ahmed Efi'endi to wear the skep
as a hat for a few minutes.

With one or two swarms beyond my reach, I
noticed that the number of bees was less and
less each evening. Some may have gone off
with one of the many queens which accompany
each swarm, or may have returned to the
parent hive. The reason why the bees desert
the combs I think is easily explained. As
building proceeds the cluster naturally spreads,
and, as a consequence, the sun's rays can pene-
trate to the combs. One of the combs I
secured just after the swarm had taken wing
was quite soft, and from fragments of combs
floating in the lake, I surmised that in most
instances the heat of the sun and the weight
of the bees end in the combs falling, and my
opinion as to the bees decamping is, I think,
confirmed by each svfrarm taking wing again
about 4 p.m., at which hour the sun's rays
were striking the boughs of the trees almost
horizontally.

But to return now to the apis dorsata.
Has it ever been put forward that these bees
build on trees in preference to a hive, whether
the hive be a made one or a natural hollow in
the rocks, an old tree, or similar habitat ?
The fact of , the bees absconding from the
observatory hive I do not think should be
accepted as evidence of their objection to build
in a confined space, as any bees will abscond
if over " observed," and in a warm country a
glass hive is still more objectionable than it is
in a cold country. Then again, knowing as
we do the usual flight of the queens, it stands
to reason that the bees which annually take
possession of the little arbours made by the
natives of the Padung-Karen country must
come from within a radius of a few miles. Mr.
Benton, it appears, made a special journey to
Ceylon to secure colonies of these bees, but
only succeeded in finding one. My experience
here leads me to offer the suggestion that the
apis dorsata found on the trees are simply
swarms from large colonies in the immediate
neighbourhood, and doubtless if Mr. Benton
had reached Ceylon a few weeks earlier, viz.,
during the swarming season, he might have
secured many colonies, just as in the same way
anyone coming to Egypt at the present
moment would fail to find on the trees not a
trace of the comb-building carried on in the

Nov. 8, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

447

early part of the year, though if he came any-
time between the middle of March and the
middle of April it is possible some hundreds
of specimens might be secured. One of the
specimens 1 possess was built in an orange
tree, and the adjoining leaves had been utilised
by the bees to secure the combs. — A.C., Cairo,
October 26.

BEE-KEEPING IN CO. WEXFORD.

[2108.] In accordance with my annual
custom 1 send you a short report of my bee-
keeping for the year in co. Wexford. I com-
menced the season with eighteen single stocks
and two " Wells " hives — which I will count
as four colonies — making twenty-two in all.
All but one of these were worked for sections
as usual, but this year for the first time I tried
one for extracted honey, but as it was the
weakest of the lot its result is not, of course,
to be taken as any test of the comparative
value of the two methods. The twenty-one
hives yielded 850 completed sections, and 150
all but finished, together with 200 in every
stage of filling, these being fed back to the
bees. I got about 40 lb. of extracted honey
from the weak hive mentioned.

About half a dozen of the stocks were not
very strong at the middle of June, but before
the year was over vied with the best of them,
and all of the hives finished their two racks of
sections, some completing three. Eoughly
speaking, therefore, they may be said to
average about fifty sections per hive, while
increasing from twenty-two to thirty-eight
stocks, after losing two swarms which flew off
unseen. All of these are now covered down
for winter with plenty of sealed stores to last
till the spring of 1895, and strong in bees.

Although the year was extremely wet and
cold here, it has been the best season I have
had since beginning keeping bees about seven
years ago. Yet it was not a good season here,
as I drove many skeps about this locality, and
they were all very light, and some of them
had not stores enough to last till Christmas. —
J. D., Co. Wexford, November 1.

DRONES FLYING IN NOVEMBER.

[2109.] Perhaps the following may be a
word of comfort to some bee-keeper. Like
many others, I have always considered it a case
of queenlessness to see drones flying at this
time of the year, but for the last fortnight I
have noticed drones flying from two hives (one
my son's, the other my own) ; still I felt
certain all was well, as about a month ago
there was plenty of brood. This morning,
however (November 5), I noticed several
drones appeared at the entrance of the hives.
Some took wing, others returned ; so, feeling
ill at ease, I opened the hive to make sure how
matters stood. I did not expect to find eggs,
but I found a few workers hatching out ; so

without looking for the queen — as it was
rather cold — I wrapped all up again, feeling
sure the queen would be all right. I may say
I was feeding till about a month ago. I think
that we should " make haste slowly '' in intro-
ducing queens because we see drones flying in
November.— J. 'Peavman, Penny-lane, Derby.

STEALING EXHIBITS.
[2110.] In British Bee Journal, October
25, p. 423, in your list of counties exhibiting
honey at the Dairy Show, I notice that Sussex
was not represented ; I should like to give
my reasons for not exhibiting again this year. I
exhibited at the Dairy Show in 1891, 1892, and
1893, getting awards on each occasion. But I
regret to add part of my exhibits were stolen
in returning from the show in 1892, and again
in 1893, so that I did not care to risk having
them again stolen this year. — Alfred
HouNSOM, Bosham, Sussex, November 3.

HONEY VINEGAR.

In reply to the request of a correspondent
("R. T., Cowbridge, S. Wales'') for a recipe
for making honey vinegar — and as also being
of general interest to readers — we print below
full particulars of the modus operandi for
making an exceptionally good vinegar from
honey, which appears in our editorial "Bee
Rambles in Savoy," on page 100 of B.J. for
February 26, 1891, and reads as under : —

" We also tasted some excellent vinegar,
produced in the most simple manner possible,
which compared favourably with the best wine
vinegar. Every one knows the difficulty nowa-
days of getting good vinegar, and commercial
vinegar usually contains acids that attack the
teeth and injure the stomach. As this would
be a new way of advantageously utilising honey,
we v«ll give the method pursued by M. Morel-
Fredel : — Procure a cask, which must be sweet
and thoroughly clean. Then get from a
vinegar factory, if you cannot get it any-
where else, some of the gelatinous scum which
usually contains a ferment called mycoderma
aceti. Wash this in cold water, and then rinse
it in vinegar. Then dissolve honey in water
that has been boiled, the proportions being one
kilo, of honey to eight to ten litres of water,
according to the strength required. When cool
pour into the cask and put in the ferment.
Care must be taken not to exceed the pro-
portions of honey, as the vinegar would be too
sweet, and if a smaller quantity were used
it would be too weak. Place the cask in a
moderate temperature— 60 deg.to 80 deg.Fahr.
— and the acetic fermentation is developed
rapidly. The bunghole should not be closed
tightly— a cloth laid over it or a piece of slate
does very well — and the cask should not be
more than three parts filled. Air is necessary
for proper fermentation. In a very short time
the vinegar is ready ; in summer one month

448

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Nov. 8, 1894.

suffices. Now the work is practically at an
end, for you have anly to draw oflF some of the
vinegar and replace it by an equal quantity of
honey and water. It is not even necessary to
use good honey for this, as the cappings, pieces
of broken comb, &c., can have water added to
them, and this sweetened water can be used.

"Of course, the strength will vary, but this is
of little importance when it is for home con-
sumption. If wanted for sale the proper pro-
portions should be adhered to. It is better to
begin making the vinegar in the summer on
account of the temperature, and once the fer-
mentation has started you can go on as long as
you like. This is a simple recipe, and we
hope some of our bee-keepers will make a
trial of it.''

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION IN
CORNWALL.

A COUNTY COUNCIL EXPERIMENT IN
BEE-KEEPING.

One of the most useful purposes to which
the technical education grant can be applied is
that of the disse;iiination of knowledge in
relation to some of the minor adjuncts of
agriculture. Dairy management, fruit culture,
poultry rearing, bee-keeping, all demand atten-
tion in times when the more important
branches of farming are unprofitable, and
those who gain a living from the land must
needs look for fresh means of increasing their
incomes. In thia direction the Cornwall
County Council are doing most excellent
work. Their experiments in fruit culture
are calculated to produce valuable results,
while a report just received on the first
year's working of an experimental apiary,
established at Callington, will, no doubt,
lead to a development of the much-neglected
custom of bee - keeping. The Callington
District Technical Education Committee pur-
chased five modern hives, with bees, at a total
cost, including carriage of £11. 15s., and sub-
sequently bought another hive for a new
swarm of bees, and other necessaries, at a
further cost of 19s. 6d. The total expendi-
ture was thus only £12, 143. 6d., while as the
result of the first summer's operations they
received £5. 17s. 6d. for honey and sections
sold, and added to their stock a swarm of
bees valued at 15s. 6d. Bees require so little
attention that practically the whole of the
receipts are clear profit, and, as the hives are
calculated to last twenty year^, it may be
calculated that the return on the year's experi-
ment is a net gain of about £6. Mr. John
Blown, an expert in bse-keeping, was engaged
by the committee with the object of demon-
strating to the rural population of the
district that if conducted 6n modern prin-
ciples an apiary may become a steady
source of revenue. We gather from his
report that the past summer was unfa-
vourable for gathering and storing honey.
Each of the hives at Callington, nevertheless,

yielded about 30 lb. of honey, and the autumn
proved so fine that a further 30 lb. might have
been collected without depriving the bees of
the store needful for food during a long
winter. He has, therefore, succeeded in prov-
ing that the neighbourhood of Callington is
eminently suited for bee-keeping. The people
in the district have, however, hitherto
neglected this source of income, while the
effect of the little attention paid to the pro-
duction of honey is that it is seldom seen
in the markets of large towns, and is conse-
quently in far less demand than it ought to
be upon its merits as an article of diet. We
hope the committee will continue in a course
which seems likely to lead to good results, and
that working men with gardens, as well as
fruit-growers and small farmers, may be found
profiting by the lessons thus a8"orded them,
and so add both to their home comforts and
their financial resources. — Western Morning
News, Nov. 1.

METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.
October, 1894.

Locality, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.

Height above sea-level, 225 ft.

Rainfall, 283 in. ; heaviest fall, -70 in, on
26th,

Rain fell on thirteen days.

Max, shade temp., 60° on 7th, ;i2th, 13th,
and 24th.

Min. temp., 24° on 21st.

Max. shade temp, at 9 a,m,, 56^ on 10th
and 11th,

Min. temp, at 9 a.m , 33° on 21st.

Frosty nights, one, 8° of frost on 21 st.

Max. barometer, 30'23 on 1st and 2ad.

Min. barometer, 28'89 on 25th.

Wind chiefly from the S. and S.E, Several
warm days and for the time of year, very
bright, thus causing the bees to be on the wing
busily employed in taking in pollen. These
broken clusters of course mean a greater
consumption of food. Percy Leigh.

WEATHER REPORT FOR OCTOBER,
1894.

Westbourne, Sussex.

Rainfall, 6*10 in.
Heaviest fall, 2-27 in.

on 24th.
Rain fell on 16 days.
Above average, 1'91 in.
Max. Temperature,

63° on 11th.
Min. Temperature, 31°

on 17th.
Minimum on grass, 23°

on 17 th.
Frosty night, 1.
Sunshine, 96'4hour3,

2nd,

24-6

Brightest Day,

8 hours.
Sunless Days, 5.
Below average,

hours.
Mn. Maximum, 54*1°.
Mn. Minimum, 43*5°.
Mean Temperature,

48-8°.
Maximum Barometer,

30-45° on 1st.
Minimum Barometer,

29*03° on 25th,
L. B. Birkbtt.

Nov. 8, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

449

^urm M& ^^Im.

[1197.] Bees Casting out Drones and Brood.
— 1. In taking away combs from my hives for
winter, I find upon closer inspection one with
comb like the enclosed in centre. Is it
chilled or foul brood ? 2. At the beginning
of August my bees threw out all drones and
grubs from the same hive. AVas this due to
scarcity of food ? 3. I have two weak lots of
driven bees, three to four frames at most in
each hive covered with bees. Would you
unite ?— Novice, Norwich.

Reply.— 1. Foul brood. 2. Yes. 3. If
the driven bees cover four frames and queens
are young, we should be ruled by our needing
increase or otherwise. They would winter
better in one lot, no doubt, but there are risks
in wintering to be taken into account, and, if
carefully tended, four frames of bees in
November are not so very weak.

[1198.] Starting Bee-keeping. — Will you,
through the medium of your paper, give me a
little help ? I wish to start bee-keeping next
spring, and I am making a study of the
subject in the meantime. 1 . Shall I do right
in buying a first-class double or single hive
with a good stock of Ligurian bees, or shall I
get a larger quantity of less costly stuff ? My
idea of bee-keeping is profit with a fair
amount of energy and labour, and as little
money outlay as is really needed. 2. What is
considered to be the distance of bee flight
when honey gathering? 3. How can I
become a member of the county association ?
— Edwin Htles, Netteswell, Barlou\ Essex.

Reply. — 1. Get some competent person if
possible to advise you as to the selection of a
ttroDg healthy stock of what is called the
" common " native bee, and avoid as far as
you can every appliance but the cheapest and
most simple combined Avith efficiency (don't
neglect the point emphasised). Time enough
to buy foreign bees when you have gained
experience with natives, and found them
wanting. 2. Bees usually work within a
radius of about one and a-half miles from their
hives. 3. The hon. sec. of the Essex B.K.A.
is Mr. F. H. Meggy, Chelmsford, and the
expert is Mr. W. Debnam, Primrose Hill,
Chelmsford. Either of the above gentlemen
will furnish information as to membership.

[1199.] Bees short of Food.— On looking
through my Apiary to-day I found the bees of
a skep very excited (as I thought) flying about
the entrance, but no signs of fighting ; the
day was rather dull but warm. I am quite a
novice, having only started bee-keeping last
June, so I got my smoker, puff'ed it at the
entrance and inverted the skep to see if there
was any dead bees or honey. I did not see
any of the former, and all the cells that I could

see were quite empty. I might also mention
that the skep in question I purchased this last
September. What do you think is the
probable cause of all this excitement ? and had
I better feed them a little. Thanking you in
expectation. — B. P., Risley.

Reply. — The probability is that the bees are
very short of food, and are uneasy in con-
sequence. The warmth would cause the
cluster of bees to expand and make it a "feed
day," i.e., get some food unsealed and moved
into the centre of cluster ready for use in cold
weather, but when there is no food this kind
of movement sometimes results in a " hunger
swarm."

Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be (answered in this column .

Letters or qiieries asking for addresses of mamifac.
turers or correspondents, or where appliances can bt
purchased, or replies giving sitc/i information, can only
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries, and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. W«
wish our Correspondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for its to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of their communioa.
tions.

A. E. Trimmings (Notts). —Mealiness in Wax,.
— The sample sent may be called pure bees'
wax so far as not having been intentionally
adulterated, but it nevertheless contains a
considerable admixture of pollen which will
account for the mealiness of texture, or
grain, in the wax after melting.

J. D. (Wexford).— ilfaA;mgr Mead in Tins. —
Vessels of tin are not suitable for the pur-
pose of mead making. The liquid should
be stored either in wood or earthenware, the
former for preference.

Robert Welford (Ugglebarnby, Yorks). —
Vessels for Candy Making. — It cannot make
any difference whether the pan be of brass
or copper in which candy is made. As for
syrup-food, by all means make the full
quantity needed at one boiling if the pan
is large enough, and in any sort of pan.
Ours is made in an iron pan holding a
couple of dozen pounds of sugar. We note
your suggestion as to repeating at regular
intervals the most useful recipes for bee-
keepers ; as a matter of fact, we do repeat
many things deemed useful to beginners,
rather to the annoyance of some readers at
times, we fear.

Mr. Saml. Standring (Sunny Bank
Dewsbury) writes : — I am a beginner in bee-
keeping, and should like to become ac-
quainted with other bee-keepers in this dis-
trict, if there are any. I shall be pleased if
I can make this acquaintance through the
medium of your journal, or I shall take it
as a special favour if any bee-keeper in or
near Dewsbury (or Mirfield) will write to-
me direct. Thanking y<» xa, anticipation,
&c.

450

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Nov. 8, 1894.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, Jic—lTp to
Twelve words, Sixpence; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

WHAT OFFERS for 4 cwt. PURE ENGLISH
HONEY ? Address C. M. EAQLETON, The Apiary,
Parson Drove, near Wisbech. F 66

WALLFLOWERS— Fifty strong PLANTS, Is. 3d.
free. Address, GAT, Edmondsham, Cranborne,
Salisbury. P 61

LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, 8d., post free.
500, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodlet, Beedon, Newbury.

FOR SALE, Pure Extracted ENGLISH HONEY, at
8d. per lb., in 56-lb. tins. Tins *and packing
returnable. Sample, 3 stamps. W. C. Ransom, Great
Barton, near Bury St. Edmunds. r 67

BEAUTIFUL HEREFORDSHIRE HONEY, in bottles
and in bulk. Sample 2d. A 4-lb. tin free by post
for 3s 6d. Thomas Charles, Caerswall, Much Marcle,
Glos. F59

T N DISPENSABLE HONEY DEALERS. — HAR-

i GRAVE'S Folding Cardboard BOXES for 1-lb.
Sections. Sample 3d. post free. HAKGEATE, Harro-
gat e-road, Ripon.

MARKET for SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY,
and WAX. State price and quantity. Prompt
cash. Packages sent. Address, H., Bee Journal Office,
17, King William-street, Strand, London.

TO HIVE MAKERS.

GOOD PINE PLANKS.

Largest Stock in London.
VERY DRY, SOUND, CHEAP.

For price lists, apply, COBBETT CO., Virginia-road,
Bethnal Green, London, E.

is the Oldest Es-
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Kingdom
wholly devoted
to Bees and

manufacture of Bee-keepers' supplies. His prices will
compare most favourably with those of any other Maker,
while for quality of material, suitability and workmao-
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A large consignment of the beautiful

"FALCONER" SECTIONS,

both 4 bee-way and 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct importation.
Price 2/6 per 100 ; cut to receive Foundation, 3/- per 100.
By Parcel Post, 1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which "contains more practical and reliable hints
than all the large, expensive books," post free for
2d. stamps.

Address S. J. B ALD"WIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent.

N.B — More than 500 Silver and Bronze Medals, First and

other Prizes, and Testimonials innumerable.

BALDWIN'S

Its Economical Uses & Conversion into Money.

By J. DEHNLER,

Author of "Honey as Food," "Honey and its Uses."
Translated from the German, and Edited by

THOS. W. COWAN, Editor of "British Bee Journal."

Illustrated, price Szd., post free.

BRITISH BEE JOURNAL" AND "RECORD" OFFICE,

17, King William St., Strand, London, W.C.

THE BEST WINTER FOOD.

GREENHILL MEDICATED CANDY

This Candy is made of Pure Cane Sugar and
Honey (medicated with Naphthol Beta).

4s. 6d. per doz. Cakes, 2s. 6d. per half-doz.

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80, GRAHAM ROAD, WIMBLEDON.

(27 Years with G. Neighbour & Sons.)

W. P= M E A D O W Sr

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Unprecedented ^Ist Prize— Collection of Appliances.
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ouccess, ^^j. pri^e-Best Frame Hive.

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Send for Cat — a — Log with Leaflet.

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Trays ready for placing on the hive.

6d. per lib. Tray. 10 Trays, post free,
for 5s. ed. 20 Trays, Carriage free, 10s.

A. W. HARRISON,

Bee Appliance and Comb Foundation
Manufacturer,

POTTER'S BAR, MIDDLESEX.

Catalogues Free.

GLEANINGS

IN BEE CULTURE.

A Journal devoted to Bees, Honey, and

Home Interests.

Edited by A. I. ROOT,

Medina, Ohio, U.S.A.
The above popular Fortnightly American Bee
Journal can be had from the Office of the
British Bee Journal and Bee-Keepers' Record,
17, King William Street, Strand, W.C, at
6s. 6d. per annum.

We cannot take Subscriptions for the above
for a less term than One Yeae, and intending
Subscribers should notify us, when ordering,
if subscription is to cease on expiry of the
year for which payment is made.

BEE PASTURAGE,

By HENRY DOBBIE,

Certified Expert of the British Bee-Keepers' Association.

A limited number of copies of the above
book (published at One Shilling) post
free 8d.

A few slightly damaged but complete
copies 6d. post free.

British Bee Journal and Becord Office, 17, King
William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

Nov. 15, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

451

USEFUL HInYs^

Weather. — We may dismiss the
" weather " item of this week's hints by
describing it as hereabouts still wet, cold,
and generally unfit for the doing of any
outside work Avith either comfort or
thoroughness.

Dealing with Foul Brood. — This
hefe noir of the bee-keeper is again
cropping up, as it usually does in autumn,
because of being found in unsuspected
places at the time of finally overhauling
hives prepai'atory to packing up for
winter. We are asked the usual question,
" What shall I do to cure it 1 " To which
we are compelled perforce to reply, " At
this season, nothing ! " Beyond removing
all such combs as contain patches of dead
brood and burning them at once, nothing
can now be done except using preventives
— which should never be absent from the
hives — on all floorboards, and waiting
until the return of spring warmth renews
breeding and tests the malignity or other-
wise of the attack. Then, and not till
then, each case may be dealt with on its
merits. Broadly speaking, it may be
said that cases of malignant foul brood
should not be tampered with at all, but
dealt with in three words— z'.f., "Burn the
lot ! " Having said this much, we are just
as emphatic in asserting that the
enormous number of cases where stocks
suffering from more or less mild attacks
of the disease have been cured and
rendered profitable quite justify the
efforts made to that end. It is, however,
very certain that something must be
done by way of seconding the curative
and preventive process by removing what
is the main cause of the recurrence of
the disease.

A correspondent — the disinterested-
ness of whose motives we can vouch for
— refers on another page to the same sub-
ject, and, erroneously, as we think, sees
no alternative but doing away with all
" so-called remedies," and advocating
the prompt destruction of bees and combs
on the first outbreak of the disease. This
is, of course, natural for any one suffer-
ing under repeated disappointments
caused by the reappearance of the
malady among bees supposed to be
cured ; but, so long as the very mischief

our correspondent so aptly illustrates
and warmly condemns — viz., foul-broody
hives — exists in our midst, and cannot be
destroyed without the consent of their
owners, it seems to us a little unfair to
try and fix the blame on the " so-called
remedies."

Anyway, there is abundant evidence
that but for the free use of preventive
remedies in hives at the present time,
foul brood would be far more prevalent
than it now is, and, however desirable it
may be to see more drastic remedies
advocated, there is the one stumbling-
block to overcome which at present de-
bars these suggestions from having any
practical value — viz., the consent which
is wanting in the case our correspondent
refers to on page 455.

A few Avords addressed to members of
the Kent B.K.A. — which appears in the
local cover appended to the issue in that
county of cur monthly, the RECORD — also
very aptly illustrates the evil dealt with,
and at the same time shows how it is
proposed to meet it. It reads as
folloAvs : —

The avarice of some bee-keepers, and the
indifference of others, greatly impede the
efforts of those who are endeavouring to stamp
out the disease. In one centre, where our
members have been very successful in the
profitable production of honey, the health of
forty or fifty stocks is now seriously endangered
by the refusal of one bee-keeper (not a member
of our association) to destroy a diseased stock,
although ample compensation has been offered
him.

At the date of going to press, a score of
hives at one farm are to be put up to auction,
in every one of which the bees have died from
foul brood ! The honorary local secretary of
our association, for the district in which the
sale takes place, has arranged to buy the
hives, so as to procure proper disinfection,
otherwise their distribution would but serve
to set up fresh centres of disease in the county.
We cannot too strongly, or too frequently,
caution our members on the score of this
danger that so seriously threatens the prosperity
of the bee-keeping industry.

The above tAVO paragraphs very forcibly
show Avhat can and Avhat cannot be done
in combatting the evil with Avhich Ave are
dealing, and brings home to us Avhat is
needed. It is something to knoAV that
selfish persons cannot be induced to
destroy, in the interest of other.s, what,
in their eyes, possesses even the smallest
value to themselves, but when— as in the
case quoted — ample compensation is

452

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Nov. 15, 1894.

offered, there seems no motive beyond
" pure cussedness " for a refusal, and
until the law compels consent we must
put up with it. The second paragraph is
well worth taking to heart by all county
associations where foul brood is preva-
lent.

Preserving Surplus Queens. — Bee-
keepers not well versed in the formation
and care of small nuclei for the preserva-
tion of surplus queens will read with
interest the following description of the
method followed by Mrs. Atchley, the
well-knoAvn American (pieen-raiser, as
carried out by the Editor of the Bre-
Keeperi< Ilevicv) in his own apiary. Mr.
Hutchinson says : —

Queens in ]arge numbers are now being kept
in the Review apiary by means of the Atchley
plan. An okl-style Heddon super is divided
into eight compartments, three imfinished
sections and a caged queen placed in each
compartment, and the super placed over a
queenless colony. The bees rush up and
cluster around the queen and between the
sections. Just at dusk the super is placed
upon a bottom-board having a raised rim
around the outside, also strips across the
centre to correspond with the divisions in the
case, and carried to a new stand in some shady
secluded spot. Each little compartment is
furnished with an entrance cut through the
rim around the outside of the bottom-board.
A piece of queen-excluding metal, with a
single opening, is jDlaced in each entrance.
Each little hive is furnished with a separate
cover, and over all is laid a flat board cover.
The next day at dusk the queens are released.
I have yet to have a queen killed in one of
these little clusters. Eobbers give no trouble
whatever. It isn't that they do not find the
hives, as I often see them *' snooping " around
them, but they seem to hesitate about crawl-
ing through the perforated metal when there
is any opposition back of it. This plan keeps
the queens in the best possible condition for
shipment, and enables me to keep a stock of
queens on hand all ready for immediate ship-
ment.

Prices of Sugar. — We are glad to
notify a reduction of Is. per cwt. in the
price of cane-sugar from November 1.
Apropos of prices and honey sales, a
correspondent in the North under date
November 7 writes: — "I got this year
50 stone of surplus honey, and so far
have only sold about one-half of it.
Last year I had half a ton, and sold it
all quite easily ; but these cursed strikes
here in the North ruin all." We wonder
how many connected with bees or honey
production would ever have supposed

that the industry would have been
affected by a strike ! But it serves to
show how far-reaching in its effects is
this social strife.

BRITISH

BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.

The usual monthly committee meeting was
held at 105, Jermyn-street, on Thursday, the
8th inst. Present : Mr. T. W. Cowan (in the
chair), Rev. G. W. Bancks, Messrs. W. B.
Carr, Jesse Garratt, W. O'B. Glennie
(treasurer), H. Jonas, J. H. New, E. D. Till,
and .John Huckle (secretary).

A communication was received from the
Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh regretting his
inability to be present. After the minutes of
the last meeting were read and confirmed, the
Finance Committee's report recommending the
payment of the association's liabilities in
respect to the recent dairy exhibition was
adopted.

The Secretary reported that, in accordance
with the resolution passed at the last meeting,
he had communicated with the several
affiliated associations in reference to the for-
mation of centres for conducting third-class
examinations. Letters were read — 1. From the
Notts Association suggesting that the counties
of Notts, Derby, and Leicester should be
grouped together as one centre, the examina-
tion to be held on the second day of the ex-
hibition held in either of these counties. 2.
From the Glamorganshire Association in-
timating that at present the facilities given for
these examinations were too small, and that
in the event of the proposed centres being
formed, the difficulties would be increased.

The Chairman reported that the educational
sub-committee had prepared the syllabus, &c.,
for conducting the examinations for lecture-
ships in apiculture. Resolved — ''That the same
be approved, and that the chairman be em-
powered to make the necessary arrangements
for printing and circulating the same."

The Exhibitions Sub-Committee presented
their report on the Dairy Show, and recom-
mended that at a future show any vagueness
in the wording of the schedule should be
removed, so as to make its meaning clear and
easily understood by both judges and
exhibitors.

The prize schedule for honey, &c , for the
bee-department of ^the Royal Agricultural
Show, to be held at Darlington in 1895, as
recommended by the Exhibitions Sub-Com-
mittee, was considered and approved.

On the motion of the Chairman it was
resolved — " That the best thanks of the asso-
ciation be given to Mr. Garratt, Mr. Hooker,
and Mr. Till for their valuable services in
acting as stewards of the bee department at
the Dairy Show.''

The following new members were elected,
viz. : — The Hon. Miss R. Hanbury, Broome
Hall, Scole ; Mr. Robert Ness, Sproxton Park

Nov. 15, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

453

Helmsley, Yorks ; Mr. John Brown, Poly-
phant, Launceston.

This completed the business of the meeting,
Avhich terminated in the usual way.

IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The committee met on 6th instant. The
chair was taken by Mr. Gillies, and afterwards
by Mr. Read. Present also Dr. Traill, Captain
Millner, Mr. O'Bryen, and Mr. Chenevix (hon.
sec. cf 1.5, Morehampton-road, Dublin). The
subject of most interest related to the possible
extension to other parts of Ireland of the
systeni by which in certain localities bee-keep-
ino- is promoted with the aid of the Congested
Districts Bo.ard.

HONEY IMPORTS.
The total value of honey imported into
the United Kingdom during the month of
October, 1894, was £2,27.3. — From a return
furnished by the Statistical Office, H.M.
Customs.

(^mxnp\iimu.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
OToinionfi expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of aiwnymotis communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be draion on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Revieiv, &c., m,ust be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, ti:c., must be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
Ki7ig William- street. Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

•»• In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

QUEEN REARING IN HIVES WITH
LAYING QUEENS,

A LINE FROM DR. C. C. MILLER.

[2111.] Mr. Henry W. Brice, in his very
interesting series of articles on queen rearing,
gives me credit for being first to mention the
plan of transferring larvaj into queen cells. I
do not deserve such credit, and am sorry to say
I cannot now recall the right man, although
I think it was a Michigan bee-keeper. I think
the only thing of which Mr. Brice makes any
use that originated with me is the plan of
raising queens in a hive with a laying queen.
Small credit do I deserve for that, as it was
by mere accident, and possibly Mr. Brice may
be interested to know something of the parti-
culars of the first case mentioned in print. I
had a number of empty combs to be taken
care of, and I piled them up over a fairly
strong colony in a ten-frame hive, making four
stories in all, so that the colony had forty

combs, with free access to all the four stories.
Having some fear that the bees might not
extend their care to the upper story, I put a
frame of brood in it, feeling sure the bees
would then care for this upper story, and all
the combs between it and the first story. Some
time later I noticed a few bees going in and
out of a small leak in the upper story, and was
surprised to find a laying queen there. This
queen having whole wings I knew it could not
be the old queen, which was clipped. I left
the bees to their own devices, and later in the
season found a strong colony in the fourth
story as well as one in the first. I raised the
fourth story, put a floor board under it, and
had two entirely separate colonies, both in fine
condition.

On page 406 Mr. Brice mentions sealed
queen-cells being left undisturbed in a hive
till about ready to hatch, although a laying
queen was in the hive. I wonder if his expe-
rience in general will not coincide with mine,
which leads me to believe that if queen-cells
are placed in a hive where the bees do not
desire to raise a queen, such queen-cells will be
emptied of their contents if not sealed, but if
the cells are sealed they are not disturbed until
the princesses (I like that word that you
Britishers use) are about ready to emerge.
But a virgin queen may tear down sealed cells
at an earlier stage.

Kindest greetings to my brethren of the
mother-country. — C. C. Miller, Marengo
Illinois, October 25, 1894.

BEE NOTES FROM SUSSEX.

SOMETHING LIKE FEEDING UP FOR WINTER.

[2112.] It has occurred to me that it might
interest some of your readers if I gave a few
notes about this year's bee-keeping in my
locality (the coast of Sussex between Worthing
and Littlehampton), because I am persuaded
that bees in such sunny and favoured neigh-
bourhoods as these require somewhat different
treatment compared with those more to the
North.

I began the spring of 1894 with two well-
stocked hives, which had come in first-rate con-
dition through the winter. I lost a splendid
swarm in June from the one, through un-
neighbourly conduct, and I had to divide the
other twice to prevent a similar mishap. 'The
one I worked for sections, and had at one time
four crates on, making eighty-four 1-lb. sections
in all. Nearly all these were more or less
built out, but only about twenty-four were
fairly filled ; most of the others I had to uncap
and extract ; but I have a fine stock of fully or
partially built-out sections with which to start
next spring. The extracted honey amounted
to some 5 lb. From my other hive 1 obtained
15 lb. of run honey from one (upper) lift of
shallow frames, and might have obtained as
much or more from a lower lift, but I became
alarmed at the destitute condition of the lower
brood-boxes, and gave the whole of this sealed

454

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Nov. 15, 1894.

honey to the bees of my hives. From the two
hives I estimate that I obtained about 401b. of
honey, in comb and extracted.

Now the point to which I wish to draw at-
tention is that all this was stored by the bees
before the end of March. The use of glass
panes on the tops of my hives enables me to
state positively that after March the bees
barely gathered sufficient to feed themselves
from day to day. In the middle of September,
when I overhauled my then four hives, there
was very little or no honey, and no brood
whatever, in the brood chambers, and very
little honey above — except in the one sealed lift,
then still left on one hive. Just at that time
I became the possessor of a " Wells" hive, into
which I transferred the two best of my stocks ;
and I then filled up the weakest lot, and also
replaced the stocks in the two single hives,
with five lots of driven bees from skeps in the
village. I do not think there was 1 lb. of honey
in all these five skeps put together, and there
was no brood ; and I fear a vast number of
cottager's bees will perish this winter from
sheer starvation. I am helping to dispose of
them wherever they cannot be fed up well.

Immediately after this I had to be away
for five weeks ; but I left everything in order,
and feeders on ; and during my absence and
since the little wretches have actually taken
down over 250 lb. of sugar made into syrup,
or over 40 lb. to each hive, and are as merry
as crickets, as they well may be. For with
this they have — so far as I can see through my
glass tops — built out, filled, and sealed, nearly
all the ten lower standard and ten upper
shallow frames in each of my six hives (counting
the "Wells" as two), only one hive being
somewhat backward. They would take, appa-
rently, as much more as I chose to give them ;
but as they have begun building brace-comb?,
I think it is high time to cut ofl" supplies at
last. Otherwise comb building on such a
scale from cheap sugar is profitable work.

It is now November, and so far from settling
down for the winter, every sunny hour these
bees are dancing ia front of the hives, ran-
sacking the ivy blooms, and working hard
at comb-making and sealing within the
hives. Last spring they were hard at
work again before March. I intend on
the very first fine day in February to put
on excluder zinc and supers, as I am persuaded
that even so early, even if they do not store
honey, they at any rate build comb. One
neighbouring bee-keeper told me he once, by
mistake, left an empty crate of sections on one
of his hives in the autumn. In February,
when he went to make a spring inspection of
his hives, the crate was already filled and
sealed. Last February my bees employed
their leisure in building me no end of brace-
combs ; and I prefer to give them more re-
munerative occupation, especially as removing
brace-combs full of grubs is unpleasant,
although easy enough, work.

On one point I should be very glad of

advice. 1. Ought I, in the spring, to leave the
bees the lifts of shallow frames above the
brood chambers, as so many dependances to
these latter, in order to obtain stronger stocks
and avoid swarming ? This was my original
idea. If not, how can I compel the bees to
unstore the sealed syrup, so that I can get the
combs refilled with honey ? They are mostly
splendid combs, and would be invaluable for
the extractor ; but, of course, no suspicion of
syrup must remain about them. I rather
grudge their being spoiled by brood. 2. Also,
is there any fear of the bees transferring syrup
in the spring from below to above the excluder
zinc ?

So far as I know I have been much more
fortunate than my neighbours, who have had
positively no honey return whatever this
summer, and are left with stocks of starving
bees.

May I conclude by saying, with respect to
the right way of putting on excluder zinc, and
as some excuse for myself, that hitherto every
sheet which I have bought, and from difi'erent
and well-known makers, has had the slots
arranged along the combs and not across
them ; just as also nearly every sheet of foun-
dation I have received has been cut so that
the straight sides of the hexagons have been
horizontal, and not vertical, as they should be.
But I am afraid excluder zinc, however put
on, does greatly impede the working of the
bees. Thanking you in advance, — I remain,
W. R. N., Sussex, November 5.

[If the whole ten shallow frames are filled
and sealed over, we fancy there will not be
very much of the 40 lb. of food in body-box
below. In view of the conditions detailed,
and considering how near the winter is, we
should therefore lift off the shallow-frame box
and examine the combs below to make sure as
to the amount of food in them. For the rest,
we do not think any advantage would result
from allowing the shallow frames to be used
for brood in addition to the ten standard
frames below ; because, in a district so early
that bees are storing surplus in March, that
number of frames would be ample for the
queen's requirements. 1 . Under the circum-
stances, our plan would be to get the queen
below and set the excluder on now, keeping
the shallow-frame box as a surplus chamber
for early storing after the bees had used up
the contents of the combs for food. The bees
might be got to take down the contents of
two or three of the shallow combs if they were
uncapped at once, and mayhap several more
might be emptied in the same way later on ;
but we should leave some of the centre combs
as they now are for the winter. 2. Bees will
sometimes carry syrup into supers if cramped
for breeding space. — Eds.]

FOUL BROOD.

SOME HELP WANTED.

[2113.] I take a deep interest in the subject
of foul brood, for I plainly see that, unless

Nov. 15, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

455

bee-keepars stir themselves, bae-keepiag in'
my plague-strickea district will soon be not
worth attempting. My neighbour owns three
diseased and worthless stocks. I offer to
amply indemnify him if he will destroy them.
He refuses, and tells me " he knows the reme-
dies ; " but, Mr. Editor, what is the effect of
trusting to these so-called " remedies ? "

Granted, for the sake of argument, that it
may be possible to eradicate the disease in a
queen, so that her offspring may be uninfected
or immune, still, we have no guarantee that
the rest of the colony is uninfected, how there-
fore are we to gauge a total absence of infec-
tion ?

On the other hand, if we destroy bees and
combs in toto by fire immediately the disease
is discovered, we have the guarantee (so far as
that particular colony is concerned) that we
have control of the mischief, for it is compara-
tively easy to disinfect the hive by dry heat or
" current steam '' in a sterilising chamber.

I maintain that entire reliance on the other
so-called " remedies," places us in a position of
false security, inasmuch as whilst applying the
•' remedies,'' we continue to preserve a centre
of infection and jeopardize our own and our
neighbours' stocks. We have not dealt
thoroughly, i.e., scientifically, with the out-
break,— tiie fact is, these remedies are merely
palliative, and therefore dangerous ! I wish I
could be persuaded to the contrary, but I, too,
have attempted a cure and seen the disease
apparently staying its course, filling me with
the strongest hope, but returning spring has
brought a recrudescence, and, alas, extension
of the plague occasioning in turn the deepest —
Disappointment.

[We entirely agree with our correspondent
as to the futility of expecting favourable results
in dealing with so infectious a bee-disease as
foul brood, so long as the source of infection
continues to exist. This is the real and solid
ground of complaint, and it seems to us some-
what unjust to cast the onus of failure on
what our correspondent terms the " so-called
remedies." No doubt a large number of
bee-keepers still fail to realise the nature
of the disease, and fail to take proper pre-
cautions ; but, until legal powers are ob-
tained to compel the destruction of diseased
hives, badly-infected districts will always be
troublesome places in which to keep bees ; and
in the meantime we think ib will only be
adding to the evil by either discouraging the
useof preventive measuresor trying to discredit
their usefulness. — Eds.]

APIS rOR^ATA AND EttYPriAN
BEES.

[2114.] Referring to your correspondent's
letter (2107, p. 44(3) in B.B.J, for November
8, 1894, it seems to me that Mr. " A. C," of
Cairo, mixes up Apis dorsata with the A}) iff
mdUfica. The Egyptian bee is simply a
variety of the honey-bae kept in hives— as

can be seen in Mr. T. W. Cowan's book on
" The Honey-Bee." On page 3 is a table,
wherein is stated " Species Mellifica ; varieties,
Eoglish, Cyprian, Italian, Carniolan," &c. In
this " et cetera " the Egyptian and its fellow-
insect of Palestine is included. It is also often
called Apis fasciata— on account of the distinct
bands — the binded bee.

The late, and much-regretted, Mr. Frank
Cheshire says, in vol. ii. of " Scientific and
Practical Bee-Keeping (p. 626), " Apis dorsata
(normally building under boughs, but
frequently in caves) is the giant of the genus
Apis, the smallest of its workers being quite
equal in size to the largest of the queens of
any of the European races.'' Then, on p. 315,
same volume, he says, " Apis dorsata has been
hunted up, although it is known to be a useless
savage, simply because it is big, and that by
the very persons who claim that the smaller
hive bees are the best, in that they give their
vote generally to the yellow varieties. For-
tunately, it is in the very nature of things
impracticable to ' hybridise ' our hive bees
with dorsata, over which we may inscribe
' Requiescat in pice ;' " and again, p. 627, same
volume, "In mmy parts it (Apis dorsata)
migrates regularly at certain seasons, its habit
being to leave its comb on failure of pasturage,
reminding us of the ' vagabond' swarms of
Apis mellifica." Then, turning to page 168 of
volume ii., *' bees sometimes abscond because
their stores have run out, and circumstances
are desperate. Such have usually been called
' hunger ' or ' vagabond ' swarms. The
method of preventing this annoyance and loss
is obvious. Afcer hiving the woe-begone
subjects of misfortune or neglect, a comb of
store and some unsealed brood should be at
once given ; then gentle feeding, continued
with a generous hand until they have abun-
dance, will restore contentment.''

I said Mr. A. C. " mixed up,'' for he finds
that the illustrations given in the Record of
June, 1891, resemble the pieces of comb he
secured. Evidently an illustration does not
differ, not even natural comb of Apis dorsata
and mellifica differ so much as to be caught
by the unaccustomed eye. Swarms clustered
precisely on the same spot of certain trees, is
explained simply by the fact that the odour of
the past swarm attracted the new-comers.
That they decamped was evidence enough that
they were " hunger " or "vagabond" swarms
that had come with the remainder of honey
from their deserted hives and began building
comb, but could not continue, as there were no
flowers to continue to build and store from.
The queen, of course, laid several eggs in one
cell, as she had the eggs and not cells enough,
thus deposited them anywhere. Egypt and
the pUm of Sharon in Palestine closely
resemble each other in many ways. The hives
in Egypt and Palestine (plain) are made of sun-
burnt clay ; in Egypt also mud of the Nile.
Now, where the owner is ignorant of the effects
of the sun's rays, and does not cover the hives

456

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Nov. 15, 1894.

the fresh, combs often fall down, and the bees
abscond. Another reason may be the numerous
hornets, or the number of queens in swarming
season, making many and small swarms which
cluster on trees, and are either too weak to
resist the enemy or have not stores enough to
follow up the buOding of comb in the tree.
Apis dorsata always builds one huge comb
below the bough of a tree or beneath rock-
cliffs — as the Bambera-galJa in Ceylon, visited
by Benton in 1880. This bee-rock, as the
name denotes in Singalese, had about a dozen
colonies, and Benton brought four colonies
with him, not " one." Mr. Benton is enough
of a bee-expert to have known a good many
items pointed out by your correspondent, and
has seen colonies not merely on small pieces
of comb, but on huge combs measuring near 3 ft.
in length. Mr. R. Dathe, of Eystrup, Hanover,
also visited Ceylon in 1882-83, and brought
several colonies with him. These colonies
I have seen and observed for nearly a year in
the orange gardens of .Jaffa, but they would not
build a single cell in the hive. The hive was
open — so as to imitate the bees' natural prefer-
ence to work in the open-air — protected by two
sides only, and against the direct rays of the sun.
A good deal of money was spent by Mr. Dathe,
and an expert German bee-keeper did all in
his power to try to acclimatise them ; but finally
they died, without leaving eggs or any comb.
Again, the Eev. A. Bunker, of Rangoon, Burmah,
wrote a series of articles in Ghaimir/s, in which
it could be seen that those bees were simply
migratory ; for, although he had a kind of shed
built, and sufficient protection against the wind
and rain — by which it was supposed that the
bees had been driven away — but it was found
out simply that they could not be kept back
from these journeys, just as little as swallows
or storks 7nay be kept back from flying to
southern climes when winter approaches.

The Egyptian bee (A2)ts meUiJica) is a
domestic bee, and if kept in any hive, (1) well
protected against the fearful rays of the sun
(or hornet attacks, for that matter) ; (2) a
good strong population breeder by a good
prolific mother. ; (3) plenty of stores, — no
" over- observation" will make them abscond,
except it be over-meddling, allowing robbers to
set through cracks or bad shutters. Ventilation,
of course, is very necessary ; but any bee-
keeper of a few years' experience, and caring
for his bees, will have found out after a few
days what is good or bad for them. I have
seen some fine apiaries in the neighbourhood
of Cairo — kept by an expert bee-keeper, of
course — in Egyptian Nile-mud hives. At
Menshret el-Bakara a man ovpning something
near 600 hives on one spot could easily tell
how to prevent so many swarms issuing. No
trees being in the neighbourhood, he easily
secures his swarms, whilst some more neglected
apiaries at Rom el-Aswad, Saft-Saban, Nahra
el-Metemr were perhaps the real sources of
those hundreds of " vagabond swarms,'' or for
that matter real swarms, gone to cluster on

trees ; but certainly never more than perhaps
1 per cent, would stay on such orange boughs.
In Jaffa, Palestine, I've found such swarms
which did build two or three small combs, but
would not resist the heat coming later on. On
one occasion a swarm had even partly suc-
ceeded in drawing quite a protection of pro-
polis over itself, but those tree swarms never
last long, whilst the swarms going to clefts in
the mountain rocks keep for many years,
perhaps for centuries, undisturbed. Quite near
Nice is a big rock, where an old man of
seventy only the other day told me he always
remembers the bees to have been there. Apia
mellificci does not migrate when properly
hived, be it in Egypt, Cyprus, Palestine,
France, or England, but Apis dormta will. —
Pit. J. Baldenspeger, Nice, Mt. Gron,
October 11, 1894.

BEES IN COUNTY KILKENNY.
Vagrant and other Swarms.

[2115.] A vagrant swarm came and settled
in a cottager's garden in our village early in
May ; it swarmed again in June, and a second
swarm, or cast, issued some days afterwards.
These people are not bee-keepers, so the cast
died of starvation in August, and I predict
the same fate for the remaining two, as they
will not feed.

Early in May another stray swarm came
over this village, and took possession of an
empty frame-hive in a gentleman's garden
here, from which the cast had died out
through foul brood some two years previously.
I was applied to, to know what could be done
as the hive was foul-broody. I told the gentle-
man to procure another hive, and I would
transfer the bees for him. The swarm, how-
ever, was on these disused combs two days
before a- hive could be got, and even then, it
was only a skep. I note the query often
repeated in the pages of the B. J., " How
shall I transfer my bees located in a skep
to a frame-hive ? " but here was a case of trans-
ferring from a frame-hive to a skep. The
frame-hive was, if I may use the expression,
boiling over with bees, so large was the swarm.
The bees were shaken off, frame by frame,
and allowed to run into the skep ; but while
operating, I noticed that bees were going into
another empty frame-hive through a chink in
the roof, the entrance being closed. On ex-
amination of this latter hive, I found that four
frames were covered with bees ; search was
made for a quees, but I could not find one, so
I shook this lot in with the others and I believe
they belonged to them but could not find
room in the hive. Short as was the time the
bees were on the frames, they had almost filled
every cell with newly-gathered honey. It was
a hard job, but I had the satisfaction of
knowing that I was breaking up a colony
about to establish themselves in a foul-broody
hive within easy reach of my own apiary. This

Nov. 15, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

457

swarm did well ; it gave two swarms and some
surplus honey to its owner.

On August 22 I got word of a' swarm being
in a hedge about three miles from here, but
being so late in the season I had doubts n,s to
the truth of the story and thought it might be
a wasp's nest ; however, after some considera-
tion, I decided to go and see for myself.

On my arrival the farmer painted out the
bees. They were located in the open at the
bole of a whitethorn bush about 18 in. from
the ground facing the south. There were
four combs 10 in. long and 4 in. wide, built
and attached by their sides to the bole of
the tree, and immediately underneath on the
ground was another comb of the same di-
mensions, where it had fallen some time
previously. I cut off the combs and shook
the bees into my skep, and fixed it up where
their combs had been, and in a very short
time I had all the bees secured in the skep
and the combs safely wrapped up in a news-
paper. There were some stores in the combs,
but no brood, though the centre ones showed
signs of having been bred in. I was told it
was a fine swarm at first, but now it was
very small, not being able to cover more
than the centre of the combs, the top and
bottom portion being quite exposed to the
weather. It was there, the farmer told me,
since about June 26, and he would have
sent me word at the time only some person
told him that I was sick, which was the fact.

The little lot fell in handy, for some days
previous I discovered that one of my stocks
was queenless ; the strangers were united to the
queenless stock next day, and were received by
them all right, and are now doing well, having
brood in four frames.

It is very seldom that bees in this country
settle down to their work and build combs
such as these in the open air. I never saw a
case like it before. It was pretty to look at
before anything was disturbed, and it made me
wish that I could have got a photograph of the
whole thing as it stood when I arrived at
the place. — M. K., Piltown, co. Kilkenny,
November 5.

^m'm and |lc|lies.

[1200.] Dealing with Condemned Steps. — I
got three condemned stocks in straw hives this
autumn from parties who did not expect them
to pull through the winter. I have fed them,
and two have increased wonderfully in weight
and numbers, the third has stored up a lot of
syrup, but, while the other two have availed
themselves of every fine hour to gather pollen,
and even these last few days of bad weather
have brought in heavier loads of poUea from
the ivy than on the fine days in August, the
third has only carried in very small amounts.
I close the entrances to each of the skeps every
night with perforated zinc, and do not open till

the bees are astir ia the morning as wasps are
a nuisance here, and get into the hives long
before the bees are busy. On taking away the
zinc from No. 3, no matter how early, some of
the bees are waiting to carry out larvie in
difi"erent stages, but never more than three or
four the same morning. From what little
knowledge I have got from " Cowan's Guide "
and " Modern Bee-Keeping," I suspect the
queen is there, but must be very old, or else
the bees would be more active. They keep
guard and defend their hive right enough, but
do not look for either honey or pollen like the
other two. Please say if you think they Avill
be any use in spring ? I am trying to find
out the simjjlest and best hive to invest in ;
one that can be easily carried, as there are
diti'erent districts here that at different seasons
are literally " overfiowing with milk and
honey." — Voltigkuu, Knoclnagnn, Novem-
ber 7.

Rkply. — It is evident that from some cause
breeding has been going on much more slowly
in No. 3, but it is difficult to say, for certain,
how it may be in spring, so you will have to
wait and watch. The closing up of entrances
at night should stop when wasps cease to give
trouble, as they will very shortly.

[1201.] Uaitinj Bees in '' Wells" Hives.—

0 wing to my being busy I have not been able
to attend to my bees for the last few weeks.
Upon looking at them to-day I find one stock
in a " Wells " hive gone, the combs being
nearly filled with brood ; and in my other two
" Wells " hives I find a weak lot in one com-
partment of each hive. I have also two fairly
strong stocks in single hives. 1. I want to
know if it is too late to unite, and, if not,
shall I put the weak stock oa the other side
of the *' Wells '' hive with the strong stock, or
itnite the two weak ones ? On one side of one
of my " Wells '' hives I put a skep in which
was a strong stock of bees, bought in the
spring. I put the skep above the frames, and
the bees have worked down on to them. Now

1 want to remove the skep, but the bees in it
are strong, Tvith, I believe, plenty of honey.
2, What shall I do ? Leave them till the
spring, or if I remove the skep what is the
best way to do it ?— F. R. S., Cormvall,
November 6.

Reply. — 1. If you are quite sure the weak
stocks are healthy it will be advantageous to
winter each along with the strong lot in the
"Wells" hive. 2. The skep had best be left
where it is till spring. Are you sure the
brood left in the deserted compartment of one
" Wells " hive is not foul ?

[1202.] Section-racks and Bee-ways. — I have
kept bees for four years, and read your helpful
j ournal all that time, but I am still (and always
shall be, I suppose), wanting information about
bees — though not how to make artificial honey
or other fraud. I should like your opinion as
to the following : — In placing a rack of sections

458

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Nov. 15, 1894.

OQ (i.e., touching the bars) a frame hive, how-
should the " bee-ways " be placed with refer-
ence to the top birs of frames ?— in the same
line or across ? Of course, it is a matter of the
bars running parallel to or at right angles to
the entrance, and then if the rack covers the
bars, nine or ten as the case may be. It is a
question only of more or less room for the bees
to ascend to the rack alcove. I have over forty
hives, and am surrounded by heather, which
always seems to yield honey if the mav, apple,
and holly blossom do not, from rain. Referring
to last par. in your "Review of Continental Bee
Papers," on page 440, I wonder the Bavarian
" Society of Applied Chemistry " do not
analyse soup made from " well-dubbed old
shooting-boots," which, with "a pinch of silt,'
lam told, can hardly be distinguished from
many forms of soup ! — J. W. Hea.thcote
(Major), New Forest, November 6.

Reply. — Section racks are usually placed
on hives so that the bee-waj's above frames run
across the top bars. The actual sections,
therefore, are parallel to the frames in the hives
below. It cannot, however, make very much
difference which way they run, as there is
plenty of passage-way for the ascending bees
either way.

[120.3.] Overhauling Hives in Autumn. — 1.
Adverting to reply to my query 1197 (p. 449)
I should be glad of your advice as to whether
it would be wise to overhaul my seven hives
now to ascertain whether there is any further
trace of foul brood thai the piece sent. It is
beginning to be very cold, and I have packed
up for the winter. 2. I sent my hives some
two miles away to the heather last August, to a
man who keeps bees in skeps. Would it be
more likely that the disease was caught from
his bees than that it arose from dead grubs,
owing to want of food referred to in my la-t
inquiry on p. 449 ? — Novice, Marsham,
Norwich.

Reply. — 1. We do not see that any good
could result from overhauling the hives so late
in the season, except perhaps to remove combs
containing patches of dead brood, if such were
found. Curative measures must be deferred
until warm weather in spring. 2. Except
noting the fact that foul brood is most infec-
tious, and that weak stocks in skeps are liable
to be plundered by strong ones in autumn, we
cannot go any farther in attributing the mis-
chief to the skeps referred to. It would hardly
be fair or just to their owner to do so.

[1204.] Using Poisonous Substances about
Hives. — Could you inform me through the
medium of your paper whether the use of the
substance known as " weedkiller •' could do
any damage to the bees ? As I have hardly
the time to cope with the great growth of
weeds in my apiary, I intend to try the
"weedkiller" — a poisonous substance which
you mix with water and pour on to the

ground. It is, I believe, very efficacious in
stopping the growth of weeds. Is it possible,
do you think, that it could do any damage to
the bees in the hive 5 ? I da not think myself
that it could affect them. — Ambrose A. Ogle,
Laleham, November 7.

Reply. — We should certainly not U3e the
liquid named about hives, unless during such
hours as would give it time to sink quite into
the ground while the bee^ were indoors. It is
so poisonous as to kill the very worms in the
ground, we believe, and so could hardly fail
to be dangerous to bees.

[1205] Dronis in November. — I shall be
glad to have your opinion on the following : —
After bringing my hives home from the
heather, where they have done exceedingly
well, I was afraid the queen in one hive wa-3
rather old, and so determined to supersede her
by introducing a young one, and at the same
time strengthen the stock by adding the bees
I got with the young queen. I, therefore,
appropriated the contents of the hive, killed
the old queen, and mixed the two lots of bees
succsssfully, and the hive was supplied with
new frames fitted with foundation, and was
fed up. The weather since has been very mild,
and I observed in a short time that breeding
was going on, and young brood appearing. So
late as last Saturday the bees were carrying
pollen and getting honey, the latter no doubt
stolen, but the former must, I think, be from
chrysanthemums and other late flowers, and
also from the plants in the numerous green-
houses in the neighbourhood. This afternoon,
however, drones have appeared, and although
the workers are expelling them, I hardly
thought they would have made their appear-
ance at this time, seeing they had new comb
to begin with, and altogether I don't like it,
being, as I think, unnatural ; or, perhaps,
something is wrong with the new queen ? — ■
A. A. K., Uddingston, November 10.

Reply. — We should lose no time in
examining the combs in order to see if the
drones are being reared in worker cells. It is
so entirely unnatural for stocks in normal
condition to breed drones, at this season that
something must be wrong, and only an inves-
tigation of the hive interior will reveal the
cause of the mischief. Write us again after
examining the combs if jou need help.

[1206.] New Honcrj Plant. — Referring to
your article in B.B.J, of November 1 (p. 4.39),
on the " New Honey Plant," Folygonum
Saxhaliense, I should feel greatly obliged if
you can inform me as to where 1 can procure
the same, in seeds or plants.— J. P. W.,
Uttoxeter.

Reply. — We think the required informa-
tion may be had by applying to Mr. Thomas
Ware, nurseryman, Tottenham, London, N.,
but any nursery or seedsman would, no doubt,
be able to supply plants or seeds.

Nov. 15, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

"459

THE VALUE OF THE HONEY-BEE.

Were the honey-bee blotted out of the book
of Nature, few people realise the loss to agri-
culture, horticulture, and floriculture that
would result. These kindred industries are
slow to acknowledge the beneSts derived from
the bees, as an important aid to complete
fertilisation in many plants, as positively
necessary to others, and beneficial to all
flowers visited by them. Cross fertilisation is
Nature's method of progress. The bees are
Nature's assistants in this work. No other
agency can be substituted. Instead of hostility,
tile bee-keeper should receive the thanks of
the agriculturist and frait-grower, and the
fostering protection of the Government. Its
entomological experts should not only spread
abroad knowledge regarding insects injurious
to vegetation, but also correct information as
to those which are helpful to the farmer.

THE QUEEN EEE's COURT.

The Queen Bee sat on her throne of flowers,
'Mid the clustering buds of the summer bowers.
The lilac, with purple blossoms dight.
Twined with the jasmine's spotless white,
And formed a lovely arch, outspread
In wavy circlets o'er her head.
And she sat on a seat of violets blue,
The primrose at her footstool grew,
And butterflies gaudy, with mu'-muring sound,
Flew hither and thither, and all around.
And this is the Queen Bee's gala day ;

Her subjects ate about to bring.
From the mountain wild, and the valley gay,

Some sweet unsullied ofl'ering.
And, lo ! they come in wavering flight.
Glancing like gems in the bright sunlight.
The Mountain Bee.
I've been to the hill

Where the wild thymes grow,
And the heather peeps
From its shroud of snow :
I've rifled each petal, and, lo ! I fling
At thy honoured feet my ofl'ering.
The Bee of the Valley.
With buzzing wing

I've been to the vale,
Where its own sweet lily
Loads the gale
With sweetest fragrance, and now I fling
At thy honoured feet my oflering.
The Bee of the Brook.
I've been to the brook,

In the dale so lone.
Where it bubbles and kisses
The mossy stone :
I've plundered the violet, and now I fling
At thy honoured feet my offering.

The Garden Bee.
The moss-rose I've kissed

In its graceful vest :
I've slumbered in sweets
On the lilac's breast ;
And, laden with incense, I joyous bring
To thy hon-^ured feet my offering.

The Meadow Bee.
I've flaunted it gay

Mid the scented clover ;
O'er the primrose starred
Have delighted to hover ;
And, with dew all encircled, I heavily bring
To thy honoured feet my ottering.
The Bee of the Glen.
I've been to the glen,

Where the sweet eglantine
Round the clustering ha^vthorn
Its fond arms entwine ;
And their mingled essence now I bring.
At thy fair honoured feet to fling.

And the Queen Bee rose from her fr.^grant

seat,
And lead the ball in measures neat.

And deftly danced a merry round ;
And hither and thither, and in and out,
Her subjects career in the mazy rout,

Their wings emitting a musical sound.
And they danced and twined till the soft sun-
light.
Quivering, sunk on the breast of night ;
And then each gossamer winglet close?.
And some seek sweet rest 'mid the spangled

roses ;
And others seek the lily's bell,

Or the lowly violet's couch of blue,
Or clustering hawthorns in the dell,

Or wild thyme gemmed with fragrant dew ;
And they swestly slept, withoutcare or sorrow.
And repeated their pranks on the happy to-
morrow. WorJcnan^s Messenger.

BEE-KEEPING AS A BUSINESS.
I am asked whether it pays to make a busi-
ness of keeping bees, and 1 find it difficult to
answer such a question in as short a way as it
is stated, for a great many circumstances can
have an influence on the results. Among these
influences I may mention the ability of the
bee-keeper to understand his business, and to
give to liis bees the necessary attention at the
right time ; the location in which the hives
will be placed ; the kind of hives to be used,
&c. A great many persons imagine that to
keep bees successfully it is but necessary to
locate them on a quiet spot, to watch them
during the swarming season, and to take the
surplus of their harvest. Such was, indeed,
the only conditions required before the inven-
tion of the movable frame-hive — an invention
which afforded to the bee-keepers the means of
studying more carefully the habits of bees, to
obtain Targer crops with less risks of losing
them in winter.

From the above it follows that a man who
does not know the business of keeping bees
ought to begin cautiously with but a few
colonies — say two or three — and study the
habits of bees in books first ; then, in verify-
ing the teachings of the books, by opening the
hives and examiniag the combs, and by watch-
ing outside, the going in and out of the

460

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Nov. 15, 1894.

bees. Such a study will take at least one year.
Then if the apprentice bee-keeper finds some
pleasure in the work, he can buy a few more
colonies, and increase their number either by
natural or artificial swarming, or by buying
bees. But I advise him to go slowly.

The locality in which the bees are kept has
also a large influence on the honey crop, yet it
is but a question of larger or smaller profits ;
for an apiary surrounded with lindens, white
clover, or alfalfa, and bordered with cotton
lands covered with marshy flowers, has better
chance to succeed than any other ; but a skilled
bee-keeper can have some success, even in a
poor location.

Another stumbling-block in bee-keeping is
the kind of hive to use. Above all, advise a
beginner not to buy patented hives, for most
of these vendors of patent hives do not know
the habits of bees, and aell inventions more
injurious than useful.

As beginners are inclined to risk as little as
possible, I think that I have to warn them
against the use of small hives, which require
more work, more feeding of bees for wioter
and spring, and do not give as good results as
larger ones. To my mind a ten-frame Lang-
stroth hive is not even large enough. We prefer
hives containing ten or eleven Quinby frames.
These frames are larger and longer than the
Langstroth, and although white clover is our
only resource, our crop can compete for quan-
tity with those of bee-keepers using ^small
hives located in more prosperous districts.

The conditions of success in bee-keeping,
after the selection of the hive, can be summed
up in a few words : To know what to do, and
to do it in time. — Chas. Dadant, in Prairie
Farmer.

SEASONABLE QUESTIONS.

Answered by G. M. Doolittle.

Rearing Queens,

QnesUon. — I have decided that every colony
that is intended to be run for comb-honey next
year must contain a queen of this year's
rearing. I desire good queens, that my stock
may not deteriorate. In view of the foregoing,
what plan can I follow in order to produce the
best results for a series of years ?

Ansner. — I cannot conceive what line of
.argument could have been used to bring the
questioner to a decision that he would not
allow a queen over a year old in his apiary,
which was to be run for comb-honey, and can-
not help thinking that, when his experience
accumulates, he will find that his decision is
not well founded — for queens which are in
their second year do fully as good work as
younger ones, where the colony is worked for
comb-honey, and often are equally good the
third and fourth year. Besides, I find, as a
rule, that the bees will supersede their own
queens as soon as they begin to fail to any
appreciable extent ; and when the bees under-
take this work it is done much more satis-

factorily, all things considered, than it is when
the apiarist attempts to say, " This shall be,"
or, " This shall not be."

But if you think you must have your own
way, then there is probably no better plan than
to follow Willie Atchley's way, as has been
given in Gleanings during the past year or
two. If you think this too much bother, or
consider it " fussy," as some claim, then you
can rear pretty good queens in this way — Kill
the old queen and let each colony rear one
from her brood. In five days from the time
you killed the old queen, open the hives and
look for queen-cells. In doing this it is well
to shake the bees ofi" the combs so that the
calls can be easily discovered. If any are
found cipped at this time they should be
destroyed, as they will contain larvae that are
too old to make good queens. Bees do not
cap over a cell containing a good queen larva,
as a rule, in less than six days from the time
the mother-queen is removed. The reason for
this lies in the fact that bees rarely m'ss their
queen to a sufficient extent to start cells in
less than two aid a half days after her re-
moval ; and if you find cells sealed over on the
fifch day after the removal ot the old (or
mother) queen, you may know that the \axva,
in said capped cell must have been three and
a half days old when the bees undertook to
change it to a queen. All queen-rearers agree
that larviB two days old and under give the
best queens, and that a larva older than three
days should never be used under any circum-
stances, if we would have queens which can be
to any extent called good. Of course, the
colony is to be well fed, if no honey is coming
in from the field, until the sixth diy, or till
the cells are capped over. Gleanings.

Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be aaiswired in this column.

J. Morrison (Acton, W.). — Lantern Slides. —
The address of Messrs. York & Son is 67,
Lancaster-road, Notting-hill, W.

E. Bayley (Godalming). — Hives as Incuba-
tors.— Thanks for sketch of frame for use as
above. The publication of particulars
would, however, be of such increased value
after practical trial of the contrivance has
been made that we suggest the advisability
of this course before printing our correspon-
dent's letter.

H. Callaway (Sheerness). — Comb Founda-
tion. — In dealing wholesale, comb founda-
tion is invariably sold by weight. Some
retail it at so many sheets to count as 1 lb.,
but the usual way is to sell by weight.

Eeader (Glanmire, Cork). — Removing Pro-
polis.— Either paraffin or spirits of wine
will dissolve propolis.

G. MuRRALL. — A good recipe for mead appears
in Bee Journal for April 23, 1891. It can
be had from this office for Ijd., post free.

Nov. 22, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

461

TEACHING BEE-KEEPING.

There is much suggestive matter for
thought in the letter of our correspon-
dent "Amateur Expert" on p. 462 of
this issue. We do not now for the first
time urge the desirability of including
bee-keeping as a subject for instruction
in our public schools ; indeed, it has for
a long time past been to our mind a
matter of the first importance that no
occasion should be missed — when oppor-
tunity offered — for bringing to public
notice the advantage to be gained in the
direction indicated above.

In this country we are notoriously
behind our Continental neighbours in
matters of national education, but a few
years will, no doubt, suffice to see this
reproach removed. Free instruction in
schools for children and technical educa-
tion brought free to the doors of adults
by means of County Council grants will,
we trust, ere long have so impressed
itself upon the minds and so expanded
the intelligence of the hitherto-neglected
humbler classes of the people that we
need not fear comparison with our neigh-
bours in years to come.

So long ago as May, 1891, it was
pointed out at a meeting of the British
Bee-Keepers' Association — held for the
purpose of considering the question of
technical education, and reported on
p. 225 of the B.J. for that year — that
" every schoolmaster in Germany under-
stood the theory and, to some extent, the
practice of bee-keeping, and was obliged
to qualify to teach it." In Switzerland,
too, the science of bee-keeping is taught
by lecturers appointed and paid by the
Governments of the several Cantons.
Moreover — to quote from another page
of the same report — we read : —

In German Switzerland there was a very
complete system in existence. They had not
only elementary technical education in bee-
keeping, but an advanced course for the in-
struction of teachers. The course this year
lasted from four to six days, theoretical work
being done in the morning and practical work
in the afternoon. In that instance students
had the advantage of being on the spot where
there was a very large apiary of some 300
hives, owned by a gentleman who always
placed it at the disposal of the professors.
Pupils came from all parts of German-speak-

ing Switzerland, bearing their own expenses of
travelling and lodging. Instruction was
entirely free, the cost being defrayed by sub-
sidies from the Government and the agri-
cultural societies.

To bring the application home to our-
selves, the fact that from an audience of
juveniles no less than 80 papers on bee-
keeping— a subject often regarded by
outsiders as dry and uninteresting —
should be Avritten by children in response
to the request of our correspondent, is,
in itself, an encouraging assurance of the
results which may be looked for when
the subject is intelligently put before the
young folks. It should also lend weight
to any effort that may be made to secure
the advantages referred to in our opening
remarks. There is, we regret to say, not
much comfort in remembering at the
present time that apiculture is already
recognised by the Education Department
of the country as a subject for teaching
in elementary schools, because nothing
further than mere official recognition has
yet been conceded, and, so far as con-
ferring any advantage on bee-keeping as
a pursuit, or extending the benefits to be
got from any teaching that might be im-
parted, the concession may be regarded
as a dead letter. Many things, political
and social, however, now combine to
make the occasion opportune for hoping
that something beyond mere tolerance
on the part of " the powers that be "
will be granted for any present effort
that may be made to get bee-keeping
recognised as a minor industry worthy of
cultivation and encouragement.

The time has gone by when we can
afford to pick and choose in matters con-
cerning the wage-earning sources of the
masses, and it is obvious that advantage
must be taken of every opportunity for
adding to the ordinary means of sub-
sistence. This is especially true of agri-
culture and its allied industries, the
profits from which, in so large a measure,
seem to be slipping away from our hands
into those of " the foreigner." John
Bull — as represented by the British
agriculturist — they say takes a lot of
rousing, and with the rude shaking-up he
has of late experienced there need be
littledoubt that he will not fail inrising to
the occasion. He would be, indeed,
heavy-headed if he failed to note that
something must be done outside the line

462

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Nov. 22, 1894.

in which he has hitherto been working,
and that every extra penny that can
be got out of the land must be
striven for. If grain - growing is no
longer profitable, something must be
found to take its place ; moreover,
nothing must be " looked down upon " as
too small for notice. This is where the
thrifty peasant-farmer of* the Continent
steps in front of us and prospers where
others less frugal would fail. Do not let
us forget the truism, " he who can make
two blades of grass grow where only one
grew before, benefits his kind." Small
industries can no longer be ignored — as
the proverb has it, " Every mickle mak's
a muckle " — and we bee-keepers shall not
have to wait long ere our particular
•' blade of grass " will be cultivated with
much more kindliness than it has been in
the past or we are much mistaken.

In a word, public opinion is making
itself felt in these matters, and it needs
but judicious guiding for full value to
follow. From our standpoint, therefore,
we are on the move forward, and the
chief matter for regret lies in the fact
that so much of the work at present
depends on private and individual effort.
Something is being done for bee-keeping
out of the public funds, and we are pro-
portionately thankful. But more is
needed ; not much, it will be admitted,
when we say that the ground of our
" wants " would be covered by (1) the
Minister of Agriculture consenting to
include foul brood among bees in the
Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, and
(2) the including of bee-keeping among
the " extra subjects " for teaching in
public schools by the Minister of Educa-
tion. Not a big programme, but, we
venture to say, one which would be of
much service to the community at large.

BRISTOL AND SOMERSET B.K.A.

Mr. A. E. Martin, of Bath, and hon.
secretary of this association for this district,
gave a lecture on apiculture in the Jubilee
Hall, Norton St. Philip, on Thursday evening,
November 8, to a large and appreciative
audience, which was presided over by the
vicar, the Rev. E. B. Prince, M.A. The
lecturer gave an interesting account of the
bees, explaining in his introduction their
classification in nature, the subdivision into
classes, &c., in which the ajpis mellijlca is
found ; the many kinds of bees, their different
modes of treatment, and those best suited to

our climate, so that a delightful study might
be made a positive success by those villagers
who are willing to devote proper time and
attention to it. The illustrations were of
photographic lantern slides, which enabled the
lecturer to show every part of the bee, and
explain the different uses for the consumma-
tion of its principal object in the production
of honey and wax. Several slides showed the
apiaries of the old school who will not give
up their ideas, although they may get but little
honey and subject their bees to the sulphur
pit. The illustration of a modern apiary was
shown in striking contrast, and a full descrip-
tion of the use of the diflerent articles con-
cluded an interesting and instructive lecture.
The vicar, in proposing a vote of thanks to the
lecturer, gave a vivid description of his expe-
riences amongst bees, more especially those of
South Africa, and the singing of the National
Anthem concluded a pleasant and profitable
evening. — Bath Chronicle.

(^mxt%p\ikut

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
aken of anonymous communications, and corresponde?its
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. JMustra.
tions should 'fie drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Reviero, &c.,must bz addressed only to "The
Editors of the ' BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William,
street. Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Admrtisem^nts, <i:e.,must be addressed
to " The Manager, ' British Bee Journal ' Ofice, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

•,* In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

BEES AND BEE-KEEPING.

AN AFTERNOON AMONG THE SCHOOL-CHILDREN.

[2116.] I have a friend who is the Prin-
cipal of a large elementary day-school in the
West Central division of London. Last
summer he accepted my offi^r to speak one
afternoon to his children in the IV., V., VL,
and VII. Standards on bees ; consequently I
gave them about twenty-five minutes' talk in
the class-room, and afterwards showed them
some live bees in the quadrangle. I prepared
the bees for the occasion by placing four
crowded frames in a travelling hive early on
the morning of the same day. These I placed
at the bottom of my garden for about four
hours, and gave them a free flight ; conse-
quently all the adult bees returned to their
original hive, leaving me only the young
workers, about a dozen drones, and the queen,
none of which were disposed to sting. 1 thus
had the pleasure of passing around the frames
amongst the children and their teachers with
little fear for them from stings. The novelty

Nov. 22, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

463

of the sight to 400 young " cockneys," only
seven of whom had previously seen a living
honey-bee, I must leave to your imagination.

At the close I offered some prizes in honey
for the best papers sent to me about "Bees."
Eighty-four papers were the result, and the
enclosed is what I consider to be the best of
the whole bundle. It is the more praiseworthy
because through some infirmity the small
writer can only use a pen with the left
hand.

Perhaps you may think it of sufficient in-
terest to print, even if you cannot reproduce
the neat pen-and-ink sketches with which it
is embellished. — (Erstwhile) Amateur Expert,
November 12, 1894.

ESSAT ON BEES.

By M. Schruder, Standard VI., June 27.

Bees are of the most wonderful insects in
nature. There are a good many kinds of bees,
but it is of the honey bees I am writing. A
hive contains about 50,000 inhabitants, of
which one is the queen, who is larger than the
rest, and holds authority over the hive. She
is the only true female, and lays eggs, from
which are produced not only other queens, but
also working bees and drones, of which there
are about 200 in a hive.

The bee's head, which is a flattened triangle
in shape, is joined to the chest by a thin liga-
ment ; the chest, or thorax, is of a round form,
the abdomen divided into six scaly rings,
which shorten the body by slipping over one
another to a certain extent ; in the front part
of the head are two eyes ; there are two horns
which are very slender, they spring from be-
tween the eyes — the use of the horns is to en-
able the bee to feel and grasp anything in its
way. The mouth is a wonderful structure,
and the tongue also. The wings consist of
two pairs of unequal size, which they can fold
up when wanting to go into the cells. The b ee
has three pairs of legs, those in front being the
shortest, and the back the longest ; the legs
are covered over with hairs, with which they
clean themselves, and also the queen, whenever
she needs their attention.

The queen-bee is of a larger size than either
the drone or worker ; she has an elongated
body, colour being black above and tinted with
yellow ; she has only four thousand pupils to
her eyes, whilst the working-bee has six
thousand and the drone nine thousand. The
Germans call the queen the mother-bee. She
commences to lay eggs in the early spring, and
continues to do so until the end of September,
laying in the warmest season about two
hundred eggs a day.

The drones are next in size to the queen ;
they are the male bees, and are so called from
the loud noise which they make with their
wings. The workers sting them to death
before the winter comes on because the
workers have as much as they can do to

provide for the coming young ones and their
own winter food.

The neuters, or workers, whose duty it is to
collect the sweet juices which are found in the
flower-cup are also the nurses of the hive. The
matter which is sucked up from the flowers is
deposited in a little bag called the honey-sac.
In one kind of working bee it assumes a waxen
consistency, and in another it becomes honey.
They also collect with their bristly feet the
pollen, which is also taken home, and after-
wards mixed with honey for food for young i;i
the larva3 state.

The wax is built into ranges of little cells
for the reception and safe keeping of the honey.
Bees never go to two different kinds of flowers
without first going to the hive to empty the
honey-bag into one of the cells, closing the
mouth of the cell with wax when it is full ;
these cells are arranged in clusters or combs,
and each comb hangs like a thick curtain from
the top and sides of the hive. Besides being
the receptacle for honey they are also used to
contain the eggs of the queen, who carefully
examines each cell before depositing the
egg. After three days the egg bursts,
and a small, lively worm is seen, which
the nurses take care of and feed until
it fills the cell, which is then sealed with wax.
Left to itself, the larva begins the process of
spinning a cocoon round its body, which it
does in thirty- six hours, the material being a
fine silken thread. In three days it becomes
a chrysalis, and on the twenty-first day from
the deposition of the egg the young bee,
which has now progressed to a perfect state,
bursts through its prison door and soon makes
its escape.

The egg which is to become a queen is de-
posited in a larger cell ; the nurses watch it
incessantly, and feed it with a rich jelly. In
five days the cell is sealed up ; the cocoon is
spun in twenty-four hours, the royal insect
being complete in about sixteen days, whilst
the passage of male egg through the larva pupa
state occupies about twenty-five. The males
have no sting, but both the females and neuters
are armed with this tiny but formidable
weapon. The honey harvest is about the
middle of September. To get the honey from
the hive, the bees are smoked out, and the
honey taken, but not all, for sufficient is left
to last them through the winter.

[We have much pleasure in printing the
above, which — besides displaying considerable
intelligence on the part of the young writer —
conveys something beyond mere paraphrasing
from a bee-book. The pen-and-ink sketches
referred to are also very good, those of the
queen, drone, and worker bee especially so.
Altogether, Ave consider the result of our
correspondent's hour or so among the children
forms a suggestive reply to the question
whether it is advisable or otherwise to include
bee-keeping among the " extra subjects " for
adoption in public schools, especially in rural
districts.—Eos.].

464

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Nov. 22, 1894.

^

for a week. Each of these bags is provided
with a 6-in. ventilator of perforated zinc, the
holes in which are jnst over ^ in. in diameter,
yet I have never seen a single bee get through,
though they are, as a in.j,tter of course, always
trying to do so. I know it is impossible, and
think Mr. Howard has made a slight mistake
in his measurement, or else the bees he tried
are something like the Natalians, of which I
have just received some queens and workers ;
they are but little larger than ordinary house-
flies.

Burning Inside of Hive with Paraffin for
Disinfecting Purposes. — Don't do as I did,
I started on this in Leicestershire the other
week, and didn't have a sack just handy to
throw over. I wasn't away getting the sack
above half a minute at the very outside ; when
I got back that hive was a miniature house on
fire, and wouldn't go out until I poured a
bucket of water on it. The inside of that
hive has got to be repaired, and at my expense
too. Another pioneer of bee-ke aping has left
us, Mr. Cheshire, the one who many years ago
infected me with my first attack of bee-fever,
from which I have not yet recovered. How
well I remember his addressing us boys in hi?
school at Camden Town, after school hours,
upon the wonders of the hive as then known,
as well as upon his favourite theme, chemistry.
Like " E. A. H. G-.," when looking back at
these times I feel like getting old, yet the
memory of this pioneer will last in me as long
as I myself do ; and after — well, others will
cherish that memory and appreciate his works.
— W. B. Webster.

IN THE APIARY,

LIGURIAN-ENGLISH BEES AND OTHER THINGS .

[2117.] I was pleased to read Mr. Brice's
remarks anent his experience with the Llgurian-
Engllsh cross. This cross I have for years most
strongly advocated In all my numerous writings
upon bees. I have gone so far as to assert
(" Webster's Book of Bee-keeping '') that they
will show in many cases a 25 per cent, increase
in the honey yield, though, of course, this
exceptionally large increase in the returns can-
not be depended upon always. Yet, in my
own experience, I have always found, taking
an average of three years with a number of
colonies, an increase of quite 10 per cent.
When travelling In the north of England and
Scotland I did not find this substantiated, but
below 52° I am quite confident that it would
pay bee-keepers to keep this variety of bee.
Suppose a bee-keeper were to keep, say, two
colonies of pure Italians ; from these two
colonies he could always breed the necessary
queens for the purpose of requeenlng the rest
with the desired cross variety without the
expense of applying to the queen-breeder,
although, for the matter of that, an outlay of
43. or 53. is not much when it is remembered
that a queen will last in full proS.t for two
years.

An idea seems to have taken hold of the
-majority of bee-keepers' minds that this cross
is, with the exception of the Cyprian, the most
spiteful one possible. Never was there a more
erroneous idea. I would sooner by far manipu-
late a colony having a mother-bee of the first
cross Llgurlan-Engllsh than any black colony
that could be produced. Why I often use no
subjugator at all duc'a,T the working season
when packing these bcc for railway journeys
— a manipulation that, 1 venture to assert,
could rarely be undertaken w'th blacks under
like conditions. When it is considered that
every comb has to be removed from hive, tied
round with two tapes, and then fitted into the
travelling box, and the remaining bees emptied
into the same, it is a big manipulation, and
one apt to raise the tempers of any bees that
are at all Inclined to be Irascible.

I do not wish it to be understood that I
claim that all bees of this variety are such
extraordinary honey-gatherers, there beiug
Ligurians and Ligurians, just the same as
there are blacks and blacks. Individual
colonies of all races will show varied charac-
teristics. Who has not come across colonies
of English bees that would never make a
return, no matter in what manner they were
kept, or what skilful management was applied
in their case ?

Size of Hole through lohich a Bee can Pass. —
I was astonished to read Mr. Howard's state-
ment that an ordinary worker-bee could get
through a hole ^ In. In diameter. I have bags
in which I carry condemned bees, and In
which I frequently keep them for days
together ; in fact, have kept them so confined

QUEEN REARING.

DR. MILLER AND QUEEN RAISING IN FULL
COLONIES WITH LAYING QUEENS.

[2118.] I was much pleased to see, on
page 453 of last week's B.J., Dr. C. C. Miller's
letter on the above subject, though. In the
interest of perfect accuracy, I regret my error
in crediting the worthy doctor with the first
mention of the plan of transferring larvae Into
queen cells. I ought to have said that his
reference to It In a letter to one of the American
bee journals shortly after I commenced my
experiments was the first and only mention of
the plan that I had seen at the time I wrote.
I am sorry also that the name of the Michigan
bee-keeper has been lost to posterity, for he
merits a place among the " thinkers " of our
craft. I am very pleased, however, that my
little slip has been the means of placing on
record In your columns the fact of Dr. Miller
being the originator of the plan of raising
queens as detailed on page 453, and so of
giving honour where honour is due. With
regard to the doctor's experience of the
willingness of bees to raise, under certain
favourable circumstances, queens in hives
where a laying queen already reigns, it is
very probable that had the incident related
happened in the majority of apiaries it would

Nov. 22, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUHNAL.

465

have pissed unnoticed, and its advantages been
lost for some time. I, for one, am therefore
thankful that it cam3 under the ken of a bee-
master who has the general interest of the
craft so much at heart as not to fail in " telling
it out " to all, and thus enabling those who
can appreciate a good " find " when they come
across it to benefit thereby.

Dr. Miller asks if my experience does not
coincide with his — first, as to queen ^ cells
placed in a hive where bees do not desire to
raise a queen, being " emptied of their con-
tents if not sealed ; " and, second, if the cells
are sealed they are not disturbed until the
princesses are about to emerge '^ ' I can only
say in reply to the first part of the question,
my experience is entirely in accord with that
of the doctor. In fact, I believe that nothing
will induce bees to accept unsealed cells if
they don't want them. I have, to my annoy-
ance, had cells emptied time after time until E
have thought bees the most obstinate little
beggars imaginable. I cannot speak with so
much certainty on the second part of the
question, my practice being to leave the
batches of queen cells in the hive thit raised
them as long as it is safe to do so — say, about
the tenth day from their acceptance {i.e., when
first fed), by the bees, or the 14th or 15th
day from the laying of the egg. The reason
for this is that I consider that the young
princesses j. ? less liable to injury during re-
moval at this stage than atany other. I have had
completed cells torn down almost at once in
some instances, while in others they have, as
Dr. Miller observes, been left untouched till
almost the last hour before being destroyed.
Cases of non-acceptance have, however, been
very few with me, and, in consequence, my
experience in this line is but limited. I am,
of course, here referring to queenless bees
refusing cells. The question is a very interest-
ing one, and one I shall take care to give
close attention to next season. The hive I
referred to on page 406, had a princess that
from various causes had been long unmated,
and I attribute the raising of cells in that hive
to foresight on the part of the bees, combined
with anxiety lest their princess might be lost,
or fail to mate, and the fact that the cells were
tolerated after the queen had begun to lay,
beyond all question bears out the doctor's
opinion. I have no doubt that, like myself,
he has verified the fact that in all hives where
young princesses have been long in mating
embryo queen cells are started in various parts
of the hive. I noticed this particularly during
the last bad season, when, so sure as the
young queens had been in a hive fourteen or
fifteen days unmated, fresh cells were started,
and in some colonies, even where there were
no unsealed brood or egg3.

We know that in cases where hives have
swarmed or have thrown casts, the sealed
princesses left in the old hive are allowed to
become fully developed, and if destroyed at
all, are allowed in most cases to remain until

they begin to " pipe," and thus give the signal
for their own destruction. There may be
cases to prove the rule of exceptions, but I
feel pretty certain that the views expressed on
page 453 are correct on this point.

Permit me, on behalf of my brother bee-
keepers of the old country, to cordially recip-
rocate Dr. Miller's kindly greetings. — Henp-..'
W. Brice, Thornton Heath, Surrey, Nov. 16.

BEE-KEEPING IN LANCASHIRE.

RESULTS IN 1894 NEAR A LANCASHIRE CITY.

[2119.] I think it will interest your readers
to have an account of the past season's work
by a bee-keeper in Cottonopolis, and show
what can be done in a bad season and an in-
different locality by careful management and a
diligent study of the bee itself. The weather
at Easter was glorious, and then, and about
that time, I overhauled my four stocks, giving
them clean hives. No. 1 was very strong, and
had brood on five combs out of ten. No. 2,
the strongest of the lot, with brood — big
patches ; whole frames in some cases — on
eight combs out of ten. No. 3, the
weakest of the lot, with seven frames
and no brood, and very little stores,
although a month before they had sealed
stores several inches deep along the tops
of all frames. But I know they had been
robbed by outsider's. Bat note the sequel
below. No. 4, strong in bees, with brood in
three combs out of seven. Well, in the full-
ftamed hives I took away the outer combs and
inserted full sheets of foundation in the proper
places in the middle of the hive. To the
others I gave two sheets of foundation, in the
centre, spreading the brood. I then com-
menced stimulating gently— two holes only.
In a fortnight I filled up the three in-
complete bodies with a full comple-
ment of frames. They all worked like —
well — like bees, for who ever saw any one or
anything work as they will do at times 1 In
another week I put on sections and shallow
frames, though early, but I kept on slowly
feeding — a pint of syrup a fortnight, no more.
I knew they would not store anything in the
supers, nor did I want them ; but my object
was accomplished — namely, to keep up the
breeding, and to have the sections and shallow
frames worked out, ready for the harvest, and
to prevent swarming. Well, you know how
dreadfully disappointing May was. Never in
my life did I see such wealth of hawthorn
blossoms — all useless for the bees, for the
weather was too cold and unfavourable for them
to avail themselves of it. I kept on slowly
feeding in order not to let them flag or get
demoralised. On May 30, on coming home
from business, I was informed that there was
" a swarm of wasps in my garden-hedge."
" A swarm of wasps ! '' I exclaimed. " Non-
sense ! they are my bees." I went to look,
and sure enough a swarm — a magnificent
swarm ; I never saw one to equal it. I went

466

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Nov. 22, 1894.

round to secure ; but judge of my distress
■when for yards round about the ground was
piled up, sir — that is the word — with
dead and dying bees. Thinking them
wasps, the people round about, with
water, stones, and sticks, had tried to
destroy them. The clouds were threatening,
the atmosphere oppressive, and I knew that a
thunder-storm was coming on. Quickly hiving
the hanging swann, I threw them on the plat-
form in front of the hive I had prepared
for their future home. Then sending back,
picked up half a skepful of seemingly drowned,
dead, and dying bees, together with a mass of
dirt, sticks, pebbles, grass, and other debris.
These I covered with wrappering, and placed
on the kitchen fender, to be left there all
night. The storm was beginning — big drops
of rain, the first of a thunder-shower, were
falling. The swarm I had thrown down
refused to enter, and clustered on the
front of the hive. My fears were con-
firmed. They must have lost their queen,
I erected a scaffolding, and over it threw sack-
ing and waterproof felting to protect them,
and had just finished it in time before the rain
came down in sheets. It had been lightning
and thundering all the while I was engaged in
protecting them. I could do no more at
present. On entering the kitchen my ears
were delighted with the sound from the skeps
— they were " livening up '' — andj on taking a
peep I was delighted to see them clustering
and hanging together. Next day I was up
betimes, you may be sure. The night had
been very cold — the thermometer going
down to 35 degs. fahr. — but the day pro-
mised well, though, perhaps, showery. The
bees still refused to enter the hive though
brushed down again in front. However, with
a spoon and smoker I eventually got them in.
I then fetched the skep from the kitchen — a
noisy crew — and emptied it before the hive,
which they quickly entered — not a dead one,
and I should think there were five thousand
bees thus saved. I spent that day at home.

I intended working in the garden, but my
swarm claimed my attention, you may be sure.
There was something wrong. There was not
that alacrity, that diligent and fervent spirit
we are accustomed to see in swarms. About

II o'clock a.m. my lady neighbour called
through the hedge, "Mr. Taylor, the hot
sun is reviving the rest of the bees, and
they are all crawling about the ground.
I was quickly round with a skep and -ne set
to work picking up the crawling bees. You
may be sure I scrutinized each one and
closely scanned the grass. In about five
minutes 1 cried out, " The queen, the queen."
I am sure no shout, no hurrah, no delight was
as fervent among the 2,000,000; people who
welcomed Queen Victoria in Manchester the
preceding week. Poor thing ! (my poor
queen, of course), she could hardly crawl, and
kept toppling over on one side as I held her in
my hand. I took and warmed her at

the fire but she did not seem to improve,
so thinking she would perhaps get
round quicker in the hive, I placed her
at the entrance. She was soon surrounded
by her workers. How lovingly they felt her,
touched and caressed her, with their antennae —
especially I noted them paying special attention
to her abdomen — to see, I suppose, if her ovaries
were uninjured. But she would not, or could
not, enter. So I picked her up, and dropped
her 'in under the quilt. Going back to my
friendly neighbour, we were picking up the
bees for about two hours, and I should think
saved several hundreds. I have dealt thus at
length with this swarm, because I think many
of your readers may gain useful hints for
future use and guidance, and I hope they
will make mental notes of it. This was
No. 3. No. 2, examined on Sunday, July 1,
which I at once returned. On the 5th it
swarmed again. I secured it. Then going to
the stock 1 took off the supers, and proceeded
to make a nucleus of two combs, well filled
with brood and adhering bees, one comb con-
taining a queen-cell. I also shook into the
nucleus sufficient bees to keep it going, and
gave them also two frames of foundation. In
the place of the brood combs I also put two
frames of foundation. Then putting on the
sections and adding more, I covered all up and
returned the swarms. With my other swarms I
had not such luck — from No. 1 I lost two and
from. No. 4 I lost one. This was owing to
my absence. But I have not done with
experience. On July 20 the swarm of May 30
sent off a virgin swarm. I was away, but,
having anticipated as much from their beha-
viour, I had told my housekeeper to keep a
good look out. On returning home she told
me she had secured it, and the bees were in
two skeps in my workroom. Taking it for
granted, I proceeded to the hive and cut out
queen cells and made a nucleus. The nucleus
was made on similar lines as the other, only
this time I exercised more care in the choice
of cell, taking one which I thought near
maturity. I cut out thirteen cells, which I sent
across to a friend, a distinguished biologist,
who subsequently showed them to me in all
stages of development, from the newly-hatched
grub to the perfect queen. But to the point.
After tea I went for the swarm. Alas ! to my
grief and disappointment, I found it suffocated.
My housekeeper had left no opening or venti-
lation, and they were nearly all one foul-
smelling, sweating mass. I was too cut up to
begin again, and put the nucleus back, and
determined to let them make a new queen,
which I am glad to say they did. The nuclei
are now on six frames, and both seem strong.
And now to go back a bit. About the
middle of June I stopped stimulating —
putting on worked-out shallow frames and
section (which I always keep over) and other
sections with foundations. How they did
work I They went in and out of the hives like
bullets, and my work was taking off sections

Nov. 22, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

467

aud extractiQg shallow frames. My cottage
was tercaed " Jerusalem the Golden." It cer-
taialy was blest with honey. Wherever yoa
went you found traces of the bae-min, and my
housekeeper declared she cauld to ich nothing
ia the kitchen or wa?h-house without getting
honey on her. And now for the results :—
No. 1, ten 1-lb. sections, 2 lb. extracted;
No. 2, fifty-nine 1-lb. sections, 15 lb. extracted ;
No. 3, 82 lb. extracted ; No. 4, seven 1-lb.
sections, 21i lb. extracted ; swarm, 28i lb.
extracted. "Total 225 lb. From No. 1 I
lo5t two swarm?. No. 4 I lost one.
From No. 3— note, I had a swarm which
gave me 28i lb. of honey, besides throw-
ing off a virgin swarm, and yet, Sir, this
was the hive which promised the worst at
Easter. I trust I have not been too prolix,
and that my experiences will help and en-
courage others to persevere. I m ly add that
I have realised ilO. 163., honey sold, given
away iSs. worth, and consumed here about
15 lb., and have still a dozm sections on hand.
People will not take sections, though it is by
far the best honey. — Frederick H. Taylor,
Local Hon. Secretary L, and C.B.K.A.

PREVENTING EOBBING.

[2120.] In "Useful Hints" for this week,
you give a method of preventing robbing with
excluder zinc, which I should say was very
effective. Last year I designed a " preventer "
with perforated zinc, it was effective ; but for
a lot of hives it was too expensive, and wanted
too much fitting ; so this year I have j ust cut a
strip of perforated zinc with ^-inch holes,
about 8 inches long, and bent it over the strips
for closing the entrance ; bees at first found it
difficult to get through with large loads of
pollen, as they tried to get both loads and
body through at the same time, but soon
learned to put one load through at a time. The
robbers were attacked in passing through. I
never saw one pass out of a hive.

I had an experimental entrance put up on
September 1, at which I have seen no robbing,
although robbers have at times hung about the
entrance. I tried this entrance after seeing the
very comfortable way in which the bees entered
a hole in the wall of a house, so at once made
a vertical flight-board, with the entrance over-
hanging ; it gives a protection from wet with-
out a porch, and dead bees and all hive clean-
ings fall clear to the ground, saving much
labour : the colony is only a small one — packed
to keep a good queen — only three standard
frames very moderately covered with bees.
To-day I have put up a second similar experi-
mental entrance. — Ned Swain, Fordwich,
Canterbury, November 17.

Mr. T. W. Cowan, p. 146, " In some cases it
is much better to destroy comb i and bees, and
thoroughly disinfect the hives ; but those who
hxve perseverance, and c%n (five th". mcessary
time and attention required for a cure, may try
one or other of the methods given.'' At page
144, he says : — " Bee-pest spreads by con-
tagion so rapidly that in one season a whole
neighbourhood may be infected with it, whilst
its eradication and subsequent prevention will
require great perseverance and the bee-keeper's
constant attention.^'

As a rule, bee-keepers cannot devote the
"necessary" time. Of course, we ought
habitually to use naphthol beta and naphtha-
line or other remedies as preventives in healthy
hives, but for diseased stocks, if other apiaries
are near, " love to one's neighbour '' demands
an immediate bonfire. — Experientia Docet.

[It is mainly because our experience teaches
i us how vain it is to hope that love to any one
j but self is the ruling motive in most cases
where the bee-keeper won't try to keep his
j bees in healthy condition that caused us to
1 urge the continued use of preventives, and on
no account to undervalue their usefulness.
No one can deny, much less ourselves, that it
is useless to attempt combatting foul brood
without both perseverance and attention, and
after a whole neighbourhood becomes infected
the necessity for this becomes doubly in-
creased.— Eds.]

FOUL BROOD.
[2121.]— Referring to letter No. 2113
(p. 454) and editorial remarks thereon, I
beg to quote from *,' B.B.K. Guide-book," by

(f chffcs fwm Wit §iMs.

Chester, November 2, 1894.— We have had
quite mild weather here for the last few days,
and yesterday, when the sun was shining, the
bees from two of my hives were as busy as in
the summer, and a lot of them bringing in
pollen, as if they thought that spring had
come round again. Where the pollen comes
from I can't say, as there seem to be no flowers
anywhere about here. Do you think the bees
will require feeding up again ? They have
had about 20 lb. of syrup to each hive a month
ago. — J. Lyon Denson.

[20 lb. of syrup given in October should
suffice till March next.— Eds.]

Honey Gott, Weston, Leamington, November
7. — We have had much mild and wet weather
of late, although there have been many days
on which bees were on the wing. One day on
the first week of this mouth was very mild,
and bees at many stocks were carrying in
pollen, which I had not noticed for a length of
time previously. I have got all my stocks
well fed and packed up for winter, of which
we had a taste a week or two ago, when six or
seven degrees of frost were registered, and we
may expect more very shortly. I was re-
minded to-day that three or four years ago the
frost set in early iu December and lasted

468

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Nov. 22, 1894.

forty or fifty days right off. Shall probably
give candy-cakes to a few stocks that may
want a little more fosd. The incessant rain
of a few days ago ha? severely tried the
weather-proof qualities of the roofs of hives.
To-day (Saturday) it has been very mild and
warm, with plenty of bees on the wing, and I
noticed a lot of them on the look out for a
chance to rob. If mice are troublesome in
places where combs are stored, I can recom-
meud Colin PuUinger & Sons perpetual mouse-
trap. Agents, W. B. Fordham & Sons,
Limited, London, N. After seeing one of
these traps (bought at the Coventry Show) I
got one, and it has caught a lot of mice for
me. When they had a chance the little
rascals were very persistent in gnawing combs.
Look out also for the tomtits now lurking
about. — John Walton.

^mrm and Jlc^lics.

[1207,] Wide Combs in Surplus Chambers
— This season I fitted all my combs, worked
out in shallow-frames, with wide " W. B. C.
ends." When the super was about three-
quarters full I removed it, placing an empty
one in its place, fitted as above, and then
placed the partially-filled super on top of the
empty one, all frames in the whole hive hang-
ing the same way. On taking the top super,
I found that six of its eight combs had been
built over the bottom bars, and fixed on to the
top bars of the frames in super underneath. I
had to cut the combs apart with a wire drawn
between the two supers before I could remove
the top super. The dripping honey excited
the bees, and the pieces of broken comb which
remained attached to the top-bars of the
bottom super prevented a Webster's clearer
from being used. 1. Would replacing the
partially-filled super so that its frames hang at
right angles to those in the empty super pre-
vent the attachments being made ? I under-
stand that an "adapting board" will prevent
the attachments, but cannot ascertain what it
is or how it is worked from my books or ap-
pliance dealers' catalogues. I am not looking
forward, however, to the e?:pense of having
such a board for each hive, if the attachments
can be otherwise prevented. 2. Kindly give
your opinion, and if these boards are necessary,
information as to their essential features. 3.
Is the use of naphthol beta, as a preventive, as
good as or better than salicylic acid solution
where foul brood is not known to exist ? —
T. B., Middlesex, November 15.

Keply. — 1. Placing the frames in surplus
chamber, at right angles to those below, would
tend to somewhat lessen the evil complained
of, but not prevent it. The chances of combs
being joined are also increased when the space
between bottom bars of surplus chamber and

top-bars of lower hives exceeds f of an inch.
2. An "adapting board" is simply a board
about I" in. thick, cut to size of surplus cham-
ber, and having slots a half-inch wide along
two sides. These slots run across the frames,
admitting the bees from below. Adapters also
render the use of queen-excluder zinc unneces-
sary, when once the combs are built out to the
wide spacing, as the queen will not deposit
eggs in such deep cells, even if she finds her
way into the upper chamber. 3. Naphthol
beta is stated by an eminent scientist to be a
more efi'ectual remedy than salicylic acid.

[1208.] Moving Bees. — Having sold a hive
of bees (or rather the bees without the hive),
I want your help as to the best time and way
of removing them if you will kindly advise ?
They are now packed up for the winter. — A
Novice (E. J. B.), November 16.

Eeply. — Though not stated in so many
words, we take it for granted that the " sale ''
includes bees, frames, and combs. This being
so, and assuming that the purchaser has a hive
ready into which the frames will fit, the
present hive may be carried to the new loca-
tion any evening and set on the stand, the
bees and frames of comb being transferred the
first fine warm day.

Our correspondent gives no particulars
whatever as to the respective hives, distance
to be travelled, or method of conveyance
available ; we are therefore entirely in the
dark as to the difficulties to be overcome, if
such exist, and in consequence cannot advise
further unless details are furnished.

[1209.] Si?acing Frames in Surplus Cham-
bers.— In making boxes for shallow-frames,
or those of standard size, as supers for extract-
ing, what was the reason that notching the
crate in spaces for the straight-headed top-
bars of frames was discarded ? In attempting
to make my own frames, I found it much
easier to make the top-bar straight, and spaced
the frames by cutting out notches in the
rabbet on which they hang. An old bee-keeper,
however, tells me this is done away with now.
And as I wish to prepare a few frame-boxes
for the coming season, I would like to know
through your columns what is the disadvantage
of this plan, and what are the advantages over
it by putting on the metal or other ends ? An
answer through the columns of your most
useful British Bee Journal will oblige. — D.
Manderson, Caledon, Ireland, November 15.

Keplt. — The old-fashioned plan of spacing
frames by means of notches has been discarded
for twenty years or more, because of the
obvious disadvantage of its allowing no lateral
movement of the frames, which makes it
almost impossible to lift a frame out without
crushing bees. The "notches" are an in-
tolerable nuisance to any bee-keeper who
values ease in manipulating. Besides, there
is no need for them ; if frames are hung on a

Nov. 22, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAI..

469

"rabbet'' they may be spaced by means of
staples or nails, or even by the eye and finger,
■without any other distance-guide, after a little
practice. But lateral movement is so advan-
tageous as to be considered almost indis-
pensable in modern methods of bee-keeping.

[1210.] Naphthol Beta for Medicating Bee-
Candy. — Is there any objection to mixing
naphthol beta with soft candy ? Naphthaline
is uniformly put in all my old hives, but not
with swarms, for the strong scent will some-
times drive the bees out ; but might naphthol
beta (where foul-brood is feared) be mixed
with the candy ? If so, in what proportion ?
—Wakes Colne, November 17.

Reply. — No objection whatever — indeed,
quite the contrary ; for whatever tends to
ensure immunity from contagion must con-
tribute to the healthfulness of the bees. Use
in the same proportion as for syrup-food.

SEASONABLE QUESTIONS.
Answered bt G. M. Doolittle.

do field worker-bees transfer honey to
young bees ?

On page 731 of Gleanings for September 15
I find two questions referred to and asked of
Doolittle ; and, with the permission of the
editor, I will answer them in this department,
instead of using questions sent in for this
number of Gleanings.

The first is the one referred to me, instead
of the editor's answering Mr. Churchill. Mr.
C. says, " Some time ago I read how bees gave
honey to the young ones that were too young
to fly.'' I hardly think Mr. C. read accurately
enough, for I have never known of any one
who believed that bees too young to fly were
of any service in the hive, unless straightening
out and taking honey to help them do so could
be called service. A bee can fly when from
twelve to twenty hours old ; and if a bee
under this age ever enters into any of the
work of the hive, I have never discovered it.
The claim put forth, and the one to which Mr.
C. alludes, I presume, is this : — Except in
times of abundant yields of honey, the field-
bee, on arriving inside the hive, gives its load
of nectar to some nurse-bee, rather than dis-
posing of this load by depositing it directly in
the cells of the comb. That this claim is
correct, I have verified time and time again
by laying beside a single-comb observatory
hive, hours enough, when put together, to
make days. If I mistake not, Elisha Gallup
was the one who put forth or discovered this
fact first, and the same can be found in the
early volumes of the American Bee Journal.
As I have told all of the minutiaj of this matter
several times in the bee-papers, I will not go
into them here, except to say that, as soon as a
loaded bee enters the hive from the field, it
hunts around among the nurse-bees to find one
which will take its load, putting out its tongue

with nectar upon it to determine who will take
it. If the nurse-bee who is thus approached
does not have its honey-sac full already, we
immediately see the nectar passing from the
field-bee to the nurse-bee by way of the
tongues of both. After a little resting, the
field-bee goes forth to the field again, never as
much as putting its head into or near a cell of
the comb all the while it was in the hive. This
nurse-bee may be anywhere from two to
sixteen days old ; and while of this age it ia
termed a young bee, although I have the im-
pression, from my many observations, that the
bees which do the most of the evaporating of
nectar are from six to fifteen days old.

Again, Mr. Churchill errs, or it not accurate
enough, when he assumes that a new swarm is
composed of old bees ; for the truth is, bees of
all ages go out to make up the swarm, as is
very easily ascertained by any one who will use
his eyes with the view of finding out about
this matter. I have seen the ground in front
of a hive that was casting a prime swarm
covered with hundreds of bees under twelve
hours old, which tried to accompany the
swarm, but were not able to fly, so they ran out
on foot ; and on hiving the swarm a little in-
spection showed that it was composed of bees
of all ages, from those twenty hours old, or
the bees just barely able to fly, to those with
ragged wings, just ready to die of old age. In
this, as in all nature, God made no mistake
when he showed bees how those of all ages
should accompany the swarm when they
heeded the mandate, " Go forth, multiply, and
replenish the earth."

Once more : Mr. C. says, " I have always
noticed, as I remove quilts from sections or
extracting-combs, that almost every bee is an
old one." I should like to know how he knows
they are " old ones." If he wOl try the ex-
periment of changing a black queen for an
Italian about June 20 some year, noting the
time the first Italian bee hatches, and on the
forenoon of the fourteenth day from that time
looking at the entrance of the hive, he will
find none but black bees issuing from the
entrance ; while if he removes the quilt from
the surplus-arrangement he will find nearly all
the bees there to be Italian. If he does not
so find it, his experiment will prove diff'erent
from any I have ever tried, and I have tried
such experiments several times. All the ex-
periments which I have tried along these lines
have proved Gallup to be correct when he
gave this to be the rule in these things : —
"Three days in the egg form, six days in the
larval form, and twelve days in the chrysalis
form, making a period of twenty-one days from
the egg to the perfect bee. Very wanu
weather will hasten the matter, while very
cool weather will retard. The hatched bee
does nothing but feed itself for the first day or
two after hatching, when it commences to
become a nurse-bee, preparing chyme for the
larvae, evaporating nectar, secreting wax,
building comb, &c., till it is fourteen to sixteen

470

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Nov.

1894.

days old. With a colony in normal condition,
the young bee takes its first flight or playspell
markinw its location, voiding its excrement,
&c., when six days old, if the weather is
favourable, doing this from twelve to 3 p.m.,
and continues these ' playspells ' occasionally
tiU it is from fourteen to sixteen days old,
when it goes out into the fields as a field-
worker, does no more of the inside work of the
hive after becoming a field-worker, unless
forced to by a lack of nurse-bees from some
reason, and dies of old age at from six to eight
weeks from time of hatching, very few bees
ever seeing seven weeks of age during the
working season." In the above I may not
have given the exact wording of Mr. Gallup,
but have the substance, as I quote from
memory, not having the time to hunt up che
letter containing it, which he wrote me in the
sixties. No beginner, or older apiarist, should
be without the knowledge contained in the
above from Gallup, for upon it hangs much
than goes towards making the management of
an apiary successful

PURK ITALIAN BEES AND THE FIVE-BANDED
STOCKS.

The other question asked is by Mr. Low,
and immediately follows Mr. Churchill's
article, and reads as follows : — " I should like
to ask Mr. Doolittle this question : Can a five-
banded queen be bred, or a queen whose bees
are five-banded, from pure Italian queens ? ''

I unhesitatingly answer no, for the simple
reason that there is no such thing as a pure
Italian bee or queen, when viewed in the sense
of a pure race or variety, as the German or
black bee is pure. At best, the Italian bee is
only a thoroughbred ; and that these five-
banded bees have been produced from what
was originally only three-banded leather-
coloured bees is a good proof that the above
assertion is correct. Perhaps it may be weU
for_ me to give right here a bit of history,
which I have hestitated for a long time about
giving, as I never wish to have a seeming desire
to take away the laurels from any one. The
history is this : In the early seventies, H. A.
King, then of Nevada, Ohio, and Jos. M.
Brooks, of Columbus, Ind., were breeding for
yellower bees than the average importations of
Italians showed. In 1872 I procured some of
Mr. King's stock, and continued to improve
them till near the eighties, the apicultural
world having lost sight of Mr. King mean-
while. At that time, by exchange, I procured
queens of Mr. Brooks, and afterward, by pur-
chase, got the last of his very best stock, he
going out of the business. In the early eighties
I sold one of the very best queens I could
raise, along the yellow line, to L. L. Hearn,
Oakvale, W. Va., and he and myself have been
breeding and exchanging " blood '' more or less
ever since. So far as I am aware, all of the
so-called five-banded bees, of Italian origin,
which are in the world to-day, came directly
or indirectly from either Mr. Hearn or myself

Mr. Swinson, of North Carolina, produced
five-banded bees, but did so by a promiscuous
crossing of Cyprian, Syrian, Italian, &c. ; but
in the King-Brooks-Hearn-Doolittle bees the
Italian side has been strictly adhered to. —
Gleanings.

Noticesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufac-
turers or correspondents, or where appliances can be
purchased, or replies giving such information, can only
be inserted as advertisements. The space devoted to
letters, queries, and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish . o%ir Correspondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of their communica-
tions.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

Geo. F. Townsend (Studley). — 1. We have
no personal knowledge of your district of
Warwickshire as a honey location, though
the county is considered a good one for
bee-keeping. 2. The number of standard
frames for brood-nests approved by the
majority of bee-keepers is ten. It is, how-
ever, rather an advantage than otherwise
for the hive to hold eleven frames, for they
can always be reduced by a dummy board
to any less number that may be preferred,
while some queens are so prolific as to
occupy eleven or more frames for brood
purposes.

A. C. Williams (Scarborough). — Inventor of
the Bar -frame Hive, Comb Foundation,
Extractor, &c. — 1. The bar-frame hive was
invented in 1851, by the famous American
bee-master, Langstroth, born at Philadelphia
on December 2.5, 1810, and happily still
alive, and a patent apphed for in 1852. It was
introduced into this country by T. W. Wood-
bury in 1854. 2. The credit of being first to
devise a machine for impressing wax sheets
with the rudiments of the bee-cell belongs to a
German, Johannes Mehring, who in 1857
first made a press for that purpose.
Mehring's machine was, of course, a very
different affair, both in construction and
results, from the foundation mills now in
use. 3. The honey-extractor, as the machine
is now known to bee-keepers in this country,
is described in the British Bee Journal
of May 1, 1874. The original invention was,
however, due to Major von Hruschka, an
officer in the Italian army.

J. Parkinson (N. Wales). — Moving Bees. —
If the choice of time for removing is left to
yourself, we should let the hives remain
where now located until such time as cold
weather has kept them indoors for a time
(say a couple of weeks). Then choose the
evening of a cold day, and have them
carried two or three at a journey on a hand-
barrow. If this is done, there need be no
" fastening up " or " giving ventilation '' at
all for so short a distance as a quarter-mile.

Nov. 29, 1894.] THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

471

(giiit0ml ^oiim, ^l

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — The distressing accounts
of floods, inundations, " miles of land
under water," and the multitudinous
catastrophes caused thereby, which have
occupied so large a space in the columns
of the daily press since our last "hints"
appeared, make us Avonder how bee-
keepers have fared in it all 1 Apart from
anything more serious, such as actual loss
of life, or the destruction of A^aluable
property, it is quite within the range
of probability that serious loss may
have been incurred by the submerging
of a few score of hives of bees in some
districts of the extensive valley of the
Thames, or other low-lying lands of
Berks and Bucks. It is said that, " no
news is good news," and the fact of
having, so far, had no drowning of bees
reported leads us to hope that none
of our readers have suffered loss in the
direction indicated.

We have more than once had occasion
to remark on the difference of the past
honey season north and south, and
" right here," as our American friends
say. We extract the following from a
recent issue of the Times : —

"It is now a matter of history that
last year (1893) there was a marked con-
trast in the characters of the season in
the northern and southern portions of
our island, the conditions being, on the
whole, as favourable to farmers in the
north as they were adverse to their
brethren in the south. Last year's
strange contrasts of season did not find
their limiting line at the Tweed, so
much as at the Trent. The area north
of the Trent, comprising the northern
counties of England and the whole of
Scotland, was enjoying a seasonable and
even a favourable summer at the time
when practically all that part of England
south of the Trent was devastated by
drought."

The singular variations ini the experi-
ences of bee-keepers in the north and
south this season seem to point to a

dividing weather line in 1894 also. In
some counties — Kent for one — scarcely
anybody has honey to sell, but mid-
landers and northerners seem to have had
good yields. In Kent they are actually
importing honey from Yorkshire !

Foul Brood, — This subject is now
attracting the attention of bee-keepers so
forcibly and continuously that it augurs
Avell for its being effectively dealt with
in the near future. It seems intolerable
that so serious a source of danger to the
bee industry should be allowed to
continue without some means being
made available by which those who
have the best interests of the pursuit at
heart should have their efforts paralysed
through the crass stupidity — in some
cases — of those who not only refuse to
help themselves, but decline to alloAv others
to assist them. If the mischief were
confined to those who apparently prefer
to have diseased bees about them than
healthy stocks Ave should not mind, but
our complaint is that " sinks of con-
tagion "• — ^as some of these places are —
should not be destroyed and put out of the
Avay of doing harm Avhether their owners
like it or no. This is Avhat bee-keepers
ask for in seeking to obtain compulsory
powers for dealing Avith foul brood
among bees Avith the help of the Minister
of Agriculture. And it is quite probable
that by a united effort on the part of
those most concerned in strengthening
the hands of the Committee of the
British Bee-Keepers in the action they
are proposing to take shortly, the
deputation to Mr. Herbert Gardner on
the subject, Avill have been received
by that gentleman and "something-
done."

If the advantages to be gained through
the expenditure of time and money noAv
devoted to technical instruction in bee-
keeping— money, be it noted, from the
public funds — is not to be minimised,
and the Avork rendered non-effectiA'e,
some official help must be given in con-
trolling the spread of foul-brood, which
is the Avorst stumbling-block in the way
of success. One Avould think that suffi-
cient evidence had already appeared in
our pages and elsewhere to constitute a
strong case for inquiry, but another
" case " has just come to our knoAvledge —

472

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Nov. 29, 1894.

the facts of which are vouched for — which
is worth quoting. A bee-keeper in Kent,
Avhose knowledge of bees was limited
and confined to skeps, secured a bargain
in the shape of a lot of frame hives in
which the bees had died from foul brood.
These hives were duly stocked with
sAvarms from their new owner's skeps,
and, as may be supposed, several of them
soon became more or less diseased, and
eventually several beeless hives lay about
Avith the diseased combs in them, which
combs the oAvner Avould neither destroy
himself nor alloAv anyone else to make
aAvay with. But not long ago he had
occasion to change his location to a place
a quarter of a mile aAvay, and before
leaving he actually cut out the foul
combs and left them behind him at the
old spot to be visited by his OAvn and
his neighbours' bees ad libitum. The
poor man's idea was, we understand, to
take only " clean hives " to his new place
and leave the " rubbish " behind !

ESSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The fourteenth annual meeting of this
Association was held at the Council Chamber,
Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, on Tuesday,
November 13, Mr. T. J. Weston, of Wick-
ham Bishops, presiding. The income and
expenditure account, presented by the hon.
sec, Mr. F. H. Meggy, showed that during
1893 the income had exceeded the expenses
by .£9. 13s. 6d., so that, with the donation of
£5 received from the Countess of Warwick,
president of the association, towards the defi-
ciency of .£11 on the income account of 1892,
and a capital of a few pounds in hand, the
association had a balance of £22 standing to
its credit on January 1, 1894. The result on
the year's working was attributable to rigid
economies, among which may be named the
discontinuance of the autumn county shoAv, a
matter of regret to honey growers throughout
the county. Mr. Meggy's reports explained
the delay in holding the annual meeting for
] 893 as arising from purely personal reasons
not likely to occur again. The report of the
expert, Mr, W. Debnam, after touching
on the results of his spring and autumn
visits to members in 1893, expressed his
views on the question of technical educa-
tion in some spirited sentences which we
reproduce elsewhere. It was cheering, he
reported, to find that steps taken by him in
the spring of 1893 to prevent the spread of
foul brood had been to some extent rewarded.
The Chairman, moving the adoption of the
reports and accounts, said they ought to

approach the County Council to put the
keepers of bees upon the same footing as
keepers of cattle and swine, so that they could
have the power to destroy hives infected with
foul brood. The Hon. Sec. and Mr. Durrant
also spoke on the subject, and, eventually, a
resolution suggested by the chairman, himself
a thoroughly practical bee-keeper, who has
suffered from the scourge under discussion,
was .passed to the effect that the hon. district
secretaries or local advisers of their associa-
tions be each asked to send in a report, between
noAV and February 1 next, of all cases of foul
brood that, so far as they could ascertain, had
occurred ia their neighbourhoods during the
past season. The formal business being
finished, the chairman called on Mr. Durrant
to give his lecture, illustrated by lantern views,
on " Bees and Bee-keeping." Some practical
observations from the chairman and others
followed, and the meeting closed with the
usual votes of thanks.

{Covimxinicated.)

(^mxnpxikut.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. 2fo notice will he
aken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shotos, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Revieiv, etc., mitst be addressed only to " Tlie
Editors of the ' BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business comjnuni-
cations relating to Advertisements, <i;c. , must be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William- street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

•»• In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

STARTING BEE ASSOCIATIONS,

A AVORD TO SUSSEX BEE-KEEPERS.

[2122.] I noticed that your analysis of the
entries at the dairy show "drew" a Sussex
bee-keeper's confession. I was rather ashamed
of my OAvn county not being represented, but
if other parts were as mine, there must have
been uncommonly few Kent samples fit for
exhibition. I hope our Sussex friend will be
found in the ranks of the exhibitors next year,
for we cannot afford to lose him. How I
wish some enterprising bee-keeper would
essay to start an association in Sussex. I
grieve over Sussex. She could beat us all if
she organised her bee-keepers. What par-
ticularly struck me at the dairy show was the
great number of bee-keepers visiting the show

Nov. 29, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

473

from CroydoD, Sutton, and that district.
There is, of course, an association for Surrey,
but its operations seem focussed about Guild-
ford. Is there no one in Croydon who could
lend our veteran Captain Campbell effective
aid in the way of organising this end of the
county ? It offers an excellent field for
work, but needs a man of energy. Now that
we are commending the bee-keeping industry
as worthy of increased attention from the
authorities, it is of the greatest importance to
have our bee-keepers organised, not only i)i
Surrey but in every county. I am quite sure
there is a lot of power available round Croydon.
Ssusex ought to make a beginning this winter,
and Surrey lay her plans for going "full
speed ahead " next spring. — IIent Bee-
Keeper.

P.S.— With the advent of the Royal Coun-
ties' Agricultural Show at Bournemouth, could
not Hampshire start an association ? Hamp-
shire is a grand county for bee-keeping. Do
you try, Messrs. Editors, to awaken a pioneer 1

SENSES OF ANIMALS AND INSECTS.
SIR JOHN Lubbock's experiments with

DOGS, ANTS, AND BEES.

On Saturday, the 26th inst., at the Working
Men's College. Great Ormond Street, Sir John
Lubbock, M.P., the principal of the college,
delivered an address on " The Senses and
Instincts of Animals," in which he gave an
interesting account of some of his own experi-
ments on the subject. Considering the long
ages during which man and the other animals
had lived upon the earth, it was, he said,
remarkable how little was known about the
other animals, and a great many people held
contradictory opinions abovit them. AH held
that the dog was a very clever animal, but it
was doubtful whether it could understand
two and two made four. He tried experi-
ments with his own dog, a IJlack poodle. He
made two slips of cardboard, on one of which
he wrote the word " food," and the
other he left blank and placed them on two
saucers, one containing bread and milk,
the other empty. In ten days the dog had
learnt to distinguish between the two saucers.
Afterwards the cards were placed on the floor,
and he was told to bring one, receiving food
when he brought the right one and nothing
when he brought the blank one, and in a
month he bad learnt the difference. He also
made experiments as to the dog's perception of
colour, but after six months had to give them
up entirely without success. He was anxious
also to ascertain the arithmetical condition of
the dog's mind. He had always wanted to
know how the world appeared to the lower
animals, and whether they had the same senses
as men. He had spent years in studying the
habits of ants. They had very large com-
munities, though they had no contested

elections ; they did very well without a
House of Lords, and equally Avell without
a House of Commons ; they educate their
children without a school board, and had
no county council or district council, or even
a parish council. Yet they seemed to do very
well indeed, and knew one another in a won-
derful manner. If a strange ant was put into
a nest, it was at once attacked, but when he
separated a nest into two parts for a year and
a half, and then put some of the ants from one
half into the other they were tolerated and not
molested. With regard to their senses, he
could obtain no evidence that ants and bees
were able to hear ; he tried them with the
most excruciating sounds without any effect.
He tried various experiments to see if ants
could communicate with their friends at a
distance, and came to the conclusion that they
could not. He also tried whether bees could
hear, by placing honey on a musical box, which
he kept constantly playing for a fortnight, but
without success. As long as they cosld see the
box they came, but not otherwise, and evidently
could not associate the sound with the food.
There was no doubt, however, that they could
see colours. The existence of flowers was a
strong reason for supposing so, and the experi-
ment he tried of placing food on papers of
different colours had also proved it. To dis-
cover whether their limits of vision were the
same as ours, he tried many experiments, and
came to the conclusion that they could see
rays invisible to our eyes. Indeed, the familiar
world around us might be quite different to
other animals ; they might see colours in-
visible to our eyes, and hear sounds inaudible
to our ears ; and there was a whole untrodden
field of study. To arrange and collect speci-
mens was a mere preliminary, though very
necessary ; to watch the habits of animals, to
study their instincts and intelligence, to realise
what the world appeared to them, was the true
interest of natural history, and might give us
a cue to senses and perceptions of which we
had at present no conception.

^ntrm and |le^Iica.

[1211.] Forming Nuclei— Feeders.— 1 should
be obliged if you can answer the following
questions in your valuable Bee Journal.
1. Shall I be right in the following method of
forming nuclei : — I have fovir stocks of bees
and two of them are in a hive with the
"Wells" dummy between them; these are
looking in another direction to my other hives,
and will have to be completely turned round
in order to get them where I want them to
stand next spring. I propose, therefore, if
they are strong at that time to take them, as
soon as the bees begin to fly, to a place two
miles off for a week or two, and put them
where I required when brought back to my

474

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Nov. 29, 1894.

own place, I thought that this would be a
good way to get a comb or two for nuclei with
bees on that would stop, by having my queen
cells ready on the return of this hive, and
taking combs from both stocks for this pur-
pose. 2. In " La ruche Dadant Modifi^e," par
Ed. Bertrand (Mr. Cowans friend), he gives
an idea for using self-opening tins as feeders,
and so far as my poor French enables me to
understand, makes holes in the cover or can-
lid and covers this over with linen. Now in
the self-opening cans I have (golden syrup
tins) the lids are more than ^-in. below top
edge of the tin. I, therefore, ask how do the
bees get to the syrup 1 Toes it drop through
the holes upon the linen of itself first, or how ?
because, if these really act, they would be a
cheap feeder. — T. Eccles, Standhridge Cot-
tages, MilntJiorpe, Wakefield, November 22.

Reply. — 1. We cannot see any commen-
surate advantage in the plan proposed. In the
first place, the hives may have their positions •
changed without the trouble of a temporary
removal two miles away, such as would be
necessary in summer time. If the change of
location is effected in the winter, after the
bees have been kept indoors for a few weeks
by frost, none will be lost. Further, the
removal of combs of brood and young bees at
" queen-rearing season" will throw the robbed
stocks back, and so lessen their chances of
yielding profit. 2. Self-opening tins make
useful and cheap feeders with a few holes
punched in lids, but when used so no covering
of calico or any similar material is required, as
the bees take the syrup direct through the
holes. On the other hand, if the mouth of tin
is covered with linen or muslin, the lid must
be dispensed with. When used in the latter
way, however, a common gliss pickle-jar
makes a much better feeder than a tin, because
we can see at a glance when food is taken.

[1212.] Moving Bees. — I am sorry to give
you the trouble to again reply to my query
(1208, p. 468), but not being used to bee
matters accounts for my not being so explicit
as I might have been. Well, on the occasion
referred to, I sold the bees only, neither combs
or frames, not thinking of the difficulty of
supplying food to the bees at this time of year,
but suppose it would be next to impossible for
an ignoramus like myself to manage them thus.
If it cannot be done, could you kindly tell
me what would be a fair price for the combs
and frames, as I do not know what to charge
for them ? The frames with the sheets of
foundation cost 6hd. each, but having the comb
formed and filled sufficiently with a cake of
candy to last the winter (that is not my
opinion, but of the expert who saw them), I
don't know the value of them. They are on
eight frames. They have to be moved from
Woodford to Gravesend, which was the reason
for selling bees only, as we thought they
would be more convenient to move ; but we
have been quite forgetting other incon-

veniences. Your reply in Bee Journal
will greatly oblige a novice. — E. J. B.

Reply. — A rough travelling box will be
necessary for sending the bees and combs
safely by rail. The inside dimensions being
as nearly as possible those of the hive in
length and width. The depth is not so im-
portant. A light rack or notched strip of
wood must be nailed along the bottom of box,
and so arranged that the " teeth " of the rack
project upward, so as to keep the bottom bar
of frames equally distanced. The latter mu?t
also be firmly fixed on their top sides to keep
them firm and rigid in transit. Bearing in
mind your entire inexperience of bees, it would
be well to enlist the help of the expert referred
to in packing. He could also give a better
idea of the value of the stock than ourselves,
seeing that he will have the advantage of
inspection which we have not.

[1213.] Queen Cast Out of Hive. — Will
you kindly give me your advice under the
following circumstances : — I have one hive of
bees, a last year's swarm, which did not
swarm this year, and owing to the bad season
they have done little in the way of honey-
gathering. I had them on the moors for five
or six weeks, but they had not filled the
frames in the body of the hive when I fetched
them back again, so that I did not take any
honey from them, but packed them up for
winter. They were a fairly strong stock, and
I left them to winter on eight frames, all the
combs being from one-third to one-half filled
with capped honey. In addition, I put several
cakes of candy under the quilts. 1 submitted
the candy to a friendly bee-keeper, as I feared
it was rather too hard, but he thought the bees
would take it, so I packed them up with quilts
and. chaff-case over all. Three weeks after-
wards, as I was passing the hive at dusk, I
noticed a small heap of bees on the ground,
just in front of the hive, and on taking them
up and searching through them I found the
queen, as I suppose, and with her about 230
bees, all dead. I send you the queen for
inspection. I at once, as early as practicable,
looked at the hive, but the day being very
cold I did not take out the frames, but I found
plenty of uncapped stores, and the candy
which I had put in, the bees had already com-
menced feeding on, and they seemed strong and
lively. Now, sir, could you please en-
lighten me as to reason of the queen and
bees leaving the hive, and also advise me
what to do under the circumstances ? I can-
not suppose that there were two queens in the
hive, as breeding had ceased some time ago,
and I had seen no signs of queen-cells at any
time. Should I endeavour to winter the bees
safely, and get a queen as early as possible in
spring; or could I get a queen now either
with or without a few driven bees ? As I am
a beginner, I should esteem it a greit favour
to have your advice through the Bee Journal,

Nov. 29, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAI..

475

which I take regularly. — Learner, Sheffield,
November 19.

Reply. — There is nothing in the appear-
ance of queen sent to account for death. As
the bees in the hive are reported " strong and
lively," there is just a chance of the little
heap of dead bees and queen being the
remains of a small " hunger swarm '' from
some other hive. Any way you cannot now
do anything but wait till the return of warm
weather enables you to examine the frames
and ascertain the condition of bees, &c.

[1214.] Destroying Weeds about Hives. —
Your querist, Ambrose A. Ogle (1204, p. 458),
last week anticipated a question I had been
intending to ask you for some time. The
"weed-killer" alluded to probably contains
arsenic, and 1 have used with great success a
similar preparation on my garden-paths away
from the hives. I believe carbolic acid, 1 oz.
to a gallon of water, to be an efficacious weed
exterminator, and should imagine that bees j
would not touch that owing to their objection j
to the smell. Should you see any objection to
the use of the latter round the hives ? Now I
think of it, the proportions seem tv rong, and

1 should imagine it would be too weak to
destroy the weeds. I have not yet tried it,
but I had made a note of it from a gardening
paper. — Percy Sharp, Brant Broughton,
Neioark-on- Trent, November 20.

Reply. — There can be no objection to the
use of carbolic acid about hives, no matter of
what strength it may be applied. The bees
will give it a wide berth if left to themselves,
and so no harm would follow.

[1215.] Moving Hives. — I want tc move
my hives about 20 ft. from their present
position. Is it necessary to move them only

2 ft. at a time, or may I move them the whole
distance at once, provided that 1 do so in cold
weather when the bees are not flying ? I
.shall feel much obliged if you will kindly
answer this in your journal. — Lionel
Burrell, Sidcup, November 22.

Reply. — If the removal is deferred until
such time during the coming winter, as the
bees have been confined to their hives for
several weeks, they may be removed at one
operation. The appearance of their present
location should, however, be altered as much
as possible, and all trace of the hives taken
away from thence.

[1216.] Honey Vinegar. — In B.J. of the
8th inst. (p. 447), you give recipe for making
honey vinegar, proportion, 1 kilo of honey to
8 to 10 litres of water. According to French
tables I make the amount in English to be : —
1 kilo = about 2^ lb. (honey) ; 8 litres =
14*08 pints (water). Is this correct, please ?
If not, can you kindly give correct propor-
tions in English 1 The above seems, to my
mind, to be about the correct quantities. — H.
Hill, Ambaston, near Derby,

Reply. — Your measurements are quite near
enough for the purpose ; but, to be exact —
1 kilo = 2-204; or about 2! lb ; 1 litre = 176,
or 1^] pints.

IS BEE-KEEPING PROFITABLE ?

Sir, — "Expert" has raised the question,
" Is Bee-keeping Profitable ? " and intends, I
suppose, at some future time, to answer it
according to his own experience. I am glad,
for one, that an expert has taken up thi.s
question. But surely, Mr. Editor, " Expert ''
has made some mistake when he talks about
bees being left natural, or, as he terms it,
" managed on purely natural principles." The
very opposite is the way to gain large results.
This has been proved by men of very large
experience. " Managed on purely natural
principles '' must mean for the bees to make
the whole of their comb, and this has been
proved beyond dispute to be a fallacy in bee-
dom too long indulged in. But I suppose it
means, in this instance, that " Expert '' has
tried the bar-frame hive, with the fixing of comb
foundation, and all the appliances, and found
it wanting. Bar-frame hives, so far as my
experience goes, ar ethe very opposite to this.
In this system you have the bees under won-
derful control, and you can assist them so
nicely in fixing the sheets of foundation, ar-
ranging the sizeof your hive tosuit thestrength
of your colony, and by giving them room, to
prevent, to some extent, swarming ; everything
in this system seems to favour success. My
average this year is 26 lb., but if it had not
been for the bar-frame hive and the section
crate, with each section prepared with sheets
of foundation, my bees could not have
accomplished this. It is entirely due to the
help I could give them through the bar-frame
system. Not only so, but how useful this system
is in the time of swarming ; at a very small cost
you can have a contrivance made suitable to fix
the frames in, and in twenty minutes you can
have the frames transferred to the hive and the
bees on to work in their new quarters. If
" Expert " has something newer and better
than the bar-frame system to show us I will
wait, but if he has nothing but the old system
to present to u?, then I am in doubt as to his
ability to convert us, even though we live in
North Durham. However, all will agree that
this has been a bad summer for bee-keepers
generally, and if anything can be done
by " Expert " to give encouragement, we shall
be glad to have it. I don't know whether
it is controversy that "Expert'' wants in
introducing this subject to your columns,
or simply to give advice ; whatever may
be his view, he may depend upon one reader
that will pay special attention to what he
has to write, and that is your humble corre-
spondent, Novice, November 20, 1894.—
Vonsett Guardian.

476

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Nov. 29, 1894.

LECTURE ON BEE-KEEPING.
Mr. M. H. Tilley, the instructor appointed
by the Dorset County Technical Committee,
gave a lecture at the Temperance Hall, Broad-
wey, on the evening of Wednesday the 14th
inst. Miss Samson, hon. secretary, presided,
and there were about fifty persons present.
No doubt the flooded state of the village pre-
vented many more from being present, the
water at some places being two or three feet
deep. The few bee-keepers residing in the
district were present, and all appeared much
interested. Many questions were asked, and
answered by the lecturer. Mrs. Baunton, one
of the committee (also of late a bee-keeper),
Avas also present. She unfortunately lost all
her bees a few years ago by a flood such as
the inhabitants are suffering from at the
present time. This lady also put several
practical questions, which were satisfactorily
answered by the lecturer. Mr. Tilley in his
remarks explained that bees benefited their
crops much more than most persons were
aware, and gave some practical illustrations as
a proof. He also explained the enormous
waste that is going on every year in country
districts owing to the want of bees to collect
the honey that was being washed back
into the earth. He considered Broadwey
one of the best districts in the county
for bee-keeping ; yet there was scarcely
any part of the county where it was
so much neglected. An optical lantern and a
number of slides showing the wonders and the
contents of a bee- hive, and an improved bar-
frame hive and a quantity of bee-keeping
appliances, were used to illustrate the lecture,
which lasted about two hours. Mr. Tilley
also gave instruction on the successful winter-
ing of bees, stating that last year he succeeded
in wintering over 100 hives without the loss of
a single hive (at his own bee farm). This he
paid he could not have done a few years ago.
He ascribed this success to study, perseverance,
observation, and experience. He now felt
that with proper knowledge on the subject it
was not a difficult matter to winter bees with
almost certainty. At the close the lecturer
was heartily applauded, and Miss Samson said
she hoped shortly to have Mr. Tilley there to
give them another lecture on this important
subject. Bee-keepers or other persons
requiring instruction in the important subject
of bee culture should now avail themselves of
the opportunity by making an application in
writing to the local secretary of the Technical
Instruction Committee, when, no doubt, their
wishes will receive prompt attention. —
( Communicated.)

INSECTS AND FLOWERS.
Insects assiduously visit flowers for food-
nectar, and by their visits the pollen of one
flower is carried to the stigmatic surface of
another, so eftecting cross-fertilisation. The
contrivances for making insect-agency efficient

are so numerous, so palpable, and so ex-
clusively perfect as to entrance the observer.
One flower has its nectar in a tube, to reach
which the proboscis of the visiting insect must
touch and split a delicate tissue, and expose
the moist adhesive surfaces of a couple of
pollen masses, which adhere to and are car-
ried away by the insect in such a position that,
in visiting another flower of the same species,
it must deposit the pollen where alone it can
do its fertilising work. Another is so con-
trived that, to reach the nectar, the visiting in-
sect must touch a sensitive surface, that
causes the rupture of the tissue which con-
fines a pollen mass, but which, on the rupture
of the tissue, flies out like an arrow on the
insect, and, having an adhesive end, sticks to
the insect, which is startled away, and, visit-
ing another flower of a like kind, deposits in
the right place the fertilising pollen which it
unconsciously carries. Another flower has an
ingenious arrangement by which it lures an
insect into its corolla, and then imprisons it,
provided with plenty of food, until its anthers
are ripe, when it sheds its pollen over the
insect, after which, by a special organic arrange-
ment, it opens the prison door and lets its
visitor emerge, charged with pollen, to visit
another similar flower, which will inevitably
be in a condition to receive fertilisation from
its pollen-covered body. Thousands of other
instances might be given. — Dr. Dallinger.

TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN BEE-
KEEPING.

The Expert of the Essex Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation spoke with no uncertain sound on the
question of technical education in bee-keeping
in his report presented to the annual meeting
of the Essex Bee-keepers' Association on Tues-
day. " This year," he wrote, " I cannot con-
clude my report without expressing my views
— at least, a little — on the technical education
question, as it concerns our association, and
therefore our members. Speaking as one who
has worked among all classes of bee-keepers
in this county, and at the same time knowing
what a splendid field Essex is for the produc-
tion of first-class honey, I quite fail to see or
understand why a grant should not have been
made, and made freely, and direct to the
E.B.K.A., by the Essex County Council,
seeing, as it must have done, the manner in
which the work of the association has been
carried on year after year, and knowing
also that bee-keeping is a branch of
industry that could be taught and made
both interesting and profitable to many of
our rural population if only done on a good
teaching system. Many things long felt neces-
sary could with a grant be fully carried out.
The foul-brood pest could be dealt with much
more effectually than at present, as there can
be little doubt that, whUe members' hives are
affected, non-members' hives may be still more
affected with the disease. Then, again, the

Nov. 29, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

477

free circulation of the Bee-keepers' Record
among the cottage bee-keepers of the county,
not considering whether they were our members
or not, would, I am sure, in particular, effect a
great improvement in this industry. There
are many ways I could suggest to the Technical
Instruction Committee which, to my mind,
would do considerably more real good to
advance bee-keeping than has been attempted
to be done in this county at present. I do not
for one moment think those gentlemen who
have the control of this technical education
scheme know what is wanted to advance bee
culture. Gathering from what they at present
sanction, I say most decidedly they do not.
And I think that up to this time few, if any,
of the best practical men of this county have
ever been consulted on the matter, important
though it be." — Essex County Chronicle.

ADULTERATED BEESWAX.

" We are pleased to see that this is a subject
which has received a little of the attention it
deserves, especially in the Bristol district. Mr.
James Brown, hon. sec. of the Bristol B.Iv.A.,
in one of his lectures cautioned dealers against
selling adulterated wax, as well as giving them
a simple test. Still in the face of that, at the
Bristol Police-court on Wednesday, the 14th
inst., before Messrs. A. N. Price and Henry
Daniels, Albert P. Pingstone, oil and colour-
man, of 82, Redcliff-hill, Bristol, was sum-
moned for an offence under the Food and Drugs
Act. P.O. Norris (river police) deposed that
on October 17 he bought of the defendant
some beeswax, for which he paid Is. 4d.
Inspector Fletcher produced the report of the
City Analyst, stating that what was sold as
beeswax was solid paraffin with a little fatty
matter coloured with coal-tar dige. It would
be worth about 5d. per lb. The defendant
said he bought it as French beeswax and sold
it in good faith. The magistrate stated that
the public must be protected, and the defen-
dant would have to pay 20s ^ and costs.^
Bristol Mercury, November 1 7.

HONEY AND BEESWAX.

These articles are now largely imported from
other countries, and we have every reason to
believe that they are largely adulterated, as
witness the frequent prosecutions under the
Food and Drugs Adulteration Acts. It is
well known that pure English honey will
granulate in a few weeks after being extracted,
whereas this foreign glucose honey scarcely
ever granulates ; and as for wax, which is
usually adulterated with paraffin,- a rough and
ready test of floating it in a solution of water
and methylated spirit is often used — the pure
article will be found to sink, while the other
will swim. The Bee-Keepers' Association
have had labels issued to registered bee-
keepers, under which seal the public can be
sure of obtaining a genuine article and weight
for their money, it being a frequent practice to

bottle honey into jars not holding more than
from 12 07.. to 13 oz., and labelling it a 1 lb.
bottle. A^ e are pleased to see that the autho-
rities have devoted their attention to this
serious matter of adulteration, and feel sure
there is plenty of room to do great service in
protecting the public and encouraging this
minor rural industry, which chiefly benefits
the cottager. — (Communicated).

MARKETING HONEY.

READ AT THE CONVENTION OF AMERICAN
BEE-KEEPERS, HELD AT ST. JOSEPH, MO.

By Crcorge W. York, Editor American Bee
Journal.

Page upon page has been written on the
subject of marketing honey ; for all realise
that, unless it is well sold, there is no profit or
just remuneration for the labour and skill
involved in its production.

A successful marketing of honey presupposes
its good quality, and suitable condition for
proper and satisfactory handling. Possessing
these two very important factors, the honey
is then ready to seek the much-desired
customer.

Upon what market shall it be placed ? Aye,
that's the question ! Shall it be disposed of
in the home market — probably among the
producer's friends and neighbours — or shall it
be shipped to the nearest large city to find
purchasers ? Both ways have their advan-
tages as well as disadvantages. So much de-
pends upon the producer himself, that what
might be best for one bee-keeper would be all
wrong for another, equally successful in honey-
production.

Each producer, of course, desires to realise
the most money possible for his crop. Upon
that point all will agree. But how about the
city market for such an object ? The city
honey commission merchant, as a rule, if he
does any business at all, is an overworked or
overcrowded man. Imagine, if you please,
100 different lots of honey being shipped to
him from various parts of the covintry, in dif-
ferent conditions, and all coming so as to be
in stock at the same time. Now it will be
utterly impossible for him to give to each
shipment equal attention, and some of them
must of necessity be neglected, or await their
turns. In the meantime some of the shippers
may notify him to hold their honey for a cer-
tain price. Then, of course, the honey of
those who do not give any definite instructions
as to price will be sold first, and probably at
a lower figure. By that time the market is
practically supplied, and the rest of the honey
in the commission merchant's hands must be
held, or the price lowered in order to at all
effect sales. Thus it will be ren.dily seen that,
at best, selling through a city commission firm
must often be quite unsatisfactory, especially
as there is so much to risk in shipping honey,
lest the combs be broken down and thus be

478

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Nov. 29, 1894.

ruined, or the extracted honey packages may
leak, and in that way cause loss.

I fully believe that the best solution of the
question will be found in the home market,
where the producer can personally look after
the detaQs of the work ; and, although un-
able to do the actual retailing himself, he
can so supervise it as to realise the largest
proceeds from the sale of his crop of honey.

Of course, it requires a good talker to sell
honey, as well as anything else that has merit
which needs to be shown to the desired pur-
chasers. But as nearly everybody likes to eat
honey, it should not be such a difficult task to
dispose of some in nearly every home
vigited.

As to the price to be asked, certainly the
city market quotations should not govern :
for, as I have shown, that market may
have become overstocked, and for the time
being the price lowered to such an extent
that there could be no profit whatever to the
producer.

It has been suggested that, unless a good
price be asked, it will not be secured. And
there is more truth than poetry in that hint,
though, if the price asked be too high, there
will also be fewer sales, and, consequently, less
money obtained, but more honey left on the
producer's hands. It seems to me that comb
honey, in most home markets, should bring
not less than 20 cts. per single section, or six
sections for 1 dol. Extracted honey should
retail, per single pound, at 15 cts., or 8 lb. for
1 dol. These prices certainly are not high,
and yet, probably, large enough to sufficiently
reward any reasonable producer in a fair honey
season.

There is much in education in this matter
of the price of honey, as well as to its con-
stant use in the family. By starting out
rightly, a better price can be secured and
maintained, and also more .sales be made ;
while if there is a wrong beginning, it will be
well nigh impossible to correct it later on . By
all means study the consumer's ability to pay ;
■supply a pure article of honey, put up in an
attractive form, and there will be little trouble
about future orders after the first purchase is
made and used.

I think that bee-keepers who have a home
market, well worked up, often make a very
great mistake when they allow themselves to
get out of honey for sale at any time of the
year ; for if a regular customer can get no more
honey from the producer who has been supply-
ing him, he will likely apply at the grocery
store, where he may be supplied with a mixed
article at a less price, and also correspondingly
inferior in quality, though it may, after a time,
give partial satisfaction. The result will be,
that the next time the honest producer wishes
to sell that customer more honey, he will be ex-
pected to furnish it at very nearly "store prices,"
for a superior article. To avoid such an un-
fortunate condition of things, I would always
have honey on hand, even if it be necessarv

to get it from a bee-keeper at a distance, but
always being assured of his honesty and
reliability.

I am sure that the home market for honey
has undreamed-of possibilities for successful
development ; and the wide-awake, progressive
twentieth-century houey-producers will find
in it a veritable gold-mine in exchange for
their pure golden honey — nectar fit for the
gods, and hungry humanity's best food and
medicine. — Gleanings.

THE USE OF A DIAEY IN
APICULTUEE.

I am of the opinion that there are few bee-
keepers who receive the benefits from a diary
that they could. Too many are apt to asso'
ciate a diary with past events, whereas the
most practical and valuable uses of it is the
record of the future. It will not be the object
of this article to show the advantages arising
from a well-kept record of the past, iDut rather
to illustrate its value when employed as a help
for the future. Various ways have been re-
commended to remind the apiarist of duties
to be performed in the apiary, duties that if
neglected at the proper time must result in
loss and trouble. There is nothing to my
mind like a diary for relieving one's memory
in the management of an apiary, either large
or small. It need not be a printed one, one
to cover the whole year, but an ordinary
blank book, with 100 or more pages, is what
is required. The best book is one that is
large enough to contain a record of the colo-
nies, and then the latter part can be used
for the diary proper. Have a page for a day,
or more if necessary. There is no one who
has kept bees to any extent but knows that
each day there will arise work that should
be attended to later on. For example, about
ten days ago I had occasion to place a few
frames of unsealed brood behind a division
board in an ordinary colony. I neglected to
record this to be attended to to-day. The
consequence was, several young queens were
reared and hatched, the colony swarmed,
the old queen was killed, and a large apple
tree had to be ascended to secure them.
When a colony swarms I make a note of it
in my diary to be attended to in the way of
destroying unneeded queen cells seven days
later. In strengthening weak colonies after
it is not desirable to increase the laying
capacity of the queen, I usually place the
brood behind the division board. Now these
should be examined for cells ten days later,
and a note made of it, for that day a young
queen is hatched. Make a memo of it, for
ten days later, to see if laying. You ma}'
notice a colony that will soon require more
room. Mark it down on the day it should be
attended to. You deprive a colony of theij.
queen — this fact should be recorded, so as t^
look after their cells nine or ten days aftej.^

Nov. 29i 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

479

lu fact, every work to be attended to at a
specific time should be recorded. In begin-
ning the day's work you simply look at your
diary for the day. You can see at once the
work that must be done, and then the regu-
lar duties of the day will follow. In queen
rearing I have found It very valuable. I for-
merly made a note of all such needs consecu-
tively, but a page for each day's requirements
is much better, and will be found superior
to the various devices recommended for this
purpose. — Gr. A. D., in Canadian Bee Journal.

' BRACE COMBS AND SUPERING.

I see by the different bee-papers that Doo-
little has caused quite a commotion on the
smooth, placid waters of bee-keeping, by what
he wrote on page 272 of the American Bee
Journal for August 30. That this commotion
may not result in harm to myself and the
fraternity, with your leave, Mr. Editor, I will
explain my position a little more, to see if we
may not have a little better understanding of
the matter at issue.

Years ago, soon after I commenced bee-
keeping, considerable difficulty was experi-
enced in getting bees to enter the sections
readily to store surplus honey, many colonies
refusing to go into them during the Avhole
season, where box-hives were used, having 1-in.
board for a top, with holes cut through for the
bees to pass up into the sections. Few frame-
hives were then in use, when compared with
the vast number of box hives and gums which
were found standing at very many of the farm-
houses all over the country. To obviate the
difficulty of getting bees into the sections, Mr.
Miner invented a box-hive haviog no perma-
nent top-board, but in its place slats were used,
standing up edgewise, for the bees to build
their combs on, find when the sections, or what
were then 6-lb. boxes, were put on, they were
put directly on these slats. When no surplus
arrangement was on the hives, a cloth was laid
on these slats, or, more properly, over the top
of the hive, as brace-combs were built between
the slats, and on top of this cloth a board of
any thickness was placed, while cap or hood,
deep enougb inside to go over the boxes, was
used to cover the whole. It was with this
Miner hive that I commenced my bee-keeping
career, purchasing bees in said hive to start
with.

When I commenced to use frame-hives I
thought of these slats in the Miner hive, and
so made my frames very much like those
described by Mr. Hill on page .307 of the Bee
Journal for September 6, which he found at
an apiary that he was sent to work in. After
using such frames for a year or two I became
disgusted with them, as Mr. Hill did, on
account of the sagging propensity of the top-
bars to the frames, and the general " mess "
which always occurred in taking off the surplus
honey. I then began experimenting, and
finally adopted a top-ljaf «. plump 1 in. w^de

by yV in. thick for the Gallup frame, and for
the Langstroth frame a top-bar l-iV in. wide
by Ts in- thick, that being the size which gave
me the best results, all things considered. T
would have preferred them thinner, but when
I came to use them so, the top-bars would sag
when the bees filled the frames solid full of
honey, and if made narrower the bees insisted
in covering the tops of them with comb, and
in times of a great honey-How filling this comb
with honey, so I was driven to the adoption of
the above. I have always used a bee-space of
iV in. at the ends and tops of the frames, with
Vb in. bee-space at the bottoms of the frames.

With such frames and bee-spaces it is a rare
thing that any honey is ever stored between
the sections and tops of frames, while not to
exceed from five to fifteen brace or burr combs
are found jutting up above the tops of the
frames, and these brace combs are always left,
as I told in my former article. I still con-
sider these few bits of comb as great helps ;
nearly as much so as I consider the " bait "
sections which I use on every hive to start the
bees into the sections early in the season, as I
have so often given in the diflerent bee-papers.
Wherever bits of comb are, there bees are at
home on them, and are climbing over them,
inspecting them, &c., when they would not be
there at all otherwise, unless crowded there by
an over-populous hive, and this is why I called
these bits of combs " little ladders."

After having decided on the above frames,
certain supply dealers began advocating a top-
bar made from | in. lumber, and from ^ in.
to |- in. thick for top-bars for the Langstroth
frames, the claim being put forth that, by using
such, the sections would be so near the brood
that the bees would enter the sections without
hesitation, and better results in honey be ob-
tained. Henry Alley, myself, and others
expostulated, but the thing was pushed to such
an extent that those ordering frames' different
from these were told that unless they fell into
line with those using the regular goods they
must expect long delays in having their orders
filled, as the machinery was kept busy nearly
all the while turning out this regular line ; and
next, all were cited to these " regular goods "
being the standard, and pleasing, as they had
orders for them by the carload from all over
the country, till the majority of frames in use
were of that " regulation size.''

Thus things went on till thousands, if not
millions, of these narrow, thin, top-bar frames
were in use, and when it was found that they
sagged, tin bars were put in the centre, for a
support when wiring them for the use of comb
foundation. Thus every one buying supplies
was forced to use these sagging, burr-comb
provoking, section-daubing frames, who did
not have the " backbone " to stand out about
the matter, till the apiary that does not now
have, or has not had, such frames in it, is the
exception and not the rule.

In the above Mr. Hill will find his " unac-
countable reason " explained.

480

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [Nov. 29, 1894.

But, presto ! a change oomes, and we go to
the other extreme, now having a frame put
before us with a top- bar as much too heavy as
the other was too light, and all bee-keepers
are called upon to fall " into line '' once more,
and some wonder why it is that Doolittle
insists on keeping on in the " even tenor of
his ways," and fears that his teachings will
lead others astray. I Avonder if it has nsver
entered the heads of supply dealers that these
changes involve much expense to the bee-
keeping fraternity ? Let me draw a picture : —

A man, with a family consisting of wife and
little ones, has been straggling on as the apiary
increased, to pay for the necessary hives, &c.,
and each year looking towards the desired
number of colonies he wishes to keep, all the
surplus from the bees which can be spared
from the actual necessities of the family, is
being put into these fixtures fur the apiary.
The goal is in sight, and he comes in some
morning with a smiling face, and says to the
" goodwife " — '•' Next year we shall have all
the bees and fixtures we shall want, except
sections and shipping-cases, and this expense
for hives, &c., we have had heretofore will be
stopped, when I shall be able to get you a
better dress, and the children better clothes,
so they may be more respectable for Sabbath-
school, and, if Providence smiles upon us with
a good honey year, I may be able to have that
luxury I have so long longed for— a small
telescope to study the Avorks of my Father
above in the starry heavens."

The countenances of all are lighted up, as
only such little comforts and luxuries can
lighten them, and a happy looking forward is
the result. The next year burr combs and
daubing and killing of bees are much worse
than usual with the " regulation frames," Avhile
the supply dealers have found out that what
they formerly pushed are not just the thing, so
a change is inaugurated, and in his vexation
over getting off his surplus, our bee-keeper
resolves that, come what will, he never will
stand this thing any longer, so instead of the
nice things which had been planned, the
money from the surplus is all sent off again
to get the thick top-bar frames, which will
overcome the difficulty, and the use of which
requires a general overhauling of all the
hives in the apiary, if new are not bought.

Next, frames at fixed distances looms up,
then a divisible brood-chamber hive, to lessen
the cost of production, and so on, until the
bee-keeper is obliged to put off his long-looked-
for pleasures, year after year, and before
realising them death comes and calls him away.
This is not an overdrawn picture by any
means, for all this has come under my notice
as above described.

In the interests of poor, struggling humanity
I plead for as few changes as possible, and
that none be made until after a trial of several
years, to know whether such change is of
advantage or not. — G. M. Doolittle, in
American Bee Journal.

Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will he attended to, and those
only o/personalinterest will be ansioered in this column.

Busy Bee. — The plant sent is Euphorbia
lathyrus — wild caper, or caper spurge. It
is indigenous to France. It belongs to the
great family of Euphorhiacece, which secrete
a very acrid, milky juice, more or less
poisonous in the different spines. In these
spines the acridity is so far neutralised by
mucilage as to reduce it to a simple purga-
tive and diuretic. The flowers are very
much visited by bees, as they secrete nectar
abundantly. The capsules are sometimes
pickled, but are very inferior to capers
(Capparis), which belongs to another family,
or even to the capsules of nasturtium, which
are perfectly harmless, whereas those of the
wild caper may produce bad results if in-
dulged in too freely.

W. R. N. (Sussex). — Bee Association for
Sussex. — There is now no Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation in Sussex, though in former years
a flourishing one existed there. The time
seems opportune for reviving the flagging
energies of Sussex bee-keepers, and we trust
the appeal of " Kent Bee-keeper '' on another
page of this issue will result in something
being done in that direction.

R. T. — Selling Honey. — The question of long
or short credit is for yourself and the firm
you are dealing with to arrange. Most
persons would think the honey should have
been paid for before now if it is a first
transaction. 2. The firm named is a good and
reliable one for bee-appliances. 3. The
season of 1S94 is generally considered as only
a very moderate one for honey, and in some
districts of the south it has been very poor
indeed.

Thos. Lee (Macclesfield). — Bee boohs for sale.
— The best course for our correspondent
will be to advertise the books for sale in our
" Prepaid Advertisement " column, giving
the dates of publication or naming the
edition, of course. If offered at a low price,
buyers would doubtless be forthcoming.

J. Joxes (Pinner) inquires "how long ought
a winner of a silver medal for honey
to Avait after the show is OA^er before he
receives it?" In reply, we must confess
our entire inability to enlighten our corre-
spondent beyond saying that the secretary
of the shoAv " implicated '' is the most likely
gentleman to answer the question — in this
particular case, anyway.

*^* Correction.— In second column of page
466 in last week's issue — twenty lines from
top — the line '' No. 2 examined on Sunday,
July 1," should read " No. 2 swarmed on
Sunday," &c.

Dec. 6, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

481

(f iitorid, ^ijtir^s, ^t.

COMPULSORY POWERS.

We are led to believe that some
misgivings have arisen in the minds of a
few readers of this journal with regard
to the effect they consider is likely to
folloAv the inclusion of foul brood among
bees in the Contagious Diseases (Animals)
Act. Why any uneasiness — not to say
alarm — should have been occasioned in
consequence, as we understand, of the
observations we felt called upon to make
in our last two issues is not easy to see.
Anyway, there is not the smallest occa-
sion for it, and the fear — entertained, we
are. told, by some — that the " inspector "
will be pulling their hives to pieces,
when supers are being filled, to examine
the brood-combs for foul brood, is not
only groundless, but absurd on the face
of it. Surely it should strike the most
inexperienced among us that no man in
his senses would dream of interfering
with stocks of bees under such circum-
stances. As a matter of fact, compulsory
powers are mainly sought for to meet
extreme cases, where serious damage is
being done to unoffending persons
through the unjustifiable obstinacy of
a few who cannot be called bee-keepers
at all in the true sense of the word. If
foul-brood inspectors are in the future
appointed, they Avill no doubt work much
on the lines of our county experts, who,
as is known, make periodical visits to
members of their respective associations
only at seemly and proper times. What
would be thought, we ask, of a county
expert going to a member's apiary in
July and pulling off storyfied supers
from a big, thriving colony to examine
the brood-combs in order to see if there
was a queen below ? Yet this is exactly
analogous to what our alarmist friends
seem to dread.

There is at present, and always has
been, on the part of many bee-keepers a
decided objection to making known the
fact of foul brood being prevalent among
their bees. This objection, however,
would, we feel quite sure, disappear in a
very short time when the evil was being
effectually grappled with ; and the pre-
ventive measures taken were seen to be

so entirely for the general good. It is
often urged, by earnest friends of the
pursuit, that half measures are useless in
dealing with the disease ; that it must
be stamped out by burning bees and
combs so soon as a stock is seen to be
affected ; some going so far as to insist
on burning hives and all ! But those in
the best position to judge are compelled
to admit that no matter how effective
and desirable such drastic measures may
be to those who regard it from the right
side of the hedge, i.e., a healthy apiary,
it is no earthly use recommending a
course which, in so few instances, is
likely to be carried out.

The value of a good frame-hive and
stock of bees is, to the ordinary bee-
keeper at least, not a matter of small
moment, and Avhen several hives are
simultaneously affected the difficulty of
inducing him to " burn the lot " is pro-
portionately increased. Moreover, our
exceptional opportunities for knowing all
this enables us to realise what it means
better than most folks. But if reason-
able compensation was afforded for any
loss sustained the situation would be
entirely changed, and render compara-
tively easy what is now so difficult to
obtain, viz., permission for a competent
person to decide whether total destruc-
tion or "treatment" is the best course to
follow, and a cheerful acquiescence in the
measures needed for carrying it out.
Just imagine how enormously the diffi-
culties of dealing with foul brood would
be lessened if bee-keepers were all of one
mind on the subject ! Unanimity is,
however, seldom to be had in matters
so directly personal ; and so let us
endeavour to enrol as large a body of
bee-keepers who are " right thinkers " as
our opportunities of putting the matter
fairly and justly will enable us. If we
are blessed with compulsory powers let us
use them as gently as is compatible with
effectiveness in dealing with the merely
careless, but stamp out real hot-beds of
foul brood without mercy, and pay for
the blessed privilege of doing it ! Surely
none but those who object from " pure
cussedness " (as they say in America)
can see ought but right and justice
in this.

AnyAvay we feel quite certain that
those who now regard with alarm the
steps proposed to be taken in the direc-

482

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Dec. 6, 1894.

tion indicated above may dismiss their
fears as entirely groundless, and that
they will themselves admit this on con-
sidering the question fairly and without
personal prejudice.

SPECIAL NOTICE TO OUR
READERS.

We invite attention to the considerable
help it will be to us if readers who are
direct subscribers will kindly peruse the
two paragraphs on inside page of
cover, Avhich relates to the terms
on which Subscriptions and Discon-
tinuances are dealt with. We shall also
be glad if those whose subscriptions
expire with the current year will fill up
the form on second inside page, and
return as early as convenient.

(^ffrmpnd^jtc^.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice vnll be
taken of anonymous cominunications, and correspondents
are requested to torite on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, hut as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shoios, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Revieiv, &c., inust be addressed only to " The
Editors of the 'BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business cominuni-
cations relating to Advertiseinents,(Ssc.,must be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

%* In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

COUNTY ASSOCIATION LABELS.

DO THEY HELP TO SELL GLUCOSE ?

[2 123. J A short time ago, at a local shop of
good repute, I purchased a bottle of honey-
about 1 lb., with screw-top cover — for Is. It
was granulated, and I believe pure English
honey. There was no label on the bottle.
Yesterday I went to the same shop and asked
for another 1 lb, of honey like that I had
before. I took the bottle home, and found it
had not a screw cover, but a cork. Moreover,
it bore a label of the Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation, stating that its contents were
genuine honey I Alas, on sampling the
stuif, I found it was a very nasty glucose.
Of course, not granulated. I took it back
to the shopkeeper, who said he could
not understand why the " honey " was not
good, as he had it from a lady who went in for
the humiess. Fortunately I got a bottle of

the first-named granulated honey in return.
Eeaders may draw their own inferences from
the above facts. My deductions therefrom
are far from satisfactory. A shilling a, pound
for hortey, including the bottle — a labelled
bottle, with evidently adulterated honey !
"What can be done to prevent such mischief ?
If I had been unacquainted with honey, and
had got that bad bottle of glucose at the first
venture for my shilling, I should never have
bought any more. Can we wonder that the
honey trade is poor if such practices are
allowed. I could say more, but I must save
your space. — A Working Bee, Salisbury,
December 1.

[Our correspondent should take steps to
verify his conclusions with regard to the bad
honey (or glucose if it be such) by communi-
cating with the secretary of the association
whose label it bore. One of the strongest
points in favour of labelling the honey of
members by county associations is the facility
it affords for tracing the facts connected with
disputed matters of this kind, and we are sure
the secretary will render every assistance va. this
direction. — Eds.]

EEQUEENINC HIVES.

IS IT NECESSARY ? OR HELPFUL ?

[2124.] 1. Is it really necessary to requeen
hives after the queen has bred two or three
seasons '? I know most bee-keepers think it is,
but this query was suggested by an answer
given by 0. M. Doolittle in the B. B. J. for
November 15 (p. 460), where he asserts that
bees will naturally supersede their queen when
the same becomes too old for profit.

If this query could be well ventilated, and
the opinions of a few of our leading apiarians
got upon the subject, I think the bee-keeping
community would be benefited generally. For
my own part, I have frequently noticed in
hives I have not requeened (when the queens
were four years old, unless they had been
superseded naturally) that these have done
quite as well as hives with queens in their first
and second years. — ■ J. J. Knewstubb,
Brachenber, November 28.

[It is not " really necessary '' to renew
queens at all, seeing that the bees will them-
selves usually depose or supersede such
queens as become old and worthless. At the
same time, we do not consider it good manage-
ment to have queens heading colonies after
" two or three seasons' " service. Mr. Doo-
little's reply quoted dealt with the question of
only keeping one-year-old queens in the
apiary, and we quite agree with him that
" queens in their second year do fully as good
work as younger ones." We think it will be
found very advantageous, however, to pre-
serve all surplus queens available at swarming
time, and utilise them in replacing queens
that have done two years' service. This much

Dec. 6, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

483

may be said without disparaging Mr. Doo-
little's views, for it must be remembered that
the climate of America is more favourable to
apiculture thau ours. Anyway, we think
that a great majority of our leading bee-
keepers in this country agree in viewing
young queens as of the utmost importance in
achieving success. At the same time, we
will welcome discussion on the point in our
pages. — Eds.]

S E L F-H I V E R S.

NOT A FAILURE.

[2125.] Will you kindly permit me to
answer our esteemed friend, Mr. Webster,
through your valuable paper. In speaking
of inventions for queen-trapping, selt-hiving,
&c., in the December Record, he, Mr.
Webster, asks : Has a swarm ever been
caught in one ? I should like to respectfully
inform him that in my own apiary during the
season of 1894 three swarms hived themselves
entirely without any assistance out of four
hives tliat had my self-hives affixed to them,
for full accounts of which I refer him to the
Bee Jourxal of June 7 and July 19. He
will find there recorded the slight hitches that
occurred as well as the successes. The ap-
pliance has since received several alterations,
which I think greatly improve it. At any
rate my opinion of it is such that I am
patenting it. I shall be pleased if Mr. W.
wishes for further proof to send him a photo of
swarm in the " hiver," taken about twenty
hours after the bees had hived themselves. I
can also, if he wishes, send him addresses of
independent eye-witnesses to whom he may
refer. With regard to clipping of queen's
wings, there are hundreds of otherwise good
bee-keepers who cannot pick her out from
among her sisters, even if willing to mutilate
her. — Geo. Wm. Hole, Patcham, iSussex,
November 30, 1894.

BEES IN THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND.

A COSY "nETJCH" for AN APIARY.

[2126.] After examining my hives and
packing up my bees for winter, I set out on a
combined pleasure-and-business trip to the
north. Between Inverness and Aberdeen I
found the season was considered not up to the
average on account of rain. I paid a pleasant
visit to the apiary of Mr. Archibald, who
received me with great kindness, and showed
me round his beautiful and well-kept residence
of Firlands, which is situated in a nice cosy
neuch, protected from the north winds by the
Cluny Hill, about a mile to the south of my
native town of Forres, Morayshire, surrounded
by rich agricultural land, woods, and heather.
The climate is exceedingly dry and salubrious,
the Hydropathic Establishment close by being
well patronised by health-seekers. Mr. Archi-
bald's place is a little paradise, beautifully

situated, the garden and hothouse aglow with
all kinds of rare and beautiful flowers and
plants, everything around displaying taste and
love of the beautiful in Nature.

The apiary is most complete. He believes
in the "Symington" hive, which is com-
paratively rare in the north ; they are made to
open by removing a board the whole height
of the hive, the body boxes (of which there are
two in each) one above the other, and draw
out like drawers, making acce'js very simple
I observed there was about six inches space at
the floor on which were several bits of naphtha-
line. He works chiefly with the extractor,
and this season took as much as 200 lb. per
hive off' several stocks, besides a considerable
quantity of heather honey in sections, which
latter are worked chiefly in " Cowan " hives.
In the store-room I saw hundreds of jars of
beautiful clover honey, of which he gave me a
sample ; there were two large extractors to
hold four frames each, besides all the other
appliances needed in a well-ordered apiary.
In another room is kept a good stock of hives —
new and old — crates, sections, &c. A third
room is specially fitted up as a carpenter's
workshop, furnished with the most modern
and expensive tools, and Mr. W. can use them,
too, for I saw specimens of his handiwork in
hives and various appliances, &c. — indeed,
he is quite a genius in his way. I came away
feeling I had learned something from one who
has " go '' in him and just the man to succeed
iu anything he takes in hand. This is a
splendid bee district.

I saw about twenty bee-keepers in my
journey, the majority, I am sorry to say, are,
however, only bee-keepers in name, taking
little or no interest or trouble with their bees,
and some very much afraid of them. In these
cases all are complaining of the poor district.
While staying in Aberdeen for a few days I
ran up Deeside, and found this a large and
successful field of bee-keepers. When enter-
ing Crathie railway station, I observed quite a
little village of bee-houses, and found the
station-master a shrewd, hard-headed, intelli-
gent man, and a most enthusiastic and successful
bee-hand. He informed me that he had a
good take of honey this season, and that, on
the whole, in Deeside the season was an average
one. I saw his hives, and was struck with the
neat and perfect work, each hive being well-
made of yellow pine an inch thick and highly
finished. He mskes money, he says, by selling
hives, bees, and honey.

When in Perth I saw some fine heather
honey got from the district ; it was sold for
Is. 3d. per lb., and retailed at Is. 8d, The
season in Perthshire was below the average.
Over all heather honey is very scarce.

Regarding the price of honey, I find the
average is Is. per lb. retail for clover, &c., for
heather, Is. 3d. Some bee-keepers complaiii
that they cannot find a ready market for their
produce. I'll give them — in vulgar phrase —

484

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Dec. 6, 1894.

a " tip '' : don't rush your honey into the
martet ; if you do, you are at the mercy of
the buyer, who takes advantage of you, and
gives you 6d. or 8d. per lb. Get private cus-
tomers if you can, who will give you Is. to
Is. 6d. per lb. ; or put a 6d. advertisement into
a local or other newspaper, oflering genuine
clover or heather honey at Is. or Is. 3d. per
lb., and you will find customers. There is
generally a good demand for genuine home
honey. — L, M. Miller, Helensburgh, N.B.,
November 29.

STEALING BEES

[2127.] I have read the British Bee
Journal for about eighteen months past, but
never read or heard of such a case as I am
about to relate. On the night of November 26,
1894, some one came and deliberately carried
off two skeps of bees from my garden, leaving
me with two bar-frame hives. The thieves
broke the skeps away from the floor-boards,
and did not leave a single bee behind, dead
nor alive, so I think it must have been some
one that had handled bees before, or they
would not have done it so clean. The largest
skep was one holding about four gallons, a new
one of my own make. A large swarm was put
in it early in June, nearly filling the skep with
bees. The other was a very old skep^ not
much more than half the size of the first-
named. I think they must have been carried
away some distance in a light cart, as we can't
find any trace of them about here. I fed the
bees up for the winter, giving the largest lot
12 lb. of sugar, and the other 6 lb., made into
syrup, so I think they would get through till
March. Do you think the bees would live
after being exposed to the cold on such a night
as November 26 ? And could they have been
wrapped up and carried away and put on
another floor-board? — T. Austin, Bodiam,
Sussex.

[The thieves would no doubt have a cloth
ready on which to lay each skep when lifted
from the floor-board, and by tying it at the
four corners above the crown of skep no bees
would escape and no harm happen to anyone
but the victim of the theft, viz., yourself. As
the object of the thief or thieves was evidently
not to destroy the bees for the honey in the
combs, but rather to sell the stolen hives,
there is some chance of our correspondent
hearing further of the transaction by inquiry,
as any honest person buying skeps of bees, not
knowing they were stolen, would make their
purchase known if information of the theft is
given to the police authorities. — Eds.]

STAETING BEE ASSOCIATIONS.

[2128.] I should like to inform your cor-
respondent, " Kent Bee-Keeper" (2122, p. 4*72),
in Bee Journal of November 29, that there
is already a county association in Hampshire,

namely, the Hants and Isle of Wight Bee-
Keepers' Association. Surely " Kent Bee-
Keeper " cannot have been a reader of the
British Bee Journal for any length of time,
or he would have seen reports of shows, &c.,
held by the above association, and advertised
in this paper year after year. — H, Eowell,
Hook, near Winchfielcl, Hants.

ESSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

FOUL BROOD AND COUNTY COUNCIL GRANT.

We print the following from the Essex
County Chronicle of Friday, the 30th ult., by
request of the writer, and as bearing upon
what appeared on the same subject in our
issue of last week : —

Sir, — In your last issue there is an account
of the annual meeting of the Essex Bee-
keepers' Association, which I, as a member,
had great pleasure in reading. The chairman
made allusion to the disease among bees known
as bacillus alvei, or foul brood, which any bee-
keeper who has once had it would take every
precaution to stamp out ; and if in his im-
mediate neighbourhood would, I am convinced,
take any amount of time and trouble to check.
Now, Essex is noted as a honey-producing
county, its honey generally is of first-class
quality, and the E.B.K.A. is one of the
most energetic of county associations. It
was the first county in the kingdom to make
application to the County Council for a grant
for technical educational purposes ; and a
grant was given, but I believe under rather
wrong ideas, as an association with thoroughly
practical officials ought to know how best to
use it to the best advantage. But I suppose
the powers having; control of the grant
thought difterently, as I find after the second
grant it is withheld, which I consider a deci-
dedly backward step, for, in other counties, as,
for instance, Lancashire, Cheshire, Berks,
Kent, Northants, Hertfordshire, and others,
it has been continued with, I believe, great
success as regards the way it is applied.

Now, as our expert has given, in his report,
his version of it, I think that what few words
I have to say are not out of place. The
E.B.K.A. send the Record monthly to cottagers
who subscribe 2s. 6d. per annum. It is pub-
lished at 2d. ; then add postage -gd., so there
is his 2s. 6d. at once — to say nothing of
the two visits which are given him every
year from the expert. Surely a county like
this can aftord the paltry sum of £100 for
practical work in the endeavour to give lessons
to the very class I thought it was intended
for when the Government started the tech-
nical scheme. There are a great many who
at present cannot afibrd even that small sub-
scription, and cases of foul brood often occur
— and I know some at the present time. Surely
such people ought to be able to have advice,
and help, if required, to cope with such a

Dec. 6, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

485

disease as that ; as in a single season a whole
district can become tainted. I think, with
the chairman, that until it is made compulsory
to notify all cases to some authority, or until
the County Council Technical authority appoint
some competent person to deal with the disease,
such cases will continue. — A Member.

WEATHER REPORT FOR NOVEMBER,
1894.

Westboubne, Sussex.
I Brightest Day, 17th,
[ 7 "65 hours.

Sunless Days, 10.
I Above average, 30"05
hours.
Mn. Maximum, 49-9°.
Mn. Minimum, 39-4°.
Mean Temperature,

44-6°.
Maximum Barometer,

30-45° on 21st.
Minimum Barometer,
28 -oS" on 12th.

L. B. BiRKETT.

Rainfall, 5 '96 in.
Heaviest fall, 1*54 in.

on nth.
Rain fell on 20 days.
Above average, 2-61 in.
Max. Temperature,

57° on 3rd.
Min. Temperature, 32°

on 22nd.
Minimum on grass, 26°

on 22nd.
Frosty nights, 2.
Sunshine, 91'10 hours.

GARDENERS AND BEE-CULTURE.

At the Club Hall, on Tuesday night,
November 27, Mr. F. Earley presided at the
meeting of the Tunbridge Wells Gardeners'
Association. There was a large attendance.
On the completion of the ordinary business of
the meeting, Mr. Thomas Marsh delivered an
address on " Bees and Bee Culture,'' in the
course of Avhich he gave a mass of information
on a subject evidently new to many members
of the association, ]Mr. Marsh detailed the
history and the fine results of bee labour in
the production of honey. He said all species
of bees were useful to the gardener if not
always friendly to him, for they all aided
in impregnating his flowers, many of which
would otherwise fail in production of either
fruit or seed. Still bees were often injurious
by causing cross fertilisation, and actually
injuring flowers in a garden in their efforts to
get at the honey. The honey bee was the
most actiA'e in this operation, but the bumble
bee and others of the robust species visited
flowers in rough weather when the honey bee
would not venture from the hive. Mr. Marsh
defined and classified the various species of
the bee family and outlined with honeycomb
illustrations the methods of labour in summer
and winter seasons. He said queen bees laid
thousands of eggs daily, and their power of
reproductive energy was wonderful. The
lecturer pointed out the value of honey as an
article of food and luxury. He said it was
important to know that bees not only gathered
honey for their owner, but also brought fruit
into gardens which they visited by fertilising
the blossoms of fruit-bearing trees and plants.

In other ways the bee was useful to gardeners
and might be cultivated with advantage. As
to the old dread of bee-keeping through fear
of being stung, why that was a mere nothing
when one got used to it. The value of home-
made honey in contrast to imports from
abroad was urged as one of the many advan-
tages of bee-culture by gardeners. A dis-
cussion followed the paper. Several questions
having been asked and answered, the lecturer
was warmly thanked for his lucid exposition
of the advantages and otherwise of bee-
farming. On the table were some choice
examples of fruit and flowers exhibited by
members. (Communicated.)

^tttrm m& |lc^lies.

[1217.] Se-qiieening Hives, Queen-Raising.
— I have seven stocks of bees, cross-bred
between Blacks and Oarniolans. I have also
one stock of pure Carniolans, and I wish to
re-queen all the cross-bred bees with pure
Carniolans next year. I purpose to take a
frame from the Carniolan stock and slice it
across, about one-third way down from the top
bar and cut notches in it, so as to join three
cells (worker with eggs in), and insert it into
a hybrid hive, having first made the bees
queenless about twenty-four hours beforehand,
and when they have sealed over the queen-
cells insert them in three-framed nuclei (one
cell in each). Then move the nuclei and the
Carniolan stock a good way off. I have
inserted a frame of worked-out drone-comb in
the centre of the Carniolan brood-nest for the
queen to fill with eggs, and so have a good
supply of Carniolan drones to make sure of
pure fertilisation. (1.) How long after the
comb has been notched will the bees seal over
the cells ? (2.) How long after the cells are
sealed will the queens hatch out ? (3). Had I
better kill off all drones from the hybrid
hives with a drone trap ? (4.) Do you think
this plan will succeed ? I shall be much
obliged if you will answer these questions in
the B. B. J. — R. Batley, Charterhouse, Godal-
ming.

Reply. — 1. Queen-cells are sealed about
the eighth or ninth day from the laying of the
eggs, but the actual number of hours may be
varied a little by the temperature at the time.

2. Queen-cells hatch about the eighth day
from the time they are sealed, or flfteen to
sixteen days from the laying of the egg,
according, as already said, to the temperature.

3. Our advice is to let the drones alone, but to
limit the drone-comb in the brood-nests of all
hives. 4. We do not think the plan proposed
will accomplish the end in view. Having
replied to queries put by our correspondent,
we feel it incumbent upon us to add that
before attempting operations requiring e.x-

486

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[Dec. 6, 1894.

perience, beyond what appears in his ietter, a
reliable book, which treats fully of queen-
raising should be studied, in order that no
mistakes may be made in carrying out
what is proposed. The back numbers
of the Journal for the last few weeks
contain much information on this very
subject of queen-raising, which should be
helpful. It is, of course, impossible in this
column to enter into full details as to what is
necessary in re- queening an apiary, but the
subject requires most careful consideration, or
the end in view, which we take to be the im-
provement of the strain of bees, may be
entirely frustrated. Many bee-keepers prefer
the hybrid Carniolan to the pure variety, and
it requires experience and judgment before
any one can decide a question like this with
advantage. Those who endeavour to improve
their strain of bees usually set to work on
sound, practical, and scientific lines, and on
these lines it is considered " faulty " to raise
from the same mother-bee both queens and
the drones with which the latter are to mate,
and the result would only lead to disappoint-
ment. Again, why speak of moving the nuclei
and the Carniolan stock a good way off ? We
do not know the object in doing this. Ad-
vanced bee-keeping cannot be learnt in a hurry,
and to be successful, esiDecially in such an
undertaking as that proposed, requires the
utmost care and skill, and above all things
requires the operator to learn to " walk "
before he attempts to " run."

[1218.] Best Time for Buying Bees. — I
intend starting bee-keeping next year, and am
reading up Mr. Cowan's admirable book. I
wish to know : — 1. If I can purchase a stock
of bees in March or April, the weather being
very fine, instead of having to wait till the
swarming season, without any harm to the
stock ? 2. Can you furnish me with the names
of the hon. sec. and expert of the Glamorgan
county B. K. A. ? — Kenelm G. Mumbles,
Glamorgan.

Eeply. — 1. March and April are the best
months in the year for buying bees. 2. The
hon. sec. of the G.B.K.A. is Mr. E. Thornton,
Bridgend.

EEMOVING BEES TROM HOLLOW
TEEES.

HOW THEY DO IT IN CALIFORNIA.

Smoke the bees at the entrance to the
hollow. Cut with an axe an opening about
8 in. wide so as to locate the position of comb,
then proceed to cut until you are able to
remove all the comb, transferring the brood
by fitting the larger pieces into frames and
tying with cotton twine as required to hold in
position. After removing the comb, watch
the bees to locate the queen. If allowed time
they will usually form one or two clusters in

which the queen usually is found. Take a
piece of cotton cloth 1 yd. square, fold once in
centre, dip in water, wring dry, covering the
hands with it. Scoop the bees into a hive
with full drawn comb. It is always better
to give some comb or brood, and at times
when there is no honey flow feed at once.

If the inner wood of the tree is much de-
cayed, patience and tact are required to get
the queen. It is often better to allow them to
hang over night after removing comb, ere you
take bees out. We often take bees from a
trunk 10 or 20 ft. above the ground by the
use of a staging. We prefer to do so rather
than feU the tree, especially during warm
weather. By careful management bees are
safely transferred at any time when the tem-
perature is not cold enough to chill them. I
have personally removed more than 100 swarms
during the past five or six years, always with
success.

From 100 to 250 lb. of honey are often
taken, and from buildings in a few instances
as many as 600 or 700 lb. — W. A. Webster,
Kern Co., California.

BEE PAEALYSIS.

WHAT MAY BE DONE TO PREVENT ITS
SPREADING.

Sitting down this morning to carry out my
promise to furnish you with an article on
bee paralysis, I happened to think of a letter
that I had written for the American Bee
Journal, which was not forwarded for the
reason that just as it was finished I saw a
letter from another Southern apiarist refuting
the article referred to by me, and therefore I
did not send it. It contains a description of
the disease, and perhaps you can, by striking
out such parts of it as you choose, make it
serve, or by turning to the back numbers of
the Beb Journal, which I have failed to
preserve, you can fill out the blank in my
letter, and use the article as it is. Having
suftered severely from not recognising the
signs of the disease at first, and being of the
opinion that it is a worse afi^ection than foul
brood, I hope that the bee journals will
familiarise their readers with the subject, and
teach them its dangers. The fact is that I
believe that there is no topic of more vital
interest to apiarists than this. If you take it
up, and institute a systematic inquiry as to
the nature, history, and cure, you will do
more for the cause, and be of greater benefit
to the bee-keepers of the country, than you
could do in any other way.

While on the subject of bee paralysis I
will say that I have tried the sulphur cure,
salt, re-queening, and salicylic acid and
transferring to new combs, and all these
remedies have failed in my experience. There
are of late letters published in the periodi-
cals devoted to bee culture, stating that
sulphur has cured the disease. Last year

Dec. 6, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

487

Mr. Golden and others have reported cures from
the use of salt. Now it is strange that all
these have failed in my hands. The only
explanation that occurs to me is that the
return of warm -weather always makes an
apparent cure, and the reported succes-s of
these various remedies may be due to the
fact that the disease gave way to the approach
of summer weather. I fed one colony on
salted honey for weeks without any appre-
ciable benefit.

Judging from the number of letters pub-
lished during the last two years reporting
cases of bee paralysis, it must be that the
disease is greatly on the increase. North of
the Mason and Dixon line it does not seem
very serious in its effects, but in this latitude
most of the colonies that suffer from it are
worthless to their owner. The colony runs
down in numbers during the honey flow,
which comes in the spring, so that they store
no surplus. It may recuperate in summer and
build up so that the hive is full of bees, but it
all amounts to nothing, as the bees store
nothing but honey- dew during our hot
weather. When cool weather returns the
disease reappears to blast the hopes of the
apiarist again. It would be far better for the
luckless apiarist to lose his bees outright than
to be tantalised by the hopes of a final
recovery.

There are some truths in regard to bee para-
lysis that I regard as settled.

First, the disease is highly infectious. A
queen from a colony that is infected, though
she show no sign of the disease at all, will
infect tte colony into which she is introduced.
Kobber bees will carry the infection. Where
the hives are kept within a foot or two of ^each
other the malady will spread from one to
another until all are diseased. This is eftected,
probably, by the bees, which by mistake enter
the wrong hive.

Secondly, the various remedies so far pro-
posed are wholly ineffectual to produce a cure.
The correct method of procedure clearly is to
destroy the diseased colony, and disinfect the
hive and combs, if the disease is detected, be-
fore it has spread. If it is permitted to remain
in an apiary any length of time it gets a foot-
hold by spreading to neighbouring apiaries,
and to colonies in the woods, so that it will
efiect a permanent settlement in a county, and
thus remain to blast all prospects of success
in apiculture in that locality. This has already
happened in one part of California.

Finally, it is suggested that no queen-
breeder should ship queens from an apiary
that is infected. I took a queen from a
colony that had apparently made a perfect
recovery from the paralysis, and had shown no
signs of the disease for six months, and in-
troduced her into a colony in my brother's
apiary ; and the result was that in a few
months his bees perished from the disease.
As a class, I have found that people who get
interested in bees are morally superior to

the average of men and women. But there
are bad men in the business. The man who
sold me the colony which infected my apiary
persists to this day in asserting that he has
never had bee paralysis in his apiary, and
now I suppose that he is selling queens and
scattering the disease all over the length and
breadth of the land. Every scientilic man,
who is acquainted Avith modern ideas, knows
that there is no such thing as spontaneous
generation, and that an infectious malady like
this has its origin in some germ or bacillus,
and is propagated, like small-pox, from con-
tagion. A conscientious queen-breeder will
not sell queens from an infected apiary. I
propose that the bee journals invite their
readers to report any outbreak of the malady,
and if it comes from a queen purchased from
a breeder, to give his name to the world, so
that he may have no further opportunity to
disseminate contagion through the country.

You will render an untold good to your
readers if you will in-vite communications of
this sort. Probably 99 per cent, of your
readers have no queens for sale, and you will
enlarge your subscription list if you will let
it be known that you wiU undertake the task
of exposing those unscrupulous persons who
have so little conscience as to spread disease
and death in the apiaries of the land. The
various associations ought to take the matter
up, and do everything possible to prevent the
further spread of this malady. The journals
devoted to bee culture should keep the matter
before their readers, and invite communi-
cations from those who have anything of in-
terest to give to their brethren in regard to
this subject. No man should purchase a
queen from a breeder without first inquiring
whether there had been for six months past
any bee paralysis within two miles of the
apiary. If a breeder should then make a false
statement in reply, to the effect that there had
been no bee paralysis in his apiary, and it
should turn out that the queen was infected,
a prosecution for obtaining money under false
pretences might be maintained successfully.
Queen-breeders who are honest, and who have
not got the infection, will find it to their ad-
vantage to add in their advertisements, " There
is no bee paralysis in my apiary." In my
opinion it will not be many years before it will
be impossible to carry on the business without
some assurance of this sort being given to the
purchaser.

Cholera and yellow fever are excluded from
our country by quarantine methods. This has
resulted from an understanding of the nature
and methods of the propagation of these
diseases. There was a time when these visita-
tions were regarded as inevitable and as Provi-
dential. It is now known that they can be
controlled ; and so, if it were understood that
this disease is infectious, and the proper pre-
cautions are taken against the spread of the
disease by bee-keepers at large, it is possible
to prevent its further dissemination.

488

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Dec. 6, 1894.

[Here follows what Mr. Ford originally
wrote for the American Bee Journal, — Editor
£ee-Keepers' Eeview.']

In a late number of American Bee Journal
was an article copied from Gleanings upon the
poisonous character of the pollen of the
Southern yellow jasmine, to which I wish to
call the attention of Southern bee-keepers as
written under an apparent misapprehension.
The writer maintains that the pollen of this
flower is poisonous, and that the bees swell up
and die in great numbers during the period
when these flowers are in bloom. I have not
the article before me, but the readers of the
Journal will probably recall it.

I am aware that many mistakes are made
in the progress of every department of scien-
tific inquiry occasioned by two obstacles :
One is the habit of jumping at conclusions
without sufiicient data upon which to base
them, and the other is the lack of close and
accurate methods of observation, and pa-
tience in verifying and collating them before
accepting them as proven. We are most of
us prone to these mistakes.

It is admitted that one intelligently ob-
served and accurately established fact is
worth a whole volume of theories to the in-
telligent apiarist, who reads the periodicals in
which all find so much pleasure.

Now, in order to enable our friends who
are interested in this subject to get at the
truth as to whether the instincts of the bee
fail to protect her from laying up for the
young of her well-ordered community a food
that is poisonous, and calculated to destroy
instead of preserving it, I propose to submit,
with difiidence, in opposition to the views of
the above writer, that the symptoms of poison-
ing from the yellow jasmine flower, which he
gives on page 182, are precisely the symptoms
of a very contagious disease well known under
the name of bee paralysis, which I have had
in my apiary continuously for three years.
He does not give all the symptoms, but those
that he does give are unmistakable, and
indicate clearly to my mind that he has in his
apiary a disease for which no remedy has yet
been found, and which, in my experience, is a
worse foe to the success of the apiarist in the
South I than the dreaded foul brood. The
attention of this gentleman is invited to the
symptoms of bee paralysis, which are as fol-
lows : The first advent of an infected bee into
a healthy colony is detected by the vigilant
little guard bees, who will be seen pulling and
hauling at the infected individual, striving
with all their might to drag it from the hive,
and gnawing it all over. The suspect in vain
tries to appease the guard by off'ering the con-
tents of the honey sac ; she extends her pro-
boscis at great length, and may be seen
scraping it with her forefeet, but all to no
purpose. The guards get on her back and
gnaw her all over, and use their best efforts to
get rid of her by every means short of using

their stings. At the next stage the infected
bees will be seen stripped of their hair, and
showing a thorax of a bluish-black colour,
which discoloration extends to the greater part
of the abdomen. This loss of hair has been
attributed by some to the effects of the dis-
ease, but a more careful observation has led me
to believe that the bees gradually gnaw all the
hair off of them. These hairless bees will
now be seen to grow emaciated, some of them
being shorter and more slender than natural.
They then will be seen with tremulous wings
shaking and quivering as though palsied.
After a period more or less extended, the third
stage is reached, when the hive is thoroughly
infected and bees begin to appear at the
entrance with their abdomens very much
swollen and distended by thin yellow faeces,
which they sometimes discharge, spotting the
alighting-board with yellow splotches. The
bees appear paralysed, and move with diffi-
culty, while their wings exhibit a character-
istic quivering movement that once seen can
never be mistaken. They now die in the hive
and in the morning they are dragged out by
scores. Soon a heap of dead and rotting bees
will accumulate in front of the affected hive,
and a peculiar disagreeable odour will be
noticed on lifting the hive cover. About this
time the infection becomes so virulent that
bees will begin to drop dead by thousands all
about the apiary. Standing under a wild
peach-tree in bloom at such a time, I have
seen bees with no sign of the disease drop
dead from the flowers. About and in front of
the apiary, bees will be seen to fall with heavy
loads of pollen, and to die instantly. All this
happens, some years, during the height of the
honey flow, and the apiarist feels tempted, after
trying every remedy that he can hear of, to give
up in disgust ; but, as the warm nights come
on, and the honey flow has pa?sed, these
symptoms moderate, and colonies that have
not lost their queens begin to build up again,
and by the middle of summer only an
experienced eye will see any sign of the dis-
ease in most of the colonies. Perhaps one
colony in twenty wiU persist in putting out
a few swollen dead bees each morning, and
will manifest the presence of the enemy
every month in the year. This is bee para-
lysis as I have seen it for three years. It is
much worse some years than others. And
during all this time there will be a few colo-
nies that do not show any signs of the disease
at all. Now, if the writer above quoted were
correct, and these eif ects followed the blooming
of the yellow jasmine, why do not these signs
appear in all the colonies ? Why does one
apiary show this mortality, and another, only
a mile off, show nothing of it ; and finally, if
it is the jasmine flower that does this work,
how is it that this whole series of effects
appear in the North and West, where no
yellow jasmine ever grows ?

In our Southern climate, at least, it is im-
portant for the apiarist to be able to recognise

Dec. G, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAI..

489

the disease when it first appears. He ought
not to rest under the delusion that his bees
are suffering from the consumption of the
pollen of yellow jasmine or from any other
poison, but as soon as the disease is observed,
he ought to isolate the affected colony by
moving it to a distance. And if he does not
wish to take the radical measure of stopping
the spread of it by killing out the bees, he
ought at least to watch it carefully, and the
moment the robber bees begin to assail the
weakened community, he ought to make away
with it at once, because, beyond all doubt,
robber bees do carry the infection home with
them.

There is no excuse for the length of this
article except the importance of the subject,
and my desire to prevent others from suffering
the loss that has fallen to my lot, from not
being able to recognise the disease at the
outset. — T. S. Ford, in Bee-keepers' Bevieiv
(American).

[The above article is interesting, though of
less actual importance to bee-keepers in this
country than in America. Bee paralysis — or,
as it is sometimes termed, the " nameless bee
disease," from the fact of its being long known
to exist without having any special designa-
tion— is not by any means so prevalent or so
evil in its effects among bees in this country.
The curious part of it is that the malady
usually breaks out in strong colonies, and
sometimes cures itself without help on the
part of the bee-keeper. The ordinary course
taken to cure it is removal of the queen. —
Eds. B.B.J .]

Noticesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufac-
turers or corresporedents, or where appliances can be
purchased, or replies giving such information, can only
be inserted as advertisements, the space devoted to
letters, queries, and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to bear in mind that, as it is
necessary for us to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of their communica-
tions.

* ^* Errata. — In the reply to Busy Bee
(pige 489 of last issue), the word "spines"
which appears on sixth and seventh lines
should, in^both cases, have been species.

Geo. Webb (Swindon). — Artificial Comb. —
1. A German manufacturer has invented a
machine for making combs with full depth
worker cells, but we don't think it is on the
market for sale ; nor would it be likely to
help you if it could be bought, on account
of its probable high price. 2. We should
not advise transferring the bees from skeps
to frame hive in February. It would neither
be wise nor safe to do so.

Delroy (West Hartlepool).— JBees as Incu-
bators.— 1. For particulars as to exams, for
experts' certificates write to the sec. of the
B.B.K.A., Mr. Huckle, King's Langley,
Herts. All that we know of arranging bee-
hives as incubators appeared in our issue of
October 18 last, to which please refer.

Castle Hill {kdd'mgton).— Location for a
Large Apiary. — The proposal to keep a
large number of hives with the view of
making them a business success is too
serious a one to entertain without full con-
sideration of all the points involved. Nor
have we sufficient personal knowledge of
the districts round London to name a place
likely to answer the purpose beyond saying
that twenty to thirty miles away would be
quite near enough to London, and fifty miles
away would be better still. There are good
districts in Kent for early or fruit honey,
but white clover is rather scarce in that
county. Sussex is better for clover, but not
so good for fruit bloom, while for heather,
Surrey is perhaps the best, but not very
good at that. Your desire for "a good
clover district with heather within reach " is
one all bee-keepers share, but such places
are not too plentiful, and we certainly know
of none near London. Perhaps some reader
located within thirty miles of town will give
our correspondent the benefit of his views
on the subject. It should be borne in mind,
however, that keeping a few stocks of bees
successfully is a very difterent aftair to
establishing a large apiary for profit, to do
which only a location with the most favour-
able surroundings should be selected.

H. B. B. (Putney).—!. "The Guide Book,"
which may be had from this office for Is. 8d.
post-free, will furnish all the information
desired. 2. Various kinds of hives are de-
scribed and illustrated in the above, and
you will be able to see those preferred by
prominent and experienced bee-keepers, and
judge for yourself as to the best. 3. Bees,
if managed properly, may be kept withou*
danger to young children or to any one.

W. Snell (Eggersford).— 5c6 Plants.— 1. The
various Daphnes all produce more or less
honey, but you do not say which kind is
referred to. 2. There are also several
varieties of Escallonias, EscaUonia Macrantha
being a special favourite with bees. 3.
The° word " Japonica " simply means
Japanese, and is used as an affix to desig-
nate a Japanese flower or shrub, of which
there are many kinds which produce honey.
We must therefore have the full name be-
fore we can reply. It may, however, be
stated generally that although the plants
referred to produce honey they are not
grown in sufficient quantity to be regarded
as practically having any appreciable
influence on the honey-crop in this country.

490

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Dec. 6, 1894.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, «fec. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence; for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

B

EAUTIFUL HONEY in bottles and in bulk. Sample
3d. Thomas Charles, Much Marcle, Glos. p 71

INDIAN GAME COCKERELS, 10s. ; PULLETS, 6s.
Erayne's strain direct. E. D. Till, Eynsford,
Kent. s 78

-j ^CWT. Splendid EXTJRACTED HONEY, Sainfoin and
-•- Clover, 7d per lb. T Pollen, Ramsbury, Hunger-
ford. F SI

FOUNDATION MILL.— WANTED, a Second-hand
FOUNDATION MILL. Apply, Peescott, Poplar
Bank, Huyton, Liverpool. F 82

WALLFLOWERS.— Fifty strong PLANTS, Is. 3d.
free. Address, GAT, Edmondsham, Cranborne,
Salisbury. F 61

LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, 8d., post free
600, 23. 9d., post free. W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury

WANTED, HONEY IN BULK ; cash down ; pure
clover ; sample with price ; and USE MY HONEY
RECIPES to increase your local sale. GEO. Stocks,
Sandiway. p 72

FOR SALE, Good WELSH HONEY; about 501b.
Clover Honey ; also 50 lb. Heather. Samijle 3d.
John Evans, Caepwllhaelog, Llaneugan, Pwllheli, North
Wales. F 80

SPLENDID QUALITY HONEY. Two Tins, 70 lb. in
each ; on rail at 7d. per Ih. Tins returnable. 400
Breffit's 1-lb. Screw-Capped .Tars, on rail at 8s. 6d. doz.
A. Simpson, Mansfield Woodhouse, Notts. p 79

TO HIVE MAKERS.

GOOD PINE PLANKS.

Largest Stock in London.
VERY DRY, SOUND, CHEAP.

For price lists, apply, COBBETT CO., Virginia-road,
Bethnal Green, London, E.

is the Oldest Es-
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the United
Kingdom
wholly devoted
to Bees and

manufacture of Bee-keepers' supplies. His prices will
compare most favourably with those of any other Maker,
while for quality of material, suitability and workman-
ship he has no rival.

A large consignment of the beautiful

"FALCONER" SECTIONS,

both i bee-way and 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct importation.
Price 2/6 per 100 ; cut to receive Foundation, 3/- per 100.
By Parcel Post, 1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which "contains more practical and reliable hints
than all the large, expensive books," post free for
2d. stamps.

Address S.J. BALDWIN, The Apiary , Bromley, Kent.

N.B ~Mors than 500 Silver and Bronze Medals, First and

other Prizes, and Testimonials innumerable.

BALDWIN'

THE BEST WINTER FOOD.

GREENHILL MEDICATED CANDY

This Candy is made of Pure Cane Sugar and
Honey (medicated with Naphthol Beta).

4s. 6d. per doz. Cakes, 2s. 6d. per half-doz.

J. S. GREENHILL,

80, GEAHAM ROAD, WIMBLEDON.

(27 Yea;- with G. Neighbour & Sons.)

FIRST PRIZE EXHIBITS AT CAMBRIDGE

AND GRIMSBY.

Feeders have taken FIRST PRIZE

at the last three Royal Shows.

PRICES— No. 1, 2s. ; No. 2, 3s. LISTS Fees.

W. P. MEADOWS

SYSTON, ^;^L LEICESTER,
ENGINEER and IRO^HiiiONGER,

— "WHOLESALE —

MANUFACTURER OF BEE APPLIANCES.

SPECIALITIES in WOOD or METAL for ANY TRADE.
PATENTS WORKED OUT.

EE-KEEPING, its Excellence and
Advantages. Price 3cl. BritishBee Journal

and Record Office, 17, King William Street,

Strand, London, W.C.

Its Economical Uses & Conversion into Money.

By J. OENNLER,

Author of "Honey as Food," "Honey and its Uses.
Translated from the German, and Edited by

THOS. W. COWAN, Editor of "British Bee Journal."

Illustrated, price Sid., post free.

"BRITISH BEE JOURNAL" AND "RECORD" OFFICE,

King William St., Strand, London, W.C.

NEW
CATALOGUE
POST-FREE.

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POTTERS
BAR,
MIDDLESEX.

Dec. 13. 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

491

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — Quite up to date of
writing, dull, cold weather has been the
rule ; but, so far, we have experienced no
winter as the term is usually understood.
The bees, too, have been singularly quiet
with US for several weeks now ; more so
than we have seen them during much
colder seasons in the past. A good
general " turn out" for a day would just
now be a cheering sight to bee-keepers,
and be very beneficial to the bees them-
selves, before settling down for a long
spell indoors during the inevitable frost
in front of us.

Profit from Comb-euildincx. — A
correspondent — who, when he writes,
usually has something of interest to con-
vey— offers a hint worth noting. He
says : —

"Referring to the correspondence I
have seen in the Bee Journal as to what
bees will do in the Avay of comb-building
early in the year in south-eastern counties,
could you not suggest a new source of profit
to bee-keepers, viz., the building of combs
on shallow-frames in the south-east to be
sold to bee-keepers located in clover
counties, and by them sent to heather
districts for refilling, after the clover
honey has been extracted 1 "

This is a chance of profit Avorth thinking
out, and if frames of comb can be pro-
duced at a moderate price per dozen, it
might develop a good and reliable trade
between bee-keepers. It Avill, of course,
be necessary for the "moor-man" to
renew his heather combs each year, but
he has a set-off in the value of the wax
from the "pressed" combs. Combed
sections might also be produced and sold
in the same way with mutual advantage.

Foul Brood and " Compulsory
Powers."— The interest taken in this
dual question is, we are glad to
see, finding expression in various
directions, and the views of all Avho
are interested will be of great ser-
vice in eh\cidating what it is most
desirable should be known. Several
references to the subject will be found
in our pages this week, and we hope to
have still further information supplied,
and discussion thereon. If correspon-

dents located in what are known as foul-
broody districts would but send on parti-
culars of the hardships suffered, and the
injustice done them through the im-
munity with which diseased, and con-
sequently valueless, stocks of bees may
now be kept, in spite of the protests of
those injured, it would do much in
directing the " policy " of the future.

We trust the fact will not be over-
looked that, so far as the influence of the
Britlsh Bee Journal goes, injustice to
none will be advocated, the cottager
claiming from us a specially large share
of consideration. But Avhat sense of
reason or justice is there in whole dis-
tricts of some counties being regarded
Avith suspicion, and the value of stocks
and SAvarms for sale purposes very mate-
rially lessened — to go no further — just
because there are neighbouring apiaries
Avhere neglect and consequent disease is
knoAvn to exist 1 What about the in-
justice to those who do their very
utmost to keep their bees clean
and in good health, and yet have
their efforts paralysed in the Avay
indicated 1 Whatever is done Avill, we
trust, be done Avell, and no bee-keeper —
be he cottager or otherAvise — will need
to fear any Avrong being done him,
because none but diseased stocks Avould
be destroyed, and such stocks are of no
value to any one. If this is denied, let
us ask, firstly, Avho among us, Avho is
"Avise," Avould set down a foul broody
stock among his healthy bees if it was
offered him as a gift ; and, second, Avhat
but compulsory powers can be of any
avail in such cases as have been and are
being described in our columns 1

It is an interesting and curious coinci-
dence to note how our bee-keeping
brethren on the opposite side of the
globe are — not Avithout good reason, Ave
may be sure — taking action concurrently
with ourselves on the same question, and
much on the same lines ; for Ave just
learn that a special meeting of the
council of the National Bee-keepers'
Association was held at the Technical
College, Sydney, for the purpose of
drafting a bill to be introduced into
Parliament to deal with foul brood and
other diseases in bees. The acts in force
in NeAv Zealand and South Australia
were considered seriatim, and several
amendments Avere made Avith a vieAV to

492

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [Dec. 13, 1894.

meeting local requirements. It was
decided that the measure should be
intituled the Contagious Diseases Among
Bees Act ; that under it inspectors, who
should he bee experts, should be
appointed. A deputation was appointed
to wait upon the Minister for Mines and
Agriculture for the purpose of requesting
him to introduce the bill.

Bees and Eed Clover. — The same
agency which reports the above action of
bee-keepers in Australia also sends a
suggestive bit of news bearing upon the
question of the supposed capability of
the Ligurian bee in fertilising red clover,
an office which, owing to some fable as to
its sliorter tongue, the common brown or
black bee is considered by some to be
incapable of fulfilling. Here is what the
Sydney Mail says : —

" With a view to perpetuating red
clover in the colony, the New South
Wales Agricultural Department has im-
ported from New Zealand a number of
bumble-bees, which are the only insects
which readily fertilise red clover and
enable it to seed freely. The bumble-bee
was acclimatised in New Zealand some
years ago, after much trouble and ex-
pense, with the result that red clover
has been made permanent there."

Now the point of the above lies in the
fact that Ligurian bees were taken over
to New Zealand in large numbers some
years ago to fertilise red clover, and so
render unnecessary the importation of
seed to the colony. But after exhaustive
trials they had to fall back upon our old
friend the British Bombiis, or bumble-bee,
which is now being carried over to
Australia to do what no hive bee can do,
viz., fertilise red clover, as we have all
along maintained.

IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

GOVERNMKNT AID FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF
APICULTURE IN IRELAND.

The committee met on the 4th inst.. Dr.
Traill in the chair. A letter was read from the
Agricultural Department of the Land Com-
mission, stating that the Congested Districts
Board are prepared to grant £200 for the im-
provement of apiculture in their districts
during 1895, provided that a satisfactory
scheme for the proper expenditure of that sum
is submitted to and approved by them. The
letter also contained suggestions for such a
scheme, which were carefully considered, and
it is hoped that satisfactory results may be
hereafter reported.

Messrs. Edmondson Bros., of 10, Dame-

street, Dublin, having kindly oflFered to receive
subscriptions for the association, it was resolved
that subscriptions may be paid either to them
or to the hon. sec. and treasurer, Mr. Chevenix,
15, Morehampton-road, Dublin.

HONEY IMPORTS.

The total value of honey imported into
the United Kingdom during the month of
November, 1894, was £766. — From a return
furnished by the Statistical Office, H.M.
Customs.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. Ko notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for JReoiew, <i;c., must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the 'BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All bitsiness communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, (i;c.,7nust be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

*,* In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents ,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[2129.] Here we are in the middle of De-
cember, and the weather still open and mild ;
in fact, the past fortnight, since the heavy
rains, nas been almost spring-like. We are
situated on the hills, so that we suffered no in-
convenience from the water after the rains
were over, though I have heard of some bee-
keepers living in the Thames valley whose
bees have perished by drowning in the
floods.

I notice our " Editorial " of last week was
on the compulsory powers which may possibly
in the near future be placed in the hands of,
shall I say " foul-brood inspectors " 1 The
noisome pest requires putting down, but if our
craft is advanced enough to require the strong
arm of the law to regulate the matter is
another question. The law Avill deal hardest
with the poorest in this as in other matters—
as in swine-fever, for instance, the poor man's
one little pig is slaughtered ; it is his all. So
with the little apiary of the poor cottager,
when that is condemned to the fire it will
be his all, and the law that does not
render him full compensation will not
deal justly with the man (at least in my
opinion). This raises other thoughts. What
of Blow's new remedy for foul brood 1 (vide
the outside front page of B..J.) numerous
■unsolicited testimonials —in italics; this, I
take it, signifies that the remedy has proved a
remedy in the hands of his customers. I have
not seen the solution known as "The New

Dec. 13, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

493

Remedy," but in a communication a few weeks
back Mr. Blow enclosed what is evidently a
label used on his bottles. It reads, " Mix
1 oz. of the solution to 12 pints of .syrup ;" in
severe cases double the quantity may be used,
then it may be advantageously used for spray-
ing the combs, scrubbing out the hives —
likewise stating that usually a perfect
cure results within one month. If this
statement can be borne out by bee-keepers,
who have had the disease and applied the
remedy, we are within measurable distance
of a clearance of the pest without the destruc-
tive and impoverishing element, fire ! By
resorting to open-air feeding, the remedy can
be easily fed to all the bees in the neighbour-
hood by using very thin syrup and the double
quantity as recommended, also by giving the
remedy to the poorer members of the craft, or
preparing their bee-food for them, they find-
ing the sugar and remaining while the food is
prepared. Some thirty to forty years ago bee-
stealing was common around this district, more
than one tale I have heard of how the robbers
got a severe stinging and thus disclosed their
identity. Also how one cottager robbed
another of his bees, stool and all, to replace a
stock that had died, and then in the spring,
the thief asking the cottager, whom
he had robbed, to " come in and have
a look at one of his stocks which did
not seem to work like the rest,'' and, behold !
on the stool was the very plate with which the
robbed cottager had fed his bees early in the
autumn, and had forgotten to remove it ! The
said plate was a special pattern in the pottery
art. This " spotted " the thief at once.
While on this subject, I may say that I have
had my doubts of the super-clearer proving an
unmixed blessing to bee-keepers, from the
very fact that it places our produce in the
best possible form and place for a thief. As a
guard against the marauder, it will be well
to be fore-armed. Place them on in the
morning and remove your honey in the
evening to a place of security greater than an
easily-opened hive, often as far removed from
the habitation of the apiarist as is practical —
in some out-of-the-way corner of the garden.

I should be the last to say a word in favour
of poor or bad honey being put on the market,
but possibly the honey purchased by " Work-
ing Bee" (^12,3, p. 482) was honey that had
been overheated. The cork, if a tight-fitting
one, is far more preferable than a screw-cap
and a thin disk of cork inside. There are so
many grades, and qualities, and flavours in
honey, dei:)ending principally on the source
from which it is gathered, secondly, on the
method of storage and place in which it is
stored, and somewhat on the cleanliness of the
operator and his utensils used in handling and
storing. The reducing of honey in a crystallised
state in a large tin to the consistency required
to get it into small bottles needs care and prac-
tical supervision during the melting, or the
flavour is lost, and a burnt-sugar flavour is im-

parted— I term it a "cooked flavour.'' This
reduces the value considerably in the hands of
any purveyor who knows what good honey is ;
therefore, I should always advise bee-keepers
in a small way, who have no facilities for deal-
ing with bulk, to put their honey into the
size packages their trade demands early in the
season before granulation begins, and store
same in a dry place till wanted for their
customers.

I am glad to hear self-hivers have been suc-
cessful ; may the inventors improve them till
they are perfect. What I have always con-
tended is that if they will keep the colony of
bees together during the absence of the bee-
keeper, they will have proved a gi'eat help.
No doubt the queen trap will do this, but that
precludes the swarm from clustering with the
queen if they are so inclined, therefore the
self-hiver is an advance on the queen trap,
even if is only an enlarged trap. — W. Wood-
ley, Beeclon, Newbury.

DOUBLE V. SINGLE-QUEENED
HIVES.

MR. wells' REPGllT OF SEASON '94.

[2130.] The report of my bee-doings for the
year 1894 is, as usual, late, partly owing this
time to want of time, and, for the rest, through
delay in collecting particulars from the dif-
ferent apiaries in my own immediate neigh-
bourhood, as I consider that my report would
be of small value with the doings of my
neighbours lefc out. In fact, comparison
between the difi'erent methods of working bees
in one and the same locality is in my mind the
all-important question. Most of your readers
are no doubt aware that '94 has been about as
bad a season for bees in Kent as the worst on
record ; that being so, they will not be sur-
prised at my short crop this year. I do not
complain ; yet it is short in comparison with
other years since I have adojDted the two-
queen system. It must not be supposed that
all bee-keepers in my own district have been
converted into " Wellsites," as it is far from
that ; at the same time, I have met with
sufficient encouragement to make me con-
tinue to advocate my present plan of
working bees. But, as 1 have so often
said, it is of no use for persons to think
that they can succeed with my plan by
simply putting two queens into one hive,
and leave them to do just as they like after-
wards. In that case they might almost as
well stick to the old straw skep. We have
some in this district who will hear of nothing
but the skep as a bee-hive ; moreover, they
declare that honey from skeps is stronger and
better than that taken from frame-hives. One
bee-keeper of my acquaintance bought two
frame-hives, which were prepared and stocked
for him with swarms from his own skeps.
These two hives were managed for their owner
free of cost for several years. He was always
very pleased with the beautiful lots of honey
taken and handed over to him, and returned

494

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Dec. 13, 1894.

thanks for labour bestowed on the bees and
hives (thanks being all that was expected or
required), yet he would do nothing for these
frame-hives himself, but simply left them to
manage themselves, and, of course, in time
they were bee-less and empty. He now uses
nothing but straw skeps, and I quite commend
him for so doing, a skep being the only suit-
able hive for such bee-keepers. But I am
getting wide of the subject, so to return to my
report.

In the spring of this year I resolved to have
only eight double - queened stocks instead
of ten (of course I have no single stocks)
as I began to fear that my neighbourhood was
rather over-stocked with bees for so poor a
district for honey. The weather also was bad
during the fruit blooming season, and I got
but little from that source. The next thing
we depend upon in rotation is trefoil clover, of
which there was a very fair lot grown this
year ; but it is mostly cut too soon for the
bees to take full advantage of it, and as the
weather continued unfavourable very little was
gathered from that. Then follows about twenty
acres of sainfoin, growing a mile or so from my
apiary ; but this, unfortunately, is usually cut
before it gets in full bloom, much to the regret
of us bee-keepers ; still, the bees worked well
on it for three or four days. We have no
white clover about, and I know of but a single
lime-tree, located nearly half-a-mile away.
After this there is very little forage from which
surplus honey is to be got. I grow, however,
some "Chapman honey- plant," borage, melli-
lotus, and hepieter mussura, to maintain a little
bloom, and keep the bees in good breeding trim
as long as desirable.

I cannot tell you what has been taken from
my best nor my worst hive, not having kept a
separate account of them ; but there was not
much choice, all yielding pretty even in
quantity. I had two swarms, and by utilising
the queen-cells and making nuclei I am well
supplied with young queens. Not finding
much demand for section honey, I work mosily
for extracted, and from my eight hives I
took 72 1-lb. sections and 52-4 lb. of
extracted honey, making a total of 596 lb.,
together with 24 lb. of wax.

The above figures give an average of 74j lb,
of honey, and just 31b. of beeswax per hive
(most of the honey is sold). My financial
position in account with the bees for this year
(1894) is as under : —
72 ]-lb sections comb honey, at

lid. each .£3 6 0

5241b. extracted honey, at 8id. ... 18 11 2
24 lbs. beeswax, at 23

Total

Deduct expenditure during the
year

Balance for labour ... £19 16 2
Showing the net pro8.t to be a fraction over
£2. 9s. 6d. per hive. I have also four strong

2

8

0

24

5

2

4

9

0

nuclei with young queens, all of which I am
wintering in one hive, with the thin, soft wood,
perforated-dummy between each lot. These
may be useful in the spring in case of the loss
of queens during the winter months, which
bee-keepers are always subject to. I think,
Messrs. Editors, you will agree that I have
done fairly well with my bees this year, taking
all things into consideration.

Anyway, it is a plain statement of my own
bee-doings for this year, and I have en-
deavoured t) make it perfectly accurate. I
will now give you particulars of some of my
neighbours' doings in bee-keeping.

The first — which I will call No. 1 — is a
skeppist, and lives about a quarter of a mile
from me, and that much nearer to the sainfoin.
In the spring he had four stocks, and during
the summer got six swarms. At end of
the season he declared he would only feed
three of his ten skeps, so I bumped the other
seven for him, and he got about G lb. of honey
from the lot — certainly less than 1 lb. per skep.
I gave the three skeps — which it was decided
to keep, and which had 5 lb. of stores — 10 lb.
of soft candy pushed between their combs, as
it was too late in the season to give syrup.
The owner may get about 2 lb. of wax from the
combs taken from the skeps which were
bumped. I also found light cases of foul
brood among his stocks.

No. 2 apiary is nearly close to No. 1. The
owner had in the spring but one frame-hive
(no skeps), and the bees being aftected with
foul brood died out about Michaelmas time.

No. 3 is about one mile away from me, and
his bees are only separated from the 20 acres
of sanfoin by the road ; he is also a skeppist,
and started the year with four skeps, from
which he had five swarms. At the proper
time I bumped five skep? for him, all healthy
lots ; I estimated his honey at 7 lb. per skep.
He has gone into winter quarters with four
stocks.

No. 4 began with three frame-hives, and
during the season took 20 1-lb. sections of
comb honey (no extracted) ; had to feed 30 lb.
sugar, got two swarms, and has five stocks
for winter.

No. 5, one frame-hive (no skeps), no honey
taken, had one swarm, fed 10 lb. sugar, and is
wintering two stocks.

No. 6 began with one frame-hive, took 21
1-lb. sections of honey, no swarm?, no feeding,
and no increase.

No. 7, one frame-hive, no honey taken, one
swarm, fed 30 lb. sugar, and has two stocks
for winter.

No. 8 began with two stocks in frame-hives,
21 1-lb. sections taken, no swarms, fed 20 lb.
sugar, no increase.

No. 9, apiary, spring count, six frame-hives,
took 15 1-lb. sections, no swarms, no feeding,
lost one stock through foul brood, five stocks.

No 10 had in spring three frame-hives, 12
1-lb. sections taken, some feeding required ;
winters three stocks.

Dec. 13, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

495

No. 11 betjan with two frame-hives, no
honey taken, feeding required, no increase.

It will be seen that twelve skeps have been
"taken up" for honey, and that they pro-
duced among them 41 lb., an average of nearly
3h lb. each, but 10 lb. of sugar has been given
to the skeps now in stock, an average of I4 lb.
each. I have also dealt with twenty frame-
hives — all siogle-queeaed stocks — from which
89 lb. of surplus honey has been taken,
being an average of nearly 4^ lb. par hive.
Bat 90 lb. of sugar had to be given as food for
the bees, an average of just 4i lb. per hive, or
a trifle above the amount of honey taken.
Much more food will also be required to keep
them alive until the honey flow commences
next year.

There are several more apiaries near me, but
the information obtainable is not very reliable,
no account having been kept. But I
have good reason to believe tliat they have
done no better than their neighbours. I am
also sorry to say that in one of these apiaries —
Avith four stocks in frame-hives — the bees were
drowned in the recent floods. There are also
reasons to fear that many of the above are
affected with foul brood. The above account
of my neighbours' bee-doings may be con-
sidered very brief, but it is sufficient for a com-
parison betweeo the diff'erent ways of working
bees, both in skeps and in frame-hives, with
but one queen in each of them, and those
in frame - hives with two queens in each
hive. I have received several letters from
bee-keepers in which they state that the
difi"erence between their single and their
double-queened stocks is greater than those
shown here, though I have no authority to
make them public ; but if the writers would
report direct to the Bee Journal, I, for one,
should be very pleased to see it in print. I
have purposely omitted names, &c., of owners
of the apiaries enumerated above, but in case
any of your readers would care to test the
fairness or accuracy of the statements made, I
will be very pleased to furnish names, &c., on
being told the number of the case they would
like to inquire into.

I must not omit to say that I have also had
to give my bees 192 lb. of sugar to make them
safe till spring, the cost of which is, of course,
included in my year's expenditure. I think
the above account gives another proof that a
hive with two queens in it, if properly
managed, will pay much better than either
skeps or frame-hives with but one queen in
each.

With the season's best wishes to all bee-
keepers, and hopes tor a succtssful 1895. — G.
Wells, At/Iesford, Kent, December 10.

AMONG THE BEES.

SELF-HIVER.S — MISSING CONTRIBUTORS.

[2131.] Thank goodness ! I am free from
Parish Councils (I believe I have got P.O.
stamped indelibly on my brain in large

capitals) just for a few days until that
momentous question— the poll — comes before
the excited electorate of this my parish. Not
until to-day have I had time to scan the pages
of the last two issues of the B.B.J., and in
the latest I notice Mr. G. W. Hole's letter
(2125, p. 483) re self-hivers. Now, directly I
read it, I hunted up the numbers of the
B.B.J, referred to, and found those two letters
of his, which ought, in all conscieuce, to have
created quite a furore in the bee-keeping
world. Three swarms, and each of them hived
themselves quite nicely ! Well, that's what I
call — and everybody else, I .should think— a
first-class percentage of successes, and ought
to be chronicled in big letters.

Now, friend Hole, What's the self-hiver
like ? Is it expensive to make ? Is it simple ?
If you can answer these two latter questions
in the affirmative just you pxtent it, or you
will find yourself situated as I have been quite
a few times before ; that is, others will reap
the fruits of your genius. This is rather selfish
talk on my part, but it seems to have become
inculcated into my system by experience.

It is very kind of you to offer me a "photo"
of the swarm in the hiver. I should very
much like to have one, and so will thank you
in anticipation.

Now, during the winter months is the time
to study those devices which have proved
themselves of worth during the past season.
This brings me to observe that I have noticed
how the communications in the B.B.J. — in
fact, in all other bee journals, British and
foreign — lack somewhat during the dark
months of right down attractive matter in the
correspondence department, such as this ques-
tion of self-hivers. Why cannot our bee-
keeping friends hunt up a few experiences
over which we can have a little " argufying,''
which, when properly conducted, is sure to
bring edification. Now, do try, some of you
amateurs, to tell us " professionals " something
that we do not know— or that you think we
do not know. Excuse the latter little bit of
apparent self-assurance ; it's not meant to be
in the least assumptive.

But to return to self-hivers. Of course
everyone knows the "Alley dione-trap";
this, I think, was the first step towards a pre-
sumed solution of the self-hiving difficulty.
I suppose that is somewhat of the plan of Mr.
Hole's self-hiver — the principle being to have
the entrance to hive covered with a box of
excluder zinc, from which the workers can
escape, but the mother-bee cannot, a way
being left for her to go into another compart-
ment, with the expectation of the swarm
following. Most of these contrivances have
been failures, Tso there must be something
different in Mr. Hole's hiver. Well, after he
has protected it, I hope he will let me see one.
I will then try it in my home apia,ry, and, as I
run over seventy colonies in that apiary, most
of them are never supered, it will have plenty
of work cut out for it.

496

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Dec. 13, 1894.

"Amateur Expert." — "Welcome again to
these columns. But don't let it stop at just one
" show " before the curtain ! The footlights
are turned up full bright, and the audience
packed from pit to " gods." It seems but
yesterday, though now some years ago, that
you and I were one sunny day just about this
time of the year watching the flight of bees
from your hives in that pretty village home of

yours in shire. I seem ''a bit lonesome

like." Where is " R. A, H. G." and his close
connection " Xtractor " 1 Where is the " thin-
walled-hive " bee-keeper in south-east Yorks,
and the big bee-keeper in Glamorganshire 1
Silent ! Well, I suppose it's the way of the
world — the young ones come forward and
" crowd out " the old un's. When will it be
my turn ? — W. B. Webster, Binfield, Berks,
December 10.

BEE ASSOCIATIONS.

now TO MAKE THEM SUCCEED.

[2132.] Referring to 2128, p. 484, in last issue,
I apologise for my mistake and thank Mr.
Rowell for his correction. I have now, for-
tunately, been able to refer to the " Hants and
Isle of Wight B.K.A. Report for 1892," and
there I see Mr. Rowell's name among the sub-
scribers, but comparatively few Hants bee-
keejpers follow his good example — few, I mean,
considering the richness of the county as a
field for bee-keeping and as a field for funds.
Subscriptions in 1892 were under £20, plus
£2. 10s. 9d. contribution from a branch run by
a separate committee at Swanmore, collecting
and dispensing about £10 of its own local
subscriptions. I venture to suggest an amalga-
mation of the two committees, presided over
by an energetic bee-keeper as sole secretary at
a central or accessible part of the county.
Hon. local secretaries should be added in the
parishes as fast as the opportunities occur. I
do not see a single subscriber in the Isle of
Wight, nor any record of operations there, so
that the words " Isle of Wight " could be well
dispensed with. " The Hampshire B.K.A."
would be far the best title, and fit with the
rest of the counties. I subscribe 5s. a year to
my County (Kent) Association, and receive
gratis (amongst other privileges) on the first of
every mouth a copy of the Record — with a
special cover containing Kent news {i.e., bee-
keeping news of the county), as do also 350
other subscribers. Some 4,000 copies of their
monthly Bee Records have been thus posted
to members gratis this year. Our secretary
tells us that we have 100 more subscribers
than we had last year, and he hopes to get 100
more in 1895, thus making distinct advances
every year. I admire his hopefulness, for it
is utterly impossible in the present day to
expect progress (whether it be a B.K.A. or any
other *' A ") unless the thing is conducted with
zeal on strictly business principles. In other
words, as a good tradesman would conduct his

business— he must "push" in order to pro-
gress. I do hope that the " Hampshire
B.K.A." will reap abundantly from the grand
opportunity which will be aff'orded next year
in the visit of the " Royal Counties " to
Bournemouth. I also hope Mr. Rowell will
accept my criticisms in good part. I thank
him sincerely for his. — Kent Bee-Keeper.

COUNTY ASSOCIATION LABELS

and glucose selling.

[2133.] I believe the Berks is the nearest
county association using an official label to
your correspondent," A Working Bee " (2123,
p. 482). Should it be one of our labels on the
bottle to which he refers, I shall esteem it a
favour if he will ascertain the number on the
label, or, bettei", send me a bottle of the (query)
glucose, and I shall be pleased to repay him
any expense he is put to in the matter, as we
have the means of tracing the guilty person,
and we shall at once take steps to bring such
an one to justice.

I agree with our Editors that it would have
served the cause better if your correspondent
had jDut himself in communication with the
secretary of the association to which the
label belongs, and thereby helped to gain the
object for which they are issued, viz., to
establish a higher standard of taste for honey
by bringing only the best qualities of the
British product before the public, and thus
excluding indifl'erent foreign and adulterated
samples, and in so doing to develop the
trade for pure British honey. I trust, there-
fore, " A Working Bee " will help us in our
efforts by furnishing further particulars. In
asking this favour, I feel sure 1 am voicing the
wishes of my brother secretaries wlio are work-
ing on similar lines. — A. D. Woodley, Hon.
Sec, Berks B.K.A., Market -2)lace, Beading,
December 10.

RE-QUEENING HIVES.

IS IT necessary ?

[2134.] I write to endorse the request made
by Mr. Knewstubb in the B.B.J. [2124],
p. 483, that some of our leading apiarians
should give their opinions on the important
subject of re-queening. The elaborate methods
of queen-rearing so often described hardly
meet the needs of those whose apiary is
limited to a few stocks. I have repeatedly
found that by substituting a bought queen for
an old one expectations have not been realised,
as she has turned out very indiff'erently. On
the other hand, I have often found a stock from
which I expected little, owing to the supposed
age of the queen, has turned out splendidly
through having re-queened themselves without
my knowledge.

Sometimes, when a swarm has issued whose
queen on inspection has appeared old, I have
killed her, and let the swarm return, thus

Dec. 13, 1894.]

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

497

obtaining, in the course of a few days, a larger
swarm with a virgin queen. I have also
divided a stock, six days after it has swarmed,
with a "Wells" dummy (leaving, of course,
some queen-cells on each side of it), removed
the stock to a distance, and placed the swarm
in its place. In this case two strong nuclei
are at once obtained. Should one queen fail
in mating, she may be removed, the dummy
taken out, and there is still a good stock.
Should both queens mate, one may be removed
on its comb to supplant the old one in the
swarm, or the two lots may be left to winter
together, to be separated in the spring to form
two colonies, or to stock a " Wells " hive.

I should be glad to hear of any better
methods of keeping uja a stock of young queens
with ease and simplicity. — H. M. S., Bridg-
north, December 7.

FOUL BROOD AND COMPULSORY
POWERS.

MOUNTING MICROSCOPIC SLIDES.

[2135.] Respecting your recent leaders on
the subject of foul brood, I may mention a
case in which the compulsory powers you
advocate would be of great assistance.

This autumn, I, as local secretary of the
county association, jjaid several visits to bee-
keepers in my district, in company with our
expert.

In one village, where I have only a single
member, we found that he had a stock in a
skep very badly infected, which he wisely
burnt at once on our recommendation. We
inquired if there were any more bee-keepers
near, and were told of one a few hundred
yards away. We called on this man — a cob-
bier — and offered to examine his hives gratis,
and, if found diseased, to give him "advice
and medicine," also gratis. The cobbler was
exceedingly rude, and ended by refusing to
allow us to enter his garden.

We gathered from his conversation that
even if he had no foul brood now he had had
it some time, for he said he " knew the
smell," bat that there was no smell about them
now.

Here is a man whose " pigheadedness ''
makes him blind to his own advantages, and
a danger to every bee-keeper for miles
round.

Could you oblige me with any information
as regards the method of making and mount-
ing a series of microscopic slides of the
various parts of the bee, sections or other-
wise ? Is there any work on the subject, or
is there any place where I could see and
examine such slides for my guidance, so that
I could make a set for myself? I have tried,
and failed. For one thing, I found such
parts as the wings, tongue, &c., were covered
with minute air-bubbles, which I could not
get rid of when mounted in Canada balsaam.

4ave all the necessary apparatus, though I
think I need a lower-power objective. I have

a 1-in., T'o-iri-> ^^^^ h^^- Even the 1-in., how-
ever, will not take in all a wing, for instance.

Again, how can the several parts of the sting
be demonstrated 'i- I could not separate them,
and only on careful focussing with the high
power could I just make out the barbs.

I wish, if possible, to obtain a series of
photographs from the slides, and any help you
can give will greatly oblige. — Percy Sharp,
L.R.O.P., &c., Brant-Broughtou, Newark-on-
Trent, December 10.

[Our correspondent will find very fall and
complete instructions for mounting microscopic
slides in the series of " I'ee Papers for Winter
Reading,'' which apjieared in our pages a year
or two ago. The numbers referred to may
still be had from this office. — Eds.]

APIS DORSATA AND EGYPTIAN
BEES.

[2136.] I have just received the B.B.J.s of
November 8 and 1.5, the former containing my
letter (2107, p. 446), and the latter a lengthy
reply from Mr. Baldensperger (2114, p. 455).
In my letter I related my experiences here,
and said that they led me to offer a suggestion.
A natural inability to express myself intelli-
gibly, and the fact of the letter having been
written in March last — put aside as being of
no interest — and then forwarded in October,
has led Mr. Baldensperger into the " mix " he
is good enough to say I was in. A second
glance at my letter will show that I was never
under the impression that I had the Apis
dorsata to deal with, besides which, the " ^c."
on page 3 of Mr. Cowan's work, " The Honey
Bee,' at once translated itself to me as mean-
ing Nahhl Beladi and Nahhl Shami (the
country bee and the Syrian bee) ; the illus-
tration was referred to only to give me
reasonable grounds for making the suggestion
I did, and not as an argument in favour of
the theory that the bees I am the happy
possessor of were a species of dorsata.

The third paragraph of Mr. Baldensperger's
letter is written under two false impressions.
The first, that I was under the impression my-
self that my fifty " W. B. C." hives contained
apis dorsata, and the second that the incidents
I related took place at the end of the year,
while, as a matter of fact, they took place in
the month of March last, when orange, lemon,
berseem (clover), and some hundreds of thou-
sands of fruit trees were in bloom, so that all
Mr. Baldensperger's theories of hunger and
vagabond swarms fall to the ground. Having
made this explanation, I think the readers of
the British Bee Journal will admit that
my experiences were of some little interest to
me, and may be to them, while it gives Mr.
Baldensperger an opportunity of explaining
the matter when seen in this new light.

I cannot hold myself responsible for the mis-
quotation of the number of colonies secured yb
Mr. Benton ; I gained my information from a

498

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Dec. 13, 1894.

correspondent's letter in the Record, nor do I
think that the phrases and meaning implied in
paragraph 3 of Mr. Baldensperger's letter,
commencing " Mr. Benton is enough of a bee
expert," &c., are altogether in good taste.
Nothing was further from my intention than
to pose as an authority on such a subject, or
imply that Mr. Benton was not only perfectly
aware of the few points I mentioned, but far
more.

Of the second to last paragraphs of Mr.
Baldensperger's I am at a loss to mate out
what he is driving a*-. I certainly mentioned
about the observatory hive incident, but only
to say that I thought that the fact of the bees
absconding should not be accepted as conclu-
sive of their aversion to work in a hive. My
bees are located in " W.B.C." hives, and it
may be as interesting to B.B.J, readers, as
it will be gratifying to Mr. W. Broughton
Carr himself, to learn that five of these
hives — unpainted — have stood in the garden
since August, 1893, exposed to the "fear-
ful rays of the sun,'' and both hives and
colonies are in perfect condition. I have
been resident in Egypt about eight years
now, bwt last year I learned from " L'Api-
culteur " many things I had not known
previously ; and I now learn that Sheikh
Moustapha of El Bakara — the bee-keeper of
the village mentioned by Mr. Baldensperger
— has got ahead of us in preventing swarming.
I am afraid that after my visit to the place
similar modifications will have to be made in
the information given to Mr. Baldensperger
during his flying visit to Egypt, and which he
now retails, as were made in one of the local
journals in consequence of his article which
appeared in " L'Apiculteur." — A. C, Govern-
ment Apiary, Guizeh, Egypt, November 24,
1894.

Queries uA Jle^lics.

[1219.] Transfeoring Bees in Winter —
Thickness of " Wells " Division-hoards. — I
should be much obliged if you would answer
me the following, as I am only a beginner with
bees this year : — 1. I have the chance of buy-
ing two lots of bees in hives ready packed for
winter, but do not want the hives as I have a
"Wells" hive empty, which I have just had
made, also a " W. B. C." of Eedshaw's nyake
(new). Could the bees be transferred at this
time of year into the " Wells " hive ? I have
had a small shed, 6 ft. by 4 ft. 6 in., put up,
in which I keep my present two stocks, and
can heat same with oil-stove, and in which I
have room for the " Wells " hive and two
ordinaries in single row, and have height for
another row. 2. Can you inform me if the
division-board of " W ells "' hive should be
more than tV in- thick ? The present one is
made of mahogany, and is that thickness, but
I am afraid it will warp. — E. H. Coltman.

Eeply. — 1. If the transferring of bees and
combs is to bo done by an entirely inexperi-
enced hand, it will be preferable to defer the
operation till a warm day when bees are flying
freely. Otherwise the task is not at all a difii-
calt one to a bee-keeper of ordinary skill. The
main point is to avoid injuring the queen
during removal. Our correspondent refers to
being able to heat his bee-shed with an oil-
stove, but we must remind him of the inad-
visability of using artificial heat for bees in
winter. 2. The perforated division-board used
by Mr. Wells is only about ^-in. thick, but he
binds it with tin, to prevent fracture and assist
in keeping the wood from warping.

[1220.] Bees Flying in Winter. — I came
into possession of five lots of bees the last
week of October, and found in each hive not
more than one pound of stores ; so I made
some soft candy and put on each, and since
that time I have observed the bees seeking
for water, although the thermometer has been
nearly to freezing point. Some days I have
noticed two to three dozen bees licking the
water drippings on the greenhouse. Is there
anything unnatural in their so doing under
the circumstances ? I am afraid they have
started breeding again. My bees in another
part of the garden, although more exposed to
the sun, are scarcely ever on the wing when
the others are out quite livelj\ Do you think
that bees so short of natural stores will winter
on soft candy ? or would you advise taking
them into the greenhouse, and giving them
some warm syrup for a few days. Thanking
you in anticipation, T. J., Bristol, December 8.

Reply. — If the bees are seen to be taking
the candy freely, it will be best to do nothing
beyond keeping up the supply regularly, as it
is consumed. Bees frequently do well on
candy alone if they are found to take it
freely. No alarm need be felt as to breeding.

[1221.] Drones in Hives in Winter. — Will
you kindly give me your opinion on the
following ? — I happened to be standing look-
ing at my hives on November 25 last, and,
the day being fine, the bees were out for a fly ;
to my surprise, a drone came out of one, and,
after a fly round, returned to the hive.
Having read that drones in winter was a sign
of queenlessness, I examined the hive on
November 29 and found queen all right. I
also saw a few drones moving about among
the bees. I shut down this hive for the
winter about the end of September, and there
was then no brood in it. What does this
indicate, and is it not very uncommon at this
time of the year ?— D. Silver, Boseneath,
Dumbartonshire, December 7.

Reply. — Drones in hives at this season may
arise from several causes not clearly definable
without inspection of the combs. One thing,
however, is certain, viz., the queen at present
in the hive is a drone-breeder, and con-
sequently worthless.

Dec. 13, 1894.] THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

499

[1222.] What is Honey .?— Will you kindly
tell me in your next issue of Bee Journal
•what honey is really composed of, and which
of the two — butter or honey — is the most
beneficial as a food ? I think that all bee-
keepers recommending honey for household
purposes oucrht to know this. — J as. Seel,
Manchester, December 8.

Reply. — Honey is composed of the sweet
nectar exuded by certain flowers, and gathered
therefrom by bees. We don't quite know if
our correspondent's query is intended to ascer-
tain the component purts of honey from the
chemical standpoint ; but it would certainly
not assist sales to inforni buyers what propor-
tions of oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon are
embodied in it. It is more beneficial than
butter as food for children, because of its
readily assimilating with whatever food is
partaken of along with it.

FEEDING BEES.

HOW IT IS DONE AT DR.
APIARY.

C. C. MILLERS

Usually I have dreaded the time to come
when I knew we should have to feed our bees.
Nearly every thing about the house woald be
sticky, door-knobs included, to say nothing
about the amount of work involved. But this
year it has just been "fun" — not one bit of mess
about the house. I have thought so many
times, while we were feeding this year, " Oh,
how much extra work we have made for our-
selves in former years, all for not knowing
how ! " Then I wondered if we were doing as
much hard M^ork in other directions just be-
cause we did not know how, and if that were
the reason that bee-keeping was such hard
work.

I'm going to tell just what we did this year.
About September 1 we visited each apiary,
and weighed each hive to find out just
how much feed each colony would need for
winter. Just the hive and contents with cover
were weighed, without the bottom-board.
Under the record of each hive in the record-
book the weight was put down. These weights
varied from 26 to 62 lb. Some colonies had
more than one story, but only the weight of
the upper story was taken.

If a colony weighed 47 lb., it passed muster
without feeding ; but if it weighed less than
47 lb., it was given sugar enough so that, when
the sugar was brought to the consistency of
honey, the total weight was brought; to 50 lb.,
figuring on the basis that 5 lb. of sugar make
7 lb. of syrup of the consistency of honey.
That is, 5 lb. of sugar were given for every
7 lb. the colony lacked of weighing .50 lb. For
example, a colony that weighed 36 lb. had
10 lb. of sugar given it.

AVe next brought out our Miller feeders,
and stuSed the opening where the feed goes
through (which in the original Miller feeder is
J in. or more), with cotton cloth. QI4 pieces

of cotton flannel and part of an old bed-spread
were what we happened to have handy to use
for the purpose ; and, when properly packed,
they worked tip-top. I was the one who did
the picking ; and, when most of them were
packed, Dr. Miller thought I was packing them
too tight. So 1 packed the rest much looser.

We fed the Hastings apiary first. We took
along twenty-four feeders and three bags of
sugar weighing 100 lb. each. We also took
along a tin pail holding 11 lb. of sugar, another
holding 4 lb., a can holding 3 lb , and another
holding 1 lb. With these we could quickly
measure the right quantity of sugar for each
colony.

The first thing after reaching the apiary, we
put on the feeders, leaving the coyers off ; and
into each feeder the proper amount of dry
sugar was put, the feeders being still left un-
covered. After all the feeders were supplied
with sugar, we poured on a pint of water to
each pound of sugar, put the covers on, and
came home.

The ones that were packed first were all
right, with the exception of one or two which,
after being used for a while, swelled so that
the syrup would not pass through. The second
lot — those that were not packed so tightly — let
the water through too fast, and left dry sugar,
and more water had to be added two or three
times, so that some of them had two or three
pints of water for every pound of sugar.

We fed in all about 1,500 lb. of sugar ; and
I can hardly realise that we have fed it, it has
been so easily done. Just try it for yourselves,
and see how nicely it works. — Emma Wilson
in Gleanings.

Noticesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded wiU be attended to, and those
only 0/ personal interest vxill be ariswered in this column.

Ernest F. Talbot (Cornwall). — Selecting
Hives. — When asked for our individual
opinion as to the best hive to use, we find
ourselves in a difiiculty which is further
increased by the unfortunate (or fortunate)
fact that two well-known hives are named
respectively after the editors of this journal,
viz., the " Cowan hive " and " W. B. C'
hive. Now, although these hives illustrate
our respective personal preferences, it does
not follow that they are by any means " the
best " in the opinion of all bee-keepers. We>
therefore, advise our correspondent to pro-
cure catalogues from one or two of our
advertisers — wherein are illustrated both
the hives referred to, along with other good
ones — and select for himself.

W. B. Garnett. — Honey received, though
possessing an excellent aroma, certainly
tastes very strongly of sugar syrup. More
than this coul4 not be §afely said without
analysis.

500

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Dec. 13, 1894.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situationg, Publications, Bee Plants, dec— Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence; for every additiorwi Three
words or under. One Penny.

-i O LBS. FINE WHITE CLOVER HONEY, packed,
-•-■^ 8s. Kector, Bowers Grifford, Essex. F 85

HONEY, 1-lb. Sections, 7s. 6d, dozen ; Extracted, 7d.
per lb in 15-lb. tins. Free on raiL Edward Long,
Cottenham, Canibs. r 86

F- OR SALE, English HONEY, i-cwts. 7d. per lb.
Tins free. Sample 2d. Deposit. BUTTON, Terling
Witham, Essex. F 83

r /1-IN. Light "RIIDGE" BICYCLE. EXCHANGE
J T" Bees or Bee Appliances. H. Vaughan, Ashburn-
ham-place, Burry Port, Carmarthenshire. F 87

LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, 8d., post free,
500, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodlet, Beedon, Newbury.

Qpk SCREW-CAP BOTTLES (I6-0Z. nett) of Splendid
tjy^f CLOVER HONEY. Price IDs. per dozen, 5s. half-
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CASH MARKET FOR SECTIONS, EXTRACTED
HONEY and WAX. Packages sent. State lowest
price. Address, H., Bee Journal Office, 17, King
William-street, Strand, London.

BEES.— A Gentleman, giving up Bee-keeping, has a
few Stocks of Bees, several empty Hives and
Appliances, also a small Wooden House for keeping
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Address S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary,Broniley,Keiit.

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British Bee Journal and Record Office, 17, King
William Street, Strand, Loridon, W.C.

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THE BEST WINTER FOOD.

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This Candy is made of Pure Cane Sugar and
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SOFT CANDY

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Trays ready for placing on the hive.

6d. per lib. Tray. 10 Trays, post free,
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Translated from the German, and Edited by

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Illustrated, price 3Jd., post free.

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Dec. 20, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

501

THE FOUL BROOD QUESTION.

WHAT THE "standard" SAYS,

It cannot be otherwise than gratifying
to those who are interesting themselves
in the question of obtaining Government
aid in suppressing foul brood among bees,
when a whole column of so important
and influential a journal as the Standard
is devoted to the subject, as was the case
in a recent issue of that paper. Our
gratification is still further increased by
the tone of entire approval of the
objects aimed at, and the powers sought
for by bee-keepers, pervading the article
referred to. And it may be safely in-
ferred that the views expressed will
carry more or less Aveight in the right
quarter when the occasion arises. Once
the justice of the claim for protection put
forward by bee-keepers is admitted by
the Board of Agriculture, the fact of its
directly affecting a large class — for whom
very proper sympathy is just now felt
by both great Parties in the State —
viz., the agricultural labourer, we may be
quite sure of obtaining a hearing and
fair consideration from the powers that
be, regarding the eventual removal of any
injustice or real hardship the said classes
are proved to be suflfering under. We
print below the more important por-
tions of the article in the Standard of the
15th inst., omitting such descriptive
details as readers of the Bee Journal
ai'e already fully conversant with. Our
contemporary says : —

The sxibject which a deputation of British
beekeepers is about to bring before the Board
of Agriculture, though not of momentous im-
portance, nevertheless affects the pockets and
interest of a vast number of people, among
whom are comprised many of the most indus-
trious members of the working class. A well-
known agriculturist used to chaff his brother
farmers by showing that he could make more
out of one good queen bee than they could out
of the best shorthorn, and certainly to a
cottager the hive is quite as important as the
pig. The improvement of the appliances, the
spread of technical instruction, and the en-
couragement oflFered by County Councils have,
during recent years, given a very strong im-
petus to the industry, and produced a great
increase in the number of beekeepers and in the
output of honey. But with this has come a most

discouraging spread of the infectious disease
known as foul-brood. It some districts it has
practically ruined the industry, and no one
can fullv estimate the extent to which it pre-
vails. Last year the Kent bee-keepers were
thoroughly dismayed when an expert, em-
ployed to test some of the hives, reported that
out of .307 examined, no fewer than 10!) had
the disease. In other districts some of the
most successful bee-keepers have had to de-
stroy the whole of their stocks. To iind out
Avhy it appears in any neighbourhood is far
from easy, but modern conditions are more
favourable to it than those formerly prevalent.
The old-fashioned bee-keeper either killed his
old stocks outright every autumn, or, after
stupefying them with fumes of sulphur or dried
fungus, added the workers of one colony to
those of another. By the one plan disease was
unconsciously stamped out of many hives, by
the other a disinfecting proce>s was unwittingly
applied. His more humane and economical
successor having substituted the bar-frame hive
for the stiaw skep, is able to discard these
methods, and to keep on his bees year after
year, since reither bees nor comb can grow
old, the latter being removed, and the former
having naturally a short life. The plan is un-
doubtedly favourable to the perpetuation of
disease.

After giving some particulars as to the
introduction of foreign bees into this
country in 1859 by the late Mr. Wood-
bury, and the opinion entertained by
some as to the extent to which the trade
in foreign queens may have affected the
spread of foul brood, the Standard goes
on to say : — -

Bees are inveterate robbers, and no sooner
does a hive begin to be weakened with the
plague than the neighbouring colfenists begin
to plunder, a process that more and more join
in as the usually energetic defenders show
unmistakable signs of weakness and languor.
Every raider carries away the germs of foul
brood, and thus the contagion is rapidly spread,
till the industry of a neighbourhood is ruined.
Many who have been tempted to try bee-keep-
ing on a very extensive scale have had their
enterprise checked and their capital utterly
destroyed by an occurrence of this kind. But
the case of the poor bee-keeper, who trusts to
making from £5 to £10 out of his two or
three hives, is quite as deplorable. There are
many small villages in which hardworking men
add a little to their income in this way, and
where the produce from bees of the village,
on an average, comes to something between
50 or 60 lb. From £5 to £20 makes the
difference between hardship and affluence in
many cases.

Then follows a quotation from the
British Bee Journal regarding the
treatment of diseased stocks, which Ave

502

T^: BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Dec. 20, 1894.

need not repeat here, after which the
article continues : —

Many bee-keepers have made praiseworthy
attempts to check the evil by private effort,
but with very disheartening results. One
"well-known owner made successful application
to the guardians for the use of the workhouse
disinfecting oven, and so purified his hives.
In some villages the bee-owners have signed a
kind of league and covenant, binding them-
selves to let their hives be inspected at any
time. The worst of it is that there is usually
some obstinate and cranky individual who
persists in standing out from the voluntary
associations, and as he is generally the worst
bee-keeper in the neighbourhood, he renders
the efforts of the others ineffectual. In a few
districts the local association has appointed
some one to examine all hives put up for sale,
and if diseased they destroy the bees and dis-
infect the hive, but the owner in such cases
obtains a price to which he is not entitled.
Such a hive is absolutely worthless. Nature,
if left to herself, would perform the work of
destruction most eftectually, but would leave
millions of spores ready to develop into bacilli
when they found a suitable medium. A
difficulty has been experienced even where the
owners of healthy stocks have offered to in-
demnify one who possesses diseased hives. If he
belongs to the old school he is quite likely to
adduce the fact that Ust year the hive was
worth so much to him, and expect to be paid
on the assumption that this ought to be the
measure of its present value. He is on no
account to be convinced that a hive which
brought him in, say, a £10 note one year
would be a dear purchase at ten farthings the
next.

Under these circumstances, there does not
seem to be any other remedy possible, except
that which bee-keepers are urging the Board
of Agriculture to adopt. This is to place foul
brood on the same footing with other infectious
diseases of animals. The cottager is already ac-
customed to the law. If swine fever breaks out
in the village, the infected pigs are killed at
once, and bees have become in many districts
even more valuable than pigs. No other way
seems open. A remedy has not been dis-
covered at once simple, easily applied, and of
quick operation, so that all could use it and
effect a cure before contagion had time to
spread. Private effort is quite unavailing, al-
though the readiness with which an over-
whelming majority of bee-keepers combine
shows that compulsion is needed for only a
very few obstinate individuals, and could be
exercised with a great body of pubhc opinion
behind. The case in favour of the bee-keepers
is so very strong that it is difficult to see how
Mr. Gardner can possibly fail to appreciate the
reasonableness of their request.

Beyond commending the above to the
careful consideration of such readers as
have not yet made up their minds on

the subject dealt with, there is not much
to add, except saying how fully convinced
we are ourselves that only good can
follow efforts, properly directed, towards
the end in view.

BEITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.

The monthly meeting of the committee was
held at 105, Jermyn-street, on Thursday, 13th
inst. Present : — Mr. H. Jonas (in the chair),
Kev. G. W. Bancks, Messrs. W. B. Carr, W.
H. Harris, J. W. Sheppard, Major Fair, J. H.
New, E. D. Till, J. Garratt, and J. M. Hooker,
and F. H. Meggy (ex-officio), John Huckle,
secretary.

Communications were received from the
chairman and Mr. Glennie (treasurer), regret-
ing their inability to be present.

The minutes of the last meeting having
been read and confirmed, the report of the
finance committee received and adopted,

The Educational Committee reported as
under : —

" The following are the names of candidates
who passed successfully at the second class
examination, held on October 26 and 27, viz.,
W. R. Lilly, P. Scott, H. J. Banks, P.
Scattergo&d, and R. Cock.

" The examination on the whole shows a
satisfactory improvement in the knowledge of
the candidates upon those who came forward
ia previous years. The general knowledge as
to the practical part is satisfactory, although
in many instances the answers are very meagre,
and, in some, portions of questions are not
answered at all. The candidates do not suffi-
ciently study the questions put to them, and
sometimes give a brief answer to the last part,
and ignore the main points of the question
altogether.

" The section relating to ' foul-brood ' was
very satisfactorily treated by nearly all the
candidates and shows a marked improvement
on last year.

" Only two questions referring to the
anatomy of the honey bee were given, one in
connection with wax and its production, the
other with regard to the action of the tongue
in collecting honey. With little exception,
the candidates showed a hopeless ignorance of
the subject, although the syllabus distinctly
states that a knowledge of the anatomy and
physiology is required for second class exam-
ination."

" Candidates for these certificates should be
impressed with the obvious necessity of a
better acquaintance with this branch of the
subject, seeing that they niay at any time be
called upon to give instruction in bee-keeping.'

Letters were read from various affiliated
associations in reference to the proposed
formation of centres for conducting third-class
examinations.

The Southern Association Sub-Committee
reported that it was desirable that efforts

Dec. 20, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

.503

should be made towards resuscitatinf; those as-
sociations which had been allowed to lapse in
the southern and eastern counties. On the
motion of Mr. Till it was resolved, " That the
comuiittee of the B.B.K.A. deeply regret the
absence of organisation among bee-keepers in
the counties of Sussex, Hertfordshire, Buck-
inghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and
Norfolk. They deem it highly desirable that
an endeavour should be made to form bee-
keeping associations in each of these counties,
in aftiliation with the B.B.K.A., following the
example of some twenty other counties.''

Mr. Harris gave notice that at the annual
general meeting he would move : — " That the
managing body of the B.B.K.A. be styled the
' Council ' in place of ' Committee.' "

Mr. Carr, Mr. Harris, and Mr. Garratt,
together with the chairman and vice-chairman,
were elected a special committee to consider
the matter of " Foul Brood " as an infectious
disease, and to submit the same for the con-
sideration of the Minister of Agriculture.

The committee adjourned to Thursdaj',
January 24, 1895.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write o?i one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of_ paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Com.munications relating to the literary depaHment,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Rewiexo, cDc, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <i:c. , must be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Offi.ce, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

•»• In order to facilitate reference. Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or q^iery previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

A LADY'S BEE-KEEPING.

[21.37.] It is now nearly three years since I
sent an echo from our hives in the far north.
Years fraught with disaster, spring dwindling,
weak and defunct stocks, honeyless seasons ;
that is the bee story of 1892-,3, so far as we
are concerned. Nil desperanduvi.

But I'm a bee-keeper still, enthusiastic as
ever, and wiser, I trust, for the many lessons
learned in the grand school of experience,
where even fools may learn lessons it will be
hard to forget. I am wishing to know if
' Mrs. Harrison," and " Bee-Kay," and " Beta"
are always keeping well to the front, or if, like
myself, they have been among the stragglers,
who fall out of line and bring up the rear.
But " they're far ahin' that daurna follow,"
and this year of 1894 I have moved forward,
not just to the van exactly, but next to the
bee-keeper who " takes the cake '' for honey
harvesting in this district. In the other
apiary, only about [a mile distant, and within

sound of the sea where nearly all the work
(except the extracting) is done by a lady — and,
I may add, an invalid lady— they had over
1,, 300 lb. 1 am not just sure of the average
per hive, spring count, but I think it was over
100 lb. We began the season with eight
stocks in frame-hives, six " ruskies," and, alas !
ten empty frame-hives, and finished with
1,0201b. of honey, and all my empty hives
filled up. I had six first and six second
swarms from my ruskies, with which I filled
up six frame-hives, leaving the queens to settle
matters by the survival of the fittest, and
filled the other four hives with driven bees.
I think I have not seen anything better in
this year's reports than our average, which
was 100 lb. for every stock in the frame-hives,
and 40 lb. for every swarm. Of course, some
of the swarms did not come to the 40 lb., but
then some of the frame-hives were over the
100 lb. a long way. One which was filled
with a driven swarm of 1893 gave nearly
120 lb. of extracted honey, and had our
drawn-out combs not given out before we put
on the third storifying box, so that we had to
give ne-v foundation, I believe we would
have hail another 50 lb. We work still for
extracted honey, and still go in for the wider
frames, that is two single frames tied together,
a sheet of foundation fixed between them, or
a frame double the width of the brood-frame.
In a good year they weigh from 8 to 12 lb.

I have a " Wells," but I cannot say much
about the system. To begin with, I put two
swarms into it, and in the end of the season
all the bees in one stock joined the other stock,
leaving the poor queen with scarce a subject.
In the spring I lifted them out into a single
hive, and intended trying other two swarms,
but my first swarm weighed 6| lb., so I took
out the perforated dummy, and put them into
the "Wells." In nowise did the hive seem
too big. In less than a week it was ready for
the upper box of drawn-out combs, -which
were all filled and sealed before the honey flow
was over. The finest sections I ever had were
six (in a hanging frame) I took from that swarm,
beautifully sealed and finished, weighing over
7i lbs. Speaking of comb honey, I heard about
a "bee-keeper who had got his bees to work out
and finish, without a flaw, a beautiful crown.
Removing it from the hive, he carried it in-
doors, quite proud of the lovely workmanship,
a few' bees still adhering ; he placed it in a
window, raising the sash so that the bees
might find their way back to the hive. A
lover of flowers also was this bee-man, and,
this being a flower-show day, he hurried away
to prepare for it, intending to return and close
the window. But, " waes me," he forgot
that important part of the day's proceed-
ings. I think it was his better-half who,
entering the room some time through the day,,
was amazed to find it swarming with bees,
and beat a hasty retreat, thinking a swarm had
taken possession. When the " gudeman ''
returned he went for the crown (which I have

50 1

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Dec. 20, 1894.

no doubt would have " crowned" him king of
the bee-keepers at tlie local show where it was
to be exhibited), but for one bee who had gone
out a thousand had come in, and the crown
was simply nowhere ! " Uneasy lies the head
that wears a crown," and, perhaps, uneasy lay
a head that night for want of one. I am not
going to hilloa for one good season, seeing that
every winter there's the wood to go through,
but if I might pilot some beginners past the
rocks on which I made shipwreck (or bee-
wreck rather), I would urge on them to
work on the let alone system in spring.
A glimpse at the feed-hole in the quilt ; as to
stores, a cake of candy if short, all covered
up snug and warm again, and for what more
you would wish to know, watch the doors
some bonny spring day. Wishing all readers
of the JouRN^AL a merry Christmas and a good
honey harvest in the New-year that will soon
be with us, and hoping some of our lady bee-
keeping friends will tell us something of
what they have been doing. — I am still, " A
Scottish Cousin," Banff, December 11.

A SUGGESTION FOR ADOPTION IN

1895.

[2138.] It has been remarked by several
suoscribers to the British Bee Journal, and
not without reason, that correspoudents who
send queries of the most rudimentary kind,
ought not to expect their communications
printed in full. Sometimes, I admit, there
may be peculiar circumstances to make the
query generally edifying. But there is too
little space in the journal already for impor-
tant letters and papers, and I think you will
do well to treat the bulk of the queries as
briefly as other periodicals are in the habit of
doing. I am not unmindful of a beginner's
difficulties and do not wish you to be curt. I
think also you are too kind to some of your
correspondents who air their little doings, ad
lib., in your valuable paper. A simple ac-
knowledgment in a column reserved for that
purpose ought to suffice for anything that is
not above low level.

It is a healthy sign to see the B.B.K.A.
launching a new scheme for the examination
of scientists in apiculture, for none can afford
in any pursuit to rest on past achievements.
Here and there one finds old bee-keepers who
think " they have nothing to learn,'' and who
believe " no one can teach them anything,''
but such belong to that hopeless class of whom
George Sand has said, '■ they possess a large
capacity for ignorance."

There is another sign abroad which is not of
such favourable augury. Mr. Woodley has
■wisely but only gently touched upon it last
•week — I mean the vending for private gain of
an absolute cure for foul brood, instead of
opeinly proclaiming for the public good the
composition of so invaluable a secret.

There ought to be as great a jealousy of
empiricism in the profession of apiculture as
in the profession of medicine. An M.E.O.P.
or an M.D. who oftends against professional
etiquette very quickly loses his diploma.

Empiricism is " quackery." Why the word
should have any connection with the call of
the innocent duck I am at a loss to discover,
unless the poor bird's self-assertive, harsh, and
reiterant note be suggestive of " quack "
advertisements.

There was an excellent article in the
Standard of 15th inst. on foul-brood. The
writer was evidently unacquainted with any
specific for the pest, but probably he is not a
diligent reader of the Journal.

If I could not plainly see that such adver-
tisements place the vendors on the horns of
a dilemma I should be nothing better than —
A Goose, December 17.

[Our aim and very sincere desire is to make
the Journal as useful to bee-keepers as may
be, but the unfortunate part of the question as
to its usefulness, is that so few think exactly
alike. Our correspondent — whose aims in
connection with bee-keeping are well known
to us — is a case in point. He works with
■ energy and zeal for the good of bee-keepers
other than Jdmself. How many are like
him?— Eds.]

MR. WELLS'S REPORT.

[2139.] We must all feel very much obliged
to Mr. Wells for his lucid statement of accounts
for the past year ; and certainly to those who
understand the working of an apiary on Mr.
Wells's plan it reads satisfactorily enough for
a bad honey season ; otherwise, an average of
32 lb. per stock is not an astonishing success,
especially when it is considered that every
particle of honey in the hive is removed,
leaving nothing behind for the bees' winter
use, except the stored pollen ; for in no other
way could such a large amount of wax be ob-
tained. Then we must assume that out of the
gross profit of £1. 4s. 3d. per each stock, the
winter store of sugar had to be provided, and,
consequently, the net profit would be some-
where about 18s. per stock. Well, I think I
know of several larger averages than this on
the single-queen system, and, therefore, we
must wait yet another year for proof of the
superiority claimed for this double-stock
system.

While writing I should like to say that I
think the very best remedy for foul brood
will be found to be " Izal." It only occurred
t<j me in the summer that " Izal " might be a
better remedy than phenol, and as I had pre-
served two very badly-affected stocks (which
I found dead in the spring) for experimental
purposes, I first washed the combs, and the
hive, too, with a solution of about 1 in 500 of
warm water ; I then sprayed the combs with
1 in 750 of weak sugar syrup, and left them
to drain. I then threw into each a driven

Dec. 20, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

505

swarm (about 4 lb. of bees), and began feed-
ing witti sugar syrup medicated with " Izal,"
1 in 990, which was taken greedily by the
bees.

The first and second batch of brood came
out without a sign of dead, and both hives
went into winter apparently quite free from
disease, but, of course, one cannot say what
may happen in the spring. Certainly as far as
the bees themselves are concerned, they take
very kindly to the medicine, and I never had
the least trouble iu forcing it, which is always
a difficulty with carbolic, and niy present
opinion is that " Izal " will surpass all other
remedies as a cheap, agreeable, and efiective
remedj^ for this bee-keepera' abomination. —
Thos, F. Ward, Chtcrck House, High gate,
December 16.

[Without waiting for any reply to the
above from Mr. Wells, we think our corre-
spondent has mis-read the details given by Mr.
Wells on p. 494. The " profit '' stated therein
is 7iet^ not "gross,' and the cost of sugar for
supplying his bees with food for winter is in-
cluded in expenditure for the year, as stated
at the conclusion of Mr. Wells' letter (p. 495).
Again, it is surely a slip of the pen on the
part of our correspondent to put the cost of
feeding at 6s. 3d. per stock, while counting the
eight double-queened hives as sixteen stocks ?
In this way the sugar for feeding would have
amounted to £i>, whereas Mr. Wells' total ex-
penditure for the whole year only reached
£4. 93., sugar for feeding included.

Referring to the measures taken for disin-
fecting the combs and hives in which foul-
broody stocks have perished, we would point
out what our correspondent has probably
overlooked, that the so-called " best remedy ''
— otherwise known as creolyne, alias soluble
phenyle — has been for many years recom-
mended in Mr. Cowan's "Guide Book" as
preferable to carbolic acid or phenol on
account of its being entirely non-poisonous
and non-corrosive as regards human beings,
and, when properly diluted, its being freely
taken by the bees (see pages 150 and 165 for
directions how to use it.) — Eus.]

COUNTY BEE ASSOCIATIONS

AND STAMPING OUT FOUL BROOD.

[2140.] In connection with your recent
articles on the necessity of taking steps to
check the spread of foul brood, I am pleased
to say that at our last committee meeting, held
on December 10, it was resolved :—" That
Mr. Cock (the expert to the association) be
empowered to buy, at his discretion, from
cottagers, at the lowest sum he could obtain
them, certain hives suffering from foul brood
and destroy them, and to report the matter at
the next committee meeting."

I venture to think that this is a step in the
right direction. — Harold E. Twentyman,

Hon. Sec, Staffs. B.K. A , (Jastlecroft, Decem-
ber 1 3.

[We heartily commend the Staffordshire
Association committee on their action in the
above matter. As to its being " a step in the
right direction," the general approval with
which it is certain this sentiment will be
received ought to afford safe grounds for
believing that other and kindred associations
will be following the same pathway, which, as
every one must agree, can only lead to the all-
round Kood of the craft.— Eds.

" COMPULSORY POWERS."
[2141.] I have been hoping to see in your
columns a larger expression of opinion as to
compulsorj'- powers for dealing with foul
brood ; as I think there are many who are
deeply interested in the subject who could
contribute valuable facts, if they would, which
might materially assist in the provision of a
remedy. It is well known that a strong objec-
tio)i exists to making known the presence of
the disease, and sometimes a greater objection
still to try and cure it, or accept aid that will
assist in so doing. Some years ago it was my
misfortune to suffer in consequence of the
action of a man who took up this position, and
whom to-day I believe is helping to spread the
disease by a continuance of such conduct.
Clearly this is a case for compulsory powers.
For busy men there is quite enough work
to do in keeping things straight in the
ordinary course, and if this sort of thing is
allowed to go on unchecked, the time may
come when it will not be worth while (how-
ever strong the love of bees may be) to keep
bees at all iu some districts. I simply quote
this case as an illustration, for I have had no
trace of foul brood in my hives for some years
pait, and have no reason to fear infection. I,
for one, am much pleased with your recent
editorials on this matter, and hope we are
within measurable distance of the time when
honest bse-keepers will welcome, and unscru-
pulous bee-keepers dread, a wholesome appli-
cation of a law enacted for the public benefit.
— Tomtit, Sioansea, December 17.

A CHRISTMAS BEE-TALK

ABOUT WINTER WORK, FOUL BROOD, &C,

[2142.] I had laid down my pen with a view
of — in bee-lingo — " going into winter quarters."
In other words, after a hard season's work, I
was proposing to spend the evenings during the
dull period of the year toasting my toes at
the fireside, totting up results, reading bee-
literature, laying plans for next season, and
picturing new devices in my mind's eye, in the
hope of hitting upon a practical notion of some
sort or other which might be of use to my
fellow bee-keepers, but particularly so to
myself. " Candid confession is good," &c.
However, on looking through the most recent
numbers of the Journal and Record (both of

506

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Dec. 20, 1894.

■which ] I, of course, " reads reglar "), I find
therein referred to one or two little matters
which recall past events and incidents to
mind, and cause me to put oft' my semi-
dormant state, and postpone the intended
period of hybernation much in the same
]uanner as a fine mild day would bring out the
bees at this period of the year.

"Well, sirs, having got my pen in my hand,
the query occurs, What are bee-keepers
doing now — meaning, of course, what is inte-
resting them in the bee line ? for we cannot
suppose that their time is altogether absorbed
in anticipating the enjoyment of the coming
merry season, or in devoting their spare hours
to assisting the goodwife in preparing the
mysterious compound which children love and
we of older growth associate with dyspepsia
and doctors. Incidentally, however, let me
say I lend a hand myself during the " gay and
festive," and am almost vain enough to
suppose that my young folks would hardly
consider it a Christmas pudding at all unless
" dad " had a finger in the pie. But, to leave
puddings and return to the bees. I know
how easy it is to forget those tiny helpers of
ours who occupy the other end of the garden,
and how many little jobs intended for their
well-being were made a mental note of — and
forgotten —when the bees have gone to rest.
There is a small note-book in the workshop of
my apiary in which, as the season advances,
notes are made of things to be worked out
when the winter time comes ■ — new hives
and apparatus to be made, books to be read,
&c. And it is wonderful how interesting and
helpful it is in the dull months to refer to
this book, and the many things that bat
for it would have been forgotten, but which
can noAv be made or obtained. Above all
other periods of the year, now is the time to
repair our stock-in-trade, to make or procure
such additional appliances as are likely to be
required next season. Our note-book informs
us where a leaky roof is to be found, and if
not already seen to we don't delay, but mend
it, and so make sure that all packing on the
top of the hives in use is, above all things,
dry. Any day severe weather may set in,
lasting perhaps for months. Moreover, the
late wet autumn must have severely tried the
weather-proof qualities of roofs, and if wet
(juilts are not changed I pity the poor bees if
severe weather sets in. There is yet time to
make them — like ourselves — comfortable at
Christmas.

For myself I consider it a most essential point
in successful wintering to have the quilts dry.
Old newspapers are capital things to spread
over the coverings before putting on the roof,
as affording great protection in more ways
than one. Only beginners will need remind-
ing how necessary it now is to see that hive
entrances are kept clear of dead bees, by
removing any seen to accumulate. It should
be known that when the weather permits
bees will bring those of their comrades, that

have died inside the hive from age and other
causes, to the entrance and there leave them ;
hence the need for an occasional glance to see
that there is fi'ee entrance and egress. This
seen to, and provided there is plenty of food
within, nothing need mar the bee-keeper's
enjoyment of the gladsome season, now fast
approaching, so far as his bees are concerned.

Looking back at my late peregrinations, I
grieve when thinking of the large number of
skeps we came across whose owners, being
poor people, could not, or would not, feed
their bees, though advised to do so. There
were dozens of skeps, healthy and strong
in bees, yet without a jjound of food to carry
them through the long winter months. Some
will no doubt have perished of starvation
already, and so be spared the sorrows of a
"hungry Christmas," with no one about to
" save the bees." I much fear that death
will claim the majority of such stocks before
spring comes round again ; but it makes one
feel what a jolly time a bee-keeper of the
right sort could have in carrying round a few
bucketsful of warm syrup, and giving to these
poor little starving wretches a good Christmas
" feed."

Foul Brood. — Eeferring to this subject —
our worthy editors are laying down the law
pretty stiff, and not a whit too soon — few
know the extent of this dire bee disease in
some counties. I undertook a long and plea-
sant journey after the brunt of last season's
Avork was over, for the purpose of improving
my education in bee-keeping, and to make
mj^self acquainted with the science in its
various phases, as practised by the humble
cottager upwards. Thanks to the guidance
and kindly help of a gentleman, whose means
and influence are largely devoted to the wel-
fare of bees and bee-keepers in other counties
as well as his own, the object in view was fully
attained. Indeed, it may be safely said that,
more experience was gained during the few
weeks spent journeying from apiary to apiary
in the southern counties, than I could other-
wise have obtained in several years by staying
at home. So gratifying to me was the result
that if all be well next autumn I am off again
on another " wheeling '' trip, looking up old
and new acquaintances. During the visit
referred to I first made the acquaintance of our
bete noire foul-brood, in a cottager's hive about
twenty-five miles from here. Both my friend
and myself were exceedingly sorry for this
case, as they were poor people but most enthu-
siastic over the bees. Of their two hives
one was perfectly clean, the other dirty^ — very
dirty. My friend told them the latter should
be destroyed in order that the spread of the
disease might be stayed. We explained the
case to them in all its bearings, and, although
grieving for the loss of the bees, yet for
the general good of the community they con-
sented, and the bees and combs were entirely
destroyed the same night. Having now
got fairly upon the track of foul brood

Dec. 20, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

507

•we followed it up, day by day, working from
8 a.m. to dusk at eve. Slowly but surely we
traced its ravages from the outlying hives in
the neighbourhood where first found down to
its centre. I nutst, for obvious reasons, for-
bear indicating the exact locality now reached,
but here we found a small neglected apiary
in charge of the " beeman " of the village, with
foul brood enough in his wretched hives to
contaminate the whole county. This autho-
rity ? (save the mark) on being informed of
the state of affairs, "knew quite well what
foul brood was ; had it years ago, and could
cure it easily, would have a look at it." He
did look at it, but " didn't call that foul
brood," not he, he knew better than that.
" Smell it," said we, but our ancient friend
declared " it ain't got any smell," though the
familiar and noisome odour could be
detected a yard off" ! We suggested its
being a case that would not admit of a
cure, and that the stocks would have to be
destroyed ; finally urging him to let us burn
hives, bees, and combs that night. " What,"
.said ho, " destroy healthy bees like them ?
Not if 1 know it.'' And although offered full
value in cash for his three hives and bees if he
would have them destroyed, that plague-spot
still remains, and is likely to remain, con-
taminating one of the fairest spots and finest
honey districts in the whole of England,
unless the compulsory powers advocated in
your editorial are obtained, and all through
the obstinacy of one whose prejudice and want
of knowledge blinds him to common-sense.
In fairness to others it must be added that
most of the good people whose hives were
found to be infected expressed perfect willing-
ness that extreme measures should be taken,
and they were taken. Still, there are some
who adopt the line taken by our old friend
referred to above, and it is a great hardship
and a crying shame that the innocent majority
shoiild suft'er through the callousness or the
ignorance of the few. For this reason true bee-
keepers should, like myself, be glad the matter
is being brought prominently to the front, and
hope that ere long we shall have compulsory
powers to deal with all such cases as the one
I have above detailed. This is one of the
points that has for the present delayed my
going into winter quarters.

Since writing the above another issue of the
Journal is to hand, and it is pleasing to see
that interest in the foul-brood question is in
no Avay flagging. Again our Editors return
to the charge, and Dr. Sharp is also to the
front, together with the veteran bee-keeper,
Mr. Wm. Woodley, who has a say in " Notes
by the Way." Mr. Wells' report, too, shows
that my experience in one part of the county
of Kent resembles his experience in another
part thereof. The result is that this bane of
the bee-keeper seems to exist more or less ail
over the county, and unless something be done
may go from bad to worse. There is some
similarity in the case quoted by Dr. Sharp

and the one I have referred to above. No
doubt he will bear me out that the instances
mentioned are only examples of dozens of
cases to be found by those who will trouble to
make inquiries. I am thankful, however, to
say that in my own neighbourhood I am not
aware of a single diseased stock.

Having in mind Mr. Woodley's remarks on
page 492, I would add that we too have a few
poor bee-keepers not very far off", and I was
surprised and sorry that he should have
written as he has on the matter dealt with,
because Mr. W. has proved that in most
things apicultural he takes a sound, common-
sense view ; and I trust it will turn out that it
is rather a slip of the pen, than a con-
viction of his mind, when he says : " the
law will deal hardest with the poorest in
this as in other matters." Again, " the poor
man's little pig is slaughtered -— it is his
all. So with the little apiary of the poor
cottager," &:c. No, friend W., much as

1 respect your opinions in general, I
cannot agree with you here, having re-
gard to the enlightened laws of this
the tail-end of the nineteenth century. I
fail to see how even the poorest cottager
will be a loser {vide Mr. Wells' letter, cases

2 and 9), when it is proposed to give him at
any rate some compensation for so utterly
valueless an article as a foul-broody stock of
bees. I feel sure Mr. Woodley would modify
his views, if his apiary was in constant
danger from the proximity of this disease as
those of many bee-keepers of my acquaintance
are. In many cases, to my knowledge, the
poor cottager would never have possessed a
hive at all, much less an apiary, but for the
liberality of the very gentlemen who are now
sufferers from the contiguity of the pest, and
without any chance of redress. It is a waste
of money to attempt a cure whilst there are
scores of hives reeking with the disease in the
neighbourhood of the careful bee-keeper's
apiary. Besides, if a hive is cured to-day, it
may be contaminated again to-morrow, so that
we are forced to the conclusion that the only
means of cure at this advanced stage of the
dire disease is the radical one. When this has
been effected, then, and not till then, shall we
be able to test and appreciate the value of the,
at present known, preventives and cures.

Mincemeat and Grumbles. — It does not
quite "fit in " with a " bee-talk," whether of
Christmas or otherwise, to include either
mincemeat or grumbles, but, when the writer
of the aforesaid " talk " happens to be a family
man, who takes a more than ordinary share
of interest in the domestic programme of the
festive season, he is apt to be somewhat tried
by such interruptions as an invitation to
" sample the mincemeat ! " and others of a like
nature. However, as "no grumbling is
allowed " at our house just now, one must
pocket the inclination to growl, otherwise this
" talk " won't get into the Christmas number of
the B.J. at all ! I may also observe that the

508

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[Dec. 20, 1894.

strains of the latest waltz in the adjacent
room, and the " starts " I have had through
some one trying the explosive power of " Tom
Smith's" crackers by way of rehearsing
"effects" — are not conducive to coherency,
but rather tend to mix things up a bit. More-
over, I find that we bee-keepers cannot, as a rule,
talk very long without having some grievance
to ventilate, but what man, whose heart is all
right, can air his grievances or give way to
grumbles when the hand of old Christmas
is with in reaching distance ? Not I, for
one. I would rather hope that bee-keepers
any way will show that the bond of good-
foUowship is worth uniting in, and join hands
in making our grumbles as few and our
grievances as light as may be in '95.

Finally, I have not overlooked Mr. Web-
ster's kindly invite (p. 495) to a little "argufy-
ing." I only stop to say, with the waiters,
that I shall have much pleasure in joining
in the " Coming, sir ! " shortly, but just now
will conclude by hoping that our editors and
readers of the B.J. will have the " good time ''
I heartily wish them, and that 1895 may
produce for us all two things — viz., a record
honey year, and a good start towards securing
the mastery over our arch-enemy, foul brood,
before its close. — Henry W. Brice, Thornton
Heath, Surrey, December 21.

UNITING BEES.

TRYING DR. MILLER'S PLAN.

[2143] On packing up my bees in October
for the winter I found a queenless stock, and
asked a friend to get me some driven bees with
queens, which he promised to do. They
arrived on November 14, and being from home
the whole of the day I thought I would try
the plan mentioned in the Bee Journal some
few weeks ago (1 think it was from an American
bee-keeper). The article stated that failure
had yet to be recorded. The method was to
place a sheet of paper over stock hive, make a
hole in centre to allow only one bee to pass
through at once, and place the hive containing
bees to be united over that, and they would
gradually work down and become one com-
munity. Well, my bees arrived in a " bwarm-
box.'' I bored a ^-in. hole in bottom and
placed over feed hole in quilts of stock hive. I
feel sure that every bee that passed down was
promptly killed and ejected. The alighting
board was covered with dead bees. And so,
finding how matters stood, besides being afraid
of losing the queen, I at once stopped up the
hole to prevent any more from passing down.
November 17 being a fine day, I shook the
bees off frames in front of hive, floured them ;
and when nearly all had run in again I did the
same with the driven bees, caught the queen,
and placed her at entrance, and saw her run
in. But not many minutes afterwards a
■worker bee dragged her out again ; I quickly
released the queen, and again put her in ; this
time she was accepted, for I watched till

almost dark, and saw no signs of her being
turned oat again. When packing up a week
later I examined the centre frame and saw
that she was all right. No doubt their being
queenless for a long time and the lateness of
the season had something to do with their
unwillingness to accept the driven bees and
queen, and the failure of above plan of uniting.
Is this so ? — Geo. E. Puttergill, Beeston,
Notts, December 11.

[Before our correspondent laid the onus of
failure in uniting bees on Dr Miller— whose
plan was mentioned on page 361 of our issue
for September 13 last — he should in fairness
have carried out plan as advised therein. As
it was, the most important conditions to the
ensuring of success on Dr. Miller's plan were
absent. In the first place, instead of uniting
two colonies of bees by placing a sheet of
paper between and allowing the bees to
enlarge the very small hole left by gnaw-
ing the paper away, our correspondent
attempted to unite a lot of homeless
and foodless driven bees to an established
stock. No wonder that each of the hungry
strangers on passing through the j-in. hole in
the board (not paper) was " promptly killed."
Bees with a furnished home stocked with food
will resent the intrusion of foodless and home-
less strangers, but we can quite understand
two colonies uniting peacefully enough where
each were equally well supplied and a temporary
division provided. On the other hand, when
the bees " in possession " were shaken oflp their
combs and thrown down in front of the hive,
as was wisely and promptly done in the second
attempt, the conditions were made more equal
and consequent success rewarded the operator.
—Eds.]

ASSISTING APICULTURE

IN THE CONGESTED DISTRICTS OF IRELAND.

[2144.] Seeing in last issue of the Bee
Journal (p. 492), reference again to the help
intended to be given to apiculture in the con-
gested districts of Ireland by the Agricultural
Department of the Irish Land Commission,
would you kindly allow me to ask through
your journal that some one who knows will
inform the many who are continually asking
me for the information I cannot give, viz ,
What is intended to be done for the extension
of apiculture in the congested districts of the
CO. Galway, where there are many respect-
able persons who would gladly avail them-
selves of any such help and instruction in bee-
keeping, and where the several districts are
extremely well adapted to apiculture ? This
information through your journal will be
thankfully received.— T. Kirwan, Twam, co.
Galway^ December 14.: .

asad , z&tl i-imoToT-l .-;o -.•',- --i
"BllES" FLYING IN WINTER.

[2145.] I havetwelve hives, allofthempacked
on the " Simmins " plan, with a free passage of

Dec. 20, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

509

air about the bees, they all have ekes, eight of
them are double cased, and four single cased.
Thus far into the winter I have noticed that
the bees fly most readily from the four single
cased hivei, and from one of the double cased.
In this one the eke is about 6 in. high, having
3 in., more or less, of the top open so that the
air passes freely under all lower edges of the
brood box. The hives are aU fairly close
together on one plot of ground.

I should like to ask your readers, who have
the two styles of hives placed in comparatively
similar position?!, to note how the bees fly, if
more from one kind than the other ? I take it
for granted that the bees that have had the
best cleansing flight, will be the best to go
through a long frost. — Ned. Swaix, Fordivich,
Canterbury.

DOUBLE F, SINGLE QUEENED
STOCKS.

[2146.] I was pleased to see Mr. Wells'
report for '94, as I had been trying the two-
queen system, and see no groat advantage in
it so far as honey-gathering goes. Jn order to
try them fairly side by side I put two strong
stocks with young queens in a " Wells '' hive,
and alongside of them two single hives with
old queens. From the two last-named 1 ex-
tracted 65 lb. and 70 lb. respectively, while
the " Wells" yielded 120 lb. The two single
stocks got 81b. of sugar each, and the "Wells"
hive 20 lb. to feed up for winter. The benefit
I see in the " Wells'' hive is that a two-queen
stock oaly takes the room of one single one
in the apiary.

I had under my care a single stock of bees
bought last spring, and I have this last season
e.xtracted from that hive 95 lb. of honey,
besides forming two nuclei. The hive having
swarmed at the beginning of the honey season,
I put the swarm back, and made the nuclei
with the queen cells. — " A Cheshire Max,''
Congleton, December 14.

METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.

November, 1894.

Locality, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.

Height above sea-level, 225 ft.

Rainfall, 252 in. ; heaviest fall, 062 in. on
12th.

Rain fell on sixteen days.

Max. shade temp., 60° on 2nd.

Min. temp., 23" on 30th.

Max. temp, at 9 a.m., 56° on 1st.

Min. temp, at 9 a.m , 27° on 30th.

Frosty nights, six.

Max. barometer, 30-25'' on 29th and 30th.

Min. barometer, 28-85° on 14th.

On the whole November has been a mild
month, notwithstanding the six frosty nights.
Bees were often able to take a flight. Few
fogs during the month. A high barometer at
the close. ^^^ ' Percy Leigh.

^dim from the gtws.

Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington, Decem-
ber 15, 1894.— The mild humid weather still
continues, and bees are very much on the
wing ; during the last day or two they have
been out like swarming. The weather subse-
quently proving that bees are as good as a
weather-glass ac this time of year.' At the
conversazione held during the Dairy Show
week some discussion arose about the difficulty
of getting bees to clean up wet combs that
had been extracted from, owing to the bees
7-c-storing some of the honey in them instead
of taking it below. I found that the trouble
comp'ained of could be got over by inserting
an empty box between the stock-hive and the
bo.x where the combs for cleaning-up were
stacked up above. The bees then gathered all
the honey from the wet combs and carried it
below. I have been getting my son to make
some bee-escape boards, so as to be in readi-
ness for the good time we hope to be coming
in 1895. Wishing all bee friends the compli-
ments of the approaching season. — John
Walton.

Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and thoie
onlu of personal interest will be ansioered in this column.

Letters or quenes asking for addresses of manufac-
turers or correspondents, or where appliances can be
purchased, or replies giving such information, can only
be inserted as advertisements. the space devoted io
letters, queries and replies is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers, and not for advertisements. We
wish our Correspondents to bear i;i mind that, as it isf
necessary for us to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the issue
immediately ^allowing the receipt of their communica-
tions.

J. R. (Greenhithe). — Foul Brood. — Comb re-
ceived is so badly affected Avith foul-brood
that we advise prompt destruction by burn-
ing of the bees, coaibs, and frames. No
good could come of any attempt to cure the
stock, which, every day it remains con-
tiguous to other hives, is a source of danger
to them. We should already fear for the
"weak stock close to" the diseased one. It
is more than probable the m'schief has
arisen from your putting the bees into the
hive (in which a stock had died the previous
year) without disinfecting it.

A correspondent— for whose trustworthiness
we can vouch — and who is at present the
owner of a large apiary, writes : — " If 'Castle
Hill,' Addington {vide Bee Journal of Dec. 6,
p. 489), is in a position to take a farm of 250
acres one is to be had on the G.N.R. main
line. Good bee district. And should ' Castle
Hill ' be disposed —for mutual advantage, of
course — to transport my bees, &c., thither, put
him in communication with me."

510

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Dec. 20, 1894.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, d:c. — Up to
Tu'elve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
toords or under, One Penny.

HONEY, 1-lb. Sections, 7s. 6d, dozen ; Extracted, 7d.
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500, 2s. 9d., post free. W. WoODLET, Beedon, Newbury.

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For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
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V

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Dec. 27, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL

511

(JditorM, ^ijtim, ^t.

CHRISTMAS.

Circumstances, quite outside our control,
place us in the unusual position of being
compelled to send out two issues of the
Bee Journal in one and the same week.
We need not say why, except that, along
with workers in general, those whose
task it is to furnish the weekly pabulum,
supposed to add to the intellectual
nourishment of bee-keepers, are being
treated to a short holiday in the week
devoted to Christmas. It is therefore
more than probable that the issue dated
December 27 may be delivered on the
2.5th, and thus make Paul Pry's " Hope
I don't intrude " apology a very needful
one, for we do not suppose for a moment
that either the most recent recruit or the
most ardent " old hand " will be longing
for his " journal " on Christmas-day.

The curtailment of our usual space by
the " Title and Index " may, therefore,
be looked on as a blessing in disguise all
round. Anyway, we shall regard it as
such, in having to confine ourselves here
to the few but very sincere words of
thanks, due from us as editors, to those
whose valuable help is recorded in the
twenty-second yearly volume of the Bee
Journal, which this number completes.
Without their help our pages would have
lacked the " pith " of their matter, so far
as making the Bee Journal not only
interesting but useful and instructive.
We repeat our oft-expressed opinion that
no one can write for bee-keepers but bee-
keepers, and bearing this in mind, there
is no flattery in saying how much our
thanks are due to contributors whose
experiences and work among their bees
add to the value of this volume.

While 1894 has only been a moderate
success to bee-keepers individually, the
pursuit has made very marked progress,
and, we may be allowed to add, the
Journal has progressed too in no small
degree, which but adds to the obligation
we are under to contributors and readers
alike. We therefore close by recipro-
cating the good M'^ishes and kindly feeling
expressed in so many letters received of
late, and, in the good old-fashioned
words, wish to all " A Merry Chri^mas !"
The Editors.

aS/am^mkmt

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are reqtissted to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not tiecessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c., miist be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' BritishBee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <5ec., must be addressed
to "The Manager, ' British Bee Journal" Offixie, 17,
King William-street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st
page of advertisements).

*,* In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number qf the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.

FINDING THE QUEEN.

Some Hints to Beginners.

[2147.] It is about three years and a half,
Messrs. Editors, since I sent you a wail on my
inability to find the queen in a well-filled
hive. Time and perseverance having pro-
duced the desired effect, I will, with your
permission, touch again on the subject. My
remarks will more especially concern begin-
ners, though from occasional queries in your
columns it would appear that there are many
folk who keep bees in their gardens, and yet
cannot secure the " mother " of the hive when
it would be advisable to do so. These may
get honey, and even some pleasure, from their
bees, but in the real joy of bee-keeping they
can have no share, for the key to the art is
finding the queen, and no hive-owner should
rest until he has the trick of it.

How is it to be done ? Simply by doing it ;
for there is no royal road. The signs of the
near neighbourhood of the queen-mother as
shown by the bees are so subtle, and so de-
pendent on the individual nature of the bees,
the condition of the queen herself, and the
circumstances of the moment, that they are
of no value to the beginner, who will indeed
have learned to find her before he can appre-
ciate them.

He must practise on his own bees, and it
is of much importance that they should be of
a quiet nature. The Carniolan has lately
fallen into disfavour ; but there is no bee so
suitable. If the strain is good, these bees
need no intimidation. They will remain quiet
on the combs under inspection, and wUl
very rarely sting, except when being crushed.
Carniolan s, as compared with other races, use
little propolis, and the queen is easily distin-
guished. So far, nearly as muah may be said
of the pure Ligurian ; but the Carniolan's one
vice, prolificness, settles the question in its
favour. The owner of a hive of pure Carnio-
lans may get but little honey ; but in a fine
summer they will treat him to every known
vagary in the way of swarming, give him in-

512

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Dec. 27, 1894.

crease of stock, and a varied practice which
will be of the greatest value to him as a be-
ginner. In the autumn he can requeen his
stocks at a small expense if he wishes it.

Yes, practice is the thing. And here I
must appear to go straight against advice often
given in your columns to the tyro. He must
not let his bees alone. By no means. The
first year or two let him open his hive and
search for the queen as often as he has the
mind to do so. How else is he to learn 1
Only let it be in fine weather, and on fairly
warm days ; for chilled brood is haK-way
towards foul brood. This will be touched on
later. Here it need only be said thatlt is well
to have two small warm and light coverings
at hand, with which to protect those frames
which are not being inspected at the moment.
No brood frame should be out of the hive for
more than three or four minutes at a time
unless it be well covered with bees.

In searching for the queen, the greatest
possible calm and gentleness is necessary, so
as not to alarm and set her on the run.
There must be little or no smoke, and any jar
or kick to the hive- legs must be avoided when
opening the hive. The queen will generally
be found where a good mother should be — in
the nursery, if not on special business else-
where. When separating a frame from the
others, before lifting it out for inspection, Mr.
Doolittle has wisely advised us to look down-
wards along the side not fully exposed to the
light. If on the frame at all, the queen will
probably be on that side of it, and, looked at
in this manner, the brightest part of her body,
her legs and abdomen, will be most likely to
attract the eye. But a pure Carniolan or
Ligurian queen will be recognised in any
position when the eye falls upon her. Frames
should be examined on a settled system —
round the rim first, and so inwards towards
the middle, is as good a way as any. On re-
versing the frame, look sharply to see that the
object of your search has not slipped back
again, or hidden herself in the gup below the
comb.

{Conchision in our next.)

SOME CHKISTMAS NOTES.

[2148.] On reading Mr. Wells's report for
1894 (p. 493) we can but congratulate him
on his successful take of honey ; there must
undoubtedly be something in the " system,"
for I can vouch for the fact that very little
honey was secured in single hives this season
either in Kent or Surrey, and when Mr. Wells
secures as against abnormally small returns, no
less than 74| lb. per hive, the fact requires no
comment. One thing, however, has struck
me, and that is the 24 lb. of beeswax, and sold
at 2s. per lb. Now, for such beeswax as I
have had for sale Is. 6d. per lb. (or Is. 3d. in
bulk) has been all I could obtain. For this

reason, no doubt others besides myself would
be glad of information — 1. If a ready market
is to be found for pure beeswax at this price, .
and whether it is sold in small quantities or in
bulk ? 2. Whether Mr. Wells gives his bees
full sheets, half sheets, or only starters of
foundation ? It would also be interesting if
he would tell us the modus operandi followed
in obtaining the 3 lb. per hive of beeswax per
season. I go in for a little comb-building
in my own apiary, and the way I proceed is
to give a strong stock during the feeding-up
time, half sheets of foundation. This season
I had over a gross of combs built in this way,
and having in mind the remarks in " Useful
Hints " on the matter, it has occurred to me
that if Mr. Wells wUl give us his views on the
production of bees wax, some besides myself
may be able to assist in developing this par-
ticular line of " profit to bee-keepers.'' Any-
way, the matter is worth consideration and
discussion by the fraternity. B.J. readers,
therefore, who have a " wrinkle " on the
subject, please come to the front, and they
will receive a hearty welcome.

Re-queening Hives. — I next note Mr.
Knewstubb (2124, p. 482) is inquiring
whether it is necessary or helpful to re-queen
hives ? My own views of this matter are that
although a stock or colony of bees will often
re-queen themselves when " mother" becomes
" tottery " and infirm, yet it cannot be con-
sidered the perfection of bee-keeping to allow
things to reach this stage. A queen — properly
reared and selected — will be good the first year,
in her prime the second, and, if given scope
for the full exercise of her laying powers during
this period, she will — so far as making the
stock profitable— be fit for nothing thence-
forth. In a very few cases queens are found
to do fairly weL the third year, but the un-
certainty of this occurring, and the tendency
of bees headed by old queens to swarm on the
slightest provocation makes the game not
worth the caudle, all things considered.

When joining up stocks for the winter I
have noticed that in every case where there
has been trouble in getting the bees to unite
peaceably, they have been headed by old
queens. On the contrary, when dealing with
bees headed by young prolific queens, I have
joined them up almost anyhow with uniform
success. Bees, in my experience, will not
willingly accept an old queen if they have any
means of obtaining a young one. And here let
me say I have had queens aged under two
years " old " (old on account of the work they
had done). Without dwelling longer on this
point, it may be said that the editorial foot-note
to this question on p. 482 fits the case exactly,
when you say " We think a great majority of
our leading bee-keepers in this country agree
in viewing young queens of the utmost impor-
tance in achieving success." I should call it
rather slipshod work if bee-keepers did not
take the matter into their own hands and see
that every hive is headed by a queen that

Dec. 27, 1894.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

51.3

would give a good account of herself, and not
leave this all-important matter to the entire
discretion of the bees. In visiting the apiaries
of our neighbouring bee-keppers, how often
do we hear the words : " This is my best
hive," or " This stock is doing ever so much
better than the others." But if bee-keepers
would only inquire a little farther into the
matter, they would, I think find that in nine
cases out of ten the difference rests primarily
in the queen, and it is, therefore, the bee-
keepers own fault in a very great measure that
one hive does so much better than another in
the same apiary.- — H. W. Beige, Thornton
Heath, Surrey.

DOUBLE VERSUS SINGLE QUEENED
HIVES.

A GOOD REPORT FOR 1894.

[2149.] Having just read the very interest-
ing report sent by Mr. Wells under the above
heading (2,130, p. 493), I thought I must
hold up my hand and say a word in favour of
the single-queened hives. I must, however,
say that, in comparison with his neighbours,
Mr. Wells has done wonderfully vvell.

Now for a word about my own bees. This
is what I should call a very fair honey dis-
trict ; we have about 12 acres of old-
established apple orchards, plenty of snowy
nespilus growing wild in the copses, 20 acres
or so of sainfoin, within a radius of Ij miles,
and a lot of white clover in the pasture land,
also a good many of old-established lime trees
within the mile radius.

I started the season with nine frame-hives
and one skep ; from these I have taken about
240 sections and 224 lb. extracted honey.

My balance-sheet for the year stands as
follows : —

20doz. sections, at 6s. per doz. ... ,£6 0 0
224 lb. extracted, at 6d. per lb. ... 5 12 0

Total ... 11 12 0

Deduce expenses for foundation and

sections 1 15 0

Balance for labour £9 17 0

I have had a lot of swarms, so that at the
end of the season my count has increased to
twenty stocks of bees, including two made up
of driven bees. I only had to feed two or
three stocks, as I make it a rule to take no
honey from the brood nest. You thus see my
average take from the ten hives (spring count)
is 46 lb. ; this is really from the nine frame-
hives. I took no honey at all from the skep
which gave me two swarms.

The reports of the double-queened hives
have not yet aroused sufficient enthusiasm in
me to start one, as I have had queens this
summer which have been prolific enough to
cover thirty standard frames with bees, the
frames having been storified, with excluder

over the ton bottom ones. Of course my pro-
fits would have been larger if I had been able
to realise so good a price for my honey as Mr.
Wells. The total results would then have
been increased by no less than £7. 6s. 8d., or a
profit for labour of £17. 3s. 8d. on the
season.

The wax, I reckon, will only about pay for
the trouble of melting down. The honey flow
in this district lasted about a fortnight. I
will leave it to your readers to strike the
balance between the double and single hives,
putting their own value on the eight extra
stocks I finished the season with.

Wishing you and fellow bee-keepers the
compliments of the season, I am, &c., G.
Jordan, Steeple Aston, Oxon, December 14.

SELF HIVERS.

[2150.] I again beg space for a line in reply
to Mr. Webster's questions (2131, p. 495)
a'lout my self-hiver ; the more so as it will
also serve as an answer to many who keep
writing to me by each post for information
regarding it. Mr. Webster asks, " Is it ex-
pensive, and is it simple ? " Well, I find that
in the very substantial way we are now making
the hivers, we shall have to charge about 7s.
each for them, but a good swarm saved would
be well worth two, and as they will last for any
number of years, I doubt if any one on seeing
them will call them " dear." Next — " Are
they simple V I think they are. The bees
enter their hive in the usual manner on a false
alighting-board, passing in under a row of
little hinged plates of extremely thin zinc,
each plate is g in. long and j in. wide, and
has a little less than | in. stamped out of the
metal right up the centre for about two-thirds
of its length, so that the least possible obstacle
IS presented to the bees entering the hive
when loaded. The entrance is about 8|- in. in
length, and in order to leave the hive the
worker bees must pass through excluder zinc
or else run forward and upward past the
similar row of plates placed the opposite way,
which entrap the queen and render her return
to the parent hive impossible. They are then
in the box placed for their reception, this latter
being a substantial box with sloping roof, so as
to make a swarm safe for weeks in any weather.
I should mention that the workers can leave
through the excluder-zinc at any part of the
hiver. The appliance is so arranged that its
weight keeps it in position when attached to a
hive without any fixing whatever, providing
the hive is within a reasonable height from the
ground. The only attention needed is the
removal of the entrapped drones occasionally,
and the only parts that can possibly get out of
order from wear and tear are the detachable
rows of hinge-plates, which can always be
refitted for a few pence if sent to me by post..

By taking out four screws the whole appa-
ratus fits inside within the " hiving-box,"
forming an ordinary square box for storing

514

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Dec. 27, 189*.

away, or sending per parcel post, at a cost of
Is. 4|d.

I should add to the foregoing letter that the
hiver touches no portion of the hive but the
entrance, and therefore cannot interfere in the
slightest degree with any plan of working a
hive. Also that two " hivers " could be
attached to a " Wells " hive.

The appliance is already "protected," and
we hope shortly to place it on the market, and
advertise it with illustration in B.B.J. — G. W.
Hole, Patcham, Siissex, December 17.

SELF-HIVERS.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH MR. HOOKER's DEVICE.

[2151.] In response to a request made in the
latter part of the year 1892 I made a trial of
Mr. Hooker's self-hiver, which, earlier on in
the same year, was exhibited at the " Royal ''
show at Warwick. The hiver was attached to
a strong stock left without supers to encourage
swarming, which it eventually did, the swarm
clustering in an adjoining garden. I was
engaged at work some 200 yards away from
the apiary, and on receiving my usual intima-
tion that a swarm was " off," I went down and
examined the swarmed hive, and found that,
owing to my failure in fully attending to the
instructions received as to managing the
"hiver," the swarm — after remaining
'* clustered '' outside for a quarter of an hour
— returned to their hive. I then discovered
my mistake and at once rectified it. A day
or two later the swarm again issued, and this
time the queen ascended into the top hive pre-
pared for her, but, finding only a small part of
the swarm had joined her, she was returned
for another " trial." Unfortunately, however,
young queens were hatching out, and the old
one was killed, so I got no further chance with
the hiver that season.

The following year (1893) was, as most of
us know, a non-swarming season, and I did not
have a single natural swarm, but there was
plenty of honey, and the bees of the stock to
which the " hiver '' and spare hive was attached
— the latter being fitted with six full frames of
foundation — actually took possession of these
frames, worked out some of the foundation
into combs, and stored honey in them. Thus
showing that if only for ensuring us against
loss of swarms, and giving the bees a place for
storing surplus during a honey-glut, the hive
is a valuable acquisition.

Talking of " honey-gluts '' reminds me of the
work done by my bees in the sixties, when
they seemed to put " honey everywhere."
Somehow these good old seasons seem to have
passed away for ever.

Coming to '94, 1 was away at the " Eoyal "
show at Cambridge when the stock — with
hiver attached — swarmed, and as I did not
get back till ]ate at night, no examination was
made till the following morning, when I found
about 1^ lb. of bees snugly ensconced between

three frames. Had I been at hand to move
the parent stock away and place the new hive
on the old stance so soon as the swarm had
joined the queen, I am sure it would have
been a success. As it was, I moved the old
hive some paces away, thinking to get the same
result, but it failed, owing, maybe to the
altered appearance of the hive-front after re-
moval of the " hiver," or to my leaving the
latter still attached to the parent hive. Any-
way, the bees of the swarm eventually dis-
covered the old home — passing bcveral hives
in finding it — and again took possession.

Despite these failures, there is no doubt
that bee-keepers who only work a few hives,
and are away from home, must find such hivers
a great boon, as relieving from such troubles
as swarms clustering in an unfriendly neigh-
bour's garden, or — worse still — going off to
parts unknown. — John Walton, Weston,
Leamington, December 15.

BEE-DOINGS IN NORTH HUNTS.

[2152.] I began the year 1894 with about
forty hives, nuclei and stocks, having lost only
one the preceding winter, and that one through
a bad-leaking roof. I have, however, pre-
vented that mischief in future by purchasing
ten sheets of thin zinc (6 ft. by 2ft. 6 in.),
and cut it up according to size of my hive
roofs. By turning up the corners and using a
few small brads it was soon fixed, and after a
coat of paint the job was finished, so well that
not a drop of water has passed through since,
notwithstanding some soaking rains. A friend
of mine at St. Ives had the whole of his apiary
floated away to the sea (the river rose 7 ft.
above the usual height). This is the only case
I have heard of damage to bees through the
floods in this part of the country.

Bees have done very well where attended
to, but the skeppists have fared badly. I have
driven about sixty skeps this year, but only
came across three lots where there was any
quantity of honey, and these were very early
swarms, and strong in numbers.

I have only taken an average of about 20 lb.
of surplus from each hive, for on no conditions
do I ever extract from the brood-nest. But
my bees have gone into winter- quarters with
plenty of food, and a good cake of candy over
each feed-hole to keep their hearts up, whether
they required it or not. I like to be on the
safe side, and am very glad I have been so
this year, as there is a great draw on the food
so far this winter. The weather up to the
present has been so mild and spring-like that
I am afraid we shall hear of a lot of losses in
the spring.

While writing I can hear the church bells,
and their merry ring seems to say, "Peace
and goodwill to all men,'' so, wishing all bee-
keepers a merry and happy Christmas, and
may brotherly love continue. — R. Brown,
Flora Apiary, Somersham, Hunts, December 19.

Dec. 27, 1894.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

515

EXPERTS' VISITS.
[2153.] I enclose notice of D.B.K. Associa-
tion annual meeting, by which you will see
that the continuation of sending the Rkcord
to members is to be discussed. If discon-
tinued I am sure a great many will miss it,
cottagers especially, who will not care to pay
for it separately, after having the benefits of
the Association included for a trifle extra. For
myself I would rather give up the Association
than the Record. I have not had much
benefit from it in this, my first year. I was
eagerly looking forward to the expert's visit,
and received his advice, " intend a call," but
did not receive his visit, although he called
within six houses from mine. The only visit
I received from him being about a week after
his advice, and then, at my place of business,
as he passed, I suppose, on his way to the
station. I notice a complaint of non-visita-
tion in November's Record, signed W.C, so
there are others beside myself. I do not think
it a very good way of promoting bee-keeping,
when would-be bee-keepers join associations
and are left in the cold in this way. — R. H. C,
Burton • on- Trent.

MR. WELLS'S REPORT AND
BEESWAX.
[2154.]— Will Mr. Wells please state how
he manages to get such a lot of wax from his
hives ? Does he melt up all his combs, and
start every year afresh with frames of founda-
tion ? In speaking of it to my better-half,
she says he must melt all his combs up to get
that quantity,— 3 lb. of wax for each double
stock is a large yield. — John WaJjTon, Weston,
Leamington, December 19.

LOCATION FOR A LARGE APIARY.

[2155.] If your corresijondeut "Castle Hill''
(p. 489 of B.J. for December 6) wishes to
start a large apiary near London, I should
recommend him to such a place as Dorking,
or Walton on the Hill (Walton Common), near
Betchworth, which is surrounded with clover
and heath. Very often, when you have to
depend on the fruit bloom, the season is cold
and the bees cannot work the blossoms. — J.
Greenhill, Wimbledon, December 14.

(^urm M& Jle^to.

[1223.] Borage for Bee, Pasture. — I am
thinking of sowing about an acre of borage for
the production of honey. 1. How should i
proceed, and what quantity of seed will suffice
for an acre ? 2. The land is rather strong and
wet. Will this afi"ect the plants in any way t
The field is about 400 yards away from my
apiary. 3. Is this distance too great for the

bees to do full justice in the way of showing a
surplus ? 4. What percentage of honey and
pollen does lilac and laburnum yield? 5.
What kind of a plant is figwort, and where
could it be procured ?— Produce, Ferry Hill,
December 18.

Reply. — With an acre of land to cover we
should make three or four sowings for succes-
sion at intervals of about one month, beginning
with March or April. Sow ia drills 18 in. to
2 ft. apart. The plants flower in from five to
six weeks in summer, but spring-sown seed
takes longer. The seedsman from whom you
purchase will say how much seed to an acre.
2. The plant does not seem very fastidious as
to soil, but hot, dry weather brings out its best
qualities as a bee-plant, beyond the fact that it
is one of the few flowers that bees work on in
wet weather, because of the pendant bloom
hanging downwards. 3. No. 4. Both lilac
and laburnum are worthless as bee-flowers. 5.
In some places bees work hard on and gather
a large quantity of nectar from figwort, while
in others we have heard complaints of them
not visiting it for honey. Yon might make
trial of a small quantity, and see how it does
for your bees. Wet land suits it well. Messrs.
Sutton, of Reading, will supply it.

Moticesto Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will he attended to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.

W. J. H. (OongletoQ).— FFif^e Ends for
Standard Frames. — We should certainly
not advise working standard frames in
surplus chambers with " wide ends.'' No
doubt the shallow frame does very well for
extracting when worked at the 2 -in. distance,
but for many reasons we should keep
standard frames at the usual distance apart.

Jas. Kitchen (Barrow-in-Furness). — Since
the letter referred to appeared (2126, p. 483)
Mr. Miller has written to say that the
word " Symington " in sixth line of second
column should have been Simmins.

La Ruche (Wakefield). — The chemicals used
in the manufacture of beet-sugars are con-
sidered to have a more or less injurious
effect on bees when given as food. On this
account pure cane-sugars are much preferable
for the purpose.

British Bee - Keepers' Association. —
Referring to the fourth paragraph of the
Educational Sub-Committee's report, on p. 502
of our last issue, the words " with little excep-
tion " should read with one exception.

Several articles, letters, &c., arc in type and
ivill appear next loeeJc,

516

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Dee. 27, 1894,

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, &c. — Up to
Twelve ivords, Sixpence; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

HONEY, 1-lb. Sections, 7s. 6d. dozen ; Extracted, 7d.
per lb in IS-lb. tins. Free on rail. Edwakd Long,
Cottenham, Cambs. F 86

LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS. Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long, 8d., post free,
500, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodlbt, Beedon, Newbury.

CASH MARKET FOR SECTIONS, EXTRACTED
HONEY and WAX. Packages sent. State lowest
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FOR SALE, 5 cwt of pure LEICESTERSHIRE HONEY
in 28-lb. tins. Offers. J. Shenton, Hds. Bosworth,
Rugby. F 89

THIRTEENTH EDITION.

COOK'S MANUAL OF THE APIARY.

CONTAINING 220 ILLUSTRATIONS.
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TO HIVE MAKERS.

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A large consignment of the beautiful

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For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
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Address S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent.

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Its Economical Uses & Conversion into Money.

By J. DENNLER,

Author of "Honey as Food," "Honey and its Uses."
Translated from the German, and Edited by

THOS. W. COWAN, Editor of "British Bee Journal."

Illnstrated, price 3W., post free.
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