LIBRARY

OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS

AGRICULTURAL

COLLEGE

Source

THE

■Brifek $w 3nnrnai

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

EDITED BY

THOS. WM. COWAN, F.G.S., F.L.S., F.E.MS., &c, and W. BROUGHTOX CARK.

VOLUME XXL

January-December, 1893.

PUBLISHED BY

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

23 PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.

LIBRARY

UNIVERS TY OF

masc etts
amherstTmass.

INDE X.

Aberdeen, Bee show at, 342

Abnormal, bee season, 191;
bees, 345 ; swarms, 106

Active octogenarian bee-
keeper, 397

Adapting hives to the
"Wells" system, 108, 177

Adding, brood, 129 ; brood to
strengthen stocks, 120 ;
frames of foundation in
spreading brood, 189

Admitting queens to supers
in " Wells " hives, 248

Adulteration of foundation,
309

Affiliated associations and
the B.B.K.A., 88

After-swarms, 217

Afternoon in a cottager's
apiary, 211

Age and distance at which
virgin queens mate, 172,
187; of queens, 379

Algeria, News from, 6

Allowing bees to transfer
themselves, 229

Alsike clover, charlock and
vetches' as honey plants,227

Amateur bee-keeping, 116

Among, the bee-keepers of
California, 9, 19 ; the bees
in Ireland, 357

Analysis of Honey, 315

Another, bee - outrage, 46 ;
novice's first year's bee-
experience, 395 ; novel non-
swarming idea, 421, 441

Antipodes, Notes on bees and
bee-keeping in the tropics
and, 204

Ants and earwigs, Honey
gum for, 262

Apiary on a roof in Phila-
delphia, U.S.A., 324

Apiculture in 1892, Experi-
ments in, 400, 410, 413, 421

Appeal, An, 246

Appliance dealers and their
customers, 131, 154

Appliances, New, 311 ; at
Royal show ; 252 ; at Scot-
tish B.K.A., 312

Are bees deaf? 14, 34, 57

Are metal ends needed in
surplus chambers ? 451

Artificial pollen, 108

Artificial swarms from skeps,
Making, 237, 276, 287

Artisan's first year with bees,
An, 437

Asphalte felt for covering
frames, 90

Assisting cottagers to sell
their honey, 223

Associations : — Auldgirth
(N.B.),374; British Bee-
keepers', 12, 42, 61, 81,
111, 122, 132, 172, 202, 212,
221, 262, 291, 381, 407, 423,
433, 445, 464; Berks, 92,
321 ; Bishops Stortford,
93, 342; Bristol, 83, 332,
342; Cranleigh and Dis-
trict, 302, 446 ; Darnaway,
Moyness.and District, 333 ;
Derbyshire, 33, 253, 363,
431; Essex, 162; Glamor-
ganshire, 93, [322; Goole
and District, 354 ; Here-
ford, 82 ; Hunts, 323 ;
Irish, 23,! 183, 272, 358,
465; Kent, 42, 292, 342;
Lancashire and Cheshire,
154, 313, 404, 508 ; Leicester-
shire, 163, 332; Lincoln,
197, 291 ; Loughborough
and District, 113 ; Melrose,
393; Middlesex, 183, 223,
303 ; Northumberland and
Durham, 163, 192, 490, 504;
Northamptonshire, 61, 292,
323; Nottinghamshire, 72,
314, 333, 382; Roxburgh-
shire, 392, 482; Scottish,
103, 173, 217, 271, 293, 371,
312, 323, 373, 381; Shrop-
shire, 352; South of Scot-
land, 235, 253, 341; Staf-
fordshire, 236, 322 ; Surrey
and Dorset, 168; Vale of
Leven, 374 ; Warwickshire,
374; Worcestershire, 243

Australian, bee-keepers and
eucalyptus honey, 371 ;
honey and Custom House
offhials, 394

Average for 1893, A big, 418

Averages |on the "Wells"
system, 86

Balance-sheet for 1893, A
novice's, 417

Bee associations, Starting,
18; and the promotion
of bee-keeping, 485

Bee, book, The new, 27;
Candy, 10, 30, 90, 452;
doings in 1892, My, 16;
doings of a village shoe-
maker, 56 ; doings in
Hnnts,154; experiences, 97 ;
episode in co. Kilkenny, An,
470 ; flowers, 10, 47, 58, 100 ;
flowers in small gardens,

53 ; houses, 248 ; Journal,
Concerning the, 48; notes
from Hereford, 356; notes
from Scotland, 348, 385 ;
outrage, 15 ; outrage,
Another, 46 ; ' paralysis,

227, 248; parasites on
queen, 408 ; parasites, 330 ;
prospects, Present, 121 ;
plants, 176, 215; plant,
Gorse as a, 49 ; show at
Aberdeen, 342 ; stings, 9,
89 ; stings and rheumatic
gout, 138 ; stings and rheu-
matism, 326 ; syrup, Scent-
ing, 57

Bee-culture in country, 343 ;

in allotment gardens, 388 ;

in United Kingdom, 443
Bee club, Cranleigh and

district, 302, 346; Wrock-

wardine, 363
Bee experience, Novice's first

year, 395 ; A novel, 396 ;

My first year's, 367, 387
Bee-keeper, My experiences

as a, 67
Bee-keepers' associations and

honey sales, 424
Bee-management in summer,

228, 238

Bee reminiscences of the
past, 482, 489, 500

Bee-van lecture tour, 128

Bee-keeping, A Chinaman's,
29; A gardener's, 117; as
a business, 432 ; as taught
in schools, 75, 166 ; at the
Cape, 65; among the
Jurupa Mountains, 4, 104 ;
amateur, 116 ; County
Councils and the promo-
tion of, 454 ; Farmers and,
482; in the South of
France, 4, 104 ; in a nut-
shell, Successful, 54; in
Palestine, 78; in New
Zealand, 255 ; in the tropics
and the antipodes, 377 ; in
co. Wexford, 420 ; Lectures
on, 268, 439, 481, 490, 491 ;
Making the most of, 12, 23,
32, 43 ; notes, 234 ; Tech
nical instruction in, 106,
114, 173, 217 ; in Sussex, 508

Bees, about dwelling-houses,
296 ; abnormal, 345 ; at-
tacking fowls, 175 ; and
honey at the Yorkshire
Agricultural Show, 321 ;
and bee-keeping in Car-
marthenshire, 466 ; and the

"Wells" hive in Derby-
shire, 378 : and honey in
Jersey, 367 ; and fruit
culture, 407 ; and their
ways, 23 ; and the Bishop,
452, 458 ; and the baby,
470 ; and limes, 507 ; and
honey-dew, 238 ; . and
poppies, 330; and toads,
246; and salt water. 159;
and brace combs, 277 ; and
horticulture, 294 ; and
combs in hive roof, 286;
Artisan's first year with,
437 ; building comb out-
side hives, 257 ; birds and
flowers, 106 ; cast out, 305 ;
casting ont drones, 189;
cleaning up wet combs and
sections, 428 ; clustering
outside hive, 340; combs
breaking down in driving,
452 ; dead from starvation,
140 ; deserting nucleus
hive, 150 ; deserting hives,
189; De Quincy on, 388;
Enemies of, 143 ; Essays
on, 452; fighting, 277;
fraternising, 120, 285, 508 ;
fraternising in " Wells"
hives, 266 ; going back to
old location, 39 ; hanging
out, 338 ; How I came by
my, 26 ; in Berks, 215 ; in
co. Kilkenny, 437; in co.
Down, 48 ; in Hants, 176,
468, 507 ; in Ireland.Among
the, 357 ; in North Devon,
107, 449 ; in New Zealand,
274; in roof, 317; in skeps
dying, 39 ; in South Shrop-
shire,428, 467 ; in Somerset,
429, 458 ; in Staffordshire,
435 ; in South Devon, 460;
in the Midlands, 215, 418 ;
in the South, 215 ; in twin
hives, &c, Driven, 143 ; in
"Wells" hives, 431; in
woods, 118 ; killing drones
in May, 219 ; leaving straw
skeps, 297; Lectures on,
52, 104. 124 ; leaving their
hive in cold weather, 492 ;
Maintaining the working
impulse in, 232; Mishap
with, 488; Moving, 248,
358, 408, 509; entering
sections, 229 ; Nightingales
and, 246, 257 ; perishing in
snow, 451, 454 ; Protecting
cows from, 50; refusing
foundation, 349; refusing

INDEX TO VOLUME XXI.

in

white super foundation,
361 ; refusing to enter a
"Wells" bive, 370; Re-
moving1, 49 ; Soldiers
routed by a swarm of,
358 ; swarming in Septem-
ber, and deserting brood,
378 ; South African, 65 ;
Treacle for, 50 ; Wintering
driven, 379; working on
tare stems, 259 ; short of
stores, 509
Beet sugar for bee- food, 390
Beginners, Old hands versus,
430 ; driven bees for, 413 ;
and " Wells" system, 87
Beginner's, queries, A, 389 ;

troubles, A, 471
Beginning bee-keeping, 159
Beeswax, 55 ; Market for,
413; Price of, 460; Mr.
Wells' system of extract-
ing, 515
Best bees for extracted

honey, 227
Big average for 1893, 418
Biggar honey show, 343
Birch-trees and bees, 178
Boiling syrup, 130
Breeding, Late start in, 109 ;
in the north, Early, 106 ;
experiments in apiculture,
400
British exhibits for Chicago,

252
British Bee Journal and

eucalyptus honey, 473
Brood, Chilled, 186, 249;
chambers, Size of, 169, 198
Bromine for foul brood, 233
Bundle of queries. 187
Building up stocks by adding

brood, 129
Buying, bees, 20; diseased
bees, 169; sections, 259;
wax, 431

Cakes of wax cracking, 330

^California, Among the bee-
keepers of, 9, 19

Calico for covering frames,
130

Cane sugar for bee food, 130,
422

Candy, 10, 30; feeding, 48;
making, 91

'Can, fertile workers produce
any but drones? 227;
bees withdraw their sting,
345

Cane for straw skeps, 358

Candied honey, 431

Canadian Bee Journal, 317

Carniolan bees and in-
crease, 168

Carbolic fumigators, 328,
329

Carrying, bpes on Bicycles,
177, 439, 504

Castle Douglas, Honey show
at, 354

Casting out drone brood, 217

Caterpillars, destroying. 450

Catching queens in autumn,
336

Charlock, vetches, and alsike
clover as bee-plants, 227

■Caution, A, 469

Cheshire report, A, 469

■Chicago, On my way to the
world's fair at, 282 ; Brit-
ish exhibit for, 2, 52;
Honey for, 12, 22, 68;
Through Canada and tbe
lakes to, 375; Show of
honey for, 31

Chilled brood, 186, 249

Chinaman's bee-keeping, 29

Christmas chips, 7

Claiming runaway swarms,
239

Clarifying honey-dew, 329,
344

Cleaning up wet combs and
sections, 428

Clipping queen's wings, 10,
461

Clun (Salop) Horticultural
Society, 364

Coat buried in honey, 396

Colonial honey, 216

Comb, Suspected, 178 ; Mil-
dewed, 59 ; honey, Early
granulation of, 361 ; honey
by post, 362; foundation
and foul brood, 154;
broken down, 69

Combs, in hive roof, 286;
Transferring bees and,
440; from frame hives to
boxes, Transferring, 441 ;
breaking down in driving
bees, 452 ; Moths in, 452

ComiDg bee and honey shows,
192

Compulsory removal of bees,
178

Comparing the double and
single queen system, 195

Com petition for prizes, Show
of honey for Chicago, 31

Completing sections, 289

Concerning the Bee Journal,
48

Continental bee journals,
Reviews of, 148, 158, 178
318, 399

Copyright acts, 99

Cottagers' small exhibits,
Prizes for, 327

County Associations, and the
presentation at the Man-
sion House, 441 ; and the
promotion of bee-keeping,
454

Covering for frames, 259

Criticising the critics, 117

Crooked combs, 208

Cure for bee-sting, A new, 9

Curious effect for a bee-
sting, 285

Curious retreat for bees, 295

Cutting queen's wings, 287

Daily increase in weight of

hive, 510
Dairy Show, Honey at

London, 438; Exhibiting

at, 439
Dangers of the " Wells"

system, 69
Dates for putting on supers,

141
Dead brood in combs, 169
Dealing with, a queenles«

stock, 198 ; skeps after

driving, 289; foul brood,

369, 466
Death of President of Lin-
colnshire B.K.A.,494
Depth of entrances to

" Wells " hives. 127
Deserting, "Wells" hives,

Swarms 216; brood, 378
Destroying, wasps, 305 ;

wasp's nests, 249;
Destroying caterpillars, 450
Dialysis, Examination of

honey by, 62, 73, 83, 93 ;

of houey, 447
Difficulty in extracting

honey, 366
Dishonest, exhibiting, 403,

427, 448 ; exhibitors, 428
Disinfecting hives, 48
Distance, bees fly at a profit,

137 ; at whicb queeus mate,

Age and, 187
Dividing stocks for double

queening, 148
Divider, The "Wells" per-
forated, 167
Do bees, hear ? 45, 64 ;

gather poisonous honey ?

351

Do bee-keepers adulterate
honey ? 487

Does bee-keeping pay ? 498

Doings, in 1892, My bee, 16 ;
up to date, My, 37 ; of a
village shoemaker, The
bee, 56; in Bunts, Bee,
154; in Derbyshire, 156

Domesticating humble-bees,
296

Double-queen system, 92,
121, 151; The "Wells"
dummy hive suitable for
the, 234

Double-queened, hives and
Italian bee-keepers, 417 ;
stock counted as two
colonies, 86; hive, Trans-
ferring bees to, 119 ; hives
and their management,
166

Double, and single-queen
system, Comparing the,
195

Double hives, Entrances for,
49

Driven bees, and " Wells "
hives, 258 ; Wintering,
379 ; Giving young queens
to, 409 ; for beginners,
413 ; in twin hives, 143

Driving, condemned bees,
198 ; bees from straw skeps,
299 ; bees from supered
skeps, 349

Drone brood, Casting out,
217 ; in worker cells, 249

Drone-breeding, queen, 108,
158 ; in March, 118

Drones, Early, 105, 117, 123,
138 ; Scarcity of swarms
and, 256; Scarcity of, 277,
287

Dr. Tinker, A reminder to,
16

Dysentery and wax-moth,
Remedies for, 20

Early, drones, 105, 117, 138
blooming of honey plants,
189 ; breeding in the north,
106 ; drones in Scotland,
J 29 ; granulation of honey,
365 ; harvest, 171 ; swarm,
An, 105, 117, 166, 176;
swarm in Surrey, 186 ;
sections and " Wells " hive,
185 ; sections, 157, 176, 185 ;
supering, 161

Earwigs, Bees and, 118; in
hives, 258

Echoes from the hives, 28,
39, 49, 58, 79, 88, 99, 109,
146, 157, 167, 176, 197, 226,
236, 247, 268, 285, 298, 308,
317, 329, 338, 349, 368, 379,
389. 398, 40*, 440, 452, 481

Edinburgh show, Scottish
B.K.A.,293; honey show,
Some notes on, 382

Editorial opinion, 362

Effects of the season, 321

Ends for surplus chambers,
Wide, 469

Enemies of bees, 143

English methods versus
French, 27

Entrance for double hives, 49

Errors, Lecturer's, 468

Essays on bees, 452

Establishing two queens in a
" Wells " hive, 265

Eucalyptus honey, 406, 416 ;
Australian bee-keepers' i
and, 371 ; The British Bee
Journal and, 473

Evaporation of honey, 411

Examination of honey by
dialysis, 62, 73. 83, 93

Excluder zinc, 375

Exhibiting, Dishonest, 403,
427, 448 ; at the dairy show,
439

Exhibitors, Dishonest, 428

Exhibit for Chicago, The
British, 2

Exhibits at shows, 68

Experience, as a bee-keeper,
My, 67 ; with bees and a
"Wells" hive in Derby-
shire, 378

Experiences, of a Hunts bee-
keeper in 1892, 35; Bee,
97,367; with the " Wells "
hive, 214, 265, 395, 420;
with the " Wells" system,
My, 397 ; A begin-
ner's, 287; suggestions,
&c, 336 ; in 1893, A lady's
bee-keeping, 429

Experiments, in apiculture
in 1892, 400, 410, 413, 421 ;
with the " Wells " dummy,
436 ; at the Michigan
State apiary, 455

Expert's.apiary , A visit to an,
304, 346 ; certificates, 100

Extending the "Wells"
system, 207, 240

Extracting, wax, 388, 507 ;
method of, 347; Thick or
thin combs for, 479 ; from
brood chambers, 247 ;
frames, Wider metal ends
for, 326 ; houey , Difficulty
in, 366 ; Storing away
comb for, 450; honey at
shows, 404

Extractors, S8

Extracted honey, Best bees
for, 227 ; Froth on surface
of, 409

Failure, with the " Wells "
dummy, 478 ; to find queen,
279

Falcon sections, The new, 12

Farmers and horticulturists
should be bee-keepers,
Why, 293

Feeding, with dry sugar in
winter, 472 ; and medicat-
ing bees, 481 ; back honey,
421 ; candy, 48 ; neglected,
47 ; Porto Rico sugar for,
89

Feeders, Leaking bottle, 481

Felt for covering frames,
Asphalte, 90

Fertile workers, 239 ; pro-
duce any but drones ? Can,
227

Fermentation of honey, 390

Few days in an? expert's
apiary, 304

Finding queens in autumn,
332, 383

Find of honey, A good, 295

Fii-st, year's bee-experiences,
367, 387, 395; year with
bees, An artisan's, 437

Flour candy, Using, 59

Flowers, Bee, 10; Bees,
birds and, 10

Flower-pot super, A, 217

Food, for winter, 3&0; for
bees, Spring, 90; Sugar
for bees, 350

Foul brood, 229, 390,412, 422;
remedies, 41 ; Important
paper on, 102, 112, 123,
13 i; Suspected, 199, 219,
237 ; Treating, 236 ; cured,
296 ; Dealing with, 369

Foul-broody, combs, Using,
187; stocks storing surplus,
158 ; bees, Taking charge
of, 79 ; bees, 360

Foreign honey, 284 ; com-
petition, 493, 506, 507

Foundation, Wiring, 156,
208; Bees refusing, 349;
white super, 361

Fowls, Bees attacking, 175

Fraudulent showing, 428

IV

INDEX TO VOLUME XXI.

Frames, Size of shallow, 49,
478; wiring, 130; New
method of hanging, 488;
Distance guides for, 503

Frame hives, Transferring
to, 409 ; Transferring
stocks from, 198 ; to boxes,
Transferring combs from,
411 ; Transferring bees to,
317; The standard, 449, 463;
ends, 457

Froth on surface of extracted
honey, 409

French versus English
methods, 27

Fruit in honey, Preserving,
248

Funiigators, Carbolic, 328

Fusball and bees, 109

Gardener's bee-keeping, 117
Getting honey out of skeps,

299
Giving, brood to weak stocks,

108, 128; surplus room,

183; room in skeps, 217;

young queens, 278, 288;

to driven bees, 409
Glasgow flower show, Honey

exhibits at, 373
Glazed boxes showing shal-
low frames, 452
Gluttonous bees, 469
Good, honey year, 346;

season in Yorkshire, 273;

find of honey, 295
Gorse as a bee-plant, 49
Granulation, of honey after

heating, 99 ; of comb

honey, Early, 381; of

honey, Early, 365
Grauulated honey, 442
Green-fly, Honey-dew and,

39S

Harvest, The, 391

Heather, A visit to the, 344 ;

Pollen off, 346
Heredity in bees, 181, 207,

261
Hereford, Bee- notes from,

356
Hints, Suggestions and, 137
Hive, for 1893, My, 46 ; Bees
building comb outside,
257 ; of wasps, 459 ; The
"Wells," 171, 175, 469;
Result from my " Wells,"
438
Hives, Sir J. D. Gibson- |
Carmichael on, 101 ; Twin,
165 ; and their manage-
ment, Double-queened, 166;
for "Wells" system, 196;
Earwigs in, 253 ; Patent,
412 ; Re-queening, 441;
blown over, 509
Honey, at London dairy
show, 438 ; and standard
jars, Selling, 17; and
pollen bee-flowers for, 100 ;
and rheumatism, 169 ;
after heating, Granulation
of, 99; Analysis of, 315;
assisting cottagers to seli
their, 223 ; Australian
bee-keepers and eucalyptus,
371; bird, 225, 243; by
po3t, Sending, 387; by
measure, Selling, 38, 56;
Candied, 431 ; comb de-
. signs, 130, 189 ; and sec-
tions, 327; Colonial, 216;
crop in south-west Sussex,
395; dew, 268, 364; Bees
and, 238 ; and green-fly,
398 ; clarifying, 329 ;
Dialysis of, 447 ; districts,
Value of, 306; Difficulty in
extracting, 366 ; Do bees
gather poisonous ? 351,
379 ; Early granulation of,

365 ; Eucalyptus (Austra-
lian), 416; exhibits at
the Glasgow flower show,
373 ; at Farningham, Kent,
271; Largs, 346; fair at
Hereford, 373 ; Fermenta-
tion of, 390 ; Feeding back,
421; for Chicago, 22, 31,
68; showing, 287; British
exhibits of, 52 ; from
lime-trees, 110; willows,
319; Gathering late, 366;
Granulated, 442 ; gum for
ants and earwigs. 262;
harvest in Scotland, 305;
in Durham, 358 ; How to
obtain in a poor district,
36, 47; imports, 12, 5i, 99,
143, 184, 228, 271, 324, 364,
412, 452 ; in the north, 261!;
jars,. Standard, 5, 18, 27,
38, 39, 48 ; Manufactured,
101; Market for, 380;
Planting trees for, 431 ;
plants, Early blooming of,
189 ; Preserving fruit in,
24S ; sales, Bee-keepers'
Association and, 423;
samples, 259, 269, 279, 390,
412, 452 ; show at Broseley,
Shropshire, 382 ; Castle
Douglas, 3 17, 351 ; Crystal
Palace, 393 ; Llandilo,
Carmarthenshire, 393 ;
Edinburgh, 3S3 ; Kilmar-
nock, 434 ; in Co. Kilkenny,
420 ; shows in London,
203 ; Spoiled, 255 ; Testing
the purity or. otherwise of,
262 ; recipes, 509

Hornets', nest, A, 479; Wasps
and, 432

Horticulturists, Bees and, 294

How, f ir do bees go in search
of nectar? 37, 47; prevented,
Bees perishing in snow,451,
453 ; to increase the white
honey crop, 409 ; to obtain
honey in a poor district,
36,47

Humble-bees, Domesticating,
296

Important papers on foul

brood, 81, 102, 112, 123, 134

Increase, Carniolan bees and,

168 ; of stocks in straw

skeps, Remarkable, 145 ;

Keeping do .vn, 203

Inducing robbing, 186

Information wanted about

Carniolan bees, 481
In the hut, 14, 76, 205
Interesting experiments at
the Michigan State apiary,
445
Introducing queens, 337
Introduction of queens, Safe,

472
Instinct or intelligence ? 126
Instructions for making a

frame hive, 472
Is, the use of comb founda-
tion profitable ? 455, 465 ;
a double-queened stock to
be counted as two colonies ?

Jersey, Bees and honey in,
367

John Huckle testimonial
fund, 221,232, 211, 253, 262,
271, 281, 295, 309, 312, 323,
352, 372, 383, 401, 420, 431,
440, 446

Joining stocks, 289

Keeping, down increase, 203 ;
bees in a town store-room,

Kilkenny, Bees in County,

437
Kilmarnock, Honey show at,

392
Knighton Horticultural

Society, 364

Labourers, Wages of, 167
Labourer's "new depar-
ture," A, 127
Lace paper on sections,

Width of, 398
Lady bee-keeper's queries, A,

247
Lady's bee-keeping experi-
ence in 1893, 429
Lantern slides, 68, 73, 472;

in Germany, 162
Langdon's non-swarmer, 311,

315, 502
Large, honey exhibits, 316;

order in queries, 267
Larva of wax-moth thrown

out, 140
Late, Mr. R. R. Godfrey, 73;

start in breeding, i02, 109 ;

honey-gathering, 366
Law respecting bees, 316
Learner's queries, 389
Leaving skep with honey

exposed to bees. 140
Lecture, on bees, 52, 104 ; at

East Stock vvith, Bee, 124
Lectures on bee-keeping, 268,

449 ; at Richmond, 23
Lecturer's errors, 457
Lifting a " Wells" dummy,

389
Librarian bees uersus natives,

340
Locatiou, for bees, 422 ;

Bees going back to old, 39
London Dairy Show, Honey

at, 438
Losing queens, 369
Loss of queens in spring, 148

Making, the most of bee-
keeping, 12, 23, 32, 43 ;
syrup, 36, 107 ; artificial
swarms, 239, 276, 287; a
' ' Wells,' ' hive, 370; dummy,
379
Management in summer,

Bee, 228, 238
Maintaining the working

impulse in bees, 232
Manufactured honey, 101
Many-queened hive, 98, 145,

207
Market for, beeswax, 413 ;

honey, 380
Marshniallow as a bee-plant,

100
Medicated, syrup, 57 ; food,
Using, 119 ; bees, Feeding
and, 481
Metal, ends and hanging
frames, 498 ; end, The W.
B. C, 483, 505
Metheglin, Recipe for, 360
Meteorological summary, 114
Method of queen-raising, 185
Methods, French oiersus

English, 27
Mildewed combs, 59
Miniature, swarm, 187 ;

pollen combs, 50
Mishaps with the "Wells"

hive, 87, 118
Mis-shapen combs, Trans-
ferring, 139
"Mixed," 450, 463
More " mixed," 477
Moths in combs, 452
Moving bees, 359, 408, 471 ;
in skeps in hot weather,
267 ; to the moors, 276 ; in
winter, 287 ; and queen-
excluder zinc, 296
My, bee doings in 1892, 16 ;
doings up to date, 37 ; ex-

perience, with a "Wells"
hive, 265, 385, 378; of
Carniolan bees, 499; of
"Wells" system, 397;
first year's bee experience,
367, 387 ; hive for 1893, 46 ;.
method of extracting wax,
347; out-apiary, 495; plan
of packing hives for-
winter, 383

Name of plant, 309

National, show, 66; honey
show, A suggestion, 98

New, bee-book, 27, 44 ; cure
for bee-stings, 9 ; Falcon
se '.tions, 12 ; method of
hanging frames, 488 ; non-
swarming device, 242.;
section-lifter, A, 395

News from Algeria, 6

Nightingales and bees, 246,.
257

Non-poro is coverings, 340

Non-stinging wasps, 287

Non-swarme'-, Langdon's,.
311, 315, 502

Notes, by the way, 3, 24, 44,
63, 84, 115, 136, 163, 184,.
203, 224, 254, 283, 303, 324,
355, 384, 405, 426, 448, 476,
497 ; from, the workshop,
128 ; Northampton, 138 ;
Hereford, 356 ; Scotland,
385 ; Ireland, 207 ; Oxford-
shire, 272 ; of the season,.
Some, 334, 396; on
neglected feeding, 47 ; on
sundry bee matters, 55 ;
on bees and bee-keeping in
the tropics and antipodes,.
194, 204, 377; " Wells"
dummy, &c.,435

Notices to readers, Special,
131

Novelties for 1893,232

Novel bee experience, 395;
non- swarming idea, An-
other, 421, 441

Novice's, first year's experi-
ence, 395; balance-sheet
for 1893, 417

Nuclei, Starting, 193

Oak and the ash, 196
Observations and experiences-

with the "Wells" hive,

214
Observation on bees, An, 316
Oil beetle as an enemy, 328
Old, han 's uersus beginners,

430; comb foundation, 179
On, my way to the World's

Fair, Chicago, 233 ; things

in general and bees in

particular, 284
Our library table, 8
Overdosing combs with

salicylic acid, 158

Packages for sections, 388,
397, 412

Packing, hives for winter,
127 ; My plan of, 383 ; sec-
tions for post, 268; swarms
for travelling by rail, 188

Paint for hives, 159

Painting inside of hives, 219-

Paper feltine, 100

Papers on foul brood, 219

Patent hive*, 442

Perforated, divider, The
" Wells," 167 ; dummy,
The "Wells," 232, 262;
zinc separators for sec-
tions, 118

Perishing in snow, Bees, 451,
454

Personal, 112, 364

Plague of wasps, 312, 331

Plane-trees, Bees and, 441

INDEX TO VOLUME XXI.

Planting trees for honey,

481
Poisonous honey ? Do bees

gather, 351, 379
Pollen, Artificial, 109; off

heather, 346
Poor districts. How to obtain

honev in, 26, 47
Porto Rico sugar for feeding,

89
Poser, A, 390
Posers, 406, 439, 451
Post, Sending live bees by,

360
Practical versus scientific

bee-keeping, 272
Preparing, driven bees for

wintering, 398 ; cakes of

wax, 461 ; for shows, 157 ;

shallow frames, 297
Present bee prospects, 121
Presentation, at the Mansion

House, 444, 453; to the

Lord Mayor of London,

443, to Mr. John Huckle,

484
Preserving, store combs, 392;

fruit in honey, 248
Preventing, second swarms,

59; rnnaway swarms,

Queen - traps for, 174 ;

swarming, 129, 189, 258,

338 ; robbing, 149
Price of sugar, 261
Production of comb honey,

The, 491
Profitable colonies to keep ?

Are vicious bees the most,

500
Proposed B.K.A. for North-
umberland and Durham,

98, 163
Profitable working of a

northern apiary, 420
Propolising" Wells" dummy

boards, 419'
Protecting bees in winter,

306
Protection in severe frost, 11
Preventing robbing, 129
Prizes, for cottager's small

exhibits, 327 ; at Shrews-
bury show, 380
" Pulled " queens, 339

s, age of, 379; Bee-
parasites on, 408 ; Drone-
breeding, 108, 118, 158;
fertilised in full colonies
with laying queen, 107,
128; for re-queening, Rear-
ing, 286 ; Giving young
288; How doctors differ
about, 397 ; in autumn,
Finding, 331, 383; in sur-
plus chambers, 108 ; Intro-
ducing, 337 ; killed and
thrown out, 110 ; Losing,
369; Pulled, 339; Renew-
ing, 268, 307; Removing,
400; Scarcity of swarms
and young, 281 ; wings,
Cutting, 287 ; young, 274

Queen, found dead in cage,
169 ; excluders, 130 ; Using,
139 ; excluder zinc, Moving
bees and, 296 ; excluder
zinc, 365 ; raised, in super,
315; with laying queen in
same hive, 214 ; raising,
216, 278 ; A method of, 185;
sterile, 207; traps, 165,
167 ; traps for preventing
runaway swarms, 174 ;
wasps, 186

Queen-bee's sting, Use of,
419; wings, Clipping, 10,
461

Queen-cells, When to cut out,
217

Queenless, hives re-qneening
themselves, 225 ; stocks,
Dealing with, 198

Queries, A, beginner's, 389;
mainly about queens, 508

Quieting bees, Carbolic
f umigator for, 329

Quilts, Wintering bees and
impervious, 63

"Quot-r homines, tot senten-
tial," 500

" Quod petis hie est," 474

Races of bees, 90, 269, 299

Raising, queens, 278 ; queen-
cells for re-queening, 248,
286

Readers, Special notice to,
131

Rearing queens for re-queen-
ing, 286

Recipe for metheglin, 360

Reducing stock, 279

Refusing foundation, Bees,
349

Remarkable increase of
stocks in straw skeps, 145 ;
occurrence, 206 ; connected
with queens, 213

Remedies, for dysentery and
wax-moth, 20 ; foul brood,
41; Sting, 477

Reminder to Dr. Tinker, 16

Removing, bees, 49 ; combs,
380 ; rnnaway swarms
from wall of a house, 328 ;
queen-cells to prevent
swarming, 236 ; queens to
prevent swarming, 400

Renewing, combs in hive, 88 ;
combs and giving young
queens, 278 ; queens, 307

Report, for 1893, Mr.
Wells', 485 ; weather, 490

Request, A, 196 •

Re-queening, 169, 269, 299,
422 ; themselves, Queenless
hives, 225 ; stocks, 258,
277; Supering and, 286;
Surplus storing and, 288

Returning wet combs and
bees fighting, 277

Retrospect, A, 1

Re standard honey jars, 38

Review of continental bee
journals, 148, 158, 178, 318,
399

Rheumatism, Bee-stings for.
326

Right-angle frames versus
parallel, 49

Ringrose competition, 508

Ripon, Season in, 388

Robbing, Inducing, 186 ;
Preventing, 129

Roofing felt for frame
coverings, 390

Royal, Agricultural Show at
Chester, 153, 263; Dublin
Society spring show, 184

Runaway swarms, Queen-
traps for preventing, 174

Salicylic acid, overdosing
combs with, 158 ; solution,
169

Scarcity of, drones, 277, 287 ;
swarms, 231, 273; what
caused the, 487; of swarmed
drones, 256; of young
queens 281

Scenting bee-syi-up, 57, 98

Scraping sections, 462

Seasonable, 513

Season in, Durham, 461 ;
Mid-Kent, 384 ; Mid-Oxon,
273; Ripon, 388 ; Scotland,
285 ; Sussex ; 186 ; Somer-
set, 175; West Suffolk,
256

Season, some more notes
of the, 396 ; The, 311

Season's Prospects, 201

Sections, and " Wells" hive,
Early, 185 ; for showing,
360 ; Early, 157, 176, 1S5 ;

New Falcon, 12 ; Packages
for, 388, 397 ; Perforated
zinc separators for, 118

Section, lifter, A new, 395;
Shallow frames versus, 89 ;
Using unfinished, 186

Second swarms, Preventing,
59 ; issue ? When do, 400

Self-hivers, 141, 144, 208, 266,
357 ; and queen-traps, 165

Selling honey, and wax, 390 ;
by measure, 38, 56 ; in
standardjars, 17 ; swarms,
257

Sensational tales about bees
as told in the papers, 21

Sending, samples of honey
for our opinion, 370 ; comb
honey by post, 362, 387

Separating, honey from wax,
441 ; swarms, 234

Separators, Zinc, 452

Shallow frames, Wiring,
268; Preparing, 297: in
surplus chambers, Width
of, 383, 451 ; Glazed boxes
for showing, 452

Show, at Birkenhead, Lane,
and Cheshire, B.K.A, 404

Showing, Fraudulent, 428

Size of, shallow frames, 49;
brood chambers, 169, 198

Skep-making, 38

Slip off and get ,some honey,
471

Smokers and self-hivers,
188

Soldiers routed by a swarm
of bees, 358

Some, bee notes from. Scot-
land, 348 ; Hereford, 356 ;
notes on neglected feed-
ing, 47; on the season, 334 ;
on "Wells " dummy, 435 ;
hints, suggestions, &c, 137;
suggestions for 1894, 414

South, Derbyshire, 247 ;
Dorset bee-man's success,
419 ; of France, Bee-keep-
ing in the, 4, 104 ; African
bees and bee-keeping at
the Cape, 65

Sowing bee-plants on railway
embankments, 69

Special, prizes at Northants
show, 292 ; notice to
readers, 131

Spoiled honey, 255

Spraying fruit trees with
Paris green and London
purple, 418

Spring, food for bees, 90;
stimulation, 91

Standard, frame, 449 ; honey
jars, 5, 18, 27, 38, 39, 48, 67

Starting, a bee association,
360 ; bee associations, 18 ;
nuclei, 193

State of hive, 297

Sterile queen, 207

Sting, remedy, Vinegar as a,
7, 26 ; remedies, 47

Stings, New cure for, 9

Stock, A vagrant swarm
joining a, 366

Stocking a "Wells" hive,
379

Stoi-e combs, Preserving, 392

Stores for wintering, 307

Storing, away comb for ex-
tracting, 450 ; surplus, 45,
96 ; foul-broody stocks, 158

Straw skeps, Cane for, 358 ;
Remarkable increase of
stocks in, 145

Stray swarms joining full
stocks, 256

Successful, bee-keeping in a
nutshell, 54 ; raid on bees
in a church, 295

Suggestion, for national
honey show, 98 ; for shows
in 1893, 24

Sugar, honey question, 95;

for bee food, 350, 370
Sundry bee-matters, Notes

on, 55,
Super, A flower-pot, 217-

clearer, 59, 231, 311
Supers, Dates for putting on,

Supering, and re-queening,
286 ; Early, 161 ; swarms,
59 ; Time for, 258; "Wells"
hives, 168

Supered skeps, Driving bees
from, 349

Surplus chambers, Are
metal ends needed in, 451 ;
storing and re-queening,
288; Queens in, 108; Thick-
ness of combs in, 404 ; Wide
ends for, 453

Surplus room, Giving, 188

Suspected, comb, 96; foul-
brood, 199, 219; queenless-
ness, 169

Swarm, A miniature, 187:
of bees on a river buoy,
285 ; smothered, 266

Swarms, deserting " Wells "
hives, 216; Early, 176;
for travelling by rail,
Packing, 188; in Surrey,
Early, 186; Making arti-
ficial, 276; uniting, 216;
Virgin, 358

Swarming, in September and
deserting brood, 378 ; Pre-
venting, 258, 338

Syrup, 28, 85, 143 ; and
standard bottles, 175 ;
Making, 36, 47, 98, 107;
Medicated, 57

Tales about bees as told in
the papers, Sensational, 21

Taking charge of foul-broody
bees, 79

Technical instruction in
bee-keeping in Cheshire,
106, 114, 173, 217, 235, 294

Testing the purity or other-
wise of honey, 262

Thickness of, bottom bars,
49; combs in surplus
chambers, 404

Through Canada and the
lakes to Chicago, 375

Time for supering, 258

Trade catalogues received,
119, 139

Transferring, 188; bees, 100,
257 ; bees and combs,
combs 440 ; bees and
from skeps to frame
hives, 120 ; from skep,
110, 120, 237; from an
ordinary box to frame
hive, 147 ; to double-
queened hives, 119, 294; to
frame hive, 130, 317, 336,
409 ; combs and brood,140 ;
combs to frame hives and
boxes, 441 ; combs from
skeps, 297 ; misshapen
combs, 139 ; stocks from
frame hives, 198

Transporting hives by rail,
148

Treacle for bees, 50'

Treating foul brood, 236

Trying time for vegetation,
241

Twin hives, 165

Two queens, in one hive, 116;
in a drone- breeding stock*
209

Unnatural or abnormal
swarms, 106

Uniting, bees without fight-
ing, 174 ; driven bees, 279 ;
swarms, 216

INDEX TO VOLUME XXT.

Unprofitable queens, 109

Useful hints, 11, 41, 51, 71,
91, 121, 141, 161, 171, 201,
231, 261. 281, 311, 331, 361,
391, 413, 453, 483

U seof the queen-bee's sting,
419

Using, cyanide of potassium,
330; flower candy, 59;
foul-broody combs, 187 ;
medicated food, 119; queen-
excluders, 139 ; unfinished
sections, 186

Vagrant swarm, joining a
stock, 366

Value of honey districts,
306

Varnishing "Wells" dummy,
492

Vienna Exhibition, 504

Vinegar as a sting-remedy, 7,
26

Virgin, queens mate, Age at
which, 171 ; swarms, 358

Visit to, an expert's apiary,
346 ; a cottager's apiary
at Over Tabley, 354; the
heather, 344 ; a hive
factory and apiary, 244;
Mr. Wells' apiary, 151

Wages of labourers, 167

Warning, A, 359

"Wasps. A hive of, 459 ; and
hornets, 432 ; non-sting-
ing, 287 ; plague of, 312,
331 ; Big take of, 362

Wasps' nests, about bee.
hives, 168; built on edge

of comb, 249 ; Destroying,
305 ; in Scotland, 305 ; in
roof, 347

Wasp-traps, 345

Wax-moth, Remedies for
disinfecting and, 20

Wax, 99, 338 ; Buying, 431 ;
Preparing cakes of, 461 ;
Price of, 460 ; Separating
honey from, 441 ; secretion,
410

Weak stocks,Giving brood to,
108, 129

Weather forecasts, 71

Weather reports, 8, 28, 59,
79, 147, 157, 176. 227, 316,
358, 391, 398, 413, 453, 490

Webster's cheap super-
clearer, 232

Weighty swarms, 295

Weight of honey from combs,
336, 347

" Wells " division-board, 90,
129; dummy-boards, Pro-
polising, 419

"Wells" dummy, 380, 390;
hive, 234 ; Lifting a, 389 ;
Experiments with, 436 ;
notes on, 435

"Wells" hives, 51, 71, 97,
103, 108, 110, 126, 130, 171,
451, 469 ; Admitting.queens
to supers in, 248 ; Bees
fraternising in, 266 ; Bees
in, 431

" Wells " hive, Blow's, 114 ;
Bees refusing to enter,
370 ; Dealing with a, 429 ;
Depth of entrance to, 127 ;

Driven bees and, 258 ;
Early sections and, 185 ;
Establishing two queens in
a, 265 ; Harrison's, 135 ;
Howard's, 135 ; in Derby-
shire, My experience, 378 ;
Making a, 370 ; My experi-
ence with, 385, 420 ; Mis-
haps with the, 89, 118;
Neighbour's, 125 ; Observa-
tion on and experiences
with the, 214 ; Redshaw's,
243 ; Swarms deserting, 216;
Stocking a, 129, 379, 461 ;
Supering a, 168, 379, 461 ;
Working a, 337, 368, 378 ;
lifter for raising frames of
comb in bulk, 378; plan,
My experience with hives
worked on the, 265; per-
forated divider, 167 ; dum-
my, 231, 262, 369, 379.

"Wells" system, 10, 65,
117, 130, 155, 335, 391 ; and
joining up colonies, 39 ;
Adapting hives to the, 108,
177 ; and weak stocks, 214,
232 ; Averages on the, 86 ;
Beginners and the, S7 ;
Dividing stocks for double
queening on the, 148 ; Dan-
gers of the, 69 ; Extending
the, 207, 240; Hives for,
196 ; in Scotland, 257 ; My
experiences of the, 397 ;
Results of the, 77

Wet combs and sections,
Bees cleaning up, 428

What, my bees have done for

me, 97 ; will become of it ?
Technical instruction in
bee-keeping in Cheshire,
106

When, to cut out queen-cells,
217 ; to put in supers, 150 ;
do second swarms issue ?
400

White, super foundation, 360,
361 ; clover in autumn, 329

Why farmers and horticul-
turists should be bee-
keepers, 293

Width, of shallow frames and
surplus chambers, 383; of
laoe paper on sections, 398 ;
of entrances in winter,
401; of shallow frames,
451, 478

Wider ends for extracting
frames, 326 ; 453, 469

Will bees eat herrings ? 37

Wintering, bees, 391 ; bees,
and impervious quilts, 64;
driven bees, 340, 379 ; Pre
paring driven bees for, 398
Stores for, 307

Winter, Pood for, 369, 380
Feeding with dry sugar in
472; passages, 127, 369
Packing hives for, 127
Protecting bees in, 306
Moving bees in, 287 ; My
plan for packing hives for,
388 ; losses, 510

Work for beginners, 90

Working two colonies in one
hive, 287

Year's bee-work, A, 499

ILLUSTRATIONS.

IBee-parasite, Braida Cceca,

408
Blow's " Wells " hive, 114
Carrying bees on bicycles,

505
Frame-block, 45
•43-lass honey-pail, 233
.Harrison's "Wells" hive,

135

Hive factory and apiary, 245
Howard's self-hiver and

super-clearer, 165
Howard's " Wells " hive, 135
Langdon non-swarming de-
vice, 242
Meadows' " B - off " super-
clearer, 233
Meadows' " Wells " hive, 103

Neighbour's "Wells" hive,

125
Rack for storing combs, 392
Redshaw's ''Wells" hive,

243
Section-lifter, 395
Sheppard's self-hiver, 165
Straw skep-making, 275
St. Beuno's device, 391

Wasps' nest built in empty
frame, 168

Webster's cheap super-
clearer, 232

Wiring Frames, 128

,, „ for founda-

tion, 157

THE

MMt 5B» -Smsi,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 550. Vol. XXI. N.S. 158.] JANUARY 5, 1893.

[ Published Weekly.

<3foit0rial, Itotites, t£r.

A RETROSPECT.

While yet on the threshold of another
year, and claiming, as we do, to hold the
position of teachers, it may be well to re-
trace the ground ti*avelled during the past
twelve months in order to appraise our
year's work according to its visible results.
But our position as editors of the only
journals devoted to bee-keeping in the
Kingdom, together with the fact of the
present number being the first of our
twent}T-first yearly volume, prompts us to
cast our thoughts still further back, and,
in the light of to-day, compare the present
condition of the pursuit with what it was
twenty years ago, when, in the month of
May, 1873, the first number of the British
Bee Journal appeared.

So far as the B. J. is concerned, the
retrospect is thoroughly satisfactory to us
as editors. We can point to its work and
its teaching, and aver without egotism that
it has ever been progressive, practical, and
sound. Harking back as far as the memor-
able exhibition held at the Crystal Palace
in 1874, the modern method of bee-keeping
was there appropriately and effectively
illustrated by demonstrations with living-
bees, by the then editor and founder of this
Journal, Mr. C. N. Abbott — happily still
amongst us — before crowds of bee-keepers,
many of them experienced hands, to whom
his skill in manipulating bees was a revela-
tion. These men carried back with them
to their own localities a new insight into
bee-work invaluable to themselves, and
through them to whole districts, as is
within our own knowledge. At the show
referred to, some very fine examples of bee-
craft were staged, both in the hive and
honey classes — all excellent in their way
and most creditable at the time, but which
would present an instructive contrast with
an equally extensive show at the present

day. In a word, the intervening time be-
tween 1874 and 1 893 has been made the most
of; everything connected with hives and
appliances has been immensely cheapened
and improved ; new contrivances without
number have been introduced, while me-
thods of management have improved in a
manner patent to all except the few who
are so wilfully blind as to refuse to admit
that any advantage is obtainable through
modern methods.

But coming to the events of the pre-
sent, it may be said that in every for-
ward movement the British Bee Journal
has played a prominent part, and holding,
as it does, a perfectly independent position,
free alike from what are known as trade
interests, or indeed any interests outside
those of ordinary journalism, save that of
bee-keepers themselves, it has neither criti-
cised in an unfriendly spirit, nor helped any
one to " grind his own axe " to the detri-
ment of others. Neither can it be said that
our relations with readers have been other-
wise than most cordial. Nor have we been
subjected to hostility of any kind, excepting
in one instance, which comes from an outside
source. We refer to the question of Tunisian
bees, or as some would have them called,
" Punics." In this matter we did what we
believed to be our duty to our readers, and
though in the performance of this duty we
have incurred the hostility of one or two, it
gives us no concern. Our motives were good
and the approval of good men is all we seek.

The visit of Mr. Cowan to North Africa,
and his extensive and thorough researches
on the spot, failed to discover any race of
bees there but one. Moreover, subsequent
letters from bee-keepers dwelling there,
which have appeared in our pages during
the year, have abundantly confirmed the
accuracy of his conclusions in stating this
much ; and whether North African bees are
called Tunisians, Kabyles, or by any other
name, they are shown to be one and the
same, the evidence, both scientific and prac-
tical, being quite conclusive on this point.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 5, 1893.

There is also abundant evidence that
the attempt to introduce these bees into
America under the name of " Punics " has
completely failed, reports in the Ameri-
can and Canadian bee journals having
with one exception been unanimously un-
favourable, the single exception referred to
appearing in a journal interested in the sale
of these bees.

Continental bee journals, too, have, with-
out exception, endorsed our action, and
agreed with our conclusions with regard to
these bees, several of them expressing high
approval of the course taken by Mr. Cowan
in sifting the whole matter to the bottom.
It only remains, therefore, for us to express
satisfaction at the result.

The task of visiting Tunis and the Desert
of Sahara was no light one, but it yielded
much pleasure of a personal kind, as well
as information likely to be of permanent
use. If the object for which the journey
was undertaken has interfered with the
business projects of some persons, and, in
consequence, caused us to have had our
motives misrepresented, and even our
veracity questioned, it must be taken as one
of the unpleasant experiences inseparable
from the performance of what we take to
be a public duty. So far, then, as we are
concerned — beyond safeguarding in the
future the interests of our readers — the
matter is now ended, and — to use an
American phrase — " voicing " as we do the
bee industry of the United Kingdom, we
may say there need be little fear that bee-
keeping will be rendered less satisfactory
among us in the future, as we believe it
would be if North African bees were intro-
duced into our apiaries, no matter by what
name they may be called.

It is only by such incidents as the
Tunisian bee controversy, and the corre-
spondence it has evoked, that readers — or
we may say even ourselves — can form an
adequate idea of the widely-diffused chan-
nels beyond the United Kingdom in which
the B. B. Journal circulates. It is not too
much to say that our paper is now read
all oyer the civilised world. While Mr.
Cowan's knowledge of foreign languages and
of science keeps him in constant corre-
spondence and close touch with all the
leading and scientific bee-keepers in the
world — this fact alone giving the B.B.J.
advantages which are self-evident — more-
over, it would be difficult to name another
bee journal having readers and contributors

in so many different parts of the globe, and
that Jts influence has been felt, and our
labours as editors appreciated wherever it
has travelled, is especially gratifying to us.
The past season of 1892 has been pro-
ductive of results which cannot fail to have
an important bearing on the future of bee-
keeping. Our readers have been fully in-
formed of what has been done by way of
diffusing free instruction in modern methods
of bee-keeping under the auspices of County
Councils, in the furtherance of which work
excellent service has been rendered by the
B. B. K. A. and its affiliated Associations.
A syllabus containing suggestions for the
use of lecturers on bee-keeping has been
formulated, and a new set of lantern slides
on bee-subjects for the same purpose has
been prepared under the guidance of the
parent Association, and a set of these slides
are now at the service of such Associations
as may need them. Then we have the
pleasing announcement to make that the
British exhibit of home-produced honey,
now being prepared for competition, prior
to its dispatch to the World's Fair at
Chicago, is an assured success, and will do
credit to our bee-keepers.

Of new and improved methods in bee-
management, honey-production, and also in
appliances, the year just ended has been
anything but one of standstill. There is
plenty of interest, as well as room for ex-
periment, in the new methods, which will,
no doubt, have full trial in many apiaries.
Finally, and in closing our brief retrospect,
it only remains for us to wish all readers
a happy new year, and it goes without
saying that we hope it may be a pros-
perous one for bee-craft and to all who
take an interest in the busy little worker,
the honey-bee.

THE BRITISH EXHIBIT FOR
CHICAGO.
The Sub-Committee of the B. B. K. A
having charge of the arrangements for the
competition in connexion with the above,
met at 17 King William Street, Strand,
on Wednesday, the 4th inst., just as we
went to press. We shall, therefore, have
to defer our report of the proceedings until
next week. Meantime, it may be said that
all the honey intended for staging has been
received, and the time and place where the
honey will be on view will, we hope, be
announced in our next issue.

January 5, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

&axxt*$avtomtt.

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opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
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Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, tc, must be addressed only to "The
Editobs of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
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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 Advertise-
ments).

%* 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.

[1282.] When I sent my last "Notes" the
weather was very mild for the time of year, and
people prophesied a green Christmas; but the
fates willed it otherwise, and we had a real old-
fashioned Christmas — severe frosts, a slight
sprinkling of snow, and trees covered for days
together with rime, sliders and skaters enjoying
their healthful pastime not only by day, but far
into the evening by the light of fair Luna. But
if the weather has been characteristic of the
season, what of our poor bees ? How will they
pull through such sudden changes of tempera-
ture from the summer heat in the sunshine of
a Sunday or two back to the over twenty
degrees of frost during the past week ? Well, it
is a severe pinch for them, and weak colonies
will suffer a reduction of numbers if not extinc-
tion ; but, as the old adage says, " We must
be prepared for the worst but hope for the
best."

The present sharp frosts will also nip the
tender grass-plant, and the general complaint
among the farmers is that the grass-plant,
except sainfoin, is very thin; but the mild
autumn has helped it very considerably, and the
rootlets have beeen able to go deeper into the
soil. Some may say, " What has this to do
with bees or bee-keeping ? " Well, to such I
will say, " Wait a wee till the grass-fields are
white with clover blossoms or brown with
dearth, and see if it is not an important factor
in the welldoing of our bees." I am always on
the alert to know what kind of grass seed is
being sown by my neighbours the farmers, and
I take an interest in how the crops are growing
in the spring, and then work my apiary, so as
to be ready just in the nick of time. Other-
wise I should have no honey ready for the
" Royal " shows.

I thank Mr. Wells for his reply to the " Har-
monious Blacksmith " re wax. It clears up any
doubts on the point. I myself have never had
any quantity of wax in one year, and Mr. Wells'
amount seemed very large to me, when I read
it, for the size of the apiary. Of course it
entirely depends on the method of working. I

work nearly all comb honey, and therefore sell
wax and honey together. Whereas another,
running a large apiary chiefly for extracted
honey, would get a considerable quantity of
wax. In fact, at Mr. Wells' price, it would
prove a good item in the balance-sheet. Wax
in this part of the country will not fetch more
than Is. 2<?. to 1*. 4d. per pound, and in some
instances cottagers will sell at Is. per pound to
the grocers, and said grocers cannot make more
than Is. 2d. Of course Mr. Wells' wax, being
principally from cappings, must be of good,
light colour, and would be worth more than our
prices to foundation-makers for super founda-
tion.

The mention of foundation suggests a jotting
I have forgotten from time to time — Do bees
work out the foundation ? I unhesitatingly
say they do, even of the very thinnest make.
In the spring of 1891 I sent a parcel of wax to
Mr. Howard to be made up into foundation,
with a request that he would put the screw on
hi8 machine, and make it as thin as possible.
In due course it came back, some in stock size
(seven sheets to the pound) and the rest (my
selection) into the best sample of super I had
seen as regards the manufacture, but I was not
particular enough as to colour of cakes sent,
and the colour was rather darker than I liked it
to be. Now, during the summer I proved, be-
yond the question of a doubt, that the bees used
this foundation in forming the side walls of the
cells — more than half an inch both sides of the
midrib; although it was so thin it took over
100 sheets, 4 x 4|, to weigh one pound. The
colour of the wax cells showed quite distinctly
how far the foundation was drawn out, and
where the bees continued the cells with wax
prepared from the early light-coloured honey
that they were bringing in. This taught two
lessons — first, that foundation is a great help
and saving in hives, as the thin sheet supplied
the bees with about half the wax required -to
hold a pound of honey — and even if it takes
only twelve pounds of honey to make one
pound of wax, with honey at 6d. per pound,
the wax costs the bee-keeper 6s. — so that in
every 100 sections I save at least 3s. by the
use of foundation. Secondly, that super foun-
dation ought to be of a pale straw-colour, and
then there will not be two colours in the cells,
shading off from the darker to the lighter
colour when the honey is being used at table.
This will tend towards the lessening of the pro-
duction of comb honey, and consequently in-
crease the profits of the honey-producer — an
object we should all hold in view for the
benefit of the craft.

I trust those who have devised and used
swarm-catchers or self -hiving arrangements will
give us the benefit of their experience, and if
the same have not proved so successful as the
designers wished, by all means try again : don't
forget Bruce's spider. I look forward, hoping to
see the swarming difficulty surmounted.^ We
have not reached perfection in bee-keeping or
appliances by a long way. Succeeding genera-

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 5, 1893.

1 ions will probably smile at our crude systems
as we do at our forefathers' methods.

In the drawing of straw-skep making, De-
cember 15th (p. 490), the hole shown for supering
appears very small. I should make it at least
four inches in diameter, and, as a beginning of
the crown, should use a piece of wood with a
hole three and a half to four inches cut in
centre, and then make some gimlet holes all
vound to sew the first ring of straw to it. if
the pieces of wood can he turned with a groove
around the edges it will make a better fit of the
wood and straw. Then 1 would make them of
a good size with quite flat tops for supering,
say, fifteen inches in diameter and ten to twelve
inches deep, and at the entrance after it is cut
drive in a good-sized peg of wood into the straw,
and sew both sides of the entrance an inch or
two with copper or galvanised wire. This will
strengthen the hive entrance and make it more
durable. Then give a good coat of stone-
coloured paint to the front part of the hive
likely to be exposed to the weather. Around
the entrance, also, this will preserve the straw
from decay.

We have started a new year, I trust a good
honey year. If (?) the cycles run in thirties we
shall have a good one in '93, as it was in '63
that Mr. Fox had his two large glass supers
weighing gross 123 and 126 pounds, and a
swarm of that year, which swarmed on June
28th, gathered a super of ninety-three pounds
net. That was cheering to the bee-keepers of
those days. May history repeat itself and Pro-
vidence send us a succession of good seasons to
cheer us bee-keepers. Then, brethren, let us
endeavour to catch the noble aspirations of
Tennyson, and —

" Ring out the old, ring in the new ;
Bing out the false, ring in the true, —
The larger heart, the kindlier hand ;
Eing out the darkness of the land."

— W. WoODLEY, World's End, Newbury.

BEE-KEEPING IN THE SOUTH OF
FRANCE.

[1288.] I do not read English, but there are
here bee-keepers amongst my friends who do.
Your British Bee Journal is read by several
bee-keepers, who translate what they think most
important for the Bulletin of our Society (Soci6te
d' Apiculture du Departement du Tarn), and give
a summary of the remainder. We receive the
British Bee Journal quite regularly.

The Bee-keepers' Society of the Department
of Tarn, founded in 1889, numbers 200 members.
We therefore started at a time when bee-keep-
ing in movable-comb hives had for some con-
siderable time been practised in various parts of
France, and we were consequently able to profit
by the experience of others. From the com-
mencement we tried to find the most simple
hive, and the one which would be the most

suitable for the mass of bee-keepers. We have
consequently adopted the horizontal hive, hav-
ing twenty to twenty-four frames — Layens
type, greater in depth than in width, and an-
swering to the dimensions given by M. Ber-
traud in his Conduit e du Rucher, and by M. de
Layen3 in the Construction economique. Our
methods of cultui'e have been simplified. We
were not long in perceiving that the country
people hesitated to go in for bee-keeping owing
to the complicated work required in giving at-
tention to bees. Most of our bee-keepei'S make
few visits to their colonies. In the spring they
ascertain the condition of their hives, replace all
the frames, and only open the hives again to
take the harvest of honey.

I live at Albi, and have an apiary at Yille-
franche-de-Lauragais, near Toulouse. I go into
the country at Easter, and again for August and
September. At Easter I examine all my hives and
put in all the frames ; then in September I get
in the harvest of honey and prepare my bees for
wintering. The colonies treated in this way
develop very well and give good results.

This is the state of bee-keeping in these dis-
tricts. We leave the bees to renew their queens
of themselves, and we do not require syrup-
feeding in spring, because we leave ample pro-
visions for wintering. We allow our bees as
much rest as it is possible to give them.

In the spring of 1893 we shall have a show
at Albi. Do come if you can, for we shall be
most happy to receive you. M. de Layens has
promised to be present. You will find here
apiaries similar to the one you saw in Savoie
belonging to Dr. Henon. The method of culti-
vation is the same, and with a minimum of
attention we obtain a maximum of return. This
is the only way of bee-keeping for agricultural
people, as they have frequently to be in the
fields just at the time that their apiaries would
want their attention. You see we are, there-
fore, entirely in accord with your theory and
with what you wrote in 1885 : " We recommend
that bees should not be disturbed more than is
absolutely necessary," &c.

Hives with supers would not admit of such
simplification. In my case, if I had such hives,
1 should be obliged to keep in the country a
man, who would have to inspect the hives and
put on supers, whereas no one troubles himself
about my bees. All my Layens hives are
securely locked.

English hives are too small for our districts.
In 1889 I stopped in the English section at the
fine exhibition made by Mr. T. Blow. I ex-
amined everything minutely with great interest,
and I came to the conclusion that his hive would
not suit our style of bee-keeping. There was no
special department for bee-keeping at the Paris
Exhibition, so that it was impossible to arrive
at an idea of the state of apiculture in France.

A few days ago I tasted the hydromel and
" eau-de-vie '' which M. Derosne, of Doubs, sent
us. The hydromel is not quite old enough or
matured. The eau-de-vie is excellent. The
hydromel that I tasted of M. de Layens' is very

January 5, 1S93.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

good, and one is easily deceived -with it unless
told that it is simply honey wine. — L. Four-
cassie, Albi, France, December 24th, 1892.

STANDARD HONEY JARS.

[1284.] As I have heen for some time on
the look-out for the best one-pound honey jar,
I have heen much interested in the letters
-which have lately appeared on the subject of
a "standard bottle." I cannot say that they
have convinced me that there is any great
necessity or advantage for the B. B. K. A.
to adopt a special bottle, unless by doing so
they could supply those members who require
only a few dozen at a moderate rate. But I
see certain disadvantages. (1) They might dis-
courage invention and improvement in this
direction, and (2) some bee-keepers who are
attached to other hinds of bottles might not
care to compete at shows where a particular
bottle is mentioned, e.g., Mr. McNally is partial
to the screw-capped, and I am as strongly in
favour of the corked " globes." The weak point
as regards bottles for honey seems to be that the
manufacturers send out " nominal " or " full "
pound bottles, according to their own notions of
the density of honey, and as their standard of
density is generally a low one, the result is that
if a pound of the finest honey is put into the
" full " bottle, it will not nearly fill it, and the
appearance is not nice, as Mr. Wood observed ;
and if the same is placed in " nominal " pound
bottles the danger is it may be half an ounce
short. Then the question is, which will the
public prefer, quantity or quality ? for they
cannot have both in the same measure and at
the same price. I know what the answer of
connoisseurs and all who can appreciate good
honey would be. They would, without any
hesitation, pay a higher price for the smaller
bottles containing the best honey than look at
the quantity of the inferior honey in the other
bottles.

To say that in bottling honey in nominal
pound bottles the same considerations apply as
in the case of a baker selling bread under weight
is beside the mark, for with bread only Aveight
is taken into consideration, and not the space
which the bread occupies. Indeed, can any
comparison be more ridiculous ? The baker's
object should be to make the bread rise and fill
a goodly space, not by adding extra flour, but
by allowing the air to penetrate. Our ambition
should be to condense the honey, and get rid of
excess of moisture.

Again, I would ask those who are ready to
impute dishonest motives to those who use
" nominal " pound bottles instead of the " full,"
who is the greatest offender — he who strives
to sell the best article, though at times it may
b« slightly below a certain weight, or he who
sells the correct weight of an imperfect article ?
Or, put it in another way, which would pay a
dishonest man most, producing sixteen ounces
of thin, unripe honey, or fifteen ounces of perfect

honey ? The former, of course, far and away ;
because, supposing he had preserved shallow
frames full of comb from the previous season,
he might extract them three or four times in
one season if he were not particular about the
density, and did not wait till they were sealed ;
but if he waited till they were ready, he could
not, perhaps, extract them more than twice.

Now, the greatest need seems to be for our
central Association to step in and decide on the
average density of good honey, and then inquire
whether there are sufficient bottles in the
market of various shapes, &c, holding one
pound of honey of the standard density, and if
there are plenty these should be recommended
or adopted ; but if they find most of them un-
suitable, then they might invite tenders for
bottles of standard size, and encourage the
competition by offering prizes, and whilst re-
commending several they might go further and
tentatively adopt for a time the best moderate-
priced bottles for the benefit of those members
who at present pay heavily for small orders.

As to encouraging dishones ty, I cannot see
why a standard bottle should do so any more
than the standard (2 x 4|- x 4j) section ; for an
unprincipled bee-keeper can easily make lm bees
fill the latter with sugar syrup instead of honey.
And, in passing, I would suggest two safeguards
against unscrupulous producers, who stoop to
adulteration, the most prevalent of all trade
customs. First, let all who have at heart the
progress and success of our Association, carefully
grade their honey, and send out in good years
only the first quality from well-sealed virgin
combs, and in moderate seasons also the second
quality, explaining to the purchaser the reason
for its lower price, if tasting of pollen or inferior
in colour, but always keeping all unpalatable
and thin honey for consumption in the apiary.
If they follow this method and educate the
people to distinguish good, pure honey, I can
from personal experience give them the greatest
encouragement.

My largest customer, a grocer, who takes
about a quarter of a ton annually, finds that the
Yorkshire public are more particular than the
Bristol public {vide "Stray" or Wild (?)
"Shots," 1225). Nine years ago he used to select
honey from samples, and usually chose mine : but
two years ago he informed me that his customers
waited till mine arrived, and would have no
other, and remarked, " I am, sir, entirely in
your hands, and must agree to your price, to
which I must add my profit." Secondly, the
B.B.K.A. should appoint an analyst to test for a
small fee their members' honey, so that when
selling wholesale to a new customer, they could
offer to procure the opinion of the analyst.
Thus the middleman would have a check on
dishonest honey producers, and have no excuse
for selling adulterations.

But if there are not sufficient reasons for the
B. B. K. A. standard bottle, individuals who are
constantly sending out a gross or more bottles
of honey will find every advantage in keeping
to a particular bottle.

6

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 5, 1898.

Some time ago I felt what a boon it would be
to have plenty of travelling crates, holding one
to two dozen bottles, ready in order to save time
and labour in packing ; but, of course, I could
not make the crates until T had decided on my
bottle. As it may be interesting to those who,
like myself, have been looking out for the best
one-pound honey bottle, I will relate the pros
and cons of the bottle I have adopted for my
own use.

Five years ago, seeing Messrs. Breffit & Co.'s
advertisement in your Journal, I asked that
firm to forward me samples of their honey
bottles. It resulted in my selecting the globe,
No. 2745, as the most attractive and suitable
receptacle. There was, however, one great dis-
advantage— according to the catalogue it held
only fourteen ounces. I got over this by offer-
ing a grocer who wanted a quantity of honey
sixteen bottles to the stone. After I had sup-
plied him with one and a half hundredweight of
splendid honey, as I was one morning bottling
another instalment, the bottles felt very heavy,
so I weighed the contents of a few and, to my
surprise, discovered that these bottles held more
than a pound. Thus, owing to the statement
of the catalogue, I found I had given away
twenty-four pounds of honey with their bottles.
Since then I have tried other bottles, but the
above grocer insists on having the globes, as his
customers prefer them.

As the size of the " globes " was satisfactory,
I compared them with other bottles, and espe-
cially the screw-capped, in other respects, and
came to the conclusion that, in quality of glass,
they were second to none.

In shape they were the most elegant and tak-
ing, easiest to clean, and from which the last
few ounces of honey could be easily removed
with a teaspoon without messing one's fingers,
which it is impossible to do with the tall screw-
capped ; and for this reason alone, perhaps, all
practical judges should condemn the latter.

Then, as regards safety in travelling, I have
found that more than fifty per cent, of the
screw-capped leaked (Mr. Woodley may well
ask for a screw-cap that will not leak), and
never two per cent, of globes ; and here I would
recommend all secretaries of shows who require
the honey to be exhibited in only the former to
have always a servant ready, with basin and
towel, to make the exhibits sightly after their
journey.

Then, with respect to the purity of honey, I
asked myself, " Ought delicately flavoured honey
containing formic acid to be allowed to come in
contact with any metal ? " If not, then we
must not use the screw-caps, for the thin cork
wads afford no protection here, and I decided
that the simple corks of the " globes " were far
preferable.

Then, lastly, as to the price. I suppose the
best screw-capped bottles would average about
24s. a gross, whilst the " globe," with corks,
cost only 14s. per gross. This will, no doubt,
be the chief point for the B. B. K. A. to dis-
cuss, for, if they would encourage labourers

to keep bees, they can hardly sanction any com-
petition which compels them to procure costly
bottles.

I trust we may before long have the opinion
of the Central Committee on the subject of a
standard bottle. In the meantime, for the in-
formation of those who would like to try the
" globes," I would add that Messrs. Breffit &
Co. allow five per cent, discount on five-gross
orders. And, further, if any bee-keepers or
county Associations feel as strongly as I do the
need of sample honey bottles, it would be well
worth our while to unite together and order
half and quarter-pound bottles of this pretty
" globe " shape, which, strange to say, have not
yet been made, but the same firm are ready to
make at 7s. 6d. and 6s. 6d. respectively if
twenty gross are ordered. Thus we might
secure a bottle valuable not only for honey, but
one which I am sure would be in great demand
for jellies and talle decorations, as it would
form one of the piettiest of vases.-*-Ric.WABD
M. Lamb, Burton Pidsea, Hull.

NEWS FROM ALGERIA.

[128-5.] Brother Mathias, of the Trappe, has
succeeded admirably in your photograph. I
can just fancy that I see his grin when I let
him see his likeness. I send you the plan of
my first installation of the Bebouno apiary. I
have just transferred from Arab hives to my
frames all the combs. There are 96 hives in
the covered apiary, which consists of two sheds
20 metres long each and 3| metres wide. My
hive is especially advantageous, as it is a cheap
one. It is a slate-packing box, which holds
about 20 to 25 slates. We have a circular saw
driven by two horses, but just now we are
working it by steam. I saw off the ends of
these cases, remove the nails, plane the top
edges, and attach the iron runners, which
contain the notches for receiving the nail
supports of my frames. After cleaning up their
edges, I nail them on again, and thus I get a
hive that will contain a brood nest with a frame
39 x 28 centimetres. The doubling boxes or
supers are also made from such boxes, and are
half the height. I prefer these boxes on account
of their cheapness, and presently I am going to
try the large Langstroth frame which you saw
in use at La Trappe. In the transferring which
I have just done I have learnt to recognise the
advantage of larger frames than mine, which is
indisputable.

I do all the sawing myself for the hives —
frames, division boards, and sections, &c. — so
that in this way you see we have a very cheap
hive. My frames are arranged 37 mm. (1^
inch) from centre to centre, and nails project
which hang in notches filed in iron runners, and
then a wire rack at the bottom for keeping the
frames in position and vertical.

You speak of Mr. A. Todd, who was a bee-
keeper at Blidah. I have often heard him

January 5, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

epoken about, more particularly by a man named
Malebois, who purchased bis apiary.

Mr. Todd bad certainly chosen a district where
there were plenty of orange-trees, but no other
flowers ; mountains, arid and gravelly lands all
round. But a few kilometres lower down this
is changed.

At Ooued-el-Alegue and Bonfarik there is a
yellow medicago, which I showed you when you
were here, in very great abundance, which yields
a large quantity of superior honey, also sainfoin
in profusion.

It is a great pity that Mr. Todd did not
succeed at that time, for as you made the remark,
bee-keeping here has not developed in proportion
to the resources of the country. But the results
that I hope to obtain will certainly open the
eyes of capitalists. However, I promise to keep
you well informed of the progress we make.

I forgot to mention that my transferring suc-
ceeded well, for out of 130 Arab hives I have now
ninety-six frame hives. The hives which had
their queens destroyed united without trouble
with their neighbours, and without fighting. I
tied the combs, which were more than half full
of honey, into the frames with packthread. To-
morrow I shall commence the installation of the
second apiary at St. Charles, close to the side of
a hill covered with sainfoin. I have an Abbott's
hive for working sections, which were a
speciality of Mr. Todd's. M. Malebois told me
that he used to purchase fifteen to twenty litres
of milk a day, and that it was for his bees. I
am rather curious to know with what object. —
J. Regnier, Bonfarik, Algeria.

[In those days there was a great deal of talk
about a milk and egg diet for bees, and it was no
doubt for this purpose that Mr. Todd used this
milk. Mr. Todd himself wrote several articles on
this subject. — Eds. B.B.J.]

CHRISTMAS CHIPS.

[1286.] I beg to call your attention to an
error which appears in the second paragraph on
page 503 (December 22nd), where "per cwt.''
should readier 100 kilos. Many readers may have
noticed this to be an error, but a few may be
already making packing-cases in Avkich to ship
their honey in bulk, glad at last to have found
a market where they could sell at dd. a pound
and no bottles to pay for, while not a few may
have exclaimed, " Grand Old Switzerland, that
buys honey at dd. per pound and sells its
own produce at Is. Sd.l1' It looks as if the
term cwt., as applied to honey and also to
beeswax throughout that paragraph, would
refer to so many hundred kilos, or to about
double the quantities there stated.

The following, from Work for December,
may be found useful for preserving the legs of
hive-stands from decay : — " Timber Coating. —
To make wooden posts that are in the ground
last as long as iron, mix boiled linseed oil with
pulverised coal to the consistency of paint, and
coat it over the timber, and there is no man
who will live to see it rot,"

In IS Apiculteur for December, Rev. J. B.
Voirnot says : " At Troyes, Chfdons-sur-Saone, a
prize has been awarded to an extremely small
object ingeniously conceived, the glossometer, or
instrument for measuring the tongue of bees,
invented by Mr. Charton-Froissard, general
secretary to the Society ' L'Abeille,' of Troyes.
Three-fourths of the visitors who have observed
these words over this apparatus — 'Silver-gilt
medal, diploma of honour,' must have asked
themselves many questions. But, to those well
acquainted with the subject, there is in this an
idea productive of much good, that is, to multiply
or increase the number of those colonies or races
of bees whose greater length of tongue will
enable them to gather the nectar at a greater depth
in the long, narrow corolla of certain flowers."

The last season has proved a good one to
several Swiss bee-keepers. In the last number
to hand of the Revue Internationale d 'Apiculture ,
a case is stated where six hives have completely
filled thirty-two supers. The twenty-four hives
(spring count) of that bee-keeper have given
him 2446 pounds of extracted honey, leaving an
ample supply for wintering ; besides which
they have furnished the stores for nine late
driven swarms to winter on Another bee-
keeper, Mr. Vierling, of Niederhasluck, is
reported to have gathered 4800 pounds from
twenty-eight hives, or about 170 pounds per
hive. One of his early swarms has filled
its supers eight times, producing 350 pounds
of extracted honey. Mr. Vierling is a very
proficient bee-keeper. The honey-flow was so
intense with him from the beginning of June to
the end of August, that he had at each extract
to remove the honey from a few of the side
combs in the body of each hive, and place two
frames with full sheets of foundation in the
centre of the brood nest. With these pre-
cautions for maintaining a certain breeding-
room to each queen, the prolonged great income
of honey causing it to be exceedingly restricted,
the population of each hive was kept up, not-
withstanding that a very large loss of bee-life
or mortality was experienced, especially during
the latter half of the honey-flow. Mr. Kuntz,
hotel-keeper, at Howald, whose apiary Mr.
Cowan visited in company with M. Bertrand a
few years ago, has taken 3800 pounds from
forty-eight hives. Eight of his strongest
colonies have gathered each from 180 to 210
pounds of honey. Several other good takes of
honey are reported, but the season, as a whole,
is said hardly to be equal to that of 1887, in
which there was not such a prevalence of dry
weather. — Peter Bois, Jersey.

[Our correspondent is in error, as a hundred-
weight is as nearly right as we can convert a
quintal, which is 50 kilos, and equal to 110J lbs.,
or just under one hundredweight. — Eds.]

VINEGAR AS A STING REMEDY.
[1287.] Your correspondent Mr. Farthing
(1213, p. 432) asks : " Have any of your readers

8

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 5, 1892.

tried vinegar as a sting remedy?" I can say
that I have used it for some years past, and
always recommend it in preference to anything
else. I do not, as a rule, find stings affect _ me
much ; but about four years ago stings
began to be so painful to me that I was rather
loath to handle them, but if I had vinegar
handy I generally found it to almost immediately
relieve the acute pain, although I do not think
it has any effect as regards the subsequent
swelling. As to sting preventives, my own
opinion is that bees are less likely to sting when
the hands are rubbed with a few drops of such
a solution as Mr. D. Grimshaw advertises ; but
it is not infallible, and to what extent, if any, it
is a preventive I cannot say ; but then I have
not bad very much experience, as stings do not
affect me sufficiently to make me trouble about
using it.— A. T. Wilmot, St. Albans.

WEATHER REPORTS.

Westbouene, Sussex.
December, 1892.

Rainfall, 2-43 in. Sunshine, 63 hrs.

Heaviest fall, "56 on Brightest day, 4th, 650

1st. hrs.

Rain fell on 13 days. Sunless days, 10.

Below average, "04. Above average, 9 '75.

Max. temp., 48° on Mean max., 399°.

3rd. Mean min., 30-8°.

Min. temp., 20° on 27th Mean temp., 35'2\

Min. on grass, 12° on Max. barometer, 30-55

27th. on 16th.

Min. barometer, 2955
Frosty nights, 22. on 11th.

The Year 1892.

Rainfall, 2694 in.
Heaviest fall, I'll in.

on August 18th.
Rain fell on 155 days.
Below average, 1*94.

Max. temp., 79° on

June 28th.
Min. temp., 16° on

Jan. 10th.
Min. on grass, 12° on

Dec. 27th.
Frosty nights, 101.

Sunshine, 1859-4 hrs.
Brightest day, June

24th, 15-35 hrs.
Sunless days, 54.
Above average, 87'45

hrs.
Mean temp., 4614°.

Max. barometer, 3067

on Feb. 13th.
Min. barometer, 29-10

on March 15th.
L. B. Birket t.

OUR LIBRARY TABLE.

Amongst the bee literature which has recently
appeared the following books and pamphlets are
most worthy of notice.

Der Fiihrer am Bienenstande. By E. Ber-
trand. Translated by H. Spiihler. Published
by J. Huber, Frauenfeld.— This is a German
translation of the popular Conduite du JRucher,

and contains a translation of the biography of
the author which appeared in the British Bee
Journal. We have several times alluded to the
nature of this work and have only to add that
this translation has been admirably made, and
will be a welcome addition to the literature of
bee-keeping. The book is well got up and dis-
tinctly printed in bold type on fine paper, which
brings out the illustrations to perfection. We
understand that this work is being translated
into Flemish. The book is divided into chapters,
each chapter being devoted to the work of a
month, so that the bee-keeper can easily learn
what special work he has to do in any particular
month. At the end there are chapters on
different races of bees, appliances and hives, and
directions for making honey wine, or hydromel.

Ptschela e oulay. By G. Kandratieff. Pub-
lished by A. F. Devient at St. Petersburg. 2
roubles 50 copeks). — This work is a translation
of Langstroth's Honey-bee, revised by Messrs.
Dadant. M. Kandratieff has done full justice
to Langstroth's work in the translation, and a
service to the bee-keepers of Russia. That the
translation has fallen into the proper hands is
evidenced by the fact that M. Kandratieff, who
was a friend and pupil in bee-keeping of the
celebrated Russian bee-keeper, Professor Boutle-
roff, is not only a literary man and editor of the
Journal of Foreign Bee-Culture, but also an
accomplished bee-keeper. The translation is
from the French edition, and is therefore the
better adapted to European bee-keeping. The
volume is very well got up, and contains 480
pages of bold, clear type, and 123 illustrations
reproduced from the originals. We welcome
this addition to our bee-keeping literature.

Ptschela, jeja yisn i ylavnear pravilar tolko-
vayo ptschelooodstvo. By A. Boutleroff, St.
Petersburg. 60 copeks. — This volume is the
seventh edition of the well-known work by Dr.
Boutleroff. It is to this work that is due the
present state of progressive bee-keeping in
Russia. For a number of years before his
death Professor Boutleroff devoted much time
to bee-keeping, and was a frequent contributor
to the Continental bee-papers. It was he Avho
first recommended the phenol treatment of foul
brood in 1874. He also translated Berlepsch's
book, and founded a school of apiculture at
Tver, as well as two Bee-keepers' Associations
in St. Petersburg and Moscow. He first made
known the Caucasian bee, of which race he had
an apiary at Soukhoum-kale. The work con-
tains 141 pages and an appendix of ten pages,
as well as a large number of illustrations, The
very fact that 10,000 copies of this work have
been printed shows that progress in bee-keeping
is being made in Russia.

Vestinch Innostrannoy Literatourie Ptsche-
lovodstrar. Editor, G. Kandratieff. — This is a
new bee-paper in the Russian language, and is
in reality, as its name implies, a " journal of
the literature of foreign bee-culture." It is
to consist of eight parts yearly, and it contains
reviews of most things worthy of notice in our
bee-papers. M. Kandratieff has travelled much

January 5, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

9

in Europe, and is well acquainted -with the
different races of bees, as well as the various
methods adopted by the leading and most
successful bee-keepers in Europe. He is, there-
fore, well adapted for conducting such a journal,
and we hope he may meet with the success for
it which, from the first few numbers we have
seen, we think it deserves. The subscription
price is one rouble a year.

La Faitsse-Teigrie {Galleria-cerella). By J.
Dennler. Translated from the German by J.
Barbiche, editor of the Apiculteur. (Paris :
office of the Apiculteur, 167 Rue Lecourbe.) —
This is a small pamphlet by our well-known
correspondent, M. Dennler, treating of the wax-
moth. In it will be found its natural history
as well as a description of the ravages it com-
mits in a hive, and, what is most important,
the means whereby it can be kept in check.
This, to a novice, is often very difficult, and we
have seen hives nearly destroyed by wax-moth
where their owners know nothing of the way
to keep themselves free from this pest. In
some parts of our country wax-moth is still
very prevalent, especially where bee3 are kept
in skeps or complicated hives, whose parts are
not easily accessible for cleaning. Those in-
terested in this subject should procure and
study the pamphlet.

A NEW CURE FOR BEE-STINGS.

In a conversation with J. B. Adams, the
Boulder county bee-inspector, he detailed a
new cure for bee-stings that relieves the pain
instantly. The inspector uses a disinfectant
s dution of one three-hundredth part carbolic
acid mixture to each pint of water, to which is
added a table-spoonful of salt. Accidentally
punching the business end of a bee, and feeling
pretty warm when the bee sat down on him, he
thought to cool the spot by applying some of
his disinfectant solution, when, to his astonish-
ment, every particle of pain left him. He
has used it frequently since then, and it has
proven successful in every case. — American
Bee Journal.

AMONG THE BEE-KEEPERS OF

CALIFORNIA.

Bee-keeping around Jurupa Mountain.

The Eiveraide apiary, described in Ramble
66, is situated upon the extreme eastern point
of a broken range of mountains, about seven
miles in length and not over a mile in width,
and known as the Jurupa Mountains. The
formation is, in many respects, peculiar, and it
is evident that some convulsions of nature
thrust them up here in the centre of a plain, or
it might be called a prairie. These mountains
are nothing more or less than piles of huge
granite boulders. The granite in some places is
quarried for building and monumental purposes.
Upon another detached mountain near Colton,
less than two miles in circumference, are lime-

kilns, cement works, marble quarries, both white
and variegated, and an occasional pocket of
onyx. In the Vermont quarries the stone is
found in large and inexhaustible masses or
seams; but here it is in large boulders; and
when one has been quarried it is not curtain
that another of like quality will be found.
There are also traces of gold and silver, but it is
found in quartz pockets, and scarcely pays for
the investment of capital to develop.

To give some idea of the honey resources of
this little range of rocks, with the aid of Mr.
Clark on one side and Mr. Wilder's broncho on
the other, I obtained some notes and soap shots
from the saddle. Setting out from the ram-
bler's cabin and following down the north side
of the range, after a mile of travel we find the
apiary of Mr. Choate. Here are one hundred
colonies, and a new and complete honey house ;
and, though the stocks were very weak in the
spring, the surplus amounted to 2500 lbs.
With his bee-keeping and ranch work, Mr. C.
puts in his spare time in the large cannery at
Colton.

Within half a mile of Mr. Choate's is a newly
established apiary of fifty colonies, owned by
Mr. Vaughn, who also lives in Colton. We now
proceed nearly a mile further, and in front of
the broad and level Cucamonga Valley Ave find
the 200-acre ranch of Mr. W. E. Clark, with
cattle, horses, poultry, and peach, orange, apple,
and fig trees, and 170 colonies of bees. While
Mr. Clark operates the ranch, Mrs. Clark
operates the bees, and proves to be a skilful
operator. This apiary was started about six
years ago, from two colonies that were dug
from the rocks above the ranch. Being novices
in the business, the bees were first put into
various nondescript hives ; but learniug of the
better management in movable-frame hives,
the swarms were properly transferred, After
an increase of fifty-seven swarms from seventeen,
and considerable honey in one season, the bee
enthusiasm increased, and the apiary now
numbers 170, and the product this poor season
was 10,800 lbs. Of course they believe bee-
keeping pays, even in a poor season. Mr. and
Mrs. C. belong to the class of hospitable
Californians ; their latch-string not only hangs
out, but their door is wide open, and the weary
traveller is always welcome. The nearest
neighbours are two miles away, and one of these,
a Mr. Button, with a poor season before him,
commenced with twenty-five colonies ; increased
them to fifty; sold some stocks, and secured
2000 lbs. of honey, a few colonies " giving
down " at the rate of 200 lbs. each.

Down toward the west end of the range we
find the apiary of Mr. Langton, an Englishman
who came to California with btrely a hope of
saving his life from the serious inroads of con-
sumption ; but the climate has given him a
measure of good health and hope for many
years yet on this terrestrial ball. We found Mr.
L. very busy hanging out the family washing,
which showed a very helpful spirit towards the
busy hands in the house. Mr. L. during this

10

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [January 5, 1893.

very poor season, has increased his bees from
thirty-three to sixty-two, and secured 5400 lbs.
of honey.

A little less than a mile from Mr. Langton s
we found another bee-keeper, Mr. Bloom. His
first colonies were also dug from the rocks and
planted at the base of the mountain, where they
have grown to a good apiary ; and seventy-two
stocks in the spring of this very poor season had
increased to 110, and given 11,3-25 lbs., or over
100 lbs. to the colony. This is the last apiary
westward on the range, and the valley broadens
out here and stretches away off towards Los
Angeles. The yields of honey at this point and
further down the valley were better than upon
the eastern end of the range.

From this point a lone and deserted cabin is
pointed out on the plain, where a lone bee-
keeper was murdered and his body cremated
under the burning material of his barn. So,
lone bee-keepers do come to a bad end ; but it is
where perhaps enemies follow up their victim to
avenge some wrong. — Rambler in "Gleanings."
{Conclusion next iceeh.)

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers or
correspondents, or where appliances can be purchased, or
tvplies 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 com-
munication.

Frank R. Sell (Cornwall). — The " Wells
System." — Any hive holding fourteen or more
standard frames is adaptable to the system
referred to. We do not advise placing stable
manure against hives for warmth. Artificial
heating is nearly always more or less injurious
to bees.

Rev. B. T. Svmonds (Newport Pagnel). — Bee
Flowers. — Among the best flowers for bees
may be named crocus, white rock, wal1-
flower, mignonette, borage, and nasturtium.

Duncan Thomson (Invergue). — Bee Candy. —
The maker referred to is J. Saddler, Confec-
tioner, Forfar.

Apis (Staple Hill). — Clipping Queens' Winys
to Prevent Swarming. — 1. The practice re-
ferred to is followed chiefly in America for
preventing loss of swarms. As the maimed
queen must perforce fall to the ground
through inability to fly, the swarm joins her
there, or if she happens to be missed by the
bees and consequently lost, they return to the
hive. 2. If the swarm returns to the hive
minns the queen, they will probably issue
again headed by a young queen after the
usual interval between a first and second
swarm, viz., nine or ten days. If this swarm
is returned to the parent hive the following
morning, the bees will most likely not swarm
again. Should they do so, repeat the opera-
tion on the following morning.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dkc. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny,

FOR SALE,— Nine Cwt. of Splendid Clover Honey at
8M. per lb. Address Apiarist, Fairspeir, Ascott,
Oxford."

FOR SALE.— Pure English Honey, in 60-lb Tins, at 7d.
per lb. Address T. Holliday, The Apiary, Astbury
Congleton, Cheshire. >

FOR SALE.— 84 lbs. of Granulated Honey in 1-lb. Tie-
over Bottles. Put on rail for 31. 10s. Address A2
Ween, Five Ashes, Mayfield, Sussex.

FOR SALE.— Pure Extracted English Honey, ^-cwts. at
7d. per lb. Tins free. Sample 2d. Address R. Dutton,
Terling, Witham, Essex.

WANTED. — Will any of our Readers supply us with
the present addresses of S. S. Goldsmith, Parkstone,
Dorset, and A. Green, Selston ? Address Editor, B. B. J.,
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

BEITISH HONEY. Any quantity bought,
in Sections. Apply to Thomas B. Blow,
Welwyn, Herts.

THE DEPOSIT SYSTEM.

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

The following are the Bules under which we
are prepared to receive Sums of Money on Deposit
from persons buying and selling goods.

In order to save trouble it is requested that the
Rules be carefully read over by persons using the
Deposit System of trading.

DEPOSITING.

1. Method. — When strangers are dealing together, the
purchase-money of the articles is deposited at our office.
We acknowledge receipt of the deposit to both parties, and
hold the money until we are satisfied that the purchase is
concluded. If a sale be effected, we remit to the seller the
amount deposited, less a charge of 6d. and the expenses of
Post Office Orders and postage, &c. Cash will be forwarded
by cheque, Post Office Order, or by Postal Order as pre-
ferred. If a sale or exchange be not completed, we return
the amount deposited, after making the same deduction.
By this means buyers and sellers ara secured from fraud.

2. Deposits. — Postal Orders (drawn on General Post
Office) and Cheques must be made payable to "Manager,"
B. B. J., and crossed "London and Westminster Bank."
The numbers of the Postal Orders should be kept by the
sender. We cannot be responsible for any losses that may
occur in transit.

3. Honey on Approval. — All honey will be sold by
sample, which must be sent direct to buyer.

4. Bee-appliances. — In ordering, the time allowed for
completing the order to be stated to us when sending cash.
If maker accepts, we hold cash till transaction is satisfac-
torily completed, when the amount will be remitted subject
to conditions as in Clause 1.

5. Bees and Queens.— These will be dealt with entirely
by the parties concerned, so far as price, &c, goes, and when
the purchase is satisfactorily completed cash will be re-
mitted as per Clause 1.

6. Goods in Transit. — These are at tho seller's risk,
i.e., any damage to or loss of an article on its journey is
borne by the vendor ; but a rejected article must be pro-
perly packed and returned by the same means as was used
in sending it.

7. Carriage. — The carriage of all goods, excipt such as
are sent by post, is payable by the buyer, unless otherwise
agreed, if any article sent on approval be returned, each
party to the transaction must pay carriage one way.

THE

SBrifel Ipp 3mmtal

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 551. Vol. XXI. N.S. 159.]

JANUARY 12, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

(^tutorial ftntitts, &t.

USEFUL HINTS.

"Weather. — For the information of those
"who are to come after us, as well as for the
benefit of bee-keepers of to-day, it will be
useful to place upon record some evidence
regarding the midwinter of '92-3. On the
night of December 27 th, at Loughborough,
in Leicestershire — which would appear to
be the cold spot of the Midlands — the ther-
mometer, in the screen, fell to 9° Fahr., or
23° of frost; while in the open, on the
grass, at Oxford, it went down two degrees
lower than this. On the same night, 12°
was registered at London, 13° at York, and
16° at Nairn, N.B. (20°, 19°, and 16° of
frost respectively). A couple of days later
(Dec. 29th) a rise in temperature took
place varying from 13° at Loughborough to
23° in London, and from this time till
January 2nd the mercury, though still 4° to
10° below freezing, showed no phenomenal
fall anywhere till the night of the 3rd inst.,
when, in Kent, it dropped down to 5°, or
27 degrees of frost. This is the lowest we
have seen recorded so far in these islands
this year up to the date of writing.

Rivers and canals have been frozen over,
north and south, east and west, skating in
safety being possible on rivers, lakes, lochs,
and canals — indeed, wherever water was to
be found. The water in our London parks
presented solid sheets of ice about six inches
thick on the 3rd inst., and the upper
reaches of the Thames were frozen over
sufficiently strong for skating. Crossing, as
we do daily, the great "silent highway,"
the effect of slowly moving masses of ice,
sailing along with the current, is very
interesting and novel, and makes one
wonder how the large steamers departing
from the Thames " below bridge " manage
to make their way through the large and
seemingly solid blocks of ice without serious
''amage to screw-blades and paddle-floats.

Altogether we have had a genuine old-
fashioned winter for nearly three weeks
past. Talking of "good old-fashioned
winters," it is curious to observe how the
notion is handed down from generation to
generation that the climate of this country
is undoubtedly changing ; that winters are
not now as they used to be in our young
days. We have just had sent to us an
extract from the Annual Register, a maga-
zine published a century ago, where, under
date 1793, it says : " The climate of Eng-
land, in the opinion of many, has of late
years undergone a considerable change,
Formerly we used to have smart frosts in
winter, and hot, and sometimes dry, sum-
mers. For some years past both winters
and summers have been generally wet,
with so little ice that luxury, by its agents,
has been obliged to procure it from foreign
parts." In comparison with the above,
our present winter is a very "old-fashioned "
one indeed. How the bees will have fared
while it has lasted a few days may show,
for a considerable softening has taken place
during the last few days, and although
bees have not appeared outside, they will
have been moving within, changing position
and feeding no doubt having taken place
during the present higher temperature to
the manifest advantage of the whole cluster.

Since writing the above we have had indi-
cations of what appears to be a general
break-up of the severe frost. At Nairn,
N.B., between the mornings of the 6th
and 7th, the thermometer rose nineteen
degrees, and at Aberdeen twenty-one degrees
in the same interval. Rain has fallen in many
parts, but no snow as far as we can hear.
It may therefore be assumed that we have
seen the end of the unusually severe frost
of the present year.

Protection in Severe Frost. — The
" hint " we offered when last writing in
this column as to adding extra top covering
to all stocks, we ourselves took advantage
of ; but, except setting above the quilts all
the warm materials we could lay hands on,

12

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [January 12, 1898.

including the contents of the " old-clothes
bag," we have done nothing by way of pro-
tecting our hives beyond the usual outer
case, with the open air-space between it
and the hives proper. "We are leaving
them so advisedly, and will not pack this
space with the usual stuffing of old news-
papers till such time as we desire to in-
crease the warmth of the brood nest at the
end of February or in early March. If bees
can safely weather a winter in Kent — such
as the present one — in thin, light hives,
protected only by an equally thin outer
case, we shall recognise no necessity for
further packing in the severest weather till
the time for the need of stimulating warmth
arrives.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

Honey foe Chicago.

We are requested to state that the work
of preparing the honey for the above is now
being rapidly pushed forward. The total
number of exhibitors is just one hundred,
the weight of honey comprising the British
exhibit being between eight and nine hun-
dred pounds. A full list of names of donors
will appear next week, and the honey will
be staged for competition at 17 King
William Street, Strand, W.C., and will be
on view between the hours of 10 a.m. and
4 p.m. on Wednesday, the 18th, and
Thursday, the 1 9th of January.

Second-Class and Special Foul-Brood
Examinations.

The following have passed their second-
class examinations, held on 28th and 29th
October last, including foul-brood examina-
tion, and have obtained certificates : —
H. Atlee, F. J. Cribb,

T. W. Jones, W. A. Withycombe.

In addition to the above, the following,
who had previously obtained certificates,
have now passed the special foul-brood
examination : —

W. Coxon, J. Palmer.

HONEY IMPORTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of Decem-
ber, 1892, was 1737/. — From a return furnished
by the Statistical Office, H.M. Customs.

THE NEW "FALCON" SECTION.

We have just received a sample of the
work of the new machine recently erected
by the Falconer Manufacturing Company
of Jamestown, N.Y. The sections to hand
are beautifully made; indeed, we do not
remember ever having handled so fine a
specimen of woodwork before in the section
line. If the bulk equals samples they will
well illustrate the perfection to which
American wood-working machinery has
arrived, while leaving nothing to be desired
by the bee-keeper.

MAKING THE MOST OF BEE-
KEEPING.

The Editor of the Bee-keepers' Review1
(American), in a recent issue of that
journal, invited a number of its leading
contributors — who are also prominent
among the most experienced bee-keepers of
America — to give their "views upon the
following question : — " In which direction
ought bee-keepers now to work to better
their condition 1 " He also appended to his.
invitation the somewhat unusual request
that each of those appealed to would, in
reply, contribute " the best article he ever
wrote." The object sought was to obtain
an answer, from practical men, to some very
pertinent questions put by the Editor,
wherein, among other sensible things, he
says : —

"Bee-keepers have had winter losses, foul
brood, low prices for honey, and poor seasons to
contend with. Sometimes one of these burdens
bears quite heavily, then it becomes less weighty
and another takes its place. A few years ago.
the trouble seemed to be to find a market for
our product. Several poor seasons in succession
have removed that trouble effectually, but the
remedy is worse than the disease.

" Taking bee-keeping as it is, what does it
most need ? Does it need better appliances ?
Shall we keep more bees and establish out-
apiaries, or shall we keep less bees and do some-
thing else ?

" If a man is to stay in it, what shall he do
different than what he is now doing ? "

The Editorial request was responded to-
by several well-known and reliable American
bee-men, from whose articles we purpose
giving extracts, in order that British bee-
keepers may learn how far American ideas
coincide with their own in solving a problem
of equal importance in both hemispheres-
If sufficient interest is aroused to indue *»

January 12, lb98.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

13

some of our experienced bee-keepers to
ventilate the subject from a British point of
view, we shall be very pleased to open our
pages for its discussion.

Mr. R. L. Taylor, of Michigan, says : —

" Until a time that is within the memory of
many still living, the hive was a sealed book,
but, thanks to the love of investigation, and to
the ingenuity of Langstroth, the seals were
broken, and its pages opened with a touch of
the fingers of every reader. Against the barriers
of fixed natural combs the waves of progress
had broken for ages, but at length they were
overthrown, and movable combs came in. This
was a revolution in itself, but it was more — it
was the parent of revolutions. It created a
necessity for the honey-extractor and comb
foundation, and showed the way to the present
shape of section comb honey. With the neces-
sity there was possibility, and these twain,
harnessed together, are all-prevailing. The
needed discoveries were made, and bee-keeping
took a respectable position among other rural
pursuits. A want of some means of controlling
queens and drones was felt, and perforated zinc
was found, in its various applications, to satisfy
it. A multitude of other wants have been sup-
plied by appropriate devices, so that it would
seem that the outfit of the business is now well
rounded up.

" What is there still to come ? What lack is
there ? What want is felt ?

" Some want non-swarming bees ; some a non-
swarming hive ; and some a self-hiver. We
would all, no doubt, like an arrangement by
which all the bees of an apiary could be induced
to store all their surplus honey in one common
pile of section cases.

" Necessity is the mother of invention, but
Possibility is the father. There may be a want
of non-swarming bees or a non-swarming hive,
but so long as birds build nests, so long will bees
swarm. Many appear to think they need a
self-hiver, but one cannot well afford to buy and
place in position 200 self-hivers to catch sixty
or seventy prime swarms. That would be too
costly and too laborious. Besides, for other
reasons than swarming, it is profitable to give
personal attention to an apiary, during the
swarming season, as often as once every two
or three days. Good queen- traps would do the
rest, and in any case, I suspect, they would be
preferable to any self-hiver.

" There will, no doubt, be many devices dis-
covered from time to time that will relieve the
bee-keeper in a small way, but, search as I will,
I can discover no great need that can, by any
possibility, be met by any wonderful invention.
He who, peering into the mists of the future,
proclaims that he discovers an invention ap-
proaching that is to create a revolution in
apiculture, may be set down as a visionary, or
else he has made some miscalculation.

u If my conclusions are correct, it follows
that the chances of success in apiculture will

turn upon the man, rather than upon any sleight-
of-hand in management, or magic of invention,
so the Editor has done the right thing in calling
for the best advice that can be given to bee-

What a wonderful thing is advice ! ' I have
found myself exclaiming as I have been medi-
tating on this subject. I could give advice that
would revolutionise the world in an hour. How
honest, and industrious, and temperate, and
peaceful, and Christian, and blessed this world
would be ! No wonder there are always so
many who are ready to give advice. But there
is a difficulty about it. To be effectual, it must
be taken. Nevertheless, with the hope that
those interested in bees are more attentive to
their interests than are other classes, I will
close with the best advice I can give bee-
keepers.

" Prevent waste. There is no occasion for a
well person in this country to be poor. Waste,
in some form, makes the difference between
poverty and comfort. Are any of your hive-
covers, or bottom-boards, or feeders, or other
implements of the apiary unnecessarily exposed
to the weather ? What becomes of your broken
comb and pieces of wax ? Do you allow the
moths to destroy your empty combs ? If so,
get your hand on the stop that controls waste
and bear on. Get on it with both feet if neces-
sary. It will improve your circumstances.

" Don't chase rainbows. You think you are
an inventor, but you are not. That new hive,
or frame, or other contrivance you have been
planning so long— drop it, and be a little wary
of other people's inventions. Your endorse-
ment is not necessary to save a good thing from
oblivion, and your money can't save a bad one.
Don't waste time waiting for some promised in-
vention that is to work wonders. The chances
are a thousand to one that it won't come, and
like odds that, if it comes, it will prove worth-
less.

"Don't get discouraged. Be neither elated
nor depressed. Don't give away your bees, nor
don't destroy them. Crowd them for all they
are worth, but go slow on increase. Add as few
to the number of your colonies as possible.
Feel your way till you know your ground, and
stick close to your business. The horse with
the best staying qualities is the one to bet on.

" Strike while the iron is hot. In bee-keeping,
work must be done at the right time. To do
otherwise is to give success away. If you will
do everything at the right time, your work will
not crowd you at any period. Get everything
ready this winter for the honey season and
swarming, and then keep up with your work.

" Finally, don't get excited about new things
or new ways. Follow present plans until, in
your coolest moments, you decide a change to be
the best. Let others try novelties first. Exer-
cise your intelligence, and keep your head level.
Sleep well at night, and keep wide awake in the
day-time."

(The next article will appear on January 19.)

14

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [January 12, 1893.

Cnnxsptt&ma*

The Editors do not ~hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents art re-
quested 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. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal," 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

*** 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.

IN THE HUT.

" A -winter such as when birds die
In the deep forests, and the fishes lie
Stiffened in the translucent ice." — Shelley.

[1288.] Here there is a steady night tem-
perature of 20° in the shelter of a bay window
facing east, and when I compare this with the
thermometer hung outside the Hut, I find a
variation of about 5°. This gives us a minimum
of, say, 17° of frost. Nothing can be done
about hives beyond hooking out the dead from
the entrances with a bit of bent wire, and it is
needless to say this should be done as gently
and expeditiously as possible. A cone of fine
ashes may be built up to the edge of the flight-
board. There used to be a small and select
Society of Huttites, but bad seasons have
sickened them of bee-keeping — that is, bad
seasons coupled with bad management ; they
have given it up, not having backbone and grit
enough to stand misfortune. I like men who
will pull through a time of trouble, and then
yield if they like to ; pull through till a good
season comes, and then give up if they have a
mind to. And I like bee-men who have the
courage of their opinions, in spite of the adage :

" In every age and clime we see,
Two of a trade can ne'er agree."

They agree to differ, and differ to agree. It is
surely in the striking together of flint and steel
that we get kindling sparks of light and truth.
I suppose, if we ever get a conference of, say, a
hundred of the best bee-keepers in Britain, it
will be a " warm time." Yes, and the warmest
bee-time is after all business is over, and one
goes in for a friendly chat. Then we find
positivists amongst us who have strong con-
victions of their own, and take care you don't
forget it. I have had many, many of such
earnest, enthusiastic chats, yet never do I
remember an angry word being passed.

" D — d neuters, in their middle way of steering,
Are neither fish, nor flesh, nor good red herring."

Detden.

But to return to the Huttites who are gone.
They are relegated to that class who, having
learnt " all about it " (oh ! excellent phrase),
fail, and back out.

What say you if we look into past numbers
(" Tell me not in mournful numbers ") of the
B.B.J. , as in a cemetery, for the names of
prominent enthusiasts, who are " no more " as
bee-keepers ? Veterans of the Abbott and
Hooker type stand out the more prominently
as landmarks as the years roll on, and the
mind calls into being the great bee-keepers of
our early days, to whom difficulty and disaster
were only fresh incentives towards victory.
Another sad and solemn spectacle is that
Necropolis of yours — the advertising columns
of past years. Now, as advertising is the
moving spirit of the age, is it not a fair
inference that the ceasing to advertise has been
instrumental in removing many " off the field ? "
The discussion on standard honey jars is as-
suming great proportions, and as a good many
have expressed their opinions pro and con,
I trust that the suggestion emanating from the
Hut, and strongly emphasised by the Rev.
R. M. Lamb (1284), will be carried into effect,
viz., that the Committee of the B.B.KA. should
deal with the whole question as to the desira-
bility or otherwise of having a uniform standard
size jar. The official stamp having been given
to the standard frame naturally led slowly
but surely to its general adoption. People in-
sisted upon having any size they preferred, and
were not prevented. So it will be if we get a
standard jar, but it will ultimately resolve itself
into this: that at all shows connected with the
B.B.K.A. and its affiliated Associations uni-
formity in the get-up of competing honeys wil
be required ; exhibitors will surely drift into the
inevitable. Cheapness, clear whiteness of glass,
freedom from bubbles, graceful and sightly
shape, corks, tie-over or screw-cap — all these
points would be debated and decided upon by
men well qualified to fix on an all-round (no
joke !) best bottle for the bee-keeper. Again, I
admit the varying density of honey will be a
difficulty, but a bottle to hold up to a given
mark a pound avoirdupois of average honey will
not be a serious matter to find. At present all
is chaos ; you give too little, and rob your cus-
tomer, who thinks he buys one pound weight,
or you give too much and rob yourself. Which
of the two is the greater evil please do not ask
— X-Tb, ACTOR.

ARE BEES DEAF ?

[1289.] This is a question which scientific
writers on the order of Hymenoptera seem to be
unable to answer. Some do not even refer to
bees having any sense of hearing, or otherwise,
at all, but, with the exception of Mr. F. W.
Vogel, Mr. Cheshire, and one or two others,
they appear to go round the question, and — in
effect, at least — say very wisely, "Well, you
know, we cannot exactly say that bees are deaf,
but we think they must be devoid of hearing,

January 12, 1893.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

15

because no one has been able as yet to locate
their ears.'

Some writers on the subject, at any rate,
have the courage of their convictions and
declare that bees are all as deaf as the pro-
verbial doorpost, but, in coming to this conclu-
sion, I cannot help thinking that they have
arrived at this opinion without sufficient data
to justify so positive an assertion of a fact (?)
which is admittedly a most difficult one to
prove.

It is well known, and may be accepted as a
truism, that soft and pleasant' sounds have more
effect upon bees, and, indeed, upon many insects
and animals, than loud and discordant noises,
as in the fable of the Pied Piper of Hamelin
and the rats of that town ; and it is far more
likely that better results woidd be obtained by
using gentle means than by those of a violent
and sudden nature.

I would, in support of this argument, quote
Cook's Manual, page 58, where he says, "A
slight jar will quickly awaken a colony of
hybrids, where a loud noise will pass unnoticed ; "
and again, on the same page, speaking of the
auditory powers of bees, he says, " Every
apiarist has noticed the effect of various sounds
made by bees on their comrades of the hive,
and how contagious is the sharp tone of anger,
the low hum of fear, and the pleasant tone of
a new swarm as they commence to enter their
new home."

Many writers argue that, though not pos-
sessed of the sense of hearing, bees can distin-
guish, are conscious of, or are effected by, vibra-
tions of air and light. I would ask whether
this is not tantamount to hearing ? All 1 know
is, that " oft in the stilly night " have I listened
at the hive-side, and heard the murmur of the
bees rise and fall — one, two, and even three
tones — like a wave flowing from back to front,
and back again, in the space of a few seconds,
which surely could not be caused by atmospheric
vibrations within the hive, unless the bees have
senses capable of appreciating such vibrations,
and certainly not by the vibrations of light,
because it was dark within and without. I
have also heard (in piping times, of course), the
pipe of the queen and the almost instant rise
in tone of the hum of the whole colony, which,
to my mind, would have been impossible unless
the bees had a pretty cute sense of hearing, or
some other sense analogous thereto, about which
the author of Ants, Bees, and Wasps says " we
can form no idea."

Again, I would ask why — as in the system of
double-queened hives — if a swarm issues from
one stock, does a swarm always issue from the
companion stock? (See B. B. J., April 7th, 1892,
p. 133.) These stocks, it must be borne in mind,
are divided by a partition perforated by small
holes in the centre of the hive. Is it waves or
vibrations of light or air, on insects so sensitive
thereto, that so soon as one stock begins to
swarm and the hum of excitement is tilling the
air, the other stock catches the fever and come
pouring out also ? Or is it the sense of hearing

such wave-sounds that causes the companion
swarm to come out at the same time as the first ?
Surely it cannot be said that a preconcerted
arrangement existed between the two hives to
swarm at the same time, whether they were
both in a fit state for the purpose or not !
Should it not be rather ascribed to the joyful
humming of the tirst swarm creating wave-
sounds which, falling on the tympana of the
companion colony, communicate to them the
fever, and so bring the whole lot out ?

Probably I have not by this letter advanced
the question much, but my object has rather
been to draw the attention of readers — par-
ticularly such specialists as your correspondent,
Mr. Grimshaw — to this wide field of research,
upon which they might usefully expend a
portion of their ingenuity, time, and energy.
As for myself, I am coufident that insects gifted
(as is Apis mellifica) with the senses of
sight, smell, and taste in so exalted a degree,
must and do possess the sense of hearing also in
a like degree. If they have not, well, then, all
I can say is that I am a " Dutchman " and not
— The Heathen.

A BEE OUTRAGE.

[1290.] The writer of the following, which
appears in a recent issue of the West Kent
Advertiser, forwards the extract to us as likely
to interest readers of the Bee Journal: —

"Sir, — As I was out for a walk in the direc-
tion of Kingsdown on Monday last, with a
friend from Farningham, I observed (taking, as
I do, great interest, as does my friend, in all that
concerns apiculture) strange confusion in the
apiary at ' Pells ' — some of the hives (there are
upwards of twenty there) were in the greatest
confusion — carpets and quilts thrown about,
covers of the hives on the ground, and altogether
presenting to a bee-keeper a • dreadful ' sight,
considering, too, that the thermometer had
shown, and was still ranging towards, 20° of
frost ! On closer inspection, it was evident that
some scoundrels had been robbing the poor bees
of their well-earned stores — depriving them not
only of all subsistence, but exposing them, their
queens, and their brood, to a killing atmosphere
(for bees cannot stand exposure in winter). It
was distressing to see the poor bees — huddled
together like shipwrecked mariners — those that
had survived the ordeal endeavouring to protect
their queen, and derive warmth from each other,
but thousands lay dead, thousands dying.

" We warmed the quilts and packed up the
hives as well as we could — of course, getting
stung, for the bees could not be expected to dis-
cern friends and foes. The result will be a loss
of five splendid stocks, worth more than as
many pounds. The remains of the stocks will
probably be united in one lot, and thus some
will survive the winter.

"Now, what should be done to such scoun-
drels ? I say, tied hand and foot, without a
shred to cover them, and kept thirty-eight

16

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 12, 1893.

hours in a temperature of zero, with a strong
north-wester blowing. They would then have
more consideration for those industrious and
useful little friends of man. I was thinking
the administration of a few thousand stings
would he a punishment, but then that means
death to the poor bee ! She never, or rarely,
draws her sword without endangering, mostly
losing, her life. Fortunately, P.O. Dann tracked
the villains. A piece of the bees' quilt was
found at a sort of gipsy encampment near. A
nice return this for Mr. Evelyn's kindness in
letting such villains encamp in his wood. How-
ever, he is a magistrate, and ought to know not
only what is right, but how to deal with what
is wrong. I hope he will give these rascals
' six months ' at least. — Yours truly, A Kent
Bee-keeper, December 29th, 1892."

A REMINDER TO DR. TINKER.

[1291.] I have very patiently and anxiously
awaited every week's new number of the
B. B. J. for a most interesting letter from
Dr. Tinker (958, p. 96 of B. J. for March 10th
last) "to be continued" as stated, and hoped he
might come to my rescue, as to one entrance for
rearing a second queen in full colonies with a
laying queen. May I be excused for drawing
your attention to this " to be continued ? " —
J. Gr. K., Southborouffh, January 3rd.

[We, too, have been patiently awaiting the
completion of the article referred to. We shall
draw the attention of our good friend, Dr.
Tinker, to the above, and trust he will take the
reminder in the way desired by our correspondent
and also by ourselves. — Eds.]

MY BEE-DOINGS IN 1892.

[1292]. At the close of another year it may
possibly be of interest if I give you, as concisely
as possible, an account of my doings since
August 11th,

With reference to the two hives purchased
on 28th July, and numbered 2 and 3, I noticed
on the 13th August that, while no drones were
appearing at No. 2, they were flying in numbers,
and being cast out, at No. 3. I commenced
giving medicated syrup (using Naphthol Beta)
with rapid feeders, to encourage breeding and
increase their winter store. I was somewhat
surprised to find, on the 3rd September, that
drones were still flying from No. 3. I ^ave
each their syrup at sundown, and, on looking
into the feeders, No. 2 was nearly cleaned out,
while No. 3 was untouched, and with only two
bees standing on the edge, looking stolidly at
their fare. I suspected something wrong, and
still more so when, in the forenoon, I noticed
robbers about. I dusted some flour on them,
and saw they belonged to my old stock No. 1.
I at once hung a curtain, saturated with carbolic
solution, across the porch, but this didn't wholly
stop them, and it was only when I took a piece

of perforated zinc, with an inch entrance, and
coated with vaseline, that they, after the most
persistent efforts to gain admission, desisted.
Seeing the state of matters, and not wishing to
turn up the skep for examination in such cir-
cumstances, I left them alone. I was, however,
fully in the belief that the hive was queenless.
On the Saturday following, when all was quiet,
I turned up the skep. The bees were all crawl-
ing about listlessly ; there was no brood, only
some sealed stores near the crown, and no queen
that I could see.

On the Friday following I went out to my
friend, and got another skep, with a queen of
last year in it, but very light ; it weighed seven
pounds without the board. I took them home,,
and next morning prepared to unite. There
were still plenty of drones flying from No. 3i
First of all, I made a light frame to fill the
front of the porch, and covered it with queen-
excluder. I then lifted No. 3 off its boardr
dusted it with flour, and covered it with scrim
to keep in the bees. I then took the new hive,
dusted it likewise, and set it on the board of
No. 3. My assistant had meanwhile laid a
board covered with a cloth on the landing-board
in front, and I shook the bees out upon it.
Some flew away, and some crawled off the
board, but about a quart made tracks for the
entrance. I meanwhile pinched off all the
drones I could catch, carefully watching for the
queen, until I had disposed of quite a handfuL
which I examined in case of a mistake. The
result was, the hive had been, as I suspected,
queenless. I did not expect fighting, and for
three days I saw none. They have since done
very well, and I put the two skeps into winter
quarters respectively thirty-six pounds and thirty-
four pounds heavier than when I got them. So
again I have to thank adversity for affording
me another lesson in the manipulation of these
wonderful insects.

From my old hive I took twelve one-pound
sections, beautifully sealed, and thirty-seven
pounds of extracted honey from the upper box.
I gave them back the frames for a week to
clean, and, with a cake of naphthaline inside,
they are packed and ready for next year. I put
an empty shallow box below, to give them room,,
and I calculated they would have about forty
pounds of stores for winter. From what I have
heard, the heather has been a failure. There
was any amount of clover-blossom and field-
beans round about me, but they never had the
smell one expects to feel from either. With
cold, northerly winds and sunless sky, the bees
seemed to have no heart for working, but I am
more than satisfied. The relief that I have felt
from my interest in my bees when I go out from
Friday till Monday, away from the care and
worry of business, and an occasional lesson in
bee literature in the evenings at home, has been
of priceless value to me.

There is another subject in which I am very
interested, viz., working two queens in one hive.
In the Record for May and June you gave a
description of Mr. Wells' system. I make

January 12, 1893. J THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

17

myself believe that I understand the system
upon which it is worked and its purpose ; but,
I am in the unfortunate position of having
seen scarcely any frame hives, with the excep-
tion of Neighbour's " cottage " and those at
Stirling Show. I may explain that, in the
September Record, you say, p. 123, "If readers
will bear in mind Mr. Wells' own account of
what he did," &c. Well, in order to get this
account, I got, through my bookseller, the back
numbers of the B. B. J. for this year, and what
still puzzles me is Mr. Wells' statement on p. 133
(in reply to your own query) : " Most of the
hives had sliding floor-boards, so that the floor-
board could be dropped two inches, and a
wedge-shaped piece was inserted below the
dummy," &c. Also, on p. 73 of the Record and
p. 193 of the B.B.J.: " In the evening I lower
the floor-board," &c, and " You have not the
advantage of lowering the floor-board," &c.
It is this sliding floor-board, that can be dropped,
lowered, or slanted at will, that I can't make
out. There must be more in it than a trade
term, some of which, as used by English joiners,
puzzle us Scotch fellows sadly. I intend trying
the system, but I want to know fully the why
and the wherefore before I do anything with
it.

By the way, and this reminds me of what had
for the time being escaped my memory, could it
not be possible for some of the manufacturers
of bee-appliances to establish an agency in
Edinburgh ? So far as I know, and looking up
the advertisements in Record and B. B. J.,
nothing can be got within sixty miles, and to
see anything is for a great many out of the
question. With few exceptions bee literature
is not obtainable in this city, except by order.
I believe few have any idea how few really
good hives can be found in this neigbourhood,
and there are numbers of bee-keepers who have
not the remotest idea where anything except a
straw skep can be had. I felt disappointed
that at the show in the Waverley Market there
were so few bee-appliances shown, and others
have expressed the same feeling of disappoint-
ment to me since. Something surely could be
done for us so as to give us a chance, were it
only to follow in the footsteps of your intelli-
gent and up-to-date English bee-keepers.

Before concluding this inconceivably long
letter, I would take leave to say that I think all
honour and credit is due to Mr. Wells for bring-
ing his hive before the readers of your valuable
periodicals, thereby conferring upon those who
may intelligently wish to adopt its principle the
benefits of his invention. At the same time, I
cannot help feeling pained, not to use a stronger
expression, at the attempt on the part of some
of your correspondents who would wrest the
right (Mr. Wells makes no claim) of originality
from him, and who, on their own showing, do
not understand the end and aim of the idea
which underlies the whole, and which is so
forcibly and plainly put in your leader in the
May Record, and on page 176 of the B. B. J., in
reply to a query (1010). But these claims to

inventions are nothing new, and whether the
invention consists of " using flour as a pacifier,"
" putting on a box of shallow frames above the
brood nest," or "working two queens in each
hive," some one is sure to crop up who had seen,
an " old shepherd, of forty years' standing as a
bee-keeper," use the first; another "had been
dreaming all winter" about the second; and,
for the third and latest, one is found quoting
Holy Scripture : "There is nothing new under
the sun," he exclaims ; " I made and worked a
hive on the same principle as Mr. Wells in the
spring of 1866, and stocked it with a swarm the
same year." But enough ! I could imaginer
that there are people to be found in this world
who, with very little effort, could persuade them-
selves into the belief that either they or their
forefathers had invented and made an ark,
and saved the remnant of a submerged world
long before Noah was in existence !

Allow me this opportunity of again thanking
you for all the assistance I have got from
you, directly and indirectly, and to assure you
that the wish which accompanied your first
communication to me, " That I might derive
both pleasure and profit in my new hobby," has
been most amply fulfilled. — Robert Peebles,.
Edinburgh.

SELLING HONEY AND STANDARD-
JARS.

[1293]. Having had about six years' experience-
in selling honey at retail prices in our local
markets, the question of size, pattern, and " get
up" of the one-pound bottle is one on which
I can speak with a little authority, especially as
the quantity I have sold in this form has run
so high as half a ton in a single season. Of
course, in this respect as in others, districts
differ in their requirements, but here I have had
to combat difficulties that do not perhaps con-
front such honey kings as Mr. McNally and Mr.
Woodley, whose successes as prominent exhi-
bitors have probably done much to open up to
them good markets for their produce. The
only honey for sale in Carlisle market had,
prior to my offering it there, consisted of
" tops," i.e., small baskets placed on tho
skep proper, combs taken from skeps, and run
or "strained" honey in nondescript pickle or
other bottles, the last being the contents of
such combs as were considered unfit, from their
age or colour, to be offered entire. It was
generally much mixed with pollen and other
remains, so that when, in 1886, I offered my
first extracted honey in the flower market, and
a1**) in the butter market, it was looked on
with much suspicion, few, seemingly, having
ever seen so clear a sample, and many not
hesitating to openly affirm that to be so clear it
could not be otherwise than " adulterated," the-
result being that I sold part of it at (id. per
one-pound bottle, and returned home a disap-
pointed bee-man. Now, as I had determined
to build up a good apiary, this was far from

18

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 12, 1893

satisfactory, and I set myself to clear away
this prejudice and to make a market for my
honey.

In my enthusiasm, T had purchased a variety
of fancy bottles, and smart labels to go with
them, and these, instead of helping- my sale, I
found conduced to the opposite result, by adding
to the already fixed quota of prejudice, ^ and
giving the idea that the fancy " get up " had
some connexion with the fancy foreign fruits,
&c, of the grocery store. I accordingly gave
up labels altogether, and have never regretted
it. In later years, as the demand for my honey
increased, I have been surprised at the frequency
of the question, put by those about to purchase
for the first time, "Are they full pounds ?" As
I charge one penny per jar more for screw-caps,
I, some years ago, thought it would not be a
bad idea to get some fourteen-ounce "screw-
caps," so that I could sell them at the same
price as the " tie-overs," and accordingly pur-
chased a half-gross of the fourteen-ounce ones,
but, though I explained the difference, and had
the various styles of bottles to assist the ex-
planation, yet the prejudice was so great that I
had hard work to sell the light weights at all.
Now, when the question is put, I can answer
that " There is a full pound of honey," and the
glass weighs half a pound. That usually settles
it, and a sale is effected. Having given up
attending the market during the spring and
summer months, I do not now do so much re-
tailing ; but having done something to create a
moderate demand in this and other local
markets, I have now secured customers who, for
a fair margin, are willing to retail for me.

In conclusion, I find that a strong sixteen-
ounce bottle is best, and looks more for the
money than the lighter and thinner makes.
For tie-over, I like the sexagon, or six-sided,
bottle, or the ordinary-shaped tie-over ; and for
screw-cap work, the tall style (all of Breffit's
make).

I give a full pound of honey, and have never
found any objection — for market — to the
quarter or three-eighths space at the top of
the bottle.

A great mistake is made in rushing all the
honey in as soon as ready. Producers of small
quantities, or those who, like myself, are at-
tending the markets with other products, or
who have shops, should try rather to always
have a little on hand. A regular demand is
thus created, so that by the time your output is
greater you have customers ready to help you
out.

I might say that more could be got here now
for a good sample at wholesale than was got at
retail in the autumn, and no supply, owing to
the mistaken policy of " sell at any price "
which prevailed at that period. A good regular
quality of light-coloured, clear honey, of good
consistency, regularly supplied, is the secret,
more than any other, of forming a connexion for
the sale of this, not always the most saleable of
rural products. — J. Stormonth, jun., Kir~kbride,
JSilloth.

STANDARD HONEY JARS.

[1294.] I am glad to see the opinion of one
so fully qualified to write on the above subject
in B.B.J. (1284, p. 5). Mr. Lamb's line of
argument and contention to my thinking is
certainly the best article which has yet appeared
on the subject, and personally I thank that
gentleman for the clear and exhaustive manner
he has treated the different points at issue. I
regret the tendency shown by some who have
taken part in the controversy to go outside the
line of argument and impute dishonesty, or, as
some term it, " trade custom," to others outside
the honey trade. Our manufacturers of the
present day are keenly alive to the fact that
anything tending to dishonesty or fraud on the
public is ultimately found out, and that it means
ruin to the offender. I should like to know,
from the long list of articles coming under the
category of " bottled goods," what guarantee is
given as to the weight of contents in same ?
Again, I have proved conclusively that even in
trade rivalry the manufacturer who turns out
the best article, no matter what is the price,
gains public support and succeeds in business.
What has made Lazenby's pickles so famous ?
Why, the superior quality of the contents, not
the bottle. Yet these goods are sold at nearly
double the price charged by some other makers
turning out a similar-sized bottle. The same
remark applies to first-class honey. The good
article will always command a good price,
irrespective of the jar it is sold, in, while
inferior quality, no matter how elaborate the
bottle, will be sold at its value, and I hold that
there is less intention of dishonesty in selling a
fourteen-ounce bottle of first-class honey at
Is. 6d. than in offering a guaranteed sixteen-
ounce bottle of thin, watery honey for 3d. per
bottle less. It remains with the B.B.K.A. to
say we will, or will not, have a standard bottle,
and I trust that august body will soon give
their opinion on the subject. — J. D. McNally.

STARTING BEE ASSOCIATIONS.

[1295]. In and around Brampton there are
probably over 300 hives — bar-frames and skeps
about equally divided ; the owners of the former
generally working on intelligent lines, while
the skeppists mostly trust to chance as their
great-grandfathers did before them. We wish
to form a Bee-keepers' Association, but do not
know how to proceed. Will you, therefore,
kindly furnish a few hints in B. B. J., as infor-
mation on the subject may prove of service to
others similarly situated, i.e., wishful to start
Associations yet ignorant of how to com-
mence.

Perhaps I may suggest a few leading ques-
tions. 1. What subscription is usually paid?

2. What constitutes the work of an Association ?

3. Do County Councils make grants for lectures ?
4! Are District Associations connected with
B. B. K. A. ? («) If so, how, and what is the

January 12, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

19-

benefit ? 5. How does an Association secure
the services of an expert ? 6. Who guarantees
his expertnessf — A. A. Dallman, Brampton,
Carlisle.

[Mr. John Huckle, Secretary of the British
B. K. A., Kings Langley, is better able to give
information on the subject of starting Associa-
tions than any one we know, and if our corre-
spondent will write to him, the needed as-
sistance and information will no doubt be
willingly supplied. — Eds.]

AMONG THE BEE-KEEPERS OF
CALIFORNIA.

Bee-keeping around Jurupa Mountain.
{Concluded from page 10.)

We now pass around the mountain and work
our way up the south side ; and a young man,
Mr. Ranee, from twenty-five colonies in the
spring increased to fifty and secured 3120 lbs.
of honey, which is not bad for a young man
during this poor season.

Another hitch along the base of the moun-
tains, and we enter a very rocky and cupshaped
canyon; in fact, it is almost an amphitheatre,
with its abrupt rocky walls on three sides.
Here is an apiary of 115 colonies, owned by
our friend Wilder, of Grayback and water-
melon fame.

Mr. Wilder searched for a long time to find
a location that would fit his name, and finally
succeeded. Stones abound, both above and
below, and of a size to suit the most enthu-
siastic admirer of stones. In the rocky pass
above the apiary it is Wilder's wildest, where
rocks seem ready to roll down of their own
accord. The cabin is about as large as the big
rock on the right, and is located near an un-
failing spring ; and upon a day when the
mercury gets the hundred mark it is wonderful
to see the steady stream of bees that pass the
cabin for water. In this rocky retreat Mr. W.
has, in this season of uncertainty, taken 9120 lbs.
of honey, and seems to have no appearance of
the blues.

This retreat abounds in small game. Both
rabbits and quail can be shot from the door of
his cabin. As our friend is an expert cook in
all its departments, quail or rabbit on toast is
served in the most epicurean style, and the
California flap-jack act can be performed to
perfection.

Mr. W. is a skilful taxidermist, and samples
of his handiwork are visible in the shape of
rare specimens of California birds. The only
missing links in the chain of his enjoyment
are a helpmeet and a generous patch of water-
melons.

Messrs. Helmer and Pratt have a flourishing
bakery at Riverside. The Pratt portions of the
firm devotes a part of his time to the cultiva-
tion of the busy bee. Near another spring that
peeps out of the mountain is this apiary ; forty-
three colonies in the spring increased up to

ninety-eight; and 4000 lbs. of honey secured
as the product of this apiary, is sold to a great
extent in the bakery. Both comb and extracted
honey are produced. Speaking of selling honey
in this way, Mr. Pratt said they sold for°a little
better price ; but as it came in littles and went
in the same way, they didn't feel the profits so
much as when sold in the lump, and they could
handle a roD of bills or a bag of gold. This
season migratory bee-keeping has been practised
by them. The bees have been removed to the
river bottoms with good results. A few colonies
kept in the city put in some fine orange-blossom
honey, some of which we hope will find its way
to the World's Fair.

The nearest apiary to Riverside, on this
range, is owned by Mr. Parks. His hives are
among great rocks just above his ranch, and
he has the reputation of securing the largest
yields of any bee-keeper in the vicinity. This
very poor season his yield from sixty-five
colonies is only 6000 lbs. Three years ago he
had a good season, and his seventy-five colonies
gave him 33,000 lbs., or an average of 440 to the
swarm. Mr. P. believes in a liberal use of
foundation, and combs that get clogged with
bee-bread are taken out and replaced with it.
He believes in using a three-story hive, and
wants a queen that will keep ten frames filled
with brood. His ranch and orange grove, how-
ever, encroach so much upon his time that he
thinks of disposing of his bees in a year or two ;
but, speaking reflectively, he said if we have
another season like this California will lose its
reputation as a large honey-producer.

Mr. Samuel Furguson, who was with us on
Grayback, owns the next ranch and apiary ;
and, like Mr. Wilder and the Rambler, he is a
lone "bach." He has a cosy cabin embowered
under eucalyptus and pepper trees. Water is
developed in the canyon above, and a reservoir
is nearly completed to collect water to irrigate
the ranch. The apiary numbers 215 colonies.
The hives are in two double rows. A track is
laid between the rows, and a car is used to run
the combs to the extractor. The hives are
covered with a framework for shading them in
hot weather. The shades were not in place
this season, owingf to the short yield of only
11,000 lbs. Mr. Ferguson seems to have every-
thing ready for a bird in his cage, but the birds
round the cabin seem to be mostly quail.

A little apiary owned by a consumptive, and
another of seven hives, complete the circuit of
the mountain, and we find on the seven square
miles, 1287 colonies in fourteen apiaries, count-
ing both great and small. The total amount of
honey sold was 76,500 lbs. ; and although the
bees were on the seven square miles embraced
in the mountains, their field of operation was on
valleys ten miles wide. The sources of nectar
were sage, orange, wild buckwheat, horehound,
sunflower, and wild flowers in profusion. Ex-
cepting the temperature, which was up to 100°,
I had a very pleasant journey, and some thrilling
experiences which will be next duly recorded by
the — Rambler, in " Gleanings?

20

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 12, 1893.

^ntxuB attb Implies,

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

[704.] Remedies for Dysentenj and Wax-
vnoth.—WouldL you kindly answer the follow-
ing questions for my instruction:— 1. Is the
-enclosed sugar pure cane? 2. Is Demerara
:fiugar suitable to make candy with for winter
food for bees ? 3. How long will a cake weigh-
ing 1| pounds last for a stock without any other
food? 4. What is the best treatment for a
stock badly infected with dysentery ?— is it
contagious? 5. What can I do to stop the
wax-moth making havoc in a hive ? — H. R. C,
Carnarvon.

Reply. — 1. We cannot say for certain, but
fancy it is not. 2. Only refined granulated
white sugar is suitable for making bee-candy.
3. Much depends on the way the bees take to
the candy and the strength of the stock, as well
as the state of the weather at the time. In
mild weather, a strong lot of bees, feeding freely
on it, would take a 24-ounce cake in about a
fortnight or three weeks. 4. A warm, dry hive,
with only as many frames of comb as the bees
can cover, and well-made, wholesome food. The
disease is not contagious, but if the internal
condition of the hive and the food induce it at
all, it will, of course, affect the whole colony.
5. Keep stocks strong, and the wax-moth need
not be feared ; but where a stock is infected by
it, all combs containing the larvas of the moth
should be removed, and the bees crowded upon
the remainder. Floor-boards, quilts, and cover-
ings should also be cleaned, and all trace of the
moth larvae washed away.

Hotices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries aslcingfor addresses of manufacturers 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
ffeplies,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 communication.

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

Amos T. — We should endeavour to smooth over
the trouble with your neighbour in a friendly
way — "boys will be boys" you know, and it
was but a boy's trick to " toss the roofs of
the hives off" because he had been stung.
You could obtain no redress for the mischief
by law.

A Beginner. — Buying Bees. — The best time
to buy stocks is in March or April. If they
are then strong, healthy, and thriving, you
may expect a return for the outlay this year.
But you should get the opinion of an ex-
perienced bee-keeper as to freedom from
disease.

%* Correspondents will please note that all com-
munications, whether relating to advertisements,
subscriptions, or literary matter, must now be ad-
dressed to 17 King William Street, Strand, London,
W.C.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, die. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

FOR SALE.— Pure English Honey, in 60-lb Tins, at Id.
per lb. Address T. Holliday, The Apiary, Astbury
Congleton, Cheshire.

FOR SALE.— 84 lbs. of Granulated Honey in 1-lb. Tie-
over Bottles. Put on rail for 31. 10s. Address A.
Ween, Five Ashes, Mayfield, Sussex.

FOR SALE. — Pure Extracted English Honey, J-cwts. at
8d. per lb. Tins free. Sample 2d. Address R. Dtjtton,
Terling, Witham, Essex.

WANTED.— Will any of our Readers supply us with
the present addresses of S. S. Goldsmith, Parkstone,
Dorset, and A. Green, Selston ? Address Editor, B. B. J.,
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

FOR SALE.— About 300 lbs. of 1892 Granulated Honey,
in Jars containing 35 to 56 lbs. Address H. C.
Polapet, Tamar, Launceston, Cornwall.

HONEY taken from Customers, 8d. per lb. ; cwts. 7£d.
per lb. Tins free. Sample, 3 stamps. Address
Edet & Son, St. Neots.

PURE ENGLISH HONEY.— £Owt.,8d. per lb., tins free.
Sample, 2d. Address R. Dutton, Terling, Witham,

Essex.

THE DEPOSIT SYSTEM.

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Stbeet, Stband, London, W.C.

The following are the Rules under which we
are prepared to receive Sums of Money on Deposit
from persons buying and selling goods.

In order to save trouble it is requested that the
Rules be carefully read over by persons using the
Deposit System of trading.

DEPOSITING.

1. Method. — When strangers are dealing together, tho
purchase-money of the articles is deposited at our office.
We acknowledge receipt of the deposit to both parties, and
hold the money until we are satisfied that the purchase is
concluded. If a sale be effected, we remit to the seller the
amount deposited, less a charge of 6d. and the expenses of
Post Office Orders and postage, &c. Cash will be forwarded
by cheque, Post Office Order, or by Postal Order as pre-
ferred. If a sale or exchange be not completed, we return
the amount deposited, after making the same deduction.
By this means buyers and sellers ars secured from fraud.

2. Deposits. — Postal Orders (drawn on General Post
Office) andjCheques must be made payable to "Manager,"
B. B. J., and crossed "London and Westminster Bank."
The numbers of the Postal Orders should be kept by the
sender. We cannot be responsible for any losses that may
occur in transit.

3. Honey on Approval. — All honey will be sold by
sample, which must be sent direct to buyer.

4. Bee-appliances. — In ordering, the time allowed for
completing the order to be stated to us when sending cash.
If maker accepts, we hold cash till transaction is satisfac-
torily completed, when the amount will be remitted subject
to conditions as in Clause 1.

5. Bees and Queens.— These will be dealt with entirely
by the parties concerned, so far as price, &c, goes, and when
the purchase is satisfactprily completed cash will be re-
mitted as per Clause 1.

6. Goods in Transit. — These are at the seller's risk,
i.e., any damage to or loss of an article on its journey is
borne by the vendor ; but a rejected article must be pro-
perly packed and returned by the same means as was used
in sending it.

7. Carriage. — The carriage of all goods, except such as
are sent by post, is payable by the buyer, unless otherwise
agreed, if any article sent on approval be returned, each
party to the transaction must pay carriage one way.

THE

SBrifel ffiw ^nnrnai

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 552. Vol. XXI. N.S. 160.] JANUARY 19, 1893.

[Published Weekly,

SENSATIONAL TALES ABOUT BEES
AS TOLD IN THE PAPERS.

It will be remembered that some few
weeks ago we reprinted a press cutting
entitled "Wonderful Work of Bees," and
that the contents of this cutting were
— through a slight inadvertence — con-
strued by some readers as having met with
editorial approval. In consequence, some
amusing correspondence ensued, which ap-
peared in our issue for December 8th, p. 480.
We have just now been favoured by an
Essex correspondent with another cutting
from a popular weekly paper, having an
enormous circulation, which makes it pro-
bable that several duplicates of the extract
will be in our hands before this appears in
print. The article referred to would seem
to have been written by some one possessing
about an equal amount of knowledge or
experience of the subject as the writer of
the " Wonderful Work of Bees " already
mentioned.

Our correspondent asks if certain state-
ments— which he has underlined — in the
article " are true 1 " In reply, it may be
said that there is in it a minimum of truth
mixed up with a maximum of fiction. In
a word, there is so much of what any bee-
keeper of ordinary intelligence and experi-
ence would call "rubbish," that it would be
a waste of time and space endeavouring to
prove it such. We ought not, however, to
pass unnoticed the fact that our correspon-
dent puts a direct query as to the truth or
otherwise of certain portions of the article,
and refers especially to the fifth and sixth
paragraphs, wherein are given the honey
averages of England and America. We
answer the question by asking another,
viz., from whence does the veracious chron-
icler obtain his figures 1 But, if our cor-
respondent is fond of figures — which we are
not — and will multiply the number of hives

in America (2,800,000) by 22 (the average
number of pounds of honey got from each),
he will arrive at the total quantity of honey
in pounds which is gathered in an ordinary
season ; then by valuing it at 4d per
pound (a very fair price in America), he
will get at the total sum the honey is
worth ; or say, in round figures, 1,027,000Z.
In the very next paragraph comes the state-
ment— made by an American this time —
that in 1892 (a notably bad season in
America) honey was secured to the value
of four millions sterling !

What also could be more worthless and
misleading than a statement that last year's
crop in America was worth nearly half a
million sterling more than the whole average
crop of all Europe put together ! Verily,
it seems as if bees and bee-keeping were
especially chosen as subjects for misrepre-
sentation of this kind. But we must leave
our readers to appraise the value of the
article for themselves, from a bee-keeper's
point of view, by inserting it in full, as
follow'S : —

" The mention of bees is to me like the
proverbial red rag to a bull. Ever since I
can remember they have been persistently
and perpetually pointed out to me with an
air of reproach. But I have had my sus-
picions.

" It is very easy for the bee to boast about
' improving the shining hour ' in this
country where the sun never does shine for
more than ten minutes. Then as to the
bee's vaunted industry and thoroughness,
which every one talks about so much, I fail
to see where they come in.

" The ordinary bee only puts in some three
hours' work at the best of times during the
day. The rest of the time it hangs about
and loafs. The thing is a hypocrite from
head to tail.

" However, it is only fair to say that when
the bee does work the result is good.

" The great country for this tribe of stings
and honey is America, and throughout the
United States can be found at the very

22

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [January 19, 1893.

least 2,800,000 hives. These belong to
some 70,000 bee-farmers who on an average
only manage to extract twenty-two pounds
from each hive.

" In Europe the bee-owners are more suc-
cessful, as the average yield from the
English hive is fifty pounds. A hive as a
rule holds some 5000 gentlemen and ladies,
who generally manage to make things hum
when they are all at home.

" Some American, who has j ust been totting
up the figures, says that during the past
year the bees who live in the U.S.A. pro-
duced honey to the value of 4,000,000/.
This is not bad work.

" The most important bee-farmer in the
States is a Mr. Harbison, who looks after no
fewer than 6000 hives, which annually
bring him in 200,000 pounds of honey. As
this may fairly be valued at 8000/., it will
be seen that apiculture is a profitable busi-
ness if only you are bold enough and sen-
sible withal.

" The annual production of the bees of
Europe may be estimated at 123,200,000
pounds of honey, which is worth rather
more than three and a half million pounds
sterling. This might at first sight lead
any one to suppose that my remarks about
the busy bee being a righteous fraud were
instigated by spite and jealously, and were
made without reason.

" But it must be remembered that this
grand total, large as it is, does not neces-
sarily indicate any industry on the part of
the individual bee. To make that enor-
mous amount of honey occupied for twelve
months no fewer than 123,200,000,000
bees !

" This calculation is based on the premise
that one hundred bees on an average only
make a pound of honey in a year, which is
about as near to the truth as it is possible
to arrive. It is interesting at this point to
mention the fact that one hundred bees
weigh exactly one ounce, or, in other words,
an ounce of average bees make a pound of
honey in twelve months.

"I believe that of European bees the
greatest number are German. In that
country it may be reckoned there are some
two million hives. Spain can claim the dis-
tinction of being the second country in im-
portance as far as these little buzzing
insects and their honey are concerned.

" The largest natural hive in the world is
the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. Here
myriads of bees have made their home, but

how much honey they produce it is im-
possible to say. Probably some fabulous
amount."

Further comment is needless, except
saying that however amusing, or even in-
teresting, to non-bee-keepers such articles
may be, they are certainly not instructive.
Moreover, they tend to hinder and not
advance the best interests of the pursuit — ■
whose exponents have not the advantage of
a weekly circulation counted by hundreds
of thousands — by creating an unjustifiable
prejudice against bees which spreads over a
wider area than a technical paper can hope
ever to reach.

HONEY FOR CHICAGO.

The following is a full list of names of
those whose donations of honey for the
British exhibit at the World's Fair at
Chicago have been safely received at 17
King William Street : —

Rev. G. W. Bancks.
Rev. Dr. Bartrum.
Rev. W. E. Burkitt.
Rev. L. B. Birkett,
Rev. C. Feetham.
Rev. R. M. Lamb.
Rev. F. T. Scott.
Hon.&Rev.H. Bligh.
Baroness Burdett-

Coutts.
W. J. Anderson.
H. Attfield.
T. Badcock.

E. Basley.
H. Basley.
C. J. Baster.
Jno. Baxter.
S. W. Beall.
L. Belsham.
W. Boxwell.

F. H. Brenes.
J. Brown.

J. B. Butler.
Captain Campbell.
T. Charles.
A. J. Carter.
Cathedral Dairy Co.
J. G. Cherry.
E. A. S. Cotterell.
T. W. Cowan.
A. H. Cowan.
Miss H. B. Cowan.
Percy Cowan.
Bertie Cowan.

W. B. Cam

S. & E. Cooper.

J. Carver.

Miss Davy.

W. Debnam.

W. Dixon.

R. Douglas.

Miss B. F. Doyne.

G. Dunkley.

E. Durrant.

R. Dutton.

Miss Feetham.

H. Flick.

S. B. Fox.

Mrs. Fraser.

C. H. Gardner.

W. T. Garnett.

J. Garratt.

R. A. H. Grimshaw.

T. Giles. .

J. Gittins.

R. J. Glew.

J. E. Gray.

J. Hall.

A. W. Harrison.

W. Hawkes.

G. Head.

H. O. Huntley.

H. Jonas.

J. W. Kievill.

T. F. Leadbitter.

W. H. Ley.

R. W. Lloyd.

E. Longhurst.

January 19, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

23

W. Loveday.
W. H. Matthews.
W. Lees McClure.
J. McDuff.
J. D. McNally.
W. McNally.

F. H. Meggy.

G. Newman.
J. North.
E. J. Oaten.

Capt. W. St. G. Ord%

J. Palmer.

J. Perry.

E. R. Piggott.

T. Pritchard.

W. W. Pryor.

W. Rayner.

R. W. Sealy.

T. Sells.

W. H. Seymour.

W. J. Sheppard.

E. E. Smith.

F. W. South.
W. Sturdy.
W. Sword.

J. R. Truss.
A. Tweedie.

F. Tunbridge.
A. Venn.
Jno. Walton.

G. Wells.
Mrs. Williams.
W. Winterton.

W. A. Withycombe.
H.-Wood.
W. Woodley.
W. H. Woods.
F. Wooldridge.
Wotton - under -
Edge Association.

The honey has already been staged, and
looks very well indeed at the time of writing.
Judging begins at 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday,
but we shall be unable to give the result of
the competition this week, owing to the fact
that we are compelled to go to press first
thing on Wednesday morning, before the
awards have been made known. A full
report of the proceedings will, however, be
sriven in our next issue.

"BEES AND THEIR WAYS."
Lecture at Richmond, Surrey.

Under the auspices of the Selborne Society, a
a lecture was given on Monday, the 9th inst.,
at the Richmond Athenaeum, by Mr. W. H.
Harris, B.A., B.Sc, on " Bees and their Ways.''
The fine set of slides belonging to the B.B.K.A.
were kindly lent — Mr. Harris being a member
of the Committee — and contributed greatly to
the pleasure of the audience. Shown with the
oxy-hydrogen lantern, these illustrations enable
a gathering, even in a large hall, to see clearly
representations of the various parts of bees
described by a lecturer, and to gain a good idea
of many manipulations in bee-keeping.

Notwithstanding the extremely unfavourable
state of the weather, the audience numbered
nearly one hundred, and" all appeared greatly
interested. One noteworthy fact was that two
young Indian gentlemen, at the close of the
lecture, requested Mr. Harris to let them have
his address, and begged to be allowed to call at
his residence, that they might obtain such in-
formation as would enable them to take up bee-
keeping in their own country. Mr. Harris
promised to do anything in his power to help
them in this matter, and offered to go again to
Richmond in the summer, all being well, to
supplement his first lecture by a second on

various parts_ of the subject to which, on the
present occasion, he had been able only slightly
to refer. The proposal was received with much
applause. Several questions were asked relating
to theoretical and practical points in bee-keeping,
and there is reason to hope that satisfactory
results will follow from this lecture.

IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The Committee met on the 10th instant. Pre-
sent: Re*v. Canon Sadleir (in the chair), Mr.
Read, Mr. Millner, Mr. O'Bryen, and Mr.
Chenevix, Hon. Sec. Mr. Chenevix having an-
nounced his intention of leaving Ireland on
February 1st for more than four months, Mr.
Read (M. H. Read, Esq., Clonoughlis, Straffan)
was appointed Hon. Sec. from that date till the
General Meeting takes place.

MAKING THE MOST OF BEE-
KEEPING.

(Continued from page 13.)
The second article on the above subject
which we reprint is from the pen of Mr.
James Heddon, author of Success in Bee-
culture, and known as the introducer of the
reversible hive bearing his name. It reads
as follows : —

"My opinion is the same as yours in your
leader, but if 1 hadn't publicly expressed the same
in my book, Success in Bee-culture, in my circular,
and in bee journals, I wouldn't say so, just im-
mediately after you. I have not only publicly
expressed myself as to what to do, but I have
done it. Six poor seasons in succession, the
whole not averaging more than one-fourth crop
each, and yet my two apiaries, containing about
250 colonies, spring count, have paid me a good
and satisfactory income for the labour per-
formed and capital invested. No, not wholly
' satisfactory,' for I am anxiously looking for
that turn of the tables you mention, and,
although it lingers long, I am sure it will come.
Although these one-fourth crops have paid a
good interest — risk and maintenance not over-
looked— nothing short of a good average crop is
fully satisfactory.

As you well know, I have grown up in the
bee business, have followed it as a speciality, a
leading business, for a quarter of a century.
That business purchased my $3000 stock in
our electric light plant, my newspaper, worth
$5000 (have refused $4500), my outlying city
lots, and other good property, and a good living,
with some luxuries on the side, and all from the
sales of honey. I do not expect to ' abandon '
the business while I still have the cheerful
habit of residing in this world, not because of
associational attachment, but because I fully
expect to make it do in the future all that it has
done in the past, and perhaps more. When

24

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [January 19, 1893.

my labours are finished, I hope and expect
that one of my sons will keep the old mill
grinding, though perhaps by proxy, as a side
issue. While both are now studying professions,
both know what I have done, and how to do it.
I have the field by right of priority and virtue
of tact, and this heritage I feel sure my children
will hold after me. Oh, this ' bug business/ as
it was contemptively called by my neighbours
when I first embarked in it (as a speciality), is
a great business, I think, when rightly managed.
From my book (chapter on Hives), published
several years ago, I quote the following, which
I deem pertinent to the well-selected theme of
this issue : —

" ' Necessity is the mother of invention, it
is said, and the great influx into the business of
honey -production, causing decline in prices,neces-
sitates the use of such implements and methods
— especially in hives — as will give us the greatest
amount of surplus honey for the amount of
capital and labour invested.

" ' Some of us have grown from boyhood to
manhood, hand in hand with this pursuit, and,
while we are often complimented upon our
thorough knowledge of the business, it is usually
forgotten that we have as signally failed to be-
come skilled in any other branch of industiy.
Such is the case, however, and, after the best
part of a lifetime has been spent in any pursuit,
when that pursuit languishes, circumstances
tending to make it less profitable, the wise do
not hastily desert it, adopting a stranger, but
work the more persistently to counteract the
detrimental influences, by bringing every pos-
sible advantage to tear upon the business."'

" From my circular of three years ago I
quote as follows, just what I as fully believe
to-day : —

" ' If we reason together, we will see beyond
all doubt that apiculture, like any other busi-
ness, must seek its level, and when that level is
reached, like all other lines of business, those
engaged in it who produce at minimum cost
will succeed, while those who produce at maxi-
mum cost will as surely fail. In the pursuit of
apiculture there is need of capital, intelligence,
both physical and mental activity, as well as
industry and tact. I found it very easy to make
money out of the business in my earlier eno-a^e-
ment in it, when honey sold for double what it
now brings ; but when the price was cut in two,
a different phase was put upon the business, and
it became necessary to produce much cheaper
in order to realise a good profit. This necessity
was at once the mother of invention, and, after
perfecting various other minor implements and
arrangements about my apiary, I began studying
upon hives, knowing full well that within the
construction and manipulation of hives there
rested that rigid economy which would still
make apiculture profitable.'

"No; after all these years, after long ago
making myself obnoxious by opposing the
urging of everybody with the bee business, and
persisting that honey was not, and never could
be a staple, it turned out that I was correct,

although the truth was not the most acceptable
to my co-labourers. To following what seemed to
be bold facts rather than pleasant theories, do I
credit most of my success as a honey-producer.
If ' oil-finished ' facts are against me, the sooner
I ' know and own and feel it,' the better I can
meet them and offset their pernicious influence.
Nothing has so damaged our pursuit, and so
injured its followers, as the writings of those
who wrote themselves to fame by writing UP
the business rather than telling the plain truth
about it. ' How I secured 200 pounds surplus
per colony,' and * How I sold my entire crop '
(which was probably about thirty pounds) ' of
honey for 40 cents per pound,' and all such
slush, most of which was more or less fabulous,
has worked great injury to the business and its
devotees.

" As to helping out by adopting other business,
do this only when this other business is to be
the side issue, and apiculture still the speciality.
You know that I can devote side attention to
electricity, and on that subject give my advice
to our paid manager and draw my dividends,
advise and direct my hired editor, and make my
paper pay, but all this time bees and their
product are my main work and line of thought,
and wherever you learn that apiculture has be-
come a side issue with me or any one else, you
may look for another departure from the busi-
ness. Our calling is one which is in no fixed
groove, and one which will not bear our deser-
tion from all its details. You say what I have
many times said, in articles in past bee journals,
and which I have not the time to look up now,
that we must look to short-cut plans, methods,
devices, implements, and you very correctly
place first importance on the hive. Most hives
are good for bees, but few are fit for bee-keepers
who hope to produce honey at a profit at pre-
sent and probable future prices."

(The next article will appear on January 26.)

T7ie .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 pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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, must be addressed only to "The
Bditoes of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed to " Tee
Manages, ' British Bee Journal ' Office, 17 -King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page 0/ Advertise-
ments).

%* 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.

[1296.] King Frost and rude Boreas still
hold sway out of doors. We have had only a
partial thaw — Thursday and Friday last. A

January 19, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

25

few slocks of bees took advantage of the warmer
temperature and had a cleansing flight. Those
facii g south and south-east were the stocks that
were on wing. Here we have a point in favour
of that position for hives. If the sun shines on
the hives, and its heams of light penetrate into
the entrance of the hives, it arouses the bees by
the potent influence of light and heat; then
when the bees are aroused and venture forth
into the warm sunshine, this infuses new life
into them, and after the airing they return to
the hives and cluster invigorated and refreshed.
Now, in the hives facing west, or in the shade
of higher buildings, not a bee was stirring.
Now, having been confined to the hives nearly a
month, it seems to me a very reasonable de-
duction to make, that the bees who have by the
help of the sunshine been enabled to take a
flight must be in a healthier state than those
bees in the shade which have not done so.

Now is the period when odd jobs connected
with the apiary may be taken in hand. Altera-
tions of appliances may be made in the long
winter evenings. All crates found to have
brace combs between the bottom of the sections
and the top bars of brood combs should have
the bee-space reduced in thickness ; or if the
growing use of excluder zinc in the production
of comb honey is contemplated, Dr. Tinker's
plan of using strips of wood and strips of zinc
alternating as the excluding honey-board on
which to place the section crates is a capital
idea. The Doctor's contention is that the bees
have a foothold, when climbing through the
zinc with their loads of nectar, which the
smooth surface of the sheet of zinc alone does
not give them. This plan I consider far prefer-
able to the half-bee-space advocated some time
back. The bees in this case build brace combs,
and close many of the holes in the zinc. Roofs
of hives that have become shaky with weather,
cracks, faulty boards, or poor workmanship,
may be rendered equal to new by covering the
same with a sheet of thin zinc, cut large enough
to turn under the eaves and be nailed down.
This is a job that can be done during the winter
evenings. Then, later on, when we get settled
dry weather, a coat of paint can be applied.
Old hives not in use may be thoroughly cleansed,
the packing, if any, may be removed, and the
insides thoroughly scraped with a flat piece of
steel or odd pieces of glass. Then well work
into the wood with a stiff brush a solution of
carbolised water — one ounce carbolic acid, one
ounce glycerine, mix, then add twelve ounces of
water. This solution will be strong enough to
destroy any germs that it reaches. Don't forget
the cracks in the wood and the carpenter's
joints. In these places may lurk the enemy,
therefore well work the solution into these
places and dislodge the bacilli germs if they are
there, and if not the disinfecting fluid may keep
them away for a long time. The bee-escape or
super-clearer may be started into being with the
new year. I can recommend it as a useful
article in the apiary. For how to make it vide
the last volume of the B. B. J., and for the

escape use Porter's spring escape, procurable
from Mr. Flood, of Donington Road, Reading.
Then the new section crates for trying the
" Wells system " must be prepared, or old
patterns adapted to the requirements ; also the
hives may be constructed or converted to meet
the wants, not forgetting the perforated wood
division-boards, of the system.

Then a word on keeping straw hives dry.
Damp, mildew, or rottenness cannot conduce to
the health or the wealth of either bees or bee-
keepers ; therefore I would impress on bee-
keepers the necessity of keeping the hives dry,
and nothing is so good for this purpose as straw
hackles; felt or cocoanut matting is a very
good substitute, but not so protective as the
hackle.

Our American cousins are still trying to im-
prove their bee-keeping appliances. I notice
some one claims the invention of " reversible
extractors," the patent dating back to October,
1879. The editor of Gleanings was able, by
referring to the British Bee Journal for October,
1875, four years previously, to give a full and de-
tailed account of Mr. T. W. Cowan's reversible
extractor as exhibited at the Crystal Palace
Exhibition of Bees and Honey that year. This,
of course, would prove the patent of 1879 null
and void. Some of the prominent bee-keepers
in America vote the " new Cowan reversible
extractor " a grand success ; it must be gratify-
ing to our esteemed editor to know that he has
put the cute Yankee up to a wrinkle, though it
is not exactly new — at least, this side of the
Atlantic.

As an earnest of what our Association is
doing and intends doing, I would mention that
the Berks B. K. A. has united with the Executive
of the Reading University Extension College in
their public lecture scheme, and that Professor
Cheshire, F.L.S., &c, is coming to lecture in
the new Town Hall, Reading, on Monday,
February 27th next. I may be able, later on,
to give further particulars, when the arrange-
ments are perfected. This move is, I apprehend,
in the right direction to spread a knowledge of
our Association, its aims and objects. There
are still the many bee-keepers to be taught and
convinced of the error of the old skep and brim-
stone practice. After nearly twenty years of
journalistic effort and combined teaching by the
bee-keepers' associations, we have still a vast
amount of work to do before we shall see the
honey industry in its proper place in the minor
industries, and conducing to the wealth of the
individuals engaged in its pursuit, and the wealth
of the community as a whole. — W. Woodley,
World's End, Newbury.

SUGGESTIONS FOR SHOWS IN 1893.

[1297. J With your permission I would ven-
ture, for the first time, to make one or two
suggestions to secretaries with reference to the
shows of 1893. I think it would be well to have
at least two open classes for honey — say, one
section and one jar — and give one or two medals

26

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 19, 1893.

,in each class, something after the manner of the
National Competitions at Reading, Kilmarnock,
Portsmouth, and Dumfries. It would take away
a something of the selfishness which seems to
be implied by the narrow limits to which some
of our prize lists are confined. It would, I
think, make a wonderful change in the appear-
ance of our shows'; and who knows, when Irish,
English, and Scotch meet together, what a
" union of hearts " might be cemented by
" Nature's sweet restorer " — balmy honey. I
would also suggest that extracted honey should
be tested by two, or even three judges, as I
can't see how one judge can distinguish the
flavour of all the exhibits in a large open com-
petition. I am glad to see that our instructive
and esteemed friend, Mr. Woodley, has become
a contributor to the Record. May he long con-
tinue to interest the readers of both journals in
apiculture, as we are sure of good, honest,
practical advice from his pen. — W. J. A., Co.
Tyrone, Ireland.

HOW I CAME BY MY BEES.

[1298.] I have read with much interest from
time to time the accounts given by your corre-
spondents of how they first started bee-keeping,
and have thought that my own story of how I
come by my first swarm might add one more to
the various experiences recorded. Well, then,
on one Sunday morning, in the year 1891, I
heard of a stray swarm having settled in the
garden of a neighbour, who was absent from
home at the time. There was no one to own
the bees, and no one whose permission could
be asked, so I borrowed a skep and tablecloth
from a friend, and hived the swarm all right.
After church-time I went to get my prize and
bring it home. The son-in-law of the absent
occupant of the cottage, however, was then
present and declined to allow me to remove the
bees._ "Then," I replied, "perhaps you will
permit me to take away my friend's tablecloth
and skep, whether I have the bees or not ? "
But no, he would " see me hanged first." Not
wishing to have any unpleasantness, I offered to
pay something for them ; no, that wouldn't do !
" Shall we sell them and share the proceeds ? "
said I ; but no, that wasn't to his mind ; he
wanted the right owner found, and the swarm
given up to him. There was too much unselfish
generosity in this great anxiety of his for me to
have faith in its sincerity, besides I felt such a
fatherly interest in the swarm I had hived that
my mind was made up to have those beas if
they were really ownerless, and unless they
were removed and put under lock and key it
would go hard if I did not get them, so I tried a
little diplomacy. There was a bee-keeper who
lived close by and I called at his place, only to
find him absent. But his wife, to whom I
related my case, promised to go and claim the
swarm for me and offer a trifling sum as com-
pensation for the trouble given. My humble
shilling was, however, refused, and I learned that
the obstinate "son-in-law," before-mentioned,

had offered the swarm (my swarm, you know,
and moreover, too, hived in my friend's skep ! )
as a bargain to a man for five shillings, " if he
came and fetched them away ! " Now, Messrs.
Editors, being only a poor mortal, this was
more than I could stand ; and so, to make a long
story short, and save any discussion about " he
who takes what isn't his'n," &c, &c, when that
man came for his " bargain " the bees were
gone! Moreover, I may tell readers of the
B. J., though the " son-in-law " heard it not,
that swarm " made tracks by night " to a loca-
tion in the very next garden to his, and, under
the management of yours truly, did very well
in 1891. In 1892 I got a good swarm and cast
from them, besides some honey. I also trans-
ferred the original stock from the skep to a
frame hive, giving them some of the combs,
besides seven pounds of honey. After packing
them up for winter I found wasps playing havoc
with the transferred lot, so I searched and
found out three nests close by. I tried three
times on successive nights to destroy them with
powder, but failed more or less each time. Then
I got a half -pint of turps and used it about the
nest holes, giving a good dressing all round.
Next morning, and ever since, no wasps were
seen. Thus ends the true story of my first
swarm.— T. V., K.

VINEGAR AS A STING-REMEDY.

[1299.] Mr. A. T. Wilmot (1287, p. 7)
appears to go only half-way with me in my
previous remarks on the above (1213, p. 432).
He says: "I generally found it to almost im-
mediately relieve the acute pain, although I do
not think it has any effect as regards the subse-
quent swelling." With all due respect to Mr.
Wilmot, but it is the subsequent swelling which
I desire, if possible, to enlarge upon and em-
phasise. Perhaps I did not sufficiently do this
in my first letter. Bee-keepers, as time rolls on,
become " case-hardened," and to them the pain
arising from the sting of a bee is not worth
curing ; but even people of experience are liable
to swell when stung on certain parts of the face,
neck, hands, and wrists, and this almost sudden
alteration in one's appearance is, to my mind,
the only awkward feature presented by the
sting of a bee. Truly, no two constitutions are
alike ; but I have seen the effect of vinegar on
several people — applied immediately after the
receipt of a sting — all with the same result, i.e.,
the sioelling entirely prevented, and nothing to
be seen with the exception of a little high
colour. I know also a country gentleman who
has used it to the same purpose, and with the
same success, for about twenty years.

Like Mr. Wilmot, stings trouble me very
little ; but I deemed this a simple hint to many
whose pleasure in bee-keeping i3 marred, not
exactly by the fear of being stung, but the
dread of wearing the appearance of a " road
agent " after a severe mauling. — Edgar A.
Farthing, Plymouth, January 9th, 1893.

January 19, 1893. J THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

27

THE NEW BEE BOOK.
[1300.] Bees for Pleasure and Profit. By
G. Gordon Samson. — This little handbook is
very much en evidence, with its bright crimson
and black cover, on railway bookstalls, and
were books on bee-keepiDg few or scarce I
should say it would supply a want. So far
as I am able to judge we have had, and still
have, far too many books on bees, all telling the
same old story, served up with the peculiar
sauce which distinguishes its author. Some
bear evidence of being written by thorough bee-
masters, whilst others, of which this one is an
example, strike one as being chiefly compilations
from the modern works already before the bee-
keeping public. Mr. Samson speaks in flattering
terms of Modern Bee-keeping, Bee- keeper s'
Guide - book, the B. B. J., &c, but does not
recommend the beginner to read even Lang-
stroth till he has thoroughly mastered Cook and
Simmins, in addition to the above. This is
requiring too much of the novice. Were it
necessary to thoroughly criticise the work in an
adverse fashion, ample material is at hand, e.y.,
on first page, third line, it is said Apis mellifica
is indigenous to this country ; again, it is in-
ferred no young bees accompany a swarm, and
is stated that in queenless hives the bees often
live twelve months. Further still, that queens
mated with drones raised in worker cells must
necessarily give a progeny very small and
inferior. The absence of a little knowledge on
elementary botany has led the author to make
some quite astounding statements. For example,
" It is owing to this wonderful provision of
nature'' (i.e., bees only gathering pollen from
not more than one kind of flower in a single
journey) " that we do not have different species
of flowers crossed with one another." In his
preface we are told that "in very fine seasons
fruit will doubtless set very well without the
intervention of bees .... but in cold, wet
seasons the aid of bees is unquestionably
essential .... the pollen is more inclined to
adhere to the blossoms than in fine, warm
weather."' None of this is so. Altogether, if
this " still one more book about bees " were the
first of its kind it would be most welcome ; as
it is, it gives the general bee-keeper little or no
correct information that is not already in his
hands ; at least, this is (for what it is worth) the
opinion of — X-Tractor.

FRENCH VERSUS ENGLISH METHODS.

[1301.] In your issue of January 5th you
treat you readers to a very interesting letter
from L. Fourcassie, Albi, France. I fail, how-
ever, to see the economy of French bee-keeping
in the sentence, " At Easter I examine all my
hives, and put in all the frames ; then in Sep-
tember I get in the harvest of honey, and pre-
pare my bees for wintering. We leave the bees
to renew their queens of themselves." I take it,
Messrs. Editors, that the French bee-master,

losing the benefit of his swarms, will find a verj
weak hive and not much honey on his Sep-
tember visit to his hives. If L. Fourcassie should
see this query, I should be glad if he would
show wherein the French method is a more ex-
cellent way than the English. — Constant
Reader, Sheffield.

STANDARD HONEY BOTTLES.

[1302.] When I introduced this subject
(No. 1168) in your issue of October 6th, 1892,
little did I think that it would assume such
proportions, and that we should have such a
long and interesting correspondence, or that it
would be noticed and taken up by our leading
bee-men, much less be the subject of the editors'
notes. I have been looking through the whole
of the letters which have appeared, and I think,
on the whole, the matter has been taken up in
a reasonable manner. Of course, we cannot all
think alike, or act alike, either in this or anr
oth r matter, and I cannot see the force of the
editors' remarks in " Useful Hints," December
8th, where he says, " The bee-keeper who gets a
good price for his honey should be honest,
enough to give the buyer a full sixteen-ounce
battle for his money, while the less fortunate
one, who deals with shop-keepers, is no less
honest in putting up his produce in ' reputed
pound ' jars, and selling it at per dozen jars."
" That is the rub," and perhaps this is the crux
of the whole question : if bottles and honey are
sold at so much a dozen and not per pound, then
it may be all right ; but I think it is unfair to
the public (who in this district, at any rate, look
upon a bottle of honey as a pound) to receive
anything short, and just for a little extra profit
to only give fourteen ounces. And, with " Bee-
Kay," (1259, p. 482) I think we should maintain
the credit of bee-keepers at large, and be above
suspicion even in this small matter.

One of your correspondents, A. P. Wilmot
(1281, p. 509), hopes that total abstinence does
not often lead to such ignorance as not to know
the contents of a wine bottle. However much
he may regret my ignorance on this point, I
will frankly and freely say I do not, and I
think if he had had my experience he would
say the same, and not be at all anxious to
know the contents, either measure or otherwise,
of a wine bottle. I am more than pleased with
the discussion, and hope that it will have well
served its purpose, and that the B. B.K. A. will
at no distant date take the matter up, and, as
our friend " X-Tractor " from the " Hut " says
in your issue of January 12th, 1893, fix on an
all-round best bottle for the bee-keeper.

Now, sirs, for a personal matter. A number
of my friends here who know my nom de plume
say I ought to sign my own name, and not
write under an assumed one. I do not think
so, at any rate for the present, but I will say
that I am an official of the Notts B. K. A., and
my home and apiary as the crow flies are not

28

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 19, 1893

more than half a mile from — Hemlock Stone,
January lAth, 1883.

■ [The ahove subject has now been so thoroughly
discussed that its future consideration may, we
think, be left to the Committee of the B. B. K. A.,
if that body decides to make any recommenda-
tion as to a standard honey jar. After next
week we therefore propose to close the corre-
spondence. In the meantime, readers who have
not yet contributed their views on the subject,
and desire to do so, will please take note of
this. — Eds.]

SYRUP !

[1303.] " Hello, not feeding ! How's this?"
How often have these ejaculations been made
when looking at our bottle feeders after they
have been on the hives a few days. Well, it's
just this, the syrup granulates upon the holes of
the feeder cap, and. the bees lick and lick, but
that syrup just granulates faster than the bees
lick, and so the holes get stopped up, and —
well, the bees don't get none nohow. I hope I
don't intrude, but I should just like to point out
an error (anyway I think so) in syrup-making.
Books, ad infinitum, authorities manibus pedi-
busque, editors in sceeula scecidorum, have advised
the boiling of syrup. Now that's just the point.
"Why boil it ?

I take it that sugar is a cooked food — in fact,
very much cooked. Why cook it more ? Water
is not cooked when the bees take it from the
ponds or streams into the hive. Again, why
cook it ? Well, now, we (that's me) have just
about settled that the cooking (boiling) is no
good, and so should like all to try the non-
cooking process just in this way. We get our
sugar and our water in the same proportions as
usually advised. Spring (we are getting nearer
this epoch, from the amount of snow and ice
seen from my window) syrup — 1 pound sugar
to f pint water; and autumn syrup — 1 pound
sugar to h pint water, and put it into the sauce-
pan or boiler. Now, only allow it to remain on
the fire until the crystals of sugar are dissolved.
Don't boil it. Never mind the vinegar, cream of
tartar, or tartaric acid. You just try this
syrup. You'll never have granulation or stop-
ping up of holes in feeder. Yrou can't make
this syrup granulate, no matter how hard you
try. Now, mind, the only precaution to take is,
not to boil it or add anything to it— of course,
except in the case of medicated syrup.

_ Now, I expect I shall have any amount of
virtuous indignation showered upon me for thus
attacking one of the institutions of the apicultural
world. I must perforce stand it; but, only in
justice for poor me, ask any one to try it.

For three seasons have I fed my bees on
syrup made thus, and have yet to see bad re-
sults from it; any way, there's not a single
colony with dysentery or dead (early days, you'll
say, Messrs. Editors) yet in my apiary,and granu-
lation (that bugbear of feeding) is unknown. —
W. B. Webster,

WEATHER REPORT.

Bagnalstown, Ireland.

December, 1892.

Rainfall 1-67 in.

No. of days on which rain fell .... 18

Greatest fall in 24 hrs., 1st -42 „

Maximum temp., 19th 54°

Mean max. „ 42*7°

Minimum „ 27th and 28th . . 23°

Mean min. „ 34*7

Min. ground „ 27th and 28th 11°

Frosty nights s . . 22

Prevailing winds s.e. &s.w.

John Henderson.

dfofjooes fwwc %

Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), January 9th. — Even
the bees seem to be enjoying the novelty in
these parts of a short cold spell — at least I am
— though we have only had one day (January
3rd) which could be called really cold, the
thermometer registering 35° Fahr., and bees were
in consequence kept indoors ; but on every other
day they were on the wing. To-day even the
Palestines were flying gaily about noon. The
latter are, I am sorry to say, only in poor con-
dition at the present time in consequence of my
arriving here too late last year to push on breed-
ing, and so get up the strength of population
before going into winter quarters. Each stock
now only covers three or four frames. The
Algerians are on five and six frames, so they are
a little more vigorous. Taking my various races
of bees altogether, it would seem as if Cyprian,
Algerian, Italian, or French bees cluster more
closely together during cold weather than do my
poor Palestines; the latter resemble the fella-
heen of their country. They cannot stand a
chill or cold snap ; moreover, they catter them-
selves over the frames, never dreaming of a
sudden fall in temperature, such as will make
ice in a few hours. On one cold day last month
(December 11th) I took the internal temperature
of several stocks by inserting the ball of ther-
mometer in the centre of clusters. Palestines,
Cyprians, and Algerians of equal strength by
this test registered 91 '40°. On another cold
day (December 1st), with the thermometer
registering 42,80q in the shade, a stock of
Palestines covering only four frames showed a
temperature of 66-20° close beside the bees,
while in centre of cluster 78*80° was registered
and at the extreme end of the hive furthest
away from the bees the temperature was the same
as the outside, viz., 42'80°. It is a difficult
matter to pass the ball of the thermometer down
into the cluster of bees; the poor creatures,
nearly torpid with the cold, do not at all relish
the disturbance. We, too, read of the severe
cold all over Europe, and have had just enough
of it for our liking. — Ph. J . Baldensperger.

January 19, 189?.] THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

23

A CHINAMAN'S BEE-KEEPING.

Mister Newsplaper Man, — Me long time
thinkee send you of my sugar-flies — Melican
man call him " bee," eh ?

Well, in flirst place, you sahbe I come from
China where I was born, and work in lice fields,
and thlee year washee clothes in Slan Flanclisco.
Bimeby we laise legitables close by near Oak-
land. One day heep lot sugar-fly come my
house and go in tea-box. My plartner, Jim, he
no likee — too muchee bite. I likee sugar-fly
heep muchee — him sugar-fly belly nice, heep
sweet.

I fixee tea-box in sun and watchee honey-fly
go and come. Thlee week him heep fly out —
me thinkee allee my sugar-fly go away. What
for ? Me no sabbe. Me belly good to him. No
hurtee him.

Melican man come and he say, " Lung, your
bees swarm belly good. Bimeby you heep big
bee-man; all same one mandarin. You catch
box when bee go on tlee, and put him in box,
and you have two swarms."

So me heep glad. Me get belly rich. Plenty
sugar-fly — heep sugar — muchee money ! Allee
samee me go back blimeby to China, heep big
man. Me all-a-samee big Mogul — me thlink you
call him " big-bug " — heep " swell."

Sugar-fly catchee on chelly tlee and all quiet.
I takee tea-box and call my plartner— him samee
Jim. I say, " Jim, you hold box, so." I show
him — hold him over his head so that sugar-fly
fall into him box when I shakee tlee.

Jim, he belly good man. He my wife's cousin
— my wife in China. Jim hold box way up
high. Pletty soon I shake tlee, and honey-fly
fall down — whew ! him go more on Jim than in
blox. Jim he jump heep high, and yell — yes,
he do yell ! all samee Melican man say, you
sabbee. That man he lun, and honey-fly get on
horsee. Horsee klick likee blazes, and tear allee
over glarden. Lose too muchee money — onion
allee spoiled. Cabbage bloke down. Garlic
trampee on — belly bad, belly bad mu3S. Horsee
muchee scared.

Melican man catchee horsee. Me give him
four bittee. Jim come back and me say, "Jim,
you heep no good, let blox fall. Horsee lun
way and bloke too muchee glarden sass."

Jim, he say, " Me no care. Sugar-fly heep
bite. Him sting me evlywhere."

All-a-samee me get sugar-fly in blox, and
have two blox flies.

Two more months me tell Jim me likee sugar.
Jim say, " All light, you catchee him."

Me say, no sabbee muchee. Me tly to-mor-
row.

To-morrow one Ilishman come lona- — him
Ilishman own heep land. Him too smart. He
say, " John, what you do to your bees ? "

Me no likee Ilishman, and me say, "None
your blizness." But Ilishman no go way. He
laughee me, and he say, " John, you bee bite
heep muchee. You no sabbe fix him. You like
me show you ? "

Me say, " All lite."

So Mr. Mulphley take blox into my bedroom
(he say Dr. Piller — one big honey-fly man —
talkee allee samee belly good place to fix bee,
cause makee bed heep warm).

Well, Mr. Mulphley blake bloard off blox,
and heep fly come out and bluzz evlywhere.
Him get into me shoes and up my— what you
call him — pants ? Him also get heep into bed.
Mr. Mulphley take four or five pieces of sugar
and put on pan ; then fix blox allee lite and put
him outside, near the other blox.

Mr. Mulphley belly good. Me give him lot
onions and one blook, me thinkee come from Mr.
Loot, about chewing tobacco.

Pletty soon Mr. Mulphley go way, and me
takee sugar and eat him, tlee, four pounds.
Too muchee sugar no good ! Blime by me sick
— sick stomachee.

Jim come home, find me on floor, hap die.
He heep scared. He catchee gin and give me.

Me say, " No, Jim ; me hap die flirst. Me
no more dlinkee whiskey. Mr. Loot (him belly
good man) he say ' whiskey belly bad for man's
belly.' Mr. Loot heep sabbee."

Jim say, " Wha' for you care Mr. Loot and
Dr. Piller. They heep sabbe laise bee, but no
sabbe you belly. Me no want you hap die.
Me like you to-mollow plow corn. So yon
dlink gin f"

I close me eyes, open my mouth, and say,
" Here's to your health, Mr. Loot. Me heep
likee get well quickee."

You bet me get well quickee. Mr. Mulphley
say I catchee colickee — eat heep sugar.

Night come, Jim he go bed flirst. Sloon me
thlinkee him clazy. Me go bed, too. Soon me
thlinkee me in Melican man's hot place. Me
get bite in feet, in arms, on head — heep lot evly-
where. Jim, he just clazy — him sugar-fly in
bed bitee him likee — what you say for belly
good cussword ? No sleep this night. Jim he
say he no more stay with me if me keep sugar"

Me tell him " All lite, me no care ; me likee
sugar-fly allee samee him my child. Me keep
him, and one, two year me have heep lot."

Jim go away next day, and me lun lanch
allee samee Lambler — keep batch'lor's hall and
heep bee.

Sunday me no work on lanch, so me go Slun-
day-school, and talk teacher 'bout sugar-fly.
Him teacher one lady, and say he leed Mr.
Loot's ABC Book on Sugar-fly. Me likee
hear him teachee, talk heep lot. Him tell me
'bout God, but me forget ; him talkee 'bout
sugar- fly, me no forget.

Me go home and fix my bee for winter
quarters — me think that's what Mr. Loot call
him. Mr. Mulphley say Mr. Loot no sabbe —
California heep warm — fly no hap die. Mr.
lite, Mr. Mulphley lite. How me know ? Me
flix fly likee this : Mr. Loot long, and me flix
him allee samee he say my sugar-fly die ; Mr.
Mulphley long, and me follow him, fly die too.
So me flix him one blox likee Mr. Mulphley
say. You sabbe ?

Winter go way me look at sugar-fly. One

30

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [January 19, 1893.

hap die— him allee samee flixed like Mr. Loot
say ; the other belly fine— him heep stlong, and
sting me one eye — me one eye— me no care
muchee, but heep glad him live.

Next time me tell you what me do next year.

What you thlinkee me as a sugar-fly-keeper ?
You likee hear flom me— me give you lot news.
Me likee to hear 'bout Dr. Piller, Mr. Doonothmg,
Mr. Loot, Plofessor Clook, Mr. Gleen, Dr.
Tlinker, and Hutchlinslon, Slecor, Heddlon,
Dlibbern, Fiance, Lallabee, Dlemalee, and
other big sugar-fly writers. Me hopee they
will be glad to hear flom me, and enjoy me
experience as I enjoy theirs. — Wong Lung,
SlanFlanclisco, Clatiflornia.—Am.Bee Journal.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

ATI queries forwarded will be attended to, and those only
»f personal interest will be answered in this column.

W. Johnson (Wolverhampton). — Bee Candy.
—Please refer to B.J. for November 26, 1891,
where full instructions are given for making
eandy ; or the number will be sent post free
for I'M

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

PURE CANE SUGARS.

#or the accommodation of Bee-keepers, guaranteed
Pure Cane Sugar will be supplied in large or
small quantities through this office at the under-
mentioned rates : —

MOIST. (For Household Use.)

Neat bags, 14-lbs. 28-lbs. 56-lbs. Cwts.

3. MUSCOVADO

2/9 5/4 10/6 20/6

CRYSTALLISED.

i Crystals 2/9 5/6

10/9 21/-

4. DEMERARA

5. BARBADOS

6. TRINIDAD

REFINED CANE.

7. WHITE CRYSTALS (Small) 3/- 6/0 11/9 22/9

8. 9. (Medium and Large sizes, 1/- per Cwt. extra.)

10. LUMP (Cut Loaf) ... Boxes, 3/3 6/3 12/3 23/9

11. CRUSHED LUMP... „ 3/- 6/- 11/9 22/9

12. PRESERVING ... „ 3/- 6/- 11/9 22/9

FINE. (For Household Use.)

13. GRANULATED 3/3 6/3 12/3 23/9

11. CASTOR Coarse (15 Fine) 3/9 7/3 14/3 27/9

16. ICING 4/3 8/3 15/9 31/-

411 above guaranteed made from Cane Sugar only, and free

from Beet, Chemicals, etc., etc.
Cabbiage Paid on Orders over 5/0 (or 28-lbs. Sugar)

to London and Suburbs.
Countey Oedees, not less than 2 cwt. carriage paid
at 1/0 per cwt. extra.
(Scotch and Irish orders, special arrangements.)
CHEQUES payable to Manager, Bee Journal and Record

Office, 17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.
CASH TO BE SENT WITH ORDER, and purchasers
will please observe that if samples are required or
replies asked to inquiries, a stamped addressed
envelope must be sent, as we cannot undertake
cost of postage. Delivery of Goods to be taken
as receipt. If acknowledgment of Cash is required,
etamped addressed envelope should be sent.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, die. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

FOR SALE.— Pure English (Granulated Clover) Honey,
in 60-lb Tins, at 7d, per lb. Address T. Holliday,
The Apiary, Astbury, Congleton, Cheshire. 3

WANTED. — Will any of our Readers supply us with
the present addresses of S. S. Goldsmith, Parkstone,
Dorset, and A. Green, Selston ? Address Editor, B. B. J.,
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

FOR SALE.— 30C lbs. Pure Extracted Honey, in large or
small quantities. Address Miss Savoet, Sparkham,
Attlebridge, Norwich. 2

EXTRACTOR Wanted.— " Raynor " preferred. Also
Uncapping Knife. Deposit System. Address John
C. Page, 4 Hydeside Villas, Lower Edmonton, London.

F

OR SALE.— 'Honey at 8d. per lb. Address R. W.
Eagleton, The Apiary, Parson Drove, nr. Wisbech. 2

THE DEPOSIT SYSTEM.

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

The following are the Rules under which we
are prepared to receive Sums of Money on Deposit
from persons buying and selling goods.

In order to save trouble it is requested that the
Rules be carefully read over by persons using the
Deposit System of trading.

DEPOSITING.

1. Method. — When strangers are dealing together, the
purchase-money of the articles is deposited at our office.
We acknowledge receipt of the deposit to both parties, and
hold the money until we are satisfied that the purchase is
concluded. If a sale be effected, we remit to the seller the
amount deposited, less a charge of 6d. and the expenses of
Post Office Orders and postage, &c. Cash will be forwarded
by cheque, Post Office Order, or by Postal Order as pre-
ferred. If a sale or exchange be not completed, we return
the amount deposited, after making the same deduction.
By this means buyers and sellers ara secured from fraud.

2. Deposits.— Postal Orders (drawn on General Post
Office) and.Cheques must be made payable to "Managee,"
B. B. J., and crossed "London and Westminster Bank."
The numbers of the Postal Orders should be kept by the
sender. We cannot be responsible for any losses that may
occur in transit.

3. Honey on Approval.— All honey will be sold by
sample, which must be sent direct to buyer.

4. Bee-appliances. — In ordering, the time allowed for
completing the order to be stated to us when sending cash.
If maker accepts, we hold cash till transaction is satisfac-
torily completed, when the amount will be remitted subject
to conditions as in Clause 1.

5. Bees and Queens.— These will be dealt with entirely
by the parties concerned, so far as price, &c, goes, and when
the purchase is satisfactorily completed cash will be re-
mitted as per Clause 1.

6. Goods in Transit.— These are at tho seller's risk,
i.e., any damage to or loss of an article on its journey is
borne by the vendor ; but a rejected article must be pro-
perly packed and returned by the same means as was used
in sending it.

7. Carriage. — The carriage of all goods, except such as
are sent by post, is payable by the buyer, unless otherwise
agreed. If any article sent on approval be returned, each
party to the transaction must pay carriage one way.

THE

Skifel fitf Snmffit

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

3sTo. 553. Vol. XXI. N.S. 161.]

JANUARY 26, 1893.

[Published Weekly,

tutorial, ftoti^, #r.

THE SHOW OF HONEY FOR
CHICAGO.

Competition for Prizes.

The show of honey intended for the
World's Fair at Chicago, and competition
"for prizes offered by the British Bee-keepers'
-Association took place on Wednesday,
January 18th, at 17 King William Street,
Strand, W.C., the Exhibits being staged in
the same building and the room immediately
below the offices of this Journal. Apart
from the fact that the display was quite a
unique event in the annals of bee-keeping
— the like of which will probably never
again occur — the opinion of those who
availed themselves of the public view on the
18th and following day was, we think,
entirely unanimous as to the unusual ex-
cellence of the honey staged. Referring to
■Class A, for extracted honey in liquid form —
of course the collection was not nearly so
extensive as is sometimes seen at our most
•important shows, but for quality, we doubt
if ever so large a percentage of first-class
samples of honey was ever staged alongside
each other on a single show-table before.
With samples of such nearly equal excel-
lence, the task of adjudicating was rendered
■not a little difficult and onerous, the judges
being occupied for nearly three hours in going
through the two classes, so nicely were the
points balanced. We can safely affirm that
neither time nor pains were spared in
arriving at a right decision, and it may be
some satisfaction to those who only get a
" commend " instead of a prize, when we say
that — excepting the sample which took first
honours — so nearly equal were most of the
others that a very slight advantage indeed
sufficed to turn the scale.

When the names of the successful com-
petitors were announced it was seen that
.several prominent winners at shows last

season failed to carry off highest honours.
It is not easy to suppose that honey, like
poultry, can be " over-shown " but certainly
a few samples were wanting in qualities
which the produce of the same bee-keepers
possessed in the height of the showing
season of 1892. The falling off was not
great but it was there, and we were not a
little surprised to see only "commended " at-
tached to some exhibits without the " high "
which just marks the difference between
best and " next best." There was no mis-
take, however, about Mr. Baxter's Blairgowrie
honey, which got first prize. And yet it
owed its success to what might be called a
stroke of good fortune. Almost wholly
clover honey it had the luck to possess just
that slight flavouring of heather which,
without spoiling its colour, gave to it a
delicious flavour and aroma such as none of
the others possessed in an equal degree.
The second prize went to Yorkshire and
third to Shropshire, both being exceedingly
good honeys, but the difference in quality
between them and the "highly commended"
ones was very slight.

In Class B, for granulated honey, some-
thing over 380 pounds was staged in com-
petition, most of the " not-for-competition "
honey being granulated. In this class were
also included so many samples of nearly
equal excellence that it would be difficult
to particularise. With very few exceptions
it was all good, and will do credit to the
honey sources of the mother-country, wher-
ever it is consumed. The three prizes for
granulated honey went to Oxford, Essex,
and Middlesex, in the order named.

Until the various exhibits are finally
labelled for dispatching to Chicago we are
unable to classify the whole of the suc-
cessful counties in which the honey was
gathered, because a few of the samples were
not the produce of the exhibitors' own bees.
Later on we may again refer to the subject,
in order to get some idea of which districts
did best in honey last year.

The idea, however, of sending an exhibit

32

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [January 26, 1898.

of British honey to Chicago has been suc-
cessfully realised, so far as it has gone, and
we are sure that the personal gratification
of those who took the matter up will be
shared by our bee-keepers at large. It
would have been a source of deep regret if
it had failed, and the part taken by the
B. J. and Record in promoting the success
of the undertaking has been so well seconded
by the readers of our journals that we are
sure the executive of the British Bee-
keepers' Association — to whom the credit
is mainly and primarily due — will appre-
ciate what has been done by British bee-
keepers to make the affair a complete
success.

It only now remains to get the exhibit
safely across the Atlantic and well staged
on the other side, and, as we may be sure
that the interest of our readers will be con-
tinued till these tasks are got through,
they will be duly informed of the fact
when the work is really ended.

The following gentlemen were appointed
judges : — The Rev. B. Errington, Major
Fair, and Messrs. T. W. Cowan, J. M.
Hooker, and W. Broughton Carr. Mr.
Cowan, however, was unable to officiate
owing to indisposition.

The following is the list of awards : —

Class A.
For the Best Sample of Liquid Extracted Honey.

First Prize. — John Baxter, Ashbank, Blair-
gowrie, JN.B.

Second Prize. — W. Dixon, Leeds, Yorkshire.

Third Prize. — J. Carver, Wellington, Shrop-
shire.

Highly Commended. — G. Dunkley, R. A.
Grimshaw, E. Longhurst, J. D. McNally,
W. H. Seymour.

Commended.— C. J. Baxter, F. H. Brenes,
W. Debnam, R. Dutton, Bev. R. M. Lamb,
W. Loveday, C. R. Piggott, W. Woodley,
W. H. Woods.

Class B.

For the Best Sample of Granulated Extracted
Honey.

First Prize. — J. Perry, Banbury, Oxford.

SecondPrize. — Mrs. Williams, Bowers Gifford,
Essex.

Third Prize. — A. W. Harrison, Potters Bar,
Middlesex.

Highly Commended.— J. G. Cherry, E.Basley,
J. Hall, W. H. Matthews, F. Wooldridge,
W. H. Woods, J. Palmer, T. F. Leadbitter.

Commended. — W. Hawkes, H. O. Huntly,
W. Winterton, R. J. Glew, H. Wood, W. W
Pryor, J. D. McNally, T. Sells, W. H. Seymour

MAKING THE MOST OF BEE-
KEEPING.

(Continued from page 24.)

The third article in the series is from the
pen of Dr. C. C. Miller, of Marengo, Illinois,
who says : —

" When I first read your leader, Mr. Editor,.
I understood you to say that you wanted to be
told what each one considered the best article he
had ever written. Then I began thinking over
what I had written. 'Legislation for Bee-
keepers ? ' No, that wasn't good, for it was
written in advance of public opinion. ' Feeders ? '
No, for I tried to tell an editor about some of
the advantages of the Miller feeder, and he told
me that it had the disadvantage of needing a
cover in addition to the regular hive-cover, and
some other things that didn't belong to the Miller
feeder at all, showing that I couldn't write on
that subject so as to be understood by one of the
brightest men. Then I thought over other
things, and began to be all in a muddle, when,,
on reading a little farther, I found you didn^t
mean anything of the kind. Instead, thereof,
you want the very best advice that can be given
to bee-keepers.

" As I am to ' write as though it were the
last article,' and to give the very best advice 1
can, I should say, first, foremost, and above all,.
be a through and through Christian man or
woman, and then do all the good you can in
whatever line opens up to you. Dont make the
serious mistake of supposing that, if some other
opportunity were given you, that you could do
more good ; but settle it finally that you are one
of the fortunate ones that have struck just the
right place to fit you, and be very happy over it.

" While doing that, it is quite important that
you should be doing something that may keep
the wolf from the door. I understand that you
are a bee-keeper, but am somewhat, or rather
entirely, in the dark as to particulars, and all I
know further is, that you want some advice.
Striking at random, then, I will say, if you
entered bee-keeping solely for the money that's
in it, without any liking for the business, get
out of it just as quick as you can. As you are
so often told, there may be good seasons come
that will make up for the bad ones. Yes, and
there may be a continuance of the bad ones.
But suppose good ones come, and the next
twenty years shall average just the same as the
last twenty, then I think you will be told, by any
intelligent bee-keeper familiar with the facts,,
that, if the same amount of zeal, energy, and
brains that have been expended in bee-keeping
in the last twenty years had been devoted to
almost any other line of business, or had been
divided up among all other lines of business, the
owners of the energy and brains would have had
more money in their pockets.

" So, if money is your god, get out of bee-
keeping. But if you set the right estimate on
the value of health and happiness, and have a

January 26, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

33

taste for bee-keeping, then it may be that, in
caring for the busy workers, you may find a
richer reward than in some other business
that would put more money in your pocket.

" The editor gives the general advice that you
must lessen the cost of production. Good
advice, providing the price you get is not lowered
in like proportion. Even then, I should favour
the lessening of cost ; for if it doesn't do the
producer any good, it will the consumer. But
do all you can to keep prices from being pulled
down by false representations or false impres-
sions getting among consumers. And I have
my fears as to the outcome, when, in our own
ranks, propositions are made that may be con-
strued by the newsmonger to mean that the
honey of the present day is not the honey of the
past.

" But, now, as to keeping down expenses. To
be of any value in that direction, advice must
be, not general, but specific. I might give a
good many items, by saying clip your queens,
and save the work of chasing after swarms ;
have top bars seven-eighths of an inch thick
with quarter of an inch space between sections
and top bars, thus saving the muss and trouble
of burr-combs, as well as the expense of honey-
boards, and so on. But I think I'll confine my-
self to one line that I am afraid will be neglected
by others.

" To put it in a few words, don't take all the
profit out of the business by making experi-
ments. Experimenting has cost me hundreds of
dollars, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. But
are we to have no experiments ? Surely, but
for the spirit of experiment, the science and art
of bee-keeping would not hold the advanced
ground it occupies to-day. So we must have
the experiments, but they ought not to cost so
much. How shall expense of experiments be
kept down ? For one thing, make them on a
smaller scale. "We lie awake nights thinking
over some new-fangled notion, and we think it
all out, sanguine that it will be a success. But
past experience tells us that it is a low estimate
to say that, in nine cases out of ten, the old is
better than the new. Yet, the very next ex-
periment you make, you will feel so sure
that this time you are on the right track that,
instead of trying your experiment on one or two
colonies, you will make every colony in the
apiary suffer. So it will keep down expenses if
we experiment on a smaller scale.

"Now, I want to make a plea for doing away
entirely with nine-tenths of the experimenta-
tion— yes, ninety-nine one-hundredths of it, and |
yet, at the same time, have fuller, fairer, and
more satisfactory and conclusive experiments.
You will understand in a word what I mean
when I say that, in every state, there should be
experimental stations for bee-keepers, just as
there are now for farmers. The Hatch Act
gives to each state $15,000 to be used in aid of
agriculture, and if bee-keepers will unite to ask
for it, and persist in the asking, I see no reason
why a reasonable share may not be devoted to
them. The State Society of Illinois has set the

example by asking an appropriation, and naming
our good friend, James A. Green, as the man to
use the money. They may get what they ask
for, and they may not. But they are not likely
to get it without asking, and if they fail to get
what they ask for now, they are more likely to
get it next time, because of the past asking.
There will be a gain if the bee-keepers of each
state put in their petitions. The very fact that
other states are asking the same thing would
help the Illinois men to gain their point. And
then the fact that Illinois had won, would help
bee-keepers of other states to win.

" Let me urge, then, that every state do its
duty in this regard. If the state of Georgia
gains part of the appropriation and uses it suc-
cessfully in experiments, it will help the bee-
keeper of Illinois to bring down expenses. Each
state will help all the others. Bee-keepers,
don't be too modest. Ask, and keep asking for
your rights.''

(Conclusion of the series next week.)

DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The Annual General Meeting of this Associa-
tion was held on Saturday, January 14th, at
the Midland Road Coffee Tavern, Derby, the
Rev. J. Wadham, of Walton - on - Thames,
presiding. The attendance was much better
than other years, although hardly as good as
had been anticipated. The minutes of the
previous meeting having been read and con-
firmed, the report for the past year was read.
From this it appeared that Mr. W. Handby
(expert, northern division) had visited 126
members and examined 448 hives in the spring,
stocks being then in a very good and forward
condition. In the autumn, also, stocks were in
fair condition, but many were short of food.
Mr. J. Rowland (expert, southern division)
visited 123 members and examined 264 hives,
which he found in a backward condition. The
balance-sheet showed a slight deficit, but, con-
sidering the increased benefit members have
derived during the past year from the fact that
a free copy of the Bee-keepers' Record has been
supplied post free to members monthly, and that
cottager members have had the same on pay-
ment of an additional shilling, the general
result was considered highly satisfactory. The
last annual exhibition was also regarded as a
decided success. The report and balance-sheet
were unanimously adopted, and the usual votes
of thanks accorded to the officials of the
Association for their past services. His Grace
the Duke of Devonshire was re-elected President,
and the Vice-Presidents were re-elected, with
one or two additions. J. L. P. Barber, Esq.,
J. P., CO., was chosen Chairman, and Mr. R.
Giles, Vice-Chairman; Mr. Copestake, Treasurer ;
and Mr. W. T. Atkins, Secretary.

The business being dealt with, the members
and friends sat down to an excellent tea, pro-
vided by the Coffee House Company. A prize
drawing of seven prizes for those members

34

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 26, 1893.

present and whose subscriptions for the current
year had been paid, next caused much interest ;
after which Mr. C. Wootton (second-class expert)
gave a lecture on "Successful Wintering,"
Mr. Thompson ably presiding. As successful
wintering is the key-note to successful bee-
keeping, it is easily understood that the subject
created great interest, Mr. Wootton touching on
several points that were not generally known,
inviting criticism and a free discussion, Messrs.
Thompson, Coxon, and Hill taking part in the
same ; it proved to be a very interesting and
edifying meeting. A friendly chat one with
another terminated a very pleasant and sociable
time.

The arrangements were made and carried out
by Messrs. W. Coxon, C. Wootton, and H. Hill.

(&axT£8$Gxibzmz.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

%* 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.

ARE BEES DEAF?

[1304.] "The Heathen" (1239, p. 14) tempts
me, by a personal allusion, to write again on
this much-vexed question, always an interesting
one, but one in which we seem to get "no
forrarder."

I should first premise that your correspondent
has not chosen quite a happy nom de plume.
Webster tells us a Heathen may be a pagan ;
idolater ; an irreligious, unthinking person. Now
his remarks prove him anything rather than
unthinking. Stay ! may he not be an Anglo-
Saxon haedhen, originally a dweller on a heath ?

I would refer any one desirous of getting the
very latest boiled-down ideas on the hearing of
bees to the chapter on the subject in Mr. Cowan's
book, The Honey Bee, and if "The Heathen"
will do me the honour of reading a short article
on "Do Bees Hear?" in B.B.J. April 7th 1887,
he will get my then views on the matter, views
which I see no reason to modify after the inter-
vening six years. Permit me, however, to
recapitulate a little. " Bees possess (1) vocal
organs; and (2) organs justly supposed to be
aural, because of their peculiar anatomical con-
struction." I argue that if zoe have our five
senses, _ all of which we use, and the bee has
quite similar mechanism to our own, which we

admit it uses in four out of the five cases, is
there not prima facie evidence that it uses the
fifth, especially as it uses its correlative, the
vocal organs ?

We will just deal with the common sense of
the matter and then with matters of fact.

Nearly every animal which utters sounds does
so with a purpose (to me nothing is purposeless,
only we are not always able to read it), viz.,
that of desiring to communicate with others of
its kind, or else it instinctively utters (without
the least thought of signalling) cries of pleasure,
pain, surprise, alarm, grief, &c, and these being
heard by others of its own — yes and totally
different — species, the danger becomes apparent
and confirmed by bringing into play other
organs of sense. Thus, there is the vocal sound,
which without its corresponding hearing would
be a mocking satire on the wisdom and work of
the Great Creator ; there is the result following
the utterance proving the hearing. We, as well
as the bee, have voice organs ; the bee, as well
as we, has the mechanism for hearing, it has
telephonic diaphragms or films stretched across
hollows on the antennae ; touching the film is a
nerve-end which carries (or may carry) the
vibrations to the nerve-receiving centre. Surely,
as I say, if you have a chronometer before your
eyes, its use as a time-keeper follows as a logical
sequence. We prove its (the bee's) taste, smell,
touch, and sight, and I think we prove its hearing.
Just as a great atheist, when viewing the
wondrous mechanism of the earth and heavens,
exclaimed that " if there were no God it would
be necessary to create one to work the intricate
whole," so in my little way I follow out the
idea by saying that in the bee the apparatus is so
apparently well suited for the purpose of hearing,
so intricate^ beautiful and fitted up as a hearing
organ, that the bee cannot help hearing lohether
it be deaf or no ! (Hibernicism !)

True, it will only respond to sounds suitable
to such small sensitive structures as are the
so-called auditory hollows. Sufficient for its
microscopic ears are microphonic tones. It has
been said that we do not visibly respond to the
loud, thundery tones of the storm, the waves,
and the waterfall ; neither does the bee to the
guns and noisy instruments of men.

Now, sound and hearing are simply the
making of and feeling by specialised structures
the vibrations of media between objects which
are apart. A deaf man may hear the vibrations
struck on a rod held between the teeth ; a bee
will hear the vibration of a finger-tap on a
flight-board. It will, also, to our eyesight, give
evidence of hearing the sound of swarming in a
neighbouring hive, and will also, without rhyme
or reason, hear the signal to ascend when a few
bees are congregated in a part of the bee-tent
during driving. And who can deny the peculiar
sound (heard even by us) uttered by a few bees
who find the darkness of the new hive when a
swarm is thrown down, and at once all set to
march upwards? The humming sounds of
pleasure and contentment, the whizzing, sting-
ing notes of anger — these may be heard and

January 26, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

35

read by our comparatively coarse comprehension.
Again, it is very probable that bees avoid each
other when flying, as they do most rapidly, by
the exercise of the hearing faculty. We thus
get a reason for something hitherto inexplicable,
viz., "What is the use of the humming made by
bees during flight ? Grant them the use of the
hearing apparatus they undoubtedly possess, and
the varying noises made by them inside and
outside the hive become purposeful and admir-
able.

To sum up : — (a) Bees have the nerve
mechanism along with most animals for —

1. Seeing.

2. Touching.

3. Hearing.

4. Smelling.

5. Tasting.

(b) They need to see, touch, hear, smell, and
taste.

(e) We can prove that they do see, touch,
smell, and taste ; and, as we have no evidence
that they do not hear each other's tones, but a
fair amount of evidence that they do, I consider
the case " proven." — R. A. H. Geimshaw.

EXPERIENCES OF A HUNTS BEE-
KEEPER IN 1892.

[1305.] I promised to let you know how I
have progressed in the bee line with regard to
its effect on fruit-culture, &c. I am happy to
say that I got both fruit and honey in abundance.
I mean bush fruit. But the wind did for the
damsons and plums. We had a very heavy

fale just when the trees were in bloom, which
ro ught all the pollen dust on to the ground.
You could see it, and even feel it ; and though
I have been in the fruit-growing- line all my life,
I have never before experienced anything like
this fall of pollen. I was going over my garden
when the wind was at its height, when I began
sneezing ; said I to myself, " Influenza again ! "
but I was mistaken, for when I came to examine
tut self, I found the sneezing was caused by the
pollen grains from the blossoms. I was certain
then that our little friends, the bees, would go
short of a treat, ditto your humble servant, in
the shape of a sadly reduced quantity of plums.
But perhaps it was for the best, as the bees had
a rare treat on the gooseberry bushes. The
result in the form of a crop was that I gathered
7 tons 14 cwt. of berries (splendid stuff) off 2|
acres. I might say that the trees are about nine
years old, and just in their prime. After that,
who would not keep bees ? For I consider that,
if I had not obtained any honey at all from my
bees, they repaid me well for the little attention
they required. But they paid me, independently
of the good effect they worked on my crop ; for
I got from them about 4 cwt. of honey in the
way of sections and run honey, and made 3/. 8s.
per cwt. of the run and 7s. Qd. per dozen of the
sections, independent of prizes I obtained at
various flower shows. Moreover, I increased
my stock, which in the spring numbered twenty-

eight, to forty, which I hope are all well, despite
the severe weather we have been experiencing,
the sharpest night of which was December 28th,
when my thermometer registered 22° of frost.

Whoever has seen a beehive fourteen feet
long ? 1 have, and have taken the honey from
one this last autumn, when I went for a holiday
into Norfolk. The house in which I was staying
was an old-fashioned one (farmhouse) about
200 years old, and three stories high. It was
built of oak, with plaster and brick gables. At
one end, about twelve feet from the ground,
there was a large beam which ran from one side
of the house to the other ; oak studs, nine
inches deep and eleven inches apart, were
morticed in the beam ; laths were then nailed
across and plastered over (I nygkt add these
studs were about fourteen feet long, and morticed
in another beam also), so there were spaces of
11 in. x 9 in. x 14 ft. In one of these bees
were lodged. No one knew how they came
there. An old villager could remember them
having been there for thirty years. The entrance
to this hive was where a little piece of plaster
had come off close to the beam, and in and out
of this hole they kept going, as though they
were doing piecework. As the house was
undergoing repairs, the builder left the bees till
last. Naturally so, as one or two of the work-
men had been rather badly stung. I determined
to try and drive them. So I got a ladder, and
went to the top of the beam and pulled off a
little bit of plaster, and there, behold ! were
four combs, stretching from top to bottom —
pure white combs, too ; and what puzzled me
was that the honey was not granulated, though
some of it must have been there for thirty years.
(Perhaps Messrs. Editors will kindly explain
this fact.) Well, I fixed a box at the top, and
tried to drive them, but not a bee would enter
the box. So I drove over to Norwich, and
obtained some chloroform, put a little of it on a
sponge, and at nightfall made the entrance a
little larger and inserted the sponge ; but I am
sorry to say the dose was too strong, for, getting
up early next morning to observe result, I found
most of the poor little things dead. However,
I got about 2 cwt. of comb and honey from that
strange hive.

I remember another curious instance of what
bees will do. A bee-keeping friend, living in
Cambridgeshire, is very nervous when dealing
with the little " busies," so he wrote saying
that if I would drive six skeps for him, I should
have the bees for my trouble. As it was only
about eight miles distant from Somersham, I
went. The skeps in question were set on various
boxes, which served the purpose of stands. I
had driven three, but when I came to the fourth
I found the skep empty, not a bee in it. When
told of this my friend declared there were bees
either in the skep or in the box below. On
examination sure enough they were found in
the latter, an old " Hudson's Soap " box. When
I turned this, there ruas a sight ! for it was full
of comb and honey, in weight about one
hundredweight — honey gathered from buck-

36

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 26, 1893.

wheat. The bees had propolised the earth under
the box, and two unfortunate snails, which had
ventured in, were in like manner propolised to
the earth. Then the bees could enter every-
where except at the corner of the box, which
stood on bricks. This fact caused me to ask
myself the question, "Do we give our bees
enough entrance-room?" I invite information
on this point. Here was a case in which a hive
is made of wood only a quarter-inch thick, with
entrance all round an inch high. The swarm
came off on the 24th of May, had made their
own comb, their own floor, and gathered nearly
one hundredweight of honey. It is remarkable
what some stocks will do unaided or helped in
any way, while others, do what you will for
them, give no return.

Here is also another experience. One of our
old Fen farmers sent to me to " take up " his
bees, as they term it ; but, as it rained on the
day I had appointed to go, I went on the
following one, and was only just in time, for
the old gentleman was digging the usual holes
in which to sulphur them. I stopped him,
telling him how cruel it was to do so. In reply
he said, " Hang me if I don't think ye're right,
but 'ow am I to git th' 'unny if I doan't brimstun
'em ? " I explained the process of driving, with
practical illustrations, the old gentleman watch-
ing me nearly all the time, being very much
interested in the proceedings. But what I wish
the readers of the B.B.J, to specially note is
that his spring count numbered two, and when
I visited him he had actually eleven stocks of
bees from these two. The two skeps had each
thrown off three swarms, while both of the top
swarms and one other had given '; maiden
swarms." I drove eight of the eleven lots, and
from them obtained, on an average, three stones
per skep. I should state they had splendid
forage in the shape of cole seed and mustard
seed in the early summer, with buckwheat to
finish up. Some people object to buckwheat
honey ; I do not, and hold the opinion that it is
the best kind to use in cases of colds and sore
throats, &c, as there is a certain pungency in it
that is beneficial to those suffering from these
ailments.

I have visited several apiaries in the North
Hunts district, and from all I can hear and see
the honey season for 1892 was a very good one.
I hope we may get as good a one in the present
year. I also visited the dairy show, and was
very much struck with the splendid show of
honey there, and pleased to see that one of our
Hunts bee-keepers had taken the second prize
for run honey, and got a " highly commended "
for the best show of honey. I, too, exhibited, but
drew a blank. Never mind — Nil desperandum.
I hope I shall profit by the " useful hints "
which our Editor gave to me in the half-
hour's chat we had on that occasion. I should
also liked to have had a chat writh Mr. " Notes
by the Way," for I always read his notes
with interest, and take this opportunity of
thanking him for them, and hope that should he
come down to our county he will give me a call.

Apologising for trespassing thus on the space
of your valuable paper, I conclude by wishing
our editors and all bee-keepers a prosperous and
happy new year. — R. Brown, Flora Apiary?
Somersham, Hunts.

MAKING SYRUP.

[1306.] Seeing Mr. Webster's letter (1303,
p. 28), on feeding with syrup, it may interest
your readers to know that I do not even go so
far as he does, as I never put the syrup on the
fire at all. Since a letter appeared some two or
three years since from Mr. John Walton (I
think) in the B.B.J., I have simply added
boiling water to the sugar — one gallon of water
to one stone of sugar for spring, and less water
for autumn, feeding — and have wintered many
hives on nothing else, and have never noticed
any evil effects. Stir with a stout stick until
the sugar is dissolved. — Arthur J. H. Wood,,
Be.llwood, Bipon.

HOW TO OBTAIN HONEY IN POOR
DISTRICTS.

[1307.] A week or two ago, had it not then
been the season of peace and goodwill, I should
have felt inclined to chide your correspondent,
Mr. Grimshaw, who writes in B. B. J. on
December 22nd last (1271, p. 497), on " How to
Obtain Honey in Poor Districts," for not con-
tributing his say something over twelve months
sooner. At that time the question of rapid
feeding to fill up brood combs, and so force the
bees to carry their precious loads into the
surplus chambers overhead, was being thrashed
out, and the blows fell thick and fast on the
pate of your humble servant. When I wrote
on this same subject about a year ago, I had
not the slightest knowledge that the same idea
had occurred to any one besides myself. Saving
a hint or two from the " Hut," by " X-Tractor,"
it had, I think, never been named before. Of
course, it was very wrong of me to bring for-
ward so important a matter on no more solid
foundation than the sandy one of theory ; but is
it not also wrong to condemn theory before it
has been proved faulty in practice ? I think
that true wisdom lies in combining the theoreti-
cal with the practical. Many can conceive new
ideas, but have neither time nor opportunity to
fully test them in practice, and so the help of
two sets of individuals is often required in
order to arrive at what is best in our craft, and
change experiment into practical experience.

And so, seeing that criticism or divergence of
opinion on bee-matters is well to the front just
now, it may be well to say that, so far as the
subject I am now dealing with goes, not one of
those who took part in the discussion of this
particular theory, viz., " Will bees allow syrup
stored in the brood chamber to remain there, or
will they spend their time carting it upstairs into
surplus chambers when the latter are put on ? "

January 2F, 1893.J THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

37

in B. B. J. at the time my first letter appeared
(November 20th, 1890, p. 559), were any more
experienced than I was myself ; so it was
" theory only " on all sides. Since that time
nothing was said until the other day, when the
letter first referred to appeared ; this time not
from a novice, or one with no reputation to
lose, but from one of our leading lights, who,
like myself, has the interest of the craft at
heart, and yet does not fear endangering his
good name by telling out boldly what he believes
will assist in adding to the bee-keeper's harvest.
I therefore say, "Bravo, Mr. Grimshaw ! " but I
would warn that gentleman not to be surprised
if he is confronted with the theory that his
boney is three parts sugar.

In conclusion, I would ask if any of your
readers have so far tried the plan advocated, and
if so would they let us have their experience of
it ? Perhaps, also, our worthy Editors will
favour us by reprinting the article in Gleanings,
referred to by Mr. Grimshaw, for I consider
there is " a blessing in it." Wishing to Editors,
contributors, readers, and bee-keepers every-
where a prosperous '93, — J. W. Blankley,
Denton, Grantham.

HOW FAB DO BEES GO IN SEARCH
OF NECTAR P

Will Bees Eat Herrings?

[1303]. Mr. Heddon, the American apiarist,
puts down an " area " or nectar-gathering field
for an apiary at six miles, i.e., a radius of three
miles, with the apiary as the centre. On
the other hand, Mr. S. Simmins assures us
that honey will not be profitably collected
if the bees have to go more than half a
mile from the apiary. Yesterday I received
a visit from a friend residing about 150 miles
further inland from where my apiary is located,
and where the flora is totally different. " There's
one blessing you enjoy," he remarked, as we
strolled through the apiary, " and that is, you've
none of that beastly ' Noorse Doom ' in these
parts. I thought to escape it myself, but my
bees store the bitter honey it yields to a great
extent in my hives, and yet the nearest ' Noorse
Doom ' is a good twelve hours' ride (seventy-
two miles) from my farm ! " What will Mr.
Simmins say to that ?

A Devonshire man out here tells me that he
has repeatedly seen his father place a red her-
ring at the flight-hole of his hives, and that the
bees eat it with avidity, leaving only the bones !
He assures me this in all earnest. I at first
concluded it to be some ancient country dodge
to drive off robbers, the smell of the herring
overpowering that of the stores and the odour
emanating from the hive ; but he assures me the
bees eat it, and that he has often seen the
skeleton, or clean-picked bones, of the fish
lying before the flight-hole! What next?
Can any of your readers confirm this ? I know
that they feed horses on fish in Iceland ; but can

it be possible that bees too enjoy such diet ?—
S. D., Cape of Good Hope.

[We consider that the bee-pasturage enclosed
within a radius of two miles from his apiary
comprises all the gathering-ground of any
practical value to the apiarian. In proof of
this we knew of a case where several stocks were
reduced to starvation-point one season, with an
avenue of lime-trees situated two miles away.
And from these same limes, the same season,
bees located near at hand gathered plenty of
honey for themselves, and a fair amount of
surplus. Our far-away correspondent's " friend "
could surely not be serious, or else he was
wofully ignorant of the flying powers of bees.
It is absurd to talk of them travelling a twen-
tieth part of seventy-two miles for nectar from
any source. As to the " red-herring " story,
we certainly never heard of bees possessing a
taste for fish of any kind, though they have no
distaste for a certain amount of salt. It will
be an easy matter, however, to either dis-
prove or verify the story at the cost of a red
herring. — Eds.]

MY DOINGS UP TO DATE.

[1309.] The weather here has been very
wintry of late, 20° of frost being registered in
my garden during the night of December 27th.
But now the frost has broken up, and to-day
(January 18th), while bees were flying merrily,
I took the opportunity of ascertaining if the
severity of the weather had caused much
havoc among my stocks. I found all alive
and strong, with only a few dead bees on the
floor-boards. I renewed the cake of candy
which I always keep on, thus saving the sealed
stores below for use in spring. I shall begin
pea-flour candy feeding during the coming
month, and also try the plan advocated by
Mr. A. Sharp of pushing the next cake further
along the frames, to spread the brood. It
makes one feel quite joyous to see snowdrops
and crocuses peeping up above the ground in
sunny spots of the garden, which I first saw to-
day.

I see that a correspondent (1289, p. 14) has
been asking, "Are bees deaf?" I know this
much, that if they are deaf, they always get
angry whenever I go to sweep the gravel paths
about the hives, and I am obliged to wear a
veil ; but at other times I can go for hours
about them, and not a single bee will touch
me.

The question of standard honey bottles is also
receiving plenty of discussion, pro and con. Mr.
Lamb's suggestion (1284, p. 5) is a very good
one. I certainly say that his honey in globe-
shape jars was, in my opinion, all that could be
desired at Reading Show last September. I
quite agree with Mr. McNally that we want a
jar that the screw top will not come off of when
handling. Only last year, on my endeavouring
to turn a jar of honey bottom upwards, to test
the consistency, the cap came off, and half the

38

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January i6, 1893.

contents of the jar found its way to the ground.
Since then I always put my firiger on the cap
when turning a jar of honey. I trust we shall
ere long hear whether the B. B. K. A. is going
to recommend a standard jar or not.

If the weather chart for 1893 turns out
correct, I should think this year will be one of
the best for honey on record, and will quite
make up for the few past bad seasons — South
Bucks Amateur.

SKEP-MAKING.

[1310.] The information on the subject of
skep-making which appeared on p. 490 of B. J.
for Dec. 15 last, is, if you will allow me to say
so, decidedly incorrect in some of the details.
As a practical skep-maker I say it is next to
impossible for any one to sit down and make a
skep as the writer, whoever he may be, says.
The first words are, "Get some briars ; split into
three, scrape out the pith," &c. ; but he does not
tell how to do it, or with what tools ! The
briars are split with a " render," and the pith is
taken out by means of a " draw-shaver." Then
we are told to " point one end." What for ? I
would ask. Next, we must buy split cane at
2s. 6d. or 3s. per pound. No skep-maker buys
" split " cane ; we buy packing cane, costing
about 8s. per cwt.

Claiming, as I do, to be the maker of more
straw skeps, or cottager's hives, than any man
in England, I will be very pleased if any reader
of the B.J., having sufficient interest in the
subject, would call here and watch how the
work is done. There is no secret about it, but
before any one can do it they must know how,
and that cannot be learned by looking on. The
•Seamark family have been known as skep hive-
makers for some generations, and my father has
turned out as many as a thousand with his own
hands in a single winter, besides other work in
the same line, while I can myself make over
a dozen per day. I only mention these things
to show that I am not talking about what I do
not understand.

Well, then, to make a skep in our way we
must first get a bunch of Middlesbro' " roods."
Soak them in water, and then split or " rend "
them into three or four, as desired, at one push
with the "render" before-mentioned. Wet
them again after rending, and then pull them
through the " draw-shaver " to remove the
pith. Ten roods, each rent into four "scames"
(forty scames in all), will be enough for an
ordinary skep. Get your straw ready, which —
though it should be first soaked— must not be
used wet, or it will shrink after being made up.
Instead of the " curtain ring," mentioned in B. J.,
get a ring about one-and-a-half inches long, cut
from a cow's horn, with an inside diameter of
about one inch, and, after making up a roll of
straw about as thick a9 a man's three fingers,
or as much as will fill out the horn ring, push
the ring about three parts down the length of
your roll, and cut the straw at the thick end

with a sharp knife, not square off, but in a
tapering direction. Next thread your sewing-
needle with the stronger end of the sea me, and
then let the needle fall to the ground. Take
hold of the small end of your scame and bind
the straw round firmly. When about eight
inches have been so bound, begin to bend the
roll in circular form and bind it to a wood plug
made to size of hole required in top of skep.

Then, taking your needle, sew to the first
stitch, and as you proceed the skep is shaped
mainly by the manner in which the needle is
placed ; but the straw must not be bent when
stitching, or it will come back again to where
the needle is, but by placing the needle correctly
and not bending the straw, the hive can be
made with a flat top or any other shape as
desired. Then the instruction given in yonr
pages is to "twist the straw from you." It
requires no twisting; it will twist itself by
getting the stitches tight up. Neither must
you "bend." You must place your needle
fiat to make the walls of the hive, and so con-
tinue till it is finished.

In concluding, let me say I will give advice
on skep-making freely to any one applying for
it. — H. Seamark, The Apiary, Willingham,
Cambs,

SELLING HONEY BY MEASUKE.

[1311.] Having had about six years' ex-
perience of selling honey, I beg to inform you
that most of the honey in Devon is sold by
measure, and that I think is the most honour-
able way to sell ; there is no fourteen ounces to
the pound then. If you sell a pint or a quart,
and give measure, then charge according to the
quality and density of the honey.

If you want to show, you can have the same
sort of bottles, tie-over or screw caps ; but let
the bottle be marked half-pint, pint, or quart, as
the case may be — honey is always in a liquid
state when put into the bottles; then you do
away with weighing fourteen ounces to the
pound. — Chas. Marks, Kingsbridge, Devon.

[Our correspondent surely estimates too
lightly the difficulties which would arise in
selling honey as suggested. It is not too much
to say that in a quart of honey the difference in
weight between a thin, light sample and a very
dense one would be well on for two pounds !
How, then, could this difference be made clear
to a purchaser without the use of scales ? —
Eds.]

RE STANDARD HONEY JARS.

[1312.] If my experience is worth anything,
I would say that I annually put about ten
hundredweight of extracted honey on the
market, and use the fourteen-ounce jars for the
purpose. My reason for adopting this as my
standard jar was that most of the so-called one-
pound jars will hold seventeen to eighteen

January 26, 1893. J THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

39

ounces of well-ripened honey, and I maintain
that a well-filled nominal pound jar of ripened
honey will hold its own against a nearly filled
or even full eighteen- ounce jar of green stuff,
like some I have seen. I make it a rule to send
nothing hut well-ripened honey, and then,
Sirs, my fourteen-ounce jars weigh fifteen to
fifteen-and-a-half ounces net. I am neither
afraid of foreign competition or seventeen-
ounces-to-the-pound men. My customers huy
my honey and leave the matter of jars to me,
and it is the honey that recommends itself, not
the jar that recommends the honey. Should
" Hemlock Stone " or any " seventeen-ounces-to-
the-pound " bee-men come my way, I may say
there is a four-and-a-half-gallon cask of mead in
my cellar, made in 1891, a glass of which would
quickly soothe any of their qualms of conscience,
and also, by putting them into a " fair " frame of
mind, prove to them that justice is not to be
found in either extreme. — Nemo.

STANDARD HONEY JARS.

[1313.] It seems to me that this correspond-
ence has gone rather wide of the mark. It is
simply a matter of detail between purchaser and
seller what kind or size of receptacle honey
should be sold in, and I take it the B.B.K.A.
have nothing to do with this. What is required,
however — and, moreover, what I know several
of your correspondents alluded to — is that all
honey staged for exhibition at our honey shows
shall be shown in exactly similar bottles, and
it is thought by some to be the duty of the
B.B.K.A. Committee to decide upon a " standard
hottle '' for this purpose, leaving each to choose
the bottle that suits him best for ordinary sales.
— Arthur. G. Pugh, Hon. Sec. Notts B.K.A.

THE "WELLS SYSTEM" AND JOINING
UP COLONIES.

[1314.] With your permission I should like
to give my experience in bee-keeping. I began
with two swarms (both in frame hives) in June,
1891, from which I got forty pounds of section
honey, besides leaving the bees enough for
wintering on. I then made three more hives,
and populated them with driven bees, which
made my number up to five, four of which
came out well in the spring, the other rather
weak. At the end of the season I had taken
150 pounds of sections, and thirty pounds of
extracted honey, besides having three swarms,
which increased the number of my stocks to
ten. I have read a great deal about the
"Wells" system, and thought I should like to
try it ; so I made a hive to hold twenty frames,
divided in centre by perforated dummy. Would
you tell me the best time for transferring two
lots from single to double hive, also how to stop
fighting on alighting-board, as I think the bees
are sure to fight?— E. T. W.

[Whenever the weather is warm enough for

bees to fly, they may be transferred safely; and
if the bees, when transferred, are carefully
separated by the perforated division-board, thev
will not fight.— Eds.] j

(Btfyat* ixam fyt pifos.

Honey Cott,^ Weston, Leamington, January
17th, 1893. — Since Christmas we have had a
fair amount of frost, the thermometer showing
at times as much as 19° of frost. I do not
consider, takinn altogether, that it has been
nearly so severe as it was two years ago. There
have been times, in the middle of the day,
when the sun has been bright (more espe-
cially last week, about the 12th and 13th),
when many bees took advantage of the same to
take a fly, and carry out their dead. I have
gone round myself, too, with a hooked wire and
pulled out any loose dead ones. In one case I
caught, with the wire, some live bees, that must
have been clustering right down to the board.
The first part of the winter the tom-tits paid
me a visit, a lot of them. I caught about three,
and lately the rest have decamped. Have had
a considerable amount of snow again to-day.
Hoping we shall have a good season — John
Walton.

[705.] Bees Going Back to Old Location. —
I bought two swarms of bees last July, but
about two months ago I removed them to a
position about a quarter of a mile from where I
placed them first. Will there he any chance of
them going back to their old stands when they
commence to leave their hives again? — R.
Galtcher.

Reply. — No. The fact of the bees being
confined during the long frost will remove any
risk of loss.

[706.] Bees in Sheps Dying. — I send you
samples of comb and dead bees from a straw
skep I purchased on October 5th last. On
New Year's Day I found a lot of the bees dead,
but the remainder seemed all right. Fourteen
days later I again examined them, and this time
the whole had perished, although there was full
seven pounds of honey in the combs. There
were quite a lot of bees all crowded up towards
the feed-hole at top of skep, as if they had been
trying to get out. Do you think foul play on
the part of some one has caused their death ?

Reply. — There is nothing in bees or comb to
indicate disease, and we cannot see how any
" foul play " could have caused their death.
Probably it is a case of death through the bees
being unable, owing to the cold and paucity in
numbers, to reach the food only a few inches
from them. The crowding up to the feed-hole
points to this view.

40

THE BRTTISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 26, 1893.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers or
correspondents, or where appliances can be purchased,, or
replies giving such information, can only be inserted as
advertisements. The space devoted to Utters, queries, and
replies, is mean* for the general good ofoee-lceepers.andnot
fZ advertisements. We wish our Correspondents to bear ■in
mind that, as it is necessary for us to go to press ^advance
of the date of issue, queries cannot ahoays he replied tow
the issue immediately following the receipt of thetr com-

^ Ml gueHes forwarded will be attended to, and those only of
personal interest will be answered in this column.

Bettws- -Coed.— Bees sent have simply died of
starvation through inability to reach the
food, owing to continued cold. These mis-
haps will occasionally occur in spite of the
most careful precautions on the part of the
bee-keeper.

€has. Aingee (Lines.)— Mr. J. Huckle, Kings
Langley, Herts, is Sec. of the B.B.K.A., and
will supply all information as to membership.

%* Correspondents will please note that all com-
munications, whether relating to advertisements,
subscriptions, or literary matter, must now be ad-
dressed to 17 King William Street, Strand, London,
W.C.

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

PURE CANE SUGARS.

foR the accommodation of Bee-keepers, guaranteed
Pure Cane Sugar will be supplied in large or
email quantities through this office at the under-
mentioned rates : —

MOIST. (For Household Use.)

Neat bags, 14-lbs. 28-lbs. 56-lbs. Cwts.

3. MUSCOVADO 2/9 5/4 10/6 20/6

CRYSTALLISED.

4. DEMBRARA )

5. BARBADOS \ Crystals 2/9 5/6 10/9 21/-

6. TRINIDAD )

REFINED CAKE.

7. WHITE CRYSTALS (Small) 3/- 6/0 11/9 22/9

8. 9. (Medium aud Large sizes, 1/- per Cwt. extra.)

10. LUMP (Cut Loaf) ... Boxes, 3/3 6/3 12/3 23/9

11. CRUSHED LUMP 3/- 6/- 11/9 22/9

12. PRESERVING 3/- 6/- 11/9 22/9

FINE. (For Household Use.)

13. GRANULATED 3/3 6/3 12/3 2S/9

11. CASTOR Coarse (15 Fine) 3/9 7/3 14/3 27/9

16. ICING 4/3 8/3 15/9 31/-

All above guaranteed made from Cane Sugar only, and free

from Beet, Chemicals, etc., etc.
Carriage Paid on Orders over 5/0 (or 28-lbs. Sugar)
to London and Suburbs.
Country; Orders, not less than 2 cwt. carriage paid
at 1/0 per cwt. extra.
(Scotch and Irish orders, special arrangements.)
•CHEQUES payable to Manager, Bee Journal and Kecord

Office, 17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.
CASH TO BE SENT WITH ORDER, and purchasers
will please observe that if samples are required or
replies asked to inquiries, a stamped addressed
envelope must be sent, as we cannot undertake
cost of postage. Delivery of Goods to be taken
ae receipt. If acknowledgment of Cash is required,
fctamped addressed envelope should be sent.

F

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dtc. — Up i0
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny. ^^_

FOR SALE.— Pure English (Granulated Clover) Honey,
in 60-lb Tins, at 7d. per lb. Address T. Holliday,
The Apiary, Astbury, Congleton, Cheshire. 2

WANTED.— Will any of our Readers supply us with
the present addresses of S. S. Goldsmith, Parkstone,
Dorset, and A. Green, Selston ? Address Editor, B. B. J.,
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

FOR SALE.— 300 lbs. Pure Extracted Honey, in large or
small quantities. Address Miss Savory, Sparkham,
Attlebridge, Norwich.

OR SALE.— Honey at 8d. per lb. Address R. W.
Eagleton, The Apiary, Parson Drove, nr. Wisbech.

WANTED.— Two Hives and Observatory Hive. Ex-
change Poultry or Homing Pigeons. Address G.
Rossiter, Pilton, Somerset.

PURE HONEY.— 60-lb. Tins free on rail, 40s. Address
T. Horsley, Riches Street, Wolverhampton.

FOR SALE.— Eight Box Hives, with Supers, covered
window at back. Cost 8s. each. The lot for 21s. Also
Cheshire's Vol. I., unsoiled, 5s. Approval. Address W. J.
Qates, Macknade, Faversham.

WANTED.— A Gardener who understands Bees. Good
references. Married preferred. No encumbrances.
Good Cottage and Wages. Address G. Flower, Stoken-
church, Tetsworth, Oxon. 3

THE DEPOSIT SYSTEM.

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

The following are the Rules under which we
are prepared to receive Sums of Money on Deposit
from persons buying and selling goods.

In order to save trouble it is requested that the
Rules be carefully read over by persons using the
Deposit System of trading.

DEPOSITING.

1. Method. — When strangers are dealing together, the
purchase-money of the articles is deposited at our office.
We acknowledge receipt of the deposit to both parties, and
hold the money until we are satisfied that the purchase is
concluded. If a sale be effected, we remit to the seller the
amount deposited, less a charge of 6d. and the expenses of
Post Office Orders and postage, &c. Cash will be forwarded
by cheque, Post Office Order, or by Postal Order as pre-
ferred. If a sale or exchange be not completed, we return
the amount deposited, after making the same deduction.
By this means buyers and sellers ara secured from fraud.

2. Deposits.— Postal Orders (drawn on General Post
Office) and Cheques must be made payable to "Manager,"
B. B. J., and crossed "London and Westminster Bank."
The numbers of the Postal Orders should be kept by the
sender. We cannot be responsible for any losses that may
occur in transit.

3. Honey on Approval. — All honey will be sold by
sample, which must be sent direct to buyer.

4. Bee-appliances. — In ordering, the time allowed for
completing the order to be stated to us when sending cash.
If maker accepts, we hold cash till transaction is satisfac-
torily completed, when the amount will be remitted subject
to conditions as in Clause 1.

5. Bees and Queens. — These will be dealt with entirely
by the parties concerned, so far as price, &c, goes, and when
the purchase is satisfactorily completed cash will be re-
mitted as per Clause 1.

6. Goods in Transit.— These are at tb.o seller's risk,
i.e., any damage to or loss of an article on its journey is
borne by the vendor ; but a rejected article must be pro-
perly packed and returned by the same means as was used
in sending it.

7. Carriage. — The carriage of all goods, except such as
are sent by post, is payable by the buyer, unless otherwise
agreed, if any article sent on approval be returned, each
party to the transaction must pay carriage one way.

THE

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 554 Vol. XXI. N.S.162.] FEBRUARY 2, 1893.

[Published Weekly,

(Sbitorial, Maims, $t>

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — Very visible signs of the
break-up of the late severe frost have been
seen in the frequent nights bees have been
able to take during the last fortnight. On
several specially warm days quite a " turn
out " has taken place, and the bees will no
doitbt have been considerably invigorated
and refreshed thereby. We are sorry to
have already received reports of the " un-
expected death " of some stocks, owing to
failure of the food supply. Wherever un-
certainty exists on this point, an examina-
tion should at once be made. In fact, an_y
hives noticed as being unusually quiet
about entrances while others are busy
should have the corner of the quilts raised
to make sure that nothing has "gone
wrong" within. If the bees are found to
be in extremis, candy will be' useless as a
restorative. A comb partly filled with
warm syrup must be given, and the bees
taken indoors— while confined to the hive
— and thoroughly warmed up, to give them
a chance of feeding. Should this fail, there
is no hope of reviving them. The time has
not yet arrived for any feeding other than
is rendered absolutely necessary by impend-
ing starvation.

Foul-brood Remedies. — A correspondent,
whose communication appears on another
page, in dealing with various topics in-
teresting to bee-keepers, also refers to foul-
brood remedies, or " cures," as he terms
them, and we have selected the portion of
his letter in which this subject is dealt with,
deeming it of sufficiently general interest for
special notice in this column. Our corre-
spondent says : " What we want is an effec-
tive remedy for foul brood. This is of far
more importance than new bee-books, or
even new appliances, to my mind. I know
several who have given up bee-keeping

altogether owing to foul-brood troubles.
Many things have been tried, but none of
them have made a thorough cure, for, as I
have found out, if, after getting rid of it,
the bee-keeper is not careful, the disease
will soon reappear as bad as ever. So far
as my experience goes, naphthaline and
Naphthol Beta are the best remedies which
have been tried, but are they cures 1 "

We fear that our correspondent, along
with many others, does not fully realise
the character of the disease known as foul
brood when he writes of a "cure," and
supposes that a stock of bees, once rid of
the pest, is safe for the future. Indeed, it
is misleading to speak of curing the disease
at all. The bacilli which are the primary
cause of it may be destroyed by the use of
certain remedies or preventives as fast as
the spores — which are synonymous with
the egg — "hatch out," to use a bee-term.
But these same spores may be floating
about in multitudes in the very air sur-
rounding an infected apiary, to say nothing
of their lodging in the clothing and imple-
ments of the bee-keeper himself, and it
needs but a suitable " hatohing-ground,"
such as the warmth of the hive-interior
presents, and so congenial a medium for its
growth as the juicy body of the larva
affords, to cause the bacilli to increase with
a rapidity almost beyond belief if suffered
to go on unchecked.

To put the case as plainly as possible,
with the view of showing the imperative
need for preventive measures, let us sup-
pose a scientist desirous of experimenting
with Bacillus alvei. He places a very minute
portion of foul-broody mutter — say just a
speck of the body of a diseased and dead
larva — in a glass tube with a suitable
medium for the cultivation or growth of the
spores and subsequent development of the
bacilli which the diseased ^matter contains.
The cultivating tube and its-contents are -
then exposed to a certain temperature, and
the living bacilli sooii begin to appear and
increase with such rapidity as to number

42

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 2, 1893.

millions in an almost incredibly short space
of time. But, if the proper proportion
of a preventive is infused in the cultivating
medium, no increase or growth can or does
take place. This has been proved beyond
doubt. The deductions to be drawn from
the above facts are, firstly, to show that
so long as the spores exist foul brood
cannot be cured. Once the larva of the
bee is affected by the disease, that larva
must die ; there is no curing it, and our
efforts must' therefore be directed towards
limiting or confining the death-dealing infec-
tion to the cell which contains its dead body.
And secondly, that this can be done by
preventing the spores floated out by the con-
stant air-current from the diseased cell ever
reaching the bacillus or living stage — ■
figuratively, to " addle " all the eggs as it
were and render them harmless for increase.
But if the use of preventives be not vigo-
rously and continuously carried out, then,
as our correspondent has said, " the disease
will reappear some time or other as bad as
ever." ,

It has been shown that the dreaded
bacilli can be attacked in two ways : first,
through the alimentary canal of the bee, as
when the preventive is used in the food ; and,
secondly, by means of a disinfectant, used
as advised with naphthaline. If the bee-
keeper takes advantage of both precautions
he will approach as nearly to effecting a
" cure " as may be in the light of all that
science has as yet thrown upon the subject
of foul brood. To talk of curing foul-
broody bees by what is called the " starva-
tion process " is so much nonsense in view
of proved facts. It is true the sole efficacy
consists in the diseased bees dying off* in the
process, but their dead carcases still contain
the germs of the disease, which is ready to
break out on the first suitable oppoitunity.
If preventives are used a time will arrive
when most, if not all, the germs will
succumb to the treatment.

The " Wells" Hive. — It was the inten-
tion to offer a few observations under this
head, but want of space compels us to
defer our observations till our next "Hints "
appear.

BKITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The usual monthly Committee meeting was
held on "Wednesday, January 18th, at 17 King
William Street, Strand, W.C. In the absence
of the Chairman (Mr. Cowan), through indis-
position, the Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh presided,

and there were also present the Rev. R. Erring-
ton, Rev. G.W, Bancks, Major Fair, and Messrs.
W. H. Harris, H. Jonas, J. Garratt, and W. B.
Carr, together with the Rev. W. B. Burkitt and
Messrs. J. M. Hooker and R. A. H. Grimshaw,
ex-qfficio members. Much regret was felt at the
continued illness of the Secretary, Mr. Huckle,
which necessitated his non-attendance.

The minutes of the previous meeting having
been read and confirmed, some discussion took
place with regard to the conditions on which
the set of lantern slides recently purchased by
the Association should he lent to members and
others. The date of the annual meeting was
arranged to be held on the third week in March,
subject to the convenience of the President,
the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, who, it is hoped,
will have returned to England before that time.
The exact date will be announced in a future
number of the B. J.

The Secretary's correspondence included an
invitation to the Association, on the part of the
Bath and West of England Agricultural Society,
to hold a show of bees, honey, &c, at their
show at Gloucester this year, and it is hoped
that arrangements may be made for doing so.

Mr. Garratt, as Hon. Secretary of the Sub-
Committee appointed to deal with the exhibit
of British honey for Chicago, gave details of the
work done with regard to that matter, the
results of which were on view in the room below,
and the further business of the meeting related
chiefly to matters of no public interest, and
concluded in the usual way.

KENT BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The annual meeting was held on Thursday,
the 26th of January, at the "Royal Crown"
Hotel, Sevenoaks, at five o'clock in the after-
noon. The attendance of members was fairly
numerous, and compared favourably with former
occasions, when Jermyn Street was the rendez-
vous. The Rector of Sevenoaks, the Rev. T. S.
Curteis, was voted to the chair, the duties of
which he very efficiently discharged. The
annual report of the Council for the past year
stated that upwards of fifty new members had
been added to the Association, and adverted to the
valuable aid given to bee-keeping by the grant
of 12o7. by the Kent County Council to provide
technical instruction on the subject. It was a
matter of regret that the cost of providing mem-
bers with the Bee-keepers Record and the ex-
pense of providing an equipment for the use of
the lecturer (Mr. Garratt) had caused a serious
deficiency in the year's accounts. The Council,
nevertheless, had hope that the ensuing year
would prove the soundness of the policy which
had been pursued. It was announced that the
Annual Show of the Association would be held
at Sevenoaks on August 16th. As previously
intimated, Mr. Till proposed that Rule III. of
the Association should be amended, with the
object of raising the minimum subscription for
cottagers from one shilling- to two shillings and

February 2, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

43

sixpence ; this, after the rejection of an amend-
ment to the effect that the rule as at present in
force be retained, was carried. The formal
election of Lord Sackville as President for the
ensuing year, and the election of Hon. Treasurer
(Mr. Morris), and Hon. Secretary (Mr. Qarratt),
and also of the Council, were proceeded with.
Subsequently the prize drawing for a bar-frame
hive and four supering racks, in which the cot-
tager members participated, was carried out,
with the following result: — Hive, won by Mr.
F. Langley, of Seal, Sevenoaks, and the four
other prizes by Mrs. George (Sutton-at-Hone),
Mr. Penfold (Cranbrook), Mr. F. Baker (Cob-
ham), and Mr. .). Grenstead (Sittingbourno),
respectively.

A conversazione was held later on, and, in
spite of a wet evening, was numerously attended.
The chief entertainment consisted of an address
by Professor F. Cheshire, on "Honey as Food,
and the Importance of Bee-keeping as a Rural
Pursuit," which was listened to with great
interest. The Professor gave some striking
demonstrations of the effect of honey upon the
human system when taken as food, speaking of
it as the most wholesome of the heat and force-
producing articles of diet. By means of an oxy-
hydrogen lantern, kindly lent and manipulated
by Mr. Lovett, an excellent series of slides)
illustrating the physiology of the bee, and vivid
incidents of bee-management were shown, Pro-
fessor Cheshire concurrently explaining the
■views. With here and there an amusing simile
or striking fact, by way of relief to a rather
technical discourse, the speaker kept the atten-
tion of his audience throughout a lengthy des-
cription, for which, at the close, he received a
very hearty vote of thanks from all present.
Mr. E. D. Till, a member of the Council of the
Association, spoise upon the necessity of ex-
tending bee-keeping in the county until the esti-
mated capabilit}' of each of its 400 parishes to
produce a ton of honey was realised, and justify
the claim that Kent should be called the Apiary
as well as the Garden of England.

At the close of the proceedings the Secretary
received the names and subscriptions of new
mombers, and it was decided to call an early
meeting of the local members to organize a
branch of the Association for the Sevenoaks
centre.

MAKING THE MOST OF BEE-
KEEPING.

(Concluded from page 33.)

The final article which we reproduce is
by Mr. Doolittle, and reads as follows : —

" Every one, or nearly so, seems to have gone
crazy over the dollar and cent part of our pur-
suit, as though that was the acme of our exis-
tence. It is reported that Astor once said to a
man who was envious of his fortune, ' Would
you take care of what I possess for what you

want to eat, drink, and wear?' 'No!' was the
response. ' Well,' said Astor, straightening up,
' that is all I get.' ' But,' says one, ' I am
anxious for my children.' Is it any worse for
your children to toil for their living than it has
been for you to do so ? Let me change that.
Would you deprive your children of the keen
enjoyment you have experienced in building up
a home of your own, by giving them one
already built up ? ' Lots of money ' does not
bring happiness ; on the contrary, it often brings
discontent, and if given to one who has not
earned some money for himself, as a rule, it
spoils the usefulness to the world of one who
would otherwise have been one of the ' pillars '
in the community in which he lived and in the
nation. If we as bee-keepers can secure to our-
selves a comfortable home, though it may be
humble, from our bees, together with something
to advance Christ's kingdom on the earth, ac-
cording as He blesses and prospers us, and with
this be content, we may enjoy a little bit of
Paradise this side of Jordan. No pleasure has
ever come to me like that which has come
through success at last, after working patiently
and perseveringly over some problem which has
confronted me in life, whether it was about the
bees or the building of a home, or trying to
elevate mankind. He who is not willing to
work patiently till success crowns his efforts,
and in that patient work realise the truest
enjoyment, is not the one to be of the greatest
blessing to the world. Nearly all of our great
men, who have lifted communities and nations
to a higher plane, have cune up from the
humblest homes, through patient toiling, study-
ing hard and faithfully, perchance by the light
of a pine-knot, because poverty so pinched ; or
perhaps worked at the forge and studied at the
same time, because too poor to attend an
academy or college; or, like Cary, fit himself
for a great life of usefulness while working on
the cobbler's bench, as the case may be.

" Not long ago, I received a well-written
letter, as compared with most of the type-
written letters which I receive, from the editor
of the Heview, and in closing he asked me to
excuse the blunders in it, as he had written it
with one hand while he tended the baby with
the other. How inauy of the dudes and
' calamity howlers ' in the land would have done
this without saying something about ' bettering
their condition,' if they were to write under
such circumstances ? Yet in this patient per-
severance, under any circumstances, I can see
why the He view has risen to the high plane
which it enjoys amongst the bee literature of
the day, and also, an enjoyment to our friend,
brother, and editor, which he could not possibly
enjoy had he been 'cradled in the lap of
luxury.'

" Supposing the bee-keeper does not live as well
as a Gould or a Eockafeller, he has the pure air,
the sunshine, and honest and honourable enjoy-
ment, and, as a rule, gets a comfortable living,
which may be enjoyed far more than the life of
a gourmand. If any bee-keeper i3 not satisfied

44

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 2, 1893.

with his condition as it is, let him spend the days
not required with the bees in carrying mortar
with a hod to the top of some three or four-
story building, receiving as pay from one dollar
to twelve shillings a day, and board himself, as
thousands are doing (and being happy at that),
and he will come back to bee-keeping, and thank
God that He blessed the world with the little
busy bee, even if we have now and then a poor
season. From the above it will be seen that I
consider 'the best returns for the bee-keepers'
labour ' comes by raising our pursuit from the
grovelling idea of only a dollar and cent affair,
up to where we shall appreciate it as one of the
grandest pursuits along the road of health and
happiness which God ever gave to man. And
to the question, 'Taking bee-keeping as it is,
what does it most need ? ' I answer, a man or
woman who can see the heights and depths, the
lengths and breadths which are possible to be
attained along the line of intelligent thought,
enjoyable health, and a pursuit which brings
happiness, even though we be considered the
poor of this world. This, I believe, is ' The
best advice that I can give bee-keepers ' under
existing circumstances : that God may prosper
us, so that we may have more to use in lifting
up the fallen, and in bringing comfort to those
who are cast down, as well as to spread His
kingdom in the world.

"I am convinced that placing out-apiaries
about the home yard, and working them for
extracted honey, tends more toward tuccess,
along the financial line, than any other plan.
This I say after having an out-apiary for the
past three years. Why I say run this for ex-
tracted honey is that, if worked on the tiering-
up plan, there will not enough swarms issue to
pay for looking after, and if the honey is all left
on till the season is over, little time is required
at the out-apiaries during the swarming season,
so that the home apiary can be worked for
comb honey. By placing this thoroughly sealed
and ripened honey, taken off after the harvest
is over, near the ceiling of a warm room for
several hours, it can be extracted as easily as
when first sealed, and a quality obtained not
obtainable in any other way."

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 pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
should be drawn, on separate pieces of paper. We do not
undertake to return rejected communications.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1315.] Since I last wrote we have had milder
weather. Monday, 23rd, was a grand day for
the bees to have a general cleansing flight, and
the roofs of the hives show by the thousands of
marks that nearly cover them in some parts of
the apiary how general the exodus must have

been ; and while the bees were busy on the
wing, the bee-master was busy having a peep
and trying the weight of straw skeps, of which
we still retain a few (the number b^ing often
augmented by purchase of stocks in skeps).
Skeps that are marked on register as heavy or
"supply good" in September are, in some
instances, getting light now ; possibly owing to
the mild autumn, breeding may have continued
till late, and consequently a run on the stores.
I found one skep defunct, though register is
marked, " October, colony fair, supply good."
The skep swarmed late, and probably the queen
failed to become fertile, and the colony dwindled
to a small cluster and perished when tempera-
ture was in the immediate neighbourhood of
zero, although with abundance of food ; and my
other loss will cling to memory for a long time,
as it was through my neglect to give a cake of
candy in November. I marked the register, but
neglected to mark the hive, and consequently
the hive Avas missed when I was round with my
basket of cakes. 'Tis very vexing, as this is a
double loss, as I had two colonies in the hive a
la Wells. One colony had five fiames of
stores, and the other on five frames " stores
short," and by some means the colonies thought
fit to unite, and the colony with good stores
left their combs and marched off into the next
compartment with the colony that were already
short of stores, and the combined colonies, form-
ing together a splendid lot of bees, perished
from want. I note these mishaps as a warning
to the novices in the craft ; the veterans may
say, " Served him right."

I am pleased to be able to corroborate Mr.
W . B. Webster re syrup-boiling. I think Mr.
Walton wrote me some three years back saying
he had tried syrup for feeding made by pouring
boiling water on the sugar and stirring till dis-
solved, and since that I have followed the plan
with success. It saves a lot of labour and time,
and answers the purpose just as well as the best
boiled syrup. Glad to see Mr. W. B. W.'s sig-
nature again.

I visited my out-apiary on Tuesday ; found all
alive and well. The party in charge said she
thought some of them were going to swarm
Monday afternoon.

The other week I mentioned sheet zinc as a
cover for faulty roofs. At my Stanmore apiary
I have some hives that I covered last year with
the zinc, and now they are quite dry, though
last winter they were sodden with wet. I have
marked some more covers that are not perfectly
watertight, and intend covering some shortly.
I take off the top piece of wood that covers the
joints of the gable or ridge, and then turn up
one edge of the sheet of zinc, bring this under
the eaves one side of cover of hive, put a few
tacks, and then pull the zinc as tight as I can,
and turn the other edge under the other side
and nail it in place. Then the front and back
edges are turned back under the eaves with
mallet or hammer, and nailed in place. A coat
of light stone-colour paint gives it quite a pre-
sentable appearance.

February 2, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

45

The bees begin to frequent tbe watering-
places on suuny clays, thus showing that breed-
ing has began in some hives. These indications
of°the opening of a new year of bee-life en-
gender thoughts of the busy season that will
soon be with us, and in the garden we notice
the crocus-leaves bursting through the ground,
and in sunny nooks the white arabis shows a
few buils ; th^n the buds of the snowdrop and
primrose also turn the thread of one's thoughts
and hopes to the spring.

On dit that om of our prominent appliance
manufacturers has patented a " perfect self-
hiver and super-clearer combined.'' This is
just what we have been anxiously waiting for.
W7e shall soon be able to cry "Eureka!" The
present state of trade, even in things apicul-
tural, calls, I suppose, on the inventor of any-
tbing likely to be of value to bee-keepers to
protect his idea from being copied or pirated.
This perfect and combined appliance is not
theoretically perfect, but has been practically
tested last season, and 1 think I am right in
saying it will be advertised in due cour.-e in the
B.B.J. — W. Woodlry, Worlds End, New-
bury,

STORING SURPLUS.

[131 G.] In a recent issue of the B.B.J., Mr.
Gnmshaw (1271, p. 497) advises a method of
treating stocks in poor districts in order that
the greatest possible amount of surplus may be
stored. "Where there is only one honey-ilow,
and that a poor one, bee-keepers must be ready
to adopt any legitimate means to put stocks
into the best condition for storing and making
the most of the honey-ilow or any part of it
AvLicb may be available.

Mr. Grimshaw's suggestion, I take it, refers
more particularly to the treatment of stocks,
though he would, no doubt, advise it just the
same for swarms. As any method of treatment
which may result in swarms giving a larger
surplus than when they are fLst built up into
good colonies before supering may be accept-
able, I give a plan which I have proved to be
thoroughly successful in practice.

Last season, treated as detailed below, swarms,
particularly late ones, gave me returns far above
my previous records.

In the first place, it will be admitted that,
unless a swairn is very large, it will be several
days before the brood chamber is filled with
combs and a super may be given with any
probability of its being taken to by the bees for
the storing of surplus.

Mr. Simmius some years ago advised an
effort being made to get surplus from all
swarms, which could afterwards be built into
good colonies by confining the swarm to a few
frames, and putting on at once a divisional
section rack containing one or two rows only of
sections. This treatment almost compels the
use of sectional supers, which is by no means
the surest method of getting the greatest
amount of surplus in a short time. I much

prefer to use the full supering surface whether
my object is sectional or extracted honey.

Many bee-keepers have proved conclusively
that a strong swarm put on foundation in
shallow frames will, if confined below by an
excluder, give a very large return, but there is
then the disadvantage of having the stock at
the end of the season on shallow frames.

How to have the same space for the bees as
when shallow frames are used, and at the same
tine use standard frames in the brood chamber
was the puzzle I attempted to solve. At first I
used a block three inches deep, extending from
side to side of the hive, and thirteen and a half
inches wide, so that the frames would then, with-
out the bottom bars, tit into the hive as usual —
the end bars, however, hanging down close to the
block. This plan I gave up for frame blocks,

Frame Buck.

which are titled with ease into the bottom of
the frame.

Being the width of a metal end, they form,
as it were, a continuous block under the upper
parts of the frames where brood-rearing will
be carried on. As Lees prefer to walk on combs,
instead of giving ten frames provided with
blocks, I give one or two frames of comb or full
sheets of foundation in the centre of the hive.

A strong swarm thus treated will at once be
forced into the super, and storing, weather
permitting, will be rapidly carried on. On the
wane of the honey -flow the surplus should be
taken, and the frame blocks removed. By that
time the bees will have greatly increased in
numbers, and the c >mbs will be worked down
to the bottom bar. Of course, if there is
very little honey coming in feeding will be
necessary, and 1 have no doubt the result of the
treatment of a swaim as here explained will be
a good amount of surplus, and by the time for
feeding up for winter a strong colony mainly of
young bees upon combs of worker cells. — G. N.
Whiie, Somers/iam, Hunts, January '28t/t.

DO

BEES 1TEAU? AND
HEATHEN."

THE

[1317.] I am always depply interested in the
contributions of your excellent correspondent,
Mr. R. A. H. Grimshaw. Whether or not bees
are deaf — the subject of his last letter (1301, p.
34) — is a question of small importance to me as
a practical bee-keeper. Still, 1 am greedy of all
the truths that can be demonstrated concerning

46

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 2, 1893.

the bees I love so well, and to my mind Mr.
Griuishaw settles the question of hearing as
nearly as possible in the absence of positive
proof. But why should he rate " The Heathen "
for his nom cle plume ? Virgil was a heathen,
but he knew a little about bees. Why does Mr.
Grimshaw condescend to repeat that absurd
canard about a great atheist? Mr. Grimshaw
says, " Just as a great atheist, when viewing
the wondrous mechanism of the earth and
heavens, exclaimed that ' if there were no God
it would be necessary to create one to work
the intricate whole,' so, in my little way," &c.
"Will Mr. Grimshaw kindly give us the name of
the great atheist, who, though an atheist,
admitted a God, and proposed to create one if
one were wanted ? Mr. Grimshaw puts marks
of quotation to the atheist's speech. Who was
he, "and when or where did he say it ?

You see, Messrs. Editors, a Bee Journal is
mostly about bees. You would properly forbid
a theological wrangle in your columns. But
among the possibilities of this world is the possi-
bility of a man being an atheist and bee-keeper
too, and such an one marvels that a really fine
writer like Mr. Grimshaw should interpolate
his work with such as the above. The absurdity
has been the round of the press in various forms
before to-day. If any '-great atheist'' ever
made so self-contradictory a statement, Mr.
Grimshaw, please give me the who, when,
and where. — II. 0. Jacques, Burton-on-Trent ,
January 27th.

MY HIVE FOR 1893.

[1318.] A friend and myself have jointly
designed a hive which we think differs in some
respects from those usually advertised. We
found last season that sectional honey did not
sell so readily as extracted, so determined this
year to work on different lines. At first we
thought we would try shallow frames in the
place of sections ; but of course this would
necessitate having frames of two sizes on hand,
which, in my opinion is not desirable, so we
concluded to keep to the Standard frame
throughout, so as to have all frames inter-
changeable. Our next thought was how to
best control the hive so as to have swarms or
otherwise at will, without disturbing the brood
nest, for we are both firm believers in the let-
alone system, especially as regards the brood
nest, and prefer the natural plan of re-queening,
although some time may be seemingly lost.
We knew that if the breeding space be too
great, we could not rely with any certainty
upon getting a swarm when wanted, and on the
other hand, if too limited, our bees would suffer
numerically, and throw off swarms when not
wanted, so have decided to make all our hives
for 1893 as follows : — Hive consists of two
principal chambers, an upper and lower, each
fitted with twelve Standard frames. In the
lower, seven frames devoted to breeding, the
eighth frame to have queen - excluder zinc
fastened to it, and the remaining four will be

for surplus honey ; over all these frames a queen-
excluder, but consisting of two pieces, one piece
over the eight front frames, and the other over
the remaining four. We purpose putting only
swarms headed by queens from stocks which
swarmed in 1892 into these hives. A fortnight
after swarm has been hived upon the seven
frames in brood nest, add the remaining four
frames, not forgetting to place the eighth frame
in position ; when these are nearly filled with
honey, and should the season be good, place the
upper chamber on with its twelve frames, but
not omitting to place several warm quilts on
top of all, so as to keep all as snug and warm
as possible. If favoured with a good season,
I see no reason why we should not obtain from
this one hive nearly a hundredweight of pure
virgin honey. When the honey season is over,
remove the upper chamber, and also the back
four in the lower ; place a dummy board next
to the eighth frame, feed if required and pack for
winter ; thus throughout the whole season there
is no need to disturb brood nest. When you
think the hive would be better for a younger
queen, instead of adding the four frames in the
spring, limit the bees to the brood nest the same
as all through the winter, and they will be
almost bound to swarm — at least, this is the
opinion of my friend and myself. Whether
this hive will be a success, of course remains to
be proved by the results attained this coming
season ; but in the meantime we should be glad
to hear the pros and cons of our Editors and
fellow-subscribers to the B. B. J.

I have been greatly interested in the " Wells
System," and think it an admirable one ;
another friend of mine is going to work that
system this year. I think we are all much
indebted to Mr. Wells for his very lucid and
disinterested description of his system ; and may
all his followers meet with the same success
he has, is the wish of — Percy Leigh, Beemount,
Stoke Prior, January 24th.

[It is always pleasing to read of the zeal with
which young bee-hands devote themselves to
new methods of management and especially
to improvements in hive-malung. But for years
past we have, in our capacity of advisers, in-
variably recommended those less experienced to
" go slow '' in these matters ; and the soundness
of this advice has never yet been questioned by
those who have passed through the " experi-
ment stage" of their bee-keeping. We there-
fore once more repeat ourselves, and advise the
trial of one or, at most, two hives on the plan
proposed; then judge if it fulfils the conditions
claimed for it. For the rest, our columns are
open for any pros and cons readers may feel
disposed to express on the new hive. — Eds.]

ANOTHER BEE OUTRAGE.

[1319.] Having read the letter under the
heading of "A Bee Outrage" (1290, p. lo) in
your Journal of January 12th, I can condole with
the owner of the bees. One morning late in

February 2, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

47

the .autumn of 1891, on going into my " apiary,"
I found to my dismay five hives (bar-framed)
thrown over, the frames all scattered on the
grass, and the bees, raving mad, attacked me on
my approach to see what 1 could do for them.
I started off to try and find the offender, and
was not long before I got a clue ; four young
" would-be " gentlemen had, the night before,
been on a drunken spree, and, suspecting that
they had had something to do with it, I in-
formed the police ; one of the fellows was found
to have a swollen eye, not being able to see out
of it, but said it had been caused by a blow.
My next step was to threaten them with a sum-
mons, after which I received 41., and not having
sufficient evidence on which to get a conviction,
I thought it best to take the money, and put up
with the loss.

Now to go back to the bees. Having pro-
cured assistance, we found them a bit quieter,
and were able to pick up the combs and return
them to the hives, keeping a sharp look-out for
the queens, but could not find one. We then
picked up the live bees from the grass (numbers
having been killed), but still found no queen.
The first warm day I again made an examina-
tion, but with the same lesult, the bees being
still in a very excited state. I did not get
another day suitable to open the hives tiJl the
spring, when I found all five stocks queenless,
and before I could procure queens for intro-
ducing, four lots had died. Last season I took
on an average from each of my eight hives
fifty- three and a half pounds of extracted
honey. 1 drove several lots of bees for cottagers
this last autumn, and found some good heavy
hives, whilst some were very light. The bees
were strong and healthy, and having plenty of
spare combs and empty hives, I made my stocks
up to nineteen, which are all alive, and flying
out on January 22nd. The frost during the
winter has been very severe in this neighbour-
hood. On the night of January .'3rd, in Messrs.
Cheal & Sons' Nursery, Lowtield Heath, the
thermometer fell to within a shade of zero, and
the following night it went a trifle below zero.

I enclose a label for your inspection, which I
had prepared for my own use, it being worked
up from a photo taken in my apiary by a friend.
I should like to have your opinion of it. —
R. C. B., Hurley, Surrey.

("The label sent is very neat and looks well. —
Eds.]

HOW TO OBTAIN HONEY IN POOR
DISTRICTS.

[1320.] Referring to Mr. Blunkley's remark's
about rapid feeding before the principal honey
harvests, he says that he believes it has never
been mentioned before "X-Traetor" gave some
hints about it a year ago.

May I assure him that it is " as old as the
hills," as it was recommended very many years
since in the British Bee Journal to be adopted
before sending bees to the heather. No one

who understands anything about the produc-
tion of heather sections omits to feed up well
before sending to the moors, more especially if
you are sending hives far from home.

How would our bees have fared last autumn
on the Yorkshire moors if they had not been
fed before being sent up P Mine had each four-
teen pounds of syrup before they left home, and
even then some of them did not collect enough
to winter on, and had to be fed on their return.
I have heard of a great many hives dying off
this spring already for want of food.

I have never known bees store the syrup in
the sections; but, of course, everything must
be done at the right time. — Arthur J. H.
Wood, Belltoood, Ripon, January 27th.

SOME NOTES ON NEGLECTED FEED-
ING, SYRUP-MAKING, STING-REME-
DIES, ETC.

[1-321.] The weather here for some time past
has tried bees not a little, though mine have
come through the frost well, very few dead
being found on the floor-boards. On looking
over a friend's bees the other day, however, they
were found in very poor condition, some hives
having only a few bees and almost no food. I
gave to each a cake of soft candy at once, and
the rapidity with which it was taken showed
where the want lay, so I told my friend to
renew the supply as they took it down. Had
these hives been neglected a little longer, they
would have been past recovery, and their con-
dition was entirely due to neglect of my advice
given last autumn as to feeding.

I was risrht glad to hear from so old a friend
as W. B. Webster, and hope he will often give
us a hint like his last on syrup-making. Many
times I have been sorely vexed at the holes of
feeders getting clogged with granulated syrup,
because with twenty or thirty hives to go over
it is no joke to keep clearing the holes of feeders,
onty to find them filled up again next evening.
I may say, however, that last spring I adopted
Mr. Woodley's plan of not boiling the sugar at
all, and found it answered very well.

Referring to vinegar as a cure for bee-stings,
I never found it so effectual as arnica; this not
only stops the pain, but allays the swelling. A
piece of wet calico laid on the affected part at
night will also remove the swelling before
morning with some persons. I have tried these
two simple remedies on various persons for two
years past, and find them answer very well.
For myself, I suffer little or no inconvenience
from stings.

To-day (January 24th) the bees are flying
freely, hundreds visiting the water troughs pro-
vided for them, which looks as if breeding had
begun. — S. Sawyer, Great Marlow, Bucks.

BEE-FLOWERS.
[1322.] Can any of your readers tall me the
botanical name of the "white sage1' recommended

48

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February ?, 1803.

by Dobbie in Bee-pasturage ? Also whether the
spider-plant, Cleome purigens, is of greater value
to bees than Cleome heterophylla, Cleome specio-
sistimum, or Cleome uniglandulosa? These
latter my seedman can supply me with, but
not the former.— Inquibeb, Norfolk.

BEES IN COUNTY DOWN.

[1323.] The past year was very unfavourable
in this district for bee-keeping, as there was
hardly any surplus, and I had to feed all stocks
largely ; in fact, about three time? as much as
was required in former years. I have, how-
ever, the satisfaction of knowing that all my
bees went into winter quarters well prepared to
withstand the weather, no matter how severe,
and I have seen thetn all on the wing during
the past good weather. I took a peep into two
hives which I considered weakest, and found
the bees had plenty of sealed food yet, so if the
coming season be at all good, I hope they will
repay any extra expense 1 may have been at. —
W. G. W. F., Gilford, Co. Down, January 2-ith.

CONCERNING THE "BEE JOURNAL."

[1324.] While sitting by the cosy fire on a
cold winter night recently, reading your retro-
spect of past yeais, my thoughts wandered back
to many happy hours spent in perusing the
British Bee Journal (of which I have been a
regular reader for about eight year.*). My first
number I obtained from Neighbours' while on a
visit to London, and from this I got my first
lesson on bee-keeping. Since then, I have
learned much that I know on the subject of
bees through reading its pages. I advise every
beginner in bee-keeping> not already a reader, to
take it, for I can truly say from personal experi-
ence, it is the source of knowledge on the craft.
Some time back, I thought of giving up taking
it, but I always find something of interest or
instruction.

For instance, Mr. Wells' plan of working bees,
which I .may try some time ; but the locality
where I live is only a poor one for bees. I have
only got some of the '• black honey," which has
been spoken of several times during last year.
I have given it the bees back again. I hope to
do better in the coming season.

For some time I have been much interested in
the correspondence on standard honey bottles,
especially with (1284, p. 5) the article where
your correspondent speaks of half and quarter-
pound bottles of the pretty globe shape, which I
think are very handy for' both large and small
quantities of honey. — J. Ball, Sheffield.

STANDARD HONEY JARS.

[1325.] I have followed the discussion on
the above with much interest, and I must say
that, it has caused me to think more about
bottles and bottled honey than ever I did
before. I got a gross of jars from a respectable

dealer last year to hold " one pound exactly," as
stated in his catalogue. I never thought of
trying their capacity until this discussion com-
menced. They hold 13 ounces of water. Five
of them filled with honey weighed 124 ounces ;
five empty jars, with caps and wads, 40^ ounces.
Deducting 40| ounces from 124 ounces leaves
83| ounces, or 5 pounds 3| ounces net weight of
honey.

In conclusion, I may add that my honey is of
dense quality, that I fill every bottle to the
top, that I would not like to offer a bottle for
sale that was not so filled; and that the subject
will be well weighed by the B.B.K.A. before
coming to a definite conclusion is the hope of a
— Scottish Bee-keepeb.

STANDARD BOTTLES.

[1326.] In my opinion what is wanted is a
bottle to hold so many fluid ounces (as nearly
as possible one pound of good honey). Let people
choose their own shape — as at present it is un-
fair in showing. Take, for instance, two
samples of twelve pounds each, both exactly
alike ; they are put in tall bottling tanks and
allowed to stand for a few days to clear before
bottling ; there will be some thinner honey on
the top, no matter how ripe. The one-pound
bottles will require the whole, whilst the fourteen
ounces will leave one and half pounds ; or in a
large exhibit say 200 pouuds: one would app.-ar
200 pounds, and the other 224 pounds. It is
altogether besides the mark to argue that one
is good and the other thin, as the small will
hold thin, though less of it, as well as the large.
have known cases where it has been done and
when asked by the public what they held, thi
answer was about a pound.— J. R. Tbtjss,
Ufford Heath, Stamford.

(Queries antr Replies.

[707]. Disinfecting Hives. — Will you kinlly
give me your advice to following queries: — 1.
If I paint the inside of hive from which I des-
troyed stock affected with foul brood, will it
kill the disease, as the hive is a good one, nearly
new, costing 16s. ? 2. Has Mr. Wells ever given
inside measurement of his two-queen hives;
if so, can you kindly refer me to number of
B.J. in which it was given ? — A. D., Parracombe.

Reply. — 1. The hive should be exposed to
the fumes of burning sulphur, or else well washed
with strong carbolic acid solution before being
painted. 2. Mr. Wells usjs a hive holding
fourteen or sixteen standard frames for his
double-queened stocks, and gives to each queen
a second brood chamber of ten shallow combs,
fire-and-a-half inches deep.

[70S.] Candy Feeding. — 1. Will it be safe
to place a cake of candy over the frames any
mild day now when the bees are flying, or must
I wait until the end of February, as advised by

February 2, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

40

some bee-keepers? 2. Could I feed my bees in
skeps now by placing small pieces of candy just
inside the entrance of skep ? 3. Would medi-
cated syrup made last autumn be fit to give
bees this coming spring, or must I make fresh ?
— Percy Leigh, Beemount, Stoke Prior,
January 23rd.

Reply. — 1. It is quite "safe" to give candy
-whenever feeding is really necessary, but we
should not disturb stocks to place it below. If
the candy is set over the feed-hole above the
quilts and covered warmly over, no diminution
of the warmth of brood nest need follow. 2. To
feed in that way is not advisable, give the candy
at the top and cover well up. 3. If syrup is
free from fermentation and has not granulated,
it only needs warming before use.

[709.] Oorse as a Bee-plant. — I have had
to remove all my bees (a dozen hives) a distance
of eighteen miles. I now have them on the
borders of a very large common covered with
acres of gorse. Is the gorse a first-rate plant
for bees? What colour is the honey, and do
they get much out of it ? What month would
it be in full bloom? — X. Y. Z., Swafham,
January 26th.

Reply. — Gorse is a useful plant for bees in
early spring. If weather is mild it often flowers
early in February, and continues to bloom for a
long time. It is, however, mainly of use as a
pollen-producer for promoting early breeding.
As a honey plant it does not rank high.

[710.] Entrances for Double Hives. — 1. I
have been thinking that it would prove very
useful if Mr. Wells would publish the informa-
tion he has given in the British Bee Journal in
a separate form, so that there would be no
need to search through the Journal for it.
What do you say ? 2. I am making a double
hive, and propose to make half-inch holes close
together in the inner wall of the front of the
hive for the bees to enter by. The outer wall
and packing behind will thus form a porch, and
the holes, whilst allowing of free ingress for
the bees, will prevent mice and toads from
entering, and might also be a protection against
robbing. As I am only a novice in bee-keeping,
I shall be glad to know if there is anything
wrong in my idea. The holes would be level
with the alighting-board. — Frank R. Sell,
Cormvall.

Reply. — 1. We fancy Mr. Wells has no idea
of publishing his views in pamphlet form.
2. The plan of entrance you propose would not
answer at all well, nor is it suitable to the
system of working on the double-queen method.
Mice and toads are kept out of hives by making
entrances three-eighths of an inch high.

[711.] Parallel v. Rigid-- ...gle Frames — Thick-
ness of Bottom Bar" —1. Which is the best
way to use francs in a bar-frame hive, from
back to fron*", or from side to side ? 2. Are all
standard frames made one-eighth of an inch
thick at the bottom ? As the one-eighth of an
inch bar bends when the frame is being wired,

would not the bees accept them as readily if the
bottom bar was the same thickness as the top ?
— F. Howell, Waterloo, Dorset.

Reply. — 1. We prefer frames hanging at
right angles to entrance, but, as opinions differ
on the point, we do no more than express our
personal view, without declaring that it is the
best. 2. Bottom bars of the standard frame
are one-eighth of an inch thick, but so long as
the outer measurements of the frame are pre-
served, there can be no great objection to using
a half-inch bottom bar, which latter is strong
enough for all purposes.

Metroes fram ttje litres.

Beemount, Stoics Prior, January 23rd. —
Happy to say that I found my bees dying very
freely to-day from my two skeps and bar-frame.
It was very gratifying and encouraging to hear
their hum, which was almost as great as in the
honey season. Only once before this year have
I seen so many of our little favourites on the
wing, and that was Friday, 13th inst., notwith-
standing snow was lying thickly upon the
ground, and I had a* I thought the entrance of
the hives sufficiently shaded. After having
been confined to their hives for at least a month,
these cleansing flights must be very beneficial.
That we may be blessed with genial weather
during next month, the same as we were
February 1891, is the earnest wish of — Percy
Leigh.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries aslting for addresses of manufacturers or
correspondents, or where appliances can be purchased, or
replies gioing 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 neressary 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 communication.

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

John Wynne (Waverton). — The number of
the B.J. containing the suggested syllabus for
use of lecturers may bo had from this office
for \\d. in stamps. The lantern slides are the
property of the B. B.K.A. Wtire to the Sec,
Mr. Huekle, Kings Langley, Herts, for the
terms on which they may be hired.

J. Jones (Pinner). — Removing Bees. — They
should have been moved before the late frost
ended. As it is, however, we should take
first chance after they have been confined to
the'r hive for a week or so, and alter the hive's
appearance as much as po-sible by placing
some obstacle about the entrance which the
bees will notice. After they have flown a
few times the hives may be re.-tored to their
original condition.

W. Manning (Northampton).— Size of Shallow
Frames. — The dimensions of the shallow
frame are exactly the s ime as that of the
" Standard " frame, less three inches of its

50

THE BRTTISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 2, 1893.

depth. The " Standard " top bar is seventeen
inches long.

P.E.M. (Sussex).— Treacle for .Bees— Neither
treacle nor " golden syrup " is at all suitable
for bee-food. We have known bees utterly
refuse to touch treacle, and if they would take
it we have little doubt that dysentery would
result.

Geo. Dunkley (Harpenden).— Protecting Cows
from Bees.— I. Read reply to J. Jones. 2.
We should place the protecting fence as
nearly three yards away from the hives as
possible, not that a cow receives serious harm
from an odd bee-sting, but it causes them to
run about very wildly if stung.

E. Hamxyn - Hakius. — Mildewed Pollen in
Combs— If the pollen is only mildewed, and
not so hard as to be un6t for use, the combs
may be sprayed with salicylic acid solution,
which will destroy the fungi.

%* Correspondents will please note that all com-
munications, whether relating to advertisements,
subscriptions, or literary matter, must now be ad-
dressed to 17 King William Street, Strand, London,
W.C. _

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

PURE CANE SUGARS.

For the accommodation of Bee-keepers, guaranteed
Pure Cane Sugar will be supplied in large or
small quantities through this office at the under-
mentioned rates : —

MOIST. (For Household Use.)

Neat bags, li~lbs. 28-lbs. 56-lbs. Cwts.

3. MUSCOVADO 2/9 5/4 10/6 20/6

CRYSTALLISED.

4. DEMERARA )

5. BARBADOS \ Crystals 2/9 5/6 10/9 21/-

6. TRINIDAD )

REFINED CANE.

7. WHITE CRYSTALS (Small) 3/- 6/0 11/9 22/9

8. 9. (Medium and Large sizes, 1/- per C\vt. extra.)

10. LDMP (Cut Loaf) ... Boxes, 3/3 6/3 12/3 23/9

11. CRUSHED LUMP 3/- 6/- 11/9 22/9

12. PRESERVING , 3/- 6/- 11/9 22/9

FINE, (tfor household Use.)

13. GRANULATED 3/3 6/3 12/3 23/9

14. CASTOR Coarse (15 Fine) 3/9 7/3 14/3 27/9

16. ICING 4/3 8/3 15/9 31/-

All above guaranteed made from Cane Sugau only, and free

from Beet, Chemicals, etc., etc.
Carriage Paid on Orders over 5/0 (or 28-lbs. Sugar)

to London and Suburbs.
Country Orders, not less than 2 cwt. carriage paid
at 1/0 per cwt. extra.
(Scotch and Irish orders, special arrangements.)
CHEQUES payable to Manager, Bee Journal and Record

Office, 17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C,
CASH TO BE SENT WITH ORDER, and purchasers
will please observe that if samples are required or
replies asked to inquiries, a stamped addressed
envelope must be sent, as we cannot undertake
cost of postage. Delivery of Goods to be taken
as receipt. If acknowledgment of Cash is required,
stamped addressed envelope should be sent.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.
•-*-«

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dbc. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

FOR SALE.— Pure English (Granulated Clover) Honey,
in 60-lb Tins, at 7d. per lb. Address T. Hollidat,
The Apiary, Astbury, Congleton, Cheshire.

WANTED. — Will any of our Readers supply U3 with
the present addresses of S. S. Goldsmith, Parkstone,
Dorset, and A. Green, Selston ? Address Editor, B. B. J.,
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

WANTED.- i Gardener who understands Bees. Good
references. Married preferred. No enoumbrances.
Good Cottage and Wages. Address G. Flower, Stoken.
church, Tetsworth, Oxon. 'A

FOR SALE.— A quantity of J-lb. White Enamel Stone
Bottle-shaped Jars, with Caps, at less than Wholesale.
Apply to S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex. 3

SITUATION required by Young Man in Garden. Uuder.
stands Management of Bees. Address 7 Merton Street,
Banbury, Oxon. 2

BEE-KEEPING, its Excellence and Ad-
vantages. Price 3d. British Bee Journal
Office, 17 King William St., Strand, London, W.C.

THE DEPOSIT SYSTEM.

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

The following are the Rules under which we
are prepared to receive Sums of Money on Deposit
from persons buying and selling good3.

In order to save trouble it is requested that the
Rules be carefully read over by persons using the
Deposit System of trading.

DEPOSITING.

1. Method. — When strangers are dealing together, the
purchase-money of the articles is deposited at our office.
We acknowledge receipt of the deposit to both, partir, and
hold the money until we are satisfied that the purchaso is
concluded1; If a pale be effected, we remit to the seller the
amount deposited, less a charge of 6d. and the expenses of
Post Office Orders and postage, &c. Cash will be forwarded
by cheque, Post Office Order, or by Postal Order as pre-
f erred. If a sile or exchange be not completed, we return
the amount deposited, after making the same deduction.
By this means buyers and sellers ars secured from fraud.

2. Deposits. — Postal Orders (drawn on General Post
Office) and Cheques must be made payable to "Manager,"
B. B. J., and crossed "London and Westminster Bank."
The numbers of the Postal Orders should be kept by the
sender. We cannot be responsible for any losses that may
occur in transit.

3. Honey on Approval. — All honey will be sold by
sample, which must be sent direct to buyer.

4. Bee-appliances. — In ordering, the time allowed for
completing the order to be stated to us when sending cash.
If maker accepts, we hold cash till transaction is satisfac-
torily completed, when the amount will be remitted subject
to conditions as in Clause 1.

5. Bees and Queens. — These will be dealt with entirely
by the parties concerned, so far as price, &c, goes, and when
the purchase is satisfactorily completed cash will' be re-
mitted as per Clause 1.

6. Goods in Transit. — These are at tho seller's risk,
i.e., any damage to or loss of an article on its journey is
borne by the vendor ; but a rejected article must be pro-
perly packed and returned by the same means as was used
in sending it.

7. Carriage. — The carriage of all goods, except *uch as
are sent by post, is payable by the buyer, unless otherwise
agreed. If any article sent on approval be returned, each
party to the transaction must pay carriage one way.

THE

Irish Iff 3anntal

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD A.ND ADVISER.

No. 555. Vol. XXI. N.S. 163.] FEBRUARY 9, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

(ffbiiorial IjUrtkes, th

USEFUL HINTS.

(Continued from page 42.)
The " Wells " Hive.— It is easy to see,
from the announcements already made in
our advertising columns, how great is the
interest expected to be taken in this hive in
the coming se?son by bee-appliance manu-
facturers, who, next to ourselves, have
probably a better opportunity than any
persons we know of for judging in what
direction bee-keeping opinion is drifting.
But it should be known that, so far as our
own knowledge goes, there is no one hive
on the market which can claim more than
another any special right to the designation
of " Wells " hive. Mr. Wells has made
public his plan of working, and such of our
hive manufacturers as are practical bee-
keepers have no doubt been able to follow
out the plan sufficiently to see what is
required. As a matter of fact, however,
Mr. Wells has no hive specially constructed
for the carrying out of his particular
method. His hives were made before he
thought of working two queens in each,
and consequently he had to adapt them to
the altered circumstances. The special
features his hives do possess, and which
(according to what was said in explaining
his system) are very important, are those of
having at least fourteen or sixteen (eighteen
are still better) Standard frames, at right
angles to entrance, in the brood chambers.
The floor-board should also be so con-
structed that it may be lowered two inches
or more in front when required ; the
entrance also must extend along the whole
hive front. Then it should be borne in mind
that the surplus chambers of ordinary size
* -e placed singly by Mr. Wells just" above
wi6 division -board dividing the two com-
partments of the brood chamber, thus allow-
ing the honey-gatherers of both compart-
ments to crowd into one surplus chamber.

These chambers were then tiered up or
storified in the height of the season. Of
course, it would be advantageous at times
to be able to use a surplus chamber large
enough to cover the frames of both compart-
ments; but it should not be forgotten that
the main feature is to admit the bees of both
queens into one surplus chamber, so that a
double force of honey-gatherers are at work
on the same combs. These points borne in
mind, we have no doubt that readers will
be able to choose a " Wells " hive likely to
answer their purpose, or otherwise to adapt
one of those they already possess as a
means to the same end.

The trouble about swarms issuing simul-
taneously from both portions of a " Wells "
hive, and the difficulty of parting queens,
makes the following extract from the
American Bee-keeper very opportune. It
refers, to parting two or more swarms
which have "joined up" or "gone to-
gether." The article is headed, " How to
Separate Swarms when they Cluster To-
gether," and the writer, Mr. H. L. Jeffrey,

" Under the above title, M. H. Dewitt, on
page 68, May number of the Bee-keeper, has
described the laborious job of pawing over
two, three, or more swarms to find the
queens, and. then divide them up to equal
as many colonies as you have found queens,
or in such parts as suit the apiarist. I
formerly practised that plan myself some
fifteen years ago, but I learned an easier
way by an accident as far back as 1878.
It happened as follows : — One day, while
caring for an apiary, a swarm came out,
and, after it had clustered, and while I was
getting the hive and stand ready for the
bees, along came a runaway swarm, and in
passing the tree on which was the cluster,
the decamped swarm united with it, and
before they were quiet another swarm came
out and the three went in together. I
began to ' sweat ' in contemplation of my
job, and being at a strange place (I was
caring for the bees during the owner's

52

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 9, 1893.

absence), I did not know wbere to find
things quickly, so I improvised a large hive
directly under the cluster by fastening two
boards up edgewise on the ground, so that
I could hang frames on them as in a hive.
I hung in thirty or more empty frames,
with a comb in every fifth frame, and then
knocked down the cluster. I threw a thin
cloth over the whole of them, and then
attended to the hive that had swarmed.
This being about noon, I gave them no
further attention until perhaps three or
four o'clock in the afternoon, when, upon
lifting the cloth, I found that the bees had
separated into swarms, and there was very
little, if any, mixing up of bees from the
different colonies. One of the hives that
had swarmed contained pure Italian cells,
and they were to be saved. Another was
hybrids, and the other blacks. The circum-
stance, as it happened, gave me a chance
to see how far they would separate. I
watched them closely as a test. Since
then, if two or more swarms go together, I
never hunt up either queen, but hive them
between two boards on the ground, and
always have the bottom edge of the boards
raised from the ground by a half-brick or
stick of wood.

"I have sometimes separated two swarms
by setting the hive on a stand on two
seven-eighth square sticks. On the top
of the hive I lay two more square sticks,
and place another hive on them. Then
two square sticks across that, and another
hive on top, making three hives high, and
in an hour or so each swarm is a separate
hive. I have had to try the sticks so many
times that I know it has worked, and I
have never seen it or known it to fail, but
I very much prefer the two boards in place
of the hive. I then hive them by putting
a hive over each cluster, and give two or
three puffs of smoke, and let them alone
till all is quiet, and then set each hive on
the intended stand."

THE "BRITISH EXHIBIT"
HONEY FOR CHICAGO.

OF

Now that the arrangements connected
with the preliminary exhibition of the
above have been brought to a successful
issue, and the collection of honey presented
by the various exhibitors is in process of
being re-bottled, labelled, and prepared for
the final packing and dispatch to the
•'World's Fair," it may be well to remind

our readers that some effort on the part of
bee-keepers is due in order to relieve the
Committee of the B. B. K. A. from any
anxiety as to meeting the necessary ex-
penses inseparable from the carrying out of
so important an undertaking. Some readers
have expressed regret that, owing to
various causes, they were unable to render
help in kind. Their honey was either " all
sold " or they had " secured no surplus "
last season. But they may none the less
give useful assistance by contributing a
small sum to the " Special Fund " started
for the purpose of supplementing the very
moderate money grant made by the BB.K.A.
towards the cost of the undertaking.

We, therefore, venture to make a fina,
appeal for subscriptions to this fund, which
so far, has not been so liberally contributed
to as was hoped. The amount required, in.
addition to the sum already promised, is so
small that a trifling contribution from each
of a few hundreds of our readers would
cover the whole cost, and so without further
remark beyond saying that donations may
be so sent to this office, marked "Special
Fund," we leave the matter in their hands.
Donations already received or promised
to special fund for defraying cost of the
" British Exhibit " of honey, &c, at Chicago.

£ s. d.

Hon. & Rev. H. Bligh 0 10 0

Rev. Dr. Bartrum 0 10 0

Rev. E. Davenport 0 5 0

Rev. R. M. Lamb 0 5 0

Mr. T. W. Cowan 2 0 0

Anon 2 0 0

Mr. Jesse Garratt 1 0 0

T. F. L. (Brondesbury) 0 10 O

Mr. A. W. Harrison (money
prize awarded in the com-
petition) 0 5 0

HONEY IMPORTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of January,
1893, was 38U. — From a return furnished by the
Statistical Office, H.M. Customs.

LECTURE ON BEES.
On Wednesday evening, February 1st, a
lecture on bees, illustrated with lantern slides,
was given at Potter's Bar by Mr. A. W. Harri-
son to a crowded audience. The Rev. F. H.
Deane (vicar) occupied the chair, and the Rev.
A. S. Hichens (curate) manipulated the lantern..
The slides used were those of Messrs. Newton.
lent for the occasion by the British Bee-keepers'"

February 9, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

53

Association. Commencing at eight o'clock, the
attention of the audience was retained for an
hour and a half. After showing the importance
of hees for fertilising fruit blossoms, &c, the
anatomy of the bee was dealt with, and then
the practical part of apiculture was fully ex-
plained. Discussion was afterwards invited, of
which some few availed themselves. At the
close the Chairman proposed a vote of thanks to
Mr. A. W. Harrison for his exceedingly inte-
resting and instructive lecture, which was
heartily responded to.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes^ Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

%* 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.

BEE-FLOWERS IN SMALL GARDENS.

[1327.] The question of planting small
gardens with such flowers as are included in
the term " bee-pasturage " is one which has
been discussed almost ad nauseam for the last
half-century or so ; and the unanimous opinion
of nearly all (one notable exception being Mr.
Cowan) is that such labour is useless from the
bee-keepers' standpoint. From that point, how-
ever, nothing but broad acres of pasturage will
satisfy the bee-man's requirements, and if the
pasturage is on lands other than his own, he
evidently likes it all the better. There also
seems to be a very general opinion that pasturage
near the hives is always neglected by the bees
thereof, while they eagerly seek that which is
situated further afield. How unselfish and
noble is that dictum of the bee-heeper ! Can
they be quite honest men who think thus with
the interests of our science at heart ? I fancy
not; but rather that they are representatives of
the genus homo whose only object in life is the
all-absorbing race for wealth, and who have
extremely sensitive organizations, susceptible in
a very high degree to metallic influences.

There are, of course, very many votaries of
our science who keep bees for the very love of
one of the great Creator's lowly but supremely
beautiful creatures, and it is to these benefactors
of mankind that I now address myself. I do
not for one moment say that bee-keeping should
not yield some return for the labour bestowed
on it — I quite agree that every man is entitled
to the fruits of his toil ; but what I do object

to is that men should make our beautiful science
(call it vocation, business, pleasure, or hobby)
wholly subservient to the worldly gains to be got
out of it. The first words of the modern bee-
keeper are " How much money did you take ? '
"How much did it realise P" and "Does it pay ?"
But, as already said, there are many exceptions
to this rule.

Well, now, to return to the subject of my
heading, viz., bee-flowers, I do not propose to
give full cultural details, as these can be found
in the trade list of most seedsmen. My object
is simply to induce cottagers and others to
cultivate a few of the very many lovely flowers
which produce more or less honey or pollen, and
which would make many a now dreary back-
garden an Eden by comparison, not only to
those members of a man's family who are at
home all day, but to the man himself on his
return from work. He feels his heart lighter,
and his own hard nature is mellowed by study-
ing the humble flowers that can be grown and
blossomed by the poorest as well as the richest.
I find in my own neighbourhood that, once you
get men to cultivate their little garden or allot-
ment, and to interest themselves in its cultiva-
tion, they are practically changed men.

Being in some sense a working man myself,
and not blessed with too much of this world's
goods, my own practice is to buy all my seeds
by weight, and as the seeds I mention below are
very cheap, while a very small quantity of each
makes quite a good display, I am able to give
the overplus to my friends and neighbours,
together with such little assistance as is in
my power as to their cultivation, and I can
safely say that it creates a feeling of good-
fellowship, such as few can have any idea of, to
say nothing of the many plants and flowers I
receive in return. My greatest satisfaction,
however, is when on my coming home from
work, a friendly neighbour greets me with, " I
say, old man, haven't your bees been busy in my
garden, to-day ! " Surely I am repaid, even in
the I. s. d. sense, for now the honey-flow has
stopped for a time from ordinary sources (as we
all know it does during the season) my bees
have the benefit of my neighbours' gardens being
well stocked with honey or pollen-yielding
floweis, with which I have been instrumental
in supplying them. By this means, also, brood-
rearing Is maintained, so that when the next
flow begins, all who keep bees get the full
benefit.

The seeds I would advise being sown in our
gardens are the following : — Collomia coccinea,
borage, clarkia mixed, cyanus minor, erysimum,
gilia tricolor, limnanthes douglasii, linum,
mignonette, nemophilia mixed, Oenothera bis-
torta veitchii, phacelia campanularia, rape, wall-
flowers, nasturtiums, sweet peas, hemp, balsams
(Canadian), sunflowers, beans (broad), scarlet-
runner beans, peas, vegetable marrows. This
list could be extended almost indefinitely, but
the above are all honey or pollen-producing
flowers, and have the advantage of being nearly
all hardy annuals. They may be sown in the

54

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 9, 189&'

open after the middle of March, and at intervals
during the summer for succession, with the1
exception of runner "beans (sow in May) and
vegetable marrows, which should -be sown in a
frame or warm room, and planted out in the
open ground in May.

There are in addition endless biennial and
perennial flowering plants which may be planted
to the same end. A patch of mustard, alsike
and melitot clover, a clump of golden rod
(solidago), a row of sedum spectabile, would also
when in bloom afford much pleasure not only to
the bees, but to their keepers. I have seen
scores of bees busy on all these plants, as well as
on crocuses, snowdrops, and many other bulbs,
which might also be planted in autumn for the
spring. Of course, other people's bees, as well
as other winged citizens of the air, would come
to a spot so well furnished with attractions.

My excuse for troubling you with this long
letter must be my desire to help the bees, and
to show some of your readers a way that, whilst
reaping the benefit of their neighbours' lands
and gardens, and saving the necessary outlay in
cultivating the same, they can in a small way
give back to their poorer brethren a small
portion of such benefit, making their homes
brighter and happier, besides affording a source
of intellectual pleasure to the minds of many men
whose interest in the subject of floriculture only
wants arousing to lead them from paths and
ways (to put it mildly) less elevating.

To bee-keepers I only say, try my suggestions,
and I am confident none will regret having
take the advice of — The Heathen.

"SUCCESSFUL BEE-KEEPING IN A
NUTSHELL."

[1328.] The following article was read by Mr. E.
Gallup at a convention in America, and is copied
from the American Bee Journal for March, 1871.
Thinking that many readers of the B.B.J, may
have not seen it, and seeing that the advice
given is as good aud applicable to-day as it was
twenty-three years ago, is my excuse for asking
for its insertion in our Journal. — John Walton,
Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington.

" The great secret in successful bee-keeping
consists in knowing how to keep all stocks
strong, or having them strong with brood in all
stages, nursing bees and outside labourers at the
commencement of the honey harvest. To illus-
trate this : A and B both have the same re-
sources in their respective localities, or, we will
say, that both reside in the same locality, and
the honey harvest commences on the 1st of June,
and that during the last half of July and the
first half of August there is no forage for bees.
June and the first half of July is good, as is
also last half of August and the month of
September.

" A commences in spring to stimulate,
equalise, &c, and replaces all old queens or
queens that do not come up to the standard
of fertility with young prolific queens, allows

but little increase — that is, providing surplus
honey is the object. Here I will remark that,
with young prolific queens and abundance of
room, there is but little danger^of increase, and
on the first day of June, when the. harvest
commences, he has every stock completely filled
with comb brood in all stages, nursing bees in
abundance less than sixteen days old, honey-
gatherers over sixteen days old, and they are in
the very best possible condition to commence
storing surplus honey immediately. Then,
during the scarce time in the last of July and
the first of August, stimulates and keeps up the
fertility of the queens until the harvest again
commences in the middle of August. His bees
are then ready to commence storing surplus
again as soon as the harvest commences. The
consequence will be that A receives a profit in
surplus honey, and pronounces the season a good
one — in fact, meets every one with a smiling
countenance, and is well satisfied that bee-
keeping pays, &c.

" On the other hand, B commences with the
same number of stocks in the spring, lets them
manage themselves, and on the first day of June
they are not in condition to store surplus, or, at
least, but very few of them, and those he allows
to swarm themselves to death, or, which amounts
to about the same thing, when the honey harvest
commences his stocks commence breeding very
rapidly, and by the time his stocks get in con-
dition to store honey, the harvest is done or
nearly so, for it takes twenty-one days to hatch
out a worker, and sixteen days more or there-
abouts before they commence labouring outside,
&c. The queens stop breeding entirely, or
nearly so, especially so if the forage is entirely
dried up or cut off. Now, when the honey
harvest commences in the middle of August,
his stocks instead of being in good condition to
commence storing, have to go to raising brood
again to replenish their stock of workers, for
recollect that the brood hatched in June and
July is very soon used up with old age, for the
lifetime of a working bee is only from six to
eight weeks during the working season. Now,
you can readily see that B's stocks are expend-
ing all their force and energy to replenish their
numbers again, and by the time they are ready
to commence storing the harvest is past, and B
has any quantity of stocks that he has to feed
in order to carry them through the winter, or he
has to double up stocks, &c, and when he comes
to sum up the season's operations he has re-
ceived no surplus honey, and his surplus stocks,
or a large proportion of them, have either to be
fed or doubled up in order to winter them, and
the consequence is his face is somewhat elon-
gated, and his conclusion is that the season has
been a poor one for bees. He has certainly had
bad luck, and he is ready to attribute his luck
as he calls it to anything but his own neglect or
carelessness. For example, the season has been
a poor one for bees, or his climate is not adapted
to bee-keeping, &c.

" A, with his management — in the same
locality, mind you — has had good luck, as he

February 9, 1893.1 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

55

calls it. His stocks are all in excellent con-
dition for wintering, no doubling up or feeding
for winter, &c, for he has fed at the proper
season to feed, for I hold it to be a fixed fact
that the summer and spring is the proper time
to feed. Keep your bees in the right condition
to store honey, a ad when the harvest comes
they will store it. There may be seasons and
localities where bees have to be fed in winter,
but I have never seen such when they were
properly taken care of in summer. The whole
secret of successful bee-keeping is contained in
the above nutshell.

. " The very first knowledge sought by the new
beginner in bee-keeping should be the above."

NOTES ON SUNDRY BEE MATTERS.

[1329.] The honey crop gathered in West
Cheshire last season was, 1 am sorry to say, a
poor one. There were, it is true, a few days of
excellent honey weather, but the general results
were unsatisfactory from a bee-keeper's point of
view.

- A good honey harvest is the very thing to
keep us talking of the pleasures and advantages
of bee-keeping all through the inactive period of
the year; but there are few of us who can
regard with equanimity half-filled supers and
light hives at the close of (as it generally is with
us) a very brief honey season. Under these cir-
cumstances, there is nothing to be wondered at
in young hands forming a poor opinion of the
possibilities of bee-keeping as a source of
pecuniary advantage to themselves.

There is plenty of scope for bee-keeping in
my locality, but there are few bee-keepers. I
can only account for this on the supposition
that the rustic inhabitants are strongly impressed
with a belief that bees are difficult things to
manage, and unpleasant companions at the best.
As far as lies in my power, I endeavour to show
that these notions are not well founded ; but
my labours to this end have not accomplished
much. Many would be willing to instal a few
hives in their gardens, provided the management
of them could be left to some one who — to
quote the expression made use of — " understands
bees." I entertain very poor hope of the success
of the County Council's efforts to popularise
bee-keeping as a minor rural industry, for I hear
very little of the movement in Cheshire. The
idiosyncrasies of rustic minds appear to me to
be averse to the acquisition of knowledge ; at
any rate, our agricultural population do not
seem in any hurry to avail themselves of the
opportunities now given to them of obtaining
the information which, to say the least, they are
sadly in want of.

I have been much interested in your observa-
tion in last " Useful Hints " on the foul-brood
remedies, and I cannot help remarking that the
careful attention which this decidedly unpleasant
subject has received in the Journal for the past
two years is beginning to cause me uneasiness.
The monster foul brood stalks the land, and has,
so it appears, caused some to relinquish bee-

keeping. Remedies and preventives are well
enough so far as they go, but I hardly think
they can be relied upon implicitly. The pest
does its destructive work just at a time when,
as it seems to me, the bee-keeper has the least
power to combat it with "cures," for how, when
bees can obtain food in the natural manner, can
the bee-keeper assure himself his medicated food
is reaching every bee or larva in the colony ?
With this in mind, it may be possible to account
for reports of treatment of the disease not being
uniformly satisfactory.

Mr. Leigh (1318, p. 46) asks for opinions of
readers of the B.B.J, on a new hive which he
has designed for use this year. Seven frames
standard size is, in my opinion, rather small
space for a brood nest when the hive is well
populated ; at least, I may say I have no diffi-
culty in getting queens to well fill with eggs
eight frames one-fourth larger than standards.
In fact, the difficulty, as far as my experience
leads me to believe, is to get the bees to rear
all the eggs a queen lays. Even were ample
space given within rational limits for the
queen's ovipositing power, I conceive that the
bees would control increase of population, the
progeny of a particular queen, let her be ever so
fertile, and I think Mr. Wells has completely
baffled this instinct of the bees by his ingenious
method of working hives — hence the success of
the " Wells " system. — A. Donbavand, Whitby
Heath, Cheshire, February 5th, 1893.

BEESWAX.

[1330.] Within the last year or two I have
noticed the gradual decline, on the part of some
of our prominent honey-show authorities, of the
encouragement of wax-production. At not a
few of our leading shows wax has completely
disappeared from their list, while others offer
such paltry prizes that, practically speaking, no
one will trouble to compete. Bee-keeping, as I
understand it, when properly conducted, either
as a hobby or for profit, means thrift — economy
practised in every respect ; but when we think
of the amount of wilful waste carried on season
after season in not a few apiaries known to the
writer, I conclude that our Associations must do
something to bring about a remedy. After
extracting is over, the cappings, broken pieces of
comb, broken foundation, &c, are thrown out
as not being of any further use. What could
be more ridiculous, even admitting the local
show does offer only a small prize for wax?
Considering the commercial value of first-class
beeswax apart from shows, it behoves every
bee-keeper to save his honey cappings, crushed
combs, &c, and at the end of the season have
the same melted down into nice cakes. There
may be some difficulty in selling honey, but
none in disposing of good wax ; consequently I
consider our show committees should give such
encouragement by offering liberal prizes, so as
to induce their members to exhibit. Our shows
are held annually for the purpose of educating

56

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 9, 1893.

the public, and placing- before them specimens
of the work performed by our little friends, the
bees. That being so, I think wax should figure
prominently at all our best shows ; and show
committees, when compiling their schedules for
the coming season, will do well to bear the
above remarks in mind, and offer such prizes as
to encourage even the humblest in our ranks to
stage their cake of wax.

Since writing the above I made an examina-
tion of a friend's hives (seven in number) on
January 26th, and, to my great surprise, found
three of them dead. No doubt owing to the mild-
ness of the season, more than the usual quantity
of food has been consumed ; hence I fear the
mortality will be heavy this spring in many of
our apiaries. — J. D. McNally.

THE BEE-DOINGS OF A VILLAGE
SHOE-MAKER.

[1331.] Well, sirs, as the year comes and
goes so my bee account runs, and at the close I
tot up the items to see which way the balance
turns, and if you think these few jottings possess
interest for readers of the Journal, I shall be
pleased, for I feel towards my B.J. as an old
smoker does to his pipe. I should not like to be
without it. I began the season of 1892 with
eight stocks, having lost four during the previous
winter. Two of them were very weak, but the
others were about the two best stocks I had;
and for the benefit of those disposed to act as I
did, I will just tell how I lost them. When
packing up for winter I scraped the top of
frames clean and laid on the quilts without
forming winter passages over the top of
frames, or doing anything to allow the bees a
passage over them ; consequently during the cold
weather last March these two lots died of sheer
starvation, while one hive had six frames full of
honey and the other had seven. It reminded me
forcibly of the old adage, " Wit bought is better
than wit taught." I don't buy any more that way
if I know it. I had four swarms in the summer ;
one I returned to its old quarters and the others
I put into empty hives from which I had lost the
bees previously, and one swarm I bought for
10s. From these I had 151 sections and 136
pounds of extracted honey — total, 287 pounds.
But we had almost no heather honey this year
as a fortnight of miserable weather occurred
just when the heather was at its best; so the
bees could not visit it, otherwise my take would
have been much larger. In 1891 year I got
nearly all my take from the heather ; but I am
well satisfied as I have now eleven hives well
stocked with bees and stores, I have twenty
pounds honey left for sale and a quantity of
sections not quite full for home use, and after
paying all expenses I have cleared the pretty
little sum of 81. 6s. 7d. by my bees. But besides
that I also took first prize for both sections and
extracted honey at the Lynton district show,
which added another 15s. to the earnings of my
bees. This is apart from the pleasure gained,

for it is a real pleasure to me to be among them,
and they humming away so merrily and so busy
at their work. I had to destroy one stock badly
affected with foul brood, and it was the stock
that gave me the largest return of any single
stock I had (seventy pounds). I was much dis-
appointed when I found that this stock — of
which I was not a little proud — had foul brood.
I never saw foul brood before, and, I cannot, for
the life of me, make out how it got there, unless
it was in the bees when I got them, for they
were a driven lot from some old skeps. I find
if you want to make bees pay you must look
after them and at the proper time, and those
who expect them to pay without taking any
trouble ought to be disappointed. I am going
in (on a small scale at first, as I don't believe in
being too fast) for the" Wells" system this year,
and I think the bee-keeping fraternity is veiy
much indebted to Mr. Wells for the courteous
way he has met the many inquiries made
regarding the two-queen system. Our friend
the "Village Blacksmith's" letter I thought
savoured a little of sarcasm, for which I could
not see much need. When I first read Mr. Wells'
letter I thought that thirty pounds of wax was a
large lot for a small apiary, but then, I thought,,
that depends on what system you work it on
and the season also has a little to do with it as
well. There is also nothing to be surprised at
in Mr. Wells' statement about a swarm fourteen
pounds in weight from such a hive as Mr. Wells
describes. I had a swarm myself this last
season from an ordinary single hive of twelve
standard frames which weighed close on to nine
pounds. Trusting that the year 1893 will be a
good one for both bee-keepers and our worthy
editors. — A. Delbbjdge, Parracombe, near
Barnstaple.

SELLING HONEY BY MEASURE.

[1332.] The footnote to 1311 (p. 38) has-
caused me to think there must be some mis-
take in the reply that there is " well on for two
pounds " difference in the weight of a quart of
very dense honey and of an equal quantity of a
very thin one.

My honey here has always been of a very
uniform density, about T45, and the cubical
contents of a pound of it about 19| cubic inches.
Now, a pound of water contains 27*72 cubic
inches. It seems to me that there must be
some honey of a much greater density than
mine, and also some not much better than
water, to confirm your statement above.

I feel certain it would be interesting to a
great number of your readers to know the
densities of some of the honeys throughout the
kingdom.

I cannot see how a purchaser is to know
whether he gets his half-pint of honey in his
bottle any better than whether he gets his
half-pound in a bottle, as it would be more
difficult to measure than weigh when it is granu-
lated. I agree with Mr. Marks when he says,
"Give measure," andl say, "Give weight; none of

February 9, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

57

your fourteen ounces to the pound." I have
used Breffit's sixteen-ounce bottles now for
several years, and I don't believe I have given
much overweight, nor vice versa, as 1 have
always found them very uniform. When I
send my order for them, I mention that I want
sixteen-ounce bottles, and I get them all right.

In bottling it up, we weigh a few to start
with, to see how full they want to be, and you
may then pour it into the bottles and rest
satisfied that you are within a fraction. — Man
of Kent.

[We thank our correspondent for calling
attention to the above palpable error. The
words should have been, " well on for « pound,"
not tivo pounds. — Ens.]

MEDICATING SYRUP.

[1333.] May I ask through your paper how
your correspondent, W. B. Webster (1303, p.
28), would make medicated syrup ? I find a
great amount of trouble with syrup granulating.
I see Arthur J. H. Wood (1306, p. 36) also
gives the same advice, but leaves out the above.
It would prove beneficial to myself and other
young beginners to know how unboiled syrup is
medicated. Thanking you for all the advice I
have got from your valuable paper — G. H.
Taylor, Herts.

SCENTING BEE-SYRUP.

[1334.] I offer a suggestion for the improve-
ment of feeding syrup. A bee's sense of smell
i3 more acute than most things'. Our ordinary
syrup has no perfume. A dozen drops of essence
of thyme in each quart would rejoice the hearts
of thousands, and a sixpenny bottle would last
for years. — T. W., Elham Vicaraye.

ARE BEES DEAF?

[1335.] It was with much pleasure I read the
very interesting letter from your able corre-
spondent Mr. R. A. Grimshaw on this subject
(1304, p. 34), and it afforded me the greatest
satisfaction to note that his views are closely in
harmony with my own ; so much so that I
should have hesitated to encroach again upon
your valuable space but for the fact that a little
explanation on my part would not be quite out
of place.

First, as to the personal allusion to myself,
let me say : I commenced bee-keeping merely as
an adjunct to my favourite hobby of Horticul-
ture, but no sooner was my first hive placed in
position than the " little ladies " became an
all-absorbing pleasure, and a powerful desire to
know all about them took possession of me.
Books on the subject were the craze. Huber (I
always think kindly of, almost reverence this
name, and, considering his blindnes? from the
age of nineteen years, it seems wonderful how
he arrived at so mauy of the beautiful truths he

did), Quinby, Cheshire, Cook, Root, Figuier,
Lubbock, and others, not forgetting all that has
been written by our genial Editors, whom I re-
gard as the leaders of apicultural periodical
literature, were obtained and absorbed, and,
inter alia, I was struck by the unsatisfactory
way in which most of the authors dealt with
the question " Do Bees Hear ? " especially by
the way in which the author of Ants, Bees, and
Wasps refers to it when he t-ays, in so many
words, that the order Hymenoptera are un-
doubtedly void of hearing.

My own experience serving to convince me
that bees were not deaf, 1 determined to draw
the attention of your readers to the fact that
this interesting point was still in abeyance, and
it struck me that if Mr. Grimshaw could only
be got to let us know his " up-to-date " views,
the whole bee community would be wiser.
Hence my personal reference (experto crede) to
Mr. Grimshaw, and his ready compliance proves
that I had not over-rated his willingness to do
so.

Secondly, with regard to my nom de plume :
your correspondent has hit the mark in his last
surmise ; the Anglo-Saxon Haedhen or Haethen
means one inhabiting or living on a haeth or
heath, and is similar in meaning to the Latin
Payanus, originally a countryman. I dwell on
what was at one time a heath, and which still
bears its old name, i.e., Thornton Heath, Surrey,
and the number of my habitation is 9 Heath-
field Villas, so that Mr. Grimshaw will see that,
if my nom de plume is not quite a happy one, it
is not altogether inaptly chosen. As to my
nom propre, you, Messrs. Editors, have that,
and should your correspondent desire it, I have
no reason to withhold it, save perhaps a feeling
akin to bashfulness.

In passing, will you kindly allow me to point
out a printer's error on p. 477 of your last
volume, where my nom de plume was printed
as " The Heather " instead of "The Heathen."

I am referred by Mr. Grimshaw to Mr.
Cowan's book, The Honey Bee, which I have
carefully read, and which, when coupled with
the same writer's Guide-book, forms, in my
humble opinion, the intelligent bee-keeper's vade
mecum. Seeing that so far back as 1887 I
knew very little of the fascinations of the
apiary, I have not yet seen Mr. Grimshaw's
article written at that time, though I hope to do
so ere long.

1 fully agree with Mr. Grimshaw's views as
to the antenna? being the seat of the auditory
organs, but whether, as Mr. Cowan points out,
they are in the hollows of the antennae, situated
in small patches of ten or more at the lower
parts of the joints of the flagellum, or at the base
of the scape or basal joint, is not quite clear to
me. From the antenna? of a worker-bee recently
and carefully examined, I observe that this basal
joint has what might be described as a complete
socket joint, and is supported in the head of the
bee by a most powerful set of muscles and nerve
fibres.

Figuier, in the Insect World, says (p. 6),

-58

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 9, 1893.

" What is the use of the antennae ? Experience
has shown that they only play a subordinate
part as feelers, and have nothing to do with the
seuses of taste or smell. There is no other
function for them to fulfil except that of
hearing.

" On this hypothesis the antennae will he the
principal instruments for the transmission of
sound waves. The membrane at their base
[the italics are mine] represents a trace of the
tympanum which exists among the higher
animals. This membrane, then, will have some
connexion with an auditory nerve."

This may be so, and the antennae, as feelers,
may only play a secondary part. 1 certainly
would submit that their primary use is that of
hearing, although I am much more inclined to
Hicks and Graber's views, as described by Mr.
Cowan, that the auditory nerves are situated in
the hollows, also mentioned by Mr. Grimshaw
above, in his letter; and from abler hands than
mine I feel sure some conclusive proof will be
forthcoming ere long which will settle the
question beyond all doubt, and will remove the
stigma of deafness from the whole order of
hymenoptera. Mr. Cheshire (vol. ii., page 161)
says, " We need no argument to prove that bees
hear." — The Heathen.

BEE-FLOWERS.

J1336.] "Inquirer," Norfolk (1322, p. 47),
will find the " white sage " mentioned by Dobbie
a Californian plant, botanical name, Audibertia
polystachia; and that the Spider-plant, Cleome
pungens, is of g'reater value than any of the
Cleomes, for the huge drops of nectar call the
bees up before daylight, and entice them to the
fields long after dusk — at least, so says Professor
Cook.

After a space of three weeks with snow on
the ground five inches, the bees from six hives
have so far pulled through well without the
least trace of dysentery. On the 3rd inst., they
were busy carrying in pollen from the jasmine
and snowdrop.

I read in a former number that, two or three
weeks back, you had severe frosts but had not
heard of snow, so \our experience must have
differed from that of — Salopian, February 4th.

[The only other Cleome, besides the one named
above and Pungens, that is known to be a good
honey-plant is Cleome integrifolia from the
Rocky Mountain", and therefore called, by the
Americans, Rocky Mountain bee-plant. — Eds.]

(&t\ttt% ixnm % pikes..

Belmont, Canada, January 16th. — The winter
is most delightful here ; about fourteen inches
of snow in the woods, and the mercury plays
around zero point most of the time ; blazing
fires, lots of provender for all kinds of stock,
Christian influences, peace and plenty, ringing

bells, good sleighs, sleek horses, and all that
makes our beautiful winter most enjoyable.
My bees (eighty-three hives) in the cellar are
doing well ; they are as still as the grave. I
hold that, if you can hear the vibration of one
wing, that the conditions for perfect wintering
are not all met, save and except only when
they are clearing up and rearranging honey.
My bees gathered honey-dew (what we call
bug- juice) from golden willow last fall of a very
poor quality, therefore they spotted their hive-
covers at their last flight. They will need extra
care this winter, but I am feeling confident of
success. — S. T. Pettit.

Tonbridge, Kent, January 3\st. — Some of our
knowing ones about the middle of last December
prophesied that we were to have a sloppy
Chistmas, but Jack Frost entirely altered that,
and I am very doubtful whether our little bees
had any dinner on Christmas Day. Anyway,
skating and sliding was in full swing here on
Boxing Day, and continued so for nearly a
month, the sharpest morning being on January
4th, when there was twenty-seven degrees of
frost, quite enough for us here in mid-Kent.
But now about the bees. Mine seem to have
come through the ordeal all right, with not near
so heavy a loss as one might expect, considering
they had no extra covering put upon them.
They had a thorough good cleansing flight on
Friday, the 27th of January, and again to-day,
the 31st, and they won't take harm now if they
do have to lay up for a fortnight ; but, in my
opinion, they were in a good condition for a
month's rest, as they were flying freely a day
or two before they laid up. Give them a dry
hive, with plenty of food and a good queen, and
I think you may chance the rest; although I
agree with the writer of " Notes by the Way "
that there is an advantage in having your hives
stand so as to get the sun to shine upon the
entrance in mid-winter and spring, and summer
too, if you can get it. The theory that unsealed
food in the hives causes dysentery does not
appear to hold good with me, as I have several
hives that have had unsealed syrup in them
since November, and have at the present time,
and I don't see any difference in these hives and
those that were not fed at all, as regards the
strength and health of the bees. — Man of
Kent.

Whitby Heath, Chester, February 3rd. — Not-
withstanding the cold weather of December and
the early part of January, the bees have shown
signs of activity two weeks earlier than last
year. Vegetation also shows signs of life, and
should the mild weather continue, the bees will
shortly have supplies of pollen and honey from
the willow catkins, which are in some cases well
budded. On opening a hive a few days ago, I
was agreeably surprised to find eggs laid and a
patch of sealed brood. — A. D.

West Kent, February 6th. — After a long spell
of rest indoors, my bees have begun once more to
show signs of life, the warm sun having roused
them up.— J. T. F.

February 9, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

59

WEATHER REPORT.

Westboubne, Sussex.

January, 1893.

Rainfall, 1'68 in. Sunshine, 3930 hrs.

Heaviest fall, -49 on Brightest day, 27th,

9th. 6-50 hrs.

Rain fell on 16 days. Sunless days, 15.
Below average, "57. Below average, 37*9

hrs.
Max. temp., 49° on Mean max., 37-6°.

31st. Mean min., 29"5\

Min. temp., 16° on 5th Mean temp., SS'i".
Min. on grass, 9° on Max. barometer, 30*53

3rd. on 21st.

Frosty nights, 22. Min. barometer, 29 "46

on 29th.

All hives have wintered safely. Bees have
been flying nearly every day since the 18th. —

L. B. BlBKETT.

utxm aitb Replies.

[712.] Mildewed Combs.— 1. Thanks for in-
formation re mildewed combs. Have tried the
salicylic acid solution, but fear the pollen is too
hard. What can be done in that case ? 2.
Will salicylic acid solution made last autumn
be still fit to use this spring ? 3. Can I feed
my bees on artificial pollen in a kind of a dry-
sugar feeder, to be placed inside the hive, or
must I feed them from outside in the way de-
scribed by W. B. Webster (in a box out of
doors) ? 4. Although there does not appear to
be any foul brood in this neighbourhood, would
you recommend me to wash my hives with sali-
cylic solution before putting the bees in ? 5.
When would you advise me to start feeding on
pollen, to encourage brood, &c. ? They have
plenty of stores and are pietty strong stocks. —
R. Hamlyn-Habbis, Lines., February 3rd.

Reply. — 1. Combs full of dry, hard pollen
are useless for the bees. 2. Yes ; if kept corked
it will last for years. 3. We have had no prac-
tical experience of pollen-feeding inside hives,
but Mr. Howard, of Holme, says the bees take
it well when given so, and he should know.
4. Yes; by all means. 5. About the end of
March.

[713.] Using Flour Candy. — I purchased two
lots of driven bees last year, joined them, and
put them away comfortably for the winter in a
frame hive, with several frames of honey and a
seven-pound candy cake on top. On examining
a few days ago, I find the bees have eaten nearly
all the candy cake, and cover nearly six frames.
They are flying every mild day, and seem very
busy and healthy. What is the best thing to
do now, so as to get them strong and healthy
for the honey season ? Is it too early to feed
with syrup, or shall I give them candy cake
with peameal mixed, as I am very anxious to
get them strong as possible ? When packing
away the bees for winter, I made use largely of
newspapers, folded square, and laid over the

quilt, two or three inches thick, and then the
other coverings. As a result, the bees seem
better than at any other time since I have had
them, and the hives inside seem drier. [ am
situate just over the border in Kent. — D. M.,.
February 3rd.

Reply. — Renew the candy cake as often as
the bees take it down, but add no peameal till
next month, at end of which svrup may be given.

[714.] Super Clearers — Preventing Second
Swarms. — 1. What do you consider the proper
size at each end of a cone for the American
style of a super-clearer, as I intend to make
one ? Would the same size be suitable for a
hive roof ? 2. Do you approve of shifting straw
skeps, say, fifty yards after a first swarm to
prevent second swarms, and to put the first
swarm on the stool of the stock, and is it likely
to be effectual ? — John Main, Belivat, N.B.

Reply. — 1. The point of cones should be just
about large enough for two bees to pass. The
width at base is not of much importance. The
same cone may be adapted for both forms of
clearer. 2. Yes. Though not always the means
of preventing second swarms, moving the parent
stock in the way stated is effectual in the
majority of cases.

[715.] Supering Swarms. — 1. Supposing
the honey-flow to be good, within how many
days after a strong natural swarm has been
hived on frames of foundation should a rack of
sections be placed on the hive ? 2. Ought queen-
excluder zinc to be used ? 3. What are the
answers to the above two questions should the
swarm be hived on frames of empty comb
instead of foundation ? — T. B., Middlesex.

Reply. — 1. If only a limited space — say,
seven standard frames — is allowed for the brood
chamber the sections may put on a strong swarm
when hived. Otherwise, about eight or ten
days after hiving. 2. Yes. 3. The difference
would hardly be perceptible.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers 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 com-
munication.

J. Ttjbpin. — There is no cause for alarm in the
bees being a little disturbed after giving food.
They will settle quietly down again in a day
or two.

Hampshibe Bee-keepee. — Do not feed for
the sake, of feeding. If the bees are well
provisioned, it will do more harm than good
to give candy at this season.

A Beginneb (Middlesex). — If you can rely on
the stocks being strong and healthy, the price
asked is very low ; but we should advise an
examination by some one who understands
bees before investing in so many hives.

THE BRTTISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 9, 1893.

Special Prepaid Advertisements,

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dtc — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
word* or under, One Penny.

FOR SALE.— Pure English (Granulated Clover) Honey,
in 60-lb Tins, at Id. per lb. Sample 3d. Address
T. Holliday, The Apiary, Astbury, Congleton, Cheshire. 3

WANTED. — A Gardener who understands Bees. Good
references. Married preferred. No encumbrances.
Good Cottage and Wages. Address G. Flower, Stoken-
church, Tetsworth, Oxon. ___

FOR SALE.— A quantity of £-lb. White Enamel Stone
Bottle-shaped Jars, with Caps, at less than Wholesale.
Apply to S. Smarms, Seaford, Sussex. 2

SITUATION required by Young Man in Garden. Under,
stands Management of Bees. Address 7 Merton Street,
Banbury, Oxon.

FOR SALE.— Five strong Stocks of Bees. 4 in Neigh -
hour's Sandringham Hive, 1 in Colonial Hive, with
extra Section Crates, Shallow-frame Supers, 20 worked-
out Shallow Frames, Super Clearer, Smokers, &c. Address
Gellatlt, Loughton, Essex ; where Bees may be seen. 3

TT7 ANTED.— Two Bar-frame Hives, with strong Stocks,
VV in about a month's time. Address C. Robinson,
Foggy Furze, West Hartlepool.

FOR KALE. — Pure English Honey, i-ewts. at 8d. per lb.
Tins free. Sample 2d. Address R. Dutton, Terling,
Witham, Essex.

THE DEPOSIT SYSTEM.

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.G.

The following are the Rules under which we
are prepared to receive Sums of Money on Deposit
from persons buying and selling goods.

In order to save trouble it is requested that the
Bules be carefully read over by persons using the
Deposit System of trading.

DEPOSITING.

1. Method. — When strangers are dealing together, the
purchase-money of the articles is deposited at our office.
We acknowledge receipt of the deposit to both parties, and
hold the money until we are satisfied that the purchase is
concluded. If a sale be effected, we remit to the seller the
amount deposited, less a charge of 6d. and the expenses of
Post Office Ord rs and postage, &c. Cash will be forwarded
by cheque, Po^t Office Order, or by Postal Order as pre-
ferred. If a sale or exchange be not completed, we return
the amount deposited, after making the same deduction.
By this means buyers and sellers are secured from fraud.

2. Deposits. — Postal Orders (drawn on General Post
Office) and Cheques must be made payable to "Manager,"
B. B. J., and crossed "London and Westminster Bank."
The numbers of the Postal Orders should be kept by the
sender. We cannot be responsible for any losses that may
occur in transit.

3. Honey on Approval. — All honey will be sold by
sample, which must be sent direct to buyer.

4. Bee-appliances. — In ordering, the time allowed for
completing the order to be stated to us when sending cash.
If maker accepts, we hold cash till transaction is satisfac-
torily completed, when the amount will be remitted subject
to conditions as in Clause 1.

5. Bees and Queens. — These will be dealt with entirely
by the parties concerned, so far as price, &c, goes, and when
the purchase is satisfactorily completed cash will be re-
mitted as per Clause 1.

6. Goods in Transit. — These are at the seller's risk,
i.e., any damage to or loss of an article on its journey is
borne by the vendor ; but a rejected article must be pro-
perly packed and returned by the same means as was used
in sending it.

7. Carriage. — The carriage of all goods, except such as
are sent by post, is payable by the bnyer, unless otherwise
Agreed. If any article sent on approval be returned, each
party to the transaction must pay carriage one way.

GLEANINGS

IN BEE-CULTURE.

AJOUENAL 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 5s. per annum.

Posted same day as parcel reaches this country
from America.

THE ADULTERATION OF HONEY.
By Otto Hehner, Analyst to the British Bee-
keepers' Association. Price 2 %d. , post free.

British Bee Journal Office, 17 King William Street,
Strand, London, W.C.

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

PURE CANE SUGARS.

For the accommodation of Bee-keepers, guaranteed
Pure Cane Sugar will be supplied in large or
small quantities through this office at the under-
mentioned rates : —

MOIST. (For Household Use.)

Neat bags, 14-lbs. 28-lbs. 56-lbs. Cwts.
2/9 5/4 10/6 20/6

3. MUSCOVADO

CRYSTALLISED.

Crystals 2/9 5/6 10/9 21/-

4. DEMERARA

5. BARBADOS

6. TRINIDAD

REFINED CANE.

7. WHITE CRYSTALS (Small) 3/- 6/0 11/9 22/9

8. 9. (Medium and Large sizes, 1/- per Cwt. extra.)

10. LUMP (Cut Loaf) ... Boxes, 3/3 6/3 12/3 23/9

11. CRUSHED LUMP 3/- 6/- 11/9 22/9

12. PRESERVING , 3/- 6/- 11/9 22/9

FINE. (For Household Use.)

13. GRANULATED 3/3 6/3 12/3 23/9

14. CASTOR Coarse (15 Fine) 3/9 7/3 14/3 27/9
16. ICING 4/3 8/3 15/9 31/-

All above guaranteed made from Cane Sugar only, andfre»
from Beet, Chemicals, etc., etc.

Carriage Paid on Orders over 5/0 (or 28-lbs. Sugar)

to London and Suburbs.
Country Orders, not less than 2 cwt. carriage paid
at 1/0 per cwt. extra.

(Scotch and Irish orders, special arrangements.)
CHEQUES payable to Manager, Bee Journal and Record

Office, 17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.O.
CASH TO BE SENT WITH ORDER, and purchasers
will please observe that if samples are required or
replies asked to inquiries, a stamped addressed
envelope must be sent, as we cannot undertake
cost of postage. Delivery of Goods to be taken
as receipt. If acknowledgment of Cash is required,
stamped addressed envelope should be sent.

THE

Ikifet If? 3irantal,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 556. Vol. XXT. N.S. 164.] FEBRUARY 16, 1893.

[Published Weekly

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

Nominations of members of the Associa-
tion for election on the Committee for the
year 1893 mnst be made not later than
Tuesday, February 28th ; forms for such
nominations may be obtained upon appli-
cation to the Secretary. The Annual General
Meeting of the members of the Association
will be held at the rooms of the Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 105
Jermyn Street, W., on Wednesday, March
15th, at 3.30. Notice of motions for this
meeting must be made not later than
February 28th.

A Conversazione will be held after the
close of the General Meeting.

The Secretary will be glad to receive
subscriptions for the current year, which
became due on January 1st.

John Huckle, Secretary.

Kings Langley, February 7th.

Special Fund for Chicago Exhibition.

The following additions have been made
to the list of donations to the above fund
published last week : —

Mr. R. J. Bennett.. £\ 1 0

Mr. J. Gittens 1 0 0

Mr. J. D. McNally 0 5 0

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

The annual meeting of the above Association
was held on Saturday afternoon, the 4th inst., in
All Saints' Schools, Northampton, Mr. A. L. Y.
Morley, the President, occupying the chair.
There were also present Mr. J. Francis, Mr. and
Mrs. Ball, Mr. Atkins (Hon. Treasurer), and
Mr. Manning (Northampton), Mr. J. Adams
(West Haddon), Mr. Collins (Berry Wood),

Mr. T. E. Adams (Culworth), Mr. Cox, Mr.
Smith, &c.

The report for the past year presented by the
Committee was as follows :—

" In presenting the tenth annual report and
statement of accounts for the past year, your
Committee have the pleasure of stating that,
after providing for all liabilities due at the close
of the year, a balance of 8/. 3s. 5d., besides other
assets, remain to the credit of the Association.

" Your Committee also submit the following
account of the disbursement of the sum of 25/.
granted by the Technical Committee of the
Northamptonshire County Council : — Arrange-
ments were made for eighteen lectures and seven
out-door demonstrations in the town and neigh-
bourhood, Messrs. Adams, Ball, and Truss being
appointed to carry out the programme. There
is every reason to think the result was satis-
factory and beneficial to the bee-keepers and
others who attended. The annual show was
held at Delapre, in conjunction with the North-
amptonshire Horticultural Show, on August 1st
and 2nd. It was a good average display in
both quantity and quality, and was very well
patronised by bee-keepers and the public in
general. The .Rev. R. A. White (St. Giles'),
Mr. J. Shaw (Moulton Park), and Mr. J. R.
Truss (of Ufford Heath) acted as judges, and
are here heartily thanked for their services."

Mr. Morley, in moving the adoption of the
report, congratulated the members present on the
satisfactory manner in which the work of the
Association had been carried out during the
past year. He also bore testimony to the value
of the lectures and demonstrations in bee-keep-
ing that had taken place in different parts of
county, and observed that all must feel that the
money had been well and wisely spent. Mr. T.
E. Adams seconded the motion of the Chair-
man, which was agreed to.

The accounts were then read and passed. A
hearty vote of thanks was also passed to the
President for the great interest he had taken in
the work of the Association during the past
year.

In proposing a vote of thanks to the officers
of the Association, the President observed that
the excellent condition of the Association was
due to their careful management. Mr. J. Adam3
seconded the proposition, which was carried nem.
con.

A previous intimation to the Committee had
prepared them for the resignation of Mr. Morley.
It is with great pleasure we have to announce

62

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [February 16, 1893.

that, through his influence, D. C. Guthrie, Esq.,

M.P. for South Northamptonshire, has kindly

consented to fill the chair during the ensuing

year.

The following officers for the coining year

were elected, viz.:— Hon. Secretary, Mr. R.

Hefford (Boughton) ; Hon. Treasurer, Mr. G.

E. Atkins (Northampton); Hon. Auditor, Mr.

J. Francis (Northampton) ; Committee, Rev. J.
Phillips (Weston Favell), Mr. A. L. Y. Morley
(Great Brington), Mr. J. Francis, Mr. Manning,
and Mr. and Mrs. Ball (Northampton), Mr. J .
R. Truss (Ufford Heath), Mr. Collins (Berry
Wood), Mr. J. Cox and Mr. J. W. Hay ward
(Badby), Mr. C. Cox (Brampton), and Mr. T. E.
Adams (Culworth).

After some general conversation on subjects
connected with the welfare of the Association,
a discussion took place as to the honey resources
of the county in comparison with other districts,
in regard to the production of comb honey in
sections, and, in order to solve the question, a
resolution was adopted to offer special prizes at
the annual show next August for sections, open
to all, and duly advertised in B.B.J. By this
means the Committee hope to draw exhibits
from all parts of the kingdom, and thus allow a
comparison to be made side by side with the
best sections produced in this county.

A vote of thanks to the Chairman concluded
the proceedings.

EXAMINATION OF HONEY
DIALYSIS.

BY

[On page 197 of "B. B. J." for 1891 we gave
a translation of the researches of Dr. Oscar
llaenle on analysis of honey. Experiments have
since been carried on which confirm his conclu-
sions; vie therefore now give a translation of an
article that has appeared in the "Alsace-Lorraine
Bee Journal " by A. Sendele, head of the Chemical
Laboratory of the Apicultural Society of Heidel-
berg, which throws farther light on this subject.]

" Up to five years ago a thick mist hung over
the chemistry of honey." Such were the words
pronounced by Dr. Haenle, in his report to the
Apicultural Congress held in Strasburg, in 1890,
at which I had the pleasure of being present.
The conclusions arrived at by Dr. Haenle are, in
my opinion, of the greatest importance to bee-
keepers, because, if his arguments are well
established, one of the greatest and most im-
portant results may have to be noted in the
progress of apiculture. But I said to myself,
" How much time will have to elapse for the
practical application of the theory of Dr. Haenle
to become general ? "

The Apicultural Society of Alsace Lorraine
must already be thankful for the results of this
theory, which have allowed it to reduce to a
minimum the production aud sale of certain
manufactures of artificial honey. The result
will be a larger and more certain demand for
products that are pure and unadulterated, and
perhaps also a rise in their price.

But apiculture in general cannot rest satisfied
with the present state of affairs. The numerous
apicultural societies will not be of advantage
till each has its own laboratory where honey of
various qualities can be submitted to chemical
analysis;

If bee-keeping in all countries were provided
with scientific apparatus which would permit of
accurately demonstrating that all falsification of
honey can be recognised with absolute certainty,
the result would be undoubtedly of the highest
importance.

Up to the present this was impossible, and
all we can say is that we have no law which
permits the commerce in artificial honey, when
this product is stated as such, or which declares
more explicitly " that only the product ex-
tracted from flowers by bees can be called by,
and sold under, the name of honey." .

These considerations induced me, as president
of a society of bee-keepers numbering 200 mem-
bers, to endeavour to master the whole of the
subject connected with the chemistry of honey,
and which is necessary to put the theories of
Dr. Haenle into practice in our Society. I made
my studies in the laboratory of Dr. Haenle, with
his kind permission, and after a short time I
left the school of chemistry, satisfied that I was
fit to undertake myself the analysis of honey.

From this time I occupied myself constantly
with this interesting work. I have, up to the
present, analysed upwards of a hundred samples
of honey,* derived from different parts of
Germany or abroad, and the more I examine and
apply Dr. Haenle's theory, especially to honey
adulterated intentionally, the more I am satisfied
of its value.

But a new theory can only be established in
opposition to one already accepted. The par-
tisans of the old become the opponents of the
new, and Dr. Haenle has found strong opposi-
tion. Particularly was this the case at the
fourth Congress of the Central German Bee-
keepers' Association, at Carlsruhe, in 1891, when
Dr. Haenle's theory was violently attacked, but
it came out of the fight victorious.

Dr. Haenle asked to have submitted to him
any honey that they liked, which was done.
Two samples were given to him. They were
adulterated secretly by a chemist, M. Schrenipff,
of the Palatinate.

No. 1 honey adulterated with 30 per cent, of

glucose.
No. 2 honey adulterated with 30 per cent, of

cane sugar.

Dr. Haenle's report was as follows :— -

Honey No. 1 is adulterated with 30 per cent.

of glucose.
Honey No. "2 is adulterated with 30 per cent.

of cane sugar.

The samples to be analysed were given in at
the laboratory at 8.15, and at nine o'clock the

* I only give, later on, a list of ahout half of the
samples of honey that T analysed.

Febrnai-y 16, 1803.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

C3

result was known, and it was communicated
by the Committee at its opening to the Con-
gress. The result was received with applause
by the assembly present.

An objection was raised that it was possible
to detect an adulteration of this sort, but that
it would be impossible to detect when bees were
fed, during the honey-flow, with sugar, or with
so-called fruit sugar, because the sugar is in-
verted in the stomach of the bees, and that, in
consequence, the polarisation is the same as that
of pure flower honey. M. Zwilling, Secretary of
the Alsace-Lorraine Bee-keepers' Society, made
such an observation, based upon an experiment
mad6 on a colony placed in a cellar.

I also wrote in the Leipzig Bee Journal (No. 0,
1891, p. 171) that there was one point to clear
up, viz. : —

" Is it possible that, in feeding bees with sugar,
or fruit sugar, to obtain, after it has passed
through their stomach, a product capable of
turning a ray of polarised light an average of
- 30°, this same a9 is done by pure flower honey."*
It was also at the assembly that Taster Glock
made similar objections, viz. : —

" 1. That sugar given in food is inverted.

" 2. That aphidian honey contains much dex-
trine.

"In the first case no difference is shown by
polarisation ; but in the latter case, because the
presence of dextrine is considered as a proof of
falsification, many an honest bee-keeper, with-
out being guilty, could be prosecuted for break-
ing the law. It follows that the theory of Dr.
Haenle, however valuable it may be, must be
accepted with caution."

It was under these circumstances that I
deemed it useful, in the interests of both parties,
to address the assembly and explain clearly the
experiments that I had made in accordance with
Dr. Haenle's methods during the two months
previously.

I demonstrated in particular the fact that,
according to my experiments, honeys containing
dextrine may be natural ; that notably, as far
as regards polarisation, they act, before dialysis,
like flower honeys adulterated with syrup or
cane sugar ; but that these natural honeys,
although their optical properties are similar to
those of adulterated honeys, after prolonged
dialysis act like pure flower honeys, and after
this dialysis they are optically inert, and it is
here that the solution of the question of the
analysis of all honey is to be found. I had up
to this time analysed fifty to sixty samples of
honey, and I herewith give a summary, showing
the manner in which the honeys act with re-
spect to polarisation and dialysis, first un-
mixed; second, before and alter adulteration,
either with fruit sugar or with cane-sugar syrup.
All the analyses were carried out with Dubosq's
solar apparatus (solution, one part honey and

* Compare the analysis, particularly the experi-
ments, with dialysis on the honeys, Nos. 49, 50,
nn.l 51,

two parts of water), according to the following
formula of Dr. Haenle : —

For flower honey.
(P+;j)x3

X =

10

For pine honey
(P~p)x3
10 "

X

P = the polarisation of the honey to be ana-
lysed; p - polarisation, before adulteration, of
the honey destined for this purpose; X = per-
centage of adulteration.

The average deviation of the honey sent for
analysis was admitted to be p - ( - 30°), that of
pine honey as p = ( -f 30°). The method of recog-
nising this sort of honey is indicated in I)r.
Haenle's work.*

(To be continued )

<&ams$Qvtotmz>

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice iciil 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 pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustration*
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, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal," 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to .Advertisements, <tc, must be addressed to " The
Manager, ' British Bee Journal ' Office, 17 Xing William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

%• 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 WAT,

[1337.] Here, in West Berks, the weather 1
still mild. The old adage says, " Of all the
months in the year, curse a fair Februer." Well,
so far. it has been fair, though boisterous as
March, and now we are close on Valentine's
Day. This day is also a notable one in the
estimation of the weather prophet — perhaps if
may be only local — who says if the sun shines
before twelve o'clock, winter is not half over*
Though this seems a general belief amongst our
rural neighbours, I must admit that I am
sceptical on the point.

Notwithstanding the severe frosts of January,
bees seem to have come through the ordeal ail
right. The general answer is that the bees have
been on the wing lately.

Has any one tried the tablets of carbo*
eucalyptine for disinfecting hives? I was talk-
ing to a chemist the other day re naphthaline,
and he showed me a tablet of carbo-eucalyptine,
and from the paper in which it was wrapped 1
gleaned that it is used in the Houses of Parlia-
ment as a germicide. It is a crystalline substance,

* We would refer our readers to B.B.J, for 1891,
p. 197, for further particulars of Dr. Haenle's experi-
ments with regard to pine honey. — Eds. B.B.J.

64

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [February 16, 1893.

and has a piece of wire inserted in it by which
it can be hung up where it is wished. It is also
marked " Forest fragrance," but if the so-called
" forest fragrance " would prove acceptable^ to
our bees and spread death and destruction
among the myriad of germs that infest some
hives, it will be another point gained in fighting
the almost invisible foe.

Storing Surplus (1316, p. 45).— Would not the
bees build out the combs— after the blocks were
removed — principally drone size, thus another
season producing a larger number of consumers?
Or does Mr. White use full sheetsJof foundation,
and his blocks rest on floor-board of hive ? From
the drawing I should surmise that they hang on
the bottom rail of frames, and that the mortice
is cut twice the depth at one end of the block
as it is at the other, to allow of its removal at
end of honey-flow. The idea seems to me
feasible, and worth a trial, and perhaps Mr. W.
will give us his experience of the kind of cells
the bees finish the combs when building the
bottoms on after the honey-flow is over. This,
I understand, is the method of treating new
swarms in starting new hives. This practice
proves the utility of the shallow Heddon hive,
which received some attention and much praise
from one of the gentlemen in charge of the
Canadian honey exhibit at the " Oolinderies " in
1886 (Mr. D. A. Jones), though for the past
two or three years very little interest has been
taken in the hive. Mr. White's idea could
easily be adapted to full sheets of foundation by
having the block in two halves and inserting full
sheets of foundation in the frames, then placing
the divided block half each side, and then by a
simple wire staple at each end pressed one point
into each part of block, holes having^ previously
been made to receive the points. These could
easily be removed afterwards, and the bees be
practically obliged, when they continued their
completion of the combs, to build according to
the foundation.

Protecting Cows from Bees. — Allow me to add
to your suggestions to Mr. Dunkley, to place
his hives facing from the pasture, and also to
stand some long bavins or hurdles endways, and
secure same against wind-storms to the fence,
and there will be no complaints of cows getting
stung or sheep either, but 1 will not include
horses. I do not know why bees have so much
more antipathy to horses than to cows, but it is
so. Then when he removes his surplus honey,
use the super-clearer, not the cone in roof, but
the one that allows the bees free passage to the
brood nest below, and as a turnstile prevents
return — i.e., the clearers fitted with the Porter
bee-escape.

I answer Mr. Taylor (1333, p. 57) : I see no
more difficulty in stirring the dissolved Naphthol
Beta into unboiled syrup than into the boiled
syrup, or it may be mixed thoroughly with the
sugar before the boiling water is poured on the
sugar. This will thoroughly mix up the
medicine, and every ounce of the syrup will
contain its proper proportion of the remedy. —
"W. Woobley, World's End, Nexvbury.

DO BEES HEAR?

" RATING " THE " HbATHEN-."

[1338.] Your correspondent (Mr. Jacques,
1317) takes me to task, not on the subject-
matter of controversy, but upon two perfectly
side issues, first by charging me with " rating "
the " Heathen " on the choice of his nom de
plume ; and, next, because I repeat an utterance
attributed to an atheist. I must have an un-
fortunate knack of not making myself plain,
and certainly try my utmost to be clear ; but,
believe me, I, in my simple way, was absolutely
trying to pay the " heathen " a compliment,
certainly not " rating " him when I tried to
guess why he so signed himself, and it seems,
by this gentleman's letter on page 57, that 1
did happen to hit upon the true reason for his
using that somewhat strange signature, meaning
thereby " a dweller on the heath." So, if you
please, we will let that part of the subject,
along with Virgil, drop.

I introduced the illustration of the so-called
atheist exclamation to "point a moral," and
perhaps " adorn a tale," and the thing served
its purpose. The story seems to be so familiar
to your correspondent that I need offer no
apology for using it, and I may add, " Se
non e vero, e ben trovato " (If it be not true, it
is well invented). By-the-by, I cannot give you
the author of this saying either. The tale is
common, and I always took it to be a recantation
on the part of the said atheist. Perhaps by
long seai'ch I might get nearer the source of the
utterance, but no good purpose would be served.
One ought to be allowed a little freedom ; say,
for instance, in speaking of the Quaker who
said to an enemy swarming up the ship's side,
" Friend, if thou wantest that piece of rope
thou canst have it,'' and chopped it off with an
axe ; or of the Irishman who said, " If ye see
seven cows lying down in a field, and wan of
'em's standin' up, sure that's an Irish bull ! "
Names are not necessary, the point of the story
is the thing. Surely Mr. Jacques does not think
I am libelling the sect who call themselves
atheists when I associate them with what he
designates " an absurd canard ? " I think I am
doing them high honour by crediting one of them
with such a magnificent recantation, so preg-
nant, in my opinion, with the results of wise
thoiight.

Now, without any out-of-place wrangling on
theological matters, will you permit me to say,
without an atom of cant, of any thinking bee-
keeper who thinks he is an atheist, " God help
him to some day come to the same conclusion as
the man who said, ' If there were no God it
would be necessary to create one ' ? " — R. A. H.
Gbimshaw.

WINTERING BEES AND IMPERVIOUS
QUILTS.

[1339.] I have always found, like <D.M.

( 713, p. 59), that enamelled quilts, with plenty

of ivraps above, make a hive much drier, instead

February 16, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL

65

of damper, as many seem to imagine, I also
use packed floor-boards and packed sides, with
the result that the bees consume hardly any
stores in the winter, and there are hardly any
dead bees on the floor of the hive. The absence
of dead bees may be attributed to their not
getting chilled when on the floor-board, and
being better able to remove the dead. This
winter a hard frost set in on December 24th,
and there was skating from December 20th to
January 21st, with hardly a break.

< >n January 1st, at 2.45, the day being bright
and frosty, I looked into the entrance of each of
my two hives, with the aid of a hand-glass to
flash in the light. In both hives the bees were
clustering at the south-west ends of the frames
(which cross the entrance). The cluster in each
hive reached down to the floor-board, and the
bees in it were slowly moving about. In one
hive there were no dead ; in the other, three, or
perhaps four.

On January 15th, which was bright and
frosty, I again looked into the entrances in the
afternoon. In both hives the cluster reached
down to the floor-board, and the bees were
moving about in it as before. The cluster in
both cases extended further from the ends of
the frames. In one hive there was only one
dead bee, though I noticed the day before that
a good many had been put out on the alighting-
board. In the other hive about two dozen dead
had been deposited at the entrance (about three
inches from the front frame), partially blocking
it, as the entrance of this hive is only four and
a half inches wide. A week later I raked out
of the last-mentioned hive about one and a half-
dozen dead, mostly deposited in the entrance as
before. There were no dead in the other hive,
but two on the alighting-board. The entrance
of this hive is eight inches wide, and I have
never found it necessary to rake out dead bees
from this hive.

On February 4th, on peeping under the quilt, I
found seven seams of bees in one hive and six in
the other ; also in each case bees in front of the
first comb. It is six years since I began to use
enamelled quilts in the winter, and since then I
have never used winter passages or lost a hive
or nucleus, with the exception of one nucleus
the queen of which got pinched. I always
winter two hives, and sometimes nuclei in
addition. — T. F. L., Brondesbury.

THE WELLS SYSTEM.

[1840.] I am much obliged to Messrs.
Webster and Wood for their hints about syrup-
making. They will make all the difference, I
expect, both as to the trouble and efficiency of
feeding. I am preparing to give the " Wells "
system a thorough trial; but 1 should very
much like to know what is the opinion of
some of your correspondents as to the reason of
its success. One would have imagined that the
presence of two queens in a hive would have
utterly upset the organization and interfered

with the working. Can it be that the two
queens, finding that they cannot 6ght with each
other, are stirred up by a spirit of emulation,
and that that spirit is shared by their subjects ?
or is it the case that the worker-bees, freely
going in and out of both hives, have a double
stimulation imparted to them, first in one hive
and then in the other?— A Sussex Rector.

SOUTH AFRICAN BEES AND BEE-
KEEPING AT THE CAPE.

[1341.] The following letter, dated Dec. 26th,
1892, from a gentleman located at the Cape of
Good Hope, has been handed to us for publi-
cation and reply. After reference to some
purely business matters, the writer goes on to
say :—

" I am not getting on well with my apiary,
and ought to have had thirty or forty stocks,
mostly from swarms captured in the adjoining
forests ; but, alas ! I am now reduced to eight.
This is owing to my stocks leaving, and hieing
them back to the woods, and that, often, after
they have been settled and breeding well in
their new domiciles. They don't seem to have
this trouble of colonies leaving wholesale in
other countries, nor should it be here, I should
say, with proper management. I have three or
four stocks that I have had for three years, but
many new stocks leave (though I give them
combs of brood and stores when hiving) a few
days after they have been got into the new
hives. Some work away contentedly enough for
three or four months, when, after hatching out
their brood and demolishing their stores, off
they go. Their hives are all that is desirable ;
nor are they unduly interfered with. Then, too,
the fertile-worker plague would seem to be
worse here than in other countries — but I will
refer to this nuisance presently.

" As a result of these mishaps, my efforts at
establishing an apiary here all seem to end in
failure. I have only some eight stocks, where,
but for wholesale desertion, I had hoped soon to
have reached 100, when I should have had no
difficulty in getting up to 1000. Well, thinking
to make up for past losses, I began, the other
day, to divide the few settled stocks I still have.
I first tried to divide one pretty strong stock.
Before commencing operations, I read my bee-
books, and found that most of them say that a
couple or three combs of brood, with the queen,
must be placed in the new hive on the old stand,
the others moved to another part of the apiary ;
and, further, we have the assurance " that they
will at once set to work to raise a queen.''
These directions I followed out to the letter, and
fed both old stock and swarm with candy on
top of frames.

"Result:— A few days after making the swarm,
I found the queenless half of the old stock gone !
They had enjoyed the candy, bred out their own
brood, made no queen- cells, and neglected to
keep the eggs and brood I gave them warm, so

66

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. | [February 16, 1893.

that I found the brood all dead in the cells !
Two or three months since I was served pre-
cisely the same way.

" Now, what can possibly be the reason for all
this strange difference between our bees and
your home sorts ? I do wish to goodness you
could help me, even if only with an opinion. At
the present rate of going on, I despair of ever
establishing an apiary here.

"Later. — The following is an extract from a
letter just to hand from a gentleman living in
another part of the colony upon this subject : — ■
' One farmer here, who has a number of hives,
tells me that he has known bees to leave their
hives without, apparently, the slightest reason,
and when the country hereabouts is covered
with flowers. He says they go to the mountains
" for a change " for a few months, when they
return to their hives again.'

"Strange, is it not? The great question is,
how to cure them of this rambling propensity.
Is it due to inherent wildness of nature, and
which must be bred out of them, think you ?
Would re-queening with queens not raised under
the swarming impulse effect this ? I hardly
think so. For instance, I had a stock which I
brought from the forest in a section of a hollow
tree. They stayed, and worked away con-
tentedly for a year or more. Then I transferred
them into a bar-frame hive. They still did well
— until I attempted to make artificial swarms
from them, when the made swarm raised no new
queen, but instead, a fertile worker established
itself. The old stock took the sulks, and refused
to work; so, finding that no eggs were being-
laid, we destroyed the queen, hoping and ex-
pecting they would raise another. Next day off
they went, and that without a queen ! Their
not working simply meant that they were
waiting for most of the brood to be hatched out
prior to departure. In fact, they don't like
being disturbed. Old settled stocks, which I
have had three years, stay with me and work
all right. But, if I attempt artificial swarming
for increase, there's always the risk that both lots
clear ' Why is this trouble not experienced in
other countries? In America, for instance,
where the wild bee has only recently been do-
mesticated, such things ought, to happen. But
not a word is said of such troubles in Heddon's
work.

" Four days ago I reversed the directions for
making swarms, and put the queenless half on
the old stand, and removed the old stock with
queen. Result : — The lot on the old stand are,
I am glad to say, making queen-cells ; but the
removed half, with the queen, are preparing, as
usual, to quit ! Not a bee comes out or goes in,
nor are eggs being laid. I know well enough
what it means: they have decided to be off,
but I have checkmated this lot by clapping a
strip of queen-excluder before the flight-hole.

" I tried cutting the queens' wings with four
stocks. Result: — Three of them crawled out
after their flitting subjects and got killed,
trodden on, and carried off by ants. So that
won't do. These stocks, after throwing them

back in the hives two or three times, stayed,
but soon had fertile workers at their head ! I
tried the directions given in the boohs to get rid
of this pest — took them, one 200 yards off, one
100 yards off, and one 50 yards off from their
hives, and shook them off the frames, expecting
to see them return to their hives, and the fertile
worker left behind. Bosh ! Misleading bosh !
in every case they clustered on low shrubs and
bushes close to where I shook them off, and next
morning I went and fetched them all home
again, and bundled them, in my despair, into the
hive of a weak stock with a queen at its head.
Result : — I have a seventeen-frame box full of
bees ! They are working well, and, from the
regular way in which the eggs are being de-
posited, I have no doubt but that the queen is
boss, and the fertile workers non sunt. Yet
books tell us the fertile workers will kill the
queen. — S. A. Deacon, Cape of Good Hope,
December 2Qth, 1892."

[A very cursory glance at the above com-
munication will convince any one that the path-
way to successful management with the native
bee of South Africa is not strewn with roses,
and we confess ourselves quite unable to comply
with the request of the writer so far as a reliable
opinion why such persistent opposition to the
ordinary forms of modern bee-keeping is dis-
played by these bees. It is enough for us to
read of the repeated failures described to decide
what we should do under the circumstances.
Years are too precious to spend in attempting to
" breed out " a characteristic so fatal to success
as that possessed by the bee referred to : and if
apiculture is to be made to pay at all at the
Cape, we opine it must be by the introduction
of queens of such races of bees as are amenable
to control. To designate the instructions given
in bee-books as " misleading bosh," because they
do not apply to a race of bees the habits of
which the authors may have been entirely
ignorant of, is, to say the least, not quite just ;
and our correspondent should bear the difference
in mind, otherwise his books will retard, in-
stead of helping, him in his work.

Had he told us what race of bees he was
dealing with we might, perhaps, have been
able to throw some light on the subject. For
instance, if the wild bees of the forest dealt
with are of the variety known as Apis unicolor,
we need not be surprised at the results detailed.
These bees require very special treatment to
render them at all manageable, and only a very
few have been able to deal with them success-
fully. Anyway, there can be no doubt but the
bees are at fault, otherwise, there would not
be bee-keepers in South Africa, who obtain very
successful results from bee-keeping, as we know
for certain there are. — Eds.]

A NATIONAL SHOW.

[1342.J The impetus given to bee-keeping
during 1892, by the so-called "National" com-
petition, and the enthusiasm with which bee-

February 16, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

67

keepers from all parts of Britain entered the
lists for honours, should be evidence sufficient,
I think, to induce our parent Association, the
B.B.K.A., to hold a National show during1 1893,
and if the undertaking proved a success, it
could be held annually afterwards. In this
way, bee-keepers throughout the British isles
could meet in friendly rivalry, and those
championship honours, which not a few covet,
could be decided. 1 have long cherished the
hope of seeing a show thoroughly " National "
in its character, and trust that hope may be
fully realised during the coming season. To my
mind, however, a national show proper would
be wanting in completeness unless the judges
were representative of the three kingdoms.
From this remark it must not be imagined I
depreciate the value of our English judges.
Personally, I consider tliem in advance of our
Scotch Or Irish judges in the matter of honey
judging; but I know a little of the feeling
that exists among Scotchmen and also among
Irishmen, who think English judges have a
leaning towards the products of their own
country, and vice versa. An illustration of this
may be found by consulting the list of com-
petitors at the late Berks show, also the Chicago
Show Competition ; Scotch and Irish competitors
are conspicuous by their absence, unless on a
very small scale, at both these competitions. Our
climates very so much, and this variableness
causes so great a difference in the honey pro-
duced, that I think if a national show is hold,
the judges should be selected from different
parts of the three kingdoms. Again, considering
the great number of entries a national show
would involve in a single class, and knowing
that many of the samples sent in would be equal
in merit, there should be at least ten prizes
given in each class. At our large cheese shows,
as many as twenty prizes are given in some
classes, and this is only fair to the competitor
whose tenth prize may only be a very little
behind the premier samples, and recognition,
no matter how small, is always acceptable. I
trust our advanced bee-keepers will give their
opinion on this subject, and I am also hopeful
that any practical suggestions thrown out by
those who are competent to do so will be
favourably entertained by the B. B. K. A. — J.
B. McNallt.

[The establishment of an annual exhibition of
bee-produce, whether designated a " National
Competition" or by any other name, is what most
bee-keepers would very eagerly welcome, no
doubt; but it must be borne in mind that to
suggest such a scheme, even with the best in-
tentions in the world, is a very different thing
from demonstrating, with any degree of relia-
bility, a practical method of carrying it out. If
a plan were laid before the Committee of the
B.B.K.A., by means of which a couple of
hundred pounds or so could be raised as a
guarantee fund against loss, the idea would no
doubt soon take practical shape, otherwise we
fear the responsibility is altogether too much for
the Association to undertake. Our own ideal

of an Annual National Competition, would be
oue based on the lines of that held at the
Colinderies in 1888, but the expense attending
such an important undertaking will, we fear,
always be a stumbling-block in the way of its
fulfilment. — Eds.1

STANDARD JARS.

[134a] Mr. Truss (132(3, p. 48) says that
what is wanted is a bottle to hold so many fluid
ounces, and I should suggest ten fluid ounces,
viz., half a pint. " A pint of pure water weighs
a pound and a quarter; " therefore, half a pint
weighs ten ounces. A half-pint bottle is no
doubt what is spoken of as containing fourteen
ounces, or nearly a pound of honey. If a larger
buttle is preferred, three-quarters of a pint
would contain about one pound five ounces of
heavy honey, and perhaps such a bottle might
be retailed at 1«., with 2d. extra for the bottle,
to be allowed if bottle returned.

It may interest your readers to learn that
fifty years ago the price of run honey at Kirkcud-
bright was 8s. a quart, or 2s. for half a pint.
This I was told by the daughter of the Kev. C.
Gaskin, an enthusiastic Cumberland bee-keeper
of days gone by. — T. F. L., Brondesbury.

MY EXPERIENCE AS A BEE-KEEPER.

[1344.] I commenced bee-keeping in June,
1880, by hiving a stray swarm, but was com-
pelled to move to London on the first of July in
the same year, which put an end to my first
start. However, being a lover of country life,
I embraced the first opportunity to leave London,
which I did in December, 1891.

In April, 1892, 1 purchased a frame hive,
stocked with bees, from an old skeppist near
Ashford, Kent, he being anxious to sell it as he
not understand modern plans, and had not
opened the hive since the bees had been hived
in it the previous year.

I next inquired for modern bee-keepers in the
district, but failed to find any until our Hon.
Secretary (Mr. Garratt) lectured at Ashford,
which brought a few together. I hoped to be
one working amongst them, but shortly after I
had to remove to Maidstone, and not making the
acquaintance of any bee-keepers here I have had
to rely on my books and papers for all I know
about the craft. However, though working
single-handed, I have been going ahead and am
now wintering six stocks of bees in frame hives,
which are all doing well. I had a peep in the
other day, and was surprised to find so much
difference in the quantity of stores consumed ;
one hive had stores in every frame, while another
had food in one frame only ; in fact, I only just
saved them from starvation. I gave them about
six pounds of candy, which they are taking well.
The first stock I purchased gave me twenty-
four one-pound sections, and ten pounds of ex-
tracted honey. A stray swarm which came to
me gave me twenty-five pounds sections, and got

C8

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [February 16, 1893.

themselves a good store for winter. I purchased
six skeps, from which I drove the hees, and made
two strong stocks of them.* I also purchased
two frame hive3 in July which had heen greatly-
neglected. My expenditure for the year was
11/. lis. 8d.; my takings were 41. 19s. 9d.
Honey for home use, which was about thirty
pounds, I valued at 6d. per pound, and very
soon disposed of the remainder at 9d. and KM.
per pound.

My stock in hand stands me in 6/. Us. lid.,
which comprises six good stocks of hees, twelve
frame hives, six straw skeps, extractor, smoker,
&c. Being within easy distance of Mr. Wells,
I hope to visit him shortly, when I think I
cannot fail to get a few valuable hints for the
coming season. I am satisfied with my start
as a bee-keeper, and wish all bee-keepers a
successful year. — A Man in Kent.

LANTERN SLIDES.

[1345.] I much regret to say that I find that
my lantern slides on bee-keeping have been
copied and offered for sale at low prices by_ a
clergyman who has occasionally advertised in
this journal, and to whom I have supplied a
complete set of my slides.

A lecturer to a County Council, who had
purchased a number of slides from this gentle-
man and was dissatisfied with them, sent me on
nine for identification. They were all direct
photographic copies from my orginal subjects,
but very badly executed.

It is not that the sale of photographic slides
is a matter of importance to me, but the ad-
vertiser also hires out slides, and, if the ones I
saw are a fair sample of all, their exhibition is
likely to bring discredit on my work, for if my
subjects are recognised, it is only natural to sup-
pose that I am responsible for the making of the
slides. — Alfred Watkins, Hereford, Feb. 11 M.

[The practice of which our correspondent
complains is a most reprehensible one. It is
not generally known that any one making-
copies of engravings, photographs, or illustra-
tions belonging to others is infringing the
Copyright Act, 5 and 6 Vict. c. 45, and is liable
to be sued for damages. Drawings, illustra-
tions in books, and photographs are the property
of the author or publisher, and cannot be copied
without permission. If done without permission
it is called piracy, and the damages which a
plaintiff would be entitled to recover would be
the profit which the plaintiff would have made
from the sale of so many additional copies.
This does not apply to journals or serial publi-
cations, the owners of these being the pro-
prietors of the copyright, and not the author
of the articles, unless an agreement is made.
Therefore, any drawing made for the purpose
of illustrating any article in a journal is the
property of the journal, and the owner can
make what use of it he pleases without the
author's consent. A copyright need not even
be registered until an action is commenced, but

an action could not be maintained without
registration at Stationers' Hall. We think the
law on this point is not sufficiently known, or ,
we should not find illustrations copied from
books so frequently in catalogues without the
author's permission. Our correspondent's remedy
lies in an action, but as we presume he only
wants to put a stop to the practice, it is possible
that this publicity will have the desired effect.
—Eds.]

HONEY FOR CHICAGO.

[1346.] " Honour to whom honour is due " —
Suum caique — was a favourite motto of the late
Sub-Editor of the B. B. J. (Mr. Henderson), and
when I see that the honey I contributed to the
above was " Highly Commended," I am con-
strained to tell you that I purchased it from
Mr. R. Dutton, Terling, Witham, Essex. I had
none of my own. So to him is due the credit
so far as the "H. C." is concerned. — R. A. H.
Geimshaw.

(Queries ratr |^eplks.

[716.] In thanking you for reply to No. 705
(p. 39), may I ask the following questions ?
1. One of the hives I inquired about before was
blown over about a week ago, and all the combs
broken up but one. There were also a great
number of bees killed, but the day happened
to be dry and not very cold, and so, observing
that there were a fair number of bees still
alive, I gathered up the broken combs at the
bottom of the hive and tied them in the frames
with tape. Should I do anything more ? 2.
There are still a great many dead bees in the
bottom of the hive; will there be anything
wrong with the queen, else why are they so
long in carrying them out ? — R. G., Renfrew-
shire, February <6th.

Reply. — 1. No; beyond feeding the bees*
keeping them as warm as possible, and removing
the tapes when the combs have been secured by
the bees, nothing can be done. 2. You should
remove the dead bees by means of a hooked
wire, not inflict upon the unfortunate survivors
the labour of carrying them out.

[717.] Exhibits at Shows. — 1. Are hives in-
admissible at shows if they are not adapted to
standard-size frames? The few schedules I
have seen make no mention of this matter, but
it occurs to me that there may be an unwritten
law to rule unconfoimables out. 2. Why must
prices be affixed to all exhibits of appliances for
bee-keeping at the Royal Agricultural Show?
Does not this rule keep out private exhibitors ?
A person might have something to show and yet
not want to offer it for sale. — A. D., Chester.

Reply. — 1. Yes, unless the schedule specifies
to the contrary. It is, however, open to doubt
whether prizes would be likely to go to hives
with other than " standard frames " in the brood

February 16, 1893. jl THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

G9

nest. 2. The rule of the "Royal" show re-
quiring that prices he affixed to exhibits only
applies to special classes. There is nothing to
prevent exhibitors showing articles " not for
sale," special classes being provided for such.

[718.] My bees came out in such numbers
last Monday that the gardener thought they
were going to swarm. I have three hives, but
it was from one hive that they came out
strong, the two others only having a moderate
number ilying round. 1. Do you think these
need looking to ? I don't care to disturb them,
unless absolutely necessary. 2. If you think
they need food, shall I give them soft candy ?
The expert who saw the hives in the late
autumn assured me they needed no looking to
till the end of this month. He said they were
in excellent condition. 3. Do you recommend
me to buy the candy or make it, if you con-
sider it advisable to feed ? I shall be very glad
to have your advice. — L. C. Wylde Green,
Warwickshire.

Reply. — 1. There is no cause for alarm in
the appearance noted. 2. Of course, it is im-
possible for an outsider to say how the food in
each hive stands, because, for various reasons,
bees consume their stores in anything but even
quantities. If any uncertainty exists, a slight
inspection should be made. Soft candy is the
proper food at this season. 3. If candy can be
well made at home, there is no need to pur-
chase, but it needs care in the process.

[719.] Sowing Be<i-plants on Railway Em-
bankments.— Running along the north-east side
of my garden is a railway embankment, also
other land belonging to the Company that is
not utilised, on which I should like to sow
some honey-producing plants. I have bought
some clover seed (white Dutch) ; is it time to
sow now for summer ? I should also like
something for spring and autumn ; do you
think gorse, clover, and heather would do ?
Please say when and how to sow. — W. A.
Smith.

Reply. — White clover, when grown, as it
usually is, along with rye-grass, &c, is sown in
spring ; but it does not bloom much during the
first year of its growth. Under the circum-
stances named above, spring is also the proper
time to sow ; but if the clover is sown by itself,
autumn is the best time. As to the manner of
sowing, you can do no more than scatter the
seed about the railway embankment. A little
seed of dandelion will also be useful. Heather
from seed is out of the question. Gorse or broom
can be raised from seed sown in March, but
these plants do not bloom the first year after
sowing, neither could they be grown on other
people's land without permission, we should
say.

[720.] Dangers of the " Wells" &>/ste?n.—I
have adopted the " Wells " system, and shall be
ylad if you will explain one or two difficulties.
1. Is there not a great danger in this system of
the bees forsaking one side of the hive, and

b oth lots keeping in the other, resulting in the
death of the queen and brood in the forsaken
division ? As both sets of bees would have the
same smell, owing to the perforated division-
board, the one set would be received by the
others. 2. In stimulating, could I not place the
feeding-bottle over the central divisiou-board
over the zinc excluder, so that both divisions
could take food from the one feeder!" — J. 0.
Beuttler, Wellington.

Reply. — 1. If auy danger were likely to arise
in the direction referred to, Mr. Wells would no
doubt have experienced it, aud in consequence
offered some caution against such a contingency,
which he has not done. 2. Bees are always best
fed in the centre of the cluster, and, in stimula-
ting a double-queened colony, we should use two
feeders.

[721.] Comb Foundation Broken Down. — I
have a hive of bees which thus far have come
through the winter safely. They were put into
the hive last August (from a skep) with frames
and comb foundation. The comb foundation
from three of the frames has fallen to the
bottom, where it lies all rolled and apparently
fixed to each other. AVhat i3 the best thing to
do ? I might add that I know very little about
bees, but I am very anxious, and, in fact, de-
termined to learn and master the art of managing
them. — Barnet, Malmesbury.

Reply. — It is much to be regretted that the
mishap was not found out soon after it occurred,
when it might have been easily remedied. The
best course is to remove as many of the frames
of comb as are all right along with the bees into
a spare hive, or a makeshift box, while the
sheets of foundation are being got out. Should
there be room to arrange the built-out combs at
one side of the hive while the removal of the
foundation is being effected, of course the
trouble of transferring to a second hive will be
saved. The help of a bee-keeper more ex-
perienced than yourself would be very useful in
the above operation, if such was to be had.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses 0} manufacturers 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 11s 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 com-
munication.

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

South Bucks Amateur. — We recommend to
our correspondent, and to all interested in the
■subject of foul brood, a careful perusal of the
paper on foul brood which will appear next
week.

J. M. G. (Wigtown, N.B.)— The "Fumigator "
may be had from the inventor Mr. W. B.
Webster, Binfield, Berks.

John Perry. — We believe the Somersetshire
B.K.A. ceased to exist in 1887.

THE BRTTISH BEE JOURNAL. [February 16, 1893.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

1 ■» »

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, (6c— Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

FOR SALE— Pure English (Granulated Clover) Honey,
in"60-lb Tins, at 7d. per lb. Sample 3d. Address
T. Holliday, The Apiary,_Astbury^Conglcton, Cheshire. 2

FOR SALE.— A quantity of }-lb. White Enamel Stone
Bottle-shaped Jars, with Caps, at less than Wholesale.

Apply to S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex.

ORTSALE.— Five strong Stocks of Bees. 4 in Neigh-
bour's Sandringhain Hive, 1 in Colonial Hive, with
extra Section Crates', Shallow-frame Supers, 20 worked,
out Shallow Frames, Super Clearer, Smokers, &c. Address
Gellatlt, Longhton, Essex ; where Bees may be seen. 2

IHOK, SALE —Five Stocks of Bees in good Standard
' Frame Hives, 20s. and 25s. each. Also good Stock in
Auglo-Cyprian Hive, with two Section Crates, 27s. Gd.
Two Stocks in Tiering Hives, 27s. 6il. each. Honey Ex-
tractor, not used, 18s. 6d. (cost 27s. 6d.) Another Extractor,
used two years, but in good condition, 15s. 6d. New Wire
Bee Veil, Is. 6d. ; six Rapid Feeders, Is. 9d. each (cost 3s. 6d.) ;
six Is. 6d. Bottle Feeders, 6s. ; 2-lbs. Super Foundation,
2s. 6d. Address A. Cooper, 71 High Street, Burton-on-

Trent. .

ONEY !— About 2 cwt. of First-class Extracted Honey

to sell on Deposit System. Apply^to ' Spark,' Bee

Journal Office. 8

BEE SEEDS. — Immense Packet of suitable mixed soi'te
for Bees (by a Specialist). Post free, Is. Address

Willie, 11 Highfi'ekl Road, Coventry. 2_

OR SALE.— Anglo-Cyprian Bar-frame Hive, 9 Frames

and Dummy, will hold 12 Frames, good preservation,

16s. Address Moore, Broadway, Dorset.

THE DEPOSIT SYSTEM.

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

The following are the Rules under which we
are prepared to receive Suras of Money on Deposit
from persons buying and selling goods.

In order to save trouble it is requested that the
Eules be carefully read over by persons using the
Deposit System of trading.

DEPOSITING.

1. Method. — When strangers are dealing together, the
purchase-money of the articles is deposited at our office.
We acknowledge receipt of the deposit to both parties, and
hold the money until we are satisfied that the purchase is
concluded. If a sale be effected, we remit to the seller the
amount deposited, less a charge of 6d. and the expenses of
Post Office Orders and postage, &c. Cash will be forwarded
by cheque, Post Office Order, or by Postal Order as pre-
ferred. If a sale or exchange be not completed, we return
the amount deposited, after making the same deduction.
By this means buyers and sellers ars secured from frand.

2. Deposits. — Postal Orders (drawn on General Post
Office) and Cheques must be made payable to "Manager,"
B. B. J., and crossed "London and' Westminster Bank."
The numbers of the Postal Orders should be kept by the
sender. We cannot be responsible for any losses that may
occur in transit.

3. Honey on Approval.— All honey will be sold by
sample, which must be sent direct to buyer.

4. Bee-appliances.— In ordering, the time allowed for
completing the order to be stated to us when sending cash.
If maker accepts, we hold cash till transaction is satisfac-
torily completed, when the amount will be remitted subject
to conditions as in Clause 1.

5. Bees and Queens. — These will be dealt with entirely
by the parties concerned, so far as price, &c, goes, and when
the purchase is satisfactorily completed cash will be re-
mitted as per Clause 1.

6. Goods in Transit. — These are at tho seller's risk,
i.e., any damage to or loss of an article on its journey is
borne by the vendor ; but a rejected article must be pro-
perly packed and returned by the same means as was used
in sending it.

7. Carriage. — The carriage of all goods, except such as
are sent by post, is payable by the buyer, unless otherwise
agreed, if any article sent on approval be returned, each
party to the transaction must pay carriage one way.

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 5s. per annum.

Posted same day as parcel reaches this country
from America.

THE ADULTERATION OF HONEY.
By Otto Hehner, Analyst to the British Bee-
keepers' Association. Price 2$d., post free.

British Bee Journal Office, 17 King William Street,
Strand, London, W.C.

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

PURE CANE SUGARS.

For the accommodation of Bee-keepers, guaranteed
Pure Cane Sugar will be supplied in large or
small quantities through this office at the under-
mentioned rates: —

MOIST. (For Household Use.)

Neat bags, 14-lbs. 28-lbs. 56Jb3. Cwts.
2/9 5/4 10/6 20/6

3. MUSCOVADO

4. DBMBRARA

5. BARBADOS

6. TRINIDAD

CRYSTALLISED.

i Crystals 2/9 5/6

10/9 21/-

REFINED CANE.

7. WHITE CRYSTALS (Small) 3/- 6/0 11/9 22/9

8, 9. (Medium and Large sizes, 1/- per Cwt. extra.)

10. LUMP (Cut Loaf) ... Boxes, 3/3 6/3 12/3 23/9

11. CRUSHED LUMP... „ 3/- 6/- 11/9 22/9

12. PRESERVING „ 3/- 6/- 11/9 22/9

FINE. (For Household Use.)

13. GRANULATED 3,3 6/3 12/3 23>9

14. CASTOR Coarse (15 Fine) 3/9 7/3 14/3 27/9
16. ICING 4/3 8/3 15/9 31/-

All above guaranteed made from Cane Sugar only, and free
from Beet, Chemicals, etc., etc.

Carriage Paid on Orders over 5/0 (or 28-lbs. Sugar)

to London and Suburbs.
Country Orders, not less than 2 cwt. carriage paid
at 1/0 per cwt. extra.

(Scotch and Irish orders, special arrangements.)
CHEQUES payable to Manager, Bee Journal and Record

Office, 17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.
CASH TO BE SENT WITH ORDER, and purchasers
will please observe that if samples are required or
replies asked to inquiries, a stamped addressed
envelope must be sent, as we cannot undertake
cost of postage. Delivery of Goods to be taken
as receipt. If acknowledgment of Cash is required,
stamped addressed envelope should be sent.

THE

SkflMr %n Smtnut

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 657. Vol. XXI. N.S. 165.] FEBRUARY 23, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

tffoxtaxwl Itotias, &•

USEFUL HINTS.

"Weather. — A month of February with-
out snow and almost without frost would
seem to be a little unseasonable, and as
such not quite welcome to the bee-keeper,
were it not for the pleasure of once more
seeing his bees busy on the wing, and the
ever-welcome sight of the first pollen of the
year being trundled in. The bee-man of old
times anxiously watched for the first drone
of the season, bearing in mind the adage,
" Early drones and early swarms," but his
successor of to-day thinks more of the early
breeding, which means lusty and vigorous
workers for the spring ; consequently, his in-
terest in every stock is sharpened and added
to when busy pollen-gathering safely indi-
cates that busy breeding is going on within.
On the other hand, a warm day or two in
February not unseldom reveals unexpected
mishaps as well as those arising from care-
lessness or neglect, where the ominous still-
ness of a quiet doorway among many busy
ones tells its silent tale of death, or impend-
ing death, within.

In view, therefore, of the risk of such
contingencies as the above, we consider it
very advantageous to have, during Feb-
ruary, a week of warm weather, such
as will thoroughly revivify the bees
and rouse them into activity for a time.
It also gives the bee-keeper an opportunity
for making things safe, which otherwise
might end disastrously, seeing that not only
whole seams of bees, but sometimes full
colonies, may perish almost within reach
of food, for want of a natural rousing up,
which will enable the bees to change their
position on the combs, and cluster in the
immediate vicinity of the food before the
return of cold weather. Though we do
not advocate feeding quite so early as this,
it is best to err on the safe side and give a

cake of soft candy at once to all stocks not
known to be well supplied with food.

Weather Forecasts. — A reader of the
B.J., who, a year ago, was good enough to
forward the British Weather Chart for 1892,
has again supplied us with a copy of the
same publication for 1893. We gather
from it a forecast of the " probable weather "
for each month of the current year, and as no
subject, we suppose, possesses more interest
for bee-keepers than the weather, we pre-
sent our readers with a condensed extract,
just to show how exceedingly kind the pro-
verbial "Clerk" is going to be to us.
Passing over January, which has gone, we
begin with

" February. — Mild and wet, with gales or
snowstorms. Temperature, above the average.

" March. — A seasonable month. Tempera-
ture, low generally at beginning, but high at
close.

" April. — A rather wet month. Temperature ,
below the average.

" May. — A wet and rather cold month.

"June. — A dry and warm month. Tempera-
ture, quite up to the average.

"July. — A warm month. Temperature, above
the average.

" August. — A warm month. Temperature,
high throughout, except last few days.

" September. — A wet and stormy month.
Temperature, above the average."

October, November, and December we need
trouble about, but it will be interesting to
note how far the carefully worked-out
astronomical calculations of " B. G. Jenkins,
F.R.A.S.," will be verified or otherwise in
the months to come. June, July, and
August, if at all to "forecast," will, ac-
cording to one of themselves, suit bee-
keepers "down to the ground;" or, as we
observed on hearing the remark, " Rather
say tip to the top of a four-story hive."

The " Wells " Hive. — Quite a number
of correspondents seem curiously oblivious
of the nature of their requests for informa-
tion when asking us to "give full directions
for making a " Wells hive," or to tell them
how certain " deviations from Mr. Wells'

72

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [February 23, 189ft-

plan, which occur to them as 'improve-
ments,' will work ; " or, " which is the best
form of the Wells hive at present on the
market ? " and so on. Only a year or two's
experience of working stocks in hives adapted
to the two-queen system will enable us — or
any one else — to give a reliable opinion on
the subject. We must therefore refer our
querists to the illustrations of "Wells hives "
which will probably appear before many
days in the catalogues or advertisements of
those manufacturers who have given time
and thought to the designing and perfecting
of such hives as they believe will best fulfil
the requirements of the system. Besides,
it would be manifestly unfair for us to
select, from, among those advertised, one for
special approval, to the detriment of others.
We must also offer a word of caution in view
of such mishaps as that mentioned elsewhere.
In all cases — while " breeding-up " is in
progress, and before the time when the bees
of both queens are allowed to " mix " in one
surplus chamber — a strip of wood should be
firmly fixed above the lower quilt, and along
the whole length of the perforated division-
board, so that disturbing or removing the
quilts on one side of the board cannot, by
accident, displace those on the other. This
is important.

For the rest, we will gladly supply any
information in our power regarding either
the hive or the system, but it should not be
forgotten that, personally, we have had
little more practical experience of one or
the other than many who make inquiry
of us. We must also beg of our corre-
spondents to read up what has already
appeared on the subject in our columns
before asking for information which has
been given several times over. It would
be tedious reiteration not only for ourselves,
but for readers also, to repeat answers
which have been given again and again as
we are asked to do.

We have also more than once besought
correspondents to stick as closely to Mr.
Wells' methods as possible in making trial
of his system ; because whatever may have
been known before of the plan of working
double stocks in one super, and however
" old " the plan may be according to those
who are unwilling to give credit where it is
due, Mr. Wells is the first man who has
made a conspicuous success of the double-
queen plan of working, and brought into
prominence a method which, as for merly tried,
had, for obvious reasons, fallen into disuse.

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The annual general meeting of the members-
of this Association was held on February 11th
at the People's Hall, Nottingham — Viscount St.
Vincent, President, in the chair. There was a.
large attendance, including Mr. F. H. K-Fisher,.
Mr. P. Scattergood, jun., Rev. J. S. Wright,.
Messrs. J. Marriott, C. Redshaw, Warner,
Gosling, White, Young, Wootton, Hayes, Baguley,.
Wilson, Meadows, A. G. Pugh (Hon. Sec), andl
others.

Viscount St. Vincent, in opening the pro-
ceedings, said he was afraid he could not alto-
gether congratulate them on the excellence of
the honey season, which had not been quite so
good as in some previous years. After all, how-
ever, the year had not been such a had one for
some of the members, at any rate. They had
also had a grant given to them hy the Notting-
ham County Council. His Lordship concluded
his remarks by relating a few humorous expe-
riences of his own at bee-shows.

The annual report stated that there had been
an increase of membership during the year.
The number of members on the books on Decem-
ber 31st, 1891, was 184, and on December 31st,
1892, 195, or a net increase of eleven members
for the year. The Committee regretted that
financially they could not report so favourably
as they had hoped to do, there being a slight
balance still due to the treasurer. The report
also referred to the grant by the County Council
and to the engagement of lecturers, who had
addressed meetings at various places in the
district. The report and balance-sheet were
agreed to.

Mr. Wootton, after moving a vote of thanks
to the retiring Committee, proposed that the
following be the Committee for the ensuing
year: — Messrs. J. Baguley, F. H. K. Fisher,
M. Linley, S. W. Marriott, W. Poxon, J. T.
Faulconbridge, C. Forbes, J. Rawson, sen., J.
Finn, T. Simmons, S. White, G. Wood, and the
District Hon. Secretaries.

The motion was unanimously adopted.

The following were also elected: — President,
Viscount St. Vincent; Vice-Presidents, the Dune
of Portland, Lord Newark, M.P., Councillor
Sands, J.P., Mr. J. E. Ellis, M.P., Aid. Manning,
J.P., Rw. Watkin Homfray, M. A., Mrs. J. E. F.
Chambers, and Mrs. Hind; Auditor, Mr. P.
Scattergood, jun. ; Hon. Treasurer and Secre--
tary, Mr. A. G. Pugh.

A hearty vote of thanks to Viscount St.
Vincent, for his services as President, was
unanimously adopted.

After the members had taken tea together,
an interesting ceremony took place in the pre-
sentation of a purse of money to the Hon,
Secretary, Mr. Pugh, who, about a year ago,
sustained serious injuries on the railway.

Viscount St. Vincent, in making the presenta-
tion, said the members of the Society felt they
would like to display their sympathy with Mr.
Pugh,, and. they had taken this form of showing

February 23, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

73

that sympathy. It was a great pleasure to
him to have the privilege of making this pre-
sentation, and he hoped Mr. Pugh would he long
spared to act as their Secretary.

Mr. Pugh said the presentation came quite as
a surprise to him. He was deeply indebted to
the members for their kindness, and he hoped
that he should always be worthy of their
confidence, and that he would be able for many
years to continue his connexion with the
Society.

The distribution of prizes for best honey
returns having taken place, Mr. R. A. H. Grim-
shaw, of Horsforth, near Leeds, delivered a
lecture on " Foul Brood : What it is, and how
to prevent it," and we hope in the near future
to give a full report of the lecture in our pages.

A short discussion on the lecture afterwards
took place, followed by a vote of thanks to Mr.
Grimshaw for his interesting and instructive
lecture.

The meeting terminated with the usual prize
drawing, Lord St. Vincent giving a " Wells "
and one other hive, and the Association a hive
and an extractor, &c.

THE LATE MR. R. R. GODFREY.

It is our sorrowful duty to have to record the
death of Mr. R. R. Godfrey, who was one of the
pioneers of modern bee-keeping, and at one time
prominently connected with the bee-keeping
movement in this country.

Mr. R. R. Godfrey was born at Bluntisham,
Hunts, in 1828, and commenced keeping bees in
1859 ; but it was not till 1873, after the B.B.J.
was started, that he adopted modern hives and
the teaching of this Journal. He was much
impressed by the first Crystal Palace show, and,
seeing the announcement of a large horticultural
show to be held in Grantham, he succeeded in
inducing the authorities to allow a bee-exhibition
to be held in connexion with it. Mr. Abbott,
who was then Editor of this paper, cheerfully
gave him his assistance, and this show proved a
success. After the show, Mr. Godfrey con-
ceived the idea of forming a Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion for Lincolnshire, and invited the Rev. W. D.
Pennell, Mr. Bolton, and Mr. Brett to meet at
his house in Grantham. The matter was dis-
cussed, and the Rev. W. D. Pennell was ap-
pointed secretary, and Mr. Godfrey treasurer.
Mr. Godfrey took an active interest in the formation
of this Association, which soon grew, and at one
time numbered upwards of 300 members. Mr.
Godfrey always considered that Associations
should assist their members in the disposal of
their honey, and with this object in view started
an annual honey fair, at which the members'
honey was disposed of. Mr. Godfrey worked
with energy in the interest of bee-keeping, and
did much for its development in the county of
Lincoln. For several years he was a member of
the Committee of the B.B.K.A., and frequently
acted as judge at shows, and was a frequent
contributor to our pages. Of late, after retiring
from business, he settled in Cambridgeshire, and

with f ailing health he withdrew from the promi-
nent position he occupied in the bee-world.
Many of the older bee-keepers will remember
his kind-hearted generosity and willingness to
help bee-keepers to the best of his ability. He
died at the age of sixty-four, leaving a wife,
son, and daughter to mourn his loss, and to
whom we extend our heartfelt sympathies.

EXAMINATION OF HONEY BY
DIALYSIS.

(Continued from page 63.)

What does the table on following page teach
us ? That all kinds of pure flower honey deviate
to the left, and that, after several hours of dialysis,
they no longer affect polarised light, and that
pine honey, which deviates to the right (dextro-
rotatory) when adulterated, has no rotatory
power after a dialysis of from five to ten hours.
Finally, that both sorts of honey turn the ray
to the right the more they are adulterated with
syrup or any other sort of sugar, and that in
this case they maintain a rotatory power after
dialysis.

In my opinion, the analysis of Nos. 49, 50,
and 51 were most interesting. It is shown that
the sugar syrup, No. 49, taken by the bees, and
put by them into the cells and sealed over, after
six weeks in the hive, gives a diminution of the
deviation to the right of 40°. Without doubt,
it can be assumed that the product has been in-
verted in one way or another. It must, how-
ever, be observed that during these six weeks
there was a little honey collected. This is indi-
cated, first, by the very yellow colour of the
product, which was as clear as water previously ;
second, by the alteration in the taste and the
aroma; and, third, by the diminution of the
polarisation to the right, caused, most assuredly,
by the sugar being mixed with pure honey,
which turns the ray to the left.

However, all these analyses did not satisfy
me. It will be understood that I was anxious
to know what would be the results of Dr.
Haenle's method applied to honey, of which the
exact analysis was known.

On the 13th of October, .1891, I sent in the
name of my father-in-law, M. Walther, a speci-
men of clear honey in sealed jars to the follow-
ing gentlemen : — The Councillor of the Grand
Ducal Court of Baden, Dr. Nessler, chemist at
Carlsruhe ; Dr. Amthor, at Strasburg ; M. Rupp,
at Carlsruhe ; Dr. Barth, at Rouffach ; Dr.
Haenle, at Strasburg. The product was analysed
in my laboratory before and after adulteration.
This is the honey No. 52 in the table. After
adulteration with twenty-five per cent, of glu-
cose, there was a deviation to the right of + 47°.
The result, therefore, according to Dr. Haenle's
formula, is : —

(30 + 47) x3

10

= 23-1 per cent., which is

approximately correct.

Results of Expebiments on the Examination of Honey by Dialysis.

Samples of products.

Glucose, 10 % solution

Fruit sugar from Hattersheim (1 of sugar to 2 of

water)

Fruit sugar from Sachenrodez and Gottfried
Honey from Schmitt, Sandhausen

„ „ Herre, Brotzingen

„ „ Kohler, Sandhausen

„ No. 5, adulterated with

„ from Weikum, Heidelherg

„ „ Lammler, Gauengelloch

„ „ Gaul, Waldhilsbach

„ „ Weber, Sandhausen

„ „ Garbrecht, Heidelberg

„ „ Keller, Spechbach

„ „ Nebel, Dos3enheim

„ „ Herre, Sulzbach

„ „ „ adulterated with

„ „ Kaiser, chemist at Cairo

„ No. 15, adulterated with

Swiss table honey, manufactured by Baldegger

(solution, 1 part honey, 4 parts water)
Honey from Ersche, Wieblingen

» » }> »

» » }) S)

„ „ Correll, Ziegelhausen

Fruit sugar (candy) from Hattersheim (solution,
1 of sugar and 2 of water) . .

„ „ after dialysis of 10 hours

„ „ „ „ of 20 hours, rotation
stationary
Honey from Wetzel, Hirschhorn

„ „ Kail, Donauschingen

„ „ Runz, Ziegelhausen

„ „ Michel, Wabstadt, near Munich

„ „ Seefeld

„ „ Thalkirchen

„ „ Hess, Heidelberg

„ „ Sendele, 1888

1890

Conifer honey from Damal, Steinach (Kinzig Valley)

„ „ after dialysis of 5 hours

)> » „ 20 hours

„ „ evaporated to one half

„ „ No. 34, adulterated with

» » f> » »

„ „ „ after dialysis of 15 hours . .

i, „ „ adulterated with

>, „ „ after dialysis of 20 hours,
rotation stationary
Honey from Parrang, of Wittzingen

» >t »

» „ „ .....

„ Ding, Edengen

„ Fielder, SebUtz (Bavaria)

„ Sigle, Feuerbach, 1891

Aver-
age de-
viation.

degrees

+ 100

+ 45
+ 90

Percentage of
adulteration.

With
glucose.

per ct.

+ 62
+ 23

+ 10

With
fruit
sugar.

per ct.

15

50
25

10
20

30

Polarisation.

Of the
honey
before
adulter
ation,

degrees

-30
-17
-23

-23
-24
-26
-32
-30
-33
-34
-20

-16

+ 155
-32
-29
-39
-20

-16
-30

-18

-17

-23

-30

-32

— 22

-29

+ 30

-0

-0

-0

-44
-30
-35
-32
-24
-43

Of the
honey
after
adulter-
ation.

degrees.

+ 24

+ 140

+ 48

+ 62

+ 105

+ 7

+ 130

+ 10

Kesults of Experiments on the Examination of Honey by Dialysis — {continued).

43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50

51

52

Samples of products.

Honey from Sigle, Feuerbach, 1891

„ No. 43, adulterated with

„ from Dr. Seng, Heidelberg

„ „ Schopflin-Lauger, analysis deferred . .

„ „ Neipp, Heimerdingen

„ „ Socie"te de Consommation, Stutgaid
Solution of cane sugar given as food to bees

„ „ after 6 weeks in the hive in

sealed combs

„ „ after 8 months in hive during

winter, March 12th last. .

„ „ after dialysis of 10 hours . .

» „ „ „ 20 hours, . .

rotation stationary. .

Honey from Max-Pauly, Heidelberg

„ „ „ adulterated with

„ ,f „ after dialysis of 10 hours

n » ,, „ 20 hours

stationary. .

Percentage of
adulteration.

Aver-
age de-
viation,

degrees

With
glucose.

per ct.
10

With
fruit
sugar.

Polarisation.

Of the
honey
before
adulter,
ation.

per ct.

+ 105
+ 05

+ 65

+ 9

+ 7

25

egrees

-28

-28

-5

-33

-36

-42

Of the
honey
after
adulter,
ation.

degrees,

+ 10

+ 47
+ 10

?!

II

Pi

p. c.
12

231

{To be continued.)

BEE-KEEPING AS TAUGHT IN
SCHOOLS.

The following letter has been forwarded
to us for publication. It has reference to
a recent correspondence in a leading paper
on the subject to which public attention
has been lately drawn by Mr. E. D. Till, of
Eynsford, Kent, viz., the need of an effort
on the part of those dwelling in suitable
places towards producing in our own
country at least a portion of the enormous
quantities of eggs, poultry, and honey im-
ported from abroad. Mr. Till, who is a
member of the Council of the Kent B. K. A.,
is an ardent bee-keeper and a firm believer
in the advantages to be realised from bee-
keeping, if pursued on intelligent lines, and
his endeavours to confer a lasting source of
benefit on the rural labouring classes seem
in a fair way of meeting with well-deserved
success.

The letter referred to is dated from
Darmstadt, Germany, and reads as
follows : —

"Sir, — Regarding your correspondent's re-
marks in the Standard of the 2nd inst. as to

Mr. Till's plan, a remedy for the difficulty he
writes of might be found in what the Govern-
ment and the agricultural societies bave done in
this country. They at first encountered the
same hindrances in their attempts to induce the
small farmers and the country labourers to take
up the rearing of fowls, geese, and other poultry,
and the production of honey, &c. But the diffi-
culty of finding people to instruct by personal
example, which was much greater in this
country, owing to the absence of the ' Squire '
class, than it can be in England, and the oppo-
sition of the farmers to innovations — which
arose, of course, chiefly, if not entirely, from
ignorance — have to a great extent been over-
come by inducing rural schoolmasters to become
the desired mentors and models by turning their
attention to these profitable means of earning an
addition to their livelihood.

" In this country official suggestions are more
or less treated as commands, and the very
scantily paid schoolmasters were somewhat dis-
mayed by what they looked upon as a new tax.
However, intelligent, if modest, attempts at fol-
lowing the instructions given as to the rearing
of bees, the growing of fruit, &c, brought their
reward in the welcome shape of increased in-
comes, and now most schoolmasters are farmers
on a small scale in many country districts in
Germany. The schoolmaster's efforts were
smiled at, but the fact that the schoolmaster's

76

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

f February 23, 1893.

fruit fetched the highest prices ; the undeniable
evidence that his hives kept growing and grow-
ing, and that, obviously, they would not do so
unless the produce was remunerative; the pheno-
menon that not only had his few couples of
fowls increased to several dozen couples, but
that there was no gainsaying that (by judicious
crossing of breeds) they were larger, plumper,
and brought better returns than their own fowls,
and, in addition, laid eggs one of which was
equal in size to two that theirs laid, soon opened
the farmers' eyes, and the agricultural mis-
sionaries found that their disciples rapidly in-
creased in numbers.

" The results of this eminently practical
method of instruction has, so far, been very
satisfactory ; though naturally it is a slow pro-
cess, there can be no doubt that it is a sure one.
' Our fathers did thus, and lived ; we do not see
why we should leave the old track,' is practically
the answer the would-be reformer receives when
he strives to make a peasant see the advantage of
moving with the times ; the very idea that ' town
people,' mere theorists, can teach country folk
anything appertaining to farming is usually
scoffed at. But seeing is believing. In a village
it soon gets round that So-and-So is making a
lot of money by his ' new-fangled ways,' and
there is no quicker teacher than self-interest. —
H. S. Alexander."

CoraspcnxtretTre,

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communicatimis relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

%* 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.

IN THE HUT.

[1347.] " On their own merits, modest men
are dumb " (Colman) ; so, to follow out the hint
contained in this axiom, I ought to let pass the
remarks by Mr. Arthur J. H. Wood, of Bipon
(1320, p. 47), anent the originality of the idea
of feeding up before sending bees to the moors ;
but I cannot, somehow ! I will not be dumb,
but I will try to be modest. Mr. Wood says
the idea is " as old as the hills, as it was recom-
mended very many years ago in the B. B. J. to
be adopted before sending bees to the heather.
No one who understands anything about the

production of heather sections omits to feed up
well before sending to the moors." I am very
glad this is so, whether the idea emanated from
the " Hut " or not. I think, however, I ought
to tell you what I said, and when I said it. On
August 18th, 1887, "Our plan has been this
year* .... to take the hives to the heather
heavy instead of light, thus forcing the bees to
store in supers." On September 25th, 1890,.
" Some time ago I advocated, in the ' Hut ' the
feeding up rapidly of brood hive just before
taking bees to the heather, &c." On November
18th, 1890, I again advocated it, so if Mr. Wood
can substantiate his statement, I shall deem it
my duty to suitably acknowledge the prior right
of some earlier arch-suggester of "dodges" to
the credit of the idea, if any there be. It is a
very easy thing to read one's Journal, and get
ideas, then say, they " are as old as the hills."
Give chapter and verse, please, or withdraw.

" In all the trade of war, no feat
Is nobler than a brave retreat.''

Butler.

In the " Hut" I am always delighted to give
credit to the originator of anything new and
good. Such simple things as felt for quilts,
vaseline for woodwork, and plumbers' scrapers
against propolisation ; full sheets of super foun-
dation in shallow-frame supers, bits of stick for
winter passages, and a host of other dodges,,
during the last seven years, when not original,
have always been acknowledged.

"Oh, monstrous! but one halfpenny worth of
bread
To this intolerable deal of sack."

Shakespeare.

Your readers will say, "Let us talk about
mead." Only a twelvemonth ago I had a brew-
ing (not a Bruin of bears) of this excellent stuff,
made from mixed clover and heather, and I
bottled it just a wee bit sooner than is the
general custom. The result is, that I have
something sparkling and effervescent — better
than any champagne I ever had ; and better
still, I have to " get along wth it," for fear of
the bottles breaking. There's very little of it
left, more's the pity.

From " S. D., Cape of Good Hope " (1308,
p. 37) comes the query, " Will bees eat herrings ? "
Yes, to all appearance ; but in reality they only
strip the meat away in order to get the atoms
of various salts found amongst the fibres. Bees
are very fond of tasty salts found on the edges
of moist decomposition. One can easily verify
this by watching them at their favourite drink-
ing troughs and medicine shops.

" Inquirer" (1322, p. 47) asks for the botanical
name of ' white sage,' recommended by Dobbie.
Salvia chionantha is one of the two sages
having white flowers. It is a two-foot high
perennial, native of Asia Minor. Salvia ar-
gentea is the other, and is probably the one

* At my suggestion.

February 23, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

alluded to, because of the white, silvery down
on its leaves.

Welcome W. B. Webster to our columns once
again ! " First in friendship, first in war."
Many's the tussle we've had together, both by
word and pen, but never an angry word, I am
sure. Our very warmest bouts, when pointed
with —

" Satire, would, like a polished razor keen,
Wound with a touch that's scarcely felt or seen."

Montague.

Your hint as to syrup-making shall not be
condemned as being "as old as the hills." I
note, by the way, that the user of this remark
does not go (1306, p. 36) even so far as you do
(1303, p. 28). He does not put the syrup on
the fire at all (neither do you, by the way). We
have only to advance a little further than he
has got, leave the water out, and " there's your
dry feeder." Will Mr. Webster excuse an old
friend if I remind him that the object of boiling
sugar as we are directed to is to convert it from
cane into grape sugar, sugar being quite useless
for man or bee until so converted ? I am sure
he only needs a reminder to see that we save
the bee a lot of salivary trouble, and that he
should not say, " Don't boil it. Never mind
the vinegar, cream of tartar, or tartaric acid ; "
for it is the presence of these during the boiling
that makes the inversion of the sugars. I hope
he will forgive me thus criticising him, and
believe me sincere in my welcome to him. I
am not behind a nom de plume to him.

Query 712 (p. 59) asks if he can feed artificial
pollen inside hives? Yes (and this idea first
appeared in a " Hut " article) ; the idea is Mr.
0. A. Abbott's. Lay an old comb on its side,
put pea-flour on it, and by spreading with the
hand the cells are soon filled, and the comb may
be put next the honey-comb near the brood nest.
I am not much in love with this method, for the
moisture of the hive is absorbed by the flour,
and the result is a hard, useless pellet, difficult
to get out of the comb ; in fact, the comb
becomes quite useless. That, at least, is the
Xperience of — X-Tractor.

"RESULTS" OF THE WELLS SYSTEM.

" The Reason Why."

[1348.] And yet another correspondent asks
" the reason why " of the superior results pro-
duced by a " Wells " hive as compared with
those produced by an ordinary twin-hive.
Perhaps I may be permitted to inaugnrate a
discussion thereon by giving my notions on the
subject? To simplify matters, let us suppose
that at the beginning of April there is a hive
of each kind standing side by side, and contain-
ing an equal number of bees. A peep into the
hives will show that the bees of the twin-hive
form tico clusters, one in the centre of each
compartment, while the bees of the " Wells "
hive form only one cluster, {for the perforated
dummy is practically no division at all. Now,
a very little calculation will show that the joint

areas of the convex surfaces of the clusters in
the twin-hive are to the area of the convex
surface of the cluster in the " Wells " hive as
three is to two. Now, note the result of a rise
in temperature. Suppose, for instance, the twin-
hive clusters on a warm day can spare a thousand
bees each for foraging, it follows from the above
ratio that the " Wells " hive cluster can send
out three thousand bees on business bent. This
advantageous plenitude of foragers fills up the
" Wells " hive quicker than a twin-hive can be
filled, and so on go the supers, &c. The strength
of the " Wells " colony, too, is kept up through-
out the season with less expenditure in bee-
blankets than the twin-hive requires, except,
perhaps, for a week or so, when both hives may
be equal " ram and jam " full of bees. — E. B.

BEES IN THE TROPICS.

[1349.] We have just received the following
letter from the Rev. W. Horsfall, which will no
doubt interest many of our readers : —

On board the s.s. Australind,
proceeding to the Straits Settlements,
December 28th, 1892.

Dear Sirs, — It is now over two years since I
left England for the tropics (the Malay Penin-
sula). It has been my constant desire to
introduce modern bee-keeping into that part of
the world. Hitherto I have not been able to
do much in this direction, and what I have done
has proved a miserable failure. Last July I
had cause to visit the southern part of the
colony of Western Australia, and when there I
purchased a hive of hybrid bees (half Ligurian),
and brought them by steamer to a place on the
N.W. coast of Australia, called Boebourne,
where I was to reside until the end of the year,
when I was to return to the Straits. Roebourne
is a fearfully hot place. I got there in the cool
season, and the bees worked well, supplying me
with a good quantity of nice super honey. The
cool season, however, was soon over, and then we
registered 90° to 110° Fahr. in the shade, so you
may judge how intense the heat must have been.
The bees worked well in the mornings from four
to seven, and in the evening from four to half-
past six. They used, moreover, to collect quau-
tites of water from every available water tank.
The spout of my tank used to be quite covered
with bees, drinking up the leaking water (I
should mention here that in N.W. Australia
there is very little water, and the atmosphere is
fearfully dry). My bees never swarmed, though
they crowded the hive both inside and outside,
in spite of supers being on the top of it. I
noticed the presence of drones last July and up
to the other day, when my bees came to an
unfortunate end, which I shall now relate to

y°u-

In originally purchasing them, it was with
the intent of taking them on to Singapore,
where the climate is better in many ways than
in N.W. Australia, being cooler. As I had
been so far successful with them, I was full of

-7 "«

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL. [February 23, 1893.

hopes that I should get them safely on hoard
the steamer, and get them landed safe at the
other end. I fastened them up, covering the
frames with a sheet of zinc (perforated), and I
also put a small piece of perforated zinc over
the entrance. We hrought them on board last
Wednesday (December 21st), and they seemed
to be getting on all right until yesterday (the
27th). When I went to see them, I noticed a
strong smell proceeding from the frames, and
more — the entrance, I noticed, was choked with
dead bees, while the honey was dropping from
the hive bottom on to the deck. I opened the
hive, when the surviving bees, all soiled and
bedraggled, rushed out. There was a fearful
stench proceeding from them. I did not see a
queen. The frames were full of pollen, honey,
and brood, and I saw one empty queen-cell.
The bees crawled all over the deck, many
turning over and dying; some took to wing,
while the deck was completely spotted over
for yards with yellow, disagreeable-smelling
excrement.

There were heaps of bees laid dead, and the
combs (previously to our journey clean) were
now all soiled and smelling. From the appear-
ance of the bees, I concluded that it was next
to impossible to save them, so I cut out all the
good honey-comb and threw the brood eomb
into the sea, while the bees, living and dead,
were swept overboard. At the time I ex-
amined them I was dreadfully flurried and upset,
and I now think that I might perchance have
done something by keeping the good brood
comb with a few bees, and putting the lot into
a small, clean box. I am grieved beyond ex-
pression, not merely at my own loss, but at
what seems cruelty to these good little insects.
I think they must have been overcrowded. I
found all the combs smashed, and many bees
crushed between them, and, in fact, in spite of
regrets, I do not really think I could have
preserved the survivors. Thus a long-formed
plan has failed, and I am now prepared to try
once more ; but before doing this, I should like
to learn from you if European or Syrian bees
are likely to succeed in an equatorial climate,
like that of the Straits Settlements. As you
know, there are three kinds of bees in those
parts, the Apis Dorsata, a very tiny bee bike a
Ligurian, and a tiny black bee. What I should
fear with our European bees in a tropical land,
is that they would gradually dwindle and dwarf.
I should be pleased if I proved mistaken on this
point. Are you aware of any previous attempt
to introduce our European bees into the tropics P
The next thing is, how would they travel from
England, and at what time of the year should I
order them to be sent ? I am told that there
are Chinamen who have introduced bees into
the Straits from China ; I have never seen them,
nor have I been able to learn whether the
venture has proved successful.

If you should recommend my proposed plan,
what bees would you advise me to import, and
would you advise me to get stocks, swarms, or
jiuclei? I have got a sort of idea that the

vine-growing countries are the limits to the
success of bee-keeping ; that European bees will
exist in temperate and subtropical climates, but
will dwindle and die in the continuous enervat-
ing heat of the tropics. Whatever information
you may care to impart, will be gladly welcome
to me. If you write I shall be much pleased,
but if you answer me as a correspondent of your
Journal, I shall be equally delighted.

Should I find my plan not likely to succeed,
I shall try Syria, or some other country nearer
home for my operations. From childhood I
have taken a deep interest in bees, and I was
just getting successful at keeping them two
years ago, when I left England for the tropics. —
"^ours faithfully, (Kev.) William Hobsfall.

[To send bees to the tropics very great care
is required in packing. There is no doubt the
bees were smothered owing to the heat and the
large number of bees in the hive. The bees
should have had a large space under the combs,
and would have been better able to cluster if sn
empty hive had been placed below. To send
bees to the tropics is very risky unless accom-
panied by some one who could look after them,
and place them in the cool chamber during the
hottest part of the journey. We should advise
our correspondent to utilise the bees of the
country before he introduces European bees
there. Italian bees have been introduced into
Australia and India, but at Borneo and Timor
the native bees are cultivated. We are writing
to you more in detail. — Eds.]

BEE-KEEPINQ IN PALESTINE.

[1350.] I am glad to be able to send you
some news about bee-keeping in Palestine as I
promised to do on my arrival here. When I
arrived here on December oth last, I found my
brother fully occupied with the bees, which were
still scattered about all over the country, and
not collected together ; some were in the moun-
tains, and others in the plains in different
apiaries. They had had very bad weather for
nearly a month, and part of our apiary was
nearly washed down into the sea. The hives
were placed near a river, when suddenly, owing
to the heavy storms, the river swelled and rose.
Fortunately for us, a Bedouin tribe lived very
near, and, intent on robbing, they carried the
hiv s off a little distance, in the hope of gather-
ing some honey. They got this, but at the
same time we were very thankful to them for
rescuing, at any rate, a part of our apiary from
destruction. Since that time we have had all
the hives brought here on camels' backs (these
camels carry eight double hives). There are
quantities of almond-trees iu blossom now, and,
with stimulative feeding, we hope to have them
built up in time for the orange-blossom crop,
which begins in the month of March. I shall
let you know how we succeed in due time. We
keep our bees all the winter in the gardens, for
they do not mind the cold, as ours is a very
mild climate, Yesterday and to-day have been

February 23, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

7ff

quite hot summer days. I shall have a collection
of Palestine bees and wasps this spring, which
I shall try and send to you, unless we have the
pleasure of seeing you here. Have you been
to Nice or Algeria this season, or seen my
brothers ? I shall send you more news shortly.
— Emile Baldensperger, Jaffa, February
2nd, 1893.

WEATHER REPORT.

Bagnalstown, Ireland.

January, 1893.

Rainfall 3-01 in.

Greatest fall in 24 hours, 8th .... '72 „

Number of days on which rain fell 20

Maximum temperature, 2oth .... 51°

Mean max 41 8°

Minimum temperature, 4th 19°

Mean min 347°

Max. ground, 24th 39°

Min. ground, 3rd 7°

Frosty nights 23

Prevailing winds s.e.&s.w.

John Henderson.

Denton, Grantham, February &th. — Bees in
these parts were kept in a month by hard
wintry weather. The glass registered the
keenest frost on January 5th, viz., 30°. When
the change came the bees turned out merrily for
a cleansing flight. All my eleven frame hives
answered to the roll-call ; the number of dead
on floor-boards was very few — indeed, a peep
under quilts showed a considerable amount of
stores consumed, though all have still some
sealed left, which sets one's mind at rest for
another fortnight. Then the soft candy was
made and every hive got a cake nice and warm
without any disturbance. An old newspaper is
splendid to put over the candy, and then plenty
of quilts over all, weighted with two bricks. I
want to try the let-alone system with about
eight hives this season (D.V.) ; you shall know
how it answers. Lovely day to-day, without
frost, 45° in shade. A clump of winter aconite
near my hives is fairly taken by storm, and a
little pea-flour put in some of the blooms was
soon packed in the bees' pollen baskets and
carried, off. Snowdrops, crocuses, &c, will soon
be in bloom if we have not to have another
cold snap, but as my hives are all double
walled that will not affect them greatly. — J.
W. Blankley.

Northampton, February lQth. — To-day, a
shade temperature of 59° Fahr. brought the bees
out in full force for their second .flight of this
season. Their first flight took place on the 24th
ult. Between-whiles there have been partial
turnouts, but, on the whole, the weather has
been too wet and cold for outdoor exercise. On
both the chief '"'•oasions bees came out strong

and healthy, and showing but little sign of dis-
tress at their long incarceration. To-day, for
the first time, pollen is being carried in, aconites
and crocuses being its principal source. Snow-
drops are scarce here. One stock has been twice
detected casting out snow-white grubs, a cir-
cumstance difficult of explanation, as there is no
shortness of stores and no chance of chill. — E. B.

fm atrtr Implies,

[722.] Takiny _ Charye of Foul-broody Bees,
—I have sent a piece of comb for your inspec-
tion under the following circumstances : A lady
asked me lately to take the management *of her
five stocks of bees, and I arranged to "do so.
One stock has just died, and the comb is in a
bad condition, and is, I fear, diseased. I write
to ask, Is there any danger of my taking the
disease to my own bees ? If so, what is the
best thing to do to avoid it, and what should I
do with the combs and frames of the infected
stock ? I have twenty-eight hives of bees of
my own, all in good health and strong, and I
don't want the infection to reach them ; besides,
I have never heard of foul brood in this district
before. As a precaution, I have closed up the
dead stock until I hear from you, as there is
about fifteen pounds of honey in the hive. —
G. H., Berks, February Y<ith.

Reply. — The comb sent is badly infected
with foul brood — so bad, indeed, that the combs
and frames of the hive from which it was taken
should be promptly burnt, and the hive safely
put out of harm's way. Should there be any
other colonies with combs in the same state
among the bees taken charge of by our corre-
spondent, he should at once cease to do any
handling of them under any circumstances, for,
with his apparent inexperience of the disease
and the measures necessary to prevent it spread-
ing, it would be little short of a miracle if his
own twenty-eight healthy stocks escaped in-
fection. It would be impossible for us to give
instructions such as could be relied on, under
the circumstances, for safeguarding his own
bees while dealing with a foul-broody apiary.
Only a properly qualified expert should under-
take such a task.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers 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 com-
munication.

John Gibbins (Edgbaston). — Lantern Slides. —
The slides arranged by the B.B.K.A. may be
hired for lecture purposes on application to
the Secretary. They may be purchased from
Messrs. Newton, opticians, Fleet Street,
London.

30

THE BRTTISH BEE JOURNAL. [February 23, 1893.

E. B. Hampton (Ewell). — We have no leaflet
on stimulative feeding for sale at this office.

Motjche-a-Miel. — Honey into which fine
caster, or "icing," sugar is worked in suf-
ficient quantity to make a very stiff paste
forms what is known as " Goode's candy,"
and is used frequently in America for feeding
bees.

TH. C. Jacques. — Our correspondent must pardon
us for reminding him how entirely unsuitable
to the pages of a bee journal is anything
savouring of theology or theological discussion.
Besides, we know well that no offence to any
one was intended in the remark referred to ;
indeed, to our mind, it is stretching a point to
even infer so much, and we therefore trust
that the matter may be allowed to drop.

J. B. H. (Keynsham). — If you made a " Wells
hive " to hold twenty standard frames it would
answer, as you say, to transfer the bees and
combs of two of your strongest skeps into it.
But you should carefully read up all that has
appeared on the subject before attempting to
work colonies on that plan. The book sent
will inform you of the time to do it.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

1 ♦ i

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, die. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

FOR SALE.— Pure English (Granulated Clover) Honey.
in"60-lb Tins, at 7d. per lb. Sample 3i. Address
T. Hollidat, The Apiary, Astbury, Congleton, Cheshire.

FOR SALE.— Five strong Stocks of Bees. 4 in Neigh-
bour's Sandringham Hive, 1 in Colonial Hive, with
extra Section Crates, Shallow-frame Supers, 20 worked,
out Shallow Frames, Super Clearer, Smokers, &c. Address
Gellatly, Loughton, Essex ; where Bees may be seen.

HONEY!— About 2 cwt. of First-class Extracted Honey
to sell on Deposit System. Apply .to ' Spark,' Bee
Journal Office. 2

BEE SEEDS.— Immense Packet of suitable mixed sorts
for Bees (by a Specialist). Post free, Is. Address
Willie, 11 Highfield Road, Coventry.

FOR SALE. — Anglo-Cyprian Bar-frame Hive, 9 Frames
and Dummy, will hold 12 Frames, good preservation,
16s. Address Moore, Broadway, Dorset.

SIX Stocks of Bees, in New Hives (foul brood unknown),
18s. 6d. New "Wells' Hive," Extractor, Smoker, &c.,
cheap. Address Leonard Smith, Elstow, Beds.

WHAT Offers for about 1J Cwt. of Pure English
Honey ? Address R. W. Eagleton, The Apiary,
Parson Drove, near Wisbech.

FOR SALE. — Pure English Honey in J-Cwts., at 7<T
per lb., tins free; sample, 2d. Address R. Dutton,
Terling, Witham, Essex,

ARSHALL'S Soft Candy for Winter and Spring
Feeding.— Soft Bee-Candy and Flour-Candy, exactly
the same as that sent out by the late Walter Marshall,
supplied by his Widow at 4s. 6d per dozen 1-lb. Cakes.
Single Cakes, 5d. each. Cash, with order. Address Mrs.
W. Marshall, The Apiary, Sunny Hill, Hemel Hemp-
stead; 4

AX EXTRACTOR Wanted, good condition, with or
without boiler. Address J. Hooper, Batheaston.

w

TMOR SALE.— Five Volumes Bee Journal. VoIb. Ill
JJ XVII., XVIII., bound; XIX., XX., unbound; 12s!
•the lot, as new. Address Fairs, Mnndham, Chichester.

BEES AND QUEENS..— Choice Ligurian, Carniolan,
and English Stocks, Swarms, and Queens. Prices on
amplication. Address C. T, Overton, Crawley, Sussex. 8

GENUINE ITALIAN BEES.— Queens,
Swarms, Nuclei ; or Established on Fixed
and Movable Combs, at reasonable rates. Safe
arrival guaranteed. Price List post free.
L. E. Lambeetenghi & Co. , Caravaggio, Italy.

GLEANINGS

IN BEE-CULTUBE.

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 5s. per annum.

Posted same day as parcel reaches this country
from America.

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King: William Stbeet, Steand, London, W.O.

PURE CANE SUGARS.

Fob the accommodation of Bee-keepers, guaranteed
Pure Cane Sugar will be supplied in large or
small quantities through this office at the under-
mentioned rates: —

MOIST. (For Household Use.)

3. MUSCOVADO

4. DEMERARA

5. BARBADOS

6. TRINIDAD

Neat bags, 14-lbs. 28-lbs. 56-lbs. Cwts.
2/9 5/4 10/6 20/6

CRYSTALLISED.

!■ Crystals 2/9 5/6 10/9 21/-

REFINED CANE.

7. WHITE CRYSTALS (Small) 3/- 6/0 11/9 22/9

8, 9. (Medium and Large sizeB, 1/- per Cwt. extra.)

10. LUMP (Cut Loaf) ... Boxes, 3/3 6/3 12/3 23/9

11. CRUSHED LUMP... „ 3/- 6/- 11/9 22/9

12. PRESERVING „ 3/- 6/- 11/9 22/9

FINE. (For Household Use.)

13. GRANULATED 3/3 6/3 12/3 23/9

11. CASTOR Coarse (15 Fine) 3/9 7/3 14/3 27/9
16. ICING 4/3 8/3 15/9 31/-

All above guaranteed made from Cane Sugar only, and free

from Beet, Chemicals, etc., etc.

Carriage Paid on Orders over 5/0 (or 28-lbs. Sugar)

to London and Suburbs.
Country Orders, not less than 2 cwt. carriage paid
at 1/0 per cwt. extra.
(Scotch and Irish orders, special arrangements.)
CHEQUES payable to Manager, Bee Journal and Record

Office, 17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.O.
CASH TO BE SENT WITH ORDER, and purchasers
will please observe that if samples are required or
replies asked to inquiries, a stamped addressed
envelope must be sent, as we cannot undertake
cost of postage. Delivery of Goods to be taken
as receipt. If acknowledgment of Cash is required,
stamped addressed envelope should be sent.

THE

Srifeli mi %wd,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 558. Vol. XXI. N. S. 166.] MARCH 2, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

€bxtaxmlf ^atius, $u

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The monthly Committee meeting was
held at 105 Jermyn Street, on Wednesday,
February 22nd. The Chairman, Mr. T. W.
Cowan, presided, and the other members
present included the Hon. and Rev. Henry
Bligh, Rev. G. W. Bancks, Dr. Rayner,
Messrs. W. B. Carr, W. O'B. Glennie,
J. Garratt, W. H. Harris, H. Jonas, and
J. M. Hooker (ex-officio). Letters apologising
for non-attendance were received from Dr.
Bartrum, Major Fair, and Mr. McClure.

The minutes of previous meeting having
been read and passed, the Chairman re-
ported that, in accordance with a resolution
passed at the last meeting, arrangements
had been made by means of which the
Secretary would receive temporary assistance
in his work through a member of the Com-
mittee having kindly offered to help him in
the capacity of Hon. Sec. during such time
as Mr. Huckle was incapacitated by his
regrettable illness. These arrangements
were confirmed, and Mr. Jesse Garratt (the
gentleman referred to) thanked for his
offer.

The statement of accounts was read and
passed, along with a proposal of the Chair-
man of the Finance Committee (Mr. Jonas)
that a special appeal be made, showing the
deficit in assets and increase in debit, with
the view of increasing the annual income of
the Association thereby, that its work may
not be impeded for lack of funds, and that
this appeal be embodied in the report now
being prepared.

The recommendation of the Exhibition Sub-
Committee with reference to the gentlemen
selected to act as judges at the Royal Agri-
cultural Society's Show at Chester in June
next, was agreed to on the motion of Mr.
Glennie, seconded by Mr. Jonas.

The Chicago Exhibition Sub-Committee
reported what had been done since the last
meeting with regard to the "British exhibit."
It was explained that the labour and cost of
preparing the exhibit had involved more
expense than was anticipated, and the hope
was expressed that additional donations to
the " special fund " would be forthcoming
to cover the extra cost.

The regulations under which the new set
of lantern slides belonging to the Associa-
tion were lent out were, on the motion of
Mr. Jonas, seconded by Mr. Hooker,
amended by making the fee for hiring the
same 2s. 6d. to members and 5s. to non-
members. The remaining business being
of a routine character, was not of public
interest, and the meeting terminated in the
usual way.

IMPORTANT PAPER ON FOUL BROOD.

Read at the Annual Meeting of the
Ontario Agricultural and Experi-
mental Union, Guelph, Ont., Canada.

By J. J. Mackenzie:, B.A. , Bacteriologist of the
Prov. Board of Health, Ont.

Gentlemen, — At the request of your Sec-
retary, Mr. Holtermann, I undertook for your
Union some investigations on the subject of foul
brood, the results of which I purpose giving you
in this paper. Although it is almost a year now
since I undertook this work under the auspices
of the Agricultural and Experimental Union, it
is by no means exhausted, and there are many
points which require to be further elucidated,
which I have not had time as yet to touch on,
owing to the fact that the investigations on
foul brood had to be carried on simultaneously
with my regular laboratory work. These points
I hope to work at next summer, and reserve the
privilege of reporting again to your Union on
the results of further investigation.

The subject of foul brood is an old one to
apiarists, and an intensely interesting one to
Canadian bee-keepers ; but in reading over the
bee journals one cannot help being struck with
the great want of unanimity amongst bee-men
as to the disease, how it should be treated, how
it is spread, and on many other points. Some

82

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 2, 1893.

would have us believe that the disease arises de
novo whenever unsanitary conditions prevail ;
others claim that there is a specific infection,
and where the disease arises it must have origin-
ated from previously existing disease ; some
claim that the honey is the only method of
transmittal, others that it is not, and so on.
On every point there seem to he plenty of
arguments pro and con.

I have attempted in my work to take hold of
some of these controverted points from a bac-
teriological standpoint, in order to aid in coming
to some definite conclusion. Some of these
points I should consider settled from the results
of previous investigation, but as many bee-men
do not seem prepared to accept this, my work
will have value as confirming what had already
been done.

Before an association which includes many
practical bee-keepers, it would be superfluous to
enter upon a minute account of the clinical
features of the disease. Most of you know them
better than I do. I certainly would not be
prepared to " spot " foul brood in an apiary,
although I certainly think I can under the
microscope. The infectious character of the
disease has been generally accepted for many
Tears; but not until Cheshire and Watson
Cheyne worked it out scientifically, was it
definitely proved. They isolated the bacillus
(Bacillus alvei) which they found in the diseased
brood, and which they cultivated on nutrient
media for many generations, finally reinfecting
perfectly healthy brood from these pure cultures.
This evidence to a bacteriologist is absolutely
conclusive that B acillus alvei is the specific cause
of foul brood. Consequently, when I began my
investigations on some samples of diseased brood
which were sent me through Mr. Holtermann, I
looked at once for Bacillus alvei; microscopically
and by means of bacteriological methods I had
no difficulty in isolating a bacillus which cor-
responds in all points to Bacillus alvei. It is a
bacillus similar to that of Cheshire's in size,
produces spores which are somewhat thicker,
giving the bacillus a clubbed appearance. On
agar jelly it grows rapidly, so as to cover the
whole surface. In gelatine its growth is very
peculiar, shooting out from the infected point
in all directions. On potato it produces a yellow
growth. A.11 these characteristics show con-
clusively that it is identical with Bacillus
alvei. There seems no doubt, therefore, that
the foul brood which we have in Ontario is the
same disease and produced by the same bacillus
as in other places.

Many prominent bee-keepers, both here and
in the States, however, maintain that wherever
unsanitary conditions are allowed to prevail,
wherever chilled brood is allowed to putrefy, or
decapitated drones are left to decay in the hive,
foul brood may arise de novo. This is not a
new theory, either in bee-keeping or in medicine,
but unfortunately it is a theory which is not
supported by the results of investigation.
Diphtheria naturally will develop more readily
if unsanitary conditions are present, but it cer-

tainly will not develop if the bacillus diphtheria
is absent.

The same is true of other diseases, and con-
sequently, when we come to consider such a
decidedly infectious disease as foul brood, and
learn the facts about it which such men as
Cheshire have told us of, we naturally come to
the same conclusion. If I were to maintain
that a Carniolan queen might lay an egg which
would develop into a humble-bee, bee -men
would be inclined to think that not only my
bee-knowledge, but also my scientific knowledge,
was at fault ; but yet in all the bee journals I
find many prominent bee-keepers maintaining
that an ordinary microbe which produces putre-
faction may become metamorphosed into the
specific cause of foul brood. It is easy enough,
however, to combat such an opinion upon a
priori grounds ; not quite so easy, however, to
offer convincing proof.

In order to do this, I thought it worth while
to try some experiments. With this end in
view, I obtained some comb containing chilled
brood, and endeavoured to isolate Bacillus alvei
from it, but without success.

There were plenty of other bacteria, but none
which presented the well-marked morphological
character peculiar to Bacillus alvei. Again, I
had sent to the laboratory a piece of perfectly
healthy comb. I killed the brood by chilling,
then I infected some of the cells from a pure
culture of Bacillus alvei. I allowed all the killed
brood to putrefy in a moist chamber for two
weeks ; at end of that time I obtained Bacillus
alvei again from the cells which had been
artificially infected, but could find no traces of
it in the other cells. I left this comb in a moist
chamber for several months and again examined,
but with the same results ; in the cells in which
Bacillus alvei had been placed it was still to be
found, in the others it was not present.

It seems to me that an experiment such as the
above conclusively shows that there is a distinct
difference between foul brood and ordinary
putrefaction.

(To be continued. )

HEREFORDSIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The annual meeting of the members of the
Herefordshire Bee-keepers' Association was held
at the Free Library, Hereford, on Tuesday,
February 14th — the Rev. F. S. Stooke-Vaughan
presiding. The balance-sheet, showing a deficit,
was passed, the deficit being due to the heavy
cost of the bee-van. The officers for the year
were elected, Messrs. J. Hancorn and E. M.
Matthews being added to the Committee. The
reports of the Hon. Secretary (Mr. A. Watkins)
and of the expert, giving details of the working
of the bee-van tour, were read and passed.

A lecture had been given at Tupsley by the
Hon. Secretary, illustrated by his series of
photographic views. The van tour had been
the most interesting event of the year, and it

March 2, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

83

formed a striking departure from the methods
of imparting knowledge in bee-keeping pre-
viously adopted by this or any other Association.
Early in the year the County Council appor-
tioned a grant of 50/. for the purpose of impart-
ing instruction in bee-keeping by means of a
van tour. Before this could be done it became
necessary to purchase a van. To do this a
special fund had to be raised, which was fairly
well responded to by members, over 21/. being
subscribed. The expert, Mr. Meadham, willingly
undertook this van tour, and took his son with
him to assist. The tour commenced on June
20th, and terminated on August 5th. Twenty-
eight full days' work were accomplished. The
general results of the tour were most encourag-
ing ; the attendance, on the whole, was satis-
factory, in many cases extremely so. The deficit
of 232. 9s. 3d. on the van -tour account was
anticipated, and need hardly be regarded with
anxiety; but in the ordinary work of the
Association (leaving the van tour out of account)
there was an additional deficit of 8/. 4s. Id.
Part of this is due to the expenditure on medals
(the die costing 51. 5s.), and part to a decrease
in subscriptions. The grant from the County
Council had led in one or two cases to a with-
drawal of subscriptions on the ground that the
Association is now receiving outside support.
This is entirely wrong, as the grant was applied
to a special purpose, and did not relieve the
ordinary expenditure of the Association on its
members by a single penny.

BRISTOL AND DISTRICT BEE-
KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The annual general meeting of the Bristol
and District Bee-keepers' Association was held
on February 16th at the " Crown and Dove,"
when Mr. J. B. Butler presided over a fair
attendance.

The minutes of the previous meeting having
been read,

Mr. James Brown, the Hon. Secretary, pre-
sented the annual report, which stated that the
membership had increased during the year
from 170 to 283. In detailing the further work
in extending the operations of the Association,
the report also referred to lectures given in
connexion with Horticultural and Agricultural
Societies, which had in every case attracted a
deal of attention, and by this means the educa-
tional work of the Association in the cause of
bee-keeping had been considerably helped
forward. Mention was also made of a money
grant in aid of technical instruction in bee-
keeping having been allotted to the Associa-
tion by the Bedminster and Clevedon District
Committee of the County Council, to be ex-
pended in giving lectures on bee-keeping within
their district.

The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the
report, said he thought they might congratulate
themselves on having had a fairly successful
year. Their membership had increased, their

operations had extended over a largar district,
and they might regard the work of the Associa-
tion as progressing favourably.

The report and also the financial statement of
the year were adopted nem. con., which showed
that the total income for the year had been
59/. 14*. 9d., and the total expenditure
52/. 13*. 3d.

The Expert (Mr. Martin) presented his report,
which stated he had inspected 650 frame hives
and 175 skeps. They were in a very satisfactory
condition.

It was decided to instruct the Secretary to
apply to the County Council Technical Com-
mitte'e for a grant of 50/. for lectures, &c, in
bee-keeping.

Lady Smyth was appointed President, and
the officers and Committee — with addition of
Messrs. A. C. Polehampton, W. Cotterell, and
Bryant — were re-elected. The question of the
appointment of experts for the inspection of
apiaries in the various districts was deferred
for future consideration.

The annual dinner of the Association was
afterwards held, when Mr. T. Dyke presided.
Letters of apology for non-attendance were read
from Colonel Sir E. S. Hill, M.P., Mr. R. Auld,
Mr. J. Fenner, and others. A very pleasant
evening concluded with the presentation by the
Chairman of medals, &c, gained during the year,
and a drawing competition, conducted on art-
union principles, for a hive value 15s., the winner
being: Mr. H. H. Hamilton.

EXAMINATION OF HONF.Y BY
DIALYSIS.

[Continued from page 75.)

I. Dr. Haenle was the first to reply. He said,
on a postcard dated October 21st, 1891, " There
is an adulteration of twenty-three per cent,
with glucose." (" Bravo ! " I exclaimed.)

Fee for analysis, 2 marks.

II. Dr. Amthor, of Strasburg, was second, and
he wrote on October 22nd, 1891, " Analysis of
honey sent October 13th by M. J. H. Walther,
18 Karlstrasse, Heidelberg :

Deviation of a 10% solution ,. . +16 92°

„ „ after inversion 4- 593s

„ „ after alcoholic

fermentation + 13-39°

Invert sugar 68 13

Cane sugar , 4*46

Carbo-hydrates in the form of dex-
trine 9 300

Ashes 0-180_

Phosphoric acid 00345

" The cane sugar had to be calculated by the
quantity of alcohol formed during fermentation,
after deducting the alcohol equivalent to the
inverted sugar.

" In consequence of the increase of the reduc-
ing power before and after inversion, cane sugar
cannot be estimated in this particular case

84

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 2, 1893.

because the acid acts upon the dextrine present,
and would increase the quantity of sugar.

" The honey sent is thick, yellowish, and
slightly turbid. This is one of those natural
honeys, polarising to the right, containing
dextrine. They bave been recently and at
different times analysed in detail (Amthor &
Stern, Zeitschrift angew. Chemie, 1889, p. 575),
or, at any rate, the honey analysed resembles
them by its composition to such a degree that it
is impossible to see any difference.

" (Signed) Dr. Charles Author.

" Fee for analysis, 15 marks."

III. Councillor Nessler was third. He wrote
from Carlsruhe on the 24th October : —

"To M. J. H. Walther, Heidelberg.

" The ten per cent, solution of honey sent to
us, under the action of heat, left scarcely any
residue ; it does not contain sulphuric acid, but
a trace of chlorine and lime.

" The test with adraganth and gelatine gives
negative results. The polarisation is : —

Before inversion . . +6°

After „ .. +5°, 7 (Ventzke)

"After dialysis, the solution still polarises
strongly to the right.

" According to Dr. Haenle's analysis, this
honey contains a considerable quantity of potato-
starch sugar (glucose) ; for some time, however,
this method has been contested, so that at pre-
sent it is impossible to say with certainty that
the honey is really adulterated, although, ac-
cording to our researches, it appears to be so.

" For the Agricultural Chemical Laboratory,
" Dr. J. Nessler.

" Carlsmhe, 24<A October, 1891.
" Fee for analysis, eight marks."

IV. Dr. Barth, of Rouffach, Alsace, was
fourth. He wrote : —

"To M. J. H. Walther, 18 Karlstrasse,
Hiedelberg.

" The honey for analysis contains : —

Water 17*31 per cent.

Ashes 0-233 „

Sugar 65-41 „

Dextrine, precipitated by alcohol .... 0.

Polarisation to the right 75-29°

„ after inversion 34-7°

„ „ alcoholic fermenta-
tion 75-5°

Unfermentable matter 38-05° 0

" This is doubtless a clarified pine honey.

" The fermentation of the sugar in the honey is
impeded or entirely arrested by the formic acid,
and also by substances found in conifers or by the
terebine. According to experiments made up to
the present time, conifer honeys react differentlv
to flower honeys ; in the presence of a strong-
deviation to the right and absence of dextrine,
it is impossible to decide as to adulteration,
because the deviation varies according to the
nature of the substances collected by the bees.

" These conifer honeys are assuredly of less
value than flower honeys, but it is not right to

declare them as adulterated in the sense required
by the law in respect to food.

" The Director of the Experimental Agri-
cultural Station, (Signed) Dr. Barth.

" Fee for analysis, three marks."

I received nothing from M. Rupp, chemist of
Carlsruhe. I do not know for what reason. ^1
consequently saw with satisfaction that only
Dr. Haenle's method was the good one. His
opinion corresponds almost exactly with the
adulteration I had made.

The opinion which approaches the nearest to
his is that of Councillor Dr. Nessler. He points
out that the product after dialysis polarises still
to the right, and his conclusion is that it is much
adulterated .

The opinion of Dr. Barth is wrong, as is also
that of Dr. Amthor. These analyses can be as
accurate as possible, but they cannot serve as a
basis to decide the question. It is more im-
portant to be able to declare whether the honey
is adulterated or whether it is not than to give
its component parts as exactly as possible.
None of these gentlemen were able to do so.
When Dr. Barth asserts that this is doubtless
a clarified conifer honey, it must be remem-
bered that this kind of honey is dark brown in
colour, where the product sent for analysis was
pale yellow ; it was, before the adulteration, a
honey of the finest quality, and was recognis-
able as such, by the large quantity of invert
sugar and its strong deviation to the left ( - 42°)
and by its colour. Besides, conifer honey is
easily recognised by its taste and odour. At
the Carlsruhe Exhibition I was asked to taste
a sample of honey, which I did in the presence
of M. Schroder, assistant to Dr. Haenle. I at
once said, " Here we have a honey deviating to
the right," which was found to be the case on
analysis. It was honey from the Black Forest
from the region of Friberg.

(To be continued.)

(&nxxw$Qxfomit.

Tlie 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 oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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 Review, tc, must be addressed only to "The
Editobs of the 'British Bee Journal, ' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, tc, must be addressed to " The
Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

•,* 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.

[1351.] We have now reached the third
month of the year, in which we pass the vernal
equinox and spring commences. The lengthen-

March 2, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

85

ing days even now inspire our hopes and rouse
us up to the fact that the busy bee time is close
at hand. February has filled the dykes many
times even here on comparatively high ground ;
how those who dwell in the valleys have fared
we can only conjecture.

Results of the " Wells " System. — In a note to
the Record for this month, I have advocated the
adoption of the two-queen system in preference
to the usual method of uniting weak stocks in
the spring. It is generally conceded that cod-
dling with weak stocks never pays,but this system
just fills the bill. Say a bee-keeper has a few
hives, perhaps two of them may be weak in the
spring : the usual practice with a busy man is
to depose one queen and unite the two colonies.
This has in the past made one fair colony, and
possibly it has been some days after the two
colonies have been united before the remaining
queen has started breeding again (except the
weather has been very favourable), the brood
nest having been disturbed more or less by the
introduction of what little brood was found in
the colony of the deposed queen, and the com-
bined brood nest probably taxes to the utmost
capacity the bees of both colonies to cover the
now enlarged brood nest ; but by adopting Mr.
Wells' plan the two colonies can be semi-united,
and thus help each other by mutual warmth,
and I have no doubt that the two colonies will
progress considerably faster than if united under
one queen. I intend giving the plan suggested
a trial here this spring if I find any weak
cohonies, and I have no doubt I shall among so
many. Is that another point, " E. B." ?

I feel a certain diffidence, not to say com-
punction, in joining in the feeding-up discussion
previous to the honey-flows — be it the clover,
the lime, or the heather harvest. How many
pounds of syrup can the bees store in a hive
that ought to be full of brood ? Shall I esti-
mate that they will take down eight pounds of
syrup each on the average, and that I have 100
hives that I am running for honey — shall I
never through the season feel any twinge of
conscience re the placement and ultimate deposit
of those some 500 pounds of sugar fed to my
stocks before the honey season opens ? And if
I take my bees to the heather I have to feed
another 500, making something towards half a
ton of sugar fed into the hives, in addition to
the usual spring stimulating feeding. If we
could be sure that bees prefer sugar-syrup to
honey, and would reserve the syrup for domes-
tic purposes, and store only their gatherings
from the flowers in the supers for the bee-keeper
and their own future use, why, common sense
would say feed right away ; but is it just to our-
selves, to our craft, to our customers, to our
consumers? I don't wait for an answer; it
comes in a chorus of noes. Shall I say, some-
what in the words of the bard of Avon, " Cast it
to the dogs, I'll none of it ? "

To-day's post has brought the catalogue of
Mr. J. H. Howard, which contains drawings of
his new combined self-hiver and super-clearer,
to which I referred a week or two back. The

method of hiving swarms is by placing an extra
body-box under the U3ual body-box containing
the brood frames. Very full particulars are
given by friend Howard of the method of work-
ing the new arrangement, and I advise those
who wish for further information on the subject
to send for a copy of his catalogue.

Sow shortly such seed of hardy bee-flowers
as are required during the coming summer ;
also, some seed of wallflowers for another spring,
and don't forget to give your poorer neighbours
some seeds or plants. This will generate kindly
feelings all round, and extend your forage-
ground of bee-pasture. — W. Woodley, World's
End, Newbury.

SYRUP ! ET CETERA.

[1352.] Now, when I wrote that letter
(1303, p. 28) about making syrup, I didn't
think that Mr. Walton's plan of some years
ago would be hurled in my face as being the
same as mine. I have to make a hundredweight
or so of syrup at a time, and I don't boil any-
thing ! Why, that's just my point ; see the
time and trouble that's saved. You might just
as well boil the syrup as boil the water ; one
won't take longer than the other. No, just put
the sugar and water on the fire, and, when
dissolved, it is finished — long before it boils.
Of course, the grandest part of the affair is that
syrup made thus doesn't granulate a bit.

Mr. Taylor (1333, p. 57) wants to know how
to medicate such syrup. That's according to
what drug you use. You must make the syrup
— or, rather, a portion of it — hot for Naphthol
Beta. Formic acid will mix cold, and phenol
solution will mix all right if it is first mixed
with a portion of the syrup in the usual way.
It isn't the fact of boiling the syrup that causes
it to hold in solution some of these drugs, it's
the temperature at the time of mixing.

By-the-by, a paragraph in this week's B.B.J.
puts me in mind of a slight, controversy which
took place some time since in an American bee
journal, between a well-known professor and
the Editor of the same, about beet and cane
sugar for feeding, but I never noticed anything
very satisfactory came of it. I know beet sugar
is no good for bees (don't take any notice of the
dogmatism), but the Professor couldn't see why
it should be so, and gave as a kind of " clincher "
to his argument the formula of beet sus^ar and
cane sugar C12H2._,On, both the same. So it was
settled at that. As the bees had the same
chemical formula fed to them, why they ought
to be satisfied and " quit " having dysentery — but
they won't. Well, the argument is b id, as bees
don't know anything about C^O^, and all that
sort of business, and I guess it won't keep a
colony alive that's short. Now, just fancy the
absurdity of the wife trying to make a shirt
out of starch, or endeavouring to stiffen one's
collar with cotton wool. She might even go so
far as to mix up the cuttings from a linen
sheet in order to make a blanc-mange, but it

86

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 2, 1893.

would be far from either a nourishing or tooth-
some delicacy. Yet all these substances have
the same chemical formula, viz., OcHl0O3, and
so, for that reason, are called isomeric sub-
stances. They have the same elements in the
same proportion ; but, as I have shown, with
very different properties. We bee-keepers know
that beet and cane sugars have the same ele-
ments in the same proportions, but have, in
bee-feeding, very different properties. Let us
go in for practical and not theoretical work.
Just feed the bees that which answers the
purpose best. You'll not find it beet sugar.

It is not often we find any allusion made to
the imperative necessity of arranging the stores
(frames) in the hive eo as to suit the require-
ments of the bees during the winter. Some one
comes along and gives the information with a
rather elongated visage, " Two stocks dead, and
any amount of stores in the hive." Well, it is
just an unhappy knack some bee-keepers have
of just " chucking " the frames into the hive
anyhow at autumn, instead of arranging them
properly. (Perhaps the bees' temper at that
season has something to do with it.) They
perhaps put an empty comb in the middle of
the hive. That is very nice in theory. I have
heard the theoretical nonsense about giving the
bees plenty of foothold ; we shall provide them
with ladders and chairs next, to climb up the
combs and sit down upon ! But does it not
strike you that you are just dividing the hive
into two parts ? Bees don't " hanker " after
empty combs to winter upon, and I don't blame
them. They want the commissariat department
somewhere near, just as we should. See that
there are stores, a fair quantity, in every comb
in the hive when you put them away for winter,
and don't stick empty combs or sheets of
partially drawn-out foundation just in the
middle, for if you do you will pull the long face
and say, " Dead, and any amount of stores in
the hive." If you do want very particularly to
put empties in the hive, just " dump " them in
at the back or front ; it don't matter which, as
they will do just as much harm in one position
as the other.

February YQth. — -What a glorious day ! Bees
flying as in summer, pollen being fairly " piled "
into the hive. Well, I just provided myself
with a pencil and watched the entrance to each
hive. Whenever I saw pollen being taken in I
put a big P and the date on the front of the
hive. I didn't get through the lot that day, but
I dare say we shall have another such before
very long, and then I will finish them. Per-
haps you don't see the good of doing this. Well,
I do. Just make a guess as to how many queens
are " balled " in early spring by unnecessary
disturbance by many bee-keepers. They do so
much want to know whether breeding is going
on, or, rather, whether the hive is queenless or
not. Well, the foregoing plau will tell you at a
glance without opening a single hive. You can
just run your eye along the .front of the hives
and " spot " any one without a P, and later on,
when there is less danger by meddling with

them, you may have a look inside, as then it
won't matter a deal. Of course it won't tell you
whether the queen is fertilised or not, but that
can be settled at a later period.

Pollen Feediny in the Hive. — I had a try at
this, but gave it up. I put the flour in an empty
comb in the hive, and the flour disappeared, but
I never found it packed away in the comb. I
saw plenty fanned out at the entrance. (I'll
have another try.) I then mixed the flour with
honey so as to make a stiff semi-dry paste, just
as the bees form it. A lump of this I fixed in a
cavity in the stage of a bottle feeder, and fed
syrup at the same time ; but they wouldn't
touch it, although the under-part of the feeder,
where the cavity was, was crammed with bees
and they all 'had to walk over it. In theory
(which I don't like) it doesn't seem exactly con-
sistent with a bee's natural method of collecting
pollen. They go into a flower or into a box of
artificial pollen, get themselves gloriously dusted,
and then on the winy mix it with nectar so as to
make it into a rather dry paste, and then pack
it away on their legs. Well, they can't do this
in the hive anyhow. How can, or do, they carry
it from the comb to the cell in which they ought
to pack it ? I haven't made exhaustive trials
with it — only in the case of two hives some few
years ago — and so may have better luck next
time. These two colonies never packed away an
atom, but simply fanned it out of the hive in the
ordinary course of everyday ventilation. 1 like
a box, as then the bees can collect it in a natural
manner, and it saves disturbing them by putting-
fresh combs containing the hour into the hive
just when the colony ought on no account to be
interfered with. This latter is my chief objec-
tion, as even if I thought they would take it
from a comb to use it for the larva) — of which I
am not at all certain — I should not feed artificial
pollen in that manner. Why, I like to watch
the little scamps rolling in the pollen, and then,
with rapidly vibrating wings, poising themselves
in the air while they moisten the dust and trans-
fer it in minute balls to their hind-legs prepara-
tory to taking it into the hive. It does you good
when you have a lazy minute or two to spare
and wish to spend them pleasantly. — W. B.
Webster..

AVERAGES ON THE "WELLS"
SYSTEM.

Is A DOCBLE-QUEENED STOCK TO BE COUNTED

as Two Colonies ?

[1353.] I see it stated in the Journal that Mr.
Wells secured an average of 150 pounds per
colony under his new system. Is this double
colony counted as one or two colonies ? If two
colonies it means seventy-five pounds per colony,
which is below the average yield of a single
colony in a good clover district in a fairly good
season, consequently I see no advantage in unit-
ing two strong stocks under this system, as each
stock, if worked separately, would give at least
seventy-five pounds extracted honey. For hives

March 2, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

87

below the strength, of, say, twelve frames of
brood at the beginning of the honey-flow, it
might be well to work under this system, as a
super might be filled between the two, when
neither would be able to do so alone if weak in
numbers.

I think there must be considerable variation
in the weight of honey gathered from different
sources, such as clover, heather, &c. Mine is
almost entirely a clover district, and from fre-
quent trials made during the past ten years, 1
find that a quart of honey weighs exactly three
and a half pounds, and I have found scarcely
any difference between honey just gathered and
that which has been ripened and sealed. I
should like to see this compared with the weight
of heather honey, and that gathered from other
sources, such as bean and " lime " districts.

Some of my hives are three feet long, and
when I have twelve frames of brood I put down
queen-excluding divider, and fill out the hive
with empty combs or foundation. A few days
after the flow commences I put another hive or
super on top of the frames, the same length as
the hive, with a sheet of excluder zinc over the
first six frames, and a thin quilt all the way
back over the rest of the frames between the
super and hive proper. I should say the super
is same size as the hive proper, and takes stan-
dard frames. In this way I have not much
trouble with swarms, and need not be in a hurry
to extract, as there is plenty of room for surplus
honey. The frames in these hives are parallel
to entrance, and in the height of the season the
bees enter at both ends of the hive from en-
trances extending to full width of the hives.

With regard to spring feeding, I used to think
that, provided a hive had plenty of stores, it
was better to leave it severely alone ; hut after
experimenting, I have come to the conclusion
that slow and regular feeding in early spring is
essential in districts depending on the clover for
surplus honey. The great difficulty has been to
obtain a good feeder ; that is, one which pre-
serves heat by allowing the quilts to lie closety
packed all over the tops of the frames, and feeds
slowly, say, a tablespoonful every twenty-four
hours.

This year I am using a feeder made as fol-
lows : — A piece of wood about one inch thick
and six inches square, with a hole about two
inches square cut in the middle. Place this on
the thin quilt next the frames, and in the square
hole place the tin cover of a quarter-pound
mustard can, or anything similar ; and over the
hole a square of glass, kept in position by a thin
slit of wood tacked on each side of the hole ; a
narrow slit in the quilt to allow two or three
bees at a time to come through, and all is ready.
To fill the feeder, slide the glass back just
enough to pour the syrup into the tin cover.
The feeder can also be used for soft or hard
candy by taking out the tin cover, and filling the
hole under the glass with the candy.

Heaps of trouble ! some bee-keepers may say,
but it amply repays when the honey-flow comes,
and there are strong stocks to gather it, If

any stocks increase too fast, there are always a
few weak ones to be found, to which a frame or
two of hatching brood is very acceptable. —
J. 0. C, Cornwall, February 9th, 1893.

[If our correspondent, by whatever system of
management he adopts, last year obtained re-
sults approaching those reported by Mr. Wells,
he will do well to continue working on his pre-
sent lines. But it has been distinctly stated
that stocks are not doubled in order to obtain
the average of 158 pounds per colony. He-
ference to what has already appeared in our
pages on this point will show why we agree
with Mr. Wells in counting each double-queened
stock as one colony — not two. — Eds.J

BEGINNERS AND THE "WELLS"
SYSTEM.

[1354.] I do not know wherein the " Wells "
system differs from an ordinary twin hive with
a division of perforated zinc, nor do I know
whether Mr. Wells recommends his new system
to young bee-keepers as being more profitable ;
but I would advise young beginners to be care-
ful how they " plunge," for a double hive is a
formidable affair to manage — at least I found
it so many years ago, and although 1 still keep
mine as a curiosity, it has not been in use for
six or seven years.

I found that although I did exactly what
you strongly advise about keeping the quilt of
each half well pressed down, so as not to disturb
one half while manipulating the other, the bees
of the other half would persist in attacking
from the flight-hole (or entrance), and it was
truly surprising what intelligence they displayed
in this respect, for after a time it mattered not
which side I desired to interview, they were
ready for me on both sides. I have kept bees
for forty years, and am no coward, but to this
twin hive I had to raise my hat and pass on.
Then, as regards swarming, there was always
the double chance, which is a great drawback
to any system. And if there happens to be a
weakly foul-broody stock within a mile of the
place, the chances are two to one they will find
it. For these reasons I feel certain the double
hive will be a disappointment and loss to most
young beginners who try it. — Thomas F. Ward,
Highgate.

MISHAPS WITH THE " WELLS " HIVE.

[1355.] I was in hopes that Mr. Woodley
would have given us some more information in
last week's Journal respecting the loss of his two
colonies of bees, " a la Wells," mentioned on p. 44
(No. 1315). As I think there is something to be
learned from such a contretemps in the hands of
a master of the craft like Mr. Woodley, I
should like to ask him a few questions upon it,
and also ask him to give us any further informa-
tion that he may have gleaned upon the subject,
as I feel certain that he has not let the matter

88

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 2, 1893.

drop without making further inquiries into the
why and wherefore of his mishap.

How and when were these two colonies put
into this double hive, and was he certain that
each colony had a laying queen, that had bred
in this hive, when he examined them in Novem-
ber ? If so, did he find a dead queen in the
deserted part of the hive, or had she gone
through the division - board with her bees ?
And what did the stores consist of — was it
honey that had been collected by the bees, or
was it stores that had been given to them
already sealed up ? I cannot help thinking
that the queen in the deserted part of the hive
must have died, and then her bees joined in
with the other lot. But, even then, I don't
understand their dying of starvation, with
plenty of food so near to them, as I don't
recollect ever losing a lot of bees by starvation
when there has been any food in the hive ; and
I have given up cutting winter passages now for
several years past.

I don't say " Served him right," as oftentimes
there is more learnt from a failure than through
continued success.

What a glorious day we had for bees on
Sunday, the 19th ult. ! Mine did enjoy what
few crocuses there was out in bloom, as many
as four bees in one flower at once time. I have
never known them so busy carrying pollen in
February before. — Man of Kent.

AFFILIATED ASSOCIATIONS AND THE
B.B.K.A.

[1356.] I intend to urge the following as a
recommendation or resolution at the forthcoming
Annual Meeting of the British Bee-keepers'
Association: — That the affiliated Associations
be required to contribute more liberally to the
funds of the British Bee-keepers' Association.
As the county Associations have the first claim
on the bee-keepers of their county for support,
there is a very limited field from which to
recruit the subscription list of the B.B.K.A.
The services rendered by the B.B.K.A. to all
bee-keepers in the kingdom and to the bee-
keeping interests of the world are considerable,
and the claims of the Association on the county
Associations ought to be more liberally acknow-
leged. The guinea fee is utterly inadequate. —
E. D. Till, Eynsford.

EXTRACTORS.

[1357.] Apropos of extractors, I served a two
years' apprenticeship to a " Little Wonder," and
last summer I began to think I wanted some-
thing— well, not so painfully simple, also 1 didn't
want to pay much ; so I got together my Bee
Journals, and after a due consideration of the
merits of those advertised, I got out a drawing
of what I thought an extractor should be. It
combined the leading features of but no, I

believe some patents are involved; anyhow it
was a very nice drawing, and the tinsmith
round the corner, who makes the covers for
my " Stewartons," said he would make one for
15s. 6 d., and I said " Done ! " I was " done," for
aftersix or eight visits round the corner to explain
details of construction that the tinsmith couldn't
follow, the machine was finally sent round,
and with it a bill for 26s., " treacle tap 2s. 6d.
extra ! "

Bees about here seem to have passed through
the severe weather very well, and I hear of no
losses. All my five stocks were flying strongly on
Sunday the 5th, carrying my thoughts on to
next J une, with six weeks, or even a month,
settled fine weather and the fields white with
the little Dutch clover, a state of things I have
longed for ever since I took to bees, but expect
never to see realised. — Mouche-a-Miel.

(&t\nm farm % pibts.

Beemount, Stoke Prior, February 20th. — The
weather here yesterday was glorious, ther-
mometer registering fifty-five degrees in the
shade, the maximum this year so far. Bees out
in great numbers, some busily employed taking
home pollen of a bright orange colour. The
" hum " was indeed music to one's ear. Some
friends who been watching the little revellers
in the sunshine came hurriedly to me exclaim-
ing, " The bees are swarming!" I was obliged
to "smole a smile" when I heard this startling
news. Am happy to state that the bees I help
to manage, as well as my own, are all in a
prosperous condition. — Percy Leigh.

Ballindalloch, X.B., February 22nd. — My bees
(twelve colonies) have come through the winter
all right. I had a look at my weakest colony
and found brood on two frames and young bees
hatched. — Alex. Stbathdee.

Coventry, February 19th. — Bees seem to have
wintered well here. My nine stocks were
flying splendidly to-day, and they were carrying
in pollen from snowdrops. — H. Robinson.

mxm antr Implies.

[723.] Reneiving Combs in Hive. — I asked you
some time ago how I should act when I wanted
to replace old frames and combs in a hive with
new ones, and you said that I had better take
away one of the outside frames about once a
week or so, beginning in April or May, and put
in a frame of foundation in the centre — the
brood nest— in its stead. This, I have no doubt,
is the proper way for success, but I wish to
know if there is not a shorter way of doing
away with the old black combs— say, a complete
change of hives done at once ? I have two hives
of which I want to change their combs, and 1
have two spare hives, all the standard size,

March 2, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

80

Honey I don't want this year, as I have plenty-
over from last year. I left the two old hives
plenty of honey at the beginning of winter and
the bees in them seem all right now. — J. S. D.,
Oravesend.

Reply. — The combs might, of course, be re-
newed at one operation about the middle of
May, by shaking the bees off the old combs and
letting "them run into the new hive fitted with
full sheets of foundation. But it would be a
rather cruel thing to sacrifice the brood in the
old combs in order to do it in this way. Why
not give the bees at least such of the old combs
as had brood in them, and substitute frames of
foundation for these latter after the brood had
hatched out ?

[724.] Porto Rico Sugar for Feeding. — 1. Do
you recommend this ? I put about four or five
pounds over the frames, laid on thin paper, in the
autumn on any hive which may be short of
stores. Advantages — (a) Keeps the bees warm;
(b) at this time of the year it forms an easy
guide as to the state of the bees. One hive is
now taking it freely, and the bees look very
healthy ; another has not touched the sugar at
present, having more honey in the frames. The
only disadvantage is that there is some refuse in
the sugar which the bees carry out. 2. In an
ordinary hive (not a Wells') is it neces-
sary to use queen-excluder over the frames in
the body hive ? I never but once found eggs in
either sections or the frames above.— A. P. J.,
Norfolk.

Reply. — 1. Owing to the extreme difficulty
of obtaining genuine Porto Rico sugar, and also
by reason of the mishaps which have come to
our knowledge through feeding as described, we
do not recommend it. 2. If you have found
little or no trouble from the non-use of queen-
excluder between brood and surplus chambers,
there is no reason why you should adopt
it. Your experience is, however, contrary
to that of most bee-keepers, who, even
when dispensing with it in " sectioning/' find
excluders necessary when working for extracted
honey.

[725.] 1. My bees were very busy carrying
home pollen yesterday : may I conclude that the
queen is breeding ? 2. Is Essex a good county
for bee-keeping ? 3. When shall I begin to
give artificial pollen? 4. Is the middle of
March too early to commence syrup feeding ?
5. Do you consider it a good plan to place
camphor amongst the cork-dust between the
walls of hive ? — Percy Leigh, Beemount, Stoke
Prior, February 20th.

Reply. — 1 and 2. Yes. 3. If natural pollen
is plentiful the substitute is not needed at all.
Otherwise, whenever bees are seeking for natural
supplies, artificial pollen may be given with ad-
vantage. 4. The end of March is early enough.
5. We always use naphthaline between the
walls of our hives, and keep a few pieces between
the quilts as a preventive of disease and to keep
away moths.

[726.] Sections versus Shalloio Frames. —

1. Which gives the best results, working bees
in one-pound sections or in shallow frames for
extracting? 2. Is it necessary to use queen-
excluder zinc when working sections ? 3. When
working shallow frames, is it best to use only
two shallow bodies for each hive, and extract
the top when full, or add shallow bodies as long
as the bees will fill them, and then extract at
the end of the season ? 4. If this plan is best,
how am I to know when the bottom shallow
body is full, as I presume the empty ones would
be put on next the brood nest ?— F. Howell,
Poole, Dorset.

Reply— 1. A greater weight of surplus will
be got with shallow frames for extracting.

2. Not necessary, though some consider it ad-
visable. With shallow frames, however, ex-
cluder is indispensable. 3. We use three shallow
bodies in a good season, and, if more space is
needed, remove some of the full frames, and re-
turn them after extracting. 4. The first surplus
box given remains next the brood nest till the
end of season, and is always well filled.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers 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 communication.

All queries forviarded will be attended to, and those only
of personal interest will be answered in this column.

A Constant Reader (Devon). — Keeping Bees
in a Town Store-room. — If there is bee-
pasturage within a little distance of the place,
the bees will do all right in a store-room as
described. Fix up the hives on a stout plat-
form close to the window, through the lower
sash of which an aperture— six or seven
inches long and three-eighths of an inch high
— should be cut for a passage-way for the
bees. A good-sized alighting-board should
also be fixed outside the window, and, if
possible, some little side protection should be
provided, so that high winds would not prevent
the bees from alighting easily. We recently
saw a couple of stocks working in hives fixed
at the upper window of a dwelling-house, and
although the walls and tops of the hives were
entirely of glass, the bees worked away quite
regardless of the daylight or of observers.

J. W. (Patshill, Wolverhampton). — Bee-stingy.
—We have known several bee-keepers who,
like yourself, suffered much inconvenience
from bee-stings, yet have quite overcome the
trouble by acquiring a quiet and patient
method of handling bees. We never like to
hear of gloves being used when manipulating,
and as soon as possible these should be dis-
pensed with. They hinder instead of being

90

THE BRTTISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 2, 1893.

helpful. Then, if your bees are specially
pugnacious they should be got rid of, and a
quieter strain introduced. Above all things,
bear in mind to worry the bees as little as
possible by unnecessary interference.

F. W. (Pitsea, Essex). — Spring Food for Bees-
— We know nothing of the " chips " referred
to, and strongly advise you to use nothing but
pure cane-sugar syrup for spring food.

A. M. (Frizington). — Bees were smashed out of
all shape in post. It is impossible to guess
why the three stocks in skeps have died,
unless it be from cold or paucity of numbers.

K. Hamlyn-H arris (Wragby). — 1. Wax, if
melted down into a solid cake, needs no
taking care of ; it will keep anywhere. 2. If
the syrup is free from fermentation, a little
hot water added will make it suitable for
spring use. 3. We don't like patching up
and transferring old combs from skeps to
frame hives. Far better let the skep swarm
and furnish the frame hive with straight new
combs.

Alpha (Birchfields). — Bee-candy. — Full in-
structions for candy-making are given in B. J.
for November 26th, 1892 (p. 534), which will
be sent you for \\d. in stamps. The candy
must be placed below the cushion of cork-
dust.

G. Sawyer (Gt. Marlow). — " Wells" Division
Boards. — If the holes are made just so large
as to prevent the possibility of the passage
of the worker-bee, very little propolisation
will take place ; but, if too small, the holes
are much more likely to be propolised.

J. Ring (Maidstone).— Work for Beginners. —
If you can ascertain by slightly uncovering
the frames that the bees have plenty of food
left, no further steps are really required until
the hive begins to get crowded with bees,
when supers of some kind must be given.
If food is short the bees must be fed at once.
To be successful you should read some work
on bees, such as the Guide-book or Modem
Bee-keeping.
Alex. Stathdee (Ballindalloch). — Asphalte
Felt for Covering Frames. — No. 1 would do
for the purpose, but there is an asphalts,
commonly known as " patent roofing felt,"
which is still better, as being free from fibre
to annoy the bees. A material like No. 3
would not form by any means so warm a
covering as ordinary quilting.
" Seldom Seen " (Newbrough). — Races of Bees.
— 1. Hybrid Carniolan (slight cross). 2, 5,
and 6. Ordinary black bees. 3. Hybrid Li-
gurian. 4. Well-marked hybrid Carniolans.
E. J. Pidler (Alton, Hants). — The Hon. Secre-
tary of the Hants and Isle of Wight B.K.A.
is Mr. J. J. Oandey, 197 Commercial Road,
Landport, who will, no doubt, furnish you
with all the information you require.

%* Several articles, queries, 6e.t are in type,
and ivill appear next week,

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

1 » «

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, die. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

ONEY!— About 2 cwt. of First-class Extracted Honey
to sell on Deposit System. Apply to " Spark," Bee
Jour nal Office.

FOR SALE.— " Pelham " Foundation Mill (10 in.) in
excellent condition, £2 ; or will exchange for Bees.
Address W. B. Webster, Binfield, Berks.

WANTED.— Offers in Bee Appliances for a high-class
young Greyhound Bitch, also a handsome Airedale
Terrier Bitch ; or sell cheap. Apply to C. P. Joyner,
Mayfield Apiary, Malvern, Worcestershire.

BEE SEEDS recommended by Bee-keepers, guaranteed
best sorts, 13 large Packets, Is., post free. Address
J. Bennett, Bee-keeper, Seedsman, and Florist, 178 Spon
Street, Coventry.

FOR SALE,— The "Wells" Hive, complete, with -10
Standard Frames, Metal Ends, Queen Excluder,
Enamelled Quilt, Perforated Division, &c, new, inter-
changeable, 25s. Address H. Y. Skinner, Broad Street,
Whittlesea, Canibs.

/ 1 ARDENE R, married, aged 27, wants Situation. Un-
VJT derstands Cucumbers, Melons, &c. Certificated 3rd
Class Expert. Address F., c/o Mrs. Reed, Back Road,
Hawkhurst, Kent.

WANTED.— American-made Dove-tailed Broad-shoul-
dered Frames. Address F. Jones, Mullinabro',
Water ford.

BEE PLANTS.— Limnanthes Douglasii, 100, Is. 3d.;
Iceland Poppies, 25, U 3d. ; Golden-leaved Forget-
me-not (novelty), 12, Is. 3d. Seeds, 6d. packet. Address
Hunting, Loddon, NorfoUi. 3

BEE SEEDS.— Immense Packet of suitable mixed sorts
for Bees (by a Specialist) . Post free, Is. Address
Willie, 11 Highfield Road, Coventry. 3

MARSHALL'S Soft Candy for Winter and Spring
Feeding.— Soft Bee-Candy and Flour-Candy, exactly
the same as that sent out by the late Walter Marshall,
supplied by his Widow at 4s. 6d per dozen 1-lb. Cakes.
Single Cakes, 5d. each. Cash, with order. Address Mrs.
W. Marshall, The Apiary, Sunny Hill, Hemel Hemp-
stead. 3

BEES AND QUEENS.— Choice Ligurian, Carniolan,
and English Stocks, Swarms, and Queens. Prices on
application. Address C. T. Overton, Crawley, Sussex. 7

QIX HOESE POWER (Crossley " Otto") GAS
O ENGINE for Sale (more power required).
Can be seen at work until March 4. Lowest price,
£60. Address Abbott Bros., Southall.

TO CLERGYMEN IN THE COUNTRY.

WANTED — BOARD and LODGINGS for a young
Gentleman, aged 18 (German Protestant), in a
Clergyman's Family in the Country, from April to October,
to complete his English knowledge, with general super-
vision and an English Lesson daily. References exchanged.
Address John G. Kirsten, Sonthborough, Kent.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
PRACTICAL NOTE-BOOK.

With Rules for the General Management of

Movable Comb Hives.
By THOS. W. COWAN, F.G.S., &c,
Editor British Bee Journal.
Consists of a Series of Tables by means of which
the Bee-keeper can keep a record of all his Obser-
vations and Operations. A Pocket-companion in-
dispensable to the practical Bee-keeper.
Price Is., postage Id.

British Bee Journal Office, 17 King William Street
Strand, London, W.C,

THE

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 559. Vol. XXI. N. S. 167.]

MARCH 9, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

€bit0rial, ftntites, #r.

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — As predicted in the weather
chart referred to in our last " Hints,"
February was " mild and wet " — very wet ;
in fact, the rainfall must have been several
inches above the average, for we can recall
very few days in the whole month when
rain did not fall at some time or other
during the twenty-four hours. Fortunately,
however, the tremendous downpour chiefly
took place during the night-time, and as
several days have been bright and sunny,
with a generally high temperature, bees
have been busy gathering natural pollen
very freely, in our own neighbourhood,
from the catkins of the willow. The
favourable reports we continue to receive
point also to the fact that bees have
wintered unusually well, there being very
few cases recorded of stocks perishing out-
right. Nor has the general loss of bee-life
in still-surviving stocks been anything like
so heavy as usual, if the accounts in our
correspondence of "very few dead bees
found on floor-board " are a safe criterion
as to the all-round condition of stocks in
the possession of readers.

Spring Stimulation. — It is certain that
breeding is now making good progress in
healthy colonies, and, if precautions are
taken to avoid the mischief which some-
times occurs through a recurrence of cold
weather in April, there is no reason why in
early districts queens and bees should not
now be encouraged to extend the brood
nest by candy-feeding for the next two or
three weeks, followed, at the expiration of
that time, by thin syrup given regularly
until natural food can be had. Should the
weather continue mild, all will be well ;
but if frost returns, or if cold easterly
winds supervene, feeding should not, as some
anay think, be suspended ; it then becomes

more than ever necessary. Giving food
means furnishing bees with the power of
producing heat ; consequently " chilled
brood " will be more safely guarded against
by keeping up slow feeding, combined, of
course, with care in adding to the warmth of
the hive, than in any other way. We are not
unmindful of the fact that early stimulation
has to some extent been deprecated in this
column, nor have we altered our opinion
that stocks amply provided with food at this
season are best left alone if doing well ; but
if bees of such stocks are seen to be less
active in pollen-carrying than others which
are being stimulated, then — and then only
— should the former be roused to more rapid
breeding by uncapping or bruising the
surface of the sealed combs to expose the
food within. This operation will as effec-
tually stimulate the bees as feeding, and
need cause very little disturbance.

Candy Making. — Recipes for this are so
much in request just now that we give
below the method followed by Mr. William
Woodley, as detailed by him in this month's
Record, wherein he writes : —

" Candy-making, notwithstanding the re-
peated recipes that have been given in the
Record and its weekly contemporary the
Bee Journal, has not proved a satis-
factory job in the hands of many bee-
keepei*s; therefore I shall not consider
space wasted if I give our experience.
When I say ' our,' that includes the ' gude
wife,' who generally superintends the cook-
ing part of the business. We proceed as
follows : — Into a large copper-bottomed
saucepan we put three imperial pints of
boiling water, then add gradually seventeen
pounds 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 allow 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

92

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 9, 1893*

removed from the fire; and Naphthol
Beta, dissolved in spirits of wine, may be
added in proper proportions 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."

The chief difficulty experienced in candy-
making by amateurs is that, when cold, it
becomes too hard for the bees to take it
easily, and so, to the above clear and simple
directions, we would add that — if readers
find any trouble in this way — a little
granulated honey, well kneaded or worked
into the mass as it is cooling down, will
render the candy soft and "buttery," besides
making it very attractive to the bees.

The Double-Queen System. — Kef erring
to the great amount of interest taken in
this system, we do not quite regret to ob-
serve that some correspondents have written
what may be termed "steadiers" on the sub-
ject, nor can there be any objection to the
advice given by " C. M. R." in our monthly,
the Record, to " hasten gently " with regard
to it. We have all through urged a trial
with a very limited number of hives on the
double-queen plan, knowing that experience
will be required before deciding whether
to go in for it largely or not. There is,
however, no reason that we can see why
"disappointment and loss" should result,
even to beginners, as prognosticated by
our correspondent, Mr. Ward (1354, p. 87).
In his case, the viciousness of the bees dealt
with appears to be the main cause of
failure ; anyway, no trouble of the kind
happened to Mr. WelJs, who — after two
years' trial — is more hopeful regarding his
plan than ever.

Another point we find it necessary to
refer to is the need for readers clearly
understanding what is meant by advising
the joining of a couple of weak stocks to-
gether in order to form a double- queen
colony on the " Wells " plan. From letters
which have reached us, it is apparent that
the term "weak stock" is not quite a safe one
to use, because of the readiness with which
inexperienced bee-keepers apply it in a
general sense without reference to the
cause of weakness. It is surprising to find
how many are strangely apt to overlook
this fact, and yet it would be obviously
worse than useless to hope for any success
from the joining together of two stocks ren-
dered "weak" by having aged and worn-
out queens at their head, or worse still,

owing their weakness to disease. Conse-
quently it will be best to drop the term
"weak stock" and substitute "second
swarm " or " cast." These latter are usually
weak in spring, but being headed by young
queens, they pull up so rapidly as to fre-
quently push ahead of much stronger stocks
by the time the honey-flow begins. These
are, therefore, the so-called " weak stocks "
so admirably adapted for uniting in pairs
when first making trial of the double-queen
plan, and we ask that correspondents who
have sent queries ou the subject of uniting
" weak stocks," will take the above remarks
as a reply.

BERKS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The annual meeting of this flourishing Asso-
ciation was held on Monday, the 27th ult., at
Reading, and, considering the state of the
-weather, there a very fair attendance. Whilst
light refreshments were partaken of, the
members found an opportunity of talking over
the prospects of the coming season, nearly every
one expressing the opinion that bees had come
through the winter better than for some years
past.

Proceeding to business, Mr. W. S. Barley was
voted to the chair. The minutes of the last
annual meeting having been read and passed, a
vote of thanks was accorded to the retiring
officers, who, with few exceptions, were re-
elected. Much regret was expressed at the re-
tirement of the Hon. Sec, Miss R. E. Carr
Smith, who two years ago stepped into the
breach when the affairs of the Association were
anything but flourishing, and almost entirely by
her own efforts put it on its legs again. She
has the satisfaction of seeing as the result of
her labours that the Berks B.K.A. is doing ex-
cellent work in the promotion of profitable bee-
keeping in the county. Miss Carr Smith, in
response to a special vote of thanks, stated that
the work had been to her a labour of love, and
in resigning the post of Hon. Sec. she did not
intend to cease working for the Association, but
that circumstances compelled her to take a les»
official position, in which she would do her best
as in the past.

Mr. A. D. Woodley was elected Hon. Sec,
and in accepting that post explained that he did
so only in order to retain the assistance of Miss
Carr Smith, who had consented to help him in
the work.

Mr. John Simonds (the Bank, Reading) was
elected Hon. Treasurer; Mr. Frank Cooksey,
Hon. Librarian ; Experts, Messrs. A. B. Wood-
ley, F. W. Flood, and H. Atlee. Representa-
tives to the British Bee-keepers' Association, Mr.
A. L. Cooper, Hillcroft, Reading, and Mr. W.
Carter, New Road, Clewer.

The routine business having been disposed of,.
one of the experts explained the " Wells " hive>.

March 9, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

93

one of which he had on view. The hive was
afterwards submitted to a critical examination,
the general opinion being that at present it
would be better to proceed slowly with the new
idea, and that in the hands of a novice it may
be a failure.

The meeting terminated with hearty good
wishes for a successful season.

We are requested to inform the members of
this Association that in future all communica-
tions should be addressed to the Hon. Secretary
Berks B.K.A., 17 Market Place, Reading.

GLAMORGANSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The annual general meeting of this Associa-
tion was held at the Queen's Hotel, Cardiff,
February 16th, 1893— Mr. Charles F. Gooch in
the chair. The attendance was not large. The
accounts and report of the Committee were

Presented and passed. The President and Vice-
'residents were re-elected. Mr. Thornton was
appointed to act as Secretary and Treasurer.
The Acting Committee were elected, representing
the chief centres of the County. Mr. Gooch
was re-elected Chairman of this Committee.
Mr. Pritchard Morgan, M.P., and Mr. N. L.
Carr were re-elected representatives to the
British Bee-keepers' Association.

A discussion was then initiated by the Hon.
Secretary as to the desirability of dividing the
county into districts, with local committees and
secretaries. By this means it was hoped a
greater interest would be taken in the Asso-
ciation and new life and vigour infused amongst
its gradually diminishing numbers. This plan
was approved by all present, and the Secretary
was requested to make inquiries as to the rules
and management, &c, of these District Asso-
ciations and report.

Mr. Thornton will be very grateful for any
information on the subject from Hon. Secretaries
or others where this is carried out.

The expert then read his report. He stated
that he had examined 165 frame hives and
fifteen skeps, and did not detect one case of foul
brood. This is very encouraging, for, as far as
the Association knows, the county is free from
this pest. In some parts of the county a fair
amount of honey had been taken, while in other
parts the bees had to be fed to keep them alive.

A hearty vote of thanks to the late Secretary
and to the Chairman was cordially endorsed by
all present. — E. Thobnton, Secretary and
Treasurer Glam. B.K.A.

BISHOP'S STORTFORD BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The above Association held its third annual
meeting at the Corn Exchange on Tuesday
evening, February 21st — the Rev. W. J. Frere
presiding. The report and balance-sheet were
read and passed. The prizes offered for com-
petition at the next Horticultural Show were

then considered, and in addition to those given
by the Association andMr.and Mrs. L. D. Wigan,
a special series of six prizes were arranged" for
cottagers and labourers joining the Association
during 1893. The officers were then re-elected
as follows :— President, the Rev. W. J. Frere ;
Secretary and Treasurer, Mr. G. W. Sworder ;
Committee, Mrs. Pritchett, Miss Scott, Mr. W.
J. Cooper, Mr. F. Fowler, Mr. W. Bentley, and
Mr. E. Rumble ; Auditor, Mr. C. Gabb ; Local
Secretaries, the Rev. A. D. Piper, Rev. J. J.
Baker, Mr. F. Fowler, and Mr. E. Wallis ; Ex-
pert and Adviser, Mr. W. C. Child. A vote of
thanks to the Chairman concluded tne meeting.

EXAMINATION OF HONEY BY
DIALYSIS.

{Concluded from page 84.)

When Dr. Barth says, " One must not con-
clude that there is adulteration because there is
a strong deviation to the right, in the absence
of a precipitate of dextrine obtained by alcohol,"
he affirms nothing. He might, at any rate,
have added — except where these honeys, after
prolonged dialysis, still turn the polarised ray
to the right.

As a proof, take the analyses of Nos. 34, 35,
and 36. That these conifer honeys are " of less
value " than flower honeys can only be stated
with reserve. In many instances they are
preferable to honey from flowers. A difference
must also be noted with regard to aphidian
honeys. They are in this respect of inferior
value, because they are the product of an un-
healthy vegetation, whereas honeys from flowers
and conifers are derived from a healtby vegeta-
tion. Unfortunately I am not yet in a position
to judge of the way aphidian honey acts with
respect to polarisation and dialysis, as up to the
present I have not been able to procure any.

The opinion of Dr. Amthor satisfied me the
least, and for the same reason as I have
mentioned with regard to that of Dr. Barth,
because Dr. Amthor says, " This is one of those
natural honeys polarising to the right, con-
taining dextrine," and because he concludes,
" or it resembles them by its composition to such a
degree that it is impossible to see any difference."

Here there is an evident contradiction, and a
doubt in the surmise. One ought to say one of
two things, that this is either a pure and
natural honey, or not, as Dr. Haenle has done
with such precision. But an opinion formulated
like that of Dr. Amthor is of no value what-
ever.

It is well to say that no decisive step has
been taken by the Government to establish a
law with regard to the sale of honey. It is also
true that " for four or five years a thick mist
has hung over the chemistry of honey," only
Dr. Haenle could add, that it is still there.
(As a proof, see the opinions of Drs. Barth
and Amthor.)

This mist must — and I say it with firm con-

94

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 9, 1893.

viction — give place to clear light, if tlie theory
of Dr. Haenle is admitted without jealousy, de-
clared indisputable, and recognised as having a
practical value.

Allow me to say a word about the prices of
the analyses.

Dr. Barth and Dr. Haenle, without the
slightest pretension, charge two to three marks
(2s. to 3s.), whereas Dr. Nessler charges eight
marks, and Dr. Amthor fifteen marks. This
last fee is too high, more especially as the
analysis is not a correct one. It is, therefore,
not astonishing that the dealers, for example,
hesitate to send purchased honey to the labora-
tory to have it analysed. I have before me
the report of the Municipal Laboratory. Ac-
cording to this, from 1886 to 1891 only five
samples of honey have been analysed, at the
request of private individuals and not of the
authorities. No remarks are made on any of
the samples.

I would remark that the fee for analysis is
fixed at five marks only, and that all the fees on
analysis of foods are indicated in the Heidelberg
Directory ; however, only one sample has been
sent to this laboratory during the last year, and
this was not from any of the authorities. It is
therefore time that the bee-keepers' societies
take the matter up in the way it is done here,
and that they start laboratories of their own.

The Journal cV Apiculture a" Alsace-Lorraine
says, with respect to Heidelberg : " The sale of
artificial honey has absolutely stopped at Heidel-
berg since the establishment of the laboratory
in this town." We must not take this literally,
but, as we advertise occasionally in the papers,
the time when the above will be quite true is
not far distant. The result will be, as I have
pointed out previously, the complete disappear-
ance of artificial or adulterated honey, and the
consumers of pure honey will cause the price to
rise, and bee-keeping will prosper.

My work was finished when by chance an
extract from the Austrian Pharmaceutical
Journal, No. 19, 1891, reached me. It was
stated that Dr. Mansfeld of Vienna made known
the results of his analysis of honey. For me
this extract is most interesting. It is just the
contrary to what I have established by my work.
I frankly admit that I might have been dis-
couraged, when I read the following words
from such an authority as Dr. Mansfeld : —
" Dialysis according to my trials is not
necessary in verifying honey." And in a note
Dr. Mansfeld bases his statements on the ex-
periments of another authority Dr. Dietrich, who
stated in the Annals of Helfenberg that all
honey analysed after dialysis rotates to the rio-ht,
just like those adulterated with glucose.

I cannot make a better reply than by referring
to the table, and this would be sufficient to
astonish these two honourable gentlemen. I
have up to the present made between eighty and
ninety dialyses, and not one of these honeys
showed any power of rotation after dialysis.
Amongst them were about a dozen honeys from
the Black Forest which before dialysis turned to

the right. On the other hand, all the samples
which had been adulterated with glucose or
fruit sugar persistently deviated four to nine
degrees to the right, absolutely the same as
is indicated above with respect, to cane-sugar
syrup, given as food to bees and sealed in the
hives during several months.

Now I can advance the following supposition :
either that the two samples of which these
gentlemen speak were adulterated with glucose
or cane-sugar syrup, or, which is the more
probable, that dialysis was not complete. The
dialyser which I employ is the one recommended
by Dr. Haenle, and is arranged in such a way
that the substance to be tested covers the surface
of the membrane barely a centimetre in depth ;
the current of water passing across the instrument
is sufficiently strong to effect complete diffusion.
I have also, to verify the method, dialysed with
a bladder, and I then, with a solution of water
and honey from the Black Forest deviating to
the right, gave the dialyser as much liquid as it
would contain, the depth being four centimetres.
I continued the strong current of water for
twenty hours, but I found on polarising that
after five hours the rotation was stationary, and
that it was still 4- 14° at the end of the twenty
hours. It therefore depends upon the manner
in which the dialysis is made. I then gradually
adulterated this honey 10 per cent, at a time with
syrup and I had with a 30 per cent, of adul-
teration, + 130° before dialysis, +24° after
twenty hours of dialysis with a bladder, + 18°
with my dialyser, and the solution three centi-
metres in depth, and lastly a stationary deriva-
tion of + 10° for a depth of one centimetre.

Therefore it is possible to say, with certainty,
that the difference of the rotatory power de-
pended on the product added — glucose — and
that this power varied with the manner of
dialysis.

Also, the statement of Dr. Mansfeld — that an
adulteration of honey with ten per cent, of
glucose could not be demonstrated with cer-
tainty— can in future be refuted. I have also
been able completely to refute the statements
made by Dr. Dietrich in 1891.

Later I learnt the following at Heidelberg : —

Dr. Haenle received from M. Bruder, of
Waldshut, two samples of honey for analysis.
Dr. Haenle reported : —

" Honey B. contains five per cent, of impurity.
Honey Sch. is adulterated with seventy-five per
cent, of glucose. It is composed of seventy-five
parts glucose and twenty-five of honey. This
honey should be seized, and the vendor prose-
cuted."

After Dr. Haenle had communicated this
result to M. Bruder, this gentleman wrote on
the 2nd of November, 1891 :—

" To Dr. Haenle, Strasburg.

" I voluntarily inform you that the sample B.
is a honey from Eastern Prussia, adulterated
with about five per cent, of so-called Swiss
honey. That marked Sch. is commercial table
honey. — Yours truly, Hermann Bruder."

March 9, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

95

Lastly, I will mention one more fact which
proves that it is possible to detect an adultera-
tion of less than five per cent.

Dr. Biicher, Chief Official Analyst, sent me,
by bis assistant, on the 9th of April, at 3 p.m.,
a sample, with request that I would analyse it.
I would remark that the only object was to test
Dr. Haenle's method.

I asked the assistant to return at six o'clock.
The honey was analysed, and I found an adul-
teration of 6-90 per cent.

He returned at six o'clock, and when I told
him the result he, in turn, told me the composi-
tion of the honey that he had adulterated was as
follows : — Honey, 8505 per cent. ; water, 4-65 per
cent. ; grape sugar, 9 per cent. Therefore the
adulteration was approximately confirmed by
my analysis.

I would remark that both these gentlemen,
accustomed to analysis in my laboratory, have
expressed themselves very favourably towards
Dr. Haenle's method, especially with regard to
dialysis. A SendelE)

Chief of the Chemical Laboratory of the Agricul-
tural Society of Heidelberg.

It will now be seen that, in the interest of a
good cause, well established, it is to be hoped
that all who feel capable will join our ranks,
and spread the light of science, where darkness
still reigns, for the benefit of humanity, for the
honour of international science, and that, with-
out envy, there should be recognition of those
who have similar results to report.

Cflnxspotifctttta,

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested to write on one side of the paper only, and give their
veal names and addresses, not necessarily for publication, but
as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
■rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Reineuj, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal," 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

%* 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 " SUGAR-HONEY " QUESTION.

[1358]. "And now the question in England
is whether a pound bottle shall hold fourteen or
sixteen ounces."

Such is the manner in which Dr. Miller, in
one of his " Stray Straws " in Gleanings, sums
up the " standard bottle " discussion in the
B. B. J. I fancy this is only a bit of sly
humour on the part of the genial Doctor, as,
with his knowledge of bees and honey, he must
be perfectly aware that no bottle could be manu-

factured or devised to hold exactly either fourteen
or sixteen ounces, unless we could first arrive at
the impossible consummation of a "standard
density " of honey ; and he knows perfectly well
that, in looking for a standard bottle, we seek
such a one as, taking the average density of
good honey, will be fair alike to producer and
consumer.

Without any intention of a tu quoque to
Dr. Miller, or to any of our transatlantic friends,
I the subject leads me naturally to the latest dis-
cussion in the American bee journals, for while
we were trying to find the best jar to hold our
honey, they have been striving to find some-
thing with which to fill their honey jars. Much
has been written and said in the past on the
subject of adulteration of American honey, but
I do not think any of the blame for this
adulteration has been given to American bee-
keepers. The dealer has always been (I think
justly) looked upon as the guilty party ; it was
therefore .with much surprise that I saw the
sugar-honey movement supported by some large
bee-keepers, whose names have always been a
guarantee of good faith and fair dealing. These
gentlemen advocated the practice under the firm
belief that sugar fed to bees was by them con-
verted into genuine honey, and that, therefore,
the trade was perfectly legitimate and honest.
To the credit of American bee-keepers generally
be it said that the proposal to manufacture
sugar honey was met with a pei-fect howl of
dissent alike from associations and individuals ;
many considered it simply dishonest, and many,
with Yankee shrewdness, saw in it the ruin
of bee-keeping. In ordinary seasons, the supply
of the genuine article being beyond the demand,
any artificial addition to that supply would mean
the lowering of prices already too low to be
fairly remunerative.

The discussion is now at an end. One of the
chief supporters of the movement agrees that
the subject should be dropped, " at least for the
present," while another candidly avows that he
was mistaken, and frankly owns up to an error
in judgment. However, although the matter
will no longer find a place in the journals, it is
to be feared that its mischievous effects will
remain. Numbers of small bee-keepers in the
States were only too glad to find so easy a
remedy for the dearth of surplus honey, and,
backed as the movement was by such honourable
names, they felt that they could honestly go for
sugar-feeding to produce honey, and have made
their arrangements for the coming season ac-
cordingly. The question is, will the recantation
of the principal supporters of the movement be
as convincing to all of these expectant sugar
honey manufacturers as their still unforgotten
arguments in its favour p At any rate it must
be assumed that some at least of this .spurious
honey will be produced and thrown on the
market. A great number will make it as an
experiment. Some may offer it, as Prof. Cook
advises, labelled as sugar honey, while others
may sell it unblushingly as "pure honey." In
support of this view one prominent bee-keeper

96

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 9, 1893.

says that lie is inundated with inquiries as to
the modus operandi, and he not even favourable
to the movement.

The strongest arguments brought forward in
favour of sugar honey were : firstly, it, to some
people, tasted like honey ; secondly, no analyst
could distinguish it from honey, chemically ; and
thirdly, the bees themselves, by storing sap of
the sugar maple, were guilty of the sugar-honey
dodge on their own account.

The mass of evidence is strongly opposed to
argument No. 1. With regard to argument No. 2,
Professor H.W.Wiley, while emphatically deny-
ing that sugar fed to bees is anything more than
invert sugar, and certainly not honey, confesses
that science cannot yet determine between the
two ; but he hopes, in a very short time, to find
tests which will clearly show the difference.

In its consumption, honey is either an article
of luxury or a medicine ; as the first, it owes
most of its value to its peculiar floral flavour,
which (argument No. 1 to the contrary not-
withstanding), cannot be imitated in invert
cane sugar, and it is fair to assume that its
floral origin gives to it its medicinal properties
— properties which sugar certainly does not
possess. But, as an article of luxury, let us, for
the sake of argument, assume that, to some
palates, sugar honey exactly resembles genuine
honey ; even that would not make the trade in
sugar honey an honest one. I have heard some
people declare that margarine is quite as good as
butter, and even better than some samples of the
real article. Still, it is not butter, and the law
very properly insists that it shall be sold only
under its proper trade name of margarine.
Equally, invert sugar is no more honey than
wooden nutmegs are the fragrant, spicy article
they outwardly imitate, or than double-pointed
shoe pegs are good nourishing oats. — J. W.
Wilson, Revesby, Boston, Februanj Qth, 1893.

[We have not alluded to the controversy that
has been going on in the American papers with
regard to feeding bees with sugar syrup to pro-
duce comb honey, as we cannot conceive any-
thing that would be more injurious to the
bee-keeping industry than that such a form of
adulteration should for a moment be counte-
nanced. That such a suggestion, although made
under the supposition that sugar syrup was
really converted into honey, should have come
from a few bee-keepers, and tho?e holding a lead-
ing position in America, is unfortunate. It was
supposed by them that in consequence of the con-
version of the cane sugar which nectar contains
into the grape sugar of honey, that also ordinary
cane sugar given to bees would in like manner
be converted; but, although to some people
this may taste like honey, it is hardly correct
to say that no analyst could discern it from
honey. Fortunately, the resources of civilisation
are not yet exhausted, and we are now publish-
ing an article on the examination of honey by
dialysis, which clearly shows that it is possible
to detect this form of adulteration with certainty.
This method of examination has evidently not

been tried in America, but we published par-
ticulars of it on page 197 of the B. B. J. for 1891 ..
On referring to the table we gave on page 75,
we would draw attention to the Nos. 49, 50,
and 51, which refer to cane-sugar syrup given tO'
bees, and stored by them in combs. All pure honey
after dialysis turns the ray of polarised fight to
the left, whereas all other sugars turn it to the
right, even after dialysis, and the amount of
admixture of any of these to pure honey can be
determined by the amount of rotation. Besides,
honey contains essential oils derived from dif-
ferent plants which impart the aroma, as well as
a certain quantity of formic acid and traces of
other saccharine substances not found in syrup.
Therefore, to call sugar syrup — even after it had
been stored by bees — honey, is a misnomer. The
strong measures taken by the B.B.K.A. some
years ago to put a stop to adulteration had the
desired effect. We are glad to find that there
has been such a determined stand made by bee-
keepers in America not to countenance this form
of adulteration. We also hope that our
American friends will avail themselves of these
means of detecting any such adulteration, by
those who may try it on during the coming
season. The articles we are now publishing
will be of special interest in connexion with our
correspondent's letter. — Eds.]

STORING SURPLUS.

[1359.] Mr. Woodley, in his "Notes by the
Way," to which I always look forward with
pleasure, is kind enough to give my plan for
increasing the surplus stored by swarms a
favourably notice. At the same time he pro-
pounds queries evidently with a view to getting
fuller information for those who may be in-
duced to try the plan.

The building of drone comb on the removal
of the blocks need not be feared if my advice is
carried out, viz., to remove them when the
honey-flow is on the wane.

In this district, up to the past season, it has
been necessary, for want of late crops, to feed
slowly from the close of the honey-flow until
the time for feeding up for winter, and I have
invariably found that when comb is built under
such circumstances, it is of worker-cells ; in
fast, I think it may be taken as a general rule
that, except when there is a plentiful supply of
food, or when the bees desire to raise drones, no
drone-cells are formed, and this is more par-
ticularly the case with swarms headed with
young queens.

If the frame-blocks are removed at the close of
the honey-flow, there will be, as a rule, a strong,
lot of bees, and in order to get the combs built
down and filled with brood, which should be an
important object, OEe frame should be placed
between the full combs, and it may also be
advisable, as the hive would then be full of
frames, to remove those on the outside, substi-
tuting dummies, and then a dummy or other

March P, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

97

feeder, full of Porto Rico

should be

sugar,
given.

I adopt the solid block because I wish to
have, as it were, a continuous floor just under
the combs, except in the middle, where I give
two full sheets of foundation or combs.

By adopting Mr. Woodley's suggestion, worker-
cells to the bottom bar, after removing supers,
would be assured ; so it is, I think, without it.
The mortice at one end of the block is, as shown
in the illustration in my former letter, cut twice
as deep as the other, and the block is then
slipped in and out of the frame easily.

By halving the block and fixing it so as to
cover the lower part of the sheet of foundation,
the bees would build out the foundation and
attach the combs to the block, thus causing
some difficulty in removing the latter, which
could not be done without the aid' of a knife to
sever the attachments.

I cannot go so far as to agree with Mr.
Woodley when he says that my plan proves
the utility of the shallow Heddon hive. I
never did favour shallow frames being used as
brood frames, because, though the surplus is
very materially increased by their use, the
disadvantage of having the stocks upon shallow
frames is, to my mind, too great.

By my plan I have no doubt that, having the
confined space allowed by shallow frames, strong
swarms will have their energies, almost im-
mediately after hiving, concentrated — as should
be the case — on storing surplus ; the completing
of the combs, and the consequent strengthening
of the colony, with a view to future success,
being left until the supers have been removed.
— C. N. White, Somersham, Hunts.

BEE EXPERIENCES.
What my Bees have Done for Me.

[I860.] Pre-supposing that some little interest
always attaches itself to the doings of amateur
bee-keepers, I send a brief account of my profit
and loss in buying bees and experience. Begin-
ning in spring 1886, my one stock cost 1/., appli-
ances 18s. 8d; bought bees in skep in autumn
for 10s.— total 21. 8s. 8d. Receipts 8s. 3d. Debit
balance 21. Os. 5d.

Began 1887 with three stocks. Had, along
with every one else, a good season, but foolishly
sold my honey in a hurry wholesale at 7^d.,\ess
carriage, when by waiting I could have realised
9d. at home and no carriage to pay. Receipts
11. 13s. Id. ; outlay 11. Os. 6d. — so my debit
balance stood at 1/. Is. Ad.

1888. One of the worst bee-years on record,
and as a result my adverse balance was increased
to 21. 3s. Od. However, the experience gained
was worth something.

1889. Wintered four stocks safely, and my
receipts for honey sold were 21. 18s. 5d., ex-
penses 13s. lid. ; this wiped off all my outlay
and left me with Is. 6d. to the good, but I also
seemed to have entered on a new fife in bee-

keeping, as I had got hold of the proper method of
managing them. So I resolved to have a hive
to work on the doubling system, and in conse-
quence I had an outlay in 1890 of 21. 4s. 3\d.
against receipts 11. 14s. l^d. — adverse balance
8s. 8d. But 1890 was a poor honey year with
me.

1891. Began with four stocks, which yielded
me 21. lis. 9d., expenses 6s. Id. — credit balance
11. 17s. Sd.

1892. I found one of my hives queenless, so
had only three to rely on. My receipts, how-
ever, were 3/. 6s. Ad., expenses 12s., so I had a
total sum of 4/. lis. id. over and above all my
outlay, while my bees, hives, &c, I consider
worth fully (51. and with this result I am so far
very well satisfied.

In coming to close details, I ought to say I
don't charge the bees for the small amount of
sugar I give them in the spring, and I don't
credit them with what honey I use myself or
give away, which this year has not been less
than twenty pounds, so you see I have not in-
creased my stocks very fast, as I took your
advice to learn how to manage them first ; but
I intend having another good hive this year. 1
put up five stocks for winter, and was very
pleased to see four of them very busy gathering
pollen on the 19th. I and my bees are very
great friends, and I find them a great pleasure
to me. Hoping we bee-keepers will all have
a good year — A Northamptonshire Bee-
keeper.

THE WELLS HIVE.

[1361.] I do not always find it very easy to
follow written directions, probably owing more
to my own obtuseness than to any other reason.
In your issue of February 9th (p. 51) you say,-
" The special features his hives do possess . . .
are those of having at least fourteen or sixteen
standard frames," &c. Now, I do not see
whether this means fourteen or sixteen in each
division, or only that number in the entire
hive. I think you probably mean the latter ;
but, as I have worked my hives heretofore with
at least ten frames in each, fourteen or sixteen,
or even eighteen does not appear to me to be
sufficient for the two compartments.

But there is a much greater difficulty in the
next paragraph, in which you speak of the
floor-board admitting of "being lowered two
inches or more in front, when required." 1
should be very glad if you would explain how
this is to be accomplished. The hive stands on
the floor -board from end to end and from front
to back. By contrivance can it be lowered
two inches in front ? and if so lowered, what
becomes of the two inches space thus made
under the dummies and the frames, and what is
to prevent the two queens getting at each other?
I cannot understand it " at all, at all," as Paddy
would say, and, moreover, what is the object of
this two-inch opening ?

Now I am writing, may I mention a clearing-
board which I have found very effectual all my

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 9, 1893.

bee-life ? It is simply a frame sixteen inches
square, made of deal two inches wide and three-
quarters of an inch thick. On each of the four
sides two or more holes are bored from the
outer to the inner edge, and in each hole a little
tube of perforated zinc is inserted, which pro-
jects an inch beyond the outer edge. The frame
has nailed to it a piece of board, which covers
it on one side, thus forming a little well fourteen
inches square and three-quarters of an inch deep.
The section rack, whether containing seven, four-
teen, or twenty-one sections, is removed from the
hive and set upon this frame, covering the well.
I find the bees will all leave in two or three
hours through the zinc tubes, none returning
that way. — T. I., Maldon, Essex.

[To arrive at even a superficial understanding
of the " Wells System " our correspondent must
read Mr. Wells' own description of it. Refer-
ence to Bee Journal for April 7th, 1892 (p. 132),
will make clear the points referred to. To
admit of floor-boards being lowered, the hive
must have fixed legs, and the floor-board slides
on runners fix?d on the inner sides of these, so
that it may be lowered or removed altogether
without disturbing the frames. Such hives are
quite common. — Ens.]

PROPOSED BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION FOR NORTHUMBERLAND AND
DURHAM.

[1362.] I have been asked to propose, through
your columns, the formation of a Bee-keepers'
Association for Northumberland and Durham,
and, with your permission, I have pleasure in
doing so. I believe that one or two local
Associations did at one time exist, but they
appear to have served their generation and
fallen asleep. As matters now stand, a new
Association could have a very large district all
to itself, and I think it would readily justify its
existence. Local bee-keepers would appreciate
the introduction to each other, with all the
opportunities of mutual enlightenment and
assistance which a well-supported society could
provide.

I am writing on the note-paper of a society
(the Northern Allotments Society) which has
done good practical work for horticulturists by
providing small allotment gardens within con-
venient reach and at reasonable rents, besides
other work benefiting members.

Bee-keeping is a department of small farming
which we advocate, and which has been ex-
tended somewhat by our action. Lectures and
discussions on fruit-growing promoted by our
society have not been complete without an
adequate reference to bee-keeping, and the
provision of gardens by the score has made it
possible for amateurs to embark with a hive. I
shall be glad to hear from local correspondents,
either through your columns or direct, with a
view to arranging some concerted action. — J. W.
Wakinshaw, Northern Allotments Society,
Office, 40 Dean Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne.

NATIONAL HONEY SHOW-
SUGGESTION.

-A

[1363.] Mr. J. D. McNally (1342, p. 66) pro-
poses that the B.B.K. A. hold an annual National
Show. This would doubtless be a good thing
for the few fortunate exhibitors who scored
honours, but what about the disappointed
thousands who could not possibly get a prize,
to say nothing of the labour devolving on the
judges ? The object of the B.B.K.A., I take it,
is to do the greatest good to the greatest number,
but the cost is in the way. I would, therefore,
suggest — (1) That exhibits of one bottle or
section (or six, if necessary) should be invited
from the three kingdoms, and should become
the property of the B.B.K. A. (2) That certifi-
cates of several grades should be awarded to all
exhibits which .coiue up to the judges' standard.
(3) That no money prizes be given.

The giving no money prizes would reduce
expenses, and the certificates of a body like the
B.B.K.A. would be of more value to the re-
cipients than cash. Then, as the judges would
only have to divide the whole into several
classes, tkere would be no occasion for the hair-
splitting unavoidably attendant on deciding
which is best where hundreds are so nearly
equal. — W. H. Augur, Staines.

MAKING SYRUP AND SCENTING THE
SAME.

[1364.] I for one am very grateful to Mr.
Webster for his letter (1303, p. 28). Several
times last year, especially in the autumn, I ex-
perienced great bother by the syrup granulating.
It was no joke to have to clean out the feeders
day after day. For the future I intend adopt-
ing the plan referred to. I also thank " T. W."
for his suggestion (1334, p. 57). One wonders
why we never thought of it before. I consider
it a capital idea. — -Percy Leigh, Beemount,
Stoke Prior.

A "MANY-QUEENED" HIVE.

[1365.] Will you kindly allow me to ask
Mr. Perry for a description of his many-queened
hive, and his method of stocking and working
it ? I think a full and clear account will
materially aid such readers of the B.B.J, as may,
like myself, be prospective experimentalists on
the " Wells " system in " spotting " the essentials
and eliminating the non-essentials of this new
departure. Mr. Woodley's proposed plan
appears at first sight quite feasible. Two
difficulties in its execution, however, occur to
me, viz. (a), the difficulty of finding two weak
stocks standing side by side (and they must so
stand some time before being operated on) ; (b),
the difficulty of placing brood combs of each
stock close up to the perforated division-board
without exciting the bees to murder and regicide.
The former difficulty might, perhaps, be over-
come by using a strong and a weak stock in lieu
of two weak ones ; the latter is more formidable,

March 9, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

!)!:

but should not prove insuperable in hands of
Mr. Woodley's experience.

Syrup-making. — Although I have discarded
syrup for spring feeding and stimulation, I shall
be very glad to see it positively stated that syrup,
made without boiling, is properly inverted by the
usual addition of vinegar, &c, and therefore fit
for immediate use without abnormally taxing
the physiological energies of the bees.

Pea-flour. — Perhaps I may be allowed to say,
under this head, that if Mr. "Webster will fit up
an old hive or box with three bars at usual dis-
tance apart, and pour and spread the flour upon
both sides of the middle frame, he will find that
the bees will carry it off in glistening loads,
without kicking up a dust or even dusting their
jackets.— E. B., March 5th, 1893.

HONEY IMPORTS.
The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of February,
1893, was 1133^. — From a return furnished
by the Statistical Office, H. M. Customs.

xxtxm antr spites.

[727.] Copyright Acts. — Your foot-note
under the heading of " Lantern Slides " (1345,
p. 68) is very important and instructive. Can
I draw from it the inference, and be correct in
doing so, that if I make a pencil sketch of an
" illustration " in order to hang it in my own
room, or paint an illustration in oil or water
colour for the same purpose, or sell such a sketch
in pencil or colour to a friend for his room, I
am thereby chargeable with " piracy," and so
indictable ? I think with you, sir, that many
are ignorant of the law on this matter, and
would, appreciate instruction on the subject. —

AvOpOJTTOC.

Reply. — There is no doubt that to copy
illustrations, and to sell them even to a friend,
is indictable under the Act.

[728.1 Granulation of Honey after Heat-
ing.— About the end of September last I ex-
pressed from some thirty more or less imperfect
sections several pounds of honey, which was
put into one-pound bottles, and in about a
month's time was all nicely crystallised. The
crushed comb was at once put into a large glass
jar, immersed three parts in a pan of water, and
put on the fire until the wax was melted and
rose to the surface, whence it was removed
when hard, the honey poured into a large and a
small glass jar. The honey in the large jar has
never crystallised, that in the small one only
very slightly at the bottom. What change —
chemical or otherwise — is the cause of this ?
— Pagvs, Wanvick.

Reply. — Without entering into the " chemi-
cal " reason for the change, it may be said that
honey, after being heated, will frequently re-
main for many months in liquid condition.

<ffi4roes from tire Uites.

Staines, February 7th. — All stocks (twelve) on
wing. This the first general cleansing flight this
year, although a few bees have been occasionally
flying for some weeks past. I noticed one bee-
load of pollen taken into a strong stock. Feb-
ruary 19th. — Bees flying as if it were June ;
several stocks carrying pollen freely. — W, H„
Augur.

" Honey Cott," Weston, Leamington, March
Ath. — Here, as well as most places, on the 19th
February, the bees had a grand day, 56° Fahr.
in the shade, and 74° in the sun, bees rushing
about helter-skelter, on the look-out everywhere.
Unfortunately we have nothing nearer than the
woods a mile away, except a few snowdrops and
crocuses, which were visited by hundreds of
bees. Several days again this week it has been
very mild, and natural pollen begins to roll in.
A few days ago, I found one stock gone, that I
had missed in feeding up in the autumn. All
others are in fair condition, and if the weather
still continues mild I expect to put out the pea-
flour for two or three weeks. I saw the water-
ing-place was visited by great numbers of bees
at noon to-day, showing unmistakably breeding
was going on. Have only opened one hive as, I
was afraid something was wrong, but it turned
out all right. The other night I was giving a
cake of candy and had the first sting of the
season — on the forehead, which I think, I can
fairly say, I rather enjoyed than otherwise.
Well done, friend Woodley ! for giving it those
two gentlemen (three I might say), who
recommend the feeding-up plan just before the
harvest. Of course they will say the honey is
three parts sugar. I quite like the idea of
working two weak stocks a la Wells. — John
Walton.

Kincardine Cottage, Airemore, N.B., Febru-
ary 18th. — On looking over my stocks (ten
frame hives and two straw ruskies) I find
all except one strong and taking advantage
of the good weather. Also young bees had
already hatched eggs laid, and queens all right
with natural pollen plentiful. This is unusually
early for the foot of the Grampians. On the 29th
of January I noticed a couple of drones in a
straw hive. On examining, saw that queen was
an unfertilised drone-breeder. — A. Clarke.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

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

S. B. (Balham Hill).—- Suspected Combs— The
combs sent bear no marked trace of disease,
but if taken from a hive which was affected a
year ago it would be very unwise to use them
again for healthy bees. By all means melt
all such combs down. March or April are
good months for buying bees, but we cannot
fix price for you, so much depends on the
hive and the condition of the stock. Twenty

300

THE BRTTISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 9, 1893.

or twenty-five shillings might be a " fair
price," or it might he cheap or dear for a
stock in a frame hive, just according to its
condition. Bees don't object to the hive
interior being painted if done some time before
using.
B. (Birmingham). — Transferring Bees. — Trans-
ferring combs and bees from " common boxes "
is a serious undertaking for an amateur bee-
keeper. The bees must first be " driven " from
the combs, and the latter cut out in as large
pieces as possible prior to tying them into the
new frames; a warm greenhouse is a good
place for the operation, and April or May a
suitable time ; but we would expect far
better results under the circumstances if the
bees were allowed to swarm naturally and
build new combs in the frame hive.

J. S. & Co. (Cambs.) — No. 1 sugar is in our
opinion not Porto Rico. No. 2, if pure cane,
will do well for bee-syrup, but we should not
like to guarantee its purity.

W, K. (Chester). — Experts' Certificates. — Mr-
Huckle, secretary of the B.B.K.A., Kings
Langley, will afford you every information on
the subject.

F. F. (Clapham). — Paper Feltine. — The material
sent is, we think, too absorbent for lining
hives with, and would tend to keep the
interior damp. Besides, the bees would be
likely to nibble it away.

■George R. Allen. — Bee Flowers for Honey
and Pollen. — Since you limit us to three for
honey, we advise Limnanthes Douglasii,
mignonette, and borage. For pollen, confine
yourself to crocus for spring. In summer
pollen is plentiful in the fields. For candy-
making the date of B.J. should have been
1891, not 1892; but instructions also appear
in this issue.

■*' Swarm " (Salisbury). — Marshmallow as a Bee
Plant. — Bees are very partial to marshmallow,
but it is of more value for pollen than honey.
Bees are sometimes less numerous in March
than in February, owing to the rapid loss of
old bees in early spring.

John Cole (Ivybridge). — Honey is in our
opinion perfectly " genuine." Excepting that
it has not been very well ripened, it is a good
sample of clover honey. We wish correspon-
dents would remember that our only address
is 17 King William Street, W.C. The above
parcel cost us 3d. to repost it from Kings
Langley.

F. Jellicoe. — Comb sent is badly affected with
foul brood, and all combs and frames in such
condition should be promptly destroyed. The
white matter at bottom of cells is mildewed
pollen.

Pressure on our space compels us to hold over
the second portion of the paper on "Foul Brood,"
and several other Articles, Queries, dc, till next
week.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dtc. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

BEE SEEDS recommended by Bee-keepers, guaranteed
best sorts, 13 large Packets, Is., post free. Address
J. Bennett, Bee-keeper, Seedsman, and Florist, 178 Spon
Street, Coventry.

FOR SALE,— The "Wells" Hive, complete, with 40
Standard Frames, Metal Ends, Queen Excluder,
Enamelled Quilt, Perforated Division, &c, new, inter-
changeable, 25s. Address H. T. Skinner, Broad Street,
Whittlesea, Cambs.

BEE PLANTS.— Limnanthes Douglasii, 100, Is. 3d. ;
Iceland Poppies, 25, Is. 3d. ; Golden-leaved Forget-
me-not (novelty), 12, Is. 3d. Seeds, 6d. packet. Address
Hunting, Loddon, Norfolk. 2

BEE SEEDS. — Immense Packet of suitable mixed sorts
for Bees (by a Specialist) . Post free, Is. Address
Willie, 11 Highfield Road, Coventry. 2

MARSHALL'S Soft Candy for Winter and Spring
Feeding. — Soft Bee-Candy and Flour-Candy, exactly
the same as that sent out by the late Walter Marshall,
supplied by his Widow at 4s. 6d per dozen 1-lb. Cakes.
Single Cakes, 5d. each. Cash with order. Address Mrs.
W. Marshall, The Apiary, Sunny Hill, Hemel Hemp-
stead. 2

BEES AND QUEENS.— Choice Ligurian, Carniolan,
and English Stocks, Swarms, and Queens. Prices on
application. Address C. T. Overton, Crawley, Sussex. 6

WANTED. — A Foreman Joiner ; who understands Bee
Appliances and Greenhouse Work preferred. Must
be sober and have a good character. Cottage on premises.
Apply, stating wages, to E. C. Walton, Muskham, Newark.

PURE English Honey, in i-Cwts., at 7d. per lb., tins
free. Sample 2d. Deposit System. Address R.
Dutton, Terling, Witham, Essex.

GOOD Stocks of Healthy Bees from £1 upwards. Ad-
dress John Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leaming-
ton. 2

OR SALE.— Eight Cwt. of Granulated White Clover
Honey. 7d. per lb. or offers. Sample 3d. Address,
Apiarist, Fairspeir, Ascott Wychwood, Oxford.

ENGLISH, Carniolan, Italian Bees for Sale, in Bar-
frame Hives. Apply Thos. Hill, Scotlands, Can-
nock Road, near Wolverhampton.

HIVES, &c, for Sale.— Twelve Straw, one Wood, few
Stands, Covers, and Sundries. Clearing out. Lot
cheap. Apply to J. W. Thorp, Knutsford.

CHRISTMAS Roses, 3, Is. ; Japanese Anemones, 12,'
Is. 6d. ; Mrs. Sinkin's Pinks, 12, 2s. ; Herbaceous
Phloxes, assorted ; Pyrethrums, grand colours, 12, Is. 3d.
Iceland Poppies, 24, Is 3d. Iceland, Shirley, Mikado,
Swan, Bride, Mephisto, Danebrog, Marselli, Poppy Seed,
2d. packet, 8, Is. Other Choice Flower Seeds, 12 packets,
Is. Address Vicab, Eggington, Leighton Buzzard. 2

WANTED.— In April, a few Stocks of Healthy Bees,
without Hives, not Ligurians. — Address A.
Leatham, Misarden, Cirencester.

W" HAT OFFERS in Bees, Honey, Wax, Bee Apparatus,
or Money, for a Merritt Type-writer, in excellent
condition ? — Address Ambrose Ogle, Laleham, Staines.

BEES of my well-known Strain. Pure Natives, Queens,
5s. each ; 3 Frame Nuclei, 12s. 6d. ; 6 Frame Stocks,
17s. 6d. ; 8 Frame ditto, 20s. Packing included. Ready
for delivery, weather permitting. — Address C. Whiting,
Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suffolk.

SIX Strong Stocks of Bees in Skeps, safely packed on
Rail, 12s. 6d. each; also Wooden Bee-House, in good
condition, holds 12 Hives. — Apply R. Brown, Flora Apiary,
Somersham, Hunts. 2

EXTRACTOR WANTED.

FOR SALE or Exchange,— Wells" Hives, 22 framed
body; Shallow- framed Crate, for 22 Frames; Section
Crate to hold 64 Sections ; Non-crushing Floor Board,
Movable Porch, 25s. each ; Well-made Cottage Straw Hives,
from Is. each.— Address H. Seamark, The Apiary, Willing-
ham, Cambs.

THE

Jkifel S» Smrraal,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

Tfo. 560. Vol. XXI. N. S. 168.] MARCH 16, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

(Jbitoriad, lUftkes, #r.

" MANUFACTURED " HONEY.

Referring to the above subject, our esteemed
correspondent, Mr. S. T. Petti t, of Belmont,
Canada, under date January 16th, writes as
follows : —

" Doubtless you have noticed the ' sugar
honey ' (so-called) fraud that our big cousins
across the lines are discussing, and some recom-
mending. Well, a few weeks ago, I brought
the matter forward at a meeting of the Oxford
B.K.A., and a resolution looking to legislation
to prohibit the importation, production, and
sale was unanimously carried. 1 was appointed
a delegate to the O.B.KA. to forward the
matter there. Well, the Oxford Association
discussed the matter very fully, and voted for
legislation almost unanimously. A delegation
of three was appointed to go to Ottawa, and, if
possible, secure such legislation as will prohibit
the importation, production, or sale of the
fraudulent article in Canada. I am now deeply
interested in this matter, and am anxious to
secure all the information and assistance I can
get from others, and as I feel sure you can help
us, I approach you on the subject.

" Will you therefore kindly answer the
following questions?

"1. Can honey-bees make honey of sugar
syrup ?

•' 2. If we feed syrup sugar to bees, and send
.the product to the English markets, what effect
would that course have upon the sale of
Canadian honey in English markets ?

" 3. Could you or your best chemists tell the
difference between honey and the fraudulent
article above referred to ? Any suggestions
•concerning the above will be gladly received.

" P.S. — I expect shortly to be summoned to
Ottawa, our capital, and as your opinions and
views will have great weight with our Govern-
ment, you will oblige by answering imme-
diately."

This is the substance of our reply : — We
stated that we were pleased to hear that the
O.B.K.A. has taken up the so-called sugar-
honey question, and has decided to ask for
legislation on the subject. We could only look
upon the practice of feeding bees on sugar syrup

to produce combs as suicidal to the industry,
and would do all in our power to prevent it.
The public would naturally and very properly
look upon this as adulteration, and the industry
would suffer. To the questions we gave the
following replies : — 1. It is quite possible that
a portion of the cane sugar in the syrup may be
converted into grape sugar, but this does not
make it honey. The principal characteristic of
honey is the aroma that it has, and which differs
according to the source from which the honey
is derived. Then those who have written in
favour of sugar syrup have omitted to note that
there are saccharine substances in honey that
are peculiar to it, and that would not be found
in syrup.

2. It would not be long before your product
would be shut out of our market, and it would
do you an injury that you would be years in
getting over. I have only to remind you of the
adulteration of American honey some years ago,
and although it is thirteen years since adul-
terated honey was introduced into this country
by a man named Hoge and a well-known firm of
American produce merchants, legitimate Ameri-
can honey has never taken its proper place in
the market owing to the suspicion there still
exists of its adulteration.

We further pointed out that we had public
analysts and an analyst connected with the
Association, and that the Association had been
able to put a stop to such adulteration by taking
action; that the B.B.K.A. exhibited analysed
specimens of Hoge's preparations at the Dealth
Exhibition, which ultimately led to his ex-
pulsion from that Exhibition. Also that the
quantity of honey now imported from America
was very small, and that we attribute this
mainly to the fact of its having been adulterated
in those days. We also pointed out that
formerly sugar-fed supers were not uncommon,
especially among Scotch bee-keepers, but that
this fraud had been put a stop to by the
energetic measures taken by the Association.
As all samples shown under the rules of the
Association are liable to be analysed if sus-
pected, such combs have not been shown for
many years. There would be no difficulty in
detecting sugar - fed combs, even if the bees
were fed partly with honey. Formerly, when
the polariscope only had been used for deter-
mining adulteration, it was difficult to detect
cane sugar in honey. But now that dialysis
before polarisation is resorted to, according to

102

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 16, 1893.

the Haenle method, there is no difficulty in
detecting the quantity of sugar given to bees
to store in comb with the utmost certainty. We
urged our correspondent to leave no stone un-
turned to prevent this attempt to introduce
adulteration, which would not fail to have most
disastrous consequences on the industry of bee-
keeping,

This is the substance of our reply, but we
would like to point out that the action of the
B.B.K.A. was a death-blow to the production
of these sugar-fed supers, and this probably
accounts for the strong opposition Associations
have received from some persons, especially m
Scotland, whose gains have been reduced by
the vigilance of these Associations.

IMPORTANT PAPER ON FOUL BROOD.

By J. J. Mackenzie, B.A., Bacteriologist of the
Prov. Board of Health, Ont.

{Continued from page 82.)

In considering the subject of the vitality of
Bacillus alvei, the first question which naturally
arises is its power to resist heat. We know
that bacilli which produce spores and those
which do not stand in entirely different positions
in this regard. The sporeless bacillus is de-
stroyed at a much lower temperature than one
which contains spores. Consequently, in con-
sidering the question of the vitality of Bacillus
alvei, which produces spores very quickly and
easily, we may confine our attention entirely to
the vitality of the spore.

This is of special interest, as the question has
been repeatedly radsed whether it is dangerous
to use a comb foundation made from foul-
broody wax. Does the temperature to which
the wax is raised in the manufacture of comb
foundation sufficiently destroy the vitality of
the spore ? Can the spore germinate and infect
the brood when once enclosed in the wax ?

These questions have been raised by many
careful thinkers among bee-men, and certainly
deserve attention. The second point ought to
be considered first, since if surrounding a spore
with a film of wax prevents its germination, we
need pay no further attention to the question of
heat. The crucial test of this would naturally
be, supply a healthy colony with comb founda-
tion known to contain the spores, and observe
the result. This I had hoped, to try with the
assistance of your Secretary ; but other work
came up which interfered with the carrying out
of the experiment, and consequently it had to
be postponed until next year. However, I was
able to perform one experiment which throws
some light on the subject. Mr. Holtermann,
the Secretary of your Union, sent me several
pounds of very fine wax, such as is used for
the manufacture of comb foundation. I culti-
vated the Bacillus alvei upon agar jelly, until I
had a large quantity of the bacilli containing
spores ; this was carefully scraped off the jelly

and dried, first in the air and then over
sulphuric acid. The resulting greyish mass was
pulverised with a sterilised pestle and mortar,
and finally mixed thoroughly with the melted
wax, kept at a temperature sufficiently low to
prevent the immediate destruction of the spores
by heat. By this means an enormous number
of spores were introduced into the wax. After
stirring the wax for some time in order to ensure
a proper mixing, it was allowed to cool. This,
as you all know, takes some time when dealing
with a considerable quantity. During the cool-
ing I was careful not to disturb the wax.

After it had solidified I set out to discover if
I could again obtain my bacillus from the
infected wax. If it could germinate in the
nutrient media it certainly would in the bees, and
that point was to a certain extent settled. Now
I obtained the following results : —

From the upper layers of the infected wax I
was unable to obtain cultures of the Bacillus
alvei, either by melting the wax in the nutrient
jellies or by allowing particles of the unmelted
wax to fall on the surface of these jellies.

From the under layers, however, the results
were different ; particles of wax placed on
nutrient agar in an oven kept at 90° F. became
surrounded in twenty-four hours with a luxu-
riant growth of Bacillus alvei. When the wax
was melted into the agar or into beef -tea I also
obtained the bacillus, consequently it looks as if
the mere faet of enveloping the spores with a
film of wax was not sufficient to prevent germi-
nation. I confess I cannot understand how a
spore could germinate when surrounded with a
film of wax. Spores, in germinating, require
moisture, and if a spore is completely embedded
in wax, it cannot obtain sufficient moisture to
germinate. I would rather believe, therefore,
that in this particular experiment the spores
had not each an envelope of Wax, but that many
of them were partially free from the wax.
Now, if this was the case in my experiment,
where I endeavoured to make the incorporation
of the spores in the wax as thorough as possible,
I certainly think it may frequently be the case
when foul-broody wax is used, and no particular
precautions taken. That even when spores are
thoroughly surrounded by wax they may not be
freed occasionally by the workers is a point
which requires further elucidation, and upon
which I intend to try some experiments next
year.

In looking through the bee journals, however,
I find it everywhere maintained by foundation-
makers that they never knew of a case of foul
brood originating from foul-broody wax ; and I
have yet to discover a well-authenticated case
where this has occurred. What explanation
can we offer of this widespread opinion ?

I explained to you above that I was unable
to cidtivate Bacillus alvei from the upper layer
of the infected wax. Your secretary also sent
me a small specimen of wax, which he stated he .
knew to be from foul-broody comb. This I
examined repeatedly for foul brood, but was
unable to obtain it except once. I think we must

March 16, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

103

look to the physical conditions for an explana-
tion of the freedom from infection through
comb foundation. The difference in the specific
gravity of the bacteria and of melted wax is so
great that, throughout the process of manu-
facture, the bacteria tend to fall to the bottom.
The first refining of the wax must, of course,
remove the greater quantity, and the vast
majority of the remainder will settle to the
bottom during the process of foundation manu-

(Tobe

factm*e. But that the simple process of mixing
the infected material with the melted wax is
not sufficient to prevent germination, I think is
shown by the results quoted above, where
simple fragments of infected wax, when placed
on agar jelly, gave rise to a culture of Bacillus
alvei.

This question I hope to touch on again after
I have had an opportunity of supplying healthy
bees with foundation made from infected wax.

continued.)

"WELLS" HIVES.
No. 1. — Meadows' "Wells" Hive.

The interest evinced by
all classes of bee-keepers
in what is now known as
the " Wells " hive induces
us to present illustrations
of such hives as have been
designed for the purpose of
carrying out the plan of
working with double-
queened colonies. We have
not, as yet, had an op-
portunity of making a per-
sonal inspection of the
hives illustrated, and so
confine ourselves to the
description furnished by
the manufacturers them-
selves.

No. 1 of the series is tha t
of Mr. Meadows, of
Syston, who was the
first to send out an il-
lustration of a " Wells "
hive, which we give
here.

The hive as shown consists of extra stout
stand, forming legs, and is built on the plan
of a separate outer case for brood and
surplus chambers, the former holding
twenty standard frames, fitted with W. B. C.
ends resting on metal runners. It also has
the " Wells " perforated dummy, two ordi-
nary dummies, queen-excluder, two outer
cases, and two section crates or shallow
bodies, as preferred (one of each shown

in illustration), improved roof, with new
pattern bee-escape ventilators, and porch,
with improved ventilating entrance. Shallow
bodies or section racks have loose plinths
fitted on bottom of one side, which can
easily be removed. When working in
pairs, a crate of sections, or shallow body,
extending over full size of top, could not be
readily handled when full because of the
great weight.

SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.

This Association, which was founded in April,
1891, continues to increase in membership, and
full advantage is being taken of the benefits

conferred npon those who join its ranks. The
lending library now contains upwards of fifty
volumes on bees and bee-keeping, both British
and foreign. The Association has also been the
means of finding a market for a considerable

104

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 16, 1893.

quantity of the members' honey, and it is hoped
that still more may be done in the coming season,
improved arrangements having been made with
retailers. Last week, Mr. J. Falconer King,
Analyst to the City of Edinburgh, was ap-
pointed official analyst of the Association, and
samples of the members' honey, as exhibited at
shows or offered for sale, will, from time to
time, be submitted to him for analysis and
report. Through the instrumentality chiefly of
Sir Thomas D. Gibson- Carmichael, Bart., and
Colonel Bennett, of Ayr, three shows, under
the auspices of the Association, have already
been arranged for, particulars of which will be
given later on. The second annual report, con-
taining full particulars of the work done in the
past year, together with other matters interest-
ing to bee-keepers, will also be issued shortly.
Copies will be forwarded to all members whose
subscriptions for the current year have been
paid. The Assistant Secretary will be glad to
afford information with regard to the Associa-
tion and its work to intending members. — John
Wishart, Assistant Secretary, Market Place,
Melrose, March 4th.

LECTURE ON BEES.

On Thursday night, February 16th, a highly
interesting lecture on " Bees and their Manage-
ment " was given in the National Schoolroom,
Orston (Notts), by Mr. Scattergood, in connexion
with the Technical Education Committee of
the Notts County Council. The lecturer, who
was introduced by the Rev. T. W. Swan, vicar,
explained that the County Council conferred a
grant on the Nottinghamshire Bee-keepers' As-
sociation, who in their turn had laid on him the
pleasing obligation of delivering this and similar
lectures on apiculture. Mr. Turner, Radcliffe-
on-Trent, assisted with the lantern, by which the
lecturer's remarks were capitally illustrated. A
description of the queen, the drones, and workers
was graphically given, and their duties clearly
set forth. The lecturer mentioned that of the
varieties of bees, his preference lay with the
British black bee, and expressed his conviction
that bee-culture, with patience and perseverance,
would be found to pay, and would be a suitable
addition to the occupations of cottagers, artisans,
small farmers, and others. At the close of the
meeting, questions were asked, and received
satisfactory answers from Mr. Scattergood. —
Communicated.

SIR THOMAS GIBSON-CARMICHAEL
ON HIVES.

On Saturday evening, February 25th, Sir
Thomas D. Gibson-Carmichael, Bart., delivered
a highly interesting lecture on " Hives " in the
Parish Church of Kirkurd, which is situated on
his Peeblesshire domain. There was a large
audience, presided over by the Rev. Mr. Miller.
Sir Thomas commenced by describing the hollow
log hives used by primitive bee-keepers, and the

cylindrical contrivances resembling a fire-clay
drain-pipe which are so much in vogue in
Southern Europe and North Africa. He went
on to describe the Berlepsch and Gravenhorst
hives, of which specimens were shown. Coming
to British hives, the lecturer spoke on the ad-
vantages of the Stewarton, and its adaptability
for use in most parts of Scotland. The ordinary
bar-frame hive next receivad attention, and, in
order to properly demonstrate its manufacture,
a hive, ready prepared in the flat, was nailed
together in presence of the audience. Sir
Thomas also explained the advantages of having
hives adapted for the safe conveyance of bees to
and from the moors. Smaller bee-appliances
were next described, as were other adjuncts to
successful bee-management. The lecture, which
occupied two hours in delivery, was most atten-
tively listened to, and a very cordial vote of
thanks awarded to Sir Thomas for his interest-
ing- lecture.

€axxzsyiavfotmz.

Hie 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 oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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, Shoxvs, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, ic, must be addressed only > to "The
Editobs of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17 King William,
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

%* 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.

BEE-KEEPING IN THE SOUTH OF
FRANCE.

[1366.] In B. J. for January 19th, p. 27, your
correspondent (" Constant Keader ") asks a ques-
tion which requires an answer. Here it is : — In
relating the manner in which I manage my
apiary in the country, I did not attempt to
give a method. I simply stated the results ob-
tained, with a minimum of care, in an apiary
established for only two years. I only place
strong hives in this apiary, and only use the
horizontal hives of the Layens pattern. We
have two classes of bee-keepers — amateurs and
manufacturers, who have time to give their
bees all the attention necessary for a large de-
velopment of the colonies, and the peasants or
cultivators of the soil, who can only give the
attention which is absolutely indispensable, be-
cause they have not the time to give to the
bees at the moment when they most require
this attention. The same bee-keeper may have
an apiary in his garden, and an out-apiary in
the country, where he can seldom go. He will
give the apiary in the garden all the attention

March 16, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

3 05

that is recommended in the best works, but will
only visit the out-apiary when absolutely neces-
sary. The apiary worked on this simple method
undoubtedly does not give the same returns as
the one which is well looked after ; but I am
persuaded that, if the bee-keeper understands
his business thoroughly, in the average obtained
for ten years the difference will not be very
great. Must the peasant, who has not the time
to attend to his hives, give up bee-keeping ? I
do not think so. Our districts will only pro-
duce much honey when every peasant (or cot-
tager) has his own apiary and a sufficient num-
ber of bees to collect the nectar within a radius
of a few hundred metres of his house. As your
correspondent says, we lose the benefit of the
swarms ; but swarms are so rare with these
large horizontal hives that they need not be
taken into account. However, one can generally
arrange with a neighbour, who, without giving
very close attention, could hive any swarms
that he might find. This method cannot be
practised by beginners, but it takes little time to
learn to manage an apiary in this way. This is
what often happens in our districts. In the
country, a large number of peasants have
common skeps. The? give them the attention
which is almost none at all, and they are fright-
ened when you talk to them of changing queens
and stimulative feeding. If you show them, on
the other hand, an apiary which is only visited
three or four times a year, they decide to adopt
frame hives, and from the first year they learn
to manipulate them — for the transferring from
their hives, and the care they have to give at
the commencement compel them to study and
make their apprenticeship. The Management
of an Isolated Apiary, by M. de Layens, gives a
clear idea of the method employed, in our dis-
tricts. A large number of bee-keepers around
Albi work on this plan, and obtain fine jars of
honey. You will find in our Bulletin (p. 1-59)
an article published by M. Derosne in Bulletin
de la Societe Courtoise. This article confirms
what I have stated. Our method does not,
therefore, differ from the English, but it is
carried out more simply and by men who have
not the time to visit the bees often. In bee-
keeping, more than in anything else, the end
justifies the means, and the fine pots of honey
are a proof that the method is good. M. Ber-
trand very justly says, in the Revue, No. 10,
that the intensive method is practised by those
who have the time to spare, and the extensive
by those who are occupied with the work of
farming.

After my letter appeared in the B. B.J., I
received a letter from one of your subscribers in
Portugal (M. Van Ziller), who asked for par-
ticulars of our horizontal hives, which I have
sent him. — L. Fourcassie, Albi.

[As we have seen apiaries worked on
both methods on the Continent, we must
caution our readers not to launch out on
a large scale into bee-keeping on this system.
There are not many countries sufficiently pro-
ductive to allow such a method to succeed.

We know that apiaries rarely visited and
where the bees are left pretty much to them-
selves gradually decline, and the returns are
very small indeed in proportion to what they
are from those properly attended to. We
last year visited hives worked on this system,
and the bee-keeper opened them for us to see.
We at once detected foul brood. Had this hive
been left to itself for the whole season, as it was
intended to do, without any examination, the
whole apiary would have been infected. Our
correspondent and several others who have ad-
vocated this let-alone system live in rich honey-
producing districts, but those in less favoured
districts have a very different tale to tell, and
there we hear of dwindling apiaries. We may
depend upon it that nothing is to be made
honestly by bee-keeping without work, and the
more attention of the proper sort we give to our
bees when they require it, the better shall we be
repaid for the "trouble. — Eds.]

EARLY DRONES.

[1367.] Probably you get many •' strange
tales " told you, but I must add one to the
number. Looking over my stocks to-day, I
found them in splendid condition — plenty of
bees, some with four frames of brood. Strangely
enough, some of the strongest and best with
young 1892 queens had drones, and those strong
and healthy, for they took wing when I opened
the hives. There were queens and eggs in each
hive. None of my thirty-eight stocks have
perished as yet. Is fifteen pounds of sealed
stores enough to last till honey comes, or would
you feed ? — C. B. Bartlett, Witney, March
3>-d.

[The above is certainly " a strange tale," so
far as early drones go. Fifteen pounds of stores
at this season is quite enough to last till honey
comes in. — Eds.]

AN EARLY SWARM (?).

[1368.] I send a cutting from our local
paper of Friday, the 10th inst., thinking it might
be of interest to some of the readers of B. J. J.
— J. Smart, Andover, March l\th,

"An Early Sivarm. — Owing to the lovely
springlike weather we have been enjoying this
week, a most singular occurrence took place in
the village of Wherwell on Wednesday last.
Mrs. Martha Hebberd, an old inhabitant, was
seen about one o'clock hiving a swarm of bees.
As it is exceptionally early for bees to swarm,
this incident has caused no little interest among
the villagers."

[We need hardly say the above would not be
a normal or natural swarm. An examination
of the hive from which the " swarm " issued
would no doubt make it clear that either some-
thing had gone wrong with the queen or else
that it was what is known as a " hunger
swarm." — Eds.]

106

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 16, 1893.

UNNATURAL OR ABNORMAL
SWARMS.

[1369.] The weather being very warm here
on the 8th, the bees belonging to a neighbour
who keeps half-a-dozen frame hives and skeps
were very busy bringing home pollen, when,
about one o'clock, one of the skepa threw off a
fair-sized swarm, which he put in a bar-frame
hive full of comb. They seem working all right
to-day. The parent stock was a stray swarm
found in a neighbour's garden the end of July,
and the bees had about three parts filled the
hive with comb and honey. He has been feeding
them lately with a little honey. We did not
find any queen-cells in the skep, but there are a
good number of bees left. Would it not have
been wiser to have returned the swarm, and is
it not a very unusual occurrence to happen in
March ? — Gr. Freeman, Ringwood, Hants,
March 11th.

[The swarm is not a natural one, and should
have been returned. As it is, we should unite
the bees left in the skep to the swarm in the
frame hive. — Eds.]

EARLY BREEDING IN THE NORTH.

[1370.] I have four frame hives, holding
ten standard frames in each. The bees were,
in the autumn, confined to eight frames, and. I
gave to each a cake of soft candy, then covered
them warmly up, and left them alone until
February 19th, which was a fine warm day. I
therefore took the opportunity of having a look
at them, and was pleased to find them all in
excellent condition. I was also agreeably sur-
prised to find that breeding had commenced in
all of them. Two had brood on two frames,
and the others brood on one ; all the brood was
situated directly beneath the candy, which I
attribute to its stimulative influence. — John
Cuthbertson, Bedlington, Northumberland,
Februai-y 23rd.

BEES, BIRDS, AND FLOWERS.

[1371. ] This afternoon (6th) has been the
most beautiful we have had this year, and I
have been watching my bees working for pollen.

On February 9th, last year, I saw bees carry-
ing pollen into nine hives, but being away from
home on most fine day I never had a chance of
seeing more than three lots last month.

Last year I wintered about forty stocks.
This year I wintered fifty-one, out of which I
lost two — one nucleus through the frost and one
hive through a pair of mice making their nest in
the middle of the combs. So, to-day, after
dinner, I went out to inspect, and " pegged "
forty-five out of the forty-nine now alive as
carrying pollen. Of the four that did not carry
in any, one appeared very strong, one nucleus
very weak, and two fairly strong, but I can-
not see any outward signs of queenlessness
in these four. The flowers they appear to be
gathering from are furze palm and a small

yellow flower like a "gild cup," which has a
green shining leaf, and grows on our suany
banks. The beautiful Lanten lily is just
coming out here, and covers acres of grouud,
but my experience is that bees hardly ever
touch them. Why this should be so I cannot
think.

If any of your numerous readers would like
some of those most lovely flowers for decora-
tions or otherwise, let them send stamps at
once to my address, and I will send by parcel
post, after postage being deducted, flowers for
the worth of their money.

As the pollen - bearers began to decrease
through evening coming on, the tits began to
accumulate, looking out for dead or weary bees
left on the ground. I hardly ever see a blue-
tit at the bees, the ones I am plagued mostly
with are the great tit and the black-headed tit.

Bees were carrying pollen on the 5th inst.
until three o'clock. I noticed with great satis-
faction that a few pollen-laden bees entered the
four hives into which none had been carried on
the previous day. — W. L. Peatons, Lytchett
Matravers, Poole, March (5th, 1893.

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION IN BEE -
KEEPING IN CHESHIRE: WHAT
WILL BECOME OF IT ?

[1372.] I originally intended to write at
length on a matter that chiefly concerns
Cheshire bee-keepers, but, as that may result in
delay, I have resolved to be brief, believing the
subject will not want interest on that account.
As is well-known to the readers of your ex-
cellent Journal, bee-keeping has been recognised
as a fit subject to include in the educational
work undertaken by the Technical Instruction
Committee of the Cheshire County Council,
which is, to a large extent, owing to repre-
sentations made by the local Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation— at any rate, it is generally understood
they received a grant to enable them to do
something to disseminate useful information
throughout the county respecting bees and bee-
keeping as a profitable minor rural industry.
Not being " in touch " with the before-mentioned
Association, I cannot, of course, speak authori-
tatively of the work that has been done, but I
do know that lectures and demonstrations have
been given. It now appears, however, that th&
arrangements hitherto in force have terminated,
and the County Council have taken the work
entirely into their own hands. As soon as I
became aware of this I wrote to the Organizing
Secretary for information, adding that I was
occasionally consulted on bee-matters, and I
should like to be in a position to refer inquirers
to official sources of information. The Secretary
obliged me with a prompt reply, stating that he
was prepared to send a lecturer to any district
making application, where an audience could be
obtained.

I make no objection to the authorities teach-
ing bee-keeping, and still le?s at their protecting

March 16, 1893. j

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

107

themselves against the possibility of sending
lecturers to talk to empty benches ; but I fear
that if the matter rests where it is, technical in-
struction in bee-keeping will, as far as Cheshire
is concerned, go out of sight. As will be readily
perceived, the application for the lecturer will, in
most cases, devolve upon some private indivi-
dual, and he will necessarily feel responsibility
respecting the audience, and their appreciation
of the lectures. Under such conditions I do
not anticipate many requisitions on the lecturer's
time, and I have pointed this out to the
Secretary, saying that I did not think there
were many districts in the county where bee-
keepers were sufficiently numerous to claim the
services of a lecturer — and, moreover, lectures,
however valuable they might be in some
respects, were not precisely what novices in bee-
keeping required. They want guidance, advice,
and practical illustrations in the art, and if
possible, opportunities of seeing practical bee-
keeping on the best systems, and to have the
benefit of contact with practical hands. In
saying this I believe I am only reiterating
opinions already expressed in your columns ; at
any rate, lukewarm official recognition of bee-
keeping as a technical subject will not do much
to develop apiculture in the county.

It is certainly true that technical instruction
in agricidture, and subjects pertaining to it, has
not met with much appreciation where it would
naturally have been expected. An audience
not exceeding a score at a dairy lecture I was
anxious enough to go and hear, does not say
much for rustic intelligence in a county like
Cheshire, where the dairy industry is para-
mount. What hope then is there of creating
interest in so small a thing as bee-keeping ?
Very little perhaps, still that little should be
looked after and encouraged; it may gain
strength in time, but, in my humble judgment,
mere lecturing is not an effective means of
accomplishing this end. The example of a few
zealous bee-keepers working at different points
would do more real good, and it is these, so I
think, the authorities should put themselves in-
communication with. Perhaps you will favour
us with an expression of opinion and a few
words of advice. — A. Donbayand, Sutton,
March 4th, 1893.

[We have received a copy of the Annual
Report of the Lancashire and Cheshire B.K.A.
(the "local association" referred to), the second
paragraph of which report reads thus : — " The
Technical Instruction Committee of the Lanca-
shire County Council have shown their appre-
ciation of what has been done, by allocating
200/. to enable ten apiaries to be established
and instruction given to classes in practical bee-
work in Lancashire." In view of what has
been done in the sister county — as expressed in
the above — the best " advice " it occurs to us to
offer is that our correspondent should draw the
attention of the Cheshire County Council to
what has been done in Lancashire, and make
an effort to induce them to do likewise. — Eds.]

MAKING SYRUP.

[1373.] I should not have replied to Mr.
Webster's letter (1352, p. 85), only I do not
wish him to have the impression that I intended
writing anything discourteous or " hurling any-
thing at anybody's head," as he seems to imagine.
Indeed, I always read Mr. Webster's contribu-
tions with great interest. Mr. Webster, how-
ever, does not quite see my point. There
is such a thing as getting the hot water from
the kitchen boiler, and I wrote for the bene-
fit of bee-keepers (not to run down Mr.
Webster's ideas), to point out that it was not
necessary, in making syrup (I did not contem-
plate making a hundredweight at a time), to put
it on the fire at all. Of course, I considered that
very few bee-keepers would make up more than
two stone of sugar at a time. If you have to put
it on the fire, it seems to me that it would not
be any extra trouble, and only take up a very
little more time, to keep it there until it boils.
By my (or rather Mr. Walton's) plan, you can
make your syrup in the can you keep it in.
— Arthur J. H. Wood, Belhuood, Ripon,
March 3rd.

QUEENS FERTILISED IN FULL
COLONIES WITH LAYING QUEEN.

[1374.] Will your correspondent " J. G. K.,"
who in his letter (1001, p. 155, B.J., April 21st
of last year), re " Queens fertilised in full
colonies with a laying queen," be kind enough
to tell us through your Journal how he pre-
vents the virgin queen (returning from her
" honeymoon ") from entering the part of hive
containing the laying queen ? It being my in-
tention to re-queen my twelve stocks this spring,
I thought his plan would suit me " down to the
ground," as I could not undertake to make a
dozen nucleus hives this spring, my leisure time
being very limited. Could I use the Wells
perforated dummy instead of the double queen-
excluder zinc which Dr. Tinker advocates? —
R. T., Leicester.

BEES IN NORTH DEVON.

The " Wells " Hive.

[1375.] The past season of 1892 was an
average one in this district, my own stocks
yielding about fifty pounds per hive. One hive,
however, which I have been trying on a new
principle, gave me 150 pounds surplus extracted
honey. It is a ten-frame hive on the tiered-up
plan. I have tried it three seasons now with
splendid results and it has not swarmed. As
Mr. Woodley says " We have not yet reached
the topmost point of bee-keeping." There is a
secret to be learned in queen-excluders yet.
Referring to the entrances of Mr. Wells' hives,
don't you think it would be better to have one
in front and the other at the end? I have
made three of these hives, holding twenty frames

208

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 16, 1893.

each, into which I put driven bees last autumn.
Two of these hives I made with entrances front
and end, and the other one with both in front,
■all with movable floor-boards. Now, the two
with entrance front and end are working well,
gathering pollen freely, but one of the lots in
the other hive is dead. They were two fine lots of
bees when 1 put them in. There is about half a
pint of bees, with queen dead. Now, in my opinion,
it is a mistake having both entrances in front, for
the bees would persist in going from one to the
other and fighting when feeding up for winter.
— I want to register a little article, will you
kindly say where I am to send it ? — T. J., North
Devon.

[Seeing that Mr. Wells has never experienced
trouble by having the entrances along the whole
hive front, it is difficult to suppose that the mis-
hap was caused by that part of the arrangement
alone. Registration fees should be sent to
H.M. Patent Office, Chancery Lane, London. —
Eds.]

^mxxtB attir Implies,

[729.] " Wells " Hives— Size of Entrance in
Winter, — 1. Referring to lowering the floor-board
and putting -wedge of wood under the perfo-
Tated dummy, would not a wedge of wood be re-
quired under the ordinary dummies, which
would be lifted from the floor-board with the
rest of the frames ? 2. In working for extracted
honey, do you leave the first crate of shallow
frames (when filled) where it is, or lift it up and
place the empty one underneath as with sections ?
3. Don't you consider the entrance Mr. Wells
leaves for his bees in winter, viz., '"two inches
the whole length of the hive " (1019, p. 193,
May last) too much ? What about the field-
mouse ? Perhaps he is not troubled with it. On
examining one of my hives this spring, three
large ones made their appearance from between
the quilts ; one I killed, bat did not attempt to
kill the others, because of disturbing the bees,
so they got off scot free.— R. T., Leicester.

Reply. — 1. No. The only complete division
required is in the centre. 2. In our own prac-
tice the first box of shallow frames given is left
in its original position till the final removal at
end of season. Boxes given later are dealt with
according to circumstances. 3. Mr. Wells does
not leave an entrance " two inches deep the
whole length of the hive," as stated. He inserts
a " block " with slides, by means of which the
entrance is reduced to three-eighths deep, and
any length as required.

[730.] Drone-breeding Queen. — I have a
stock of bees that swarmed last June, and young
queen did not mate up to end of season, but
continued to lay and hatch out drones by the
hundred. 1. What is the cause of her not
mating, considering there were plenty of drones
flying when she hatched out ? To-day (March
8th) I see drones flying from this hive evidently

hatched in worker-cells, as they are very small.
2. Will she mate this season, or must I behead
her and unite bees to another stock, or re-queen ?
They are fairly strong, about five seams of bees
now. — P. James, Merthyr Tydvil.

Reply. — 1. Nothing less than a post-mortem
will reveal the cause of non-fertilisation. 2.
No. She will never be fertilised, and may be
destroyed at once. The bees may be united to
the next stock, but they are not likely to be of
much service, as, apart from the drones, they
must consist only of aged bees.

[731.] Queens in Surplus Chambers. — Last
season the queen got through the excluder on
one of my hives and began laying in the frames
of the shallow-frame extracting super, so that
when I packed for winter in September I was
obliged to leave the super on (I took the ex-
cluder away), as it contained a good deal of
brood and also a large quantity of the sealed
stores necessary for winter consumption. I find
she has started laying again this year in the
super, and I want to know how I should pro-
ceed to get her to take to her proper quarters in
the large frames below the super ? If I drive
her down and put on the excluder, I think pro-
bably the bees will continue to look after the
brood above, and possibly she will get chilled.
Kindly suggest what is best to be done. — J. Gt.,
Shifnal.

Reply. — Replace the excluder when the
queen and bees have taken full possession of
the lower hive as a brood chamber ; this will
probably be about the second week in May.

[732.] Adapting Hives to the
System.11 — If a long hive, having an opening
one end, has an opening cut the other end, in
order to adapt it to the " Wells system," would
the draught pass straight through so much as to
form a serious objection ? — F. ¥., Clapham.

Reply. — We think not.

[733.] Owing Brood to Weak Stocks. — Sup-
posing I wished to build up a hive of eight
frames to one of twelve with a view to carrying
out the plan suggested by " J. 0. 0." (1353,
p. 86) in Bee Journal, could I transfer four
frames of brood from another stock ? When
would be the best time for doing so, and what
precautions should be observed to avoid risk of
chilling the brood by not having sufficient bees
to cover it ? Would it be better to introduce
one frame at a time ? In the directions given
for doubling in Cowan's manual it seems to be
assumed that a whole hive of frames of brood
can be placed above another hive without risk.
Is this so ? If so, four frames should be safe if
introduced at once. — Lincolnshire Rector.

Reply. — We do not advise robbing good
stocks of their brood to strengthen weak
colonies, and never find stocks "increase too
fast " for our own liking. As a matter of fact
we would — in building up for the honey-flow —
rather add combs of brood to strong stocks than

March 16, 1893. J

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

10?

take any away. This is the sense in which
" doubling :' is advised in the Guide-book. " A
whole hive of frames of brood may be given to
a very strung colony without risk, and only such
are recommended for " doubling." Giving weak
stocks more combs of brood than the bees can
cover would be very unwise indeed, especially
in spring. Moreover, this plan of strengthening
should in no case be adopted except by ex-
perienced hands.

[734.] Late Start in Breeding. — Saturday,
the 4th inst., being a fine warm day, I over-
hauled and cleaned the floor-boards of my six
stocks of bees, finding them all healthy-looking,
fairly strong, and with, say, from six to seven
frames half filled with capped food. 1. Not
noticing any eggs or brood, would it be advisable
to look again in a fortnight, as I did not even
notice a queen, although pollen was being
brought in ? If I satisfy myself that the queens
are all right, would it be any advantage to give
them a little warm syrup every night for a time,
because last year they were very late in begin-
ning to breed ? 2.1 transferred on the same
day two stocks into a Wells hive. One stock
is working every day; with the other, however,
only an occasional bee peeps out now and then.
Is there any suggestive cause for this or reason
for alarm? — Wm. Greener, Gowertown, March
7th.

Reply. — 1. "With so much food in store and
pollen being carried into the hives, you will
not have long to wait before sealed brood will
be seen, but you are evidently in a late district
with perhaps a scarcity of natural pollen. In
the latter case we should advise a little soft
candy mixed with pea-flour being given. 2.
Something must be wrong to cause such a
difference in the working of the respective
stocks in the double-queened colony, and an in-
spection of the inactive one should at once be
made, with the view of ascertaining the cause of
difference.

[735.] Artificial Pollen — Unprolific Queen.
— 1. I enclose a sample of flour dust which the
bees are collecting from the ventilator in the
roof of our mill. Do you think it is suitable
for bee-food ? I examined twelve of my stocks
of bees yesterday, and they all had brood on
two or more frames, except one stock, which
had none (not even eggs), and I thought it
must be queenless, but on looking for her
majesty, I found her. She was very small,
and her wings were ragged. 2. Do you think
there is anything wrong with her ? It is a
stronger stock, and has more stores than some of
the others. The queen is probably entering on
her third season. — Sarum, Salisbwy, March 9th.

Reply. — 1. Certainly. Wheaten flour" is a
good substitute for natural pollen. 2. It seems
probable that the queen has met with some
injury which has caused her to cease laying.
If eggs are not seen in another week we should
either re-queen or unite the bees to the next
stock.

€tl$m from % gibes.

Latimer, Chesham, Bucks, March 5th, 1893.
— Bees have had a good day ; pollen carried in
freely. I saw a drone fly from my best hive
to-day. Is this not early ? — Ed. Stevens.

[Yes, very early.— Eds.]

Gas Works, Lauder, N.B., March 6th.— A.
good fresh day; bees out in great numbers,
many young ones among them. The snow of
last week is nearly gone. Snowdrops and aconite,
hepatica, &c, coming out. — J. T.

Somersham, Hunts, March 8th.— We are
having glorious bee-weather now, but I am
afraid it will not last long. I noticed the first
gooseberry buds in my garden to-day. I
imagine your way many are to be seen. — C. N.
White.

Steeple Aston, Oxon, March Wth, 1893.—
My eight stocks (five frame hives and three
skeps) have come through the winter well, and
on the 8th inst. were all busy carrying in pollen
from crocuses, snowdrops, and apricot blossom,
of which latter there is abundance this year.
Do they get any honey from this? [Yes. —
Eds.] I find that three stocks being fed with
candy seem to be much busier than those to
which I have given none. I was rather
amused at friend Walton (p. 99) enjoying his
" first sting of the season." My own sense of
enjoyment is not quite so keen. — G. Jordan.

WEATHER REPORT.
Westbourne, Sussex.
February, 1893.

Rainfall, 3T8 in. Sunshine, 82-3 hrs.

Heaviest fall, *45 on Brightest day, 28th,

19th. 7-85 hrs.

Rain fell on 24 days. Sunless days, 6.
Above average, T79. Below average, 15*5 hrs.
Max. temp., 51° on Mean max., 45°.

7th. Mean min., 35-3°.

Min. temp., 25° on 6th Mean temp., 40°.
Min. on grass, 18° on Max. barometer, 30"49

6th. on 6th.

Frosty nights, 8. Min. barometer, 28-60*

on 21st.

All hives healthy. But very little pollen-
gathering owing to damp, and absence of sun-
shine.— L. B. Birkett.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

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

John Chisholm (Bedale, York). — Fusball and
Bees. — The plan of stupefying bees by the
fumes of what is known as " fusball " is a
very old one, but is now seldom practised, as
more modern methods have the same advan-
tages and fewer objections.

110

THE BRTTISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 16, 1893.

G. O. B. (Wandsworth). — Bees sent have ap-
parently died through becoming separated
from the cluster in cold weather. There is
no cause for alarm under the circumstances.

J. Bradford. — Bee sent is not a queen at
all — only a worker.

Amateur Carpenter (Kidderminster).

" Wells " Hives. — 1. We can only refer you
to such illustrations as appear in our pages.
There is no special " Wells " hive, and it will
he for readers themselves to say which they
prefer of those now being made under that
name. 2. A south-east aspect is best for
hives. 3. Instruction for making an extractor
may be had post free from this office for S^d.
in stamps.

Transfer (Charlton). — Transferring Bees from
Skep. — The safest and best way for an ama-
teur is to fit the frames of the modern hive
with full sheets of foundation, and make an
"adapter" — i.e., a cover for the frame — of
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
(say, beginning of May), lift it from the
floor-board, and set it on the adapter above
the frames, carefully 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. If the above plan be not followed
we should allow the skep to swarm rather
than patch up its old combs into the frames
of a new hive.

Jas. K. Stilwell (Haslemere). — Moving Bees
into Clean Hives. — When mention is made of
finding " a lot of small insects below the
quilts," do you mean insects or larvae ? If the
former, we cannot think what they are. If
the " insects " are the larvae (or caterpillar) of
the wax-moth, there may be no need for
doing more than giving fresh quilts. Ke-
ferring to suspected dysentery, the combs
will show if the bees are afflicted that way
by being soiled with bee-excrement. A
clean, dry hive, and warm, well-made food is
the remedy.

Gt.Head (Winkfield).— Queen Killed and Thrown
Out. — We fear the death of queen sent has
been caused by opening the hive and unduly
exciting the bees when examining the combs.
If you have the Guide-book, or any book on
bee-keeping, refer to it for instruction as to
uniting skeps to" frame hives. It would take
too much space for insertion here.

J. G, B. (Stockton). — Honey from Lime-trees. —
Limes usually yield honey in July. Probably
three or four years will elapse before the
young trees will bloom in any quantity.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dtc. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

BEE PLANTS.— Limnanthes Douglasii, 100, Is. 3d.;
Iceland Poppies, 25, Is. 3d. ; Golden-leaved Forget-
me-not (novelty), 12, Is. 3d. Seeds, 6d. packet. Address
Hunting, Loddon, Norfolk.

BEE SEEDS. — Immense Packet of suitable mixed sorts,
20 varieties, for Bees (by a Specialist). Post free, Is.
Address Willie, 11 Highfield Road, Coventry.

MARSHALL'S Soft Candy for Winter and Spring
Feeding. — Soft Bee-Candy and Flour-Candy, exactly
the same as that sent out by the late Walter Marshall,
supplied by his Widow at 4s. 6d per dozen 1-lb. Cakes.
Single Cakes, 5d. each. Cash, with order. Address Mrs.
W. Marshall, The Apiary, Sunny Hill, Hemel Hemp. •
stead.

BEES AND QUEENS.— Choice Ligurian, Carniolan,
and English Stocks, Swarms, and Queens. Prices on
application. Address C. T. Overton, Crawley, Sussex. 5

PURE Eaglish Honey, in |-C>vts., at 7d. per lb., tins
free. Sample 2d. Deposit System. Address R.
Dutton, Terling, Witham, Essex.

GOOD Stocks of Healthy Bees from £ 1 upwards. Ad-
dress John Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leaming-
ton.

CHRISTMAS Roses, 3, Is.; Japanese Anemones, 12,
Is. 6d. ; Mrs. Sinkin's Pinks, 12, 2s. ; Herbaceous
Phloxes, assorted ; Pyrethrums, grand colours, 12, Is. 3d.
Iceland Poppies, 24, Is 3d. Iceland, Shirley, Mikado,
Swan, Bride, Mephisto, Danebrog, Marselli, Poppy Seed,
2d. packet, 8, Is. Other Choice Flower Seeds, 12 packets,
Is. Address Vicar, Ejgington, Leighton Buzzard.

WANTED.— Abbott's Special Observatory Hive (No. 12) .
Particulars and price to Garnett, Steade Road,
Sheffield.

FOR SALE. — Strong Stocks of Bees in Abbott's Long
Hives, Standard Frames. Apply to Mrs. Clark,
Shareshill, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire.

FOR SALE.— Two Strong Honey Extractors, best
quality, take one Standard Frame, 7s. each, 13s. the
two. Address Hinson, Parkgate Road, Reigate.

FOR SALE. — A large quantity of Pure Extracted Eng-
lishlHoney, at 4id. and 5d. per lb., in 56-lb. and about
70-lb. Tins. Tins and packing returnable. Sample, three
stamps. Address W. C. Ransom, Great Barton, near Bury
St. Edmunds.

Pressure on our space compels us to hold over
several Letters, Queries, &c, till next week.

FOR SALE. — 7 Strong Stocks in Frame Hives ; also 3
Frame Hives, with Supers and Sections complete.
Address Greaves, Oxford House, Horsf orth, Leeds. 2

ANTED.— In April, a few Healthy Stocks of Bees,
without Hives. State price to A. Leatham, Mis-
arden, Cirencester.

FOR SALE, Cheap.— Strong Stock of English Bees,
Standard Frame Hive, Neighbour's Extractor, good
as new. Several appliances. Address C. B., The Limes,
Brownlow Road, Bowes Park, N.

BAR-FRAMES, post free to any address at Is. 6d.
per dozen, 50 for 5s. In flat, Is. 3d. par dozen, 50 for
4s. Fitted with Metal Ends, Is. per dozen extra. Wide-
shoulder Top-bars, 3d. per dozen extra. Apply to W. A.
Smith, 8 Ford Street, Hockley, Birmingham.

WEBSTER'S Book of Bee-keeping, post free, Is.;
cloth, Is. 6d. W. B. Webster, Binfield, Berks.
" One of the best foreign works." — American Apicultwrist.
" The matter is evidently the result of long personal ob-
servation, and is thoroughly reliable." — Bee-keepers' Record.
" Have much pleasure in recommending the manual to our
readers." — British Bee Journal.

TO BEE APPLIANCE MANUFACTURERS.

FOE SALE.— By Private Contract.— Extractor
Business (fully Patented). Increasing Sale.
Bare offer to Business Men. Stock included. Ad
dress Office, Channon, 96 Brompton Koad, Lon-
don, S.W.

THE

Jkifek ®» 3ntmtal,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 561. Vol. XXI. N.S. 169.]

MARCH 23, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

<Sfoit0riaI, itoiites, &.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The annual general meeting took place on the
loth inst., at 3.30 p.m., in the offices of the
R.S.P.C.A., 105 Jermyn Street, S.W., when
Mr. T. W. Cowan (Chairman of Committee)
presided, and was supported by the Hon. and
Rev. Henry Bligh, the Rev. Br. Bartrum, Revs.
F. T. Scott, G. C. Bancks, and W. E. Burkitt,
Captain Campbell, Major Fair, Messrs. W. B.
Carr, W. O'B. Glenni'e, J. Garratt, W. H.
Harris, J. M. Hooker, H. Jonas, F. H. Meggy,
E. D. Till, J. H. New, F. B. Blow, S. J.
Baldwin, and many others. In the unavoidable
absence of the Secretary, owing to his illness,
the minutes of the last annual general meeting
were read by Mr. Garratt and confirmed.

The Chairman moved : " That the report and
balance-sheet issued for the year 1892 be re-
ceived and adopted, with a vote of thanks to
Mr. Kirchner, the Auditor." In alluding to the
balance-sheet he regretted to be obliged to note
a diminution of the income of the Association.
Upon comparison with the financial statement
of last year, it will be seen that there is a
diminution of subscriptions and donations, and
that the sale of publications had decreased. On
the other hand, although the cost on shows was
less, there is an extraordinary expenditure on
account of a stock of medals of nearly 201. The
stock of the Society's publications had decreased,
and no new ones had been added during the
year. Their investments had slightly increased,
but their trade and other debts were 18/. in
excess of last year. He thought that their
present financial position was in a large mea-
sure due to two causes. Firstly, because as fast
as County Associations were formed, the sub-
scriptions of residents in such counties were
transferred from the central body to the local
movement ; and, secondly, the long illness of
Mr. Huckle, which had prevented proper atten-
tion being given to the collection of subscrip-
tions and the enlistment of new members.
However, he hoped now that Mr. Garratt had
undertaken to help them in the secretarial work
the affairs of the Society would soon show an
improvement. The Secretary had been able to
do very little work since he went to the
Warwick Exhibition last year ; but his health

was now mending, and he trusted that the
Association would shortly have the advantage
of Mr. Huckle's services again. He (the Chair-
man) was glad to say that all the goods had
now gone off to the Chicago Exhibition, the
honey having been packed in jars, of which he
showed a sample. Nearly 900 of these jars had
been dispatched, as well as diagrams and all the
publications of the Association, reports for each
of the past twelve years, certificates, medals,
and copies of the B. B. J. It was satisfactory
to know that the Royal British Commissioners,
who expected exhibitors to pay all expenses in
connexion with their exhibits, had made an ex-
ception in the case of the B.B.K.A., and on
condition of a representative collection being
prepared, had undertaken to defray the expenses
connected with the British exhibit in the bee-
department at Chicago, so that the only expense
falling on the Association was that consequent
on getting the honey together, awarding prizes,
and packing the samples. He could not conclude
without once more calling attention to the
necessity of permanently increasing the income,
or the work could not, with the increasing calls
on the Association, be carried on efficiently as
heretofore.

The Hon. and Rev. Henry Bligh seconded the
resolution, and supported the Chairman's appeal
for pecuniary aid. He thought the expenditure
side of the balance-sheet showed that the funds
had been most economically used.

The Rev. Dr. Bartrum asked why the dividend
from invested funds was only 1/. 14s., the capital
being upwards of 120/. ; to which the Chairman
replied that 60/. of such sum was in the Post-
uffice Savings Bank, the interest on which was
added yearly to the principal, and not paid out
by dividend warrant as in the case of the Consols
investment.
The resolution was carried unanimously.
Mr. Meggy moved votes of thanks to the re-
tiring officers and Committee. The Baroness had
been of great value to the institution. Her name
was one to conjure with, and he hoped they
would long have the advantage of her aid in
furthering the cause of bee-keeping throughout
the kingdom. With regard to the Chairman,
who was at the head of the bee-keeping pro-
fession, it was unnecessary for him to say any-
thing in praise of Mr. Cowan's devotion to the
cause, which was well known to all bee-keepers.
Mr. Bligh, too, had done good work in behalf of
the industry, and he believed deserved their

112

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 23, 1898.

thanks. He hoped the rumours of Mr. Bligh's
impending retirement were unfounded. The
Treasurer, Trustees, Analyst, and other officers
rendered useful service. He heartily concurred
in the remarks of the Chairman respecting Mr.
Huckle, for whom he felt the greatest sympathy.
This was seconded hy Eev. F. T. Scott and
carried unanimously.

The Rev. Dr.Bartrum moved a vote of thanks
to the Council of the Royal Society for the Pre-
vention of Cruelty to Animals for the gratuitous
use of their Board-room for committee and other
meetings. He said that the R. S. P. C. A. had
nobly carried out their motto of kindness by ex-
tending it to the committee of the B. B. K. A. as
well as the rest of the animal creation (laughter).
It was necessary that they should have a place
of meeting, and what they would have done
without the assistance of the R. S. P. C. A. he
could not conceive. That aid which was con-
sistent and never failing at all times of the year
was especially valuable now, when their re-
sources were undergoing a severe strain. So
also must a word of thanks be given to the
editors of the B. B. J., who had rendered ex-
cellent help to the Association.

Major Fair seconded the resolution, which was
passed unanimously.

The Chairman proposed the election of the
President, Vice-Presidents, Honorary Members,
and Foreign Corresponding Members, Treasurer,
Auditor, Analyst, Librarian, and Secretary for
the year 1893, in accordance with Rules 5 and 9.
He thought the President especially deserved
thanks for her past services, and for kindly con-
senting to serve the Association another year in
the same capacity. The Vice-Presidents he sub-
mitted for election were the Presidents and
heads of county and affiliated Associations, and
he would also like to add thereto the name of
Sir James Whitehead. As honorary members
he would like to propose five gentlemen. There
was the Rev. L. L. Langstroth, by whose dis-
covery and research the present movable-frame
hive had been made practicable ; also the Rev.
Dr. Dzierzon, by whom modern bee-keeping
had been completely revolutionised ; also Pastor
Schonfeld, who had made discoveries in regard
to the anatomy of the bee, and was the first to
diagnose foul brood ; also Mr. F. R. Cheshire,
who was one of their own countrymen, and had
ably followed up Schonfeld's work, and added
to the knowledge respecting foul brood; and,
lastly, M. Ed. Bertrand, who had done much
in making practical and modern bee-keeping a
success. The Foreign Corresponding Members
whose names he submitted were M. Gravenhorst
and M. Dennler, who were constantly writing
and giving information. Both these gentlemen
had been present at meetings of the Association,
and in 1879 had also received the medal of the
Association. As regarded the Treasurer (Mr.
Glennie), the Auditor (Mr. Kirchner), the
Analyst (Mr. Otto Hehner) he felt sure all
would be in favour of their re-election. The
Analyst had had very little to do lately, but he
hoped there would soon be occasion to further

utilise his services, for there was some necessity
of adding to the stock of knowledge regarding
honey and its adulteration. The Librarian and
Secretary (Mr. Huckle) was a man they could
not do without. His illness had already been
feelingly referred to, and he hoped soon to see
Mr. Huckle back at his old post ; meanwhile Mr.
Garratt had kindly come to their aid, for which
the Committee were very thankful.

Mr. Harris had much pleasure in seconding
the motion. The names mentioned were those
which all bee-keepers could honour. He
thought it would be well to include, at the
end of the resolution, a few words of sympathy
with Mr. Huckle in his present misfortune,
which would be cheering to the patient as well
as a record of the meeting's appreciation of him.

With the Chairman's hearty assent the reso-
lution was amended in accordance with Mr.
Harris's suggestion, and carried unanimously.

Mr. Garratt read the list of Committee-men
elected for the year 1893, as follows : — Mr.
T. W. Cowan (Chairman), the Rev. E. Bartrum,
D.D., the Rev. G. C. W. Bancks, Captain C. D.
Campbell, Mr. W. B. Carr, the Rev. R. Erring-
ton, Major A. W. Fair, Mr. J. Garratt, Mr.
W. H. Harris, Mr. H. Jonas, Mr. W. Lees
MeClure, Mr. J. H. Dew, Mr. W. J. Sheppard,
and Mr. E. D. Till.

The further discussion on financial matters,
and proceedings at the subsequent conversazione,
will appear next week.

PERSONAL.

Sir, — Will you kindly grant me space in
your columns to express my gratitude to the
members for their kind expressions of sympathy
with me in my long trial of ill health, as ac-
corded at the Annual General Meeting of the
Association, held on the loth inst. ? 1 also take
this opportunity of gratefully acknowledging
the many inquiries which have been made from
time to time during my long illness. — John
Huckle, Secretary, Kings Langley, March 20th.

IMPORTANT PAPER ON FOUL BROOD.

By J. J. Mackenzie, B.A. , Bacteriologist of the
Prov. Board of Health, Ont.

(Continued from page 103.)

The other question is whether the temperature
to which wax is raised during foundation-making
is sufficiently high to destroy the spores of foul
brood ? In order to decide this question there
are several points to be noted. The first is the
character of the heat. We know that moist
heat will destroy bacteria and their spores much
more quickly than dry heat, and Mr. Corneil, of
Lindsay, has raised this point several times,
claiming that tht? heat to which the bacteria
are exposed in melted wax is not moist heat,
but dry heat, consequently we must ueat to a

March, 23, 1898.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

113

high temperature, and for a long time, in order
to destroy the spores. The point is undoubtedly
well taken, and can only be settled by direct
experiment. In order to determine the tem-
perature at which the spores are destroyed in
melted wax, I used a method which was first
described by Koch. Sterilised silk threads were
saturated with a beef-tea culture of Bacillus
alvei in which there were large numbers of
spores. These threads were then allowed to
dry, and in the dry state were preserved. These
dried threads were introduced into the melted
wax, and allowed to remain in it for a definite
'time at a fixed temperature. At the end of
that time the thread was introduced into melted
agar or into beef tea, heated to the melting
point of wax, and thoroughly shaken, so as to
separate the wax as much as possible from the
threads ; then the culture medium was rapidly
cooled and the tubes placed in the ordinary
cultivating oven kept at 98° F. If I obtained a
growth of bacilli, I concluded that the threads
had not been sufficiently heated in the wax ; if I
did not, I concluded that they had been
sufficiently heated. The following are my
results : —

At 212s F. (100° C.) for £ hour, growth.

A

n

>>

1 » »

X2 II »

2 )> ij

2 j „ no growth.

ii

At 194° F.

(90* C.)

for

£ hour, growth.

»

»

x » »
o

* » »

8 „ no growth.
4

i>

i>

On the other hand, a temperature of 122° F.
(50s C.) did not destroy the spores in twenty-
four hours.

I have repeated these experiments several
times with the same results, so that I would
conclude that to destroy the foul brood in wax
it is necessary to heat to a temperature of at
least 194° F. for at least three hours. Now the
question arises, Does this take place during the
process of manufacture of comb foundation ?
In order to get as much data as possible on the
subject, I wrote to Mr. Larrabee, of Michigan
Agricultural College, as he had kindly offered
me any assistance in his power. He applied
to two prominent foundation-makers for the
information. From their replies it is apparent
that, for a short time at any rate, during the
refining and purifying of the wax, it reaches a
temperature quite at or near 212° F. During
sheeting, however, it apparently does not reach
a temperature much above the melting point,
say 175° F. They both seemed to agree that
steam heat for too long a time injures the quality
of the wax.

In the American Bee Journal, 1891, p. 470,
we find some statements on the subject in a
reply by two prominent foundati3n-makers to

an article by Mr. Corneil upon the dangers of
infected cccab foundation. One of them, Mr.
Dadant, states that in refining it is heated for
some time at 212° F., and is kept liquid for
twenty-four hours. The other, Mr. M. H. Hunt,
states that it is kept at the boiling point for six
or seven hours. If these are the actual tem-
peratures reached during foundation-making, I
am inclined to think there is little danger from
foul brood in that direction.

I thought it possible that the whole question
could be settled by introducing a certain amount
of some disinfectant, say Naphthol Beta, into
the melted wax ; but my results have not been
satisfactory. Apparently even the introduction
of one per cent. Naphthol Beta into wax did not
hasten materially the destruction of the spores.
I was able to demonstrate the presence of living
spores in wax containing one per cent. Naphthol
Beta and heated for two hours to 194° F.

From these facts, and taking into considera-
tion also the physical fact of the settling of the
bacilli to the bottom, I should think that, with
reasonable care in the preparation of comb
foundation, the dangers of infection from this
source would be slight. But that the spores
may germinate after being mixed with the wax,
I think I have shown.

Why the spores of the Bacillus alvei are killed
so quickly in the melted wax, I am not able to
explain ; but it may be due to the fact that the
wax itself, when heated to such a temperature,
has antiseptic value. That the spores resist
other antiseptics as strongly as do the spores of
anthrax, I have proved by testing.

Cheshire and others recommend a solution of
two per cent, carbolic acid for disinfecting the
hive after removing infected comb, but on actual
experiment with the infected silk threads, 1
found that two per cent, carbolic acid did not
kill the spores in six days. These results are
similar to those obtained by Koch for the spores
of anthrax, and show that two per cent, carbolic
acid cannot be relied on to destroy the spores.
However, the question of the value of anti-
septics I will take up more in detail later on in
this paper.

(To oe continued.)

LOUGHBOROUGH AND DISTRICT
BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The Leicestershire County Council have been
giving a series of lectures here, with the result
that the bee-keepers were got together at the
conclusion of the series. Mr. Arthur Harding-
introduced the question of forming an Associa-
tion. The existing one, covering the whole of
the county, was found to be of little practical
use, more especially to beginners in the craft.
Ultimately it was arranged that another meet-
ing should be held, and this too was well
attended. Mr. Charles Cashmore, an enthu-
siastic bee-keeper, was in the chair, and after
full discussion, it wag unanimously decide to

114

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 23, 1893.

form an Association for the Borough of Lough-
borough and the residents in the county not
more than five miles distant. Rules were
drawn up and adopted. E. H. "Warner, Esq.,
J.P., Nanpantan, has consented to be the pre-
sident, whilst his Worship the Mayor (G.
Adcock, Esq.) and all ex-Mayors have become
vice-presidents. Fourteen members have joined
at the first meeting, and others have since ex-
pressed a willingness to become members. I
hope at some time in the near future to report
our work to you, and trust then you will be
able to say we have taken a step in the right
direction. — A. Harding, Hon. Sec.

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION IN BEE-
KEEPING.

The schoolroom at Morton, Gainsborough,
(Lines.), was well filled on Friday, the 24th
ult., when Mr. F. J. Cribb delivered a lecture,
under the auspices of the Lindsey County
Council, on the modern system of bee-keeping.
It was encouraging to the promoters of these
and kindred lectures, in accordance with the
provisions of the Technical Education Act, to
note the large and interested attendance. The
taste for bee and honey cultivation is evidently
growing, and people are beginning to acquire a
predilection for technical education of this de-
scription. Mr. Cribb had nothing of which to
complain with regard to the number of his
listeners, and he engaged their attention in the
most interesting manner throughout the evening,
assisted as he ably was by Mr. Pepper, who dis-
played an excellent series of lantern views photo-
graphed from life and micro-photo slides all
specially taken for Technical Education lectures,
which showed the manipulation of hives, the
anatomy of the honey-bee, and the appliances
used in connexion with the industry. Mr.
County Councillor Chas. Thompson was present
during the lecture, and expressed himself greatly
gratified. — Communicated.

METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.

January, 1893.
Tenby. Lat. 51° 40' N. Long. 4° 42'.
Barometer : —

Mean height 30*082 inches.

Highest (20th) 30-584 „

Lowest (28th) 29-302 „

Temperature (shade) : —

Mean 39-2 degrees.

Highest (23rd) 52-0 „

Lowest (2nd) 20-0 „

Rainfall 2-397 inches.

Sunshine 69*5 hours.

Bees have been flying freely during the
month, and carrying in pollen — chiefly from
the gorse.— Jas. E. Gower.

[We regret that through inadvertence the
publication of above report has been delaved.

r-EDS.] '

« WELLS " HIVES.

No. 2.— Blow's "Wells" Hive.

The hive, as illustrated in the accom-
panying cut, consists of a body to which
are affixed porches and entrance runners
in the usual way. This body holds twenty
frames, and is divided in the centre by a
perforated wood dummy. There are four
entrances — two in the front, quite close
together but separated by a projecting

piece of wood affixed to the front porch — ■
the other two entrances are one at each
end. The floor-board is on legs, the lower
body having double walls on both sides.
Upper body in two parts, so that either
shallow or standard frames may be worked
as desired. This body also contains twenty
standard bar-frames (or twenty shallow
frames, whichever preferred), and is fitted
with removable walls and perfoiated dum-

March 23, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

115

mies, and with lift for crate, so that tiering
of crates can easily be done. Super of
thirty-nine one-pound sections, with slotted
metal divider, queen-excluding zinc adapter,
and quilt.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents, No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested to write on one side of the paper only, and give their
real names and addresses, not necessarily for publication, but
at a guarantee of goodfaith. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to "The
Editobs of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 ^daiertise-
ments).

*«* 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.

[1376.] The past fortnight has been good bee-
weather ; willows are in full bloom in sheltered
positions, and the wild anemones are just putting
forth the first blossoms in the woods, so that the
supply of natural pollen is every day increasing.
We began supplying the artificial substitute,
viz., equal parts of Symington's pea-flour and
wheat-flour, or equal parts of Brown and Pol-
son's corn-flour and ordinary wheat-flour, and
both are taken by the bees with avidity ; in
fact, two or three bees seemed on the alert for
the artificial pollen, for while I was preparing
the straw hives and shavings on which to sprinkle
the flour, they began prospecting among the
shavings, and immediately I sprinkled the flour,
began collecting the same into their pollen
baskets.

The Wells hive and system is still to the fore,
and I would suggest to " T. I." (1361), re the
lowering of floor- board two inches in front, that
either a strip of wood or perforated zinc is fixed
vertically in the floor-board, and fitting close up
to the perforated division-board or dummy
when the floor-board is up in its place, and when
it is lowered this fixture on the floor-board is
practically an extension of the dummy, and still
divides the two colonies.

That the system is engrossing the minds of
bee-keepers, the pages of both bee-papers, B.B.J.
and Record, are witness, and I have no doubt
appliance-makers who advertise the Wells hives
get many queries on their working. I, myself,
have received several lately on the subject, but
my only source of information on the practical
working of the Wells system has been the
published correspondence in the Journal.

In answer to our friend in Kent (1355), my
mishap was the result of carelessness to a great
extent ; the two colonies were two strong lots of
driven bees, put into an ordinary hive with a

perforated dummy, d, la Wells, but I quite
expect the point I neglected was in not dividing
the entrance out to the extent of the alighting-
board ; the ten-inch entrance of hive was only
divided to the outside of the box containing the
brood combs. It was my intention to transfer
the twin colonies into a hive better adapted to
the system, but other work crowding in, the in-
tention was postponed till the spring, which will
never come to that twin colony ! There is the
usual number of " if 's " in the case — " if " the
colonies had united the other side of the
division-board (where the largest quantity of
food was stored), all would have been well ; and
" if " I had given that intended cake of candy,
the combined colony would have pulled through
safely.

If " E. B." (1365), or any other bee-keeper, has
two weaker stocks than the others in the apiary,
and wishes to bring them side by side, each hive
can be moved forward, say one yard every day
bees are flying, and of course to a converging
point. Now, when the two hives are side by
side, they can be transferred into the Wells hive
at once, weather and temperature permitting.
Smear the division-board (both sides) with honey,
in which mix a few drops of peppermint. This
cleaning-up will find both colonies something
better to do than fighting, or threatening to do
so, through holes which form a barrier to a
pitched battle.

I was sorry to miss attending our Berks annual
meeting ; this is the first omission during the
last decade. Glad to hear there was a fair
attendance, and gladder still to know that our
late indefatigable hon. secretary, Miss R. E. Carr
Smith, will continue her fostering interest in our
Association. I look forward to the increasing
usefulness of the Association in the future. The
continued grant of the County Council is evi-
dence that we are doing a good, useful work in
the county.

"T. J." (1375). — Respecting the entrances to
the twin -colony hives, I don't think, from
several years' experience, there can be any
objection to the two entrances being in the
front of the hive. I have had seven or eight
twin hives in use nearly ten years with both
entrances in front of hives, and have never
had a case of fighting between the colonies,
and it is with these hives I intend to run
some three or four on the " Wells " system this
coming season. All the alterations required
will be the removal of the half-inch plain
division-board, and the insertion of a " Wells "
dummy and the piece of excluder zinc over the
frames. I should not advise a feeding-stage,
feeder, or large cake of candy common to both
colonies ; rather let the fraternisation come
when the honey-flow is commencing, and then
workers will not be disposed to fight. The fact
that the bees will fill the holes in the dummy
with propolis, and thus prevent the communistic
design of the bee-keeper, is a proof that the
"Wells" system is not in conformity with the
natural instincts of the genus.
Lime-trees do not bloom for ten or twelve

116

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 23, 1898.

years after planting. I have taken note of this
from personal ohservation.

I notice our friends in North ants intend (by
Report to hand) to have a show of British honey
during the coming season somewhat on the lines
of our Berks Association Show at Reading last
September, only with this difference : the
Northants Show will take the form of benevo-
lence to the widow and family of a deceased
bee-keeper, to whom the profits will be given.
I think this will meet with a ready response if
our friends in Northants gives us a reminder
through B. B. J", and Record next July.

I notice some bee-keepers have been looking
through their hives, and shortly some others
will either be transferring their colonies to
clean hives, or at least clearing out the debris
of the past winter. To every one who contem-
plates doing this, I would say, don't be in too
much haste, but if perforce circumstances re-
quire the job to be done early, do it quickly, not
exposing the brood longer than absolutely
necessary, so that the hive you change your
colony into is perfectly clean, and with each
transfer place two or three pieces of naphthaline
among the combs.

Next month will be the feeding month of the
year, and if foul brood is rife in your neighbour-
hood, or within a radius of three or four miles,
i will be good policy to feed medicated syrup.

The persistence of the foul-brood pest is
demonstrated very fully in the very excellent
article running in B. B. J. in last week's issue ;
we certainly run some risk by the use of foun-
dation. I trust science will devise some means
of sterilising the germs of foul brood without
destroying the properties of beeswax, which
makes it so valuable to modern methods of bee-
culture.

The report of Berks Bee-keepers' Association
for 1892 is to hand. I intended to give a short
" note " on same, but on perusing it, I find I
must defer notice till next week, as the success
and progress of the Association deserves more
than a passing note. — "W. Woodley, World's
End, Nexvbury.

AMATEUR BEE-KEEPING.

[1377.] In my letter (1316, p. 45) I remark
that the gathering of surplus in sections is by
no means the surest method of getting the
greatest amount of surplus in a given time.

That statement, bearing in mind what has
been noted by yourselves and others who write
for the guidance of amateurs, requires no words
of mine to urge its general acceptance.

I wish now to draw attention to a super that
is easily prepared and, when storing is carried
on, quickly filled, whether used in connexion
with the hive for which it was specially de-
signed (and is here described) or for taking the
place of sectional or shallow-frame supers. It
may be that I shall once more be told that 1
am " fifty years behind the times ; " if so, I
would say that, looking at bee-keeping from a
commercial or pecuniary point of view, the

object of all study and teaching on the subject
is how to get the greatest profit per stock;
and I maintain, though I may be considered
now a little off the track, that movable combs
and the natural accompaniment, extractors, are
not indispensable to the successful bee-keeper.
In support of this statement I will state a fact.
Two years ago one of the best-known manufac-
turers in England, who also owns one of the
largest and most attractive apiaries, sold his
extractor, and at the time told me that he had
done with extractors, and that he should use
foundation extensively, and cut up the combs
when filled. This is exactly what Mr. 0. N.
Abbott years ago suggested might be done in
order to get run honey with a minimum of
trouble and expense, and thus save the labour
and mess of extracting.

It is some years since I wrote in your columns
on " Bee-keeping for Cottagers," but I have
not, in one respect, altered my opinion ; in fact,
1 am more than ever convinced that there are
many bee-keepers who desire a system of bee-
keeping more attractive than the skep system,
which will give the maximum result with the
minimum expenditure of time and money.

Why we should be expected to urge the
great stride from the skep to the bar-frame
hive, or that if a start i3 to be made it must be
made with the bar-frame hive, I cannot imagine.
I am afraid that some fear that if they advise
anything simpler than the bar-frame hive they
will be considered poor exponents of the art.

In this matter, as I have said before, " I have
no axe to grind," and, personally, I would not
have fixed brood combs at any price, though I
shall continue to use the " Joo " fixed-comb
supers in conjunction with sectional and shallow-
frame supers. The hive which is named the
" Joo " cottager consists of brood chamber, seven
inches deep, two supers, each five inches, to-
gether with floor-board, lift, and roof. The
ends of the bars rest in rabbets cut in the front
and back walls, and are exactly similar for use
in the brood chamber and supers, except in
width. In the former the shoulder is the width
of a metal end, and nine in number, while in
the latter they are f\ I inches wide, and seven
fill the same space. The bars are provided with
saw-cuts to receive foundation, but only sheets
extending two-thirds the depth should be given.

A strong swarm would, if conditions were
favourable, quickly fill the brood chamber and
take to the super ; but a smaller one would of
necessity be slower in getting to work above.
In order to force the bees into the super, I
advise that a board one inch thick, made to fit
inside the hive, but with an entrance cut in the
front, be placed on the floor-board when the
swarm is put into the hive. The thickness of
the board may, of course, be varied; but it
woidd be useless to use any such contrivance
except with a good swarm.

As this letter is rather long, I will defer other
remarks to a future issue, except to say that a
5|-pound swarm put into the " Joo " cottager,
standing in the next village, on June 23rd last,

March 23, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

117

gave 37 lba. 4 ozs. net surplus, and had suffi-
cient in the brood chamber to carry it through
the winter. — C. N. White, Somersham, Hunts.

[A hive such as the one described may do
very well for those who deliberately disapprove
of modern methods of bee-keeping, and select
such a one on principle ; otherwise we cannot
agree with our correspondent as to the desirability
of amateurs starting bee-keeping by using hives
with fixed combs and of a size entirely uncon-
vertible into a frame hive of modern type. To
do this is to encumber the bee-keeper with hives
and appliances which he would only regard as
so much worse than useless lumber when he
had acquired sufficient knowledge to enable him
to appreciate the advantages of the " better
way." Why not advise a box hive capable of
being adopted to modern methods if needed ? —
Eds.J

CRITICISING THE CRITICS.

The Wells System.

[1378.] Perusingf rom time to time our Journal,
as we bee-keepers do, it would astonish persons
not interested in that seemingly insignificant
and yet wonderful creature, the bee, to know
what an amount of criticism it has caused, I
suppose from time immemorial. We look into
the word criticism. Is it the " art of judging,"
or, if we use it personally, M one why finds
fault ? " Sometimes we are apt to think the
latter is the one more oftentimes meant. We
all know if it was not for competition and criti-
cism we must assuredly in time become stag-
nant, and yet I venture to say that very often
things which have been practically tested and
plainly given out are wrongly conveyed to the
mind and wrongly read.

I have not the pleasure of knowing the
gentleman who has caused the last movement
for the benefit of bee-keepers, but he seems to
have had rivals, and now critics, like your
correspondent (1354, p. 87), who says, u I do
not know wherein the ' Wells system ' differs
from an ordinary twin hive with a division of
perforated zinc, nor do I know whether Mr.
Wells recommends his new system to young
beginners as being more profitable."

JNow, has our friend, Mr. Ward, ever felt a
piece of zinc that has been out of doors on a
frosty night, and also a piece of wood ? Second,
Mr. Wells, " if I am not mistaken," has neither
recommended his system to the old or young,
and from what I have followed in the past the
B.JB.K.A. made it recommendable. Then, a
little further, your correspondent goes on to
say, " Then, as regards swarming, there was
always the double chance," &c. Now, if I read
correctly, Mr. Wells did not experience that
" double chance." Would not practical ex-
perience be of more service ? Last year I tried
and failed with this system. Two swarms
issuing the same day, aud that a Sunday, I

hived them in a hurry, and could not have
confined each lot exclusively. The bees must
have passed somewhere through the division,
for on an examination I found the queen of the
weakest cluster cast out dead on the alighting-
board ; but, nevertheless, I intend trying again
this year. — Benevolous, Ironbridge, March 8th.

EARLY DRONES.

[1379.] I have waited fourteen days for the
strange tale told in your last issue of the B.J.
before writing this letter to you. I was in my
garden on the morning of the 5th of March
putting pea-flour in the cups of the crocuses when
I was startled by what I thought to be the hum
of a drone on the wing. I at once got in position
to command a view of the entrance of six hives
at once, and I then saw drones going in and out
of a hive that I took from a neighbour last
autumn. I made an examination of the hive
the next day, and saw several drones and brood
and eggs in abundance on seven frames, and the
combs crammed with bees, and about two inches
of sealed stores ; pollen was being carried in at
a rapid rate. My seven stocks have come
through the winter quite strong. I am feeding
with soft candy mixed with pea-flour. On the
13th I went to take a crate of sections off from
a neighbour's hive that had been on all the win-
ter, and he, too, had drones living and plenty of
bees ; I could not see whether there was brood
or not, as the combs were built all together in a
mass. Can you give me any information as to
the cause of drones appearing so early? — S.
Newnham, Hurstmonceau, March Y§th.

ANOTHER EARLY SWARM (?).

[1380.] A correspondent sends the following :
■ — A swarm of bees took place at the premises of
Mr. Thomas Smith, wheelwright, Great Bur-
stead (near Billericay, Essex), on the 8th inst.—
" Essex Herald? March Uth, 1893.

A GARDENER'S BEE-KEEPING.

[1381.] Having read with interest th« Bee
Journal almost from its first appearance, and
learnt much from "Useful Hints " and " Notes
by the Way," among others, I thought a word
or two of my experiences might interest some.
I have kept bees thirty-five years, so I ought to
know a few of their tricks. My apiary now
consists of eighteen stocks in frame hives, and
three in the old square boxes, and all of them
have wintered well. I seldom have need to
feed, as I like to leave stores enough (15 to 20
pounds) to carry them through the winter. I
think the less they are disturbed the better. If
I do feed, however, I never boil the syrup. I
think that opening hives too often is one of the
causes of disease. The brood gets "chilled,"
and, being left while decaying, helps at least to
develop foul brood. Otherwise, how is it that

118

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 23, 1893.

the cottager who uses skeps is so much more
free.from this disease ? We are free from its
dire effects here, thank goodness ! and I attend
to six apiaries besides my own. In all these only-
two lots have perished, and these just for want
of being overlooked last autumn, which serves me
right. "Man of Kent " (1335, p. 87) is quite
my way of thinking. I never lost any stocks
well supplied with stores, and I never cut winter
passages.

About twin hives. I had one many years
ago ; both got access to the roof, and filled it,
working well together. Excluder was not used
in that case. Now, brothers in the craft, don't
you think we are drifting away from the help
the cottager wants, when so much as 25s. is
asked for a hive ? It is entirely out of their
reach. I have been waiting to see a cheap hive
for the cottager, but it seems a long way off,
and he still sticks to his favourite skep. I make
most of my own hives, but, as a rule, it is hard
work to get cottagers to make hives or try their
hand at a little carpentry. To young hands I
say, be very cautious about twin hives. Single
ten or twelve bars are the sort I like. I got
sixty pounds last year from some of mine, and
you can handle single hives much better. Bees
on the wing on 19th ult., and brood in all stages
in the few I had a glance at. On March 2nd
young bees were flying from several. Trusting
we shall have a good honey-flow this coming
season, — F. Moweb (Gardener), Winchester,
March Srd.

mxm arttr Implies.

[736.] Mishajis with the Wells System. —
I _ united two stocks in a W.B.O. ten-frame
hive, with perforated wood dummy between, on
the 19th ult. On the 1st inst., I gave them
another ten-frame brood body containing stores.
Unfortunately the perforated dummy allowed
the bees to get at each other. However, I dis-
covered it, and rectified the error ; but both
stocks were much reduced. On the 2 ad (a
lovely day) I had a look at them, and found
extensive robbing going on. The robbers did
not care a bit about carbolic solution, and even
carbolic powder did not drive them altogether
away ; so I closed entrances with perforated
zinc. This morning I found the enclosed bee,
with many others, slain just inside the entrance.
Is it a queen? There are only two seams of
bees left in one side and one in the other.
Would it be advisable to unite them in one side
and introduce another stock on the other ? I
have received a Wells hives with the holes in
the dummy large enough (-18) to pass a dead
worker through. Will it be safe to use it
between two stocks ? — H. C. Hanker, Long-
parish.

Reply. — The bee sent is not a queen at all>
only a worker-bee. We fear our correspondent
is altogether too inexperienced to safely work
colonies on the double-queen plan without help.

Joining two stocks in one hive without first
making sure that the perforated division-board
would effectually keep the bees apart was a
fatal error. We should strongly advise calling
in help or consulting with some bee-keeper of
experience before proceeding further, because
the fact of the two lots of bees at present in the
hive being engaged killing each other renders
the prospect of the safe introduction of a third
stock more than doubtful in the hands of a
beginner.

[737.] Bees, in Woods. — 1. Would my bees
do well if I put them in the woods ? The roads
are about fifteen to twenty feet broad, and I
could place them at the sides. My gardener
objects to them in the garden, the stock object
to them in the pasture, and the labourers and
horses object to them in the arable fields. I
think the bees have wintered very well in this
district. Mine are very strong, and I see that
the cottagers' skeps also seem strong and busy.
2. Do you consider a thickly wooded district,
with hops and pasture, not much arable, a good
country for bees ? — R. P. Hobbs, Bechley,
Sussex.

Reply. — 1. Bees will do very well in woods,
and a location as described should suit them
admirably. 2. Pasture land is better than
arable for bees, and Sussex is one of the best
counties in England for honey production.

[738.] Bees and Earwigs. — 1. Can you tell
me the cause of something eating bees' heads
off ? Do you think it is earwigs, as several are
to be found in hive ? 2. Will the bees be a
nuisance to the public if my hives are placed
thirty feet from a public footpath, parted by a
wall four feet high ? — Bee-keeper, Grantham,
Durham.

Reply. — 1. Earwigs might eat the heads off
dead bees, not off live ones. 2. With ordinarily
careful management, bees should cause no
trouble of the kind indicated.

[739.] Perforated Zinc Separators for Sec-
tions.— Do you consider perforated zinc to be a
good material to use as separators for sections ?
Also what sized holes should be in same ? I
think a correspondent wrote in the Journal of last
year that he had used them with good results,
but cannot find it in the correspondence. — A
Subscbibeb, Merton.

Reply. — The correspondent referred to is
Mr. J. W. Sheppard, of Chingford, who has
used perforated zinc as stated with excellent
results. The kind used for meat safes is right-
sized holes.

[740.] Drone -breeding Queen in March. —
1. I want your advice as to what to do in the
following case : — Last August I removed the
queen from a very strong hive — as her progeny
were extremely vicious — intending to introdnce
a good black queen. I did not, however, in-
troduce the new queen until a fortnight later,
and in the meantime I think a young queen,

March 23, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

119

raised by the bees themselves, had hatched out.
At all events the new queen must have been
killed, as on opening the hive to-day, I found a
number of drones and drone brood. The stock
is still fairly strong, as it covers six frames.
"When I packed it up for winter I saw a small
queen. 1. Will this queen (provided she is still
in the hive) become fertilised in time to save the
stock, or ought I to unite it to another ? 2. If,
on the other hand, it is a fertile worker that is
laying the eggs, how shall I be able to find her
before I unite, as I do not want one of my good
queens killed. — Ernest Walker, Erith.

Reply. — 1. No. She will never be other
than a drone-breeder. If you have a stock close
to, we should unite the bees to it after removing
the sterile queen. 2. A fertile worker cannot
be detected, but why suppose there is one present
when you " saw a small queen " in the autumn ?

[741.] Transferring Bees to Double- Queened
Hives. — 1. I intend working one hive this
summer on the " Wells " system. When would
be the best time to put the two colonies, which
are now in separate hives, into the " Wells "
hive ? 2. Are nine standard frames on each
side of the perforated dummy sufficient ? Bees
in this locality have wintered well, and seem in
good condition. — H. F. K., Ballyfrenis, Dona-
ghadee, Ireland, March l^th, 1893.

Reply. — 1. We should say the first week in
April is about the best time. 2. Ten standard
frames on each side of the dummy will be better
than nine.

ms foam % |pto.

Beemount, Stoke Prior, March 17th. — Oh,
what a change in the weather ! Last week the
thermometer registered 62° in the shade, and
to-day it has fallen to 31°, a strong wind blow-
ing from the N.N. W., and feathery flakes filling
the air. Notwithstanding the inclem ent weather,
my bees are busily employed visiting the water-
troughs ; this sight is very cheering, for it tells
of increasing population within the hives. Pear-
trees are assuming a very white appearance,
owing to the buds bursting so early this year.
Gooseberry and currant bushes are in full leaf.
Apricots have been in bloom for two or three
weeks, and the bees were very busy extracting
the nectar. I weighed my skeps last week, and
was not very agreeably surprised to find them
very light. Doubtless the mild and early
spring accounts for it. The bees were carrying
in pollen this year quite three weeks earlier
than in 1892. I find that those skeps are the
lightest that have had most pollen carried in.
I intend commencing feeding the first day of
spring, viz., March 20th, by my method
described in vol. xx. (1093, p. 286). — Percy
Leigh.

Wollaston, near Wellingborough, March 18th.
— My stocks of bees (three) were fairly strong
last spring (1892), and increased to six. From

them I took 150 pounds of honey of first-class
quality. One stock was a complete nuisance,
by constantly swarming (I may mention it was
a Carniolan). Fed up early and put them in
winter quarters in good time ; found damp came
in through the roofs of three, but a coat of roof-
ing-felt put that all right. Took advantage of
the first fine days of January, and gave thirty-
four pounds candy, and set up bee-fountains.
Bees commenced taking in water at once. I
saw my first drones on February 28th. Bees
are now very busy on apricots, peaches, prim-
roses, &c. — Spread Eagle.

TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED.
J. H. Howard (Holme, near Peterborough).
Thomas B. Blow (Wehoyn, Herts).— Both, the
above well-known manufacturers issue entirely
new catalogues for 1893, consisting, in each
case, of fifty-two pages, fully illustrated. All
the recent improvements in bee-appliances are
embodied, including full descriptions and in-
structions for working the form of "Wells"
hive which each maker considers best adapted
to the system. Mr. Howard gives illustrations
of several useful novelties for the coming season,
including the "Howard" combined self-hiver
and super-clearer, from which good results are
expected in the way of filling a known want.
We should also add that Mr. Blow's catalogue
has an illustration showing his extensive new
hive factory and apiary at Wrelwyn, and regard-
ing which we hope to give some particulars in a
future issue.

W. P. Meadows (Sgston, near Leicester). —
Mr. Meadows reissues his excellent catalogue
of last year, with the addition of an eight-page
inset, containing fine illustrations of all the
novelties he has introduced since the earlv part
of 1892.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers 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 com-
munication.

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

G. Head (Winkfield).— Using Medicated Food.
— All food given to bees should be medicated,
and where foul brood is known to prevail in
a district it is especially necessary. We can-
not positively affirm that the decomposing
" remains of a dead cat " caused the hive to
become foul-broody, though such a condition
of things would be enough to cause disease
anywhere, one would think. The moral to be
gathered from your case is case is, Don't
have cupboards below hives in which cats
may be accidentally imprisoned, to die and
decay unseen.

120

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 23, 1893.

A. P. (South Woodford). — Transferring Bees
and Combs from Steeps to Frame Hives. — The
method of transferring recommended in the
Guide-book is intended for bee-keepers possess-
ing sufficient aptitude to enable them to per-
form the operation fairly well, and who would
use sound judgment in deciding if the combs
in skeps are worth transferring at all. So
many beginners, however, have failed in the
above essentials that, as a general rule, it is
safer and, perhaps, better for them to let the
bees transfer themselves as stated. — Comb
foundation is now so cheap and so easily fixed
in frames in full sheets that straight new
combs are well worth the extra cost, in
preference to patched-up ones cut out of old
skeps.

Lincolnshire Hector. — Adding Brood to
Strengthen Stocks. — Combs of brood may be
safely given to any stocks which have bees
enough to fully cover them in the month of
April. The risk lies in giving brood to stocks
which are sparsely supplied with bees, because
a sudden lowering of temperature may cause
" chilling " as the cluster contracts. On the
other hand, there should be no difficulty in
building up a fairly good stock with a prolific
queen into full strength for the beginning of
the honey-flow by ordinary slow stimulative
feeding, without such risks as occur through
sudden " cold snaps."

F. Howell (Poole, Dorset). — Queenless Stocks.
— If the stock has been long queenless, it is
doubtful whether the bees are worth re-
queening. We should certainly prefer to
unite them to the nearest stock. The feeder
must not be removed in the daytime. Feed-
ing should be continuous, not intermittent.
A hive should contain not less than ten
standard frames in brood chamber, but twenty
frames are too many. For choice, we should
prefer nine to twenty standard frames for
brood nest.

J. E. (Llanengan, North Wales). — Bees Fra-
ternising.— It will probably be found that
only a few scores of the Italians have joined
the black bees in the skep. Certainly the
queen of the latter cannot possibly have pro-
duced the Italian bees if the particulars given
are quite correct. It is not uncommon for
bees to fraternise to a limited extent, and this
is, we fancy, all that has happened in your
case.

. Jordan. — Queen Excluders. — If you use the
proper kind of excluder zinc, such as has
been illustrated in our advertisement pages,
no queen will pass through.

J. W. Detjrische (Dungarvan). — Dr. Tinker's
Book. — This can only be had from Dr. Tinker,
New Philadelphia, Ohio, U.S.A.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, <&c. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

BEE SEEDS. — Immense Packet of suitable mixed sorts,
20 varieties, for Bees (by a Specialist). Post free, Is.
Address Willie, 11 Highfield Road, Coventry.

EES AND QUEENS.— Choice Ligurian, Carniolan,

and English Stocks, Swarms, and Queens. Prices on

application. Address C. T. Overton, Crawley, Sussex. 4

C1HRISTMAS Roses, 3, Is. ; Japanese Anemones, 12,
/ Is. 6d. ; Mrs. Sinkin's Pinks, 12, 2s. ; Herbaceous
Phloxes, assorted; Pyrethrums, graud colours, 12, Is. 3d.
Iceland Poppies, 24, Is. 3d. Iceland, Shirley, Mikado,
Swan, Bride, Mephisto, Danebrog, Marselli, Poppy Seed,
2d. packet, 8, Is. Other Choice Flower Seeds, 12 packets,
Is. Address Vicar, Eggington, Leighton Buzzard. 2

FOR SALE. — 7 Strong Stocks in Frame Hives ; also 3
Frame Hives, with Supers and Sections complete.
Address Greaves, Oxford House, Horsforth, Leeds.

BEE SEEDS recommended by Bee-keepers, guaranteed
best sorts, 13 large Packets, Is., post free. Address
J. Bennett, Bee-keeper, Seedsman, and Florist, 178 Spon
Street, Coventry.

ELEVEN Stocks in splendid c ondition, in good Bar-
frame Hives, 6 extra Hives, Extractor, Ripener, and
all requisites, to be Sold owing to removal. Will sell por-
tion Address Moss, Danby House, Ripon.

FOR SALE.— Two Stocks of Bees in W.B.C. Body-boxes ;
no Hives. Breeding. Price 17s. 6d. each. Address
F. Kest, Dewlish, Dorchester, Dorset.

ENGLISH, Carniolan, Italian Bees for Sale, in Bar-
frame Hives. Apply to TH03. Hill, Scotlands, Can-
nock Road, near Wolverhampton.

EXPERT WANTED.— W. P. Meadows, Syston, near
Leicester, has a Vacancy for a Young Man for Expert
Work, and to make himself generally useful.

TRONG Healthy Swarms of English Bees, ready first
week in May. Foul brood unknown in my Apiary.
Expert declares county free. Orders booked now, executed
in rotation. Address Edward Gibbins, Neath, Glamor-
ganshire. 6

FOR Immediate Disposal. — One Strong Bar-frame Hive,
full of Combs, with Shallow Box and Frames. One
ditto (Blow's), two Body Boxes, Frames, Crates, Sections ;
nearly new. One ditto (Meadows), two Body and one
Shallow Boxes, with Frames, not been used, Feeder and
Smoker, nearly new. What offers ? Address H. T. Rid-
diough, Lothersdale, Keighley.

WEBSTER'S Book of Bee-keeping, post free, Is. }
cloth, Is. 6d. W. B. Webster, Binfield, Berks.
" One of the best foreign works." — American A'picultwist.
" The matter is evidently the result of long personal ob-
servation, and is thoroughly reliable." — Bee-keepers' Record.
" Have much pleasure in recommending the manual to our
readers." — British Bee Journal.

*** We are again compelled to hold over several
hitters, Queries, c&c, till next week.

SAW MILLS,
ROMANSLEIGH, SOUTH MOLTON.

NEW SPECIALITIES for 1893:-
The WELLS HIVE, with Super Clearer.
My New COTTAGE HIVE and SELF HIVER.
SMOKERS, best yet made, and many other New Ap-
pliances. I have also a First-class lot of Metal Girders for
Sections. Crates for Sale cheap.

Send Id. Stamp for Prices. 2

MODERN BEE FARM.

JUST COMPLETING.

LOOK OUT FOR NEXT WEEK!

Extended to 270 large 8vo. pages, beautifully
printed on toned paper,

THE

list %n 3imntal

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 562. Vol. XXI. N.S. 170.] MARCH 30, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

(SSbitnrial, itotxtes, #r.

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — "March : a seasonable
month ; temperature low generally at be-
ginning, but high at close." So said the
"Chart" referred to in our issue of
February 23rd last, and the weather of the
past month has been closely according to
" forecast." Cold nights have been pretty
frequent, but the many sunny days of
late have been quite June-like in their
warmth ; indeed, so rapid has vegetation
pushed forward during the last week or so
that bees in Kent are busily at work on
gooseberry -bloom, which is very abundant
in our neighbourhood as we write. It will
be littTe short of a revelation to our
northern friends to read that Mr. Wells
(the Mr. Wells) related at the conversazione
of the B.B.K.A. how he had been obliged
to give surplus chambers to some of his
stocks so long ago as the 14th inst., so
strong in bees were they getting at that
date. If he goes on at that rate, the ten
double-queened colonies he now has should
" score " again this season.

Present Bee-Prospects. — Judging from
reports from the north, we are certainly
having the best of it southward. Bees here
have been working busily nearly every day
for some time past, and natural pollen
seems abundant, judging by the quantity
carried in. Our fear is lest a "check"
should occur later on, and a long spell of
cold take the place of present warmth.
Forward stocks should in such a con-
tingency be carefully guarded from possible
" chill " to the now rapidly increasing
quantity of tender larvre in brood nests.
Doorways may require narrowing to very
small dimensions in the event of their being
exposed to piercing cold winds. Wraps

also should be added to where there is any
scarcity of warm coverings. Feeding, too,
if required, must not be neglected. In a
word, bee-keepers at such times ought to
display a little of the spixut which animates
the Wallasey cottagers, who grow the famed
early potatoes produced in that corner of
Cheshire. These men, so the story goes,
will get up in the night and cover the
tender young leaves of the just-appearing
potato-plants with the warm blankets from
their beds, should they wake up and see
signs of a sudden and unexpected " frost "
before morning. We don't expect that bee-
men will go that length ; but those who
have already heard the welcome " hum " of
progress coming from the doorway of a hive
at the close of a good bee-day, will neglect
none of the precautions mentioned if they
are wise.

Double -Queened Hives. — It will have
been observed that a correspondent (1354,
p. 87) takes a strong line against "twin
hives " — in which he includes those worked
on double-queen plan — his contention being
that all double hives are "formidable affairs
to manage." Our correspondent, however,
overlooks the fact that we have the evidence
of Mr. Wells himself, as given at the con-
versazione of the B.B.K.A. on the 15th
inst., that so far from encountering any
difficulty in this way, he is more favourably
impressed than ever with the advantages
of his system. His ten stocks at this date
are, he says, all double-queened, and in such
forward condition as to compel him, in one
case, to give surplus chambers in order to
accommodate the crowd of bees in the hive.
Our correspondent's warning to beginners
" to be careful how they plunge " is well-
timed — indeed, we have ourselves already
advised against too much impetuosity on
the part of novices when handling" Wells"
hives ; but we see no cause for discouraging
any, whether beginners or otherwise, who

122

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,

[March 30, 1893.

may desire to make a trial of the system.
The adage, " Once bitten, twice shy," is, no
doubt, very true, and as our correspondent
failed to do any good with a " twin hive,"
his objection to such so far holds good.
In fact, it was at the outset admitted that
twin hives had been tried and had failed,
and it remained for Mr. Wells to bring
forward a plan by which, not •'' twin," but
double-queened hives have been made an
unequivocal success.

That caution is required on the part of
beginners is very true, and that we have
realised the need for it is shown in some
remarks we felt it to be our duty to pen
some days ago in the pages of our monthly,
the Record. We there advised beginners
to start by fixing up the double -brood
chambers so as to ensure the complete
separation of each from the other, and to
leave severely alone any of the movable
parts which would allow the slightest risk
of the queens or even the workers meeting
until such time as the latter could join
forces in the surplus chamber.

We observe that our correspondent this
week again refers to the subject (p. 126), and
as he writes with the authority of an " old
hand," his views are entitled to every con-
sideration. But we ask, Is it desirable
that progressive or " wide-awake " bee-
keepers should stand still and look pas-
sively on while Mr. Wells is securing nearly
double the amount of honey the best of us
can harvest 1 In short, we make bold — if
Mr. Wells will pardon us for not asking his
permission — to invite our correspondent to
visit Aylesford in June next, and if he does
not see something to induce him to change
his views with regard to the double-queen
system we shall be very much surprised
indeed.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Annual Meeting.

(Continued from page 112.)

Mr. Jonas, chairman of the Finance Com-
mittee, called attention to the subject of finance,
with a view to some better means being de-
vised of ^ increasing the annual income of the
Association. The income from subscriptions
and donations amounted only to 139/. as against
157/. two years ago, and the total receipts had
shown such a diminution that the Association
had not been able to meet ordinary expenditure
with its usual regularity. Pie thought no com-
plaint could be ma<le against the management of

the expenditure, which had been governed by
the strictest e ^onomy. The expenses last year
had been less than in either of the two preced-
ing years ; still, it was impossible to hope for
much relief in that direction. The item of 19/.
for medals— a necessary outlay — swallowed up
nearly one-fourth of the annual income from
subscriptions. Besides, they must look forward
to an increase of expenditure instead of a de-
crease. In considering the causes of this dete-
rioration it was obvious that the circumstance
referred to by the Chairman of the transference
of subscriptions from the parent to the County
Associations had a serious influence on the wel-
fare of the central body. He could remember
when the income was considerably over 100/.
from subscriptions alone, as against 85/. now.
If the lost income went into the coffers of the
County Associations, that was not to be seriously
deplored, provided the County Associations
helped to support the Parent Society as they
ought to do. Then, some year or two ago the
subscription qualification for Committeemen was
lowered to 5s., the policy of which he was in-
clined to doubt, because it had the effect of
causing some members, who formerly subscribed
1/. Is. or more, to reduce their contributions.
As regards liabilities, several accounts had to
be paid, including printing, cost of medals re-
ferred to, balance on account of shows, &c.
These expenses had strained their resources, and
at the present time the Association was 100/.
poorer than it was three years ago. Fortunately,
there was 120/. invested, which sum he would
like to see augmented, and that was always a
guarantee that all debtors would be satisfied.
The question was, How could the income be in-
creased ? Mr. Jonas, after enumerating several
suggestions which had been made — the policy
of which he rather doubted— for increasing the
funds, expressed himself in favour of the Com-
mittee, along with such other members as could
do so, doubling their subscriptions for a year or
two, or until such time as the finances were
once more placed in a better position. He con-
cluded by inviting further suggestions from
those present.

The Rev. Dr. Bartrum also invited suggestions.
Some years ago he remembered that Lord Derby
had spontaneously given 51. to the Association.
Possibly if the present state of the Association's
finances was made known to his Lordship and
others on the roll of patrons, further assistance
would be forthcoming. Perhaps the London City
Companies might be induced to help. The
Clothworkers' Company devoted large sums to
technical education, and he thought the
Fruiterers' Company would be likely to give
some support.

Mr. Till was opposed to any increase in the
monetary qualification of annual members, which
he believed would not bring about the desired
result. He thought great good might be done
by an appeal through the press, stating what
had been done by the B. B. K. A., the condition
of its funds, and also pointing out how enor-
mously the industry of bee-keeping could be

March 30, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

123

extended. It appeared to him that among the
reasons why the income was reducing they
might include bad trade, diminishing tithes (by
which the income of clergymen was reduced),
and the transference of subscriptions from the
central body to counties as fast as local Asso-
ciations were formed. He considered that
under the circumstances, and taking into account
the assistance they derived from the B.B.K.A.,
the County Associations ought to increase their
subscriptions. After some further remarks Mr.
Till concluded by moving : " That the affiliated
Associations be requested to contribute more
liberally to the funds of the British Bee-keepers'
Association." And he thought that any applica-
tion addressed to the Counties should be accom-
Ijanied by carefully compiled suggestions as to
low they might increase the ranks of bee-
keepers by parish organizations, &c, and the
production of honey.

The Rev. G. W. Bancks seconded the motion,
but recommended that a sliding scale be adopted,
as the financial position of County Associations
differed.

lief erring to the amount of the affiliation
fee first mentioned by Mr. Till, the Chairman,
Mr. Carr, and Mr. Baldwin thought the sum
mentioned too high.

Mr. Meggy looked upon the B.B.K.A. as he
did on the pelican who robbed its own breast
for the sake of its offspring ; but at the same
time he feared it was useless to expect much
help from the affiliated societies, most of which
were struggling against adversity like the parent
Association. He thought the general public
should be appealed to. The hint concerning the
City Companies was a valuable one. He advo-
cated the sending out of a carefully drawn-up
appeal (written, not printed) which should set
forth the benefits of bee-keeping as an industry
to agriculturists and cottagers, and also the
services rendered to the cause by the B.B.K.A.
and the languishing state of its funds, not failing
to mention the action of the Committee in regard
to the Chicago Exhibition, such MS. appeals to
be sent to a list of selected persons, which should
include the Vice-Presidents and City Companies.

Mr. Jonas disclaimed the notion of interfering
with the pecuniary qualification of membership,
but only intended to suggest the doubling of
subscriptions as optional on the part of members.

The Chairman thought several of the sugges-
tions made were good ones, and that the debate
that afternoon would have a good effect. At
the same time he felt it would be best to leave
the details which must be worked out in accord-
ance with those suggestions to the Committee of
the Association, who would consider them during
the year in consonance with the views expressed
at that meeting.

A further discussion ensued between Mr. Till,
Mr. Carr, Mr. Baldwin, and the Chairman,
respecting the stirring up of public interest in
bee-keeping, and the establishment of Associa-
tions in distant counties like Devonshire and
Cornwall, the difficulties of conducting any
sustained movement in those districts from head-

quarters being pointed out by the Chairman and
Mr. Carr. Mr. Till recommended the ventila-
tion of the matter in the press, and Mr. Baldwin
appealed to the past history of the B. B. K. A..,
which showed that the parent body had been
instrumental in starting many County Associa-
tions. The Chairman explained that such work
was done by the late Mr. Peel and other gentle-
men, who were able and willing to spend their
own time and money for the purpose of organ-
izing and forming local auxiliaries.

Ultimately Mr. Till's resolution was passed
unanimously in the following form: "That the
affiliated Associations be. requested to contribute
more liberally to the funds of the British Bee-
keeper's Association, and that the Committee of
the B. B. K. A. be requested to formulate a
scheme for the purpose of increasing the income
of the Association."

The Baroness Burdett Coutts arrived at the
close of the meeting and apologised to the
members for her absence, having mistaken the
day until it was too late. She thanked the
members for her re-election and approved of
what had been done, and promised to do her
best to advance the interests of the Association
during the coming year.

A Committee meeting was held after the
annual meeting, and owing to the lateness of the
hour, the appointment of sub-committees was
deferred to next meeting, Mr. Cowan being em-
powered to attend to any business that might
arise in the meantime.

The proceedings of the annual meeting then
terminated.

(Report oj Conversazione next week.)

We regret that owing to an inadvertence the
name of the Hon. and Rev. Henry Bligh was
omitted from the Committee elected for 1893.

IMPORTANT PAPER ON FOUL BROOD.

By J. J. Mackenzie, B.A. , Bacteriologist of the
Prov. Board of Health, Ont.

(Continued from }>age 113.)

I would like to say a word or two now on the
methods of treating the disease. There are
practically two methods. First, the starvation
method ; and, second, the method by medicated
syrup. Mr. McEvoy's method of treatment
seems to me practically a modification of the
starvation method. The first method is widely
used both here and in the United States, whilst
in England and in Europe generally the second
method is adhered to.

Considering the vitality of the spores of foul
brood, it would seem at first sight useless to try
any process which did not recognise at its
foundation the destruction of the germ. I find,
however, tkat many prominent bee-keepers who
have had practical experience with the method
of starvation or Mr. McEvoy's method accept it

124

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 30, 1893.

as successful. I have not had an opportunity to
examine colonies which have been cured in this
manner, and so cannot say that the bacilli have
disappeared. I hope next summer to test this
question more fully. We may, however, ex-
amine into the rationale of the method. In
conversation with Mr. Cornell, of Lindsay, he
made a suggestion which may be quite familiar
to you all, but which seems to me the only
explanation. That suggestion was that either
starvation or comb-building carried the infected
nurses past the period at which they act as
nurses, and gave them a chance to rid their
intestines of the germ. If this is combined with
a removal to absolutely clean hives with new
foundation it may succeed ; but I must say that
absolute cleanliness in this respect must be in-
sisted upon.

As I said above, I have not had an opportunity
of investigating the results of these methods
practically, and so cannot speak with certainty.
The fact of the presence of the bacilli in the
workers and in the queen bears to a certain
extent upon this question. Cheshire and others
make the statement that the bacilli are found
in the intestine of the workers and in the ovary
of the queens. My own experience confirms
this. I have found them repeatedly in the
workers, and in five queens from infected hives
I succeeded in obtaining the bacillus from the
ovaries of three. That they are not always
present in the ovaries of the queens from
diseased colonies is certain ; their presence there
is apparently accidental. For instance, in the
case of one of' Jast year's queens, in a hive
rather badly diseased, I was unable to find the
bacillus, whilst in a six weeks' queen from a
hive in which there were only a few diseased
cells, I succeeded in finding it. Cheshire's
statement that he found a bacillus in an egg of
an infected queen seems to me to require con-
firmation. I have not been able to find the eggs
infected myself, but it is a question which
would require very long and careful investiga-
tion before one could be able to deny or confirm
such a statement.

In the second mothod of treatment by medi-
cation I do not think that an absolute destruc-
tion of the spores takes place any more than in
the starvation method. As I have shown above,
two per cent, carbolic acid was not sufficiently
strong to destroy the spores, consequently it is
not likely that 02 per cent, (one pint in 500)
would be strong enough. I tried 0-2 per cent.,
but found it quite unsuccessful. Its action,
then, must have another explanation. To test
this I made up a sterilised beef broth containing
one per 500 of carbolic acid, and in it placed
my infected silk threads. I found that there
was no indication of growth. These threads
were then taken out and placed in ordinary
sterilised beef broth, and I obtained a luxuriant
growth, i.e., the 0-2 per cent, carbolic acid in
the culture fluid, although it did not destroy the
spores, prevented their germination. That, then,
is the explanation of the value of carbolated
syrup in the treatment of foul brood, it prevents

the germination of the spores. The bee journals
contain numerous examples of cases where car-
bolated syrup produced an improvement, but as
soon as it was stopped there was a relapse. It
is evident that here, again, as in the starvation
process, there must be combined an extremely
thorough cleaning up, so that the best possible
results may be obtained from the treatment.
Medicated syrup does not destroy the spores, it
simply prevents their development, and gives
the bees a chance to rid themselves of the infec-
tion, and in that respect I certainly think
resembles the starvation process. Its advantage
over that is that it can be carried on for a longer
time.

In the coui'se of these experiments I tried
another substance which has been much used
since Lortet's work on the subject, viz.,
Naphthol Beta. I do not think myself, from
recent work on this substance, that Naphthol
Beta should be ranked very high as an anti-
septic, mainly on account of its insolubility in
water. I found, however, that a beef broth
containing 1 per 1000 Naphthol Beta would
not allow spores of Bacillus alvei to germinate,
and consequently had an equal value with 1 per
500 of carbolic acid. It has an advantage over
carbolic acid on account of the disagreeable
taste of the latter, and I think would be more
acceptable to the bees. Salicylic acid in syrup
has apparently the same effect, and I would
not recommend the addition of borax, as it
has been shown that borax lowers consider-
ably the antiseptic value of salicylic acid.

I tested also formic acid in the same way,
but my results so far have not been satisfactory,
owing to the uncertain strength of my sample
of formic acid. I prefer to reserve a report
upon it and other substances which I wish to
try until later.

Mercuric chloride I have not tested, as I do
not think it wise fo use it around the hive. The
idea of using a 1 per 1000 solution to spray the
diseased combs, as suggested sometimes, is, I
think, absurd, and would be a rather serious
operation for any living brood.

(To be continued.)

BEE LECTURE AT EAST S TOOK WITH,
LINCOLNSHIRE.

A nnst interesting and instructive lecture on
bee-keeping was given in the Working Men's
Institute, on Monday, March 20th, by Mr.
F. J. Cribb, certified expert of the B.B.K.A.
Mr. Cribb is thoroughly master of his subject,
and what made his lecture doubly interesting
was the splendid series of lantern slides photo"
graphed from fife, showing the manipulation
of the hives and the various appliances used in
connexion with the industry. Owing to the
evenings being light, and the labourers em-
ployed up to a late hour in their gardens and
allotments, the attendance was not so large as
it otherwise would have been. Not much is

March 30, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

125

done in this parish in the way of bee-keeping at
present. We hope, after Mr. Cribb's lucid and
attractive description of the art, some of the
inhabitants at least may be disposed to try

their hand at it. We ought to add that the
lecture was given under the Technical Educa-
tion Act by the Committee for the Morton
Division.—- Communicated.

"WELLS" HIVES.
No. 3. — Neighbour's "Wells" Hive.

The double body-
box (a) holds twenty
frames of standard
size (Lee's patent),
with W. B. C. ends.
The two stocks are
separated in the
middle by a per-
forated wood dummy,
an extra dummy of
ordinary make being
supplied to each set
of frames, to be used
for reducing in winter
if such an arrange-
ment is thought de-
sirable. Sheets of
perforated zinc for
excluding the queens
from the upper
stories, and quilts for
covering the frames,
are included, (b) Is
a cover of sufficient
depth, when the roof
is od, to take three
sets of sections, or
four shallow - frame
crates during the
honey-flow, and when
in use for this pur-
pose rests on a ledge
of wood attached to
the inside. For win-
tering, the cover is
inverted, and then
affords an extra pro-
tection to the stocks,

in fact, becomes a treble-walled hive.
The entrance and porch are in no way
affected by this change. (c) A pair of
shallow-frame crates for extracting pur-
poses are here shown. These are placed
close together, openings being provided so
that the bees from both stocks may unite.
(d) A pair of section crates, having the
same arrangement of openings at the sides,
>vhen they join together, (e) Is a strong,
weather-proof roof, which fits well down on

to the cover, and, on account of its weight,
is not likely to be blown off during the
prevalence of high winds. A channel ;
placed along the ridge on the front side to pre
vent the rain from dropping upon the alight-
ing-boards. The floor-board can be lowered
in front for ventilation, and an arrangement
is provided by which the same floor-board
may be removed altogether and re-inserted
on runners fixed two inches below, so as to
allow space under the frames in winter.

126

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 30, 1893.

€tixns$Bvfo£xitt.

Tlie 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 pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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, ic, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the * British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.G." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed to " The
Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.G." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

*** 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.

[1882.] Your correspondent, " Benevolous "
(1378, p. 117), asks me a very funny question,
viz., "Have I ever felt a piece of zinc that has
been out of doors on a frosty night ? " Well, I
have puzzled my brains, but for the life of me
I cannot say that I have, and yet I am past the
half-century ; it is very stupid of me certainly,
and I ought to have done so, had it been only
to satisfy that gentleman that I knew how cold
it was ; but I can, perhaps, do it another way,
for I do remember touching a piece of wood
under the same conditions, and it was exactly
the same temperature as zinc would be. But
what on earth has this to do with the " Wells "
system ? If " Benevolous" tells mo that by the
" Wells " system the bees are going to cling to
the perforated divider through the winter, and
so make one cluster for the sake of mutual
warmth instead of two, as was suggested in the
Journal lately, I say he is greatly mistaken.

I object altogether to the word "criticism "as
applied to my warning, which was intended
for young beginners only, and I again say to all
such, take the advice of an " old hand," and
don't plunge into this system. See the failures
already being reported ! Why even your corre-
spondent himself confesses his failure, and yet
he asks, " Would not practical experience be of
more service ? " If mine is not practical ex-
perience, what else is it ? Perhaps " Benevo-
lous " will kindly explain wherein the '•' Wells "
system differs from the twin hive ? I have no
motive in giving advice save the desire to pre-
vent young beginners from being carried into
expensive and difficult methods with great
expectations, while experience teaches me that
disappointment and loss are most likely to be the
result; and, having derived great benefit from
the Journal myself ever since it first appeared,
if I can be of service to my fellow-readers, I
desire to render that small return whenever cir-
cumstances will permit.

Will "Benevolous" criticise those inquiries
about the " Wells " system which are constantly
appearing in the columns of the Journal under
" Queries and Replies," and kindly tell us

whether, in his opinion, the writers ought to be
encouraged to pursue such a complicated and
difficult system ? which J say is only suited to
the greatest expert, in whose hands I should be
perfectly ready to criticise the system.

May I take this opportunity of saying how
pleased I was to see Mr. W, B. Webster describe
the bees mixing nectar with the pollen while on
the wing instead of saliva, as a certain gentle-
man lately discovered ; it is a very ticklish
question, notwithstanding the discovery which
was announced so emphatically, and I agree
with Mr. Webster chiefly on the ground of
economy, for the exhaustion of producing such
large quantities of saliva can scarcely be com-
pensated for in the digestive powers it is
supposed to possess. I do not think it possible
to tell by observation only whether it be nectar
or saliva. — Thomas F. Ward, Church House,
Highgate, March 2Mh.

INSTINCT OH INTELLIGENCE ?

[1383.] On seeing the above heading, some
readers may instinctively observe, "As a prac-
tical bee-keeper this does not interest me." But
I would ask, "Why should it not?" Is it
because he dare not believe that the bee possesses
any intelligence at all ? And what grounds are
there for so believing? Those who have had
occasion to marvel at the wonderful ways of* the
little worker-bee must have felt in some degree
how poor and feeble are the gifts with which
humanity is endowed when compared with those
given to some of the lowliest creatures of the
great Creator ; and in view of this may we not,
after all, be wrong in arrogating all the intel-
lectual powers to ourselves ? Mr. Cheshire says,
" The grandeur of the minute will as successfully
hush to silence the thoughtful man as the
grandeur of the vast."

No doubt the highest authorities agree that
the wonderful operations carried on in the insect
world are due to instinct alone, and only to the
higher orders is a very meagre modicum of in-
telligence allotted. But are the authorities quite
right in their contention ?

I am not unacquainted with the theory that
the true reasoning faculty is possessed only by
vertebrate animals having a cerebrum ; that the
character of the cerebrum is the measure of in-
telligence ; and that physiological distinctions
are drawn and designated by many names, such
as rational instinct, higher phases of instinct, in-
stinctive reason, Sec. ; but the lines of demarcation,
beautiful though they be, appear to me to be
very faint, and difficult to distinguish. Indeed,
it seems as if we of the genus homo are apt to
take more than our share when we claim to be
almost the sole possessors of intelligence. As
an illustration of what I mean, may I be allowed
to conclude by giving a few instances of the
different colouring which may be put upon the
motives guiding men and bees in performing
precisely similar actions in the domestic economy
of their respective households when seen through
our spectacles only ?

March 30, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

127

A man eats because be is hungry — this is in-
stinct ; a man works to gain the wherewithal to
obtain food to provide for his being hungry
again, and for the prospective wants of his
family — this is intelligence. A bee eats because
it is hungry — this is instinct. A bee works to
provide for being hungry again, and for her con-
geners' wants — this is instinct. A bee lays by
abundant stores for " a rainy day," and to pro-
vide food for young ones not yet in existence —
this is also instinct.

Many men do not lay by for " a rainy day " at
all, but their whole object in life centres in
themselves and their immediate wants — this,
of course, is intelligence ! Men deprive bees of
their stores, which is well and good to a certain
extent when we give them syrup back in return ;
but in a large number of cases men deprive bees
to an extent totally unwarrantable, and even so
far as to reduce the colony to starvation — this
is intelligence also, no doubt. I wonder what
the bees would say to this beautifully unbiassed
way of putting it if they could but talk ?

I know in writing thus I am treading on
delicate ground, but bear in mind that this is
only an emanation from the pen of — The
Heathen.

DEPTH OF ENTRANCES TO « WELLS *»
HIVES.
[1384.] I noticed in the Journal (page
108) a question asked about the depth of
opening at entrance of the " Wells " hive. 1
think your correspondents will find they can
secure sufficient ventilation without the danger
of lowering floor-board and displacing dummies,
admitting mice, &c, if they make the openings
as I have done. I first saw out a strip two
inches deep across the front of each half of the
hive, leaving two inches at each side for sup-
port. 1 plane this strip until, when put back in
its place, it leaves three-eighths of an inch space
between it and the floor-board. I then fasten it
by small hinges on the hive again. On this
strip I fasten the ordinary movable shutters,
leaving the three-eighths of an inch entrance for
general use. In case more ventilation is re-
quired, the strip, with the movable shutters,
can be raised on its hinges, and thus give an
opening any depth up to one and a half inches.
I see that the excluder in the illustration of the
" Wells " hive is made the whole width of the
hive and covers both brood nests. I make mine
in two separate parts, and think it better, as I
can examine one brood chamber without any
risk of the other queen finding her way into the
one I have open. — It. F. Sheawn, Atherstone .

PACKING HIVES FOR WINTER-
WINTER PASSAGES.
[1385.] Happy to say that when 1 examined
my hives the other day I did not find one of
them the least damp. My mode of packing last

autumn was as follows: — After reducing the
number of frames and putting dummy boards in
position, the space between the dummy boards
and the walls was filled with newspapers folded
the required size. Over the frames was an
impervious quilt of enamelled cloth ; upon this
was a thick layer of newspapers, and over this
four thicknesses of carpeting. Pieces of camphor
were placed between the paper and carpeting.
The entrance opened in November to its greatest
extent, and left so until the middle of February.
I do not believe in cutting winter passages
through the comb, but prefer placing narrow
strips of wood about § in. thick immediately
over the frames. I intend leaving these on until
I have done feeding, for I find the bees can get
to the syrup in the feeder far easier than they
could were the strips not there. I found no
difficulty last year in selling what little surplus
extracted honey I had at one shilling per pound ;
in fact, I could not supply all my would-be
customers, and have now more orders for this
year than I expect I shall be able to complete.
I could not find buyers for sectional honey, so
was obliged to extract; hence my intended plan
of working this year for extracted honey, as
described in my letter (1318, p. 46). — Percy
Leigh, Beemount, Stoke Prior, March 17th,

A LABOURER'S "NEW DEPARTURE."

[1386.] I purchased five straw skeps of bees
last August, and they seem to have wintered
all right. When may I cut holes in the crowns
of hives for feeding ? The bees in all have been
busy carrying in pollen, so I suppose they are
breeding. I have been feeding them for a
month by pushing a little wooden trough filled
with honey and sugar in the flight-hole, but I
seem to have been living in the dark ages so far
us bees go. However, 1 have now resolved not
to destroy any more of my bees with brimstone
at the end of the honey season, as was my usual
plan.

I shall make a new departure by trying to
work my skeps with section racks on top, and,
if they swarm, I am going to put them into
standard frame hives. I am taking the Bee
Journal now regularly, and will look for reply
to my query in it. — An Essex Labocreh,
March 14M.

[If the skeps are badly provisioned, no time
should be lost in cutting holes in crowns for
feeding. We are pleased to note your intention
to try modern methods of bee-keeping, and wish
you every success. In fitting up the section
racks above the skeps, be sure and make a firm
platform on which they are to stand. It must
be remembered that a dome-shaped skep is an
awkward hive for working sections on, and care
will be required in the operation. With flat-
topped skeps it is easy enough, but with the
others, a platform standing on four legs should
be fixed above to prevent any risk of the rack
of sections " toppling over." — Eds.]

128

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 30, 1893.

NOTES FliOM THE WORKSHOP.

Fixing Foundation in Frames — Wiring
Frames.

[1387.] Notwithstanding the many devices,
ingenious and otherwise, that are on the market
for fixing foundation, I prefer to use melted
wax, whether for starters or larger pieces. A
double vessel, glue-pot fashion (not a smelter),
stands on a lamp by my side, the foundation is
placed againt top bar, and a little wax is neatly
painted along the joint with a small brush ; the
job only tabes a few seconds, not minutes, and
foundation is fixed as strongly as it is possible to
fix it.

A querist (711, p. 49) finds the one-eighth-
inch bottom bar not stiff enough for wiring
frames, but it is quite strong enough for
the following method, which was shown to
me in 1890 by Mr. W. B. Webster. Taking
a standard frame, three-quarter wire nails
are driven in the side bars from the outside
at points 1, 2, 3, and 4 ; the pointed ends are
then bent with a small pair of pliers to form
hooks ; then take about seven feet six inches of
tinned iron wire (No. 32 gauge), attach the end
to hook 1, and pass it fairly tight to hooks
2 and 3, then under the first length at 5,
drawing the wire into the position shown, the
same operation repeated from 6, 7, 8, 9, and
fasten the end at 10. This forms a strong con-
struction, and, as the strain is all on the
diagonals, there is no bending of the sides;
moreover, as the wire is very fine, the queen
does not object to lay in all the cells. — W. H.
Augur, Staines.

[We have not had a block prepared 1o our
correspondent's sketch, because the one below

which is a well-known American plan, saves
half the wire, entails just one-half the labour —
numbering five points, instead of ten— and is
quite as effective. — Eds.]

QUEENS FERTILISED IN FULL
COLONIES WITH LAYING QUEEN.

[1388.] Your correspondent "R. T." (1374,
p. 107), asks me a question which I beg to reply
to as follows: — By exchanging hives the arti-
ficial swarm andoldqueen are below, brood combs
above. When queen-cells in latter are expected
to hatch out, reverse the hives, giving double
queen-excluder between.

While writing, I would warn bee-keepers
going in for Wells hives on the principle named
in Query No. 732 (p. 108), on no account
during the winter months to have entrances on
different or opposite sides of such hives, which
would cause the cold outside air to rush with
roaring force through the two hives, creating
draught. — J. G. K., Grove House, Southborough
Kent.

[Notwithstanding our correspondent's " warn-
ing," we still hold to the opinion expressed in
our reply to "F. F.," viz., that no harm would
result. —Eds.]

HEREFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

Bee-van Lecture Tour.

[1889.] We have just published an annual
report containing a full account (with six illus-
trations) of the method followed in our van
tour of last year. As this method of instruction
is quite a new departure (especially as regards
the outdoor lantern lectures on summer nights,
illustrated with photographic lantern slides)
some of your readers may wish to have a copy
of the report, and I shall be happy to send one
to any applicant enclosing stamp for postage.
Alfred Watkins, Hon. Secretary, H.B.K.A.,
Hereford, March 13th.

(Brtjm ixQixt % Pifxes.

Carr Bridge, Inverness-shire, March VZth. —
Have wintered seventy stocks without loss,
packed between outer case and hive with green
moss well dried, and find it excellent for the
purpose. — Wm. Stokks.

Northampton, March 26M. — Six little showers,
amounting altogether to only -13 inch of rain,
is the record for March up to date, leaving a
balance of twenty bright, sunny, cloudless days
of dry wind and rather cool temperature. Frosty
nights have retarded vegetation, nevertheless
bees have been doing very well. No reports of
absolute loss have as yet reached me. There is
great disparity in the strength of stocks, some
being abnormally strong, others wof ully weak :
the latter are making a good fight of it, and seem
determined to pull through. In my own case
robbing is at a discount, I never saw so little — a
state of things I attribute to the use of Lang-
stroth blocks and the disuse of syrup. Pollen is
plentiful just now, and in great variety — dead-
white, semi-transparent green, yellow, orange,
and vermilion. Whence comes the last, I
wonder ? Gooseberries and currants are begin-
ning to bloom, almonds are in full blow, pears
and plums nearly ready. To-day is hazy, and a
large solar halo, which continued for nearly two
hours this afternoon, probably portended weather
less favourable to bee-keepers than that of the
past three or four weeks. — E. B.

March 80, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

129

(tmries anir splits.

[742.] Giving Brood to Weak Stocks.— 1. I
have two weak stocks of bees and want to give
them frames of brood to strengthen them ; will
you kindly tell me if the brood should be sealed
up before moving, and when will be best
time ? 2. I also have a stock with very badly-
built combs, two frames united. I want to re-
place them with frames of comb ; when should
I do that? Could you give me the address of
Mr. Lee, patentee of frames and sections ? —
Charles Bacon.

Beply. — 1. It is very risky to give frames of
brood to weak stocks. To answer your query
correctly we should know hotv weak, and have
some idea why they are weak. Brood should
never be given to stocks where there are not
bees enough to cover the brood well, otherwise
it is liable to chill and perish. The " best time "
is when the weather is warm and cold nights
have passed away. 2. If the "badly-built
combs have no brood in them they may be
removed forthwith. A letter will find Mr. Lee
at Messrs. Neighbour & Sons, High Holborn,

w.c.

[743.] Building up Stocks by Adding Brood.
—With reference to query 733 (p. 108), I think
you must have misunderstood my meaning. It
is not a question of improving a weak swarm at
the cost of stronger ones, but of building up a
strong swarm wintered on eight frames into one
of twelve frames of brood. This is whatd" wish
to do. I should choose, of course, the strongest
stock in my apiary to begin with ; but whether
to trust to its own powers of increase or to assist
it by adding four frames from other hives is the
point I am in doubt about. The result to be
attained is a hive of twelve, or at least ten
frames of brood by the beginning of the honey-
flow, so as to be ready to work into frames of
foundation separated from the brood frames by
a queen-excluder. What I want to do is just
what you speak of in your reply, foster my
strongest hive. The information I request is as
to when extra combs of brood may be added, if
it is desirable to add them. — West Lincoln-
shire.

Beply. — When our correspondent referred to
the " risk of chilling brood by not having bees
to cover it," the natural inference we drew was
that he desired to strengthen a weak stock by
adding brood, &c. There should be no difficulty
in building up a stock now strong into one of ten
or twelve frames of brood by the beginning of
the ordinary honey-flow, say first week of June.
If combs of brood are given to strengthen stocks
it should only be to such as have plenty of bees
to cover the combs so given, and when the risk
of severe night frosts has passed away.

[744.] Stocking " Wells" Hives. — I have been
much interested in the various articles on the
double-queened hives introduced by Mr. Wells,
and I am adapting a large hive I have, and
should be obliged if you would advise me as to

which would be the better course to take with a
view to securing a good yield of honey. I have
two straw skeps and two frame hives (one
rather weak). Would it be best to transfer the
frame hives' stocks to the Wells hive and feed
with syrup, or to drive the skeps and put the
bees on fully drawn-out combs, or to wait till
the skeps swarm and then put the swarms in,
or to place the skeps on the top of the frames
of the double hive and let the bees work down,
and remove the skeps when the bees had taken
possession of the bottom frames ? I do not care
to increase my stocks this year, and so should
like to do what would be most likely to give me
a good yield of honey. — Draper.

Beply. — We should transfer the stocks in
frame hives into the double-queened one. By
doing this the full results of the system will be
at once gained.

[745.] Preventing Robbing. — What is the
best preventive against robbing? I have five
stocks all in frame hives, and I am pestered
every year about this time with robber-bees fro m
a neighbour's place a very short distance away.
Mine are English bees; the robbers are Syrians.
— W. N., Whittle Cottage, Prudhoe.

Beply. — The best preventives are: 1. Do
no feeding unless absolutely required, and then
only at night-time. 2. Keep entrances very
narrow. 3. Don't open hives if it can be helped.
4. Use carbolic acid about entrances if the rob-
bers attack strongly. 5. Keep your stocks
strong.

[746.] Early Drones in Scotland. — This after-
noon (20th) being extra fine, I took a look
round my bee-house, and was surprised to see
drones flying from one of the strongest stocks.
Is this not very early for dones, especially in
Scotland ? All my stocks are in splendid con-
dition, plenty of bee3, brood, and sealed stores ;
have lost but one out of thirty- two. — James
Kerr, Dumfries.

Beply. — If the drones are from a stock in
normal condition, it is very early. — Ens.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

J. Sellers (Swanland). — Royal Show Prize
Schedules. — The above may be had from Mr.
Huckle, Kings Langley, Herts.

J. H. H. (Newton-le-Willows).— Wells Divi-
sion Boards. — The holes in the slip of wood
sent are too far apart and smaller than is
recommended by Mr. Wells. It has been
found that if the holes are small the bees moro
readily propolise them up than if larger.
The larger oblong holes burnt through the
wood will not exclude queens as you suppose.
For that purpose zinc only must be used.

A Novice in Bee-keeping (Hatfield). — Pre-
venting Szoarming. — There is no certain way
of preventing swarming. Giving plenty of
room and ventilation as hives become crowded
tends that way, but does not quite ensure it.
To attempt to stop swarming by cutting out
queen-cells as fast as these appeared would

130

THE BRITISH BEE JOUKNAt,

[March 30, 1393.

necessitate a constant and troublesome upset
and is therefore impracticable. Spring feeding
if stores are short should only cease when
food can be had outside.
E. J. B. (Winchester) — Honey-comb Designs. —
1. Full instructions for making these appear
in our monthly for April, 1890, which can be
had post free for two stamps. 2. Sections
may be given as soon as the hive is fairly
Aveil filled with bees and honey is coming in,
say, last week in May. 3. Yes.
H. Rees (Monmouth). — Any guaranteed pure

cane sugar is good for bees.
B. E. W. — Bees sent are well-marked Ligurians.
Tyro (Bideford). — 1. Calico for Covering Frames.
— The unbleached is best because the absence
of " dressing " makes it more suitable for the
purpose. 2. Queen-evcluders. — It is a moot
point among bee-keepers whether the zinc
should lie close on the frame- tops or not. We
prefer to use it so, but a " queen-excluding
honey-board " has a bee-space above and below
the zinc. 3. American cloth is the best cover-
ing to put next the frames.
"Stingbug " (Croydon). — Transferring Bees to
Frame Hives — Of the methods proposed, we
advise that of making an artificial swarm in
the usual way by driving. The safest time to
do it is about the second week in May, if the
weather is favourable.
G. S. Lyons (Hastings). — The " Wells" System.
— Since the object is to get the "best results"
this season, regardless of cost, two full stocks
would of course make a far better start than
two nucleus colonies. But, as to the frames
"fitting properly," any correct size standard
frame will fit the hive you have.
H. 0. (Warlingham). — No trace of disease in
comb sent; cells contain only healthy pollen.
Salopian.— We find nothing in bees sent to
indicate disease. If the stock is working well
as stated, most likely the present genial
weather will soon make all right again.
West Lincs. Rector. — 1. Boiling Syrup. —
Personally we always boil our bee-syrup for
wintering on, and never boil it in the spring,
and have no trouble with "clogged feeders" or
granulated syrup. 2. Cane Sugar for Bee-food.
— Your experience has been contrary to our
own. However, since no evil has resulted,
there is no reason why you should not con-
tinue using beet sugar until something occurs
to make a change necessary.
F. F. (Clapham). — 1. Wiring Frames. — In using
full sheets of foundation in any frame, it is
much safer if wired in. 2. For what purpose
do you propose to use the " tarred roofing
felt ? " If for covering frames, as has been
recommended, the most suitable kind is that
known as patent roofing felt. 8. If the
" soiling " on combs is only slight, they may
be used again, otherwise we should melt
them down.
H. Atlee. — We have forwarded your letter to
Mr. Huckle.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dbc. — Vp to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

BEES AND QUEENS.— Choice Ligurian, Carniolan,
and English Stocks, Swarms, and Queens. Prices on
application. Address C. T. Overton, Crawley, Sussex. 3

CtHRISTMAS Roses, 3, Is. ; Japanese Anemones, 12,
> Is. 6d. ; Mrs. Sinkin's Pinks, 12, 2s. ; Herbaceous
Phloxes, assorted ; Pyrethrums, grand colours, 12, Is. 3d.
Iceland Poppies, 21, Is. 3d. Iceland, Shirley, Mikado,
Swan, Bride, Mephisto, Danebrog, Marselli, Poppy Seed,
2d. packet, 8, Is. Other Choice Flower Seeds, 12 packets,
Is. Address Vicar, Eggington, Leighton Buzzard.

BEE SEEDS recommended by Bee-keepers, guarante ed
best sorts, 13 large Packets, Is., post free. Address
J. Bennett, Bee-keeper, Seedsman, and Florist, 178 Spon
Street, Coventry.

ELEVEN Stocks in splendid c ondition, in good Bar-
frame Hives, 6 extra Hives, Extractor, Ripener, and
all requisites, to be Sold owing to removal. Will sell por-
tion Address Moss, Danby House, Ripon.

STRONG Healthy Swarms of English Bees, ready first
week in May. Foul brood unknown in my Apiary.
Expert declares county free. Orders booked now, executed
in rotation. Address Edward Gibbins, Neath, Glamor-
ganshire. 5

FOR SALE. — Modern Apiary and all Accessories, in-
cluding 5 healthy Stocks, 21 Supers, extra Hives,
Guinea Extractor, &c, and over 100 lbs. of Honey in 1-lb.
Sections. Splendid condition. Took majority of Prizes at
Long Ashton Show, 1891. Must sell, leaving home. Apply
to H. B. Tripp, Winford Rectory, near Bristol.

Til HE English Rose Bar-frame Hive. Orders addressed to

I J. Sellers, Swanland, near Brough, Yorks. Price

List on application. 3

I WILL accept 60/. for my last Cwt. of Honey. Address
R. W. Eagleton, The Apiary, Parson Drove, near
Wisbech.

FINE Strong Healthy Swarms for Sale ; good-tempered
Bees. First Swarms, 15s. ; second, 10s. Address E.
Tresidder, Enderby, Warham Boad, South Croydon.

PURE Clover Honey, in Tins, 7 Cwfc. at 7d. per lb. Ad-
dress Apiarist, Fairspeir, Ascott Wychwood, Oxford.

rpWO Good Stocks of Bees in Skeps, 10s. each. Disease
I unknown in this district. Apply for particulars to
Lyon, Soham, Cauibs.

TWO Bar Frame Hives for Sale, 10 Standard and 10
Shallow Frames in each, Queen Excluders, Metal Ends,
Quilts, &c, equal to new. Only 14s. 6d. each; bargain.
H. Y. Skinner, Broad Street, Whittlesea.

Also several hundred Standard and Shallow Frames, 15^
aud 17 in. Top Bars, planed, new, Is. 3d. per doz., 8s. per
hundred. Must sell.

The " Wells " Hive, complete, with 40 Standard Frames,
Metal Ends, Queen Excluder, Enamelled Quilt, Perforated
Division, &c, new, interchangeable, 25s. Address as above.

WEBSTER'S Book of Bee-keeping, post free, Is. j
cloth, Is. 6d. W. B. Webster, Binfield, Berks.
" One of the best foreign works." — American Apiculturist.
" The matter is evidently the result of long personal ob-
servation, and is thoroughly reliable." — Bee-keepers' Record.
"Have much pleasure in recommending the manual to our
readers." — British Bee Journal.

EXPERT WANTED

AT ONCE, BY THE

LANCASHIRE & CHESHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

Good pay to a competent man.

For further particulars apply to T. D. Schofielp,
Alderley Edge, Cheshire.

THE

Irifeft Ipp 3ntmtal,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 563. Vol. XXI. N.S. 171.] APRIL 6, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

(Sibitorial, ^Biuzs, &t.

APPLIANCE DEALERS AND THEIR
CUSTOMERS.

The crop of complaints against those sad
offenders — in the eyes of their more im-
petuous and hasty-tempered customers —
which every year reach us, has this year
started even earlier than usual, and we
avail ourselves of the opportunity for once
more suggesting that bee-keepers will them-
selves endeavour to reduce the irritation on
one side, and vexation and disappointment
on the other, so frequent in the busy season
between dealers and their clients. This can
only be done by ordering goods soon. Those
who do so will avoid loss sometimes and
annoyance always ; there is still a month
or six weeks in which to get supplied, and
if dealers receive notice of what is wanted
now they will prepare themselves accord-
ingly.

That there is good ground for complaint
in the letter before us will be admitted ;
but even the writer thereof would acknow-
ledge how very much may be said on the
other side, if he had read the most un-
reasonable demands made upon dealers by
customers, specimens of which have been
submitted to us. However, we do not wish
to suppress his complaint, but print it below
—omitting name, of course — believing, as
we do, that its perusal may have a good
effect all round. The writer says : —

" Will you allow me, through your columns,
to protest most strongly against the abominable
manner in which purchasers are treated by some
of our most popular appliance dealers. It is a
recognised rule with them that no goods are sent
out until cash is received. Now, I should rot
grumble about this if goods were sent with the
same promptitude as the cash is demanded ;
but this is frequently not so.

" It is now a month ago since certain goods

were ordered by me from one of our most iv^ted
appliance dealers. Of course invoiee came as
usual with the demand for cash, and this in
spite of the fact that we had several times done
satisfactory business together and were personally
known to each other. Cash was promptly sent ;
goods have not yet arrived. Comment is need-
less ; but the least I can say is that if goods
were not ready, invoice ought not to have been
sent out until they were. I have quite made up
my mind in future to send bankers' references
instead of cash. I shall then be at liberty to
cancel order if not executed within reasonable
time. If reference is not sufficient for them, I
will go without the goods, as this is not the first
time I have been served this trick."

There seems no excuse for keeping goods
back so long after they are paid for, as stated
above, but it just occurs to us to ask if the
delay may not be caused through the non-
arrival of the new season's sections from
America ? These do not usually reach this
country till April ; and if such formed part,
of our correspondent's order, it may tend
to explain matters. Anyway, we trust that
our space may not be occupied in the com-
ing season by the relation of complaints on
one side or the other. This is our sole
reason for drawing attention to the matter
just now.

SPECIAL NOTICE TO READERS.

"We are once again compelled to specially
request that our readers will discontinue
sending communications for the B. J. or
Record to Kings Langley instead of our
only office, 17 King William Street, Strand,
W.C. Also to bear in mind that letters
intended for the British Bee-keepers'
Association should be addressed to the
Secretary, Mr. Huckle, Kings Langley, and
not to us.

But for the trouble, loss of time, and
cost of re-posting, it would be amusing to
note the persistence with which some corre-
spondents insist on joining together the

132

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 6, 1893.

B. B.K. A. and our journals ; but the climax
of absurdity was surely reached a day or
two ago, when a would-be candidate for
expert's certificate not only sent his letter
to us, but addressed it, " The Editor of the
British Bee-keepers' Association !"

Another point also too frequently ne-
glected is that of failing to cross postal
orders and cheques when forwarding cash.
This omission has already resulted in loss
to correspondents, for, of course, we cannot
be held responsible for the contents of
letters which fail to reach us. The simple
precaution, however, of " crossing " renders
postal orders or cheques practically value-
less to persons either finding or stealing
them, and it is a pity to run risks when
they are so easily avoided.

Finally, as the season for an increase in
such inquiries is near at hand, we must
respectfully insist on correspondents send-
ing samples of comb, in cases of suspected
foul brood, apart from letters referring to
them ; not necessarily by separate post,
though this is preferable, but in an en-
velope outside the box containing the comb.
Samples such as we have just cause to
complain of, i.e., those badly packed, and
with the accompanying letters stuck on the
surface of the foul-broody comb, will be
promptly burnt without inspection.

The Editor of our American contem-
porary, Gleanings, has refused to receive
samples of diseased comb at all, because of
the risk to his own bees attendant thereon ;
and seeing that we too have bees of our
own to care for and keep healthy, if we can,
the least such of our correspondents as
desire our help can do in return is to take
the small amount of trouble we ask of them.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

(Continued from page 123.)

Conversazione.

The proceedings commenced at 6 p.m., Mr.
Jonas presiding.

Mr. Carr thought it would be a good oppor-
tunity, as Mr. Wells was present, to obtain
from that gentleman some further description
of the details of his system, which had been as
they all knew, phenomenally successful. He
(the speaker) had a special interest in the
matter, because as co-editor of the B. B. J. he
could bear witness to the mass of correspondence
which had been received at the office of the
Journal regarding the Wells hive and method
of working. Inquiries were made as to the
make, shape, dimensions, and all the different
adaptabilities of the hive, and any description

of the double-queen system Mr. Wells would
favour the meeting with would be of assistance
to bee-keepers generally, as well as to the editors
themselves, who at present knew little more
than their correspondents did of Mr. Wells'
methods. It was proposed to give illustrations
in the B. B. J. of the hives in question, coupled
with any information on the subject Mr. Wells
liked to supply ; and since the bee-season would
soon be upon us, it would be desirable to know
if he intended this year to make any changes
in his plan of working.

Mr. Wells, in replying, said that he would be
very glad to render any assistance he could. He
had tried his system of working with two queens
for two years, and the longer he continued the
plan the better he liked it. All his hives now
were double-queened, and the splendid condition
in which they appeared to be astonished him.
Only the previous day he had been compelled to
put an extra box of shallow frames on the top of
the standard-size frames below. He had very
little more to add to what he had written in the
Journal ; perhaps there was one new experience
he might relate as being of some interest. He
had lost a queen during the winter, and as soon
as the bees began to fly, the queenless lot
came out, and of their own accord moved
into the other side, where there was a queen,
thus saving him the trouble of uniting or
shifting them. He had only ten hives and
twenty queens, and he intended to continue on
the same lines as he had been working during
the last year or more, which had been the most
profitable in his experience. He had brought
up for inspection a sample of his dummy or
division-board, which had been in use two
years, and about which he had received a good
deal of correspondence. He would be happy to
answer any questions.

Mr. Cowan inquired how, in making a start
on Mr. Wells' plan, the doubling was managed,
whether by uniting two full stocks together, or
whether a small nucleus colony was added to a
single stock in spring. The difficulty of starting
in the last-named way was in building the nucleus
up to a full colony in time for the harvest. He
noticed a few days ago in an American paper a
reference to this system which was described as
quite a new thing of American invention. He
was glad that his own country could claim the
priority.

Mr. Wells replied that as a first start on the
double-queen plan he had joined two stocks by
bringing the two hives containing them close
together some time before joining both lots in
the same hive. His after-proceedings were on
the lines he had already explained at the meeting
last year. Because his hives only held fourteen
frames, seven on each side of the division-board,
he found it necessary to add a box holding
fourteen shallow frames above, in order to
enlarge the respective brood nests to seven
standard and seven shallow frames. Of course,
the queens had access to these, but he divided
the upper brood chamber by a solid divider,
thinking that the perforated one below would

April 6, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

1SS

answer the purpose of giving all the hees the
same odour, and this had proved to be the case,
for on the previous day (14th inst.) one of his
stocks becoming very crowded with bees, he had
given a surplus chamber into which all the
worker-bees could enter through the excluder,
and he had seen no signs of any fighting. In
answer to Mr. Cowan and Mr. Hooker, Mr.
Wells said that the two hives he brought
together were both double hives, so that he had
only one lot to change. By using the " lifter "
shown last year he lifted the whole of the
frames out in a bunch from one hive and
dropped them into the other, so that the least
possible disturbance took place.

Some discussion here took place between
Messrs. Carr, Blow, and Baldwin, as to the
most convenient form of surplus crate for the
Wells hive, and it eventually became apparent
that the differences arose from the fact that Mr.
Wells using a hive holding only fourteen
standard frames and a surplus chamber holding
the same number of shallow frames, whereas
in all the Wells hives now being made the num-
ber of frames in the body-box is twenty.

Mr. Wells explained that the hives containing
fourteen frames only were not large enough for
his system, but he had utilised such hives because
he already had them in his possession and could
not afford to waste them ; he put a crate of
shallow frames on top to extend the brood nest,
as explained above, and then the excluder zinc
above these. Last year he had as many as five
boxes of shallow frames above the brood
chamber in his best hives. He worked princi-
pally last year for extracting. Referring to a
twenty-frame hive, what he recommended was
that the crate should be in two parts, and
that a quarter of an inch should be taken off
from each of the two crates of sections, or of
shallow frames, on the inner side, where they
met together, which would allow of the bees
running indiscriminately over the top of the
excluder zinc. It would be possible to have one i
crate to cover the whole of the twenty frames.

Mr. Blow, in order to avoid misapprehension,
stated that, if fourteen-frame hives were used,
it would not be practicable to cover them with
the super crates that would suit a twenty-bar
hive. On the occasion of his visit to Mr. Wells'
apiary it was his privilege to see a collection of
crates and frames the like of which he had
never seen before. The combs were fixed to
every part of the frames, no holes being visible
anywhere. He also saw there another sort of
hive with several entrances, which, with the
assistance of perforated dummies, and allowing
three combs each, was used for the purpose of
maintaining several nuclei, and thus a stock of
queens could be easily kept.

Mr. Garratt and Mr. Hooker thought the
plan described an excellent one.

Mr. Baldwin spoke in favour of the exclusive
use of standard frames for both brood and sur-
plus chambers ; there were many disadvantages
in using different-sized frames.

Mr. Wells invariably used standard frames

for nuclei, but as regarded tiering up for honey-
extraction he preferred shallow frames.

Mr. Carr advocated the use of standard
frames for brood, and the shallow frames for
surplus chambers. Nuclei would always be put
on standard frames. He differed from Mr.
Baldwin as regarded the statement that each
of Mr. Wells' hives contained two stocks. To
say that that was so in the ordinary sense of
the term was a mistake ; if not, the average
produce of each hive must be halved. It was
not two colonies, but two queens that made a
Wells colony; and in the autumn, when Mr.
Wells removed the older of the two queens, he
removed the perforated divider and simply
pushed the whole of the bees up to one end
of the hive. Then he reinserted the divider, and
on the other side of it placed one of his young
queens along with the nucleus colony in which
she had been reared, thus again making the
stock a double-queened one. Then, as to the
supering part of the system : if they had two
queens each at work on the ten standard frames,
and the bees were given a surplus chamber of
twenty frames, there was no advantage to be
gained, from the "supering" point of view,
over keeping two stocks apart and supering each
with ten frames ; but if a small chamber of only
ten frames were given above the perforated
divider, then the bees from both lots would be
working in it at double strength.

Mr. Wells said that whenever he fancied
there were not enough bees to fill up the surplus
chambers, he contracted them by putting
dummies on the ends thereof, supplying what
combs were needed, and removing the dummies
if more room should be required.

Mr. Baldwin thought that if two separate
colonies were put into the twin hive, which he
understood was Mr. Wells' system, he was
correct in speaking of them as two colonies.
Whether or not they were ultimately reduced
to one colony did not affect the question.

Mr. Cowan said it seemed to him that Mr.
Carr and Mr. Baldwin were both right and both
wrong. At one time of the year the bees
formed two colonies, and at another time one
only. Mr. Wells' system proved that two
colonies by themselves did not produce so much
as two colonies put together.

The discussion was continued by Messrs.
Wells, Carr, Baldwin, and Hooker.

Mr. Blow believed that one of the chief
secrets of success was the introduction of young
queens every year — that was just when they
were in their prime for breeding pnrposes. He
considered that Mr. Wells' method involved
great care, and would certainly not be successful
in the hands of careless bee-keepers, as unless
the bees were managed with skill and judg-
ment fighting would ensue.

Mr. Garratt thought that fighting would be
unlikely to take place when the bees were all
intent on gathering honey and pollen, but that
possibly after the honey season was over it
would be difficult to keep them quiet when, side
by side.

134

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 6, 1893.

. Mr. Wells had never known a case of the
kind. He always made certain that the bees
could not get together inside. As to the outside
he always for the first three or four days put up
a large temporary division on the alighting-
board between the entrances. After that time
he thought there was no danger.

A conversation ensued between Messrs.
Hooker, Garratt, Wells, Baldwin, Blow, and
Meggy, relative to the manipulation of frames,
singly or in bulk, and the raising and lowering
of the floor-board.

The Chairman exhibited a specimen bottle of
honey, corked, labelled, and prepared in the
same way as the stock sent out to Chicago.

Mr. Carr exhibited a glass honey-pail capable
of holding seven or eight pounds. It had a
screw cap of iron, nickel-plated, into which were
inserted handles for carrying. He also showed
an American " Porter bee-escape."

The Chairman showed a sample of honey pro-
duced by Mr. Wells' bees in 1885, which, he
thought, proved that there was no occasion for
bee-keepers to be in a hurry to dispose of their
supplies.

Mr. Cowan exhibited a sample bottle of per-
fectly liquid fruit sugar used for adulterating
and making artificial honey. A similar speci-
men was forwarded to the B.B.J, in 1890, when
an endeavour was made to introduce the article
to bee-keepers. Some of those present would
remember the correspondence in the Journal
about it. In the American papers there had been
some advocacy of feeding bees on sugar syrup to
produce combs; but he was glad the English
papers had not followed such a course. The
practice was common enough in 1874, but the
shows had done away with that sort of adulte-
ration. The Scotch were at one time adepts at
producing supers with sugar, and they were not
altogether free from the stigma now. Only
two years ago he saw in Scotland sections being
worked with a bottle of syrup on the top of
them, it being argued that the bees would not
store the syrup in the sections, but use it as
food. It had also been maintained by several
authorities (Professor Cook among the number)
that, because the cane sugar which nectar con-
tained was converted into the grape sugar of
honey, that ordinary cane sugar given to bees
would be transformed in the same way, and that
it was quite impossible to tell the difference be-
tween sugar-fed combs and the legitimate pro-
duction. It was well known that as adulteration
advanced scientific men had no difficulty in find-
ing means to discover such frauds. Formerly
analysts depended principally on the polari-
scope, which, however, failed to some extent in
coping with the latest methods of adulteration.
However, Dr. Haenle had now found that, by
dialysing honey before using the polariscope, he
could tell whether honey was adulterated with
cane or any other sugar.

Dextrose turned the rays of light to the right,
and levulose to the left. In the composition of
pure honey levulose was slightly in excess of
dextrose; consequently in such case the rays

of light were turned more or less to the left.
But it was found that some honeys turned them
to the right. This was unaccountable until it
was discovered that these particular products con-
tained a large quantity of dextrose derived from
pine-trees. But further investigation proved that
however much those honeys turned the rays to
the right, after dialysis they turned the rays to
the left. Then, with cane sugar, experiments
had been tried by feeding bees therewith. After
six months' storage in the hive the honey was
extracted, when it was found that the rays of
fight turned to the right, just as they did before
the sugar had been absorbed by the bees ; after
dialysis they still turned to the right, although
the sugar had passed through the bodies of the
bees, because there was sufficient dextrose to
cause that deflection. Professor Cook said he
produced a certain number of pounds of honey on
cane sugar, 67 per cent, of which was converted
into grape sugar, therefore it was honey ; but if
the essential characteristic of honey was the
flavour derived from certain flowers, then Pro-
fessor Cook's production was not honey. By
the process of dialysis before polarising it was
possible to detect even so small a percentage of
adulteration as one or two per cent. ; and he
had been much struck with the accuracy of
results of experiments in that direction. Great
progress had been made of late in the chemistry
of honey, and he would not advise any bee-
keeper to attempt the objectionable system
referred to. He thought many American bee-
keepers had done themselves harm by talking
about it and admitting the possibility of such a
method, and he was glad that the mass of bee-
keepers there had set their faces against it.

Mr. Carr exhibited a self-hiver, the invention
of a bee-keeper who lived near London.

The merits of the different exhibits were freely
discussed in general conversation until the close
of the meeting.

IMPORTANT PAPER ON FOUL BROOD.

By J. J. Mackenzie, B.A. , Bacteriologist of the
Prov. Board of Health, Ont.

(Concluded from page 124.)

You will see that I consider all these methods
of treatment do not in themselves necessarily
presuppose the destruction of the spores, but
depend upon the fact that for a longer or shorter
period the spores are prevented from germina-
ting, and in this period they are eliminated
from the infected bees. Whether the vitality
of the bees themselves has an effect upon the
elimination or destruction of the spores is a
point which would be extremely interesting,
but one on which at present .we have no definite
information. From the results of bacteriological
work on other diseases, we know that the
animal body is engaged in a constant warfare
with the diseased germs which may be intro-

(Continued on page 136.)

April 6, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

135

"WELLS" HIVES.
No. 3. — Howard's " Wells " Hive.

The brood body con-
tains twenty frames and
metal ends, two plain
dummies, and one "Wells "
dummy. Lifts are also
made that shallow frames
may be worked in them.
Two W.B.C. shallow- frame
boxes, or two W. B. C.
section boxes, with other
such boxes, under or over-
tiered, or any of our
ordinary section racks,
may be worked in like
manner in the lifts illus-
trated. All bodies and
super lifts are made with
the " Howard " break
joint, and any part may
be used under or over
the other.

The same hive may be
worked on the " Layens-
Howard " system of work-
i ig two queens under one
roof.

"WELLS" HIVES.
No. 4. — A. W. Harrison's " Wells " Hive.

The floor-board is arranged so that it
may be lowered to give more space
under the frames when reducing size of
body hive ; the perforated dummy is
movable ; the front and back are made
of l^in. well-seasoned timber, and the
sides are double. The porch is fitted
on the extended sides, giving it more
stability.

The hive contains twenty frames, and
the queen -excluder zinc is in two pieces,
so that either side of the hive can be
opened without disturbing the other.
Either a crate of sections, shallow
frames, or W. B. C. hangers can be
supplied.

Surplus chambers may be had in two
divisions, with communication between
them if desired. The hive is also sup-
plied fitted with strong splayed legs,
if such are preferred. It can also
have an arrangement for lowering the
floor - board two inches in winter if
desired.

136

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 6, 1893.

duced, and this also may be the case with foul
brood. Much more extended investigations,
however, would be necessary to prove this. It
is much safer for apiarists to accept the possi-
bility of a recurrence of the disease after a
course of treatment, owing to the lodgment
somewhere of some of the spores of Bacillus
alvei, and by care and cleanliness remove this
possibility. To do this, the hives and frames in
which a foul-broody colony has lived must be
sterilised, and this maybe done in various ways.
For the sterilisation of material by disinfectants,
there was a tendency formerly amongst bacterio-
logists to run to such disinfectants as corrosive
sublimate, carbolic acid, &c, but later work has
shown that there are a number of common
chemicals which will act just as well, or perhaps
better. Corrosive sublimate has lost much of
its reputation as a disinfectant within the last
few years, and carbolic has been shown to be
not nearly so powerful as at first supposed. For
cleaning hives and frames which are suspected
to contain the spores of foul brood, a hot ten
per cent, solution of soft soap is perhaps as
effectual as any that can be recommended. A
good strong solution of washing soda when hot
is also very active, destroying the spores in a
few minutes. Both these are certainly better
than five per cent, carbolic for disinfecting the
hives and frames, as their cleaning properties
are so much better than it, and Belwing has
shown that five per cent, carbolic requires at
least three hours at blood heat to destroy the
spores of anthrax. In case the soap or the
washing soda is used, however, it must be used
as hot as possible. Of course, anything which
is of no value should be burnt.

€mx£%$Qvfomtz.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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. Illustrations should be drawn
(m separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relatt?ig to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

*** 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.
[1390.] The month of March has been ex-
ceptional. We as school-children learned that

" March brings breezes loud and shrill,
That shake the dancing daffodil ;"

but March 1893 has not brought the rough
winds, neither have we had the usual storms of
rain, sleet, and snow, as an accompaniment to
rude Boreas, On the first day there was a little

rain, but since then to the time of writing we
have not had a drop of rain, and now it is the
3rd of April. It has been a grand seed-time for
the farmers ; March dust in abundance, enough
to ransom many kings. And what of the bees ?
The bees have made good progress ; almost too
good iu some parts, unless we get a continuance
of genial springlike weather. The brilliant sun-
shine has infused life into even the weakest
stocks, and if a supply of food adequate to aa
increased family is provided by the bee-keeper,
we may be thankful that our bees have been
induced to enlarge the brood nest earlier than
usual in a natural manner. I hear of some Who
are thinking of putting on supers, in forward
districts where there is a quantity o!f fruit-trees
and other sources of early honey ; but those of
us whose earliest forage — with any chance of
surplus — is sainfoin or white clover, will have to
wait another six or seven weeks before we can
venture to do so. In the meantime don't let us
forget that the requirements of the colony are
increasing everyday consequent on the increasing
number of young bees and brood, and in cases
where we find, on examination, that food i8
short in the hive, a frame of food, a cake of
candy, or a bottle of syrup, should be given as
required.

I find the artificial pollen baskets nearly
deserted now. This tells me the bees can
procure a sufficient supply of natural pollen.
The principal sources hereabout are the " wint
flower " of the ancients, with which the woods
are carpeted ; the dandelion, in sheltered posi-
tions ; the wild pansy in the grass-fields. The
fruit-trees are bursting into bloom, also the wild
cherries, both promise an abundance of bloom ;
and the turnips in the fields will be in fuli
bloom before the week is out, unless they are
cleared by the sheep. Wasps appear to be
numerous this year. I have killed several fine
queens around the apiary and the gooseberry-
trees.

The interest of bee-keeping still centres around
the " Wells" hive. I am glad to note that you,
Messrs. Editors, counsel bee-keepers to go slowly
into the system. Those of us who have some
of the old-style twin hives may utilise them
with very little trouble or expense to give the
system a trial, but at the end of the season I
doubt very much if a larger harvest of honey
will be reaped from the hive worked on the
two-queen, semi-divided colony than from the
two distinct colonies in the twin hive. On paper
it may look all right — in practice it may come
out a success ; but still I cannot detach myself
from feeling and knowing, say what we will to
the contrary, that the two-queen colony is prac-
tically two colonies, and that the produce of
two such combined colonies should be counted
as the produce of two colonies, just as we always
— and, no doubt, our German cousins, from
whom we got the idea of twin hives, also —
reckon the colonies in twin hives as separate
colonies. When, by selection and improved
breeding, we can rear queens that will dwell
together and vie with each other in ovipositing

April 6, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

137

in the same colony, and the middle wall of parti-
tion can be dispensed with, then it will be a
two-queen colony. So long as the partition is
requh'ed to prevent regicidal combat, so long
will it, in my opinion, remain a twin colony, or
a dual colony, or two colonies in one hive.

The remark of Mr. F. Mower (1381), that
we are drifting into more expensive hives, and
thus raising modern bee-keeping further from
the reach of the cottager, is true to a great ex-
tent ; but still, if the hive illustrated on page
114 can be sold for 25s., all I can say of it is
that it is a marvel of cheapness ; but, to the
labourer who is working, as they are hereabouts
on Lord Wantage's farms, for 10s. per week, I
admit the 25s. hive, or any other hive at half
the price, is beyond their reach ; therefore, the
modern system of bee-keeping has not, is not,
and, going farther, I may say is not likely to be
taken up by the agricultural labourer in the
future. For recruits to the modern system of
bee-keeping we must go to a class above the
purely agricultural labourer — the small trades-
man, the gardener, the country mechanic, the
farming class, and the clergy in the country
districts, and the dwellers in " Villadom " and
younger members of Society who want a hobby
in the towns. There are exceptions, I admit,
and I am glad — nay, proud — of the exceptions,
where cottagers have adopted and been suc-
cessful in adding somewhat to their small in-
comes by bee-keeping on humane methods.

Our friend in Essex (1386) may extem-
porise a good platform for supering his dome-
shaped skeps, very cheaply, by getting some
American cheese-boxes from hisgrocer ; cost, 2d.
to 3d. each. One will make two platforms.
Saw it in two, then cut a hole in the bottom,
and the lid four inches square. Now invert
your box over the dome of your hive, and cut
the straw hive accordingly. A strong clasp-
knife will cut the piece out of [the top of skep.
A little smoke should be blown into the en-
trance of the hive before beginning operations.
Three or four wire nails will hold the box steady
if it fits the hive. Now fill any crevice between
the top of hive and the wood with mortar, so
that the bees are prevented getting into the in-
side of the box ; and also, when your super is
on, keep the draught out of the super. I have
had hives in use fitted up in this manner, and
have worked both glass supers and sections on
them. Now, Mr. Mower, would not this idea
form a stepping-stone to better things in bee-
keeping for our friends the cottagers ? Or an
inverted box with an entrance, and a square
hole for supering, may better meet your views.
A grocer's preserved salmon or beef case would
be a suitable size. I have had one such in use
some ten years, and have had some of my first-
prize sections worked on it. It is enclosed in
an outer case, and looks like an ordinary hive.
In the apiary the colony is still strong, and
appears equal to any colony in the garden.
The difficulty with boxes, or log-gums, as our
American brethren call them, is that the combs
are not movable or under control; but, with

properly constructed supering appliances, honey
of the finest quality can be secured at a very
small initial outlay, and, though it would be a
retrograde movement to advocate the adoption
of a box hive, yet in some cases it may be a
stepping-stone to better things later on. — W.
Woodley, World's End, Newbury.

DISTANCE BEES FLY AT A PROFIT.

[1391.] The following statement recently ap-
peared in your valuable Journal: "Mr. S.
Simmins assures us that honey will not be
profitably collected if the bees have to go more
than half a mile from the apiary." I do not
remember ever having made such a statement.
In our climate I can readily believe the instance
3rou quote of bees starving within two miles of
an avenue of lime-trees. I have had an apiary
in the midst of thousands of acres of heather,
where the bees were storing rapidly, while at
the same time, and during hot, still August days,
at my other apiary, not three miles off in a
straight line, stocks equally as strong would do
nothing at all, and in this apiary there never
was in any season a drop of heather honey to be
seen, though in some directions large patches of
heath were within two mile3.

The following paragraph, to be found in
Modern Bee Farm, will probably explain how
your correspondent misquoted me (see p. 192,
first edition) : —

" I have found bees working two and three
miles away from home in good weather, but
when there has been nothing nearer little or no
surplus would be stored. In the best of weather
stores accumulate slowly, and at great expense
of life, if the bees have to go more than one mile ;
but with a ' sea of bloom ' within half a mile or
less, honey almost pours into the hive." —
Samuel Simmins, Seaford.

SOME HINTS, SUGGESTIONS, ETC.

[1392.] The following hints may be useful to
some of your readers : — 1. In early spring, if a
weak colony cannot be persuaded to take food
— be it candy or syrup — get an unfinished sec-
tion, uncap one side only, and lay it that side
up over the feed-hole — first cutting a hole
through the comb at one corner — then lay a bit
of thin wood, rather larger than the section,
on the top, cover down warmly, make all secure
against outsiders, and place a hot brick above
all. Next night the uncapped honey will be
gone. (I have never known it to fail.) Turn
the section over, uncap the other side, and pro-
ceed as before. When this is gone the combed
section may be turned into a feeder by pouring
warm syrup into the upturned cells. Take care,
however, not to pour too much syrup in, and
also have the hole in the comb at the highest
point. 2. Has any reader tried the fronds of
the common fern, usually called " bracken," for
winter packing ? Those who move their bees

138

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 6, 1893.

to heather, where "bracken is often plentiful,
may take the hint and secure some on the spot.
By picking out all hard, stiff stalks, and drying
the other portion in the sun, it makes up into
capital mats for covering frames. By using
wide tape as binding, and sewing through with
needle and thread, mats about one inch thick
are made, four hands allowing the centre to be
parted in spring for inserting the feeder. These
mats are far preferable to straw ones, being softer
and warmer. Try them. 3. A hint for tem-
perance men : — Use honey in your herb drinks,
and see if it isn't better than sugar both for the
drink and yourself ! 4. A hint for all : — Cut a
orange in two, spread the surface with honey,
and see if you don't like it ! — J. W. Blanexey,
Denton, Lincolnshire.

EARLY DRONES, ETC.

[1393.] I notice Mr. C. B. Bartlett (1367,
p. 105) and Mr. S. Newnham (1379, p. 117) are
getting forward with their drones on the wing
by the first week in March. This must not
always he taken as a sign of prosperity. Two
years ago this spring I had one stock especially
forward in breeding ; quite early in March they
seemed to be nearing the swarming point, when
suddenly they ceased carrying pollen altogether.
Upon opening the hive to find a reason for this,
I discovered a queen-cell and a large quantity of
drone brood. I at once concluded that they
had lost their queen, but upon closer examina-
tion 1 found the old queen, apparently all right,
at the back of the hive, with just a little fresh
brood around her. In a few days numbers of
drones were flying, and ultimately the young
queen emerged from the cell and got success-
fully mated, and began laying the first week in
April ; and for several days the mother and
daughter queens were laying in the same hive,
so that I conclude that the bees will sometimes
breed drones unusually early for the express
purpose of fertilising a young queen they are
about to rear. In this case the queen that was
superseded was not twelve months old. — H.
Neve, Warbleton, Heathfield, Sussex.

EARLY DRONES.

[1394.] I forward a drone picked up by a
neighbour in his apiary on March 26th. Though
this is three weeks later than the case you
report on p. 117, it is early for us, as drones
usually make their first appearance here about
the middle or end of April.

It it said that the celebrated apiarian, Bonner,
was always so delighted at the first appearance
of drones, that he made the day one of festivity
and rejoicing for himself and his family. Mr.
Cowan in his book says, " They are called into
existence at the approach of the swarming
season ; " so, as they have already made their
appearance in several parts, we may look for
early swarms. But I heard of a second swarm
issuing last year as late as the end of August, so

if the virgin queens heading such'swarms became
drone-breeders through non-fertilisation, this
may account for some of the early drones.

Spring flowers, willows, and palm are very
plentiful in this district and there are about
sixty stocks (fifty in frame hives) in the village,
the whole of which have wintered well without
the loss of a single stock. — Thos. Hughes,
Combe, Woodstock, March 28th.

NOTES FROM NORTHAMPTON.
Bee-stings and Rheumatic Gout.

[1395.] I have never before written a line to
the B.J. for print, but as I don't see anything
from my part of the county, I send a few notes
of my doings.

I had twenty stocks last year at this time,
and swarms brought the number up to forty by
the end of season. A few swarms I sold at 10s.
each. From one stock in a skep and its swarm
I got eighty pounds of honey. In the autumn I
joined several lots together in frame hives, so as
to bring the number down to twenty-one, my
present stock. After all were packed and pro-
vided for winter, I had 200 pounds of honey, so
that, although it was not a good year, I was
satisfied with the result of my little pets'
labours. I looked inside my hives last Tuesday,
and found the frame hives had plenty of stores,
so I need not examine again for a month. The
skeps I have given cakes of candy to each. All
are taking in pollen very fast. I have a box-
tree and a box-hedge, thirty yards long, which
has one mass of bees on it ; also a bed of " white
rock," twelve feet long by three wide, on which
they work from morn to night. I sow as bee-
plants nasturtium, eschinops, wallflower, borage,
mignonette, limnanthes, and candytuft ; also
Chapman's honey-plant, which makes a grand
ornament in any garden where you have room.
I have had about twenty plants, with thirty
heads on each in full bloom for a month in
autumn. It does one good to see how the bees
enjoy it. If any friend would like some seeds,
I will send them some on receipt of stamped
envelope.

J£ not trespassing too much, I should like,
maybe for some one's benefit, to give my ex-
perience of bee-stings and rheumatic gout. For
nearly twenty years I have suffered terribly
from this trouble. Apparently quite well at
bed-time, I have, before morning, been com-
pletely prostrate, and obliged to keep my bed
for two and three months at a time, afterwards
being compelled to use crutches for a long
time to get about with. Well, in June,
1890, a swarm of my bees settled in the
box-hedge I have referred to. Not being
able to shake them into a skep, as usual, owing
to the swarm clustering among the branches, I
tried to get the bees out with my hands. Any-
way, after a deal of trouble, I hived them into
the skep and set it on the ground, In a few
minutes another hive swarmed and settled in
the box-hedge, and this, too, .was hived ; but, as

April 6, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

13,

I watched, I very soon perceived the second
swarm beginning to leave its skep and join that
first hived. Then, a few moments later, the
two lots of bees began to fight among them-
selves, and, seeing this, I, without thought, lifted
the first skep up to look underneath. As I did so
the bees began to pour out, and began stinging
me about the face and head. After carrying
them twenty yards or so, I dropped the skep
and bees. Brushing off my face as many of my
assailants as I could, off 1 ran, followed by the
angry bees. On reaching the house, I could
hardly speak, and my alarmed housekeeper in-
quired what was the matter. " I've got stung ;
please pick out some stings from my face."
Over fifty stings were removed from my face
and hands. I thought I should have had to go
to bed, but in an hour I felt much better, and
was soon all right again.

Well, the good of the story is what I desire
to convey to your readers, and that is, in the
three years since the event above related hap-
pened, I have never had more than a very slight
attack once or twice of my old enemy during
the whole time. This is my experience of bee-
stings and rheumatic gout.

Thanking you for your advice in the Bee
Journal, which is a welcome messenger at my
house (I have learnt all I know from it, and
always look for it with pleasure) — Geoege
Bbealey, Grendon, Northampton.

Ernies antr Implies,

[747.] Using Queen-excluders. — 1. Is it con-
sidered necessary to use a queen-excluder for
supers ? Some say yes, and some no. 2. Which
do you consider the most saleable — extracted
honey or honey in the comb ? 3. Do you advo-
cate sections or shallow frames ? 4. If stocks
have plenty of stores left from winter, I suppose
it is not necessary to feed them, but to uncap
the stores (sealed) occasionally ? — R. Hamlyn-
Habbis.

Reply. — 1. In replying to querists our invari-
able advice is "Yes, when working for extracted
honey ; " but when sections are referred to, we
qualify the " yes " by saying, "personally we do,
but some experienced men don't." Thus, in
effect, our advice on the latter point is " take
your choice." What else can we say? We have
taken our choice; sections have been spoiled for
us, and our annoyance has been great : hence our
decision. But when bee-keepers tell us they
" have] never had brood in a section yet, and
have never used excluders," what can we
say other than "don't use excluders till
you have had them spoiled ? " And so we
repeat, " take your choice." 2. Every-
thing depends on the district, or rather
the demand. Some bee-keepers can only sell
sections ; others can't sell them, but can get rid
of jars readily. The safest crop, however, to
work for is extracted honey ; it keeps for years,
and does not deteriorate with time as comb

honey does. 3. Shallow frames are our par-
ticular— shall we say — "fad." 4. That is so.

[748.] Transferring Mis-shapen Combs. — I
shall feel greatly obliged if you will let me
know what I had better do under the following
circumstances. I have attempted keeping bees
for the last three years, but unluckily lost them
each successive winter till this winter. Last
summer a strange swarm came and took posses-
sion of my hive in which I had attempted so
many times to start bees. The hive at the time
of the colonisation was not quite empty and
had not been cleaned; it still contained a few
frames with combs in them. Now, I suppose
some of the junior members of my family must
have meddled with the hive, as when I came to
examine it at the beginning of the winter, I
found that ^the frames were not all together,
there being a space in the middle of them over
which was laid a sheet of oilcloth, and the bees
had filled up this space with combs of their own,
attaching them to the oilcloth. I fed the bees
well and carefully wintered them, but in order
to do so found it necessary to nail the oilcloth in
one or two places, as the combs, as the feeding
progressed, were getting heavy. The bees I find
are all well now, and I am at present feeding
them, but as the spring is coming I want to
know what I had better do, as I cannot manage
them in their present condition. Do you think
I could transfer the whole hive of bees into
another hive, and, if so, ought I to do this
before they swarm or afterwards? If I had
better transfer, I do not know exactly how to
proceed, as the combs are their own manu-
facture, and are not only attached to the
oilcloth on top, but also fastened to the
sides ; neither are they square in shape, but are
inclined to be oval and about the same size as
they generally are in a straw skep. — Newton
Wade, Tydu House, near Neioport, Mon.

Reply. — Our correspondent must pardon us
for saying that his three years' experience of
bee-keeping, as set forth above, makes us hesi-
tate before advising him to undertake a task
requiring either experience or a natural aptitude
for the work, which we fear he does not possess.
He should endeavour to get the help or the
advice of some experienced bee-keeper who
could personally inspect the combs, and either
assist in setting matters straight, or advise as
to the best means of undoing the mischief.

TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED.

Geo. Neighbour & Sons {High Holborn,
London, W.C.). — Messrs. Neighbour re-issue
their large and profusely illustrated list of last
year with additional matter describing such
novelties as the firm have since produced, in-
cluding, as a matter of course, a " Wells " hive.

A. W. Harbison (Potter's Bar, Middlesex).
— We note that this catalogue has particulars
of a few novelties not seen in any others re-
ceived. A " Wells " hive is also included.

J. Tbebble {RomansleigJi, South Motion). —
This list also has some novelties for 1893.

140

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 6, 1893.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

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

Albert P. Jollye (Long Stratton). — Leaving
Skep with Honey Exposed to Bees. — 1. Rather
than leave the honey in a beeless skep to he
"robbed" by the bees outside — "fifty jards
away from the hives " — we would set it on
the top of a frame hive and let the bees clear
it out, while carefully preventing outsiders
from having access thereto. 2. The plant
sent is Mercurialis perenis (Dog's Mercury or
Kentish Balsam.) Bees only get a little pollen
from this plant.

F. J. Roberts (Edmonton). — Bees Dead from
Starvation. — Bees sent have evidently been
dead some time. Dead bees found in the cells
head -foremost have usually perished from
want. In the circumstances detailed, candy
is not suitable food at this season. Warm
syrup should be given at once. Don't smoke
the bees to make them "gorge themselves
every time."

A. J. W. (Newton Abbot). — Transferring Combs
and Brood. — 1. It was scarcely "wise"- to
transfer combs of brood in the open in March.
The comb should have been taken into a
warm room indoors while being operated on.
2. Since the "bees are very numerous and
working well," you may safely give them a
sheet of foundation in centre of brood nest at
this season, but only give one sheet at a time
and at intervals of a week. 3. The bees will
remove the mildew mentioned. 4. Bees short
of stores should be fed with syrup, not candy
at this season. 5. Surplus chambers must
not be given till honey is plentiful and bees
numerous. 6. Drone combs may be used for
storage purposes so long as the queen is kept
away from them.

G. Brealey (Northants). — 1. There is no foul
brood in comb sent, but it is black enough
to want renewing. 2. Pollen-carrying in
spring is almost a sure sign of breeding,
though occasionally queenless lots carry in a
little. 3. Very young bees are recognised by
their being lighter in colour than adult ones.
4. Drones in spring are usually a sign of pre-
paration for swarming, but form no data for
fixing an exact day on which the swarm will
issue. 5. Any stock not working like the
others should be examined to find out the
cause of its inactivity.

Anxious One (Lewisham). — Larva of Wax
Moth Thrown Out. — Very likely the bees have
carried the grub out. If the stock is thriving
and strong, as stated, no alarm need be felt.

F. G. Austen (Wimbledon). — Bees sent are the
ordinary natives. If the comb foundation is
passed through warm water, or warmed
before using, the mottled, powdery appearance
will disappear.
•

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

1 * i

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dtc. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

EES AND QUEENS.— Choice Ligurian, Carniolan,

and English Stocks, Swarms, and Queens. Prices on

application. Address C. T. Overton, Crawley, Sussex. 2

BEE SEEDS recommended by Bee-keepers, guaranteed
best sorts, 13 large Packets, Is., post free. Address
J. Bennett, Bee-keeper, Seedsman, and Florist, 178 Spon
Street, Coventry.

STRONG Healthy Swarms of English Bees, ready first
week in May. Foul brood unknown in my Apiary.
Expert declares county free. Orders booked now, executed
in rotation. Address Edward Gibbins, Neath, Glamor-
ganshire. 4

THE English Rose Bar-frame Hive. Orders addressed to
J. Sellers, Swanland, near Brough, Yorks. Price
List on application. 2

SECTIONS of 1-lb. each wanted, Clover or Heather j
crop 1892. Must be good clear Honey, and well filled.
Apply or address Mr. Leitch, 208 St. George's Road,
Glasgow.

FOR SALE.— 7 strong English Stocks in Bar-frame
Hives : no Foul Brood. Also 3 Bar-frame Hives, with
Supers and Sections, £5. Address Greaves, Oxford House,
Horsforth, Leeds.

EXPERT Wanted for the Bath and Keynsham District.
Apply for particulars to James Brown, 42 Baldwin
Street, Bristol.

FOR SALE. — 4 double-walled and 2 single-walled
Hives ; 2 double-walled Makeshift Hives ; 20 Frames ;

2 Smokers ; 4 Simmins' Dry Sugar Feeders ; 1 Self-Hiver ;

3 Excluder Dummies. 65s. the lot. Will sell separately.
Address W. & A. George, Interfield, near Malvern.

FOR SALE, Cheap.— Good strong healthy Stocks of
Bees on British Standard Frames, with or without
double-walled Standard Hives. Address Wu. Daniels,
Newbold-on-Avon, Rugby.

FOR SALE.— Six Stocks in Standard Frame Hives, and
three in Skeps. Address E. Carnwell, Godley
Brook, Blythe Bridge, Stoke-on-Trent.

WEBSTER'S Book of Bee-keeping, post free, Is.;
cloth, Is. 6d. W. B. Webster, Binfield, Berks.
" One of the best foreign works." — American Apiculturist.
" The matter is evidently the result of long personal ob-
servation, and is thoroughly reliable." — Bee-keepers' Record.
" Have much pleasure in recommending the manual to our
readers." — British Bee Journal.

GREAT BARGAIN in Bee Hives and General
Appliances for Modern Bee-keeping. E. G.
Parker, of Broomfield Lane, Altrincham, Cheshire,
has what cost nearly £100 to Sell for £15,
including several Observatory Hives that have
taken many First Prizes at the most important
Shows in England.

EXPERT WANTED

AT ONCE, BY THE

LANCASHIRE & CHESHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

Good pay to a competent man.

For further particulars apply to T. D. Schofield,
Alderley Edge, Cheshire.

NEW EDITION.

MODERN BEE-KEEPING.

Post free, 7d.

The most useful Guide for Cottagers and others

commencing to keep Bees.

Nearly 50,000 already sold.

John Huckle, Kings Langley, Herts ; and
B. B. J. Office, 17 King William St., Strand, W.C

THE

IriMi $r? 3nnraai

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 564. Vol. XXI. N.S. 172.]

APRIL 13, 1893.

[Published Weekly,

®bii0rxad, %atmst tfrc.

USEFUL HINTS.

*Z. Weather. — Though not so warm as at
Eastertide, the weather still continues fine,
especially during such hours of the day as
bees are usually busiest. Nights, though
cool, have not been frosty as they were for
a good portion of last month, so that
breeding is still going on vigorously, and
in some southern counties honey is coming
in well. No rain, however, has fallen, and
" the driest March for many years " has
been succeeded by a — so far — rainless April.
But there is still plenty of time in which
to verify the "forecast," printed in this
column, that April was to be "a rather wet
month " — in fact, present indications point
to much-wanted rain, which will be very
welcome to farmers, and beneficial to vege-
tation generally.

Dates for putting on Supers. — A cor-
respondent reports having "already supered
three of his stocks in consequence of the
splendid weather," and we are also inquired
of by several eager correspondents as to
when they should put on supers. But we
must recommend caution in such matters,
in so far as it is necessary to take into
account something beyond sun and warmth
in determining dates for such operations.
Brilliant sunshine and busy bees may not
mean a plethora of income, nor are they
perfectly sure signs that stocks are even
safe against actual want. In some districts
it is no doubt safe to say that, so long as
the bees can get out, and there is warmth
enough to secure the secretion of nectar in
the abundance of bloom surrounding the
apiary, bees need only such attention as
providing storage-room. But there is all
the difference in the world between localities
with scores of acres of cherries, plums,

gooseberries, and such-like in full bloom
everywhere around— such as we have seen
recently — and places remarkable for an
entire absence of bee-forage at this season.
These important factors in the case show
how absolutely necessary it is for us to
have some sort of knowledge of the honey
resources of a district before we can give a
reliable reply to such queries as are re-
ferred to.

The degree of " readiness " for supering
may be safely judged by raising the quilt,
and with a puff of smoke driving the bees
down a little, to expose the upper portion
of the combs. If these are being lengthened
out with light-coloured wax, and if, in
addition, the frames are all well covered
with bees, the stock is ready for supering ;
but dates, as we have already said, are fixed
less by the weather than by the amount of
bee-forage about.

Self-Hivers. — The fact of a correspondent
having written to ask that we will endeavour
to " help on the question of perfecting that
desired boon, an efficient self-hiver," coupled
with the communication on self-hivers from
Mr. W. Woodley, on p. 144, has suggested
to us the appropriateness of inserting here
a useful article on the same subject by a
well-known American apiculturist, Mr. R. L.
Taylor, who writes in the latest number of
the Bee-keepers' Revieiv as follows : —

" as an article to sell, what a great thing a
self-hiver would be ! To talk of bees hiving
themselves is like real magic, not mere slight-
of-hand ; for without doubt bees can be made to
hive themselves in a way. And herein is the
danger. They are sure to be bought, and dis-
appointment and loss are sure to follow — at
least, until further improvements are made.

" I have been accustomed to look upon the
struggles of the half-dozen inventions of self-
hivers as a source of amusement, but when the
editor of the Revieiv goes so far as only to say,
' If self-hivers prove to be the success they
promise to be,' I am a little startled and feel
like inquiring where is there any promise ? Not

142

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

April 13, 189$.

in the fact that the queen can be trapped and
some bees secured with her, surely. That is
easy. But at this point the trouble begins.

" What do we want a hiver for ? Not as a
curiosity. It must be of some practical ad-
vantage. Unless it will pay for itself and some
little more, it will be of no utility. It must
effect a saving somewhere, either in time, money,
care, or labour, without a counterbalancing loss
in the same items or in the amount of surplus
secured.

" The self-hiver has no standing at all unless
at the very outset it practically secures the
entire swarm every time. That it does even
this, judging from what the inventors say of
each other's device and the known perversity
of bees in not conducting themselves as the
apiarist thinks they ought to, is not yet by any
means certain. But until it does this it must
fall in competition with the queen-trap, which
prevents the loss of swarms at much less ex-
pense, with the additional advantage that it
more readily gives up the secret that a swarm
has passed through it. But for the sake of the
argument, let it be admitted that the hiver
will do all that is claimed for it, and that it will
practically secure the entire swarm every time,
how does it stand then in comparison with the
queen-trap ?

" At the outset, the cost of the traps is perhaps
but about one-twentieth of the cost of the
hivers, for, of course, no one would think of
using them where they are liable to be inhabited
by bees for three or four days before discovery,
without furnishing them each with a full set of
combs or frames of foundation.

" The trap is adjusted in a moment perfectly,
while the adjustment of two hives to the same
level and to each other is a most critical opera-
tion— even so expert an apiarist as Dr. Miller
let his queen get out ; or if one hive is put on
top of the other, difficulties actually insurmount-
able are encountered.

" If there has been swarming where traps are
used, the apiarist, by walking rapidly along the
rows of hives, discovers at a glance where it
has been, but how is it with the hivers ? Sup-
pose you have an out-apiary of 150 colonies, you
must raise at least 150 covers to determine
where the swarming has occurred, or if the
Pratt h iver — the one that seems to be in the
lead — is used, you must lift 250 old hives with
the supers, heavily laden, as they are likely to
be, to determine from which hives swarms have
issued, for the hiver is put under the old colony,
and this every time the apiary is visited, if
justice is done. The editor of Gleanings says
of Pratt's tiering- up hiver : ' The lifting of the
upper story is no great objection.' Whew ! I
feel exhausted at the very thought of it. And
then suppose three, or four, or five swarms had
come out at the same time and had united, as
they would surely do if they were at all like
mine, and had gone into one of the hives to-
gether, you would be sure the hiver was a great
success, but you would be quite oblivious of the
three or four queens hid away in the corners of

as many other hives with a teaspoonful of bees
each. The old queens being shut out of their
hives and the young queens soon to be hatched
being shut in, the colony is doomed to speedy
destruction unless the sharp-eyed apiarist dis-
covers that all is not right. With the trap there
is no such risk or uncertainty.

" Again, in the absence of the apiarist, in the
hives having traps whence swarms have issued,
the storing in the supers has gone on without
abatement, while in the hiver not only has
nothing been stored in sections, but the brood
chamber has in all probability been put into
such shape that the bees will be loth to enter
the sections when they are put on.

" Of course, if the hiver has caught the entire
swarm, the rest of the manipulation necessary
is not difficult, nor is it much more so to dispose
of the colony with the trap. You have the
queen, and you put the supers from the old
hive upon the new, then set the old hive, with-
out the bottom board, upon the uncovered
sections, and drive the bees down with an
abundance of smoke, leaving only enough to
care for the brood, or sufficient bees may be
shaken out of the old hive or from its frames in
front of the new hive — not a difficult thing to
do — far preferable to the task of adjusting two
hives together on the same level so that the
queen could not escape, to say nothing of three
sets in that manner, which would be about the
usual proportion here. And then with traps-
it is easy to adjust one to each of the two hives
for a few days till the danger of the swarm
forsaking itsjiew quarters, or of an after-swarm
coming from the old hive, is past ; but if you
used hivers, would you have a supply so as to
adjust one to each of the hives, or would you
take the chances ?

" Then you have a large number of furnished
hives to keep over the winter, dead capital,
besides requiring for their safety, watchfulness
and care.

" Another serious objection to all hivers yet
suggested, is the fact that it is not an infre-
quent thing, in large apiaries, that young queens
are reared by colonies without any intention of
swarming, to replace queens that have become
old or have met with accident, and when these
undertake their wedding flight, they are caught
in toils from which only accident is likely to
relieve them, and their ruin means the ruin of
the colony.

" Yes, as I said at our late State convention,
self-hivers mean too much money, too much
labour, too much loss, and too much risk."

Mr. Taylor's article presents the other
side of the case, as viewed from an American
standpoint, and differs considerably from
that of the one referred to by Mr. Woodley,

| so that those of our readers who may
be desirous of discussing the matter will,.

| after reading both sides, be furnished with
the pros and cons necessary for a full

J appreciation of it.

April 13, 1893.]

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

143

HONEY IMPORTS.

P>The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of March,
1893, was 1086/.— Fj-om a return furnished by
the Statistical Office, H. M. Customs.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
token of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We do not
undertake to return ejected communications

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, ic, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

•** 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.

SYRUP, ET CETERA!

[1396.] Many thanks, friend "X-Tractor," for
the very kind remarks in your " In the Hut "
(1847). Well, it's not exactly my fault that I
have heen for some little time like the proverbial
poems " enclosed in a nutshell." The nut-
crackers have been used, the shell falls to pieces,
and the kernel is brought forth, perhaps better
for its sojourn in darkness ; if not, let us hope
no worse. Now to business. Yes, I have
weighed your words. Those self-same words
have been in my mental scales for over three
years, and at last have failed in the balance.
It is scarcely necessary for me to supplement
your remarks anent the inversion of cane sugar,
as that is well known, I think, to all having but
a cursory knowledge of the chemistry of the
hive (I leave you out of the " cursory " crowd).
The inversion must take place, but the question
remains : Is it better for the bees or the bee-
keeper to do this ?

Naturally it is the bees' duty ; in fact, the
bees can't very well help doing it if they — as
they do in carrying the syrup from the feeder —
swallow the syrup. Your argument that "it
saves them a lot of salivary trouble " is theoreti-
cally correct, but I have argued within myself
is this not counterbalanced by the ease with
which the bees can take the syrup when made
after my recipe, as also the minimum of trouble
to the bee-keeper, and the risk one runs of the
granulation that takes place whenever the syrup
is boiled ? The latter is not exceptional, as all
bee-keepers are greatly troubled by this action
on the part of the syrup. Now, the bee must
take the syrup into its honey-sac, no matter
whether the sugar has been inverted or not. Is
it an assistance to the bee to invert the sugar ?
If so, one would naturally think that nectar
would be so provided by Nature. Again, if it

is better to give such assistance to the bees'
salivary organs, ought it not also to be equally
an assistance to a healthy man, as you or I, to
take pepsine with all our food ? It is almost
(not quite, you'll say) analogous. Is it a satis-
factory condition of things to provide a healthy
animal with all its food artificially treated with
stomato-gastric secretions ? I think not. Why,
in course of time, the organs for providing same
would become rudimentary, and often disappear
altogether ; then we might raise our voices and
cry, "Has the queen's sting been an ovi-
positor?"

Well, the foregoing is just theory. I have
tried this syrup for three seasons. I have
recommended it largely. It has been used
" muchly," and the bees have in all cases win-
tered safely.

Now with regard to the inverting process.
Well, I'm just a bit at fault here, as, putting it
plainly, I don't know, and so for a week or so
must depend upon theory. Now, the authorities
give a very different method of inverting cane
sugar than the addition of a spoonful of vinegar
to five pounds of sugar, and boiling, and in my
humble opinion it would not be sufficient to
very materially affect either the formula or
polarity. I have not a polariscope, but have
unearthed one at a gentleman's house, and am,
with his assistance, going to try what difference
it makes in the polarity one evening when I am
at liberty.

Now for letter No. 1373. Pray, Mr. Wood,
do not think I am the least bit offended at your
remarks ; I really didn't mean anything practical
anent " hurling at one's head "—it was purely a
figure of speech. Shake hands.

Artificial Pollen Feeding in Hives. — I am
deeply grateful for "E.B.'s" suggestion that I
should " fit up a hive or box with three bars "
(of course, he means combs), "and spread the
flour on both sides of the middle frame " (comb
again, I suppose), when " the bees will carry it
off in glistening loads." Yes, they will; but
does it not strike you, " E. B.," that yours is
identically the artificial pollen feeding out of
the hive that I advocate, but instead of using
chopped straw or shavings you use combs?
Now "own up," "E. B." Isn't mine the
cheapest way ? Every one hasn't got spare
combs, or, for the matter of that, spare hives.
My argument (1352) was (read it again, " E. B.")
that it is better to feed from a box (a hive
without bees is but a box) than in a hive; which
means, if you read all my letter, a hive tenanted
by bees. — W. B. Webster.

ENEMIES OF BEES— DRIVEN BEES
IN TWIN HIVES, ETC.

[1397.] I have never seen it stated in your
Journal, or observed it myself before, that
woodpeckers are destructive to hives. To my
surprise, on examining my hives at the end at
the last bad weather, I found that the slides of
the entrance, and also the wood of the front

144

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 13, 1893.

wall, of seven or eight hives (an inch thick)
had been more or less destroyed, looking as if it
had been chipped away with a blunt chisel.
I expect the bird, being short of food, was
attracted by seeing dead bees just within the
entrance, between the front wall and the
dummy.

Early Drones. — On February 19th, while
standing near one of my hives, I was surprised
to see several drones leave and enter hive.
This led me to suppose the hive queenless, but,
on examining, I found it full of bees, two combs
containing worker brood, and eggs — in fact, a
strong stock, covering nine standard combs. I
examined this stock again on March 24th, and
found the bees had increased in strength, there
being five combs of eggs, worker and drone
brood sealed, and also a sealed queen-cell with
some honey. This appears to me to be extremely
early. I have found sealed drone brood in one
or two more of my twenty-one stocks.

Fuel for Smoker. — I find a strip from an old
thick sack answer better than anything else. It
will keep alight longer, give plenty of pungent
smoke, and is less likely to go out than any of
the many kinds of fuel I have tried ; is also
cheap.

Dummies. — The indiarubber tubing used for
making doors draught-proof is very useful in
making dummies fit close and warm, if tacked
on the edges of the dummies ; they can easily
be removed, and yet allow of the expansion of
the wood from damp.

Driven Bees in Twin Hives. — My experience
has taught me that single lots of driven bees, if
wintered in a twin or " Wells " hive, come out
just as strong in the spring as stocks made up
of from two to four lots. I have two stocks of
driven bees in a twin hive, and one in an ordi-
nary hive, all with an equal quantity of food
and number of combs. It certainly is remark-
able how much stronger those in the twin hive
are at the present time. I should be glad of
your opinion concerning early drones. — Hakold
Adcock, M.R.C.S., &c, Uppingham.

[The only inference to be drawn from the early
appearance of drones is, that bees will probably
swarm very early this year. — Eds.]

SELF-HIVERS.

[1398."] The Bee-keepers' Review (American)
for March is devoted principally to self-hivers.
Mr. E. L. Pratt gives a lucid description of his
own make of self-hivers. (I myself think his
present form a great advance on his last year's
style.) Mr. Pratt is enthusiastic on the manifold
advantages of the appliance, which he thinks
will soon be one of the indispensables in the
apiary; he says, in fact, the self-hiver will be
the cure-all of the ills of bee-keeping. The
Pratt hiver is made of the size of a tiering
hive; the entrance to the hive is through the
edge of the hiver. Thus the stock hive is placed
on the top of the hiver, and the hive to receive
the swarm is placed on the stand under the

hiver. The entrance of stock hive is thus raised
one story, and a long sloping board should be
raised to the entrance. This will prevent any
confusion to the returning workers when the
swarm-receiving hive is put in place.

After the hiver is fixed, the side of the hiver
opens in two parts ; say, a strip of wood an inch
square forms the opening side, with a piece of
excluder zinc both top and bottom, the inch
strip is sawn through at the centre, and a wire
pin or nail driven through the strip at or near
each end allows the two parts of strip to open
like folding doors, and when open the bees pass
in between the two pieces of excluder up into
the stock hive through the excluder before
swarming, and after swarming the bees pass
down through the bottom or lower piece of
excluder into the hive below, where the queen
is. Oh, say you, how did the queen get there ?
The back part of the hiver, which is made
hollow, has a long slot cut away, and the under
side of slot is covered with excluder zinc, brought
to an apex or point just behind the piece of
excluder that covers the entrance to both hives,
the stock hive and the swarm hive. The swarm
issues, the queen rushes to the entrance to take
flight, when she finds she cannot pass the ex-
cluder ; but just behind is the inviting slot with
excluder as before. Only at one point is there a
way of escape for her majesty, and as it points
to the light of the entrance of the hive she
passes into the hive below, only to find herself
still a prisoner, with faint chance of any return
even to the hive above. The swarm on the
wing locates on some tree, cannot find the queen,
returns to the entrance, and soon discovers her
whereabouts in the hive below. Here they have
plenty of room for the establishment of a new
home, and the bees set to work in good earnest
to accomplish the task. The queen-cells above
may mature, and the survivor may be allowed
to mate, or the stock hive may be removed to
another position, and the supers given to the
new swarm to complete, or it may be allowed to
remain and form a two-queen colony.

Mr. Pratt says that a swarm thus located is
safe if even a week of bad bee- weather follow
swarming, as they have the stores in brood nest
above to go to in case of scarcity below, and
that they continue comb-building. These are
special advantages to the apiarist whose bees
are a distance from home or in the care of some
careless friend. The hives on which the self-
hivers can be used to advantage should be of
the tiering type and without plinths or fillets to
cover the joints — simply plain box joints. Of
course the plinths could be cut out of the way
on the side to make an entrance if required in
the swarm-receiving hive; but if the swarm were
intended to remain, the entrance at bottom
would not be required. Of course, the entrance
at bottom would be closed altogether, or covered
with excluder zinc until after the new swarm was
established. The Pratt style of self-hiver proved
a great success in the hands of Mr. E. R. Root,
junior Editor of Gleanings. He says in an essay
on " Self-hivers" read before the North American

April 13, 1893. J

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

145

Bee-keepers' Convention at Washington : " We
rigged up some ten to fifteen hives with
self-hivers on the Pratt principle and there was
not a single failure. The colonies were not only
automatically hived in every case, but they went
to work in their new quarters, building comb,
storing honey just as they would if they had
been hived in the old-fashioned way and placed
in a new location. Some were left to see the
final result and they stored to the tune of fifty
or sixty pounds, and one in particular to the
phenomenal amount of 150 pounds." Mr. Root
thinks it will take another season or two before
it will be definitely decided if the self-hiver
will be successful in the hands of bee-keepers
generally.

Now, friends, I have written above resume on
the hiver to raise a discussion on a practical
appliance. Please point out the weak points.
Could our editors give us a drawing of the Pratt
hiver as shown in Gleanings and Review ? This
would help our brethren to understand my ex-
planation, criticise freely and without favour ;
but don't think, friends, that criticism will kill it.
If it is knocked into a cocked hat or into
smithereens, depend it will rise phoenix-like from
its own ashes : 'tis like the " super-clearer," come
to stay. — W. Woodley, World's End, Newbury.

A MANY-QUEENED HIVE.

[1399.] In replying to " E. B." (1365, p. 99),
who asks for a description of my " many-
queened hive," first let me say how much
I would have preferred to see his full
name, instead of initials. Well, then, in
describing the hive which I exhibited at
the Windsor Show in 1889, it has a floor-
board with flight-board all round; a flight-
hole is cut on each side, as with bees having
the same odour I have invariably found a diffi-
culty in keeping them from uniting ; but, if the
entrances are kept as far apart as possible, this
difficulty is overcome. The divisions between
the frames which I use are made either partly
or wholly of perforated zinc (forty-five per-
forations to the inch). In the former case I use
a thin quarter- inch board, and cut a hole six
inches by three inches within one and a half
inches of the top, then cover this with the zinc.
When using a whole sheet of zinc, I make a
saw-kerf on either side of the inner wall of hive
and slide the sheet of zinc down these. I find
that with too few the bees will propolise them
up, but not when a larger number is used. The
tops of divisions are, of course, kept level with
top bars. I may be asked why the bees give up
their old entrance, and take to using one side
only, when allowed to run together in surplus
chambers. I have, however, always found that
whichever side a bee has been accustomed to, it
keeps to that side and uses no other. I notice
that most of the hives made for use on the
" Wells " system have the entrances at front
only. In my opinion, we shall hear of more
failures than successes this year on this account,
and I would advise all amateurs not to start

with more than one hive of this kind. As to
the difficulty suggested by " E. B." in placing
combs of brood from both queens next to per-
forated dividers " without exciting the bees to
murder," he will not find such excitement last
more than half an hour, and then the bees will
settle down. As to joining weak and strong
stocks, I always try to keep the stocks as nearly
even in strength as I can to start with, and
when once established, he will find they will
keep so — of course, barring death of queen or
other causes of a similar character.

The above is a rough description of Perry's
Many-queened Hive and the mode of using
same. If there is anything which " E. B." or
any one else cannot understand, I will try and
make it clear, but I wish your correspondents
would gives their names in full. — John Pebby,
Banbury, March 27 th.

[Our correspondent begins and ends his letter
with a complaint against the use of initials
only instead of full names, but we see no
reason for such complaint. If controversial
matter was being dealt with, or reflections of a
personal character had been introduced, it might
be different ; but in the case referred to there
can be no valid objection to correspondents
using either initials or a nom de plume if they
do not wish their names to appear. — Eds.]

REMARKABLE INCREASE OF STOCKS
IN STRAW SKEPS.

[1400.] A friend of mine having bought two
stocks in skeps of an old lady in this parish, I
went last evening to fetch them for him.
Whilst removing bees from their old stands I
had quite a long chat with her about her method
of bee-keeping. She said that her son com-
menced bee-keeping with two stocks in skeps,
bought twenty years ago of a neighbour. These
stocks were bought in February, 1873, and in
May of the same year a swarm and a cast
issued from each. Two months later each of
these first swarms threw off a swarm and a
cast. These were all hived in empty skeps, no
food given them until the winter, when a little
common moist sugar, mixed with home-made
wine, was given to them in a trough made of
elder in the usual old-fashioned way. At the
end of the season there was a grand t< >tal of ten
hives. These all wintered well. In 1874 these
ten hives increased to twenty-eight. Not a bad
profit on two stocks in two years. What say
you, my fellow bee-keepers ? When one con-
siders the iw-scientific plan of treatment em-
ployed, bee-keeping of years gone by appears to
have been more profitable than that of the
present day, although we have so many more
appliances. Skeps fourteen inches by ten were
the only hives used ; swarms never fed, nor bees
driven ; but when honey was wanted the bees
were ruthlessly condemned to the inhumane
sulphur pit.

Upon my saying, " I suppose you never dressed
the hives?" she immediately replied with em-

146

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 13, 1893.

phasis, " Oh, yes, I always did, for if I had no^
done so the bees would not have stayed in them •'

I used stale beer and " something still more

objectionable, which I refrain from mentioning.
Poor bees ! thought I, what a sweet (?) home !
I asked if she ever had foul brood in any of her
hives. She said she did not know what I meant.
I explained to her, but she replied that " during
the whole twenty years she had not lost one
stock of bees from death in the camp," although
she had more than once got up in the morning
and found some swarms recently hived con-
spicuous by their absence, skep and floor-board
included.

As it was now getting dark I was forced to
say good night to this very amiable old lady,
having thoroughly enjoyed our little gossip. I
was agreeably surprised when I found there was
not a single dead bee upon either of the two
floor-boards when 1 removed the skeps, but there
was a thick layer of debris. This is easily
accounted for when you take into consideration
the fact that the skep had not been disturbed
since the swarms were hived in 1891. Happy
to say I got the skeps fixed upon their new
stands, the little occupants humming merrily
the while, without the loss of a single bee.
Unfortunately the new home of the bees is
within a two-mile radius, so, to prevent as far as
possible a loss of bees by their returning to
their old site, I altered the appearance of the
skeps as much as possible by doing away with
the hackles, putting sacks and pieces of carpet
in their place. I also placed a piece of
Austrian pine immediately in front of entrance
to the skep, so than when the bees took their
first fresh flight from their new quarters, they
could not fail to observe the newness of the
surroundings, and so mark their new home. I
trust my friend will be successful in his new
venture. — Percy Leigh, Beemount, Stoke Prior,
March llth.

[If increase of stocks alone were desired,
and honey was of no consequence, no doubt the
plan told of by the old lady might be a good
one, but it has nothing to commend it beyond
that, and however it may recommend itself to
the " skeppist," such a plan of management has
no charm for the modern bee-keeper. More-
over— and with reference to our correspondent's
observation about such bee-keeping being " more
profitable than that of the present day " — if a
bee-keeper of the skeppist school is told of
the honey results obtained by modern methods,
he not seldom closes any discussion which may
take place by some such polite remark as " That's
a lie ! " Anyway, and in order to afford our
correspondent a comforting experience on the
other side of the question, we give particulars
of a very similar incident in our own experience
as follows : An old acquaintance of the skeppist
school (a farm labourer), in the very year above
referred to (1874), increased by natural swarm-
ing from three skeps to thirteen, and the same
autumn offered us the bees of ten of these for
the trouble of " driving," as he never wintered

more than three hives. Being in want of some
bees in skeps at the time, and knowing he was
not rich, we offered the old man between six
and seven pounds for his ten surplus stocks just
as they stood. The sum named seemed to
startle our old friend, and so, notwithstanding
his superstitious dislike to selling bees, he asked
for a day or two to " think it over." Even-
tually, and apparently with sorrowful heart, he
declined the money, solely because he was
" sartin' it wouldn't do him a bit o' good, seein'
as bees won't stand bein1 sold." So much for
superstition ; but the point of the story lies in
what our old lady — the wife of the cottager —
afterwards observed to the writer. " Why,"
she said, "you've bin' an' offered our James
more money for them bees than he's made out
of all the honey he's gotten for the last twenty
years ! " Judging by this, increase did not mean
profit. — Eds.]

TWO QUEENS IN ONE HIVE.

[1401.] Most of my stocks that are worked
for extracted honey hold ten frames, and during
the honey season are tiered with one or two
extra boxes. In autumn, when preparing for
winter, I lift the bottom box and put another
containing empty combs underneath, and find
the bees winter well in that form. During
April, if weather is favourable, I take away
the bottom box to get them into close quarters
for brood-rearing. On the 3rd inst. I took off
the top box of one stock, and found it strong in
bees and plenty of brood, with a queen showing
age by her jagged wings. The bottom box
which I intended to remove was also strong in
bees and contained a young queen. There was
no excluder zinc or anything to keep the two
queens separate. Both queens had been in that
hive since the 1st of last September.

On the 13th of August last the stock was
queenless, when I put another stock to it con-
taining an over-year queen. On the 1st of
September I could neither find queen nor brood,
so I ran in a young queen (I never use a cage).
The bees were packed for winter shortly after,
and remained thus until last Monday, when I
found the two queens one on each set of frames.
As I had a " Wells " hive ready for use I put
one lot in each compartment, and they appear
to be working all right. — L. Ween, Lowestoft.

Arbors irom fbe IHoes,

Engheim, Alsace, March \9>th. — On the 16th
March we had 59 degrees Fahrenheit of heat,
and bees flew out in great glee. To-day it has
been snowing nearly all day. Our Vosges
mountains and the Black Forest are completely
covered with snow. I have wintered thirty
hives, which appear in very good condition,
except one queenless, which I have united to its
neighbour. I got 1700 lbs. (1874 lbs. English)
of honey from twenty-eight hives. — J.Dennleb.

April 18, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

J 47

Potsdam, March 20th. — We are here at the
present moment buried in deep snow, after con-
tinuous snowstorms, with thunder, on the 17th,
18th, and 19th. I do not remember such storms
before. Up to now our bees have wintered well.
— C. H. J. Gravenhorst.

Denton, Lines., March 27th. — We have had
some remarkably fine and hot weather here the
last two or three weeks, the glass going up to 90°,
95°, and 98° in the sun ; shade temperature 60°.
Casting off winter apparel, shirt-sleeves rolled
up, and straw hats when at work, has become the
order of the day. The night temperature during
the same period has been equally surprising in the
other direction, 15°, 18°, and 20° of frost having
been registered. Last night (26th) it went
down to 19° Fahr., but, as the trees and ground
were dry, no damage was done. Bees doing
splendidly ; drone brood capped, and stocks very
strong. Gooseberry, plum, and arabis in bloom,
and everything promising well for a forward
season. — J. W. Blankley.

Beemount, Stoke Prior, March 27th. —In my
" Echo " of March 17th, I was complaining of the
wind and snow, but what a change since then !
On the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th, the thermometer
registered 63° in the shade, but the minimum
for the same dajrs was 28°. These frosts are, I
consider, of great value ; they prevent the fruit-
bloom getting too forward. Gooseberries are
in nearly full blossom, and where these bushes
are planted in their thousands, )rou may guess
how they are visited by the bees. I do not
remember having seen so much pollen taken in
at one time as on the 26th. Butterflies abound.
The cuckoo is said to have been heard in this
neighbourhood last week. Should the meteoro-
logical forecast published in the B. B. J. a few
weeks ago prove correct, how the hearts of all
bee-keepers will rejoice ! — Peecy Leigh.

Warbleton, Heathfield, Sussex, March 27th. —
The bees are just now having quite a little
summer; mine have come out this spring
stronger and better than ever — not one queenless
lot so far. The willow honey is just rolling into
the hives ; last year I had the pleasure of getting
a few sections filled with it; haven't any on
this year. The roaring from the hives and the
strong, sweet smell in the evening, seem much
more like June than March — but we may have
some snow yet ! — H. Neve.

Somersham, Hunts, April 1st, 1893. — Bee-
keepers about here are in high spirits, as stocks
are strong and unusually forward. Our honey-
flow closes early, consequently most stocks,
through not being fed, go into winter quarters
with a good proportion of old bees. Last
season, however, we were, as I stated in my
letter on the " Ivo " cottager hive, particularly
fortunate, as we had a late supply of food from a
small crop of buckwheat close by. Breeding was
consequently kept on, and we now see the benefit
in our prosperous colonies. The bees are now
revelling in orchard bloom, which around us is

very extensive, and honey is coming' in fast —
C. N. White.

Great Witley, Stourport, April 1st, 1893.— In
looking 07er my hives yesterday for first time
this season, I was agreeably surprised to find
brood in all stages, and a large quantity of
young bees, also a nice lot of new honey, some
nicely sealed. In one hive a whole frame was
filled and capped. Have wintered six out of
seven stocks. The orchards are almost in full
bloom. Bees very busy indeed. — E. W.

Haltiohistle, Northumberland, April Uh, 1893.
— I had intended sending an "Echo" during the
autumn, or at the close of the heather season,
but other matters prevented my doing so. Well,
winter's requiem is sung, and spring is once
more hei'e, with summer on the wing. In our
immediate locality bees seem to have come
through the winter fairly well — mortality very
small, and any stocks I have seen are in good
condition, my own included. We have had
splendid weather this last three weeks ; the
days have been warm, bright, and sunny, with
high temperature, but nights cold, with some
keen frosts. Some veteran bee-keepers say
they never remember such an open season. No
need this time to supply artificial pollen — plenty
from nature's storeroom. I found a thrush's
nest to-day (April 4th) in a whin-bush, with two
eggs. I hope we may fully realise the weather
as predicted in chart of a recent issue. — John
Armstrong.

WEATHER REPORT.
Westbourne, Sussex.

March, 1893.

Rainfall, -60 in.
Heaviest fall, #19 on

1st.
Rain fell on 7 days.
Below average, 1*66 in.
Max. temp., 61° on

25th.
Min. temp., 23° on 19th.
Min. on grass, 17° on

19th.
Frosty nights, 9.

Sunshine, 232T0 hrs.
Brightest day, 31st,

11-65 hrs.
Sunless days, 2.
Above aver., 10P6 hrs.
Mean max., 52-9°.
Mean min., 33-1°.
Mean temp., 42,5°.
Max. barometer, 30"53

on 25th.
Min. barometer, 2970

on 1st.

L. B. BlRKETT.

<$ntxu$ ant) §kplus.

[749.] Transferring Bees from an Ordinary
Box into a Frame Hive. — A friend of mine
having bought a strong stock of bees in an
ordinary wooden box, 19 x 14 x 9 inches, is
anxious to get it into a hive of fifteen frames
as soon as possible. Upon asking me what he
had better do, I told him that I thought if he
were to place the box containing the stock

148

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 13, 1893.

immediately over the frames in hive, the
queen would, sooner or later, commence breed-
ing in the hive proper, and the whole of the
bees would vacate their old habitation, and
occupy their new quarters, and so the desired
transfer would be effected. Kindly inform us if
my supposition is correct. If it is not, kindly
advise us what to do, for your counsel is always
valued and acted upon. I ought to add that
there are no frames in the box, but seven seams
of comb thickly covered with bees. — Percy
Leigh, Beemount, Stoke Prior.

Reply. — If the frame hive is prepared with
■full sheets of foundation, the plan proposed will
work out all right, otherwise a superabundance
of drone comb would be built in the lower
hive.

[750.] Dividing Stocks for Double-queening
on the " Wells " System. — I write on behalf of a
working gardener, to inquire if it would be
advisable to divide a strong lot of bees and give
another queen, so as to make a double-queened
hive, and work on the Wells system ? The
hive they are in will hold eighteen or twenty-
frames, and as they are a very strong lot, a
swarm having been joined to them in the autumn,
we think the bees might safely be divided and
an extra queen given. I may say we have some
knowledge of introducing queens and know
where to get one if you think the plan feasible.
I should have said he wants it done as soon as
possible. We have had very warm days here
for three weeks, with the exception of last Mon-
day, which was quite cold and chilly. The
bees are working on willows and such flowers
as they can get. The fruit trees and bushes are
just beginning to bloom. — David McLeish,
Alyth, Perthshire, March 30th.

Reply. — If that portion of the bees separated
from the parent queen could be induced to con-
sider themselves queenless and would accept the
strange queen offered them, all might go on
well ; but we fear they would rather prefer to
kill the stranger and return to the other side of
the perforated divider where the old queen was.
If, however, our correspondent has a spare queen
on hand and likes to try the experiment, we
shall be very pleased to have the result for
publication.

[751.] 1. I find one of my stocks has lost its
queen, and I presume has a fertile worker, as
one of the frames has drone brood on both
sides, some being already hatched. If 1 unite
them to another stock, would the worker con-
tinue to lay ? If so, I suppose I had better
destroy the lot. 2. You kindly gave me some
advice on March 23rd, re number of frames in a
hive. I have nine and a division-board, and
should like to know if I can safely exchange the
division-board for another frame, using wired
foundation to keep it straight as the division-
board ? — F. Howell, Poole, Dorset.

Reply. — 1. If the bees are successfully united

to a normal colony the fertile worker will soon
cease laying. 2. Yes.

[752.] Transporting Hives by Rail. — I pro-
pose transporting several stocks of bees some
distance by rail at the end of April or beginning
of May, and should be glad if you will mention
any precautions to be taken, and wish for
answers to the following questions : — 1. What
is the best method of packing hives so that bees
may be securely imprisoned, and of fixing
combs ? 2. Is it better to unite two or three
stocks together before moving, so as to reduce
the number ? — H. C, Cirencester, April 7th.

Reply. — 1. Remove all coverings to frames,
and substitute a single thickness of coarse
canvas. Screw a strip of wood across tops of
frames at each end to keep them rigid and firmly
fixed on the journey. Open entrances to full
width, and confine the bees by covering the
openings with perforated zinc. 2. By no means.
Let them travel singly.

[753.] Loss of Queen in Spring. — I opened a
frame hive on March 31st, and found eight or
nine queen-cells sealed, also a little drone brood
sealed. I opened the hive again on April 2nd,
and found all the queens gone, some had hatched
out properly, others had their sides torn open.
I cannot see any young queen, but I notice a
peculiar smell coming from the hive ; there is no
brood. The bees have worked well all the last
month, but have carried no pollen in. The
stock is made from the driven skeps last year
which had swarmed. Kindly give me your
advice in the matter. — Ed. Slater.

Reply. — Some accident has, no doubt, hap-
pened to the old queen about a fortnight prior
to the 2nd. If the hive was disturbed or
awkwardly handled so as to excite the bees about
that date, they may have " balled " and killed
the queen in consequence. Anyway there is
nothing for it but waiting to see if the young
queen is safely fertilised if there at all, as we
fancy she is.

REVIEW OF CONTINENTAL BEE

JOURNALS.

By J. Dennler.

LApiculteur Alsacien - Lorrain. Editors,
Dennler and Zwilling. — Tivo New Inventions. —
M. P. Warnstorf , of Buslar, has just constructed
a press for making comb foundation with cells
of full depth, and M. Kanitz, editor of the
Prussian Pee Journal, uses appliances to prevent
bees from leaving their hives in unsuitable
weather, and for preventing robbing. It re-
mains to be demonstrated whether these in-
ventions will prove successful.

Method of Determining whether Comb Foun-
dation contains Mineral Wax. — Melt a piece of
foundation in a basin, without, however, over-
heating it. In a second basin dissolve a piece

April 13, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

149

of soda, about the size of a filbert, in two spoon-
fuls of hot water. The two are then mixed
together. If the foundation consists only of
pure wax, complete saponification results, and a
white mass is produced ; if, on the other hand,
the comb foundation contains ceresine, this
floats on the top as an oily liquid. Ceresine
does not saponify with soda.

A Melliferous Honeysuckle is that from
Tartary. This is a charming, erect, deciduous
shrub, with cordate-ovate pale green leaves,
covered in the spring with pretty rose-coloured
flowers. Th« branches are white during the
winter. The botanical name is Lonicera tatarica
Linn.

Report of the Year 1892.— The year 1892 was
a good one for most of the bee-keepers in Alsace,
but it was not so good in Lorraine, where the
drought stopped nearly all the sources of honey.
The honey-flow ceased in the plains from the
middle of July. On the other hand, honey-dew
commenced in the Vosges at the end of June,
and lasted, with scarcely any interruption, to
the middle of September. The honey-dew of
the pines was so abundant, that the hives were
filled from the first days of its appearanee. M.
Vierling, schoolmaster at Niederhaslach, and a
bee-keeper of the first class, got from twenty-
eight hives 48 cwt. of honey, which is an
average of 190 English pounds per hive. One
hive gave from June 16th to August 28th 385
English pounds of honey. This hive contained
fourteen frames in the brood chamber of the
Bastian type, and had a super on it of twelve
frames of the same size ; besides, it had a second
super above, fitted with twelve frames slightly
smaller than the Bastian frame. To prevent
the population from dwindling in this heavy
honey-flow, during which time the mortality
was very great, M. Vierling took the precaution
from time to time to remove combs filled with
honey in the brood chamber, and to replace
them with frames of foundation, which enabled
the bees to build comb, and gave room for egg-
laying and the rearing of brood. M. Kuntz, of
Hohwald, president of the section, got 3800
pounds (4188 English pounds) of honey from
forty-eight hives, of which eight large hives
gave 180 to 210 pounds (198 to 231 English
pounds).

Revue Internationale oV Apiculture. Editor,
Ed. Bertrand. — Does bee-keeping in movable-
frame hives produce wax? M. Ch. Dadant
criticises the method of M. Vignole, and says : —
" His method requires so much work, so much
attention and exactitude to perform the opera-
tions at the proper time, that I doubt if he ever
kept more than 100 colonies of bees, even if he
ever reached this number. However, with our
hives and our methods, a man with very little
help at certain seasons of the year can easily
manage 400 hives, or even more. Our honey
harvest exceeds 21,000 pounds (English) or
9500 kilos — that is to say, we obtain 8000 kilos
more than M. Vignole with about the same
labour. (M. Ch. Dadant had said previously
that M. Vignole boasts of his improvements by

his method, which gave him for 100 hives 1500
kilos of honey and 100 kilos of wax.)

" As for the wax, I have many times weighed
what we get from the cappings of the extracted
combs, and I have always found one kilo of wax
for 100 kilos of honey extracted. Thus the
9500 kilos of honey give annually 95 kilos of
wax, about the same that M. Vignole obtains,
with this difference, that the wax from the
cappings, never having been soiled by the excre-
ments of the bees, is hardly coloured, and far
superior to that which M. Vignole obtains.
Therefore, not only is our extracted honey
better than his run honey, but our wax is
superior to his in quality."

(To be continued.)

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers 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
issueimmediately following the receipt of their communication.

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

L. M. (Herts). — 1. A pound of candy will carry
the bees over the fortnight. 2. Wetting the
hands will not prevent stinging. 3. When
thick cotton gloves are worn they are usually
wetted beforehand. 4. Naphthaline or cam-
phor used about quilts to keep moths away
will not affect the honey.

J. M. W. (Westfield).— Comb sent is affected
with foul brood. The hive from which the
bees have "deserted" should be at once closed
up, the combs being burnt, and the hive
thoroughly disinfected before using it again.
Naphthaline should also be used in the other
hives as a preventive of contagion, for it is
probable the deserted hive may have been
pillaged.

Apiarist. — One of the best coverings for frames
to go over the American cloth is grey felt
under carpeting. Any appliance dealer will
supply it.

A. E. U. (Cappoquin). — Foundation is a bit
"stale" through having been made a long
time, but it will be all right if passed through
warm water before using.

J. E. (Llanengan). — 1. The bees sent from
nucleus are Carniolan hybrids. The samples
of Ligurians are well marked and may be
from a pure queen. The fact of a few bees
being in the hive without the yellow bands goes
for very little. They are not the progeny of
the Ligurian queen at all, but " emigrants "
from other hives.

Beginner (Stonehouse). — Preventing Robbing.
— 1. If the carbolic cloth and narrowed door-
way will not stop the mischief, all feeding

150

THE BRTTISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 13, 1893.

must be given up except a little after dusk,
and on no account should the robbed hives
have their frames uncovered. 2. No ; to
move the hives to another part of the garden
would do more harm than good. 3. Under
the circumstances, " spreading brood " would
be a most mischievous proceeding.

J. Mossop (St. Bees). — Queen sent has evidently
not been fertilised.

D. A. D. (Hastings). — No doubt essence of
cinnamon is a valuable antiseptic, but not
more so than naphthaline ; while in cost and
simplicity of application the latter is far
preferable. It has been proved that the
spores of foul brood cannot germinate or
multiply where naphthaline is present in the
cultivating medium, and nothing beyond this
is claimed for the remedy you name.

F. F. (Clapham). — Felt, as sample sent, may be
used for roofs without any disadvantage to
the bees.

Thos. Newcastle (Hono lulu,Hawaiian Island)
— Though your letter is dated so long back
as January 16th, the promised samples of
Hawaiian honey have not yet reached us.
Meantime, is it not an error on your part to
say that your average price of six cents per
pound is " equal, I think, to about sixpence in
English money?" Is the cent in your part
of the world equal in value to our penny ?
If it is, we can only say that sixpence per
pound in Hawaii is a far better price than
you could hope to net from honey sent to
this country, after paying cost of shipment
and porterage.

H. E. C. (Carnarvon). — 1. The comb contains
not foul, but " chilled" brood, and that being
so, there is no occasion to examine the other
stocks to see if the bees are diseased. If food
is short, you do quite right to give syrup.

Young Hand (Derby). — Bees sent are hybrid
Carniolans.

Reader of B. J. (Kingswinford). — When to
put on Svj>ers. — The " proper time for putting
supers on hives " is : 1. When the bees fairly
well occupy the whole of the frames. 2.
When weather is fine, and honey is coming
in. 3. When the cells on upper portions of
combs are seen to be lengthened out by the
bees with light-coloured wax.

O. M. R. — Bees Deserting Nucleus Hive. — The
small amount of brood in nucleus is, we think,
entirely attributable to the few bees left with
the queen, not to loss of fecundity on her
part.

%* Correspondents will please note that all com-
munications, whether relating to advertisements,
subscriptions, or literary matter, must now be ad-
dressed to 17 King William Street, Strand, London,
W.C.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dbc. — Up to
Twelve joords, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

BEES AND QUEENS.— Choice Ligurian, Carniolan,
and English Stocks, Swarms, and Queens. Prices on
application. Address C. T. Otemon, Crawley, Sussex.

BEE SEEDS recommended by Bee-keepers, guaranteed
best sorts, 13 large Packets, Is., post free. Address
J. Bennett, Bee-keeper, Seedsman, and Florist, 178 Spon
Street, Coventry.

STRONG Healthy Swarms of English Bees, ready first
week in May. Foul brood unknown in my Apiary.
Expert declares county free. Orders booked now, executed
in rotation. Address Edward Gibbins, Neath, Glamor-
ganshire. 3

THE English Rose Bar-frame Hive. Orders addressed to
J. Sellers, Swanland, near Brough, Torks. Price
List on application.

SECTIONS, one pound each, wanted, Clover or Heather ;
crop 1892. Must be good clear Honey, and well filled.
Apply or address Mr. Leitch, 208 St. George's Road,
Glasgow.

FOR SALE. — 4 double-walled and 2 single-walled
Hives ; 2 double-walled Makeshift Hives ; 20 Frames ;

2 Smokers; 4 Simmins' Dry Sugar Feeders; 1 Self-Hiver;

3 Excluder Dummies. 65s. the lot. Will sell separately.
Address W. & A. George, Interfield, near Malvern.

TWO ENGLISH HIVES (Vide B. B. J. 6th Aug. *91),
new last year, complete, with Supers, &c. ; one con-
taining strong Stock of Bees, 1892 Queen. Price £2 5s.
Address J. Jones, Brimsdown, Enfield Highway, Middlesex.

STRONG HEALTHY SWARMS for Sale, 10s. 6<2. each.
Orders taken in rotation Address E. Long, Cotten-
ham, Cambs. 8

OR SALE.— 90 lbs. of Pure Clover Honey at 6id. per
lb. Address Pomery, Trethem, St. Mawes. 2

P

M

AT SWARMS, 12s. 6cl., young Queens, from per-
fectly healthy Stocks. Address Rose, Feltham.

FOR SALE.— Five Stocks of Bees in Straw
What offers ? Address Gay, Edmondsham, Cran-
borne, Salisbury.

FOR SALE. — Superior Queens, Stocks, and Swarms,
English and Carniolan. Address Rev. C. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex. f. n.

FOR SALE. — Strong healthy Swarms of English Bees,
ready in May, 12s. 6d. each, box included. Address
Edward Gibbins, Neath. 4

FOR SALE. — Strong Stocks of Bees on Standard Frames
or in Straw Skeps. Address- James Weatherhead,
Ely, Cambridgeshire. 3

FOR SALE.— Two Stocks of Bees in W. B. C. Body
Boxes. No Hives. Breeding. Price 17s. 6d. each. Ad-
dress F. Kent, Dewlish, Dorchester, Dorset.

WANTED. — Apparatus, &c, connected with Bee-
culture. Also Curios, Specimens, Honey, Wax,
Cells, &o. Address Burns, Westfield House, Fulham. 3

CHRISTMAS Roses, 4, Is. 3d. ; Japanese Anemones, 12,
Is. 6d. ; Mrs. Sinkin's Pinks, 12, 2s. ; Herbaceous
Phloxes, assorted ; Pyrethums, grand colours, 12, Is. 3d. ;
Iceland Poppies, 24, Is. 3d. Iceland, Shirley, Mikado,
Swan, Bride, Mephisto, Danebrog, Marselli, Poppy Seed,
2d. packet, 8, Is. 20 Choice Packets of Flower Seeds,
including 6 Poppies, Is. 6d. Address Vicar, Egginton,'
Leighton Buzzard.

WEBSTER'S Book of Bee-keeping, post free, Is.;
cloth, Is. 6d. W. B. Webster, Binfield, Berks.
" One of the best foreign works." — American Apieultwrist.
" The matter is evidently the result of long personal ob-
servation, and is thoroughly reliable." — Bee-lieepers' Record.
" Have much pleasure in recommending the manual to our
readers." — British Bee Journal.

THE

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 565. Vol. XXI. N.S. 173.]

APRIL 20, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

THE DOUBLE-QUEEN SYSTEM.
A Visit to Mb. Wells' Apiary.

H The frequency with which we are applied
to for information, and the many-sided
nature of the queries put by readers re-
garding what is known among them as the
"Wells system," have not seldom caused
us to realise how extremely advantageous
it would be to all concerned could we but
have ocular demonstration of the way the
system worked in the hands of Mr. Wells
himself, and on the very spot where his
success had been achieved. But the grati-
fication of this oft-recurring wish becomes
more than ever desirable just now, when so
many of our readers have determined to
give the double-queen plan a trial in the
coming season. In view, therefore, of these
facts, an intimation was conveyed to Mr.
Wells of what we purposed doing, and this
brought a prompt reply, with a very cordial
invitation to come and see all he had to
show us.

Accordingly, on Friday, the 14th inst., a
small party of three, consisting of both
Editors of this Journal and Mr. J. M.
Hooker, left Charing Cross for the journey
of forty miles into North Kent, where the
village of Aylesford is situated. The day
was beautifully fine and warm, more like
June than mid-April, and very grateful
indeed to our eyes was the sight of the
numerous and extensive fruit orchards in
full bloom along the greater part of the
route. Arrived at Aylesford, a pleasant
drive of two miles brought us to our
journey's end, and, after a hearty welcome
from our host and his good wife, we were
soon outside among the bees.

The first thing which struck us on
looking around was, how small a portion

of the success of Mr. Wells' particular
method could rightly be attributed to his
immediate surroundings ! Here was a neat
little garden, twenty-two yards long by
about fifteen wide, trimly kept and orderly in
every particular, but one of a row of similar
gardens, with the houses close to, and
seemingly unsuitable in several respects as
a place for working bees in on a plan
which — according to critics who see but
failure in it — requires a peculiarly
favourable location in order to make it
a success.

The gardens adjoining that of Mr. Wells
are separated from it only by an open paling
fence three or four feet high, so that, if
vicious bees and the troubles arising from
them were a necessary accompaniment of
the double-queen system, it would become
an intolerable nuisance to neighbours whose
dwellings were in such close proximity as
we saw here. But nothing of the kind was
visible.

The hives, ten in number, face S.E., and
are ranged less than a yard apart in a single
row along one side of the garden, with just
sufficient passage-way between their backs
and the paling mentioned to allow of all
manipulations being performed in the rear.
There is no pathway immediately in front ;
consequently the bees have an open space
for free flight, and, as the hive roofs are all
fitted with portable hinges, they are not
lifted off as is usual when opening the hives,
but raised to an upright position, thus
forming a sort of screen behind which the
operator works, while interposing no
obstacle in the way of bees passing in and
out. The careful way in which such small
details as these have been considered no
doubt contributes much to success in main-
taining order in the apiary.

Another instance of the same kind is
worth noting. The pathway whereon the
hives stand is of concrete, smooth, hard, and

152

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 20, 1893.

cold as a flag. Along the whole front of
the hives are stretched strips of cocoanut
matting, which, after doing household ser-
vice indoors, is here utilised for the comfort
of such tired and heavily laden bees as fall
to the ground in aiming for home. " The
cold concrete sometimes chills them and
prevents their rising," said the thoughtful
bee-keeper ; "so I just got that matting
from my wife when she had done with it,
and you see it serves the purpose intended
very well." How much of the best type of
bee-man is conveyed in such kindly thought-
fulness for the welfare of his little labourers !
Is it too much to say that the consideration
of the one for the other brings its own
return in hard work and good temper on
the part of the bees 1

Anyway, here before us were ten hives,
all double-queened, working away busily
enough to make any bee-keeper wish that
he had ten such in his garden. Moreover,
they were almost evenly busy ; not some
with entrances crowded and others slack,
but all busy alike, and, withal, labouring
contentedly enough to satisfy any reason-
able mind that colonies worked so will
bring neither disaster nor failure, if pro-
perly dealt with. Some entrances were so
arranged that the openings to the respec-
tive divisions of the hives were nearly a
foot apart ; others, with the porch not
divided at all, had only a flat slip of wood
a couple of inches wide separating the two
entrances, bees from both divisions crossing
over each other's pathway in the most
fraternal fashion, but not fighting ! In a
couple of cases the hives had one entrance
in front and the other at the side, as has
been suggested by some one in our columns.
These seemed to answer well enough, but,
so far as we could judge, and for several
reasons, we think Mr. Wells is right in
preferring both entrances in front.

Our observations thus far refer to what
was observable from the outside ; and now,
our host having lighted his smoker, we pro-
ceeded to take note of things inside the
hives. When it is borne in mind that the
old, or ordinary, system of working twin
hives has been described by a correspon-
dent who has had experience of it as " a
complicated and difficult system, only suited
to the greatest expert," it behoves us to
ask, is a long experience of bees really
necessary for carrying out the method with
which we are now dealing 1 Mr. Wells —
though keeping bees in skeps for many

years, and annually smothering them be-
cause he knew of no better way — first be-
gan working on the modern method eleven
years ago; he also informed us that "almost
all his knowledge had been gained from
Cowan's Guide-booh and the Bee Journal."
He is, moreover, so little possessed with
self-conceit or assurance that we can fancy
his smile on being classed as one of the
" greatest experts " who alone are capable
of managing double-queened hives !

Another point charged against the sys-
tem is, that bees are rendered vicious by
being worked on the double-queen plan.
Well, on this point we can only say that four
hives, containing the progeny of eight
queens, were examined, the combs and
brood being overhauled and their condition
ascertained ; no veils or protection of any
kind were used by any of the party, and
not a single sting was inflicted, nor was a
single bee, we believe, injured. Surely,,
then, the danger apprehended by some of
our correspondents is not real, unless
brought about by causes which don't ap-
pear upon the surface.

That the warmth of double lots of bees
in one hive is mutually beneficial was also
made very apparent by the way in which
the cells on both sides of each comb next
the perforated divider were filled with
brood. Bee-keepers of experience will
appreciate this fact because they know how
seldom brood is found on the outside of out-
side combs in mid-ApriL Here, however,
in every hive examined was plain evidence
that the bees of both queens formed one
continuous cluster, extending right through
both brood chambers ; the perforated
divider inserted in the centre causing no
break in it. The combs on the other side
of each compartment were just in ordinary
or normal condition, with no brood on the
outside, although placed next to a warm,
chaff-packed dummy, about three inches
thick This feature is not unimportant^
because it shows that the very thin wood
divider (not more than one-eighth of an
inch thick) used by Mr. Wells, if perforated
exactly as he does it, answers perfectly the
purpose for which it is intended.

We need but to say of the stocks ex*
amined, that they were strong and in
excellent condition, very forward, in perfect
health, and storing honey fast. But that any
very special method, differing from the
ordinary one, is needful in managing
bees on the double-queen system was no-

April 20, 1893.]

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

153

where apparent. In fact, the hives were
not made for the system, but have been
adapted to it. They are all the handiwork
of Mr. Wells himself, though only an
amateur joiner. But he is evidently very
apt in knowing what is required for his
purpose, being what one would call a
"good contriver." This was evidenced,
among other things, in his arrangement of
the double pairs of small staples driven
into the hive sides for keeping the per-
forated dividers fixed and rigid. Rigidity
could, of course, be secured by sliding the
latter down grooves made in the hive sides ;
but that would not permit of moving the
dividers laterally, which is at times neces-
sary. The staples referred to therefore
project only so far as to hold the divider in
position, while allowing the side bars of the
frames to pass without touching.

After noting all we could outside, and
expressing unanimous interest in and
approval of what we had seen, a move was
made indoors for a little rest and refresh-
ment. Then the workshop and store-room
was invaded, only to find the same order
everywhere. Here were the nucleus hives
made from meat- cases, and utilised now,
along with surplus chambers and various
other boxes, for the accommodation of
hundreds of store combs ready for use.
And beautifully built-out white combs for
storage they were, too; no "sagging," but
straight and attached to the wood all
round. The frames were " wired " on the
simple plan of five upright wires to each
frame, and a breakdown never occurs.
Mr. Wells makes his own brood foundation,
using the now rather primitive plaster casts
for impressing the sheets.

He also has an excellent arrangement for
extracting the wax when melting down
combs. It consists of a tin tank, 28 inches
by 17 \ inches, and 16 inches deep. By
fixing them alternately top and bottom
upwards, it holds two dozen frames of
comb. Nine inches from the bottom a
projecting ledge of tin extends right
round the tank, and a wooden tray or
strainer, with sides six inches deep, covered
on one side with coarse canvas or cheese-
cloth, resting on this ledge, keeps the
frames down by means of a couple of
" buttons." In working it, after the frames
of comb are in and the wax-tray fixed, the
whole is lifted on to the stove or kitchener.
Water is then poured in till it comes
through for some distance above the canvas

bottom of the "tray," and the whole is
allowed to "boil," we suppose; but, any-
way, it stands on the stove till the wax has
all risen to the top of the water, and when
cold it is lifted off, a solid cake.

The wax is thus boiled out of the frames,
while the frames themselves are thoroughly
cleaned and disinfected, if such is needed,
at one operation.

We will conclude our all too brief account
of the very enjoyable couple of hours spent
with Mr. Wells by describing how he makes
the perforated wood dividers anent which
so much misapprehension appears to exist.

He first selects a piece of well-seasoned
yellow pine, without knots, of course ; this
is planed down to one-eighth inch thick,
and is then compassed and pencilled off by
lines quarter of an inch apart, till the whole
surface is divided into quarter-inch squares.
Beginning at the first line on the left where
the lines cross each other, a series of holes
are, by means of a bradawl, punched
through the wood right across the divider.
The second row of holes starts at the
second upright line; then the third row
is begun directly under the one first made,
and so on until the whole surface is covered
with holes thus : — • • These small
holes are nextenlarged * by being
burnt through with a • • hot wire one-
eighth inch in dia- meter, sharp-
ened at one end, and it is found that the
numerous perforations entirely prevent the
wood from warping.

ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SHOW AT

CHESTER.
We desire to call the attention of manu-
facturers of appliances and bee-keepers to
the fact that entries for the above Exhibi-
tion close on May 1st. The locality
(Chester) in which the show is to take
place this year affords our manufacturers
an excellent opportunity of bringing their
goods to the notice of the residents of
North Wales and the adjacent counties.
It is nine years since the " Royal " Show
was held in this neighbourhood, viz., at
Shrewsbury, in 1884. Chester is, however,
in a much more favourable position, being
more accessible from all points ; and, as the
"Royal" has not visited there since the year
1858, it is anticipated that the forthcoming
Exhibition will be largely patronised. The
space already taken up for the exhibition of
implements is much in excess of last year's

154

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 20, 1893.

Exhibition. We also invite special atten-
tion to the arrangement whereby exhibitors
of honey are entitled to have their entry
fees returned in those classes for " honey of
the current year " in case the weather is
unfavourable for honey-gathering. Appli-
cation for prize lists to be made to the
Secretary of the B. B. K. A. (J. Huckle),
Kings Langley, Herts.

APPLIANCE DEALERS AND THEIR
CUSTOMERS.

As was anticipated, our remarks on this
debatable subject have brought us several
letters from gentlemen who may justly con-
sider themselves as entitled to inclusion in
the ranks of what was referred to as " our
most popular appliance-dealers," protesting
very strongly against such generally sweep-
ing terms being used without giving the
name of the offender. We printed the letter
as received, omitting the name of the writer
in the use of our editorial discretion. In the
exercise of this same discretion we think it
will be better for every one if this reference
to the matter is allowed to suffice, and that
the letters now before us be passed over.
We say this for two reasons : first, because
of our limited space; and, second, their
publication would only result in the receipt
of many others of the same tenor, followed,
no doubt, by a further batch of complaints
from irate bee-keepers. Viewing all these
aspects of the case, we, therefore, trust that
the matter may be allowed to rest where it
now stands, believing that a course of
mental consideration on the part of the
parties concerned will be productive of
more satisfaction to all than would the
publication of complaints and recriminations
on either side.

LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE BEE-
KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The eleventh annual general meeting of this
As- ociation was held at the Angel Hotel, Dale
Street, Liverpool, on Monday, February 20th,
1893 — Lord Lionel Cecil, the President, in
the chair. The report and balance-sheet were
read and agreed to. The President was re-elected,
as were the Vice-Presidents. The Committee
for 1893 was next appointed, and the honorary
offices of Treasurer, Secretary, Librarian, and
Auditor were left to be filled up by the
Committee.

Among other matters in the report it was
stated that several apiaries had been already
established at different centres in Lancashire

where classes were to be held, as arranged with
the Lancashire County Council, who have granted
a sum of money for this purpose; that the
County Council of Cheshire had, however, taken
the matter of technical instruction in bee-keeping
into their own hands.

The meeting terminated with a vote of thanks
to Lord Lionel Cecil for presiding.

At a Committee meeting held on Wednesday,
April 5th, 1893, the appointments above re-
ferred to were made as follows :— Mr. W. Tyrer,
of Prescot, Chairman ; Mr. T. D. Schofield, of
Alderley Edge, Hon. Secretary and Treasurer;
Mr. Kinner, 20 Sir Thomas' Buildings, Liverpool,
Hon. Librarian; and Mr. Handy, Hon. Auditor.
It is requested that in future all communications
be addressed to the Hon. Sec, L. & C. B. K. A.,
Oakfield, Alderley Edge, Cheshire.

((Domapjorn&jetw*,

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for th*
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested to write on one side of the paper only, and give their
real names and addresses, not necessarily for publication, out
as a guarantee of goodfaith. Illustrations should be drawn
on. separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Bditoks of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, tc, must be addressed to " Ths
Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

%* 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.

BEE-DOINGS IN HUNTS.
Comb Foundation and Foox Bbood.

[1402.] My last year's take of honey was about
six hundred pounds : an average of about thirty
pounds per hive from sixteen frame hives and
four skeps, spring count, which I think is the
only fair way of striking an average ; for, if we
only counted the hives from which the honey
was taken, my average would be forty instead,
of thirty pounds.

I have now twenty-three frame hives and four
skeps (lost two from queenlessness), mostly in
good condition, twelve or fourteen of them
having bees covering ten frames, and sealed
honey along the tops of seven or eight frames.
Thanks to the beautiful weather of last month,
there is no fear of starvation now. I have been
a bee-keeper seventeen years, and never knew
the bees so strong at this time of the year as
they are this spring. I have been giving them
flour candy for the last seven weeks, and, on
raising the quilts, 1 find pieces of newly built
comb on the tops of frames as big as my hand
where the flour cake had laid. If the weather
is suitable next week, I intend spreading the
brood by inserting a sheet of foundation in the
centre of the brood nest of the strongest. I

April 20, 1893. j

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

155

make all my own hives with floor-hoards, body-
hoxes, frames, lifts, and roofs, all interchange-
able, and for that reason I don't go in for shallow
frames, as I don't want so many different-sized
thirigs about my apiary.

The " Wells " system will have a fair trial this
season, judging by the amount of correspondence
referring to it ; but I shall wait and see how
others get on before I alter my hives for it.

I asked you some time ago if there was any
danger of foul -brood infection from using
foundation which might possibly have been
made from foul-broody combs. You assured me
there was not ; but from recent articles on foul
brood in the Journal, it looks as if some writers
think there is just a possibility of it. 1 don't
understand the manufacture of foundation, but
it would be interesting to know if it is kept at
the heat required the length of time to destroy
the germs. Was foul brood ever known to be
introduced by using foundation ? Perhaps some
one may experiment in that direction so as to
make quite sure about it, for, passionately fond
of bee-keeping as I am, it makes me feel like
giving up the job if I found foul brood in my
apiary.

A correspondent (query No. 750, p. 148) asks
if he could make a double-queened lot out of a
strong colony. I will give you my experience
somewhere in that direction, though in my case
it was not aquestion of giving a queen but making
the bees raise queen-cells. Last July I wanted
some queen-cells, and, being a bad hand at find-
ing the queen, I could not remove her so as to
make the bees raise queen-cells. I therefore
inserted a division-board in the centre of a
strong colony, and, although the biggest half of
the bees went over to the queen's side, the bees
on the other side raised several ripe queen- cells.
Two or three other stocks, served in the same
way, gave similar results. I successfully re-
queened a skep last summer by inserting a piece
of comb on which were two queen-cells with the
royal grub in them, pegging it securely to the
other comb with a wooden peg or two. I found
that both the young queens hatched out all right,
and the stock is now going on well.

I have never used queen-excluder yet, but am
going to fit all my hives with it this year ; for
I found out last year, in working for extracted
honey, the queen got upstairs too much. Per-
haps you may remember me asking your advice
last summer respecting two lots of bees on forty
standard frames each, worked without excluder,
and which you expressed a wish to know more
about later. Well, although I got from sixty to
seventy pounds of honey from each of them, 1
found the queen had in each case made her home
in the upper story and very few eggs were laid
in the bottom one; so that, if I had used excluder
as you advised, one set of frames might have
been dispensed with. One of these lots died out
this winter, queenless.

Although it is seventeen years since I com-
menced bee-keeping, I have had only twelve
years' practical work, owing to a break of about
five years during which I had no bees ; but only

during the last three or four years have I kept
them on the modern system, regarding which 1
have learnt nearly all I know from the columns
of the B. B. J., which is eagerly read by me. —
Richard Few, Needingworth, Hunts.

[Referring to the risk of introducing foul
brood by the use of comb foundation, if our
correspondent will use the simple preventives
available, we think he may give up his alarmist
views on that point. But, in any case, surely one
who is "passionately fond of bee-keeping" is not
going " to give up the job " at first sight of the
enemy. We have heard it said that no one should
consider himself a thorough bee-keeper till he has
had a touch of foul brood among his bees and
mastered it. — Eds.]

THE WELLS SYSTEM.

[1403.] I believe the " Wells" hives, in com-
petent hands, will prove a success ; but there
must be competency and care. A bee-keeper
here has just put two stocks into a " Wells "
hive, and only one stock had been flying from
the new position, the other being brought from
a different location, the result being naturally
a general mix-up and war of extermination.

In my letter (1228, p. 451) in November last
I told how I had stocked my first "Wells" with
two small nuclei, headed by sister-queens of
1892. It is certain that neither of these baby
stocks would have wintered by itself, and I am
pretty sure that had I united them in one ordi-
nary hive it would have been risky. I opened
the " Wells " to-day, and I found what Mr.
Wells said would happen — five heavy frames of
brood in the centre, three on one side the per-
forated divider, and two on the other. Here, in
a mass, they had clustered during the winter,
just as if they were but one colony, and the
divider were but a comb between ; and here are
baby bees staring at their cousins through 400
little holes in a wall only one-eighth of an inch
thick. I don't care now whether Mr. Woodley
would call this " a twin colony, or a dual colony,
or two colonies in one hive," as on p. 136. I
am going to extract honey from that hive, and
any sort of a name will do after that. I made
another " Wells " last November, and in March
I drew a fair stock, and the weakest I had side
by side to populate that. Finding dead drones
on April 4th at entrance to larger stock, I
opened hive, and got my first experience of a
drone-breeding queen — two frames full of drones,
and the poor bees had had to elongate the
worker-cells to accommodate the monsters. I
caught and exterminated the culprit. All I
had to do was to remove the perforated divider
and push the small colony, with a laying queen,
up to the larger one. The bees mingled happily.
They had all been introduced to each other a
fortnight before. Here, in partial failure, was
an advantage with the " Wells " otherwise de-
nied. The empty side awaits a small swarm or
nuclei, as most convenient. To meet the con-
tingency of a swarm from a large " Wells " —

156

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 10, 1898.

remembering Mr. Wells said both sides swarmed
together, and that no skep of his was large
enough to hold such — I have attached two skeps
together. Out out the top of one, unwind the
cane and use it to bind the walls up, and you
will have a receptacle big enough to catch any
swarm that flies.

All my stocks wintered well ; all are led by
young fertile queens ; all are in newly painted
white hives (the favourite colour of " X-Trac-
tor ") ; and, viewed these sunny days among the
exquisite green of the currant-bushes and the
glow of the opening wallflowers, the very sight
seems ample repayment for all one's trouble. —
H. C. J., Horninglow Cross, Burton-on-Trent.

DOINGS IN DERBYSHIRE.

[1404.] Bees in this quarter have wintered
remarkably well in almost every case, very few
losses being heard of, the bees also coming to
■pring work in fairly strong numbers. Drones
are appearing early, and stocks now strong give
promise of early swarms. Ji we could have a
few warm showers to aid the growth of the
clover, and good weather in June or July, then
honey will be in abundance this year. Natural
pollen has been very early this spring, the arti-
ficial pollen being called into requisition very
little.

It is not to be wondered at that the B.B.K.A.
find a decrease in their funds. Bad seasons are
telling on bee-keepers generally, many Associa-
tions thereby suffering. I have noticed a decrease
of subscriptions in our county for the last three or
four years. What we most want is a few really
good honey seasons, which will do Associations
a deal of good. In our county we find much
trouble in defining clearly the " cottager class,"
many gentlemen to whom the idea of being
classed as cottagers (in the strict sense of the
word) would be quite repugnant, paying the
cottagers' subscription, for the simple reason
that they can obtain the same advantages as by
paying the ordinary members' subscription of
five shillings and upwards. Only twelve months
ago we sent a circular to members calling their
attention to the above important facts, and good
results have accrued from it. Our Committee
have instituted an "All England" class for
honey this year. The County Council have
renewed the grant of 501. to the D.B.K.A., and
lectures are now being organized, coupled with
open-air demonstrations where convenient in
various parts of the county.

The " Wells " system is apparently still well
to the front ; but the " standard honey-bottle "
question seems to have dropped through — at
least, I have not yet seen the decision of the
B. B. K. A. on the question. I have long been
looking for the promised article from our friend
Mr. Woodley on "The Production of Comb
Honey," but have not had the pleasure yet.
Now, friend Woodley, speak up, please, ere it
is too late, and let us gather a few wrinkles for

our guidance this and other years. Trusting we
may have a prosperous year alike for the clover
and "The Heathen." — H. Hill, Ambaaton,
Derby,

WIRING FOUNDATION.

[1405.] Well, Messrs. Editors, that was an
unkind remark in your footnote to 1387 (p. 128)
about my pet plan of wiring frames. I'm just
about to " call you over the coals," and at
the same time make a charge of gross exaggera-
tion against you. You say " the American
plan saves half the wire." Now, that's wrong,
to start with. My plan takes seven feet two
inches of wire, and the American plan five feet
to each frame. Thafs not half. I don't exactly
" catch on " as to the number of " points ;" but
my way requires seven stretches of wire, and
the American five. You can't anyhow make
that half the labour, especially when you take
into account that the actual wiring is the
smallest part of the labour; the driving and
turning of the hooks takes the most time, and
there my plan is exactly the same as th©
American (four hooks). Now, the last sentence
was the severest stroke of all — " quite as effec-
tive." Well, I've wired several thousand frames
my way, and have never had a crooked or
sagged comb, and in no single instance have I
fastened the foundation in any way to the top
bar, always using solid top bars when wiring.
I have tried the American plan as illustrated,
and always get more or less sagging from middle
of top bar to junction of cross-wires at bottom.
I know when I first saw the American plan (I
had exhibited and taken a prize with mine before
that was brought out) I jumped at it at once,
and wired ten frames right away. I think I
had four out of the ten so badly sagged that I
had to replace them ; of course, I didn't fasten
the foundation to the top bar, as I used the
American plan as I used my own. Now,
Messrs. Editors, what do you think of this
for effectiveness ? I sent last season two
colonies of bees to Scotland, three to Lancashire,
and several others shorter distances. Each of
these were swarms of the current year, and in
no case had the combs been built out from
foundation three weeks, and yet they all arrived
safely without a single broken comb. Would
the American plan hold the combs like that?
I have for several years (since 1888 or 1889)
sent bees on newly (from two weeks to two
months) built combs, and have never had an
accident when wired after my plan.

Now, pray don't apologise. You have my
hearty forgiveness for your unkindness and
want of charity towards a countryman of
your own. — W. B. Webster.

[We readily confess having omitted to take any
measurements when comparing Mr. Webster's
plan of wiring frames —as shown in the sketch
sent by Mr. W. H. Augur, and the one illus-
trated on p. 128 ; in fact, our impression was
formed by simply casting our eye over the sketch
and comparing it with the familiar American

April 20, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

157

plan. In order, then, to justify, to some extent'
our editorial comment, we have prepared a cut
of Mr. Webster's plan (Fig. 1), and insert it

Fig. l.

here alongside the one to which our reference
was made, for the purpose of comparison. We
thought the one very complicated, and the other
very simple, and it is rather an " optical delu-
sion" to find that double the amount of wire is
not required in Fig. 1 to what is needed in
Fig. 2. However, we acknowledge our^'slip,"

Fig. 2.

and express regret for it. The second complaint
our correspondent makes against us is, however,
hardly justified. When referring to effective-
ness, we certainly never thought of taking into
account the special precautions necessary for
preparing recently hived swarms for travelling
long distances by rail; that is a dealer's ques-
tion. But, for ordinary bee-keepers' require-
ments, the plan shown in Fig. 2 has always
proved perfectly effectual so far as our experi-
ence goes. But we always insert foundation in
the saw-kerf of top bar. — Eds.]

PREPARING FOR SHOWS.

[1406.] Now that the season of honey shows
will soon be upon us, I should like to draw at-
tention to the very short time before a show at
which labels and numbers for exhibits are sent
out ; although, of course, this does not apply to
all shows, yet it does to a great many. Last
year, on three occasions, I was obliged to send
off my exhibits without receiving the labels and
numbers, and in two of these cases I received
letters from the secretaries stating that my
exhibits had arrived very late ; if I had waited
for the labels, the exhibits would probably have
arrived too late for admission to the show. I
have no doubt there are reasons why the
numbers should not be sent out until as late a
date as possible, but I think that secretaries
should arrange to send them out at least a week
before the show, so as to give about five days

for labelling, packing, and the journey. My
own experience is that three or four days is not
a [bit too much to allow for exhibits sent by
goods train, when they have to go any long
distance and by cross-country routes. — O.

EARLY SECTIONS.
[1407.] It may interest some of your readers
to know that I took a well finished one-pound
section of new honey on Wednesday, April 12th.
The bees in that particular hive are working
hard in the super, and I could have taken three
or four more sections had I wished, but I thought
I would not disturb them further than to^take
out one to show my friends. — R. W, Sealy,.
Abbotsham, Bideford.

WEATHEK REPORT.
Abbot's Leigh Haywabd's Heath, Sussfx,

Max

Min.

Mean Max.

„ Min.

„ Temp.

„ in Sun

Rain —

Wind .... n.&n.e.

March 25.
.. 61°

.. 23*

54-3*
30-3°
42-3'
76-6°

Week ending'!

April 1. April 8. April 15

65° 68° 66"

30° 34° 27°

61-2° 633° 55-5'

33-4* 38-4° 35-4°

47-2° 50-8° 45-4'

78-6' 81° 72-4°

N.E.

N.E. N.E.&8.W-

R. Inglis.

(&fynm foam fyz ||ib£S.

Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington, April \5th.
— We cannot say at present that April brings
the showers this year, considering it is the
middle of the month, and we have had no rain;
however, if we may get some soon, and then a
continuation of the beautiful weather we have
had this last month (barring the severe night
frosts). I went last night to look at some bees
a few miles away, and found a box, that I had
put on about a month ago, full of candy-cake,
holding three or four pounds. The candy was
all consumed, and the box filled out with comb,
containing about a pound of honey, showing un-
mistakably that the bees were doing very well.
I pointed out to the person, if it comes showery
and cold, the bees would probably want feeding,
but she could hardly realise such a contingency.
I have three stocks in another direction, and
they have moved off the candy-cake to some
tune. Those at home have been stimulated
with thin syrup, made by pouring cold water on
to a strainer filled with sugar, and letting it
percolate through into a honey tin, and then
drawing it off by the tap at bottom, and don't
the bees like it ! Anyway, they don't object to
take all they can get. Bees are breeding much
earlier than usual this year, and will require a
lot of looking after if adverse weather should
come by-and-by. Blackthorn is in full bloom,
but clover, beans, &c, are very backward here

158

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 20, 1893.

for want of the rain. Apples are already show-
ing bloom. I have moved several stocks without
the proverbial " yard a day,'' by putting them
just where wanted, and fixing a bit of glass in
front, so that the bees might bump their heads
against it in coming out. I find very few go
back ; I have noticed them even the next day
in their new location busily carrying in pollen,
as though they had been there all their lives.
Look out for queen-wasps ! I have already
caught seven or eight, which means a nest
destroyed for each one of them. — John
Walton.

(fmries antr spites.

[754.] Foul-broody Stocks Storing Surplus.
— I have four strong lots of bees in a neighbour-
liood exceedingly well supplied with fruit-trees
now in full bloom. Each stock is storing honey
rapidly in shallow frames placed on top of a
body-box which has five to seven frames of brood
in all stages. But there are here and there patches
of foul brood, although the bulk of it seems to
be healthy. I have given the bees clean boxes
and floor-boards, and have carefully washed
those removed with a hot solution of soft soap,
as recommended in the " Important Paper on
Foul Brood," which appeared in the Journal. I
am unwilling to interfere with the rapid collection
of honey now going on, which the giving of
medicated syrup would, I suppose, do. I will,
however, carry out any measures you may be
kind enough to advise me. — South Saxon,
Sussex, April 10th.

Reply. — Beyond the use of naphthaline on
floor-boards, we should advise leaving the bees
alone while they are storing honey so rapidly.
It not seldom happens that the vigour of a
strong stock will enable the bees to overcome or
ward off an attack such as is referred to. Be-
sides, the only alternative to the above will be
removing the brood combs, destroying the latter,
and reducing the bees to the condition of a
swarm prior to putting them on full sheets of
foundation.

[755.] Overdosing Combs xvith Salicylic Acid.
— I have sprayed about forty combs with sali-
cylic solution 140 times stronger than the
solution mentioned as correct in the Guide-book.
Some of them are brood combs with honey in,
and the rest are white combs used for extracting.
They taste very bitter and nasty if a piece of
comb be broken off and put in the mouth.
1. What am I to do to remove it from the
extracting combs, as it would be sure to taint
the honey ? Will it hurt the bees if I give
them the brood combs as they are ? 2. How
can I tell from which hive a swarm has issued ?
3. I have a large number of combs in my hives
full of candied honey. How can I extract this
or otherwise utilise the combs, as the queens do
not seem to have room to lay ? Bees are doing

splendidly in this district. I have had to super
three stocks already. They wintered on four-
teen, sixteen, and seventeen combs respectively,
and now have about forty pounds of honey each
from last year, as very little was taken from
them last season. I purchased these together
with three other stocks this spring. — Ernest
Walkeh, Erith.

Reply. — 1. If the overdosed combs are
sprayed or syringed well with warm water,
and afterwards put through the extractor for
a few turns to dry them, they may be used
again with no bad results. 2. If the " deserted
look " of the hive entrance does not sufficiently
indicate the swarm's departure, the quilts must
be raised and the question judged by the quantity
of bees left. If this won't decide the point, the
combs must be examined for queen-cells, or, if
this is not convenient, wait till the ninth day
after the swarm was supposed to have come off,
when " piping " will be heard if the bees have
swarmed. 3. The honey in combs is probably
only partly candied, and if this is so, remove
the cappings and let bees clear it out. You
cannot extract candied honey.

[756.] Drone-breeding Queen. — Three weeks
ago, upon examining one of my colonies, I
found brood upon one frame only, all of which
was drone. The queen was there, and she
appeared to me a fair specimen. I therefore
decided to wait events. To-day I find no better
results, so I caught the queen and am forwarding
her to you for inspection. Kindly inform me the
result of your examination. — Alfbed Hutch-
inson, Birmingham, April l&th.

Reply. — Queen sent is not an old or worn-
out one, but she has apparently never been
fertilised.

REVIEW OF CONTINENTAL BEE

JOURNALS.

By J. Dennleb.

(Continued from page 149.)

L'Abeille Toulousienne, bulletin of the Bee-
keepers' Society of the South, publishes in its
last number a Circassian legend. " One of the
worst demons, according to this Circassian
story, swore he would destroy in one day all
domesticated animals in order to injure man.
He therefore gave the horse glanders, hydro-
phobia to the dog, rinderpest to cattle, foot-rot
to sheep, and the pip to chickens. For the bee
he produced a storm and thunder. When the
hive was turned over and drenched, the bees
flew up into the air seeking for a refuge, and
saw there the Virgin Mary, who herself opened
the folds of her azure cloak. The bees found
rest here, and out of gratitude made a comb of
honey in the sleeve of her to whom they owed
their life. Owing to this protection the bees

April 20, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

159

continued to live in Circassia, and became a
source of revenue to the people. From this
comes the gratitude of the inhabitants to the
Virgin Mary, whom they call, owing to her
goodness, Merienne"e Melissa, patroness of the
bees."

L 'Auxiliaire de VApiculteur. Editor, J. B.
Leriche, of Amiens. — Statistics in France. —
According to the returns of the quantity of
honey and wax produced in France during
1891, the 87 departments contained 1,634,978
hives of bees, which produced 6,753,325 kilos of
honey of the value of 9,468,486 francs, and
2,097,783 kilos of wax valued at 4,570,011
francs. The average price of honey was P52
francs per kilo, and of the wax 224 francs per
kilo. Crude wax to the value of 3,308,406
francs was imported, and 1,074,159 francs-worth
of crude wax and 1,369,311 francs-worth of
honey were exported.

LApiculteur. Editor, E. Sevalle, of Paris. —
M. G. de Layens publishes the following note on
queenless hives : —

"Two years ago, in the spring, I found a
queenless hive in my apiary. As it contained
many bees I gave it a comb containing brood
in all stages. A few weeks later, seeing that it
had neither brood nor queen, I gave it two
more combs of brood. Being obliged to be
away for some time, I did not visit this hive
until my return at the beginning of September,
when I took the harvest of honey. This colony
was still queenless, and as it was too late in the
season to try and make it rear a queen, I left it
for some time. Towards the end of September,
the temperature being favourable, the ivy was
yielding honey and the bees gathered it from
this source. The queenless hive appeared to be
also working. I wanted to find out if these old
bees were gathering honey, or if they were only
airing themselves outside. This is how I pro-
ceeded to experiment. Operating as rapidly as
possible, and with scarcely any smoke, so that
the bees should not have time to gorge them-
selves with honey, I removed all the frames
from the hive and replaced them with empty
ones. On looking at the hive next day, I was
astonished to find very few bees coming out of
the hive, whereas in the other hives the bees
were very active. But on the following day
the bees from the queenless hive also came out ;
but many of them did not fly, but walked on
the alighting-board, and fell on the ground, and
crawled away to die. It is therefore seen be
this experiment that old bees cannot collect
honey even for their nourishment. The bees,
therefore, of the queenless hive had been living
for some time at the expense of the provisions
it contained."

(To be continued.)

%* Correspondents will please note that all com-
munications, whether relating to advertisements,
subscriptions, or literary matter, must noio be ad-
dressed to 17 King William Street, Strand, London,
W.C.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers,

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers 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 com-
munication.

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

%* We are requested to ask, will Miss Mary
Sanger, of The Lodge, Dechem Road (insuf-
ficient address) ; also Major Hallett, 57 Regt.,
late at Waterford, kindly communicate with
S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex.

Mabel J. Lindsey (Mutley, Plymouth). — Be-
ginning Bee-keeping. — Before you can hope to
succeed with bees it is absolutely necessary to
read some book on bee-keeping. It would be
quite impossible for us to give all the instruc-
tions needed by way of query and reply. The
smallest book on the subject is Modern Bee-
keeping, 7d. post free ; also the Bee-keeper's
Guide-book, price Is. 8d. post free, from this
Office, besides other works advertised in our
columns.

Ed. Slater (Kingswinford). — Queen sent is an
adult one, and probably fertile ; but the body
as received is not in fit state for a post-mortem
exam. Bees have a slight trace of the Car-
niolan in them.

Torbay (Devon). — Comb is badly affected with
foul brood. As a beginner, and with only the
one stock, we have no hesitation in strongly
advising the immediate destruction by burning
of the combs and frames. No good could come
of your trying to cure it under the circum-
stances. The hive also must be thoroughly
disinfected before being again used. It is a
shame (if the facts were known) for any one
to sell such a stock, which is far worse to a
bee-keeper than being entirely worthless.

South Beds. — Paint for Hives. — We should
prefer buying it ready mixed. Not " tinned "
paint, but got from a suitable tradesman.
The materials are white lead, boiled linseed
oil, turps, and driers, together, of course, with
the " dry colour " needed to make the proper
tint.

H. S. (Kidderminster). — Bees and Salt Water.
— The salt in the water-troughs was no doubt
the attraction which caused them to visit the
troughs "as thick as hail," but we cannot
understand them " fighting for it as if it was
honey." No harm, however, will result. It is
not necessary to feed in order to help bees to
" draw out " foundation.

WINTERING BEES. By Thomas W.
Cowan. The most complete work on the
subject of Wintering published. Third Edition.
Price 3%d., post free. British Bee Journal Office,
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 20, 1833.

Soecial Prepaid Advertisements.
— •-♦-«

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dtc.—TJp to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

BEE SEEDS recommended by Bee-keepers, guaranteed
best sorts, 13 large Packets, Is., post free. Address
■J. Bennett, Bee-keeper, Seedsman, and Florist, 178 Spon
Street, Coventry.

STRONG Healthy Swarms of English Bees, ready first
week in May. Eoul brood unknown in my Apiary.
Expert declares county free. Orders booked now, executed
in rotation. Address Edward Gibbins, Neath, Glamor-
ganshire. 2

SECTIONS, one pound each, wanted, Clover or Heather ;
crop 1892. Must be good clear Honey, and well filled.
Apply or address Mr. Leitch, 208 St. George's Boad,
Glasgow. f • n.

STRONG HEALTHY SWARMS for Sale, 10s. 6d. each.
Orders taken in rotation Address E. Lous, Cotten-
ham, Cambs. 7

OR SALE.— 90 lbs. of Pure Clover Honey at 6£d. per
lb. Address Pomert, Trethem, St. Mawes.

F

FOR SALE. — Superior Queens, Stock", and Swarms,
English and Carniolan. Address Rev. C. Brhreton,
Pvlborough, Sussex. f. n.

FOR SALE. — Strong healthy Swarms of English Bees,
ready in May, 12s. 6<J. each, box included. Address
Edward Gibbins, Neath. 3

FOR SALE. — Strong Stocks of Bees on Standard Frames
or in Straw Skeps. Address James Weatherhead,
Ely, Cambridgeshire. 2

WANTED. — Apparatus, &c, connected with Bee-
culture. Also Curios, Specimens, Honey, Wax,
Cells, &o. Address Burns, Westfield House, Fulham. 2

FINEST Extracted Honey, in J-Cwts.. at 7d. per lb.,
tins free. Sample 2d. Deposit System. Address
R. Dutton, Terling, Witham, Essex.

FOR SALE.— 8 Single-walled Hives, " Simmins " Pat-
tern, and 6 Straw Skeps, new ; Raitt's Honey Press
and Sieve ; Ray nor Honey Extractor. To be Sold Cheap.
Prices and particulars on application to Edward Lang, 35
Seymour Street, Chorley, Lancashire.

FOR SALE. — American Bee Journal, 1885, complete,
Also Brl ish Bee Journal, 1885, 1886, complete ; 1887
Aug. 4, Nov. 24, short ; 1888, April 26, Aug, 16, short; 1889,
March 14 short. What offers ? Address Cooper, 71 High
Street, Burton-on-Trent.

C1TJARANIERD Healthy Natural Swarms of Pure
X Natives, 3J to 4 lbs. weight, price 12s. 6d. Packing-
box included. Ready in May if weather continues favour-
able. Orders in rotation. Address Chas. Whiting, Valley
Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suffolk.

KEPS of Bees, 12s. 6d. each ; Early Swarms, 10s. 6d.
Address A. T. Wilmot, St. Albans.

BEES FOR ^ALE.— Strong, healthy stocks of Ligurian
and selected English. Association frames. Address
W. Hill, The Scotlands, Wolverhampton.!

WEBSTEk'-; Book of Bee-keeping, post free, Is.;
cloth, Is. 6d. W. B. Webster, Binfield, Berks.
" One of the best foreign works."— American Apiculturist.
" The matter is evidently the result of long personal ob-
servation, and is thoroughly reliable." — Bee-keeper s' Record.
*'Have much pleasure in recommending the manual to our
readers." — British Bee Journal.

STEAM FACTORY for

]$ee Jlppttcmces.

RDEBS addressed J. ROSS, Stranraer, Wig.
townshire, NB„ will be attended to.

C. NYE & SONS,

Soutb of Enalanfc

BEE-KEEPERS' STORES,

WESTERN STREET,

BRIGHTON.

Pure Brood Foundation, 2/- per lb.
„ Super „ 2/10 „

Special Quotations for a Quantity.

Illustrated Catalogue Post Free.

The Original and ONLY PERFECT

Preventive against STINGING.

PRICE AGAIN REDUCED. Quality Superior.

In Is. and 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 an
have lately purchased a bottle of this wonderful stuff, an
cannot persuade my bees to sting me do what I will wit
them."

DARCY GRIMSHAW, Horsforth, Leeds.

Invaluable to Travellers Abroad as an Insectifuge.

FOUL BROOD REMEDIES.

NAPHTHALINE
NAPHTHOL BETA.

Both the above may now be had at the Office of
"THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL" and "BEE-

KEEPEBS' KECOBD,"
17 King William Street, Stband, London, W.O.
NAPHTHALINE, for using in hives as a pre-
ventive of infection, in boxes, Is. post free.

NAPHTHOL BETA, for use in medicating bee-
food, Is. a packet, post free.

Instructions for use sent with each packet.

CASH WITH ORDER.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
PRACTICAL NOTE-BOOK.

With Rules for the General Management of
Movable Comb Hives.

By THOS. W. COWAN, F.G.S., &c,

Editor British Bee Journal.
Consists of a Series of Tables by means of which
the Bee-keeper can keep a record of all his Obser-
vations and Operations. A Pocket-companion in-
dispensable to the practical Bee-keeper.

Price Is., postage Id.

British Bee Journal Office, 17 King William Street,

Strand, London, W.C.

r hk

irifeti 1»

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

Ho. 566. VoLXXI. N.S. 174.]

APRIL 27, 1893.

[Published Weekly

(fbitorial, Satires, th.

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — In thinking aboutthe weather
just now, one wonders how Joug the present
.June-like warmth and bright sunshine is
:going to last. Anyway it will require a long
reach back in one's memory to recall the
like of the last six weeks at the same season
■of the year. The long-continued absence
■of rain begins to make matters look a bit
serious for vegetation unless a change occurs
very soon. So far, however, there is no
approach to a " parched " appearance, the
drought not having adversely affected the
ground crops in Kent, everything looking
beautifully fresh and green here as we write,
while the fruit-trees are loaded with bloom.

Speaking of drought, we quote below, as
being useful for future reference, some
remarkable particulars communicated by a
correspondent who writes as follows in a
recent issue of the Times : —

"The absolute drought which was brought
to an end by the very insignificant shower
in the early hours of Monday morning
-.(April 17th) was the longest absolute
drought since my record was commenced in
1857, for it has lasted twenty -nine days.
In the thirty-five years there have bet-n
eleven instances of three weeks' absolute
drought, but until the present drought
there had been but one instance (Aug. 9 to
Sept. 5, 1880) of four weeks, or twenty-
eight days; and this in 1893 has been
exceeded by one day, making it, as before
stated, the longest absolute drought on my
record. But it is more than this, and how
much more we cannot yet tell ; for the
partial drought which began with February
28, and has lasted forty-eight days, or nearly
seven weeks, is still unbroken, while the
longest previously was forty-tive days, from

April 16 to May 30, 1880. As far, therefore,
as my record of thirty-five years is con-
cerned, the drought has had no equal ; but,
if it be permissible to write from my own
memory, corroborated by other records
before I began mine, I believe that one or
the wettest years of this century (1852) was
as noteworthy for its spring drought as it
was for its excessively wet autumn and
early winter:"

Early Supeiung. — The remarkable way
in which bees are thriving and filling up
their hives in some places has brought us
some urgent queries as to " how soon bees
may be supered 1 " We do not care to
commit ourselves to dates in replying, be-
cause of the unfortunate habit some have
(beginners especially) of founding a prece-
dent on our replies. In this way they get
the notion into their heads that about the
second or third week in April is the ortho-
dox date for such operations. We must,
however, remind them how seldom it is
that the shade temperature in London con-
tinues so high as to vary between 65 and
80 degrees Fahrenheit for the whole of the
last fortnight of April ! Moreover, how
often do we have finished sections of the
current year taken off hives on the 12th cf
the month, as was recorded on p. 157 latt
week 1 They must also recollect how very
forcibly do circumstances alter cases, and,
although it may be right to give surplus
room in April this year, it is very seldom
indeed that the season will warrant such a
proceeding.

But, while we enfoice these facts by w;;y
of caution so far as ordinary seasons go
we cannot shut our eyes to the exceptionally
favourable nature of the early bee season
as it comes before us. Only yesterday (the
24th) a well-finished sample of this season's
sections was brought to this office by a
gentleman who is but a young bee-keeper,
residing at Malvern Links. The crate

62

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

April 27, 18&&

was put on the hive cm Easter Monday, the
3rd, and removed filled on the 19 th inst. !
Again, a clergyman writing from Cheshire
(not an early county) on the 22nd, says :
"It is a wonderful season for honey. I
never knew so much in my hives at so early
a date." Another correspondent writes of
a veteran bee-keeper of eighty-six declaring
that he "never knew such a spring for
bees." How long these conditions will
continue, who knows 1 We may be
feeding our bees in May, so let us make
hay while the sun shines ; bat remember
many things may change before the honey
season proper opens in June.

LANTERN SLIDES IN GERMANY.

A correspondent in Germany (Herr H.
Beepens, Hesse Darmstadt), referring to
the lantern slides on bee-subjects, writes as
follows : —

"As I read so much in the British
Bee Journal about lantern slides for bee-
lecturing, I have imported a set. This
kind of slides have hitherto been quite un-
known in Germany, and I am hopeful they
will be a success here."

We are pleased to receive the above com-
munication in view of the fact that the
B. B. K. A. has recently done itself honour
by electing several of the most eminent Ger-
man bee-masters to membership as Hon.
Members and Hon. Foreign Corresponding
Members. We have no doubt that an
extended interchange of thought on bee-
subjects will take place between the two
countries. America, France, and Switzerland
are also now represented on the membership
list of the British Bee-keepers' Association
by no less eminent hee-keepers in their
respective countries, including the Rev. L.
L. Langstroth.

ESSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Annual Meeting.

The thirteenth annual meeting of the Essex
Eke-keepers' Association was held at Chelms-
ford on Saturday, April 8th — Mr. Edward
Durrant presiding. The accounts presented
showed that, although the expenditure for the
year had exceeded the income by 12/., there was
still a balance to the good of several pounds.
It appeared from the revenue working of the
year, that the expert's salary for spring and

autumn tours, and commission as collector, was*
59/.; the expenditure on prizes and show?,, 54/-;:
and the cost of Hec *rds given to cottage mem-
bers, about 5/. Contributions in the shape of
special prizes and grants from the societies in.
connexion with which the shows were held met
45/. of the show expenses, while the annual sub-
scriptions amounted to 84/. Commenting, in his-
report, on the financial position, the Hon. Secre-
tary explained that for some years past, as they
had widened the sphere of their work, they had
been working beyond their income. Year by
year they had b^en drawing upon capital which
had accrued during comparative inaction, until
what was a fe w years ago a balance in hand of:
over 30/. was reduced to one of 71. The time
had arrived when they would lie killed by over-
work unless they could obtain an increase of
their annual income, or, as an alternative, were
to revert to the management of former days —
that is, hold no shows, no longer send the
Record free to cottagers and labourers for a
nominal subscription of 2s. 6c/. and Is., and re-
duce the expert's visits to members to one in
each season. This, it was hoped, would not be-
come necessary, as the expenditure of the past
had been amply justified by the work done and
the marked success attained. The report went
on to state that the regular work of the Asso-
ciation had been supplemented by their having
given pioneer lectures and tent demonstrations
in connexion with grants made by the County
Council for technical instruction in bee-keeping,,
but up to the present the Technical Instruction.
Committee had not sanctioned the scheme sub-
mitted to them by the Association for giving
real technical education in bee-keeping by means
of classes, in the same way as any other subject
would be taught. The Secretary's report and
the accounts were adopted. The Association
will therefore continue its work as heretofore —
at any rate, for the present year — awaiting the
result of the intimation thus made public.
According to the expert's report, the members
have now upwards of 1400 hives in their pos-
session, and these are visited twice during the
season by Mr. Debnam. He said foul brood
existed in some four districts in the county, but
not to any great extent, and he was gradually
reducing it. The past season was but a " mode-
rate" one. Several members had taken as much
as half a ton of honey — one, a farmer, wTho told
him it was his best crop, having been able to
dispose of the whole of it at 9d. a pound. Some
of their cottage members, too, had made a profit
of over 10/. on a few well-kept hives. Lady
Brooke was re-elected President, and the other-
officers were also re-appointed, Mr. A. Barnard,
being added on the Committee. The re-appoint-
ment of the Hon. Secretary was accompanied
by an expression of thanks lo Mr. Meggy for his
past service.". Mr. Meggy reported that he had
applied for a grant of 30/. to enable them to
hold an exhibition at Komford on the occasion
of the Agricultural Society's Show on June 14th
and 15th, and it was left to the Committee u>
draw up a schedule should a grant be made.

April 27, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

163

LEICESTERSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.
The Annual Meeting of this Association was
held in the Mayor's Parlour, Old Town Hall, on
Saturday, the 15th inst. The Mayor (Alderman
Underwood) presided, and among those present
■were the Mavoress, the Rev. T. C. Deeming,
Messrs. W. S. Fulshaw, W. P. Meadows, T.
Carter, J. Cooper, T. B. Widdowson, J. Water-
field, H. Westm, J. Underwood, and G. Mun-
day, Miss E. Chester, Mrs. Fulshaw, and Miss
A.'Throsby, Mr. H. M. Riley (Hon. Secretary),
and Mr. H. M. Riley, jun.

To the annual report, which was taken as
read, was appended the balance-sheet for 1892,
from which it appeared that the year com-
n enced with a credit balance of 8/. 8s. ohd., and
ended with an almost precisely similar balance.
The meeting next proceeded with the election
of officers for the year 1893, and the Hon.
Secretary, Mr. H. M. Riley, having intimated
that it would be impossible for him to continue
to act as Secretary, the Mayor remarked that
the Society was very much indebted to Mr.
Rilev for his useful services ; he had brought
the Society into a solvent condition with a con-
siderable balance in hand. After some dis-
cussion, Mr. H. M. Riley, jun., wa-> appointed
Secretary, on the understanding that he would
receive the support of his father. Mr. H. M.
Riley was appointed Treasurer for the ensuing
year.

The following were elected to form the Com-
mittee : — Revs. M. A. Thomson, Thistleton,and
T. C. Deeming; Councillor Bowles, Miss E.
Chester, Miss A. Thorsby, Messrs. T. Carter,
L. Fosbrooke, W. P. Meadows, J. Cooper, T. J.
Clarke, T. B. Widdowson, Fewkes, and C. Red-
shaw. Mr. G. Munday was appointed expert
for the ensuing year.

The Mayor then distributed the prizes won
during the year at the Agricultural Show and
the Abbey Park Show, after which Mr. Riley
moved a vote of thanks to the County Council
for their grant of 5(W. Of that sum 42/. had
been spent, the greater part in lectuivs in dif-
ferent parts of the county. He hoped the
Council would see their way to increase the
grant to 120/. or 150/., so that a permanent
qualified expert could be engaged. The resolu-
tion was adopted.

The Mayor testified to the interest he had
taken for many years in bee-keeping. He used
wooden hives forty years ago with little windows
and zinc slides, so that he could observe the
insects' habits. He wished their Society every
success. With the grant from the County
Council they ought to be able to diffuse their
influence throughout the county. He considered
that the grant of 50/. was a good beginning, and
he hoped they would succeed in securing an
increased amount.

A vote of thanks was passed to the Mayor,
and Mr. Meadows then gave an interesting
address on the " Wells " hive, one of which he
exhibited and sold to the Mayor. — Com-
municated.

ASSOCIATIONS IX SURREY AND
DORSET.

It is proposed to form an Association in the
district of Warlingham, in Surrey Any bee-
keepers or others interested and willing to assist
are requested to communicate with Dr. H. H.
Church, Sunny Bank, Warlingham, Surrey.

Bee-keepers in Dorset will be glad to hear
that an Association is also being formed for the
district of Sherborne. Any willing to assist
in any way or join should commuuicate with
Mr. G. Seeding, Bradford Abbas, Sherborne,
Dorset.

PROPOSED BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION FOR NORTHUMBERLAND AND
DURHAM.

In furtherance of this proposal we are re-
quested to state that a public meeting will be
held at Lockhart's Cafe, St. Nicholas Square,
Newcastle-on-Tyne, on Wednesday, May 3rd.
Invitations are being sent to all the local bee-
keepers whose addresses are known, but it is
hoped that any of our readers in the locality
who may not have received one will nevertheless
attend. Business will commence at seven
o'cl >ck, preceded by a tea at six o'clock, at
which all have the option of joining (Lock-
hart's prices). Communication^ on the subject
should be addressed to the Hon. Secretary,
Northern Allotment Society, 40 Dean Street,
Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Correspondence.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re.
quested to write on one bide of the paper only, and give their
real names and addresses, not necessarily for publica'ion, but
us a guarantee of goodfaith. Illustrations should >e drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports oj Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes^ Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the * British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed to " The
Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17 King William
.-treet, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

*** 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.

[1408.] The weather is still fine and dry.
It is now fifty-six days since we had any rain.
Yesterday (Sunday) week we had a slight
shower in the evening, but not enough to lay
the dust ; not a single storm during March after
the first day, and now not a shower in April !
How can May bring forth fine flowers ? No
doubt we shall get abundance of flowers in

164

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 27, 1893.

May — many that ought not to show bud till
June under ordinary conditions— but from the
short, stunted growth of the plants I cannot see
huw the flowers will be fine or full of honey.
A high barometer and thermometer, cloudless
skies, with easterly winds are the prevailing con-
ditions week after week. The bees have made
good progress, and have been busy on the broad
range of forage induced by the brilliant sun-
shine into bloom nearly a month earlier
than usual. How it will influence the usual
honey-producing plants in June, time only
will prove. In those districts which have been
favoured with rain, no doubt vegetation is pro-
gressing very fast, and where bees are in con-
dition to take advantage of the early honey-
flow, we shall hear of early supers of honey
being secured.

The season of shows will soon be coming on,
and committees or councils will be getting out
their schedules. I would suggest classes for
small apiaries — Bay, under five hives — having a
class to themselves ; and also the cottagers should
be scheduled by themselves, and not be expected
to compete with the squire and parson ; and,
above all, do not tie your exhibitors down in the
matter of a quarter of an inch of lace-edged
paper in glazing their sections ; this may have
the effect of keeping good exhibits out of the
show. I consider that every inducement should
be given to bee-keepers to exhibit the produce
of their apiaries — either honey, wax, or even
bees — and that it is a deterrent to impose ri-
diculous restrictions on exhibitors. I notice in
the regulations of the " British," at the next
Royal Agricultural Show, that the three-
eighths of an inch rule still applies in regard to
the width of the lace-edged paper on the face of
the section ; but after repeated trials to get a
paper with a neat edging of three-eighths of an
inch wide, I have had to take the kind our
Berlin cousins make for other purposes, which is
half an inch wide, such as I have used on my
exhibits at most of the large provincial and
London shows during the last few years ; so if
I use the half-inch, I am handicapped by a
weight, not a width, that precludes my exhibit
taking a prize.

The subject of self-hivers does not appear
likely to be taken up so strongly as some sub-
jects that have been discussed in the columns of
B. B. J., such as bottles, stardard frames, ard
lately the " Wells " system of bee-keeping. The
subject is a new one which the majority have
not given a passing thought to, and the past few
poor bee seasons have not induced a lot of
swarming. But when we get a return of
swarming seasons, as undoubtedly we shall, then
the utility of self-hiving appliances will be
forcibly brought to the mind of the bee-keeper
who bemoans the loss of several swarms which
have betaken themselves to the church tower or
some other unreachable place. To the few-
pioneers in the craft who have been working out
the problem, each most likely on similar lines,
the appliances invented by Mr. Howard in this
country and by well-known bee-keepers in

America to secure the result so desirable to many
of us will most likely be tried by the few in the
coming season, and may prove the stepping-
stone to a consummation of our wishes in the
development of the perfected article in the near
future.

I notice friend " H. C.J." (1403, p. 155) does
not care much for the nomenclature of the colony
in the " Wells " system. Neither do I myself,
though I must admit that a spade may as well
be called a spade, for a' that. If " H. C. J." pur-
chases any of the hives that have been illustrated
in recent issues of B. B. J., he will find that they
have been to all intents and purposes designed to
hold two colonies, one on each side of the
dividing-board, be it a plain or a perforated one;
and I contend further that to call the honey
stored by these two colonies, though it may be
in one super, the produce of one stock will be
misleading.

Ther., as to nucleus stocks having brood up to
the division-board of the " Wells " hive : I had
occasion on Saturday last to open a twin -hive
of two driven lots last autumn, and each of
these was located close up to the division-
board (a plain one), with brood up to the
board both sides of it, and I heard the other
day from Mr. "Walton of a case exactly the
same. Perhaps in each case it may be the
result of the continued heat-wave rather than of
either system.

Mr. Taylor's article, as our Editor remarks on
page 142, gives the reverse side of the question
of self-hivers. Then another Mr. Taylor, in the
same number of the Revieio, goes in for re-
volving hives, hoping to develop a non-swarm-
ing system ; yet any number of hives can, he
hopes, by this system be worked as one colony
in socialist style. This Mr. Taylor, of Forrest -
ville, Minn., has no confidence in non-swarming
traps or self-hivers. Some writers are as hopeful
of practical results from self-hivers as others
are doubtful.

The Editor of the Review has a short article
on the " Wells" System. I notice, he saj^s, that
the dummy of the " Wells " hive is made of
perforated metal — this is a mistake. I think
Mr. Wells uses and advocates wood dummies.
He also argues that the adoption of the plan is
really an acknowledgment that the queen's
power is limited, or that we are using too large
brood chambers — though he (the Editor) ad-
mits that a point is gained by the combined heat
of the two colonies in building-up in the
spring.

Will those who adopt the system take notes
of the state of the bees at the entrance of the
" Wells " hives compared to ordinary one-colony
hives, and see if the " Wells" hive does or does
not save the bees a lot of wing-labour, fanning
at the entrances. One would suppose that with
a perforated division- board a current of cool
air would circulate from hive to hive or
from entrance to entrance, especially where
the entrances are located near each end
of the hive. — W. Woodley, World's End,
Newbury.

April 27, 1893. J

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

Ib5

SELF-HIVERS AND QUEEN-TRAPS.

[1409.] I have been much interested in reading
in the B.J. of April 18th (p. 141) the article
on " Self-Hivers, taken from the Bee-keepers'
Review, and gather from it that, in the opinion
of the writer, queen-traps will answer far better
than any hiver thus far introduced. I shall
feel very much obliged if you will say whether
there is really any serious objection to the use
of these queen-traps, which I presume are
similar to drone-traps. I have only a few
stocks, and it would be very easy for me to
place the traps at each entrance before leaving
home in the morning and remove them in the
evening. I should then feel no anxiety as to
possible loss of queen, with swarm, during my
absence. But what would be more important
And desirable would be the means of telling at
a glance which stock had swarmed.

After all, is not a self-hiver an enlarged
queen-trap ? and, if the first is likely to answer,
why not the latter, whieh is much cheaper and
more easily fixed ? Of course I should say that
it would be absolutely necessary to examine the
traps daily ; but where few drones are allowed,
there would not be much blocking of the passage-
ways?, more particularly if the trap could be
made to extend across the entrance front of the
hive. However, 1 will wait your valuable
advice before trying the plan. — H. Livermore,
Enfield.

[Had there been any "serious objection" to
the use of a queen-trap, Ave may be sure that so
experienced a bee-keeper as Mr. Taylor would
not have given it his approval. We are not
conversant with the special form of queen-trap
used in America, but a "trap" cannot in any
sense be called a "self-hiver," seeing that the
latter, to be true to its name, is supposed to
relieve the bee-keeper of trouble in hiving
swarms, while the former only prevents the
swarm decamping by securing the queen. The
objection to the old form of drone-trap (Aston's)
being applied for the purpose is its smallness,
and the serious way in which it reduces the
size of doorways, and thus impedes the free
working of such large colonies of bees as are
seen nowadays. If, however, the principle of
Aston's trap could be embodied in one of larger
size, with a sufficiently large receptacle of some
sort below to serve as a shade to the swarm, it
might perhaps be made to answer the purpose
of a queen-trap and swarm-catcher. The points
to be borne in mind when considering such an
arrangement are to secure a cheap and simple
contrivance — easily attached to, or removed
from, an ordinary hive — which, without seri-
ousty interfering with ventilation, allows plenty
of free passage-way to the bees. So far as we
can gather, the self-hiver proper, which has so
far been most successful in this country in ac-
complishing its object is that of Mr. Sheppard.
which we reproduce here for the benefit of
those who are unacquainted with its form.
With the above either a frame hive or a skep
.{as shown in sketch) may be used as a receptacle

for the swarm, and should the swarm not have
" come off " during the day, it is a very simple

Sheppard's Self-Hivek.
matter to remove the empty hive in the evening
for the purpose of clearing away any dead
drones, or for other purposes, such as inspection,
&c. We have heard of several swarms being
hived la-t year with the above.

Howard's Self-Hiver and Super-Clearer.
Then th^re is another self-hiver — from which
good results are confidently expected — now
being brought out by its inventor, Mr. J. H.
Howard, whose practical experience both as a
bee-keeper and manufacturer ought to give some
assurance of its value. It also serves the
double purpose of hiver and super-clearer. The
above cut shows its form.

TWIN HIVES.

[1410.] I have been greatly interested in read-
ing in the B.B.J, week after week about the so-
called Wells system, and, with your permission,
will give my experience with twin hives. I
have four such hives in work at present ; the

166

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April .7, 189*.

tirst I bought in 188tf at the Devon County
Show at Barnstaple, and, as it now appears that
twin hives are coming again to the front, I may
say that 1 consider it the best hive yet seen. Mine
holds eighteen standard frames in brood cham-
bers, parted with a small-hole perforated zinc
dummy. I have room on top for two crates of
shallow frames or sections, but I prefer two
tiers of standard frames to one standard and one
shallow. I never have any bother about swarm-
ing by giving the queen plenty of room — say,
eighteen standard frames, nine under and nine
on top, with abundance of ventilation. I have
a piece of perforated zinc fixed in the floor-
board, with a tunnel underneath the latter.
When taking honey, I always pick out the best
combs for use in the brood chamber, and melt
down the other. I don't believe in keeping old
combs for use in brood chambers, preferring to
use full sheets of fresh foundation each year.
I can get my stocks up str >nger in the spring in
this way than by using old worked-out combs.
I have had splendid takes of honey from these
twin hives, one of them turning out as much
honey per season with me as three ordinary ten-
frame hives. I see a correspondent (1354, p. 87)
says that all double hives are " formidable
affairs to manage," but such has not been my
experience, extending since 1888 ; but I can't
agree with Mr. Wells about the entrances. I
like one in front and the other at the end.
Bees have never been so strong with me as
this year. I never saw them so forward in the
first week of April. One stock of hybrid
Ligurians quite fill the hive, and I shall have
to give them an extra lot of frames. — W. A.
S. M., North Devon.

DOUBLE-QUEENED HIVES AND THEIR
MANAGEMENT.

[1411.] I am sure we have all read your
charming account of a visit to the apiary of Mr.
Wells at Aylesford with the greatest pleasure.
The description presents us with a picture which
we all love to dwell upon, and it is satisfactory
to know that all the stocks were in such excel-
lent condition. I do not think it necessary to
remind you that the month of April is hardly
the time for bees to be bad-tempered and un-
manageable, nor do I think it necessary to argue
whether Mr. W7ells is entitled to be described as
an expert — [ mean a great expert — for, accepting
your own account of him, I am quite sure his
modesty will not suffer if we say he is a great
expert.

But what strikes me as being important is the
description which you give of the system, viz.,
" the double-queen system," whereas some of us
consider it more correct to say " the twin " or
" double-stock system." And if we are going to
judge of its advantages over the single -stock
system by comparison of results, it is necessary
to start with a good understanding on this
point. For myself, I have no hesitation in
saying that the Wells apiary consists of twenty

stocks of bees, and if the net product exceed*
that of twenty stocks under the management of
Mr. Hooker, or of either of our Editors — in which
case the difficulty of manipulation will not be-
considered — on the single-stock system, we shall
have no hesitation in making our friend blushi
by describing him as a benefactor to the human
race !

Having myself experienced the difficulty of
teaching young beginners how to manage the
ordinary ten-bar frame hive, with its sections
and supers, and all its various parts, which are
always expensive enough to deter many from
becoming bee-keepers, and difficult enough of
management to disgust many others, it seems
only charitable to advise young beginners'
not to plunge into a system which appears to-
increase both these difficulties until we have a
unanimous verdict in its favour. — Thos. F.
Ward, Highgate, April 22nd.

P.S. — I note another failure in last issue,,
1403, p. 155.

AN EARLY SWARM.

[1412.] The enclosed cutting is from the-
Pall Mall Gazette of to-day's date. I thought
perhaps it might interest some of your readers
who keep records. — Lower Edmonton,,
April 2\st.

" A letter from Sevenoaks chronicles a swarm
of bees near that place. The fine weather
which we have been enjoying, and more especi-
ally the high temperature of the last few days,,
has, of course, been the cause of this ; for,r
although the eggs of the bee are frequenth
hatched in small numbers in the spring, and!
even earlier, it is seldom indeed that a swarm
takes place before the later spring months, as,
until then, the weather is not usually sufficiently
warm to cause the hatching of the eggs in
large numbers, and in so short a space of time-
as to cause a general exodus, known as swarming,,
of this useful insect. There is an old saying,.
' A swarm in May is worth a load of hay, a
swarm in June is worth a silver spoon, and a
swarm in J uly is not worth a fly ; ' but we are-
not told what is the value of a swarm in ApriL
At any rate, such an event is not in the recol-
lection of the inhabitants of Sevenoaks."

BEE-KEEPING AS TAUGHT IN
SCHOOLS.

[1413.] The enclosed somewhat modifies the*
statement published in the Standard, and in-
serted in the B. J. for February last (p. 75) : —

Extract from Letter to " E. D. T."
" Hearing that there was a school teacher not
far from here (Darmstadt) who was a very suc-
cessful bee-keeper, I paid him a visit a few days
ago. This gentleman informs me I am mistaken
in thinking that the Government brought any
pressure to bear upon teachers regarding their
taking up bee-keeping, &c. He says that most-

April 27, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

167

teachers, like himself, first took up whatever
branch they may pursue as an amusement, and
profitably followed it with energy. He himself
at one time sold as much as 16 cwt. of honey in
a season. He told me that in former days
masters from all the villages round about used
to visit him to profit by his experience ; he was
also at one time a travelling teacher for a bee-
keeping Association, having its headquarters at
this town, receiving six marks a day and
travelling expenses (very high pay for Ger-
many).

"From what he said, I gathered that neither
fa) mers nor their wives had, as a rule, time for
bee-keeping or careful poultry-farming, all their
labour being needed for the field. Farmers, as
you know, employ little labour here, working
their farms by means of their wives and children ;
but still, this gentleman and the chief of the
Agricultural Department said that undoubtedly
the fact of teachers turning their attention to
such industries had had a very beneficial effect,
the innumerable agricultural societies started for
the encouraging of every branch of agriculture
finding ready agents in them for disseminating
particulars of new methods, recent discoveries,
&c, besides their value as mentioned in my last
letter as models.

" I found that the teacher I visited was fully
acquainted with the methods of bee-keeping in
vogue in the principal countries in the world,
the different kinds of hives used, &c— all this
learned by means of the reports of the bee-
keeping Associations."

1 send the above thinking you might deem it
of sufficient interest for insertion in the B. J. —
E. D. Till, Eynsford, Kent.

WAGES OF LABOURERS.

[1414.] Is not Mr. Woodley (on p. 137 of
B. J.) making some mistake as regards the rate
of wages of agricultural labourers in his county ?
In mine they get from 13s. 6d. to 18s. per
week, with extras during haymaking and
harvest, and, in addition to these, the wife
and bairns get a good extra haul at hop-picking.

One of my two hives is already working well
in supers, so I hope we shall all have a good
honey harvest. — East Kent, April 2\st.

oth trom tb* Slides

Hanley Castle, Worcester, April \&th, — I am
pleased to say my sixteen stocks of bees have
wintered well— better than ut-ual, and at the
present time are exceptionally strong in numbers.
Hives that were very light in weight three
weeks since are now quite heavy with the new
nectar from the fruit-blossoms. They have not
been supplied with liquid food, only soft candy
up to six weeks ago. To-day I went round ihe
hives to remove empty candy-boxes, when to

my surprise I found one had been nearly filled
with new comb and honey. This I have supered.
At our Association's annual meeting on Saturday
1 was told there was great mortality amongst
the bees this spring in the neighbourhood of
Evesham. Could this be owing to the spraying
of fruit-trees with a solution of Paris green ? I
am not aware of any undue mortality in my own
apiary. — Ohas. H. Haynes.

Northampton, April 23rd. — The current
month promises to be as dry as its predecessor,
for " np to date " only "25 inches of rain has
fallen. Of this small quantity, "12 inch fell
last Sunday after dark. Monday was dull and
cold, and, much to my surprise and disgust, five
of my stocks indulged in a bout of infanticide
and fratricidal ostracism. Subsequent examina-
tion proved that neither lack of food nor space
gave rise to this untoward outbreak. Chill,
again, could not have been the cause, as that
would not have necessitated the expulsion of
mature and aged drones. I'm puzzled. On
Tuesday temperature rose again, and though the
drought is unusually severe, bees are doing well,
supers are on, and in one case I hear that
sections have been taken off. There are a few
cases of reported queenlessness ; but, speaking
generally, stocks are at least five weeks for-
warder than they were at this time last year.
Apple blossom is the chief source of income jii-t
now. — E. B.

uertes anb Replies.

[757.] The Wells Perforated Divider. —The
account of the editorial visit to Mr. Wells'
apiary on p. 151 of B. J. for April 20th will be
welcome to many. Will you allow one more
question about the thin wood dividers ? The
difficulty of course is to prevent warping, and
Mr. Wells has told us that he relies on an
edging of tin. I have never been able to under-
stand how this can be applied so as to act as
desired. In your description of the divider
there is no mention of strips of tin If these
have not been abandoned, will you kindly let us
know more about them? — South Devon
Enthusiast,

Reply. — The divider is bound on three sides
by tin strips, but the perforations prevent warp-
ing.

[758.] Queen-traps. — Can you tell me what
the queen-trap is which i.s spoke of so favourably
by Mr. Taylor in your quotation from the Bee'
keepers' Revieiv, on p. 142 ? I have not seen
such a thing in any bee catalogue. I presume
it is not what we call a drone-trap — which, by
the way, is an article I have never used. I have
an apiary some three miles from home and not
being able to be there much in the dnytime, I
si ffer from the loss of swarms. T do not see
thai any of the self-livers as yet brought out

168

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 27, 1893.

would answer in my case because the bees are
in a lock-up house or shed, each hive having a
separate entrance through the (wooden) walls of
the same, and they are, moreover, on two shelves,
one above the other. I should be glad to hear
of an inexpensive method of trapping the queen,
such as that referred to in the above article. Can
you make it clear ? — S. W. R., Berks.

Reply. — The queen-trap referred to by Mr.
Taylor is an American arrangement, fixed to the
outside of hives, by means of which queens
attempting to lead off swarms are captured and
not allowed to re-enter the hive. We think
there would be no difficulty in our appliance-
makers devising such a trap if a demand for it
arose.

[759.] Wasps' Nests about Beehives. — 1. I
found the enclosed under the roof of one of my
hives. Will you kindly tell me through the
Journal what it is? Perhaps it may be
interesting to readers of the Journal to describe
it. 2. Can you tell me the reason of so many
young bees and young drones being thrown out
half dead from one of my frame hives ? They
have plenty of stores, and are very warm and
strong. 8. Does any expert travel through the
Isle of Wight — and his address, please ? By so
doing you will oblige — A. E. James, Ryde.

Reply. — 1. The "enclosed" referred to is a
wasp's nest in an early stage of construction.
They are not at all uncommon about hive roofs,
bee-houses, and such-like places, besides being
not seldom found built inside empty hives when
the latter are left untenanted with entrances
open. The cut below illustrates the way in
which a wa.-p's nest is built on the underside of

an empty frame. 2. It is very difficult to
account for the way in which young, just
hatched bees crawl or are cast out of hives in
spring. Such things, however, do occur every
year in siihh apiaries from causes sometimes
accountable, but more frequently when no valid
reason can be offered for it. It may be said
that the warmth tempts the baby bees ou'side,
and the slanting alighting-board forms a precipice
down which they roll, never to return. Any-
way, in the case referred to by our correspondent,
when the stock is strong with plenty of stores
and warmly packed, we give up guessing. 3.
Mr. J. J. Candey, Landport, Isle of Wight, will
inform you as to expert wrork in his county.

[760.] Remedying Faulty Combs. — Two of
my frame hives have each two or three combs
in middle of brood nest that are very uneven,
in one case two combs being joined firmly

together. Can you advise me as to how I can
replace them with new frames without destroy-
ing the brood ? They are too bad to gradually
move to the side of the hive, for they will not
fit near a straight comb. — F. Howell, Dorset,
April 21 st.

Reply. — It is quite impossible to remedy the
mischief complained of without destroying
brnod. In fact, every faulty comb will re-
produce its faults on the comb built next to it
unless the uneven surface can be pared down
and made straight before inserting a sheet of
foundation in the adjoining: frame. This bein^
so, advantage must be taken when the distorted
combs are broodless to either remove them alto-
gether or repair them as stated.

[761.] Carniolan Bees and Increase. —
1. I should be glad if you would tell me what
breed the enclosed bees are. 2. I have a nine-
framed stock of the same, and want to make
as many stocks during this season as possible,
as I want bees and not honey. Seven of the
frames are filled with brood in different stages ;
can you assist me, or have you one of your
Journals with instructions how to act ? I
should add tbat the queen of the stock referred
to was bred last June. — Charles Grant,
Merton, April 17th.

Reply. — 1. The bees sent are well-marked
Carniolans. 2. In view of the facts, (a) that
seven of the nine frames are " filled with
brood," (b) that the bees are Carniolans, and,
(c) that the weather just now is more like
June than April, we should say it is very pro-
bable that a natural swarm will issue shortly ;
and, if this occurs, the swarm might be set on
the old stand in a new hive, while the combs
and brood of the parent stock are divided into
lots of three frames, with a queen-eell for each,
and established as nucleus colonies. To give
full instructions for dealing with nuclei — beyond
saying that each lot will require to be confined
by division-boards, warmly wrapped, and fed —
would occupy too much space. The Guide-book
or some other work on bee-keeping would, there-
fore, have to be consulted.

[762.] Supering Wells Hives. — On Saturday,
the 15th inst., 1 placed two strong stocks in a
'• Wells" hive and they settled down quite
amicably. How soon after putting two stocks
together in this way may supers be put on ? —
H. Livermork, Enfield.

Reply. — We should say that a week or ten
days woidd be ample time for the bees to acquire
an odour common to both.

[763.] Moving Bees in April. — My neighbours
complain of my bees being too near their gardens,
and I should rather move them if I can do so
with safety, but cannot manage a greater dis-
tance than twenty yards. 1. Do you advise me
to move them? 2. Can I change the frames
and bees of one hive into a new one I am having
built, as the old one is not weather-proof, and I
can only put one crate of sections on it, while

April 27, 1893]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

169-

the new hive will hold two ? 3. What is the
proper sugar to use for syrup? I have tried
preserving and Porto Rico — the bees don't seem
to like the last-mentioned so well. — L.C. ,Wylde
Green, Warwickshire.

Reply. — 1. It is a had time of year to move
bees twenty yards, but, if compelled to do so, it
might be weil to read the particulars regarding
moving given by Mr. John Walton on p. 158 of
last week's B. J. 2. Yes, so long as the frames
of both hives are same size. 3. Refined pure
cane sugar is best for syrup ; Porto Rico is only
used for " dry-sugar feeding."

[764.] Buying Diseased Bees. — A few months
ago I bought three hives of bees froma person
in this village wbo was leaving here. Yesterday
they were examined by a neighbour who under-
stands bees, and he tells me that they are all
affected with foul brood — two very much so,
and one only slightly. As I am quite inex-
perienced in bee-keeping, I am venturing to ask
if you would kindly advise me as to what I
should do. Is there any way of curing this
disease, or ought I to have the bees destroyed
at once ? The hives are wooden frame hives.
I shall feel very grateful if you will advise me
as to the best course to pursue.— E. W., Bled-
low, Bucks, April 21st.

Reply. — The " neighbour who understands
bees " will, no doubt, be able to advise as to the
best course to pursue, as he has seen the stocks.
If the two badly affected hives are weak in bees,
destruction is the best course. If they are
strong enough to be worth saving, they might
be removed from the diseased combs and united
so as to form one lot for putting in a clean hive
on full sheets of foundation, and afterwards fed
on medicated syrup. The hives in which the
bees now are will require thorough disinfection
before being again used.

[765.] Size of Brood Chambers — Salicylic
Acid Solution. — I have three movable-comb
hives, and as they contain fairly strong stocks, I
intend trying the storifying system, but being
only a young hand, I should like to ask: 1.
Should the bottom hive, or brood chamber, be
filled with combs to its full capacity, or only
a limited number left for breeding ? One of the
hives holds fourteen, and the other two eighteen
combs in each ; the bees now cover ten and
twelve combs respectively. 2. When should I
commence storifying ? 3. What strength should
salicylic acid solution be for spraying combs and
mixing with syrup ? 4. Do you recommend
artificial swarming, or allowing the bees to
swarm naturally ? — G. G., Cardiff.

Reply. — 1. Ten, or at most twelve, standard
frames are sufficient for brood nest. 2. The
stock with bees covering twelve frames now
should be ready for supering as soon as honey
can be had. 3. Salicylic acid solution, for
spraying combs : — Acid, 1 ounce ; soda borax,
1 ounce ; water, 4 pints. For medicating bee-
syrup, use one ounce of above solution to ten
pounds sugar. 4. Natural swarming is far pre-
ferable for a beginner.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers-

W. J. C. (Stockwell). — Queen found Dead in
Cage. — We can gather nothing from the de-
tails given which will enable us to say more
than that the queen was probably starved to
death with cold, in consequence of the cage
not being surrounded by bees. Nothing is
said as to whether the foul-broody stock built
out the combs from the foundation, nor is the
strength or otherwise of the stock stated. But
the natural inference is, that the stock was a
poor one with not many bees, and the latter
being themselves in an abnormal condition,
they let the queen die of cold and neglect.

H. C. Fknton (Basingstoke). — Comb sent con-
tains only dried pollen, the sealed cells with
sunken cappings is simply honey capped over.
There is no tiace of foul-brood, so if the other
combs are similarly free, there is no reason
why the bees should not be "united" as
proposed.

G. B. — Honey and Rheumatism. — So far from
the use of honey tending to increase rheu-
matic trouble, it is supposed to have just the
contrary effect. Indeed, we have personal
cognisance of a case in which the use of sugar
was given up and honey substituted with very
beneficial effect.

W. Morris (Kidderminster). — Re-queening. —
Judging by the past history of the stock, it is
doubtful it the bees would raise a queen from
eggs given. Besides, is it quite certain that
the queen's supposed decaying powers are the
real cause of the stock dwindling, and that
disease is not at the bottom of the mischief ?
The bee-keeper who advised re-queening might
give his opinion on this point after inspecting
the hive.

Clara Sollas (North Finchley). — Suspected
Queenlessness. — Beyond searching for the
queen, there is no means of deciding whether
the stock is queenless, other than by ex-
amining the combs for brood or eggs. From
the other details given we fear there is more
than a suspicion that the weak stock is not in
healthy condition.

T. G. Bevan (Ellesmere). — The advertisement
in each issue of B.J. makes it -clear that the
dealer referred to is still in business.

Hy. Rogers (Kings Norton).— Messrs. W. H.
Smith & Son take a large supply of the B.J.
weekly, so if ordered beforehand there will
be no difficulty in obtaining the paper.

M. Thomas (Hawkhurst). — Dead Brood in
Combs. — So far as the mischief has gone, it is
only a case of "chilled brood." Have the
hives been overdosed with any remedy u«ed
as a preventive of foul brood ? We ask this
question because of having seen the results of
such treatment, where the brood was forsaken
by the bees and left to die.

*#* Several Queries, tyc, are held over till
next xveek.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 27, 1893.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

BEE SEEDS recommended by Bee-keepers, guaranteed
bast sorts, 13 large Packets, Is., post free. Address
J. Bennett, Bee-keeper, Seedsman, and Florist, 178 Spon
Street, Coventry.

STRONG- Healthy Swarms of English Bees, ready first
week in May. Foul brood unknown in my Apiary.
Expert declares county free. Orders booked now, eser-uted
in rotation. Address Edward Gibbins, Neath, Glamor-
ganshire.

SECTION'S, one pound each, wanted, Clover or flleataer ;
crop 1832. Must b3 g >ol clear Honey, and well filled.
Apply or adiress Mr. Leitch, 203 St. George's Road,
'Glasgow. f . n.

STRONG HEALTHY SWARMS for S lie, 10s 6d. eaoh.
< trders taken in rotation Address E. Long, Cotten-
ham, Cambs. _6

FOR SALK.— Superior Queens, Stock", and Swarms,
English and ■ larniolan. Address Rev. C. Breeeton,
Pulborough, Sussex. f. n.

FOR SALE. — Strong healthy Swarms of English Bees,
reidv in May, 12s. 6d. each, box included. Address
Edward Gibbins, Neath. 2

FOR SALE. — Strong Stocks of Bees >n Standard Frames
or in Straw Skeps. Address James Weatherhead,
Ely, Cambridgeshire.

WANTED. — Apparatus, &c, connected with Bee-
culture. Also Curio=, Specimens. Honey, Wax,
■ Cells, &c. Address Burns, We~ifi<4d Housp, Fuiham.

/ 1 TTARANTEED Healthy Natural Swar ns of Pure
vJT Natives, 3£ to 4 lbs. weight, price 12s. 6d. Packing-
box included. Ready in May if weather continues favour-
able. Orders in rotation. Address Chas. Whiting, Valley
Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suffolk.

WANTED.— Clean, bonnd Volumes of B. B. Journal,
from 1887 to 1891 inclusive. Address Wi. Keene,
5 Mansell Road, Acton, W. a 10

GOOD 10-frame Hive, not Association size, with Section
Crates, 5s. Also other Section Crates and Wood
Super for Skeps. Address Kay, Waltham, Gt. Grimsby.

All

HEALTHY Natural May Swarms, 12s. 6d. ; Swarm "
box included. Cash with order. Address Alspord,
Expert, Blandford. A 12

JOINER Wanted that understands Bee- Appliance Mak-
ing. Cottage found. Address E. C. Walton, Musk
ham, Newark. A 13

ON SALE, a lot of Hives, two Observatory Hives, Ex-
tractor, and other Appliances, Cheap. Apply Daniel,
•Croft Mill, Chorley, Lancashire. a I5

STOCKS.— Two very Strong Stocks for Sale, in good
Regulation Frame Hives. Address Wilson, 15 Wells
Road, Sydenham. a 16

FOR SALE.— Skeps of Bees, 12s. 6d. each ; Early Swarms,
10s. 6d. ; Packing, Is. extra, but after May, free.
"Wanted, 4 x4J Sections. Address, A. T.Wilmot, St. Albans.

a 18

FOR SALE. — Four Hives in good condition, Frame3,
Sections, and Smoker. Any reasonable offer taken.
iPhotos three stamps. Apply, Whitlock, Photo, West
Bromwich. a 19

WANTED. — Drawn-out Sections (any size), Standard
and Shallow Frames. Address, Kay, Park Cottage,
Wilmin ton, Kent. a 20

IpOR SALE. — A few Swarms; also Stocks in Second-
' hand Hives. Address, Geo. Childe, Semington.
Trowbridge. a 21

TTlOa SALE — Scrojg, Healthy Stocks of Bees in Neigh-
J1 hour's Large Skeps, 16s. ; on Standard Frames, 18s.
Address, J. S. Webb, Nymett House, Parkdale Roa'<,
Plumstead. a 22

HEALTHY NATURAL SWARMS, 12s. 6d., on Rail.
t> warm-box included. F"r nearly twenty yearslhave
-supplied very many swarms annually. Address, Alsporu,
Expert, B audloru, a 23

WEBSTER'S Book of Bee-keeping, post free, Is. 5
cloth, Is. 6d. W. B. Webster, Binfield, Berks.
" One of the best foreign works." — American Apiculturist.
" The matter is evidently the result of long personal ob-
servation, and is thoroughly reliable." — Bee-keepers' Record.
" Have much pleasure in recommending the manual to our
readers." — British Bee Journal.

H- ONET AND ITS USES. By theEev. Gerard
W. Bancks, M.A. Can be supplied at the
following rates, carriage paid : 3/6 per 100. 8/ per
250, 14/6 per 500. Specimen copy on application.
Address Durham House, Green Street Green,

Dartford. 6

GENUINE ITALIAN BEES.— Queens,
Swarms, Nuclei ; or Established on Fixed
and Movable Combs, at reasonable rates. Safe
arrival guaranteed. Price List post free.
L. E. Lambertenghi & Co., Caravaggio, Italy.

"m ©me ®mimt mn."

PURE, Prime SWARMS of my Selected
Strain of ENGLISH BEES, all 1892 Queens,
Packing-box, and put on Eail free, price 15s.
Address W. WOODLEY, World's End, Newbury.

(Telegrams — ' Ilsley, or Hampstead Norris.' Porterage 1/6.)
104

STEAM FACTORY for

■gUee Jlppltcmces.

EDEES addressed J. BOSS, Stranraer, Wig-
townshire, N.B., will be attended to.

o

C. NYE & SONS,

South of England

BEE-KEEPERS' STORES,

WESTERN STREET,

BRIGHTON.

Pure Brood Foundation, 2/- per lb.
,, Super „ 2/10 „

Special Quotations for a Quantity.
Illustrated Citibgue Post Free.

The Original and ONLY PERFECT

Preventive against STINGING.

PRICE AGAIN REDUCED. Quality Superior.

In Is. and 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 y«ars and
have lately purchased a bottle of this wonderful stuff, and
cannot persuade my bees to sting me do what I will wii h
them."

DARCY GRIMSHAW, Horsforth, Leeds.
Invaluable to Travellers Abroad as an ln*ec<ifugt.

THE

Stint Src Stand,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 567. Vol. XXI. N.S. 175.]

MAY 4, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

C^bitoial, Entires, fc

USEFUL HINTS.

Continuing our hints of last week, there
is] not much change to chronicle in the
weather. Rain so badly wanted still keeps
off, though as we write a slight sprinkling
has visited London and the suburbs, and
the clouds are gathering fast enough to
forecast a much-needed change ere long.
We hear of rain in the north as well as in
Scotland, so it is evidently " about."

Bees are still working busily in the apple
orchards and on the horse-chestnut now in
full bloom, along with many other honey
plants not usually looked for till the
middle or end of May. The cooler tempera-
ture of the last day or two has, however,
caused surplus storing to slacken off some-
what.

The Early Harvest. — We were not a
little amused a couple of days ago to hear
a cottager bee-keeper quite gravely speak-
ing of the honey harvest in his district
being over for this year. " You may
laugh," said he, " but bees get nothing
much with us after the apple-bloom, and
that is now nearly done." Fancy the
honey harvest being over on the 29 th
April ! However, he had secured a straw
u cap " of honey, and a dozen or so of
sections as his harvest for 1893, from his
couple of hives. Since last week several
good " takes " of sections have been reported
and more " samples " brought to this office
for inspection, so there is no mistake about
the past few weeks having yielded an
exceptionally good early harvest in some
districts. This fact and the knowledge
that bees are breeding very rapidly has
afforded an excellent opportunity for les-
sening the chance of swarming by giving
plenty of surplus room before preparations

for emigrating have been started by the
bees. Hives with two or three stories of
shallow frames or racks of sections have had
their brood chambers relieved from any-
thing like overcrowding, and consequent
development of the swarming impulse,
while the activity of the bees has been
gratified to the fullest extent.

'•'Wells" Hives. — We continue to receive
queries regarding these, and in view of the
nature of some inquiries sent, again strongly
impress upon readers — who have so far
made acquaintance with only the most ele-
mentary details of the double-queen system
— the necessity for making an effort to
master the important points essential to
the successful carrying of it out before
trying the plan at all. Otherwise failure
is almost sure to follow. We have no
hesitation in saying that inquirers are far
from being prepared for a safe stocking of
their " Wells " hives, whose present know-
ledge carries them no further than asking
if a queen-excluding dummy of the ordinary
excluder zinc will not be better than one of
perforated wood 1 Referring to the latter,
we append some details intended to follow
the remarks on p. 153 of B. J. for April
20th : — The divider is finished off by binding
it on three sides with strips of tin, which
makes it stronger and more durable. It
is important to burn the holes after the first
boring for several reasons, and this
" burning " is done very rapidly by Mr.
Wells, who has half a dozen of the
" sharpened-wire " tools in use, and all
" heating " at once. He withdraws one
from the fire, and, while red-hot, passes it
through several holes ; then uses another,
and so on till all are gone through. The
burning leaves no "burr" on the holes to
irritate the bees.

It is satisfactory to know that many who
claim to be little more than beginners are
doing very well with their double-queened

172

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 4, 1893.

hives, and are fully alive to all the care
needed in managing such hives. There is
also, so far as we can gather, no attempt at
rushing into the Wells system to the ex-
clusion of ordinary methods. The rule
appears to be a limiting of trials to one, or
at most two double-queened stocks, so the
system will have a fair trial in many hands
without a deal of either trouble or expense
on the part of experimenters. A few will
no doubt make a failure of it, as some do
with ordinary methods, but even the failure
will not be a serious one.

Age at which Virgin Queens Mate. —
Mrs. Jennie Atchley, who is known as
one of the most extensive queen-raisers in
America, writes in the American Bee
Journal regarding the age when virgin
queens mate : —

" On page 916 of Gleanings for December
15th, 1892, Mr. Wilder Graham says that
a queen must mate in twenty-one days, or
she never mates. Will Mr. Graham please
excuse me, when I say that he is wrong
again1? Now just listen, and I will show
where he is mistaken, and I will tell just
when a queen is past being impregnated.

" First I will say, that a good many
years ago, when I noticed a good deal said
on this subject, it put me to experimenting.
I have reared queens in November, kept
them till the next March, and had them
mate and lay all right ; and it was not only
one queen, or two, but, I think it will be
safe to say I have had a hundred so treated ;
and all of them, with a few exceptions,
have proved to winter over as virgins, and
then mate in the spring, and be just as
good as any of the rest. These queens
were never allowed to fly at all, as an ex-
cluder was placed over their hives before
they hatched, and remained there till spring.
" Right here I will relate a lesson that I
learned in these operations, that I probably
never would have learned any other way.
Now listen closely.

" I noticed that every single queen that
became stimulated for egg-laying never be-
came impregnated, but was always a drone-
layer ; and every one that retained her
virgin size, and did not partake of any food
to stimulate her, went right through, and
became mated in the spring, and laid right
off and made a good queen.

" Some virgins became stimulated for
egg-laying much younger than others ; and
I now see that whenever any virgin queen
is brought up and stimulated by the bees,

or by partaking of a sufficient quantity of
the food that prepares her for egg-laying,
she is never fertilised. So I now firmly be-
lieve that a queen is rendered incapable of
becoming fertilised, or else she never cares,
to fly for that purpose, and I would not be
surprised if it ruined her for ever, to begin
laying before she is ready, or before she is
impregnated.

" My idea about when a queen is too old
to be fertilised is, when she partakes of the
stimulations that cause her to begin to lay.
Some well-developed virgin queens will be-
come stimulated right in midsummer, be-
fore they are mated, hence drone-layers*
Some young queens will lay drone-eggs for
awhile when they first begin to lay, and
then lay worker-eggs right along ; but,
mind you, these queens were mated before
they began to lay. Only made a mistake,
or the stimulation from the male had not
thoroughly developed at the time when she
was ready to lay. One of these two reasons
is apt to be the cause of her laying drone-
eggs first. This little bit of experience of
mine causes me to say that I think a second
mating of a queen is one of the impossibili-
ties in beedom."

The above remarkable theory, while in-
teresting from a scientific standpoint, must
not be accepted without considerable
reserve, seeing that it upsets preconceived
notions as to mating.

It serves, however, to show the curiosities
of bee-work, and the divergences necessary
in treatment in different countries. Mrs.
Atchley, located in Texas, U.S.A., rears
queens in November, and has then mated
the following March ! We wonder what
our British queen-rearers will say to this ?
Anyway, the lady who makes the state-
ment is no novice in queen-rearing, seeing
that in 1892 she raised nearly three
thousand queens.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION,
The Committee of the British Bee-keepers
Association met on Wednesday, April 19th, at
105 Jermyn Street, S.W., the members present
being Mr. T. W. Cowan, Hon. and Rev. Henry
Bligh, Rev. Dr. Bartrum, Rev. G. W. C. Bancks,
Captain Campbell, Major Fair, Messrs. W. B.
Carr, J. Garratt, J. M. Hooker, J. H. New, W.
J. Sheppard, and E. D. Till.

Dr. Bartrum moved, and Captain Campbell
seconded, that Mr. T. W. Cowan be elected
Chairman for the ensuing year. This was carried
unanimously.

The minutes of the previous meeting were

May 4, 1893.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

173

read and confirmed. The Chairman announced
that the Hon. and Rev. Henry Bligh did not
wish to be re-elected Vice-Chairman, a position
which he had held from the earliest days of the
Association, explaining that his removal from
Middlesex to Hampshire would prevent his
attending the meetings regularly. He pro-
posed, Mr. W. B. Carr seconding, that a vote
of thanks be given to Mr. Bligh for his long
and valuable services to the Association. This
met with the unanimous and hearty consent of
the meeting. It was moved by the Chairman,
and seconded by Captain Campbell, " That Mr.
McClure be elected Vice-Chairman," which was
unanimously agreed to. The Treasurer's state-
ment showed a balance in hand of 14/. lis.,
and it was ordered that cheques be drawn as
follows : W. Cartmel, 5/. ; and Secretary, on
account of salary, 10/. An account of the
Chicago Exhibit Fund was presented, which
showed that donations to the amount of
16/. 15s. 6d. had been promised, and that the ex-
penses would probably amount to not less than
35/.

Letters were read from Sir James Whitehead,
Bart., M.P., acknowledging and accepting his
election as a Vice-President of the Association;
from the Rev. L. L. Langstroth, Dr. Dzierzon,
Pastor Schonfeld, M. Bertrand, M. Dennler, and
M. Gravenhorst in acknowledgment of their elec-
tion as Honorary and Corresponding Members.

The several Committees, i.e., Finance, County
Associations, Educational, and Exhibitions, were
formed. It was decided that Mr. Garratt should
attend the Royal Agricultural Show at Chester,
to assist Mr. Huckle in the work of the Bee
Department. The financial condition of the
Association was taken into consideration, and it
was decided that a Committee of the following
members should be appointed, viz., the Chair-
man, Mr. W. H. Harris, Mr. McClure, and Mr.
Garratt, to draw up and issue an appeal for
funds to the Press, and also to the Life
Members.

SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The annual meeting of the Scottish Bee-
keepers' Association was held on Wednesday,
April 26th, in M'Innes' Hotel, Hutchinson
Street, Glasgow. Colonel R. J. Bennett,
Alloway Park, Ayr, presided over a good
attendance, which included, among others, Rev.
R. M'Clelland, Renfrew; Mr. W. Wilson,
Dumfries; Mr. James Johnson, Stirling; Mr.
James Ross, Stranraer ; and Mr. John Wishart,
secretary, Melrose. The second annual report
stated that since the last general meeting four
local Associations had become affiliated to the
S.B.K.A., making seven in all. Affiliated Asso-
ciations had, through the generosity of Lady
Gibson-Carmichael, received silver medals to
be awarded at the local shows. They will be
again offered by her Ladyship this year on the
same conditions as formerly. Lectures on api-
culture had been delivered during the past

season by the Hon. Secretary, Sir Thos. D.
Gibson-Carmichael, Bart., at Newlands and
Kirkurd ; by Mr. T. B. Blow at Inverness; and by
Rev. R. M'Clelland, of Inchinnan, at Alex-
andria, before the Vale of Leven B.K.A.

The Chairman, in moving the adoption of
the report, congratulated the meeting on the
prospect of a good season. This year the Asso-
ciation had made arrangements to hold three
shows. One in connexion with the Highland
and Agricultural Society in Edinburgh in the
last week of July, the second in Glasgow in
connexion with the Horticultural Association of
the West of Scotland on the 6th September,
and the third in Edinburgh on the 13th and
14th September in connexion with the Royal
Caledonian Horticultural Show. In this way
they hoped to stir up the general bee-keepers
throughout the country. They anticipated from
the fine weather that it would be a capital year
for honey, and he hoped, as a result, more hives
would be kept. The great matter was to keep
pure honey, and to prevent the importation to
this country of the spurious article. A few
years ago he had been the means of returning
two tons of the latter, which had come from
America to Glasgow. It had eighty per cent,
glucose, ten per cent, honey, and ten per cent,
sugar. In this connexion the Chairman inti-
mated that Mr. J. Falconer King, F.C.S.,
analyst to the City of Edinburgh, had been
appointed official analyst to the Association.

The office-bearers were then elected, the
Marquis of Lothian being reappointed Presi-
dent, and Sir T. D. Gibson-Carmichael, Hon.
Secretary. The meeting shortly afterwards
terminated.

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION IN BEE-
KEEPING.

One of the most popular lectures in connexion
with technical education was delivered in the
National Schoolroom, Winterton, North Lin-
colnshire, on Friday, April 14th, by Mr. W. C.
Brown, of Appleby (certificated expert of the
B.B.K.A.). Dr. Goodworth, CO., occupied the
chair. Mr. Brown called special attention to
the anatomy of the honey-bee, modern humane
bee-keeping, and the poor man's hive and re-
quisites. For fully two hours the lecturer in-
terested his audience by practical illustrations of
the habits and customs of bees and their gather-
ing of honey. The more modern and scientific
treatment of bees during the winter months,
and the time of securing the honey, were ably
demonstrated. The main idea of the lecture was
to show to the bee-keeper how to succeed in
making bee-keeping a profitable and paying con-
cern. In the latter half of the lecture the
anatomy of the bee, ancient and modern hives,
and bee-keepers, were profusely illustrated by
the aid of forty-five micro-photographic and other
lantern slides. Thanks to the lecturer and chair-
man closed a specially instructive lecture.

174

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 4, 1893.

(&OXXZB$ttVfoZVLtZ.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to "The
Editobs of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.G." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed to "The
Manager, 'British Bee Journal ' Office, 17 Xing William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

*„* 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.

UNITING BEES WITHOUT FIGHTING.

[1415.] For many years I have been trying
to find out in what way beehives are best
placed so that they may be united without
fighting and without trouble. About twenty
years ago a friend of mine had his beehives
divided by perforated zinc ; he, unfortunately,
died before the system was properly tested, and
after his death the bees were giren up ; but I
remember that he told me the plan answered
very well.

I have been much interested in Mr. Wells'
system, as I have found from experience that if
we can bring bees together so as to give the two
stocks the same smell, or at any rate to get
them accustomed to tbe smell of each other,
that the chances of fighting are very much
lessened.

In your Journal of April 20th 1 have read
with much interest the account of your visit to
Mr. Wells' apiary, and I feel sure that the
clustering of the bees together in winter will
induce early breeding, and in that way must
very materially strengthen the hives; and so
convinced have I been in the success of the
system that I have this winter made a double
hive for my own use, and I took the earliest
opportunity at the end of February, on a warm
day, to stock it. We have certainly had splendid
weather, but I have never during my long
experience, as far as I can remember, seen two
stocks now placed in this hive so strong at this
time of the year. The length of this double
hive is 4 feet 6 inches. Each end holds sixteen
frames. The entrances of the hives are at the
end, and are at present eleven and eight inches
long respectively, while a crowd of fanners are
at each end ; but for the last day or two I have
thought it necessary to give extra ventilation.

In your description of what you saw, some of
the entrances were stated to be without any
division, except a flat slip of wood. I think
this will prove to be a mistake. For some years
I had hives the porches of which were joined by
a passage two feet long and four inches broad.
The bees seemed to pass through it, but I lost
two or three young queens, which had evidently

gone out to mate, and on their return went up
the passage instead of entering their hives. A
very experienced bee-keeper warned me I should
lose young queens. I told him I had done so.
In future I closed this passage at such times,
and lost no more. I feel sure a projecting
division is needed, and it would be an additional
safeguard if the entrances were painted different
colours.

I do not see any advantage in the bees of
both hives working together in the same super,
as I think the same amount of honey would be
deposited in two smaller supers containing
together the same number of sections. The
main advantage in this system is the clustering
of the bees together in winter.

All bee-keepers should, I think, be much
obliged to Mr. Wells for telling us the result of
the experiments he has made. There are very
few who do this, and we should all get on faster
if they did.— F. Tft.cC, Ecclefechan, N.B.

QUEEN-TRAPS FOR PREVENTING
RUNAWAY SWARMS.

[1416.] I am very much- obliged by your
answer to my letter (1409, p. 165), but fear I
did not make myself sufficiently clear.

The point I wish to raise is a most important
one, I feel sure, to hundreds of bee-keepers be-
sides myself, and it is this. Would any harm
result from having a queen-trap fixed the entire
length of entrance, which would simply catch
the queen should she attempt to come out with
a swarm ? Personalty, I do not want a self-
hiver, so long as the queen is caught, as I pre-
sume that the bees composing the swarm would
return on finding the queen not with them. I
fail to see that there would be practically more
trouble in dealing with a stock from which a
swarm had issued and returned, than there
would be with one from which a swarm had
come out and been caught in a self-hiver. If a
simple queen-trap answers its purpose, the pre-
sence of the queen would show that the parti-
cular stock had swarmed, and the bee-keeper
could then make a swarm or deal with it as he
wished.

The drawback of all the self-biveis I have
yet heard of or seen is that additional hives,
&c, are required, whereas, if a mere queen-trap
Avill do, expense and trouble are greatly lessened.
I have procured a queen-trap from a well-known
dealer, and shall have gained practical expe-
rience by the end of the season. In the mean-
time, I, with many others, would esteem your
opinion as to whether any harm is likely to
result from the queen being trapped and the
swarm allowed to pass through and return at
will.

On examining my Wells hive a week after
placing two stocks in it, I found the perforated
divider had seriously buckled, and although, as
far as I could see, the queens had not passed by,
yet the combs on either side were rendered
useless for breeding-. I fear that unless this

May 4, 1893.1

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

175

difficulty can be overcome, there will be more
failures than successes with the Wells hive.

Would it not be possible to substitute some-
thing else instead of wood, which would not
buckle ? If metal is not suitable, would vul-
canite stand the heat and at the same time be
acceptable to the bees ? — H. Livermore, En-
field, April 2Qth.

[No harm whatever would follow the capture
of queen in trap. There must be some serious
fault in the perforated "Wells" divider you
have. We have seen several of those made by
Mr. Wells himself, and in none of them was
there the slightest tendency to "buckle." liefer
to what is said on the subject in " Hints " on
another page of this issue. — Eds.]

SYRUP AND STANDARD BOTTLES.
Weight Compared with Specific Gravity.

[1417.] It may be of interest to some of your
readers who may require to make a certain
quantity of syrup only to know that twelve
ounces of water added to fourteen ounces of
sugar (refined) will make just about twenty-one
fluid ounces of syrup ; that is to say, fourteen
ounces of sugar by weight will only measure
nine ounces in the fluid state.

I find that a nominal one-pound bottle holds
half a pint up to the shoulder, and ten and a
half ounces when quite full ; the specific gravity
of the honey we produce about here compared
with water measures 675 to 1000, so that the
nominal pound bottle holds nearly fifteen ounces
of honey, and if quite full holds over fifteen and
a half ounces ; consequently Breffit's actual one-
pound bottle, holding twelve ounces, would con-
tain from nearly eighteen to eighteen and a half
ounces of honey : but then, again, honey differs
in specific gravity. So I would ask, How would
it be possible to fix upon a standard bottle hold-
ing any particular weight ? If a standard bottle
is fixed upon, it must be one of fluid capacity,
such as the present half-pint or nominal one-
pound bottle.

I mention this matter again because some
of your correspondents appear to think the
B.B.K.A. are taking the matter of a standard
bottle up. — A. G. Wilmot, St. Albans, April
2Uh.

BEES ATTACKING FOWLS.

[1418.] I have been a bee-keeper and a con-
stant reader of the B. B. J. for the last six years,
and having just now had rather a singular and
very unusual experience with my bees and fowls,
I send you particulars of what transpired, as it
may serve as a caution to others. I have twelve
stocks of bees, all in frame hives, on the grass-
plot close to my cottage, and about seven yards
from the hives in front. I had a brood of
young chickens one week old, with a hen in a
coop. On Monday, the 24th ult., being a
very fine day, the bees, at about 11 o'clock,

made desperate attack on the hen and chickens,
and in less than half an hour they had succeeded
in stinging eight chickens to death ! I got
home about 12 o'clock, and, hearing what had
happened, put on my bee-veil and went for the
hen, which was still in the coop and defending
herself and two chickens which had taken refuge
in the coop, the best way she could. She was
surrounded by thousands of furious bees, and
had I not been pretty well protected, I should
have had to clear out quick, as they came at me
like a shower of hail. They seemed to have gone
mad, so determined were they to sting every-
thing that came in their way. My bees are
generally very quiet and have never given me
trouble of this kind before. Have you heard of
any similar case, and what, in your opinion,
was the cause of the attack ? — Sunderland-
wick, Yorks., April 24th.

[There is no accounting for the mischief other
than supposing that the chickens scratching
about the hives have angered the bees in some
way, and on retreating towards the coop had
been followed there by the angry bees, only to
have the latter further irritated by the old hen
in her efforts to escepe from the assailants. It
is a great mistake to confine animals or fowls
near to hives in warm weather. — Eds.]

THE SEASON IN SOMERSET.

[1419.] Does not the enclosed cutting from
an Australian paper, dated March 18th, make
one's mouth water ? The honey-flow must be a
most prolonged one in those parts. Honey
prospects here are good at present. I put
crates on two hives this day week (20th April),
and am just off to add second crates, as the
first are just about full. The blossom round
about these parts is lovely. — N. Lowis,
Bridgwater, April 27th.
The cutting referred to reads as follows : —
" After the furious onslaught by my friend
of the Black Swamp, who is so enamoured of
the old box hive that he cannot tolerate the
man who dares to commend the bar-fame hive,
I feel reluctant to arouse his ire by any further
reference to bees or bee-keeping. Of course
there are blackfellows and blackfellows, and it
may happen that some blackfellows even may
have the good fortune to be acquainted with
the advantages of the modern system of bee-
keeping. It is on record that one bee-keeper in
South Australia took 900 lbs. weight of honey
during one year from one bar-frame hive, and
that the average from the whole of another
apiary was 500 lbs. per hive for a season."

" WELLS " HIVES.

[1420.] I have one bive on the Wells system
as set forth in the Journal and the bees therein
are filling the supers rapidly, so the "Wells"
hive is a success here. — H. O. Huntley, Sen-
wick, Worcester, April 24th.

176

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 4, 1893.

BEES IN HANTS.
[1421.] My bees are very strong this year.
I do not remember their being so forward be-
fore ; the weather the last six weeks has been
all in their favour— indeed, I have never known
such a glorious March and April before for bees.
No spring feeding was required, though I ex-
pected to have fed a lot as my bees had scarcely
enough to carry them through. They are having
a fine time of it now on the fruit-trees. If we
do not soon have some rain, I am afraid it will
not be quite so well later on, as the grass will
soon begin to give out for want of moisture.
No rain has fallen for seven weeks, nevertheless
bees are as forward as they are sometimes the
first week in June.— F. G. Ayling, Alton,
Hants, April 2\st.

EARLY SECTIONS.

[1422.] It may perhaps interest you to know
that I have to-day taken twenty sections of
most beautifully finished comb honey off one
hive. I have not had time to look at my other
hives, but hope that they may all be in the
same forward state. Last year my first sections
were taken early in June, and in 1891 they were
either at the end of May or beginning of June.
— W. H. Cooper, Wrotham, April 29th.

BEE-PLANTS.

[1423.] I have much pleasure in again offer-
ing some plants of borage and Canadian balsam
to any bee-keeping friends who would like to
try them, and will enclose stamps for postage.
— H. Crawley, 250 Canbury Park Road,
Kingston-on- Thames.

EARLY SWARMS.

[1424.] I purchased, on April 21st, a swarm
of bees that had swarmed the previous day, viz.,
April 20th, at Aston Abbots, Bucks, and appear
a very strong swarm. - They are now working
well, and have not had any "feed" of any sort.
— J. B., Aylesbury.

[1425.] It may interest readers of the B. J,
to hear of a tine swarm that I had on April
21st. They left the parent hive at three o'clock
p.m. I placed them on the stand, and they
seem to be going on all right so far. On April
25th, when I went to remove the empty candy
boxes, I found two of them nearly filled with
new comb and honey. It looks likely for a
good harvest of honevthisyear. — Amos Howell,
Coleford, Glos., April 29th.

[1426.] I write to inform you that I safely
hived a splendid swarm from one of my stocks
on the 20th April. I have never before known
of a swarm issuing so early in this district. —
Thomas Perry, Brent Bridge House, Hendon,
N. W., April 22nd.

The following further reports have also
reached us: —

Mr. H. Head, writing from Wye, Kent, says :
" Bees about this part are in first-rate condition.
The first swarm came off on Friday, the 21st
inst., from a neighbour's straw hive, and yester-
day, 23rd, there were two stray swarms, one
of which I took myself, that had settled on the
top of a fir-tree, twenty feet from the ground.
Bees are working well in sections."

Mr. H. Chaworth-Masters reports from Ash-
bourne, Derbyshire : " I have this day (25th
April) had a lovely swarm of bees. My earliest
swarm in Derbyshire previous to this one was
on May 24th, but I never had one in April
before. I have twenty-one colonies."

From Devonshire another report says : " A
very early swarm of bees was placed in a hive
yesterday (April 25th) by the gardener at
Windsworth, near Looe."

WEATHER REPORT.

Westbourne, Sussex.

April, 1893.

Rainfall, *07 in. Sunshine, 3057 hrs.

Heaviest fall, "04 on Brightest day, 26th,

17th. 13 hrs.

Rain fell on 2 days. Sunless days, 0.

Belowaverage,l"56 in. Above aver., 117*5 hrs.
Max. temp., 73° on Mean max., 61,8°.

25th. Mean min., 40"5°.

Min. temp., 26° on 15th. Mean temp., 5P70.
Min. on grass, 18° on Max. bai'ometer, 30-57

13th. on 8th.

Frosty nights, 5. Min. barometer, 29-97

on 19th.

L. B. BlRKETT.

<$r trues foam % pita.

Bovey Tracey, Devon, April 2Uh, 1893. —
Weather here glorious for bees. They have
been having a fine time of it, and no mistake.
My hives are located in an open, sunny spot in
an apple orchard, surrounded by many other
orchards, and the apple-blossom this year is
something grand. Bees are as strong in April
as they usually are in May. I have supers on
several hives, and bees have commenced work-
ing in them. In one hive I have six one-pound
sections at the back of brood nest full, fit to seal ;
hope to take them out in a few days, and replace
with empty ones. I saw a note in the Journal
a short time ago, commenting on there not
being any Association in Devoi. I very much
wonder at it myself. Here we are, in one of
the grandest counties in England for bees ; fruit-
trees, both wild and cultivated, in abundance,
heather within easy distance, and pasture-land in

May, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

177

plenty, clover everywhere, even by the roadsides,
and yet no Association ! When I commenced
bee-keeping it was with skeps, but I could not
tolerate the idea of burning with brimstone the
bees I loved so well, and knew nothing of bar-
frame hives. A friend of mine went to the
Exeter Agricultural Show, and sent me home a
bar-frame hive. I showed it to several bee-
keepers ; none of them could tell me anything
about the use of it, so it laid by for a year or
two before using. At last I made a start, but
you may be sure I had several failures before I
succeeded ; now I can handle them fairly well.
What puzzles any one most in Devon is the
number of styles of hives, all different sized
frames, and most of them wide-shouldered ones,
making them practically fixed ; then there is, I
believe, what is called the Devon standard
frame, about twelve inches, or two inches longer
than the British, and about one inch deeper.
All these different sizes are very puzzling to a
beginner. I hope we may have what promises
now, a good honey season. — Ambeose Gods-
land.

Kingston-on-Thames, April 27th. — Most of
the bees in this neighbourhood appear to be in
healthy, vigorous condition. Hives are filling
up rapidly with brood and honey. Four stocks
have been lost during winter, and one lot
decamped from a straw hive. One bee-keeper
has commenced on the " Wells " system, and
hopes to report results later on in the season.
In view of the long drought, I am watching
with particular interest a fine field of white
clover half a mile away from my bees, and
wondering if it will yield well this year. — H.
Crawley.

The Willows, Landbeach, Cambs., April 29th.
— Yesterday I took from my bees two crates,
each containing twenty-one sections, well filled
with new honey ; one crate from a single stock
on ten frames, and the other from a colony
worked on the " Wells " system. These are all
so well filled that out of the forty-two sections,
I have only to return three to be finished. I
have nineteen hives, and only one of these of the
" Wells " type, into which I put two late swarms
last season, and they commenced working up in
sections earlier than any of my single stocks;
so I think of following Mr. Wells a little
farther. There were two swarms of bees from
skeps in this parish on April 20th, and with a
continuance of this glorious weather, we hope to
break some more records this season.— Charles

R. PlGOTT.

mxun anb Duplies.

[766.] Adapting Hives to the " Wells"
System. — I have a frame hive holding sixteen
standard frames and two dummies, but the
frames run parallel with entrance. I should

like to work it on the " Wells " system, and so
beg to ask : — 1. Would it be a suitable bive for
that purpose, and is it necessary to have two
separate entrances ? 2. Would the ordinary
queen-excluder dummy do to keep the queens
parted ; if not, where could I obtain the proper
dummy for it ? I have a good stock of bees in
the hive at present, and I intend to put another
strong stock in it at once if you consider it will
answer the purpose. — J. S., Barnstaple.

Reply. — 1. It can only be adapted for the
purpose by making a separate entrance at side-
or in rear for the second division of the brood
chamber. 2. An ordinary queen-excluder is
quite useless for the purpose, seeing that worker
bees as well as queens are to be kept apart.
Any manufacturer could supply the proper
dummy, or you can make it yourself by referring
to instructions on p. 172 of this issue. We
must impress on those making a trial of the
double-queen (or " Wells ") system the necessity
for acquainting themselves with the principles
on which it is worked.

[767.] Carrying Driven Bees on Bicycles. —
Next August I shall probably have an oppor-
tunity of driving om 3 condemned bees belonging
to a cottager living ten miles from here, and
before making preparations I should like to have
your advice as to the practicability of the pro-
posed plan of procedure, and your answers to
the following questions. I propose one after-
noon to ride to the cottage on a bicycle ; I
should then drive three stocks into three boxes
measuring inside 17 x 6 x 9 in., and close them
by shutting down the lids, which are fitted with
perforated zinc ventilators covered with flannel.
I should then ride home again on my bicycle
with the three lots of bees strapped on to my
back, leave them all night in a warm, dry work-
shop, and put them next day into bar-framed
hives. I should like to know : 1. Can bees be
driven from skep hives into boxes measuring
17x6x9 in.? and if so— 2. Can the boxes be
closed down as above? 3. Can bees safely
endure a journey of ten miles in such boxes on
one's back on a bicycle ? 4. What would be
about the weight of one healthy stock of driven
bees from an average skep hive ? I ask these
questions as my only possible way of getting
there is by means of a bicyclo, and skeps are
very awkward to carry on cycles. — DArds.

Reply. — 1. It would be most difficult to fix
such a box in position for driving. Why not
borrow an old skep from the cottager to drive-
the bees into ? Then, after fixing up the box
on a cloth or newspaper laid on the ground,
throw the driven bees out and let them run into
it. 2. Yes, very easily. 3. Without having
any personal experience of such a journey we
should say yes, if nicely packed. 4. The three
lots together would probably not weigh more
than six to nine pounds. In preparing the
boxes a good-sized hole should be cut in bottom
of box in addition to one at each end, then a
couple of half - inch strips of wood should be

178

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

May 4, 1898.

nailed across the bottom of each box to keep
them apart. No flannel will be required for
•covering the zinc. We presuppose that you
will take the necessary precautions to avoid an
" upset " among the cottager's bees " not for
■driving," otherwise your experience may be the
reverse of a pleasant one.

[768.] Suspected Comb. — I send by this post
■a parcel of comb for your examination. I have
twelve hives affected like it. Please notice the
sealed cells are sunken and flat, instead of a
little round, and also many of them full of very
fine holes ; and yet, to me, the larvse and young
bees appear quite healthy. The unsealed brood
in all hives looks beautifully healthy; but
several hives have this curious-looking sealed
brood, which looks as if it has been nibbled all
over. Can you explain it ? — M. T.

Reply. — We see no trace of disease in the
comb sent. The unsealed brood is perfectly
healthy, while many young bees had hatched
out during the journey here. The " nibbled "
appearance referred to reminds us of a case of
over - dosing with preventives against foul
brood, where the quantity given was enough
to cause the death of sealed brood in the cells
and the subsequent curious appearance noted.
We think that in your case the bees will go on
.all right, and that no serious mischief will
follow.

[769.] Compulsory Removal of Bees. — I have
kept bees for about two years on a piece of
waste garden ground, lent me by a neighbour.
1 have not paid any rent as he would not make
a charge, but have given him some honey in the
season. This week he informs me that he wants
the bees moved (there are five strong stocks in
frame hives). Will you tell me if he can make
me move them, and if so, the best way to do it.
I shall only be able to shift them about 150
yards. — Wm. Hall, Flamstead.

Reply. — If the bees have been allowed to
occupy the ground on sufferance only, of course
the occupier can compel their removal if he so
wishes it. Perhaps he might allow them to re-
main till a more convenient season if it is ex-
plained that loss will occur through moving the
bees just now. Refer to reply to 763, p. 168, in
last weeks B. J. for further particulars.

'jmtirs to €omt.

June 19th to 23rd. — Royal Agricultural
Society's Show at Chester. Secretary, John
Huckle, Kings Langley.

July 21st and 22nd.— Bristol and District
B.K.A., at Knowle. Entries close July 14th.
Over 6/. cash in prizes. Special facilities offered
to distant exhibitors. Schedules from James
Brown, Hon. Secretary, 42 Baldwin Street,
Bristol.

July 25th to 28th. — Summer Show of the
Scottish B.K. A. (under the auspices of the High-
land and Agricultural Society (in the Dean Park,
Edinburgh. Prize lists in due course from
John Wishart, Assistant Secretary, Market
Place, Melrose.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation's Exhibition, in St. Andrew's Hall,
Glasgow. Schedules in due course from Colonel
Bennett, Alloway Park, Ayr, or John Wishart,
Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 13th and 14th.— Scottish B. K. A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

BIRCH-TREES AND BEES.

The following newspaper cutting has been
forwarded to us for publication by Mr. H. O.
Smith, Louth : —

" A Belgian farmer has discovered by acci-
dent that birch-trees contain a sap of which
bees are very fond, and which has the power of
attracting them from considerable distances. A
couple of white birch-trees were planted in
spring, and afterwards pruned at the time the
sap was rising. On the following day from
each cut an abundance of liquid flowed, and
before long the trees were covered with bees,
which consumed with avidity the sweet exuda-
tion. The flow of sap continued for several
days, and throughout the whole time thousands
of bees swarmed round the trees, greedily de-
vouring the liquid as fast as it appeared. This
fact is not only interesting to naturalists, but it
may prove useful to bee-keepers living in the
neighbourhood of birch-trees. Bee-food is not
always plentiful in spring, and if it can be ob-
tained simply by tapping birch-trees, many may
be disposed to make use of such a source."

[It is quite certain that bees will readily
carry off the saccharine matter which flows
from the white birch referred to above. We
have seen them do it. — Ens. B. J.]

REVIEW OF CONTINENTAL BEE
JOURNALS.

By J. Dennleb.

(Continued from page 159.)

Le Rucher, organ of the Northern Bee-keeper's
Society, publishes an excellent recipe for a honey
cake and fruit preserve as follows : —

Honey Cake. — Four eggs, 5 small cups of
flour, 2 of honey, 1 of butter, 1 of milk, 2 coffee-

May 4, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

179

spoons of cream of tartar, 1 coffee-spoonful of
soda, 1 lb. of raisins, 1 lb. of currants, 1 coffee-
spoonful of cloves, 1 of cinnamon, and 1 of nut-
megs. This cake is as good several months after
it is made as at first.

Fruit Preserve. — All fruits preserved in honey
are better than those preserved with sugar.
The stalks are removed, and the fruit is put
into jars, which are afterwards filled with cold
honey. The jars are then corked and put in a
cool place. After standing a few months the
fruit will be found to be delicious.

The experienced cook will not hesitate to use
honey, and that with the greatest advantage,
wherever cane sugar is employed. Confectioners
will not fail to find out that honey mixed with
gelatine and also glycerine can be worked up
into various attractive forms. Sweets prepared
in this way are noted for three qualities : easily
digested, considerable nutritive properties, and
delicious flavour.

Le Rucher Beige, bulletin of the Meuse Basin
Bee-keepers' Society, publishes the following
uses of honey as remedies : — An excellent
remedy for a cold : Cod-liver oil, two ounces ;
lemon juice, two ounces ; two teaspoonfuls to be
taken three times a day. Honey in which ants
are boiled is an excellent remedy for ulcers of
the eyes. .A plaster composed of honey, flour,
and onions is good for stye of the eyes. Honey
mixed with a solution of wax and oil is a remedy
for burns and fistula. Honey dissolved in tur-
pentine and laurel oil is good for chaps.
Hydromel, or simple honey and water, is con-
sidered a good preventive of infection during
epidemics.

Le Bulletin horticole, agricole, et apieoU.
Editor, Jules Belot, Liege. Here is the way to
make sugar cakes : " Boil for a quarter of an
hour on a moderate fire, good white sugar to
which is added a fifth of its weight of water ;
or half a litre of water to two anda half kilos of
sugar. To ascertain that the sugar will solidify,
place a drop on a plate or a slab of marble. If
it remains in the shape of a ball it is just right
Remove it from the fire and stir into it a hand-
ful of flour for every kilo of sugar ; it is then
poured out into saucers or strong moulds made
of paper made in the form of chocolate tablets.'*

Les Abeilles, bulletin of the Society of the
Hautes Pyrenees. — A bee-keeper signing himself
u F. P. G." publishes the way he uses honey.
" For some time I make frequent use of honey.
I take no breakfast without bread and honey to
stimulate the appetite. I have replaced to my
satisfaction the sugar by honey in my coffee,
and keep to the proper dose. All the household
liqueurs, jellies, pastry, and preserves, are all
exclusively sweetened with honey. I take no
more strops with sugar. Hygiene and economy
are both agreed in this. In all respects my
health is remarkably good under this treatment.
As for hydromel, I have found its use so bene-
ficial that I shall never have too much honey to
make it, and my ambition is to be able to make
my own eau-de-vie when I am the possessor of

a still. The example of certain French priests
who make a speciality of this wholesome eau-
de-vie is encouraging to their bee-keeping
colleagues."

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Wm. Mattson (Covenham). — Bee Journals
have been sent regularly every week. We
cannot account for non-delivery.

F. Jellico (Blackrock). — Old Comb Foundation.
— Bees do not take so readily to stale founda-
tion as to that newly made, but it may be
made acceptable to them if softened by
passing it through warm water before using.
The sample sent is quite good but for its
having become brittle through age.

J. P. T. Ashton (Penrhyn).— The fact of the
Extractor named having taken many first
prizes is a guarantee of its efficiency for the
purpose.

F. F. (Claphatn Junction). —Lime-trees seldom
yield honey before the first week in July.
How soon they will bloom in this abnormally
early season we cannot say.

J. A. Chapman (Weston-super-Mare). — Insect
sent is the Death's Head Moth.

M. D. (Kent).— Comb sent is affected with foul
brood.

A. Pond (S. Woodford). — We cannot undertake
to negociate the purchase or sale of extractors.
An efficient article can be had new for 21s.
For second-hand articles correspondents must
please refer to our advertisement columns.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

SECTIONS, one pound each, wanted, Clover or Heather ;
crop 1892. Must be good clear Honey, and well filled.
Apply or address Mr. Leitch, 208 St. George's Road,
Glasgow. f. n^

STRONG HEALTHY SWARMS for Sale, 10s. 6<J. each.
Orders taken in rotation Address E. Long, Cotten-
ham, Cambs. 5

FOR SALE. — Superior Queens, Stocks, and Swarms,
English and Carniolan. Address Rev. C. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex. f. n.

FOR SALE. — Strong healthy Swarms of English Bees,
ready in May, 12s. 6d. each, box included. Address
Edward Gib bins, Neath.

ON SALE, a lot of Hives, two Observatory Hives, Ex-
tractor, and other Appliances, Cheap. Apply Daniel,
Croft Mill, Chorley, Lancashire. A 15

STOCKS.— Two very Strong Stocks for Sale, in good
Regulation Frame Hives. Address Wilson, 15 Wells
Road, Sydenham. a 16

/GUARANTEED Healthy Natural Swarms of Pure
\JT Natives, 3£ to 4 lbs. weight, price 12s. 6d. Packing-
box included. Ready in May if weather continues favour-
able. Orders in rotation. Address Chas. Whiting, Valley
Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suffolk. a 17

FOR SALE. — A few Swarms ; also Stocks in Second,
hand Hives. Address, Geo. Childe, Semington-
Trowbridge. a 21

FOR SALE.— Strong, Healthy Stocks of Bees in Neigh-
bour's Large Skeps, 16s. ; on Standard Frames, 18s.
Address, J. S. Webb, Nymett House, Parkdale Road,
Plumstead. a 22

HEALTHY NATURAL SWARMS, 12s. 6d„ on Rail.
Swarm-box included. For nearly twenty years I have
supplied very many swarms annually. Address, Alsford,
Expert, Blandford. a 23

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 4, 1893.

BEE SEEDS recommended by Bee-keepers, guaranteed
best sorts, 13 large Packets, Is., post free. Address
J. Bennett, Bee-keeper, Seedsman, and Florist, 178 Spon
Street, Coventry. fj^

SITUATION required to Manage Bees. Painting and
Glazing. Address, stating Wages, AI. A., 5 Cheap
■Street, Newbury. a25

WANTED.— "Working Housekeeper by a Bee-keeping
Colliery Blacksmith (a Widower without Children).
A respectable and trustworthy Person, possessing a little
knowledge of Bees, may meet with a Comfortable Home as
•above. Nonconformist preferred. References exchanged.
Apply, stating Wages required, to War. Campion, Linton,
Burton-on-Trent. A 26

A PEW STOCKS TO SELL, with or without Hives.
With Bees and Brood Frames only, 20s., very strong.
With Hives and 12 Super Combs, and 2 Cork packed Dum-
mies, £2 10s. Foul brood unknown. Hives, very good,
f-in. yellow pine, Cork-packed, half -lapped joints, nailed
both ways, canvas roof, perfectly tight. Will hold 24
Frames. Address H. O, Polapit Tamar, Launceston,
Cornwall. ' A_27

MARGUERITE CARNATIONS, 12, 2s. Japanese Ane-
mones, Pink Beauty (new Oriental Poppy), Peren-
nial Phlox, Single Dahlias, 12, Is. 6d. Nicotiana Affinis
(sweet-scented Tobacco), Roemir's Superb Mimulus, Pe-
tunias, Tomatoes (Open air and Mammoth), 12, Is.; 24, Is. 6d.
Ten-week Stocks, Dianthus Heddewigi, German Scabious,
Sweet Sultans, Iceland Poppies, 24, Is. 3d. Eckford's
Sweet Peas, 30, Is. 3d. 20 Packets of Flower Seeds, in-
cluding 6 Fashionable Poppies, Is. 6d. Address Vicar,
Egginton, Leighton Buzzard. a 28

STRONG May Swarms, guaranteed healthy, 10s. each.
Also four strong Stocks of Bees. Cash offers ? Ad-
dress Mbdictts, Covenham, Louth, Lincolnshire. a 29

FOR SALE.— Strong natural Swarm of Bees (Car-
niolans), Swarmed April 24th, price 40s. Apply to
Miss C. J. Debenham, Cheshunt Park. Herts. a 30

WANTED.— 4 by 4% Sections. For Sale.— Swarms of
English Bees, 5s. per lb., packing free. After May
16th, 6d. per lb. less, and so on every fortnight. Address
A. T. Wilmot. St. Albans. A 31

IilOR SALE.— Nine 3-lb. Bottles of Heather Honey, 1892.
JP 24s. the lot. Address Httnkin, Poole, Dorset, a 32

WEBSTER' -^ Book of Bee-keeping, post free, Is.
cloth, Is. 6d. W. B. Webster, Binfield, Berks.
** One of the best foreign works." — American Apiculturist
" The matter is evidently the result of long personal ob
servation, and is thoroughly reliable." — Bee-keepers' Record.
41 Have much pleasure in recommending the manual to our
readers." — British Bee Journal.

SIMMINS' MODERN BEE FARM.
Beautifully printed en Toned paper. Pro-
fusely Illustrated. 270 large 8vo. pages.
Giving great satisfaction. Only 2/9 Post free.

QUEEN-REARING for Ama-

teurSi together with Notes on Queen Intro-
duction, Uniting Bees, &c. 6Jd. Post free.

HONEY. — Interesting 8 pp. Pam-
phlet, explaining to general Public how Honey
is harvested and gathered by the Ton. By
distributing it you can sell all your Honey at
home at a good figure. Copy gratis and Post
free of S. SIMMINS, Seaford. Sussex.
OH)

Sold by us in the past
have produced from 40
to 100 lbs. of Honey, while in some districts
during cool, stormy seasons, the Bees obtained
from us were the only ones to secure a surplus,
while others in the same Apiary would be starving.
Selection in Breeding does it, as opposed to Queens
reared under indiscriminate swarming. Circular
free on addressing S. SIMMINS, Seaford, Sussex.

(112)

NUCLEI

SWARMS! SWARMS! SWARMS!

12th Season.

3 lb. Swarms, 10/6 ; larger at same rate. Boxes

1/6, unless returned.
C. N. White, "Ivo" Apiary, Somersham, Hunts.

(113)

, ONEY AND ITS USES. By the Kev. Gerard

W. Bancks, M.A. Can be supplied at the

following rates, carriage paid : 3/6 per 100. 8/ per

250, 14/6 per 500. Specimen copy on application.

Address Durham House, Green Street Green,

Dartford. 5

GENUINE ITALIAN BEES.— Queens,
Swarms, Nuclei ; or Established on Fixed
and Movable Combs, at reasonable rates. Safe
arrival guaranteed. Price List post free.
L. B. Lambertenghi & Co. , Caravaggio, Italy.

PURE, Prime SWARMS of my Selected
Strain of ENGLISH BEES, all 1892 Queens,
Packing-box, and put on Bail free, price 15s.
Address W. WOODLEY, World's End, Newbury.

(Telegrams — ' Ilsley, or Hampstead Norris.' Porterage 1/6.)
__ (104)

STEAM FACTORY for
'ggee Jlpptiattces.

ORDERS addressed J. ROSS, Stranraer, Wig-
townshire, N.B., will be attended to.

C. NYE & SONS,

Soutb of jEnglanb

BEE-KEEPERS' STORES,

WESTERN STREET,

Pure Brood Foundation, 2/- per lb.
„ Super „ 2/10 „

Special Quotations for a Quantity.
Illustrated Catalogue Post Free.

The Original and ONLY PERFECT

Preventive against STINGING.

PRICE AGAIN REDUCED. Quality Superior.

In Is. and 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 GRIMSHAW, Horsforth, Leeds.
Invaluable to Travellers Abroad as an Inseetifuge.

THE

Misli $rc Journal,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

Ho. 568. Vol. XXI. N.S. 176.] -MAY 11, 1893.

[ Published Weekly*

$bii0rial, tftotuts, th

HEREDITY IN BEES.

It may be remembered that in October, 1889,
•our correspondent, Mr. R. A. H. Grimshaw,
read a paper before the B.B.K.A. on the above
subject, in -which he announced the discovery
that (to his mind) the transmission of instincts,
and all other mental phenomena, from one gene-
ration to another among bees was not in the
usual way amongst other animals, i.e., from
paternal and maternal parents to their offspring,
but from the worker, or imperfect female, to
the worker brood by means of the food secreted
from its own system and fed to the young
larva either in a pure state or mixed with semi-
digested pollen or honey, or by both methods.

The contention of Mr. Grimshaw — the back-
bone of his argument — was, that as the drone and
queen do not possess those admirable faculties
which have obtained for the honey-bee such a
high place for intelligence, &c, in the scale of
animated nature as is occupied by it, it is im-
possible, illogical, and unreasonable to suppose
that they can develop, century by century,
higher and higher forms of mental characteristics
•(or, per contra, degrade and degenerate them),
which they give us not the least evidence of
possessing, and hand these on in the usual way
to their progeny; in other words, that they
cannot transmit what they have not. The other
horn of the dilemma is this : — The worker-bee
has the well-known wonderful instincts, &c.
From whom does it inherit them, seeing that
its parents have them not? Again, the worker-
bee has them : then to whom and how does it
transmit them, being itself incapable of bearing
progeny? Mr. Grimshaw's answer to these
queries is, " By means of brood food."

We were the first to admit the reasonableness
of his deductions, for in the work by Mr. Cowan
on The Honey-bee, published in 1890, the editor
says (p. 148) : — " If this applies to workers,
why should it not to drones ? It would not be
at all impossible in such a case that drones j
•could partake of the character of the workers, j
.and although they may be parthenogenetically |
produced, the food administered through the '■■
■workers may have influenced their character,

and imparted to some of them the outward
characteristics of the workers."

This new theory (which, as affects practical
bee-keeping, is so wonderful and far more im-
portant than the theory of parthenogenesis
was so startling that, through the instrumen-
tality of Mr. J. B.Blow, of Welwyn (himself no
mean scientist), Mr. Grimshaw was invited to
read a paper on the subject before the Linnean
Society, when one of his critics said that if
the theory were substantially correct, the paper
was the most important contribution to the
physiology of animal life that had been made
in his day.

Nothing more appears to have been done or
said on the question from March, 1890, until
June, 1892, when an article by M. Bertrand
(the editor) appears in La Revue Internationale,
in which M Kandratieff, an eminent Russian
apiculturist, makes a communication of a sup-
posed discovery by Dr. Metelli and his brothers
(well-known Italian scientists), running entirely
upon the lines of Mr. Grimshaw'.* theory. We
believe it rests upon ourselves for having on a
personal visit drawn M. Bertrand's attention to
the priority of our countryman as the discoverer
of the new theory, for M. Bertrand, in the
article above alluded to, freely gives credit to
Mr. Grimshaw, and promises to give a trans-
lation of the whole paper read by him before
the B.B.K.A. This article appears in the
September number, 1892.

However, all was not to go on smoothly and
unquestioned, for, in the interests of true science,
M. Bertrand publishes another article {Revue
Internationale, December, 1892), of which we
have pleasure in translating extracts. He says :
"Desiring to have the opinion of a man of
science on the value of such a theory, we
took the liberty of submitting Mr. Grimshaw's
article to Mr. Alp. de Candolle " (born at Paris,
October 27th, 1806), "and here is the reply
he has been pleased to give us: — 'Mr. Grim-
shaw .... appears to me to be in a wrong
track. He believes that nourishment can give
qualities of instinct, but that is a thing of
which we have no examples amongst animals.
Nourishment modifies height and muscular
strength, but probably not the qualities of the
nervous system. The author quoted, after
Darwin, the fact that a horse trained to trot
transmits that disposition, that people create

182

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 11, 1893.

certain faculties amongst hunting doa:s, Sec,
but it is not by intuition that they obtain
these results ; it is by quite other means.

'■ ' In order to explain the facts relative to bees
it is necessary to have recourse, it seems to me,
to latent heredity, which is a well-known theory.
Amongst our own species the daughter has not
certain characteristics of her father, but she
keeps them and may transmit them to her son,
if she have one. Again, two generations of
females may have latent characteristics which
may pass to the grandson of a man.

" ' A female bee is born. We do not know at
the time whether she will become a male, a
mother or a worker. In the second case she
will preserve in a hidden state the instincts of
the race and will transmit them to her daughters.
This is a mysterious but certain fact. Darwin's
hypothesis of Pangenesis should not be con-
sidered as an explanation ; that is an hypothesis
for grouping facts without giving the cause of
them.'"

An interview then follows between M. de
Oandolle and M. Bertrand, when the former
writes: —

" On thinking over our conversation I am per-
fectly persuaded that a mother-bee possesses in
a latent state qualities which permit her to
give birth to progeny which will be males, fer-
tile females or sterile ones (workers). Already,
in the larvae, before being male or female, a
fecundated bee embryo should have, like every
young foetus, conditions which permit an
ulterior development of diverse nature."

The comments of M. Bertrand are as
follows : —

" It results, then, from the opinion which our
venerated correspondent has kindly expressed,
that, in the actual state of science, our hypo-
thesis is not admissible, being contradicted by
what has been observed among the other beings
of the animal kingdom. We proposed it be-
cause it permitted the explanation of a fact
which we and others had observed and noted,
and of which the cause is still to find ; that is,
in the persistence of certain habits amongst the
workers of a hive, even when the blood of the
hive had been completely changed by the sup-
pression of the mother and the introduction of
a foreign mother already fecundated. Ac-
cording to our hypothesis, the transmission of
habits may be effected by the channel of the
nurses present in the hive at the time of the
introduction of the new mother.

" Would it not be possible to admit that
social insects form a separate category when
considering the subject of heredity ? Other ex-
amples of species give us exceptions to the
general laws which exist in the animal kingdom.
With regard to reproduction, for example, the
phenomenon of parthenogenesis, which exists
amongst other kinds of social instincts, and of
which the discovery was received at first with
so much scorn, is it not derogatory to the law
admitted before, in virtue of which the union
of the two sexes is necessary for the produc-
tion of a fertile egg ?

" Amongst our bees, the reproducers, males
and females alike, exercise no social function at
all, unless it be that of reproduction. . . . Ac-
cording to the hypothesis of Mr. Grimshaw,
our bee, a solitary species at first, would be-
come by degrees a perfect social species in pass-
ing through intermediate stages. . . . Trans-
formation presupposes that amongst a race new
aptitudes not possessed by their ancestors would
be gradually acquired ; but amongst bees these
new aptitudes have only been able to be ac-
quired by the workers, which, in the commu-
nity, fill every function except that of repro-
duction. How, we ask, are these new aptitudes
transmitted from generation to generation ? "

When we come to the January number of
the Revue we find the reply of Mr. Grimshaw
to the opinions expressed by M. De Candolle.
He states : " I have the greatest respect for
the opinion of a man so eminent as is Alp. de
Candolle, who has inspired me for many years
with a profound sentiment of admiration and
veneration. General biology is his domain, but
many great naturalists, when they come to treat
of the bee, are obliged to do so very superfi-
cially. They are not specialists, and I may be
permitted to say that, at the present day, it is
necessary to have given the special subject of
bees the deepest study before daring, as we
have attempted, to propose a new theory. M.
De Candolle tells us : 'A female bee is born,
and we do not know at once whether she will
become a male, a mother, or a worker.' Now
we do know that every egg, even while it is
actually being laid, is male, and that when it
has been fertilised it becomes a female or egg of
a mother-bee. We also know that a variation
in the quantity and quality of nourishment
(accompanied by another condition of minor
importance — the size of the cell) results in the
most marvellous differentiation of structure.
The tongue, the eyes, the organs secreting wax>
the useful appliances on the legs, all these result
from the variation in the nourishment given to
the larva. Very well; if a structural difference
is accompanied by varying instincts necessary in
order that such a structural alteration may be
fully utilised (in other words, if a longer tongue
is accompanied by the instinct to use it, Sec), it
is quite just and reasonable to say that brood
food which causes the former equally produces
the latter, &c. I am, like yourself " (the Editor
of the Revue Internationale), " of opinion that
social instincts form a separate category when
we deal with ' Heredity.' .... One cannot
expect all animated beings to follow the same
routine in their development."

Dr. Metelli's observations are then given, and
he is of opinion that " our hypothesis " has re-
ceived a rude blow by the arguments of M. De
Candolle, owing as much to the authority of
their author as to their intrinsic value. He
comes to the conclusion that the ripe egg of the
bee, when this egg is still in the ovary of the
queen, shuts up within itself, in a latent state,
the characters and instincts of the three elements
of a hive — male, queen, and worker. Given.

May 11, 1893.J

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

183

suitable conditions, of which one part depends
exclusively on the -workers, these elements are
susceptible of development into the first, second,
or third channel. In short, the special treat-
ment, after the fertilisation or non-fertilisation
of the egg, brings forward these latent poten-
tialities or leaves them still latent.

We hope M. Bertrand will not charge Mr.
Grimshaw with breach of confidence* in giving
us the following quotation from a private letter
from Dr. Metelli to M. Bertrand : — " You will
see that not only do I completely subscribe to
Mr. Grimshaw's article, but I even surpass him
in some respects. For the rest, as much in this
last as in my own work, it is Charles Darwin
who reigns as sovereign. Without Darwin it is
very difficult to read the interior of a beehive
(bien difficile de lire dans une ruche)."

The discovery of Mr. Grimshaw seems to have
caused a stir amongst the scientists on the Con-
tinent, inasmuch as it is an important question
in animal biology apart from bees. The article
on "Heredity," as translated by M. Bertrand
from our columns, has been again translated
from the French into German, and has just ap-
peared in the Schweizerische Bienenzeitung .

MIDDLESEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.

A meeting of the Committee was held at 105
Jermyn Street, on Wednesday, April 19th, 1893.
The Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh (in the chair).

The Chairman announced to the meeting that
with great regret he was obliged to resign the
Hon. Secretaryship in consequence of his leaving
the county. He had always taken a great in-
terest in the success of the Association, but he
feared that his many pressing duties in con-
nexion with his parish had militated against his
doing much that he might have done in the
interests of bee-keeping. In resigning he begged
to thank all who had so ably helped him in
carrying out the duties of his office.

Mr. Cowan said that though not long a
member of the M.B.K. A. he had for years
worked with Mr. Bligh in connexion with the
British Bee-keepers' Association, and thus knew
how untiringly he had striven to advance the
interests of bee-keeping in Middlesex. He (Mr.
Cowan) knew that the regret he felt at Mr.
Bligh's resignation was shared not only by the
Committee but by every member of the Associa-
tion, and that one and all wished him every
prosperity and happiness in the new sphere of
usefulness to which he had been called. He
trusted that though Mr. Bligh was to be separated
from them he would not sever his connexion
with the Association. It was then proposed by
Mr. Bligh and seconded by Mr. Cowan, that
Major Fair should assume the duties of Hon.
Secretary in place of Mr. Bligh, which was
carried unanimously.

The holding of the County Honey Show this

* K. A. H. G. is writing for permission.

year in the N.E. province was discussed, and
eventually the sum of 10/. was granted towards
the expenses of the show in July.

Some general conversation followed relative
to the spring tour of the expert, whose report
had not yet been sent in ; but local secretaries
had been supplied with a form, which if
correctly filled up and at once sent to secretaries
of provinces and districts, would show what sub-
scriptions had been collected by the expert.

The general opinion of the members of the
Committee present was that an autumn tour
should be held this year as usual, and that early
in September.

The proceedings closed with the usual vote of
thanks to the Chairman for presiding.

IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The postponed annual general meeting of the
Irish Bee-keepers' Association was held on Tues-
day, May 2nd, at 11.30 a.m., in Dr. Traill's
Rooms, 35 Trinity College, Dublin,— Mr. T. B.
O'Bryen in the chair. The minutes of the last
annual general meeting were read and con-
firmed. The report and balance-sheet for 1892
were received and adopted, with a vote of
thanks to the auditors.

The following were elected Officers of the
Association. President: — Lord Ardilaun. Vice-
Presidents :— The Right Hon. the Earl of Rosse,
K.P., Miss Rutherfoord, Rev. Canon Proctor,
Hon. Richard Bellew, and W. J. Bramley, Esq.
Acting Committee elected for 1893-94:— Mr.
H. Chenevix, J.P., Mr. M. H. Read, Dr. Traill,
Captain J . K. Milkier, Rev. Canon Sadleir, Mr.
J. M. Gillies, Rev. R. Seymour, D.D., Mr. T. B.
O'Bryen, Rev. P. Kavanagh, Miss F. W. Currey,
Mr. E. Drought, Mr. G. Woods Hargraft, Miss
Russell, Mr. R. T. Croasdaile, Mr. William A.
Clandillon, Mr. W. H. Good. Treasurer :— Mr.
John Edmondson, 10 Dame Street, Dublin.
Hon. Secretaries: — Mr. H. Chenevix, J.P., 15
Morehampton Road, Dublin, and Mr. M. H.
Read, Clonoughlis, Straffan Station, co. Kildare.
District Hon. Secretaries :— Mr. Chas. E. Beale,
Killcora Lodge, Glounthaun, for co. Cork; Rev.
D. E. Dickson, Letter, co. Fermanagh, for co.
Fermanagh; Mr. G. Woods Hargraft, Wood-
brook, Shinrone, for King's County; Mr. W.
Morony, Fortlawn, Ballygdas, for co. Mayo;
Miss E. E. Rutherfoord, Ghan House, Carling-
ford, for co. Louth ; and Mr. T. B. O'Bryen,
for counties Galway and Clare. Auditors: —
Mr. J. M. Gillies and Mr. M. H. Read.

It was resolved that a Correspondence Com-
mittee of five members of the Committee be
appointed to whom the Hon. Secretary may
refer by post any business he may consider
urgent. The following gentlemen were ap-
pointed :— Mr. M. H. Read, Mr. T. B. O'Bryen,
Rev. Canon Sadleir, D.D., Rev. R. Seymour,
D.D., and Captain J. K. Millner. The balance-
sheet showed a balance of 13/. 2s. 7\d. in favour
of the Association.

184

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 11, 1893.

ROYAL DUBLIN SOCIETY SPRING
SHOW.

Under the most favourable conditions this
important show was held at the Society's
premises, Ballsbridge, Dublin, from Tuesday,
April 18th to 21st. The weather was every-
thing to be desired, and brought out many
visitors. All the classes in the show were well
competed for, except honey, which owing to the
early date was poorly represented, all the ex-
hibits being last season's produce. In the classes
for hives the competition was keen, Mr._J._D.
McNally, Laurencetown, co. Down, winning
the first prize and silver medal in Section 1 for
an excellent hive, the work of an amateur.

Messrs. Edmondson Bros., Dame Street, Dub-
lin, took second in the same section for a Wells
hive which was also recommended for an extra
prize, as was a " Cottager's Hive " shown by the
same firm.

Section 3. Best and cheapest Cottager Hive.
Very highly commended, Edmondson Bros.

Section 5. Best Smoker for cottagers' use.
Very highly commended, Edmondson Bros.

Class 130. Crate of 21 1-lb. sections.— Com-
mended, J . K. Millner.

Class 133. Twelve 1-lb. jars of extracted
honey. — 2nd prize, John D. McNally. — Com-
municated.

HONEY IMPORTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of April,
1893, was 3590/. — From a return furnished by
the Statistical Office, H. M. Customs.

Cnrtespon&ma.

T7te 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 oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
Ucation, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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, ic, must be addressed only to "The
Editobs of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

%• 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.

[1427.] The drought continues ; in our dis-
trict we have not had rain enough to lay the
dust since the 1st of March. April has proved
a drier month than March — not a single April
shower — and now May seems equally dry ; we
have got into the second week, and no rain,
with barometer steady at set fair (30*50) ; this

beats the record of the oldest inhabitant. The
Austrian savant, Falb, prophesies a dry May, a
drier June, and then July and August wet, with
September as a climax, which is to beat the
record for dampness — not a pleasing prospect for
either farmers or bee-keepers ! But time will
prove if these conjectures are true, and also if
our pessimism will be real or fancied.

The prospects at present are not bright, though
we get abundance of sunshine. I have been
inclined in the past, when any one has asked me
to define the constituents of honey, to say it was
bottled-up sunshine ; but I have proved now that
sunshine alone will not produce honey to bottle,
even with plenty of flowers and bees to gather
it.

Yesterday I passed a field yellow with trefoil,
and could only see two bees in going across a
large field of some twenty acres, and the next
was a large piece of sainfoin with a good sprink-
ling of flowers in bloom, and only one humble-
bee did 1 see soaring from flower to flower in
quest of what apparently it could not find, or
its visits on each blossom would have been
delayed long enough to gather the sweets if any
had been in the nectaries. The trefoil flowers
are very, very small, and so also are the white
clover blossoms, which I also found in bloom in
another parish. Fancy white clover in bloom
on the 7th of May, quite one month before
time ; then how can we expect these premature
blossoms to produce either honey or seed !

Last week the bees seemed very busy, and I
was constrained to put on some supers on the
strongest stocks, but since then we have had it
colder, with easterly and north-easterly winds ;
the bees have only been able to gather anything
during an hour or two in the middle of the day.
This long drought is not only inimical to success
in bee-keeping this spring, but is likely to cur-
tail our breadth of honey -producing plants
another year, as the farmers cannot sow their
spring corn owing to the hardness of the
ground, and after the barley and oats are sown
then the farmer sows his grass seeds for the hay
crops and feeding crops the following spring.

I noticed a week or two back some one thought
I had made a mistake in the rate of wages I
mentioned in a previous note when referring to
the price of hives as out of the labourer's reach.
What I stated was quite true of the general
labourer. The carters and shepherds get one or
two shillings per week more, but the ordinary
farm labourer only gets 10s. per week, except
during hay and corn harvest, and this is a purely
agricultural district.

I must congratulate our Scotch friends on
the get-up of the report of the Scottish Bee-
keepers' Association. It simply " takes the
cake." It is brimful of instructive matter
from cover to cover.

Will some one in authority in the British
Bee-keepers' Association kindly say if the three-
eighths of an inch edging on the face of sections
extends to all section-honey classes in the show
at Chester next month, or only to the smaller
exhibits of six and twelve sections ? A definite

May 11, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

185

understanding on this point may save trouble
and space later on.

I am glad to be able to state that the Berks
County Council has increased the grant to the
Berks B.K.A". this year to 100/., to enable
the Association to purchase a " bee-van." I
was unable to attend the B.K.A. Council
meeting, so cannot give details. — W. Woodley,
World's End, Navbury.

A METHOD OF QUEEN-EAISING.

[1428.] An idea has occurred to me -which,
coming as it does at a time when so much is
being said about the advisability of working
two or more queens in one hive, may possibly
prove worth the attention of some bee-keepers.

I do not know if the plan I propose is a new
one ; it may have been tried before and found
to be a failure. I have never tried it myself, and
although I hope to test the plan thoroughly this
summer, circumstances may very likely prevent
me from doing so, and I would therefore invite
any of your readers who may care to make the
experiment to do so, and report on the success
or failure of their attempts.

What I propose to do is to rear several queens
— say, four — in the same hive, simply dividing
each compartment from the next by means of a
dummy of queen-excluding zinc. A flight-hole
would be made in each of the four sides of the
hive, through which the queens might severally
leave to take their marriage flights. In apply-
ing this system to the ordinary four-framed
nucleus hives, for instance, all that would be
required to be done would be to cut a small
entrance in the back, front, and both sides of
the hive, and divide each frame from its neigh-
bour by means of queen -excluding dummy.
Each frame would contain a sealed queen-cell,
from which in due time a queen would hatch,
take her wedding trip, and, returning to the
hive, commence to lay.

It would seem that much trouble would be
saved by such a system, and fewer hives re-
quired, and also fewer bees to rear each queen.

Of course, more bees would have to be put in
a nucleus made up in this way than would be
necessary for an ordinary nucleus, because in
this case the frames are placed further apart,
and consequently much heat is lost. For all
this, it may be seen that, even if we use twice
as many bees in making up a nucleus which is
to rear four queens, it will prove more economi-
cal than rearing queens singly in nuclei.

It may be objected that, when the virgin
queens hatched, the bees would destroy all but
one. This is possible, but from experiments
already carried out in this direction, I should be
inclined to say it is distinctly improbable.

The great trouble which I anticipate is from
the young virgin queens passing through the
excluder zinc, which they undoubtedly will do
unless it be made of the most accurate gauge ;
for it must be remembered that virgin queens,

especially when they are but newly hatched, are
inclined to be appreciably smaller than fertile
ones.

The only way in which we can guard against
this danger is by taking care that our queen-
cells are started under the most favourable con-
ditions, so that both they and their occupants
may be large and fully proportioned ; for it is
quite certain that from an under-sized cell
nothing but an under-sized queen will issue, and
that such small queens will have no difficulty in
passing through the perforations, which are in-
tended to exclude them.

In large queen-raising establishments it is
often the practice to hatch the queens by
artificial heat after the cells are capped over,
and to introduce the virgin queens to the nuclei.

When this plan is adapted, I should very
much doubt the possibility of introducing
several virgin queens to the same nucleus. I
should say, indeed, that it would be certain to
result in failure. However, it would be interest-
to make experiments in this direction with a
view to thoroughly settling the matter. — G.
Gordon Samson.

[Mr. Doolittle, in his book on queen-rearing,
describes and advocates a similar method, with
the difference that the queen remains in the
hive and is separated from an upper chamber
by excluder zinc, the upper chamber being used
for rearing queens, the frames of brood being
separated by excluder divisions. Holes are
bored in the upper chamber corresponding to
each division, and the queens are fecundated in
the usual way. He says any number of queens
may be reared in this way, and they are better
than those raised in smaller nuclei. — Eds.]

EABLY SECTIONS.

[1429.] I have to-day (May 2nd) taken
twelve well-finished sections of fine honey from
a super which I put on a hive on the 17th
April. This is five weeks earlier than the first
we had last year, which was a good honey
season in this neighbourhood. — E. W. Norms,
Erith, Kent, May 2nd, 1893.

EARLY SECTIONS AND "WELLS"
HIVE.

[1430.] On April 7th last I put section
crates on two of my ordinary hives (one con-
taining twenty-eight and the other twenty-one
sections) and a crate on my " Wells " hive, con-
taining forty-five sections. Up to the present
I have taken from my ordinary hive thirty-
four sections, weighing thirty-five pounds seven
ounces, and from my " Wells " hive two sections
weighing two pounds one ounce, leaving about
thirty-six nearly finished. So far there does
not appear to me very much difference between
the two systems, but I intend to keep notes of

186

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 11, 1893.

the two stocks I have pitted against my
" Wells " hive, and compare the results at the
end of the season. The sections were partly
drawn out (the ones I extracted from last season) ,
and partly " Howard's Champion " with full
sheets of foundation. There are plenty of
fruit-trees in the neighbourhood, and I notice
that I put section crates on last year on May
17th, and took my first sections off June 3rd. —
Lower Edmonton.

THE SEASON IN SUSSEX.

[1431. J I am, as yet, only a novice in the craft
of bee-keeping, hut what would some of those
gentlemen who are striving after new systems
say if I tell them that I took seventy pounds of
beautifully finished honey off an old straw skep
last season ? It is the only straw skep I have
— in fact, the one I purchased my first swarm in
three years ago. I have a hole cut in the top,
and a board fixed on for supering. My stocks
(seven) have wintered well, and five of them
are supered. One stock has almost completed a
six-frame super, holding about twenty-five
pounds. I have never known the season so for-
ward before. Clover is in bloom, and the chest-
nut-trees are a perfect picture with their grand
blossoms. One or two of my friends have lost
some of their stocks this past winter, but I be-
lieve bees are doing grandly in this neighbour-
hood generally. I must also take the oppor-
tunity of saying that your little paper has been
of the greatest assistance to me. — W. H. J.
Malthouse, Arundel, May 5th.

QUEEN-WASPS.

[1432.] The following may be of some
interest to bee-keepers : — Mr. G. S. Constable, a
gentleman residing at Warningcamp, near
Arundel, has lor years past made a practice of
paying Id. per head for all queen-wasps brought
in up to the end of May. This year there seems
to be quite a business done, and every youngster
who is the happy possessor of a net spends most
of his out-of-school hours on the hunt. The
wasps are received at Mr. Constable's brewery
office in Arundel, where they are counted up
and booked, and finally stuck on cards. The
total number brought in from 1st of April up
to and including the 1st of May is 3063. Some
lads have brought in as many as 100 at a time.
Perhaps some statistician will tell us what
progeny these 3000 odd queens might have had
if they had been allowed to live. — M., Warning-
camp.

EARLY SWARMS IN SURREY.

[1433.] A fine large swarm is reported here
as having issued on April 23rd, at Lower Breach
Farm, Ewhurst, near Guildford, besides several
others in the neighbourhood about the same
date. — C. Hamshire, Wonersh, May 2nd.

ntxim attir lilies.

[770.] Chilled Brood. — In opening a hive
this evening I found some chilled brood, which
had begun to smell, so I took out all the combs
and put in fresh frames with sealed honey and
sheets of foundation. I have destroyed the old
combs. They had in them some dead grubs or
brood, which were tohite, not coffee-coloured, as
foul brood is described. It is the first time I have
had any chilled brood, being most careful about
over-spreading, and working very much on the let-
alone system ; so I thought, before opening the
others again, I would have some naphthaline to
put on the floor-boards, &c. The bees were
very strong indeed, and I put sections on all
lots more than a fortnight ago, but have none
working in them yet, though there is plenty of
apple-bloom all around. Could I do anything
better with the hive mentioned, or with any
others, should I find mischief in them ? — James
Brewer, Horsham.

Reply. — We fear the " chilling " has been
caused by giving surplus room too early, and
not sufficiently guarding against the low tem-
perature at the date referred to. The fact of
none of the sections being taken to shows that
the bees were hardly ready for them. The
naphthaline will act as a preventive of further
mischief arising from the chilled brood, and so
it is hardly necessary to destroy all combs in
which dead brood is found unless in large
quantities.

[771.] Using Unfinished Sections. — I have
about fifty unfinished sections of last year with
the honey in them, a number being only half
sealed. 1. Can I put them on hives this year
to be finished, and if so would I require to un-
cap them to give them a fresh face when
finished? 2. Is Meadows' "New Windsor"
a machine well adapted for sections as well as
frames, or would you advise me to go the
length of the "Guinea Extractor?" 3. How
are the " Windsor " and " New Guinea " driven
if you do not take the " extras " along with
them, viz., deep cover with centre hole ? — John
Smith, Perth.

Reply. — 1. If the honey is not granulated
they may be given to the bees to finish. The
capping should, however, be removed and if the
cells are cut down to half depth they will look
better when refilled. 2. The " New Guinea " is
suited for sections as well as frames and will
suit you best. 3. Both machines are driven in
the same way in either case.

[772.] Inducing Robbing. — I should be glad if
you could advise me how to treat my bees till
the next honey-flow. I stimulated several of
my stocks extra early, in the hope of getting some
surplus from the apple-bloom. I got them nice
and strong, but, owing to the excessively dry
season, or from some other cause, the bees have

May 11, 1893. j

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

187

not worked the apple-trees anything like so
much as usual; consequently I have obtained
no surplus. There is, however, a good supply in
the brood chambers (twenty or twenty-five
pounds). The apple-bloom is now gone, and
there will be little more income till the charlock
or sainfoin blooms. 1. Ought I feed the bees at
once, or let them use up their stores ? I opened
two weak stocks this morning, and inserted a
frame of uncapped honey in each, and they
have been besieged with robbers nearly all day,
leaving two or three hundred dead in front of
each hive. 2. Are these robbers as likely to
have come from stocks well supplied with stores
as from some short of stores, and which would
the dead ones consist mostly of, the robbers or
the others ? Each stock successfully repulsed
the invaders by the middle of the afternoon. —
E. C. R. White, Salisbury, May 1st.

P.S. — The apple-trees have bloomed about
three weeks earlier than usual, and six weeks
earlier than they sometimes do.

Reply. — 1. To feed now, with already over-
stored brood chambers, would be worse than
useless, seeing that it will be advantageous for
the bees to consume some of the food in order
to allow the queen more breeding-space. 2. It
is at all times an unwise proceeding to give un-
capped honey to weak stocks; it so often in-
duces robbing. The odour of the honey at-
tracts prowling bees from other stocks, and, if
only a feeble resistance is at first offered to
these prowlers or robbers, they bring reinforce-
ments to carry off the spoils before the assailed
bees are thoroughly roused to defend them-
selves.

[773.] A Miniature Swarm. — On yesterday
evening, the 5th inst., a small swarm of bees
was found in this village. They numbered
about 100 bees — two drones and a queen.

1. Such being an unusual event in beedom,
I shall feel extremely obliged if you will en-
lighten me as to the cause of such an occurrence.

2. Will they be of any material advantage as
honey-producers ? — David John, Llansamlet,
near Swansea, May 6th.

Reply. — 1. It is quite beyond us to explain
the smallness of the swarm. 2. Excepting the
queen, which might be utilised, the swarm (?)
is of no value whatever, and could do no pos-
sible good " as honey-producers."

[774.] A Bundle of Queries.— I. What is
necessary to qualify for an " expert ? " 2. In
connexion with prevention of robbing, I see suc-
cess ascribed to the use of " Langstroth blocks."
What do these mean, and where obtainable? 3.
I lifted into a super two combs of brood, and
filled up to ten with comb foundation ; on ex-
amination I found, a few days afterwards, the
bees had drawn some of the cells in one frame
of brood, and fastened them to cells in the next.
I have noticed a similar plan in the hives.
What does this signify? The frames are the
usual distances, and there is plenty of room in

the super. 4. Would you pull off a rack of sec-
tions, or a super without brood in it, should the
bees not have taken to either within a week
or fortnight, putting them on again after an in-
terval of a week ? 5. And what kind of foundation
do you use in shallow frames — tue foundation
generally used in sections, or that for extracted
honey ? If the former, could it be extracted
easily out of combs by ordinary ''guinea'' ex-
tractor ? — Enthusiast, Stonehouse, Gloucester.

Reply. — 1. Candidates forexperts certificates
undergo an examination prescrioed by the rules
of the B.B.K. A, particulars of which can be had
from the Secretary, Mr. Huckle, Kings Langley,
Herts. 2. There is no particular advantage in
the " Langstroth block " over the ordinary slid-
ing entrance, by means of which entrances may
be narrowed to any size. The blocks referred
to are not much used in this country, but any
dealer will make them to order. 3. We cannot
quite follow the meaning of this query, but it is
a very unwise thing to move two frames of brood
into a cold surplus chamber in April, especially
if divided from the brood nest below by ex-
cluder zinc. It means tempting "chilled brood"
in its fullest sense. 4. No. 5. Thin (or super)
foundation should never be used in shallow
frames for extracting purposes.

[775]. Using Foul-broody Combs. — 1. I have
just discovered foul brood in two of my hives.
Can I again use those frames which have no
brood in them after cleansing ? I shall destroy
all frames in which there is brood; though some
contain a nice lot of new honey, some are quite
empty. 2. I have also a skep very strong and
working well, but from the entrance comes the
same offensive odour as there is about the
frame hives ; what shall 1 do with this ? —
A Bee-keeper.

Reply. — 1. The safest way of dealing with
the diseased stocks at this season will be to move
the bees from their combs and put them on full
sheets of foundation. By this course of treat-
ment the bees are compelled to take medicated
syrup, which they would otherwise probably
refuse to touch while honey can be had in the
fields. If the bees are confined indoors in some
temporary receptacle while the hive is being
thoroughly disinfected, they may be returned to
it ; but we do not advise giving them either the
combs or the honey referred to. The latter may,
however, be used for household purposes, as it is
none the worse for such. 2. We think you are
needlessly alarming yourself about the skep. If
" very strong and working well " it is doubtless
all right.

[776.] Age and Distance at which Queens
Mate. — 1. Would a young queen be fertilised by-
drones from hives about eighth of mile distant ?
My hives are some distance away, but I wish to
raise a queen in my attic, so desire to know if
it is necessary to have drones in the same hive ?
2. If a queen is not fertilised soon after hatching
(five days or so), will she never become so ? If

188

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

May 11, 1898.

not, what is the reason? 3. Often when ex-
amining my hive in summer, there is a " gurg-
ling " noise made by the bees. What does that
mean ? 4. I only saw a swarm of bees for the
first time June, 1891. I consider last year my
first true bee-year. From one hive I obtained
103 sections. Should I do better by " Wells "
system, or any other system ? — G.

Reply. — 1. Yes. Young queens seldom mate
with drones from their own hive if others are
within reach. 2. Queens are sometimes ferti-
lised three weeks after hatching, but the usual
time is from three to six days. 3. Nothing
more than the " hum " caused by disturbance.
4. 103 sections in one year from a single hive is
so good a result that we will not venture to
suggest any system which will lead you to
expect an advance on it.

[777.] Packing Swarms for Travelling by
Rail. — Will you kindly give me a little instruc-
tion as to packing swarms of bees for sending
by rail ? If the swarm was put into an empty
cheese-box, what would be best and cheapest to
cover the said box to keep the bees safe prisoners ?
Any information will be thankfully received by
— Lincolnshire Bill.

Reply. — To turn an empty cheese-box into a
safe travelling receptacle for swarms, it would
require (1) a couple of slips of wood nailed across
the bottom to raise it from the ground; (2) a
hole about five inches square cut in bottom, and
covered with perforated zinc nailed on the
inside ; (3) a piece of coarse, open canvas or
cheese-cloth, large enough to cover the whole
top and tie down at the sides. When the swarm
is safely settled in box, lift it on to the canvas
cover and tie the latter very securely, and let
the box travel canvas uppermost, with a strong
cord for carrying by. If the hoop or rim of the
cheese-box lid is slipped over the canvas, it will
prevent the escape of bees and keep it securely
down. But square or oblong boxes of suitable
size may be bought from grocers for a few
coppers, and these, with good-sized holes cut in
top and. sides covered with perforated zinc,
make far better travelling boxes for swarms
than the round cheese-boxes referred to above.
The point is to give swarms plenty of ventila-
tion and to secure the bees from escaping.

[778.] Transferring.— On p. 110 of B. J.
you recommend a plan for transferring bees
from skep to frame hive. 1. Is the old entrance
to skep to be plugged, and the bees compelled
to go in and out through the frame hive below ?
2. If so, would it not be well to have a larger
hole than four inches ? — T. White, Hambledon.

Reply. — 1. Yes ; the only entrance should
be through the frame hive. 2. The object of a
four-inch hole in the adapter or board on which
the skep stands is to prevent " chilling" the skep
and its contents by exposing the whole of its
under-surface to the cold space in frame hive
while the latter is untenanted.

[779.] Smokers and Self-hivers. — 1 . Will
you please tell me which you consider the best
for all purposes, the " smoker " or the " f umi-
gator ? " I have had two smokers, and neither
have given me satisfaction. From a description of
the f umigator, I thought it was like suiting me,
but should like advice first. 2. Is there a good
" self-hiver " out that will do its work and fit
any hive f I have seen several advertised, but
they are complicated affairs, and will only fit
hives made by maker of self-hiver. I should
consider it almost a godsend to get hold of a
perfect self-hiver, as I have lost a great many
swarms. — Yorkshire Parson.

Reply. — 1. Personally, we prefer the smoker.
Why it is not satisfactory in your hands you do
not say, else we might advise further. 2. None
that we have yet heard of. In fact, to devise a
self-hiver that will " fit any hive " would seem
to us impossible.

[780.] Giving Surplus Room. — Shall I be
doing harm by giving super room though honey
is not coming in ? My hives are full of bees
and want room. — J. T.

Reply. — No harm can follow giving room at
this season so long as there are plenty of bees.

§te Sjxcrtos to tiLamt.

June 19th to 23rd. — Royal Agricultural
Society's Show at Chester. Secretary, John
Huckle, Kings Langley.

July 19th to 21st. — Lincolnshire Agriculture
Society's Show at Stamford. Bees, honey,
hives and appliances. Liberal prizes. Entries
close July 7th. S. Upton, Secretary, St. Bene-
dict's Square, Lincoln.

July 21st and 22nd. — Bristol and District
B.K.A., at Knowle. Entries close July 14th.
Over 61. cash in prizes. Special facilities offered
to distant exhibitors. Schedules from James
Brown, Hon. Secretary, 42 Baldwin Street,
Bristol.

July 25th to 28th. — Summer Show of the
Scottish B.K.A. (under the auspices of the High-
land and Agricultural Society (in the Dean Park,
Edinburgh. Prize lists in due course from
John Wishart, Assistant Secretary, Market
Place, Melrose.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation's Exhibition, in St. Andrew's Hall,
Glasgow. Schedules in due course from Colonel
Bennett, Alloway Park, Ayr, or John Wishart,
Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 13th and 14th.— Scottish B. K. A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

May 11, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

189

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Geo. S. Rake. — Honey-comb Designs. — Write
to Mr. Chas. Cox, Brampton, Northants, who
prepares supers for working these. Instruc-
tions are also given in Record for April, 1890,
post free '2\d. in stamps.

H. E. S. (Hereford). — Bees Deserting their
Hives. — Moving bees in March would of
itself certainly not cause them to desert the
hive. The details given are too vague for us
to say why they left. You don't say if either
food or brood was left in the hive. Then, if
the seller now declares that " there is some-
thing the matter with the combs, and advises
their destruction," the inference is that they
are diseased, but we can form no opinion from
the bit of dry drone comb sent. The friend
who understands bees ought to either advise
you himself or help you to get our advice
after inspecting the combs.

Dale. — Bee sent is a young queen.

E. C. R. White. — The statement in cutting
sent has been dealt with in our columns years
ago.

A. Pond, A. T. Wilmot, R. V. E., W^irer,
and others. — 1. Wiring Frames. — We have
received several devices for " wiring," all more
or less useful ; but we cannot incur the cost of
preparing blocks to show the advantages of
each, seeing that there is so little to choose
between the various methods shown. Most
of them are only adapted for the now seldom
used solid top-bar. 2. Naphthaline, as sent
from this office, is non - poisonous to bees in
its solid form. 3. Nearly all the " Guinea "
extractors are of the same make, so the nearest
dealer would be the best to purchase from.

Cleveland. — The dealer referred to must be
still in business, or he would not continue
advertising.

C. Marks (Kingsbridge). — Insect sent is neither
a bee nor a moth. It belongs to the order
Hymenoptera, or fly.

W. Peters. — Early Blooming of Honey Plants.
— It is quite impossible for us to say how
much earlier than usual the ordinary honey
harvest will begin this year, so much will
depend on the weather of this month.

A Beginner (Westmoreland). — Wells Hive. —
We trust you will read carefully what has
appeared on the subject, and shape your course
accordingly.

Amateur (Okehampton). — Adding Frames of
Foundation in Spreading Brood. — 1. All
healthy brood, before being sealed over, pre-
sents the appearance noted. 2. If the bees
now completely cover the seven frames, two
sheets of foundation may be given, one out-
side each of the two centre frames of brood
nest. 3. If the bees can be crowded on to,
say, six or seven frames in autumn, the re-
mainder may, with advantage, be given to a

lot of driven bees. Five ready-built combs
should, if possible, be given to the latter, as
it is very difficult to get combs built nicely
from foundation placed between finished
combs in autumn, the tendency of the bees
being to lengthen out the cells of the latter
when storing instead of drawing out the
foundation properly.

R. Hamlyn - Harris (Lines.). — Preventing
Swarming. — There is no certain method of
prevention. Giving timely room, shade, and
ventilation in hot weather tend to lessen the
the chances of swarming, and that is all that
can be said of the methods. Dandelion yields
a little honey, but it is chiefly a pollen plant.
Blackthorn is not an important plant for
either honey or pollen.

F. Jellico (co. Cork). — Comb sent is whole-
some, and quite fit for using again.

R. W. Lloyd (Chippenham). — Bees Casting out
Drones. — The usual cause for this is a sudden
cessation of income, and consequent abandon-
ment of any proclivity for swarming whica
may have been formed by the bees earlier on.
This season, however, the weather has been
so abnormal that many things are unaccount-
able in bee-matters.

%* Correspondents will please note that in
consequence of the rapid and continued rise
in the sugar market, the price of all sugar
ordered through this office will be increased
2*. per cwt. from May 1st.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

SECTIONS, one pound each, wanted, Clover or Heather ;
crop 1892. Must be good clear Honey, and well filled.
Apply or address Mr. Leitch, 208 St. George's Road,
Glasgow. f. n.

STRONG HEALTHY SWARMS for Sale, 10s. 6d. each.
Orders taken in rotation Address E. Long, Cotten-
hain, Cambs. 4

FOR SALE. — Superior Queens, Stocks, and Swarms,
English and Carniolan. Address Rev. C. Bbeeeton.
Pulborough, Sussex. f. n.

/ 1 TJARANTEED Healthy Natural Swarms of Pure
\JT Natives, 3£ to 4 lbs. weight, price Us. 6d. Packing-
box included. Ready in May if weather continues favour-
able. Orders in rotation. Address Chas. Whiting, Valley
Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suffolk. A 17

FOR SALE.— A few Swarms; also Stocks in Second,
hand Hives. Address, Geo. Childe, Semington-
Trowbridge. *■ 21

HEALTHY NATURAL SWARMS, 12s. 6d„ on Rail,
Swarm-box included. For nearly twenty years I have
supplied very many swarms annually. Address, Alsford,

Expert, Blandford. AJ23

ARGUERITE CARNATIONS, 12, 2s. Japanese Ane-
mones, Pink Beauty (new Oriental Poppy), Peren-
nial Phlox, Single Dahlias, 12, Is. 6d. Nicotiana Affinis
(sweet-scented Tobacco), Roemir's Superb Mimulus, Pe-
tunias, Tomatoes (Open air and Mammoth), 12, Is.; 24, ls.6d.
Ten-week Stocks, Dianthus Heddewigi, German Scabious,
Sweet Sultans, Iceland Poppies, 24, Is. 3d. Eckford's
Sweet Peas, 30, Is. 3d. 20 Packets of Flower Seeds, in-
cluding 6 Fashionable Poppies, Is. 6d. Address Vicar,
Egginton, Leighton Buzzard. A 2j*

FOR SALE.— Colonial Honey, guaranteed Pure; fair
quality ; in J-cwt. Tins at 37*. per cwt. Sample, 2d.
Stamps. Address A. W. Dbarden, 40 Margery Park Road,
Forest Gate, E. *■ ™

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 11, 1893.

F(

10R SALE.-Carniolaus, Italians, English, in Bar-
frame Hives. Address T. Hill, Scotlands, Cannock
Road.

WANTED.— A Stork of Bees in exchange for Bar-
frame Hive and Crate of Sections. Address W.
Mokss, Mytton Lodge, Whalley, Lanes. a 35

OR SALE.— Verv Strong Swarms in May, 10*. to 15s.,
cash. Stocks, '15s to 25s. (in e«od Hives, 8s. to 15s.
extra). Address G. Gordon Samson, Oldfield, Bourne-
mouth West. AM

C ABBOLINE POMADE.— Kills Bee-stings like Magic.
Prevents petting Stung. Robbing, and Bees entering
Cones, &c. Leaflet containing instructions accompanies
each bottle. Price Is. per bottle. Post free. Address T.
Hollidat, Astbury, Congleton. A a<

ORAGE.— Strong healthy Plants. 1 s. 6d. per 100. Ad-
dress J. Harvey, Goldthorn Hill, Wolverhampton.

A do

B

WANTED— One or two good steady Bee Appliance
Makers ; tbos- used to Foundation-making and
Expert work preferred. Address Redshaw, South
Wigston. A **

FOR SALE.— 5 doz 16-oz. Rcrew-capped Bottles of good
Granulated Wnney, 18P2. Hash offers. Addre^

Elliot, Rectory, Southwell, Notts. a W

T710R SALE.— A few Natural Swarms of Bees this month

H or earlv in June. 15s. each, packed free. Foul Brood

unknown. Address Wm. Carter, Hodge Close, Coniston,

R.S.O. ^

FOR SALE.— 1 and 3-lb. Sections: also AbbotfsEx-
hibition Crates, quite new, with Sundries. What
offers ? Address C. Cttst, Dorchester. _*_**

"CTTANTED, by Young Man acustomed to Bees, any
V*' nost in an Apiary. Small remuneration. Addreg

J. Knowles, Anstead Brook House, Haslemere. a 43

T) EES.— Wanted, good Swarm immediately in exchange
*j for Cheshire's Bee-keeping: Scientific and Practical,
37 Parts (2 Volumes complete, unbound), unsoiled, cost,
15s. 9a. Address S., 35 Devonshire Place, Brighton, a 44

WEBSTER'S Book of Bee-keeping, post free. Is.;
cloth, Is. fid, W. B Webster. Binfield. Berks.
" One of the best foreign works." — American Apiculturist.
" The matter is evidently the result of long personal ob-
servation, and is thoroughly reliable."— Bee-keepers' Record.
" Have much pleasure in recommending the manual to our
readers." — British Bee Journal.

SIMMINS' MODERN BEE FARM.
Beautifully printed en Toned paper. Pro-
fusely Illustrated. 270 large 8vo. pages.
Giving great satisfaction. Onlv 2/9 Post free.
S. SIMMINS, Seaford, Sussex, (ill)

Sold by us in the past
have produced from 40
do 100 lbs. of Honey, while in some districts
turing cool, stormy seasons, the Bees obtained
from us were the only ones to secure a surplus,
while others in the same Apiary would be starving.
Selection in Breeding does it, as opposed to Queens
reared under indiscriminate swarming. Circular
free. S. SIMMINS, Seaford, Sussex. (112)

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL SHOW, August 7 & 8, 1893.

SPECIAL PEIZES will be offered. Open Free
to the United Kingdom. For the BEST
Single 1-lb. SECTION OF HONEY. First, 20/- ;
Second, 15/-; Third, 10/-; Fourth, 5/-; Fifth, 2/6.
For farther particulars see future Advertise-
ment, or send Stamp to R. Heffobd, Boughton,
Northants. 116

NUCLEI

SWARMS! SWARMS! SWARMS!

12th Season.

3 lb. Swarms, 10/6 ; larger at same rate. Boxes

1/6, unless returned.
C. N. White, "Ivo" Apiary, Somersham, Hunts.
(113)

HONEY AND ITS USES. By the Rev. Gerakd
W. Bancks, M.A. Can be supplied at the
following rates, carriage paid : 3/6 per 100. 8/ per
250, 14/6 per 500. Specimen copy on application.
Address Durham House, Green Street Green,

Dartford. 4

GENUINE ITALIAN BEES.— Queens,
Swarms, Nuclei ; or Established on Fixed
and Movable Combs, at reasonable rates. Safe
arrival guaranteed. Price List post free.
L. R. Lambebtenghi & Co. , Caravaggio, Italy.

"W>t ©itre (EnsitjSite »**♦"

PURE, Prime SWARMS of my Selected
Strain of ENGLISH BEES, all 1892 Queens,
Packing-box, and put on Rail free, price 15s.
Address W. WOODLEY, World's End, Newbubt.
(Telegrams — * Ilsley, or Hampstead Norris. Porterage 1/6.)
Q04)

STEAM FACTORY for

i8cc Jlppltcmces.

RDERS addressed J. ROSS, Stranraer, Wig*
townshire, N.B., will be attended to.

o

C, NYE & SONS,

Soutb of England

BEE-KEEPERS' STORES,

WESTERN STREET,

Pure Brood Foundation, 2/- per lb.
„ Super „ 2/10 „

Special Quotations for a Quantity.
Illustrated Catalogue Post Free.

The Original and ONLY PEBFECT

Preventive against STINGING-.

PBICE AGAIN REDUCED. Quality Superior.

In Is. and 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."

DABCY GBIMSHAW, Horsforth, Leeds.
Invaluable to Travellers Abroad as an Insectifuge.

THE

SrHi S» 3mmiai

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 569. Vol. XXI. N.S. 177.]

MAY 18, 1893.

[Published Weekly

€tixtmm\f Ifaiias, tfcc.

AN ABNORMAL BEE-SEASON.

Bee-keepers are this year passing through
a spring season novel to the oldest of us,
and one which must be altogether bewilder-
ing to those whose knowledge of bees is
limited to a few years' experience. As is
natural to a pursuit depending for its
success upon the blooming of certain plants
at a given time, coupled with accompanying
favourable weather conditions, we follow
with much the same interest that the
farmer does anything which favourably or
adversely affects our chance of a crop.

In this connexion we are confronted with
a condition of things which, from the bee-
keeper's standpoint, is so abnormal in
character that no previous personal ex-
perience gives us any help in forming an
opinion as to what the final result is likely
to be. Here we are in mid-May without
having reached the end of a period of
drought which has — in the south, at least
— practically lasted for over ten weeks !
The want of rain has, however, brought no
lack of warmth or of sunshine ; consequently
nectar-producing bloom has appeared several
weeks before its proper time, and dates
fixing the order of honey yields have been
completely at fault. Fruit-bloom has, of
course, been over for some time ; but horse-
chestnuts have flowered luxuriantly for ten
days past, and will be quite "over" before
their ordinary time for blooming arrives.
Hawthorn hedges, too, have been white
with blossom, but now bear the brown
tinge which means decay. Then we have
the lime-trees showing flower-buds a long
way in advance, so that, instead of yielding
honey the first week in July, as they usually
do, the bees will probably have done with
them before June is half over. Raspberry

fields here in Kent are in full bloom now,
and a week hence the same may be said of
clover and sainfoin. Thus we find every
source of supply prematurely forward and
ready for bee -work nearly a month in
advance of the usual date.

What the outcome of all these abnormal
conditions will be, or what their subsequent
effect upon the bee-season throughout the
kingdom may be, we will not venture to
predict. "VVe have but the present condition
of affairs in the south to guide us in
writing, while our settling down here has
been too recent to make our personal opinion
even of much local value.

But we are told that it is many years
since so much honey was gathered in April
as has been secured last month. Any way
it was an entirely new experience on our
part to be lifting a box of ten shallow
frames, fully sealed — leaving a second one
well forward — from one of our hives in the
first week of May. This sort of operation
was usually performed in our former loca-
tion in West Cheshire about the end of
June, or beginning of July.

It is generally regarded as a truism that
exceptionally dry seasons yield little honey,
and one would think it should apply with
special force in such a spring-time as this
has been ; but the exact opposite has
happened, for we have had not a few " takes "
of honey reported both "early"and " heavy,"
to say nothing of the many April swarms.
It may be, however, that as usual the ex-
ception only proves the rule. After the
capital start made in April there came a
lull towards the close of the month — caused,
no doubt, by cool winds and a lower tem-
perature, lasting for nearly a fortnight,
during which time no honey was stored and
bees fell off in numbers perceptibly. But
since the 12 th we have had a return to pre-
vious warmth, accompanied by heavy dews
at night, and in consequence honey-gather-

192

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 18, 1893.

ing has been resumed, bees in these parts
working well for eight or ten hours each
day, spite of the want of rain. Pasturage
everywhere around, however, begins to wear
a very parched-up and withered look, no
growth being visible hereabouts in grass
lands, and farmers are anxiously hoping for
a speedy change, on account of the fruit
" setting " time.

It is gratifying to learn that some welcome
rain has fallen in many places in the north
of England, as well as in Scotland and
Ireland, so that there is reason to hope that
the drought is near ended. So far, we have
not been favoured with many reports as to
the outlook for bee-keeping in the north of
England ; but if the conditions are in agree-
ment with Scotland, we must conclude that
no news means good news, two well-known
and reliable correspondents, dating respec-
tively from "Wigtownshire and Renfrew-
shire, having reported very favourably as to
Scottish bee-prospects for the coming
season. We invite further correspondence
on this subject.

Summing up the whole position, it may
be said that twenty-four hours' continuous
rain, followed by occasional refreshing
showers, would be a veritable godsend to
the country at large, and to bee-keepers
especially, seeing that it would no doubt
add hundreds of tons to the honey-yielding
resources of the United Kingdom. As to
the way in which the long drought may
affect the ultimate results north and south,
we are very pleased to say the chances are
much in favour of the best final returns
coming from the north. Southern bee-
keepers had decidedly the best of it last
year, and should be the first to congratulate
their northern friends on having their turn
this time. We base our opinion that they
will fare best on the fact that — saving for
the few districts in the south where heather
is counted on as a source of supply — the
end of the honey season here will not be
far off when the middle of June is reached,
and from that time forward bees will be
living on their stores ; whereas in the north,
they may continue gathering for two
months later on into autumn than the time
named, to the manifest advantage of their
owners. We are sanguine, however, that the
season of 1893, abnormal though it has been,
will not have to be set down as other than
a satisfactory one for bee-keepers generally,
and if the results for April are to be taken
as an augury it is a very promising one.

COMING BEE AND HONEY SHOWS.

The show season of 1893 having now
fairly started we turn with some interest to
the announcements of " bee shows to come "
recorded in our pages,, in order to judge how
the season of 1893 will compare with its
predecessors in that respect. In point of
numbers the list far exceeds any year we
remember at this early date, and we are
glad to notice that the framers of the prize
schedules before us are not binding them-
selves to stereotyped forms. The executive
of two Associations — Essex and Berks —
evince a keen appreciation of what is at
present interesting bee-keepers in an un-
usual degree by introducing special classes
for "Wells" hives or hives adapted for
working on the double -queen system.
Several schedules have also classes for a
single one-pound section and for a single
one-pound jar of extracted honey in which
the exhibits in these special classes become
the property of the respective Show Com-
mittees. This feature is, in some cases, be-
ing turned to good account for charitable
purposes ; and it should tend to increase the
number of entries very largely when these
facts are known.

In one case (Berks B. K. A. Show at
Windsor) the exhibits will be sold for the
benefit of H.R.H. Princess Christian's
District Nursing Fund — Her Royal High-
ness being President of the Association;
and in another — Northants Show on
August 7th and 8th — there is a class open
to the United Kingdom, entry free, for
single one-pound sections, with five prizes :
205., 15s., 10s., 5s., and 2s. 6d. The honey
staged in this class will be sold and the
proceeds devoted to the benefit of the widow
and five children of an esteemed member of
the Association lately deceased.

The Hon. Secretary of the N.B. K.A.
(Mr. R. Hefford, Broughton, Northants), is
making praiseworthy efforts to ensure a
good entry for this class, and for the sake of
all concerned we heartily wish him success.

For the list of " shows to come " so far as
received up to date, and also for details as.
to particulars and schedules, readers are re-
ferred to p. 1 98 of this issue.

BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION FOR
NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM..

In response to a circular issued by Mr. J. W.
Wakinshaw, Hon. Secretary of the Northern-
Allotment Society, a meeting was held m.

May 18, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

19^

Lockhart's Cafe, St. Nicholas Square, Newcastle,
on Wednesday, the 3rd instant, for the con-
sideration of a proposal to form a Bee-keepers'
Association. County Councillor T. K. Dodd
(Lemington House, Scotswood) presided over a
large attendance, including Rev. R. E. Taylor,
Cresswell Vicarage ; Mr. Wilson Ritson, Wash-
ington Hall; Messrs. J. G. and H. P. Angus
and T. Gardner, Low Fell ; Messrs. S. Bulmer,
J. Atkinson, A. Surtees, and J. N. Kidd, Gates-
head ; Mr. R. J. Hindmarsh, Sheriff Hill; Mr.
J. W. Wakinshaw, Kenton ; Messrs. J. Darling,
J as. Eckford, and J. McClay, Newcastle;
Mr. R. Brooks, South Benwell ; Messrs. M.
Riddle and C. Dixon, Kibblesworth ; Mr. Wm.
Richardson, Howden ; and Mr. F. Scott, North
Shields ; while assurances of support were re-
ceived from Mr. T. E. Schofield, Morpeth ; Mr.
Ladbrook, East Boldon ; Mr. J. Scott, Plaws-
worth; Mr. J. M. Balmbra, Alnwick; Mr.
R. W. Bell, Hexham, &c.

Tbe Chairman opened the proceedings by
furnishing full particulars of the Northumber-
land Bee - keepers' Association, which was
formed a few years ago, but had since ceased
active operations. He pointed out the advan-
tages to bee-keeping which might be gained
through a strong Association, at the same time
reminding the meeting of the difficulties of
working one successfully in this district.

Mr. J. W. Wakinshaw explained how practical
work had been done by other Associations, and
said he wished to see a continuation of the work
begun by the Northumberland organization ;
but suggested that, if a new Association was
formed, success would be better assured by
extending tbe area so as to include the numerous
bee-keepers in the county of Durham.

The Rev. R. E. Taylor, in supporting the
proposal, drew attention to the assistance that
might be rendered if an expert could be engaged
to visit cottagers and others.

Mr. J. G. Angus said that a successful Asso-
ciation would popularise bee-keeping, the ex-
tension of which, he remarked, should be
advocated on account of the pleasure derived
from it, as well as the profit.

On a motion being submitted for the forma-
tion of a Northumberland and Durham Bee-
keepers' Association, it was cordially received
and adopted.

Rules were then drawn up, that relating to
subscriptions being fixed at 2s. Qd. all round.

The following officers were elected for the
ensuing year : — Committee : Messrs. J. G. A ngus,
Low Fell; J. Darling, Newcastle; County
Councillor T. R. Dodd, Scotswood; William
Richardson, Howden ; Wilson Ritson, Washing-
ton Hall; T. E. Schofield, Morpeth; and the
Rev. R. E. Taylor, Cresswell Vicarage. Hon.
Treasurer : Mr. J. W. Wakinshaw, Red Cow
Farm, Kenton. Hon. Secretary: Mr. J. N.
Kidd, 1 Havelock Terrace, Gateshead. — Com-
municated.

[While wishing success to the new venture,
we trust the Association now forming will take

measures to put itself in order by becoming
affiliated to the B. B. K. A., and thus entitling
itself to the medals and other advantages which
accrue from affiliation with the central body. —
Eds.]

STARTING NUCLEI.

A correspondent asks me to tell in Gleanings
how 1 form nuclei, especially (if I understand
him correctly) when full colonies are divided up
after taking from one apiary to another. The
principal difficulty in establishing a nucleus is to
get the bees to stay where put. It is a very simple
thing to take two or more combs, with adhering
bees, and put them into an empty hive ; but the
difficulty is, to get them to stay there. Except
the youngest bees, nearly all are likely, under
ordinary circumstances, to conclude that the
old home was better, and accordingly to return
to it. But, by means of an out-apiary, that
difficulty is entirely overcome. Or, two bee-
keepers, living two miles or more apart, could
exchange colonies, and each take advantage of
the moving.

1 might answer the question in very few
words by saying that a colony can be taken to
an out-apiary, and, without any ceremony
whatever, the frames of brood can be taken
out, each of them put in a separate empty
hive, allowing an equal number of bees to
each, and there you are. The bees can't desert
and go back to their old home, for they can't
find it.

But no doubt the question meant to include
more particulars, which I gladly give. When
practising the plan under consideration, I gene-
rally, if not always, raise a queen in each
nucleus, and then the nucleus was developed
into a full colony. At the time bees began to
think about swarming, I selected one or more
colonies to be divided, and from the selected
colony removed the queen. Possibly I added to
it brood from other colonies, exchanging for this
brood combs containing no brood. If the re-
moved queen was considered a proper one t»
breed from, the bees, upon her removal, would
proceed to raise queen-cells, or such cells were
obtained in some way. A day or two before
there was any danger of the cells hatching, the
combs were looked over, and the probability
was that the cells were not very evenly distri-
buted, some combs having several cells and some
having none. Then I evened up matters, and
put a cell on each frame of brood which had
none. This was done at least twelve hours
before the colony was to be removed to the
other apiary, so that the bees would have time
to do any patching and mending that was
needed. The hive was now filled with brood
combs, each of which contained brood and a
queen-cell.!

But this would allow only one comb of brood,
with its adhering bees, for a nucleus, and such
a nucleus would be too weak for the best work.

194

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 18, 1893.

So, about two days before the time of removal
another colony was made queenless, to be taken
along to the out-apiary. Arrived at the out-
apiary, eight hives were placed in proper places
to receive the nuclei. In each of the hives a
frame, with adhering bees, was put from the
hive containing the queen-cells, and also from
the other hive a frame with adhering bees. If
I had them to spare, a frame or two of honey
was given to each of the nuclei; but they would
get along without this, for the honey harvest
was now on, and in each nucleus there was a
fair proportion of field-bees. Indeed, I don't
know any other way in which you can be so
sure of having in each nucleus a full assortment
of bees of all ages.

The nuclei were now formed, and, in the
majority of cases, I could count on finding the
young queen laying two weeks later. Of course,
as in all cases, some of the queens would fail to
materialise, but the proportion was no greater,
if as great, as by other methods. Some years
ago, by following the plan outlined, I increased
twelve colonies to eighty-one, and took from
them 1200 pounds of honey. But it was an
exceptionally good year — a buckwheat year at
that — and the honey was nearly all buckwheat
extracted. But the eighty-one colonies were all
strong and in good condition. They were in
ten-frame hives, and only one, two, or three
frames were taken from a hive to be extracted
at a time, always leaving each hive well stocked
for winter should the harvest close at any
time.

I would lay stress on the importance of not
making nuclei too weak. I don't believe there
is any economy in weak nuclei. I don't think
they raise so good queens. Besides, they are so
slow building up that, although you may at the
start make a greater number of nuclei from a
given number of colonies, you will gain by
hating a smaller number at the start, and then
make new ones later in the season from those
formed earlier. Another reason for this is
that, if you start by making your nuclei too
weak, the season may close unexpectedly early,
and all will be left in bad shape for winter ; but,
f you have a smaller number, and all strong,
then the danger is less, especially if you follow
the wise rule of determining that, the later in
the season you start a nucleus, the stronger it
must be.

I think it is a fact, although I am not sure
that it is generally known, that queenless bees,
perhaps more particularly those that are en-
gaged in rearing queen-cells, are much more
inclined to stay wherever they are put than
bees taken from a colony having a laying
queen.

Another fact that I think is not generally
known is that, when part of the bees of a col-
lony become sufficiently detached from the main
body, and yet have free communication with it,
such bees, in the busy season, are very likely to
raise a young queen, independently of any
thought of swarming. It doesn't seem to matter
much how the separation be made, whether

by having one or two brood combs above,
below, or to one side of the regular brood nest,
separated by a queen-excluder from it, or, in
some cases, separated merely by sufficient
distance. The bees seem to feel themselves
practically queenless, in spite of the fact that
they can easily go where they can find the old
queen. Now, in such cases, I have taken the
frame or two of brood, with adhering bees, a
day or two before I thought it was time for the
young queen to hatch, and have been very suc-
cessful in getting them to stay wherever put. —
Dr. 0. C. Miller, in " Glecmings"

€nxnzi($vfomtz.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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 goodfaith. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

%* 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 ON BEES AND BEE-KEEPING
IN THE TROPICS AND AT THE
ANTIPODES.

[1434.] Before leaving England for Penang
(Malay Peninsula) in November, 1890, I had
had some small experience in the keeping and
manipulation of bees. It was with something
like a wrench that I left England, for I was
under the false impression that bees could not
be cultivated in the tropics, and I felt that I
should have to forego one of the greatest
pleasures in life, which I believe intelligent and
loving bee-keeping is.

My surprise was great when I found that a
schoolmaster friend of mine in Penang kept a
hive of native bees, which had been given to
him by a professor in the Penang Roman
Catholic Seminary. They were small bees,
marked like our English bee, but fighter in
colour, exceedingly fiery, given to swarming,
but failing in the great thing needful, viz.,
honey-making. Of course they collected honey,
but seemingly only in sufficient quantities to
supply their own immediate necessities. My
friend, the schoolmaster, took me to the
Seminary, where the students kept from about
fifty to 100 hives of these tiny honey-bees. I
should say that keeping such bees (except for
pleasure) was very unprofitable. I also dis-
covered that another bee lived in the neighbour-
hood— a little black fellow. I had a creeper

May 18, 1893/

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

195

.growing in the verandah of iny house (the
Honolulu creeper, I believe it was called) which
attracted these little workers in thousands. I
found two nests of them in the woods. One I
took, but the honey was frightfully strong, and
though very sweet, decidedly unpleasant.

During all the time I was in the Straits I
never once saw the famous Apis dorsata. I
rambled about the jungles noticing everything,
but I never came across this noted race of bees.
I often wondered, while living in the Straits, if
bee-keeping on scientific lines could be success-
fully carried out there. I wrote to Mr. Blow
for his advice, who thought that the thing was
possible. But, then, how was I to get the right
sort of bees ? Could I depend on getting bees
safely shipped all the way from England ? I
believe that had I remained in the Straits I
should by now have accomplished the introduc-
tion of the Apis Liguria; but, unfortunately,
after residing there for fifteen months, I left
the place, and took up my residence in Western
Australia — the tropical part of it.

Since leaving Penang I have by inquiry and
study become convinced that Penang (and the
Malay Peninsula) is a splendid field for the
tropical bee-keeper. A temperature never ex-
ceeding ninety in the shade, and a large and
varied flora, are in favour of bees prospering
there if properly managed. The place in
Australia, to which I departed from Penang,
was within the tropics, the fine of latitude (20)
"being*]*ust above it. ( Vide map.) The name of
the township is Roebourne. I found there were
no bees here. There were none in the colony
further north than Geraldton. I found that
this part of Western Australia possessed a dry
but frightfully hot climate. For eight months
in the year we had simply to live and endure as
well as we could. It was no uncommon thing
for the thermometer in the shade to range from
120 to 130 degrees. We had to calmly put up
with hot scorching winds, sand-storms, and
westerly gales. The country around was devoid
of beauty — sandy plains and rocky mountains
alternating. There was very little vegetation
either, and how the sheep lived was a mystery
to me. There was a dried-up watercourse near
the town, where gum-trees and wattles grew in
some profusion. The question which occurred
to me was, Could bees thrive in a country like
this ? I had been here about three months
when I was attacked with typhoid fever, and on
recovery I went to Perth, the capital, to recruit
my strength. I had now made up my mind to
return to the Straits as soon as I could con-
veniently give up my appointment at Roebourne.
A line of steamers run between Freemantle
(the port of Perth) and Singapore. So I de-
termined to buy a hive of bees, take them with
me to Roebourne, and then afterwards go on to
Singapore. I secured my bees, a fine stock of
hybrids. I was most lucky in getting them
safely shipped as far as Roebourne. At various
ports of call od the way I would let them out
if the day was perfectly calm, and, as the ship
always stayed until dusk, I then secured them

without loss. The novelty of bees in Roebourne
was very strange. The residents said they
would never thrive. But didn't they ! They
gathered quantities of good honey (it was the
winter season when I introduced them) from
the numerous flowers then in bloom. I sold
the honey to the residents for Is. 6d. and 2s. per
section. Good, eh ? They also swarmed, but
the swarm (as I opine) came out when I was
from home, and betook itself to the trees in
the watercourse. However, the bees which
swarmed are there now, and will, I have no
doubt, prosper and increase, to the great ad-
vantage of the settlers.

(To be concluded next iveek.)

COMPARING THE DOUBLE AND
SINGLE-QUEEN SYSTEMS.

[1435.] I am very pleased to find so many
bee-keepers giving the double-queen system a
trial, and also glad to note that some are com-
paring results, viz., one hive with two queens
against two hives with but one queen in each ;
but I hope that all who are testing the double-
queen system on these lines will bear in mind
that they do not really prove its merits or de-
merits unless they began their operations when
packing up their bees for winter. I lay stress
on this point because the winter and early
spring months are very important factors in the
double-queen plan of working. In fact, it may
be said that herein lies the secret of its success.

Most bee-keepers can get single stocks strong
enough to gather the main crop of honey in
June and July, but not many get them up to full
strength in time for the fruit-bloom and other
early -flowering plants in April and May ; so
when any one wishes to make a fair comparison
between the two systems of working, they
should start, say, about the middle of October
in the following way : — Select four single stocks,
each with young queens proved to be about
equal in laying powers. Let each queen have
about the same amount of brood, young bees,
and plenty of food, so as to start the winter as
nearly as possible on equal terms. Give them
all the same amount of attention, keep a debtor's
and creditor's account of all their requirements,
labour, &c, included. This (or some " similar
plan) will show the difference between the two
systems.

We shall not be safe in deciding unless some-
thing of the kind is done, because I claim that
less food is consumed in winter, less attention
required in spring, that bees are ready to gather
honey whenever it is to be had, are quite as
easy to manage, not more vicious, and in no way
whatever worse to handle, &c, but, in the end,
very much more profitable. Perhaps some of
your readers would like to know how I am
getting on for honey this splendid weather.
Well, of course we are in the same position as
most folks ; not much bloom to be seen, and
there appears to be very little honey in the few

196

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 18, 1893.

flowers which are open. Probably it is for the
want of rain;' still I have no room to com-
plain, as my bees secured a nice lot of honey in
April, and appear to be getting just enough
now for present requirements. Surplus cham-
bers are not being filled, nor are their contents
diminishing, but we have any amount of bees to
gather the honey as soon as rain comes to make
it flow. I have not yet removed much honey,
as I prefer to leave it on the hives for some
time. On the 12th instant, however, I ex-
amined one — a hive which contained fourteen
standard and fourteen shallow frames for brood
nest, and twenty-eight shallow frames, and a
crate of twenty-seven one-pound sections — and
I found that the twenty -seven sections and the
top crate of fourteen shallow frames were com-
pleted. So I took them off, and could have had
more from other hives if wanted it, but I usually
let the bulk of it remain in hives until the end
of the season, just removing as much as is,
wanted for present needs.

Now, Messrs. Editors, I think you could assist
me a great deal if you will kindly undertake
to answer inquiries which readers who are
interested in what they call the " Wells "
system may be about to put to me. I am very
busy in my business, and really cannot spare
much time in the evening for writing, and as
you have made yourselves pretty well acquainted
with the subject, answers may be got through
your valuable Journal quite as well as I could
answer them, and your reply would speak to
large numbers, whereas mine only speaks to one.
Should there be any little detail which wants
clearing up, I will do my best to make it plain
through your pages. — G. Wells, Aylesford,
Kent, May 15th.

[We shall be grlad to do anything in our
power to relieve Mr. Wells of labour which, it
will be admitted, must be not a little onerous
and exacting when, as he told us, as many as
ninety letters were sent to him in one day last
year. — Eds.]

HIVES FOll " WELLS " SYSTEM.

By a Beginner.

[1436.] Before the illustrations of " Wells "
hives came out in B. J. and Record I had partly
made mine, which I designed to suit the system
so far as I then understood its principles. As it
differs from any I have seen described, and in
one or two points the difference seems to me
advantageous, I send you a few particidars.
The hive being four feet long, I made the roof
in three sections. The centre one holds the end
ones tight, and all being small are easily moved
without jai'ring the hive. For supering it I
shall take off the centre part of roof and put
excluder zinc over only those portions of brood
nests which come immediately underneath that
part ; then, put on an outer casing, with body-
boxes inside as required, and the middle section
of roof over them. The bees in super will be

concentrated to a width of some nine or ten?
frames.

I shall be able to get at the outside half of
each brood nest without moving the super. T
shall have no long, awkward cases to shift when
adding another story, and I shall save wood.
If the hive does not answer, I can use the
supering parts as an ordinary hive. For my
dummy I used one-eighth-of-an-inch pine,
which I first fixed firmly on a flat surface, and
then with an eighth-of-an-inch bit I drilled
some 300 holes. Then I framed it in strips off
the grooved side of matchboarding. I had to
fix the portion of floor under dummy, as the
floor-boards had warped and shrunk. I can
give three-eighths of an inch entrance all
round (ten feet). I had thought of allowing
the bees to enter and depart from the super by
way of a wide passage up between the outer
case and body-box, because I had been told bees
do not like excluder, and I thought, with only
about sixteen inches of it, they would not be
able to pass up and down fast enough, but
recently you told a correspondent that extra
entrance for super had been found not to
answer,,so I do not like to attempt it. How-
ever, if you think no serious mishap would
occur, I may try it.

The " East-enders " in my " Wells " entered
at the end at first (their entrance is graduallv
becoming nearer the middle of the front), and I
had ample proof that, as you have said, end en-
trance was not desirable. I could not touch the
brood nest without, disturbing entrance. Could
not a few frames of brood and young bees be
separated by perforated division-boards at each
end of hive, and then be supplied with queen-
cells to raise new queens to supersede the old
ones ? — F. F. (nine months a Bee-keeper).

[Our correspondent had better not try queen-
raising on the plan he suggests. For the rest,
we shall be glad to have a report on the hive
referred to after a season's trial. — Eds.]

A REQUEST.

("1437. ] Will some reader kindly tell me how
to convert a bellows smoker into a powder dis-
tributor for greenhouse work, similar to the
Malhec bellows— so-called — sold by horticultural-
dealers ?— C. N. P., Wolverhampton, May 12th.

THE OAK AND THE ASH.

[1438.] The oak is this year in leaf before-
the ash, which, according to the country sayings
means a " summer of wet and splash."

" If the oak before the ash,
'Twill be a summer of wet and splash ;
But if the ash before the oak,
'Twill be a summer of fire and smoke."

This is a very reliable " forecast," so, bee-
keepers, be ready for a " summer of wet and
splash." — C. M. S., Wolverhampton.

[The above couplet is of perennial growth, for

May 18, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

197

it reaches us almost every year in some form or
other. Last year only the first two lines were
quoted by the correspondent who sent it on,
and in a footnote the version which we thought
the correct one was given. It reads as fol-
lows : —

" If the ash before the oak,
Then we may expect a soak ;
If the oak before the ash,
Then 'twill only be a splash."

In our part of Kent, oak and ash this year
appear in leaf simultaneously. — Eds.]

LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.
Caistob District.

Afternoon and Evening Meeting of Bee-keepers

A very enjoyable meeting of bee-keepers and
those interested took place in Caistor on Thurs-
day, May 4th, under the direction of Mr. H.
0. Smith, of Louth, the afternoon proceedings
taking place in Mr. Percy Taylor's garden
(kindly lent for the occasion), when a good
muster of members and their friends assembled.
The weather being delightful, Mr. Smith opened
and examined several of Mr. Taylor's stocks,
and found them all in healthy and good con-
dition. The operation greatly pleased the
younger members and ladies present, many of
them never having seen the internal arrange-
ments of a bar-frame before. "Finding the
queen" was both amusing and instructive, it
being quite a little competition as to who could
first " spot " her majesty. Mr. Smith, in a very
lucid manner, explained the working of both
skeps and bar- frame hives, driving, &c.

Laid out upon a table on the lawn by the
District Hon. Secretary, Mr. Charles Ainger,
were frames and sections fitted with foundation,
frames showing the methods of wiring, foul-
brood remedies, various quilts and wraps, and
many other things required by bee-keepers, all
of which were examined and discussed; but
perhaps the object that excited the greatest in-
terest, especially amongst the more advanced
members, was a hive for working the " Wells "
system ; it was minutely examined, and its
merits fully criticised.

In the evening the meeting was held in the
Red Lion Hotel Assembly Room, when there
was again a very good attendance. F. A. Dor-
rington, Esq., J.P., one of the vice-presidents of
the Association, occupied the chair. Mr. Smith
first addressed the meeting, and, for the benefit
of those who were unable to be present at the
afternoon meeting, again went fully into the
working of both skeps and bar-frame hives, ex-
plaining, by means of two skeps and irons, how
to drive bees. A general discussion then took
place upon various methods of working hives
and the whole art of bee-keeping. The pleasant
and instructive meetings were then brought to a
close by votes of thanks being accorded both to
the Chairman and Mr. Smith. — Communicated.

£rhoes from % J§itas.

Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington, May \%th.
— The drought here still continues, although
there has been a break in it. About a fortnight
ago we had, on two occasions, a nice drop of
rain, but more would have been very acceptable.
Where the fields are left for mowing, every-
thing is stunted and dried up. A two-acre
plot of permanent grass, adjoining my apiary,,
has in it lots of trefoil that is so small that one
can hardly see it. I have never seen the bees
on it this season, although I have looked many
times. There is also a lot of red clover in full
bloom amongst it, and I saw honey-bees work-
ing on it to-day and yesterday, at the least ten.
We have miles of whitethorn hedges, that
have been a picture to look at. The bees have
worked well on it when they had a chance,
but the north-east wind blew so strong for
several days I fear many bees were lost. _ I
have been supering several stocks, and putting
on boxes of shallow frames for extracting, and
have in some cases taken the outside combs of
hives full of honey, and then drawn the next
combs up to the dummy and inserted a frame of
foundation in the middle of the hive. I have
done this more than usual, as I find bees have
crowded the queen by putting too much honey
in the frames round the brood nest. I fear
there is no help for some of it, except running
some of the frames of comb through the ex-
tractor, and relieving them of tome of their
honey. About a fortnight back some stocks did
not make progress as 1 thought they ought. I
expect many of the older bees had become worn
out with hard work. I hope to relieve some
more combs of their superfluous honey to-
night. In some cases, to make stocks extra
strono-, I have taken combs of brood from some
weaker ones and given to others, thus getting
them extra strong. By the way, we always
reckon blackthorn a splendid honey-yielder in
this district when the weather is right, which
it was this season. I have seen hundreds of
bees on it, and there was lots in our locality. —
John Walton.

Northampton, May 14th. — No rain yet. Bees
in full flight from morning to night for nothing
or next to it. Stores during the last fortnight
have ceased to increase, and a good many bees
have fallen victims to the strong " Nor'easters "
so long prevalent. The early-swarming boom
has died away, and the prospects of _ a good
season for bee-keepers are getting daily more
distant. Sycamores and chestnuts are now in
full bloom, and the limes are in bud; not a
clover " bob " to be seen in the pastures. Let
us hope that ivy, a second crop of dandelion,
and a late crop of clover will enable us to avoid
the necessity of wholesale feeding. Another
fortnight of dry weather will put to flight all
hopes of surplus for this year. — E. B.

198

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[May 18, 1893.

[781.] Size of Brood Chambers, — 1. In a
fourteen-frame hive, how many frames must I
put in the brood chamber ? 2. Is it advisable to
let bees have the run of the whole hive, or
should I put a dummy in, and add more frames
as required ? 3. I am anxious to work supers ;
can you give me a few hints ? 4. What width
should the entrance to a hive be ? 5. Is it
necessary to feed the parent hive after swarm-
ing ?— Chas. J. Turner.

Keply.— 1 and 2. If preparing the hive for a
swarm, about seven or eight frames will suffice
to start with, but ten or eleven should be the
permanent number for a fully stocked hive. 3.
The only " hints " we can offer are to keep the
supers very warm when put on, and give surplus
room only when the bees are strong enough and
honey is coming in. 4. The entrance should be
capable of expansion to twelve or more inches,
and be reducible to bee-passage small enough to
admit only a single bee if needed. 5. Some-
times, but not often.

[782.] Driving Condemned Bees.— Referring
to your reply to Query 767 (p. 177-8), please
•tell me if the precautions necessary to prevent
an " upset " are other than I gather from the
British Bee-keepers' Guide-book ?— F. F., Clap-
ham Junction.

Reply. — The precautions mentioned refer to
the care required— when driving condemned
bees belonging to cottagers— in order that such
stocks as are not to be operated on may be un-
disturbed while the others are being driven.
When urging this care we had in mind a case
where an inexperienced bee-keeper engaged in an
expedition of this kind, and failed to take any
precaution whatever. The result was robbing
began, cottagers' bees became furious, and no end
of mischief ensued. If each stock before being
driven is removed to a quiet spot some distance
away, and a decoy skep placed on the old stand
to receive the returning bees, as advised in
Guide-book, all will be likely to go on well.

[783.] On April 25th I had a swarm which
I hived all right, and a near neighbour also had
one the same day. My neighbour says his bees
went and settled under one of my hives, and
eventually went into it along with my bees.
I cannot think so myself, because my bees seem
to work just as usual, and are perfectly quiet,
mo fighting at all. Would the bees join without
fighting ? If so, what compensation ought I to
give, if any is required ? — A Bee-keeper.

Reply. — The question of recompense rests
entirely with yourself. If it can be proved that
the swarm belonging to your neighbour really
joined your stock of bees, it is but fair that
something should be paid; but, at the same
time, you might tell the owner to come and
take his bees away from yours, which obviously
he could not do, so it is merely a matter of
.mutual consideration.

[784.] Transferring Stocks from Frame
Hives. — Will same system of transferring, men-
tioned on page 110 of B. J. for March 16th, and
referred to by T. White (Query 778 in B.J. 11th
inst.), answer for transferring from frame hives ?
My reason for wishing to do so is, that present
frames are not standard size, and having been
in use for several years, have got very confused
and mixed up. — C. L. B., Usk, Mon., May 12th.

Reply. — Certainly, but it must not be for-
gotten to fit the frames of lower hive with full
sheets of foundation, otherwise a preponderance
of drone comb would doubtless be built.

[785.] Dealing with a Queenless Stock. — Pur-
chasing a stock of bees last autumn in a bar-
frame hive, I found it, on examination in March,
queenless. There were, however, a number of
drones and drone cells, indicating the presence
of a fertile worker. Seeking to put matters
right, I obtained a small skep of bees having a
queen, and placed the skep in the position occu-
pied by the queenless hive, placing the latter by
its side at the distance of about two feet, in the
hope that the worker-bees in the queenless hive
would enter the skep, and thus unite. But the
experiment has not succeeded. Many of the
drones, I believe, have joined the skep, but the
worker-bees (and there are a large number) still
cling to the queenless hive, and cherish the
fertile worker. How is the fertile worker to be
got rid of, as detection is difficult ? In any case,
what course would be the most advisable one to
pursue in order to establish a queen in the hive,
and thus set matters right ? — Interested One,
Nexopo7-t Pagnel.

Reply. — We should, on some fine day, set
the skep in the position now occupied by the
frame hive, and remove the latter to a distance
of twenty yards or so prior to shaking the bees
from the combs into a box, or into the upturned
hive roof. Many of the flying bees would, while
shaking them from the combs, return to the
old stand and enter the skep; the remainder
being carried thereto and thrown out in front.
After the drone brood has been cut out from
the combs of the frame hive, the latter may be
replaced on the old stand and have the skep
fixed above the frames, as explained in reply to
" Transfer" on p. 110 of B. J. for March 16th, thus
allowing the bees to " set matters right " by
transferring themselves when they require room.

'{xcrfos in durmx.

May 23rd and 24th.— Wilts B. K. A., in con-
nexion with Wilts Agricultural Show, at Hun-
gerford.

June 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th.— Hants and Isle of
Wight B. K. A., in connexion with Royal
Counties Agricultural Society, at Southampton.
For schedules apply to E. H. Bellairs, Wingfield,
Christchurch.

May 18, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

199

June 14th and 15th. — Essex B.K.A. County
Show at Romford, in connexion -with the Essex
Agricultural Society's Show. F. H. Meggy,
Hon. Secretary, Chelmsford.

June 19th to 23rd. — Royal Agricultural
Society's Show at Chester. Secretary, John
Huckle, Kings Langley.

July 19th to 21st. — Lincolnshire Agriculture
Society's Show at Stamford. Bees, honey,
hives and appliances. Liberal prizes. Entries
close July 7th. S. Upton, Secretary, St. Bene-
dict's Square, Lincoln.

July 21st and 22nd.— Bristol and District
B.K.A., at Knowle. Entries close July 14th.
Over 6/. cash in prizes. Special facilities offered
to distant exhibitors. Schedules from James
Brown, Hon. Secretary, 42 Baldwin Street,
Bristol.

July 25th to 28th. — Summer Show of the
Scottish B.K.A. (under the auspices of the High-
land and Agricultural Society (in the Dean Park,
Edinburgh. Prize lists in due course from
John Wishart, Assistant Secretary, Market
Place, Melrose.

July (date not yet fixed). — Berks B.K.A.
(Windsor District), in connexion with Prince
Consort's Association, in the Home Park,
Windsor. For schedules apply to the Hon.
Secretary, W. J. Darby, Consort Villas, Clewer.

August 7th and 8th.— Northants B.K.A.
Annual Show at Delapre Park, Northampton.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation's Exhibition, in St. Andrew's Hall,
Glasgow. Schedules in due course from Colonel
Bennett, Alloway Park, Ayr, or John Wishart,
Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 13th and 14th.— Scottish B. K. A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers 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 communication.

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

M. C. (Drogheda). — Suspected Foul Brood. — We
must refer our correspondent to the " Special
Notice to Readers," on page 131 of B. J. for
April 6th, and to the fact that, where possible,
fresh samples of dead brood should be sent.

M. J. (co. Mayo).— 1. We could not possibly
describe or explain the usual premonitory
signs of swarming " a week beforehand," ex-
cept by saying that, if the combs were ex-
amined, queen-cells would be found on the
way. 2. When swarms have issued, and
have gone off unseen, the hive-entrance will
bear a very deserted appearance compared
with its previous busy activity; and if the
quilt is raised, the same difference will be
noted inside. 3. Sections are put on when
hives are full of bees, and honey is coming in.
4. We prefer a veil of fine " Brussels " net to
any other.

A. T. Wilmot (St. Albans).— We are sorry to
even seem to be wanting in courtesy to corre-
spondents, especially when the idea of giving
offence is so far from our thoughts as on the
occasion referred to. We must, however,
explain to those who are good enough to
favour us with communications, that the pre-
paration of several engravings to illustrate
their views is a serious item of expense, of
which they are either unconscious or forgetful.
Our correspondent must also excuse us for not
adopting the phrase " declined with thanks."'
We do not like it, have never used it, and
don't think we ever shall. Yet we do not
lack full and hearty appreciation of the help
received from contributors to our pages.

Ebeata. — In reply to C. Marks last xveek, for
Hymenoptera read Diptera.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

STRONG HEALTHY SWARMS for Sale, 10s. 6d. each.
Orders taken in rotation Address E. Long, Cotten-
ham, Cambs. 3

FOR SALE.— Superior Queens, Stock?, and Swarms,
English and Carniolan. Address Rev. C. Brereton.
Pulborough, Sussex. f. n.

FOR SALE. — A few Swarms ; also Stocks in Second,
hand Hives. Address, Geo. Childe, Semington-
Trowbridge. a 21

ARBOLINE POMADE.— Kills Bee-sting-s like Magic.

Prevents getting Stung. Robbing, and Bees entering

Cones, &c. Leaflet containing instructions accompanies

each bottle. Price Is. per bottle. Post free. Address T.

Hollidat, Astbury, Congleton. a 37

FOR SALE.— 1 and 3-lb. Sections; also Abbott's Ex-
hibition Crates, quite new, with Sundries. What
offers ? Address C. Cust, Dorchester. a 42 .

GUARANTEED Healthy Natural Swarms, Pure Na-
tives, 3i to 4 lbs. weight, price 12s. 6d. each, packing
included. Address Chas. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hun-
don, Clare, Suffolk. a 45

STRONG, Healthy Swarms for Sale, price 12s., box in-
cluded. Post or Telegram address, Holder, Wini-
borne, Dorset. a 46

FOR SALE.— 8 Single- walled Hives, Simmins' Pattern,,
nearly new, and 6 New Straw Skeps, to be Sold
cheap. Price and particulars on application to Edward
Lang, 35 Seymour Street, Ohoiiey, Lancashire. a 47

WEBSTER' 8 Book of Bee-keeping, post free, Is. ;
cloth, Is. 6d. W. B. Webster, Binfield, Berks.
" One of the best foreign works." — American Apiculturist,
" The matter is evidently the result of long personal ob-
servation, and is thoroughly reliable." — Bee-keepers' Record.
" Have much pleasure in recommending the manual to our
readers." — British Bee Journal.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 18, 1833.

FOUR Section Supers, suitable for Skeps, roofs included
(list, 6«. each), accept 3s. each ; 100 2-lb. Sections,
Is. 6d. ; 6 Straw Skeps, about good as new, 7d. each; 10s. 6d.
Wax Extractor, not been used, 5s. 6d. ; Pair Uncapping
Knives, 3s. (list, 4s. 6<J.) ; New Veil, Is. 3d.. ; 2 5s. Swarm
Boxes, suitable for Nucleus Hives, 3s. eacb ; 3 New Bar-
frame Hives, hold 12 Standard Frames, 7s. 6d. each; 6 3s.
Frame Box Feeders, 9s. ; 1 Gross 2-lh. Tie-over Jars, packed
in case, 15s. 6d. ; 4 Dozen Enamelled Section Cases, Is. per
dozen; Super Foundation, Is. 9d. Address Cooper, 71
High Street, Burton-on-Trent. A 48

BARGAIN. — Two Hives, containing Frames, &c, com-
plete, 6s. each. Address G. Careless, Blackpill,
Swansea. a 49

GOOD, Fertile, Healthy Queens, 3s. 6d. each. Address
John Walton, Honev Cott, Weston, Leamington.
' a_50

FOR SALE.— Strong, Healthy Stocks, Doublp-walled
Hive, 10 Frames, and Quilt, on Rail for 25s. Ad-
dress Lemin, 72 Hoe Street, Walthamstow. a 51

TWO Frame Hives with Sections, 6s. 6d. each, 12s. the
pair. Address Whitlock, West Bromwich. a 52

WANTED.— Trade Lists and offe.-s of Bee Appliances.
Address Hammond & Son, Arcade, Carlisle, a 53

WANTED.— Light Metal Ends (not Carr's). Sample
and price to E. J. Savage, 256a Hotwell Road,
Bristol. a54

TO BEGINNERS.— For Sale.— Five Bar-frame Hives,
roomy, two with extra story; one Abbott's Honey
Extractor, good as new, Two Guineas, free on Rail, Broad-
stairs. Address Field, Albion House, St. Peter's, Broad-
stairs. Few Appliances, "Bee Journals," Instruction
Books, equally cheap. a 55

QUEEN-REARING for Amateurs, together with Notes
on Queen Introduction, Uniting Bees, &c. 6|d. Post
free Address S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex. '

j. i37irx::bb:ei:e39

ROMANSLEIGH, SOUTH MOLTON.

SPECIALITIES for 1893.

SEIF-EIVEES. SUPER CIEABEES.

"THE COUWT " PRIZE HIVE.

Over 150 lbs. of Honey were taken from one of these Hives

last year. Numerous Testimonials of its merits.
All Bee-keepers should have my SELF-HTVER, which has

been tried and not found wanting.

This Hiver was commended at the "Royal" Show last year

Several sold have proved a perfect success.

(Patent applied for.)

SEND Id. STAMP for CATALOGUE.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL SHOW, August 7 & 8, 1893.
DELAPEE PARK, NORTHAMPTON.

SPECIAL PRIZES, Open Free to the United
Kingdom. Por the BEST Single Mb. SEC-
TION OP HONEY. First, 20/-; Second, 15/-;
Third, 10/-; Fourth, 5/-; Fifth, 2/6. Competitors
not present will be informed of result by post on
the first day of the Show. Prizes forwarded to
Winners same day. Entries close July 25th.

N.B. — All Entries for the above are to become the pro-
perty of the Hon. Secretary, and will be sold for the benefit
of the Widow and Five Children of the late Mr. H Ring-
kose, of Bonghton, one of the first Subscribers to the
Association.

For further particulars and Schedules apply to
Robekt Heffokd, Hon. Sec. Northants B.K.A.,
Boughton, near Northants. 117

SWARMS! SWARMS! SWARMS!

12th Season.

3 lb. Swarms, 10/6 ; larger at same rate. Boxes

1/6, unless returned.
C. N. White, "Ivo" Apiary, Somersham, Hunts.
(113)

HONEY AND ITS USES. By the Rev. Gerard
W. Bancks, M.A. Can be supplied at the
following rates, carriage paid : 3/6 per 100. 8/ per
250, 14/6 per 500. Specimen copy on application.
Address Durham House, Green Street Green,

Dartford. 3

URTIGLOUCESTE

ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE

POST FREE.

EE-HIYE MANUFACTURE

u

Wtt ©l&t OEngltgfie »**♦"

PURE, Prime SWARMS of my Selected
Strain of ENGLISH BEES, all 1892 Queens,
Packing-box, and put on Rail free, price 15s.
Address W. WOODLEY, World's End, Newbdey.

(Telegrams—1 Ilsley, or Hampstead Norris.

Porterage 1/6.)
(104)

STEAM FACTORY for

*g$ee Appliances.

ORDERS addressed J. ROSS, Stranraer, Wig-
townshire, N.B., will be attended to.

C. NYE & SONS,

Soutb of jgnglanb

BEE-KEEPERS' STORES,

WESTERN STREET,

BRIGHTON.

Pure Brood Foundation, 2/- per lb.
„ Super „ 2/10 „

Special Quotations for a Quantity.

Illustrated Catalogue Post Free.

BEE HIVES. BEE SEEDS.

Central Depot for Lancashire and Cheshire.

GEO. ROSE (Successor to P. Harbordt), 50
Great Charlotte Street, Liverpool, invites inspection
of his new pattern of "COTTAGE," "W. B. C," and
"WELLS" HIVES. New Stock of Foundation, Feeders,
Smokers, and every requisite for Apiary and Garden now
ready for delivery. BEE SEEDS and PLANTS a Spe-
ciality. 12 best varieties of Bee Flowers, with directions
how to grow them, post free for 2s. Large Illustrated
Catalogue of Bee Appliances, Vegetable and Flower Seeds,
and all Garden Requisites, free upon applicaton.
All Orders Executed Same Day as Received.

THE

IriMt ®» Smnrmd*

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 570. Vol. XXI. N.S. 178.] MAY 25, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

(Ktritnriad, vjltAim, #r.

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — The long drought has at
length come to an end, and the parched
ground in all parts been refreshed with
welcome showers in sufficient quantity to
give that delightful green to vegetation
which makes one feel that spring is still
with us. After the long spell of high
temperature and bright sunshine, with bees
filling supers just as they do in June, it is
not easy to realise that we are still but on
the threshold of summer if dates count for
anything. But the warm rain has done for
the bee-keeper what we expected it would ;
to use his homely phrase, " it has brought
in the stuff." We wonder in what year
has such glorious summer weather prevailed
during Eastertide and Whitsuntide as in
this year 1893 1 Certainly not in recent
times, and it should make the chronic
.grumbler against British weather for once
in his life admit that even it might be
worse. For ourselves we are impelled to
reflect on the weather here as compared
with some " samples " reported from abroad.
The drought and heat has certainly brought
about some unlooked - for results in this
country. As we wrote last week, it has
forced everything that grows into a state of
abnormal forwardness seldom experienced.
Among other indications of this we may
mention that to-day (22nd) strawberries are
being gathered for market in the open
fields of Kent. But while our farmers have
nothing more serious to lament over than
the prospect of a somewhat diminished
hay crop, what has been happening in
other countries within the last three
months ? Cattle dying through the drought
to the value of some three million francs in
<one part ; snowstorms causing immense

damage to the vineyards in another;
plagues of locusts in Algeria eating up the
crops for miles in their destroying march ;
disastrous tornadoes in America destroying
not only crops but whole villages. These
and various other " weather items " of a
like kind make it pretty safe to say that
British weather is sometimes held up to
undeserved odium, and we certainly have
small reason to complain of our share of
the year's hardships in this direction so far.

The Season's Prospects. — Referring
again to our observations of last week, and
the effect that rain would have on the honey
income, it may be said that, wherever there
is nectar-producing bloom, honey must now
be coming in abundantly. Anyway, it is
so in our district, and the quality, too, is
very superior ; quite different to that
gathered last month. Indeed, April honey
has, this year, been remarked upon as
generally inferior in flavour, aroma, and
colour.

For the last few days bees have been
working most vigorously, early and late, and
those who took the precaution to substitute
a frame of foundation— or two where prac-
ticable— for an old comb of brood nest when
giving supers, will be less likely to be
troubled with swarms than if no comb-
building allowed in brood chambers. It is
also a good plan for renewing combs to
weed out one or two old ones each year, and
replace them with new in this way.

A few reports have reached us in refer-
ence to the prospects of a good season in
the north, and they are altogether favour-
able, a Yorkshire bee-keeper informing us
that the clover is looking most promising
since the late rains, and that a fine crop is
expected from it.

From Scotland we hear that the outlook
is excellent, and Mr. J. D. McNally antici-
pates that in Ireland 1893 will be a
" record " season.

202

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 25, 1898.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Committee Meeting1, held at 105 Jermyn
Street, on Wednesday, May 17th. Present :
Mr. Lees McClure (in the chair), Rev. G. W.
Bancks, Major Fair, Captain Campbell, and
Messrs. W. B. Carr, W. O'B. Glennie, J.
Garratt, W. H. Harris, J. H. New, W. J.
Sheppard,E. D. Till, and J. Huckle (Secretary).
The Rev. E. Bartrum, who had previously
attended a Sub-Committee meeting, was unable
to be present. Mr. H. Jonas also wrote regret-
ting his inability to attend.

The Chairman thanked the Committee for
having elected him to the position of Vice-
Chairman, and expressed his regret at not being
able to attend a previous Committee meeting.

The minutes of the last Committee meeting
were read and confirmed.

After some formal business had been disposed
of, it was resolved to hold the next monthly
meeting of the Committee on June 21st, in the
Show Yard at Chester. The Secretary was re-
quested to write to the Royal Agricultural
Society, soliciting the favour of the use of their
Council tent for the purpose.

A letter prepared by the President for making
an appeal on behalf of the Association through
the columns of the leading London newspapers
was submitted and approved. The Chairman
was requested to thank her Ladyship for
having prepared the appeal.

At the close of the above business, lectures
were delivered by candidates for first-class
certificates, after which the meeting adjourned
preparatory to the usual quarterly conversazione.

Conversazione.

The quarterly conversazione was held on
Wednesday, the 17th inst., at 6.30 p.m., in the
offices of the R.S.P.C.A., 105 Jermyn Street,
W. Mr. Jesse Garratt presided, and was sup-
ported by the Revs. G. W. Bancks and R. M.
Lamb, Major Fair, Captain Campbell, Messrs.
Armstrong, Anstey, Brice, Blow, Carr, Cribb,
Glennie, Harris, Sheppard, Soar, Till, Welham,
and other gentlemen, as well as several ladies.

The Chairman, in opening the proceedings,
said there was no formal programme for the
evening, but he had no doubt there were
gentlemen present who would be glad to make
the evening profitable and agreeable by intro-
ducing subjects for discussion.

Mr. Harris related a singular bee-story con-
cerning a queen-bee, which, at our request, he
has more fully detailed in a letter (1441, p. 206)
of this issue, and invited an expression of opinion
thereon.

Mr. Anstey said a bee-keeper in his county
had told him that a local expert who visited,
his apiary last autumn reported one of the hives
to be queenless, and without brood or eggs ; but,
upon inspecting the same hive this spring, he
(the speaker) had found a queen there, with
brood also from one end to the other.

Mr. Harris pointed out that the cases were

dissimilar, as the hive to which he referred had
been examined minutely and found queenless-
by an experienced bee-keeper a few days before
Mr. Baldwin discovered the queen and eggs-
there.

The Chairman remarked that on one occasion'
he examined a hive in company with the
owner, and could not discover the queen, upon
which he undertook to supply him with a queen.
However, after the winter had passed, the hive
was found to be all right, and containing every
indication of a queen's presence. The fact was-
that, towards the end of the summer, brood-
rearing totally ceased, but could be stimulated
by feeding.

Mr. Cribb suggested that possibly the hive in
question was exactly similar in outward appear-
ance to the hive which the queen had left. He-
had known queens fly from a hive, and, after-
circling about in the air a few times, return
thereto.

Mr. Carr thought thatr in considering a cir-
cumstance of the kind before the meeting, much
depended on the experience and accuracy of the
bee-keepers connected therewith, as it was so>
easy to make a mistake. Many instances had
come under his notice of supposed queenlessness,.
and in such cases he always recommended corre-
spondents to wait a long time before arriving at
a conclusion on the matter, and to feed with
stimulating food, so that if a queen be there her
presence will soon be discovered by the existence-
of eggs. He considered the story, if reliable,,
was without precedent, though it was just pos-
sible that a lost queen might attract, by her
odour, bees flying in her neighbourhood. There
was also a very slight chance, as hinted by Mr»
Cribb, that she mistook the hive where she was
found for her original home, but he thought it
was very slight indeed.

Mr. Harris did not believe it possible for his-
friend to be mistaken. During the present ex-
traordinary season egg-laying must have gone
on uninterruptedly since the beginning of March,,
which fact destroyed the inference that the
queen had been there all the winter.

Mr. Carr said that most extraordinary ac-
counts had been circulated concerning the re-
queening of queenless hives, it having been sug-
gested in one instance that the bees must have
stolen an egg from another hive and reared a
queen therefrom ! (laughter) — there being no-
other way of accounting — so it was said — for
the presence of a queen in a hive which had
been queenless for a long time.

The Chairman thought it was quite possible
that the queen found the hive out herself, and
was received.

Mr. Harris did not think the matter could be
explained by the similarity of surroundings.
The original home of the queen was in a little-
garden, not much bigger than the room in which
they were assembled at that moment, containing
about twenty hives. Her present home was in
an open space with only one hive near to it.
Mr. Anstey wondered whether the swarm the -
queen originally came from issued from the hive-

May 25, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

203

to which she went back ; to which Mr. Harris
replied that that was a possible explanation,
though most unlikely.

After a few words from Messrs. Till, Fair,
and Cribb, the Chairman said the incident was
a most curious one, and afforded material for a
considerable amount of thought and observation,
and he was sure the members present were much
obliged to Mr. Harris for relating the story.
He would now ask Mr. Bancks to oblige the
meeting with some of his experiences relating to
foul brood, which had unfortunately attacked
his apiary last summer, and had been, to a large
extent, combated successfully by an unusual
method of treatment.

The Rev. Mr. Bancks said that, at present,
he was not in a position to express a definite
opinion on the method he had adopted, but
would explain what he had done. Last summer
he found several hives badly diseased, and he
resolved to try an experiment. Hitherto
remedies had been devoted to checking the
spread of the disease, and not to actual cure.
No attempt had been made to destroy the spores.
He therefore decided to try bromine, with the
object of destroying them, at the same time en-
deavouring to avoid injuring brood. He there-
fore waited till the time of year when there was
little or no brood in the hive*, and then ad-
ministered bromine three or four times in the
form of vapour, at intervals of ten days. In
one or two instances, when he gave the dose,
most of the bees came outside, and formed a
cluster under the floor-board, and in about
twenty minutes they all returned. The result,
though not yet conclusive, was beyond his
anticipation. In two of the affected hives he
could now detect no trace of foul brood, although
last autumn they were reeking with it ; but with
regard to the other diseased hives he could not
express so decided an opinion, having detected
in some of them three or four affected cells.
He believed that the remedy was sufficiently
strong to actually destroy the spores, though
the difficulty was to use it without injuring the
stocks. Bromine was analogous to chlorine, and,
next to chlorate of mercury, was the strongest
possible remedy so far as he knew.

Major Fair thought it was difficult to measure
the exact value of the remedy, seeing that lots
of cases were known of foul brood curing itself,
or being cured without the application of any
specific at all.

Mr. Harris said the remedy used by Mr.
Bancks was of the same character as iodine,
which had been employed in vapour form to
destroy the spores.

Mr. Carr said that numbers of remedies,
more or less effective, had been tried. Mr.
Sproule, some time ago, advocated formic acid,
and was successful in using it, but the substance
was so difficult of proper application that the
adoption of it could not be recommended indis-
criminately. Remedies were good or bad ac-
cording to whether they were placed in the
hands of scientific or non-scientific persons. It
was most difficult to destroy the spores by

means of any fumes or vapour, no destructive
action taking place until the spore germinates.
They had the evidence and experiments of Dr.
Lortet, who proved that the disease existed in
the alimentary canal of the bee, and could be
attacked by the use of Naphthol Beta in food if
the bees could be induced to take the medicated
syrup in sufficient quantities. In this way
Naphthol Beta was certainly supposed to be a
cure. Naphthaline was only a preventive, as it
destroyed the bacilli as fast as they hatched, out.
Without suggesting for a moment that no
remedies should be used at all, it was neverthe-
less a fact that there were numerous instances
on record of badly diseased bees recovering
without treatment. With all deference to Mr.
Bancks, he thought that gentleman's results,
up to the present, were hardly positive. The
fumes of salicylic acid were most effective in de-
stroying the germs of foul brood by means of the
Hilbert fumigation process, which was considered
most valuable on the Continent, but the fumes
only cured for a time. So long as there were
spore3 in the hive, the disease was always liable
to break out again.

The Rev. Mr. Bancks replied that Koch's
experiments showed that two per cent, of
either chlorine or bromine would destroy an-
thrax spores in a few hours.

Mr. Till said that Professor Cheshire had.
stated that the spores of anthrax would resist
boiling water.

(To be concluded next week.)

(ttarresponfoeiue.

Tlie Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
■rpvnions expressed by correspondents. No notice unit be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondent*
are requested to write on one side oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
Mention, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustratinn?
should be draicn on separate pieces of paper. We do not
undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department ,
reports of 4.ssociations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communion tmnx
relatin i to Idve'-tisements, ic, must be addressed to " The
Manager, ' British Bee Journal ' Office, 17 King William
Street, Strand, hon'on, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise*
ments).

*»* 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.
paae on which it appears.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1439.] At last, after a long interval of eleven
weeks, we have had the long-wished-for — nay,
prayed-for — rain. The weather took up on
Wednesday, March 1st, and we had our first rain
on Wednesday, the 17th May, excepting a slight
shower once or twice which was not enough to
lay the dust ; but with the rain we have had a
lower temperature, and iu hives that a few days

204

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 25, 1893.

previously snowed every sign of sending off
early swarms, the bees have managed to find
room to stow themselves away inside somehow.
The welcome rain has changed the face of
nature from the sere and yellow to the vivid
green ; it has been simply a transformation
scene, and it has also infused new life and hope
in the farmers, and instead of the long faces of
anxious care we get the hearty, cheery greeting
as of yore.

I notice that wasps are very numerous in
many parts of the kingdom this year, and this
district is no exception to the rule. I have
killed a great many during the past two months,
also others have done the same, yet there seem
a good many that have escaped. I have a nest
started in the roof of one of my hives ; this queen
I had not killed at its nest and it has managed
to escape all other sources of danger. There
was a small swarm of bees in an adjoining
village similar to the one mentioned by Mr.
John (773), consisting of about a pint of bees. A
bee-keeper of the old school tried his hand on
hiving them into a grocer's cheese-box, but was
unsuccessful. I have not heard since if they
are still in the crevice of an old house.

Those bee-keepers who have weak colonies
now, should bring them together as soon as pos-
sible by moving each hive a little every day,
and then, when side by side, put them both into
one hive with a Wells dummy between the
colonies, giving entrances at each end, or at or
near the ends on the front side of hive, and
in a day or two super them, first laying a
piece of excluder zinc on the supering space
above the united (though divided) brood nests.
This plan will be far better than weakening
strong stocks by removing combs of hatching
brood to strengthen weak stocks ; in fact, I con-
sider it one of the best, if not the best point, in
the " Wells " system. I know there are those
who who would say, " Why do you have any
weak stocks ? " Well, with the best strain of
bees, and selected queens, and the best of hives,
there will be a few stocks in any large apiary
that are not up to the mark.

A gentleman wrote me last week asking me to
give my system of management for comb honey,
what size brood nest, &c. To this question I would
say that I have for several years past supered
on nine to ten frames, standard size — rarely over
ten frames, and when putting on supers I have
even reduced from ten to nine frames, generally
removing the front comb in the hive (my combs
are parallel with entrance). If there is a little
brood and a lot of honey in the comb, I should
bruise the honey capping with a knife and insert
it in the centre of brood nest, leaving the ten
frames in brood nest, and place on the super of
twenty-one sections. This bruised honey must
be attended to by the bees first job, they get
warmed up by it, and then go up into the super
and start comb-building at once, i.e., when the
honey-flow is on, just in the nick of time when
supering should be done, if fine sections of honey,
well filled and sealed to the edges, are desired.
Tt depends a great deal on management.

Another point — have your hives perfectly
level, or, at any rate, your crates of sections,
and, above all, have English bees for comb
honey. The honey will be capped evenly and
thickly enough to prevent the honey oozing
through the capping and spoiling the sale and
appearance a short time after removal from the
hives.

The largest comb-honey producers in America
prefer and use a brood nest of about 2000 cubic
inches; ten-frame English standard hives con-
tain that quantity near enough for all practical
purposes, but, of course, if I were working my
apiary for extracted honey, I should increase
the brood chamber to eleven or twelve frames,
and have shallow frames in super boxes to about
the same number, or have two shallow boxes,
one above the other, then remove first filled,
extract, and return same below the nearly full
one, always using full sheets of excluder zinc on
top of frames to confine queen to brood chamber.

According to the Annals of Hygiene (U.S.A.)
" Experiments made in the Hygienic Institute in
the Berlin University have shown that cholera
bacilli die more quickly on dry tobacco than on
dry glass plates ; that they do not multiply, but
quickly die on moist tobacco, and that tobacco
smoke quickly kills them." Now, if tobacco
smoke kills the cholera bacilli, will it also kill
the Bacilli alveif Will our esteemed editor,
Mr. Cowan, when at leisure, experiment on
these lines, for the benefit of bee-keepers, as
hives that have contained foul-brood germs, after
fumigation with tobacco smoke, could be cleansed
with washing and fresh air, and thus become
useful again instead of being consigned to the
fire.

It is satisfactory to our Berks Association
that the County Council have paid over the
100/. grant to the Berkshire Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation, so that we have been enabled to order
the " Bee Van," and hope shortly to start a
propaganda of bee-keeping by the aid of the van
in the most inaccessible parts of the county, that
have hitherto been beyond the reach of shows,
bee-tents, and such-like centralised methods of
teaching the craft. — W. Woodi/ey, World's
End, Neivbury.

NOTES ON BEES AND BEE-KEEPING
IN THE TROPICS AND AT THE
ANTIPODES.

(Concluded from page 195.)
[1440.] It was during September that I
brought the bees to Roebourne. About Christ-
mas-time I was to leave once more for Singapore.
The season then was frightfully hot. One
fearful scorching day the bees came out in
thousands, and lay as if dead or frozen. They,
however, recovered. I also gave them more
ventilation, but not once did the combs give
way. I think that bees know how to adapt
their comb to the climate in which they live.

And now I come to a sad history which I
would fain not reveal. I packed my bees for

May 25, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

205

transit to Singapore, but after a week on board
the steamer they died. The reasons: Too
crowded — ergo, insufficient ventilation; improper
packing, for want of better knowledge; the heat
of the atmosphere, &c. I make this miserable
confession very reluctantly, but I lost my bees.
Alas ! alas !

I take the blame to myself. I nailed over the
entrance a piece of perforated zinc, and also I
nailed a sheet of zinc over the frames. It had
occurred to me to pack half of the frames in a
separate box, thus giving each lot of frames
more ventilation. But I could not manage this
very well, owing to my hurried departure.

The captain of the steamer was very incon-
siderate. He would on no account allow me to
have the bees in the aft part of the vessel where
there was plenty of shade, but insisted on them
being in a place where they were always liable
to have the sun shining on them, owing to the
awning being taken down from time to time on
account of the wind. The hold was too close
and impure for the bees to stand it, so I was a
little helpless. The captain very rudely declared
that overboard they should go if only one person
was stung. Of course, there was no danger of
this, as the bees were too securely packed.

My object had been to take bees to the Straits
as an experiment, see how they worked, if
likely to be successful, and so on. Everything
likely to prove favourable, I intended to import
colonies from Italy and England, and set up a
tropical apiary and make bees the business of
my life.

I failed in my attempt ignominiously, and
then gave up any more thought of it. I left
Singapore for Java and Queensland, en route
for New Zealand. In Java I found a brown
bee, slightly larger than the small brown bee
kept in hives in Penang. In Queensland I found
that bees had been introduced into New Guinea,
Normanton, Port Darwin, Thursday Island, and
into some of the Pacific Islands. Queensland is
the ideal county for bees. A second attempt to
introduce bees into the Straits might be success-
ful, but I have not the means to do it now, so I
must content myself by going to New Zealand,
where I could get employment in my own pro-
fession, and then, after a sojourn there, make one
more attempt to carry out my scheme. So at
present it is in abeyance. While in New
Zealand I shall make progress in apiculture, and
learn all I can in order to be better able to
carry out my plans. All bee-keepers are
(learners, or if not, then they are unsuccessful
and glaring failures.

In New Zealand (North island) Italian bees
are cultivated, but in the South island, Car-
niolans. Mr. Brickell, of Dunedin, is a great
importer of Carniolan queens. In Auckland,
Mr. I. Hopkins, an authority on apiculture,
manufactures hives and implements, but he has
for some time discontinued keeping bees. In
Queensland, Mr. Cribb of Brisbane is the leading
apiarist. Mr. Jones of Goodna competes with
him. I find wherever I e:o in these colonies
(Queensland, West Australia, New South Wales,

and New Zealand) that bee-keeping is done in a
slip-shod manner, and the bee-keepers almost to
a man are opposed to the more cleanly and neat
style of the English apiarist. Some things
which the English bee-keepers think necessary
are here entirely ignored. In these colonies bee-
keeping is cultivated entirely for profit, and
there is a great want of tidiness and style about
the getting up of honey for sale and so on.
Honey again is far too cheap : twopence and
threepence, rarely above sixpence a pound, and
yet it pays in these colonies.

The American hives are used here, and the
Langstroth frame. Metal ends are discarded,
and all the hives seem to me awkward and
badly finished, after the well-manufactured ones
in the old country.

Bees increase at a tremendous rate in these
favourable climes. The bush swarms with bees
" gone wild." The old style is still adhered to
by some antiquated specimens of humanity,
believers in sulphur. It dies a hard death even
in Australia and New Zealand.

And now, dear sirs, my notes are finished.
They may be interesting or not ; you are welcome
to use them. — W. H., Auckland, New Zealand,
March 30th.

IN THE HUT.

" Care to our coffin adds a nail, no doubt,
And every grin so merry draws one out."

Wolcott.

[1441.] Care it has been which has kept closed
the door of the Hut for so long a time, but as
even this inevitable load becomes easier to bear
by reason of use, even if we cannot cast it to
the winds, it is surely time I inflicted upon your
readers another of those contributions which
some of them probably thought they had got
rid of for good. Let us

" Hang sorrow ! care will kill a cat,
And therefore let's me be merry."

Quotations quite suitable crowd in: — "I
make haste to laugh lest I may be com-
pelled to weep." I look into the Hut and it
smells of bees ; all the old feeling of pleasure is
brought back again by the aroma of propolis,
and the general Je ne sais quoi of bee-tackle.
Even the twang given off by a carbolic cloth is
sweet perfume. I go to my hives, and my bees
seem positively to have thriven magnificently
through being let alone. Note this, 0 novice !
When I open a hive, up comes that welcome
indescribable scent so characteristic of a colony
that that is doing well ; and there are the drops
of condensed moisture on the underside of the
American cloth quilt, indicative of prosperity ;
yes, and I am only just nicely in time for
clapping on shallow-frame supers, for there are
the sure signs of this necessity in the white
drawing out and sealing of the upper cells of
brood combs. This duty performed, and I come
into my home a happier and wiser man ; happier
that I have linked together the chains that

206

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 25, 1893.

bound me to my hobby ; wiser in that I have
philosophised to this extent : — It is bad business,
even in stormy times, to slip the cables that
anchor us to harmless recreation.

But what am I doing ? Where are the grins
and merriment I promised myself when I took
up my pen ? We must do without them, they
would be counterfeit presentments. All I can
say about bees is now stale, flat, and unprofitable,
for it has been well said already how the record
year has come at last, and the bee-keepers who
struggled on with difficulty, make 1892 their
last, and are disgusted with their luck once
more. In bee-keeping particularly, " every-
thing comes to him who knows how to wait ; "
this year is another proof (and I have a special
private reason, in another direction, for handing
in my testimony to the old Italian proverb). Let
me tell you about the bacon-boxes I used as
hive covers this last winter. I knocked part off
the end of each to allow of free flight, and
dropped one over each hive. Some were thick,
stout, and heavy boxes, others were somewhat
slender. Now, on carefully noting how the
bees wintered in these (although a thorough
disciple of the warm and dry theory) I find
those hives with the thinner boxes over them,
and giving the greatest amount of ventilation,
came in an easy first ; those others seem to have
kept the bees so warm that they ate more
stores, and ran dangerously near starvation,
although they were amply provided on closing
up for winter. I am forced to the conclusion
that the semi-dormant condition is the one to
be aimed for, and that cau be secured by the
freest ventilation, the hive entrances left full
width, with extra space below combs where
practicable, but dryness of the whole hive wood
is a sine qua non, as is a total absence of up-
ward air-currents, this latter being afforded by
waterproof quilts next to top bars, and plenty
of porous wrapping over these. This year my
top quilt was a sheet of tarry roofing felt, and
very well I like it. Am I wrong in correcting
your correspondent who, on p. 195, puts Apis
Liguria instead of A. Ligustica?

They say the ritual of the Common Prayer-
book allows immense latitude for divergence of
opinion on certain points, so I suppose the
ritual of rational bee-keeping must be equally
liberal, for your valued correspondent, Mr. W.
Woodley (tnan whom there is no more success-
ful practical bee-keeper in the British Isles),
sets _ his face firmly against the practice of
feeding up in poor districts previous to the
honey-flows. He says, on page 85, " Cast it to
the dogs, I'll none of it." Good ; so be it ! He
has no need of it. " His" (honev) " lines have
fallen in pleasant places." But what about
those who cannot get pure surplus if they do
not practise this pian, and who can get it if
they do ? Given a brood nest full of brood, and
fed stores at the commencement of a honey-
flow, the bees take the clover or heather at
once into the super, otherwise they fill the
brood nest first with what is wanted upstairs.
A spell of bad weather often comes, and they

eat all they got whils the flow was on. Let
those judge who are so placed as to be forced to-
decide between no honey (or little of it) by
leaving them alone, and a fair return by feeding,
as is your unfortunate — X-Tractor.

A REMARKABLE OCCURRENCE.

[1442.] It would be interesting to know
whether any of your readers have met with cir-
cumstances analogous to the following incident,
which, so far as I can learn, is unique in the
records of apiculture : —

An experienced bee-master in this neighbour-
hood, with whom I am well acquainted, had
several reasons for suspecting queenlessness in a
strong stock belonging to a friend. A careful
examination in the middle of April confirmed
his suspicious. Not only was no queen to be-
found, but there was no sign whatever of brood
or eggs, while stores were plentiful. With a
view to remedying the unfortunate state of
affairs he determined to introduce, by the Sim-
mins method, one of his own best queens from
an apiary two miles away. Having captured
her, and having kept her for some hours in a.
box with a dozen attendants, he released these
latter one by one late in the afternoon. While
on his way to the queenless hive, and when
within two or three hundred yards of its loca-
tion, he had the misfortune to let the mother-
bee escape with the last of the workers.
Circling round two or three times, she flew
towards a hedge and was there lost. Dusk
having come on, it was useless to make any
search for her, and my friend, sorely dis-
appointed, turned back homewards. Three or
four days after this occurrence, our expert, Mr.
Baldwin, jun., on examining the hive was-
astonished to find therein a grand queen, but
only freshly-laid eggs, no larvae or brood in any
other than the first stage. With such magni-
ficent weather for breeding through March and
April, the condition of affairs was distinctly
puzzling, especially as Mr. Baldwin was un-
aware of the circumstances which had taken
place previous to his inspection of the hive.

Now it seems almost impossible to doubt that
the explanation of the presence of the queen and
the eggs lies in the fact that the mother-bee
which had escaped when about to be introduced
by my friend, found her way to the queenless
stock, either by invitation of some of the
workers who had discovered her, or by her own
natural sharpness, and was welcomed by the
community so sorely needing her.

No theory of the hive not h-iving been queen-
less is tenable in view of the facts of the case,
nor does it seem possible to cotne to any other
conclusion than that the queen lost in the
evening went next day to the stock for which
she had been destined at the time of her escape-
— W. H. Harris, Ealing, May 17th, 1893.

[In confirmation of the above Mr. Baldwin,
jun., writes as follows: — "I examined the-

May 25, 1893.J

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

207

stock referred to in the above — which is the
only one owned by the gentleman — on April
19th. It was fairly strong, had an ample supply
of food, and had a queen laying as described by
Mr. Harris. I was quite unaware that it had
been queenless and that a new queen had been
accepted by the bees, but I distinctly remember
making a remark to the gardener, who was pre-
sent when the stock was examined, that had I
not united another stock to them last autumn
they could not have held out so long, as there
was no appearance of their having had any
brood hatched out since the autumn." The
curious occurrence described was discussed at
the conversazione of the B. B. K. A. as reported
on p. 202.— Eds.]

STERILE QUEEN.

[1443.] As a reader of long standing of your
valuable paper, I take the liberty of sending to
you by this post a queen-bee deposed from one
of my hives on account of her not laying an
egg, so far as I have been able to ascertain
from occasional inspection, during the whole of
the current year, notwithstanding the usual
methods of stimulation by uncapping sealed
stores and feeding a little with warm syrup
and contraction of space in hive having been
tried.

The stock of bees she was introduced to last
autumn was fairly strong, covering six or seven
frames, and, to strengthen them, a small driven
lot, with this queen, was united to it, the old
queen being first taken away from the stock. I
then fed up rapidly with at least twenty pounds
of good syrup (made of granulated pure cane
sugar), and packed up warm in double-walled
hive, with two inches left underneath body-box
to give space under frames. After the severe
winter weather was past, the lift was taken
from underneath, floor -board cleansed, and
body-box, with frames and bees, replaced
thereon, and frames reduced to eight, for con-
traction. Subsequent periodical inspections
have been made, and stores uncapped (as already
stated), but in each instance without finding an
egg or brood. The result is, the bees have
dwindled to very few — say, not more than 300 —
which have been taken away and united to
another lot.

I shall feel much obliged if you will kindly
give your opinion as to the cause of failure of
the queen? — which information may be of
interest, and possibly of service, to other of
your readers as well as myself. — Edward
Oakes, Broseley, Salop.

[Queen sent has never been fecundated at
all.— Eds.]

NOTES FROM IRELAND.

[1444.] 1893 is likely to be a record year so
far as honey-gathering is concerned. On April
18th I put on a crate of sections on my best
hive, and to-day (May 13th) removed same

fully finished, a number of the sections weighing
eighteen ounces. The quality and finish of the
honey is fully better than any previous season
in my experience. Our English cousins will
thus see all the good weather has not remained
in their kingdom.

A friend of mine two miles distant, Mr.
Flynn, of Gilford, who runs a large apiary
solely for the pleasure he derives from the
hobby, gave me a look into some of his hives
last week. It was a pleasant sight to see the
fruits of such a promising season so fully de-
monstrated in his crates of sections; honey-
comb designs, bell glasses and supers, all ready
for removal. No sign of swarming yet. — J. D.
McNally.

HEREDITY IN BEES.

[144o.] After reading your article on-
"Heredity in Bees" in the B.B.J, of 11th.
May, 1893, I did a little think on the subject
myself, and have come to the conclusion that
the transmission of instincts and other mental
phenomena from one generation to another
among bees may, perhaps, be accounted for by
another theory which your learned friends seem
to have quite overlooked. It is well known
that among the higher animals (human in-
cluded) a female, during parturition, may have
the characteristics of her offspring very
materially affected by impressions received from,
external sources. Thus, a woman at such a
time may see a child with a club-foot, cross-
eyes, or other peculiarity, aud from the impres-
sion thus received, her own child may be born
with a like characteristic.

May not, in like manner; a queen-bee, whose-
nervous susceptibility, in my opinion, far exceeds-
the human, receive impressions from the workers
among whom she lives (even if other than her
own race), and transmit them to her offspring ?
I think this solution is far more likely to be the
correct one than either of those suggested, viz.,.
nourishment, transmitting qualities of instinct,.,
or latent heredity. — S. Home, Hastings.

MANY-QUEENED HIVES— EXTENDING?
THE " WELLS SYSTEM."

[1446.] Seeing by your Journal such favour-
able results from the " Wells " hive, I venture to
ask is there any reason why the principle should
be confined to two colonies of bees? If two
stocks can live together amicably, and work with
increased energy, why not three, six, or eight, as-
most likely the workers will keep pretty closely
to the supers immediately over their own brood
chamber ? Colony No. 1 would know No. 2r
and No. 2 would fraternise with Nos. 1 and 3,.
and No. 3 be familiar with Nos. 2 and 4, and
so on. The entrances could be carefully divided,
and each painted a distinctive colour. It
appears to me we should then be approaching
the habit of bees in their natural way of work-
ing, such as when they take to the roof of a

308

THE BRITISH BEE JOUKNAL.

[May 25, 1893.

liou.se, as they increase, they appear to separate
into families, sometimes with one or two supers
((and space) between, until a large portion of the
roof is covered.

The advantages I should expect would be
economy of heat in the winter, there bring so few
outside walls ; facility for protecting in sunny
weather, or, if preferred, a shed would cover the
lot ; less labour in working, together with all the
advantages of the " Wells System." Of course
the hive would be constructed to suit the altered
circumstances, so that any one colony, or super
over same, could be examined or manipulated
independently of any others. An exhaustive
article on the subject would, I feel sure, be
greatly appreciated. — James McKean, Castle-
blaney.

[We print the above communication as ex-
pressing what has already been thought of by
.several readers, whose views, though conveyed to
us, were not intended for publication. We may,
however, say at once that in our opinion it will
be a waste of time to go on experimenting in
the direction indicated. Depend on it if there
had not been weighty reasons against extending
the co-operative principle to the extent referred
to, our American bee-keepers who, besides being
.good bee-men, love a " big thing," would have
worked the idea out ere now. To slightly alter
a useful adage, we had better " let ' Wells '
alone." Or, at least, let us make a success of the
two-queen system before extending it further.
—Eds.]

HONEY SHOWS IN LONDON.

[1447.] 1 see there is to be an exhibition of
" Agricultural and other Produce of the British
Empire" held during the next three months;
could not the B.B.K.A. get up an exhibition of
bees and honey in connexion either with this or
with the Horticultural Exhibition at Earl's
■Court? As the former is chiefly for the ad-
vantage of farmers and cottagers, it seems to
me to be a good chance of advancing the cause
of bee-keeping, and bringing it before the public.
If it could be managed, Mr. McNally might
then get his lonar-looked-for national show. —
King Bee, Notts] May l&th, 1893.

P.S. — The long drought has at last come to
an end, and the thunder-showers of the last few
days have, I hope, saved some of the clover,
which is just starting to bloom on the roadsides.
3. hear a great deal of the clover-plant has been
idled, but have not noticed it myself.

<$tterit8 autr Replies.

[786.] Wiring Foundation— Crooked Combs.
— Despite the greatest care, I sometimes suffer
from crooked combs, and frames united and
&hus spoiled. This I attributed to the whole

sheets of brood foundation not keeping quite
straight (buckling) after being introduced into
the hive. I decided to use thinner foundation
and wire it, but regret to say have utterly failed
in my attempts. The wire appears to be im-
bedded in the wax, however carefully I heat and
work the " wheel " for the purpose. You would
greatly encourage the ignorant by minutely
describing how to proceed, and the various im-
plements necessary, how to attach the wire to
the frames, &c. — James McKean, Castle-
blayney.

Reply. — It is not wise to use thin or super
foundation in brood frames even if wired, but if
the ordinary thick foundation is used and the
frames are properly " wired," there should be no
difficulty in keeping combs straight. It might
be well for you to get a few frames with
foundation wired in from some appliance dealer
as patterns to work by. You then could see
where the weak point of your own method was.

[787.] Self-Mvers, 8fc. — I have lately com-
menced bee-keeping, and as I am only at home
the latter end of each week, I am wondering
how I can avoid losing any swarms. I have
seen several swarm and queen traps mentioned,
but not explained. 1, If this should be too big
a subject for your query column, could you tell
me of any book explaining the system ? As the
hives are situated close to a deep railway em-
bankment, of which I could have about two
hundred yards on each side for asking. 2. Is
there any way of utilising it for bee-food, and if
so, what would be the best way of planting it ?
It is now covered with grass, which is mowed
once a year and then burnt. 3. Is there any
advantage in double - walled hives ? — A Be-
ginner., Scarborough.

Reply. — 1. A self-hiver might answer your
purpose, but a queen-trap would, not, seeing that
you are away all week. Why not trv the hiver
illustrated on p. 165 of B. J. for April 27th ? 2.
A dozen or two plants of gorse or bloom would
be of advantage for early pollen, if that happens
to be scarce in the district. Beyond this we
could advise no other way of utilising the space
beyond scattering white clover seed on the em-
bankment in the early spring. 3. Double walls
to hives are supposed to protect bees from
extremes of both heat and cold.

KEEPING DOWN INCREASE.

When a colony swarms, I generally have one
crate of sections or more on it ; but if I do not,
I take one from some other hive, or one with
the sections with full combs in them. I now
set the old hive off the stand and put on another
hive-body on the old bottom-board, with five
brood frames in it, with starters in them spaced
only If in. from centre to centre, and fill up the
space with dummies. I next put on my queen-
excluding honey -board, and then the crate of
sections from the old hive, after which a half-

May 25, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

209-

depth body ; over this is placed another honey-
board, and, last of all, the old hive on top of the
whole. 1 now run in my swarm, that will show
box honey if there is a good flow of honey. I
next bore a one-inch auger-hole in the old hive,
on the opposite end from the entrance below, so
the young queen, when she come out to mate,
won't go in at the bottom entrance where the
old queen is and get lost. Seven days after
the hive swarms I take out the top brood
frames, and pinch off all the queen-cells but the
best one. Ten days after the colony has
swarmed I remove two dummies in the bottom
hive, and put in two brood frames with starters
in them in the centre. In seven days from this
I take out the other two dummies and add the
other three frames with starters, placing them
in the centre, as before. As soon as the young
queen begins to lay I take the old one out and
put young one in her place in the bottom
hive. The old queen I sell, kill, or make a
nucleus with. I thus get a young queen^ every
year. Moreover, in seventeen days from the
time my hive swarmed I have ten new frames
in the bottom body, and all worker-combs, if I
have a good queen in the hive to start with. If
they build a little drone-comb, I cut it out and
put in worker.

If I had all the combs I wanted, I take the
combs from the top story to add to the bottom
body, simply using the top for a nucleus to
raise the young queen in.

The reason I think most bee-keepers failed in
this plan was, they left five brood frames in
the hive till the end of the season and took all
the honey they could get in the sections, and
then were disappointed because there was so
small a swarm of bees left, and no honey to
speak of to winter on ; and then they had to be
fed, and the swarm was not strong enough to
winter. My way is different from any other I
ever heard of, and it works better than any
plan I ever tried, because it keeps the swarms
big and strong all the time. — Calvin C. Phelps,
in "Gleanings."

'{mtos to &amt.

June 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th.— Hants and Isle of
Wight B. K. A., in connexion with Royal
Counties Agricultural Society, at Southampton.
For schedules apply to E. H. Bellairs, Wingfield,
Christchurch.

June 14th and 15th. — Essex B.K.A. County
Show at Romford, in connexion with the Essex
Agricultural Society's Show. F. H. Meggy,
Hon. Secretary, Chelmsford.

June 19th to 23rd. — Royal Agricultural
Society's Show at Chester. Secretary, John
Huckle, Kings Langley.

July 19th to 21st. — Lincolnshire Agriculture
Society '3 Show at Stamford. Bees, honey,
hives and appliances. Liberal prizes. Entries
close July 7th. S. Upton, Secretary, St. Bene-
dict's Square, Lincoln.

KK I 2\st*nd 22nd\-Bristol and District
B.K.A at Knowle. Entries close July 14th.
Uver 6/. cash m prizes. Special facilities offered
to distant exhibitors. Schedules from James
Bristol' Se"-etary, 42 Baldwin Street,

July 25th to 28th. -Summer Show of the
bcottish B.K.A. (under the auspices of the High-
land and Agricultural Society (in the Dean Park ,
Edinburgh Prize lists in due course from
John Wishart, Assistant Secretary, Market
Place, Melrose.

July (date not yet fixed).— Berks B.K.A.
(Windsor District), in connexion with Prince
Consorts Association, in the Home Park,
Windsor. For schedules apply to the Hon.
Secretary, W. J. Darby, Consort Villas, Clewer.

August 7th and 8th.— Northants B.K.A.
Annual Show at Delapre Park, Northampton.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation s Exhibition, in St. Andrew's Hall,
txlasgow. Schedules in due course from Colonel
Bennett, Alloway Park, Ayr, or John Wishart,
Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 13th and 14th.— Scottish B. K. A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries ashing for addresses of manufacturers 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 ofbee-keepeis, 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 communication.

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

King Bee (Notts.)— Flower sent yields honey,
but is never grown in sufficient quantity to
render its value of any importance as a honey
plant.

Mrs. C. Clark. — Two Queens in a Drone-
breeding Stock. — The abnormal drones referred
to, and the failure of the stock to make any
headway, point to something being wrong
with the old queen, which has caused her
premature loss of fecundity. A queen only in
her second year cannot be termed aged. Is it
not likely that she was in some way injured
at the show when exhibiting the stock last
autumn ? In any case, it was quite a mistake
to remove the young queen just hatched, and
living amicably with her parent. Had she
been left in the hive, the old one would pro-
bably have soon disappeared after the young

210

THE "BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 25, 1893.

queen was fertilised, and had begun laying
There is no chance for the old stock doing
well so long as the failing queen continues at
its head, and the bees are not to be relied on
for making a second attempt to depose her
themselves, though they might do so. We
should take away the old one, and watch if
queen-cells are raised ; if not, the bees — if
worth it — should be re-queened.

Special Prepaid Advertise •«*■

STRONG HEALTHY SWARMS for Sale, 10s. 6d. each.
Orders taken in rotation Address E. Long, Cotten-
•ham, Cambs. 2

FOR SALE.— Superior Queens, Stock", and Swarms,
English and Carniolan. Addres3 Rev. C. Brereton.
Pulborough, Sussex. f • n.

FOR SALE.— Strong, Healthy Stocks of Bees in Neigh-
bour's Large Skeps, 16s. ; on Standard Frames, 18s.
Address, J. S. Webb, Nymett House, Parkdale Road,
Plumstead. a 22

CARBOLINE POMADE.— Kills Bee-stings like Magic.
Prevents getting Stung. Robbing, and Bees entering
Cones, &c. Leaflet containing instructions accompanies
each bottle.. Price Is. per bottle. Post free. Address T.
Hollidat, Astbury, Congleton. A 37

FOR SALE.— 1 and 3-lb. Sections; also Abbott's Ex-
hibition Crates, quite new, with Sundries. What
offers ? Address C. Ctjst, Dorchester. a 42

GUARANTEED Healthy Natural Swarms, Pure Na-
tives, 3J to 4 lbs. weight, price 12s. 6d. each, packing
included. Address Chas. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hun-
don, Clare, Suffolk. a 45

PURE CLOVER HONEY in tins, 7d. per lb.,- sample 2d.
Am giving up Sections. Thirty empty Section Crates
with metal dividers, cost 3s. 6d., price 2s. each, or offers.
Address Apiarist, PairBpeir, Ascott-Wychwood, Oxford.
a57

EXTRACTED HONEY for disposal. Best White Clover
cans, 6Jd. lb. Address Downer, Runcton, Chichester
a 58

PLANTS.— Limnanthes Douglasii, 100 Is. 3d.; Iceland
Poppies, 25 Is. 3d.; Seeds, 6d. per packet. Address
Hunting, Loddon, Norfolk. a 59

TWO STOCKS BEES in common Hives, 25s. each.
Quantity of Frames, &c, any offer for these? Foul
brood unknown. Compelled to relinquish bee-keeping.
Manipulating House, 21.; cost 61. Address Gilbert,
Irlam's Heights, Manchester. a 60

WORKING FOREMAN wanted in a Bee and Poultry
Appliance Factory. For full particulars apply to
E. C. Walton, Muskham, Newark. a 61

SITUATION wanted, permanent, by Young Man, age 19,
to Manage Bees. Willing to learn Gardening. Address,
stating wages, H. N., 7 Merton Street, Banbury. a 62

WEBSTER'S Book of Bee-keeping, post free, Is. •
cloth, Is. 6d. W. B. Webster, Binfield, Berks.
'"One of the best foreign works." — American Apiculturist.
" The matter is evidently the result of long personal ob-
servation, and is thoroughly reliable."— Bee-keepers' Record.
" Have much pleasure in recommending the manual to our
readers." — British Bee Journal.

HONEY.— Interesting 8 pp. Pamphlet, explaining to
general Public how Honey is harvested and gathered
by the Ton. By distributing it you can sell all your Honey
at home at a good figure. Copy gratis and post free of
S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex.

HONEY-COMB DESIGNS!

Any Three Letters prepared ready for your Bees

to work out. 5s. Carriage Paid.

Full instructians sent.

-Apply to CHAS. COX, Brampton, Northants. 128

SWARMS! SWARMS! SWARMS !

12th Season.

3 lb. Swarms, 10/6 ; larger at same rate. Boxes

1/6, unless returned.
C. N. White, "Ivo" Apiary, Somersham, Hunts.
(113)

HONEY AND ITS USES. By the Bev. Gerard
W. Bancks, M.A. Can be supplied at the
following rates, carriage paid : 3/6 per 100. 8/ per
250, 14/6 per 500. Specimen copy on application.
Address Durham House, Green Street Green,
Dartford. 2

URTT, GLOUCESTE

ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE

POST FREE.

EE-HIYE MANUFACTURE

R

180

WORTH NOTICE.

15,000 first quality 4? X 4£x2 in. one-piece Sections, two

Bee-way, 2s. 3d. per 100, or 16s. 6d. per 1000.

Best Brood Foundation, seven sheets to the lb., 2s. per lb.,

5 lbs. 9s. 6d.

Extra Fine Super Foundation, 1 lb. 2s. 8d., 5 lb. 12s. 3d.

T. HEDLEY, DEALER IN BEE APPLIANCES,

Back Street, Hexham, Northumberland. 125

STEAM FACTORY for

*g&ee Jtppiicmces.

ORDEBS addressed J. ROSS, Stranraer, Wig-
townshire, N.B., will be attended to.

C. NYE & SONS,

Soutb of lEnglanfc

BEE-KEEPERS' STORES,

WESTERN STREET,

BRIGHTON.

Pure Brood Foundation, 2/- per lb.
„ Super „ 2/10 „

Special Quotations for a Quantity.

Illustrated Catalogue Post Free.

BEE HIVES. BEE SEEDS.

Central Depot for Lancashire and Cheshire.

GEO. ROSE (Successor to P. Hakbobdt), 50
Great Charlotte Street, Liverpool, invites inspection
of his new pattern of "COTTAGE," "W. B. C," and
"WELLS" HIVES. New Stock of Foundation, Feeders,
Smokers, and every requisite for Apiary and Garden now
ready for delivery. BEE SEEDS and PLANTS a Spe-
ciality. 12 best varieties of Bee Flowers, with directions
how to grow them, post free for 2s. Large Illustrated
Catalogue of Bee Appliances, Vegetable and Flower Seeds,
and all Garden Requisites, free upon applicaton.
All Orders Executed Same Day as Received.

THE

Irish ®w Sural,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 571. Vol. XXI. N.S. 179.]

JUNE 1,1893.

[Published Weekly.

(Sbiioriai, Srtkes, &t.

AN AFTERNOON IN A COTTAGER'S
APIARY.

A visit to Warwick on official business con-
nected with the bee department of the "Royal"
Show held there in June of last year, led to the
spending of a very pleasant couple of hours in
the apiary of that well-known veteran bee-
keeper, Mr. John Walton, of Weston, a few
miles from the famous historic town. The
" notes " taken on the occasion referred to were
intended for use along with others of a like
character connected with a series of one-day
holiday excursions contemplated at the time,
and intended to include a brief description of
several apiaries belonging to readers of this
paper ; but, alas ! " Man proposes/' and editorial
work in busy London keeps so tight a grip on
the time of those whose labour includes corre-
spondence with bee-keepers as to sadly interrupt
the " holidays." Consequently our notes labelled
" John Walton " are becoming somewhat " stale,"
through being pigeon-holed for so long a time,
and the recurrence of another " Royal " Show
just now renders the occasion in some sense a
fitting one for bringing them to light, and giving
a few particulars regarding a very worthy
representative of the best type of our cottager
bee-keepers.

Starting from our headquarters at Leaming-
ton-Spa on a fine day in the " show" week, we
drove three or four miles through a beautiful
part of Warwickshire before reaching Honey
Cott. And a very pretty little "cot" it is, nicely
retired — just far enough away from the main
road to suit the owner of a goodly stock of bee-
hives— and surrounded by all that makes a
" model " for an English cottager's home. The
front, facing south, is covered by a large plum-
tree, loaded with fruit when we saw it.
Flowers, fruit, and vegetables grow in abun-
dance in the good-sized and well-kept garden
facing the cottage. Indeed, the neatness,
scrupulous cleanness, and order prevailing every-
where, inside and out, made it quite delightful
to contemplate how many of God's best gifts
are available in a humble home with such occu-
pants as John Walton and his good wife. Our
tost met us, and, after a cordial greeting, we

were soon busy among the bees. The most
prosaic — though by no means a dull or unin-
teresting— part of the surroundings is the bee-
yard, which, in every sense, it is. No one would
call it a loee-garden, for nothing grows in it if
we except bees and honey. The bee-yard, then,
is situated just beyond the cottage-garden, on
one side of a meadow lying between it and the
road. The hives — between fifty and sixty in
number — are all " bar-frames," and stand in
just so much space as will hold them, and allow
passage-way between each, the limited space at
command compelling this arrangement, while
the entrances in many of the hives face each
other. Altogether, it strikes an onlooker how
advantageous it would be to have the hives
occupying about four times the space. How-
ever, as one sees plainly, the bees have grown
and multiplied, while the size of the yard per-
force remains stationary, so Mr. Walton makes
the best of it, and is too old a bee-man not to be
able to maintain order, even in so crowded an
assembly of " workers " as his.

Looking around, we notice very needful
mems. chalked on the backs of the hives, such
as : — " Supered May 23rd for extg.," or, "Q-cells
due June 25th," and such-like, which keep the
bee-keeper in " touch " with his bees and their
work. All the hives are numbered, and many
have special appellations painted thereon, his-
torical, humorous, and otherwise, commemora-
tive of some event associated with each. Mr.
Walton, being himself a carpenter by trade,
makes all his own hives, besides many of the
appliances used. He has no less than five work-
shops and manipulating-houses of various kinds,
some inside the cottage — cosy little places these,
where the " winter evening's work " goes on —
and others out among the bees, where, in the
early summer evenings, after the day's labour
of superintending the workshops at the Refor-
matory close by is done, be can pursue his bee-
work, while, through the window in front, the
enormous crowds of his little assistants labour
under the eye of the (bee) master.

In one of these workshops were piled racks
of sections, ready for use, reaching from floor to
ceiling. In another — the extracting-house — all
the extracting is done, and done well, by the
very machine with which Mr. Walton took a
prize at the Alexandra Palace ever so many
years ago.

212

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 1, 1893.

Then we passed out among the hives again,
and had a look into several of the stocks. The
bees are almost wholly hybrids (Carniolan and
black), this being the variety our friend prefers.
All the colonies were doing well, the almost
uniform strength of the stocks evidencing atten-
tion to this important point, but as that part of
Warwickshire is not an early district, the main
ingathering had not begun at the date of our
visit.

As may be supposed, with so large a number
of colonies on his hands, Mr. Walton has natur-
ally " drifted" into a little bee and honey trading,
and sends away during the season a good many
swarms to various parts of the country. We
were much pleased with a simple " travelling
box " used for this purpose. It is of light,
rough spruce, and measures 16 ins. long, 11 ins.
wide, and 7 ins. deep. It ha3 no lid, the open
side being covered with coarse cheesecloth,
while on the opposite side is cut a large circular
hole, into which fits the mouth of a huge funnel.
When a swarm is being "packed," the bees are
poured into this funnel, slipping down into the
box ; of course, the hole is then covered with
cheesecloth, and the box, when corded up,
travels on its side, so that the bees cling to the
rough wood above, and there is ample ventila-
tion on both sides. No swarms take any harm
when travelling in this way, while the cost
of material and trouble of making are so
trifling that the boxes are never " returned."

After seeing all we could outside, we passed
indoors for rest and refreshment. Then the
indoor workshops were overhauled, and, as we
have already said, cosy little places they are for
fitting up sections, preparing hives, and doing
all the odd jobs required for the coming bee-
campaign.

We had afterwards evidence of our host's me-
chanical skill in the shape of an actual home-
made Harmonium, and a very excellent one, too.
In fact, after a most enjoyable afternoon, we
left Honey Cott full of the conviction that the
home surroundings of a cottage bee-keeper of
John Walton's type may be made as fruitful in
making life worth living as would the posses-
sion of thousands.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

CONVEBSAZIONE.
(Concluded from page 203.)

The Rev. Mr. Bancks was inclined to believe3
from an experiment he had made, that bromine
would destroy the spores. He had inoculated a
tube, and made a cultivation of foul brood.
After subjecting the piece of comb to the fumes
Of bromine, he inoculated another tube from the
first one, and removed it out of the influence of
the bromine, when the cultivation was not only
retarded, but no development ensued.

Mr. Carr thought it might be assumed that
there were no ready means of destroying the
spores, or the eminent scientists who had ex-

perimented so much in that direction would
have made the fact known.

Mr. Blow quite agreed with Mr. Carr that
the remedies at present in use were cures, and
were much easier applied than Mr. Bancks
plan. Salicylic acid, phenol, and Naphthol;
Beta were almost identical in their action on the
brood, and were exceedingly simple of applica-
tion. If the strong remedies quoted were put
into use generally, 99 per cent, of the bees
would be killed ; but if the simple methods were
resorted to in the bacillus stage, that was all
that was necessary. Mr. Cheshire proved
clearly that phenol acted on the bacillus and
killed it, and the stocks were eventually cured.

Mr. Cribb endorsed Mr. Blow's opinion, that
the remedies generally used were absolute cures.
In introducing the vapours referred to into the
hive, it must be borne in mind that all the open
cells and honey would become permeated with it,
rendering the cultivation of bacilli practically
impossible. Then, too, the impregnated food
would find its way into the alimentary canal of
the bee, and thus would destroy the bacilli. He
could quite understand the bees leaving the hive
when such a drastic remedy as bromine was
employed. He thought Naphthol Beta a simple
and perfect cure.

Mr. Harris hoped Mr. Bancks would pursue
his experiments, which were extremely interest-
ing.

Mr. Carr invited Mr. Bancks to bring the
matter up again when Mr. Cowan was present.
No doubt that gentleman would be able to
throw some light on the matter.

The Rev. Mr. Bancks said that, according to>
Koch, twenty per cent, of salicylic acid applied
for three days had no effect on the spores beyond
merely retarding the development of them.

Mr. Till thought the meeting was much in-
debted to Mr. Bancks, who he hoped would
not be discouraged by the somewhat adverse
criticism of his methods.

The Chairman expressed his hearty concur-
rence with Mr. Till, hoping Mr. Bancks would
continue his investigations. He did not think
that any one should be deterred from experi-
mentation by the knowledge that eminent men
were pursuing the same inquiries, neither did he
consider that we should be chary of making-
known publicly remedies which could only be
used by scientific persons, or persons of scientfic
methods. If a good remedy could be found he
was quite sure science would devise the best
possible means of putting it into practice.

Mr. Till asked whether any one present had
any experience of detecting disease by scenting
it at the mouth of the hive ? He had found
diseased hives with quite a healthy smell, and
sometimes the reverse.

Major Fair thought bad smell was no proof
of disease, but arose from bad ventilation.

Mr. Carr agreed that smell was delusive,
badly diseased hives often being almost odour-
less, while the natural odour of brood and of
newly-gathered honey at some seasons wasp
very misleading to the inexperienced.

June 1, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

215

Mr. Sheppard, in response to the Chairman,
stated that on the previous Saturday he had
extracted from one " Wtlls " hive fifty pounds
of honey, and from another seventy pounds.
These hives were supplied with standard frames,
and were the only two hives of the kind in the
neighbourhood. In one case the bees were put
in last autumn and wintered there, while in the
other they were admitted in the early spring of
the present year.

The Chairman congratulated Mr. Sheppard
on his success, especially considering that the
season of the honey harvest had not been
reached. Sainfoin and trifolium was not yet in
bloom in his own county.

Mr. Blow's new glazed section was exhibited. It
was beautifully made, the glass being dropped into
a rebate after the section was folded up. Thus
fitted up it was intended for use in the hive,
the glass serving the purpose of a divider, yet
capable of being easily replaced should it become
smeared or accidentally broken.

Mr. Cribb pointed out that this arrangement
would reduce the weight of the section by at
least two ounces, independent of the fact that the
section was a full sixteenth of an inch thicker
than the ordinary standard section. He thought
that these facts would disqualify it for exhibi-
tion at sbows.

Mr. Soar was of the same opinion as Mr.
Cribb, believing that the weight would be even
reduced fully as much as two ounces.

Among the other ovelties sent for inspection
and comment werena new super-clearer just
introduced by Mr. Meadows, which contained
four clearers or bee-escapes.

Mr. Carr, while approving of the appliance,
thought that it would be still more effective, as
well as being less costly, if one, or at most two,
escapes were used instead of four ; because the
more complete the severance between tbe super
and the hive below — short of actual separation
— the better a clearer worked.

A frame with a new method of fixing founda-
tion was also shown, by means of which a solid
and extra strong top-bar could be used, no
saw-kerf being needed to fix the sheet very
firmly. This frame, in the opinion of those
present, seemed to possess practical advantages,
though, as was observed by one speaker, the
thickness of the top-bar (f of an inch) reduced
the cell-capacity of the frame.

Mr. Sheppard said there would be no brac^
combs built on a frame of that kind, which was
a decided advantage.

After some discussion as to the desirability or
otherwise of teaching cottagers the use of straw
skeps in preference to the frame hive, the
Chairman remarked that the technical instruc-
tion granted by the Kent County Council in-
cluded the management of skeps. The first day
out of the five days allotted was taken up with
skep management and demonstrations.

Mr. Till said he had heard that the Lancashire
County Council had agreed to the establishment
of nine centres, where instruction was to be
given and fixed apiaries established.

The Chairman thought there ought to be
some means of carrying on the instruction after
the classes had been taught, and it would be a
good thing to have object-lessons right through
the season.

Mr. Carr said that only in a few instances
would the grant of the County Councils permit
of such liberal instruction as was given in Kent
and Lancashire, where the allowances were as
much as 200/. or 250/. In Berkshire the grant
had been increased from 50/. to 100/., the extra
50/. to be expended on the equipment of a
travelling bee-van. There must be some carry-
ing on of the work begun by the lecturers to a
definite conclusion, and that could not be done
unless hives and bees were at hand for the pur-
poses of practical instruction ; but it was most
important that definite results should be shown
and reported to the County Councils, so that
they might be assured their money was being
expended judiciously.

The Rev. Mr. Lamb and Mr. Cribb were both
opposed to travelling apiaries, considering that
it would be far better to obtain the temporary
use of local apiaries for demonstration purposes.
The Chairman taid they could not rely on
such assistance in his county. With regard
to the following up of instruction, he felt that
when the lectures had been delivered in most of
the distiicts of the county, it would be a good
thing if the County Council could be induced to
send round somebody who could render assist-
ance without cost to the bee-keeper.

Some discussion then took place as to the pre-
cautions necessary to be taken by experts when
visiting apiaries where foul brood might exist,
after which the proceedings terminated in the
usual way.

CoruspontJcncr.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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 goodfaith. Illustrations should be draum
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports 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 business communications
relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed to " The
Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17 King TFt'lliam
Street, Strand, London, W.C." {see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES
CONNECTED WITH QUEENS.

[1448.] Do not " remarkable occurrences " in
the apiary often repeat themselves in a season ?
E.g., in 1891 many queens were mated very
late, the wet summer having kept them at home ;
in 1892 honey in many districts granulated
early ; and now, in 1893, bees have been most
active in superseding queens. The accession of
a queen in Mr. Harris's case (1442, p. 200) is

214

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 1, 1893,

strange. The following is not so striking, but
appears to be more inexplicable. On March
30th I found a hive queenless ; this hive had
thrown out many bees after the cold winter,
and I supposed the queen was one of the
defunct. I gave a frame with one queen-cell
sealed (and found out afterwards that that was
the only queen-cell the other hive had for super-
seding with). This cell was destroyed. On April
22nd, no brood, inactivity. Pat in a frame
with eggs. April 28th, no eggs, no queen-cell ;
young bees hatched from added frame nursing
the regaining and only brood ; some little
pollen coming in. May 6th, no fresh brood or
eggs ; gave a frame with unsealed but inhabited
queen-cell, with royal jelly taken from a super
with the queen laying below, under excluder, a
fertile worker in the super having just dis-
continued laying. (Please do not think this
was a young queen laying in the super before
fertilisation. The hive was the one from which,
on March 30th, I took the queen-cell, and found
afterwards it was queenless. A fertile worker
took up business actively. But by April 28th I
had a young queen in good lay there, and then
the worker gradually eased off in the super. I
had left the super on under excluder all the
winter.)

May 13th. — Queen-cell destroyed; still no
sign of a queen ; gave another frame with eggs.
Our Association expert, Mr. Hamilton, also
examined the hive or. this date.

May 22nd. — No queen -cell on last added
frame, and not an egg in nest. Gave another
frame with eggs.

May 27th. — Found eggs where the young had
hatched out ; then found her majesty, lively,
with light pubescence, not large, and I thought
young. Now, I did not always look closely
enough to be sure there was no queen-cell in
some side or corner — it, of course, did not occur
to me to do so ; but I know it was not on any
frame I gave a week after putting in, and I
made careful search through the middle of the
hive for eggs or young brood every time. The
advent of the queen (or, as a remote chance, the
long suspension of her functions) is difficult to
understand. — S. Jordan, Bristol, May 27th.

see one of the queens thrown out next day. As
no queen was ejected, I began to wonder whether
both still lived. A fortnight later, on over-
hauling the frames, I discovered both queens
laying and living amicably in what is now one
stock. To-day, after a month from the removal
of the dummy, the two royal ladies are still
enjoying a joint reign. This seems to indicate
that fertile queens do not bear any aversion to
one another when both have acquired the same
scent. Or is it that the workers being peaceably
inclined do not stir up the strife which leads to
the royal duel? Doubtless the uniformity of
scent is the principal factor. Perhaps others
who have joined weak stocks by the above plan
may be able to report a similar result. The
above development was quite accidental, and in no
way a result of any attempt to improve (?) the
" Wells system." — Thomas Badcock, Soutkfleet,
Kent, May 26£A.

QUEEN RAISED WITH LAYING QUEEN
IN SAME HIVE.

[1450.] On looking over one of my stocks
recently, I found several queen-cells (one sealed
over), and as the parent queen was an old one, I
determined to try to raise a young queen to
take her place from one of these cells. The
hive was full of bees and ready for supering, so
I added a box of standard frames above, and
removed the queen into this box or super, con-
fining her by means of a close-fitting excluder or
diaphragm to five frames. I likewise covered
frames in brood chamber with excluder zinc,
but also added one thickness of American cloth
on this excluder the width of the five frames, so
that the two queens could not possibly get
together ; then having removed all queen-cells
but one, I returned the frame containing
the sealed cell into the brood chamber or
bottom story again. On looking over the
hive on Monday last, the 22nd inst, I found
a fine queen in bottom story with eggs on
I both sides of two frames ; so I removed old
queen from lift and American cloth from be-
tween them, satisfied with my success at the
venture. — J. B., Durham, May 2Qth.

THE " WELLS SYSTEM " AND WEAK
STOCKS.

[1449.] Mr. Woodley points out the facilities
which the " Wells system " affords for uniting
weak stocks and securing honey by allowing
them to work in a common super. Some weeks
back I placed too such stocks in one hive, sepa-
rated by a Wells dummy made one-eighth of an
inch thick, and bound at the edges with zinc.
About a week afterwards I placed a super on.
On examining the hive a week later, I found
that the dummy had warped so considerably as
to interfere with the combs on either side of it.
I therefore took it out, but having no other
available, I decided to let the two stocks be-
come one, and replaced the super, expecting to

OBSERVATIONS ON AND EXPERIENCES
WITH THE "WELLS" HIVE.
[1451.] Like a good many other bee-keepers,
I caught the " Wells " fever in the spring of this
year. I constructed a hive, forty-five inches
long, of the standard width and depth, having
entrances in front, extending from end to end,
with the exception of about six inches in the
middle. In the centre of the hive, I placed a
perforated thin dummy, having 200 holes burnt
through, of one-eighth inch diameter. On each
side of the dummy I put a stock of bees — No. 1
containing ten frames, No. 2 containing eight
frames — all fairly covered with bees. On the top
of the frames I placed excluder zinc over both
stocks. About a fortnight having elapsed, I re-
moved the coverings to see how they were getting

June 1, 1898.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

215

on, and then I saw the first indication of the
" union of hearts " between the two stocks, for
I observed many bees come up through the
excluder from No. 1 , and go down into No. 2,
apparently without molestation, and vice versa,
others came up from No. 2 and descended into
No. 1. This set me pondering the question,
whether they used the two entrances indiscrimi-
nately ; but this I found difficult of proof, as
both stocks were black bees. I therefore placed
a glass cover over some half-dozen bees as they
alighted in front of No. 1 hive, and discharged
them in front of No. 2, which they entered as if
it was their own home. This I did repeatedly
from both stocks with a like result.

Having observed that the stock in No. 1
increased to twelve frames, while that in No. 2
remained almost stationary in eight frames, I
thought I would equalise the two by transferring
two frames from No. 1 to No. 2. This I did,
shaking all the bees off into their own compart-
ment. This necessitated shifting the dummy,
and judge of my surprise, Sirs, on finding
nearly all the perforations stopped ! What can
that mean, and what becomes of the " similarity
of odour" theory? The few holes that were not
plugged up were evidently in process of stopping,
and the stopping is in all cases in the centre of
the thickness, and does not extend on either side
to the surface of the dummy, from which I infer
that it is the work of both stocks alike.

When I took the dummy out there were many
bees on each side of it; these I shook off on to
flight-board in front, and they used both en-
trances without hesitation. I inferred from this
fact that perhaps I need not have displaced the
bees from the two frames that I transferred from
No. 1 to No. 2, for as far as the bees themselves
are concerned, I think it is proved that the two
compartments are evidently only one stock.

It might be interesting to know whether my
experience coincides with that of other " Wells "
Hivites. The season here is too dry to produce
much honey ; swarms are very scarce, and but
few supers are yet filled. — T. I., Maldon, Essex,
May 27th, 1893.

BEES IN THE MIDLANDS AND IN
THE SOUTH.

[1452.] In the Midlands (South Derbyshire)
bees in ordinary seasons take to the supers
about the end of May, but this year, owing to
the early blooming of fruit-trees, hawthorn, &c,
supers were taken possession of at a much eailier
date, although, as yet, no quantity of honey
has been harvested. The white clover being
our chief source of supply, the object of the
bee-keeper is to get his stocks into a strong con-
dition by the time the clover begins to bloom
freely. The second week in June is the usual
time when our honey-flow commences, and
when we expect to find supers rapidly filling.

During Whit-week I was staying with a
friend in Hampshire, and a veritable paradise
for bees I found it. The hollows of the fine old
elms abound in what may be " wild " stocks of

a vigorous strain of black bees (originating from
stray swarms), which this year threw off swarms
as early as the middle of April. Two swarms took
possession of crannies in the roof of the parish
church whilst I was there — my friend has three
swarms in possession of different parts of the
roof of his house — whilst several stray swarms
have been captured, some of which I examined,
and found the brood chambers, within a week
of their being hived, full of brood and honey ;
others of the same age were hard at work in the
supers. I found that my friend had removed
several supers, and I had the pleasure of assist-
ing in the removal of several more, all well
finished and containing beautiful honey of a rich
yellow tinge.

All the stocks had two or three supers on, and
all crammed full of bees. At a neighbouring
apiary, I found foul brood in one hive, one hive
rather weak, but all the others strong. I
advised the immediate destruction of the dis-
eased stock, and the melting down of the comb.
I consider the presence of this diseased stock as
rather remarkable, seeing that all its neighbours
exhibited vigour and health. In looking about
for the source of all this plenty, I saw acres
upon acres of sainfoin, with its beautiful pur-
plish bloom, nearly ready for the mower.
Following this, will come the white clover,
limes, and buckwheat, large breadths of which
are sown for the game which abounds in the
locality. My friend is a most successful bee-
keeper, and his rule is never to extract from the
brood combs — he rarely interferes with the
brood chamber — but he is most careful to supply
an abundance of natural stores, and in spring
he feeds with comb honey any stocks that may
require food, and by supplying abundance cf
"wrapping," he gets his bees into a fit condition
for the very early honey-flow with which that
part of Hampshire is blessed. — Gwenyn.

BEES IN BERKS.

[1458.] I have safely hived my first swarm —
a very large one — to-day (May ^9th). Bees did
not store surplus honey here till the 25th, but
they have all entered the supers now and are
collecting fast. The clover looks very pro-
mising, and the lime-trees will be in bloom in
about twelve days. If we get another fall of
rain shortly, I fancy we shall get abundance of
honey this year. The bees were working at five
o'clock this morning as busily as if it had been
midday. — George Head, Winkfield, Berks,
May 29th.

BEE-PLANTS.

[1454.] Although some hundreds of bee-
plants have been sent to England, Ireland, and
Scotland, there are still a few left for any bee-
keepers who have not tried them, or have inadver-
tently been overlooked. — H. Crawley, 250
Canbury Park Road, Kingston-on-Thames.

216

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

! June 1, 1893.

mxm anfc Replies.

[788.] Sioarms Deserting " Wells" Hives.
— I have two beehives made for working
on Wells' system. In the first week of May
I put two swarms in each hive, one each side
of the division-board. I sprinkled the bees
well with syrup on hiving, and fed them with
it afterwards, but one swarm from each hive
flew away ; the two remaining swarms, how-
ever, are working all right. On the following
week I put in two more swarms to replace those
that flew away ; one of these immediately left
their own side of the hive and went into the
other with those that were there before, and
remain there, but the swarm that I put in the
other hive at the same time have nearly all gone
back to the parent hive. There only remains
about three parts of a pint of bees in the hive.
1. Would you kindly advise me what to do
under these circumstances ? 2. WTill the small
quantity of bees remaining get strong enough
by feeding, or would it be advisable to put in
another swarm with them ? The parting is
all correct, with perforated board in bottom
chamber and with division at entrance. I wish
to try the double-queen system, so would be very
thankful if you would advise me how to get
them to stay in their proper place. — Mathew
Hideb, Withy ham, May 20th.

Reply. — If the hive is properly and effectively
divided and the bees cannot get at each other
from the inside, we cannot possible understand
why two swarms should not remain and work
in it just as they would in two distinct and
separate hives. Are you perfectly sure that
each swarm had a queen ? Again, when on the
second attempt to introduce a swarm, the bees
" left their own side of the hive and went in
the other," did they join from the inside or
how ? Altogether your failure bespeaks mis-
management somewhere, but it is quite beyond
us to say where. There was no use at all in
sprinkling the bees with syrup when introducing
the swarms, but even that mistake does not
account for the repeated failures. 2. The hand-
ful of bees remaining of the deserting swarm are
of no use whatever as a stock, even if they have
a queen with them, which we doubt. With
every desire to help you, we do not see how to
give useful advice from a distance. Cannot you
get some neighbour who is more experienced
than yourself to advise you in the matter, as we
could do ourselves effectually enough, no doubt,
were we enabled to see you and your hive.

[ 789. ] Queen-raising. — 1. I have about a
dozen hives, all with queens two or three years
old. I wish to replace them by younger ones.
Kindly say whether there is any objection to
the following meth< d : — About 1st July remove
queen from a strong stock (say hive No. 1),
getting queen-cells built from selected eggs.
About 6th July from six hives (say Nos. 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, and 7), remove the queens which are to be

superseded. About 15th, cut out from each of
these six hives a capped queen-cell, and replace it
bv one which will be ready to hatch from No. 1.
The advantages of the method seem that a queen
is obtained from selected eggs, and is hatched five
days earlier than the others in the hive in which
it is placed, and swarming may be prevented.
2. Can I preserve the old. queens during this
experiment in case any of the young ones should
fail to mate, and, if so, how ? — Z., Gloucester,
May 23rd.

Reply. — 1. Our objection to the plan pro-
posed lies in the fact of its causing loss of produce
by upsetting and disturbing so many hives at a
date when all of them ought to be working in
supers, and winding up the season's labours.
Besides, you could not rely on having so many
as seven good queen-cells raised in the selected
hive. We should prefer to re-queen by letting
a couple of hives out of the dozen swarm — as
they probably will without being let — and, after
hiving the swarm in skep, proceed at once to
divide the brood, remaining bees, and combs of
the parent hive into three nucleus colonies,
giving two or three combs of brood and two of
food to each. Make them snug and warm, and
set them down in sheltered corners till wanted.
The swarm is then hived in the original brood
chamber — the latter being fitted with foundation
and ready-built combs if such are at hand — and
the super replaced. In the autumn such of the
nuclei as have successfully raised queens may
be added to the stocks it is deemed desirable to
re-queen. 2. Queens may, with care and feeding,
be kept alive for a fortnight or more in a
combed section, along with a couple of dozen
worker-bees.

[790] Colonial Honey. — 1. Will you please
tell me if Colonial honey is as good in all ways
as British ? 2. Are there any one-pound sections
imported to London ? 3. Would it be unlawful
to label it " Pure Honey ? " — A Wobking
Man.

Reply. — 1. We do no injustice to our
colonies by saying "No '' to this qu,ery. Good
colonial honey there is, no doubt, but much of
it is so rank and strong in flavour as to be
wholly unfit for table use. This is especially
the case in some parts of Australia and New
Zealand, where the " Titre " and the various
eucalyptus or gum-trees grow so abundantly as
to quite spoil the flavour of the better-class
honeys collected in such districts. 2. Not of
late years so far as we know. 3. It is obvious
that honey which is pure cannot be legally
impure. We have no business, perhaps, to
inquire into the reasons which prompt "A
Working Man" to make the above inquiries,
but offer a friendly hint to exercise caution, if
it is his intention to " speculate " in the honey
business.

[791.] Uniting Swarms. — I have had two
swarms from two skeps which I have put into
bar-frame hives, and as neither of them are very

Jane 1, 1893 ]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

217

heavy, should like to unite a second swarm to
each.' Will you kindly tell me — 1. If I shall
be safe in doing so on the same day as the
swarm issues, first destroying the queen that
came out with the first swarm ? 2. Or if I
destroy the queen with first swarm, and do not
unite them till next day, would not the bees
begin to make queen-cells, and so cause trouble ?
3. In either case would the best way be to run
the second swarm in at the entrance ? — F.
Howell, Pooh, Dorset, May 29th.

Reply. — There will be considerable risk in
uniting a second swarm to one already estab-
lished in the frame hive for several dajrs, and
we should not advise your trying it unless
you went to the trouble of removing the bees
now in the frame hive from their combs, and so
reducing them again to the condition of a swarm.
If this were done, and the old queen removed
during the operation, the bees might be shaken
up, along with those of the second swarm, and
so united ; but seeing the trouble involved,
would it not be best to " let well alone ? "

[792.] A " Flotver-pot" Supei — Giving Room
in Skeps. — About the middle of June last year I
took a ten-pound super of honey off a straw skep,
which super was neither more nor less than a
large flower-pot ! The bees worked nicely in it,
and filled it in a very short time. I then placed
an empty skep on the stock, and the bees ap-
peared to be doing well — in fact, this spring
thej' were much increased in numbers. About
ten days since great quantities crowded around
the hive's mouth and under the coverings at the
sides ; but now that it is colder — since the
copious rains — I find they have crept still further
under the coverings of the skep. Had I better
give them more room by putting an empty skep
and taking off the super skep, which I have no
doubt is well filled with honey, as my bees have
worked splendidly this spring up to present date?
— J. B. He ale, Crediton.

Reply. — By all means remove the super at
once and substitute an empty one for it. The
bees want room for storing, and will probably
swarm if it is not given. You might enlarge
the skep by eking below, but that would mean a
lot of undesirable drone comb in the added
space ; so the best plan is to give the room
overhead.

[793.] 1. I have a frame hive quite full of
bees, I don't want it to swarm, and can give no
more room, except to put on section crate ;
there is no honey-flow till clover, which will be
in full bloom in a fortnight or three weeks.
Would cutting out queen-cells keep the bees
from swarming ? 2. I see on one frame about
fifty drone-cells full of hatching brood, others
flying. Are these drones of any use when I
don't want a swarm ? 3. I have two skeps
with three-year-old queens, and would like to
replace with queens from second swarm. Could
I preserve young queens till they are fertilised
and laying, so as to lose no egg -laying be-

tween killing the old queen and introducing the
young one? 4. When putting on queen-
excluder for supering, should I put strips of
three-eighths of an inch wood on top of frames,
or excluder flat on frames ? 5. I have a hive
on the Wells system. Would you advise my
using full sheets of strong foundation in stocking
it with swarms ? 6. What is the insect sent?
It has a sting. — Jos. Mitchell, Addieivell,
May 26th.

Reply. — 1. If queen-cells are now formed,
they had better be removed and a section crate
put on at once. This should stop swarming. 2.
None whatever under the condition referred to.
3. We cannot say what plan you purpose
following to make this query apply. Write
again, explaining your intended plan of pro-
cedure more fully. 4. Put the excluder direct
on frame tops. 5. Yes, if the foundation
is wired in. 6. Insect was smashed beyond
recognition in post. It is, we think, one of the
numerous family of wasps.

[794.] Casting out 'Drone Brood. — On the first
day that rain came (May loth), a quantity of
drone brood was thrown out of one of my hives.
I thought it meant that the bees were in want,
and gave a small amount of food for a few
days. On examining them this week, I found
that not only had they a lot of honey at the
tops of the frames, but three frames solid full on
both sides. 1. Why, do you think, did they
cast out the brood ? — and 2. Would it be well to
extract from the full combs, and feed if it
becomes necessary ? — N,, Stafford.

Reply. — 1. Just about the date named,
several cases of drone-Mlling and casting out of
drone brood were notified to us. We attribute
it simply to the weather. There was, about
that time, quite a general stoppage of income for
a few days, and this, we think, has caused the
mischief you complain of. 2. No; we should,
in preference, at once give surplus room.

TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN BEE-
KEEPING.

The Berks Council, by increasing the grant
of 50/. to 100/. to the Berks Bee-keepers' Associ-
ation, are making a new departure in technical
education. The additional 50/. is made to pur-
chase a travelling van for the purpose of sending
lecturers into the rural districts for the teaching
of practical and humane bee-keeping. We
understand that arrangements are being made
to commence the tour at the end of June, details
of which we hope shortly to announce. The
district selected for this year's operations is that
part of South Berks lying between Reading and
Hungerf ord , in which it is proposed to spend a
month lecturing from village to village, duriDg
which it is hoped that the whole of the district
will be covered. The van is built on the fines
of the political vans now so much in use, and

218

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 1, 1893.

will provide sleeping and living accommodation
for the lecturer and his attendant. The plan of
operations will be to put the van up on the
village green or some other suitable place in the
morning, and during the day to visit the bee-
keepers in the neighbourhood, and offer them
practical assistance and advice. In the after-
noon, where it can be arranged, a lecture will be
given in some neighbouring apiary, illustrated by
practical demonstrations with living bees, and in
the evening at dusk another lecture from the van,
illustrated with lantern views. These lectures
are intended to be as simple as possible, and, it
is hoped, will do much to promote profitable
bee-keeping among the cottager classes, and to
remove some of the superstition still hanging
round the beehive. To make this effort on the
part of the County Council and the Bee-keepers'
Association as successful as it deserves, it is
necessary to secure the co-operation of friends
living in the above-mentioned district, and we
are requested to say that the Hon. Secretary of
the Berks Bee-keepers' Association will be glad
to hear from any one willing to help in the
work of bringing technical education in bee-
keeping to the homes of the people, and any
communication addressed to him at the office of
the Association, 17 Market Place, Reading,
will receive prompt attention. — Reading Ob-
server.

SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

The Assistant Secretary of the above Associ-
ation, Mr. John Wishart, 5 Market Place, Mel-
rose, requests us to ask that, in order to prevent
delay, all correspondence relating to the Associ-
ation or to coming shows may be addressed to
him direct, and not to the Hon. Secretary, Sir
T. I). Gibson-Carmichael, or any other of the
office-bearers.

AFTER-SWARMS— WHEN TO CUT OUT

QUEEN-CELLS.

Probably there is nothing so perplexing to
the apiarist, nor, in fact, to the novice or the
farmer, with his few hives of bees, as after-
swarms. They are rarely wanted by any one,
but are ever present to annoy, unless they are
prevented from issuing by the apiarist. With
fox hives, and the knowledge of thirty years
ago, very few could do little else than let them
issue at will. They were often returned, only
to issue the next day, and often again on the
same day. The cry of " Bees swarming ! " about
as soon as we were in the hayfield, on some hot
July morning during the fifties, and " bees
swarming " all through the day, decided my
father to let this branch of agriculture alone ;
and as four-fifths of these swarms were after-
swarms, not being wanted, they were the ones
which gave the verdict, or caused it to be given.
But since the frame hives came into general use,
this after-swarming nuisance can be prevented ;

but in order to do this we must know the con-
ditions causing them to issue, and when they
are to be expected. On page 258 of Gleanings
for April 1st, I find these words over the name
of Henry Alley : " A queen usually hatches on
the eighth day after the first swarm issues, and
it is on that day that the second swarm will
come off.''

Now, friend Alley is one of our oldest bee-
keepers, having had years of experience with
bees before many of us were born ; yet he made
a mistake here, or else the types did not make
him say what he intended. After years of
study on this point, and the most careful
watching, I find that, where the colony casting
swarms is in a normal condition, the egg in-
tended for a queen is deposited in the embi'yo
queen-cell from three to three and one-half days
before it hatches into a larva. This larva is in
the larval form from five and one-half to six
days, at which "time the cell containing it is
sealed. After the cell is sealed it is in the
chrysalis form seven days, making a period of
about sixteen days from the time the egg was
deposited in the cell to the time the queen
hatches. When the queen first emerges from
the cell she is a white, weak thing, unless kept
in her cell after maturity by the workers, as all
who have handled queens well know, and is no
more fit for leading out a swarm than she is for
egg- laying ; but during the next forty-eight
hours she gains strength rapidly, so that, when
she is about thirty to thirty-six hours old, she
begins to " pipe," or " peep," as it is termed ;
and when she is from forty-eight to sixty hours
old she is ready to lead out a swarm, where
there are rival queens in other queen-cells.
From the above it will be seen that the second
swarm does not come on the day the young
queen hatches, but about two days afterward.
This, I believe, is according to Quinby in his
Mysteries of Bee-keeping Explained, which I
have always found to be very nearly correct on
all topics on which it treats. If any one objects
to my using the term " leads out a swarm," just
tell him that, with the first (or prime) swarm,
having the old queen, the bees seem to be the
leaders in the swarming movement ; but with
all after-swarms the case is different, for with
these we find the young queen the first, or
among the first, to leave the hive. When a
colony is in a normal condition, or when an
apiary is not affected with the swarming mania,
the first swarm issues upon the sealing of the
first queen-cell, unless kept back by unfavourable
weather or circumstances. By issuing upon the
sealing of the first queen-cell, I mean this: If
the cell is sealed at some time during the hours
of 8 to 12 a.m., the swarm is likely to issue
from 12 m. to 3 p.m. of the same day ; but if
sealed from 2 p.m. to 8 a.m., then the swarm
will issue during the forenoon, so that, in this
latter case, which is the usual one, the cell may
be sealed anywhere from one to eighteen hours
before the swarm issues.

I have been particular in this matter, so that
we could know just when to cut off the queen-

•June 1, 1893. J

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

219

hives and appliances. Liberal prizes. Entries
close July 7th. S. Upton, Secretary, St. Bene-
dict's Square, Lincoln.

July 25th to 28th. — Summer Show of the
Scottish B.K.A. (under the auspices of the High-
land and Agricultural Society (in the Dean Park,
Edinburgh. Prize lists in due course from
John Wishart, Assistant Secretary, Market
Place, Melrose.

August 7th and 8th.— Northants B. K. A.
Annual Show at Delapre Park, Northampton.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

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

Benjamin E. Jones (Freckleton). — Papers on
Foul Brood. — The papers referred to appear
in Bee Journal for March 2nd, 16th, 23rd,
and 30th, and April 6th. The five numbers
will be sent post free for Id. in stamps.

A. P. J. (Norfolk). — Bees killing Drones in May.
— 1. Though not usual, the practice has been
pretty frequent this year. 2. It indicates
that swarming is given up just for the time
being, nothing further.

W. B. W. (Hillmarton). — Suspected Foul Brood
in Skep. — There is no foul brood in comb.
The skep has evidently been robbed in the
autumn, very probably owing to the " large
plate of feed" put underneath on the floor-
board, and the bees have since died of starva-
tion. The piercing of the cappings would
occur while the robbing was in progress.

Alex. Strath dee (Ballindalloch). — Insect sent
is a fly, order Diptera, not a bee at all.

Win. A. Jack (Glasgow). — The Sheppard self-
hiver has been, we believe, very successful in
use.

J. B. Heale (Crediton). — Probably the most
popular book published in this country is
Cowan's Guide-book.

H. J. — Painting inside of Hives. — There is no
objection to this if time is allowed for
the paint to harden, and the smell to pass away
before using.

Caleb J. Davis (Pilton). —The bee tent will be
at the Gloucester Show, but no honey or
appliances.

F. F (Clapham). — Bee sent is a queen, and from
a perusal of the " history of the stock " sent
along with it, we should say the queen has
met with some injury while manipulating.
She has lost half of one leg, and has signs of
injury to the abdomen, and this would cause
her to creep out of the hive to die.

Geo. H. Strong (Twickenham). — Bees sent are
the ordinary worker-bee of the common
native variety. Probably they are " robber-
bees " from some other hive.

cells to prevent these after-swarms. If wre cut
off all the cells but one on the fifth or sixth day
after the issuing of the sw^aim, as has been
recommended many times, we are not sure that
the cell left will hatch ; and, furthermore, the
bees still have larvae young enough to convert
into queens, which they are almost sure to do,
and in this case they will often kill the queen
which hatches first, instead of allowing her to
destroy these later-started cells, when we not
only have as many after-swarms as we should
have had, had we not cut the cells ; but we have
also the disadvantage of having queens reared
from old larvae, which, all concede, gives in-
ferior queens. Now, if we wait about this
cutting of cells till the eighth day, we shall run
no risk of the colony swarming; where the
first swarm was not kept back by foul weather,
there will be no larvae young enough to convert
into queens, and, as a rule, the first young queen
will be hatched, when we can make a sure thing
of the matter, if we are sure we cut off all the
queen-cells in the hive. For these reasons I
now wait till the morning of the eighth day
after a first swarm has issued, when I open the
hive, take out the first frame, and hastily glance
over it for nearly ripe queen-cells ; and if none
are found I shake most of the bees off near the
entrance of the hive, into which they will im-
mediately run, when the frame is closely in-
spected for queen-cells, peering into every nook
and corner for them ; for, should some small or
crooked one be missed, swarming would surely
result. All cells found are cut off after a frame
has been shaken to rid it of bees, for this shak-
ing of the young queens in their cells is almost
sure to kill them or cause deformity. The next
frame is treated the same, unless ripe cells are
found, in which case it is set outside the hive,
awaiting the finding of a cell from which a
queen has hatched, when all are cut off ; but
should none have hatched, then the best one of
these ripe cells is saved and put back into the
hive. In this way we can make sure that no
swarm will issue, after the first, from this hive,
and it is the only certain plan I know of.— G.
M. Doolittle in " Gleanings."

>{rflfos I0 dume.

June 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th. — Hants and Isle of
Wight B. K. A., in connexion with Royal
Counties Agricultural Society, at Southampton.
For schedules apply to E. H. Bellairs, Wingfield,
Christchurch.

June 14th and 15th. — Essex B.K.A. County
Show at Romford, in connexion with the Essex
Agricultural Society's Show. F. H. Meggy,
Hon. Secretary, Chelmsford.

June 19th to 23rd. — Royal Agricultural
Society's Show at Chester. Secretary, John
Huckle, Kings Langley.

July 19th to 21st. — Lincolnshire Agriculture
Society's Show at Stamford. Bees, honey,

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 1, 1833,

Spectai Prepaid Advertisements

Situation*, Publications, Bee Plants, dtn.— Up to
Twelve loords, Sixpence : for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

STRONG- HEALTHY SWARMS for Sale, 10s. 6d. each.
Orders taken in rotation Address E. Long, Cotten-
ham, Cambs.

FOR SA.LE.— Superior Queens, Stock", and Swarms,
English and Oarniolan. Addres3 Rev. C. Bbereton.
Polborough, Sussex. I. n.

C4RBOLINE POMADE.— Kills Bee- stings like Magic.
Prevents getting Stung. Robbing, and Bees entering
Cones, &c. Leaflet containing instructions accompanies
each bottle. Price Is. per bottle. Post free. Address T.
Holliday, Astbury, Congleton. A 37

GUARANTEED Healthy Natural Swarms, Pure Na-
tives, 3J to 4 lbs. weight, price 12s. 6d. each, packing
included. Address Chas. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hun-
don, Clare, Suffolk. a 45

PLANTS. — Limnanthes Douglasii, 100 Is. 3d ; Iceland
Poppies, 25 Is. 3d.; Seeds, 6d. per packet. Address
Hunting, Loddon, Norfolk. a 59

TWO STOCKS BEES in Cowan Hives, 25s. each.
Quantity of Frames, &c. , any offer for these ? Foul
brood unknown. Compelled to relinquish bee-keeping.
Manipulating House, 21. ; cost 67. Address Gilbert,
Irlam's Heights, Manchester. A 60

FOR SALE.— Three-storied Cowan Hive. Combs filled
Wax. Price 30s. Address Miss Sackvilie, Drayton,
Thrapston. a 64

FOR SALE.— Fifty 1-lb. Sections New Ho-ey. Apply
J. Rogers, Petham Court, Swanley, Kent. What
offers ? a 65

OR SALE. — Swarms at 3s. per lb. Box free. Address
Lemin, 72 Hoe Street, Walthamstow. a 66

F

FOR SALE.— Fertile Queens, 3s. 6d. ; also Swarms of
my Splendid Strain, 15s., packed free. Address John
Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington. a 67

FOR SALE.— Two Nine-frame Strong Stocks of Li-
gurians ; healthiness guaranteed ; Queens young.
£1 12s. 6d. each. Address Burton, Devonshire Villa,
Chiswick. A 69

FOR SALE.— Strong healthy Swarms, price 12s. each ;
box included. Immediate delivery. Address A. W.
Holder, Wimborne, Dorset

Address A. W.
a 70

TT^OR SALE.— A Swarm of Bees in good Hive. Standard
AJ size. Also Guinea Extractor. What offers ? Address
Daniel, Croft Mill, Chorley. A 71

WANTED.— New Sections Honeycomb, first quality
also Extracted in bulk. Packages -sent. Prompt
Cash settlement. Mr. Hurst, Bexbill, Sussex. H8

"YE OLDE ENGLISHE BEE."

PURE, Prime Swarms of my Selected Strain of English
Bees, all 1892 Queens, Packing-box, and put on Rail
free, price 15s. Address W. Woodlet, World's End,
Newbury. 104

(Telegrams — " Ilsley, or Hampstead Norris." Porterage 1/6.

SIMMINS' MODERN BEE FARM. Beautifully printed
on Toned Paper. Profusely Illustrated. 270 large
'8vo. pages. Giving great satisfaction. Only 2/9 Post free.
Address S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex.

WEBSTER'S Book of Bee-keeping, post free, Is. •
cloth, Is. 6d. W. B. Webster, Binfield, Berks.
•" One of the best foreign works." — American Apicidturist.
■" The matter is evidently the result of long personal ob-
servation, and is thoroughly reliable." — Bee-keepers' Record.
"' Have much pleasure in recommending the manual to our
readers." — British Bee Journal.

SWARMS! SWARMS! SWARMS!

12th Season.

3 lb. Swarms, 10/5 ; larger at same rate. Boxes

1/6, unless returned.
C. N. White, "Ivo" Apiary, Somersham, Hunts.
113

HONEY AND ITS USES. By the Bev. Gerard
W. Bancks, M.A. Can be supplied at the
following rates, carriage paid : 3/6 per 100. 8/ per
250, 14/6 per 500. Specimen copy on application.
Address Durham House, Green Street Green,
Dartford.

URTT,GLOUCESTE

ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE

POST FREE.

EE-HIYE MANUFACTURE

R

180

STEAM FACTORY for

;ee Jlppliances.

O

RDEBS addressed J. BOSS, Stranraer, Wig-
townshire, N.B., will be attended to.

C. NYE & SONS,

Soutb of lEnglanfc

BEE-KEEPERS' STORES,

WESTERN STREET,

BRIGHTON.

Pure Brood Foundation, 2/- per lb.
„ Super „ 2/10 „

Special Quotations for a Quantity.
Illustrated Catalogue Post Free.

HONEY-COMB DESIGNS!

Any Three Letters prepared ready for your Bees

to work out. 5s. Carriage Paid.

Full instructians sent.

Apply to CHAS. COX, Brampton, Northants. 128

THE

•Bfifist Irc Journal,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

»o. 572. Vol. XXL N.S. 180.]

JUNE 8, 1893

[Published Weekly.

(gbitorial, ftoiias, th.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL
FUND.

There has been for some time a feeling
amongst the residents of King's Langley
.and neighbourhood, as well as amongst bee-
keepers, that some recognition of his labours
was due to one who has for so many years
shown himself ready to help in every useful
work, disinterested in motive, diligent in
■execution, sound in judgment, and so full
of tact and good temper as Mr. John
Huckle.

For the last fifteen years Mr. Huckle has
been known to bee-keepers, first as assistant
-secretary to Mr. Peel, and then as secretary
of the B.B.K.A. During the whole of that
time he has faithfully and ably carried out
his duties, and all those who have had
occasion to come in contact with him will
understand the debt of gratitude that bee-
keepers owe him.

It will be known that for more than
twelve months he has been seriously ill,
-und that, although better now, he will be
unable to resume his various duties, all of
which, except the secretaryship of the
B.B.K.A., he has been obliged to give up
His illue8s at Bournemouth has been a
foeavy tax upon his resources, and we think
now is a fitting time to offer that mark of
'esteem which he so well deserves. We are
•quite sure that it is only necessary to
anention, to get a hearty response, that it
is proposed to raise a Testimonial Fund ;
;and we trust that all who know his worth
and sympathise with him, will show their
sympathy in a practical manner by giving
liberally according to their means.

The following gentlemen form the Bee-
keepers' Committee, viz., Hon. and .Rev.
H. Bligh, Messrs. T. W. Cowan, W. Brough-

ton Carr, Jeste Ganatt, and J. M. Hooker,
who will co-operate with the local com-
mittee formed at Kings Langley.

Subscriptions are limited to three guineas,
but smaller sums will be gratefully received.
Remittances should be sent to British Bee
Journal Office, 17 King William Street,
Strand, London, W.C., and all cheques and
postal orders made payable to Mr. T. W.
Cowan (Huckle Testimonial Fund), and
crossed London and Westminster Bank.

All donations will be acknowledged in
the British Bee Journal.

THE BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION AND BEE-KEEPING FOR
COTTAGERS.

The letter written by the Baroness Burdett-
Coutts as President of the B. B. K. A., to which
reference was made on p. 202 of B.J. for May
25th, has now appeared in the Standard and
other leading London papers, besides being
copied into several of the more important pro-
vincial ones. We aLo here reprint the letter
referi ed to, in order that readers may see, and,
we trust, appreciate, its general tenour. It
reads as follows : —

To the Editor of the " Standard."

Sib, — I beg permission to call attention in
the Standard to the humble but profitable in-
dustry of bee-keeping and bee-culture, in which
our rural population might very advantageously
engage to a much larger extent than they do at
present.

The British Bee-keepers' Association, of which
I am President, was formed many years ago, to
promote the more intelligent management of
the honey-bee, and to call the attention of the
peasantry to the fact that for a small amount of
care and attention this industrious little creature
would perhaps pay their rent, and often give an ,
even greater direct return for the small amount
of thought and trouble bestowed upon it, in i
addition to the indirect boon it confers by assist-
ing the process of fertilisation, and so materially
increasing the crop of fruits, especially of rasp-
berries, currants, and bush fruits generally.

I must say at once that the efforts of the

222

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAI

[June 8, 1893.

Association have met with very considerable
success. It has established affiliated Associa-
tions all over the country, has formulated a
general plan of instruction in apiculture, has
sent out expert demonstrators and lecturers,
issued a large amount of useful literature, and
facilitated the sale of honey produce. The
Association has also held examinations, and, by
its efforts, bee-keeping has been officially recog-
nised as a subject of technical education, which
may be taught in schools, and towards which
the County Councils in many districts are now
making grants of money.

But there are still large area^ where bee-
keeping is not pursued, and a great source of
wealth to the cottagers is thereby ignored and
lost. There are sixty-one County Councils in
England and Wales having Technical Instruc-
tion Committees ; but there are in the counties
only tweuty-six affiliated branches of this
Association.

Among our objects, we are striving to ensure
that, wherever there is a Technical Instruction
Committee, there also shall there be a County
or District Bee-keepers' Association, and we
have also set before ourselves an ideal, perfectly
attainable, of raising a ton of honey and a 11.
subscription in every country parish. That
ideal, however, cannot be immediately attained,
and the need for funds to continue and to
carry into new fields this most useful and un-
pretentious little work is most urgent. 1 appeal
especially for help to all those living amid rural
surroundings, and ask them to send some small
subscription to the Association, at 17 King
William Street, Strand. At the same time, I
would also point out to them how, by arousing
the enterprise and wisely directing the efforts of
their poorer neighbours, they may perform a
most useful service, in which the Association
will most gladly give them any assistance in its
power. — i am, sir, your obedient servant,

BURDETT-COUTTS.

Stratton Street, May 19th.

It will be observed that the President directs
attention first to the important work done by
the Association in the past — work, let it be said,
which stands on record, and cannot therefore be
gainsaid; second, to the not less important
labour on which it is at present engaged ; and,
third, to the " ideal " the B. B. K. A. sets before
itself as possible of accomplishment in the near
future, should the means be forthcoming.

On this last point it may be taken for granted
that a sufficient time has now elapsed since the
" appeal " first appeared to warrant the assump-
tion of its having accomplished all that need be
looked for, so far as assisting the main object
for which it was written. In view of this fact,
and with such information as is available before
us, we regret to learn that the anticipated
financial help has not been vouchsafed to us.
Many letters on the subject have been received at
this office from persons whose interest has been
aroused by reading the appeal, and who are, in
consequence, anxious to give bee-keeping a trial.

Unfortunately, however, a large majority, while
expressing willingness to accept the assistance-
offered in the final words of the President, do so
entirely in the sense of receiving personal assist-
ance in beginning with bees, and overlook the
help asked for a few lines higher up in the same
paragraph. This is not assisting the Associa-
tion ; it is adding to its burdens — a fact worth
consideration by the writers of the letters-
before us.

With so much that could be done, and the
time so obviously ripe for doing it, a generous
response to the President's appeal would have
been especially welcome just now; but, we are
sorry to say, the result has not justified our
hopes. Not that any serious cause for dis-
couragement exists, though there is reason to
fear that too much importance has been attached
to the grants voted by County Councils in aid
of technical instruction in bee-keeping, and an
idea prevails that, by reason of these grants, the-
need for private benefaction no longer exists
This, however, is not only to be regretted, but
it is also a great mistake ; the funds thus voted,
are not available for the general purposes of
County Associations receiving them, but should
rather be regarded as involving an increased
expenditure in various directions because of the
additional work compelled to be undertaken.

But more than all should it be borne in mind
that the British Bee-keepers' Association — on
behalf of which its President makes an appeal —
while devoting its energies and its funds to-
guiding and helping its affiliated Associations,,,
receives neither Government aid nor County
Council grant, its work being carried on solely
by means of the subscriptions of members, sup-
plemented by such outside help as it is sought
to enlist by the appeal referred to.

We must not conclude without referring to-
the only replies to the President's appeal — two-
in number — which have appeared in print so-
far as we know. The first is from the Standard ^
and reads thus : —

To the Editor of the " Standard"

Sir, — I five in a rural parish in the south ofr
England, and am much interested in bee-culture^
My neigbours keep a great number of bees, and.
a large amount of honey is produced every year
in the parish. Our County Council has helped
us considerably by giving us most useful and
practical instruction in apiculture, while the
bee-keepers of this and several neighbouring
villages have formed themselves into a District
Bee-keepers' Association.

So far so good. But here comes the difficulty,,
we cannot find a market for our honey. If
Lady Burdett-Coutts can help us in this direc-
tion, and tell us who will buy our honey at a.
fair and remunerative price, the President of
the British Bee-keepers' Association will indeed
have done us an excellent and kindly service.

Until we can find a market, it is obviously of
little use to tell us that, with " a small amount
of care and attention, this little creature will
pay the rent, and often give an even greater

June 8, lfe93.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

223

return for the small amount of thought and
trouble bestowed upon it." We produce lots of
honey, and more cottagers would gladly keep
bees if we could only sell our goods. — I am, sir,
your obedient servant,

Vice-President of a District Bee-
keepers' Association.
May 24th.

The other is from a gentleman well known
as, some few years ago, taking an active part in
Association work, and is as follows : —

To the Editor of the " Daily Chronicle"
Sir, — As one who for years has worked hard
to promote bee-keeping, I read Lady Burdett-
Coutts' letter on this subject in to-day's Chronicle
with interest.

As to the pleasures and profits of bee-keeping
there can be no question ; but, as to the measure
of praise due to the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
(iation, some of us entertain some amount of
doubt, although none of us are lax in our respect
for the lady whom we loyally regard as our own
" Queen Bee."

If the group of dear, slow-going gentlemen
which rules the Association can be induced to
f-trike out for a bold policy, and, if they cannot
reform themselves, will refrain from doubtful
tactics when outsiders attempt to reform them,
the Association may yet regain the vigour and
health enjoyed during the season it was so
nnergetically worked by the late Rev. H. R.
Peel. Some of us tried reform for three
annual meetings in succession, until out of
t-heer decency to Lady Burdett-Coutts we were
compelled to retire, with the result of dwindling
numbers and dwindling subscriptions to the
Association.

Bee-keepers are increasing, and I trust will
continue to do so; and this appeal being now
made, I venture to hope with it also will be made
some effort to make the Association worthy of
the object for which it professes to work, an
object dear to many of us — the betterment of our
rural population. — I am, yours faithfully,

John P. Sambels.

Cole Green, Hertford, May 23rd.

By way of reply to the first of the above, we
need but to inform " Vice-President " that well-
managed County Associations make a special
point of assisting members to find a market for
their honey, and generally succeed in doing so.
Why the Association of which he is Vice-
President fails it is not for us to say, but
a little definite information regarding his par-
ticular Association might possibly throw some
light on the subject, and perhaps account for
its failure.

The views expressed by Mr. Sambels would,
we think, have been more to the point if he had
in fairness taken note of the work detailed by the
President as done by the Association, instead of
ventilating some supposed grievance and giving
utterance to the animus he evidently bears
against some "dear, slow-going gentlemen" who,
according to him, ruled the B. B. K. A. in years

gone by. By so doing, and by devoting a little
of the " hard work in promoting bee-keeping " —
still we hope left in him — to the task of re-
suscitating his own once powerful County
Association, he would render real service to the
object dear to him — the betterment of our rural
population.

MIDDLESEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.

A Committee Meeting of the M. B. K. A. was
held on Thursday last, June 1st, in the board-
room of the R.S. P.C. A., 105 Jermyn Street,
kindly lent for the occasion, at which the
following resolution was unanimously passed : —

" The Committee of the Middlesex Bee-
keepers' Association, at this their first meeting
since the resignation of the secretaryship by
the Hon. and Rev. Henry Bligh, desire to record
their sense of the great services rendered to the
Association by their late Secretary, and beg to
offer him their sincerest thanks for his constant
efforts, extending over the past nine years, to
promote the success of the Association. They
would further express the hope that Mr. Bligh
may have a most useful and happy life in his
new sphere of work, whither the best wishes of
his former colleagues will accompany him."

Mr. Bligh is about to leave Middlesex, having
accepted the living of Holy Trinity, Fareham,
Hampshire.

C0raspn&nuje.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for ti e
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice icul be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustration «
snould be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We do not
undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary departmen < ,
reports oj Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, tc, must be addressed only to "The
Editobs of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communication*
relating to advertisements, £c, must be addressed to " The
Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17 King TPilliam,
Street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

•«* In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents, when,
tpeakmg of any letter or query previously inserted, toil*
oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well as the-
page on which it appears.

ASSISTING COTTAGERS TO SELL
THEIR HONEY.

[1455.] I had hoped to have seen in this
week's B. J. some mention of the correspondence
now going on about bee-keeping, which has
been started through the appearance in the
Standard and Chronicle (amongst other daily
papers) of a letter on the subject from the
Baroness Burdett-Coutts.

With reference to " Vice-President's " inquiry
about the sale of honey, it is the same with
this as all other products, cottagers can get the
largest returns by selling direct to consumers.

224

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 8, 1893.

The question arises, do the larger returns pav
for the time spent in going to consumers ? If
middlemen are employed, the price fallsvery
materially, for not only is there the middle-
man's expenses and profit, but consumers are
more exacting about the attractiveness of the
-way the honey is put up (which means cost)
than when it is sold direct by the producer to
the consumer. To my mind milkmen are the
best distributors of honey, the very nature of
their calling fitting them for it.

Then there is another opening, and the cot-
tagers have this one very much in their own
hands, viz., to get the wholesale Co-operative
Societies to take up the sale of English honey.
It could be sent to them in bulk, and they
iave every opportunity of putting it on to the
sale-counters in attractive form.

As one of the " dear, slow-going gentlemen
named in Mr. SambeFs letter, I would only say
I feel sure that constant energetic work in Bee-
keeping Associations will be rewarded, as in all
other positions, according to the tact and ability
displayed. — Wm. Lees McClube, The Lathams,
Prescot, June 1st.

[The subject is referred to on p. 221. — Eds.]

NOTES BY THE WAY.
[1456.] We have had a fortnight of fair
■weather. The rain we had then is quite dried
up again, and vegetation flags by reason of the
drought. Bees have, however, made progress,
-and a few swarms have issued. This is the
chief source of income for the cottager, who
still continues on in the old style of bee-keeping
adopted by the ancients, for without increasing
-the number of his stoi-ks he cannot secure his
harvest honey at takirg-up time. Few of the
old school think of "supering," or when they
do so it is so late iu the season (generally after
the principal honey-flow is over) that, their
straw caps having little stored in them, they
give the matter up as not worth their attention,
or possibly wait the convenience of a friend who
is a little bolder in doing bee- work, and through
not taking the tide at the flow their little
venture is lost for the year by their procrasti-
nation. I must somewhat excuse them this
•season on account of the indicative mood of the
bees. Everything about the apiary has pointed
to swarms — early swarms — yet the few hives
have consummated the hope of the bee-keeper,
and the many have disappointed them ; thus it
has been a' daily task of "hope deferred" to
watch for swarms. The cold nights of the
past week have raised his hopes again, as he
argued "that, as the cold drove the bees in at
nights," they were more likely to swarm next
day than when the nights were warm, and they
could remain ensconced under the straw hackle
or old bags that form the covers in a majority
of cases.

If these hives had been supered in good
time the owners would have had them filled,

or nearly so, with the first honey-flow. There
is plenty of work for experts and bee-vans for
many years to come if only the funds are forth-
coming to carry on the work. When one of
our experts calls — I say one because we have
three or four in connexion with our Berks
Association, with a possible increase of the
number, for your humble servant (the writer)
has received more than one invitation to swell
the ranks, but modesty for one reason and excess
of work already act as restraining forces at
present. Then there is another reason, and not
the least one — I have no parchment, no degree !
Now, as I said, when one of our experts calls,
depend on it we talk bees ! their ways and work.
I ask after their (the bees') welfare, &c, and Mr.
Flood told me of a case of foul brood breaking
out iu a village some few miles from here, and
of the application of naphthaline in the hives,
and of its disappearance under the influence of
the fumes. This is satisfactory, and if it is a
radical cure I contend that a continuous appli-
cation of any agent that sterilises the germs
must of necessity cure in the long run, as the
number of spores, even if they are many, must
be limited, and unless the medium is present for
their increase — and I take it they (the spores)
are the production or seed of the germs, and
that if the parents are rendered sterile and die
there is no propagation of the species — the
creatures become extinct.

This raises another thought of the crass
ignorance in dealing with infectious germs, such
as the Bacilli alvei, which we see from time to
time advocated by correspondents even in the
columns of the B. J., pace the open feeding of
medicated syrup so that our neighbours' bees
may get a dose of the physic. Why, the fact of
causing bees to congregate to collect the syrup
is one of the most sure methods of propagating
the disease to the whole neighbourhood ! What
should we think of the man who made a fea^t,
and made it common to all, and to which the
person who was suffering from, say, smallpox,
scarlet fever, or any other infectious disease, was
specially invited to mingle with the other guests
because, forsooth, a little of the food would do
him good — perhaps cure him ? That man would
be anathematised as a pest to the district, or
be regarded by the most charitably disposed as
a fit subject for an asylum. Yet we bee-keepers
have even advocated such plans to induce our
bees to take this medicine. One of our scientists
thinks it possible for a bee to carry and leave
the infecting spores or germs on the anthers
of the flowers it visits, and another bee
alighting on that flower carrying the infection
to its home. I myself have no doubt that the
chief source of infection and propagation of foul
brood is caused by the carelessness of bee-keepers
leaving hives in which bees have died, or
dwindled to such a weak, defenceless state that
stronger colonies have robbed them, and then the
robbers have carried the disease to whatever
hive they came from. I notice Mr. W. McEvoy
is writing on the real cause of foul brood among
bees. I hope our editors will give him space to

June 8, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

225

reproduce the article. Mr. McEvoy is foul-
brood inspector for the Province of Ontario,
Canada, so that he is not writing upon a subject
he has not grappled with.

My " Wells hive of two weak colonies is not a
success at present. Tbe super has been on since
the 28th ult., and no work started yet, although
the colonies, five and six frames respectively (en-
trances at each end), are crowded with bees; in
fact one colony has started comb-building
between the dummy and end of hive in prefer-
ence to working in a (common) super. Theory
first, practice after — one often upsets the other.
There are many subjects I wished to touch on,
but space forbids. — W. Woodley, World's End,
JVewbury, Berks.

day or so after a second, especially with Ligurian
bees, as these were. — .Eds.]

QUEENLESS HIVES RE-QUEENING
THEMSELVES.

[1457.] I read, with very great interest, the
letter of Mr. Harris (1442, p. 206), referring to
the re-queening of a queenless hive, and I feel
sure the enclosed report from a local paper will
explain it. No doubt the hive in question was
re-queened in the same way. Now, these bees
swarmed on May 13th, and on the 27th, at 10.45
-a.m., a good second swarm came off, which was
.safely hived and united to a weak stock in a bar-
frame hive. Now, very strange, about four o'clock
on the following day (Sunday) my wife thought
this same skep was again swarming, but the
bees went back and settled quietly down again ;
but, on going Out this morning (Monday) at
£.15 a.m., I was just in time to see a swarm
coming out of the same skep, and I safely hived
them. I put them into a frame hive with
foundation, and, looking in to-night to feed, I
find they cover five frames ; so this is a good
swarm. Now, Mr. Editor, what means all
this ? Can any one give a similar experience ?
It seems so strange. I may say I saw them
come out both Saturday and to-day. — Heney
Attfield, Ascot, May 2Qth.

[The cutting referred to gives an account of a
somewhat unusual occurrence which happened
on Saturday, the 13th ult., when a swarm
issued from a skep belonging to our corre-
spondent and, " flying off " for a distance of one
and a half miles, entered a skep, already fully
occupied with a strong stock belonging to a
Mr. Ingram. The run-away swarm was fol-
lowed, and seen to enter its strangely selected
new home ; besides being " Liguiians," while
the others were " blacks," there could be no
uncertainty as to the fact, which Mr. Ingram
admitted, and promised a swarm in return, as
the bees could not be separated. The curious
feature in the case lay in the fact of the run-
away swarm entering a hive apparently quite as
fully populated as the one they had left, while
there was an empty hive ready for a swarm in
the very apiary they had fled away from. With
reference to our correspondent's query regarding
the after-swarming of the same skep, there is
nothing unusual in the issue of a third swarm a

HUMBLE-BEES VERSUS HIVE-BEES.

[1458.] Whilst working in the field amongst
strawberry-plants now in bloom, and near to
two hives of odinary bees, I have been much
interested in their ways of working, but what 1
noticed particularly was the common black wild
humble-bee. Early in the morning I find it at
woik, and as late as 8.30 p.m. What an indus-
trious fellow the latter is, and what energy he
has ! — he seems to go over a flower in half the
time an ordinary hive-bee takes, and seemingly
examines the flower thoroughly. But what I
wish to ask is this, To your knowledge has any
attempt been made to domesticate it and witn
what results? Or is it possible to cross with
other breeds ? If I come across a nest I pur-
pose trying something by way of domesticating
it, but thought that quite possibly some of these
apiarians have forestalled me. I suppose that
they can gather nectar from the red clover
flower P — West Yorkshire.

[Our correspondent may derive a considerable
amount of interest and pleasure in the endeavour
to domesticate the humble-bee, but the natural
habits of the insect destroy all chance of per-
manent success. A perusal of any work on
British bees will cleaily prove this. Nor is
there any possibility of producing a cross or
hybrid between the Bombus and Apis mellifica,
which latter insect is par excellence the bee for
honey-gathering and for domestication. — Eds.]

THE HONEY BIRD.

[1459.] Being a constant reader of your
Journal, it has occurred to me that the enclosed
paper, written by Sir Theophilus Shepstone, late
Administrator of the Transvaal during the
English occupation, might be of interest to your
many readers. The name of the honourable
writer of the paper is a sufficient guarantee of
the absolute truthfulness of the statements
made. — Sydnky Ford, Pietermaritzbury, Feb-
ruary 20th, 1893.

The Honey Bird.
A Christmas Chapter in Natural History.

Probably many, even old colonists, may be
ignorant of the existence of a little bird that is
held in great respect by natives as well as by
others who know and have taken advantage of
its remarkable and most useful intelligence.

Residents in our coast districts and along the
jungle-clad valleys of our larger rivers will, for
the most part, be familiar enough with the
" honey bird," and many will perhaps have
benefited by the acquaintance.

The object of this paper is to describe the
habits of this bird in so far as they affect man,
and occasionally procure his co-operation iu
obtaining a food supply.

226

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 8, 1893-

I cannot do this better, I think, than by re-
lating my own experience on the occasion of my
first introduction to one of these wonderful
little creatures.

This happened many years ago on the coast
line of the Cape frontier, whi^h much resembles
ours, but is less tropical. I bad accompanied a
small native hunting party. Our hunting
ground was broken and covered more or less
with jungle, so progress was slow — we were on
foot. A hare got up here, a duiker (a small
buck or deer) there, and another not far off.
The hunters were warming to their work. Ex-
citement grew apace. The slightest sound was
scrutinised, and every one wa9 on the alert.

Suddenly the sharp sounds, " Cherr, cherr,
cherr, cherr," the well-known call of the honey
bird, brought the hunt to a standstill. The
presence of the little intruder was saluted by a
chorus of insulting recognition, " Oh ! is that
you? You are untruthful. You deceived
some one yesterday. You have got a snake or
a wild beast to take us to to-day. Go away, we
will have nothing to do with you." Such was
the greeting that our little would-be benefactor
received. It was difficult to think that it did
not understand these reproaches, for at every
utterance its " Cherr, cherr, cherr, cherr," be-
came more rapid and more emphatic as it fussed
about on the twig it bad perched upon and
looked straight at its revilers. Having done
enough, as it thought, either to defend its
character or to make plain its invitation, it
Hew away. Although I heard and saw all this,
and was struck by the earnest shrillness of the
bird's call, I knew not, until I was told what it
meant, or why it commanded such attention.
1 asked why they abused it, and they said it
was a precaution. Several of the hunters
were, however, told off to follow the bird,
and I went with them. Meanwhile it had
disappeared, and its call could no longer be
heard; the party told off started in the
direction of its flight ; they called, but to no
purpose, until they had gone some distance,
when suddenly it returned and renewed its
chirruping. It now seem-d to think itself in
charge of the party. It would fly on for a hun-
dredyards ormore,and continually call to us until
we got near, and then fly on again as before.
We always responded to its call, for unless we
did so it seemed unwilling to proceed. It led us
on in this way for more than a mile. When
obstacles delayed us, it would return and appear
to scold us for our delay. This was becoming
wearisome, but at length its call changed some-
what : it seemed to become more coaxing and
encouraging in its tone. " It is getting nearer
the nest," said one of the hunters; "look out
that you may see it point," alluding to the little
flutter it always makes to show the spot. In
a few minutes it did point; the hunters knew
this from the sweet, low chirruping it made
before its s-ilent flight to a tree that com-
manded a view of the spot it had indicated,
and there it sat quietly looking at us. In

vain did we call to it for further enlightenment",
and in vain did we search. We had missed our
chance ; the bush had interfered with our seeing
the actual point. We knew whereabouts it
had been, but whether the bees had established
themselves in a tree, or in a cleft of the rock, or
in a hole in the ground, one could not judge.
Misgivings had taken possession of one or two>
of our party, who evidently thought that our
chances of stumbing upon a store of honey or
a snake were pretty evenly balanced. We per-
severed in our most careful and diligent search,
but all to no purpose. It was getting late. I
had begun to think it was all a delusion, but I
could not help feeling puzzled as well as amazed
at the conduct of the bird, which I could see
still sitting in the same place quietly looking
on. We were on the point of abandoning our
search, when one of the men proposed that we
should all join in abusing the little creature,
and then withdraw and watch. " When it find*
that we are going away," said he " it will fly-
down, and put its beak into the hole and sayr
" Here it is, you fools !" His plan was adopted :
the abuse was vociferous and unmeasured. We-
withdrew for a hundred yards and partially
concealed ourselves. In a few minutes the bird
did exactly what the man had said it would do,,
except that its reproach, if it cast any, was a
silent one. It put its beak into a hole in the
ground, but finding nothing flew back as before
in silence to a tree. The bees had hived in thi*
hole, and thanks to the fuller light shed by our
little instructor, the operation of taking the-
honey was very soon accomplished. When
every one had eaten and taken as much as he-
chose, and the usual address of thanks and apology
had been made to the bird, pieces of comb were:
left for it, and we withdrew. I wished to
observe the result, so we stood at a distance for
that purpose. The bird was soon at the hole ;
it wasted no time in eating, but proceeded at
once to carry away the pieces of comb, one at a
time. It never took two pieces to the same-
place. It seemed to know the risk of having all
its store in one spot.

(To be continued next week.)

at* ixam i\t pitas*

West Glamorgan, May l§th— Never was rain
more needed or more welcome than that which
has daily since the 15th visited this part.
Bees generally are in a forward state, section*
being taken ( ff in Swansea. My own bees are
in better form than last year by a month. There
is little sign of clover-bloom, yet but this will
soon come now after the abundant rain. Every-
thing points to an early and profitable year.
People here say, " You can see things growing,"
so refreshing to nature have been tbe showers.
Anent nuclei, let beginners beware about split-

June 8, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOUKNAL.

227

ting their stocks at this early time of the year ;
experience has taught me the best time to do,
this is after the June honey -flow is over.
Sycamore and other tree honey seem to be the
chief sources of supply to-day. There are two
hundred or more lrnme hives within a small
radius of Swansea. — E. B.

Great Grimsby, June 5th. — As I have not
seen any report from North-East Lincolnshire
for some time, I venture to send an " Echo."
1 heard of three swarms very early in May,
within a radius of four miles, but in this village
no bees have "taken wing," though hives number
some thirty or more. Bees seemed nicely for-
ward in April, but after our fruit and haw-
thorn blooms were over, the extreme drought
stopped all supplies. In this part, the one and
only harvest is from clover — as yet not a head
to be seen ; consequently, if more copious rains
do not fall, I fear the " takes " in this dry, cold
corner will be light. It makes one envious to
read of sections and surplus honey being already
harvested, when here the bees are only just now
looking at the supers, no doubt wondering, like
tbeir owners, whether there will be anything to
store in them. It is a pity fine weather does
harm, but certainly it can be " too fine, ' even
for bees, to say nothing of the farmers, many of
whom have not yet been able to sow their
spring corn. A thunderstorm, and forty
minutes' heavy rain yesterday (June 4th), was
an immense boon, but we want many such
rains. — Bee- Kay.

WEATHER REPORT.

Westbourne, Sussex.

May, 1893.

Rainfall, -95 in. Sunshine, 257'5 hrs.

Heaviest fall, -32 in. Brightest day, 22nd,

on 17th. 1435 hrs.

Rain fell on 7 days. Sunless days, 0.

Below average, T38 in. Above aver., 154 hrs.

Max. temp., 73° on Mean max., 64.4°.

14th. Mean min., 45-7°.

Min. temp., 37° on 1st. Mean temp., 563°.

Min. on grass, 32° on Max. barometer, 30-53

31st. on 5th.

Frosty nights, 0. Min. barometer, 2965
on 18th.

L. B. BlRKETT.

<$mxu$ attir splits.

[795.] Can Fertile Workers produce any
but Drones? — I enclose some brood and bees
from a hive where there was no queen, but a
laying worker, there being sometimes three eggs
in a cell. I always understood that a fertile
worker produced only drones. Will you kindly
tell me how this is, as these seem to be worker-

Lees p We have now put these btes (minus the4
brood) into another stock hive. — F. Fox, Ep>>o?u.

Reply. — The young bees sent are ordinary
workers, and this fact makes it certain that
there is a fertilised queen in the hive. Fertile
workers produce nothing but drones.

[7tt6.] Charlock, Vetches, and Alsike Clover
as Honey Plants. — There are four fields sown
with wheat within a few hundred yards of m\
apiary (fourteen hives, including two Wells )r
each field completely yellow with charlock :
also a large field of vetches, upon which m\
bees are woiking very hard. 1. Will hone>
from this source be of good quality ? There i»
also a large field of clover, a kind of hybrid or
bastard — white mixed with red. 2. Can the bets
gather from this clover, seeing that the heads
are larger than the usual white clover ? I am
anxious to know the quality of honey from
above source, as I have twelve stocks superedr
all of them strong, with ten standard frames.
I have just opened one super, and find six frames
filled with honey. There are other sources
from which they will gather, but these are the
chief at present. — T. G., Staffs, June 3rd.

Reply. — 1. Charlock, or wild mustard, yields
honey of fair quality, but not first-rate, and the
same may be said of vetches. 2. The hybrid
clover reterred to as mixed with red is alsike.
and if cut in course of the next week or so will
probably give you a fine yield of honey from
the second- crop bloom later on. The honey
from alsike is very good in quality. In fact
there is little perceptible difference between it
and that from white clover.

[797.] Best Bees for Extracted Honey. —
1. What kind of bees are best for gathering
extracted honey, natives, Ligurians, or Carni-
olans ; or would hybrids of either of the above be
better than the pure breed ? 2. Are hybrids of
the Carniolan natives more vicious than pure-
natives ? 3. Why will not perforated zinc do-
for dummy for "Wells" hive? — J as. Par-
geter, Leamington.

Reply. — 1. The black, or ordinary bee of the-
country, is supposed to be better adapted for
comb honey than other varieties, which latter'
are credited by some apiarians with superior
qualities in working for extracted honey. It is,,
however, very much a matter of opinion as to
preference. 2. Sometimes these bees are re-
markably docile, while at times they are just
the opposite. No doubt judicious handling has
much to do with the difference. 3. Reference
to what has appeared in our pages on the
"Wells" system will show that ordinary ex-
cluder zinc, if that is what is meant, is quite
useless for the purpose intended.

BEE-PARALYSIS-IS IT A DISEASE?

My attention was called to this trouble with
bees in the latter part of the summer of 1883.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 8 1893,

Since that time I have watched its course and
progress, and I am satisfied it is not a disease,
I>ut is caused by a vegetable (nectar) poison. I
have never seen its effect at any time when
bees were gathering nectar from the staple
honey-plants.

I have seen no signs of the so-called disease
at any other time than in the early spring, and
in the late summer. At these times bees may
gather both nectar and pollen of such doubtful
wholesomeness that they would not touch it
when the locust, white clover, and linden are
supplying their wants. The simple fact that
the trouble occurs only at such periods of the
season, makes it look very suspicious that vege-
table poison is at the bottom of the trouble.
Nectar in flowers, secreted in hot, dry weather,
is more than usually concentrated and strong,
by reason of rapid evaporation, and when
poisonous weeds tempt the bees at such times,
it is not at all strange that they may find "death
in the pot." It is no uncommon thing to find
bees in a state of stupor on certain wild flowers
— no doubt the result of nectar poison.

If I am correct in my views, the practical
way to deal with the trouble is to feed with
sweetene I water, as much as the affected
colony will take. This will allure the bees from
the source of danger, and help to dilute the un-
wholesome nectar, and make it less dangerous to
the bees.

I have spent considerable time among wild
flowers and the working bees in the early spring
.and late summer and fall, and I have found no
inconsiderable number of bees on the wild
flowers in a state of stupor, as if under the in-
fluence of an opiate. I have often picked up the
opium-affected bees, placed them on my hand,
and observed the well-described paralytic
symptoms. Nothing of this sort has ever
attracted my attention when bees were at work
©n the clovers and other standard flowers.

I once thought that the time of year had
something to do with the manner in which bees
fall, like leaden bullets, in front of the hives in
spring, late summer, and fall, both in warm as
well as in cool weather ; but I do not think so
now. Since I have never seen anything like it
when the bees were working under the greatest
strain, in warm as well as in cool weather, in a
time of a rapid flow in white clover harvest, I
think it most probable that soporiferous nectar
being handled by them causes them to tumble
so clumsily— G. W. Demabee, in "American
$ee Journal."

BEE - MANAGEMENT IN
SUMMER.

May should be a very happy month for the
tees, for, though there are frequent exceptions,
yet,. generally, warm, bright days have become
the rule, and such days with/ the abounding
bloom of willows, dandelions, sugar-maples, and

all manner of fruit-trees, invite the bees to an
almost continual, although uncloying, feast ; and
to the bee-keeper, too, if his bees have survived
the winter in a condition of vigorous health,
this should be a time of cheer ; for, though it
is not a season of harvest, it is a seed-time that,
if duly observed, gives promise of abundant
harvest in due course.

This is the seed-time, because everything
depends on what is accomplished during this
month. Honey and other food supplies are the
seed, and it is not every planting that produces
as abundantly ; not, indeed, directly in kind, but
in bees which must be depended on to gather in-
kind a little later. Much may be gathered now,
but large quantities are needed, and if everything
should not prove auspicious, the amount gathered
may come far short of what is required.
Judicious management and abundant stores now
may easily double the future crop, and care and
food these days tell more decidedly on the
profits of the year than the efforts of any other
period ; so the apiarist must now, if at no other
time, be on the alert to detect the necessities of
the apiary and prompt to supply them.

Each colony should be as snug as possible and
possessed of a good working queen and an
abundance — what would generally be called a
superabundance — of stores. No colony will do
well on the hand-to-mouth method. It is not
easy to account for all the good effects of a
superabundance of stores. In taking my bees
from the cellar in April, I was struck with the
fact that these colonies having last fall from
forty to fifty pounds of stores seemed to be twice
as strong in bees as those having but twenty-five
pounds, and this condition as a rule will con-
tinue. Does it produce a sort of contentment
that preserves vigour and longevity ? I think
so ; and the solid walls of honey it may be are
just the kind of protection the bees need, and
perhaps also when there is so much honey
there is not sufficient empty comb for the bees
to cluster on, and so they are actually compelled
to keep warm the honey for their daily use, so
that they partake of it without hesitation
when needed, while those having plenty of empty
combs cluster there and have only the cold
honey outside the cluster to go to for food, and
so actually suffer and maybe starve from reluc-
tance to go outside the cluster. However this
may be, it is unquestionably profitable to supply
food without stint, not for winter only, but more
especially during the six weeks prior to the
appearance of white clover. A fear of want
on the part of the bees is about as disastrous as
an actual want. If one's time is valuable, the
amount necessary for this work may be reduced
within very small limits, and if one has time to
spare, he may, I believe, profitably try stimula-
tive feeding during any periods from the first of
May to white clover when honey is not being
gathered. Keep all colonies prosperous and get
them strong as soon as possible.

(To be continued.)

June 8, 1893.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

229

Jwfos ta €awi£.

June 7th, 8th. 9th, 10th.— Hants and I -de of
Wight B. K. A., in connexion with Royal
Counties Agricultural Society, nt Southampton.
For schedules apply to E. H. Bellairs, Wingfield,
Christchurch.

June 14th and 15th. — Essex B.K.A. County
Show at Romford, in connexion with the Essex
Agricultural Society's Show. F. H. Meggy,
Hon. Secretary, Chelmsford.

June 19th to 23rd. — Royal Agricultural

Society's Show at Chester. Secretary, John
Huckle, King? Langley.

July 19th to 21st. — Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Stamford. Bees, hon*w,
hives and appliances. Liberal prizes. Entries
close July 7th. S. Upton, Secretary, St. Bene-
dict's Square, Lincoln.

July 21st and 22nd.— Bristol and District
B.K.A., at Knowle. Entries close July 14th.
Over 61. cash in prizes. Special facilities offered
to distant exhibitors. Schedules from James
Brown, Hon. Secretary, 42 Baldwin Street,
Bristol.

July 25th to 28th. — Summer Show of the
Scottish B.K.A. (under the auspices of the High-
land and Agricultural Society (in the Dean Park,
Edinburgh. Prize lists in due course from
John Wishart, Assistant Secretary, Market
Place, Melrose.

July (date not yet fixed). — Berks B.K.A.
(Windsor District), in connexion with Prince
Consort's Association, in the Home Park,
Windsor. For schedules apply to the Hon.
Secretary, W. J. Darby, Consort Villas, Clower.

August 1st and 2nd. — Staffordshire B.K A.
at Lichfield, in connexion with the Stafford-
shire Agricultural Society.

August 7th and 8th.— North ants B.K.A.
Annual Show at Delapre Park, Northampton.

August 7th and 8th.— Notts B. K. A. Annual
County Show at Mapperley, Notts, in con-
nexion with the Porchester Horticultural Society.
Entries close J uly 31st. A. G. Pugh, Secretary,
Mona Street, Beeston, Notts.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation's Exhibition, in St. Andrew's Hall,
Glasgow. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 13th and 14th.— Scottish B.K. A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those onlu of
persoTi.nl interest will be answered in this column.

Anxious. — Ford Brood. — Comb is affected with
foul brood, and your proposed plan of pro-
cedure is about the best to follow. It would
be advisable, however, to run the bees into a
makeshift box when shaking them from the
combs, instead of into the clean hive, and
keep them there for twenty-four hours before
putting them back on sheets of foundation.
Do not use anv of the present combs in the
new hive. We should prefer using the honey
for household purposes rather than giving it
to the bees after boiling.

Chas. Harvey (Stoke Pri >r). — The young bee
sent is not a queen at all — only a worker — -
whether Carniolau or black it is impossible to
tell, from the bruised and soiled condition in
which it was received.

E. W. Walfort> (Bletchinglev\ — Allowing
Bees to Transfer themselves from Skeps to-
Frame Hives. — 1. It was a mu-take to give
only strips of foundation in frame hive below.
Under such conditions full sheets are indis-
pen.-able. Your peculiar arrangement of the
brood will allow of examining some of the
combs in frame hive, so you might remove
such unfinished combs with drone cells as are
free from brood and substitute foundation,
otherwise the mischief must be remedied in
autumn. 2. The skep may be removed just
as an ordinary super whenever it is ready and
free from brood. 3. When yon write of
" adding a crate of sections " which makes up
a pile consisting of (1) a frame hive, (2) a
straw skep, (3) a straw super on this, and
(4) a crate of sections above all ! and ask, " Is
this right ? " it makes one tremble for the
safety of the " lot," and hesitate before reply-
ing. However, we cannot say your plan is
" wrong," if you can ensure immunity from a
tumble-down of the whole.

J. E. Llenengan. — The bloom sent yields
nectar, but not in quantity sufficient to make
it an important honey-plant.

H. S (Dorchester) — Bees not entering Sections,
— There is no accounting at timf«s for bees
refusing to work in sections. All the bee-
keeper can do is to see that the section racks
are made as snug and warm as possible. The
rest depends much on the amount of honey to .
be had outside. The bee-bread cast out may
have resulted simply from an excess in gather-
ing and nowhere to store it, if, as stated, the
frames were full and f-ealed over.

A. U. (Cappoquin.) — Very old combs are hardly
worth melting down for wax ; the cells con-
tain so little besiHes the larval "skins" of
successive generations of bees.

*#* Some letters, queries, &c, remain for reply
next week.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

r.Fune 8, 1893

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situation', Publications, Bee Plants, dtc—XJp to
Twelve mordr, Sixpence : for every additional Three
words or under. One Penny.

FOR S 4. LK — Superior Queens, Stocks and Swarms,
English and Oarniolan. Addres-s Rev. C. Brereton.
Pulborough, Sussex. f • n-

PLANTS.— Lirananthes Douglasii, 100 Is. 3d ; Iceland
Poopies, 25 Is. 3d.; Seeds, 6d. per packet. Address
Hunting, Loddon, Norfolk. A 59

TWO STOCKS BEES in Cowan Hives, 25s. each.
Quantity of Frames, &c, any offer for these ? Foul
hrood unknown. Compelled to relinquish bee-keeping.
Manipulating House, 21.; cost 61. Address Gilbert,
Irlam's Heights, Manchester. A 60

WANTED.— Good 1 lb. Sections of '93 Honey, for Cash,
in Glazed Boxes— either Tin or Cardboard. Address
N., Bee Journal Office, 17 King William Street, W.C. a 63

FOR S iLE.— Three-storied Cowan Hive. Combs filled
Was. Price 30s. Address Miss Sackyille, Drayton,
Thrapston. A_6_4

IOR SALE.— Swarms at 3s. per lb. Box free. Address
Lemin, 72 Hoe Street, Walthamstow. A 66

F

FOR SALE.— Fertile Queens, 3s. 6d. ; also Swarms of
my Splendid Strain. 15s., packed free. Address John
Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington. a 67

FOR SALE.— Strong healthy Swarms, price 12s. each ;
box included. Immediate delivery. Address A. W.
Holder, Wimborne, Dorset ^ 70

CI UARANTEED Healthy Natural Swarms, Pure Na-
T tives, 4 lbs. weight, price 12s. 6d. each, packing
included. Immediate delivery. Address Chas. Whiting,
Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suffolk. A 71

TVT-LEAF Geraniums, Marguerite Carnations, Single
Dahlias, Paris Dais es, 12, Is. 6d. Roemir's Superb
Mimulus, Nicotiana Affinis, Petunias, Ten-week Stocks,
Pansies, Salvias, Ageratums, Dianthus Heddiwigi, Perillas,
Zinnias, 24, Is. 6d. ; 50, 2s. 6d. Iceland Poppies, 24, Is. 3d.;
50, 2s. Open-air and Mammoth Tomatoes, 24, Is. 6d. Ad-
dress Vicar, Egginton, Leighton Buzzard. a 72

\\ J ANTED.— Honey Sections, Extracted Honev, and
\V Wax. Address Arncliffe, Hampton H'll, Mid-
dlesex. A 73

FOR SALE.— Extractor, "Blow's" No. 17a, cost 30s.,
only used once — in good orde-— price 17s. 6d. Apply,
Major Heathcote, Broomy Lodge, New Forest, Ring-
wood; A '*

JilOR SALE.— Eight Strong, Healthy Stocks of Bees in
} Frame Hives, all having Crates of Sections on. Ad-
dress W. Norfolk, Woodham Ferris, Chelmsford. a 75

MAY SWARMS, 15s. and 12s. 6d. each. June Swarms,
10s. 6d. Address Dr. Johns, 22 Chapeltown Road,
Leeds. A76

STRONG STOCK in Double-walled Hive. Young Queen.
Also Sections, Smoker, Gloves. Fair offer accepted.
Address Schoolmaster, Thrumpton, Derby. a 77

BEES. — Offers Wanted in Swarms and Cash for my
Front-steering Tricycle. Cost £20. Address J. T.
Greglrt, Hathersage, Sheffiel-'. a 78

POR SALE.— Strong Healthy Stocks in Bar-frame
HiveB, with 21 lb. Section Crate, nearly full. Offers
wanted. Address Kay, Park Cottage, Wilmington, Kent.
a_79

HONEYCOMB in Sections Wanted.— Best quality and
pale colour. Address T. Smith & Co., Cambridge
Street. Hyde Park. a 81

BEST Slinger Honey Extractor, to take one Standard
Frame, cost 15s., sell 7s. Also Slinger for use with
Ftraw Skeps, 5s. 6d. Both in good working order; unused.
Address W. Hinson, Parkgate Road, Reigate, Surrey, a 80

WANTED. — New Sections Honeycomb, first quality :
also Extracted in bulk. Packages -sent. Prompt j
Cash settlement. Mr. Hurst, Bex ill, Sussex. 118

CARBOLIXE POMADE.— Kills Bee.stings like Magic.
Prevents getting Stung, Robbing, and Bees entering
Cones, &c. Price Is. per bottle, in handsome, coloured
Postal Boxes. Samples of Bee-Smoke Cartridges, 3d.
Address T. Hollidat, Astbury, Congleton. 131

"YE OLDE ENGLISHE BEE."

PURE, Prime Swarms of my Selected Strain of English
Bees, all 1892 Queens, Packing-box, and put on Rail
free, price 15s. Address W. Woodlet, World's En<L
Newbury. 104

(Telegrams — " Ilsley, or Hampstead Norris." Porterage 1/6.

QUEEN-REARING for Amateurs, together with Notes
on Queen Introduction, Uniting Bees, &c. 63d. Post
free A idress S. Simmins, Seaford, Sus»ex.

SWARMS! SWARMS! SWARMS!

12th Season.

3 lb. Swarms, 10/6 ; larger at same rate. Boxes

1/6, unless returned.
C. N. White, "Ivo" Apiary, Somersham, Hunts.

113

B

URTT, GLOUGESTE

ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE

POST FREE.

EE-HIYE MANUFACTURE

R

108

STEAM FACTORY for

"gitee Jlpplicmces.

RDEES addressed J. BOSS, Stranraer, Wig-
townshire, N.B., will be attended to.

o

100 lbs. HEATHER HONEY,
IN SECTIONS,

From each Colony, is what yon may expect by using our
special "Crown Heather" Queens, bred from a mother
whose stojk stored nearly 100 lbs. this Spring by the
middle of May. These are reared expressly for our great
Northern demand. Money returned in full if not approved.
Particulars of S. SIMMINS, Seafor*, Sussex. 132

FOUL BROOD REMEDIES.

NAPHTHALINE
NAPHTHOL BETA.

NAPHTHALINE, for using in hives as a pre-
ventive of infection, in boxes, Is. post free.

NAPHTHOL BETA, for use in medicating bee-
food, Is. a packet, post free.

Both the above may now be had at the Office of

" THE BBITISH BEE JOUBNAL" and " BEE-

KEEPEBS' BECOED,"
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.O.

Instructions for use sent with each packet.

cash with ordes.

THE

Irish fBw 3mtnial

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 573. Vol. XXI. N.S. 181.] JUNE 15, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

(Sbitorial, ftoiites, &t.

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — We are still enduring an ex-
ceptionally dry time in the south. "Glorious
summer weather " it is, no doubt, justly
termed in one sense, but so dry and hot
•that farmers may well despair of securing
much beyond a very short crop, no matter
what branch of agriculture is relied on.
Hay is now 71. per ton, with a more than
probable increase to 10/. ere long; pastures
are scorched yellow for lack of rain, and
•considerable uneasiness is felt as to how
•cattle are to be fed for the next two months
in vie w of the terribly scant hay crop.

Nothing like such hard times as these
threaten bee-keepers, who should consider
their industry particularly fortunate in
results so far as the season has gone. A
good many in the south have already " got
in " a fair harvest, while there is still a good
-three weeks for working in and adding to
it. From some parts of the Midlands we
also learn that bees are just now getting
started on clover, and that " honey is now
.flowing." Further north rain has been so
much more plentiful than with us that
.pastures are reported "looking green and
well." A Yorkshire correspondent a few
days ago wrote : " Looking forward for a
grand season here this year ; nice rain has
len and plenty of honey coming in."

Scarcity of Swarms. — Quite a surprise
was created during the month of April last
at the early start bees made in swarming.
Then came a change in the weather for a
fortnight, with a complete suspension of
anything like the swarming mania expected.
So far from early swarming being general
his year, just the opposite has occurred,
and so scarce have been natural swarms

that those who deal in these have been
quite unable to " fill " orders. In addition
to the experience of Mr. Sharp (1461 p. 234),
we learn of another large apiary (nearly
fifty stocks) where not a single swarm had
issued up to the second week in June.
Drones, too, have been remarkably scarce
this season so far; in our apiary it has
been quite the exception to see one, and
only during the last day or two have we
heard of such premonitory signs of swarm-
ing as the loud " drone-hum " at mid-day,
or the "turn-out " of young bees en masse
for an " airing." We look forward to a
change, however, in the course of a few
days, and expect that swarms will be heard
of in many parts.

The " Wells " Perforated Dummy. — ■
A correspondent (1449, p. 214) refers to
this, and it was also mentioned by " T. I."
on the same page. The perforated dummy
having rather failed in its purpose by
warping so badly in one case as to necessi-
tate its removal, and in the other " nearly
all the perforations were stopped" up by
the bees with propolis. Now, seeing that
the dummy as made by Mr. Wells himself
is quite free from warping, and that com-
paratively little propolisation takes place
in his experience, it would be instructive
and interesting if we could have had the
dummies used by our two correspondents
sent along to this office for the purpose of
comparing with a genuine " Wells " per-
forated divider. An inspection of them
might show wherein the difference consists.
Cost of carriage to and fro will be gladly
paid if our correspondents will oblige us in
the interests of readers.

Super-Clearers. — We have just made
practical trial of the two latest super-
clearers put on the market, viz., Meadows'
"B-off," and "Webster's No. 2." It may
be said that both will do the work required

232

THE BRITISH BEbJ JOURNAL.

[June 15, 1893.

of them. The former had the four double
escapes affixed, as shown at the conversazione
and referred to on p. 213 of the B.J. of the
1st inst. We found that the impres-
sion we entertained on first examining the
clearer was verified on making a practical
trial, and we are glad to say that reducing
its cost by using only one escape instead of
four, adds to its effectiveness as a clearer.

The " cheap " Webster clearer was put
under a box of sealed shallow frames at
8 a.m., and at 8 p.m. the same day just
four bees were found in the box. We did
not try how soon the bees would have found
their way back had the honey been left on,
but the result, so far as clearing the super,
was perfectly satisfactory.

Maintaining the " Working Impulse "
in Bees. — It is not generally known how
advantageously bees may be kept work-
ing at high-pressure speed by a little
judicious " management " under certain
circumstances. For instance, when remov-
ing full boxes of sealed combs, if we can
replace them with similar boxes furnished
with ready-built combs, and among these
latter are placed two or three " wet " ones
just from the extractor, and dripping with
honey, the bees will " tear away " with re-
doubled energy to refill them, working far
harder than if dry combs or only sheets of
foundation are given. One of our stocks
" coaxed " in this way is just now com-
pleting its fourth box of ten shallow frames
in each, and is still working away hard as
. ever.

Weak Stocks and the Wells System. —
With prompt and characteristic candour,
Mr. W. Woodley, on p. 225, reports his
trial of two weak colonies in a " Wells "
hive " not a success at present." An inate
feeling of what the result would be if weak
stocks were relied on for double-queened
colonies has made us rather deprecate the
notion of starting the system with any but
good, strong stocks, and if so experienced a
hand fails in getting two weak lots to work
satisfactorily, it may be assumed that
others less expert will fail also. There is,
however, one difference to be noted : if
stocks are weak from causes easily undei'-
stood and accounted for, there is no great
disadvantage in using such. We cannot
conceive more promising material with
which to stock a " Wells " hive in autumn,
than a couple of second swarms, or casts,
which having issued late in the season may

be numerically weak in the autumn-*,
because no time was left in which they
could become strong colonies. If time-
enough were allowed before the winter set
in for the young queens to breed as many
bees as would form a brood cluster — small
it may be — in spring, a couple of such
queens, young and full of lusty fecundity,
will so soon fill the hive with young bees
as lusty and full of work as themselves that
the colony so headed will run away from
one strong, it may be, on going into winter
quarters, but headed by queens already
partly worn out by excessive egg-laying the-
previous season. The " weak stocks n
referred to are ideal ones for " Wells "
hives, but stocks " weak " it may be from-,
disease, or failing queens, are unsuitable in.
every way.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.

The following donations to the above-
have been received or promised : —

T. W. Cowan ...

H. Jonas

W. Broughton Can*
Miss J. Cooper ...
John Walton
A. W. H

£

s.

J.

... 3

3

0

... 3

3

0

2

2

0

... 0

5

0

... 0

5

0

... 0

1

0

HONEY IMPORTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of Mayy
1893, was 2991/. — From a return furnished hys
the Statistical Office, H.M. Customs.

NOVELTIES FOR 1893.

Webster's Cheap Super-Clearer.

The clearer illustrated helow is a very simple
arrangement. A three-quarter-inch board has
three circular holes about one inch in diameter on
the upper, but " countersunk" on the under- side,
and although the whole of the enlarged under-
surface of the hole is covered with woven wire,,
two channels cut in opposite directions and deep
enough to allow passage for a single bee at a

time effect a clearance. Concerning the appliance-
the maker says : —

" The price is very low, and you get a>

June 15, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

233-

1 clearer ' which I find, after two seasons' trial,
acts just as effectively as the original ' Wehster's
Super -clearer,' or any other, up to a certain
limit of time ; but it must not be left on the
hive more than twelve hours, as the bees
commence to find their way back after that
time ; perhaps a dozen will get back during the
next six or seven hours."

Meadows' "B-Off" Stjper-Cleareb.

This is neither more nor less than an adapta-
tion of the American " Porter bee-escape," the
difference consisting of providing two exits for
the bees against one in the latter. The illustra-
tion only shows the escape proper, but it should

glass jars, but as a
as required.

; family jar," to be refilled

be added that, in order to complete the ap-
pliance, the " escape " must be affixed to a
platform similar to that used with the " Porter."
Mr. Meadows, however, provides bee-space on
both sides of the platform, so that supers may
be cleared of bees either on the hive or after
removal from it, by reversing the platform as
required.

A Glass Honey Pail.

Many housekeepers, who are also honey-
users, will consider that Mr. T. B. Blow, of
Welwyn, has filled a want by introducing this

article as a new u bee-appliance." The cut
shows what it is like, and we may add that the
" pail " is of clear glass ; the " bands " — also of
glass — above and below, giving it strength and
durability. It holds about eight pounds of
honey, and has a strong screw-cap of plated
iron, with handle (as shown). It is not intended
to be used once and cast aside, as with ordinary

Corr£Sp0n&ma.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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 goodfaith. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries*
Books for Review, Ac, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King TFilliam
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed to "The
Manager, ' British Bee Jourral ' Office, 17 Xing William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

%* 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.

BROMINE FOB FOUL BROOD.

[1460.] With a view to removing some
possible misconception, and to explain a little
more clearly what it was I proposed to do with
regard to my attempt to treat foul brood with
bromine, I should be glad if you would permit
me to make here a few remarks supplementary
to those I made at the last quarterly meeting of
the B. B. K. A.

1 have taken it for granted that in using the
remedies hitherto employed, a cure, in the
strict sense of the word, was not attempted,,
since the aim was simply to arrest the develop-
ment of the bacillus from the spore. Success-
ful as these remedies may prove in doing this,,
there must inevitably remain in the hive an
immense number of spores, not in suitable con-
dition for germinating, which it is impossible
for them to touch, and hence subsequent out-
breaks of the disease after apparent cure. None
of the remedies, I believe, at present employed
aim at destroying the spores before develop-
ment into the bacillus takes place, and for the
very good reason that the spores are so extra-
ordinarily resistive, that any of those agents
which would be powerful enough to effect their
destruction would, under ordinary circum-
stances, be most likely to destroy the stocks.

That bromine is an agent which is powerful'
enough to actually destroy every spore in the hive,
and not only those in suitable condition for germi-
nating, is practically certain. The experiments
of Koch upon anthrax spores leave little
doubt on this point. For my own satisfaction,
however, I inoculated a tube of nutrient jelly
with spores from a piece of comb which had
been subjected to the fumes of bromine, and
from which I had already obtained a pure
cultivation of foul brood, and found they were
actually destroyed. That bromine, in compara-
tively small doses, will kill the spores I think

234

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 15, 1895.

•we may take for granted ; the real question is,
■whether it is possible to employ such a power-
ful remedy without injury to the stock. And
this is the problem which I have made an
attempt to solve.

I stated at the B.B.K.A. meeting that two
stocks, badly diseased last autumn, and which
I treated with bromine, were now healthy and
strong. That this is not proof positive of the
efficacy of bromine in curing the disease, I grant.
These two stocks might, or might not, have
recovered by natural means (in my own mind I
have little doubt they did not), but what they
do prove is this — and this I take to be the
important point of the experiment — that two
stocks, subjected as they were to the bromine
treatment, are to-day, notwithstanding, alive
and strong. But that the practicability of this
mode of treatment has by no means yet been
demonstrated, I would be the first to admit. I
am conscious of some serious objections and
difficulties, and there are doubtless others which
I have not foreseen, and which those of more
experience than myself will be able to point
out. At the same time, though but a modicum
of success has yet resulted, and freely admitting
as I do that it is quite premature to speak of
positive results, I am inclined to think that it is
at any rate worth while giving the treatment
some further trial. — Geraed W. Bancks,
June 5th, 1893.

BEE-KEEPING NOTES.

[1461.] Bees have not done much here ; they
wintered well, came out unusually strong in
spiiog, and required very little feeding. They
have been at work almost every day for the last
three months, during which time we have not
had more than twelve hours' rain all put
together, and very little honey has been
gathered. The nights, too, throughout have
been very cold, and breeding has been carried
on very tardily ; progress has, consequently,
been very slow. Many of my stocks were
stronger in March than they were in the middle
of May, and it is only during the last fortnight
that any perceptible headway has been made.
Stocks are now coming on well, many of which
are taking to supers. There is, however, a
marked absence of drones, hardly any to be
seen in my apiary of over fifty stocks, none of
which show any signs of swarming, and I have
not heard of a single swarm in the neighbour-
hood.

The meadows, which at this time of the year
usually abound with white clover, are almost as
bare as the high road. Several acres of grass
have been cut for hay, but the crop is so light
that it takes from six to seven acres to produce
a load. Bee-keepers here are beginning to
despair of getting any honey this turn ; but my
long experience as a bee-keeper teaches me that
it is too soon to despair until it becomes too late
to hope. Our best time here — in fact, the only
time that we get any surplus worth speaking of
— is from the middle of June to the middle of

July, so that we have four or five weeks yet
before our usual time is over. Everything,
however, is so out of course at the present time
that we scarcely know where we are ; but we
have yet the limes to come. The working force
of each hive is daily increasing, and if we could
but get a week of real wet weather, followed
with ten days to a fortnight's bright, warm
weather, we should be abundantly rewarded for
our trouble and outlay. — A. Sharp, Hunting-
don, June 10th.

SEPARATING SWARMS.

[1462.] As the possessor of a " Wells " hive
(not yet in working order), I have been con-
sidering how to overcome to some extent the
difficulty of both sides of the hive swarming at
the same time and uniting. In the March
n imb^r of your monthly, under the heading
of " The Coming Campaign," an account is given
how an American gentleman separated three
swarms between two boards on the ground.
Now, if swarms will separate between two
boards on the ground, with empty frames and
combs hung between them, I think a double
swarm could very easily be hived by remov-
ing the perforated dummy from an empty
" Wells " hive, and placing combs and empty
frames in position, as described in the
Record, and by then pouring the bees from
the hiving skep into the centre of the prepared
hive. I do not see why the two swarms should
not sort themselves in a hive in an equally ac-
commodating manner as they did between two
boards. In one case the perforated dummy
would have to be reinserted and all closed down ;
whereas in the other, both swarms would have
to be hived separately after they had " divided
up." Perhaps some of your numerous corre-
spondents have tried the above method, and will
report their experience.

Will yon explain, for the benefit of the un-
initiated, how to clarify honey ? — Sannyer
Atkin, Norton Lees.

[The only clarifying honey needs is to pass it
through very fine muslin or coarse flannel, in
order to remove any particles of wax, &c. Then,
if it loses its clearness by beginning to granu-
late or become solid, it may be cleared and re-
liquefied by inserting the vessel containing it in
fairly hot water for a time. Dark or muddy-
coloured honey cannot be " clarified " so as to
render it light-coloured and bright. — Eds.]

THE DOUBLE -QUEEN SYSTEM AND
THE WELLS DUMMY HIVE SUIT-
ABLE FOR THE SYSTEM.

[1463.] You will see by above heading that I
do not use the term " Wells hive " nor " Wells
system." Both these terms are misnomers. As
regards the former, Mr. Wells himself tells us
that, " having hives by him holding fourteen
frames, he adapted them to the double-queen

'{June 15, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

235

system," or words to that effect ; while as to
the latter, both Americans and Englishmen have
.been trying to bring about the double-queen
system for a long time. I myself have been at
it for at least six or seven years, and I know
others who gave it up as impossible about that
time. No, gentlemen ; Mr. Wells has invented
neither a hive nor a system, but he has suc-
ceeded in perfecting a system in which I believe
all previous efforts failed, and has certainly
shown us how two colonies of bees may be
•united without one of the queens being de-
stroyed.

As regards Mr. Wells' dummy, we were
merely told that it was of thin wood perforated
with holes too small for the bees to pass through.
It immediately occurred to me that the secret
lay in the fact that the dummy was sufficiently
thick to prevent the bees communicating through
it by means cf their antennae, whilst the air

Eassing through the holes from one part of the
ive to the other gave all the inhabitants the
same scent, and prevented them detecting the
subjects of one queen from the subjects of the
other. The experiment I am about to relate
hereafter will, I think, tend to show that this
theory is at least feasible.

As to a suitable hive for this system, "F.F."
(1486, p. 196) in your issue of May 18th last,
seems to me on general principles to have hit
•upon the right construction of a suitable hive.

The following is a description of a hive I have
now in use, sketch of which I enclose. Before
commencing the description, I will say that the
hive is sufficiently long to hold ten frames and
a dummy on either side of the perforated one.
The body is 31§xl3j inches inside, and
33 x 15 inches outside measurement ; it contains
on either side of the perforated dummy seven
frames and a movable three-sided dummy con-
taining a feeding-bottle accessible from the
back of the hive.

Over the centre of the double hive is placed
either an other ten-frame body 16^ x 15 outside,
or a crate of the same size containing twenty-
one 4 x 4i sections, or ten shallow frames
(close-ended) as may be desired, with or without
a peif orated dummy, and on one of these any
further supering takes place. The supers are
covered with an ordinary ten -frame zinc-
covert d hive roof, and on either side the twin
body is covered with two lean-to zinc-covered
roofs, making altogether a very picturesque
appeai ance.

If the hive is made to take the Standard
frame (17 ins. top bar), I would recommend
that the section crate be 17 ins. wide, and to
take t wenty-eight 4£ x 4 J sections, with walls
of f in wood.

The tioor-board is the same in principle as
that u-*d in the " English" hive ; the alighting-
board luns along the front without any division
of the two entrances, which are about ten
inches apart ; there is an arrangement above to
increase the entrances for ventilating purposes,
and there is no useless porch.

The perforated dummy is an ordinary § in.

thick one, with twenty-four (not 300) holes
fully £ in., but two small for a bee to pass
through. Whether this dummy will perma-
nently answer or no I cannot say, but so far as
my present experience goes, it certainly does.

On the 28th April last I allowed two large
swarms to run into the hive, one on the one side
and one on the other ; they soon started working
out comb, commencing nearest the perforated
dummy. Within about a week, I raised up the
quilt and gave the bees some syrup on the top
of the dummy, so as to bring bees from both
lots together, that I might watch whether they
started fighting. I am pleased to say they did
not fight, but drank together on the bar in
the most friendly way. The other day I
changed a frame with about three hundred bees
on it from one lot to the other; the latter
received them without the slightest sign of
hostility.

The bees are frequently to be seen running
along the alighting-board from one entrance to
the other, crossing antennas, and back again.
These bees get on far better than any of my
others ; the frames are almost filled with brood,
and are ready to super, so that so far both
dummy and system are a perfect success.

I may say that my colonies here killed off the
drones about the first week in May, and became
as spiteful as in August, but a little honey seems
now to be coming in (June 7th), and some of
the hives have a few drones fljing again. — A. T.
jVilmot, St. Albans.

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION IN
BEE-KEEPING.

[1464.] The Lindsey division of the County
Council of Lincolnshire at their meeting on
Tuesday, 6th inst., made a grant of 25/. to the
Lincolnshire Bee-keepers' Association for the
purposes of Technical Education in Bee-keeping
in the parts of Lindsey. If the Kesteven and
Holland divisions will do likewise it will be a
good start. — F. J. C, June 8th.

SOUTH OF SCOTLAND BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

[1465.] All your readers will, I feel certain,
be pleased to learn of the increased attention
bee-keeping is receiving in this the " Queen of
the South." Although several of our fanciers
have from time to time done much towards
making bee-keeping popular in our district, and
have brought home more than their share of
trophies from our large shows, we really re-
ceived our best impetus when Mr. Wilson
(than whom no more successful or enthusiastic
fancier lives) came to reside in our midst. It
is to him we are in a great measure indebted
for the formation this season of an Association,
which has for its object the encouragement
and improvement of bee-keeping. With Mr"
Newbigging as President; Mr. Wallace, Vice-
President ; Mr. Nelson, Secretary ; Mr. Palmer,

236

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

("June 15. 1893.

Treasurer; a powerful Committee, and every-
one of our fifty members working with a will,
we require only a good season to develop into a
a most flourishing Association. For Patrons
we have the popular Laird of Munches, W. H.
Maxwell, Esq., and several other gentlemen of
position and influence. Our Hon. Presidents
include the Members of Parliament for the
Stewartry and the county, along with the en-
thusiastic Hon. Secretary of the Scottish B.K.A.,
Sir Thos. D. Gibson-Carmichael, Bart.

As you will see from the prize schedule, en-
closed, we have taken over the honey classes
from our flower show committee, and, to the
open classes already drawn up by them, have
added quite a number of prizes, open only to
members of our Association. I tru-t you will
draw attention to our show, which takes place
on August 29th and 30th next, and ask all bee-
men to assist us in this our fir«-t enterprise. I
am pleased to say bees with us are unusually
strong. White clover promises well, and, if
the limes only wont bloom for a fortnight or
three weeks, we, if favoured by good weather,
will have some good stuff to show. — Run
Honey, Dumfries.

[Beyond wishing every success to the new
Association, we cannot add much to the spirited
appeal of our correspondent, except to refer
readers to the advertisement giving particulars
of the coming show on another page of this
issue. — Eds.1

STAFFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

[1466.] It may interest you to hear (and see
by the prize list) that the " Staffordshire County
Bee-keepers' Association" is still in existence
and healthy. Though in the spring of 1891 it
was proposed to wind up the Association as
having fulfilled its mission, three of the Com-
mittee thought otherwise, and eventually an
amendment was passed to the effect that it
should be carried on. The three members then
craved consent to be allowed on their own re-
sponsibility to carry through the annual exhibi-
tion (in connexion with the County Agricultural
Show) at Leek without any pecuniary help from
the Association, save the granting of two medals.
This was done successfully, and (although it
was prophesied that if the Association had
carried out the show it would result in a deficit
of 17/.) the nice little sum of 31. 17s. was placed
in the bank after meeting all liabilities as a
nucleus for the Stafford Show, which was also
another success in 1892.

Given a good harvest in 1893, 1 hope to see a
good report from the judge the B.B.K.A. may
be pleased to send to adjudicate on the exhibits
at Lichfield. I enclose prize list where money
to the sum of 211. is offered, besides one gold
medal, value 31. 10s. ; three silver medals and
two bronze. Not so bad for an Association
which was in 1891 all but dead ! — Elihu
Clowes, Staffs.

tfithots from % Pitas.

Somersham, Hunts, June 10th. — For some
weeks bees have had little to work upon about
here, and now that the clover is blooming, it
yields little nectar and is quickly over. Mustard
crops, to which we have been looking with
anxious eyes, are very indifferent in consequence-
of the drought, much of the seed not havings
germinated. We shall, however, I fancy, have-
much to be thankful for when that which has-
come up is in bloom. — C. N. W.

Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington, June 6thy.
1893. — Bees appear to be on the " go" thi3 last
day or two ; about half a mile from here I saw
a field of white clover in full bloom and so short
that it cannot be mown — at least, at present — so-
my bees ought to do something on that. There-
are also lots of fields of beans all around. —
John Walton.

Queries atrtr Spites,

[798.] 1. What is the approximate weight of
a standard frame, every cell full of honey and
capped, and fit for extracting? 2. Where is-
the largest bee-farm in England? I desire to-
spend a short holiday in the vicinity of one. Is
there one in the West ? 3. Would there be a>.
swarm if no drones are flying from a supered-
hive? I have four stocks in bar-frames with
supers on, and honey and pollen are going in
moderately; but no drones in either as yet
(June 2nd). 4. I have heard it said that drones^
do not go off with a swarm, but remain attached
to the old hive. Is this so ? — Enthusiast,
Stonehouse.

Reply. — 1. About six pounds. 2. The largest
apiaries we know of are those of Mr. William^
Woodley, Newbury, Berks, and Mr. William
McNally, Glenluce, Wigtownshire. We are not
aware of any large bee-farm in the West. 3*.
No. 4. Drones often accompany a swarm, but
they usually return to the old home.

[799 ] Treating Foul Brood. — Will you.
kindly let me know if the comb I sent for your
inspection is affected with foul brood ? If so,.
please state whether it is of a pronounced type,,
and what measures you would recommend me-
to take ? I have ten stocks in all, four of which
are fairly strong, but not particularly so, con-
sidering the abnormally fine weather we have
had. In the case of the others, that rapid increase
which ought to be observable at this season has
been wanting, and the combs are similar to the
sample sent. I have been using naphthaline bx
all my hives as a preventive. All the stocks
wintered well and were in good condition in the-
spring. They have received every attention,.

June 15, ltfy&J

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

237-

and I think there is no possibility of the brood
having become chilled. A number of stocks
belonging to cottagers in the neighbourhood
have become defunct — through foul brood, as I
surmise, and I have not been able to induce
them to take any proper precautions. I shall
use my best endeavours (hoping to have the
benefit of your valued instructions) to stamp out
the disease, if present. I should be very reluc-
tant indeed to relinquish a hubby from which I
have derived so much pleasure, on the first
appearance of (practically) the only enemy we
have to dread. — J. S. B., Co. Tyrone.

Reply. — Comb is affected with foul brood ;
not in very pronounced form so far, but dis-
tinctly there. The bees have evidently been
paying frequent visits to the foul-broody skeps of
your cottager neighbours mentioned, and the
preventives used have checked its more serious
development. At this season it is not easy to
apply curative remedies, owing to the difficulty
in getting bees to take medicated syrup while
honey is to be had in the fields. Beyond keep-
ing up the supply of naphthaline we should do
nothing with the four stronger stocks till the
season is over. For the other eix stocks, if on
examination they are found to be getting worse
instead of better, refer to reply to 775 (p. 187) of
B. J. for the 11th ult.

[800.] Removing Queen - cells to Prevent
Swarming. — Would you kindly enlighten me
on a few points relative to the cutting out of
queen- cells? 1. How often is it necessary to
do it ? I cut some out about thrte weeks ago,
just before I supered my hives. Is there any
danger of new queen-cells being formed this
season ? 2. Ought I to take off the supers from
time to time, and see to this ? 3. Ought I to
cut out all the queen-cells, or ought I leave one,
in order that they may rear a young queen
should the old one die ? 4. What is about the
average life of a queen ? — Apis, Hartlepool,
June 7 th.

Reply. — 1. If the removal of queen-cells is
relied on as a preventive of swarming, they
must be removed as often as formed, and no
reliable data can be given as to how frequently
this will occur. There is " danger " of this so
long as the swarming season lasts. 2. We
should not advise this trouble ; rather risk it,
and, if a swarm issues, cut out queen-cells be-
fore returning it. 3. Unless all the queen-cells
are removed, it will not prevent swarming. 4.
Three to four years, but queens should never be
kept after their second year.

[801.] Transferring Bees from Skeps. — 1. At
what time ought I to transfer bees from skeps
to frame hives so as not to injure brood ? 2.
Ought 1 to put them on whole sheets of foun-
dation, or transfer combs containing brood from
skeps to frame hives ? 3. Can I put the bees
from two skeps in one frame hive ?

I thank Mr. Woodley for his advice concern-
ing my query in B.B.J. (1386, p. 127). I

have tried his plan and find it succeeds well.
Three skeps are working well in supers, but two
are not. I have not had any swarms yet. —An
Essex Labourer.

Reply. — 1 and 2. Reference to B. J. for
March 16th (p. 1 10) will show our view of the
best way to transfer bees from skeps to frame
hives at this season. 3. Yes ; if the bees are
shaken up together after " driving," they may
be thrown out in a heap in front of the frame
hive, and they will run in without fighting.

[802. j Suspected Foul Brood. — One of my
hives has been doing very little for two seasons.
This springtime the colony rapidly decreased.
About seven weeks ago I examined the combs
and found some brood, and I looked again later,,
when I found there was less brood and several
eggs in many of the cells. I then destroyed the
queen, and about a fortnight afterwards I
opened the hive, and although the bees had
started a queen-cell, I determined to destroy
them, so as to be able to use the hive. The
grub in the queen-cell was surrounded by the
royal jelly. There were no drone-cells, and
when I examined the comb on which the queen-
cell was formed, I found several cells sealed,
whi^h contained either a grub in a very soft,,
sloppy state, or a thick brown fluid. This
makes me anxious to know whether my hive
contains foul brood ? There is no smell, and
there is a fair amount of granulated honey in the
combs. I should like tousethecombs for a swarm
if I could be sure they were not diseased. There
were not many cells as described, and I hope
that it may merely be a case of chilled brood. I
have three hives alive, and for the first time this
season I saw a drone on June oth, yet in two of
the hives the bees are on ten frames, and doing
well. — A. G. Baldwin, Durham, June 10th.

Reply. — The appearances described point
very strongly to foul brood, but we could not
be certain without seeing the comb. We-
should, however, not think of using the combs,
for a swarm, or even the hive itself without
first disinfecting it.

[803.] Artificial Swarms from Skeps. — 1..
I have some skeps of bees which I should like
to put in frame hives. When is the best time
to do this? 2. Would it be best to unite two.
or more from the straw hives when putting
them in the frame hives ? 3. All the syrup I
have bought granulates and stops the holes in.
feeder. Should it do this ? What I bought is
not half liquid. — Norfolk.

Reply. — 1. If your inquiry is as to the best
time to drive an artificial swarm from a skep,
and put the bees into a frame hive, we reply
the sooner it is done the better. 2. If a fair-
sized swarm (say, three or four pounds of bees)
is driven, there is no real need to unite two
together. 3. Well-made syrup should not
granulate, and it is better to make than to buy

*288

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL

Jnno 7 fr . 1S'>*

it. At this season there is no need to do more
than pour a quart of boiling water on three
pounds of sugar, and stir till it dissolves.

[804.] Bees and Honey-dew.—l am enclosing
-a sample twig of each of two trees now being
frequented by bees. They are marked 1 and 2.
Kindly tell me — 1. What are bees gathering from
No. 1 and No. 2, and what are the names of
both ? 2. No. 1 is not in full flower yet. Does
it yield honey when it is in blossom ? 3. The
clover around seems in bloom, but no honey
coming in. Is that why they gather something
from the trees as sent ? — Elm Grove, Taunton,
June 9th.

Reply. — 1. The bees are gathering honey-dew
from both trees, the leaves being covered with
it. No. 1 is the well-known lime-tree. 2. The
blossom of the lime is one of the best honey-
yielding flowers in this country if the weather
happens to be suitable during the ten or twelve
days the bloom lasts. 3. Bees have no pre-
ference for the secretion known as honey-dew —
in fact, rather the contrary — if other sources of
supply, such as white clover, are open to them,
but they do gather it largely when other supplies
run short.

BEE - MANAGEMENT IN
SUMMER.

(Concluded from page 228.)

If, in the natural order of things, one has a
prospect of more colonies than one desires, about
the first of June is the ideal time for reducing
stock by uniting those that are not very strong.
To put it in another way, if I had two hundred
colonies and desired to keep no more than that
number, I would gladly have one-half of them
cast swarms every year, or more if they would
do it early, which I would hive and then reduce
to the desired number the following year by
uniting, say, ten days before the opening of the
early honey season. I have no desire for a race
of non-swarming bees; I want a fair amount of
swarming and I want it early. It is from such
colonies that the large amounts of surplus come.
I would not willingly forego the advantage to
be derived from the large reinforcement of
vigorous young queens that may be had at
swarming-time for almost nothing, to be re-
lieved oi the labour involved in caring for the
swarms.

If necessary to be certain of having all the
young queens I can use, I remove the colony
from which a swarm has issued from beside the
hive containing the swarm to a new stand
before the queens are due to hatch, and divide
it into from two to four nuclei, taking care that
each has one good cell. In a few days the
queens are laying, and can be used to replace
old queens that are still coming out with swarms
or otherwise, and the nuclei reunited or given
ripe cells and allowed to rear another batch of
•queens.

Although at times during the spring consider-
able honey may be coming in, yet there are
always some bees on the look-out for honey that
can be got in an easier way than the honest
way — therefore continual watchfulness during
this entire month, if there are weak colonies in
the apiary, is necessary if robbing is to be pre-
vented ; indeed, watchfulness should begin at the
very opening of spring. Perhaps there is no
other item in the management of the apiary that
requires the same degree of skill as this, and the
difficulty, especially with beginners, is rather in
its detection than in stopping it when discovered.
Where it is suspected, the most decisive measures
should be used to learn the facts, and if it exists
to discover and thwart the offending colonies.
These matters may best be determined by visiting
the apiary just before and just after the bees
engaged in honest industry are on the wing.
Like human beings, the bees are more in earnest
in the doing of evil than in the doing of good ;
so those engaged in deviltry are busy both earlier
and later than those honestly employed. A few
minutes at such a time will reveal the whole
situation. Ordinary care will prevent danger
from robbing except where there are colonies
that will not defend themselves. The weakest
colonies can protect themselves when so disposed
if the entrance to their hive is sufficiently con-
tracted, and every careful apiarist will see that
they have at least this much assistance; but
when the bees will not defend their hive, con-
tracting the entrance is no remedy. In such
cases the only satisfactory method of dealing
with them is to exchange the hives, i.e., to put
the hive of the robbers in place of that of the
robbed and vice versa. By this plan the weak
colony is strengthened, and that by bees that
will vigorously defend their new home. And
the robber colony — it is laughable to see how
completely it is nonplussed by the new arrange-
ment. The altered situation seems beyond the
power of their little heads to comprehend. With
me nothing but good effects have resulted from
the use of this plan, while every other is more
or less a failure.

It is now time that all preparations for the
early honey season should be approaching com-
pletion, and, among the rest, plans for securing
swarms should be matured. I n the first place,
I would have all queens clipped; especially would
I advise it in the case of beginners, even if queen-
traps are also to be used, it is such a source of
convenience and security. Then I would have
at least a few queen-traps. Even when one is
to have his apiary watched during the swarming
time as a rule, yet there are many times when
this might be inconvenient, and in the early part
of the forenoon and during most of the afternoon
this would be hardly necessary ; so, during the
time when the first few straggling swarms of
the season are appearing, a sufficient number
to bridge over such times as these I consider
indispensable. If one can make them himself
the expense is very small, and in such case he
may well secure a full supply. — R. L. Taylor,
in " Bee~keeper£ Revieio " (Am.).

June 15, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

239»

%tt Slwfos to dume.

June 19th to 23rd. — Royal Agricultural
Society's Show at Chester. Secretary, John
Huckle, Kings Langley.

July 19th to 21st.— Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Stamford. Bees, honey,
hives and appliances. Liberal prizes. Entries
close July 7th. S. Upton, Secretary, St. Bene-
dict's Square, Lincoln.

July 21st and 22nd.— Bristol and District
B.K.A., at Knowle. Entries close July 14th.
Over 61. cash in prizes. Special facilities offered
to distant exhibitors. Schedules from James
Brown, Hon. Secretary, 42 Baldwin Street,
Bristol.

July 25th to 28th. — Summer Show of the
Scottish B.K. A. (under the auspices of the High-
land and Agricultural Society (in the Dean Park,
Edinburgh. Prize lists in due course from
John Wishart, Assistant Secretary, Market
Place, Melrose.

July (date not yet fixed).— Berks B.K. A.
(Windsor District), in connexion with Prince
Consort's Association, in the Home Park,
Windsor. For schedules apply to the Hon.
Secretary, W. J. Darby, Consort Villas, Clewer.

July 26th, 27th, 28th. — Lancashire and
Cheshire B.K.A., in connexion with the R.M.L.
and N.L. Agricultural Society's show at Black-
pool. Entries close July 1st. James Birch,
Secretary, 3 Brunswick Street, Liverpool.

August 1st and 2nd. — Staffordshire B.K.A.
at Lichfield, in connexion with the Stafford-
shire Agricultural Society.

August 2nd to 4th. — Yorkshire Agricultural
Society at Dewsbury. Prizes for honey and
bee appliances. Entries close June 24th. For
lists applv Marshall Stephenson, Secretary,
York. *

August 7th and 8th.— Northants B.K.A.
Annual Show at Delapre Park, Northampton.

August 7th and 8th.— Notts B. K. A. Annual
County Show at Mapperley, Notts, in con-
nexion with the Porchester Horticultural Society.
Entries close July 31st. A. G. Pugh, Secretary,
Mona Street, Beeston, Notts.

August 29th and 30th.— South of Scotland
B.K.A. at Dumfries. Entries close August
25th. Wm. Wilson, Secretary, Acrehead House,
Dumfries.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation's Exhibition, in St. Andrew's Hall,
Glasgow. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 13th and 14th.— Scottish B. K. A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules in due course from John
Wishait, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers^

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers or
correspondents, or where appliances can be purchased, or-
replies giving such information, can only be inserted os
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
issueimmediately following the receipt of their communication.

*»* The conclusion of Sir T. Shepstone's paper on The
Honey Bird is unavoidably held over till next week.

A. W. C. — Comb sent is so badly affected with
foul brood that we should not, under the
circumstances, attempt curing the stock. The
combs and frames should be promptly burnt,,
and, if the queen is young enough to do well
under healthier conditions, the bees might,
after disinfecting the hive, be put on sheets
of foundation, and fed with medicated syrup.
If the queen is old, we would destroy the
whole stock, as it is a bad case.

J.Pearman. — Fertile Workers. — The mysterious
phenomenon of nature which allows of the re-
production of species without fertilisation is
known as the law of parthenogenesis, and the
worker-bee is one of the fewinsects so endowed

F. M. Bayley. — 1. To become an " expert," it
is necessary to have a thorough knowledge of
bees and their ways, and to be able to handle
them skilfully. 2. You were probably right
in explaining why the skep was beeless. 3.
There are many superstitions about bees quite
as curious as the one related.

J. G. K. (Southborough).— " Wells " Lifters for
Raising Frames of Comb in Bulk. — Mr. Wells
is now engaged in making an improved
" lifter," which we will probably illustrate
when completed.

T. Watson (Midlothian). — Claiming Runaway
Swarms. — The fact of the swarm not having
been kept continually in sight from the time
of leaving your hive till it entered that of
your neighbour destroys your legal claim to
the bees, and we should not advise your
taking action for the recovery of the swarm.
Though you may be morally certain it was
your bees which took possession of the empty
hive, the law requires legal proof, which we
are sorry to say the facts detailed do not
furnish you with.

Novice (Sheffield). — Second Swarms. — If so
long a time as twenty-one days has passed
since the first swarm issued, no further swarm-,
ing may be looked for this season.

C. Chisholm. — Queen sent is old and worn out.

Geo. H. Strong. — Making Artificial Swarms.
— If there is no more than the " commence-
ment of a new queen-cell " a week after
making the artificial swarm, it is certain that
no queen will be raised. You might try
them again with a frame of eggs and brcod
from the swarm, otherwise there is no remedy
but re-queening or uniting the bees to the
swarm. Pure Ligurian queens can be had

240

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 15, 1893

both from English firms and from foreign
queen-raisers. Please consult our advertising
pages for names and addresses, as we cannot
recommend particular dealers.
J. McKean (Onstleblaney).— Extending the
"Wdls" Si/stem. — The footnote to 1446
(p. 207) was intended simply to express our
own opinion, as is usual with those whose
" office " it is in some measure to guide that
of others, and to exercise that restraining
influence so useful in bee-keeping matters.
Now, when our correspondent suggests that
we should write an " exhaustive article " on
a subject we consider hardly worth discussing,
it is surely permissible for us to prefer instead
suggesting a trial of the double-queen system
before rushing into a six or eight-queen plan.
At the same time there is no reason why our
-correspondent, or any one else, should not try
the extended scheme, and we will be very
pleased to report results for the benefit of
readers. Reference to B.J. of March 30th
and April 20th last will supply all the in-
formation needed for " wiring " frames.

V Errata.— On p. 208 of B.J. for May 25th,
second line from top, for "supers" read
rafters; and, five lines lower, for "sunny"
read wintry.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

B

EE TENT on Hire. For terms apply to G-. G-cnston,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge. 135

Situation*, Publications, Bee Plants, dbc. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

FOR SALE.— Superior Queens, Stock", and Swarms,
English and Carniolan. Address Rev. C. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex. f. n.

WANTED.— Good 1 lb. Sections of '93 Honey, for Cast,
in Glazed Boxes— either Tin or Cardboard. Address
N., Bee Journal Office, 17 King William Street, W.C. a 63

FOR SALE.— Fertile Queens, 3s. 6d. ; also Swarms of
my Splendid Strain. 15s., packed free. Address John
Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington. a 67

IVY-LEAF Geraniums, Marguerite Carnations, Single
Dahlias, Paris Dais es, 12, Is. 6d. Roemir's Superb
Mimulus, Nicotiana Affinis, Petnnias, Ten-week Stocks,
Pansies, Salvias, Ageratums, Dianthus Heddiwigi, Perillas,
Zinnias, 24, Is. 6d. ; 50, 2s. 6d. Iceland Poppies, 24, Is. 3d.;
50, 2s. Open-air and Mammoth Tomatoes, 24, Is. 6d. Ad-
dress Vicar, Egginton, Leighton Buzzard. a 72

HONEYCOMB in Sections Wanted.— Best quality and
pale colour. Address T. Smith & Co., Cambridge
Street, Hyde Park. a 81

WANTED. — New Sections Honeycomb, first quality :
also Extracted in bulk. Packages -sent. Prompt
Cash settlement. Mr. Hurst, Bexbill, Sussex. 118

WANTED. — Good clear Honey in 1 lb. sections. Ready
cash. R. Thomas, 3 Bryn Eurin, Llanfairfechan,
N. Wales. a 82

EXPERT desires Engagement for August. Full par-
ticulars to H. E. Atlee, Bis ham School, Grtat
Marlow. a 83

WANTED. — Good modern Extractor in exchange for
29s. Telescope with astronomical eye-piece ; also
•warranted healthy Swarm for Butler's four-keyed 15s.
Flute. Both in good condition. Address Stone, Fore
Street, Northam, Bideford. a 84

CARBOLINE POMADE.— Kills Bee.stings like Magic.
Prevents getting Stung, Robbing, and Bees entering
Cones, &c. Price Is. per bottle, in handsome, coloured
Postal Boxes. Samples of Bee-Smoke Cartridges, 3d.
Address T. Hollidat, Astbury, Congleton. 131

"YE OLDE ENGLISHE BEE."

PURE, Prime Swarms of my Selected Strain of English
Bees, all 1892 Queens, Packing-box, and put on Rail
free, price 15s. Address W. Woodlet, World's End,
Newbury. 104

(Telegrams — " Ilsley, or Hampstead Norris." Porterage 1/6.

HONEY. — Interesting 8 pp. Pamphlet, explaining to
general Public how Honey is harvested and gathered
by the Ton. By distributing it you can sell all your Honey
at home at a good fisrure. Copy gratis and post free of
S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex.

100 lbs. HEATHER HONEY,
IN SECTIONS,

From each Colony, is what you may expect by using our
special " Crown Heather " Queens, bred from a mother
whose stock stored nearly 100 lbs. this Spring by the
middle of May. These are reared expressly for our great
Northern demand. Money returned in full if not approved.
Particulars of S. SIMMINS, Seaford, Sussex. 132

FALCON SECTIONS

(WHOLESALE)

Either 2 or 4 Bee-way, with or without split top
bar, to arrive at Liverpool about middle June, will
be sold very cheap from Steamer — cheap from
Warehouse. Special to Dealers. Apply to

N. B0XWELL, Patrickswell, co. Limerick. 134

B

DRTT. GLODCESTE

ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE

POST FREE.

EE-HIYE MANUFACTURE

R

108

FOUL BROOD REMEDIES.

NAPHTHALINE

Ji-TSTJD

NAPHTHOL BETA.

NAPHTHALINE, for using in hives as a pre-
ventive of infection, in boxes, Is. post free.

NAPHTHOL BETA, for use in medicating bee-
food, Is. a packet, post free.

Both the above may now be had at the Office of

" THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL" and "BEE-
KEEPERS' RECORD,"
17 King William Street, Stband, London, W.C.

Instructions for use sent with each packet.

CASH WITH ORDER.

THE

Iritffik %n Smmifil,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

So. 574. Vol. XXI. N.S. 182.] JUNE 22, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

(Bbxtaxwl, Itoiias, &.

A TRYING TIME FOR VEGETATION.

Never, in all our experience, do we re-
member so trying a time for vegetation as
that through which we are now passing in
the south of England. The temperature
has, for many days past, varied between 80°
and 85° in the shade in London, while the
scorching heat of the sun in the open
country in Kent, and other southern
counties, combined with an almost entire
absence of rain, has had the effect of simply
killing off all vegetation with roots near the
surface ; indeed, so hot and so dry is the
soil wherein things are supposed to be
-growing, that it needs but to thrust one's
bare hand into it in order to realise how
hopeless it is to expect any other result
under present conditions. Market gar-
deners are much to be commiserated ; their
crops, unless watered, having to a large
extent failed to do any good at all. We
hear of peas refusing to pod, and the haulm
being cut down and given as green fodder
to cattle ; while field-peas, owing to the
same "podding" failure, have been ploughed
in by the acre. Beans, onions, lettuce, and
the many small crops which go to make
up the market gardener's income, have
been in many places an entire failure, and
we notice that even potatoes are turning
yellow in the haulm before the tubers are
half formed. Altogether, the outlook for
farmers — whose hay crops are miserably
thin — and market gardeners in the south of
England is a gloomy and depressing one.
We may reasonably hope that vegetation
has had a better chance further north,
where rain has fallen in fair quantity ;
otherwise the home-grown supply of green-
stuff would probably reach famine-like
scarcity.

And yet, apart from its adverse effects on
-vegetation, the weather has been simply
perfect judged by our ordinary summer ;

almost ivnbroken sunshine for weeks to-
gether, with the otherwise oppressive heat
tempered by a gentle breeze, and the lovely
green foliage of the trees, unaffected by the
drought, making the country beautiful to
look upon, and outdoor pleasures most
enjoyable. For bee-keepers the prospect
still keeps good in a large majority of dis-
tricts, and, as was observed last week, we
should consider ourselves extremely for-
tunate as times go. If anything like such
good times are in store for northerners
generally as are reported from Scotland in
our monthly for July, it will be one of the
best seasons for many years. Not only do
our Ssotch friends look for a good return
from the earlier honey, but the heather is
looking splendid, we are told, and that
plant is not likely to have been affected one
bit by the present dry, hot weather.

We therefore enter upon the latter half
of the bee-year thankful for the good things
received by the " early season " men, and
hopeful that the anticipations of those
whose main ingathering is only now fairly
commencing may be abundantly realised.

Good honey seasons are not too plentiful
in this country, and bee-keepers have been
sorely tried by disappointing times more
frequently than we like; but 1893 is not
likely to be included in the "poor season"
list from all we can gather.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.

The following donations to the above
have been received or promised : —

£ s. d.

T. W. Cowan

H. Jonas

George Neighbour &

Sons

W. Broughton Carr ...
Jesse Garratt ...

— Horlick

Miss J. Cooper

John Walton

A. W. H

3

3

0

3

3

0

3

3

0

2

2

0

2

2

0

0

7

0

0

5

0

0

5

0

0

1

0

242

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNA

rJnne 22, 1893,

A NEW NON-SWARMING DEVICE,

In bee-matters the wise man " makes haste
slowly " — at least, this is our view, and this
renders us chary in advising the too -ready
adoption of new contrivances intended to serve
certain purposes or to accomplish certain results
until such trial has been made as will test their
capabilities in fulfilling all that is claimed for
them. But we must not carry our reservation
too far, or some one will be a loser, and so, with-
out further preface, we here publish some par-
ticulars regarding a device intended to entirely
do away with the swarming of bees, if the bee-
keeper so desires it.

Mr. H. P. Langdon, an American bee-keeper
and honey-producer, has now made public a
method of swarm-preventing, which it is his
intention to introduce to the notice of British
bee-keepers so soon as certain patent rights
have been completed. Mr. Langdon, in a
pamphlet now before us, after giving reasons
why bee-keepers require something which will
lessen cost and increase production, tells of his

Beehives with Langdon non-swarmer attached : A, B, hives ; S, S'
supers ; D, non-swarming device ; e, e' entrances corresponding to hive
entrances ; si, slide for closing entrance ; c, c' conical wire cloth bee-
escapes ; e.r, exits of same.

own invention, and goes on to say : " The mode
of operating the device is as follows : — The hives
must be arranged through the yard in pairs,
preferably on stands, each holding two
hives. Before the swarming season begins,
attach the device to the front of each pair of
hives with two screws through the small holes
in the device, with the entrances arranged to
correspond with the entrances of the hives, and
an inch hole in the end of each hive to corre-
spond with the exit cones of the device. In
case the hive has closed-end frames, nail a half-
inch rim on the device, to set it off from the
hive that distance, and no hole in the hive will
be needed.

" The bees are now going out and into the

hives through their respective entrances, paying-
no attention to each other.

" Now, call the hive at the right A, and the one
at the left B. When the sections are ready to
go on, put thein all on the hive containing the
least number of bees, B, for instance, and insert
the slide si into the end of the device so as to
close the inner entrance at hive A — the one not
having any sections on. This shuts all the
flying bees out of hive A, and when they go
into the outer entrance e of the device on their
return, they are attracted along the gallery
of the device to the entrance of hive B with-
their loads unmolested by the guards of the
hive. All flying bees in the closed hive A
are allowed to come out at the cone exit, ex}.
and they, too, are led into the hive on their
return.

"All bee-keepers know that bees will not swarm
unless they are booming with honey and are in
the height of prosperity, such conditions as
favour a good crop of comb or extracted honey,.
This withdrawal of the working force reverses
this condition of prosperity very decidedly in
the closed hive A, and no queen-
cells will be built, or if they have
been started they will promptly be
torn down.

" In the meantime the field forces-
of both colonies are hard at work in.
the supers on hive B, without any
interruption.

" At this stage of the proceed-
ings, with a double force of bees and
with a large amount of honey going
into hive B, that colony will soon
begin to build queen-cells and pre-
paie to swarm. Bo, in a week or
ten days from the closing of hive
A, or before the colony in hive B can>
get cells far enough along to swarm,
put a case of sections (or more if
needed) on hive A, take off all
finished cases from hive B, and set
the remaining ones, bees and all, over,,
on to hive A, with those containing
the honey at the top. Remove the
slide, thus opening hive A, and.
insert it in the other end of the
device so as to close the inner
entrance to hive B. This runs
all the flying bees the other way into hive A
which now holds all the supers, and brings the
colony in hive B into the same poverty-stricken
condition that hive A was in before. At the
same time the field bees of both hives are
working uninterruptedly in the supers on-
hive A.

" In about a week the supers are again placed
upon hive B, the finished ones removed and.
empty ones given if necessary, the entrance to
which is opened, while that of hive A is closed-
In another week another transfer is made
back to hive A, and so on during the honey
season.

" This alternation of the working bees and the
transfer of the supers so disturbs the plans off

June 22, 1893.1

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

243

the nurse-bees, by depopulating the successively
closed hives, that complete organization for
swarming is impossible, hence no swarms issue,
and the field bees of hoth hives work unitedly
and without interruption through the entire
honey season, hringing about the conditions
desired and spoken of by Mr. A. I. Root, as
follows : — * If we can entirely prevent stvarming,
and keep all the bees at home storing honey all
the season, we shall get enormous crops from a
single hive.' — A B C of Bee -culture, 1891,
p. 289."

We shall leave readers to judge of the article
from the inventor's description, one of the main
merits, in our eyes, being the fact that he
" worked the plan " on a hundred colonies of
bees in 1892. Were it not for this plain an-
nouncement, we should have been inclined to
wonder how several things would " work out "
in practice. At present all we can say is, it
promises well — very toell. The " arrangement "
costs little, is easily applied, and, if our American
friend has really produced an appliance which
will accomplish all he claims for it, bee-keepers
will owe him a debt of gratitude, and, we hope,
will fill his pockets with dollars in payment.

" WELLS " HIVES.

No. 6. — Redshaw's " Wells " Hive.

(a) The stand and legs are framed to-
gether. The floor is made in one or two
parts as preferred, and each one will fall

two inches in front, or slide out for cleaning,
<fcc. Porch runs full width of hive front,
and is raised or lowered to suit floor ; with
simple slides that will admit of forming

entrances of various sizes, and in different
positions as required. (b) Is an outer case
containing an inner body-box with eighteen
standard frames having W. B. C. ends. A
perforated dummjr of the orthodox size,
thickness, and number of holes, well
clamped, to prevent warping ; two ordinary-
dummies, two squares of approved queen-ex-
cluding zinc, (c) A deep lift, which with
the roof will cover two tiers of section
racks or shallow-frame boxes. (d) One
shallow frame box of ten frames, and (e)
one W. B. C. hanging-frame section box is
included, (f) The roof is thoroughly well
made and waterproof ; with a view to
lightness, has a drip strip along front to
carry wet off at ends. The gables project
under eaves, as in W. B. C. hive, to pro-
tect edges of the roof boards, and every
joint is put together with paint.

WORCESTERSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The eighth annual exhibition of this Associa-
tion was held on June 13th, at .Kidderminster,
in connexion with the meeting of the Hereford-
shire Agricultural Society.

Prize List.

Best exhibition of bees in observatory hive,
with queens. — 1st prize, Rev. E. Davenport; 2nd,
A. W. Rollins.

Best twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, Mrs. James.

Best sLx 1-lb. sections.— 1st, G. E. Wilson :
2nd, A. W. Rollins.

Best twelve 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st,
A. W. Rollins ; 2nd, C. H. Haynes.

Best six 1-lb. jars of extracted honey. — 1st,
A. W. Rollins ; 2nd, C. H. Haynes.

Best beeswax. — 1st, A. W. Rollins.

Best amateur hive. — 1st, J. Jeavons.

Best hive suitable for cottager. — 1st, A. W.
Rollins.

The show arrangements and the staging of
exhibits were ably carried out by the Secretary r
Rev. E. Davenport, and the judging was under-
taken by Mr. Jno. Palmer, of Ludlow.— Com-
municated.

THE HONEY BIRD.

(Concluded from page 226.)

Since the occasion I have described above, 1
have followed very many of these birds, and
my experience has in every case been the same,
varied only by the accident of seeing or missing
the actual point. In the one case the honey
is very readily found, in the other more or
less delay takes place, but it may always be
found by taking advantage of the habits of the
bird.

The natives credit this little creature with

244

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 22. 18P3.

intelligence and feeling little short of human.
They believe that it feels indignation, or some
sort of mental emotion, at being abused, and
resents the omission of its proper share of comb
being left for it. They believe that the form
this resentment takes is to lead the next person
it guides to a venomous reptile or a dangerous
beast ; they are therefore always _ caref ul to
remember their debt to their little winged guide.
I have heard Europeans whose judgment I res-
pect, avow the same belief.

But it seems to me that the whole process is
more correctly and naturally accounted for by
the facts of the case. The chief or most favourite
food of the bird is honey and the honey-comb ;
it can never or rarely procure this food itself ;
it evidently knows that man can do so for it.
How it acquired this knowledge, and how it
became hereditary, it would be useless to
inquire. How man came to understand the
language of the bird is perhaps more easily
accounted for. The fact of the reciprocal know-
ledge exists, and the operation is simple enough.
The bird knows of what in this country is called
a bees' nest. It flies away in search of the
creature that can help to rob it. It addresses
the first man it meets. As I have already des-
cribed; the man understands; the result is that
the bees are robbed and it secures a feast. Its
earnest notes, its plucky and confidential manner,
its returning emphasis for emphasis, in what
seems to be a conversation with man, are well
calculated to inspire the belief that it is endowed
with man's intelligence, but denied his power of

The, as I think, mistaken theory of resent-
ment is perhaps less difficult to account for.
The natural habitat of these birds is a jungle or
forest country ; it is also the haunt of reptiles
and wild beasts. The bird goes straight to its
object, flying over bushes and kloofs, while the
men who follow are obliged to creep through
them. As maybe expected , they occasionally come
upon reptiles or animals'of whose existence the
bird knew or cared nothing, but such unfortu-
nate encounters could scarcely be charged to the
bird. Against this resentment theory there is
the further objection that, instead of helping, it
would injure the bird's prospects of obtaining
food. Reason would forbid it, and what we call
the instincts implanted by nature rarely operate
prejudicially to the existence of their possessors ;
and who can draw the line that separates the
one from the other?

Many years after this I was travelling between
where Stanger now stands and the mouth of the
Tugela. Our party was a large one ; we were
a delimitation commission ; there were two
commissioners besides myself, and a large
number of natives. My old friend, Mr.
Thomas Green, was one of the party. He
and I are the only surviving Europeans. He
may perhaps recollect the circumstance, which
was made remarkable chiefly by the scepticism
of the scientific members of the commission.

We had broken up our camp and were early
on the line of march. We had not gone far

when the familiar call of the honey bird quite
close to us surprised us all. I drew the attention
of my companions to the call ; they had never
heard it before. We had, however, during our
travels discussed the subject. My scientific
friend had found it impossible to believe any
bird to be capable of doing what this was said
habitually to do. There must be some mistake,
he used to say, or some coincidence, or some
way of accounting for it that has escaped obser-
vation. I was glad of the opportunity of con-
vincing him, and we, with a number of natives,
followed the bird. The usual callings and
answerings took place between the bird and the
natives, and it made its point about half a mile
from where we started. Unfortunately the
point had not been seen, so only the whereabouts
was known. All our searching was useless ; my
friend smiled and asked for the honey ! My
excuses only confirmed his scepticism, and we
passed on. We had not gone very far, however,
when another honey bird called us, and the
same process was gone through, with this
difference, that the point was seen and the
honey very soon taken possession of. Before
we had taken out the last comb, however, the
honey that had been pointed by the first bird
was brought. It appeared that one or two
natives had remained behind to try the plan
already described of abusing the bird, with the
result that they found the hive and brought
away its contents. The triumph of the little
bird's reputation was now complete. Even
science could not gainsay what its votary's eyes
had seen ; but as he was unable to explain what
he saw, it may be doubted that he could ever
bring himself to fully believe it.

The little creature that secures the attention
of humanity wherever it chooses to call for it,
i* a small, unpretending brown bird, not unlike
the water - wagtail, but a little larger and
stouter.

It was about Christmas-time that it achieved

the triumph that I have just chronicled over

the scepticism of science, and showed that there

is more in the habits aud resources of even a

l little bird than is dreamed of in our proud

! philosophy.

The foregoing may be acceptable to those
who take an interest in natural history. They
will see in it but another instance of the wonder?
ful adaptation of means to their end that per?
vades the realm of nature and maintains the
balance of the universe. — T. Shepstone, Pieter-
maritzburg.

A VISIT TO A HIVE FACTORY AND
APIARY.

A traveller going northward from King's
Cross by the G.N.R., and gazing through the
carriage window on his right, if he faces the
engine, may, soon after passing Hatfield Station,
have noticed a somewhat novel scene in front
and below him as he passes over the viaduct on
the south side of Welwyn Station.

It will no doubt puzzle the uninitiated to make

June 22, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

245

out what is meant by the continuous rows of
little white structures — not unlike dog-kennels
— arranged in formal fashion on the ground at
the foot of the elevated railway embankment
along which the train is speeding. Should the
said traveller be a bee-man, we will warrant his
rising in his seat at the unexpected sight, and
remembering it again whenever he goes that
way, for it is not often given to him to gaze on
a hundred or more beehives at one time.

The place referred to is none other than the
new beehive factory and apiary recently built

alights. This land was therefore purchased,
and on it stands the establishment it is our
present purpose to briefly describe. In doing
so, we shall be materially assisted by the sketch
below, which fairly represents the place and its
surroundings.

As will be seen, the hives in the main portion
of the apiary are arranged in horse-shoe fashion
in rear of the comfortable dwelling-house occu-
pied by the proprietor, and immediately in front
of the windows, inside of which are ranged the
carpenters' benches in the main building or work-

and laid out by Mr. T. B. Blow, who is well
known to readers of this Journal as a manu-
facturer of bee-appliances. Mr. Blow has been
established in the village of Welwyn for over a
dozen years, and finding the distance (about
one and a half miles) from the station a con-
siderable disadvantage in conducting his busi-
ness, he determined to make a move nearer to
the " rails " whenever a favourable chance oc-
curred. After waiting some time an opportu-
nity offered for acquiring a piece of land, some
three or four acres in extent, and admirably
.adapted for the purpose, besides being situated
so close to the station that a special siding has
been made available for loading and unloading
goods right in at the door of Mr. Blow's
premises. In the same way visitors seem to be
taken by train running directly to his very
door, for, as on the occasion of our visit, Mr.
Blow can leave his premises as the train stops
and be almost in time to shake hands as one

shop. It is intended eventually to keep about
200 stocks of bees, and at the time of our visit
over 100 hives were already in position, while
the ground was being rapidly prepared for ac-
commodating the full number. The apiary will,
however, not have either the crowded or mono-
tonous appearance presented in the sketch, seeing
that plenty of room is allowed between each
hive, while the intervening spaces are filled up
with fruit-trees. Roomy walks separating each,
row of hives also permit of comfort in passing
about and and among them.

The lower ground in front of the dwelling-
house is not quite prepared for the hives inten-
ded to occupy it, but work is being pushed
forward with all speed, and some hundreds of
fruit-trees have been planted, among which the
hives shown wrill eventually stand.

We must congratulate Mr. Blow on the com-
pletion of the general scheme followed in laying
out so large a piece of ground. He has, we

246

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

TJune 22, 189&-

believe, been very largely his own surveyor,
architect, and landscape gardener, and the result
reflects much credit on his capacity in each
department.

The building seen behind the rows of hives is,
of course, the factory or workshop, a solidly
built wooden erection with a corrugated iron
roof. The portion contiguous to the railway
embankment — where also stands the engine
house — is three stories high, and is devo-
ted to a special department of the business to be
referred to later on ; the other part consisting of
only two floors, comprises the machine shop,
carpenters' shop, and the office, on the ground
floor ; and the extensive stock-room or ware-
house, which takes up the whole of the floor
above. Then there is the store-yard for timber
and heavy stock, situate on the further side of
the factory nearest the station, but not shown
in the sketch ; the station itself being just seen
at the right-hand top corner of the cut.

By this arrangement timber-laden trucks on
the " siding " discharge their loads from the em-
bankment above, down a stage or " shoot," either
directly into the works or into the store-yard, as
may be required, thus saving an immense amount
of "handling" and consequent expense. To
complete the " outside " description, it must be
added that the row of buildings on the right of
workshops are very superior five-roomed brick
cottages, erected by Mr. Blow for the use of a
portion of his workpeople.

(To be cnntimted.)

dUrrespoti&nuf

•«• 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 toell as the
page on which it appears.

BEES AND TOADS.

[1467.] There is a pond where my bees go
for water, and I lately noticed a toad pass over
to where the bees were drinking on the side of
pond. The toad's action was very much like
that of a cat after a mouse. When it got
within about six inches of a bee, it stopped
and watched very intently, but did not attempt
to catch it until the bee just took wing. Then
the most interesting and, to me, puzzling part
began. The toad did not jump after the bee,
but simply reached out its neck, and putting out
its long tongue with lightning rapidity, the bee
seemed to be drawn into its mouth in an instant.
Now, what was the power that drew the bee to
the toad as a magnet ? I was so interested that
I watched him catch six bees, then exclaimed,
" Enough, you brute ! " Then, feeling interested,
as the boy with the watch, I wanted to " see its
inside ; " so after dispatching I opened it, and
found eleven bees and an insect which we call
the " lady cow " about here, the insect that lives on
the green fly, all apparently just swallowed ; so,
however much I may respect toads in the

garden — and I think there is no doubt but they
eat a lot of insects — I shall not tolerate them
near the bees' watering-places.

Last week, when lifting some coverings from,
a bell-glass on top of skeps, I caught a very
large moth, which a friend tells me was the
Death's Head Moth. I fancy I have heard
something about this moth visiting beehives.
Do they eat bees ? — J. Mabtin, Bristol.

[The Death's Head Moth consumes the honey
in hives, but does not " eat bees." — Eds.]

NIGHTINGALES AND BEES.

[1468.] I should like to call the attention of
bee-keepers to the fact that I have been very
much annoyed by a nightingale (a cock bird)>
catching my bees for food. He would drop
upon the alighting-board, and quickly snapping
up a bee fly off with it in an instant. He wa&
observed to catch fourteen bees in about half an
hour. I have seen this same bird about the
hives ever since April, but did not think his
object was to feed on my bees. However, he
made his last trip on Wednesday last, for I
caught him in a trap when paying his usual
visit. I am afraid we shall not get a very big
honey harvest here this season, as our harvest
comes from the white clover and now the
fields of this are drying up for the want of rain.
— Jrsse Page, Sussev, June 12th.

[We certainly never counted the nightingale
— " Sweet Philomel " of Shakespeare — among
the enemies of bees. Perhaps other readers
may have had similar experience to our corre-
spondent, but it is quite new to us. — Eds.]

AN APPEAL.

[1469.] Will you permit me through the
Journal and Record to appeal to my brother
bee-keepers on behalf of the widow of H. King-
rose, late of Boughton, Northampton ? I do not
ask more than that they should send a section
of honey to compete at the forthcoming Show
at Northampton on August 7th. The object is
a worthy one ; no entrance fee is charged. Th&
prizes offered are liberal, and many may not
mind so much the honour of winning as of
assisting in a kindly act of well-doing in a
thoroughly deserving- cause.

Harry Ringrose died November 4th, 1892,,
aged 32, leaving a widow, not quite destitute,
but sadly over-burdened with five little children,,
one in arms. In 1879 he entered the service of
the Bev. J. B. Wickes, of Boughton Rectory,
Northampton. Miss Wickes was an ardent
bee-keeper and subscriber to the Journal from
its first number, but, to the regret of all, this
good lady soon afterwards died, and, in conse-
quence, the management of the bees fell on
Ringrose. He began to take an interest in bees,,
purchased a swarm and stock, and was one of
the first twelve who joined the Northants B.K.A.
He was an exhibitor at the first show, and took

June 22, 189*."

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

24l

several prizes then and since. Mr. H« fiord,
the Secretary of the Nortbants B.K.A.. will
gladly supply all particulars if written to. — J.
H. Truss, Ufford Heath, Stamford.

SOUTH DERBYSHIRE.

[1470.] The honey-flow has this week com-
menced with us, and on the 14th inst. increased
activity at the entrance, and overcrowding of
the supers, plainly indicated that, from some
abundant source, honey was heing carried in.
That this source is white clover a ramhle
through the fields makes evident, but for want
of rain, the clover heads are very small and
soon wither.

The mowing of " seeds " and of clover has
begun, and in another fortnight the rattle of the
mowing machine will he general. Swarms are
not abundant as yet, although at an apiary nine
miles off, five out of fourteen stocks had
swarmed a fortnight ago. The honey already
harvested is of a good consistency, very dark,
and of a pungent aromatic flavour, most agree-
able to some palates. The chief sources have
been fruit-blossoms and the hawthorn. Lime-
trees, of which we have abundance, come into
flower after the main crop of white clover. I
do not find that my bees work on the limes
vigorously every year, although the wild bees
invariablj- do so, and an examination of the
ground under the trees when they are in bloom,
will reveal a great number of wild bees in a
stupefied condition. The single dahlia, and
sunflower, and no doubt other flowers, have the
same soporific effects on the wild bee. Perhaps
bee-keepers will observe the lime-trees this year,
and report as to whether the hive bees work on
them vigorously — and also notice at what period
of the day they are most busy thereon. About
here, we find that the lime gives us a greenish
honey and also a greenish wax. My bees revel
on Nepeta Mussini, whilst a few bushes of hore-
hound, now in bloom, are all daylong alive with
bees. What a pity that I have not a few acres
covered with the plant in bloom, so as to be
supplied with genuine " Horehound honey," and
not the sham article which the B. B. J. exposed
a few years ago. — Gwenyn.

ms foam

libts.

Bedminster, Bristol, June loth. — The season
about here opened very early, and bees took to
supers quickly. Swarms were general about
the last week in April (one of the earliest I ever
knew came off on the 18th), but since the fruit-
bloom ended we have had scarcely any rain, and
the pastures are dried up, and, except where
sainfoin was, the bees have done almost nothing
for the past month. During the last week,
however, the white clover is coming out, and
bees have been gathering from this ; but it can-
not last long if we do not get rain, as the blooms
are very small. Swarming seems to be at an

end now, as I have not heard of any since
June came in, and see no signs of swarms in my
apiaries. If you think it would be interesting to
the readers of Bee Journal, I will give my ex-
perience of foul brood. — J . M., Expert.

[We are always glad to have bee-keepers
give their experience of foul brood for publica-
tion in our pages when anything useful to
readers is to be gained thereby. — Eds.]

Northampton, June 18£A. — The second spell
of drought still holds sway, only one slight
shower, -01 in., having fallen since 29th ult.,
and only -04 in. since the 20th ; nevertheless,
bees have been doing very well. White clover
has bloomed more profusely than anticipated
in both meadows and pastures, and the limes on
which the bees are now working are laden with
bloom. The most striking features of the situa-
tion at the present moment are as follows : —
The stationary condition of stocks as regards
strength (they are no stronger than they were
early in May, and few are up to full strength);
persistence in putting surplus in brood nest, and
reluctance to enter supers ; almost continuous
ejectment of young and immature drones ; total
cessation of swarming since the last week in
April ; total disappearance of wasps and humble-
bees, while Andrenidce are unusually numerous ;
universal prevalence of "honey-dew," trees of
all sorts and sizes dripping with it, fortunatelv
unnoticed by the bees; an unusual number of"
grey bees in flight. It is difficult to forecast the
final results of so peculiar a season as the
present. One thing is, however, certain — failure
is out of the question. — E. B.

[80o.] Extracting from Brood Chambers. —
As I live in a district which is" not a very good
one for honey, I have been thinking of extract-
ing the whole of the honey out of the three
hives I have in September, and then rapidly
feeding up with syrup. If I were to do this
would any injury be likely to affect the bees,
and would it in any way interfere with their
wintering safely ?— T., Manchester, June 15th.

Reply. — As a general rule we strongly de-
precate stripping brood chambers of their
honey. It not seldom causes much upset, and
turns out unsatisfactorily if feeding up is not
well managed. We should in preference re-
commend the removal of, say, two — or at most,
three — of the outer combs on each side, leaving
about five or six combs in centre of brood nest
untouched.

[806.] A Lady Bee-keeper's Queries. — 1»
Must all entrances be on a level with floor-board
or would it be injurious to ventilation to have
an entrance at back of hive, two inches higher
than floor-board ? Front entrance is level. This
for a " Wells " hive. 2. Would a dead rat, .
found under the hive, be the cause of many
bees dying in winter? The stock is now very

248

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL

[June 22, 1893.

strong'. 3. Is brood foundation at 3d. a sheet
too cheap ? I have found tin cans very handy
feeders. I make two or three tiny holes with
the point of a darning needle in the bottom of
can, place ahove hole in quilt, lift off the lid of
can and fill as often as wanted. 4. Is there any
objection to tin ? — JB., Renfreioshire.

Reply. — 1. Yes ; entrances should he level
with hive floors. We don't see how an entrance
could well be provided as proposed, but it would
do no harm in hot weather if practicable. 2.
Any foul decaying matter is of course unwhole-
some, but the death of the bees cannot be safely
attributed to the rat. 3. Cheap it certainly is ;
but we should not like to say too cheap. 4. No.

[807.] Bee-houses. — I intend to erect against
a high wall a plain wooden bee-house for four
frame hives and four straw hives, and will be
obliged by your recommending a plan or book
for my guidance in making the house. — H. M.,
Ross-shire.

Reply. — Refer to B.J. for March 19th and
Api-il 9, 1891, for short articles on bee-houses,
or we will send both numbers for three stamps.

[808.] Bee Paralysis. — The bees in one of
my best stocks seem very bad with paralysis ;
every morning a large number of bees are
running about on the ground ; they seem unable
to rise and so die. I have given them salt and
water to drink, but they seem to get no better.
None, however, come out of the hive affected in
this way after ten o'clock a.m. Please let me
know the best I can do with them ; they are a
very strong lot and working in the supers well.
— Aspatbia, June 12th.

Reply. — We do not think the bees are
affected with what is known as " bee-paralysis."
The trouble complained of is one that not
seldom occurs in early summer in some hives.
Watch the stock for a few days longer and if it
does not get all right report to us again, but we
think you will not have occasion to do so.

[809.] Preserving Fruit in Honey. — 1. In the
B. B. J. of May 4th, page 179, there is a recipe
far preserving fruit with honey, which I care-
fully followed on Tuesday, using the " Climax "
bottles, with air-tight glass tops, and fresh-
picked strawberries ; but fermentation set in,
and yesterday (Thursday) the bottle burst. I
managed to save the fruit, but lost all the
honey. Can you tell me the cause of it fer-
menting ? I bottled some last July in syrup,
and they are as good to-day as when put in. I
would rather have the honey if it would keep.
Will you kindly let me know, through your
Journal, what I ought to do ? 2. I would like
to know, if a communication were made through
the perforated dummy of a Wells hive to the
other side (which passage could be stopped at
will), and opened when the bees are in a hiving
mood, would it answer for the queen in all con-
ditions ? — M. Q. S., Saintfield, June Ihth.

Reply. — 1. We think there must have been
some tendency to fermentation in the honey

used, or the fruit may not have been in good
condition. 2. We do not quite follow your
meaning in this query, or what the idea is
of having a " communication " through the
perforated dummy.

[810.] Moving Bees. — I am trying for a'
house about 300 yards from where I am now
living. If I took my bees, say, one or two miles
away for a week or two, then brought them
back to fresh house, do you think they would
return to the garden where I am livingno w ? — T.B.

Reply. — No. If the bees are moved as
proposed tivo miles away for a fortnight, none
will be lost when brought back to their new
location.

[811.] Wasps' Nests built on edge of Combs. —
I have enclosed to you some curious kind of
formation built on pieces of worker comb. They
were handed to me by a friend after being taken
from a straw hive very recently. Will you
kindly inform me, through your valued Journal,
the meaning of the same ? I may say, when
the hive was examined it was partly filled with
comb, but no bees. Trusting you will not think
it too much trouble, as it is my first query,
though a constant reader — William Kendall,
Cornioall, June 13th.

Reply. — The " curious formation " is in each
case nothing more than a wasp's nest in
course of formation. A queen-wasp has evi-
dently taken possession of the skep, and after
starting to build her nest on the edge of the
comb in skep, has been disturbed, or perhaps
killed ; anyway, the nest has been deserted and
left as found. It is not at all uncommon to find
wasps' nests in and about empty hives.

[812.] Admitting Queens to Supers in1' Wells"
Hives. — If a separate super is put on a " Wells "
hive (one compartment) because the bees in the
other compartment are not ready for a super,
and the queen lays in the super, is it right when
the other compartment is ready for a super to
put on the queen-excluder, and over it the super
common to both compartments, inserting the
brood and unfilled sections already put by the
first lot of bees in the separate single super ? —
A. T. F., Leeds.

Reply. — The super should be placed above
both compartments, with a queen-excluder be-
tween it and the brood chambers below. You
upset the system altogether by allowing the
queens to enter supers.

[813.] Raising Queens for Re-queening. —
1. Can you tell me of a simple way of raising
young queens to re-queen my bar-frame hives,
and when to give them ? I have read one
or two articles on the subject, but they seem
rather complicated for a person who has never
even seen a nucleus hive. You have already
kindly given me advice on several points,
which I have found very useful. 2. Should my
skeps throw out any second or third swarms,
could I keep them in skeps till the autumn, and
then unite to the bar-frames, and get some
young queens in that way ? I read the article

June 22, 1898.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

249

in B.B.J., page 218, " After-Swarms— "When
to Cut Out Queen-cells," and tried to follow it
with a swarm I had come out on June 2nd.
midday on Saturday, 10th, at seven o'clock
. in the morning, I opened the old hive to cut
out queen-cells, and found eight or ten already
opened (the}' were all sealed up on 2nd), but
could not find one queen. I could find no trace
of the others, although the ground is clear in
front of hive, and has a sloping flight-board.
How was it the young queen was hatched so
soon? — F. H., Poole, Dorset, June 12th.

Reply. — 1. In such delicate operations as
" timing " the hatching out of young queens,
the greatest nicety is required, and any error in
hours — not to say days — is fatal. The article
you refer to was written by one of the ablest
and best-known American queen -raisers, and
Mr. Doolittle very clearly states, on page 218,
" after the cell is sealed, the insect remains in
the crysalis form seven days," so that the queens
from cells you saw " all sealed up on the 2nd "
were sure to be hatched out eight days later.
In failing to save the young queens, the blame
was yours, not Mr. Doolittle's. We think you
might, with advantage, peruse Mr. Simmins'
pamphlet, Queen-rearing for Amateurs, as ad-
vertised in our pages, as it would take up too
much space in our reply column to give full
details required. 2. Yes; you might secure
nine lots of driven bees and young queen in the
way you propose for uniting to your other bees
in autumn after removing the old queens.

ifytrfos to €nwLL

July 19th to 21st. — Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Stamford. Bees, honey,
hives and appliances. Liberal prizes. Entries
close July 7th. S. Upton, Secretary, St. Bene-
dict's Square, Lincoln.

July 21st and 22nd. — Bristol and District
B.K.A, at Knowle. Entries close July 14th.
Over 61. cash in prizes. Special facilities offered
to distant exhibitors. Schedules from James
Brown, Hon. Secretary, 42 Baldwin Street,
Bristol.

July 25th to 28th. — Summer Show of the
Scottish B.K.A. (under the auspices of the High-
land and Agricultural Society (in the DeanPark,
Edinburgh. Prize lists in due course from
John Wiskart, Assistant Secretary, Market
Place, Melrose.

July (date not yet fixed). — Berks B.K.A.
(Windsor District), in connexion with Prince
Consort's Association, in the Home Park,
Windsor. For schedules apply to the Hon.
Secretary, W. J. Darby, Consort Villas, Clower.

July 26 th, 27th, 28th. — Lancashire and
Cheshire B.K.A., in connexion with the R.M.L.
and N.L. Agricultural Society's show at Black-
pool. Entries close July 1st. James Birch,
Secretary, 3 Brunswick Street, Liverpool.

August 1st and 2nd. — Staffordshire B.K.A.
at Lichfield, in connexion with the Stafford-
! shire Agricultural Society.

August 2nd to 4th. — Yorkshire Agricultural

Society at Dewsbury. Prizes for honey and

bee appliances. Entries close June 24th. For

j lists apply* Marshall Stephenson, Secretary,

! York.

August 7th and 8th. — Northants B. K. A.
Annual Show at Delapre Park, Northampton.

August 7th and 8th.— Notts B. K. A. Annual

County Show at Mapperley, Notts, in eon-

nexion with the Porchester Horticultural Society.

Entries close J uly 31st. A. G. Pugh, Secretary,

i Mona Street, Beeston, Notts.

August 29th and 30th.— South of Scotland
B.K.A. at Dumfries. Entries close August
25th. Wm. Wilson, Secretary, Acrehead House.
Dumfries.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

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

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers 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 com-
munication.

John Tod. — Foul brood is a germ disease very
destructive to bee-life, and, moreover, most
infectious in character.

L. W. W. (Newry). — Destroying Wasps' Nests*
— Pour a pint of paraffin in at the entrance,
and stop the latter with a rag steeped in the
liquid.

H. C. J. (Burton-on-Trent). — Honey sent has a
strong flavour and aroma of hawthorn, but it
is not a good sample for table use. There is
an admixture of honey-dew in it along with
some from fruit-trees (plum, &c).

G. Hulbert. — Comb is badly affected with foul
brood, and unless the stock is fairly strong
the " best thing " will be to destroy it by
burning the bees and combs, and disinfecting
hive before using again. If the bees are
worth saving at all they should be reduced to
the condition of a swarm, and fed with medi-
cated syrup while they are comb-building.

" Mac-Nale " (Glam.).— Chilled Brood.— The
piece of comb sent contains " chilled " (not
foul) brood.

M. P. (Larkhill, N. B.). — Drone Brood in
Worker Cells. — The stock evidently has an
unfertilised queen which will never produce
any but drones. It will never do any good so
long as she is at the head of it.

H. K. — Houey sent cannot be called a good
sample for table use. There is more honey-
dew in it than is desirable. We think it
would sell better after granulation.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

fJune 22. 1833

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

1 m i

Situation*, Publications, Bee Plants, die. — Up to
Tvoelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny. r

FOR SALW.— Superior Queens, Stock", and Swarms,
English and Carniolan. Address Rev. C. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex. f. n.

WANTED.— Good 1 lb. Sections of "S3 JToney, for Cash,
in Glazed Boxes— either Tin or Cardboard. Address
N., Bee Journal Office, 17 King: William Street, W.C. a 63

HONEYCOMB in Sections "Wanted.— Best quality and
pale colour. Address T. Smith <fc Co., Cambridge
Street. Hyde Park. a 81

WANTED. — New Sections Honeycomb, first quality :
also Extracted in bulk. Packages -sent. Prompt
Cash settlement. Mr. Hurst, Bexbill, Sussex. 118

EXPERT desires Engagement for August. Pull par-
ticulars to H. E. Atlee, Bisham School, Grrat
Marlow. a 83

T710R S4.LE.— Several gross 3/8 W. B. 0. Ends, 3/3 gross.
Jj 2000 4i X 2 Sections, new, 18/6 per 1000. Several hun-
dred Wood Dividers, 9d. 100. 4 dozen Zinc Guiders for
Section Cases, Is. per dozen. Address H. J. Wisbey.
Ickleton, Great Chesterford, Essex. a 86

FOR SALE.— Eight Strong, Healthy Stocks of Bees in
Frame Hives, all having Crates of Sections on. Ad-
dress W. Norfolk, Woodbam Ferris, Chelmsford. a 87

I HAVE 4 Observatory Hives in good condition, will
Exchange them for New Honey of good colour, Sec-
tions or Bottles. Address Mr. Daniel, Croft Mill, Chorley,
Lancashire. a 88

FOR SALE .— Strong locked Honey Car.s ; 2-lh. Tie-
over Bottles Ca-"h offers ? Address W. Griffin,
251 Oxford Road, Reading. a 89

RUN HONEY, Cans, White Clover, splendid quality,
7d. Also Sections, prime quality. Address Downer,
Runcton, Chichester. a 90

OR SALE. — Strong First Swarms of Bees, very cheap.
Address M. Bowe, High Nest, Keswick. a 92

P

FOR SALE. — Bee Hive, Bar-frame, new, on Legs, with
Double Walls, Movable Floor-boards, Span Roof,
Porch, and Entrance Slides. Fitted with 10 Standard
Frames and Dummy. 14s. ; worth double. Address Webb,
7 Beulah Place, Wood Green, N. a 93

FOR SALE.— 150 lbs. Extracted White Clover Honey.
What offers ? Address H. Collier, Nayland, Col-
chester, a 94

B

EE TENT on Hire. For terms apply to G. Gdnston,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge. 135

CARBOLINE POMADE.— Kills Bee.stings like Magic.
Prevents getting Stung, Robbing, and Bees entering
Cones, &c. Price Is. per bottle, in handsome, coloured
Postal Boxes. Samples of Bee-Smoke Cartridges, 3d.
Address T. Hollidat, Astbury, Congleton. 131

"YE OLDE ENGLISHE BEE."

PURE, Prime Swarms of my Selected Strain of English
Bees, all 1892 Queens, Packing-box, and put on Rail
free, price 15s. Address W. Woodlet, World's End,
Newbury. 104

^Telegrams— " Ilsley, or Hampstead Norris." Porterage 1/6.

SIMMINS' MODERN BEE FARM. Beantifully printed
on Toned Paper. Profusely Hlust rated. 270 large
-Svo. pages. Giving great satisfaction. Only 2/9 Post free.
Address S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex.

100 lbs. HEATHER HONEY,
IN SECTIONS,

From each Colony, is what you may expect by using our
special "Crown Heather" Queens, bred from a mother
whose stock stored nearly 100 lbs. this Spring by the
middle of May. These are reared expressly for our great
Northern demand. Money returned in full if not approved.
Particulars of S. SIMMINS, Seaford, Sussex. 132

Scottish Bee-keepers' Association,

EDINBURGH SUMMER SHOW.

THE THIRD SUMMER EXHIBITION will be held
in connexion with the Great Show of the HIGHLAND
and AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, in the Dean Park,
Edinburgh, from Tuesday, the 25th, to Friday, the
28th of July— the Show of the Season. Prizes over
£50. Nine Classes for Appliances; ample Classification
for Honey in Supers and Sections; also for Extracted and
Granulated Honey ; Classes for Beeswax and Confec-
tionery containing Honey. The best Judgos available will
award the Prizes. Schedules are now ready, and all Bee-
keepers and Appliance Makers should write for one.
Entries close on July 19th. Advertisements wanted for
Show Catalogue, 1000 of which will be presented gratis to
Visitors. Apply for full information to John Wishart,
Assistant Secretary, Market Place, Melrose.

Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

Patron: H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, K.G.
President : The Rt. Hon. Lord Savile.

THE FIFTY-SIXTH GREAT ANNUAL SHOW

Will be held at DEWSBURY,

On the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of AUGUST, 1893,

When PRIZES amounting: to £2610

WILL BE OFFERED FOR

CATTLE, SHEEP, PIGS, HORSES, SHOEING, BUTTER,

CHEESE, DAIRYING, & BEE APPLIANCES.
The ENTRY CLOSES on Saturday, June 24th.

Prize Lists and Forms of Entry for Stock and Implements
will be forwarded on application to

Marshall Stephenson,
York, June 1st, 1893. Secretary.

Telegraphic Address : " YAS, YORK." 137

B

DRTT. GLOUCESTE

J
ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE

POST FREE.

EE-HIYE MANUFACTURE

R

108

FOUL BROOD REMEDIES.

NAPHTHALINE
NAPHTHOL BETA.

NAPHTHALINE, for using in hives as a pre-
ventive of infection, in boxes, Is. post free.

NAPHTHOL BETA, for use in medicating bee-
food, Is. a packet, post free.

Both the above may now be had at the Office of

"THE BBITISH BEE JOUBNAL" and "BEE-

KEEPEES' BECOBD,"
17 King William Street, Stband, London, W.O.

Instructions for use sent with each packet.
cash with order.

THE

%n Sural

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

"So. 575. Vol. XXI. N.S. 183.]

JUNE 29, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

(Bbxtatml, Eaticxs, tJ^r*

THE "ROYAL" SHOW AT CHESTER.

Amid the most favourable surroundings, the
fifty-third annual exhibition of the Royal Agri-
cultural Society of England took place at the
ancient city of Chester. The show opened on
Saturday, the 17th inst., closing on the follow-
ing Friday, and it is a satisfactory task to
record a complete success. Up to the afternoon
of the 24th, the first of the two popular or
" shilling " days, the weather was magnificent —
a fact which told greatly to the advantage of
the Society at the turnstiles. Had the con-
cluding day of the show not been spoiled by a
complete change of weather, which sadly
diminished the number of visitors, the aggregate
attendance for the week would have bid fair to
rank among the very highest on record. As it
was, and notwithstanding the wretchedly cold
and wet final day of the show, the financial
results will compare favourably with the best.

We have always considered it a most fortu-
nate thing for the Society that the Prince of
Wales takes so great an interest in its annual
show. The presence of Royalty enlivens the
interest of the people in it, and when the Duke
of Westminster, as President for the year, had
the opportunity of showing what the old city —
•' the Duke's town," as we have heard it called —
could do to make the visit of the Prince and
the other guests an enjoyable one, it was safe to
assume that nothing that wealth or forethought
could do to make the occasion memorable in the
annals of the Society and of the city itself
would be left undone.

Those who enjoyed the magnificent sight of
the river fete on the night of the 20th will not
soon forget it, and when the Prince of Wales
declared that he had not seen anything finer in
its way in any part of Europe, it will be
taken for granted that Chester's display was
worth seeing.

The Exhibits.

The appliance classes were by far the most
interesting, both in number and variety of the
two departments dividing the show ; indeed, it
was quite a disappointment to note that the
early and promising beginning made in honey-
gathering among Cheshire bee-keepers had pro-
duced so few exhibits from local men. No
doubt the early date for closing entries (May 1st)

kept many from enterim/ ; anyway we may be
quite sure that a very different display would
have been made could they have foretold that
honey would be so plentiful in the immediate
vicinity that the bees in of one of the obser-
vatory hives staged were rapidly filling and
sealing their combs while the show was in pro-
gress.

Appliances.

Class 328. Collections of Hives and Appliances.
— The four exhibits staged in this important
class made up a display extending the whole
length of the shedding in which the bee-depart-
ment was housed, and included samples of well-
made goods in general use, as well as of most of
the novelties recently brought forward. Mr.
W. P. Meadows well deserved first place, his
exhibit comprising a large collection of goods in
the " extras " allowed beyond the particular
articles specified in the schedule. Among the
novelties we noticed was a capital swarm-box —
one of the best things of its kind we have yet
seen. In it ventilation is secured by a number
of very narrow slits or " cuts " in the wood,
extending over almost the whole surface of the
box. The floor is also capitally arranged for
gathering in the flying bees of the swarm, and
the box can be held below the bees when shaking
them in as readily as a skep. Mr. Meadows has
also an arrangement for the self- hiving of
swarms on the lateral plan, of which we shall
hope to have some reports when it has been
subject to practical trial. Mr. Dixon's second-
prize collection was also a good one, smaller
than the first, but an interesting exhibit. Here,
also, among some good hives, was included a
self-hiving arrangement, of which we shall have
occasion to say something later. By some over-
sight on Mr. Overton's part, his collection of
goods was rendered ineligible for the competition,
owing to non-compliance with the regulations
of the schedule. Mr. Rose, of Liverpool, sent a
representative collection of useful things, but
the hives were, as a rule, too heavily built.

Claw 329. Best Observatory Hive stocked
with Bees and Queen. — Only two exhibits, fr'th
nicely stocked, were staged in this class, Mr. W.
Dixon taking first with a three-frame hive of
native bees. Mr. Overton, who was placed
second, owed his position to some haste or ch re-
lessness in hanging the combs in the hive. His
bees and their queen were certainly finer than
the first-prize lot, and should have been placed
before the others but for the fault we have re-
ferred to.

252

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 29, 1898.

Class 330. Best and most complete Hive for
General Use. — Nine exhibits were staged in this
class, including three " Wells " hives, the manu-
facturers of which surely overlooked the fact
that hives of this class were clearly ineligible
for the competition. However good the " Wells "
hive may be for a particular system, it is
obviously not one for " general use," and so we
suppose the judges had no option but passing
them over. The proper place for these hives
was clearly Class 345. Of the other exhibits
it may be said that the first and second prizes,
taken respectively by Mr. C. Redshaw and
Messrs. George Neighbour & Sons, in the order
named, were, so far as we could remember, exact
counterparts of the hives shown by the same
exhibitors at Warwick last year. Both had
outer cases, and for completeness of arrange-
ments for supering, good material, and work-
manship, would be difficult to excel. Mr.
Meadows took third for a good hive, also
having an outer case and good supering facili-
ties. This hive was also adapted for the self-
hiving arrangement already referred to as having
yet to be tested.

It seems to be now a generally recognised fact
that heavy, cumbersome hives — hardly portable
even when empty — are things of the past, and
that everything movable about hives should be
as light as possible, consistent with strength and
protection to the bees.

Glass 331. Most Complete inexpensive Hive
for Cottagers' Use. — In this class Mr. Redshaw
secured both first and second prizes ; first, for
his cottagers' hive adapted for taking to the
moors, for which, if we remember rightly, he
was awarded third prize at Warwick last year,
when it was priced 14s. Now, however, it is
reduced to 10s. 6d., without seriously impairing
its efficiency, and this makes it, to our mind, a
model cottagers' hive. We think that price
should be a most important item for manufac-
turers to consider when framing a hive for this
class, 15s. being, in our opinion, too high a sum
for what should be primarily a cottager's hive.
Mr. Redshaw's second-prize hive was also a
good one at the figure (12s. Qd.). Messrs. Neigh-
bours' otherwise excellent hive was severely
handicapped by its price (15s.), and only got
third prize. The high commend given to Mr.
Meadows' hive at 12s. 6d. was well merited.

Class 332. Best Honey Extractor. — Never
content while improvement is possible, Mr.
Meadows has again made an advance in the
make of his machines for honey-extracting.
His latest feature in the " Raynor " consists of
a much better cage than he has hitherto turned
out. The frame is of light steel, and so formed
as to do away with the tin backing formerly
used, while avoiding all risks of the " rests " on
which the frames lie breaking away. Instead
of using solder and tin in parts, the frame is
bolted together, and consequently very durable.
A non-splashing arrangement, consisting of
semi-circular tin covers, secured to the top of
cage, and which revolve along with it, together
with chain-gearing and several other improve-

ments, complete an excellent machine, which
easily took first prize, the second being awarded
to the same maker for a new " Guinea Extractor"
with open steel cage.

Class 333. Best pair of Section Backs. — Six
exhibits were staged, Messrs. George Neighbour
& Sons and Mr. Redshaw receiving equal firsts
for excellent pairs of racks as nearly alike as-
they well could be, and Mr. Meadows third. A-
high commend was also given to a pair of good-
racks staged by Mr. J. Trebble.

Class 334. Best Rapid Feeder. — Nothing new
was staged in this style of feeders, the makers
apparently considering that their exhibits of
last year could not be improved on.

Class 335. Best and most perfect Bingham
Smoker of British manufacture (special prize
offered by Mr. T. W. Cowan). — Six smokers
were sent for competition in this class, but two
failed in not conforming to the conditions laid
down ; in fact, they were not " Binghams " at
all, but smokers of the ordinary type made in
this country. But before the intentions of the
donor in offering this special prize can be fully
carried out, we think a little more definition in
the wording of the schedule will be necessary.
As it was, the judges were not quite unanimous
in the awards made, and we trust to see the
same class in the schedule of next year's-
" Royal," when no doubt the views of the donor
of the prizes will be made clear.

Our report of the remaining classes, 336 to
345, will appear in our next. In the meantime
we append the list of awards in the first eight
classes.

Pbize List.
Hives and Appliances.

Class 328. — For the best collection of hives-
and appliances. First, W. P. Meadows, Syston,.
Leicester; second, W. Dixon, Beckett Street,
Leeds ; highly commended, G. Rose, Great
Charlotte Street, Liverpool, and C. T. Overton,.
Crawley, Sussex.

Class 329. — For the best observatory hive
stocked with bees and queen. First, W. Dixon ;
second, C. T. Overton.

Class 330. — For the best and most complete-
frame hive for general use. — First, C. Redshaw,.
South Wigston, Leicester; second, G. Neigh-
bour & Sons, High Holborn, London ; third, W.
P. Meadows.

Class 331. — Most complete and inexpensive-
frame hive for cottager's use. First and second,.
C. Redshaw; third, G. Neighbour & Sons;,
highly commended, W. P. Meadows.

Class 332.— Best honey extractor. First and.
second, W. P. Meadows.

Class 333. — Best pair of section racks. Equal
first, C. Redshaw and G. Neighbour & Sons ;
third, W. P. Meadows; highly commended, J.
Trebble, Romansleigh, South Molton.

Class 334. — Best rapid feeder. First, W. P.
Meadows ; second, G. Neighbour & Sons ; highly
commended, C. Redshaw and W. P. Meadows.

Class 335. — Best Bingham smoker of British.

June 29, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

253

manufacture. First, C. T. Overton; second,
W. P. Meadows ; highly commended, G. Neigh-
bour & Sons.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.
The following additional sums have been

received or promised : —

Amount already ac- £ s. d.
knowledged ... 14 11 0

Walter Martin 1 1 0

T. B. Blow 110

W. P. Meadows 0 15 0

C. N. Abbott 0 10 6

Abbott Bros 0 10 6

C. T.Overton 0 10 0

W. Dixon 0 10 0

Geo. Rose ... 0 10 0

O. Redshaw 0 5 0

T. D. Schofield 0 5 0

W. J. Anstey 0 2 0

T. & W.Moore 0 10

A. Stringer and J.

Wrench 0 10

DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The Derbyshire County Council, having set
apart a sum of money for the promotion of
technical instruction in bee-keeping, arrange-
ments have been made with the Derbyshire
Bee-keepers' Association for a course of lectures
on the subject in different parts of the county.
One of the series was delivered on the 20th inst.
at the Boys' Schoolroom, Winshill, by Mr. T.W.
Jones, who recently gained a first-class certificate
of the B B.K.A. Mr. E. D. Salt, of Newton
Solnev, presided in the unavoidable absence of
Mr. Daniel, and there was a numerous attend-
ance. The Chairman, in opening the proceedings,
referred to the great assistance Mr. Daniel had
rendered to the bee-keepers in that neighbour-
hood, and the willingness with which he im-
parted instruction. Mr. Salt then went on to
observe that the bee set us a wonderful lesson
of industry, and its cultivation was a most in-
teresting occupation to engage in, as well as a
source of profit. From his own experience he
believed it was profitable, and if they only laid
out a little money on necessary appliances at the
beginning, the bees would soon cover the outlay.

The lecturer, after explaining the object the
D.B.K.A. had in sending him to lecture at
Winshill, said they would find that bee-keeping
could be made a profitable hobby — for it was a
hobby. In olden times, and even now in many
villages, the old-fashioned straw skep was still
in use, but the great fault of this system was
that as soon as the honey harvest commenced
the bees swarmed for want of room. The bar-
framed hive, and the advantages gained by its

use in conjunction with the modern system of
bee-keeping, were then explained in copious
detail, and in concluding this part of the lecture
Mr. Jones said that to his own knowledge, not
far from that neighbourhood, in a good season
like the present one, as many as a hundred
sections had been filled by one hive. The
lecturer then explained, in a most lucid and in-
structive manner, the well-known series of
lantern slides prepared under the auspices of the
B.B.K.A.

On the motion of the Chairman, the lecturer
was heartily thanked, and the proceedings
terminated in the usual way.

SOUTH OF SCOTLAND B.K.A.

Meeting at Stewart Hall, Dumfries.

By invitation of its respected President,
Thomas K. Newbigging, Esq., the members of
the above Association, along with others in-
terested in the bee industry, met together on
the afternoon of Saturday, the 17th inst., at
Stewart Hall, when they had an opportunity of
inspecting one of the finest and best-equipped
apiaries in the South of Scotland. The hives
were each in turn examined, and found in first-
class condition. Supers were being filled in
every case, some of the hives having forty
pounds of honey ready for removal. Some very
fine glass supers were noticed, and beautifully
filled sections of honey-comb were taken off at
the time. As a practical demonstration, the
party also had the opportunity of witnessing a
swarm issue, which was successfully secured. As
there were some fine supers on the stock which
threw the swaim, which Mr. Newbigging was
desirous to have filled, the bees were returned
after the old queen had been captured. It wa>
a marvel to some of those present to see how
the queen could be descried and picked out fvooi
such a large quantity of bees.

After the company had completed their in-
spection of the apiary, a business meeting of
the Association was formed to consider matters
connected with the forthcoming Honey Show,
as announced in our advertisement in your paper.
It was unanimously agreed to invite Colonel
Bennett, of Alloway Park, Ayr, to accept the
post of Judge, and it is hoped that those wishing
to compete, who are not already members, will
see their way to enrol themselves at unce. All
members of the Association will be entitled to
a free admission to the Flower Show. The
company were hospitably entertained by Mr.
Newbigging, and he was accorded an enthusias-
tic vote of thanks for the afternoon's pleasurable
and profitable entertainment. — (Communicated )

HOW BEE-KEEPING IS TAUGHT.

For the information of Associations having
similar work in contemplation, we reprint
the bill issued in the several districts covered to
show how a week was recently spent by those

254

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 29, 1893.

in charge of the "bee-van of the Herefordshire
B. K. A. The announcement reads as follows : —
" Instruction in Bee - keeping (under
grant from Herefordshire County Council). — ■
The hee-van of the Herefordshire Bee-keepers'
Association will pass through this district
under charge of the Association Expert, Mr.
Meadham, who will give practical instruction
from the platform of the van each evening at
7.30 p.m., demonstrating the best methods of
bee-keeping. A short instructive lecture each
evening at 8 30 p.m., illustrated with magic
lantern photographs. An afternoon demonstra-
tion with bees will be given wherever prac-
ticable, an efficient protecting screen being
erected. Monday, June 5th, Kingstone : de-
monstration at four o'clock in garden at Whit-
held. Tuesday, June 6th, Wormbridge : de-
monstration at four o'clock in Mr. Sayce's
garden. Wednesday, June 7th, Baggallydiatt.
Thursday, June 8th, Abbeydore : demonstration
at four o'clock in Captain Freke Lewis's garden.
Friday, June 9th, Ewias Harold : demonstration
at four o'clock in Mr. George's garden. Satur-
day, June 10th, Pandy: demonstration at four
o'clock in garden at Trewyn. The Expert is also
instructed to render practical advice and assist-
ance 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."

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice -will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
guested 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 goodfaith. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William,
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed to "The
Manager, ' British Bee Journal ' Office, 17 King William
.-treet, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

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

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1471.] The weather still continues dry,
though much cooler than it was in the pre-
v ious week. Before the week is out, we shall
have completed our fourth calendar month of
dry weather, unless we get the much-desired
rain during the remaining days of June. Statisti-
cians say we have to go back to '44 for a parallel
to the present drought. The year '45 following
was a good one for hay. This is a crumb of
comfort for bee-keepers, especially so if history
repeats itself. At present in agricultural dis-
tricts the outlook is anything but promising for
a good honey season in 1894, as so little of the
spring-sown grass-seeds have germinated and

where gemination has taken place the drought
has scorched the life out of the tender plants as
though they had been in a furnace.

There have been some instructive articles in
Great Thoughts recently on the antennae of the
bee by Mr. Jas. Crowther ; also on the eye of
the bee and structure of the cells, which are
well worth reading.

I can fully endorse all Mr. " Useful Hints" says
on page 2bl re Mr. Meadows' bee-escape, which
is styled the " B-off." Crates full of bees and
honey, placed on the super-clearer at seven to
eight p.m., were quite cleared next morning of
every bee. I lifted the crate off the hive very
carefully on to the board in which I had fitted
the escape, then placed the crate of sections on
board back on top of the crate below this crate
(perhaps half full of combs, bees, and honey).
This, I think, was a fair test, and every time
the crate of sections was cleared of every bee.
The escape-board, or the board on which I
fitted the " B-off," was one of my old-style
four-cane escape-boards, which has answered
the purpose fairly well in past years ; but the
action of the spring escapes, either the " B-off "
of Mr. Meadows' make, or the Porter bee-
escape, clears every bee out every time without
a failure. I am fully convinced that the bee-
escape is come to stay, and will prove in other
hands, as it has in mine, one of the mo-t
useful appliances in the apiary. The boards
can be made by any handy man ; but, though I
consider myself handy in the use of carpenter's
tools, I have employed Mr. Flood, of Reading,
to make my boards, and some of last year's are
fitted with the Porter spring bee-escape. This
escape is A 1 , though somewhat dearer than the
Meadows' " B-off." Then, another use to which
the board can be put after the honey is taken
from the hive is this: after the unfinished
sections are put through the extractor, and re-
placed in the crate, remove the crate from the
escape- board (the Porter simply drops into an
oval hole), and then the hole will form a way
for the bees into the crate of extracted sections,
to clear them out before putting them away for
winter.

Our Scottish friends have prepared an
attractive schedule for their summer show at
Edinburgh next month. I hope they may
have a good response to their offers of the
many good things in the prize list, and full
entries in all classes. The " miscellanous " in-
cludes confectionery, but where will the
English or Irish housewives' chance come in
when competing in " the land o' cakes ? " The
closing item in the schedule, a special prize,
commends itself as emanating from some canny
Scotch cranium, probably from friend Ross's,
who offers a first-class hive to the member of
the S. B. K. A. who enrols the largest number
of new members during the show. English
Associations, take note ! Couldn't we manage
to add to our numbers by similar means ?

Did I go to the Royal Show at Chester :'
Yes, and though we bee-keepers did not hob-
nob with Royalty, we were within shoulder-

June 29, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

255

rubbing distance of our future king. Starting
from Didcot Junction on the Great Western
line, I was on the qui vive for bees, hives, and
forage all the way. The parched appearance of
fields and meadows till after passing through
the Black Country was very noticeable; hay-
ricks few and far between, a few fields here and
there in swath or cock ready for cartage, was
all the evidence we had of the hay crop of
1898. Meadows brown with the cattle still
nibbling very close to the ground for food that
could not satisfy their appetites, spring corn in
many fields only a few inches high, though
struggling into ear. After passing Wolver-
hampton things began to mend ; even at Al-
bright on, the first little station, the difference
•was marked, and in every pasture white clover
heads were blooming in abundance, only await-
ing the busy bee to gather the sweets ; but
judging by the few hives in proximity to the
railway, the thought presents itself that few
bees are kept in the district. But as we
travelled northwards, the extension of forage
was remarkable. Oh, what an El Dorado for bees
must the county of Cheshire be ! No wonder,
said I to myself, the Cheshire Association beat
all other county associations at the Colonial in
'86. I must not dilate on the many places of
interest we passed, or on the grand and pictu-
resque views. Llangollen and the Welsh moun-
tains in the distance, brought to memory the
song of the shepherd to the " maid of Llan-
gollen." The show at Chester I leave to abler
pens to describe ; suffice it to say I met old
friends I had not seen since the Royal Show at
Windsor, notably one of the pioneers of the
craft, Mr. W. Carr, of Manchester ; also Messrs.
Blow, Dixon, Redshaw, Meadows, Green, Scho-
field, and Donbavand, Mr. Lees McClure, Mr.
W. B. Carr, Mr. Garratt, and others; also our
old friend Mr. Huckle, to whom we all wish
renewed health and strength. — W. Woodley,
World's End, Newbury.

BEE-KEEPING IN NEW ZEALAND.

[1472.] I am a native of Cumberland, Eng-
land, and since my arrival in this colony have
often thought of writing to the B. B. J., to in-
form its readers what I think of this country
for keeping bees, and also to ask if it would pay
to export the honey home — say, in sixty-pound
tins — if some reliable person, as agent, would
buy it, and put it up to sell in one or two-pound
receptacles, best suited for market ? If any one
in the United Kingdom would undertake an
agency, I believe it would pay them very well.
I arrived in Canterbury in December last, and,
having a thorough knowledge of bee-keeping
from a long experience in England, I got a job
•extracting with a bee and fruit farmer at Tia
Tapu, near Christchurch. He was a jolly good
sort, an Englishman, and it was a great pleasure
to me to land in a little world of bees after be-
tween seven and eight weeks of ocean life. He
works on the American systems, which I will

explain at some future time, and thinks eighty
pounds per hive a fair average. He had at that
time about 150 hives, Langstroth pattern. The
bees were swarming every day at an awful rate,
through want of room ; he had not started with
the extractor soon enough, so the bees were far
in advance of him with their work. He tells
me he can get 4%d. wholesale, Gd. retail, 8d. for
well-finished one-pound sections. I used to
think, when at home, that no honey could beat
us for quality ; the foreign stuff I used to
regard as poisonous ; would not have dared to
buy it to feed my bees in autumn. But New
Zealand, I'm glad to say, can boast of better
clover honey, of grand aromatic flavour, than
ever I tasted in the old country. It is so thick
when you run it from one receptacle to another
it will lay like a coiled serpent. I am not afraid
to state that I will guarantee it will stand the
test as to quality with any country's produce in
the world.

I am sorry to say that foul brood is very
bad in some parts. A lot of bees clear out
to the bush, and colonies dying*out with foul
brood will be robbed by others, and so spread
the disease. I have taken several colonies from
fences this summer in grand condition — healthy.
It is an every-day occurrence to hear of swarms
overhead ; they camp in holes in the banks of
a creek or fence, and fill it with honey and
brood. My experience here is short yet, but if
God spares me, I will let you know more of
bee-keeping here. If any one interested will
write to me, the undersigned, I will be glad to
answer questions. I may say, in conclusion,
that there are a good many working men
here in these colonies in a depressed state for
want of work. They have, of course, no home,
and very little or no money is too often the
case ; men, strong and willing to work, on the
road, with their swag, blankets, &c. on their
backs, tramping about from station to station,
begging a feed and a shakedown for the night,
only to set off in the morning, hardly knowing
where they are going or where the next meal is
to come from. On the other hand, men with a
little capital, who get a right start and per-
severe, do very well. We have here a beau-
tiful climate, very healthy, clear air on the
hottest days, and it will suit any one in search
of health. Wishing you every success, at
present and in future, — F. Bhanthwaite,
Long Beach, Ashbui ton, Canterbury, New Zea-
land, April SOth, 1893.

[We shall be very pleased to have a line occa-
sionally on bee-keeping in New Zealand from
our correspondent as an old reader of our pages.
It may, perhaps, surprise him to know that the
Bee Journal is sent in bulk every week to th e
Otago B. K. A., Dunedin, N.Z.— Eds.]

SPOILED HONEY.

[1473.] 1 have to-day forwarded a sample of

honey extracted from a shallow-frame super a

few days ago, and I shall be glad to have your

opinion upon it. The honey appears to me to

256

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 29, 1893.

be about the worst sample, both in colour and
flavour, that I have ever had. This result is
the more disappointing as the season bids fair
to be the best we have experienced in this
district (West Sussex) since 1887. I am quite
unable to state the source from which the honey
was obtained as, owing to the drought, there
has been little or no white clover, and the super
was filled before the limes were in flower. I
extracted from the same super three weeks ago,
and obtained twenty pounds of beautiful golden
honey of capital flavour, a complete contrast to
the present yield. 1 noticed that, during May,
the meadows laid up for hay were purple with
red clover, which appeared to bloom in much
greater profusion than I have ever before
noticed it. At the same time the bees were
bringing in honey in large quantities. Do you
think it is likely that the drought so dwarfed
the clover heads as to permit our bees to work
it?

I was unable at the time to inspect the red
clover, but 1 noticed them hard at work on some
trifolium, which was, however, a poor plant
through the dry weather. Swarms have been
very few and far between with us. In my own
and two neighbouring apiaries, which together
muster about thirty stocks, there has not been
one, so far as we know.

Apologising for troubling you at such length
— W. J. S., Petivorth, June 23rd.

[The honey sent contains a large admixture of
honey-dew. — Eds.]

STRAY SWARMS JOINING A FULL
STOCK.

[1474.] I was told of a cottage where three
stray swarms had taken possession of the roof.
One lot had been there for three weeks, the
others came on Friday, the 16th inst. The bees
Avere clustered at each side of the house outside,
and, passing through some cracks in walls, got
under the floor of a sleeping-room, the wood of
which was so old that the bees got inside in
hundreds, to the great alarm of the occupants,
who retreated downstairs. The tenant offered
me the bees for taking, so I made the journey
last night for the purpose of securing them. On
examining the place, however, I found that, ex-
cepting a few hundreds scattered here and there
all over the house, the bees had decamped.

Now comes the strange part of the affair.
One of my stocks was doing fairly well, so a
fortnight back I gave them a super containing
nine shallow frames, of which they had worked
out one or two. Yesterday morning being very
warm, I thought to give the bses air by raising
the quilt a little at one end ; the roof, also, I
raised a little for the same purpose. Well, on
my return home to-night I find that the hive is
simply jammed up everywhere with bees, show-
ing, as I think, that the main part of the stray
swarm from the cottage roof had joined my
stock of bees, although there was an empty hive
standing close to the already populated one. Is

not this very strange ? and what should I do to-
make room for the bees — give sections, or
what ? — Thos. Adam, Cardiff, June 20th.

[Bees do strange things sometimes, for which
no reason can be assigned. However, by all
means give either sections or other surplus
chambers, to allow all the bees a full chance of
getting inside the hive for working. — Eds .]

SCARCITY OF SWARMS AND DRONES.

[1475.] I am surprised at the paragraph in
" Useful Hints " and in Mr. Sharp's letter
(1461, p. 234) in which reference is made to the-
scarcity of swarms and drones. From my apiary
of about one hundred stocks I have supplied
during May and June nearly fifty swarms, and
my young queens are mating much more quickly
than usual, thus proving what can be seen any
day, that I have plenty of drones. I venture to-
think that even such experienced bee-keepers as
yourselves and Mr. Sharp must have overlooked
the absolute necessity for slow feeding every
day during April on which bees gathered no
honey. It is a curious coincidence that swarms-
should this year again be slow in coming off in
Huntingdonshire, as some years ago I suffered:
much loss from not receiving swarms from that
county until many weeks later than they were-
promised, although in other counties bees were-
swarming freely.

I have kept bees for many years, and I am
more convinced than ever that to have really
good stocks they must be re-queened every year ;.
and for my part of the country, at any rate,
there is nothing to beat our own pure native
English bee, especially if great pains are taken-,
to rear queens and drones in the best stocks. —
Edward J. Gibbins, Neath,

[Referring to our correspondent's remark as
to our having " overlooked the absolute necessity
for slow feeding in April," that operation may
be necessary where swarms are wanted for sale ;.
but, as a matter of fact, our bees were storing
surplus honey in that month. — Eds.]

THE SEASON IN WEST SUFFOLK.

[1476.] We in West Suffolk are enjoying the-
glorious weather mentioned in " Useful Hints "
of June loth. It is simply marvellous the way
honey is coming in. For knowledge of how to
work bees to profit, I must thank Mr. W. B.
Webster in the first place, and the Editors of
B.J. in second, whose writings I carefully study
and follow. My hives (seven in number) are-
doing fine. One has completed four shallow
boxes, and is well on with the fifth; two others,,
three ; two others, two ; and one, one box only.
One hive working on section has one crate nearly
finished, and working hard in second. I always-
take boxes off after 6 p.m., extract, and replace-
same evening if possible, or early next morning.
We have heard of very few swarms at present ;
I have none myself. I am surrounded with

June 29, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

257

white-clover fields, which have been in full bloom
these three weeks, and is so short that mowing
machines pass over and leave it standing. One
thing I cannot understand : two of my neigh-
bours have very little surplus stored. Both of
them have years of experience ; perhaps you can
throw some light on this ? Thanhs for past
instructions in B. J. — H. C, Colchester.

[If your neighbours' bees are healthy, the
failure to gather surplus probably arises from the
stocks being headed by old queens. — Eds.]

NIGHTINGALES AND BEES.

[1477.] I can fully endorse Mr. Jesse Page's
remarks (1468) under above heading. Two old
birds have been feeding almost entirely, I be-
lieve, upon my bees ever since April. I have
refrained up to the present from taking my
revenge, but now four young ones have come
upon the scene, the slaughter of the " innocents "
is quite appalling, and I must, though reluc-
tantly, take strong measures to prevent further
mischief.

I have taken three section crates from one
hive, but many sections have been spoilt
through the "honey-dew." — C. B., Pulboro'.

[1478.] In reference to 1468, p. 246, of last
week's issue of B.J. re nightingales, I beg to say
that I have had similar experience with nightin-
gales, as I live among bushes, but have never
seen them take five bees. I have, however,
often noticed them amongst the hives, and have
seen them in the early morning picking up any
"rubs that had been cast out during the night
by the bees, especially about the time they
would be feeding their young. I first noticed
it some years ago, but thought it was the case
elsewhere with bee-keepers. I saw a young
nightingale close to my hives yesterday (Sun-
day). I have no doubt but what they do take
the live bees at times, when short of other insect
food. — T. Giles, Salisbury, June 26<A.

THE WELLS SYSTEM IN SCOTLAND.

[1479.] As this seems to me to be an extra-
ordinary season, I may as well tell you the state
of two of my hives at the present moment.
They are on the " Wells " plan. You would
rail them one hive. The double hive has thirty
standard frames, fifteen in each division. There
are sections all along the top holding eighty
pounds of honey when full. The " Wells " bees
have an entrance at each end, aDd enter by means
< >f a porch ; but at the end, as it were, of the porch
they mostly fly right in. Another hive has its
entrance fifteen inches away, also entering by a
porch. These two porches form what I may
call two entrance chambers, having an opening
in the division. The two hives face one
another. The bees of each end of the Wells
hive have appropriated the hives facing their

respective entrances. I have thought the ol4
queens might have gone across, but the bees are
simply depositing honey. These two hives hoW
each nine standard frames. All are filling
rapidly. Each division has therefore twenty-
four standard frames and section capacity for
forty pounds. I shall probably in a day er two
give each outside hive more sections, holding
twenty-four to twenty-eight pounds each. The
hives are in a beehouse. The bees have not yet
swarmed. There are not many drones. The
four entrance chambers have crowds of bees m.
them, and are covered with glass, so I can see
all that goes on. I do not know that this is
anything out of the way, but I give it, hoping
that other bee-keepers may tell their experience.
— T. McO, Ecclefechan, N.B., June 17th.

SELLING SWAKMS.

[1480.] Will you kindly allow me space ir
B. B. J. to inform intending buyers of bees that
I have accepted orders and delivered all the
swarms (about fifty) which I can spa^e this
season ? I have received so many inquiries in
response to my advertisements in your papers
that I fear some may have been overlooked
during my absence from home. I am increasing
my stocks from 100 to 150, and therefore hope-
next season to be able to supply all those who
wish to try pure English bees. — Edward J„
Gibbins, Neath, June '23rd.

ntxxzB anir §LegItes.

[814.] Transferring Bees. — I ^purchased £
swarm of bees in Nottingham, 150 miles away, in
a swarm box, and as I had no hive I loft them
on three frames in the box. They have been
working seven days now and having got a bar^
frame hive ready I ask your advice as to the
best way of putting them in the hive. — A
Desolate Bee- keeper, Baxenden.

Reply. — It was very unwise to leave the
bees for seven days on so few as three frames,
However, if the latter are correct standard size
and have straight combs built in them they
should be lifted into the new hive (bees aadaUA
at once. There is no difficulty in this operation,
nothing beyond a little smoke being used ie
doing it.

[815.] Bees building Comb outside Hive. —
I shall be glad of infoimation respecting the
following: The bees have built <comb
under the floor-board and have also filled up
the porch with comb upon which they may be
seen clustering in the enclosed photograph.
1. Is the occurrence very unusual P 2. What
is the probable cause ? 3. The gardener
suspects the stock is queenless, as no swarms
have issued this year. Is this so ? Some
pollen has been stored in the comb under the
hive, which consists ( f a cheese-box enclosed in
a wooden cover pack* d with cork-dust. It had*

258

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 29, 1893.

jrlass super which has since been removed full
and been replaced by another. — A. V.,
Ramsgate, June 2\st.

Reply. — 1. If bees are cramped for room
inside their hive, they not seldom fill combs
outsidein such places as shown in photo. 2. (a)
Want of room for storage; {b) insufficient ventila-
tion, which causes the bees while honey-laden to
cluster outside for air, and while so clustering
wax is formed and combs are built. 8. No.
There would be little storing or comb-building
if the stock was queenless.

[816.] Re-queening Stocks. — I have three
hives, and as the queens are three and four years
old, I wL*h to re-queen them ; will you please
tell me will the following plan do — viz., about
the middle of July or first week in August,
destroy the old queen in each hive, and allow
each stock to raise a new queen ? Or should I,
about the same date, destroy the queen of
what I may call my best stock, and allow that
hive only to raise the queens for the other stocks,
and as soon as the queen-cells are sealed over,
take out the queens from the other hives, and
put in a frame with queen-cell from best stock P
2. In the event of the frames in the brood
chamber, during the honey-flow, becoming too
full with honey, thereby contracting the room
for egg-layiDg, should I, when putting on afresh
rack of sections, take out one or two of the
frames in brood chamber, extract the honey, and
replace again? 3. When wiring in sheets of
foundation, should the wire be used siugle or
double, as per specimen enclosed? — Dorset
Bee-keeper, June 22nd.

Reply. — 1. The latter of the two plans is
most workable, but the queens of the second and
third stocks must be removed three or four
days before inserting queen-cells, or they may
be destroyed by the bees to which they are
given. 2. If combs are found in brood chamber
full of honey, they may, with advantage, be put
through the extractor as proposed. 3. Use wire
of proper thickness (No. 30) singly ; not double
as specimen.

[817.] On June 17th one of my hives having
a crate of sections about half full of honey, I
placed another crate underneath it with founda-
tion in each section as starters ; for the next
r.hree days there was about a double handful of
bees clustered outside the entrance, and they
seemed to do little or no work at all at that hive,
but now they are working as hard as they can.
ft you will kindly state the cause of the first
condition of idleness and clustering outside of
r.be bees, it will enlighten me very much. —
E. W., Kidderminster, June 24th.

Reply. — We can offer no other reason for
the bees clustering out except supposing that
they had not at once taken possession of the
second rack of sections offered them ; when
they did so, work went on merrily enough.

[818.] Earwigs in Hives. — There being more
earwigs about and inside my hives than I

think either good or customary, will you
please inform me (1) whether they are hurtful
to the bees, and (2) what is the best way to get
rid of them ? — W. J., Hainton, June 24th.

Reply. — 1. By "inside the hives," it can
hardly be meant that the bees have allowed
earwigs to take possession of the brood nest.
If that were so, there must be something
radically wrong with the bees, otherwise they
would permit no such intrusion. Earwigs do no
actual harm to bees, but they are uncleanly
things to have about hives. 2. As they only
harbour about hives for shade, and congregate
in families, they may be brushed down into a
bucket of water or have their nesting-places
smeared with carbolic acid.

[819.] Preventing Swarming. — 1. What are the
best measures to take for the prevention of
swarming? 2. If I cut out all the queen-cells,
as you recommend (800, p. 237), would there
not be a danger of the stock becoming queenless,
through the queen dying, and having no queen
to take her place ? 3. Is it possible to return a
swarm to the hive from which it issued ? 4.
You say (80u, p. 287) that a queen should never
be kept after her second year. Do you mean by
this that I must re-queen every third year, or can
I trust the bees to do this as often as necessary ?
— Apis.

Reply. — Giving timely room, ventilation,
and shade are the " measures " all should adopt ;
for the rest, there are scores of devices, all of
which are supposed to either prevent swarming
or lessen the chances of it. How far they
succeed is matter of opinion. 2. Our reply on
p. 237 was in answer to a query, but had no
reference as to cutting out queen-cells, and
should not be referred to as something we
"recommend." Of course, if all queen-cells
are removed as formed, there will be danger in
the direction indicated. 3. It is not only
possible, but swarms are frequently returned.
4. We do not say that you must re-queen every
third year, but it is good policy to do so, as
young queens are the main means of bringing
success to an apiary. The bees themselves will
not re-queen " as often as necessary."

[820.] Driven Bees and " Wells " Hives.—
I anticipate driving the bees from two straw
skeps at Michaelmas. Would they take to a
" Wells " hive and winter satisfactorily if fed
up ? — E. H. H., Eromsgrove.

Reply. — Bees driven so late as Michaelmas
will not be likely to do well unless put on
ready-built combs and fed up rapidly. In any
case it is not the best start to make with a
" Wells " hive.

[821.] Time for Super in g. — I hived a swarm
ten days since on five frames fitted with whole
sheets of foundation. Three or four are now
full of comb and sealed, and bees are flying
round entrances in great numbers ; white clover
and honey-producing plants in bloom. Are the
bees ready for superiDg ? — if not, when will they

June 29, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

25

9

be ready ? — W. G. S., Baxenden, AccHngtori
June 23rd.

Reply. — One or two more combs should be
added to the five now in brood nest before
supering. The queen will be prevented from
adding to the population of the stock for winter
unless room for egg-laying be given her. With
seven frames at work below you might give a
surplus box, but we cannot promise for certain
that the bees will take to it.

>fwfos 10 &0tttt.

July 19th to 21st. — Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Stamford. Bees, honey,
hives and appliances. Liberal prizes. Entries
close July 7th. S. Upton, Secretary, St. Bene-
dict's Square, Lincoln.

July 21st and 22nd. — Bristol and District
B.K.A., at Knowle. Entries close July 14th.
Over 6/. cash in prizes. Special facilities offered
to distant exhibitors. Schedules from James
Brown, Hon. Secretary, 42 Baldwin Street,
Bristol.

July (date not yet fixed). — Berks B. K. A.
(Windsor District), in connexion with Prince
Consort's Association, in the Home Park,
Windsor. For schedules apply to the Hon.
Secretary, W. J. Darby, Consort Villas, Clower.

July 2oth to 28th. — Summer Show of the
Scottish B.K. A. (under the auspices of the High-
land and Agricultural Society (in the Dean Park,
Edinburgh. Prize lists in due course from
John Wishart, Assistant Secretary, Market
Place, Melrose. Entries close July 19th.

July 26th, 27th, 28th. — Lancashire and
Cheshire B.K.A., in connexion with the R.M.L.
and N.L. Agricultural Society's show at Black-
pool. Entries close July 1st. James Birch,
Secretary, 3 Brunswick Street, Liverpool.

August 1st and 2nd. — Staffordshire B.K.A.
at Lichfield, in connexion with the Stafford-
shire Agricultural Society.

August 2nd to 4th. — Yorkshire Agricultural
Society at Dewsbury. Prizes for honey and
bee appliances. Entries closed June 24th. For
lists applv Marshall Stephenson, Secretary,
York.

August 7th and 8th.— Northants B. K. A .
Annual Show at Delapre Park, Northampton.

August 7th and 8th.— Notts B. K. A. Annual
County Show at Mapperley, Notts, in con-
nexion with the Porchester Horticultural Society.
Entries close July 31st. A. G. Pugh, Secretary,
Mona Street, Beeston, Notts.

August 29th and 30th.— South of Scotland
B.K.A. at Dumfries. Entries close August
25th. Wm. Wilson, Secretary, Acrehead House,
Dumfries.

September 6th and 7th. — Derbyshire Bee-
keepers' Association, at Derby. Entries close
August 31st. Over 18£. in prizes. Special
f acilities offered to distant exhibitors. Schedules
from W. T. Atkins, 12 North Street, Derby.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation's Exhibition, in St. Andrew's Hall,
Glasgow. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 13th and 14th.— Scottish B. K. A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers,

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those onltj
of personal interest will be answered in this column.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers oi
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.lceepers, 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 ot their com-
munication.

*«* We are compelled to hold over Useful Hints au3
numerous letters till next week.

*#* Would the gentleman who wrote to Mr.
Gilbert, of Trlam's Height, Manchester, anS
gave the address, T. Jones, 4 Woodfield
Terrace, Roder, Cardiff, please send corrected
address, as Mr. Gilbert's letter has been
returned through the Dead Letter Office ?

J. Menzies (Duns). — Covering for Frames. —
American cloth with the glazed side next the
top bars is what we use, adding warm wrap-
pings over this.

Whetstone & Sons. — Honey (?) Samples.—
We should not dignify the stuff sent by
naming it honey at all, but should call it the
"golden syrup" of household use, with
perhaps a slight admixture of honey.

Moses Price. — Staffs B.K.A. — If you desire
" Expert " help, and have paid your subscrip-
tion to the Association, the proper course will
be to write the Hon. Secretary on the subject.

M. Humfrey. — Buying Sections. — Our corre-
spondent is mistaken in supposing that our
''manager" is opeu to buy honey. We are
not dealers.

T. J. Ankins. — Bees Working on "Tare"
Ste?ns. — No doubt the bees obtain saccharine
matter from the stem, as they do from the
underside of the leaves of some plants.

A. G. M. — Comb is affected with foul brood.

T. G. (Staffs). — Honey is a little spoiled by an
admixture of honey-dew, otherwise it is a
very fair sample. The granulated honey is
very nice, as is the "get-up."

James Elliott. — Honey sent is a characteristic
sample of the early honey of this year, and is
so poor in flavour as to be almost unsaleable
as a table honey unless mixed with that of
better quality and allowed to granulate before
selling.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 29, 1833

Special Prepaid Advertisements.
•-•-«

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, <&c. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

FOR SALB.— Superior Queens, Stocks, and Swarms,
English and Carniolan. Address Rev. C. Brereton,
J?rfborough, Sussex. f • n-

HONEYCOMB in Sections Wanted.— Best quality and
pale colour. Address T. Smith & Co., Cambridge
Street, Hyde Park. a 81

WANTED.— New Sections Honeycomb, first quality:
also Extracted in bulk. Packages -sent. Prompt
Cash settlement. Mr. Hurst, Bexhill, Sussex. 118

BEE TENT on Hire. For terms apply to G. Gunston,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge. 135

JUST "WHAT YOU WANT! Screw-cap Glass Honey
Jars, English make. Strong, handy, easy to bottle,
easy to use. 13s. a gross F.O.R. Packages Returnable.
Send five st-i^nns for sample. Address Garkett, 18 Steade
Bead, Sheffield. A 95

F»R SALE.— Reversable Two-Comb Cylinder Extractor.
Cost 40s. ; price 12s. 6&. British Be.e Journal, 1890,
itrongly bound, very good condition, 3s. 6d. Address
TIvskus, Poole, Dorset. a 96

F

OR. SALE. — Good Mav Swarms in Straw Hives.
Address H. Linstead, Garboldisham, Thetford. a 97

F

OR SALE.— 1893 Sections (on*; pound), 10s. per dozen.
Address J. Frampton, Bentworth, Alton, Hants.
a_98

FOR SALE. — Six New Bar-frame Hives, one inch, with
movable floor and roof, and prate of Blow's Patent
Sections. Painted three coats. 12s. 6d. each. Address
S. Marshall, Duncton, Petworth. a 99

TWO QUEENS from Large Stocks, 2s. 6d. each. Address
Harry J. Raven, Park Avenue, West Bridgford. b1

QUEEN-REARING for Amateurs, together with Notes
on Queen Introduction, Uniting Bees, &c. 6Jd. Post
free Address S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex.

CARBOLINE POMADE.— Kills Bee-stings like Masic.
Prevents getting Stung, Robbing, and Bees entering
Cones, &c. Price Is. per bottle, in handsome, coloured
Postal Boxes. Samples of Bee-Smoke Cartridges, 3d.
Address T. Holliday, Astbury, Congleton. 131

100 lbs. HEATHER HONEY,
IN SECTIONS,

From each Colony, is what; you may expect by using our
special "Crown Heather" Queens, bred from a mother
whose stock stored nearly 100 lbs. this Spring by the
middle of May. These are reared expressly for our great
Northern demand. Money returned in full if not approved.
Particulars of S. SIMMINS, Seaford, Sussex. 132

BEE HIVES. BEE SEEDS.

Central Depot for Lancashire and Cheshire.

GEO. ROSE (Successor to P. Haebordt), 50
Great Charlotte Street, Liverpool, invites inspection
of his new pattern of "COTTAGE," "W. B. C," and
DWELLS" HIVES. New Stock of Foundation, Feeders,
Smokers, and every requisite for Apiary and Garden now
^eady for delivery. BEE SEEDS and PLANTS a Spe-
ciality. 12 best varieties of Bee Flowers, with directions
>iow to grow them, post free for 2s. Lai-ge Illustrated
■Catalogue of Bee Appliances, Vegetable and Flower Seeds,
and alJ Garden Requisites, free upon applicaton.

All Orders Executed Same Day as Received.

USE. TENT for Flower Shows for Hire, cheap. Very light

Scottish Bee-keepers' Association.

EDINBURGH SUMMER SHOW.

THE THIRD SUMMER EXHIBITION will be held
in connexion with the Great Show of the HIGHLAND
and AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, in the Dean Park,
Edinburgh, from Tuesday, the 25th, to Friday, the
28th of July— the Show of the Season. Prizes over
£50. Nine Classes for Appliances; ample Classification
for Honey in Supers and Sections ; also for Extracted and
Granulated Honey ; Classes for Beeswax and Confec-
tionery containing Honey. The best Judges available will
award the Prizes. Schedules are now ready, and all Bee-
keepers and Appliance Makers should write for one.
Entries close on July 19th. Advertisements wanted for
Show Catalogue, 1000 of which will be presented gratis to
Visitors. Apply for full information to John Wishart,
Assistant Secretary, Market Place, Melrose.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL SHOW, August 7 & 8, 1893.
DELAPRE PARK, NORTHAMPTON.

SPECIAL PRIZES, Open Free to the United
Kingdom. For the BEST Single 1-lh. SEC-
TION OF HONEY. First, 20/-; Second, 15/-;
Third, 10/- ; Fourth, 5/- ; Fifth, 2/6. Competitors
not present will he informed of result hy post on
the first day of the Show. Prizes forwarded to
Winners same day. Entries close July 25th.

N.B. — All Entries for the above are to become the pro-
perty of the Hon. Secretary, and will be sold for the benefit
of the Widow and Five Children of the late Mr. H. Ring-
rose, of Boughton, one of the first Subscribers to the
Association.

For farther particulars and Schedules apply to
Robert Hefford, Hon. Sec. Northants B.K.A.,
Boughton, near Northants. 117

Lincolnshire Agricultural Society.

STAMFORD EXHIBITION.

PRIZES are offered for Poultry, Pigeons, Honey,
Hives, Butter, Butter-making, &c, amount-
ing to £138. Entries close July 7th. Prize
Lists and Entry Forms may be obtained of

STEPHEN UPTON, Secretary.
St. Benedict's Square, Lincoln.
June 22nd, 1893.

B

DRTT. GLOUCESTE

ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE

POST FREE.

EE-HIYE MANUFACTURE

R

108

PHOTO OF FOUL BROOD.

See previous Advertisement.

NOW READY, price One Snilling, post free.

Bee Journal and Record Office, 17 King William
Street, Strand, W.C.

THE

Irish B» 3naraai

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

2*o.'576. Vol. XXI. N.S. 184.]

JULY 6, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

€bxtaxmlt Ifatkes, #r.

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — Still the sun shines and
still the heat continues. Rain has also
fallen — not much, it is true, in the south,
but enough even here to wash away any
honey-dew likely to spoil the crop from the
limes. These are now in full bloom in
Kent, so that the abnormally early bloom-
ing of these trees foreshadowed some weeks
ago has not been fulfilled, and consequently
the orthodox " first week of July " is the
correct date of the honey yield from that
source. Seeing, therefore, that white clover
is so scarce in some parts in 1893, it is
satisfactory to suppose that a crop of good
lime honey may fairly be expected wherever
the bloom is still in its prime, the weather
being so extremely favourable just now for
the secretion of nectar. Only the other
evening, on our way home, between 7 and
8 p.m., we saw a group of about a dozen
large lime-trees positively alive with bees,
though the shades of evening were fast
falling.

Honey in the North. — What a welcome
sight to an old Cheshire bee-man was the
quantity of white clover in bloom around
and about the district in which the
" Royal " Show at Chester was held ! and
didn't the bees carried down to the show
from the south take kindly to it ! Why,
they seemed in a fair way to fill up and
seal over every vacant cell in the combs of
an observatory hive — staged by Mr.Overton,
of Sussex — before the show was over !
Surely there was room here for favourable
comparison between bees and every other
living thing exhibited on the occasion, see-
ing that while animals of all kinds had to
be carefully tended, fed, and cleaned daily,
the bees " on show " not only did their own
housework, but maintained the character
Dr. Watts gave them by busily improving

each shining hour in the manner above-
mentioned. To slightly " improve " the
worthy doctor, they

u Gathered honey all the day from every clover
flower."

Northern bee-keepers who attended the
show were in excellent spirits anent the
honey season. " Honey coming in fast "
was the remark on every tongue, so that if
the views we heard expressed are repre-
sentative of the general condition of the
industry down there, a good season seems
tolerably well ensured. We heard of
several heavy supers already got indoors,
and, bearing in mind the fact that a fort-
night still remains for ingathering before
the season even in Cheshire is over, it can
scarcely fail to turn out well further north.
We must, however, offer a word of caution
against giving bees empty sections for filling
after the second week of this month, in all
districts whose season closes with white
clover ; rather let the bees finish off and
seal over surplus work already on the hives,
and allow the bramble or blackberry honey,
which succeeds the clover, to go into the
brood chamber for the bees' own use.

Price of Sugar. — We have less hesita-
tion in recommending that the latest
summer honey, which is usually of an
inferior kind, should this year be left for
the bees' use, because of the increase in
price of sugar. It went up two shillings
per cwt. two months ago, as stated in
our issue for May 11th (p. 189), and
we are now notified of a further increase
to the same amount, so that sugar is now
four shillings per cwt. higher than the
April rate. " Failure of the beet crop " is
stated to be the cause, and growers of
cane sugar will, no doubt, be benefiting
from the "rise." Bee-keepers should,
however, not complain in view of the de-
pressed state of the cane-sugar industry
for a long time past, consequent on the
competition of beet-sugar producers. But
our object in drawing attention to the

262

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 6, 189?.

matter is that readers may bear in mind the
fact and regulate their autumn proceedings
accordingly.

Testing the Purity or otherwise of
Honey. — It will be remembered that in the
B. J. for February last there appeared some
very important particulars relative to the
examination of honey by dialysis for the
purpose of detecting adulteration, accord-
ing to the method discovered by Dr. Oscar
Haenle. Our senior editor, Mr. Cowan, is now
about terminating a prolonged visit to the
Continent — a visit made largely in the
interests of bee-keeping — for the purpose of
making himself thoroughly acquainted
with the latest discoveries on the subject.
This he has had the privilege of doing in
the laboratory of Dr. Haenle at Strasburg,
where every facility and assistance was
generously offered by the learned scientist
himself for acquiring full information.
Our readers will, no doubt, ere long have
the result of Mr. Cowan's investigations,
and, from what we hear, it would appear as
if the question of determining the purity, or
otherwise, of honey with absolute certainty
is now fairly within measurable distance.

" Honey Gum " for Ants, Earwigs,
&c. — Have any of our readers tried the
above as a preventive of the trouble caused
by ants, earwigs, spiders, and such-like
getting about hives'? We are told that
" Honey fly-gum " — sold by chemists for
preparing fly-catchers — is an efficient pre-
ventive. It is said that if a piece of cord,
smeared with the " gum," is tied round each
leg of the hive, no insect can pass over it.
We have not had the opportunity of trying
it personally, but offer the "hint " to those
troubled by these pests.

The Wells Perforated Dummy. — In
kindly response to the request made in
" Hints " on p. 231 of B.B.J, for June 15th,
our correspondent " T. I." has forwarded
the "dummy" there referred to for our
inspection. Sure enough it is wellpropolised,
almost every perforation being filled up.
But — and herein lies the pith of the matter
— it is not a correctly made " Wells "
dummy. In the first place it has a wide
top bar, which, if ordinary metal ends are
used on the frames, will keep the faces of
the combs on each side of the dummy more
than double the proper distance from the
perforation. Then the wood instead of
"not exceeding -| in. in thickness" is in

parts a full \ in. We advise our correspon-
dent to try again, to discard the top bar
altogether, use thinner wood, and add about
one-third more to the number of perfora-
tions.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Committee Meeting held in the Council tent
of the Royal Agricultural Society in the show
yard at Chester on Wednesday, June 21st, 1893.
Present : W. Lees McClure (in the chair); W. B.
Carr, J . Garratt, and H. Jonas.

The following were also present hy invitation,
viz., T. D. Schofield, C. Roberts, C. Wade,
W. Tyrer, A. Donbavand, and the Rev. F. J.
Buckler.

A letter was read from the Rev. S. R.
Wilkinson, inquiring as to whether the
B.B.K.A. would undertake to send down, free
of cost, a bee-tent and lecturer to an Exhibition
to be held at Picton Castle, Pembrokeshire, on
August 10th. The Secretary was instructed to
communicate with Mr. Wilkinson.

A letter was read from Mr. E. H. Bellairs in
reference to a third-class examination at the
Southampton Exhibition. The Secretary was
requested to write for further particulars.

Mr. Garratt gave notice " That at the next
meeting of the Committee he would call
attention to the privileges of affiliation in respect
to providing judges at country shows."

The Chairman asked for suggestions in
reference to the educational work of the Asso-
ciation. Mr. Schofield suggested that candidates
should be required to have some knowledge of
honey. The Rev. J. F. Buckler considered that
the examinations should be made more btringent.
This appeared to be the general feeling of those
present.

The following resolutions were passed: —
" That the thanks of the Association be
given to Mr. Charles Roberts for his grr tuitous
services to the Association in connexion with
the Chester Exhibition.

" That the best thanks of the Association
be given to the Royal Agricultural Society
for the use of their Council tent for Committee
meeting."

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.
The following additional sums have been;;
received or promised : —

Amount already ac- £ s. d.

knowledged ... 20 13 0
The Baroness Burdett-

Coutts 3 3 0

Captain Campbell ... 2 2 0

Alfred Watkins ... 0 10 6

Geo. Roberts 0 10 0

MissEyton 0 10 0

W.P.Meadows(2nddon.) 0 6 0

Wm. McNally ... 0 5 0

T. W 0 5 0

July 6, 1893. j

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

263

THE ROYAL SHOW AT CHESTER.

(Concluded from p. 253.)

The Honey Classes.

As noted last week, the exhibits staged in the
honey classes were rather disappointing. In-
deed, excepting Mr. Woodley's sections, there
was nothing in any of the four classes for comb
honey which we considered quite up to "Royal"
Show standard. Far better samples of bee-
work will, no doubt, be seen at later shows.
Extracted honey, too, was not in any case first
rate by a long way, and, in consequence, the ex-
hibits need not be particularised.

Class 340. Best three Shallow Frames of
Honey for Extracting. — This was a new class,
tried for the first time, and, being new, was not
largely patronised. We hope, however, to see
this class one of the most attractive in all our
shows, seeing that the beauty and finish of
the combs must be supplemented by honey of
good quality in them ere perfection can be ap-
proached. Nothing in honey-production can, to
our mind, surpass a well-finished shallow frame
of good honey. It far exceeds a single section
in beauty, and we are sanguine that so soon a&
bee-keepers have given attention to the produc-
tion of such for show purposes, the class for
shallow frames of " comb honey for extracting :'
will in the show of the future be the most
popular and most keenly contested of any on the
show-bench.

In the class under notice Captain Ord ob-
viously got first place by the quality of the
honey, and not for the beauty or finish of the
combs themselves, the latter being faulty, and
less than the usual depth of five and a half
inches. The third-prize lot, staged by Mr. Wells,
were the best samples of comb-building of the
exhibits staged ; but the honey in them was
inferior.

Classes 341 and 342 call for no comment.
Class 343. Best and Most Attractive Display
of Honey (in any form). — Four exhibits were
staged, all being very presentable, though the
honey in each varied " muchly," as the joker
says. Mr. Woodley's display was, as usual,
almost wholly section honey — handsome, clean,
and toothsome - looking as it always is, and
altogether so superior that the losers would not
grudge it the first prize it deservedly took. The
second went to Mr. Dixon for a very mixed
exhibit, consisting of good and medium extracted
honey, some moderate sections, and several
various fancy designs in comb-building. In the
third-prize collection of Mr. Green some honey
was shown — for variety, we suppose — as nearly
black as any we ever looked on. We were
asked what it was collected from, and, being
quite unable to answer seriously, suggested
either the " black thorn " or the " coal-black
rose " of Ethiopian poetry ! Anyway, it was
queer stuff.

Class 344. Useful Inventions connected with
Bee-keeping. — This generally interesting class

only produced five entries, all of which were
staged. Before referring to the exhibits, we
venture to suggest to the compilers of future
schedules that exhibitors of new inventions be
invited to append to their exhibits a full de-
scription of the articles staged, together with a
statement of the advantages anticipated from
their use, and to say whether or not they have
been put to a practical test. This would be not
only most helpful to the judges, but also to
bee-keepers attending the show, who are
naturally interested and anxious to know all
about new things. The non-swarming arrange-
ment exhibited by Mr. Langdon — referred to on
p. 242 of our issue for June 22nd — was a case in
point. It lay upon the show-bench at Chester
simply as an oblong block of wood, with a
couple of wire cones projecting from it. No
description of the device was attached, and, in
consequence, every few indeed of those who
saw it would take any interest in the article or
have any but the faintest notion of its intended
use. We believe a circular was sent along with
the " device " from America, but, being loose, was
probably carried off by some unthinking person
on the first day of the show — for it was not seen
afterwards. In view of such contingencies we,
therefore, hope to see a remedy provided in the
future. Mr. Langdon was awarded a silver
medal for the non-swarming arrangement re-
ferred to, and a most simple affair it is. There
is always a disadvantage in adjudicating on
" devices " or " arrangements," which ofttimes
have not been subjected to a practical test prior
to being shown in competition. The difficulty
touches both judges and exhibitors alike, so
often do the most carefully thought-out theo-
retical schemes go wrong when bees are con-
cerned, and probably the fact of the " Langdon
device" having been subjected to a thorough
trial by the inventor last year on no less than a
hundred hives had considerable influence on the
minds of the judges. No doubt the idea is a
good one, but, without the assurance given, we
should have hesitated in accepting all that is
claimed for it. Any way, the merit of its
" good intentions " having been recognised, time
will prove the rest. A bronze medal was
awarded to the " Wells " perforated divider,
about which so much has been said in our
pages, and no doubt many would be pleased to
be able to handle the " original article " at
Chester, as made by Mr. Wells himself.

Mr. W. Dixon, of Leeds, exhibited a self-hiver
which promises well, and we quite incidentally
learned before the close of the show that it had
been practically tested with perfect success on
the only occasion this year in which the exhibi-
tor had an opportunity of trying it. The
judges, however, had no cognisance of this fact,
and that may account for its non-recognition.
Among the best features in the contrivance are
its simple method of fixing and removal ; then
it does away with clogging of the perforations in
the excluder zinc in front of entrance by the
bodies of drones which die in their efforts to
pass out. There is also plenty of room in the

264

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 6, 1898.

"hiver" to accommodate the swarm if the queen
should fail to ascend into the receiving-box
placed overhead. We shall await with interest
further reports regarding this appliance.

The Kev. R. M. Lamb exhibited a method of
spacing frames by means of wood blocks of vari-
ous widths, which showed considerable ingenuity;
but we should like to hear what the inventor
has to say of it after further trial before con-
cluding that any advantage is gained by the
method over the ordinary spacing by means of
" ends," especially in stock hives. For surplus
chambers we could do with blocks very well to
get extra thick combs, but to have so many
loose pieces of wood strung on a wire hanging
at each side of every box has disadvantages
we cannot overlook.

Class 345. Most interesting and instructive
exhibit of any kind connected with bee-keeping
not previously mentioned. — A small, but interest-
ing class, the exhibit which apparently com-
manded most attention being the lantern slides
on bees and bee-culture, staged by Messrs.
Newton, of London. Since these slides were
first issued, several important additions have
been made to the scientific section, which are
very beautiful, those illustrating the foul-brood
bacillus being especially fine. A silver medal
was awarded to Messrs. Newton. Mr. 0. Red-
shaw staged the " Rietsche " hand-press for
foundation-making — a useful appliance for turn-
ing out home-made foundation. Many bee-
keepers have an abundance of wax lying about
at times, and when this can be turned into very
fair sheets of foundation without much labour,
it should command notice from a large class.
The press was subjected to a practical trial in
the presence of the judges, and considering the
disadvantageous conditions under which it was
done, the work was considered quite satisfac-
tory. A silver medal was awarded to it.

Prize List (Completed from Page 253).

Class 336.— Twelve 1-lb. sections 1893 honey.
First, W. Woodley, "World's End, Newbury ;
second, T. J. Durrant, Sevenoaks ; third, Rev.
G. W. Bancks, Durham House, Dartford.

Class 337.— Six 1-lb. sections of 1893 comb
honey. First, W. Woodley; second, E. C. R.
White, Woodford Mill, Salisbury; third, R.
Green, Rainham ; commended, Captain Ord,
Fornham House, Bury St. Edmund's.

Class 338. — Twelve pounds extracted honey,
gathered 1893. First, E. C. R. White ; second,
S. Cartwright, Shawbury, Salop ; third, J. H.
Wootton, Byf ord, Hereford ; highly commended,
Captain W. S. Ord ; commended, C. R. Pigott,
Landbeach, Cambridge.

Class 339. — Twelve 1-lb. sections of old honey.
First, W. Woodley; second, W. P. Meadows,
Syston, Leicester ; third, Rev. G. W. Bancks.

Class 340. — Three shallow frames comb honey
for extracting, gathered during 1893. First,
Captain W. S. Ord ; second, J. H. Wootton ;
third, G. Wells, Aylesford, near Maidstone.

Class 341. — Twelve pounds extracted honey

in jars, of 1892 or any year. First, G. Head,
Winkfield, near Windsor; second, O. Roberts,
The Lodge, Rowton Grange, Chester ; third, W.
Sells, Uffington, Stamford; commended, H.
Wood, Paradise, Lichfield.

Class 342. — Twelve pounds granulated honey
in jars. First, no award; second, Miss J.
Cooper, St. Nicholas' Square, Leicester ; third,
Miss E. Chester, Waltham, Melton Mowbray.

Class 343. — Best and most attractive display
of honey. First, W. Woodley; second, W.
Dixon, Beckett Street, Leeds ; third, R. Green,
Rainham, Kent.

Class 344. — Any useful invention introduced
since 1891. Silver medal, H. P. Langdon, East
Constable, Franklin Co., New York, U.S.A.,
" device for preventing the swarming of bees ;"
bronze medal, G. Wells, "perforated division-
board for two-queen system."

Class 345. — Most interesting and instructive
exhibit of any kind connected with bee-culture.
Silver medal, Newton & Co., 3 Fleet Street,
London, E.C., "lantern slides on bees and bee-
culture;" silver medal, C. Redshaw, South
Wigston, Leicester, " the Rietsche hand-press
for foundation-making, with accessories."

Hie 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 writeon one side of the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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, ic, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the • British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

*»* 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.

HEREDITY IN BEES.

[1481.] I have read much, but certainly not
all, that has been written on the subject of
transmission of instinct in the bee by the nurses.
If therefore the few arguments I submit on the
other side of the question have already been
answered by the supporters of the theory, I can
only offer my humble apologies for troubling
you with them.

I cannot quite agree with Mr. Hume (1445)
in his supposition that the workers react on
the nervous susceptibility of the queen in the
manner he states, nor do I think he is quite
justified in speaking so slightingly of latent
heredity. In nearly all the insect world the
perpetuation of habits and instincts can only
be accounted for by the theory of latent
heredity. Take, for instance, those creatures
whose imago existence is spent on the wing,
and whose larval life is spent at the bottom of

July 6, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

265

ponds, in putrid flesh, in the living animal, or,
it may be, burrowing in the ground. These
have no nurses to train their ideas, no contem-
poraries more experienced than themselves, and
still with what unerring instinct they lay their
eggs where the hatching larvas could alone find
conditions suitable for that stage of their life.
Can anything but latent instinct explain this,
what Mr. A. I. Root would call " remembering
what their grandmothers used to do."

And now, to return to the bee. Let us place
in a queenless stock of native bees a purely
mated foreign queen, or even a virgin, which
shall afterwards be purely mated, and her
progeny will have all the distinctive traits of
that foreign race. If Palestines, they will have
all the vicious temper and rage for propolising ;
if Carniolans, they will evince the distinguishing
habit of swarming and all the other peculiarities
of the Carniolan race ; or if Italians, they will
have all the inward and outward qualities of
that bee, and all this in spite of, on the one
hand, "nurses transmitting qualities through
nourishment," or, on the other, by any " im-
pression from the worker acting on the nervous
susceptibility of the queen." Assuming the
introduced queen in the above instance to be an
Italian, and her produced workers to have
inherited all the peculiarities of that breed, in-
cluding their gentle disposition ; let the mother
be removed, a young queen reared from her
brood, and this queen mated with a native
drone, and in a majority of cases the resulting
hybrids, while retaining in a high degree all the
working qualities of the pure race, will inherit
in an equally high degree the bad temper and
stinging propensities of the blacks. Here, then,
we find splendid working habits and instincts
transmitted by a mother who never worked and
a strong disposition to sting transmitted by a
father who never possessed a sting of his own.

Perhaps an equally striking argument against
the theory of transmission of working qualities
by nurse-bees is the fact that, as a rule, the
nurses themselves are young bees who have
never done any field-work, and who are there-
fore presumably as little able as the queen her-
self to impart a knowledge which they them-
selves have not yet gained — unless by heredity.
—J. W. W., Revesby, July 1st, 1893.

ESTABLISHING TWO QUEENS IN A
"WELLS" HIVE.

[1482 .] Can you advise me as to the best
means of getting two queens in a " Wells " hive
before winter sets in ? I have failed in two
attempts. First, I introduced two stocks in the
spring, but only one got on well, as the other
dwindled away. The second attempt was a
stock to which I tried to introduce a Carniolan
queen, but failed, so left them to raise a queen.
They did so, and before she hatched I trans-
ferred the whole into the empty half of " Wells "
hive. I looked at them when I thought the
queen should be out, but found her hatching, so
I closed all up warm again until a fortnight

after, when I failed to find any queen or eggs,
and the bees considerably less in number ; so I
concluded my attempts this season had failed.
I find now that the bees from both halves of
the hive are working back and fore from both
entrances quite comfortabty, the queenless part
gradually filling with honey, the other being
crammed with both bees and honey, well capped,
and forty-eight sections on the top filling. —
W. G., Gowertoivn, June 23rd.

[Before venturing an opinion as to why the
second attempt at establishing the two queens
in the " Wells " hive failed, we should be told
how it is that the bees of both compartments
are able to mix together and fill the queenless
portion with honey. If this mixing was pos-
sible all along, it was no wonder the second
queen was killed ! If the " Wells " hive con-
sists of two distinct divisions, there should be
no difficulty in establishing two lots of bees in
it.— Eds.]

MY EXPERIENCE WITH HIVES
WORKED ON THE " WELLS " PLAN.

[1483.] I have modified four of my combi-
nation hives (each of which held fourteen or
fifteen frames) by cutting two entrances in the
fronts, stopping the end entrance, and putting
a slight partition between the two entrances,
and I got some perforated wood dummies from
friend Howard, not having time to make any.
These are made from about three-eighths to
half an inch thick, with holes about an eighth,
and countersunk from each side to about one-
eighth. Of course I made no alteration to floor-
boards, only adapting them so that they were
wide enough for bees to land at front. As I
got each hive altered I put two small stocks
into the first, such as in an ordinary season
would scarcely have built themselves up.
When they were full enough I put on excluder
zinc and a box holding shallow frames of
worked-out comb, eight to a box, and as my
frames are an inch and a half thick, when the
combs are filled out they hold much more
honey than standard shallow frames. In this
first-mentioned case I have already taken two
boxes of fully sealed frames off, some of the
frames weighing over six pounds each ; in the
second case I put a crate of twenty-one two-
pound sections, which are nearly ready to take
off ; and from another I have taken off one full
box only. In the third case I had two stocks
standing at right angles to each other, one
facing north, the other east, and as they did
not appear to fill up to my mind, either for
supering or for putting on extracting frames,
I thought 1 would move them into one of these
double hives, which I did just before dark one
Saturday night, standing the hive diagonally
across so as to make as little difference to the
entrances as possible. Of course one lot had to
come one way and one the other.

I put on a set of standard frames of comb,
but one and a half inch thick and eight to the

266

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,

[July 6, 1893.

box. The bees appeared a little confused the
next day, but did not tight or disagree that I
could see. After the tirst day there was no
confusion, but they went to work, and I have
taken off that box with combs fully sealed
right to the bottom of the frames. I found,
as others have done, that the bees propolised
the holes in the dummies. In this last-men-
tioned case, I burnt the holes slightly larger,
but have not yet examined to see if they have
been stopped or not ; but in the other cases it
does not appear to make any difference, as the
partition between two of the hives had come
away, being fastened very slightly. The bees
seem on quite friendly terms and do not quarrel
in the least. As there has been no disposition
to swarm, I cannot say how I might alter my
opinion if such were the case, because years
ago, when I had hives on the same principle, I
gave them up because of their starting to
swarm. If one lot began, the other followed
suit. However, where I failed was in not
placing a super common to both hives, as they
only worked like ordinary stocks. — John
Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington,
July 1st, 1893.

BEES FRATERNISING IN "WELLS"
HIVES.

[1484.] The following might perhaps be of
interest to your readers : — About a fortnight
since I inserted in a hive holding twelve frames
and a dummy a " Wells " division-board, and
transferred to it two weak colonies of bees,
which I will call A and B, colony A being the
stronger of the two, B being very weak indeed.
The hive has a window at each end, and a strip
of glass at the back, about 2\ ins. wide, running
the whole length of the hive, with movable
shutters.

Noticing this morning that A was fast filling
the outer side of its end comb with honey, I
thought I might, perhaps, with advantage to
myself, give them a super for storage. Accord-
ingly I placed over the two lots of bees a sheet
of excluder zinc and twelve shallow frames.
Upon my having a peep at them through the
back window this evening, I noticed that A's
bees had diminished considerably in number,
while B had gained, having five seams of bees
huddled pretty thickly together, instead of, as
formerly, e.g. last night, only three seams, and
the temperature of each just about the same,
instead of, as before, A much higher than B.
The bees were perfectly quite, and there was
no robbing going on of B by A.

Do not these facts point to the conclusion
that in the " Wells " hives bees intermingle not
only in the supers, but in the brood nests also p
— F. W. K., Baivtry.

A SWARM SMOTHERED.

[1485.] A swarm of bees went into a gentle-
man's sitting-room near, and leave was given to

us to hive and fetch the bees away. My husband
hived them at a few minutes past one, and left
the hive standing in the window where they
were hived till about 8.30 p.m., when he brought
them home, setting the skep down by the side
of a swarm of the same day and one of the
Saturday before. There are five old stocks on
the same bench where the swarm was set down.
The bees seemed very brisk, and to all appear-
ance were a large, healthy swarm. Next
morning, at breakfast-time, 1 went up as usuaL
to look at the bees, as we always do, and found
the entrance to the hive covered with dead bees»
My husband then lifted the hive, and there lay
the bees on the floor-board black, dead, and.
quite wet or sticky. We dug a hole and buried
the lot to save the other bees getting to them.
I have sent a few of the dead bees and one of
the pieces of comb, while in the tissue paper
enclosed are some crystals which I picked off the
floor-board. I have shown them to several
friends who are bee-keepers, and all say that
they have never seen the like. We should be
glad, to hear if you have any idea what is the
cause, or whether any of your readers have ever
experienced anything of the same kind. — (Mrs.)*
E. J. Morris, Salop, June 22nd.

[From some cause or other the bees have been
suffocated in the skep. The " wet or sticky "
appearance you have noted was caused by the
bees disgorging the honey (carried off from the
parent hive when swarming) while suffering
from want of air, and it would seem as if the
smothering happened during or after the re-
moval, because the start of comb - building
showed them to be all right after hiving. —
Eds.]

SELF-HI VERS, ETC.

[I486.] Having had sent to me for trial one
of Mr. Hooker's swarm-hivers, I am sorry the
season has turned out that I cannot tell how it
might have acted in automatically hiving the
swarm, but for any one that is afraid his bees
might swarm during his absence from home, it
is first-rate. I did not super this hive as I
wanted to test it, but man proposes, &c. They
did not swarm, but, having filled every avail-
able cranny in their hive, they worked upwards
into the swarmer, where there were full sheets
of foundation, and actually worked out two of
the sheets and put honey in them, putting me
in mind how my bees used to do in the sixties.
I used to tunnel along a board, and place little-
boxes and get them filled. I have occasionally
taken the excluder from the front of this hive
at night, and find the poor drones have been
sacrificed, showing that swarming has been
abandoned for this season. Thinking I would
like to see Abbott's common-sense foundation, I
sent for a sheet, and put it in the centre of a
brood nest, and found it worked out beautifully
— no curling at the corners, as with some. This
is tapered down to the bottom edge much
thinner than at top. I consider it is a decided
improvement.

Mr. Meadows sent me one of his " B-off "

July 6, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

267

super-clearers. I put it on a prepared board
and found it acted very well. In one case a
solitary bee was left; in anotber a few baby
bees; in anotber perhaps fifty were left. I think
it makes a difference according to the tempera-
ture ; however, I like them so well that I have
sent for half-a-dozen of them ; but in the middle
of a nice, warm, honey-gathering day, or early
in the evening, it is just fun to go with smoker
and carbolic cloth, and take off full frames in
almost as little time as it takes to put on the
bee-escape.

Some one mentioned a week or two back that
there were no humble-bees and no wasps. I
wish I could say that, as this last week the
wasps are getting very numerous and annoying.

Do I use excluder zinc ? Yes, and I should
not like to do without it ; so nice to take off
crates and sections without brace combs ; also,
when I have two sets of shallow frames on at a
time, I lay some excluder on top of the bottom
set of frames, but not entirely covering them all
over. It keeps the bees from joining frames
together.

We had a little rain for two or three days a
week ago, but now it seems as much of a
drought as ever. Bees are very busy now. —
John Walton, Honey Cott, Weston.

WEATHER REPORT.

Westbourne, Sussex.

June, 1893.

Rainfall, 1'29 in. Sunshine, 256 hrs.

Heaviest fall, -69 in. Brightest day, 17th,

on 27th. 1535 hrs.

Rain fell on 7 days. Sunless days, 2.

Below average, "55 in. Above aver., 32-5 hrs.
Max. temp., 86° on Mean max., 68.8°.
18th. Mean min., 503°.

Min. temp., 38° on 1st. Mean temp., 59,3°.
Min. on grass, 31° on Max. barometer, 30"51

1st. on 7th.

Frosty nights; 0. Min. barometer, 29-52

on 24th.
No swarms.

L. B. Birkett.

#wnies ratr Implies,

[822.] Moving Bees in Skeps in Hot Weather.
— I have had to buy my experience rather dearly
of late. I bought three skeps of bees two miles
out, and inverted them and wrapped them in
cheese-cloth and brought them home, but the
combs broke down and I lost nearly all. I
managed to gather up enough bees to make a
little colony, and what with the wax and honey
I am trying to redeem the loss. But it is an
experience I shall not forget. I put it down to
the intense heat of Friday week. In two of
my bar-frame hived also combs slipped down

through the heat, but luckily I was near to pu
them right at once. My queries are as follows: —

1. Can I increase my stocks if I have no drones
in any of them? Drones are flying in the
immediate neighbourhood from skeps of a friend
not far away, but must I have drones within
the hives devoted to queen-raising to be certain?

2. Is the honey generally sucked out of section
comb in eating, or are both comb and honey
eaten? 3. How small a number of frames
could I winter a stock upon ? I am averse to
uniting two or three weak stocks. 4. What is
a fair proportion of section or extracted honey a
fair stock should gather in a moderate season ? —
Enthusiast, Stonehouse.

Reply. — 1. If there are drones on the wing
in the neighbourhood, it is quite sufficient.

2. Most persons remove the cappings from the
comb and eat the honey, wax and all, down to
the midrib, discarding the latter. Others eat
the whole of the comb along with the honey.

3. Bees may be wintered on four or five frames.

4. Everything depends upon the honey resources
of the locality. As a rule, one box of frames
for extracting and one rack of twenty-one one-
p ound sections would be considered a good return
in a single season.

[823.] A " Large Order " in Queries. — The
queries put by our correspondent " L. E. J. (Fort
William) " are so numerous and so elementary in
their character that only the briefest replies
can be given to a few of them, which we have
condensed as below. To reply fully to all the
inquiries made would occupy several pages,
moreover " L.E. J." must pardon us for saying
that a great portion of the information sought
is to be found in Cowan's Guide-book, already in
our correspondent's possession. — Eds.

Reply. — 1. It was quite right to remove the
broken-down comb. 2. Foundation guides may
be any depth from one inch to full sheets. 3.
Refer to Guide-book for method of fixing founda-
tion in frames. 4. Give additional frames as
bees require room. 5. Above the "ticking"
add three or four layers of carpet or flannel for
warmth. 6. Bees should be fed on syrup, or
with cakes of soft candy; for making these
refer to Guide-book. 7. Swarms are only fed
for a day or two if honey is plentiful outside.
8. The hole in quilt is for feeding. 9. Let the
swarms fill their hives this year and super them
next. 10. After skeps have swarmed the bees
will not work down into frame hives this season
by placing the skeps on them. 11. Having
swarmed twice already they will not swarm
again this year. Replies to remainder of
questions may be got by reading the Guide-book.

[824.] Would you please help a beginner
with reply to following :— I have never kept
bees till now, but last winter I bought, read,
and re-read Modern Bee-keeping. In March I
got a bar-frame hive and studied it with help of
above book. Yesterday, June 27th, I bought a
swarm in a straw skep from an old cottager.
I paid 12s. Qd. for it. He says it was a swarm

-268

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 6, 1893.

of May 18th. He brought it a distance of three
miles in a pony-cart. The skep and its contents,
including table-cloth in which it was done up,
weighed just over seventeen pounds. 1. Was
this a good weight ? In placing the skep on a
stand till next spring, as suggested by the
cottager, three large pieces of comb fell out — one
piece contained honey, but two other pieces he
said " had only got brood in,'' and these were
buried, also at his suggestion. Many bees were
left outside the skep, where they still remained
at ten p.m., and this morning I see many
crushed bees on the ground. 2. I should be
glad to know if a practical bee-keeper would
have proceeded like this ? My reading suggests
that the experienced man would have gone
differently to work ! 3. Shall I leave them in
skep as they now are till next spring, or shall I
get a good bee-keeper to put them in my bar-
frame at once, or in the autumn ? 4. Ought I
to put my bar-frame crate of sections on top of
skep ? 5.1 think of trying to do without
gloves, but feel a bit nervous at first. Would you
advise me to use " apifuge,'" or would washing
the hands with carbolic soap be any help ? I
have some short sleeves of unbleached calico
fastening at wrist and above elbow, could these
be wrung out in carbolic solution same as stated
on p. 80 of Modern Bee-keeping ? Would this be
any help till I get more confidence ? — A. G. G.,
Sunninghill, Berks, June 28th.

Reply. — 1. Yes. 2. Without being too
hard on the cottager, who, no doubt, advised
you to the best of his knowledge, it is probable
that a more modern bee-keeper would have gone
a little differently to work, but it is not an easy
task to convey a nine-day-old swarm three miles
safely by road in this weather. 3. We should
not transfer the bees and combs yet. Rather
do it at the end of honey harvest. 4. Yes, if
the bees want room and honey is plentiful. 5.
You might try the suggested preventives against
stinging with advantage, but the sleevelets don't
require soaking in carbolic solution.

[825.] Packing Sections for Post. — 1. Does ex-
tracted honey in glass bottles improve or
deteriorate by exposure to the sunlight? 2. What
is the best way to pack single sections of comb
honey to go through the post? — E. C. R. W.,
. Salisbury.

Reply. — 1. We are not aware of it becoming
better or worse by the exposure referred to.
Certainly it seems to take no harm, for we have
seen jars so exposed for several months with no
evil effects visible. 2. If the comb is attached
to the wood all round it will travel safely
packed in corrugated paper. Sections only
partly fastened to the wood should never be sent
by post or rail.

[826.] Reneioing Queens — Wiring Shalloiv
Frames. — 1. Three or four of my stocks are
not doing so well as I should like them to do,
and I fear it is partly on account of the queens
getting aged. I have been successfid in pre-

venting swarms from each of the hives mentioned
for three years. Ought I to re-queen them ?
If so will you kindly give your advice as to how
and when to do it ? 2. Is it necessary to wire
foundation in shallow frames? — T. J. J., Gritile-
ton, Chippenham, June 2Qth.

Reply. — 1. Stocks to do well should be re-
queened every second year. Autumn is the best
time for giving young queens and they may be in-
troduced by the " direct " method or by use
of a queen-cage. You should certainly consult
some sort of reliable guide-book for details of
these operations; our space is too limited to
give full particulars, and brief directions are
sometimes misleading. 2. We do not wire
shallow frames, and never have combs break
down when extracting.

[827.] Honey-detv. — In this district (Hants)
June honey is much infected with honey-dew.
This spoils the colour and flavour, but does it
make the honey unwholesome or unsaleable ?

Reply. — Honey largely mixed with honey-
dew is almost unsaleable for table use because
of the faults named, but we are not aware of its
being actually unwholesome.

ffifym foam % Pibxs.

Bromsgrove, June 20th. — Grand weather here
for bees and plenty of forage. Have extracted
about 100 frames standard, and they are com-
mencing to seal (in one or two hives) the re-
turned frames again. — T. G.

Fauldhouse, N.B., June 26th. — This is the
best year I have ever seen for the bees ; they
are gaining weight very fast. Clover is just
about its best, and the heather will be in bloom,
fit for the bees, in about a fortnight ; you can
pull some hea s now just bursting into bloom.
— W. H.

LECTURES ON BEE-KEEPING.

On Friday, June 23rd, at the Schoolroom,
Mareham-le-Fen, Lincolnshire, in connexion
with the Technical Education movement, Mr.
J. W. Wilson, of Revesby, delivered the first of
a series of three lectures on Bees and Bee-keep-
ing. There was a good attendance, including
about fifty interested labourers. The Rev. W.
Crass, the rector, in the chair. In introducing
the subject, Mr. Wilson pointed out the im-
portance of it, and the pleasure which might be
secured by those who gave it their careful at-
tention and study. Not the least interesting
part of the lecture was what was said respect-
ing the products of bees and the profits which
might be made by successful bee-keepers. It
was a thoroughly practical, well-thought-out
lecture, and much that was useful might be
gathered from it. There are several people in
Mareham and the neighbourhood who keep bees
with pleasure and profit, and we hope that the
proceedings referred to may give on impetus to

July 6, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

26^

bee-keeping. Mr. Wilson will deliver his second
lecture in the Schoolroom at Mareham on the
evening of Friday next, July 7th. — Communi-
cated.

ifyofoa *0 €iim.

July 19th. — Cranleigh and District Bee Club
Show at Cranleigh. Prizes for honey, hives,
&c. For schedules, write John Charlwood,
Secretary, College Road, Cranleigh.

July 19th to 21st. — Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Stamford. Bees, honey,
hives and appliances. Liberal prizes. Entries
close July 7th. S. Upton, Secretary, St. Bene-
dict's Square, Lincoln.

July 21st and 22nd. — Bristol and District
B.K.A, at Knowle. Entries close July 14th.
Over 61. cash in prizes. Special facilities offered
to distant exhibitors. Schedules from James
Brown, Hon. Secretary, 42 Baldwin Street,
Bristol, or from local Secretaries.

July (date not yet fixed). — Berks B. K. A.
(Windsor District), in connexion with Prince
Consort's Association, in the Home Park,
Windsor. For schedules apply to the Hon.
Secretary, W. J. Darby, Consort Villas, Clewer.
July 25th to 28th. — Summer Show of the
Scottish B.K. A. (under the auspices of the High-
land and Agricultural Society (in the Dean Park,
Edinburgh. Prize lists in due course from
John Wishart, Assistant Secretary, Market
Place, Melrose. Entries close July 19th.

July 26th, 27th, 28th. — Lancashire and
Cheshire B.K. A., in connexion with the R.M.L.
and N.L. Agricultural Society's show at Black-
pool. Entries close July 1st. James Birch,
Secretary, 8 Brunswick Street, Liverpool.

August 1st and 2nd. — Staffordshire B.K.A.
at Lichfield, in connexion with the Stafford-
shire Agricultural Society.

August 2nd to 4th. — Yorkshire Agricultural
Society at Dewsbury. Prizes for honey and
bee appliances. Entries closed June 24th. For
lists apply Marshall Stephenson, Secretary,
York.

August 7th. — Berks Bee-keepers' Association,
Newbury District, in connexion with the Flower
Show in Shaw Avenue, Newbury : 11/. cash
prizes. Entries close August 1st. Hon.
Secretary, W. Hawkes, Newtown Road, New-
bury.

August 7th and 8th.— Norlhants B.K.A.
Annual Show at Delapre Park, Northampton.

August 7th and 8th.— Notts B. K. A. Annual
County Show at Mapperley, Notts, in con-
nexion with thePorchester Horticultural Society.
Entries close July 31st. A. G. Pugh, Secretary,
Mona Street, Beeston, Notts.

August 12th. — Wotton-u-E. District Annual
Show of Honey and Cottagers' Flower Show.
£20 in prizes. Entries close Saturday, August
5th. Schedules of G. Gunston, Hon. Secretary,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

August 15th and 16th.— South of England
B.K.A. at Dumfries. Wm. Wilson, Secretary.
Acrehead House, Dumfries.

[We are requested to draw attention to the
above show previously announced for August
29th and 30th.— Eds]

August 30th. — Honey Show at Fleetwood, in
connexion with the Fleetwood Horticultural
Society. Entries close August 15th. For
schedules apply John Latham, Secretary, North
Albion Steert, Fleetwood, Lancashire.

September 2nd.— Vale of Leven, B.K.A., at
Burgh Hall, Dumbarton. Schedules from J.
Walker, Secretary, 74 Main Street, Alexandria,
N.B.

September 6th and 7th. — Derbyshire Bee-
keepers' Association, at Derby. Entries close
August 31st. Over 18/. in prizes. Special
f acilities offered to distant exhibitors. Schedules
from W. T. Atkins, 12 North Street, Derby.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation's Exhibition, in St. Andrew's Hall.
Glasgow. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose. .

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers,

*** Conclusion of article on Mr. Blow's Apiary will appear
next week, together with several letters and queries, already
in type.

E. T. (Glouc). — Samples of Honey. — We con-
sider No. 2 the best for colour, consistency, and
flavour.

G. Ashstead (Rochester). — Comb sent is per-
fectly free from foul brood.

J. E. G. (Burton). — Combs sent are affected
with foul brood. At this season curative
measures are difficult of application, as bees
will not take food while it is to be had out-
side— besides, there is the coming risk of
robbing being started at the close of the
honey-flow. We should therefore give up
the idea of curing if the stock is weak. For
further information read reply to 799, p. 236
of B. J. for June ,15th, and to "A. W. C." on
p. 239 of same issue.

A North Devon Bee-keeper. — Comb is
badly affected with foul brood. Refer to
reply to "J. E.G."

G. Smith (Derby). — Races of Bees. — No. 1 is
the ordinary bee of the country, is and 3
have been crossed with Carniolans. It is
quite impossible for us to say which is the
"best sort " from inspection of dead samples.

Jno. Pardon (Devon). — 1. Comb contains only
pollen, and it can do no harm to give it to
the bees. 2. Hives for uniting should be
brought gradually near to each other before
the operation takes place.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 6, 1893

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

1 * i

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dtc. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny,

FOR SAL'S. — Superior Queens, Stocks, and Swarms,
English and Carniolan. Address Rev. C. Brereton ,
Pulborough, Sussex. *• n-

WANTED.— New Sections Honeycomb, first quality:
also Extracted in bulk. Packages sent. Prompt
■ Cash settlement. Mr. Hurst, Bexbill, Sussex. 118

B

EE TENT on Hire. For terms apply to G-. Gunston,
Bradley Green, Wotton-nnder-Edge. 135

JUST WHAT YOU "WANT! Screw-cap Glass Honey
Jars, English make. Strong, handy, easy to bottle,
easy to use. 13s. a gross P.O.R. Packages Returnable.
Send five stamns for sample. Address Gaenett, IS Steade
Road, Sheffield. a 95

NEIGHBOURS 1893 Improved Cylinder Honey Ex-
tractor, only used three times, takes two Standard
Frames, bargain, i5s. Also Neighbour's No. 20 Unicomb
Observatory Hive, in perfect order, cost 5(K, takes six
Standard Frames— all the mvsteries of the hive are ex-
posed to view— price on rail, 26s. Stocks of English Bees
on eight frames, securely packed with plenty of brood and
-sufficient honey to tra^l safely. 25s., nackase free; de-
posit. Address Wi. Hinson, Parkgate Road, Reigate,
Surrey. b 2

BICYCLE.— Exceptional opportunity. Bee-keepers want-
ing a New, Highest Grade, Safety or Tricycle should
ask for full particulars from A. T. Wilmot, St. Albans. B 3

WANTED.— Good Modern Cylinder Extractor. Address
W. J. Green, Bishop's Waltham, Hants. b 4

FOR SALE. — Strong Healthy Stocks in Frame Hives,
with Surplus Honey. Offers wanted. Address Kay,
Park Cottage, Wilmington, Kent. b 5

WANTED, by an Expert, a Situation as Manager or
Caretaker of Bees or Apiary on Gentleman's
Estate or elsewhere. Has Thirty Stocks to dispose of or
join with others. Advertiser is thoroughly experienced in
Hive-making of every description, and is a Good Hand at
making Honeycomb Designs, several of which he has now
on hand for completion if wanted. Address H. Seamaek,
The Apiary, Willingham, Cambs. b 7

FOR SALE.— Pure White Clover Honey Sections and
others for Cash. What price offered ? Also a Two-
Framed Observatory Hive, New, cost 40s. ; will take half.
Address Seamaek, Willingham, Cambs. b 8

SECTIONS.— Wanted, First Quality Sections, any quan-
tity. Also Extracted Honey. Address Nye & Sons,
Western Street, Brighton. 143

HONEY. — Interesting 8 pp. Pamphlet, explaining to
general Public how Honey is harvested and gathered
by the Ton. By distributing it you can sell all your Honey
at home at a good figure. Copy gratis and post free of
,S. Simhins, Seaford, Sussex.

CARBOLINE POMADE.— Kills Bee-stings like Magic.
Prevents getting Stung, Robbing, and Bees entering
Cones, &c. Price Is. per bottle, in handsome, coloured
Postal Boxes. Samples of Bee-Smoke Cartridges, 3d.
Address T. Hoixiday, Astbury, Congleton. 131

100 lbs. HEATHER HONEY,
IN SECTIONS,

From each Colony, is what you may expect by using our
special "Crown Heather" Queens, bred from a mother
whose stock stored nearly 100 lbs. this Spring by the
middle of May. These are reared expressly for our great
Northern demand. Money returned in full if not approved.
Particulars of S. SIMMINS, Seaford, Sussex. ~il32

GENUINE ITALIAN BEES.— Queens,
Swarms, Nuclei ; or Established on Fixed
and Movable Combs, at reasonable rates. Safe
arrival guaranteed. Price List post free.

L. E. Lambeetenghi & Co., Caravaggio, Italy.

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. 141

Scottish Bee-keepers' Association.

EDINBURGH SUMMER SHOW.

THE THIRD SUMMER EXHIBITION will be held
in connexion with the Great Show of the HIGHLAND
and AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, in the Dean Park,
Edinburgh, from Tuesday, the 25th, to Friday, the
28th of July— the Show of the Season. Prizes over
£50. Nine Classes for Appliances; ample Classification
for Honey in Supers and Sections ; also for Extracted and
Granulated Honey ; Classes for Beeswax and Confec-
tionery containing Honey. The best Judges available will
award the Prizes. Schedules are now ready, and all Bee-
keepers and Appliance Makers should write for one.
Entries close on July 19th. Advertisements wanted for
Show Catalogue, 1000 of which will be presented gratis to
Visitors. Apply for full information to John Wishart,
Assistant Secretary, Market Place, Melrose. 138

VALE OF LEVEN

Bee-keepers' Association

HONEY SHOW,

In BURGH HALL, DUMBARTON,

On Saturday, September 2nd.

Schedules from J. Walker, Sec, 74 Main Street,
Alexandria, N.B.

Lincolnshire Agricultural Society.

STAMFORD EXHIBITION.

PRIZES are offered for Poultry, Pigeons, Honey,
Hives, Butter, Butter-making, &c, amount-
ing to £138. Entries close July 7th. Prize
Lists and Entry Forms may be obtained of

STEPHEN UPTON, Secretary.
St. Benedict's Square, Lincoln.
June 22nd, 1893.

B

URTT. GLOUCESTE

J
ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE

POST FREE.

EE-HIYE MANUFACTURE

R

108

THE

Mstt Iff 3mmtal

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 577. Vol. XXI. N.S. 185.] JULY 13, 1893.

[Published Weekly

(^bttorial, IpaiittS, &t.

SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.

The forthcoming summer show of this Asso-
ciation, which is to he held in Edinburgh, in
connexion with the annual exhibition of the
Highland and Agricultural Society, promises to
be a success. No effort will be spared to make
the show the best of the season, and the liberal
classification and prizes, amounting in value to
50/., should bring entries from all parts of the
kingdom. The Association has secured the
services of Mr. S. J. Baldwin, chief expert to
the British Bee-keepers' Association, to give
frequent demonstrations and lectures during the
four days of the show, and he will also act as
one of the judges of honey.

Mr. W. Broughton Carr, co-editor of the
British Bee Journal and Record, with the fol-
lowing Scottish gentlemen, have agreed to act
as judges : — Rev. J. B. Robertson, Leswalt Manse,
Stranraer; Rev. R. M'Clelland, the Manse,
Inchinnan, Renfrew ; Colonel Bennett, of Allo-
way Park, Ayr; Dr. Murray, Galashiels; Mr.
C. Chouler, Dalkeith ; Mr. J. A. Holms, Sandy-
ford, Paisley ; Mr. Charles G. Meldrum, Logie-
rait, Ballinluig; Mr. F. McConnel, Blackyett,
Ecclefechan ; Mr. W. Sword, Falkirk, and Mr.
John Stewart, Letham Mill, Arbroath.

The attractions of the beautiful Scottish
capital, combined with the good travelling
facilities by rail and sea to Edinburgh, are sure
to attract the Southerns in large numbers to the
ehow in the Dean Park. If possible, a meeting
of the members will be held during the show.

The Assistant Secretary will be pleased to
render any aid in his power to strangers visiting
Edinburgh. He would feel obliged to intending
•exhibitors were they to make their entries as
early as possible. It would thus prevent the
necessity of having post-entries in the catalogue,
and allow the labels to be posted in ample time
for the dispatch of exhibits by goods train.
The entries close on "Wednesday, July 19th.

Further particulars regarding the show will
be found in the advertisement on outside page of
cover in this issue. Prize lists and other in-
formation can be had from Mr. John Wishart,
assistant secretary, 5 Market Place, Melrose.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.

The following additional

sums have been

received or promised : —

Amount already ac

knowledged
W. Burdett - Coutts,

■£
28

s.
4

d.

6

Esq., M.P.
Captain St. G. Ord ...
Wm. Woodley
E. D. T

2
1
1
0

2

1

0

10

0
0
0
0

Rev. R. M Lamb ...

0

5

0

HONEY IMPORTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of June,
1893, was 6676/. — From a return furnished by
the Statistical Office, H.M. Customs.

HONEY EXHIBITS AT FARNINGH.1M,
KENT.

A fair exhibit of honey was made by the
members of the Farningham Rose Society at
their annual show on July 7th. As the compe-
tition was limited to the members of the Rose
Show, there was much less honey staged than
if members of the Kent B.K.A. had been ad-
mitted to the competition. The exhibits were
judged by Mr. W. Broughton Carr, with the
following result : —

Class 40. Twelve sections (1-lb. or 2-lbs.
each) of comb honey. — 1st, Mr. E. D. Till ; 2nd,
the Rev. G. Bancks; 3rd, Sir M. Collett.

Class 41. Run or extracted honey (1-lb. or
2-lb. glass jars), total exhibit 12 lbs. — 1st, Mr.
T. Fisher ; 2nd, the Rev. G. Bancks ; 3rd, the
Rev. G. Bancks.

Class 42. Display of comb honey for ex-
tracting, not exceeding 25 lbs. — 1st, Mr. E. D.
Till ; 2nd, the Rev. G. Bancks; 3rd, Miss Wood.

Cottageri Classes.

Class 58. Run or extracted honey in 1-lb.
glass jars, total exhibit of 6 lbs. — 2nd, Mr. R.
Wheeler.

Class 59. Six sections of comb honey, total
exhibit about 6 lbs. — 1st, Mr. R. Wheeler.

Two very perfect examples of wasps' nests were
staged, each as big as a small gas globe, almost
cylindrical, one built in a currant and the other
in a gooseberry-bush. — Communicated,

272

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 13, 1893.

IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The Committee met on the 4th instant. Pre-
sent : Mr. Edmondson, in the chair ; Messrs.
Gillies, Drought, O'Bryen; and the Hon. Sec-
retaries, Messrs. Read and Chenevix.

Mr. O'Bryen reported that the Congested
Districts Board had undertaken the promotion
of bee-keeping in parts of counties Mayo and
Sligo, and had appointed him Instructor, with
directions to be guided in his action by the ad-
vice of the I.B.K.A. Committee, and he accord-
ingly consulted the Committee on certain points.

It was resolved that the Association should
give assistance themselves to two bee-keepers
in county Galway on certain conditions.

A very fine specimen of section honey was
received by the Committee from Mr. Thomas
Dea, of Ballyglass, as a small acknowledgment
of services rendered to him by the Association.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal," 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed to "The
Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17 King William
btreet, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

%* 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.

PRACTICAL VERSUS SCIENTIFIC
BEE-KEEPING.

[1487.] In your issue of June 29th (p. 254), 1
observe in " Notes by the Way " that your
esteemed correspondent, Mr. W. Woodley, calls
attention to some instructive (?) articles on bees
which have recently appeared in Great Thoughts
from the pen of a Mr. James Crowther.

Now, to my mind, this gentleman does not
seem to be a practical bee-keeper at all, and
certainly cannot be much of a naturalist, for I
happened to read the first of the series of
articles referred to, which appeared in the
number of Qi-eat Thoughts for April 22nd last,
and for the information of your readers, I quote
from it a paragraph containing what appears
like " ancient history." It is as follows : —

" You know, of course, that in the bee family
there are several classes ; first, the queen, who
is both mother and monarch of the^whole hive ;
then secondly, the workers, who do all the
business of the hive, which consists of collecting
pollen from the flowers, turning it into wax for
their houses, forming that wonderful dwelling-
place the comb; then bread-making for the
ordinary bees, and a very different kind, of

course, for the royal family ; then, again,
varnish-making for the dwelling-places, so that
all may be free from draught ; then, still
further, the manufacture of poison, which they
inject into the bodies of their enemies ; and,
lastly, the kneading of pap for the babies." A
little farther down, the occupation of drones is
described as " xoaiting on her majesty." The
italics are mine. I have not seen the succeeding
articles alluded to by Mr. Woodley, but if this
is to be taken as a sample of the whole, I cer-
tainly would much rather go to a more reliable
source for my bee-knowledge. It seems to me
that the author, in his haste to reach the
scientific part of his subject, and write about the
eye and antennae of the bee, has neglected the
alphabetical part familiar to every practical bee-
keeper.— Oswald Hardy, Dunkalk, July 5th.

NOTES FROM OXFORDSHIRE.

[1488.] This appears to be a very favour-
able season for bees in this part of the country.
My twenty-three hives are filled up, and, all
told, they contain, I calculate, a ton of honey-
But now the question arises, what is to be done
with the harvest when gathered in ? I asked
"the stores" if they would take it all, and
they offer 85. per dozen sections delivered,
but they require a sample, and no doubt also
only the very best. I used sections of last
year, and these (the wood) are dull, to use
no more disparaging term, and very likely
would not be accepted. Then, again, an eighty-
mile journey by rail, and subsequent carriage to
the stores, would cause my harvest to arrive in
a sorry state at its destination, I guess. I
therefore hesitate to move in the matter. I
asked local tradesmen, but they say honey has
been exposed in their windows for months
without finding purchasers. In the meanwhile
my storeroom is getting choked up, although I
distribute sections to all likely to appreciate
them, and as persons may also be seen walking
off with the produce of my dairy, this place
may fairly be likened to the promised Canaan,
" a land flowing with milk and honey.'' Un-
fortunately, when I began robbing my hives,
I found I had, with culpable negligence, ex-
hausted the 1000 sections which I purchased at
a sale for lis. last year, and although I sent a
cheque for another 1000, they have not yet
appeared, no doubt in consequence of the
enormous demand for such things.

When I began bee-keeping some years ago, I
had no idea that my apiary could be so exten-
sive as it is now. I bought a swarm and a hive
from a gentleman here, and he undertook to
manage it for me, and take the swarms for his
trouble. The first honey he took looked so
very beautiful, that I determined to dispense
with my friend's assistance and manage the
hives myself; my gardener also was much
impressed with the beauty of the honey in the
honey-comb, and also volunteered to act as my
assistant bee-master. I lent him my sixpenny

July 13, 1893. j

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

273

book, and he, I own, took in the salient points
which produce efficiency much quicker, and in a
more practical manner than I do, and now we
together find no difficulty in manipulating the
hives.

Making the hives forms a never-failing source
of employment during the winter months. Not
long ago I took the chair at a lecture on " bee-
keeping " given under the auspices of the County
Council, and the following hints which I gave
may be useful to amateur bee-keepers : —

If money is no object, have all your hives
made by machinery, as they will suit the re-
quirements of bees exactly. As, however, it is
difficult to imagine anything more suitable to
afford amusement to the amateur carpenter than
hive-making, make your own hives if you can,
but take care they are all the same size, so that
section cases are interchangeable. Always buy
your frames and sections. Some people advise
" use lots of smoke and no gloves." This is bad
advice, as I got stung on the hand or wrist
almost every time I robbed my hives ; use india-
rubber gloves and pull an old stocking with
the foot cut off over glove and sleeve.

Always have an assistant when taking off
sections and putting them on, to do the smoking,
and keep an eye on the tools, &c. : use as little
smoke as possible, as it taints the honey.
In early days, when we followed the much-
smoke theory, our honey tasted like Yorkshire
ham. Now the robbing on our part is done so
quietly and quickly that hardly any smoke is
required.

I always do the manipulating, and wear a
veil and gloves ; my gardener, who holds the
bellows, finds there is no occasion for any pro-
tection. My friend, the gentleman who started
me bee-keeping, hinted that it is cowardly to
use a veil. I, however, threatened to retaliate
by calling him a fool each time he got stung,
which was pretty often. Hitherto I have not
had a single swarm this year. My gardener
accounts for this by saying that honey has been
coming in so fast, there was no room for queen-
cells. — L.

[The point for our correspondent and all
others to consider, is how to have their honey
put up in the best form for the sale counter.
Sections are advertised for every week in our
columns, but they must be good sections, and
those who produce such will be able to find a
market for them, while bad ones are almost
worthless for sale purposes. — Eds.]

SCARCITY OF SWARMS.

[1489.] I read in your valuable journal that
there is a great scarcity of swarms this year ; so
that I am no exception. I have wintered over
twenty colonies, and have only had two swarms
from the lot, and these came from two weak
skeps which I had to feed in the early spring.
They only swarmed once, so that I did not get a
single second swarm. I did not get honey here
so early as a good many who report in your

journal, but we have no fruit orchards. How-
ever, my bees have done fairly well this month
considering the hot, dry weather, but the total
yield will be less than last year, when the lime-
trees gave plenty of honey, but this year they
have almost no bloom on them. White clover
is also very scarce, but the blackberries are
already in bloom, and they help to spoil the
flavour of the honey. I am interested in the
" Wells " hive, and anxiously waiting to see
what success attends it in the hands of amateurs.
I see a correspondent refers to the scarcity of
humble-bees and wasps, but I fear that we shall
have an abundance of the latter before long, as
the young ones are beginning to come out thick
already. The 1st of August is the time they
usually make their appearance. Drones are
flying thicker from my hives now than they
have done before, and the hives are fuller of
worker-bees than at any time this year. They
did not seem so full in May as in April. Wish-
ing you and all bee-keepers prosperity — J. L.,
Brackley.

A GOOD SEASON IN YORKSHIRE.

[1490.] We are having a grand season
here, the best, I consider, since 1875, when
I became an apiculturist. I got thirty-one
hives out of thirty-six through the winter,
which have increased to forty -two (five
natural and six artificial swarms). I have
taken off about fifty supers of twenty pounds
each, and have about seventy-five now on the
hives, which are likely to be all filled if the
sunny weather lasts another week or two. —
R. M. Lamb, Burton Pidsea Rectory, Hull,
July 10th.

THE SEASON IN MID-OXON.

[1491. ] The honey season, at least in this
immediate neighbourhood, will, I fear, prove a
bad one. My stocks wintered well and came
out strong in April, and some honey was
gathered from the blackthorns. The clover,
which is our chief honey-producer, never came
out in such white sheets as it generally does,
lasting usually three or four weeks, but it was
very stunted and burnt up with the drought after
the first week. Since then the bees have only
about gathered enough to live upon. I have had
no swarms, owing to my method, I suppose, of
tiering. Nevertheless, I do not believe my yield
will be more than twenty pounds per hive of
honey. Last year it was fifty pounds per hive.

I have had a few cases of two queens living
together in the same hive. In one hive two
queens lived together for three weeks, and as the
bees showed no inclination for deposing the old
one, I had to do it myself.

I believe in districts where showers were fre-
quent, or where clover was abundant, the yield
of honey will be an average one; but judging by
the performance of my own bees I think the
honey crop will be very various. — Apiarist,
Wychwood Forest, July \0th, 1893.

274

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 13, 1893.

YOUNG QUEENS.

[1492.] Will you allow me to beg all bee-
keepers to give close attention to the ages of
their queen-bees ? Mr. Simmins some years ago
so impressed me with his arguments in favour
of regular re-queening that I have given the
plan a thorough trial for several years, during
which time the number of my hives has varied
from thirty to 150. I try to re-queen every
hive each autumn, but I often fail to raise ex-
actly the right number of queens, and, con-
sequently, a few hives keep their queens through
another season. A stranger examining my hives
in March would detect no difference, but I
could guarantee that in May he would be able
to point at nine out of ten of the old-queened
hives, because such are very much slower in
building up. The reason, 1 believe, is that the
workers from a young queen are very much
more vigorous.

Everybody might not care to re-queen each
year, but, at any rate, it should be done once in
two years, if stocks have not swarmed. The
tendency for large hives and frequent removal
of surplus honey has so reduced swarming in
many apiaries that bee-keepers often overlook
the age of the queen. I need hardly add that
hives which have swarmed are headed by young
queens, and, of course, there is no advantage in
re-queening such stocks. Easy ways of raising
queens were given in the B. B. J. a few years
ago, and I think many of your new subscribers
would be benefited if you reprinted some of the
plainest methods then advised by prominent
bee-keepers. I may add that I have no queens
for sale this summer. — Edward J. Gibbins,
Neath.

BEES IN NEW ZEALAND.

[1493.] I have just received the British Bee
Journal for February 23rd, and I note in it my
letter to you of December 28th, 1892.

From my address at foot you will surmise
that I have for the present abandoned my idea
of starting an apiary in the Malay Peninsula.
I hope, however, in a couple of years' time, (if
God spares me) to make another attempt to
carry out my plan, which I have reason to
believe will be successful. I will send you some
notes from time to time from New Zealand, if
they are likely to be interesting. The bush here
literally swarms with bees. The Pennywgal
which has established itself here as a farmers'
pest, is alive with bees, whieh I believe gather
much honey from it. — W. H., Auckland, N.Z.,
April 29iA.

A VISIT TO A HIVE FACTOEY AND
APIARY.

(Concluded from page 246.)

Our limited space precludes us from dwelling
on the various items interesting to the bee-

keeper which present themselves on inspecting
the few stocks which time and the coldness of
the weather permitted us to examine. We may,
however, say that all were in perfect health
and doing well.

On entering the premises by the door near
the right-hand side of the main building we find
ourselves in the machine-room and main work-
shop, the carpenters' work -benches running
along the whole length of the two-story portion
of the building, except the part lighted by a
couple of the windows on the extreme right,
these looking into the "office" and packing-
room for light goods and small appliances. From
this office, divided from the other part by
glazed partitioning, a full view is obtained of
the whole of the work in operation on the
ground floor. At the further side from the
front there is also a small laboratory and photo-
graphic r-om, the camera being one of the few
hobbies Mr. Blow has time to devote himself
to.

It need hardly be said that what with circular
saws going, the various machine-benches in full
swing, workmen's hammers, and, above all, the
tremendous " row " caused by the rapid thump,
thump of a powerful wood-chopping machine,
the noise is so great that conversation is out of
question, and it was with a feeling akin to relief
that we passed up to the quieter atmosphere of
the stock-room or warehouse on the second
floor. This room occupies the same space as the
one below, and, being open to the roof makes a
fine lofty place for its purpose. The stock of
bee-goods on hand is larger than we ever saw
under one roof before, but no attempt whatever
is made at " displaying " the numerous articles
everywhere surrounding us ; in fact, the peculiar
arrangement of the goods is one of the " good
things " picked up by Mr. Blow on his visit to
the extensive establishment in America belong-
ing to Mr. A. I. Root, editor of Gleanings and
proprietor of the " Home of the Honey-bee," at
Medina, Ohio.

Following the American plan, the floor-
space next the walls is divided off from floor
to ceiling by a light, open framework into
compartments of various widths, according to
the size of the articles " stocked " in each. In
this way we saw a solid " wall," consisting of
hundreds of section racks ready fitted for use,
each one being the exact counterpart of the
other, and packed into the least possible space.
The same with every other article sold : ex-
tractors in one, smokers in another, straw skeps
in a third, followed by others containing feeders,
honey jars — in fact, bee-appliances of every sort,
but each kind occupying its own compartment,
so that no " mixing up " of goods occurs, while
the proprietor is enabled to see at a glance what
quantity of each article he has in stock, and
keeps us the supply accordingly. Then what an
enormous saving of space it secures ! and how it
must assist the buyer, seller, and, more than all,
the packers whose duty it is to "fill" orders
coming by post ! Any way, we commend this
plan of stocking goods to others in the same line

July 18, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

275

of business, as being the best arrangement pos-
sible for the purposes of trade.

Straw skep-making — of which we are enabled
to give an interesting illustration below — is on e
of the few branches of Mr. Blow's trade n ot
carried on at the " Works ;" the exclusive ser-
vices of an expert skep-maker and his family,
whose portraits appear in the cut, being engaged
on this part icular work for the greater part of
each year.

After going over the various parts of the
building devoted to bee -appliances, we passed
on to another and important branch of Mr.
Blow's trade, embracing the cutting and bund-
ling by the ton of firewood for household

chopping machine as fast as a man can " feed "
it, where, being automatically drawn in and
passed under the " cutters," a few of the noisy
"thump, thumps," to which we have already
referred, reduce the blocks to chips, and in this
form they move along, only to fall into a series
of baskets or boxes fixed dredger-like on endless
bands. These rows of baskets are constantly
passing up full to the top story, where, turning
over, they empty themselves and return for
another load. Thus an enormous heap of chips
soon accumulates on the top floor, on one side
of which are several wide-mouthed " hoppers,"
with shafts leading to the " bundling benches "
in the room below. At each of these benches

STRAW SKEP MAKING.

purposes. This department was started partly
with the idea of keeping machines and men
employed during the winter-time, when the
bee-trade is comparatively at a standstill. It is
carried on at that end of the building by the
engine-house on the left, and conspicuous by its
greater height. Few would believe how much of
interest there is in watching the operations of
the powerful machinery and the many labour-
saving devices necessary in the business of pro-
ducing bundles of firewood on a large scale.

First, there is a massive saw-bench, with its
large, vicious-looking circular saws fixed three
abreast, and making we forget how many
thousand revolutions per minute; but they
rapidly cut the heavy logs of wood (three inches
thick) into equal lengths of about 6x9 inches.
These lengths are then passed, end up, into the

a boy is stationed, who, with an iron clamp or
collar in front of him, fixes the needful quantity
of chips into the clamp : this done, he presses a
lever with his foot, which grips and crushes the
wood close up, and holds it so. A single length
of wire is then quickly passed round the bundle,
and a couple of turns secures it. The finished
article is tossed aside ready for " crating " by
other boys at work, giving that final touch to
the series of operations required in turning out a
marketable bundle of " chips."

Whether or not this crude description of what
was to us an entirely new trade will possess any
interest for readers of the B. J., we cannot say ;
but the hour we spent in watching the process
was a very interesting one indeed, and we
returned to town much gratified with our visit
to the " Welwyn Beehive Works."

276

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 13, 1893.

utxrn oft Ij^pEea.

[828.] Making Artificial Swarms. — T wisn
to make au artificial swarm without spoiling my
present stock. I have one stock only, in a bar-
frame hive, -which has yielded about thirty-five
pounds of honey in supers, and it has twelve
frames in brood box. Kindly answer as fol-
lows : — 1. When is the best time to make an
artificial swarm ? 2. If it is late in the year,
is it too late for doing it successfully ? 3. How
many frames shall I put in new hive together
with that on which the queen is ? The stock
has twelve frames. — T. P., Sittingbourne. July
7th.

Reply. — 1. About end of May or beginning
of June. 2. Without taking into account how
late it may be done successfully, we do not
advise you trying the experiment at all under
the circumstances. The present year has proved
so exceptionally unfavourable for natural swarm-
ing that to swarm bees at this late season, with
only one stock to deal with, would be very
risky, and might end disastrously. Our corre-
spondent should at least possess a small hand-,
book on bee-management, wherein he could
read full particulars of the risks to be avoided
in making artificial swarms. To be safe, it
should be done earlier on in the season, and,
moreover, two stocks are desirable in order to
make a third. One stock should supply the
swarm and a second stock the bees for re-
populating the hive which has been depleted.
3. The usual plan is to take the comb on which
the queen is found and set it in a new hive on
the old stand, removing the old stock to a dis-
tance away. It should, as mentioned above, be
put on the stand of a second stock, to get the
flying bees of the latter.

[829.] Moving Bees to the Moors. — In the
course of afortnightl shall remove my two stocks
of bees to the Scarboro' moors, about three miles
away. I dread this annual expedition more
than anything else connected with my bees, and
this year the difficulties are greater than they
have ever been before. In the first place, my
hives are surrounded on all sides with obstacles,
a timber merchant having bought the land
where my hives are located, and stocked it with
huge stocks of pit-props, larch-poles, tree-trunks,
&c, so that my hives are thoroughly hemmed in,
except that there is a flight-space of about eight
feet square in front of them. Immediately at
the rear of the hives is a low hedge, eighteen
inches behind the hedge is a brick wall four feet
high, and on the other side of the wall are
yards and cottages. It is impossible to carry the
hives outwards to the front owing to a pile of
tree-trunks, or upwards owing to the stacks of
poles, the only way out being backwards, through
the hedge and over the wall into the street, via
a " yard " and a back passage. To surmount
these obstacles it will be necessary to make up

the hives and parcels as light as possible. One
of my hives is a " Cowan," the other being not-
take-to-pieceable. Neither colony having
swarmed, both are very strong. It would, I
imagine, be unwis9 to pack all the bees, which
(in the case of the " Cowan " hive) crowd thirty-
seven frames (ten standards and twenty-seven
shallows) into the brood box. The plan which
suggests itself to me is to remove the three shal-
low-framed supers, bees and all (the honey
having been extracted from them a day or two
before), and make a separate parcel of them. On
former occasions we have set off for the moors
at about 8 or 8.30 p.m., accordingto the weather,
and on reaching our destination we unload, and
with the aid of a lantern place them in position
and remove the perforated zinc from the en-
trance. This will be the first time that I have
had to deal with bees confined in supers, and it
is in regard to this matter that I solicit your
valued advice. Would those confined bees be
in a condition of great irritation the next morn-
ing at 10 a.m., or would the task of placing the
supers in position be an easy one ? 2. In con-
nexion with the fastening of the frames prepara-
tory to removal, I should like to know if there
is any method of securing frames which will
leave a level surface above them, and so render
it unnecessary to remove the fastenings until
after returning f Distance racks are very effec-
tive but they cause a lot of trouble, as they have
to be twice fixed and twice removed each trip
to the moors and back. 3. When next I make
a hive I shall overcome this difficulty by letting
the frames into notches, so that the tops will be
flush with the top of the brood box. By rub-
bing vaseline on the shoulders of the frames the-
bees will not glue them down, and the frames
will always be firm in case of removal : will this
plan do ? When preparing the hives for the
winter, instead of an " eke " being put at the
bottom of the hive I should place it at the top,
so arranged as to give a wider space between the
frames, the underside of the " eke " being made
to fit into the open spaces below it. I find the
principle of metal ends and runners of very little
practical use to me. I always use ten brood
frames in the summer, set at equal distances,
I trust you will read this dissertation and give
me your advice and opinion on the points enu-
merated, especially with regard to («) the best
plan of getting the hives over the wall, (b) the
confined bees in the supers, and (c) the idea of
frames let in at fixed distances, using a wider-
spaced " eke " in the winter, (d) 1 should also
thank you if you would kindly give me the
scientific name of the enclosed spray (a variety
of heather, I think), and inform me if it is a
good honey-producing flower. — A. G. W.r
Scarborough.

Reply. — 1. We should not advise your pro-
ceeding as proposed. Let the bees travel in the
hive along with the queen, and with care two
persons could easily lift a hive on to a four-foot
wall and over it. Extract the honey (not too
closely) and return the boxes of frames the
evening prior to starting for the moors. 2. If

July 13, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

27?

the hives have either metal ends or broad
shoulders as distance guides the simple fasten-
ing down of the surplus boxes to the body of the
hive makes the frames secure and also " leaves a
level surface above them." 3. We cannot com-
mend your plan to let the frame ends rest in
notches in the hive side. It is going backward
twenty-five years in hive-construction and would
not be tolerated by any bee-keeper who studied
ease and comfort in manipulating. If you
purpose constructing a hive specially for taking
to the moors, read B. J. for March 31st of last
year, p. 126. Your closing queries a, b, c, and d,
are covered by above reply. The spray of heather
sent is commonly known as " bell heather." It
is not the true " ling " (Erica vulgaris) nor is it
nearly so good as a honey plant.

[830.] Bees and Brace Combs.— I. Why
should bees build comb to fill up holes in zinc
queen-excluder instead of working in shallow
frames given above ? One of my stocks began
so to do and so I changed the shallow frames for
one-pound sections, with the result that bees
began to work very, very slowly in the said
sections. Again, I put the shallow frames
removed from No. 1 hive on to No. 2 hive with
the result bees worked well in them for a week
and then left them, and began to build up from
the top of brood frames round the bottom of
shallow frames. I have half-sheets of founda-
tion in shallow frames and the bees did not one
half fill that out and had stored no honey when
they left them as stated above. 2. I would be
glad also if you would tell me what would be
the result of a loss of a frame of brood from a
good strong stock about the end of June;
because, having noticed a large cluster of bees
on the outside of hive, I fancied they were in-
clined for swarming, and in taking out a frame
to find queen-cells to cut out, the whole of the
comb, which was full of brood, fell from frame.
Not knowing what else to do I buried comb,
honey, and brood, and replaced with a frame
with half-sheet of foundation. — Ignoramus,
Hemel Hempstead, July 5th.

Reply. — 1. We presume the queen-excluder
has been raised some distance above the top bars
of brood frames and the bees have filled up this
space with comb. This is why we advise that
the excluder should lie directly on the frame tops.
If the combs in brood chamber are built properly
in the frames the bees will not continue them
upivards. It was not good practice to take
away the shallow frames and give sections.
Had the box containing the former been snug
and warmly packed, the bees would not have
refused to work in it. No doubt the peculiar
season and the intermittent honey income has
caused the stoppage of work complained of.
2. The result would simply be the loss of as
many young bees as were sacrificed in the brood
destroyed.

[331.] Scarcity of Drones. — 1. One of my
hives has not swarmed yet, although there is
plenty of worker brood, but not a single drone
nor any sign of drone brood. How is this ?

2. Will the above hive swarm, although there
are no drones in the hive? 8. Would it do to
make an artificial swarm of the above, and
introduce a laying queen ? — R. G., Renfrew-
shire.

Reply. — 1. The remarkable scarcity of both
swarms and drones this year has been much re-
marked on, and we cannot explain it, except a?
one of the many curiosities of an abnormal
season. 2. No. 3. Yes, if the operation i?
carefully carried out.

[832.] Returning Wet Combs and Bees Fight-
ing.— I extracted the honey from two hives on
Saturday night, the 1st July ; they were supered
with standard frames, and I returned tht*
frames after extracting. I was horrified to find
on the following morning that the bees of one of
the colonies were nearly all slain ! — fighting
amongst themselves, and still fighting went on
all the day, and I could not stop them. 1. I
should be much obliged if you will tell me how
to proceed when returning the combs. 2. Is it
the best plan to brush the bees into the hive at
the top of the combs, or on front of the hives,
or on to the alighting-board ? I am afraid to
extract any more till I hear of a better method.
I have to extract from fourteen or fifteen more
hives, all glutted with honey ; four of them are
" Wells " hives, supered four stories high, and
nearly all full. Honey is fairly pouring in — the
bees are doing uncommonly well. I will let you
know more particulars later on. — John Hep-
worth, Wakefield, July 3rd.

Reply. — 1. Cases of bees fighting among
themselves are very rare, though they do occur,
chiefly, as we have reason to think, through re-
turning the wet combs to other hives than those
from which they were removed. When re-
moving full surplus chambers, use a super-
clearer, setting it on early in the morning, and
taking off the cleared chamber the same night.
By doing this all excitement of the bees is
avoided. Get all surplus indoors, and see that
the bees are perfectly quieted down before re-
turning any wet combs for clearing up. Then
try one box only, setting it on at nightfall.
Watch the result next morning, and if no dis-
turbance has followed, get all done in the same
way ; or you may let one or twc stocks do all
the " clearing-up," if they do it quietly. 2. We
fear the brushing off bees, &c, has been the root
of the trouble. The super-clearer entirely avoid*
this, and the bees are not disturbed in the least
by robbing them of their honey.

[833.] Re-queening Stocks. — Some eight years
ago I bought an Italian queen-bee, and intro-
duced her successfully, and soon I found the
Ligurians displacing the English bees, and in a
short time 1 had a strong stock of Ligurians,
which wintered well, and the following year
yielded a good lot of honey. But now my
troubles began ; they swarmed, and I lost the
swarm, and the new queen mated with an
English drone, I suppose, and her progeny are
vicious in the extreme. I am anxious to get rid
of all cross-bred bees, and to keep only English

278

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 13, 1898.

ones, but I do not like to destroy the stock.
Could I do this — 1. By taking a frame or two
of black bees, brood, and eggs, and placing these
in an empty hive with four or five combs from
which the honey has been extracted ; then set
this hive and combs of brood on the site occu-
$>'ed by the Ligurians, removing that fifty or
fcixty yards off ? The flying bees would go to the
old stand and raise a queen from the black
brood. There are very few Ligurian drones,
so that the chances are that the young queen
would mate with the English bees. Or, if this
does not answer, could I do exactly the same,
but introduce a fertile black queen instead of
letting the bees raise one ? 2.1 assume the old
Ligurians would die out, and be replaced by
English bees ? — S. Chivers.

Eeply. — The safest course will be to intro-
duce a fertile queen after removing the Ligurian,
without further disturbing the stock. 2. Yes.

[834.] Renewing Combs and Giving Young
Queen. — One of my hives has not swarmed for
bhree or four years, and the combs are old, badly
distanced, and all sorts of shapes. I caught
sight of the queen at the beginning of June,
when I put on a crate of sections, and she
seemed /weak by the tottering way she moved
on the comb. Last year I only got seven
sections with honey, and at present about half
a dozen are filled. The bees have had an
abundance of stores but do not seem to "pull
up." I fancy they are a poor strain. Could I
do the following, and would it be correct ? (a)
Take off crate and kill the queen ; (5) get young
queen from dealer and introduce ; (c) few days
after remove hive and put in its place another
with frames fitted with foundation and sweep
bees into it. — Tyko, Bideford, July 6th.

Eeply.— The " fault " of the plan it is pro-
posed to follow is that the newly introduced
queen is liable to be balled by her new subjects
in the excitement of transferring them to the
new hive, otherwise it would work out all riirht.
If you do not care to run this risk, an alternative
plan would be to get the bees and old combs
into the new hive and then remove the old
queen and leave matters till queen-cells are
formed and most of the sealed brood is hatched
out, say, for eight days ; then move the old
combs and give sheets of foundation instead,
and after the bees have settled down quietly
introduce the young queen.

[835.] liaising Queens. — 1. I have an
ordinary bar-frame hive, with eleven frames
in brood nest, and a crate of twenty-four pound
sections on. The stock is, I think, quite up to
average strength, but has not swarmed yet.
Several dozen of drones were killed two weeks
ago. I do not know age of present queen, and
should therefore wish to rear a young one.
Also I should like to make a swarm if you think
it advisable. 2. Would it be practicable to
Taise a queen by putting a dummy between the
frames in brood nest? If I put five frames
and present queen on one side of dummy, would
ihe bees on the other six frames (finding them-

selves queenless) raise queen-cells ? 3. Would
this plan interfere with work in sections? 4.
Also, when queen-cells were built, could I not
make an artificial swarm, removing old queen,
leaving one or two queen-cells with old stock, and
giving one or two queen-cells to artificial swarm ?
Hoping you will excuse the trouble I am giving,
as I am but a one-year bee-keeper, and thanking
you for the valuable hints in Bee Journal—
Novice, Rochester.

Eeply. — We have alreidy given our views
on this point. See reply to " T. P." (p. 276).
2. When drones are killed, and bees have given
up all idea of swarming for the year, it is not
safe to try any such experiments as those re-
ferred to. Queens are no use unless safely
mated, and it is best to keep the fertile queen
you have than risk having a useless drone-
breeder on hind. 3. It may be taken for
granted that " work in sections " is now ended
for the season in Kent. 4. Eeply to No. 2
meets this query.

>|x0fccrs to dfarnu.

July 19th. — Cranleigh and District Bee Club
Show at Cranleigh. Prizes for honey, hives,
&c. For schedules, write John Charlwood,
Secretary, College Eoad, Cranleigh.

July 19th to 21st. — Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Stamford. Bees, honey,
hives and appliances.

July 21st and 22nd. — Bristol and District
B.K.A., at Knowle. Entries close July 14th.
Over 6/. cash in prizes. Special facilities offered
to distant exhibitors. Schedules from James
Brown, Hon. Secretary, 42 Baldwin Street,
Bristol, or from local Secretaries.

July (date not yet fixed). — Berks B. K. A.
(Windsor District), in connexion with Prince
Consort's Association, in the Home Park,
Windsor. For schedules apply to the Hon.
Secretary, W. J. Darby, Consort Villas, Clewer.
July 25th to 28th. — Summer Show of the
Scottish B.K. A. (under the auspices of the High-
land and Agricultural Society (in the Dean Park,
Edinburgh. £50 prizes. Schedules now ready.
John Wishart, Assist. Sec, Market Place,
Melrose. Entries close July 19th.

July 26th, 27th, 28th. — Lancashire and
Cheshire B.K. A., in connexion with the E.M.L.
and N.L. Agricultural Society's show at Black-
pool. Entries closed.

August 1st and 2nd. — Staffordshire B.K.A.
at Lichfield, in connexion with the Stafford-
shire Agricultural Society.

August 2nd to 4th. — Yorkshire Agricultural
Society at Dewsbury. Prizes for honey and
bee appliances. Entries closed.

August 7th. — Berks Bee-keepers' Association,
Newbury District, in connexion with the Flower
Show in Shaw Avenue, Newbury : 11/. cash
prizes. Entries close August 1st. Hon.
Secretary, W. Hawkes, Newtown Eoad, New-
bury.

July 13, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

273

August 7th and 8th.— Northants B. K. A.
Annual Show at Delapre Park, Northampton.

August 7th and 8th.— Notts B. K. A. Annual
County Show at Mapperley, Notts, in con-
nexion with the Porchester Horticultural Society.
Entries close July 31st. A. G. Pugb, Secretary,
Mona Street, Beeston, Notts.

August 12th. — Wotton-u-E. District Annual
Show of Honey and Cottagers' Flower Show.
£20 in prizes. Entries close Saturday, August
5th. Schedules of G. Gunston, Hon. Secretary,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

August 15th and 16th. — South of Scotland
B.K.A. at Dumfries. Wm. Wilson, Secretary,
Acrehead House, Dumfries.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

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

Bee-keeper (Hunts). — Failure to Find Queens.
— There is no method we know of by which
a bee-keeper can hope to make artificial
swarms successfully if he is unable to find
queens, except by enlisting the help of some
one who possesses more quickness of sight.
To find the queen is the crux of artificial
swarming in frame-hive management.

Kentish Bee. — The Hon. Secretary of the
Kent Association is Mr. Jesse Garratt,
Meopham, who will no doubt supply the in-
formation required. 2. Yes ; but patching
up old combs into frame hives is now falling
into disuse, new, straight combs being much
better. 3. If it is desired to transfer the
combs into " standard " frames," the only way
is to cut them out of the frame they are now
in, and tie them into the " standards." 4.
You cannot " drive " bees from a frame hive ;
they mu9t be brushed or shaken from the
combs.

A. Hamer. — Samples of Honey. — Honey is good
in colour and consistency, but much too yellow
for " white clover honey." The flavour also
shows a decided admixture of nectar from
other sources than the one referred to. It is
good honey, but the flavour cannot be called
first class.

W. W. Cox. — The contents of comb is almost
wholly honey-dew, and as such we should
leave it for the bees' consumption.

A Cheshire Falcon. — Reducing Stocks. — We
should advise selling the surplus stocks. To
join six into one or even two at end of year
would be a waste of bee-life. There should
be no " difficulty " in selling if you offer them
cheap enough and advertise them in our
columns.

Robert Thobpe. — "Enclosure" promised was,
we suppose, inadvertently left out of the en-
velope. Kindly write us again.

J. Mackintosh (Hexham). — The queen sent
presents all the appearance of having been
" balled," consequently her markings have

more or less disappeared, along with het
pubescence or hairiness. She looks like am
adult hybrid Ligurian, but the rough ex*-
perience gone through gives her body a muck
darker appearance than is natural.

W. Wilkinson Cox.— The sample of honey
sent consists largely of honey-dew, and as
such it is unsaleable as a table honey, though
good enough as bee-food.

R. Greenwell. — It is impossible from mere
inspection of dead bees sent to say what has
caused the mischief. If, however, the stock
is well populated, and the brood is hatching
out all right, we have no doubt the trouble
will be only temporary, and will soon cease.

W. H. Williams. — Uniting Driven Bees.—-
Bees, after being driven, may be so mixed
and shaken up together in a skep that they
will unite in frame hive without fighting.

C. T. (Moseley). — Comb is quite free from foul
brood. The cells contain only honey and
pollen.

G. Smith (Derby). — We like the bees marked
No. 1, but would be guided by the working
qualities of the bees in each hive rather than
by the appearance, and the bee-keeper himself
can best judge of this on the spot.

R. Auld (Bath). — Honey Samples. — The "ap-
pearance" of honey sent, which you do not
like, is very fair, as is the consistency, the
flavour being its weak point. This is not by
any means first-rate, though it will make a
good marketable honey when granulated.

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

I-»>M

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, die. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

FOR SALE. — Superior Queens, Stocks and Swarms^
English and Carniolan. Address Rev. C. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex. f. n.

WANTED. — New Sections Honeycomb, first quality:
also Extracted in bulk. Packages sent. Prompt
Cash settlement. Mr. Hurst, Bexhill, Sussex. 118

B

EE TENT on Hire. For terms apply to G. Gunston,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge. 135

JUST WHAT YOU WANT! Screw-cap Glass Honey
Jars, English make. Strong, handy, easy to bottle,
easy to use. 13s. a gross F.O.R. Packages Returnable.
Send five stamps for sample. Address Garnett, 18 Steade
Road, Sheffield. A 95

OFFERS WANTED for quantity of very Choice Sain-
foin Honey, extracted from Super Combs built this
Season. Free Sample. Address Kight, Chiseldon, Swindon.

b8

EXTRACTED HONEY. 6id. lb. In cans. Very fine
White Clover Honey, Comb Honey, 8^d. Address
G. R. Downer, Drayton Manor, Chichester. b 9

SMOKER CARTRIDGE.— Always alight. Can be lighted
in any wind. 100 made for Fourpence. Sample, and
instructions for making, Sevenpence, Post free. Address
A. Hodges, Kings Langley. b 10

FOR SALE.— Three Stocks of English Bees for the
Heather Season. For terms apply to Geo. Parker,
2 Bradley Street, Wotton-under-Edge. b 12

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL

[July 13, 1893

FINEST ENGLISH HONEY, in£-cwts., at 9d. per lb.
Tins free. Samnle 2d. Deposit System. Address
R. Dtjtton, Teriing, Witham, Essex. b 13

WANTED.— Good Modern Cylinder Extractor. Ad-
dress White, 47 Ombersley Road, Newport, Mon.

b14

WANTED.— Good Modern Cylinder Extractor. State
make and lowest price to Eisher, Rycroft Glen,
Abbeydale, Sheffield. b 15

SECTIONS.— "Wanted, First Quality Sections, any quan-
tity. Also Extracted Honey. Address Nye & Sons,
Western Street, Brighton. 143

SIMMINS' MODERN BEE FARM. Beautifully printed
on Toned Paper. Profusely Illustrated. 270 large
8vo. pages. Giving great satisfaction. Only 2/9 Post free.
Address S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex.

CARBOLINE POMADE.— Kills Bee-stings like Magic.
Prevents getting Stung, Robbing, and Bees entering
Cones, &c. Price Is. per bottle, in handsome, coloured
Postal Boxes. Samples of Bee-Smoke Cartridges, 3d.
Address T. Hollidat, Astbury, Congleton. 131

BEE HIVES. BEE SEEDS.

Central Depot ior Lancashire and Cheshire.

GEO. EOSE (Successor to P. Harboedt), 50
Great Charlotte Street, Liverpool, invites inspection
©f his new pattern of "COTTAGE," "W. B. C," and
"WELLS" HIVES. New Stock of Foundation, Feeders,
Smokers, and every reauisite for Apiary and Garden now
ready for delivery. BEE SEEDS and PLANTS a Spe-
ciality. 12 best varieties of Bee Flowers, with directions
how to grow them, post free for 2s. Large Illustrated
Catalogue of Bee Appliances, Vegetable and Flower Seeds,
and all Garden Requisites, free upon applicaton.

All Orders Executed Same Day as Received.

BEE TENT for Flower Shows for Hire, cheap. Very light.

VALE OF LEYEN

Bee-keepers' Association

HONEY SHOW,

In BURGH HALL, DUMBARTON,

On Saturday, September 2nd.

Schedules from J. Walker, Sec, 74 Main Street,
Alexandria, N.B. 140

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL SHOW, August 7 & 8, 1893.

DELAPEE PARK, NORTHAMPTON.

SPECIAL PRIZES, Open Free to the United
Kingdom. For the BEST Single 1-lb. SEC-
TION OF HONEY. First, 20/-; Second, 15/-;
Third, 10/-; Fourth, 5/-; Fifth, 2/6. Competitors
not present will be informed of result by post on
the first day of the Show. Prizes forwarded to
Winners same day. Entries close July 25th.

N.B. — All Entries for the above are to become the pro-
perty of the Hon. Secretary, and will be sold for the benefit
<of the Widow and Five Children of the late Mr. H. Ring-
hose, of Boughton, one of the first Subscribers to the
Association.

For further particulars and Schedules apply to
Robekt Hefford, Hon. Sec. Northants B.K.A.,
Boughton, near Northants. 117

THE SEASON, 1893.

AT last the unparalleled drought is at
an end ! Beginning with the first
Spring flights of our little industrous
workers and practically continuing
until the first week in July, this most
remarkable period of dry weather has
been most destructive to the British
Farmer, while for the Bee = keeper it
has been the most glorious season
known to the present generation.
But, now, terrific thunder and light =
ning, with bursting clouds, have
deluged our thirsty land, so that the
weary, Iong=tried tiller of the soil
may again look forward with hope,
and the Bee = keeper continue on his
honeyed way, rejoicing that for orice
at least all the elements have com =
bined to forward his pursuit.

And yet — yes, and yet ! — has the
average Bee = keeper once thought
that there may, after all, be a black
side to his hitherto joyous journey ?
What means the absence of swarms ;
the only slight, or non = increase, of
numbers ? What will he do without
young queens ? and what of those
old queens that with such a length =
ened breeding season are fairly worn
out ? Think you, will such carry
their stocks to Winter ? They may
do, but with such bees as will never
see the Spring !

The folly of allowing the brood =
combs to become clogged with honey;
the causes of reduced population, and
the reason why a glorious season like
the present will, in its results, be
only an average season to the many,
are subjects we have not room for
here, though fully explained in the
270 pages of "A MODERN BEE
FARM," but we can say, and em=
phatically, that only Young Queens
will pull the average stock through in
proper form for another season's work.

If you want our Prices, do as others
are doing every day, and send for our
BEVTSED LIST. Already inquiries
are coming in for quotations in quan-
tity, which proves that some at least
are becoming alive to the necessity of
pulling their stocks together by using
the best blood obtainable. Please ad-
dress all inquiries to

S. SIMMINS, SEAFORD, SUSSEX.

the:

Irish ®» mm

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 57a Vol. XXI. N.S. 186]

JULY 20, 1893

[Published Weekly.

(Sbitorial, Ualias, #t.

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — Whatever particular bee-
keepers may have suffered because of the
interruption to super-filling by the recent
rains, agriculturists have benefited im-
mensely thereby, and it is to be hoped that
few will grudge the small individual loss
to bee-keepers when so large a majority
have been gainers. Here in the south all
further increase in the honey yield may be
considered as at an end, so that measures
may at once be taken for winding up the
season and thinking of the future. In the
north present conditions wear quite a
different aspect for the time, and if the
favourable reports of what is being done
now on the clover by bees is followed by a
fair amount of success at the heather, it
would seem quite possible that 1893 will
stand recorded as one of the best honey
seasons experienced in the north for many
years. Mr. Lamb's report from Yorkshire
on p. 273 of last week's B. J. is a remark-
able one. Starting with thirty-one hives,
spring count, and standing on July 10th
with an increase of eleven stocks, from
which fifty supers of twenty pounds each
have already been removed, together with
seventy-five more of equal weight now on
the hives, and a fair chance of all being-
filled, is a condition of the bee account
which does credit to Burton Pidsea, Hull,
as a honey-producing district, and to the
bee-keeper who is able to reap full advan-
tage from it.

Scarcity of Swarms and Young Queens.
— The difficulty of raising young queens in
the autumn of this very abnormal season
seems never to strike bee-keepers of limited
experience, It seems to be taken for
granted that a stock may be left to gather
surplus honey so long as any is to be had,

and that it is then but necessary to remove
the old queen in order to have young ones
reared and fertilised as they would be in
June or July. Some who act on these
lines may — owing to certain fortuitous
circumstances — happen to succeed, but the
chances are many that failure will result.
Not a few of those who propose killing off
old queens and re-queening, do so without
taking into account whether there are any
drones about at all, and even those who
don't overlook this important point are apt
to forget that when the poor drones receive
the remorseless note of warning that their
time has come, and that the worker-bees
are about starting to harry them to death,
they pass the last days of their lives in a state
of terror, and at such times the difficulties
of getting young queens mated are corre-
spondingly increased. There are, of course,
means to lessen this risk, such as preserv-
ing drones in normal condition in special
hives by continuous feeding, and if amateurs
take this precaution — as queen-breeders are
compelled to do — all may be well, but we
have had frequent occasion of late to
caution those who overlook some of the
essential conditions necessary for successful
queen-raising in autumn. Those who risk
removing adult queens, and trust to the
chance of raising successors, will do well to
preserve the old queens until such times as
good queen-cells are found in the hives
from which they have been removed.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.

The following additional sums have been
received or promised : —

Amount already ac- £

knowJ edged ... 33

Miss Beach ... ... 0

Kev. Dr. Bartrum ... 0

Geo. Wells 0

10

10
5

d.
6
6

0
0

282

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Jul j 20, 1893.

Cnragpottfretta.

Tile Editors do not hold themselves responsible for tie
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 pub.
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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, must be addressed only to "The
Bditobs of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 ^duertise-
ments).

ON MY WAY TO THE WORLD'S FAIR,
CHICAGO.

[1494.] I left home by an early train on
Wednesday, the 12th of May, arriving at Liver-
pool about midday, going on board the s.s. Ohio
at her dock at three o'clock, the time appointed
for passengers to be on board. Unfortunately a
very low tide prevented the steamer getting
over the dock sill that afternoon, and we had to
remain on board and sleep (not being allowed
on shore), and wait until the next tide. We
made a good start early next morning, and hi
due time reached Queenstown, where more pas-
sengers were taken on board, making a total, all
told, of more than a thousand.

We had a quick and pleasant passage, no ex-
cuse for being sea-sick, and arrived off Cape
May in New Jersey State, which is about
ninety miles from Philadelphia, on the evening
of the 23rd of May. Here our troubles began, i
When the steamer stopped, the yellow qua- |
rantine flag was hoisted, and after medical ex-
amination of all passengers and various vexatious
delays, involving a loss of two days, owing to
the strict quarantine regulations, we were landed
at Philadelphia, where I found my son on the
wharf anxiously awaiting me. The steerage
passengers, about 800, were kept in quarantine
more than a week after we left.

The Philadelphia Bee-keepeks'
Association.
After a few days' rest I sought out Dr.
Townsend, President of the Philadelphia
B.K.A., who, I was told, took a leading part
in all bee matters. I was cordially received by
him at his house in Vine Street, and had a very
pleasant chat with him for about an hour.
Before leaving he gave me an invitation to the
next meeting of the Philadelphia B. K. Asso-
ciation. The day not then being fixed, Dr.
Townsend said the Secretary would send me
notice of the day and hour, which he did, and
on the 12th of June at eight o'clock I found my
way to the meeting, which was on this occasion
held at Dr. Townsend's house.

The following members were present: — Dr.
Townsend (President, in the chair), Mrs. Aarons,
Miss Creed, Miss Johnson, Mrs. Townsend, J.
Shallcross, Esq. ; Messrs. T. L. Davidson, Lind-

say, Langaere, Turner, Savage, H. M. Twinings,.
Mr. F. Hahman (the Hon. Secretary), and
others whose names I did not catch. After the
routine business of the meeting, those present
were asked to report the amount of honey they
had so far taken, and the condition of their
bees. All said the bees were doing well, and
that white clover was plentiful and in full
bloom. Miss Creed, of New Jersey, said she
had taken 325 pounds of extracted honey from
seven hives. Other good takes were reported.
Several had hives storied three and four hio-h,
and there was a consensus of opinion that it
would be a good season. The business of
the meeting over, the remainder of the even-
ing was spent in a pleasant description of
English and American systems, and advanced
scientific methods of manipulation, in which
all appeared to be greatly interested, and
the meeting, though not a large one, was evi-
dently composed of enthusiastic bee-keepers,
none of whom made a business of keeping bees
for profit only.

This Association, I am informed, has not a
large number of members; it has had many more
than at present. Some are dead, others have
gone away, and many, who have benefited by
the Association's teachings, think they have no
further n^ed of instruction, and it is only by the
energy of the President and the Secretary that
this Association is kept going.

Since I have been in Philadelphia I have en-
deavoured to find out bee-keepers, that I might
have more opportunity of judging of bee-keep-
ing in America in comparison with that of our
own country, and I am much disappointed to
learn that there are none who have any large-
number of hives, or keep bees other than for
pleasure within a considerable distance.

By the kind invitation of Mr. F. Hahman, ac-
companied by Dr. and Mrs. Townsend and Mrs.
Aarons, I visited his apiary at Harrogate, near
Philadelphia, about half an hour's ride by the
Philadelphia and Reading Line, arriving there
about 2.30. Mr. F. Hahman resides with his
father in a picturesque old house surrounded by
land, trees and greenhouses, they being whole-
sale florists, supplying the trade of Philadelphia
with plants and cut flowers.

The bees are placed on one side of the garden,
on higher ground overlooking a meadow, neatly
arranged in a continuous fine. The hives in use
were of two kinds, Root's Simplicity and Root's
chaff hives. The entrance floor-boards were on
the ground, which was covered with cocoanut
fibre, so that there were no weeds. Mr. H. had
not so many colonies as he used to have, his
time being so much occupied otherwise. We
examined some six or seven stocks of Ligurians.
They were some of them very strong, being
three and four stories high, each containing ten
frames of Langstroth size ; the hives when
storified had combs in the frames. Mr. H.
works for extracted honey only, and prefers
leaving his honey in the hives, and not extract-
ing from time to time, as some others do, pre-
ferring to leave his bees undisturbed as much as-

July 20, 1893. j

THE BKTTISH BEE JOURNAL.

283

possible and extracting later, when he is less
busy and the bees have collected their chief
harvest. Some of these colonies were the most
beautiful bees (Ligurians) I have ever seen, the
drones and bees being nearly all yellow — what
are usually called five-banded bees ; they were
quiet and good workers. They are all wintered
on their summer stands. We had a lot of bee-
talk, some refreshment, and altogether spent a
most enjoyable afternoon.

The weather out here is dreadfully hot ;
yesterday the thermometer was 93° about 1.30,
and the day before it was up to 98° in the
shade, and they say it will be hotter next
month. — John M. Hooker, June 22nd, 1893.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1495.] The pleasant break in the weather is
very acceptable to every one, especially to the
farmers, who were at their wits' end to provide
provender for the cattle, some even having to
cut the branches off the trees and the outsides
of the fields and under the hedges to procure a
little green food for the cows, whose daily supply
of milk was a diminishing quantity. But the
fields and meadows are getting quite green
again, and even in the short space of one week
there is a nice feed for the cattle, and also a
resuscitation of the wbite clover plants. Patches
by the roadside, which a week back were seared
and brown, are now a vivid green, with flower-
buds ready to burst into bloom, so that our busy
bees will have some little gleanings to carry on
the work of brood-raiding before going into
winter quarters. There is a general complaint
amongst bee-keepers that the limes produced
but little honey this season, in some cases only
three or four days from the time the bees began
working on them till all was over for '93. In
my immediate district I don't believe the bees
worked on the limes over a week, although we
have two kinds of the species ; one comes into
bloom generally a week before the other, but
this season both bloomed simultaneously.

Judging Bees. — Every season for some years
past, the question of the markings of bees crops
up in some shape or form. Disappointed ex-
hibitors have written me for my opinion on
certain points, and I think that, now we are in
the thick of the fight as regards competition in
bees at the various shows, it would be an oppor-
tune time to get the matter settled. But the
question is, how shall the thing be done ? I
would submit the following proposition to our
men of light and leading — that bee-keepers be
invited to send a small sample box of living bees
to the office of the Bee Journal, and that a few
of our veterans who are in close proximity be
asked to give their opinion on the races of bees
submitted to their judgment. The senders can
get a small box from any jeweller for a penny,
and, to prevent starvation by the way, crush a
lump of sugar and mix it with some honey ;
now put the candy into a little piece of muslin
or strainer cloth, and a tack will hold it firmly

in one corner ; then, in other end of box, pierce
several holes with a fine bradawl. When
wrapping the box with letter do not cover the
pierced end of box. The senders to mark the
boxes sent with their name and address and a
number on the box, but not stating the race
sent. This will be an education for our judges,
and may prevent mistakes at our future shows.
(Perhaps our Editors will give us their views as
to the feasibility of the proposition.)

Useful inventions connected with the craft
ehould, in my opinion, have a full written
description of their use, and also to what extent
their usefulness has been practically tested — or
even better, the inventor should be invited to
give the judges full explanation of the device
and the use it is intended to be put to. Friend
Dixon no doubt lost a medal through not attend-
ing to this point with his self-hiving arrange-
ment. I say nothing as to its utility — that will
be proved by his customers when we get a big
swarming season. This has not been a season
for swarms, consequently we have had no " boom "
in self-hivers ; but that will come, and I have no
doubt we shall overcome the swarming difficulty
as completely as we have the supering and super-
clearing. Twenty years ago who would have
prophesied that honey would be produced by tbe
ton, built in small boxes by the bees themselves
ready weighed and almost ready for the market,
or even so recently as the Queen's Jubilee year
that in 1893 we could have those same crates of
sections, that were a few years ago so much
trouble to many to clear of bees, mechanically
cleared of every bee, ready to remove to the
store-room. If these difficulties have been sur-
mounted why not our swarming difficulty ? My
argument is that if any device can be proved to
hold the colony of working bees together the
bee-keeper gets the advantage of their labour, no
matter if the device that holds them together
be Alley's trap at entrance, Langdon's device at
the entrance of twin colonies that work into one
common super — work on and work off, Pratt's
self-hiving arrangement, or Taylor's revolving
platform on which four hives are moved one
position every day. If the colonies are kept
straight at work the entire season the bee-keeper
must reap the advantage in increased output of
honey at the end of the season. — W. Woodley,
World's End, Newbury.

[Our experience in the line suggested leads ua
to the conclusion that, excepting for deciding
whether sample bees sent could be called pur>j
specimens of a certain race or otherwise, there
is not much to be gained by submitting " sam-
ples." If bees are crossed at all tbe markings
are rarely uniform. And it is quite certain that
a dozen hybrid bees might be sent from one hive
no two of which would be sufficiently alike to
warrant the opinion that they were the offspring
of the same parents. It is easy for competent
judges to say bees are well-marked Ligurians or
Carniolans or natives, but directly hybridising
comes in, clear definition of how certain mark-
ings are got becomes extremely difficult, if not
impossible. — Eds.]

284

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

("July 20, 1893.

ON THINGS IN GENERAL, AND BEES
IN PARTICULAR.

[1496.] We live, or ought to live, to learn.
One of the delights of the bee-fancy is, that the
subject is never exhausted — there is always
something to learn. Bee-keeping, whether con-
sidered as a science or an art, is always making
progress. It is true many inventions, regarded
as new, are reanimations of old ideas which,
tested by time and experience, have been laid
aside and forgotten for a while. Still, bee-
keeping makes steady progress ; yet, is there not
room for a further advance ? Who, for in-
stance, can fully explain the question whether
bees are capable of hearing sound, and will dare
to dogmatise upon it ? I have no doubt what-
ever but that they are quite capable ; an opinion,
however, is quite distinct from a proof.

These remarks are occasioned by the fact that
a firm of grocers, who take a large amount of
my honey, have been urging the importance of
selling honey in half-pound sections. They
argue that a great many persons can't, or won't,
find a shilling for a pound of honey ; they don't
want, perhaps, as much as a po md ; but a half-
pound, in a presentable condition, such persons
would buy. As my friends have a large trade,
their opinion is of value, and perhaps some of
your correspondents will give their views on
this point.

Did ever any bee-keeper know such an abnor-
mal year as this has been ? The skeppists assert
that this is about as bad a season as could be,
for they have had no swarms, and so they have
no honey to take up. Yet the amount of honey
in my neighbourhood, that might have been
gathered from the white clover a mile or two
distant, was something enormous. This sudden
influx of honey from the clover crop coming on
so quickly may explain the extraordinary absence
of swarms. The honey came in with a rush
just as the bees were likely to swarm; the har-
vest had come, it must be gathered at once — all
thoughts of starting for a new home must be
abandoned. So full of honey, indeed, were many
of the brood combs in my hives that, instead of
extracting, I removed the excluders, and allowed
the bees to breed in the upper stories. Some
sections, of course, have been spoilt, and also
some of the shallow frames; yet, after an
interval, when the brood is hatched out, the cells
are probably filled with honey, and add to the
harvest obtained by the extractor. The number
of bees has not, therefore, dwindled to any great
extent, and the queen was able to exercise her
benevolence at a time when all her subjects
were in the best of humours, and as busy as only
bees can be.

I am glad to see that you insist, again and
again, on excellence as essential to the sale of
honey. People generally are so accustomed to
the best of everything that nothing inferior or
unattractive will fetch a good price, or, indeed,
be often saleable. Old and dirty section-wood
does very well for the winter fire, but it ought
not to occupy the bee-house. The dividers, too,

are a matter of importance. I am afflicted by
having various old racks, bought at intervals,
and differing, of course, in size. If the dividers
don't fit precisely as they ought, the bees are
certain to punish my carelessness, and to spoil
the sections for sale purposes.

Bee-keepers need to make the public better
acquainted with the many virtues of pure
English honey. Mr. Bancks has done us all
good service by the excellent little pamphlet
which he advises us to distribute. But some-
thing shorter, something that will attract the
eye and perhaps convince the reason, placed
conspicuously in a shop window, would make
our English honey better known. We want a
Cadbury or a Pears to puff our wares and to
make them more appreciated.

May I congratulate the Journal on the dis-
appearance— at all events, for a time — of the
foul-brood panic ? Foul brood, no doubt, is an
awful scourge, but it needs no Act of Parliament
for its abolition. Constant cleanliness, Naphthol
Beta, persistent use of naphthaline in the hives,
and of disinfectants (especially the fumes of
sulphur) applied to every article in the apiary
not in use at the end of the season — these seem
sufficient to cope with a disease not long since
regarded as almost incurable. But have bee-
keepers learnt yet the best of all cures for sun-
stroke and stings ? A very learned medical
friend of mine, though he most sensibly wears a
good broad-brimmed hat in hot weather, on
his return home after any exposure, bathes his
head, especially the back part of it, in cold
water. This simple remedy is equally good for
stings. Are you stung ? Pull out the sting at
once, and plunge your hand into a pail of cold
water or put it under the tap, keeping it there
for some time. If the bee has attacked your
proboscis, or succeeded in assailing any part of
the body which cannot be put into a pail, at
once apply a sponge wet with the coldest water
you can get, and repeat the application again
and again. I am a great believer in the cold-
water cure. — E. Baetrum, D.D., Wakes Colne
Rectory, Essex.

FOREIGN HONEY.

[1497.] I should like to call your readers' at-
tention to the sale of foreign honey, and at the
same time ask, " Why should it not come under
the Trade Marks Act?" A friend of mine
went to a local town a few days ago to try and
find a market for his honey. Ninepence per
pound was his price. He called upon six trades-
men, and in five cases he was told that the
foreign article could be bought at sevenpence.
When he inquired what they sold it as, he could
get no answer. I maintain that the whole
thing is a fraud. The retailer buys at seven-
pence, and sells at one shilling or one shilling
and twopence per pound. The customer gets
honey he knows not where from — probably in
nine cases out of ten imagining it to be of
British origin. We all know that the average

July 20, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

285

Briton prefers the production of his country to
that of any other, and if the British and foreign
article were placed side by side, properly
labelled, I have no doubt which would sell
most readily, especially when the foreign is
charged at what would be a good price for
English. I maintain that it is the middle-man
who profits by the sale, to the great detriment
of the home producer and consumer. I would
like special attention of the B.B.K.A. called to
this matter, and trust they will exert their in-
fluence upon the proper authority to show the
importance of having such honey placed under
the Trade Marks Act.— Enoch Williams,
Stourport.

[We should be very pleased to render any
assistance in our power for preventing foreign
honey from being sold as "British." Unfor-
tunately, however, the question is beset with
difficulty, and in the case referred to it does
not appear that the foreign honey teas sold as
British. Our experience of the foreign article
is that it is usually sold retail at about eightpence
or ninepence per pound, and this is where the
competition with the home-produced article be-
comes a hardship. If the tradesman asked so
much as one shilling or one shilling and two-
pence per pound, the consumer would be more
likely to see that he got a good article for so
high a price. — Eds.]

THE SEASON IN SCOTLAND-
FRATERNISING.

-BEES

[1498.] I do not think I ever saw such a year. I
have already got from two hives (or rather what
you would call one hive), 150 pounds beautiful,
well-sealed two-pound sections, no swarms, but
each division has taken possession of an empty
hive in addition, placed ready for a swarm. The
bees in these outside hives are gathering honey,
and I have given each hive a frame with some
worker eggs. When I last looked one had two
queen-cells and the other one. Both of these
must now be hatched, and some pollen is going
in, but I do not want to disturb them yet.

You know my glass arrangement over the
entrances and hives on right and left of the wide
passage. I am leaving the passage through the
division between the entrance chambers entirely
open, except just now, when I may expect the
young queens in the end hives to mate, which is
at present. I now make the entrances to the
end hives, and only allow one-inch opening in
the divisions, to prevent the young queen going
through. The bees of the two entrances frater-
nise perfectlv, passing constantly from one to the
other.— F. M. 0.

A SWARM OF BEES ON A RIVER
BUOY.

[1499.] Please find enclosed cutting from
Garston local paper. Mr. Hughes came to me,
and being unable to leave my business just then
I lent him a straw skep, smoker, &c. After

giving him instructions how to proceed he went,
and in about an hour brought the bees up. I
have put them in a frame hive, and they are
doing remarkably well. I may say the River
Mersey at this point is about one and a half
miles across. — Sam G. Hill, Grassendale,
Liverpool, July lQth.

[The cutting referred to reads as follows : —

Eds.]

" An extraordinary discovery was made at
Garston, near Liverpool, last week. Captain
Rathbone and Mr. John Hughes were out in a
boat, when they noticed a swarm of bees on one
of the buoys about 500 yards from the shore,
lying opposite to Cressington Park. On ap-
proaching the buoy they found the bees
clustered together on one side about three
inches thick. Mr. Hughes rowed to the shore
and procured a hive from Mr. S. Hill, in
Aigburth Road. It was, however, with diffi-
culty that the gentlemen were able to get the
bees to take to the hive, which they eventually
did, and covering them up they conveyed them
to Mr. Hill's, at which place they have now
settled down. Such an extraordinary place for
bees swarming has rarely, if ever, been heard of
before."

CURIOUS EFFECTS OF A BEE-STING.

[1500.] A few days back my wife was in the
garden near my hives, and as one bee pitched
for its hive, it alighted on her head, and got en-
tangled in her hair, which caused it to sting her.
Being close by, I at once pulled out the sting,
and anointed the part with liquid ammonia, which
I find, as a rule, acts best in such cases. The
sharp pain usually following a sting ceased, and
a burning sensation, with slight swelling, fol-
lowed, but this soon passed off. About thirty
minutes afterwards, however, my wife was taken
with a severe pain at the lower part of the
abdomen, followed by profuse perspiration and
faintness. The symptoms being rather alarming,
I called in our doctor, but about the time of his
arrival, the pain began to abate (he prescribed).
It had lasted about two hours ; she was left in
rather a weak state till towards evening, when
she regained her usual health. I should be glad
to know if you, or any of our numerous bee-
keepers, ever experienced similar effects from a
bee-sting.— E. Wood, Balham, July 15th.

[It is impossible to account for the very
curious effects of a bee-sting upon some persons
at certain times. No doubt the state of the
blood has something to do with it. Fortunately
such occurrences are extremely rare. — Eds.]

Laurencetoivn, co. Down, July 4th. — As I
mentioned in a former letter, the season has
fairly eclipsed all previous ones in my experience.
Everywhere very large yields of honey. In my
own apiary, from an ordinary stock, I have

286

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 20, 1893.

already taken forty-eight pounds of section
honey, and it has another rack of sections ready
for removal. Surely we shall not hear of any
grumblers this season, when the country is
literally flowing with honey ! — John D. Mc-
Nally.

Llandaff, July 5th. — Section racks taken off
five hives a fortnight ago all full, and some fit
for show. — C. P.

Penarth, July 6th, 1893. — My best hive has
already given me seventy pounds of extracted
honey, and has now on a surplus chamber with
nine standard frames very nearly full. — S. C.

mxuB antr Duplies*

[836.] Bees and Combs in Hive-roof. — A
friend of mine has applied for assistance, and I
am in a fix how to advise him ; the circum-
stances are as follow : — He has a bar-frame
hive (ten bars), with eke capable of holding
the crate of sections and roof ; the eke overlaps
the body-box, and roof overlaps the eke (that
is, there are no plinths). He hived a swarm
two years ago, and forgot to put quilts on body-
box, so that now the whole concern is one mass,
and very strong. Now he wants the honey of
this hive and the body-box with bees, if pos-
sible. He has a skep beside this hive. Please
say how I am to advise and assist him. — J. B.,
Perth, July 12th.

Reply. — Nothing short of an inspection of
the hive would enable us to give reliable advice
as to the best course of proceeding. If the roof
could be partly taken to pieces, the bees might
be driven down by smoke, and the combs cut
out piecemeal, but it will be a difficult task to
deal with, and the help of some experienced bee-
keeper should certainly be called in.

| 837.] Supering and Re-queening. — 1. How
many standard frames should a strong stock of
bees contain during the summer when working
iu supers ? 2. How many supers should be on
at one time? 3. How many thicknesses of
house-flannel should be laid on the top of supers,
and should the space between the outer case
and the supers be stuffed with warm material
to keep in the heat ? I have a very large, square
hive, holding four separate stocks, each to hold
twelve standard frames and dummies, four en-
trances, two facing east and two west. I put
four stocks into it last autumn, thinking the
one would keep the other warm, and that
they would certainly do well. I examined them
in spring, and found that the wooden separation
had warped so much that the bees got through,
and two of them united together; the other
two were all right. 4. Would it be more profit-
able to keep them in this sort of hive than in
single ones, and would perforated tin do to
separate the hives inside? 5. We got an
Italian queen this season, and introduced her to

the young bees of an artificial swarm by caging
her forty-eight hours. When we examined the
hive a few days afterwards, we could not find
her, and the bees reared young queens. What,
was the cause of this ? — Isaac Crawford, Co.
Tyrone, Ireland.

Reply. — 1. Ten or eleven. 2. There is no
harm in half-a-dozen supers being on at one
time if there are bees enough to fill them, and
honey is coming in. 3. All depends on the
strength of the stocks supered. 4. We should
expect to make more of the four stocks in sepa-
rate single hives ; but in any case where several
stocks are located in one hive each compartment
should be bee-tight. Wood is better than tin
for the purpose. 5. The " cause " was evidently
the death or loss of the queen introduced. But
we cannot quite understand your query. A queen
must have been in process of being reared when
the Italian queen was introduced, and, with'
ordinary care, there should have been no diffi-
culty in getting the young bees to accept her
under such conditions.

[838.] Rearing Queens for Re-queening. — I
have several hives which I wished to re-queen
this year, but having had no swarms have not
been able to do so naturally. My best hives,
and from one of which I should like to rear my
queens, are (1) a bar-frame with two crates of
sections on (one almost filled), and (2) a straw
skep, which about a month back I placed on
top of twelve frames in a bar-frame hive. I
hoped the queen would have worked down and
laid in the combs, and that I should have been
able to rear my queens there, but she has not
done so. 1. If I were to drive the bees with
the queen out of the skep and put them in the
frame hive, and put the skep on a stand, would
the bees I should leave in the straw skep rear a
fresh queen which I could drive and put in
a frame hive at the end of the season ? 2. Or
would it be better to take the skep away and
put in the frame hive below a frame of eggs
taken from my best bar-frame hive with the
sections on ? Will you advise me the best course
to take ? 3. How late in the season is it safe
to rear queens without risk of their not being
fertilised ? — Draper, Atherstone, July 12th.

Reply. — 1. We have several times recently
referred to the risk of failure in attempting to
raise queens so late as this in so very unfavour-
able a season for swarming. Besides, the fact
of the bees in skep not having worked down
into the frame hive hardly confirms your view
of the stock as a good one for the purpose. If
you had a third stock available, the bees and
queen of the skep might be driven out and put-
in the frame hive while the skep and its contents
was placed on the third stand (removing the
hive from the latter to a new location) ; then all
might go well, and queens be reared in the skep.
It is indispensable, however, that there should
be drones in the hives, otherwise queen-rearing
and fertilisation is impossible. 2. Of the two
courses, we prefer the one above. 3. It is, as

July 20, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

28?

we have said, not safe to assume that queens
will be fertilised so late as this.

[839.] Moving Bees in Winter. — 1. Does
the B.B.K.A. hold an annual show ; if so, when
and where ? 2. Please advise how to remove,
during next winter, hees to a new stand, distant
about forty yards, and so situated that 1 cannot
move by short distances— R. C. S., Eastington.

Reply.— 1. The annual show of the B.B.K.A.
is always held in connexion with that of the
Royal Agricultural Society. It took place this
year at Chester last month, and was fully
reported in our columns. 2. Bees may be moved
any distance at one operation in winter after
such a cold spell as has kept the bees within
doors for a week or two.

[840.] A Beginner's Experience. — My first
experience of bee-keeping was the purchase, last
winter, of a swarm that was taken in an old
box from off a fruit-tree by a labourer. I gave
him three shillings for them for speculation,
and made up my mind to keep bees. I drove
them from this box — which, by the way, I had
to take to pieces — comb by comb. This I
did about six weeks ago, but before doing so I
had purchased a combination hive (fifteen
frames), painted it, and fixed it in position. I
also got the maker to fit ten of the frames with
comb foundation, and the bees are now, to all
appearance, doing well. Quite six or seven of
the combs or frames are nearly full ; one on the
front of the hive is only partially built out. 1.
Would it be advisable to put this unfinished
comb at the back and slide the others forward ?
2. Two of the centre combs were joined when
I examined them ; I separated them with my
knife. Did I do right ? 3. How often should
I examine them ? 4. How much honey is
required to be left in the hive to keep the bees
safe as they should be ? I would sooner go
without honey than injure the bees, as I have
hundreds of fruit-trees, &c, on my place, but
maybe your books will enlighten me. — F. B.,
Prittlewell.

Reply. — 1. It is not likely the bees will do
any more comb-building this season, but there
is no special reason for moving the partly-built
comb to the rear. If the frames are fitted with
full sheets of foundation, we should rather leave
the comb partly worked out where it is, and
set it in the middle of the brood nest in April
next. 2. Yes. 3. We cannot specify how often
frames should be examined. The best advice
is " never examine them without a good reason
for doing so.'' 4. A stock should have at least
twenty pounds of honey to carry it over the
winter.

[841.] Non-stinging Wasps. — Will you
kindly tell me — 1. What is the enclosed insect ?
2. Can it sting ? 3. Do they live through the
winter, and if so, what do they live on P — as I
find no store of food left in the cells of their
nest. There are several nests about the gardens
here now. I have handled a quantity and can-

not see they have any sting. 4. Will they enter
a hive ? I have not seen them do so myself,
although one nest was very near. — C. P.,
Llandaff.

Reply. — 1. Insects sent belong to the dark-
coloured variety of the common wasp tribe. 2.
They have a sting, but are much less inclined to
use it now than later on in the year. 3. No ;
all die except the queens, which find out holes
or hiding-places in which to hybernate till the
warmth in early spring rouses them to life. 4,
They seldom if ever enter hives ; this feature of
wasp-life being confined to the more plentiful
yellow varietj .

[842.] Honey for Showing] — Making Arti
ficial Sivarms. — 1. I enclose a small buttle of
honey extracted from super last week and should
like your opinion on it ? Do you think it good
enough to take to a show ? 2. Is it too late to
make three stocks out of two, as recommended
in Guide-book? 3. What size wire should be
used for wiring frames? — G. G., Cardiff.

Reply. — 1. Honey is very good ; quite fit for
showing. 2. In view of the scarcity of drones,
and the general disinclination bees have shown
for swarming naturally, we should not ri.sk
making artificial swarms so late as this. •'),
Use No. 30 tinned wire.

[843.] Cutting Queens Wings. — 1. What age
is best for a queen for exhibiting ? 2. Does it do
any harm to a queen to clip her wings, and when
is the best time and the proper way to do it ? I
think it would prevent her going off with a
swarm. — T. B., Derby,

Reply.— One-year-old queens generally look
best. 2. We do not at all like the plan of
mutilating the queen in the manner stated. It
is a cruel practice, and we don't think it answers
its purpose so well as many appear to think.

[844.] Scarcity of Drones. — I have seen
some remarks on the scarcity of drones this year.
I can only say that some of my hives are full of
them. I can at any time count ten or twelve on
the alighting-board at once. This afternoon
the board was covered with them — hundred?
roaring to get in. 1. Are they any detriment
when in such numbers. 2. Do they not consume
a great deal of honey ? 3. Should any means
be used to lessen their numbers? — Ccthbert
Bede.

Reply. — 1. Yes ; superfluous drones are use-
less food-consumers. 2. Yes. 3. Every careful
bee-keeper takes care to limit the amount of
drone comb in each hive.

[845.] Working two Colonies in one Hive.-^
I have a hive constructed for working two
colonies on the " Wells " system, with one.
alighting-board and two entrances about two
and. a half inches separate, having a small pro-
jection two inches deep between them. 1.
What I wish to know is whether it would be.
possible to work two colonies independently iu
the hive? Would the nearness of the tw«
entrances, though painted different colours, lea4
to confusion and fighting? 2. Is there any

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 20, 1898.

advantage, beyond economy of time and material
in making, in hives to hold two colonies work-
ing independently? 3. In such hives, where
are the best positions for the entrances — one in
the end, and the other in the side close to the
opposite end ? We have had a good season
here, but it has come to a close early. Drones
are being killed off, and work seems at an end.
4. I would be obliged by your repeating the
recipe for washing coverings, so as to remove
propolis and wax.— Hugh F. Kirker, Co. Down,
July \2th.

Keply. — If the porch is divided as described,
there will be no more difficulty than in working
two hives close together on one shelf of a bee-
house. 2. There is no advantage we know of
in working two colonies in one hive beyond what
is claimed by Mr. Wells in allowing the progeny
of both queens to work in a super common to
both. Twin hives, made to hold two colonies
working independently have been proved to be
rather disadvantageous than otherwise com-
pared with single colonies in separate hives and
on separate stands. 3. We should prefer the
entrances at opposite ends unless working on the
"Wells" system. 4. We do not know the
recipe referred to, but methylated spirit will
dissolve propolis.

[846.] Giving Young Queens. — I had a
swarm on May 29th, which I put in a frame
hive, but they do not seem to be doing much, and
the wasps tease then a good deal. I left all ten
frames for bees to work on, but they have only
filled tive frames three parts down. There is a
little brood at bottom of comb. I have taken
four empty frames away, and put in a dummy
close to the sixth. About three out of every
six bees carry in pollen. The swarm weighed
about three pounds. 1. Do you advise me to
drive a straw skep to unite with them ? 2.
Should I kill one of the queens, or let them fight
it out? I read in B.B.J, last year it did not
matter much which. 3. What is the best plan of
uniting ? I have consulted Modem Bee-keepmg,
hut do not see how to unite from skep to bar-
frame. 4. Is Dorset considered a good county
for honey? 5. Do you think sample section
sent good in flavour and colour ? I have taken
108 pounds of honey in the comb from five
hives. I took a large bell-glass, weighing twenty-
one pounds, from straw skep. I take this
opportunity to thank you for the great help I
have received from the B. B.J. I do not know
what I should have done without it. — A
Dorset Brother.

Eeply.— 1. If you could drive the bees and
young queen from a skep which has swarmed
this year itwould greatly help the prospects of
the frame hive for next season. A three- pound
swarm would be "lost" on ten frames, and
should not have had more than half that number
given when hived. 2 and 3. If the plan advised
above is followed, the bees of the frame hive
should be shaken from the combs and allowed
to run into a skep— the queen being captured in
the process. Then throw out the driven bees

and queen from the skep in front of the frame
hive and allow them to run in, adding the bees
of the latter in the same way when about half
the bees and queen of the first lot are safely in
the hive. 4. We have no personal knowledge
of Dorset as a bee-county, but as there is plenty
of grazing-land it should be good for honey.
5. Section reached us in a state of pulp. The
colour is good ; flavour fairly so.

[847.] Surplus Storing and Re-queening. —
have a bar-frame hive holding ten frames which
I doubled on May 1st, and as the bees will not
work in shallow-frame super, I took off the top
half of brood nest with the intention of reducing
the hive to its natural size, with the idea that
the bees would then be so crowded that they
would be compelled to enter super. On opening
the upper half of the hive I found too many
frames containing brood to do this. 1. Will
you, therefore, kindly tell me if, as the season
advances, the brood nest will probably reduce
sufficiently for me to contract the hive as
desired, and if so, about what date would you
advise me to inspect the hive again ? 2. I have
two swarms from hives that did not swarm last
year ; are these queens too old to let remain
through the winter, as they are probably in
their third year? — F. Howell, Dorset, July
12th.

Reply. — 1. Your experience goes to prove
that twenty standard frames are — unless queens
are exceptionally prolific — far too many for the
brood nest. Moreover, the probability is that
the lower chamber will contain comparatively
little brood. We should advise an inspection of
the latter at once, and if all the frames contain-
ing brood can be got into it, the others might be
either removed altogether, or replaced above
the lower brood chamber — with excluder zinc
between — for surplus storing. On the other
hand, if the shallow-frame super is fitted with
ready- built combs, it might be preferable to use
it as the surplus chamber, and take away the
standard cnmbs. It is now too late in the
season for bees to do any comb-building in
supers. 2. Yes ; it would be much better to
remove the old queens and substitute young
ones if possible.

>|r0tos to €amL

July 21st and 22nd. — Bristol and District
B.K.A., at Knowle.

July 26th. — Berks B. K. Association
(Windsor District), in connexion with Prince
Consort's Association, in the Home Park,
Windsor. For schedules apply to the Hon.
Secretary, W. J. Darby, Consort Villas, Clewer.

July 25th to 28th. — Summer Show of the
Scottish B .K. A. (under the auspices of the High-
land and Agricultural Society (in the Dean Park,
Edinburgh. £50 prizes. Schedules now read v.
John Wishart, Assist. Sec, Market Place,
Melrose. Entries closed July 19th.

July 26th, 27th, 23th. — Lancashire and
Cheshire B.K.A., in connexion with the B..M.L.

July 20, 1893.1

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

289

and N.L. Agricultural Society's show at Black-
pool. Entries closed.

August 1st and 2nd. — Staffordshire B.K.A.
at Lichfield, in connexion with the Stafford-
shire Agricultural Society.

August 2nd to 4th. — Yorkshire Agricultural
Society at Dewsbury. Prizes for honey and
bee appliances. Entries closed.

August 7th. — Berks Bee-keepers' Association,
Newbury District, in connexion with the Flower
Show in Shaw Avenue, Newbury : 111. cash
prizes. Entries close August 1st. Hon.
Secretary, W. Hawkes, Newtown Road, New-
bury.

August 7th and 8th. — Northants B.K.A.
Annual Show at Delapre Park, Northampton.

August 7th and 8th. — Notts B. K. A. Annual
County Show at Mapperley, Notts, in con-
nexion with the Porchester Horticultural Society.
Entries close J uly 31st. A. G. Pugh, Secretary,
Mona Street, Beeston, Notts.

August 12th. — Wotton-u-E. District Annual
Show of Honey and Cottagers' Flower Show.
£20 in prizes. Entries close Saturday, August
5th. Schedules of G. Gunston, Hon. Secretary,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

August 15th and 16th.— South of Scotland
B.K.A. at Dumfries. Wm. Wilson, Secretary,
Acrehead House, Dumfries.

August 19th. — Bee and honey show at
Mobberley, Cheshire (under the rules of the
Lancashire and Cheshire B.K.A.), and in con-
nexion with the Mobberley Horticultural Society.
For schedules apply to T. D. Schofield, Oakfield,
Alderley Edge, Cheshire, or the Secretary,
Mobberley. Entries close August 1st.

August 30th. — Honey Show at Fleetwood, in
connexion with the Fleetwood Horticultural
Society. Entries close August 15th. For
schedules apply John Latham, Secretary, North
Albion Street, Fleetwood, Lancashire.

September 2nd. — Vale of Leven, B.K.A., at
Burgh Hall, Dumbarton. Schedules from J.
Walker, Secretary, 74 Main St., Alexandria, N.B.

September 5th and 6th. — Warwickshire
B.K.A. at Solihull, in connexion with the
Warwickshire Agricultural Society. For
schedules apply James Noble Bower, Hon. Sec,
Knowle, Warwickshire. Entries close August
26th.

September 6th and 7th. — Derbyshire Bee-
keepers' Association, at Derby. Entries close
August 31st. Over 18/. in prizes. Special
f acilities offered to distant exhibitors. Schedules
from W. T. Atkins, 12 North Street, Derby.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation's Exhibition, in St. Andrew's Hall,
Glasgow. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 13th and 14th.— Scottish B. K. A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

J. W. Chalmers (Greenock). — Sections from
Stvanns. — 1. It is not possible for us to tell
whether you will obtain sections from a
swarm in a skep purchased a month ago>
As the swarm is only of medium size, the
chances are against you, but there can be nc
harm in giving the " super " as you have the
sections ready. Were it not that you describe
yourself as " a complete novice " we would
suggest lifting the skep to see if it be fully
combed, otherwise it will be useless to give
sections this season. 2. There need be no
fear about the bees swarming till next year.

W. Johnson (Wolverhampton). — Joining Stocks*
— You have misread our reply to " A Cheshire
Falcon." The words used are, " To join six
stocks into one, or even two, would be a
waste of bee-life." There is no reference to
joining driven bees at all. Our reply merely
deprecated the idea of joining six stocks (not
of driven bees) into one in order to reduce the
number of colonies, as our correspondent
desired to keep one, or at most two, stocks
only.

B. B. J. (Mid-Bucks). — Completing Sections.^
Remove both racks, and sort out all the
finished ones. It is, however, very question-
able whether any more filling and sealing
will be done now, the season in Mid-Bucks
being about over, we should say. In view of
this it is for you to say whether the unfinished
sections should be given back to the bees to
try and complete, or have the present con-
tents removed by the extractor. We should
incline to the latter course.

F. Goodrich. — Dealing with Skeps after
Driving — The skep should be left on the
frame hive for twenty-one days to ensure the
hatching out of all brood before removal.
We can take no blame to ourselves for not
drawing a doleful picture of what is to
happen to bee-keepers next year, possessing,
as we do, so much of the spirit attributed to
Mark Tapley as to consider that " sufficient
for the day is the evil thereof," and we trust
that readers will adopt our view, as yielding
what we most seek in this world, i.e., " con-
tentment " with our lot, whatever it may be.

G. S. — Comb is not affected with foul brood at
all. You have been overdosing the bees by
giving " camphor and as much pure naphtha-
line as will he on a shilling.-' The form cf
naphthaline we recommend is not nearly so
strong as that you have been using.

G. S. (Derby).— The Hon. Sec. of the S.B.K.A
is Rev. A. H. Alsop, Brednall Vicarage,
Staffs.

J. D. McN. — Honey sent is very good in colour
and consistency ; flavour lacks " character "
somewhat, but very nice. Aroma, hardly
any perceptible. As to " points," they are to
a great extent comparative when judged
alongside other samples.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 20, 1833

Special Prepaid Advertisements.
•-*-«

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dc. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

FOR S ALB. — Superior Queens, Stocks and Swarms,
English and Carniolan. Addres3 R.ev„ C. Brereton,
Fulborough, Sussex. f« n-

WANTED.— New Sections Honeycomb, first quality:
also Extracted in bulk. Packages sent. Prompt
Cash settlement. Mr. Hurst, Bexbill, Sussex. 118

B

EE TENT on Hire. For terms apply to G. Gunston,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge. 135

SMOKER CARTRIDGE.— Alwavsalight. Can be lighted
in any wind. 100 made for Pourpence. Sample, and
instructions for nuking, Sevenpence, Post free. Address
A. Hodges, Kings Langley. b 10

WANTED.— " Little Wonder" Extractor, cheap, for
Cash. Address John W. Bowes, Nawton, York.

b!6

FOR SALE.— A large quantity of Pure Extracted Eng-
lish Honey at 5|d., 6|d., and 7%d. per lb., in 56-lb.
tins. Tins and packing returnable. Sample three stamps.
Address W. C. Ransom, Great Barton, Bury St. Edmunds.

b17

FOR SALE.— About 1 cwt., more or less, Extracted
Clover Honny. Price 8d. per lb. Address Pbedk.
Sent, Dewlish, Dorchester, Dorset. b 18

ROBBING entirely prevented by using Salmon's Bee
Entrance. Pit any Hive or Skep. 6d. Stamps, post
free ; six for 2s. 3d. Address Salmon, Eastington Dock,
Stonehouse. b 19

EXTRACTED HONEY in Cans, 30 lbs. each, at 9cL per
lb., package included. Address Jas. Pakgeter,
Cropreay, Leamington. b 20

FOR SALE.— Strong Stocks of English Bees in well-
made Straw Hives, free on Rail, 5s. 6<L each. Address
C. E. Gowing, Nay land, Colchester. B 21

QTRONG healthy Stocks, in Abbott's Gayton Hives, ?5s.
O on Rail. Address Rose, Feltham. b 22

/^ARBOLINE POMADE.— Kills Bee-stings like Magic.
\J Prevents getting Stung, Robbing, &c. In Is. bottles,
post free. Samples of Bee-smoke Cartridges, 3d. Address
T. Hollidat, Astbury, Congleton. 151

GRATIS and POST PREE.— A Reprint of the First
Sheet of 16 pages from "Modern Bee Farm." Ad-
dress S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex. 150

SCREW-CAP HONEY JARS.— No more for Sale at
present. Garnett, Steade^Road, Sheffield. 152

SHROPSHIRE

The Annual Exhibition of
Bees, Hone/, Hives, and Appliances,

Will be held in
THE QUARRY, SHREWSBURY,

in conjunction with the
BOBTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S GEE AT FETE,
On Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 23rd & 24th.
PRIZES to the "Value of £35 will be awarded.
For Prize Lists, Entry Forms, and Information,
apply to T. Whittingham, 27 Bengor Street,
Shrewsbury. 149

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

PURE CANE SUGARS.

For the accommodation of Bee-keepers, guaranteed
Pure Cane Sugar will be supplied in large or
small quantities through this office at the under-
mentioned rates : —

MOIST. (For Household Use.)

Neat bags, 14-lbs. 28-lbs. 56-lbs. Cwts.

3. MUSCOVADO 3/- 6/- 11/6 22/6

CRYSTALLISED.

4. DEMERARA )

5. BARBADOS }■ Crystals 3, 3 6/6 12/9 24 9

6. TRINIDAD j

REFINED CANE.

7. WHITE CRYSTALS (Small) 3/6 7/0 13/9 26 9

8. 9. (Medium and Large sizes, 1/- per Cwt. extra.)

10. LUMP (Cut Loaf) ... Boxes, 3/9 7/3 14/3 27,9

11. CRUSHED LUMP... „ 3/6 7/- 13/9 26/9

12. PRESERVING „ 3/6 7/- 13/9 26/9

FINE. (For Household Use.)

13. GRANULATED 3/9 7/3 14/3 27/9

11. CASTOR Coarse (15 Fine) 4/3 8/3 16/3 31/9

16. ICING 4/9 9/3 17/9 35-

411 above guaranteed made from Cane Sugar only, and free

from Beet, Chemicals, etc., etc.
Carriage Paid on Orders over 5/0 (or 28-lbs. Sugar)

to London and Suburbs.

Country Orders, not less than 2 cwt. carriage paid

at 1/0 per cwt. extra.

(Scotch and Irish orders, special arrangements.)

CHEQUES payable to Manager, Bee Journal and Record

Office, 17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

CASH TO BE SENT WITH ORDER, and purchasers
will please observe that if samples are required oi
replies asked to inquiries, a stamped addressed
envelope must be sent, as we cannot undertake
cost .of postage. Delivery of Goods to be taken
as receipt. If acknowledgment of Cash is required,
stamped addressed envelope should be sent.

THE HONEY BEE :
Its Natural History, Anatomy, and Physiology.

By T. W. COWAN, F.G.S., &c, &c,

Editor of the British Bee Journal.

Cloth gilt, price 2s. 6d. ; postage 2\d.

London : Hoclston & Sons, Paternoster Square ;

ALT. BOOKSELLERS; AND

British Bee Journal Office, 17 King "William Street,
Strand, London, W.C.

THE MANAGEMENT OF STRAW
SKEPS. Designed to teach the Cottager
how to obtain the best results at the least possible
oost. Price l\d. Ditto in Welsh, lid. Post free.

British Bee Journal Offiee, 17 King William Street,
Strand London, W.C.

BEE-KEEPING, its Excellence and Ad-
vantages. Price 3d. British Bee Journal
Office, 17 King William St., Strand, London , W.C

THE

%n 3ntmiai

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

IN 0.579. Vol. XXI. N.S. 187.]

JULY 27, 1893

[Published Weekly.

€bxtttxmlf Itoiiaa, $u

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Committee Meeting held at 105 Jermyn
Street, on Wednesday, July 19th. Present:
T. W. Cowan (in the chair), W. Lees M'Clure,
W. B. Carr, Captain Campbell, Rev. R. Errington,
Major Fair, J. Garratt, J. H. New, E. D. Till;
-F. H. Meggy and Dr. Rayner, ex -officio; J.
Huckle, Secretary.

The minutes of the last meeting having been

printed and circulated, were taken as read, and

■ confirmed and signed. On the motion of Mr.

M'Clure it was resolved to print the minutes for

the present month.

The Secretary reported that he was in com-
munication with the Rev. D. E. Williams in
reference to the attendance of a lecturer at
Picton Castle in Pembrokeshire on August 10th.

Letters were read (1) from Mr. A. D. Wood-
ley offering to read a paper on the disposal of
honey. Resolved, that the same be accepted, and
that Mr. Woodley be thanked for his offer.

(2) From Miss Eyton, Hon. Secretary of the
Shropshire Association, inquiring as to whether
a meeting of the Northern Associations Com-
mittee would be held at the Shrewsbury Exhi-
bition on August 23rd. In the event of the
meeting being arranged, the Shropshire Asso-
ciation were desirous of entertaining those
present to luncheon. Resolved, that the Secre-
tary do send a letter of thanks to the Shropshire
Association, and make arrangements for the
^meeting to be held.

(3) From the Wotton-under-Edge Associa-
tion, requesting the B.B.K.A. to consider the
advisability of preparing a code of points for
judging honey for the guidance of exhibitors
and judges at country shows. Resolved, that
the matter be referred to the exhibition sub-
committee to report.

Certificates were signed in favour of the fol-
lowing candidates : —

First class : T. W. Jones, Etwall, Derby ;
F. J. Cribb, Morton, Gainsboro' ; W. J. Anstey,
Oxford.

Third class : F. H. Brenes, Brentwood, Essex ;
H. O. Huntly, Worcester ; Owen Roberts, Row-
ion Grange, Chester.

The Finance Committee recommended that
<£he accounts relating to the Chester Exhibition,

and the prizes awarded to the Chicago exhibits,
be paid. Resolved, that the Finance Committee's
recommendation be adopted.

The Exhibition Sub-Committee reported that
an application from the British Dairy Farmers'
Association for a grant towards the prizes to be
offered for honey at the annual Dairy Show had
been considered. The Sub-Committee recom-
mended that a donation be made, not exceeding
the amount granted last year, on the under-
standing that the honey is staged in a favourable
position.

The Chicago Exhibit Sub-Committee presented
their report with statement of accounts show-
ing an expenditure of 332. 17s. Attention was
called to the fact that the Sub-Committee's out-
lay had exceeded the amount voted on this
account by 8/. 17s. Resolved, that this sum be
allowed.

In accordance with previous notice, Mr.
Garratt called attention to the privileges of
affiliation in respect to the appointment of
judges and examiners at country exhibitions.
He urged that the Central Society ought not to
be asked to provide these free of charge. The
present system imposed a tax both upon the
person selected and upon the Society itself,
which should be borne by those receiving the
benefits. After some discussion of the subject,
it was resolved that the matter be brought before
the next annual generalmeetingfor consideration.

Mr. M'Clure and the Secretary were deputed
to draw up a circular letter to be sent to the
various agricultural colleges and other bodies,
urging them to establish classes in bee-keeping
at their respective institutions, and submit the
same to the next meeting.

It was resolved that the binding of the
reports of the several Associations should pro-
ceed after Monday, July 31st.

LINCOLNSHIRE B.K.A. ANNUAL

SHOW.

The annual show of the Lincolnshire Bee-
keepers' Association was held in connexion
with the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society, at
Stamford, on July 20th and 21st. The weather
was not at all propitious on the morning of the
20th, but cleared up as the day proceeded. In
the honey, bee, and appliance departments
there were forty-six entries, and the schedule

292

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 27, 1893.

contained four classes for honey, one for obser-
vatory hives, and six for appliances. These
classes were well contested, there being four
entries for the best exhibit of comb and ex-
tracted honey staged on four feet by four feet,
height not to exceed five feet. Three prizes are
given in this class, the first and second prizes
carrying with them the silver and bronze medal
respectively of the British Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion. The first prize and silver medal were
won by an exhibit arranged and decorated with
flowers in the most tasteful manner, both Judge
and Steward declaring it was the prettiest dis-
play ever seen by them. The honey and flowers
were the exhibit of Mr. Fancourt, of Stamford,
and staged by Miss Fancourt, whose taste was
most highly commended. The second prize and
bronze medal fell to Mr. William Sells, the son
of a veteran bee-keeper, and the third to Mr.
T. Sells.

In the class for the best twelve sections there
were eight entries. The first prize fell to Mr.
John Walton, of Leamington, who made a
splendid exhibit of twelve sections of marvellous
cleanliness, glazed and bound with white lace
paper ; even his competitors said they " weren't
in it" with him, and the ordinary enamelled
glazed ends looked " dowdy " against the clean
white wood. The second prize fell to Mr.
Fancourt ; the third to Mr. B. Godson, Tothill ;
and the fourth to Miss Cooper, Leicester ; but
from the colour and appearance of all the local
sections, it is quite evident the district 'has not
been favoured with a good honey-flow. For
the best exhibit of run honey in twelve one-pound
bottles, there were twelve entries, and in this
class also it was clear the season was not up to
the average, as the exhibits from districts close
together differed very widely, and the usual
pale clover honey to be found at " the Lincoln-
shire " was conspicuous by its absence, the honey
varying from pale amber to dark brown in
colour, whilst the flavours were almost as
numerous, and gave the Judge considerable diffi-
culty in making his selection. Mr. B. Godson,
of Tothill, took the first prize for a very thick,
pale amber honey of exquisite flavour. Mr.
Arbuckle, of Thorne, near Doncaster, came
second ; Miss Ethel Chester, Melton Mow-
bray, third; and Miss Cooper, of Leicester,
fourth.

In the cottagers' class there were but three
entries. First, Mr. Abraham ; second, Mr.
William Sells.

There were three observatory hives shown,
and Mr. B. Godson won the first prize with an
excellent exhibit of a three-frame hive, with
combs showing practically oval brood nests,
with white-capped stores above. Mr. William
Sells came second with a single-frame obser-
vatory.

In the appliance classes, Mr. W. P. Meadows,
of Syston, and Mr. C. Bedshaw, of South
Wigston, both made an excellent display, Mr.
Meadows obtaining the first prize and Mr.
Bedshaw second for the best complete collection
of hives and bee-furniture.

For the best rapid feeder. — First, W. P.
Meadows ; second, C. Redshaw.

Best and most complete frame hive (price not
to exceed 1/. 5s.). — First, C. Bedshaw ; second,.
W. P. Meadows.

Best and most complete hive (price not t©
exceed 12s. Qd.). — First, C. Bedshaw; second,
W. P. Meadows.

Best honey extractor. — First and second, W.
P. Meadows.

Best pair of section racks. — First, W. P.
Meadows ; second, C. Bedshaw ; third, W. P.
Meadows.

The exhibits were judged by Mr. F. J. Cribb,
of Gainsborough, and. the bee department was
in charge of Mr. B. Green, the B.B.K.A. expert.
Both these gentlemen gave several lectures in
the bee-tent of the Association during the two
days of the show, explaining the principles of
bee-keeping and the advantages of the modern
system, which were attentively listened to by
the audiences. — Communicated.

SPECIAL PBIZES AT THE NOETHANTS
SHOW.

The Hon. Sec. of the Northants B.K.A.
having extended the date for entries in the
special class for single sections of honey offered
at the coming show at Delapre Park, we are
glad to give some prominence to the announce-
ment, and at the same time to say how much
we hope that the entry may be a large one.
The prizes are of themselves so liberal as to be
well worth competing for, and as there is no
entry fee, the total cost to exhibitors need not
exceed sixpence for postage and the value of
section itself, while there is a chance of winning
one of five money prizes, as follows :— 1st, 20s. ;
2nd, 15s. ; 3rd, 10s. ; 4th, 5s. ; and 5th, 2s. 6d.

But, beyond this, there is the fact that the
sum realised from the sale of the exhibits will
be devoted to so deserving an object as that of
helping the widow and children of a very
worthy bee-keeper of Northants. On this
account alone it commends itself to us.

Mr. B. Hefford, Hon. Sec, Boughtoa, near
Northants, will be very pleased to give any
information or to receive entries, and will at
once forward a number for exhibitors to mark
on their sections before posting to him.

KENT BEE-KEEPEES' ASSOCIATION.

The Council of this Association met at Seven-
oaks on the 8th inst., the Bev. T. S. Curteis
presiding.

The Hon. Secretary announced the increase of
members since the commencement of the year
to be fifty-five. The spring tour had been duly
carried out. Technical instruction in bee-
management under County Council auspices
had been given at Shorncliffe, Sandwich,.
Mailing, Ightham, Seal, and Swanley, the

July 27, 1893. j

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

233

attendance at which had been numerous, and
the interest very marked. Many new bee-
keepers had entered upon the pursuit,_ and the
nagging interest of others had been revived. _ A
course of instruction was arranged to be given
at Sturry, and the sanction of the County
Council had been given for the holding of
demonstrations of bee -management at the
Chislet Cottage Gardeners' Show and the Sel-
lindge Show on the 28th of July and 9th of
August respectively. The sum granted by the
County Council for this branch of instruction
for the current year was 150/.

The consideration of the arrangements for the
annual show of the Association, to be held in
Knowle Park, Sevenoaks, on the 16th of August,
was entered into at length. A liberal schedule
has been prepared, embracing the usual exhibits
of comb and run honey, but, besides these, new
classes for honey in applied forms have been
introduced with the object of widening the
interest of bee-keepers and rendering the show
more attractive to the public. Liberal prizes
for hives and appliances for open competition
are also included.

The financial position was carefully con-
sidered, and it was decided to issue a stirring
appeal for more public support.

SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The Edinburgh Show.

The summer exhibition of this Association
promises to be a successful gathering. In some
of the classes for appliances, the entries have
not come up to what has been anticipated
with the inducements held out. There are in
all 196 entries, compared with seventy-three at
Inverness last year. Some of the honey classes
are very large, and the competition will doubt-
less be keen. The show is held in connexion
with the Highland and Agricultural Society in
the Dean -Park, Edinburgh, easy of access
by cable tram-cars. The bee-shed has been
tastefully decorated with bee-flowers and ban-
ners. The walls are covered with pressed bee-
plants in frames. Adjoining the bee-shed Sir
Thomas D. Gibson - Carmichael's bee-tent has
been erected, where Mr. S. J. Baldwin will give
frequent lectures and demonstrations.

WHY FARMERS AND HORTICUL-
TURISTS SHOULD BE BEE-KEEPERS.

In order to succeed in apiculture, it is not
altogether necessary to be a specialist, and a
farmer can keep a few hives of bees as well
as he can successfully grow a small orchard
or cultivate a truck garden. The fact is, we
usually find that the most successful farmers do
not neglect any of the smaller branches of their
industry, though some are more proficient in
one fine than in another.

The greatest drawback to the keeping of bees
by farmers, horticulturists, and country people
in general, is the fear of stings. The majority
of tbem imagine that the handling of bees is a
difficult feat, and can only be performed by
those who have a special gift in that direction.
The recent progress in the management and
handling of bees is unknown to the masses.
Yet it is a fact that, with all the latest im-
provements at our command — improved bee-
smoker, bee-veils, movable frames, and the latest
implement, the bee-escape — there is so little
danger of being stung that it takes only a little
determination to successfully handle a limited
number of colonies.

Instead of saying, Why should farmers keep
bees? we ought to say, Why should they not
keep bees ? There is probably not one farmer's
family in fifty that get all the honey they can
consume, and on every farm there are thousands
of pounds of honey going to waste annually for
want of bees to harvest it. Ten colonies of
bees, and an outlay of implements not exceed-
ing $25, with ordinary management, will be
sufficient to gather all the honey a family can
consume. According to our own experience,
the product of ten colonies of bees in this Statb
[Illinois] is, on an average, fifty pounds each
annually.

Very little time is required for the manipula-
tions of this number of hives. With large
hives and the extracting method the actual
labour is reduced to a few hours. When the
bees have been properly put into winter quarters,
they need no attention till the first days of
March. Then, one short visit each month .
during the spring to ascertain whether they
have queens, and whether the stores are sufficient
to permit them to rear brood plentifully, and
they will be safely carried to the time of
harvest.

With extracting supers the job of putting on
the honey boxes is a matter of less than an
hour. Then the extraction of the crop will
require perhaps half a day. The rest of the
manipulation, including putting the hives in
proper shape for winter, need not require more
than a couple of hours at every visit.

The labour is indeed very light. To know
what is wanted, and to do it in time, is the
secret of success. To this we might add that
the bee-business is a business of details, and
that he who succeeds best is he who studies it
most, and does not rely more on his own ideas
than on the advice of experienced writers.
More blunders have been made by ignorance, or
by too much self-reliance, in this business than
in any branch of farming that I know, of.

It is perhaps well to add that the bees are a
useful factor in the fertilisation of many blos-
soms. Their help is invaluable to the horti-
culturist, and it is a known fact to all observers
that the seasons in which the fruit-trees bear
the most plentiful harvest are those in which
the bees have worked on them with the most
diligence. The fact is easily explained, and is
in accordance with what the naturalists tell us

294

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL

[July 27, 1898.

of the structure of the blossoms, and of the
fertilisation of the pistils. To fertilise the
flowers and make them bear fruit it is necessary
that a little of the pollen be scattered^ on the
pistil, and it is proven that this pollen is more
efficient when not furnished by the same blos-
som or even by the same tree. So the bee is a
natural agent in the reproduction of many trees
and plants, and prevents in-and-in breeding
from being carried to excess in all the blossoms
on which it works.

The assertion of many people that the bees
are injurious to sound fruit is a gross error,
and if more people kept bees they would soon
ascertain that the bees feed on fruit only when
it is already damaged, and when no other and
better sweet is to be found. They aim to save
that which goes to waste, but always save the
best first.

The location of an apiary on a farm is an
easily solved problem. There is always some
corner in which stock does not go, sheltered
by trees, or orchard, or along some hedge, and
on every farm this corner might as well be
occupied by bees as by weeds, and if a season
comes when the cornfield or the stubble are
overrun by weeds, owing to too much rain or
other unfavourable circumstances, the farmer
may rejoice in the fact that these same weeds
will increase his honey crop. — C. P. Dadant,
in " American Bee Journal."

BEES AND HORTICULTURE.

In the course of a well-written article on the
" Interdependence of Apiculture and Horticul-
ture," the Canadian Bee Journal offers the
following pertinent remarks : —

" Research and observation, however, have
shown that in all cases, whatever the sexual
characteristics of the plant may be, the con-
junction depends, for the most part, on the
activity of insect life, and that nature has
made wise provision for accomplishing the work
just at the proper time. A practical writer in
the Fruit Growers' Review says : — ' For years it
■was an unsolved problem as to how the horti-
culturist could secure the perfect fertilisation of
his choicest fruits. He tried the fine pencil brush
in distributing and mixing the pollen. Tiis he
found expensive and unsatisfactory, as he could
not always do the work at just the proper time.
On the other hand, when the pollen is ripe,
ready for proper fertilisation, nature places a
tiny drop of nectar just at the base of the petals,
on which the pollen, or father dust, is grown.
To reach this the honey-bee, in its eagerness,
brushes against the petals, and knocks off this
pollen dust, which is scattered all over the bee ;
then to the next flower it goes, and the process
is repeated, and in doing so, leaves some of its
own dusty coat. The back and body of the bee
is peculiarly coated with short hair, which holds
the pollen as it goes from one flower to another.
Still another peculiarity of the honey-bee is that,
it is said, it never visits flowers of a different
species on the same trip from the hive.'

" It is thus easy to conceive that there is no
other creature of the insect world so perfectly
adapted to do the work of horticultural fructifi-
cation as the honey-bee. The bee is dormant
during a period of the year when vegetation is
also torpid. She recommences active work the
moment vegetation is awakened in the spring.
She is not only endowed by, nature with the
instinct necessary to aid her in the fructification
of flower and fruit- bloom, but without the
accomplishment of it she cannot exist. Under
these circumstances it is safe to say that, with-
out her aid, the occupation of the horticulturist
would be as completely gone as that of Othello.
The bee may possibly exist without the aid of
the horticulturist by confining herself to such
food as may be secreted by the grasses, clovers,
flowers, and other species of vegetation. But
without the bee, it is safe to surmise that the
area of our fruit-production would be very
much shortened up, if not, eventually, altogether
destroyed.

" The alliance between apiculture and horti-
culture is thus so clearly defined, that it seems to
as that, in order to be successful in fruit-raising,
it is first necessary to be a good bee-keeper ; and
to be a good bee-keeper means to have a good
level head, and to be a pretty handy all-round
sort of man. We trust that this little lecture
will not be without its effect on such of our
readers as may be engaged in the delightful and
profitable occupation of horticulture — fructicul-
ture would be the more correct term to employ
— and that, instead of spraying their trees during
bloom, whilst the bees are busy at work in aiding
the process of fertilisation, they will put the
spray pumps, the Paris green, and other like
poisonous devices to one side, until the bees have
finished their perfect work, and until the
curculio and other destructive creatures have
commenced theirs."

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION IN BEE-
KEEPING.

The Organizing Secretary to the Technical
Instruction Committee of the Hereford County
Council, in the fifth report to his Committee,
thus refers to the work of the bee- van in the
county : —

" The Bee Van. — Thinking perhaps you might
wish to have independent testimony respecting
the work of the bee-van, I attended, without
notice, an afternoon demonstration at Whitfield
and an evening one at Kingstone. There was a
very good attendance at both places, especially
at Kingstone, notwithstanding that the weather
was unfavourable. In the afternoon Mr. Mead-
ham, who travels with the van, gave a practical
demonstration, Mrs. Greathead kindly allowing
the use of her bees and hives. This was most
interesting, and could not fail to be of great
assistance to all but the most expert bee-keepers.
In the evening the instruction was necessarily
more theoretical in character, but not less
interesting. Mr. Meadham gave a short but
useful lecture, explaining the advantages of the

July 27, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

295

modern system of bee-keeping as compared with
the old, and this was followed by a lecture from
Mr. Alfred Watkins on the life-history of bees.
This latter was admirably illustrated by a series
of lantern slides prepared from photographs,
which were exhibited by means of the limelight
on a screen stretched across the end of the van.
The keenest interest was manifested by all
present."

A WEIGHTY SWARM (?).

A Scotch correspondent has favoured us
with a cutting from a local paper, which reads
as follows: — " Mr. Jas. Hyslop, Greenlaw, has
obtained from one hive a top swarm weighing
twenty-two pounds ! " Classing the above as a
" top " swarm was certainly superfluous. It
might well have been called a " tip-topper." —
Eds.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.

The following sums have been received
or promised : —

Amount already ac- £ s. d.

knowledged ... 34 8 0

Hon. & Rev. H. Bligh 2 2 0

$0raspnirma.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William,
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

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

A CURIOUS RETREAT FOR BEES—
A GOOD " FIND " OF HONEY.

[1501.] Last week, accompanied by my as-
sistant, I went, by appointment, to Cefncoed
Farm, an old homestead where bees and the
family of the Rowlands have dwelt for cen-
turies. For the past fifty years the former had
taken possession of the best bedroom in the
house, and had become the terror of visitors who
casually occupied this room, and the respected
landlady and her family.

Many years ago the bees were known to
occupy the fine end wall ; this requiring some
repairs, a mason was sought, who well and
securely plastered up every crevice he could

find, so that the bees that formerly had entered
through this wall were made prisoners, and were
debarred from roaming the nectared meadow
and the heathery hill adjoining. Though ap-
parently doomed to extinction, the bees managed
to find an entrance by the wall of the bedroom,
and again had admission to the house. They
soon entered the bedroom in thousands, to the
great alarm of the hostess.

In driving past the previous week, the writer
had a hive with him, which drew the attention
of Mrs. Rowlands, who asked if he could take
away some bees that were troubling her in
the house ; for she was in continual dread, when
any one occupied this bedroom, of the bees
attacking her friends when asleep at night.
Filled with pleasure at the prospect in store of
having a big bee-day, he went to view the seat
of war, and at once undertook the task of cap-
turing the enemy. Before the week was out he
was on the spot, duly attired for the fray; pro-
tected with veil, provided with carbolised sheet,
smoker in full blasting trim, crowbar, chisel,
hammer, and saw ready at hand. They set to
work first by removing a cupboard, and then
raising a floor-board, when they found that the
besieged were prepared to resent intrusion upon
their castle ; a volley of smoke, however, soon
caused their retreat, and the operators had a fair
view of the treasure, which revealed the fact
that, between the joists of the lower room and
the flooring of the bedroom above, there was a
solid block of virgin honey. They then put the
saw to further use, which revealed more, and it
was still more until they had cut up twelve
widths of flooring. A.t the farthest end the
condition of the comb was very dark, but they
were all pleased when the result turned out to
be four large milk-pails of honev.

They then paid their attention to the bees,
and safely housed them in a clean straw skep ;
left them in bedroom overnight, and safely re-
moved them to the garden the next morning,
where they continue to work splendidly. The
whole time occupied was three hours, which
was time pleasantly spent, and an event not soon
to be forgotten. — T. W. Powell, July Vdth.

SUCCESSFUL RAID ON BEES IN
A CHURCH.

[1502.] A most successful drive of bees took
place in the Becconsall Church at Hesketh
Bank on July 17th. The bees have been in
possession for seven or eight years. The roof is
of flags, ceiled inside with pitch-pine, the space
between being about eighteen inches, the bees
having their entrances at the end. Mr. T.
Dandy having ascertained the position of the
comb, he, along with R. Rymer, R. Buck, and
R. Ward, proceeded to take down the ceiling
boards, when they discovered a solid mass of
honey-comb a yard square. The yield of honey
and wax is about two hundredweight. He also
obtained a good stock of bees. — Subscriber,
July 27 th.

296

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 27, 1893

MOVING BEES AND QUEEN-
EXCLUDER ZINC.

[1503.] I • observe "Enthusiast's" difficulty
(822, p. 267), in removing bees. I also notice
that he inverted the skep. Why that should be
necessary I don't know, but I think it a mistake.
One reason, it inverts the cells too, causing the
honey when the skep is shaken to drop out, as
cells in their natural position incline upwards.
Another reason : often we find a quantity of
brood on the lower part of the comb which
makes it rather heavy, and when the hive is in-
verted or knocked about causes it to break and
fall out, and sometimes a queer mess is the
result.

About the middle of last May I had to re-
move a stock of bees in straw skep which had
cast first swarm about a week previously. After
placing a piece of hoarding underneath and tying
it round the bottom, it was carried into a spring-
cart the normal way up, placed upon two bits
of wood to raise it from the cart bottom to allow
air for the bees, with a piece of sacking packed
between the cart side and hive. It travelled with-
out any further trouble over country roads a dis-
tance of five miles, some parts very rough, with
no breaking of comb whatever. At night I could
hear the queens piping. The few days following
being rather dull, and having a " Wells" hive
near, I determined to drive them, which I did
successfully, securing both queens, and placing
about half of the bees on each side of the divi-
sion-board, each with a queen, both sides doing
fairly well, one side working in the super.

Just a word respecting queen-excluder zinc.
Bee-keepers here don't use it and I am in-
formed that the queen with it never deposits
eggs in the super. My bees take to the super in
as many days without zinc excluder as they do
in weeks with it. I have not yet extracted the
supers, so cannot say from own experience
whether they will contain eggs or brood.

Bees about here have done exceptionally well
and from what I hear with about the usual
number of swarms, one farmer with three or
four box hives three weeks ago having taken
about seventy pounds of honey and probably
more ; and another from two hives about forty
pounds — which is considered very fair about here,
I but have no doubt that with care and attention
this could have been doubled.

I note query (1488, p. 272), respecting the
sale of honey, and should advise that it be
not rushed into the market. With a bit of
patience your correspondent may be able to sell
all he has — perhaps he may dispose of it to a
chemist at a good price, as is sometimes done
about here. In our village we have no difficulty
in selling all we produce, and often if not always,
run short at Is. -id. per pound. In winter
it is wanted in half-pound, one - pound, and
two-pound quantities, so long as it is known
to be our own produce and pure. Certainly we
don't gather it in tons. Ah ! how convenient
it is to have a cold when honey cannot be had
without8' — West Yorkshire.

FOUL BROOD CURED.

[1504.] It will doubtless interest you to-
know that, whilst at Stamford, I made in-
quiries as to how some fifteen hives were going
on in which I found foul brood last year. I
advised Mr. Sells at the time to write to our
Secretary for some naphthaline, and to give it
to the owners for insertion in their hives.
This was done, and Mr. Sells reports that, at a
recent examination of these hives, he could not
detect a single diseased cell. I advised him to
continue its use throughout this season at all
events, if he could not persuade the three
owners to permanently use it. My own apiary
has remained clear, although I found one hive
this spring, in a row of three next door, that was
badly effected ; but, as I had kept naphthaline
in all my hives, and there was some at the time
in the affected one, I have not suffered any
evil effects from it. The affected hive is no
more, the others are strong and healthy, and
my faith in naphthaline as a preventive is so
great that I shall never be without it in future.
— F. J. Cribb, Gainsborough, July 21st, 1893.

DOMESTICATING HUMBLE-BEES.

[1505.] In your issue of June 8th (1458, p. 225)
I wrote asking information respecting the
domesticating of the common wild black or
" bombus " bee. I had not long to wait before
a welcome opportunity presented itself of trying
the experiment. Whilst out in the fields three
of us had to take shelter under the hedge from
the rain. In our haste one of us plumped right
over a nest, which I immediately began to dig
for, and found about a foot down from the
surface. When the hole was large enough, and
the nest containing brood taken out, an inverted
skep with the nest took its place, which was
filled up with turf, grass, and soil, with a holo
at the top for the bees to pass in and out. That
was about a fortnight ago, and they still occupy
the same place. Any information or suggestion
for proceeding further with them towards
bringing them under more direct observation,
and, if possible, domestication, I shall be grate-
ful for and give due attention to, either from
you or any of your readers. — West York-
shire.

[848.] Bees about Dxoelling-houses. — For the
last two or three days my bees have entered an
outbuilding both by the door and window, and
to-day they have done the same with the shop,
and many scores have died at the windows.
They are also flying round the doors of my
house, and seem greatly excited. Kindly tell
me the apparent cause and possible remedy. I
have closed the hive entrances to about an inch,
thinking there was fighting going on, as those
at the windows appear to fight each other. Up
to the present my bees have done well ; they am

July 27, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

29r

all strong, and I have taken a quantity of honey.
— Norfolk, July \Sth.

Reply. — The prowling1 about the house simply
means that little or no honey is now to be had
in the fields, and that the bees feel the loss of
the stores taken from them. It might be well
to see if feeding might not be advantageous
both for quieting the bees and keeping up breed-
ing, as well as to make sure that there is plenty
of food in the hives.

[849.] Preparing Shalloto Frames. — I am
wishing to work on the " shallow-frame "
system next season. 1. Is there anything to be
done now in the way of preparation ? 2. If I
put foundation comb in shallow frames now
(wired), could the bees be induced to draw out
cells, and how ? Or (3) would you suggest to
cut comb from standard frames (extracted) to
size of shallow frames, and, if so, could bees be
induced to fasten them ? — C. G.

Reply. — 1. No. Bees work better on fresh
foundation than on " stale," so defer preparing
frames till next year. 2. No need to " wire "
shallow frames. If fed liberally you might get
some combs drawn out in strong stocks, but it
is not certain so late as this. 3. If combs are
clean and fresh, they may be utilised with
advantage for shallow frames by cutting the
combs so that they will require pressure to force
them into the frame. The bees will soon make
them secure.

[850.] Bees leaving Straio Skeps. — I had in
the spring one box and one straw skep from
which I had a swarm the first week in June.
Nine days later I was expecting the cast, but I
fear we did not watch it at the right time, for
we have lost it. A neighbour has also had two
swarms from straw skeps, but has lost both
casts, if they have come out. My swarm was
put into a box. I therefore have two boxes
and one straw skep. On Sunday, July 16th,
I put the skep on to a bar-frame hive, not
with the intention that they should work
down, but for them to get used to the box
entrance. On Friday, July 21st, I intended to
drive the bees into the box ; but, to my sur-
prise, when I lifted off the skep, there were no
bees in it except a few robbers and, I think,
three wasps. There was no brood nor honey.
I have gone up the garden about 5.30 of a
morning, and have seen bees going in, but not
imagining they were robbing, I took no notice,
and, it being late when I returned from work, I
did not trouble about them. Do you think
they joined the swarm that came from the
straw skep, as they were side by side ? I think
they must have done so, as, when I lifted the
quilt off swarm, I had to give them more room,
and there were about thirty or forty dead bees
in front of the swarm's hive. Do you think they
will come out again, or stick to that hive ? I
can hear of the bees doing well, but swarms
have been very scarce. One bee-keeper has lost,
I think, three swarms this season, as they
seemed to take to flight as they come out. —
T. V. R.

Reply. — It is not at all impossible that the
casts have joined the swarm, and from your find-
ing the swarm so very strong, it is very probable.
The old colony was left without a young queen
and few bees, which have either dwindled away or
joined a stronger hive. The bees will not leave
the swarm now, but remain in the hive they
have joined.

[851.] State of Hive. — One of my bar hives
is very weak, and bees do not cover more than
two or three frames. They have been weak
since spring, and don't appear to be getting any
stronger. On examining hive about six weeks
ago I found queen, but could not find her since.
Let me know what I may do with this stock.
There is a little patch of brood on frames. Do
you think there is a queen in hive now, and
how could I best manage to find her? — J. A.
Aiken, Kesh.

Reply. — If your hive has been weak since
spring it is probably owing to its having a poor
queen, as with the fine weather prevailing this
year the hive ought to have built up in the
usual way. As there is a little patch of brood
on frames it shows that there is either a queen
now or that one has been in the hive recently.
If you examine the comb carefully and find eggs
and larvae in every stage, and in a normal con-
dition, the queen is there. You can find the
queen by taking out and examining combs
on both sides, and every crevice she may be
likely to hide in.

[852.] Transferring from Skep. — Will you
kindly advise me about my bees ? I have a
straw skep, from which I had a fine swarm in
June, which is doing well in a bar-frame hive.
I have not been able to super my skep, and do
not know if it would be best to leave it alone
till next year and super it early (it is full of
honey), or drive the bees into a frame hive
which I have ready and feed them during the
winter. If you advise driving them will you
tell me, first, the best time to do it, and how to
manage to keep them alive and well ? My bar-
frame hive is a standard size, with nine frames
and two dummies, and is fitted with strips of
wax. Second, could I cut some comb out of the
skep and fix it in the bar hive ? Third, about
what time is the best to close in the bars for
the winter in my other hive ? An answer in
your Journal would greatly oblige. — J. M.,
Bournemouth.

Reply. — Unless you particularly wish to keep
your skep we should advise you to transfer the
bees to a frame hive. 1. This can be done now
by driving the bees, and then cutting out what
combs contain brood and placing them in frames.
The bees will have to be fed to induce them to
build combs in the other frames containing wax
strips. Reduce the space occupied by the bees
by means of the division-board to as many
frames as they can cover. 2. You can cut out
and transfer all the combs from the skep if you
desire, but we prefer filling frames with comb
foundation, as this is now so cheap, and combs

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 27, 1898.

made with it are much more regular. We
should certainly substitute full sheets of founda-
tion for the wax strips, as much time would be
gained thereby. 3. All arrangements for
wintering should be completed by end of
September, or beginning of October at the
latest.

[853.] Will you kindly answer the following
question in your coming issue of the British Bee
. Journal : Is it usual and necessary for judges
to cut and so disfigure sections sent for com-
petition ?— A. W. R. S., Merrow.

Reply. — It is usual and quite necessary in
most cases for judges to taste honey contained in
the sections, and for this purpose generally one
section is selected by them. It is for this reason
that it is usually a condition in the schedules that
comb honey must be glazed on both sides. The
gloss is to be secured by metal clips and white
paper, or in any other neat way capable of being
removed by the judges. No competent judge
would award a prize without tasting.

[854.] I have a hive which I am obliged to
remove about two miles by road and thirty by
rail. What I propose doing is to remove the
crate and put on a piece of perforated zinc over
the frames, and then put on the hive cover
without quilts, and piece of zinc across the
entrance. Will this be the right thing to do ?
Now, what I am doubtful about is the frames,
which are nine in number, and are full of honey
and brood. Must they be left as they are, or
should they be extracted and the bees travel on
the empty combs and a portion of the honey
mixed with syrup fed back again ? I am going
to drive some bees from a skep, and put them in
a box on frames of foundation, as I have no
spare combs. Would it be any use my putting
on a queen-excluder over frames and put the
skep on same for any brood to be hatched out,
or should they be covered up warm and fed
with syrup? Your kind advice will greatly
oblige — A North Devon Bee-keeper.

Reply. — Your proceeding is quite right, but
you must be sure that the frames are properly
secured, so that they do not move. We should
prefer to extract the honey if the frames are
very full and heavy, unless the combs are built
in wired frames which would prevent their
breaking down. You can feed back the diluted
honey as you propose. If you drive the bees to
put into frame hives we should cut out what
brood there might be in the skep and transfer it
to frames to hatch out, feeding the driven bees
with syrup.

®r^0ts foam % ffitoes.

Beemount, Stoke Prior, July 22nd. — The honey
season here, alas ! is at its close, and the bees
are rapidly removing the honey stored in the
sections. Sections which were nearly ready to
be removed a fortnight ago are now almost
empty. I intended taking my sections en bloc
on August 1st, for I think removing them as

they are filled, either by the aid of the car-
bolised feather or smoker, hinders the working
of the bees, but I am clearly a victim of circum-
stances, and must alter my plans. Hope to re-
move all my surplus honey next week, when I
will let you know the result; but I f6ar my
crop will not be very great. Notwithstanding
the prospects, from a bee-keeper's point of view,
are now looking very blue in this neighbour-
hood, still I rejoice that those of the farmers
and gardeners are far greener than they were
a short time ago. Although I own only six
stocks, I have enough enthusiasm for sixty. —
Percy Leigh.

July 26th, 27th, 28th. — Lancashire and
Cheshire B.K.A., in connexion with the R.M.L.
and N.L. Agricultural Society's show at Black-
pool. Entries closed.

August 1st and 2nd. — Staffordshire B.K.A.
at Lichfield, in connexion with the Stafford-
shire Agricultural Society. Hon. Sec, Rev.
A. H. Alsop, Brednall Vicarage, Stafford.

August 2nd to 4th. — Yorkshire Agricultural
Society at Dewsbury. Prizes for honey and
bee appliances. Entries closed.

August 7th. — Berks Bee-keepers' Association,
Newbury District, in connexion with the Flower
Show in Shaw Avenue, Newbury : 11/. cash
prizes. Entries close August 1st. Hon.
Sec, W. Hawkes, Newtown Road, Newbury.

August 7th. — Bee and honey show at Yale
Royal, under rules of the Lancashire and
Cheshire B.K.A. Entries close July 29th.
Schedules from John P. Ricketts, Hon. Sec,
Davenham, Cheshire.

August 7th and 8th.— Northants B.K.A.
Annual Show at Delapre Park, Northampton.
Five special prizes, viz., 20s., 15s., 10s., 5s., and
2s. 6d., for single 1-lb. sections, entry free. For
particulars apply to Robert Hefford, Hon. Sec,
Northants B.K.A., Boughton, near Northants.

August 7th and 8th. — Notts B. K. A. Annual
County Show at Mapperley, Notts, in con-
nexion with the Porchester Horticultural Society.
Entries close July 31st. A. G. Pugh, Secretary,
Mona Street, Beeston, Notts.

August 12th. — Wotton-u-E. District Annual
Show of Honey and Cottagers' Flower Show.
£20 in prizes. Entries close Saturday, August
5th. Schedules of G. Gunston, Hon. Secretary,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

August 15th and 16th. — South of Scotland
B.K.A. at Dumfries. Wm. Wilson, Secretary,
Acrehead House, Dumfries.

August 16th. — Kent B. K. A., in connexion
with the Sevenoaks Horticultural Society's
Show, in Knole Park, Sevenoaks. Entries close
August 12th. Hon. Secretary, Jesse Garratt,
Meopham, Kent.

August 19th. — Bee and honey show at
Mobberley, Cheshire (under the rules of the
Lancashire and Cheshire B.K.A.), and in con-
nexion with the Mobberley Horticultural Society.

July 27, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

299'

For schedules apply to T. D. Schofield, Oakfield,
Alderley Edge, Cheshire, or the Secretary,
Mobberley. Entries close August 1st.

August 30th. — Honey Show at Fleetwood, in
connexion with the Fleetwood Horticultural
Society. Entries close August 15th. For
schedules apply John Latham, Secretary, North
Albion Street, Fleetwood, Lancashire.

September 2nd. — Vale of Leven, B.K.A., at
Burgh Hall, Dumbarton. Schedules from J.
Walker, Secretary, 74 Main St., Alexandria, N.B.
September 5th and 6th. — Warwickshire
B. K.A. at Solihull, in connexion with the
Warwickshire Agricultural Society. For
schedules apply James Noble Bower, Hon. Sec,
Knowle, Warwickshire. Entries close August
26th.

September 6th and 7th. — Derbyshire Bee-
keepers' Association, at Derby. Entries close
August 31st. Over 18/. in prizes. Special
f acilities offered to distant exhibitors. Schedules
from W. T. Atkins, 12 North Street, Derby.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation's Exhibition, in St. Andrew's Hall,
Glasgow. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 13th "and 14th.— Scottish B. K. A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries ashing for addresses of manufacturers 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 communication.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those only
of personal interest will be answered m fTiis column.

*#* We are requested by the Hon. Sec. of the
Chicago Exhibition Committee to express
regret that the name of Mr. J. Brown, Bristol,
was inadvertently omitted from ,the printed
list of donors.

We are asked to say that if " J. E. G. (Burton) "
whose communication is referred to on p. 262
of B. J. for July 6th, will write to Mr. C. H.
Dyche, Hon. Local Sec. D. B. K. A., Ebenezer
Cottage, Wyggeston Street, Burton-on-Trent,
he will receive any help the Association can
afford either in curing his diseased stocks or
otherwise.

F. D. (two years bee-keeper). — Races of Bees.
— No. 1 are the common British bees. No. 2
are robber bees, and are glossy owing to a
loss of hairs, they are cross-bred, having Italian
blood. From your description we do not
think a swarm could have joined your bees,
but that it is an ordinary case of robbing.

Percy Leigh.— Driving Bees from Straw
Skeps. — Unless you expect to send your two
stocks in straw skeps to the moors, we should
advise you to drive the bees now and take
what honey there is. You could then unite
the two lots together and start in movable
comb hive. Any combs containing brood
could be transferred to frames.

T. McMunn (Derbyshire). — The comb sent
contains nothing but honey and pollen. There
is no brood, therefore we cannot state if bees
were suffering from foul brood.

E. Wood. — The bees sent are crossed Carniolans
and common. They are hairless bees, and
are driven from the hives which they en-
deavour to enter. It is possible they may be
from some of your own hives.

E. Griffiths. — Both the samples of honey
sent are good. No. 1 is bright, of good con-
sistency, but slightly darker than No. 2, which
is, on the other hand, a little less dense than
No. 1. We prefer the flavour of No. 1. The
aroma of both is good.

C. Adams. — Sample of honey sent is of good
consistency and colour, but strong in flavour.
56s. a cwt. is a very fair price for it. It would
be much improved by mixing with a light -
coloured honey devoid of much flavour, such as
that got from mustard.

C. J. Lilie (Grimsby). — 1. The swarm is not a
large one, but can be built up by feeding,
2. You cannot drive them this year, as combs
so recently made would break away, so you
had better keep them in the box till next
year. 3. If they have a queen, you do not
require a new queen, and if the bees are
bringing in pollen vigorously, it would be a
usual sign that the hive has brood and a
fertile queen. 4. Do the feeding now, and
finish before September. 5. Combs in a box
ten inches long do not require support. 6.
Yes, most drones are driven out by this time
except in queenless hives. 7. British Bee-
keeper's' Guide-book, by T. W. Cowan, treats
upon bee-keeping in frame hives. 8. Yes,
most certainly we recommend frame hives.

Castel Cane (Dulwich). — Getting Honey out
of Skep. — The best way would be to drive
the bees from the skep and transfer the brood
to frames, filling the other frames with comb
foundation. The honey in the other combs
can be extracted. This is a good time to
transfer.

E. A. Crisp. — The sample of honey is a mix-
ture of fruit and flower honey, darkened by a
little honey-dew. There is very little of this,
and the honey would do for feeding, as you
can dissolve it by putting jar in hot water.
The honey should be diluted with water.
But why not make vinegar with it ? This
would pay better, and you could feed bees on
sugar syrup. Brood should not be put
through extractor, as it is liable to be
injured.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 27, 1893

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, die. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

FOR SALE.— Superior Queens, Stocks, and Swarms,
English and Carniolan. Address Rev. C. Brereton,
Pulborough, Sussex. f. n.

FOR SALE.— Strong Healthy Stocks, with or without
Hives. Particulars, Kay, Park Cottage, Wilmington,
Kent. Bjjf

CI UARANTEED Healthy Pure Natives.— Pine Young
T Fertile Queens, 3s. 6d. each; 3-Frame Nuclei, 10s. 6d.;
6-Prame Stocks, 17s. 6d. ; 8-Frame ditto, 20s. Driven Bees,
Is. 6d. per lb., for 5-lb. lots or over, packing included.
Chas. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suffolk,

b 25

HONEY JARS.— Half-pound White Enamel Stone Jars,
with Caps. Sample, 4£d. Under cost, to clear.
S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex. b 26

WANTED.— New Sections Honeycomb, first quality:
also Extracted in bulk. Packages sent. Prompt
Cash settlement. Mr. Hurst, Bexhill, Sussex. 118

EE TENT on Hire. For terms apply to G. Gunston,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge. 135

B

CARBOLINE POMADE.— Kills Bee-stings like Magic.
Prevents getting Stung, Robbing, &c. In Is. bottles,
post free. Samples of Bee-smoke Cartridges, 3d. Address
T. Hollidat, Astbury, Congleton. 151

QUEEN-REARING for Amateurs, together with Notes
on Queen Introduction, Uniting Bees, &c. 6£d. Post
free Address S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex.

Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

Patron: H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, K.G.
President : The Rt. Hon. Lord Savile.

GREAT SHOW AT DEWSBURY,

WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, and FRIDAY,

August 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, 1893.

Magnificent Exhibition of Horses, Cattle, Sheep,

Pigs, Implements, Shoeing-Smiths'

Competitions, Butter, Cheese, Dairying,

and Bee Appliances.

Admission :

Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 6 p. m Half-a-Crown.

,, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m One Shilling.

Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m One Shilling.

Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m One Shilling.

Season Tickets, Half-a-Guinea each.

Marshall Stephenson,
York, July 22nd, 1893. Secretary. 154

SHROPSHIRE

The Annual Exhibition of
Bees, Hone/, Hives, and Appliances,

Will be held in

THE QUARRY, SHREWSBURY,

in conjunction with the

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S GREAT FETE,

On Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 23rd & 24th.

FRIZES to the Value of £35 will be awarded.

For Prize Lists, Entry Forms, and Information ,
apply to T. Whittingham, 27 Bengor Street, j
Shrewsbury. 149 '

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Stbebt, Strand, London, W.O.

PURE CANE SUGARS.

Foe the accommodation of Bee-keepers, guaranteed
Pure Cane Sugar will be supplied in large or
Bmall quantities through this office at the under-
mentioned rates: —

MOIST. (For Household Use.)

Neat bags, 14-lbs. 28-lbs. 56-lbs. Cwts.
3. MUSCOVADO 3/- 6/- 11/6 22/6

4. DEMERARA

5. BARBADOS

6. TRINIDAD

CRYSTALLISED.

V Crystals 3/3 6/6
REFINED CANE.

12/9 24/9

14. CASTOR Coarse (15 Fine)
16. ICING

7. WHITE CRYSTALS (Small) 3/6 7/0 13/9 26/9

8, 9. (Medium and Large sizes, 1/- per Owt. extra.)

10. LUMP (Cut Loaf) ... Boxes, 3/9 7/3 14/3 27/9

11. CRUSHED LUMP... „ 3/6 71- 13/9 26/9

12. PRESERVING _ „ 3/6 7/- 13/9 26/9

FINE. (For Household Use.)

13. GRANULATED 3/9 7/3 14/3 27/9

4/3 8/3 16/3 31/9

4/9 9/3 17/9 35/-

All above guaranteed made from Cane Sugar only, and free
from Beet, Chemicals, etc., etc.

Cabbiage Paid on Orders over 5/0 (or 28-lbs. Sugar)
to London and Suburbs.

Country Obdebs, not less than 2 cwt. carriage paid

at 1/0 per cwt. extra.

(Scotch and Irish orders, special arrangements.)

CHEQUES payable to Manager, Bee Journal and Record

Office, 17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.O.

CASH TO BE SENT WITH ORDER, and purchasers
will please observe that if samples are required or
replies asked to inquiries, a stamped addressed
envelope must be sent, as we cannot undertake
cost of postage. Delivery of Goods to be taken
as receipt. If acknowledgment of Cash is required,
stamped addressed envelope should be sent.

FOUL BROOD REMEDIES.

NAPHTHALINE
NAPHTHOL BETA.

NAPHTHALINE, for using in hives as a pre-
ventive of infection, in boxes, Is. post free.

NAPHTHOL BETA, for use in medicating bee-
c'ood, Is. a packet, post free.

Both the above may now be had at the Office of

1 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL " and "BEE-

KEEPERS' RECORD,"
7 Kins W illum Stbeet, Stband, London, W.O.

Instructions for use sent with each packet.

CASH WITH ORDER.

THE

Msl lw 3nnrnal

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

So. -580. Vol. XXI. N.S. 188.]

AUGUST 3, 1893

[Published Weekly.

(Jbiinrial, fortius, #r.

SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The third annual summer show of the Scottish
Bee-keepers' Association was held, in connexion
with that of the Highland and Agricultural
Society, in the Dean Park, Edinburgh, on July
24th to 28th, and we are very pleased to record
a complete and conspicuous success for the
Exhibition in every sense. Notwithstanding an
unpropitious beginning, so far as frequent
-showers during the morning of the opening or
" five-shilling day," the attendance was good,
: and the weather during the whole of the remain-
ing time the show continued was beautifully
fine, and the attendance enormous. Only once
before in the history of the Highland and Agri-
cultural Society has the gate-money of 1893
been exceeded, and that was in the " centenary "
year. The fortunate circumstance of it being
the annual " trades' holiday " in Edinburgh no
doubt added greatly to the number of visitors ;
any way, it was a matter for all-round con-
gratulation that so many circumstances com-
bined to render the meeting so successful.

It was our first appearance at a Scotch show,
and very gratifying, indeed, it was to find that
"bee-keepers came from such far-away counties
to be present and show their interest in the
■ craft. It would occupy too much space to give
'full particulars of the many we had the pleasure
of meeting in the flesh for the first time, though
almost as familiar with them in spirit as they
were with ourselves, and we trust it will be long
ere we forget the hearty " hand-grip " of many
a Scotch bee-man met at the Edinburgh show.
Very gratifying, also, it was to hear how good
the season had been with almost every one, so
that general satisfaction seemed to prevail on
all hands.

The shedding appropriated to the bee depart-
ment, spacious though it was, proved none too
large ; indeed, a somewhat increased space would
have been advantageous, so varied and numerous
were the many interestingthings staged. Acentre
table occupying the full length of the shedding
was taken up with sections and the two extensive
collections of honey which took first and second
in the class for the " best display of honey in
any form," to which we shall refer later. Then

one side of the wall space of the shedding was
covered with specimens of dried honey and
pollen plants, framed and glazed, and on the
bench below were staged, among other things,
quite a museum of interesting bee-things belong-
ing to Sir Thomas Gibson-Carmichael. These
comprised enlarged anatomical models of various
parts of the bee, as well as several of the bee
itself — queen, drone, and worker — and of a piece
of comb containing the various stages of growth
from the egg to the perfect insect ; while in the
bee- tent itself our friend, Mr. Baldwin, had an
unusual adjunct to his lecturing " plant " in the
shape of a gigantic model of a bee, capable of
being taken to pieces and explained to visitors
by instalments.

Very seldom do we see so much bee-produce
and other material, all attractive and interesting
to the bee-keeper, gathered together under one
roof as was seen at Edinburgh ; but, unlike so
many important shows in the south, where, as a
rule, bees and appliances form the strongest
branch of the bee department, the strength of
the show under notice lay very distinctly in the
produce division, or that devoted to the art of
bee-keeping as exemplified in comb and ex-
tracted honey production. The appliance classes
were only poorly filled, and, with some excep-
tions, the goods shown were a little behind the
times, to judge by southern ideas. Indeed, we
think it is to be regretted that some of our
most prominent English appliance manufacturers
did not put in a personal appearance at Edin-
burgh with a representative and thoroughly "up
to date " exhibit in the class for collections of
appliances. It would, we are sure, do good all
round.

On the other hand, in the particular branch
of bee-craft known as " fancy work," our Scotch
friends came out with tremendous force. Never
before have we seen displayed at a single show
so many beautiful samples of honey-comb de-
signs, besides some finely finished supers of
comb honey. The most imposing exhibits were,
of course, those in the class for " best display of
honey in any form," in which four entries were
staged. The first-prize " display " consisted of
400 pounds of honey, and included eight of the
well-known Stewarton supers, all well combed
and sealed, two capital "designs" in honey-
comb, and about thirty or forty good two-
pound sections, the remainder being one-pound
sections and jars of fine extracted clover honey.
It was built up in handsome solid square

302

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 3, 1893.

fashion, and did not seem to have a bit of poor
produce among the whole collection. Indeed, it
•was a splendid exhibit. The second-prize lot,
though less in height, was also good, and com-
prised a fine design in honey-comb — three well-
combed and handsome boxes of honey, forty-seven
two-pound section?, with a good "remainder"' of
one-pound sections and jars of clover honey, all
of fine quality. The third prize was taken by a
very nice lot of sections and jars of extracted
honey, weighing 200 pounds.

Next in importance — or, indeed, what may be
termed the " sensation " of the show — were the
honey-comb designs, of which six entries were
staged, and, as we have already said, they were
a splendid lot of exhibits. The first-prize
" design," evidently worked by two stocks of
bees, had for its subject a large ducal crown, in
honour of H.R.H. the Duke of York, President
of the show, and the figures 1893 beneath.
These were the perfection of finish in comb-
building and sealing, with hardly a single
unsealed cell in the whole design. The second-
prize one consisted of the word " Scotia " in
good-sized letters, each perfect in shape, and
having the sheet of foundation forming them
attached to the glass in some cunning fashion
which entirely did away with any disfigurement
such as would be caused, by melting the wax to
attach it to the glass. There were not six sec-
tions in the whole show which could boast of
anything like such perfect work in colour,
capping, sealing, and finish, as was seen in these
six letters, and well might onlookers express
wonder and ask, " How is it done ? " The third
prize went to a design in the form of a crown,
with a large letter G beneath — very good indeed,
but not quite so perfect as the others. A " very
high commend " was also awarded to a design —
good enough to take first at most shows — in the
shape of a Prince of Wales' feathers and the
letters H.R.H. It was a specially good feature
of all these designs to see such complete filling
and sealing of the cells next the glass with
good-coloured honey.

Next in interest came the supers of comb
honey, in which sixteen entries were staged in
the two classes, among them being some very
fine exhibits specially worth notice if space per-
mitted. We must say, however, that we prefer
to see these supers shown inverted, with the
bottoms of the combs upwards, rather than as
" designs " are, with top of combs next the on-
looker.

Four classes were set apart for comb honey in
sections, and the total entries numbered thirty-
nine. Among so large a number some good
ones could, of course, be found ; but Scotch bee-
keepers are obviously less expert in securing
good sections, especially the smaller one-pound
ones, than they are at producing comb honey in
other forms. It is not that they can't do it,
but somehow they don't ; and we mention the
"fault" with a view of its being worth
remedying.

The competition for extracted honey was
divided into five classes, for which there were

fifty-nine entries. Some fine samples were-
shown, and it occupied the judges a consider-
able time in " sorting." As we had the honour
of sharing in this " labour of love," we must not
omit mention of an interesting fact which came
out as the work went on, and that is the curious
— almost amusing — difference of opinion between,
southern and some northern judges regarding
the flavour of honey. The very " character" or
distinctness of flavour — outside that of mild-
flavoured clover honey — such as is given, say,.
by a " dash " of heather or of sainfoin, and
which so adds to its value in southern eyes, ia
viewed as a positive defect by some in the north.
We were therefore very pleased to find that the
"majority" had it, and that the majority was
Scotch, as it should be at a Scotch show. The
remaining classes in this division call for no
special comment, except saying that nearly all!
were well worth staging at so important a show
as the one under notice.

In closing our necessarily brief report, we-
must first congratulate the members of the
Scottish B.K.A. on having achieved a very
pronounced success at their summer show. The-
entries were good (196, against 73 last year).
Favoured with fine weather, the attendance was-
all that could be desired, and the interest shown
— as evidenced by the crowded state of the bee-
shedding and numbers surrounding the bee-tent
at each of Mr. Baldwin's lectures — every way
satisfactory.

Mr. Wishart, the indefatigable Assistant
Secretary, did his best, and did it well, to make
the affair a success, and he was ably assisted by
Serg.-Major Hill and Mr. Nichol Dodds, as
well as by members of the Committee, all of
whose names we did not gather. The only
drawback, as far as we saw, was the absence,
regretted by all, of the Hon. Secretary, Sir Thos.
Gibson-Carmichael, who, owing to an accident—
happily not serious — was unable to attend.

The following gentlemen officiated as J udges r.
Hives and appliances : W. Broughton Carr,
Rev. R. McClelland, Rev. J. Balfour Robertson,.
Mr. G. C. Meldrum. Comb honey : Colonel
Bennett, Mr. C. Chouler, Mr. J. S. Baldwin, Dr.
Murray. Extracted honey : Rev. J. B. Robert-
son, Rev. R. McClelland, Mr. F. McConnell,..
Mr. W. Broughton Carr. Wax, confectionery,.
&c. : Rev. J. B. Robertson, Mr. F. McConneflV
Dr. Murray, Mr. S. J. Baldwin.

The Prize List will be given next week.

CRANLEIGH AND DISTRICT BEE
CLUB.

The first summer show was held at Stone-
wall, Cranleigh, on Wednesday, July 19th.
There was a most satisfactory entry, and no
less than 350 pounds of honey was staged.
Captain Campbell, of Guildford, who kindly
acted as Judge, expressed himself as highly
satisfied, and awarded the prizes as follows : —

Class 1. Largest exhibit of honey. — 1st prize,
W. Charman.

August 3, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

303

Class 2. Twelve sections. — 1st, H. Kitcher ;
2nd, H. Stedman ; "3rd, T. Libbiter.

Class 3. Six sections. — 1st, G. Knight; 2nd,
Miss A. Trussler ; 3rd, J. Charlwood.

Class 4. Single section. — 1st, Mrs. Maclear ;
2nd, W. Charman ; 3rd, G. Knight.

Class 5. Six bottles of run honey. — 1st, J.
Charlwood ; 2nd, H. Stedman.

Class 6. Single bottle of run honey. — 1st, W.
Charman.

Class 7. Frame of honey. — H. Stedman.

Class 8. Super of any kind. — T. Libbiter.

Class 9. Wasp nest. — W. Perris.

Class 10. Amateur frame hive. — H. Kitcher.

Class 11. Frame hive for cottagers. — J.
Charlwood.

The prizes were distributed in the evening by
the President, W. Welch, Esq., C.C., who con-
gratulated the members on the success of their
hrst show, notwithstanding the wet day. —
Communicated.

MIDDLESEX BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The north-eastern province of this Association
held a show of honey, hives, and bee-gear on
July 29th, in connexion with the Brook-
field Horticultural Society, at South Highgate.
A commodious tent was provided for the
exhibits, and although the amount of honey
staged was not very great, some of it was very
good indeed, especially that shown by Mr.
Harveyson, of Finchley, which was of good
colour and consistency, while the sections ex-
hibited by this gentleman were good, and much
care had evidently been taken in their prepara-
tion. Most of the other honey was more or less
darkened by honey-dew. The arrangements
were excellently carried out by Mr. Smyth, the
local Secretary. During the afternoon the
Baroness Burdett-Coutts, the President of the
Association, visited the show, and expressed
herself gratified at the neat display. The
manipulating tent of the Association was also
erected on the grounds, lectures and manipula-
tions with live bees being given at intervals by
Mr. R. Green j of Raynham, Kent. Two candidates
were examined for third-class certificates during
the afternoon. Messrs. T. W. Cowan and W.
H. Harris acted as Judges and Examiners. The
following is the list of awards : —

Class 1. For the best twelve 1-lb. sections. —
1st prize (B. B. K. A. silver medal), Mr. Har-
veyson ; 2nd, Major Fair ; 3rd, Mr. Durrant.

Class 2. For the best twelve 1-lb. bottles of
extracted honey. — 1st (B.B.K.A. bronze medal),
Mr. Harveyson ; 2nd, Mr. Russell.

Class 3. The largest and best exhibit of honey
in and out of the comb. — 1st, Mr. Harveyson.

Class 4. The best twelve 1-lb. sections of
honey (open to members of the M.B.K.A., north-
eastern province only). — 1st, Mr. Harveyson ;
2nd, Mr. Hardman.

Class 5. The best collection of hives and
appliances. — 1st, Mr. J. Baldwin.

€ttxxts$avfomtt.

T7ie 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 oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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, ic, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1506.] The notes of travel by Mr. Hooker
(1494) are very interesting, and I trust he will
find time to post us up in the many apicultural
items of news which such a veteran in the
front rank of bee-keepers for many years will
glean amongst our American brethren in the
craft, and also give us some idea of the mag-
nitude of bee-keeping in the States, as illus-
trated by their honey exhibits at the World's
Fair.

I notice that the American bee-keepers are
having a capital honey season, taking things
generally, and Dr. Millar says 1893 will be ra-
membered as the " White Clover Season.'

The American Bee Journal for J uly 6th con-
tains the long-promised article by Mr. W.
M'Evoy, " How to Cure Foul-brood Disease
among Bees." The method is simple compared
to some medicated methods, and Mr. M'Evoy
avers that there is no necessity to boil hives
or disinfect them even, where his instructions
are followed, and that he cures the colonies in
the same hives, no matter how bad the disease
has been in them. This statement is dia-
metrically opposed to the generally received views
with respect to Bacillus alvei ; but, coming as it
does from a person in authority — in fact, ap-
pointed Foul-brood Inspector of the Province of
Ontario in Canada — gives the statement great
weight, and commends it to the attention of
any one who unfortunately has the pest to
grapple with. Mr. M'Evoy says his method is
well and favourably known in Ontario, and no
one finds any fault with it. The chief point is
this : if the method radically cures the disease,
why, that fact alone dispenses with any scientific
arguments.

In last week's B. J. Mr. Cribb gives an in-
stance of cure by the continued use of naphtha-
line, that bears out my contention some time
back that, if naphthaline destroyed or sterilised
the germs of the disease, the continued applica-
tion of the remedy must cure in the long run,
as the number of germs are, though numerous,
a limited quantity, and if naphthaline proves a
cure, the simplicity of the method, combined
with its cheapness, brings it within the means
of the poorest bee-keepers.

304

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 3, 1898.

"West Yorkshire" inquires for suggestions
re the domestication of humble-bees. This is
an impossibility, as the bees all die off in the
early autumn except the queens, which locate
themselves in the mossy banks to await the
returning warmth of another spring to revivify
them to go through another similar experience
of life as their predecessors the year before.
My son for several years kept nests of humble-
bees in some little hives he made for them, but
they never stored any amount of honey — just
enough to flavour the palate of the embryo
entomologist. It was quite a big job with him.
First, the nests were spotted; then watched
until they were strong enough to remove, then
the nest was secured in a box or biscuit-tin,
and the bees confined two or three days, and
fed liberally on honey gathered by my bees.
This confinement and feeding (somewhat akin
to buttering pussy's feet to induce her to take
to her new home) caused the bees to locate in
the apiary amongst my own hives, but nothing
would, induce the queens to continue in the hive
for hybernation — though I will admit I never
tried humble-bee excluder zinc. Possibly this
might have detained the queens, but whether
dead or alive I will not venture to say.

Glad to hear our friend " W. Y." makes such
a good price for his honey. We have to be
satisfied with about half that price.

I trust Mr. Meadows will not forget those
two-inch metal ends I mentioned in a previous
note, and which we talked over at the Chester
show. I think there would be a demand for
them for shallow-frame supers, and that some-
thing of the kind is required the ingeniously
hung little blocks for altering the distance of
super frames, as exhibited by the Rev. Mr.
Lamb at Chester, proves. These two-inch ends
should be of the W.B.C. or similar pattern,
so that the same top bars can still be utilised,
and the extra width be in the folded ends. The
extra honey in the combs would not require
any extra capping, and the combs, when once
built, would not want more wax in their con-
struction, and the eight frames would contain
as much or more honey than the ten frames do
now, while a saving of uncapping and extracting
two frames would be a certain gain of both
time and honey, and consequent money.

The bacteriologists are still investigating.
Cholera bacilli remain viable — i.e., infectious —
for varying periods : in water, five to six days ;
in milk, three days ; on bread (surface) exposed
to the air, one day ; between slices of bread
kept moist, for eight days ; on paper, a day and
a half ; on copper or silver coins, about ten
minutes ; after thoroughly drying, on dry
clothes, for four days, but on moist linen for
twelve days. These results, obtained by a
German scientist, are useful as indicating the
length of time the various articles of food or
clothing remain infectious. Query : How long
do our hives, &c, remain infectious after the
removal of the diseased bees and combs ? Will
some of our scientists decide ? — W. Woodley,
World's End, Newbui-y.

A FEW DAYS AT AN EXPERT'S
APIARY.

[1507.] Intending to retire to the country
after forty years of Great Babylon, and wanting
something to occupy my mind there, I turned
to the study of the pursuit of bee-keeping, di-
rected somewhat thereto by what I saw at a
" show." But I knew nothing about it, so
applied to a friend, who suggested as a first
step the study of a book on the subject.

In the reading-room of the British Museum
I found what I wanted. In one of them I
gathered that yours was the indispensable
journal on the subject, and have been buying it
ever since. Therein have I learned much more.
The set of inferences from my reading, however,
was that theory was very good, but in this
question needed, much more than most studies,
supplementing by practice. Here was a diffi-
culty ; but I overcame it by looking through
your advertisements, and — selecting one regular
advertiser — wrote straight to him with the
question : " For how much can I spend a few
days in your apiary ? " More than satisfied
at the moderation of the demand, I placed my-
self under the tuition of Mr. W. B. Webster, at
Binfield, Berks — a stranger, as were all other
experts, to me.

A professional and lucid description of an
apiary has recently appeared in your Journal.
If you think the following amateur's description
of a few days at an apiary may be useful to
some of your readers with aspirations like mine,
they are at your service.

Here my prepossessions in favour of bee-keep-
ing as a relaxation and occupation for the later
and more leisurely time of life were much en-
hanced and strengthened — most of all, perhaps,
by the fact that I soon learned that the in-
stinctive fear of myself and many others of
bees, was an entire delusion and mistake.
Assisting, as I did for several days, at all the
operations incident to a recent period of the
year when the bees were not out actively honey-
gathering, but idling at home with the pro-
verbial tendency to mischief, I tvas stung but
once, though as close to the bees all the time as
Mr. Webster himself, and this in presence of
the fact that neither veil nor gloves were used by
him or myself, although the operations of driving
and transferring from skep, and the withdrawing
and replacing of frames covered with bees, took
place in numerous instances.

The apiary consists of nearly a hundred small
but inexpensive hives, almost all of which were
tenanted, with a wooden honey or manipulating
house about the centre. Here, too, I learned
how much smaller a space is required for suc-
cessful bee-keeping than all my reading had led
me to infer. I feel sure that a like few days'
experience in an apiary would induce very
many, especially ladies, to utilise the spaces of
a few yards square, say ten by ten more or less,
in the parts of their gardens most remote from
the house (though with my recent experiences
mine will be located but a very short distance

August 3, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

305

therefrom). I was very much interested
in the arrival of a parcel by post from
Italy during my visit. To many a postman,
I opine, this must be a rather startling pheno-
menon, from the loud hum and evident ex-
. citement within. The contents were a number
of queens. The introduction of one of these
into a hive, enclosed in a wire cage which I
saw, was one of the several things I fear I
should never have done successfully without
this ocular demonstration.

Of course, the satisfactory and pleasant ex-
perience of seeing all the above without being
.stung — especially when the precautions I had
understood from the previous theoretic part of
my education to be necessary were not taken —
was the most gratifying of all to an aspirant.
Other " beginners " will, for their own
sakes, naturally ask, " How was it done ? " I
expected to see some volumes of smoke puffed
out from bellows, but I saw none at all, though
some amount of puffing from bellows was done.
I found that, as with ordinary gas, there was
smell without anything to see. A sponge
saturated with carbolic was enclosed in this
" f umigator." Its smell alone sufficed. Another
manipulation, which I should not have under-
stood or realised from my reading, was the
drawing over the top of bee-clad frames a piece
of calico about the size of a pocket-handkerchief,
and impregnated with the smell of this carbolic,
immediately after taking off the top of hive,
when all the bees rushed away down the frames,
generally out of sight. My " instructor " in-
formed me he had not used smoke for eight
years, and the value of this carbolic treatment
was further proved thus : In the "driving" from
the skep above alluded to the honey taken was
deposited in the honey-house. Large numbers
of bees and wasps tried to get in, and many
succeeded. After removal of the bulk much
debris remained, and that still attracted a large
invasion. This attraction was speedily removed
by Mr. W. mixing carbolic acid in a pail of
water, and having the bench and floor washed
therewith.

I have written this from the point of view of
what were my own wants. If it prove only a
little useful to aspirants and amateurs like
myself, I shall be glad. — John Pym, July 25th.

DESTROYING WASPS.

[1508.] What a wonderful year is this !
Not the least remarkable is the prevalence of
wasps. We have literally hundreds of flourish-
ing nests round about. I don't know if you
know the value of cyanide of potassium in
■destroying them. An ounce bottle of the fine
crystals suffices for twenty nests, and the
immense advantage is, it kills all ; those return-
ing from the fields come but to die, as well as
every occupant of the nest. It is so deadly,
one's conscience revolts almost, though we must
save our hives and our fruit. — E. H. Bellaies.

WASPS IN SCOTLAND.

[1509.] I send you by post a two-pound
section of honey. I would like your opinion
upon it. I have removed about seventy-five of
these from two hives, and if the wasps will
leave the hives alone, I shall have extracted
honey. But these are in crowds ; fighting is going
on constantly, and though in oneor two weak hives
I have reduced the entrance to five-eighths of an
inch, they still manage to dart in. A friendly
bee-keeper this morning advised a bottle of
vinegar, and on inspecting this I found plenty
of wasp?, a few house-flies, but no bees, though
it was immediately under a hive entrance.

I am sure Mr. Broughton Carr had a hard
task in taking notes and judging all the honey
exhibits at Manor Park, some of which were
beautiful. The designs were surprising, not
only as works of art, but as to the apparent
quality of the honey and well-filled combs. — X.

[The comb in the section sent unfortunately
arrived in a state of pulp ; the quality of the
honey is excellent, and it has a delicious flavour
and aroma. Wasps seem to be unusually abun-
dant this year. Vinegar, with a little sugar in it,
attracts them, but they should be destroyed at
their nests if possible. — Eds.]

HONEY HARVEST IN SCOTLAND.

[1510.] The following has been taken off one
hive this season : —

June 10 11 1-lb. sections

>> ■L-1 ,J >» »5

„ 14 14 „

)» 17 3 „ „

•>A 5

v 30 10 „

July 6 30 „

,,10 5 „

» '"'2 6 „ „

24 8

„ 25 13 lb. extracted from

body of hive.

123 lb. iu all from
one hive this season, managed by Mr. Robert
Orr, Monkwood Mains Farm, near Ayr.

No. 2 hive, 95 lbs. ; No. 3, 92 lbs. This is
the best record for years. Mr. Orr only began
to keep bees at my urgent request three years
ago, and I think the above worth recording.
The Edinburgh show has been a great success.
— Robert J. Bennett.

[855.] Bees Cast Out. — I have a stock of
bees in a large skep, and for the last two or
three weeks they have been throwing out about
a teacupful of dead bees every day, and are
still doing so. The bees are still strong. I
have taken a ten-pound super from them, and

f06

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 3, 1893;

they have another nearly full. I can't under-
stand it at all, so have enclosed some of the
dead bees to see if you can enlighten me.
There has been no robbing or fighting. This is
a good honey season here, but few swarms. I
have twelve hives and no swarms. — J. B.,
Blairgowrie.

Reply. — There is nothing in dead bees sent
to help us in diagnosing the case. It does
happen, we know, that bees are occasionally
cast out in this way, but the stocks seldom
suffer in consequence, and it is very probable
the mischief will cease ere long.

[856.] Protecting Bees in Winter. — Some
of my hives, which are single-walled inch pine,
simply stand on the floor-boards, and I am
inclined to think they require better protection
during the winter months. Some of them are
flush with the edges of the floor-boards, and, in
order to prevent draught, can you advise me of
anything that would resist the effects of wet
and frost that I could put round the bottoms of
the hives ? I am afraid my bees have suffered
in previous winters in consequence of the
piercing win s getting between floor-boards
and hives. — A. Everett.

Reply. — Our strong preference is for a light
outer case made large enough to allow a full inch
of space on all sides between it and the hive proper.
But with hives of inch pine one would think
that an outer case is hardly necessary. If the
hives do not sit close on the flood-boards all
round, we should simply insert paper packing to
keep out the " piercing wind " complained of.

[857.] Value of Honey Districts. — 1. In
the third week of May last year I hived a
natural swarm from a skep in an ordinary -sized
empty skep. The swarm had no artificial
assistance whatever. By the second week of
August this swarm had completed two, and
partially completed two other, one-pound sec-
tions in the super, which was then removed.
Do the above facts suggest to you a good,
medium, or poor honey district ? 2. What do
you recommend as being best to place in the
one-inch space between the two walls of my
double-walled hives before winter ? 3. Should
the space in the front of the hives be also filled ?
4. Should the enamelled cloth be removed and
replaced by unbleached calico ? If not by the
latter, with what ? 5. Are all thistles visited
by Italian bees for honey ? There are a good
many thistles growing in the pastures here, but
I have not yet succeeded in seeing a honey-bee on
them. — T. B., Middlesex.

Reply. — 1. It is impossible to estimate the
value of a district from data given, as much
depends upon size of swarms, method of
management, and season. Honey must not
generally be expected from swarms in skeps
the first year, unless they are (1) very early,
(2) very strong, and (3) induced to build in
supers, (4) favourably situated and the season a
good one. If supers are placed on the hives at

the same time that the swarm is hived, and the-
weather favourable, they may frequently be re-
moved filled, provided the swarm be a strong one,,
even without artificial assistance. Last season
was not considered a good one in Middlesex. 2
and 3. Nothing is required between the walls of
ordinary double-walled hives. 4. The enamel
cloth may be either removed, and substituted
by unbleached calico, covered with a chaff box
or cushion, or several folds of warm material, or,,
it may be retained, but in this case great care-
must be taken to have sufficient warm covering
above to prevent condensation below, and the
entrances should be opened to their full width to
allow of free ventilation. 5. Most thistles are
visited by bees when the weather is favourable
for honey secretion.

[858.] I shall be much obliged if you can
let me know the fault which causes the failure
of the enclosed super foundation. I had twenty
pounds weight, and cut it up as I unpacked it,
and placed it on the hives at once. On removing:
the supers I find scarcely a section satisfactory,
and in most cases the combs are badly built on
to the dividers, which are tin ; in other cases-
the foundation is built out on one side, and
simply flattened down to a smooth surface on
the other. Some sections have drone comb
built on the base, where the bees have removed
the cell walls ; but the majority are finished
off on one side, and a comb or combs built at
right angles between the foundation and
divider. Where I have placed sections filled
with another make (natural-based) in a crate
with the others, even when only one or two?
the natural-based foundation has been worked
out and finished, while the others are utterly
ignored by the bees. I had all fitted in sections-
of Simmins' patent, with saw-cut right through
the same, as I have used for some seasons with
the greatest satisfaction. I have not used a
great deal of flat-based foundation ; but as I see-
in your Guide-book you describe it as the
cheapest and best, I presume the base has not
much to do with it. I have spoken to a neigh-
bour of mine who has used some of the same-
make, and he says the bees have made holes-
through the base of the cells in a great many
cases. You can imagine what an amount of
work and loss of profit this means where over
fifty hives are kept, and I am afraid the mischief
must be widespread, as the dealer from whom
I procured the foundation says he had it from
his usual wholesale house, and in answer to
their complaint, it was stated that the founda-
tion had to be made too thin because customers-
will have a certain number of sheets to the
pound. — Comb-strainer, July 24th.

Reply. — We are not at all surprised at the-
bees refusing to work on the foundation sent.
Foundation made of bleached wax is particu-
larly objectionable to bees, as it is devoid of that
pleasant aroma possessed by good wax, and is
much more brittle, and not so tenacious and
malleable. The bases of the cells of sample-

August 3, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

30:

sent are not regular ; but this is only a fault in
the setting of the foundation rolls, and has
nothing to do with the bees not accepting it.
In Guide-book we say : " For sections we re-
quire a thinner foundation, and for this pur-
pose there is nothing to equal the thin, flat-
bottomed foundation, which is nearly as trans-
parent as glass, and averages twelve to fourteen
feet to the pound." Nothing is said about its
being the "cheapest," and in the matter of
foundation for sections, price with us would have
no consideration, provided we got it made of
pure, pale yellow wax, and much more trans-
parent than the sample you send. So long as
bee-keepers demand white foundation for sec-
tions, dealers will supply it ; but this, even if
pure, the bees do not like, and its production
should be discouraged. We have had similar
experience in the early days of foundation, and
had a super worked where thin sheets of foun-
dation were untouched and used as separators,
the bees building combs between.

[859.] Stores for Wintering. — Will you
kindly oblige by answering the following ques-
tions, viz. : — 1. I have seven frames of brood
and honey in one hive, the two outside frames
being, I believe, full of sealed honey. Please
say should I remove them or leave them for
winter consumption? 2. I hived a swarm in a
bar-frame a month ago on five frames of
foundation. They seem to have done badly ;
the combs are all shapes, some being joined
together at the middle; and now they keep
carrying bees out not quite dead, and young
bees and grubs. They seem to be dwindling
away ; could you tell me the cause ? 3. As it is
very cold up here in winter, and having a large
room empty over kitchen, would the bees do in
here through the winter if I removed them after
they had been packed up for winter ? Your
advice will gratefully oblige — W. G. S.,
Baxenden.

Reply. — 1. If your hive has only seven
frames now, you must not remove any of the
honey ; on the contrary, we should advise
you to feed your bees gently, and stimulate
brood-rearing to build up the colony before
leaving it for winter. Unless this is done the
colony will dwindle, and become too weak to
pass the winter safely. 2. The combs are pro-
bably irregular owing to the foundation not
being properly fixed or its having buckled. The
bees appear to be either short of food or are
dying from disease, but more information is
needed before a definite answer could be given.
Examine the hive and see what the appearance
of the brood is like, if there is any honey in
combs, and send a few of the bees that are " not
quite dead." 3. It is not advisable to winter
bees indoors in England, and they do better
packed on their summer stands. If the room
you mention is not used for any other purpose,
our idea would be to make it a permanent
apiary, allowing the bees to pass through open-
ings in the walls. It would make a splendid
bee-house.

[860.] Renewing Queens. — Will you kindly
answer the following question? I have twn
hives with old queens in, and I want them re-
queening ; if I take the old ones out will the bee?
raise young ones, or is it too late in the season ?
There are plenty of drones and bees, but I find
they have not gathered as much surplus a?
usual, so I think the queens are at fault. —
Edward Cooper.

Reply. — We do not advise you to take away
queens, or allow the hives to re-queen themselves
so late in the season as this. If you remove the
queens now it would be a fortnight before a
queen hatched out, and another week before she
would begin to lay, even if she became fecun-
dated. There is also the risk of the queen not
becoming fertilised so late in the season, espe-
cially as drones are becoming very scarce. If
you can drive some skeps containing second or
third swarms, these would be headed by young
queens, and could be advantageously united to
your colonies after removing old queens.

[861.] Would you be so kind as to answer
the following questions through the Bee Journal?
I had a top swarm in a straw skep which has
yielded twenty pounds of honey in supers. On
July 18th, on returning from church, I was in-
formed that one of my hives had swarmed, and
that it came from the above-mentioned top swarm.
Now, what I want to know is this : — 1. If this
skep has really swarmed, as it was strong in
bees when I examined it, and saw no queen-cells
but one (unsealed) ? Also there were two queens
with swarm, as I found one lying on the board
next morning. The top swarm had been killing
its drones previous to this. 2. Bo bees gather
pollen off the heather, and what colour is it?
3. Is the enclosed spray of heather the right
sort for producing honey ? — Wm. Small, N.B.

Reply. — 1. We should think it more likely
that the swarm with the two queens was a
second swarm, and not from the first swarm in
skep. Bees do not kill off drones when they are
about to swarm. 2. Bees visit heather for the
honey, and not pollen. 3. The specimen enclosed
is the right kind, namely, Calluna vulgaris,
heather or ling.

[862.] 1. Last spring I purchased over 200
patent sections and separators made of tin.
My disappointment was great when I took my
crates off to find that three-fourths of the
sections were spoilt, owing to the bees having
stupidly built the comb on to the tin separa-
tors, making it impossible to take the sections
out of the cfate without cutting them from
the separators, and so uncapping the honey.
Can you account for this ? 2. I am sorry to
say that nearly all my honey is of a very
dark colour, except that stored in a few frames
in each hive and the first sections put on. I
propose returning it as I have divided my
stocks and am putting in driven bees to help
them. Could you tell me what proportion of
water and sugar I ought to add in order to
prevent the bees fighting over it ? I enclose

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 3, 1893.

cutting from Rural World. — Bee-keeper, N.
Norfolk.

Reply. — 1. A careful examination of the
sections would best decide the reason for bees
joining the combs to the tin separators. It is
possible the foundation gave way owing to the
tieat, and if the combs bulged to one side they
would be attached to separators. The giving
way of foundation may be caused either by
not being properly fixed, being impure, or ex-
cessive heat. 2. The dark colour of your
honey is probably owing to an admixture of
honey-dew. The quantity of water will depend
upon its consistency, but it should be diluted to
about that of syrup.

>fr0fos t0 (form.

August 2nd to 4th. — Yorkshire Agricultural
:Society at Dewsbury. Prizes for honey and
bee appliances. Entries closed.

August 7th. — Berks Bee-keepers' Association,
Newbury District, in connexion with the Flower
Show in Shaw Avenue, Newbury : 11/. cash
prises. Entries close August 1st. Hon.
:Sec, W. Hawkes, Newtown Road, Newbury.
For schedules apply to T. D. Schofield, Oakfield,
Alderley Edge, Cheshire, or the Secretary,
Mobberley. Entries closed.

August 7th. — Bee and honey show at Vale
Royal, under rules of the Lancashire and
Cheshire B.K.A. Entries closed. Schedules
from John P. Ricketts, Hon. Sec, Davenham,
Cheshire.

August 7th and 8th.— Northants B. K. A.
Annual Show at Delapre Park, Northampton.
Five special prizes, viz., 20s., 15s., 10s., 5s., and
2s. 6d., for single 1-lb. sections, entry free. For
particulars apply to Robert Hefford, Hon. Sec,
Northants B.K.A., Boughton, near Northants.

August 7th and 8th. — Notts B. K. A. Annual
County Show at Mapperley, Notts, in con-
nexion with thePorchester Horticultural Society.
Entries closed. A. G. Pugh, Secretary, Mona
Street, Beeston, Notts.

August 12th. — Wotton-u-E. District Annual
Show of Honey and Cottagers' Flower Show.
t£20 in prizes. Entries close Saturday, August
f>th. Schedules of G. Gunston, Hon. Secretary,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

August 15th and 16th. — South of Scotland
B.K.A. at Dumfries. Wm. Wilson, Secretary,
Acrehead House, Dumfries.

August 16th. — Kent B.K.A.,. in connexion
with the Sevenoaks Horticultural Society's
iShow, in Knole Park, Sevenoaks. Entries close
August 12th. Hon. Secretary, Jesse Garratt,
Meopham, Kent.

August 19th. — Bee and honey show at
Mobberley, Cheshire (under the rules of the
Lancashire and Cheshire B.K.A.), and in con-
nexion with the Mobberley Horticultural Society.

August 30th. — Honey Show at Fleetwood, in
connexion with the Fleetwood Horticultural
Society. Entries close August 15th. For

schedules apply John Latham, Secretary, North
Albion Street, Fleetwood, Lancashire.

August 31st.— Castle Douglas Horticultural
and Honey Show. Schedules and all information
from Wm. Blackwood, Secretary, Castle Douglas,

September 2nd. — Vale of Leven, B.K.A., at
Burgn Hall, Dumbarton. Schedules from J.
Walker, Secretary, 74 Main St., Alexandria, N.B.

September 5th and 6th. — Warwickshire
B.K.A. at Solihull, in connexion with the
Warwickshire Agricultural Society. For
schedules apply James Noble Bower, Hon. Sec,
Knowle, Warwickshire. Entries close August
26th.

September 6th and 7th. — Derbyshire Bee-
keepers' Association, at Derby. Entries close
August 31st. Over 181. in prizes. Special
f acilities offered to distant exhibitors. Schedules
from W. T. Atkins, 12 North Street, Derby.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation's Exhibition, in St. Andrew's Hall,
Glasgow. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 13th and 14th.— Scottish B. K. A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

€tym farm % pites.

Leeds, July 29th, 1893. — Took bees to moors
last week ; heather just coming into bloom,
fortnight earlier this year. Took the hives out
as heavy with clover as they generally are when
we come from the moors, so they must store it
upstairs. This, again, saves us a week (usually
occupied in storing heather in brood nest).
Clover and flower yielded fifty pounds per hive,
the "record" for this second-rate district. —
R. A. H. Gkimshaw.

Northampton, July 30£A. — The honey-flow
came practically to an end at the close of the
first week of the current month. The second
week was wet, windy, and, for the time of the
year, so cold that the bees took holiday and
sta3red at home. In the third week matters
improved, and mallows, marrows, wild con-
volvulus, French beans, and scarlet runners
swarmed with busy searchers after nectar and
pollen. The majority of them attacked the
last-named flowers externally, standing on the
outside of the keel. Humble-bees made use of
the tube. The weather of the fourth week was
still more favourable. An abundant second
crop of clover close by claimed the attention
of the bees ; but, alas ! no appreciable ad-
dition was made to the supers, which must
be lifted to-morrow to prevent their contents
being used to further clog the brood chambers.
After all, in this vicinity at least, the extra-
ordinary season of '93 will prove but an ordinary

August 3, 1893.1

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,

30?

one as far as yield is concerned, for there will
be little, if any, more surplus honey than last
year's crop. The quality of the honey varies
from exceedingly nice to rather nasty. Humble-
bees are still scarce. Wasps show a decided
increase, but as yet they are not particularly
troublesome. — E. B., July 30th.

£ s.

d.

36 10

0

0 10

0

0 10

0

0 2

6

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.

The following sums have been received
or promised : —

Amount already ac-
knowledged
Miss M. Gay ton
J. G. Highton
Robert Philipson

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses o] manufacturers 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 oj their com-
munication.

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

Quilt. — Bees are always more or less inclined
to gnaw at quilts, but there is no reason why
they should do so more in your case than in
others. We notice, however, that you use the
quilt with the rough side downwards, and
this gives the bees a better opportunity to
nibble at it. Turn it over, and see if it makes
any difference. We prefer unbleached calico,
which is renewed every year.

W. Barker. — Judges are usually governed by
rules and regulations contained in the
schedules. There is no rule in the schedule
of your show to prevent two exhibits from
the same person being entered in same class,
and, as the judges do not usually know the
names of exhibitors, they cannot tell if the
exhibits come from the same apiary or no.
Nor do we see any restriction put upon two
brothers working in common — exhibiting
in the same class. It is usually stipulated
and understood that the judges are em-
powered to withhold any prizes if they do
not consider the exhibits good enough, or,
with the consent of the Committee, to award
extra prizes ; their award shall in every case
be final, except where it can be proved to the
satisfaction of the Committee that the rules
and regulations have not been complied with.
Rule 3 provides that a written protest can
be made by a certain time, but we hardly
think in this case the Committee would have
altered the judges' decision, seeing that it was
strictly in conformity with the rules con-
tained in the schedule.

J. Gkisskll. — The Secretary of the Kent Asso-
ciation is Mr. Jesse Garratt, Meopham, Kent.

R. F. Thomas. — The insect sent is not a bee at
all, but belongs to the Diptera, or Hies with
two wings. It is called Eristalis tenax, and
the chrysalis you send is the development
from a rat-tailed maggot.

J. B. — Adulteration of Foundation. — You may
roughly test your foundation in the following
manner to ascertain if it contains ceresine : —
Put a small piece of the foundation into a
basin and melt it, taking care not to overheat
it. In another basin dissolve a piece of soda
about the size of a nut in two spoonfuls of
hot water. Then mix the two. If the comb
foundation is of pure beeswax, the resulting
mixture will become a white mass in conse-
quence of the soda saponifying the wax. Ifr
on the other hand, the foundation contains
ceresine, this will float on the surface in the
form of an oily substance, because ceresine
does not saponify with soda.

Frank Ball. — Name of Plant. — The flower
sent is that of melilot clover (Melilotu?
leucantha), and is frequented by bees.

C. Limond. — Drones are Carniolan ; workers^
Carniolan and black.

W. C0RK8ON.— Smoke does affect honey, but
the dark colour in the sample sent is owing to
an admixture of honey-dew.

T. M. — The sample of flower honey sent is of
good flavour, colour, and consistency. Please
kindly observe our rules in future, as anony-
mous communications are not usually noticed.

S. H. (AVindsor). — The honey is very good, and
quite worth entering for competition. No. 1
is the better flavour of the two.

W. R. Traviss. — We do not think bees will do
anything more on clover this year in the way
of storing honey. We should certainly rt*
move the filled section, and if there is much
honey in hive you could extract some of it for
your own use. You would have to feed the
bees if you took it all away. The British
Bee-keepers' Association is the Central
Society. Secretary, Mr. J. Huckle, Kings
Langley, Herts. Membership subscription
from 5s. upwards. It holds its meetings iti
Jermyn Street, London. It has County
Associations affiliated to it, one of which is
the Middlesex Association : Secretary, Major
Fair, 11 Anlaby Road, Teddington. Either
of the Secretaries would supply you with the
information you may require.

F. O. R. (Ireland). — The honey is good in colour
and flavour, but rather wanting in consistency.

Egg (Bristol).— The comb sent is foul-broody
— caused by germs of Bacillus alvei attacking
brood. Can be cured withNaphthol Beta given
insyrup,and prevented by placing naphthaline
in hives and using the utmost precaution as
to cleanliness. See British Bee-keeperi Guide*
book, page 144, for full particulars of treat-
ment.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 3, 1893

Special Prepaid Advertisements.
■ » i

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, dte. — Up to
Twelve words, Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

FOR SALE. — Superior Queens, Stocks, and Swarms,
English and Camiolan. Address Rev. C. Brereton,
Pvlborough, Sussex. f • n»

FOR SALE.— 200 to 300 lbs. Extracted Honey, splendid
quality, in jars. What offers? Address, Pullen,
Ramsbury, Hungerf ord. B 27

FOR SALE.— Honey Extractor, originally cost £5, price
£2 10s., or exchange cash and two swarms of bees.
Address Smyth, Ashford, Staines. B 28

/ -1 UARANTEED Healthy Pure Natives.— Fine Young
\JT Fertile Queens, 3s. 6d. each; 3-Frame Nuclei, 10s. 6d.;
6-Frame Stocks, 17s. 6d. ; 8-Frame ditto, £1, packing in-
cluded. Chas. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare,
Suffolk. b29

OOD Extractor for Sale, 17s. Apply C. Webber, Lap-
ford Rectory, Morchard Bishop, N. Devon. B 30

G

FINEST English Honey, i cwts, 9d. per lb., tins free ;
sample 2d. Deposit. R. Dutton, Terling, Witham,
Essex. b 31

HONEY Extractor, suitable for a large apiary, takes
six frames, cost £5, can be had for £3. Never used.
Geo. Neighbour & Sons, 127 High Holborn, London, W.C.
157

HONEY JARS.— Half -pound White Enamel Stone Jars,
with Caps. Sample, 4£d. Under cost, to clear.
S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex. b 26

WANTED.— New Sections Honeycomb, first quality:
also Extracted in bulk. Packages sent. Prompt
Cash settlement. Mr. Hurst, Bexhill, Sussex. 118

B

EE TENT on Hire. For terms apply to G. Gunston,
Bradley Green, Wotton-nnder-Edge. 135

GARBOLINE POMADE.— Kills Bee-stings like Magic.
Prevents getting Stung, Robbing, &c. In Is. bottles,
post free. Samples of Bee-smoke Cartridges, 3d. Address
T. Hollidat, Astbury, Congleton. 151

HONEY. — Interesting 8 pp. Pamphlet, explaining to
general Public how Honey is harvested and gathered
by the Ton. By distributing it you can sell all your Honey
at home at a good figure. Copy gratis and post free of
S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex.

CASTLE DOUGbAS
HORTICULTURAL & HONEY SHOW.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 31st, 1893.

Three 1-lb. Jars of Extracted Honey, other than
Heather. Jars to be Bound Pattern with Screw
Tops. 1st Prize, 40s. and Silver Medal ; 2nd, 30s.
and Bronze Medal ; 3rd, 20s. Entrance Money, 3s.

Six 1-lb. Sections of Honey-comb, 4Jx4Jx2
inches, to be shown in tin Sections, holders blue
or slate-colour. 1st Prize, 20s. ; 2nd, 10s. ; 3rd,
5s. Entrance Money, 2s.

Scliedules and all Information from the Secretary,
Wm. BLACKWOOD, Castle Douglas. 156

GLEANINGS IN BEE-CULTURE.
Edited by A. I. BOOT.
Published Fortnightly. Post free, 5s. per annum.
Bee Journal and Record Office, 17 King William
Street, Strand, W.C.

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

PURE CANE SUGARS.

For the accommodation of Bee-keepers, guaranteed
Pure Cane Sugar will be supplied in large or
small quantities through this office at the under-
mentioned rates: —

MOIST. (For Household Use.)

Neat bags, 14-lbs. 28-lbs. 56-lbs. Cwts.
3. MUSCOVADO 3/- 6/- 11/6 22/6

4. DEMERARA

5. BARBADOS

6. TRINIDAD

CRYSTALLISED.

V Crystals 3/3 6/6
REFINED CANE.

12/9 249

7. WHITE CRYSTALS (Small) 3/6 7/0 13/9 26/9

8, 9. (Medium and Large sizes, 1/- per Cwt. extra.)

10. LUMP (Cut Loaf) ... Boxes, 3/9 7/3 14/3 27/9

11. CRUSHED LUMP... „ 3/6 7/- 13/9 26/9

12. PRESERVING: „ 3/6 7/- 13/9 26/9

FINE

13. GRANULATED

14. CASTOR Coarse (15 Fine)
16. ICING .

(For Household Use.)

3/9 7/3 14/3 27 '9
4/3 8/3 16/3 31/9
4/9 9/3 17/9 35/-
All above guaranteed made from Cane Sugar only, and free
from Beet, Chemicals, etc., etc.

Carriage Paid on Orders over 5/0 (or 28-lbs. Sugar)
to London and Suburbs.

Country Orders, not less than 2 cwt. carriage paid
at 1/0 per cwt. extra.

(Scotch and Irish orders, special arrangements.)

CHEQUES payable to Manager, Bee Journal and Record

Office, 17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

CASH TO BE SENT WITH ORDER, and purchaser
will please observe that if samples are required or
replies asked to inquiries, a stamped addressed
envelope must be sent, as we cannot undertake
cost of postage. Delivery of Goods to be taken
as receipt. If acknowledgment of Cash is required,
stamped addressed envelope should be sent.

FOUL BROOD REMEDIES.

NAPHTHALINE
NAPHTHOL BETA.

NAPHTHALINE, for using in hives as a pre-
ventive of infection, in boxes, Is. post free.

NAPHTHOL BETA, for use in medicating bee-
food, Is. a packet, post free.

Both the above may now be had at the Office of

" THE BEITISH BEE JOUBNAL" and "BEE-

KEEPEES' EECOED,"
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

Instructions for use sent with each packet.

CASH WITH ORDER.

THE

Mrii ®» 3nunial,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 581. Vol. XXI. N.S. 189.] AUGUST 10, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

(Sfoiloriai, Itoiias, tfoc.

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather.— A close observance of the
bee-pasturage on a recent journey of 400
miles north from London, very clearly ac-
counts for the wide difference in the clover-
honey crop in the northern and southern
•divisions of the kingdom. All along the
entire route, after getting 150 or 200 miles
away from the metropolis, unmistakable
traces could be seen of how little mischief
to the clover plant had been wrought by
the terribly dry time we had in the south
earlier on. Tbe fields all around gave plain
evidence of having been luxuriant with
elover bloom up to a few days before we
saw them, and the prognostications of those
who predicted a failure of next year's crop
through the drought of 1893 seem likely to
be agreeably disappointed.

The Season. — It sometimes makes one
wonder what British bee-keepers would say
if a honey season occurred in this country
•anything like what — according to a recent
issue of Gleanings — is being gathered in
some parts of America. One Californian
bee-keeper reports having secured " seven-
teen tons of honey, and 175 increase from
my 250 hives this season ! " Another,
located in the same State, says : — " Our
bees are doing well. Had 160 colonies,
290 now ; have taken ten tons of honey and
still at work ! " The " set-off" against
these big returns, however, lies in the fact
that honey in the U.S.A. realises less than
half the price British honey will usually
fetch here. But everywhere in the States
a big crop is being taken, and it may be
well to offer a hint to our bee-keepers
against " holding " their produce too long,
in case a few scores of tons are sent over to
swamp our market. It is not very likely,
however, that such a thing will occur.

New Appliances — Langdon's Non-
Swarmer — Super-Clearers, &c. — Referring
first to Mr. Langdon's device, it is refreshing
to note how frankly and promptly its present
defects are admitted by the inventor him-
self in the letter which appears on p. 315
of this issue. The device has not proved
so great a success this year as last, and Mr.
Langdon points out where it has failed, but
hopes to remedy the faults in time. The
method is in itself so simple as to commend
it for general acceptance, but does it not
verify the need for a full and thorough
trial of such things before being sure that
they will accomplish what is claimed for
them? The same may be said of super-
clearers ; it takes quite a time to find which
is to take top place as the most reliable
article. In following out our view of testing
we have made trials of all kinds this season
— under varying conditions — from the
home-made or amateur's clearer to the most
"up to date" one. And we had a very
decided "case" against the former just
before leaving for the north. A clearer
was sent for approval which was supposed
to do its work as well as the best. It was
in "board" form for slipping between
surplus and brood chambers, seven cones of
tin forming the exit from one to the other.
Well, this clearer (?) was on the morning of
July 20th set below a full box of shallow
frames ready for removal. At night we
proceeded to take off the box, but found it
just as full of bees as in the morning.
Next morning showed no diminution in
numbers, and at night we thought the box
was rather more crowded than ever. On
the third morning no improvement was
perceptible, the bees showing not the
slightest intention of going below, and we
thought that if forty-eight hours' trial did
not suffice to clear the box it was time to
stop, so the box was lifted and a clearer
with a single spring escape in the board
was slipped over the one already on. A
few hours later we returned home, and on

312

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 10, 1893.

lifting the quilts not a single bee was found
in the box. This trial confirms the view
we have held all along, viz., that the
slighter the connexion between surplus and
brood chambers the greater the inducement
for bees to desert the former and join the
queen and bees below.

"A Plague op Wasps." — At one time,
early in the year, it was thought that wasps
this autumn would be conspicuous by their
absence, so few queens were seen about
hives. But it appears we are having a
regular " plague " of these pests to fruit-
growers and bee-keepers. A correspondent
(1508, p. 305), last week, recommends
cyanide of potassium for destroying them,
and, as quite an extensive correspondence
is now going on in the Standard about
" The Plague of Wasps," it may be well to
cull from it some corroboration of Mr.
Bellairs' testimony as to the value of the
method of destruction recommended. One
writer, dating from Chelmsford, says : —

" As a proof of the presence amongst us
of a very distinct wasp plague, I may
mention that my gardener has within a few
weeks destroyed forty - one wasps' nests
within a radius of three hundred yards of
my house. Yesterday he watched the pro-
ceedings of a number of wasps infesting an
early apple-tree, and observed them come
and go in one direction. Following their
course, he presently found two nests in the
ground. The nests were close together,
and of great size. He spoiled them both
by placing a spoonful of cyanide of po-
tassium at the orifice.

" His crusade has made a difference in
the number of wasps coming into the house,
and we now seem to have a chance of
gathering a fair proportion of our enormous
plum crop. If a few people in a neighbour-
hood infested as we have been would com-
bine, and pay an intelligent man to follow
up the wasps, great relief would ensue."

Another correspondent writes : — "In
your article of to-day you say, ' Cyanide of
potassium is not the best substance for dis-
posing of wasps.' I have destroyed a large
number of nests with it this season. Simply
dissolve an ounce in an ordinary pint-and-
a-half bottle of water, pour a very small
quantity into the entrance to the nest ; it
will soon quiet them, and you may dig out
the nest in a very short time, and all inside
will be found quite dead. I have been
stung in trying other means of destroying
them, but never with this ; and it is

singular, I have never known them attack
any one or thing after they have had one
dressing. I think, with ordinary care, it is
perfectly safe, and, in my opinion, nothing,
is so easy and effectual."

Others, in the same issue, recommend the
better-known remedies, such as turpentine
or coal tar, both of which are effective.

Cyanide of potassium is so deadly a
poison as to be dangerous unless in the
hands of those who know its nature, and
exercise the needful care to prevent harm,
but its great usefulness will be admitted in
special cases.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.

The following sums have been received
or promised : —

Amount already ac-

£

s.

d.

knowledged

37

12

6

Sir Thomas D. Gibson-

Carmichael, Bart.

3

3

0

Fredk. H. Lemare ...

0

10

0

SCOTTISH B.K. ASSOCIATION.

(Concluded from page 302.)

Prize List.

Appliances.

Class 2. Collection of appliances. — 1st prize,
K. Steele, Gauldry by Dundee ; 2nd, James Ross,
Stranraer.

Class 3. Best hive for general use. — 1st,
C. Redshaw, South Wigston, Leicester; 2nd,
W. P. Meadows, Syston, Leicester; 3rd, R.
Steele.

Class 4. Best hive for general use and trans-
mission to heather. — 1st, R. Steele; 2nd, C.
Redshaw ; 3rd, W. P. Meadows.

Class 5. Best frame hive made by an amateur.
— 1st, J. McDonald, Lynchat, Kingussie ; 2nd,
A. Paterson, Scotsburn, Delny.

Class 6. Best super or crate, specially con-
structed for the sale of honey in parcels. — 1st,
R. Steele ; 2nd, C. Redshaw.

Class 8. New invention or improvement. —
Silver medal, W. P. Meadows (super-clearer) ;
certificate, W. P. Meadows (swarm box for
carrying, hiving, or sending by rail, with
clustering arrangement) ; certificate, C. Red-
shaw (observatory section crate).

Honey, 8cc.

Class 10. Design in honey-comb. — 1st, W.
Wilson, Dumfries; 2nd, W. Wilson; 3rd, So
Roebuck, Dumfries ; h.c, S. Roebuck.

August 10, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

318

Class 11. Display of honey. — 1st, W. Wilson,
400 lbs. gathered in 1893; 2nd, S. Koebuck,
250 lbs. gathered in 1893; 3rd, W. Wilson,
200 lbs. gathered in 1893.

Class 12. Non-sectional super of comb honey.
—1st, S. Koebuck ; 2nd, W. Wilson ; 3rd, S.
Koebuck; h.c, W. Wilson.

Class 13. Super of comb honey, not ex-
ceeding 10 lbs. — 1st, W. Wilson; 2nd, J.
Henderson, Kilmalcolm ; 3rd, S. Roebuck; h.c,
W. Wilson; commended, S. Roebuck.

Class 14. Six 2-lb. sections. — 1st, S. Roe-
buck; 2nd, W. Wilson; 3rd, H. Marrs, Thorn-
ton, Rosewell.

Class 15. Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, A.
Strathdee, Ballindalloch ; 2nd, S. Roebuck ; 3rd,
W. Wilson ; h.c, W. W. Pry or, Welwyn, Herts.
Class 16. Three 1-lb. sections. — 1st, G.
Symington, Coodham, Kilmarnock ; 2nd, J.
Learmont, Castle Douglas ; 3rd, S. Roebuck ;
h.c, A. Strathdee ; commended, G. Symington.
Class 17. Best six 1-lb. sections gathered in
Scotland. — 1st, J. Learmont ; 2nd, J. S.
Dudgeon, Long Newton, St. Boswells ; 3rd, S.
Roebuck ; h.c, J. Henderson ; commended, C. N.
Craik, Dalkeith.

Class 19. Best 8 lbs. heather honey in
sections. — 1st, W. McDowall, Kirkcowan.

Class 20. Best 24 lbs. extracted honey. — 1st,
S. Roebuck ; 2nd, W. Wilson ; 3rd, W. Wilson ;
h.c, T. Kennedy Newbigging, Dumfries.

Class 21. Best 6 lbs. extracted honey gathered
in Scotland. — 1st, G. Symington ; 2nd, S. Roe-
buck; 3rd, W. Wilson; h.c, W. Wilson;
h.c, G. Symington.

Class 22. Best 3 lbs. extracted honey. — 1st,
J. Learmont; 2nd, Captain W. St. G. Ord,
Bury St. Edmunds; 3rd, H.W.Seymour, Henley-
on-Thames ; h.c, S. Roebuck.

Class 23. Best 6 lbs. granulated honey. — 1st,
Captain W. St. G. Ord ; 2nd, W. Wilson; 3rd,
S. Roebuck; h.c, W. Wilson.

Class 24. Best 6 lbs. extracted heather
honey. — 1st, J. McDonald.

Class 25. Best beeswax, not over 30 lbs. —
1st, R. Steele ; 2nd, W. Wilson.

Class 26. Best beeswax, not over 2 lbs.
—1st, fl. W. Seymour; 2nd, R. Steele.

Class 27. Confectionery. — 1st, Miss A.
Gordon, Dunoon; 2nd, Miss J. Aimers, Mel-
rose ; 3rd, W. R. Luca, Liberton ; very h.c,
Miss J. Aimers, Melrose.

Class 28. Most interesting and instructive
exhibit connected with bee-keeping. — 1st, G.
Wells, Aylesford, Kent (perforated dummy for
dividing brood nests).

LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE BEE-
KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Under the auspices of this Association, an
exhibition of honey was held at the "Royal
Manchester, Liverpool, and North Lancashire
Agricultural Society's Show,'" at Blackpool, on
the 26th ult., and two following days. There

were five classes, and a large entry in each,
especially in those in which run honey was
exhibited. High honour was paid to the Asso-
ciation in having its quarters contiguous with
the Society's offices, &c ; but the accommoda-
tion, which was scarcely adequate to the occa-
sion, might be — no doubt will be — improved in
future in some of its details under the kindly
and most attentive Secretary of the show, Mr.
James Birch, who evidently wished our Asso-
ciation well.

The prizes were good, the B.B.K.A.'s silver
and bronze medals being added to substantial
money prizes in the first awards for the open
classes for sections and run honey.

For sections there were twelve entries and
three prizes, the first falling to Miss Susan
Ward, Hadnall Hall, Shrewsbury, with a very
fairly uniform lot. Mr. Thomas R. Horton,
Much Wenlock, Shropshire, took second prize,
and the third went to Mr. W. Woodley, World's
End, Newbury. Mr. A. Peck's exhibit (South-
port) was commended. On the whole, the
sections were not first-rate.

For twelve jars of 1893 run honey twenty
competitors appeared, and it was evidently a
task to judge the exhibits evenly and fairly.
There was, at the end, no doubt about the first
prize, which went to Mr. Woodley for a splendid
sample of sainfoin honey with exquisite flavour
and consistency. Mr. John Palmer, Ludlow,
Salop, was awarded second, and the third fell to
Mr. Thomas Greenhalgh, Newton-le- Willows —
a well-known local man. Messrs. James Gorst,
of Lancaster, and G. W. Carr, Fleetwood, were
respectively highly commended and com-
mended.

The next class was for twelve jars of run
honey collected during 1893 within the Agi i-
cultural Society's districts. This caused con-
siderable competition, there being eighteen
entries, all of such merit that the judge was
almost perplexed, and had to exercise the utmost
judgment in his verdicts. Mr. W. H. Parker,
Waterworks House, Ormskirk, finally became
first winner ; the Rev. E. Charley, Ince Vicar-
age, Chester, second ; and Mr. R. W. Nickson,
Frodsham, third. The nicety in points amongst
those following was testified by Messrs. Thomas
Greenhalgh, Leo Mason (Kirkham), J. Heyes
(Bickerstaffe), J. Gorst (Lancaster), and J.
Cragg (Great Eccleston), being highly com-
mended; and John Wright, jun. (Thornton),
and G. W. Carr (Fleetwood), commended.

Classes, limited to bond-fide cottagers, for six
sections and six jars of run honey concluded the
programme. There were only five entries (one
missing) of sections, and, with one exception,
they were poor. Owen Roberts, Rowton Grange,
Chester, gained first prize ; John Hale, Crostcn,
second; and Thomas Greenhalgh, Newton-le-
Willows, third. The run honey was much
superior, and there were seven competitors —
James Cragg, Great Eccleston, proving first ;
John Hale, Croston, Preston, second ; and Owen
Roberts, Chester, third ; whilst Thomas Green-
halgh and W. H. Parker were commended.

314

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 10, li

In the judgment of the experienced ones
present, it was unanimously considered that a
better show of honey, as regards quality and
uniformity, had never been brought together
within the limits of the Lancashire and Cheshire
Bee-keepers' Association. The judge concurred
in this view, and it is hoped that the success of
the present season will do much to raise the
lately drooping spirits of many Lancashire and
Cheshire bee-keepers, and tend, also, to give a
spurt to the increasing numbers and success of
the Association, stimulated, as it now is, by the
practical apiaries, classes, and lectures, instituted
by the Lancashire County Council, and the
encouraging report of last year's results, just
published by Mr. J. A. Bennion, M.A., the
Director of Technical Instruction, in his Blue
Book. The Rev. J. F. Buckler, Bidston Rectory,
Cheshire, officiated as judge of the honey de-
partment.— Communicated.

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

Shows at Hucknall-Toreard on July
25th ; Southwell, July 27th ; and
Arnold, July 31st.

That the present season has been one favour-
able for the bee-keepers of Notts, both for
quantity and quality — and especially the latter
— is amply proved by the exhibits at the above-
named shows. It is hardly too much to say
that, as far as the extracted honey was con-
cerned, almost every entry was of very high
excellence, both as regards quality and style of
get-up, and we think that here is shown un-
mistakably the result of the years of painstaking
work and instruction of the Notts Bee-keepers'
Association and its energetic secretary. Though
a very busy man, Mr. Pugh finds time to
arrange a larger number of shows than are held
in any other single county, and, through the help
of the local secretaries, all the details are perfect,
and each show goes off without the least hitch
or confusion.

At Huclcnall-Torkard there were no less than
twenty entries for extracted, and seven for honey
in sections. The first prize for extracted fell to
some rather dark honey, just delicately flavoured
with heather — this being gathered on the Derby-
shire border of the county. The other prizes
went to local samples; these, in most cases,
being very good in colour especially, though
most had a peculiar flavour, the bees having
evidently found some unusual source of supply
in this exceptionally hot and dry season. The
awards were as follows : —

For best 12 sections comb honey. — 1st, Mr.
Wiggett, Hucknall ; 2nd, Mr. Pett, Notting-
ham ; 3rd, Mrs. Hind, Papplewick.

For best 12 1-lb. bottles run or extracted
honey. — 1st, Mr. Wootton, Draycott ; 2nd, Mr,
T S. Elliott, Southwell; 3rd, Mr. T. H

Frommongs, Radcliffe ; 4th, Mr. A. G. Pugh,
Beestou.

For best specimen of bees and queen in a
unicomb hive.— 1st, Mr. Pett; 2nd, Mr. H. Hill,
Ambaston ; 3rd, Mr. Wiggett ; 4th, Mr. H. Cart-
ledge, Hucknall.

For best 6 jars of run or extracted honey
(local).— 1st, Mr. Wiggett; 2nd, Mr. H. Cart-
ledge ; 3rd, Mr. W. H. Cartledge, Hucknall.

For best 2 shallow frames of honey. — 1st, H.
Cavtledge ; 2nd, Mr. Wiggett ; 3rd, Mrs. Hind.
At Southivell the judge had a difficult task, a
finer or more even lot of extracted honey being
very rarely seen. There were twenty-one entries
for extracted, and twelve for comb.

The first-prize honey at Hucknall here again
secured the premier award. The other prizes
were awarded to samples that would have been
prize-takers anywhere, being for flavour, ripe-
ness, and colour, about perfect.

Comb honey in sections was, all round, better
than at Hucknall, one exhibit, in glass sections,
being especially well filled and of fine flavour;
this secured second prize. The comb honey, in
bell-glasses, was quite a large class, and though
fair, calls for no special remark, as only one
sample was of really fine flavour. The awards
were as under : —

For best 4 2-lb. sections. — 1st, Mr. Marshall,
Norwell.

For best glass super of comb honey. — 1st,
Rev. H. L. Williams. Bleasby; 2nd, Mr. Geo.
Wood, Oxton ; 3rd, Mrs. C. White, Newark.

For best 6 2-lb. sections comb honey.— 1st,
H. Merry weather, Southwell; 2nd, Mr. Morti-
mer, Oxton ; 3rd, Mr. Measures, Upton.

For the best 6 1-lb. jars run or extracted
honey. — 1st, Mr. Wootton, Draycott ; 2nd, Mr.
Lee, Southwell ; 3rd, Mr. Mortimer.

For best unicomb hive with bees and queen.
— 1st, H. Merryweather ; 2nd, Mr. A. J. Mor-
timer, Oxton.

At Arnold the extracted honey was again of
high excellence, but the comb honey hardly up
to the mark of that at the previous shows.
Awards as below : —

Best 6 sections of comb honey. — 1st, H.
Merryweather, Southwell ; 2nd, Mr. Pett, Not-
tingham ; equal 3rd, Mr. Wootton, Draycott,
and. Mr. Brooks, Eastwood.

Best 6 1-lb. bottles of run or extracted honey.
— 1st, Mr. Wootton ; 2nd, Mr. Elliott, Southwell;
equal 3rd, Mr. Hill, Ambaston, and Mr. Wood,
Oxton.

Best specimen of bees with queen in unicomb
hive. — 1st, Mr. Mortimer, Oxton; 2nd, Mr.
Hill : 3rd, Mr. Brooks.

At each show lectures with manipulations
were given in the bee-tent by Mr. T. B. Blow,
who also acted as judge in the honey classes.
Some of the Notts County Councillors put in
an appearance at these shows, and evidently
appreciated the way in which the subsidy
received by the Bee-keepers' Association from
the County Council was being applied. — Com-
municated.

August 10, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

315

ANALYSIS OF HONEY.
We have recently returned from Strasburg,
■where we have had the opportunity of testing
Dr. Haenle's methods of detecting adulteration
in his own laboratory. We have been so
convinced of the value of these methods that
we would like to apply them to British
lioneys. In order to carry out our experiments,
•we should be glad if any of our readers would
supply us with samples of honey from known
sources, and also more particularly honey-dew
and dark honey containing honey-dew. Quarter
to half-pound jars would be quite sufficient.
We should also like specimens of heather honey,
as well as buckwheat honey.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re.
quested 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 goodfaith. Illustrations should he drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
rflating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed to "The
Manager, ' British Bee Journal ' Office, 17 .King ffilliam
Street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
merits).

%* 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.

LANGDON NON-SWAKiMING DEVICE.

[1511.] Your welcome favour of May 29th
from Switzerland was received in due time, and
now that I have had the present year's experience
and the benefit of the few reports that I have
received from those using them, I will make a
report to you about the non-swarmer. You
have my thanks for the manner it is shown in
the B.B.J. , and for the information and advice
in your last letter.

I regret to say that the non-swarmer does not
do for me just as well as it did last year. How
much this depends on a difference in the season
is hard to tell. There has been some swarming,
a small per cent., from the sixty non-swarmers
in operation in my house apiary, and I find from
my experience, and the few reports from those
using them this season, that there are at least
three points that it will not affect, viz., once in
a while a queen is killed, and hatching cells
make some trouble afterwards. If the queen is
old and the bees try to supersede her, they will
build cells in the closed hive, and then if it is
opened soon after she will lead out a swarm.
This can be stopped by keeping all queens in
their prime, as all bee-keepers ought to do.
Also, it is known that they will sometimes
swarm with only eggs in the queen-cells that
they leave. Running so many bees into the
same hive seems to encourage this extreme. of

the swarming fever, and it has been done more
frequently with the non-swarmer in place than
before. To what extent shading the hives would
help this is yet to be seen. Also, there might
be a great difference in races of bees as to that
point. I have only Carniolans, and so cannot
tell about the Italians yet.

These are exceptions ; but they may stand in
the way of having the plan largely adopted by
those who can make self-hivers a success, or those
who can care for their bees in swarming-time.
I have over 500 on trial in different parts of the
country this season, and will know more about
its success before long. I can make it of
important use to me in my house, even as it is
now, and have set the ball rolling, so that if
there is any possible way to bring it to absolute
perfection the way is clear and a good track
laid.

It was late in the season before the non-
swarmers were put on the market, and for that
reason may be explained the failure of some;
but I made one mistake in instructing them to
make the change of bees and cases from one hive
to the other once in seven days instead of not
over five. A natural queen-cell hatches at an
average of nine days. Now, if the bees have
the swarming fever very badly, and start a cell
from a larva just hatched from the egg, or one
day older, they can seal it and swarm on the
fifth or sixth day if they start it the same day
they are turned into the other hive. I think
this is where the most of the failures lie, and
that by a careful working up of these points,
and not taking too much for granted (as I am
afraid I did last year) the plan will finally be
brought out so that it will work with but few
exceptions.

Thanking you for your kindness, and hoping
to see this plan help all the bee-keeping
fraternity — H. P. Langdon, Bast Constable,
X. Y., July 20th.

QUEEN RAISED IN SUPER.

[1512.] Visiting an apiary in Galway some
days ago, I was pleased to see a " Wells " hive
at work. In giving the history of the stocks
put into it, the bee-keeper told me that one of
them was headed by a queen raised and brought
to maturity under very curious circumstances.
To induce the bees to go up in the super, and to
give a fresh laying impulse to the queen, a comb
containing drone and worker brood in all stages,
but no queen-cells, was put up, the adapting-
board replaced, and the super put on. This was
on the 30th of May. " I," to quote the words
of my informant, " on the 16th of June, took
off the super, in which there was a great quan-
tity of honey, and what was my surprise when
I found two empty queen-cells raised on the
comb in a conspicuous part of the brood comb
which I had put in. The queen had been
brushed off with the bees, not expecting to find
one there, but the bees found her on the ground,
flying over her with a note peculiar to a swarm.

316

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 10, 1893.

1 caged her there for safety till I had a hive
prepared for her reception."

Now, that is not the most wonderful part of
it ; hut, when I tell you that the queen proved
herself a fertile one — though, of course, she could
not get out of the super — you will, I fear, say
there is a mistake somewhere. The time, too
— seventeen days — is an anomaly for a queen to
be hatched and fertilised; hut Ligurians are
precocious, and these are the offspring of im-
ported queens. I would have dismissed it as
impossible but that my informant is one of the
most successful as well as the most observant
bee-keepers I have met with in Ireland. The
apiary is a very old one. Seven hives are kept
in a bee-house, which bas many inconveniences.
Three more are kept in combination hives, and
two are in this " Wells." The return of honey
from one of the hives was very great indeed.
The first super was taken on the 8th of June
and replaced by another, and on the first being
extracted it was returned, and all were full by
the 30th, the whole amounting to 215 pounds.
I should mention the whole apiary is run for
extracted honey. Frames are all the same size —
top bar, 19^ ; frame, 16f x 10^ inches — and, con-
trary to my expectation, I found all the honey
sealed over, and the brood also. Perhaps there
is this advantage in a bee-house — that the heat
is so uniform as to prevent centering. From
other stocks 140 to 150 pounds of honey were
taken, but these stocks, as well as the big one,
have given swarms since. I was delighted with
the beauty of the pure Ligurian queens, and
remembered some very pretty small bees which
seemed to attend her. I was informed where a
hive was queenless, or had only a virgin queen,
these were to be seen with the drones on the
front board. I send you two, though they are
quite different from when alive. The abdomen
was in two distinct colours, the thorax side a
bright orange, almost yellow, the pointed end
glossy black. I should be glad to know what
part they perform in the community. Next
week I shall send you some echoes from some
fresh apiaries. — A District Hon. Secretary,
Balkey, Dublin, July 29th, 1893.

[It is not unusual for queens to be reared
where brood is in supers separated by excluder
zinc — in fact, this habit is taken advantage of in
queen-rearing. Nor is there anything astonish-
ing in the queen proving herself fertile if she
was able to pass the excluder zinc. A great
deal of the excluder zinc used is faulty in this
respect, and we have ourselves verified that
queens pass through it. If bees construct queen-
cells for larvae three days old, which they do if
left to themselves, queens may become fertilised
and lay in sixteen days from the time they
begin rearing cells. To suppose it possible that
the queens could have got fertilised without
leaving the hives is quite contrary to established
facts. The two bees sent arrived perfectly flat,
and are not recognisable. From your descrip-
tion we should think they must be robber-bees
that had lost their hairs through poking into
other hives. — Eds.]

THE LAW RESPECTING BEES.
[1513.] I give below a paragraph cut from
this day's Scottish Leader, and would be glad to
have your opinion of it : —

' Interesting Case about Bees. — Decision
has been given in the Perth Sheriff Court in an
acti on in which David Harris,f armer , Aberbothrie,
Alyth, sued Robert Elder, farmer, Burnhead,
Alyth, for delivery of a swarm of bees belonging
to the pursuer which, on 5th June last, swarmed
from pursuer's hive, and were followed by him to
defender's place, where they alighted and were
retained by him. Sheriff Grahame held that
bees in a wild state were the property of the
person who could get possession of them. The
defender was not entitled to open his door to
give entrance to the pursuer to take possession
of the bees. He therefore assoilzied the de-
fender, but allowed no expenses,'

The italic is mine. I understand the swarm
took to one of the chimneys of the defender. It
seems to me the Sheriff is entirely wrong in
classing a swarm followed by its owner as
" wild." It is not as if the bees were flying
about from place to place claimed by no one, or
inhabiting the roof of an old ruin. — W. R.
Luca, July Slst, 1893.

[According to the law, hived bees are not
wild, and a man may have a qualified property
in them. According to Blackstone, a swarm
which flies out of an owner's hive is his so lo ng
as he can keep them in sight and he has power
to pursue them, and in this case no one else is
entitled to take them. The Sheriff is wrong_ in
calling the bees of a swarm issuing from a hive
" wild." If the swarm, however, was lost sight
of, as it would be if it entered the chimney, we
doubt if the law would compel defender to open
his door for the purpose of enabling the pursuer
to find his bees. — Eds.]

WEATHER REPORT.

Westbourne, Sussex.
July, 1893.
Rainfall, 4-55 in. Sunshine 212-10 hrs.

Heaviest fall, '80 in. on Brightest day, 7th,

4th. 15 hrs.

Rain fell on 13 days. Sunless days, 2.
Above average, 1*88. Above aver. 12-93 hrs.
Max. temp., 80° on Mean max., 67'4°.

7th. Mean min., 56°.

Min. temp., 49° on 15th. Mean temp., 61 •4°.
Max. barometer, 30-4 Min. barometer, 29'6

on 28th on 12th.

L. B. BlRKETT.

AN OBSERVATION ON BEES.
" I know why bees never sit down," said

W^ alter.

" Why, my dear ? " asked his mother. _

" 'Cause they has pins in their coat-tails, and

they's afraid to."

August 10, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

317

THE " CANADIAN BEE JOURNAL."

We have just had intimation that a great fire
has occurred at the town of Beeton, in Ontario,
Canada, and that a number of buildings have been
destroyed, amongst others the premises of the
Beeton Publishing Company, proprietors of the
Beeton World newspaper, Canadian Bee Journal,
and Canadian Poultry Journal, the material
and machinery connected with which publica-
tions are completely destroyed. The total loss
to this and other property in Beeton is estimated
at 22,700 dollars. There will, of course, be a
delay in the publication of the Canadian Bee
Journal, and the publishers appeal to the kind
consideration of their subscribers in the hope
that they will excuse its irregular appearance
until they can make arrangements for resuming
its republication, which they trust will not be
more than a week or two.

HONEY SHOW AT CASTLE DOUGLAS.

The annual show of honey at Castle Douglas,
N.B. — always a popular one — is fixed for Thurs-
day, the 31st inst., and should prove a big
success. In so good a season as this, and in so
good a district, honours won on the occasion
will be well worth competing for, especially
when backed up by substantial prizes for small
exhibits.

We observe that all classes are " open to the
world," the two most important being — Class 1,
for three one-pound jars of extracted honey
(other than heather), and Class 2, for six one-
pound sections.

In the former the prizes are — first, 21. and
silver medal ; second, 1/. 10s. and bronze medal ;
and third, 11. In Class 2 — first, 11. ; second,
10s. ; and third, 5s.

With so liberal a prize-list, and the facilities
for sending by parcels post, the classes specially
referred to will, we trust, be well filled.

faeries attir ^t$xm.

[863.] Bees in Roof. — Will you kindly advise
me how to take the bees and honey from the
roof of this house ? The house has eight dormer
attic windows, in six of which the bees have es-
tablished themselves for years. The dormers have
leaded roofs (over wooden beams), and are
underdrawn and plastered, leaving a space be-
tween the lath - and - plaster ceiling and the
beams, which the bees have utilised. Two
years ago a quantity of honey was taken from
one of these colonies from inside the attic, the
lath and plaster being broken, but the mess
caused by this proceeding prevents it being
repeated ; a great quantity of honey and wax
was secured, but the bees all died. What
would be the best and simplest course to pur-
sue ? I may mention that the house is an old
one, and the tiles in bad condition, many of
them being loose. 1. Would it be best to
attempt the business from inside or outside ? 2.
Are the bees likely to have worked into the

false roof on the dormer ? 3. Would it be wiser
to wait till autumn before beginning ? — M. C.

Reply. — 1. We should advise you to begin
operations from outside by removing some of
the tiles and well smoking the bees. You will
then see in what direction the bees have built
their combs. 2. It is very likely they have
built into the dormer roof, in which case the
lead would have to be lifted and the boards re-
moved before you could get at the combs. 3.
It would be a good time to do it now, especially
as we suppose you would transfer the combs and
bees to frame hives, which by feeding you could
build up into good colonies before winter. Your
sketch has made everything quite clear.

[864.] Transferring Bees to Frame Hive.
—I had several strong stocks of bees in straw
skeps, and, wishing to transfer one of them to
bar-frame hive, I proceeded as you have often
directed, by cutting a half-inch board to fit the
frame hive, with a four-inch hole in centre. I
placed it above the bar-frame, and the straw
skep on top, at the beginning of June ; but, on
examining it about a week ago, I found the bees
have not established themselves on the frames,,
although these latter were filled with full sheets
of foundation. The sheets are mostly drawn
out. Please inform me how I can best establish
the bees on frames, whether by driving or letting
them remain undisturbed as they are, and giving
them time to work down ? — John L. Elvin,.
Lincoln, August 3rd.

Reply. — Unless the district is a very poor
one for honey, there must be something radi-
cally wrong either with the queen or the health
of the bees to bring about the condition of
things described above. In so good a season as
this has been, " strong stocks of bees " should
have filled the frame hives with combs and the
skeps with honey since the beginning of June.
We should therefore advise lifting the skeps-
and making a careful examination of their
condition as to bees, brood, and food, before
deciding on any future action. If other stocks
in your apiary have done well this year, it
would appear as if either the bees are diseased
or the queens of the skeps referred to are at
fault ; but, if all have done badly, the want of
progress may be attributed to the district, in
which case we should leave the bees as they
are, and let them work down into frame hives-
next year, provided the skeps are well protected
from the weather during winter.

jots foam % Pite.

Whitby Heath, Chester. — There is still plenty
of white clover in these parts, and the bees are
active every day when weather permits, but I
do not perceive that the honey gathered does
more than supply present wants. Hives are
well filled with brood. Swarms very scarce
this season. The foreign honey question (1497)
might, I think, be profitably discussed in the
B.B.J. I happen to know how the injury to
our interests is done, but I am not able to pro-

318

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 10, 1893.

■pose a remedy. With foreign honey at Ad.
per pound, or less, and of fair quality, how can
we compete ? — A. Donbavand.

Streatham Hill, London, July 31s£. — This
year has proved to be very successful here, for
the yield has been sixty-six pounds per stock,
leaving just sufficient for wintering. This
yield was only exceeded in Jubdee year, when
it was seventy pounds. Bee-keepers in the
neighbourhood have only had about thirty
pounds in cases where they had not their stocks
very strong in spring to take full advantage of
the splendid flow from fruit-blossom. Limes
did not yield an ounce.

EEVIEW OF CONTINENTAL BEE

JOURNALS.

By J. Dennber.

Le Rucher Beige. Editor, M. Wathelet. — No. 7
•contains a description of a cheap extractor. The
following are the details of construction. The
■extractor is made from a wine barrel. These
barrels are generally 27-| inches high (70 centi-
metres) by 24 inches (61 cm.) in diameter, and
cost from four to five francs a-piece. One of the
•ends is knocked out, and the edges sawn down
to the groove. Thus we have the cylinder for
the extractor. The interior must be thoroughly
cleaned and scraped, and washed with hot
water in which some potash has been dissolved,
and it is then cleansed in running water to get
rid of all the potash. Near the b attorn a hole
is bored by which the honey can be drawn off,
and this hole is fitted with a cork. On the
bottom of the tub nail a piece of wood four
inches square, in which a hole has been bored
for the purpose of receiving the central spindle
of the cage.

The cage is made in the following manner: —
The spindle is made of a piece of oak 2f inches
square, and 32 inches long. Both ends are
rounded, the lower end to fit the hole bored in
the piece of wood at the bottom of the tub, and
the upper end to pass through a hole in a cross-
piece that must be fixed by means of screws
inside the upper part of the tub, for the purpose
of keeping the spindle vertical, and as a guide.
The hole in this cross-piece must exactly corre-
spond with the one below in which the spindle
works.

The spindle has holes bored half-way through
on the four sides to receive four tranverse pieces
of oak, which will form a cross with ends of
equal length. The holes must be bored at four
inches from the bottom and then nineteen inches
higher up.

The ends of cross-pieces have to be let into
two frames of wood, nineteen inches by sixteen
and a quarter inches. The length of cross-
pieces, with the thickness of frames added,
must not exceed twenty-two and three-quarter
inches. Tinned wire netting, such as is used
for bird-cages, is now stretched round and
fastened to the frames. On the lower end in-
side of the cage supports are nailed, so as to

carry the frames of comb, and allow them to
rest against the wire netting. The centrifugal
force drives the combs against the netting, and
keeps them even during the operation. A crank
handle is then fixed to the upper end of spindle.
To arrange a barrel in this way costs about
seven francs ; we therefore thus have a cheap
extractor suited to all sizes of frames.

Bulletin Horticole, Agricole, et Ajncole de
Liege. Editor, Jules Belot. — In No. 13 the
following good advice to bee-keepers is given : —
" The absence of rain in the spring has enabled
us to make some observations with regard to
pastures. We noticed that meadows which
contained legumenosce, such as clovers, &c, have
suffered less than others, because the surface of
the ground was entirely covered when rain failed.
In places where there was no clover or lucerne,
the ground became hardened and cracked, and
the grasses dried up to the roots, and only
yielded a scanty cutting in specially favoured
spots. We therefore advise farmers (all of
whom should be bee-keepers) to sow in their
meadows, at the proper time, white clover, which
is very hardy and succeeds nearly everywhere.
The bees will then have abundance of forage,
and the food for cattle will be of the best
quality."

Vereins - Blatt des Rheinisch - Westfalischen
Vereins fur Bienen und Seidenzucht. Editor,
W. Liickerath. — A very curious observation has
been made and verified, in No. 6, that certain
flowers are frequented by bees in one district
and not in another. A bee-keeper has observed
that a species of hyacinth very common in the
vineyards of the Rhine Province, the Muscari
racemosum, is visited in the spring by bees two
kilometres from his apiary, and is not noticed
in places nearer. The soil in the neighbourhood
of his apiary is alluvial and very fertile, whereas
that where the hyacinth is visited by the bees
is calcareous.

In the mountains and valleys of the Eifel the
month of March was really like spring. The
catkins of the willow furnished the bees with
abundance of pollen, besides a quantity of honey.
One bee-keeper on the 4th of April extracted
from his eighteen hives 100 pounds of honey.
Willow honey is very light-coloured, and granu-
lates rapidly, perfectly white.

Bienenvater aus Bohmen. Editor, Hans
Schusser. Nineteenth year. — Foul brood does
not proceed from chilled brood. The bacterio-
logist, Mackenzie, of Canada, inoculated a cell
of chilled brood with Bacillus alvei. The comb
containing this brood was kept some months in
a damp place, when the brood continued to
putrefy : but Bacillus alvei did not spread, but
remained in the cell inoculated by Mr. Macken-
zie. Comb foundation may propagate foul brood
if the wax from which it is made has not been
subjected for at least three hours to a tempera-
ture of 90° C. (194° Fahr.). A temperature of
only 50° C. (122° Fahr.) is not sufficient to
destroy Bacillus alvei.

L'Abeille de Franeonie. Editor, Hergen-
rother. Thirty-fifth year. — No. 7 gives a report

Augnst 10, 1898.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

819

of the honey harvest during the month of June,
which has been very abundant in Lower Fran-
conia. Supers extracted on the Wednesday
had to be extracted again on the Saturday.
Owing to the great heat that prevailed the
honey was very thick, and was extracted with
difficulty. It was therefore unnecessary under
such conditions to wait until it was sealed over.
It is principally clover that has yielded honey
so abundantly. Honey-dew was also very
plentiful during the hot days. In other districts
of Bavaria and Wiirtemberg bee-keepers com-
plain of the poor harvest. Swarms were very
scarce nearly everywhere.

Deutsche Illustrierte Bienenzeitung. Editor,
C. F. H. Gravenhorst. — The July number con-
tains the biographies and portraits of two dis-
tinguished bee-keepers, Frederick Arnold, mer-
chant at Greiz,born in 1818, and Ernest Arnold,
his son, born in 1841, successor to his father in
the business. Both had fine apiaries. Their
trade mark was a bee, and their telegraphic
address was " Bee." At his death Ernest Arnold
bequeathed to his native town nearly two and a
half millions of marks (125,000/.) for useful en-
dowments.

(To be continued.)

\tt Sfrtffos to €mm.

August 12th. — Wotton-u-E. District Annual
Show of Honey and Cottagers' Flower Show.
£20 in prizes. G. Gunston, Hon. Secretary,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge.

August 15th and 16th. — South of Scotland
B.K.A. at Dumfries. Wm. Wilson, Secretary,
Acrehead House, Dumfries.

August 16th. — Kent B. K. A., in connexion
with the Sevenoaks Horticultural Society's
Show, in Knole Park, Sevenoaks. Entries close
August 12th. Hon. Secretary, Jesse Garratt,
Meopham, Kent.

August 19th. — Bee and honey show at
Mobberley, Cheshire (under the rules of the
Lancashire and Cheshire B.K.A.), and in con-
nexion with the Mobberley Horticultural Society.

August 30th. — Honey Show at Fleetwood, in
connexion with the Fleetwood Horticultural
Society. Entries close August 15th. For
schedules apply John Latham, Secretary, North
Albion Street, Fleetwood, Lancashire.

August 31st. — Castle Douglas Horticultural
and Honey Show. Schedules and all information
from Wm. Blackwood, Secretary, Castle Douglas,
N.B. Entries close August 28th.

September 2nd. — Vale of Leven, B.K.A., at
Burgh Hall, Dumbarton. Schedules from J.
Walker, Secretary, 74 Main St., Alexandria, N.B.

September 5th and 6th. — Warwickshire
B. K. A. at Solihull, in connexion with the
Warwickshire Agricultural Society. For
schedules apply James Noble Bower, Hon. Sec,
Knowle, Warwickshire. Entries close August
26th.

September 6th and 7th. — Derbyshire Bee-

keepers' Association, at Derby. Entries close
August 31st. Over 18/. in prizes. Special
facilities offered to distant exhibitors. Schedules
from W. T. Atkins, 12 North Street, Derby.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation's Exhibition, in St. Andrew's HalL
Glasgow. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 13th and 14th.— Scottish B.K.A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules in due course from John
Wishart, Secretary S. B.K.A., Melrose.

Sept. 19th. — Honey Show, Sec, in connexion
with the North Lonsdale Agricultural Society
at Ulverston, under the Lancashire and Cheshire
B.K.A. rules. Prizes value 6/. 6s. 6d. Entries
close September 7th. Schedules from Nelson
Wearing, Hon. Sec, Ellers, Ulverston.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers*

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers or
correspondents, or where appliances can be purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only be inserted as
advertisements. The space denoted to letters, queries, and
replies, is meant for the general good of bee-keepers, and noi
for advertisements. We wish our Correspondents to bear in
mind that, as it is necessary for us to go to press in advancer
of the date of issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the
iseue immediately following the receipt of their communication.

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

Enthusiastic Bee-man. — The book you re-
quire is British Bees by W. E. Shuckard,
published by Lovell, Reeve, & Co., London,
at 10s. 6c?.

A. J. Constable. — The recipe you ask for
would occupy too much space for us to pub-
lish, especially as it would have little interest
to our readers, as the method has been super-
seded by more certain and simpler methods.
You wiil find what you require in B. J. for
1884, page 262, or you can have the Foul
Brood pamphlet, published by B. B. K. A.,.
for §\d., post free from this office.

F. Cook. — The comb sent contains foul brood
and it not fit to give to driven bees. In any
case you should never use such old combs. As-
there are only two cells affected in the combs
sent the hive could be cured with timely
attention.

M. G. (Dumfriesshire). — Both samples of honey
are good; but No. 1, although the brighter
of the two, is not of such good consistency.
Either would do for competition. No. 2 is
inclined to granulate, and should be kept in a
warm place if wanted for show. We thank
you for your appreciative remarks respecting
B. B. J., and are pleased you have derived
benefit from it.

H. S. T, — Honey from Willows. — Bees do gather
honey from willows; but its chief value to
bees in this country is as a pollen-producer in
early spring. The honey from it is perfectly
white, and granulates rapidly.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 10, 1833

Special Prepaid Advertisements.

Situations, Publications, Bee Plants, de.—TJp to
Twelve words , Sixpence ; for every additional Three
words or under, One Penny.

FOR SALK. — Superior Queens, Stocks, and Swarms,
English and Carniolan. Address Rev. C. Brereton

Pulborough, Sussex. *• n-

/ ^ UARANTEED Healthy Pure Natives.— Fine Young
VJT Fertile Queens, 3s. 6d. each; 3-Frame Nuclei, 10s. 6a.;
•6-Frame Stocks, 17s. 6d. ; 8-Frame ditto, £1, packing m-
«luded. Chas. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare,
Suffolk. . L?i

HONEY Extractor, suitable for a large apiary, takes
six frames, cost £5, can be had for £3. Never used.
■Geo Neighbour & Sons, 127 High Holborn, London, W.C.

157

HONEY JARS.— Half-pound White Enamel Stone Jars,
with Caps. Sample, 4|d. Under cost, to clear.
S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex. B 26

FOR SALE.— Splendid r^tocks of Bees, with or without
Hives. Address F. Jones. 4 Woodfield Terrace,
Radyr, near Cardiff. b32

FOR SALE.— Good Stock in Standard Double- walled
Hive, with 2 Shallow Lifts and 22 Shallow Combs,
30s. 2 dozen 1-lb. Glass Bottles, Is. 6d. 1 dozen Serew-cap
Show Bottles, Is. 6d. Also well-made Wells Hive, with
perforated Dummy, Lift, Section Crate, 4 feet of Excluder
Zinc, and 2 Ordinary Dummies, 25s. Owner going abroad.
Address B. Owtram, Rylston, Beckenham. b 33

FOR SALE.— Four dozen Sections '93 Honey. What
offers P Address Linstead, Garboldisham, Thetford.
b 34

HONEY, Extracted, in Cans. Splendid Clover, 7d;
Sample, 3d. Comb Honey, 9d. Address G. R.
Downer, Drayton Manor, Chichester. b 35

HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES at Is. 6d. per lb., and
their Queen. Packing-box returnable, Young
•Queens at 2s. 6d. each. Address E. Garner, Broom, near
Biggleswade, Beds. B 36

/CONDEMNED BEES WANTED. Must be cheap. Ad-
\_J dress Wallace, Hope Bank Cottage, Cheadle, Hulme,
Cheshire. . b37

SCREW-CAP HONEY BOTTLES.— Fresh supply ready.
10 gross, 13s. per gross ; 5 gross, 13s. 9d. per gross ; 1
gros=.14s.6d. Bags, Is. per gross extra. Address Garnett,
Steade Road, Sheffield. 160

WANTED.— New Sections Honeycomb, first quality:
also Extracted in bulk. Packages sent. Prompt

Cash settlement. Mr. Hurst, Bexbill, Sussex. 118

EE TENT on Hire. For terms apply to G. Gunston,
Bradley Green, Wotton-under-Edge. 135

B

CARBOLINE POMADE.— Kills Bee-stings like Magic.
Prevents getting Stung, Robbing, &c. In Is. bottles,
post free. Samples of Bee-smoke Cartridges, 3d. Address
T. Holliday, Astbury, Congleton. 151

SIMMINS' MODERN BEE FARM. Beautifully printed
on Toned Paper. Profusely Illustrated. 270 large
8vo. pages. Giving great satisfaction. Only 2/9 Post free.
Address S. Simmins, Seaford, Sussex.

CASTLE DOUGbAS

HORTICULTURAL & HONEY SHOW.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 31st, 1893.

Three 1-lb. Jars of Extracted Honey, other than

Heather. Jars to be Round Pattern with Screw

Tops. 1st Prize, 40s. and Silver Medal ; 2nd, 30s.

and Bronze Medal ; 3rd, 20s. Entrance Money, 3s.

Six 1-lb. Sections of Honey-comb, 4Jx4Jx2

inches, tp be shgwn in tin Sections, holders blue

or slate-colour. 1st Prize, 20s. ; 2nd, 10s.; 3rd,

■ 5s. Entrance Money, 2s.

Scliedules and all Information from the Secretary,

I Wm. BLACKWOOD, Castle Douglas. 156

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Stbeet, Strand, London, W.C.

PURE CANE SUGARS.

For the accommodation of Bee-keepers, guaranteed
Pure Cane Sugar will be supplied in large or
small quantities through this office at the under-
mentioned rates : —

MOIST. (For Household Use.)

Neat bags, 14-lbs. 28-lbs. 56-lbs. Cwts.
3. MUSCOVADO 3/- 6/- 11/6 22/6

4. DEMERARA

5. BARBADOS

6. TRINIDAD

CRYSTALLISED.

Crystals 3 3 6 '6 12/9

24/9

REFINED CANE.

7. WHITE CRYSTALS (Small) 3/6 7/0 13/9 26/9

8, 9. (Medium and Large sizes, 1/- per Owt. extra.)

10. LUMP (Cut Loaf) ... Boxes, 3/9 7/3 14/3 27/9

11. CRUSHED LUMP... „ 3/6 7/- 13/9 26/9

12. PRESERVING „ 3/6 7/- 13/9 26/9

FINE.

13. GRANULATED

11. CASTOR Coarse (15 Fine)
16. ICING

(For Household Use.)

3/9 7/3 14/3 27/9

4/3 8/3 16/3 31/9

4/9 9/3 17/9 35/-

All above guaranteed made from Cane Sugar only, and free
from Beet, Chemicals, etc., etc.

Carriage Paid on Orders over 5/0 (or 28-lbs. Sugar)
to London and Suburbs.

Country Orders, not less than 2 cwt. carriage paid
at 1/0 per cwt. extra.

(Scotch and Irish orders, special arrangements.)

CHEQUES payable to Manager, Bee Journal and Record

Office, 17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

CASH TO BE SENT WITH ORDER, and purchasers
will please observe that if samples are required or
replies asked to inquiries, a stamped addressed
envelope must be sent, as we cannot undertake
cost of postage. Delivery of Goods to be taken
as receipt. If acknowledgment of Cash is required,
stamped addressed envelope should be sent.

FOUL BROOD REMEDIES.

NAPHTHALINE
NAPHTHOL BETA.

NAPHTHALINE, for using in hives as a pre-
ventive of infection, in boxes, Is. post free.

NAPHTHOL BETA, for use in medicating bee-
food, Is. a packet, post free.

Both the above may now be had at the Office of
"THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL" and "BEE-
KEEPERS' RECORD,"
17 Kino William Street, Strand, London, W.O.

Instructions for use sent with each packet.

CASH WITH ORDER.

THE

®ritW 1» Mm,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 582. Vol. XXI. N.S. 100.] AUGUST 17, 1893.

[Published Weekly

€bxtaxmlt Ifatiag, x)^r.

BERKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.

The Windsor district of this Association held
their show of bees, hives, honey, and appliances,
in conjunction with the Prince Consort's Asso-
ciation, in the Home Park, Windsor, on Wednes-
day, July 2Gth. Although the season has been
exceptionally free from rain, a good exhibition
of honey (nearly 600 lbs.) was staged, and most
of it sold readily. The colour of honey from
the Windsor district was unusually dark, but of
exceptional quality, whilst samples from the
western part of the county were pale (gathered
from sainfoin and white clover) but first-class.
Classes 17 and 18 were for the best bottle and
section of honey, the exhibits being sold for the
benefit of our royal President's (H.R.II. Prin-
cess Christian's) Nursing Fund. There was also
present the new enterprise of this county
Association, the bee-van, which had just com-
pleted one month's tour amongst the rural
population where railways do not reach, giving
practical instruction (illustrated at night with
lantern slides) from the van. We believe the
van tour has been a great success. Mr. W. S.
Darby, the energetic local secretary, together
with the Show Committee, are to be con-
gratulated in carrying out their duties well.
The Rev. R. Errington, Clewer, and the Rev.
S. R. Wilkinson, of Great Marlow, were the
judges. The prize list was as follows : —

Open Classes.

Best collection of appliances. — 1st prize,
T. Flood, Reading ; 2nd, Mr. Stoneham,
Windsor.

Best hive for general use. — 1st, C. Redshaw,
South Wigston, Leicester.

Best hive for general use, price 12s. Qd. — 1st,
C. Redshaw; 2nd, T. Flood.

Best hive (Wells pattern). — 1st, C. Redshaw.

Best rapid bee-feeder. — 1st, C. Redshaw.

Bost observatory hive. — No award.

Bost oxhibit of honey. — 1st, A, D, Woodley,
Gaverpham,

Members only.

Best twenty-ono foetions.— 1st, A, D, Wood-
ley; 2nd, W. S. Darby, Clower. "-- -

Best twenty-one 1-lb. sections.-— 1st, A. D.
Woodley.

Best twelve 1-lb. sections of honey.-~lst, A.
D. Woodley ; 2nd, G. Head, Winkfield.

Best twelve 1-lb. jars of extracted honey. —
1st, A. H. Miller, Egham.

Best super of honey (not sectional). — 1st, G
Head ; 2nd, J. Taylor, Windsor.

Best beeswax.— 1st, H. Attneld, Ascot.

Windsor District only.

Best twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, G. Sawyer,
Great Marlow ; 2nd, A. Head.

Best six 1-lb. jars of extracted honey. — 1st,
G. Sawyer ; 2nd, J. Knight, Clewer.

Best frame hive, stocked with bees. — 1st,
G. Head.

Special Open Classes.

Best 1-lb. section of honey. — 1st, S. W. Filt-
ness, Swindon.

Best 1-lb. jar of extracted honey. — 1st, A. H.
Miller. .

BEES AND HONEY AT THE YORKSHIRE

AGRICULTURAL SHOW.

August 2, 3, and 4.

No show in the previous history of the Society
has been more successful than the present on«
in regard to exhibits in the bee department.
The current season has proved an unusually
favourable one so far as the North of England
is concerned, and this fact no doubt played a
considerable part in the success of the exhibits.
A large share of the credit must, however, be
given to the Yorkshire Bee-keepers' Association,
which has been very active in its operations in
the past few years. At intervals lectures on
bee-keeping, and manipulations of the modern
bar-frame hive, were given by Mr. R. A. H.
Grimshaw, hon. secretary of the Yorkshire Bee»
keepers' Association, who had the assistance of
Mr. William Dixon as an expert in bee-handling,

The attendance at the lectures was all that
could be desired. Crowded audiences of intelli*
gent listeners eager to hear about beea inspired
the lecturer to prolong his remarks beyond tbe»
usual time, and also to continue giving instruct
lion between one address and another to a
never-ending 6tring of inquirers and doubting-
ekep-keepers. Quite the most pleasing feature
of the whole show, from a bee-keeping stand,
point, was a glass extracting-house erected by

322

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 17, 1893.

the Society for the Rev. E. M. Lamb, who, with
the assistance of Mr. A. 0. Jemeison, extracted
honey, bottled it, labelled it, and, what is more,
sold it by hundredweights to an admiring
crowd ! Unbelieving Thomas was represented
there also, for many a time could be heard the
remark, " Let's goa an' see 'em makkin t'unny."
The extracting-house was artistically decorated
with curtains " of most aesthetic hue," and the
eyes of Mr. Broughton Oarr — the arch- apostle
of shallow frames — would have seen such a sight
as your reporter humbly thinks they cannot
have yet beheld. Score on score of shallow
frames, every one filled with the whitest and
thinnest foundation possible to be obtained,
every one drawn out to perfection, filled cram
full with lemon-golden honey with a capping as
level as a board, so that with common carving
knives the slice came off with scarcely a fault —
immaculate cleanliness and perfection pervaded
the whole process. Altogether the show of
honey appliances and the educational machinery
was such as to gladden the heart.

The following is the list of prizes awarded : —

Best hive for general purposes. — 1st prize,
W. Dixon, Beckett Street, Leeds ; 2nd, A. 0.
Jemeison, Dringhouses, York.

Best hive for general purposes, price not to
exceed 10s.— 1st, A. 0, Jemeison; 2nd, W.
'Dixon,

Honey extractor for bar-frames.— 1st, A. C,
Jemeison ; 2nd, W. Dixon.

Honey extractor for sections. — 1st, W. Dixon ;
2nd, A. C. Jemeison.

Useful inventions. — 1st, A. C. Jemeison ; 2nd,
W. Dixon.

Observatory hive. — W. Dixon.

Comb honey in sections, not over 18 lbs. — 1st,
Rev. R. M. Lamb, Burton Pidsea, Hull ; 2nd,
Miss S. J. Cooper, St. Nicholas Square,
Leicester.

Honey in sections, not over 12 lbs. — 1st, "W.
Smith, Preston, Hull ; 2nd, Lady Hawke, Wig-
hill Park, Tadcaster.

Best 12 lbs. extracted honey in glass jars. —
1st, H. Lawrence, East Keswick, Leeds ; 2nd,
W. Bowes, Elmhurst, Darlington.

Granulated honey. — 1st, W. Dixon ; 2nd, W.
Chester, Goole. — Communicated.

STAFFORDSHIRE B. K. ASSOCIATION.

The annual exhibition of this Association
was held in connexion with that of the Stafford-
shire Agricultural Society in the picturesque
grounds of its popular President, Mr. S. Lips-
comb Seckham, on August 1st and 2nd, and
proved a complete success.

The entries were numerous and the previous
best on record for the Association, viz., ninety
in 1887 was easily beaten by the 137 of this
year ; nearly 2000 pounds of honey were staged
and the competition was very keen.

During the afternoon an examination for
third-class certificates was held, Mr. Palmer
acting as examiner.

The judges, the Rev. G. R. Bailey and Mr.
J. Palmer, awarded the prizes as follows :—

Money,

Honey in any form, not exceeding 150 lbs. : H.
Wood, Paradise, Lichfield, 1 ; S. B. Fox, Maer,
Newcastle, 2 ; Elihu Clowes, Blackbrook, New-
castle, 3 ; J. R. Critchlow, Newcastle, 4 ; W.
Williams, Lichfield, 5; v.h.c, A. Simpson, Lich-
field.

Twelve 1-lb. sections : H. Wood, 1 ; A. Simp-
son, 2 ; J. R. Critchlow, 3 ; E. Clowes, 4 ; h.c,
W. Williams.

Run or extracted, in jars : J. H. Collier,
Stafford, 1 ; J. Pellington, Stafford, 2 ; Mrs. R.
P. Cooper, Lichfield, 3 ; H. Parsons, Lichfield 4 ;
v.h.c, J. Lindop, Madeley ; h.c, S. B. Fox, J.
R. Critchlow, A. Simpson, and T. Cooper, Sea-
bridge; c, W. Williams, H. E. Twentyman,
Wolverhampton, and J. N. Beddows, Bloxwich.

Six 1-lb. sections : A. Simpson, 1 ; H. "Wood,
2 ; E. Clowes, 3 ; v.h.c., H. Parsons, Lichfield.

Design in honey-comb : J. R. Critchlow, 1 ;
H. Wood, 2.

Section and jar (one each) : H. Wood, 1 ; Miss
M. J. Fox, Maer, 2 ; A. Simpson, 3 ; v.h.c,
Mrs. R. P. Cooper ; h.c, E. E. Crisp.

Super of comb honey : Miss H. M. Twenty-
man, Castlecroft, 1 ; H. Parsons, 2.

Granulated honey: H. Wood, 2.

One-pound jars (dark) extracted : H. Wood, 1 ;
Miss F. E. Smith, Lichfield, 2; W. Williams,
3.

')pen Classes.

Twelve 1-lb. sections : H. Wood, 1; E.
Clowes, 2.

Twelve 14b. jars extracted: S. Cartwright,
Shrewsbury 1 ; J . H. Collier 2 ; v.h.c, E.
Clowes, and A. Hamar, Carmarthen; h.c, J.
H. Wootton, Hereford, and F. Harper, Uttoxe-
ter.

Labourers'1 Classes.

Comb honey : R. Middleton, Stafford, 1 ; T.
Bailey, Whitmore, 2.

Extracted : R. Middleton, 1 ; T. Bailey, 2.

Beeswax — E. Clowes, 1 ; J. R. Critchlow,
2 ; J. H. Collier, 3.

Bees — best observatory hive : A. W. Rollins,
Stourbridge, 1 ; E. Clowes, 2 ; H. Wood, 3.

Collection of hives and appliances : W. P.
Meadows, Syston, Leicester, 1 ; T. Walmesley,
jun., Lichfield, 2.

Best bees in straw skep : J, Beech, Burnt-
wood, 1 ; H. Parsons, 2.

GLAMORGANSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The above Association held their annual show
of honey in connexion with the Glamorganshire
Agriculture Society at Bridgend on July 26th
and 27th.

The bee-tent of the B. B. K. A. was a great
attraction. Mr. Gay, county expert, manipu-
lated and gave short addresses, assisted by Mr.

August 17, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

323

E. J. Gibbins, Neath, and Mr. E. Thornton,
Hon. Secretary.

As a result of the able and combined efforts
of the lecturers the Hon. Secretary enrolled
several members, and the following week saved
several hives that would have been sulphured
but for the bee-tent manipulations and the in-
formation given.

Mr. Walter Davies gained the silver medal
(B. B. K. A.) for sections, and Mr. E. Thornton,
bronze medal (B. B. K. A.) for extracted honey.
— E, Thobnton, Bridgend, Glum.

HUNTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The annual honey show of the above Associa-
tion was held in connexion with that of the
Hunts Agricultural Society at Hinchingbrooke
Park, Huntingdon, on July 26th, and the
exhibits made a very creditable display for the
season. In some of the classes the competition
was keen. Mr. J. H. Howard, of Holme, was
the judge and made the following awards : —

Bees, Honey, and Wax.

Best English bees in observatory hive. — Equal
lsts, W. H. Woods, Hemingford, and E. Allen,
Godmanchester.

Best twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, R. Brown,
Somersham ; 2nd, W. H. Woods ; 3rd, E.
Allen.

Best twelve 1-lb. bottles of run honey. — 1st,
R. Brown ; 2nd, Mrs. Allpress, Broughton ; 3rd,
E. Allen.

Open Classes.

Best exhibit of comb honey (not sectional). —
1st, Mrs. Allpress; 2nd, W. H. Woods; 3rd,
Mrs. Shelton, Stukeley.

Best sample of beeswax. — 1st, H. J. Bull,
Kimbolton; 2nd, E. Allen; 3rd, Z. Hobbs,
Stukeley.

Cottagers only.

Best twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, H. J. Bull ;
2nd, W. Ellis, Somersham ; 3rd, Z. Hobbs.

Best twelve 1-lb. bottles of run honey. — 1st,
W. Ellis.

NORTHANTS BEE - KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The annual show of this Association took
place, as usual, in connexion with the horti-
cultural show in Delapre Park on August 7th
and 8th, in fine weather. The central attraction
was the exhibit of 147 sections sent in response
to Mr. Hefford's appeal for aid for the widow
and family of the late Mr. H. Ringrose. Of the
sections staged, some were evidently sent for
pure charity's sake. The remainder formed,
for this season, a wonderful good collection,
and the judges, Rev. R. A. White and Mr. J.
Shaw, awarded the prizes as follows : — 1st,
W. H. Woods, Hemingford Greys, St. Ives ;
2nd, W. A. Palmer, Brampton Station,

Northants; 3rd, C. F. Cave, Billing Road,
Northampton; 4th, A. L. Y. Morley, Great
Brington, Northants; 5th, T. M. Jameson,
Moulton Grange, Northants ; commended, Jno.
Cox and Jas. Cooper, Badby.
The ordinary classes were well filled.

Genebal Pbize List,

Best twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, C. Cox,
Brampton; 2nd, Jas. Adams, West Haddon;
3rd, W. Baldwin, Chapel Brampton; 4th, G.
Brown, Northampton.

Best twelve 1-lb. jars of extracted honey. —
1st, O. Orland, Floor, Weedon ; 2nd, E. Ball,
Northampton; 3rd, C. F. Cave; 4th, W. Fustain,
Farthinghoe Station.

Best exhibit of super honey, not exceeding
f orty-eight pounds.— Equal 1st, H. Collins, Berry
Wood, and Mr. Baldwin.

Best beeswax. — 1st, C. Cox; 2nd, Jas. Adams
3rd, H. Collins; 4th, Thomas Salmonds'
Brackley. ,

Open only to Non-prke-ivinners at previous
Shows.

Best six sections. — 1st, John Spencer,
Northampton; 2nd, O. Orland; 3rd, G. Brown.

Best six 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, O.
Orland ; 2nd, H. Bailey, Millway, Duston ; 3rd,
E. Ball.

Best super of comb honey. — 1st, W. A.
Palmer ; 2nd, Miss F. Williams, Overston ; 3rd,
Mrs. Boughton, Chapel Brampton.

The bee-tent held good audiences, which were
interested in the lectures of Mr. T. E. Adams,
of Culworth, — Communicated,

SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

The Autumn Shows.

The prize lists for the autumn exhibitions of
the Association, which are to be held on Sep-
tember 7th in St. Andrew's Hall, Glasgow,
and on September 14th and 15th in the
Waverley Market, Edinburgh, are now ready,
and will be forwarded to all applicants. I
would, on behalf of my Committee, be glad of
suggestions from members of the Association as
to the classification, and would be pleased to
have early intimation of special prizes. — John
Wishabt, Assistant Sec, Market Place, Melrose.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.

The following sums have been received
or promised : —

Amount already ac- £ s. d,

knowledged ... 41 5 6

Wm. Carr (Newton

Heath) 0 10 6

J. Willard 0 5 0

324

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL

[August 17, 189S.

HONEY IMPORTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of July,
1898, was 2514/. — From a return furnished hy
the Statistical Office, H.M. Customs.

"THE BEE-KEEPERS' GUIDE"
(AMERICAN).

We are sorry to find that the Bee-keepers1
Guide has been obliged to suspend publication,
and has not appeared since April last. There
are every year in America a number of new
bee-papers started, and about as many become
extinct, so that we have for a long time ceased
to notice them. The case is, however, different
with the Bee-keepers'1 Guide, which has been
published now for sixteen years. We suppose,
even with a bee-supply business to back it up,
Mr. Hill found it a hard job to make it pay its
way. Although we read year after year of new
journals being started and coming to grief, it is
astonishing to us that there are still found
persons simple enough to think that they have
merely to start a bee-paper to make it a success,
and yet simpler persons to believe them. It
will be a matter for regret among many bee-
keepers that the Bee-keepers' Guide has ceased
to exist, as it was one of the leading bee-papers
in America. The others being the American
Bee Journal (established in 1861) ; Gleanings
(established in 1873); and the Bee-keepers
Review (established in 1888).

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice wicl be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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,
jBoofes for Review, &c, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the ■ British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.O." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

%* 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.

AN APIARY OF THIRTY-TWO COLO-
NIES ON A ROOF IN THE CENTRE
OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,

U.S.A.

[1514.] Seeing an account in the Philadelphia
Ledger of a swarm of bees having settled on
a street lamp opposite the office of that paper,
Chestnut Street, I took the first opportunity of
ascertaining particulars on the spot. I was
told by a policeman, an eye-witness, that they

came from the roof of one of the high buildings
in Sixth Street, that they first settled on one of
the trees opposite "Independence Hall," and
then on the lamp above mentioned. This being
in the centre of the busiest part of the city of
Philadelphia (which has a population of upwards
of one million inhabitants), at the time of day
when the streets were crowded with tramcars,
horses, and vehicles of all descriptions, and the
pavements thronged with people passing, you
will understand the consternation such a sight
would cause, and the increased wonder and
amazement when a young gentleman, Mr.
Roland S. Lindsay, whose bees they were, in
the quietest manner possible took them out one
handful after another, and put them into a box
he obtained for that purpose, apparently with-
out any of the horses or lookers-on being stung.
Having satisfied himself that he had captured
the queen, he was content to leave the few re-
maining bees, knowing that as soon as the queen
was missed they would return to the old colony
from whence they came.

Upon Dr. Townsend telling Mr. R. S. Lindsay
that I was desirous of seeing his apiary, he very
kindly wrote me and invited me to do so, and
on the 3rd of July I went.

Mr. Roland S. Lindsay is a medical student
at the University for Pennsylvania in this town,
and has his apiary on the roof of a five-story
building, his father's business premises, being
No. 25 South Sixth Street, Philadelphia.

Having provided ourselves with bee-veils, we
went up on to the roof of the building, which
is nearly flat, having only sufficient slope just
to carry off the water ; it is covered with thick
sheets of tin soldered together and painted.
Most of the roofs are similarly covered.

The hives are in rows of four, placed back to
back, with a passage 1 ft. 8 ins. between the rows,
the entrances facing alleys (3 ft. wide. Between
each group of four hives run passages 2 ft.
wide, and it is from these and the 1 ft. 8 in.
passages that all manipulations are carried
out.

The following are the particulars and history
of Mr. Lindsay's apiary and system of manage-
ment, which I give as nearly as possible in his
own words : —

" I commenced bee-keeping a few years ago by
the purchase of a three-framed nucleus, which I
tookto my father's residence. The family objected
to my pets, and I was forced to take them to
the very heart of the city and place them in
their present position. That year they increased
to three stocks, and from the old one I took
seventy-two pounds of comb honey, the largest
quantity I have ever taken from one colony in
the city, my average takings being about fifty
pounds. Next spring I purchased three more
stocks in the country, which were brought into
the city. Finding some fertile workers in one
of these, and a drone-laying queen in another*
it gave me a good chance for experimentation.

" The fertile workers I got rid of as follows :
I selected a very strong colony, having a _ pro-
lific queen, upon which I put the hire containing

August 17, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

325

the fertile workers, both having first been
smoked, and given time to gorge themselves
with honey. Upon examination some days
after, I found the queen laying eggs in the
hive in which the fertile workers had been. I
then removed the upper hive with the queen to
its original stand, and gave another queen to
the hive left, and both went on satisfactorily
without any more trouble from fertile "workers.

"I use the Hoot dovetailed hive, which holds
eight Langstroth-sized frames and a dummy.
The frames are self-spacing, and have thick
top3 to prevent burr combs. Prevention of burr
combs is quite a feature ; but these burrs have
their value, I think they are useful in getting
the bees into the supers, and also in wintering.
Still, I prefer to have no burr combs, as the
bees, with proper management, can be crowded
into the supers.

" In the spring I wait for a very warm day,
when the bees are flying but not trying to rob.
Then I open quite a number of hives, taking off
all covering but the oilcloth, which I always
use directly over the frames. The heat of the
sun will soon soften the propolis and wax at
the top of the frames. Then, with the smoker
in my left hand, and a large three-inch paper-
hanger's knife in the right, 1 smoke the bees
down, take off the oilcloth, and, with a few
quick shoves, clear everything from off the tops
of the frames.

" It seems hardly necessary to say that in the
city we do not gei; any honey from fruit-blossom.
During June the bees just manage to get enough
to keep them, with the occasional help of a
little feeding. By the second week in June I
endeavour to have the eight frames filled with
brood, and I prepare for the honey-flow, which
commences the first or second week in July, and
ends with the first frosts in October.

" To get the best results, and make the most
of the honey-flow, we must have good queens.
My way of getting the honey is this : In the
brood chamber I leave six frames of brood,
filling up with two dummy frames ; I mash the
capping of the honey left in the brood chamber
with a fork, and put a sheet of queen-excluder
zinc on the top of the hive, and another hive-
body on this, containing the two frames of
brood removed from the chamber below, four
frames of comb or foundation, and two dummy
frames. The honey will soon be removed from
the lower hive, and carried up to the super,
when the queen will lay eggs in the cells as they
are emptied, thus giving six solid frames of
brood, which wall nearly all be ready for the
honey-flow. The honey stored above may be
extracted or saved, as I have to do, to return to
the bees in the spring before there is any
amount of honey collected.

(( It has been my study, since I began keeping
bees, to do all in my power to have every
stock Btrong and ready for the honey-flow when
it comes. I have tried almost all the varieties
of bees, and am satisfied that the Italians can-
not be surpassed,"
Mr. Lindsay was raising queens, in which he

takes great interest. Several of these I saw in
nuclei, where they had just begun to lay, and
they were splendid specimens. I was particu-
larly struck with the colour and beauty of the
bees generally. Some fourteen or fifteen hives
were opened ; little, and in some cases no smoke
was used ; the bees were as quiet as flies, not
one during the whole time attempted to sting,
the bees and the queen remaining quietly on the
combs; very few were attempting to fly. In
one or two cases Mr. Lindsay moved his hand
quite quickly over the frames, to show how
gentle they were, and not a bee attempted to

fly.

I have been twice to this apiary, and have
been much pleased with all I have seen, particu-
larly with the queen-raising upon Doolittle's
plan, which is most interesting. Mr. Lindsay
has kindly promised to make two nuclei for me
to take back with me on my return to England,
which I propose to do early in October.

I have had a kind invitation to pay Mr.
McKnight a visit at Owen's Sound, Canada,
and I hope to go there on Tuesday next.
Many of your readers will recollect seeing Mr.
McKnight at the Colonial Exhibition, and the
splendid honey he exhibited there. He has
some 200 hives in bis apiary, and I shall hope
to send you an account of it at some future
time. — Joan M. Hooker, Philadetyhia, U.S.A.
July 20th, 1893.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1515.] We are enjoying1 grand summer
weather in this part now. The wheat harvest
is nearly all garnered or put into the barns, the
ricks are few and small owing to the light crop,
the spring or summer corn (barley and oats) is
lighter than the wheat crop. The bees are busy
gleaning — in fact, at some hives are "laying out,"
showing that honey is being found somewhere,
though there is no forage except a sprinkling of
white clover and charlock.

The clover crop for another season is not very
promising. The seed that was sown in the
spring has only grown since the long drought
broke up, and is consequently very weak and
spindling. In permanent pastures the clover
plant soon recovers after a rain ; but in arable
districts, where a rotation of crops are grown
and clover lay (or ley) is ploughed in for a corn
crop, after one crop of hay has been cut and the
aftermath fed off by sheep, the plant has to
establish itself amongst the spring-sown corn
this summer for the hay crop next year, so that
our source of clover honey is ever varying-^
sometimes good, at other times poor.

I can fully endorse what Mr. " Useful Hints"
says re super-clearers. I, too, have had four
kinds in use simultaneously, and, as in a previous
"note," I say to those who intend to invest in a
clearer, buy a spring self-acting non-returnable
clearer, and if you have some of the old style,
convert them into a positive success by buying a
spring escape, and fix same in lieu of the cones,

326

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL, [August tf, 1893,

whether vertical or horizontal. Early in the
season the cones act very well; hut later on,
towards the end of our harvest, the cone escapes
"are failures, more or less, as clearers. I give a
case of simple clearing at my out-apiary. Early
in the season I went to put on a few clearers,
and found more crates ready than I expected,
so I simply cut some sheets of brown paper the
size of the crates, and cut three holes to corre-
spond to the three rows of sections, and placed
these paper clearers under the full crates about
7.30 p.m., and when I visited the apiary next
morning at 6.30 a.m., the crates were practically
cleared, as also were those with cone escapes,
but with spring escapes every bee was out of
the crate of sections. I have ordered enough
" B-Off's," as Mr. Meadows terms his spring
escapes, and I suppose the name was suggested
to him by his manner of using them. He (Mr.
M.) places his board with the escape flat on the
top of the crate of sections, and the bees clear
out and off to the entrance of the hive, either
through the cone at end of gable of hive, or
from the window of the honey-room.

Now, I have always used the clearer-cone or
spring pattern as a conduct-pipe to guide the
bees into tbe line via escape. Mine is practically
the night-time clearer, and Mr. Meadows' the
day-time clearer ; and I fancy, taking a broad
view of the matter, that my night-time clearing
does not interfere with the work of the colony
so much as the day-time system.

The wasps are still with us, notwithstanding
that every man's hand is against them, the
English Mechanic going so far as to suggest a
crusade for their extermination. Well, I think
I have done my share of the work already,
though I own I am still ready for the fray, and
next evening will probably find me wending my
way with the elements of wasp-destruction. I
have already destroyed and helped to destroy
over forty nests, besides having twenty to thirty
bottle-traps about the apiary, supplemented with
two or three inverted bell-glasses with cone en-
trances through a two-inch hole in board cover,
each " catch-'em-alive-o ! " baited with some
odds and ends of unfinished candy cakes left by
the bees last spring — yet after this wholesale
destruction, still they come !

We have had our Honey Show at Newbury,
and a very creditable affair it was. The honey
staged was of very excellent quality, the weather
splendid, the attractions great, including " Blon-
din, the hero of Niagara, ' the attendance grand
for a town like Newbury — some 7000 passed the
gates ; our Show Committee worked with a will,
the genial Hon. Sec, Mr. Hawkes, was inde-
fatigable in his labour to ensure its success, and
a success it proved. The judges for honey were
the Rev. W. E. Burkitt, Buttermere, Wilts, and
Rev. J. Bacon, Coldash, Newbury.

Large Exhibits. — I would beg to offer a few
remarks to committees on this point, and pre-
face same by saying that, with my large apiaries,
I am able to stage any amount in reason, there-
fore I hope I shall not be accused of axe-grinding.
The few schedules state the quantity, the many

schedules leave the quantity to the exhibitors '
for example, report of Scotch show. I would
suggest that the quantity be stated in all
schedules, also the space on which the exhibit is
to be staged. Now, if the quantity is kept
within reasonable bounds, the class is thereby
thrown open to owners of comparatively small
apiaries, the exhibits are varied, and the number
of entries consideraby increased. This is de-
sirable from every point of view, and must com-
mend itself to the consideration of every one
who has the advancement of bee-keeping at
heart.

I would like to say a few words on the loider
metal ends, but I feel I have exceeded already
the limit of space, therefore defer till another
time any comment on the subject.

In closing I would remind bee-keepers ann
the friends of bee-keeping that the 'Johd
Huckle Testimonial Fund ' is not closed yet, and
I trust to see many names that have been
familiar to us for many years in the pages of
Bee Journal added to the list of subscribers ere
it closes. Perhaps it is only the few of us
amongst the many who have been brought into
personal contact with Mr. Huckle during the
long years of his secretariat, but as one of the
few I do fully endorse all our Editors have said in
the appeal on Mr. Huckle's behalf, and, knowing
him as I do, I feel I can say that even the
smallest contribution will be appreciated, not
only for its intrinsic value, but as a mark of our
practical sympathy with him in his long illness.
— W. Woodley, World's End, Newbury.

BEE-STINGS FOR RHEUMATISM.

[1516.] Can you find room for the following
cutting ? — A Reabee.

" Some two years ago an Austrian physician
advanced the remarkable theory that persons
who have been stung by bees enjoy an im-
munity from the effects of the bee-stings for
varying periods, and that, moreover, the virus of
the bee-sting is an infallible remedy for acute
rheumatism. The latter part of the theory,
according to the Mediterranean Naturalist, has
received most unquestionable confirmation from
a custom of the country people in Malta. Bees
are plentiful in the island, and bee-stings are
in such repute as a cure for rheumatism that
resort to this primitive method of inoculation
has been a common practice in severe cases for
generations, the results having been most satis-
factory to the patients. — Western Daily
Mercury" ,

WIDER METAL ENDS FOR
EXTRACTING FRAMES.

[1517.] I should like to hear something more
about wider metal ends to be used above for
extracting purposes. I am quite sure eight
frames so spaced would produce more honey
than ten the present width, Only, should they

August 17, 1893,]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

327

come to the fore, I sincerely hope the extra width
will he given only hy the folding and not in any
alterations to the frames. We want a metal
end (W.B.C.) to fit existing frames with rather
more spacing-room. — Bee-Iyay.

[We believe the manufacturer of the "ends"
referred to intends next season to bring out a
special end for wider spacing in the frames of
surplus chambers. You may be quite sure that
no change will be made in its construction
beyond the wider u shoulder," so that no con-
fusion will arise as to top bars. — Eds.]

POLLEN OFF HEATHER.

[1518.*] Excuse my directing your attention
to a lapsua made in reply to correspondent 861.
He asks : " Do bees gather pollen off the
heather, and what colour is it ? " The reply
given is : " Bees visit heather for the honey, and
not pollen." Now, in Scotland, our experience
is that the bees incline to gather too much
pollen from heather. It is of a light, almost
white, colour, and its presence is a sure indica-
tion that the heather is yielding. — James
Henderson, August 5th.

[So far as our observations have gone, our
answer is quite correct ; but this answer by no
means implies that bees do not get pollen, but
that they do not visit Culluna vulgaris for the
purpose of gathering the pollen. Like many
other flowers which bees visit for the honey,
they get also pollen from this, because they
cannot help it ; and it is owing to this that they
act as cross-fertilisers. The structure of the
flowers of Culluna vulgaris is such that insects
visiting them for honey are liable to be dusted
with the pollen from above, as the style and
stamens curve upwards out of the way of the
bee, and permit it to reach the honey only by
way of the lower half of the flower, which lies
horizontally. Although heather, so far as
quantity of honey produced is concerned, stands
in the first rank as a honey plant, it is certainly
not classed as a pollen plant, because the object
of the bee's visit is honey, and not pollen, which
may be looked upon as more of an incidental or
secondary product. We have never been over-
done with pollen in our district in the South,
where heather abounds, but, of course, different
districts vary very much in this respect. The
colour of the pollen is grey, and under the
microscope its structure resembles the agglo-
meration of four spheres.— Eds.]

HONEY-COMB DESIGNS AND
SECTIONS.
[1519.] I read your editorial on the Scottish
B. K. A. Show at Edinburgh in your last
week's B.J. with the greatest pleasure. It was
a great success, and my only regret in con-
nexion with it was that I failed to see Mr.
Broughton Carr and make his acquaintance
personally. All Scottish bee-keepers will be

glad to learn that his first visit to Scotland was
so pleasant.

It must have struck every one at the show,
as well as Mr. Carr, how much superior the
honey-comb designs were in finish and colour as
compared to sections ; and as a minor prize-
taker in this latter class I should be extremely
glad if you, Messrs. Editors, would give us a few
hints during the dull season, which is fast
approaching, as to where we fail in the pro-
duction of sections as compared to our Southern
bee-keepers, showing amateur exhibitors like
myself what a really first-class section should
be.

It is to be regretted that some code of points
for judging honey, such as suggested at the last
meeting of the B.B.K.A., is not published by
Bee-keepers' Associations as a guide to exhibitors.
Let us hope they will be in the near future.
It would be interesting to know what bee-
keepers think of the suggestion made by Mr.
Gordon at the meeting of the S.B.K.A. during
the show in Edinburgh as to cottagers' classes.
Mr. Gordon suggested that prizes should be
offered to bee-keepers having five hives, spring
count, and ten hives ; this if it is possible to
carry out would give small bee-keepers a chance
and make bee-keeping more popular than it is
at present, as a man with only one or two hives
has not the same chance as a man with thirty
or even ten, although both may have a rental
of less than 10^., which is the restriction put on
exhibitors in the cottagers' classes by the
S.B.K.A. I had a conversation on the subject
with our able Secretary, Mr. Wishart (not being-
able to be present at the meeting) on the last
day of the show, and he thought it would be
difficult to carry out, but hope something may
be done in the interest of small bee-keepers
before another year. — Hy. Marks, Midlothian
August 8th.

PRIZES FOR COTTAGERS' SMALL
EXHIBITS.

[1520.] I happened to see a schedule of the
Lincolnshire Agricultural Show, and found a
class for cottagers to exhibit twelve bottles of
pure honey. That certainly is not the way to
popularise or encourage small bee-keepers. It
takes a fairly large apiary to furnish such an
exhibit, and there must be more spare cash than
cottagers usually possess, first to procure a
dozen show bottles and then to incur the ex-
pense of transit to and from the show. If a
man gains a prize, it (in the Lincolnshire Show)
would only just about cover his expenses, and
were he not to take one he would be at a dead
loss, for I often see the honey exhibited is not
sold. I do not know who is responsible for this
schedule, but I think it might be made much
more attractive. There ought to be classes for
one to three bottles and the same for sections
limited to cottagers ; also a class for six
bottles and six sections, open. Lincolnshire is
not a rich county and most of the local bee-

328

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 17, 1893.

keepers do not boast of more than six hives.
These want meeting. The dozen bottles and
dozen sections by no means do meet them. I
wish the influence of your paper might be
brought to bear upon the authorities that be, as
they then would probably be only too plad to
alter the existing state of things. — Bee-Kay.

CARBOLIC FUMIGATORS.

[1521.] It was very interesting to read the
account (1507, p. 304), ".A Few Days at an
Expert's Apiary. If the writer would kindly
show us amateurs how to proceed with carbolic,
numbers besides myself would be very thankful.
Was the sponge saturated with pure carbolic,
or was it a mixture ? I tried with a saturated
sponge mixture according to Rev. G. Raynor's
proportions, namely, one-and-a-half ounce of Cal-
vert's No. 5 carbolic acid, one-and-a-half ounce
glycerine, and one quart of warm water. It
seemed to take no effect on the bees, so that I
removed the sponge and in it3 place used smoke,
but the carbolic being so clean, I would prefer it
if I knew how to use it. Perhaps, Messrs.
Editors, you could enlighten a novice as to the
way to use it. — Dublin.

|Tn " Webster's f umigator " the sponge is
moistened with No. 5 carbolic undiluted, and
in order to give the fumes greater strength
creosote is also used. The diluted acid recom-
mended by the late Mr. Raynor is intended
for preparing carbolised sheets only, not for
fumigating. See reply to query No. 867, p.
329.— Eds.]

(fitfjejExes atxtr Implies.

[865.] Oil Beetle as an Enemy. — Would you
kindly tell me if bees ever bring the eggs of the
oil beetle into the hive by accident, and would
they hatch and become a nuisance ? This ques-
tion was asked me some little time back, but I
have not been able to find anything about this
beetle, and would be glad for a little informa-
tion.—T. C. W.

Reply. — The bees do not bring the eggs of
the oil beetle into their hives, but in some dis-
tricts they bring in the larvae, which become
formidable enemies of the bees, frequently doing
much damage. The eggs of the oil beetle
(Meloe vanegatus) are laid just below the sur-
face of the ground, and when the larvae are
hatched they climb into the flowers upon the
plants in their neighbourhood. There they
wait for an opportunity of attaching themselves
to insects that may alight. The larva is fur-
nished with strong jaws and sharp claws, and
can easily fix itself to the hairs of the bees, and
is thus carried into the hives. In some seasons
it is more plentiful than in others, and in some
countries — more especially in Germany and
Russia— it is more abundant than with us, al-

though it has been observed pretty abundant in
hot and damp seasons. The presence of the
larvae on the bees is very distasteful to them,
and they make every effort to get rid of them,
which sometimes ends in convulsions. The
larvae adhere also to the hairs of wild bees, and
are carried by them into their nests. They
feed on bee-bread. The larvae do not always dis-
criminate as to the nature of insect on which
they fix themselves, and thus a large number
are carried away only] to perish from want of
food ; but nature has compensated for this loss
by making the female very prolific, and as many
as 4218 eggs have been counted in one of them.
In some years the primitive larvae appear in
immense numbers, especially on the flowers of
sainfoin, dandelion, and bugloss, and attack bees
furiously, and frequently pierce and penetrate
into the joints of the abdominal rings where the
chitine is thinnest. Sometimes they enter
so deep that they are hardly visible, and it is
not difficult to understand how, under such cir-
cumstances, they can be very irritating to the
bees. This beetle cannot go through its various
transformations in a hive as it does in the nests
of wild bees, so when the larvae attain their full
growth they either leave the hive or die, and
can be f ;und on the floor-boards amongst the
detritus and in the crevices of the hive. The
bees do not allow them to touch the brood.
When full grown the larva is hardly one-eighth
of an inch long. In seasons when they are
plentiful large numbers of bees may be seen in
convulsions in front of the hive and dying. In
Russia such bees have been found to have as
many as eighteen of the larvae amongt the ab-
dominal rings. Another oil beetle (Meloe pro-
scurabceus) is of a thick black colour, and the
larva frequents a large number of flowers, more
especially those of the turnip and rape. It is
not so formidable as the first-mentioned, as it
only attaches itself to the hairs of the bee, and
does not enter at the joints. Fortunately, with
us, the beetle is not so abundant as on the Con-
tinent, and is therefore not looked upon as very
formidable.

[866.] Removing Runaway Swarm from Wall
of House. — 1. Several of my swarms flew away
in the spring, and took up their quarters be-
tween the weather tiles and the lath-and-plaster
in an old farmhouse, near the roof ; they can be
got at by making a hole in the plaster inside. I
want to take them out and unite them to a
weak stock I have. Would you kindly tell mp
the best way of getting them into the skep, and
afterwards uniting them, without fighting ? 2.
Should the bees be thrown down in front of the
hive or put in at the top ? 3. Should each lot
be sprinkled with syrup ? If you could kindly
answer in the B. J. next week I should be much
obliged, a9 I must remove them before Septem-
ber.—J. K. S.| Godalming, August 9th.

Reply. — 1. When the combs ha™ been
exposed by removing the plaster, the bses
should be thoroughly quieted by a go 3d

August 17, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

329

smoking, and, if the combs can be removed
one by one with the bees adhering, the
latter may be shaken or brushed off with a
feather, and allowed to run into an empty skep
prepared for them. "When the queen has been
secured, the bees will settle down and remain with
her. 2. It would be safest to remove the queen
of weak stock before uniting, and if you have a
spare empty hive, set it on the stand of the
latter, and. throw the bees from skep in front,
and allow them to run in. The combs of the
weak hive may be lifted out one by one and the
bees shaken off in front of the frame hive, when
they will join the others peaceably. When all
are in, replace the combs among the united lots of
bees, and cover down. 3. A little flour may be
sprinkled on the bees as thev run in.

[867.] Carbolic Fumigator for Quieting Bees.
— I see in B. J. (1507, p. 304) of August 3rd
notice of the use of carbolic acid instead of
smoke from the ordinary smoker. Could you
not, in your next number, give some further
details of this method ? It would, I think, be
most useful to beginners like myself, the smoke
being at times most unpleasant and somewhat
unreliable. — Ned Swain, Canterbury, August
12th, 1893.

Reply. — A full description of Webster's car-
bolic fumigator appears in B. J. for Jan. 1st,
1891, page 3.

[868.] White Clover in Autumn. — 1. There
is just now a lot of white clover in our district,
and I should like to know if it yields as much
honey as in the early summer ? The bees seem
very busy in it. 2. When is the best time to
drive bees, and when is the most suitable time
of the day to do it ? — C. Hamshiue, August
6th.

Reply.— 1. White clover never yields half
so well as in the month of June. The bees will,
no doubt, get honey from it in such weather as
we are now having, but not in great quantity.
2. The sooner bees are driven now the better, as
it gives more time for them to prepare for
wintering in their new quarters. Any time of
the day will do if the weather is warm. We
prefer between two and five p.m.

[869.] Foul Brood. — I am forwarding a
piece of comb which I am afraid is affected with
foul brood ; it is from a stock which was put on
seven frames two years ago. The first season
they did not fill any sections, and, last year, only
ten. This season they have not filled any
sections, but the frames are full. I examined
them about three weeks ago, and could not find
a queen, but an unsealed queen-cell; to-day I
found a young queen. Is it too late for her to
become fertilised, or should I remove her and
put a driven stock with them ? Kindly advise
me how to proceed. — F. G. F.f August 9th.

Reply. — Comb is foul-broody, and that, of
course, accounts for the stock doing badly. If
the young queen is successfully mated, we
should remove her and the bees from the combs,

and keep them confined indoors in an old skep
while the hive is being thoroughly cleaned and
disinfected, burning all the combs it contains.
Then fit the frames with full sheets of founda-
tion and return the bees. The driven bees —
got ready beforehand — should then be thrown
out on top of the others when the latter have
nearly all entered the frame hive. Feed with
medicated syrup, and use naphthaline on floor-
board.

(Brjmes farm % Jpibm

Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington, August
5th, 18y3. — The season here came practically to
an end about three weeks ago. I have scarcely
had a chance to take any outside combs from
brood nests, many of which are full of honey,
having been fully occupied in taking off surplus
from section crates and shallow bodies for ex-
tracting. I do not think I have had such a
good season since 1831, either for quantity or
quality. At Stamford Show, friend Sells told
me, their clover never came this year, because
of the drought ; also that the limes, of which
there is an avenue of large trees half a mile
long, scarcely yielded any honey. To return
to my own bees, &c. Before the season is out I
hope to have a larger percentage of young
queens in my hives than usual. I have already
got several laying, and have plenty of drones.
With the exception of the one in which I have
got the stock that is in Mr. Hooker's self-hiver,
they killed many of their drones a month ago.
Being asked who made Hooker's self-hiver, I
may say, to save further reply to letters, that it
was made by Mr. Lee at Messrs. George Neigh-
bour & Sons, High Holborn. I was rather
amused at hearing of an expert, well known to
readers of the B.B.J. , going with his lighted
pipe only, on a cool day, and taking sections
off. He " wouldn't wear a veil," not he, but he
had to " walk off " a time or two, and, as a last
resort, he had to use the smoker which was
offered to him at first, and declined. I believe
the bees pretty well peppered him. How would
the gentleman who paid a visit to Mr. Webster's
apiary have " stood fire," I wonder, if he had
had such a doing? Rather foolhardy to do
without a veil. — John Walton.

CLARIFYING HONEY-DEW.

A correspondent sends us the following cut-
ting from the Rural World, and asks if we can
give any information on the point raised : —

" Sir, — The section honey of a ' Regular Sub-
scriber ' is black, or rather smoke-coloured, like
every one else's this year, because, owing to the
long-continued and severe drought, little or no
nectar was produced by flowers, and the bees,
unable to procure this in any quantity, had re-
course to the honey-dew (aphides' excreta),

330

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [August 17, 1893.

which was deposited in unusual abundance on
the leaves of trees and shrubs. Honey thus pro-
cured is always smoky in appearance, though
the flavour may not be greatly affected. Still,
the look of it is so bad that it is sure to spoil
the sale, unless the smoky appearance can be in
some way eliminated. It is best to ' extract '
such section honey, and not put it on the market
till the season is well past. But if any one
could tell us a way to cleanse and clarify such
honey, he would confer a valuable boon on all
bee-masters. — Yours truly, H. Eablb Bulwer,
Stanhoe."

In reply, we beg to say honey can be de-
colourised and the dark-coloured or dirty ap-
pearance removed. But the process is a delicate
and rather elaborate one, altogether too trouble-
some for general adoption. — Ens.

5jj0foS 10 €ttWLL

August 19th. — Bee and honey show at
Mobberley, Cheshire (under the rules of the
Lancashire and Cheshire B.K.A.), and in con-
nexion with the Mobberley Horticultural Society.

August 30th. — Honey Show at Fleetwood, in
connexion with the Fleetwood Horticultural
Society. Entries closed. John Latham, Secre-
tary, North Albion Street, Fleetwood, Lanca-
shire.

August 31st. — Castle Douglas Horticultural
and Honey Show. Schedules and all information
from Wm. Blackwood, Secretary, Castle Douglas,
N.B. Entries close August 28th.

September 2nd. — Vale of Leven, B.K.A., at
Burgh Hall, Dumbarton. Schedules from J.
Walker, Secretary, 74 Main Street, Alexandria,
N.B.

September 5th and 6th. — Warwickshire
B. K.A. at Solihull, in connexion with the
Warwickshire Agricultural Society. For
schedules apply James Noble Bower, Hon. Sec,
Knowle, Warwickshire. Entries close August
26th.

September 6th and 7th. — Derbyshire Bee-
keepers' Association, at Derby. Entries close
August 31st. Over 181. in prizes. Special
facilities offered to distant exhibitors. Schedules
from W. T. Atkins, 12 North Street, Derby.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation's Exhibition, in St. Andrew's Hall,
Glasgow. Schedules from John Wishart,
Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 13th and 14th.— Scottish B. K. A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules from John Wishart,
Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 23rd. — Roxburghshire B.K.A.
annual show of bees, honey, and appliances, in
the Corn Exchange, Jedburgh. Twenty-four
classes, including seventeen for honey. For
schedules apply to Thomas Clark, Secretary,
Pleasants Schoolhouse, Jedburgh, N.B.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries ashing for addresses of manufacturers 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 com-
munication.

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

Constant Reader (Norfolk). — Using Cyanide
of Potassium. — The information sought ap-
pears on page 312 of last issue.

A Constant Reader (E. A. G.)— Bees and
Poppies. — We do not think the non-prosperity
of the bees can be in any way attributable to
poppies, though the latter is an undesirable
plant to grow in quantity near bees, on ac-
count of the inferior honey it produces. Are
you quite sure there is no taint of the foul
brood still about the hives ? If the hives in
which the bees died last year have been used
again without thorough disinfection, the
disease may have returned.

Rat (Notts). — Suspected Foul Brood. — The
small bit of comb sent has no dead brood in
the few cells it contains, so we cannot say
anything as to the stock from which it comes.
We must have comb containing dead brood
before giving an opinion on it.

D. B. K. A. — Cakes of Wax Cracking. — Damp
the earthenware mould before pouring in the
melted wax (which should fill the mould),
then insert the whole in a dish of hot water,
and allow it to cool very gradually. The
slower it cools, the more surely is "cracking"
prevented.

Bee -Kay (Great Grimsby). — Honey sent is
good in flavour and colour, but lacks a, little
in consistency, though it cannot be called thin
honey.

J. W. Nelson (Westmoreland). — The sample
of honey sent is good in flavour, but not quite
first-rate ; colour excellent, consistency fair.

Sam Mitchell. — Bee Parasites. — The bees are
infected with the parasite known as the
Braula cceca, full particulars (with illustra-
tion) of which are given in B. J. for April
14th, 1892, page 146.

J. Cole (Devon). — Honey is very largely mixed
with honey-dew.

Zero (SpaldiDg).— We find no foul brood in
comb sent. The very few (two or three) ■
dead larvae in the cells are not foul-broody,
and may have died from several causes} none
of which are apparent.

THE

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

K 0.583. Vol. XXI. N.S. 191.]

AUGUST 24, 1893.

[Published Weekly-

(Btixtaxml, Ucttus, tftc.

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — The summer weather, which?
as we heard an experienced gardener ob-
serve, "has lasted since March," still
remains almost unbroken ; not only so, but
the temperature of the last fortnight has
been considerably higher than at any time
during the year. It is worth noting that
although the highest shade temperature
of this month (95-l° at Greenwich on
the 18th) has been twice exceeded during
the last half -century — viz., 96*6° on July
22nd, 1868, and 97'1° on July 15th, 1881
— no similarly high reading has been re-
corded in August, when the temperature in
the sun reached 146-2° on the 18th. Since
that date, however, a decrease in tempera-
ture has taken place, accompanied by fresh
breezes and some rather heavy showers.
But the summer of 1893 will be remem-
bered as one of the longest and driest on
record.

Effects of the Season. — So rare is it
to have our " hottest time " in August,
that many bee-keepers have had their cal-
culations considerably upset by the bees
" stupidly refusing," as one correspondent
puts it, " to store the honey they are now
gathering in the sections." It is a fact,
nevertheless, as every experienced bee-keeper
knows, that, except in good heather districts,
bees frequently persist in storing in brood
chamber all surplus gathered in August,
even with unfinished sections overhead. No
doubt, when heather is in good bloom,
sections will be rapidly filling; but with
plenty of late forage about, we find
that the weight of surplus chambers is not
added to, while brood chambers are quite
heavy. Reports to hand are very promising
for a big heather crop in Scotland, where
bees are having splendid gathering weather,
and if the autumn crop equals that from

clover, it will indeed be a red-letter year
for northern bee-keepers.

One unusual effect of the excessive heat
this month has been to cause bees to "hang
out " of their hives, just as they often do in
June, and we have had to allay the fears
of several correspondents, who only saw
"swarms" as a result of this unnatural
behaviour on the bees' part. The decrease
in temperature has, however, put matters
straight again.

On another point, we must once more
remind inquirers how unwilling bees are,
even in the midst of plenty, to build out
comb foundation, or even to complete un-
finished combs in August. Some readers
appear to think it only needful to feed in
order to start bees comb-building in warm
weather at any season. Such, however, is
not the case, and only under very special
conditions will they do more than lengthen
out the cells of such combs as they are on
to store any excess of food given at this
season. One solid advantage to bee-keepers
of the heat and sunshine of the present
month is that it has enabled bees to gather
from every nectar-secreting flower that
grows in autumn. Thus, stocks from which
heavy returns of surplus have been taken
are not found this year with foodless brood
chambers as they often are, but well pro-
vided with winter stores.

The " Wasp Plague." — The most extra-
ordinary accounts continue to be published
regarding this curious characteristic of the
year 1893. We read of several cases of
fatal results from the stings of wasps, and
the amount of serious damage done, to say
nothing of mischief and annoyances of
minor importance caused by their depre-
dations, has apparently been very serious.
So far, we hear of no onslaught having
been made on hives by wasps, though it
has caused us some concern to see them so
enormously plentiful everywhere. Bee-
keepers should endeavour to distract the
attention of the marauding rascals from

332

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 24, 1893.

the hives as far as possible, by providing
plenty of enticement at some distance
away from the apiary, in the shape of
good-sized, narrow - mouthed glass jars,
partly filled with sweetened water, and a
little beer or vinegar, but no honey, as a
bait. In this way, thousands may be
destroyed every day ; but if the nests can
be discovered they should, if possible, be
dealt with on the spot, seeing that it is so
simple a matter to destroy them. Anyway,
the present immunity from attack on bee-
hives should not be regarded too lightly, see-
ing how much mischief would arise if the
wasps began a general onslaught. Caution
in opening hives, and the careful avoidance
of leaving any honey or bits of wet comb
lying about, will do much to lessen risks,
and in this case prevention is so much
easier than cure that the hint here offered
should not be disregarded.

Finding Queens in Autumn. — A corre-
spondent on p. 336 makes mention of this
trouble, and appeals for help in the matter.
Of course, it is more difficult to pick out
queens when there is not much forage to
entice the bees abroad, and in consequence
the combs are thickly covered by them, than
at other times, but there is no fixed plan
or rule by which experienced hands can
tell how they get over the difficulty. In
cases, however, where the trouble is serious,
the hive should be moved bodily away for
some distance, and an empty one tempo-
rarily put in its place while the combs are
being examined. This will considerably
help those who experience difficulty of this
kind, for they do not remember how much
more amenable to control bees are when
moved away'from their usual stand while
being operated on.

BRISTOL AND DISTRICT B.K.A.

The annual show of this rising and energetic
Association was held on July 21st and 22nd in
connexion with the Knowle and Totterdown
Workman's Flower Show, which was opened at
Knowle, in the grounds of E. J. Thatcher, Esq.,
by the Mayor; the Mayoress, Colonel Sir E.
Hill, M.P., Lady Hill, and many influential
Bristol gentlemen being present. The honey
exhibit was one of the largest yet held by the
Association, exhibits coming from various parts
of England, Wales, and Ireland.

The bee-tent was a great centre of attraction,
free lectures and demonstrations being given by
the Hon. Secretaries, Messrs. J. Brown and E.
A. S. Potterell, and the experts, Messrs. J.
Martin and H. Hamilton.

The Rev. E. Davenport and Mr. J. Loveli'
officiated as judges in the hee and honey de-
partment.

Pbize List.

Collection of honey. — 1st prize, J. Martin^
Bedminster; 2nd, J. Brown, Failand; 3rd, E.
A. S. Potterell, Clevedon.

Twelve 1-lb. sections.— 1st, E. E. R. White,
Salisbury ; 2nd, S. W. Filtness, Swindon ; 3rd,
— O'Brien, Waterford.

Twelve 1-lb. jars of extracted honey. — 1st, S.
W. Filtness ; 2nd, E. Bunny, Swansea ; 3rd, T.
R. Horton, Much Wenlock.

Three bar-frames of comb honey. — 1st, J.
Martin ; 2nd, W. Bryant, Westbury-on-Trym ;
3rd, J. Brown.

Granulated honey. — 1st, H. O. Huntley,
Worcester; 2nd, J. Martin; 3rd, J. Edgell,
Chew Stoke.

1-lb. jar of extracted honey (Gift Class). —
1st, H. 0. Huntley; 2nd, S. W. Filtness; 3rd,
H. Seamark, Cambridge.

Six 1-lb. sections (members only). — 1st, J.
Martin ; 2nd, W. Bryant ; 3rd, J. Fenner, Hen-
bury.

Many exhibits were "highly commended " and
" commended," the former receiving a certificate-
from the Bristol B.K.A.

The Rev. E. Davenport afterwards conducted
an examination of candidates for third-class
experts' certificates. — Communicated.

LEICESTERSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The annual exhibition of bees, hives, honey,.
&c, was held at Leicester on July 26th and 27th
in connexion with the Leicestershire Agricul-
tural Society's Show, and was a complete success.
Over sixteen hundredweight of honey was
staged, nearly all of which was of the finest
quality. Our limited space will not allow of a
detailed description of the various exhibits and
the general arrangements, which are summed
up by the judge — the Rev. E. Davenport — in
his report as follows : —

"I have pleasure in testifying to the very
high quality of the show. The exhibits reflect
the highest credit on the exhibitors, and serve
to show what a good and useful work the
Association is doing, whilst the staging of the
exhibits and the general arrangements of the
show evidence the wisdom and energy of its
Secretary."

Prize List.

Best Observatory hive. — 1st prize, H. M. Riley,
Tower House, Leicester; 2nd, J. Waterfield,
Kibworth.

24 lbs. comb honey in sections. — 1st, J. W.
Bickley, Melton Mowbray ; 2nd, H. M. Riley ;
3rd, J. Waterfield.

Best 24 lbs. extracted honey. — 1st, T. B.
Widdowson, Leicester ; 2nd, Miss Cooper,
Leicester; 3rd, Dr. W. S. Fulshaw, Earl Shil-
ton ; special prize, A. Brown, Loughborough.

August 24, 1893.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

333

Best 12 1-lb. sections. — 1st, A. Silcock, Groby ;
2nd, H. M. Riley ; 3rd, J. Stokes, Harby.

Best 12 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, J. B.
Widdowson ; 2nd, C. Foxon, Croft, Leicester ;
3rd, Miss A. Tbrosby, Leicester; highly com-
mended, Miss E. Chester, Waltham.

Best "display" of honey.— 1st, J. W. Bickley ;
2nd, J. "Waterfield; 3rd, W. P. Meadows,
Syston.

Best section in the show. — A Silcock.

Abbey Pabk Show.

The annual show of the Leicestershire Bee-
keepers' Association, in connexion with the
Abbey Park Flower Show, was held on August
8th, and proved to be a great success both as
regards the quality and the amount of honey
staged. In the class for best show of honey
from one apiary nine exhibits were staged, among
them being some very tasteful displays. The
Rev. T. Davis officiated as judge, assisted in two
of the classes by Mr. H. M. Riley ; the following
being the awards : —

Best twelve 1-lb. jars extracted honey (20
entries). — 1st prize, J. Waterfield, Kibworth ;
2nd, Dr. W. S. Fulshaw, Earl Shilton ; 3rd,T.
B. Widdowson, Leicester.

Best twelve 1-lb. sections (9 entries). — 1st, A.
Silcock, Groby; 2nd, H. M. Riley, Tower House,
Leicester.

Best exhibit of honey from one apiary (9
entries). — 1st, J. Waterfield ; 2nd, W . P.
Meadows, Syston ; equal 3rd, J. W. Brickley,
Melton Mowbray, and R. Tyler, Humberstone.

Mr. H. M. Riley, hon. sec. L. B. K. A., lectured
to large audiences in the bee-tent, assisted in
the manipulations by the expert, Mr.G.Munday.

DARNAWAY, MOYNESS, AND DISTRICT
B.K.A.

The above Association held their second annual
show of honey and appliances in Brodie Grounds,
in connexion with the Dyke Horticultural
Association, on the 2nd August. The show was
a great success, the entries for honey being far in
excess of last year. The judge, Mr. George
M'Lean, Beauly, made the following awards : —

Best super of honey. — 1st, Duncan M'Donald.

Best crate of honey. — 1st, John Donaldson;
2nd, Alex. M'Kenzie, Cauldearn; 3rd, John
Mitchell.

Best six 1-lb. sections. — 1st, W. M'Donald ;
2nd, D. M'Donald ; 3rd, Alex. George.

Best three 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st,
Charles Johnston ; 2nd, Rev. Robert Kerr ; 3rd,
W. M'Donald.

Best 1-lb. bottle heather honey. — 1st and 2nd,
C. Johnston.

Best bar-frame of honey. — 1st, John Mitchell;
2nd, Alex. George.

Best 1-lb. bottle granulated honey. — 1st and
2nd, C. Johnston.

Best 1-lb. cake of wax. — 1st, John Mitchell ;
2nd, D. M'Donald.

Best collection of appliances. — 1st, Alex.
George.

Best 1-lb. section of comb honey. — 1st, D.
M'Donald; 2nd, Rev. Robert Kerr; 3rd, John
Mitchell.

Best two 2-lb. sections comb honey. — 1st, Alex.
M'Kenzie ; 2nd, D. M'Donald.

Lady Gibson-Carmichael's medals were won
by Mr. Duncan M'Donald and Mr. Charles
Johnston, being the two most successful ex-
hibitors.

NOTTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The annual exhibition of this Association
was held in connexion with the fete of the Por-
chester Floral and Horticultural Society, Notting-
ham, at Mapperley, on Bank Holiday, August
7th, and following day. The show was in every
way a great success, its supporters staging, in
six honey classes, close upon half a ton of honey,
which was excellent in its quality and get-up.
Of the five honey trophies staged, three contra-
vened rules of the schedule, and were conse-
quently disqualified. Two of the disqualified
exhibits would have taken first and second prizes,
and so it was decided to withhold the first and
to award the second and third prizes to the two
remaining exhibits.

The arrangements and staging of the show
reflect great credit upon the Executive of the
Association. Mr. Jno. Palmer, of Ludlow,
acted as judge, and during the Monday after-
noon held an examination of candidates for
third-class experts' certificates in the bee-tent,
where short lectures on bee-keeping were de-
livered at intervals on both days.

Pbize List.

Collection of hives and appliances. — 1st, A. W.
Pett, Nottingham.

Best frame hive for cottagers' use. — 1st, C.
Redshaw, Wigston; 2nd, AV. P. Meadows,
Syston.

Bees in observatory hive. — 1st, H. Hill, Am-
baston; 2nd, H. J. Raven, Bridgeford ; 3rd, Th.
Maskery, Kirkby; 4th, A. J. Mortimer, Oxton.

Honey trophy. — 1st, not awarded ; 2nd, A. G.
Pugh, Beeston ; 3rd, H. J. Raven.

Twelve 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, G.
Wood, Oxton; 2nd, T. Riley, Radford; 3rd,
Ch. Wootton, Draycott; 4th, J. Setchfield,
Hyson Green ; 5th, E. White, Bleasby ; v.h.c,
A. J. Mortimer; h.c, Nos. 3, 5, and 15.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, A. J. Mortimer ;
2nd, A. W. Pett; 3rd, W. Measures, Upton.

Six 1-lb. jars granulated honey. — 1st, H.
Merry weather, Southwell; 2nd, S. White,
Bleasby ; 3rd, H. J. Raven.

Best frame of honey. — 1st, S. S. Elliott, South-
well; 2nd, W. Measures; 3rd, G. Wilson,
Nottingham.

Six 1-lb. jars extracted honey (non-prize-
winners at previous shows only). — 1st, J. Setch-
field ; 2nd, Th. Maskery ; 3rd, T. Riley.

Beeswax. — 1st, H. J. Raven; 2nd, A. J.
Mortimer.

334

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 24, 1893.

The E&itors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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 goodfaith. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, Sec, must be addressed only to "The
Bditoes of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments). ,

%* 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.

SOME NOTES OF THE SEASON.

[1522.] It is disappointing to read all the
good reports of this season when in this neigh-
hourhood the honey harvest and all connected
■with bees is unsatisfactory. During the three
months' rainless season, the leaves of limes and
oaks were dropping with the black exhalation
or so-called honey-dew. Every morning the
sidewalk flags were wet with the substance, but
a microscopical inspection revealed no insects
upon the leaves, no greenfly anywhere. The
very warm nights had forced the superabundant
sap to exude from every leaf in drops until
about eight o'clock a.m. Then the hot sun's
rays dried it up, and the leaves appeared var-
nished, but no insect life anywhere. The blooms
on the limes were no good for honey. No
clover in the fields nor lanes until just now — in
the middle of August ! — bees are bringing in a
little for their daily wants, but none to store.

The bees of a large G-ravenhorst "Bogen-
stulper " were hanging out on the 8th and 9th of
August — both very hot days. It was almost too
heavy to lift, and besides, a very strong colony.
Anybody appreciating the job of turning a
" Bogenstiilper " up, boiling over with a savage
lot of bees, on a hot August day, will under-
stand what a job I had in hand to take four
frames full of honey out, and replace them with
frames of empty comb. I found I could not
lift the hive — this straw skep, holding sixteen
frames, so I put a stout clothes-line round the
outside of it, with a loop to put my head
through, and managed to lift it off the two-feet
high stand, and took it a little distance to
manipulate. I had put my old black apron over
the now open top, but the bees were boiling and
brimming over, and, worst of all, furious. I use
nothing but a pipe — no veil nor protection ; but
not being a practised smoker, it often upsets me
when it has to be done wholesale. However,
the job begun had to be finished. I have had
many a little tussle, but this had all the appear-
ance of a " tickler." At last, when almost beaten
and daylight failing — eight p.m. had gone — I
had to drive the hive and its bees out. It was
not a " twenty-one-pound swarm," as lately

reported, but it was a good heavy one, filling
a large bushel skep, and not nearly all out after
twenty minutes' drumming, hundreds bursting
forth upon my face, neck, and hands, till, as I
gave it them with smoke out of my pipe, I
thought of our Editor's remark, "Good for rheu-
matism," and heartily wished him by my side to
be properly cured ! These bees were driven in
spring, and like all the artificially made swarms
have done pretty well ; but I have not a single
hive where bees have gone up, either into sec-
tions or shallow frames, whether with or with-
out queen-excluder zinc. I have heard of one
swarm only in this neighbourhood ; it did not
settle, but flew right away at once.

I took a few combs of fruit-blossom honey
from my wintered stocks in May, but it was
the colour of porter, and so its colour has re-
mained all the season, neither fit to sell nor
even to give away to friends. Out of sixty
hives I have fed up eight already with a
hundredweight of Demerara sugar. I have
taken no honey to speak of, and have not a
doubled hive into which surplus has been
carried ; no comb-building except the artificial
swarms, not even patching up or repairing old
combs. Since July the plague of wasps has
troubled us and does still. Larger wasps are
not so numerous as they have been, and a
smaller kind — I think wall-wasps — have taken
their place. Destroying nests by the fifties and
hundreds on different estates, and smaller num-
bers in every garden and field, keeps them a
little reduced. I have six hives cleared out by
wasps; four of them were nuclei for queen-
raising, each having three not very numerous
colonies, and the other two were rather back-
ward and weak hives. When the bees left
these hives I was in time to save what little
brood and honey they had left. All entrances
were reduced to the winter size, half an inch.
It was painful to witness bees coming home
being attacked, carried away and relieved,
robbed of their sweet burdens — bees struggling
all over the ground with wasps, although
thousands were bottled up in treacle mixed
with vinegar as an attraction. I heard of a
cottager and a clever bee-keeper, how he
managed his nests. It may be new to your
readers, as it was to me. I had offered him
MacDougall Brothers' Smoke Choking Charges
(advertisement enclosed), of which I have
"bought a quantity, and am giving them away.
Half a charge (a whole one costs 2d.) is suffi-
cient for a wasp's nest. They are put in
lighted, with a shovel of soil to keep the smoke
in. His plan was to use a little common creosote.
He had no coal tar, powder, or anything else,
but a cask of creosote stood handy outside, and
he was determined to stop eleven nests within
five yards of his cottage, and although the holes
were not stopped up properly, he was surprised
to find that no wasps came out. Next morning
on digging them out, wasps young and old, and
maggots in combs were found shrivelled up, dry
as powder. He has since tried a spoonful of
creosote, and each time with the same result.

August 24, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

,335

As our County Councils are now assioting
the spreading of bee-knowledge, would they
refuse an application to grant a small remu-
neration for dead queen-wasps in spring or for
destroying nests in summer ? It is a question
which affects almost everybody — grocers, far-
mers, fruiterers, &c, bee-keepers included.
The mischief wasps are doing in the country
in July and August on the ripe fruit is bad
enough, but when they attack grapes in the
greenhouses it becomes a question for the fruit-
grower and the educated gardener, to say
nothing of the village shopkeeper, and all
these should join in the endeavour to kill them
off. — J. G. K., Grove House, Southborough,
Tunbridge Wells.

THE WELLS SYSTEM.

[1523.] The "Wells" system, when put on
trial, loses much of its gloss in my hands, but,
unfortunately, we have had a very peculiar and
bad season to try it in. After a small surplus
in the beginning of May, there was a break
until the first week in June. By the way, the
honey gathered in May very quickly granulated,
and tasted as though it had been mixed with
pepper ; it quite burnt your mouth. Although it
had a very peculiar taste when extracted, it had
nothing peppery about it. When the clover
put in an appearance the crop was very light,
and soon burnt up for the want of rain. The
limes bloomed much earlier than usual, and only
lasted a few days. The season then was over.
The bees began in earnest by J uly 16th to kill
off what few drones they troubled to raise ; a
grand time of it followed with robbers; they
started with a queenless lot of Carniolans, a
this-year swarm which arrived with a dead
queen. A new one was kindly sent by the
vendor, and duly caged in the hive, but was
killed. A virgin queen was then tried by direct
introduction; she was turned out dead next
morning. The rate at which these bees de-
creased was surprising; in four weeks there
were only enough bees to cover as many frames,
although the swarm weighed four pounds
when hived. Another lot of blacks, existing
under the same circumstances, scarcely seemed
to decrease at all — they refused to fight, so the
robbers had it all their own way until I dis-
covered their little trick. No more Carniolans
for me ; if this is a fair sample of them, I have
had enough and to spare. No sooner was the
entrance enlarged and covered with perforated
zinc than the robbers turned their attention to
the next colony, which was sharing the Wells'
with the Carniolans ; they were very strong, but
the robbers came in such numbers that I was
forced to pad the entrance, and used carbolic
acid. The worst part of this plan is that acid
used strong enough to stop a determined robber
also stops the lawful occupants, and the next
sight which meets you is to see hundreds of
bees clustering about the hive. When the acid
evaporates a bit, in go the robbers again as
orderly as you please ! I soon got sick of this

acid business, and on the second day closed the
hive, and put a wet cloth all over it. Whatever
you do you lose some of the flying bees. After
this things quieted down. I have come to the
conclusion that the best method of stopping
robbing is to open the entrance to the full
extent, tack perforated zinc over it, then spray
with carbolic acid to keep the inmates of the
hive from causing confusion round the entrance,
and cover the hive over with a wet sheet.
Late in the evening every comb which is not
crammed with bees must be removed. It is
best to close the hive for two days, for although
you may stop robbing entirely one day, the
robbers will open the attack early next morning.
The perforated zinc must be sprayed two or
three times a day to keep the inmates away
from the entrance; the refuse which collects
can be removed in the evening.

Although there is a saving of timber in
making a Wells hive as against two single
hives, the benefit is entirely swallowed up by
making the perforated dummy. If you have
not made one you cannot realise the lively time
you have boring and burning ; the worst of it
is that you have not done with the holes then.
I have seven in use, made according to the
letter, every one having the holes propolised
more or less. Has Mr. Wells ever stated that
his dummies are not propoblsed? If they do
not become propolised, all I can say is that his
bees are anti-propolisers. I suppose that between
now and next spring these holes will have to be
cleaned out with a piece of wire. Another
difficulty which confronts you is to get the bees
and queen to consider the outside comb nearest
the dummy (perforated) the centre of the
brood nest. The bees must be stopped from
storing pollen and honey to any extent in this
comb. How hard it is to get bees to violate
their instincts every bee-keeper knows, and it is
for this reason that a Wells hive has no ad-
vantage for a second-rate queen, for she will
allow the bees to crowd her into the centre. It
has already been recommended that weak stocks
should be put together on either side of a
Wells', one gentleman recommending this process
before having tried it himself ; but if a person
follows this advice just before the glut, and
thinks he will do as well as on the old lines, he
is mistaken — at least, so I have found it. I
think another disadvantage is using queen-ex-
cluder between the brood nest and the super.
The bees do not take so readily to the super as
when it is not used. Especially is this the case
early in the spring, when it is most important
that the little surplus which is. often gathered
then should betaken out of the way of the queen.

One colony cannot be manipulated without
disturbing the other. Although the dummy has
nearly all the perforations stopped, there seems
to be some sort of communication ; for instance,
there was a virgin queen on one side, the
other being queenless. By mistake the virgin
queen was put into the queenless lot after they
were covered up, &c. The majority of those in
the part formerly having the virgin queen

336

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [August 24, 1893.

marched into the part of the hive which she
now occupies.

I think much of the splendid results obtained
by Mr. Wells is due to his careful management,
the district, and his strain of bees. — Leonabd
Smith, Beds.

[That much of the success achieved under
any system of bee-management is attributable
to the bee-keeper himself none will dispute, but
it is very curious to those who have had the
opportunity of seeing Mr. Wells' method of
working on the spot to hear of disadvantages
which are non-existent in his hands, and yet
seemingly cause trouble to others. Anyway, it
tends to lessen one's appreciation of the " dis-
advantages" complained of when the use of
excluder zinc is included among them. Why,
we thought it was generally admitted that the
excluder was indispensable in working — as Mr.
Wells does— chiefly for extracted honey, and
that there is practically no disadvantage at all
in its use. Then, as to the perforated dummy,
if we could see one used by our correspondent,
it might enable us to explain away his com-
plaint in that particular. — Eds.]

WEIGHT OF HONEY GOT FROM
COMBS.

[1524]. Last evening I took twenty standard
frames, with almost every cell sealed, from a
second body of a " Wells " hive. An expe-
rienced bee-keeper considered that they would
average four pounds a frame ; this was in very
warm weather. I extracted, and the result is
under thirty pounds ! Some of the frames were
almost as heavy after the operation as before —
one weighing nearly four pounds. The combs
are new this year. I attribute this small result
to the quality of the honey. I should like to
know what has been the experience of other
bee-keepers. I return the frames this evening,
and shall have the satisfaction of knowing that
the bees will have a good supper. — A. P. J.,
Norfolk, August 17th.

[We can only attribute the small amount of
honey got to unskilful extracting, or a faulty
machine to work with, or both combined.
Under thirty pounds of honey from twenty
standard frames of one-year-old comb, with
" almost every cell sealed," is an absurd per-
centage of the total weight. — Eds.]

TRANSFERRING BEES TO FRAME
HIVES.

[1525.] I was sorry to'read in your issue of
August 10th (864, p. 317), that Mr. John Elvin
was not successful in transferring his bees from
a skep to a frame hive. The following is a de-
scription of the plan which I adopted on
April 29th, and, I am glad to say, with perfect
success : —

I drove the bees from the skep into an empty
one, and shook them upon a cloth in front of
the hive which I wished them to occupy. The

bees soon took possession of their new quarters.
I then placed the skep containing the brood
upon queen-excluder zinc over frames in hive.
Between the skep and excluder was a piece of
canvas with hole in centre, nearly the same
diameter as skep. I then packed warmly and
snugly, and left it until May 23rd, when, upon
removing the skep, I found all the brood had
been hatched out, and occupying the bar-frame
hive, with the exception of a few drones, which
were unable to pass the excluder. I took a
nice lot of honey from this hive a fortnight ago.
— Pebcy Leigh, Beemount, August 15th.

EXPERIENCES, SUGGESTIONS, ETC.

[1526.] Our bee-keeping friends at the
heather must be securing a good reward for the
trouble of taking up their stocks if a glorious
rain, followed by unbroken sunshine for nigh a
fortnight, has done anything for them.

Super-clear ers. — The spring escape, with me,
has simply been perfection. For bee-keepers
with not more than a dozen hives one is suf-
ficient. If placed under the super in the even-
ing, the following evening not a single bee will
be left in it. It will clear any number as well
as one if placed under the lowest. Completed
crates of sections should be taken indoors at
once, and seen to after removal for the sake of
keeping them clean and getting back to hive
any odd, half-finished ones to be completed.
Sections do not improve in appearance by being
left on after they are finished; besides, every
crate and surplus box removed and stowed
away is so much of the season's work done, and
so much less to do.

Catching Queens in Autumn. — We are told,
and rightly so, I think, that none but young
queens should head our stocks ; but the diffi-
culty lies in another direction, i.e., before the
young queen can be introduced, the old one must
be caught. (Do not chide me, amateur friends,
for divulging our secret.) But I have been bee-
keeping a dozen years, and have found, caught,
handled, and introduced in that time a fair
number of queens. Yet in the autumn, when the
time for re-queering comes, and other work is
pressing, and the evenings are getting short, to
spend half an hour on a sultry August night
poring over ten frames, loaded thick with bees,
and trying to spot the queen, whilst the said
queen is disporting herself on the floor-board —
having got through your task unsuccessfully,
what is there for it but to repeat the operation,
until at last her majesty is " spotted," as I say,
on the floor-board ? Here she may be caught if
your hands are quick enough, but, if your hands
are occupied with a frame loaded with bees,
your chance is a poor one, and so the hive is
closed with " Ah, well, shall have to leave her
another season ! she is there, but I cannot find
her." I wonder if our Editors, or Mr. "Useful
Hints," or some other fertile mind cannot say,
do, or invent something which will help ama-
teurs to catch the old queen, for that with
many is the real difficulty, and not the matter

August 24, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

337

of either raising, introducing, or purchasing
young ones. Queen-breeders, please take the
hint and send out a simple but sure way of
catching old queens in autumn.

The Season has only been a moderate one
with us here, though I have heard of one or
two bee-keepers who report good takes of honey.
The drought, however, cut the season very
short. Like those of many who wrote in the
B. B. J. this season, my bees were stronger in
March than in April (perhaps than in May in
some cases), though I gave every attention,
especially in the matter of packing and food.
Do what I would, they either could not or
would not get on, so my take only amounted to
fifty nice completed one-pound sections and 100
pounds extracted. Quality, splendid. Have
never seen a swarm this year. This is the
experience of quite three out of four bee-
keepers I have spoken to on the subject.
Nothing scarcely was gathered from limes.
My bees have all got a good candy cake to help
on breeding and plenty of stores. — J. W.
Blaneley, Denton, Lincolnshire.

tyntms atttr Jj^epEes.

[870.] Working a" Wells" Hive.— I. I have
made a combination into a " Wells " hive, and
put into it two weak stocks to winter, one on
six, the other seven frames. Would one feeder
put midway, so as to be got at by both colonies,
lead to mischief, or would it be better to feed up
each one at a separate hole ? I want to stimu-
late and to give both lots sufficient for wintering.
2. I have one stock on five frames empty of
comb, but they are strong enough for eight. I
have just turned them out of a hive not stan-
dard framed. If I were to feed them every
night for a month, would they not draw out the
three sheets of foundation I want to add ? 3.
Should the two colonies in the " Wells " hive
winter safely, would it be better to find each
one a separate hive in the spring, as I cannot
enlarge it beyond thirteen frames, except above,
which I do not desire for breeding purposes ?
The hive is high and unwieldy. This hive
serves well for wintering, I should imagine, but
awkward for supering purposes. — Enthusiast,
Stonehouse.

Reply. — 1. We should use separate feeders
for each lot, placing them as near the perforated
divider as convenient in order to keep the two
clusters of bees near each other. 2. Bees so
placed do not draw out foundation at all nicely
in autumn. We have known them extend the
already-built combs to two inches in thickness
before capping over the food, while leaving the
foundation almost untouched. It would, of
course, be different if the foundation were in-
serted between sealed combs. 3. We should
certainly work the hive on the "Wells"
system after wintering them so. Why not add
a box of shallow combs above each in spring —
just as Mr. Wells does — in order to enlarge the
brood nests ?

[871.] Introducing Queens. — 1. Can you tell
me whether the queen and worker-bees enclosed
are pure blacks, and their approximate age ?

2. A few days ago I wa3 transferring some bees
from an old to a new hive, and during the
manipulation the queen (enclosed) escaped.
Shortly afterwards I discovered her attempting
to enter a neighbouring hive, and a cluster of
bees surrounding her. I rescued her at once
and returned her to her proper hive, and, for
safety's sake, caged her in an American pipe
cage pressed on to the honey-comb, and allowed
her to remain for two days. At the end of this
time I found her dead. Can you tell me whether
she was suffocated by the heat or injured by the
bees before I caged her ? 3. Are these cages
quite safe for introducing queens ? I have three
Italian queens I wish to introduce shortly ;
would three days be long enough to cage them
before freeing them ? 4. Would these queens
(being fertile) have brood this year ? 5. I have
some old comb with pollen. Can I give this to
the bees to store in their new frames of comb ?
If so, what would be the best way to proceed ?
—J. J. K., Herts.

Reply. — 1. Bees are not "pure blacks," but
as nearly so as the general run of "natives."
Queen is probably in her second year, but we
can only guess by her appearance. 2. It is pro-
bable the queen has been injured in handling
and caging. The body is too dry and hard for
microscopic examination, but it was a mistake to
use a cage on returning her to her own bees.

3. Why not try " direct introduction ? " No
caging, or indeed any other method, is " quite
safe," but, intelligently carried out, the " direct
method " is as safe as any we know of. 4. Yes.
5. Bees will not remove pollen from old combs
to store it in the new.

[872.] Re-queening ,Hives. — We have lately
driven a skep hive of bees into a frame hive,
tying the combs, full of brood, into frames. We
failed to see the queen, and on looking for her
two days afterwards, could not perceive her on
the combs. Again reconnoitering after two
days, we have not found her. The bees are
quiet and industrious, minding the brood,
bringing in pollen plentifully, and carrying out
some drone nymphs and others which were
probably injured in the transfer. 1. Ought we
to buy a queen for them at once, or trust to
them raising one soon ? 2. There is some drone
brood in the hive now : will they let this hatch
out so late in the season ? 3. We have one
hive which has been so crowded with bees the
last two or three years, we always thought it
must swarm, but don't think it ever did. Its
bees were always quarrelling more or less during
the summer months; sometimes a good many
were killed in course of a day or two, some-
times but few. The fighting began with the
first fine days of spring, and continued with
little intermission throughout the year, and we
have not been able to find the reason. The
result, however, has been very short measure of
honey stored in comparison with some other

338

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 24, 1893.

hives, and an irritability of temper which is
often inconvenient, as they systematically
object to any person working or walking in the
garden, and after the potatoes are planted in
spring, the gardener must wear a veil. 4. We
think they must by this time need a new queen.
Is there a more amiable kind, which it would
be wise to introduce, with a view to raising a
more peacefully-disposed family for next year ?
They are the ordinary brown bee, so far as we
can tell, though sometimes we fancy there is
rather more yellow hair about them than the
others have. They have still a good many
drones. 5. When is the best time to re-queen,
and at what time in the day ?'t — Grannie,
South Tipperary, August l&th.

Reply. — 1. It should first be made quite
certain whether there is a queen in the hive or
not. Examine the combs for either queen-cells
or eggs; the presence of either will clear up
the point. 2. They will, if the stock is queen-
less. 3. Such vicious stocks should be re-
queened. 4. Carniolans are quiet bees. 5.
Any time now. Buy from a dealer who will
guarantee "safe introduction," and take your
instructions from him.

[873.] 1. I intend putting a couple of driven
stocks taken three weeks ago into a " Wells "
hive. When would be the best time to transfer
them ? 2. Is it necessary to put on excluder
now, or wait till spring, using only quilts now ?
3. Would it not be preferable to use excluder in
two parts, so as to be able to manipulate one
side without disturbing the other ? — A Begin-
ner, Malmesbury, August l^th.

Reply. — 1. The sooner the better. 2. A
moment's reflection should show that quilts only
must be used till supering-time comes round.
The excluder, if used, would render the frames
inaccessible without its removal. 3. Yes ; it
should be in two parts, but the first surplus
box put on partly covers both excluders. You
should, however, study the " Wells " system
before practising it, as it is not quite adapted
for beginners.

[874.] Bees " Hanging Out." — I have a stock
of hybrids in one of Abbott's combination hives.
The bees cover twelve frames, which are
densely crowded, while eight or nine of the
frames are full of brood in all stages. A month
ago they covered eighteen frames, and I divided
them. Not having a queen on hand, the swarm
remains queenless. All went well until a fort-
night ago, when I found the front of the stock
hive covered with bees, while under the alight-
ing-board was a cluster as large as a cottage
loaf. Thinking I had got a swarm, I examined
the hive for queen-cells, but found none, and
everything appeared in a normal condition, the
twelve frames being packed with bees. It then
occurred to me that the swarm I made a fort-
night before had probably returned to the
parent hive; but, upon examination, I found
them all right, and the ten frames they occupy
crowded with bees. Towards dusk I gave them

a little smoke under the cluster, and they com-
menced to run into the hive. Thinking they
were overcrowded, I put in two more empty
frames ; but the same thing occurred the next
afternoon, and has continued every afternoon
since. Each day the cluster gets larger. Last
night it was as large as a bucket, and they hung
out all night, and had not gone in at seven
o'clock this morning. In the fore part of the
day they appear all right, but the cluster com-
mences to form about three o'cloek in the after-
noon. I shall be very pleased if you can give
me any advice on the matter. — INovice,
Leicester.

Reply. — The "hanging out" is simply a
result of the extreme heat. If more air is given,
it will no doubt cease, as it will when the
weather becomes cooler.

[875.] Preventing Swarming. — 1. Will you
be kind enough to tell me what you think of
various systems for securing non-swarming by
giving room under the brood nest ? 2. How is
it they have not come into general use if they
are as good as their advocates make out? —
Beds.

Reply. — What is known as "eking" — i.e.,
giving additional room below the combs of
brood nests — is no doubt one of the most
effectual preventives of swarming ; but the dis-
advantages of " eking " with frame hives are so
obvious as to render the plan useless for all
practical purposes. Hence its not coming into
" general use."

(SkJjoms fnrm % |pbxs.

Knaresborough, August \Mh. — I have four
hives, and have got about 190 pounds in
sections and extracted honey from them. We
have done well in this district, some bee-keepers
much better than myself. Can you tell me how
it happens that I have brood in a super above
queen-excluder ? It is only in one frame, a small
patch on each side of comb. — Yob,kshireman.

[Either the excluder is faulty, or the queen
must be a very small one, and so have passed
through. — Eds.]

Beernount, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, August
\5th. — We are now enjoying really charming
weather. Yesterday the thermometer registered
85° in the shade, and the minimum was 60°.
For several days we have been favoured with
refreshing showers, and a maximum shade tem-
perature of over 80°. Clover and alsike appear
to have taken a new lease of life, for meadows
which a month or so ago looked quite bare, are
now visited by our little favourites in great
numbers. On my way home from business last
evening a friend asked me to look at one of his
hives. I did so, and, to my surprise, found the
bees clustering very thickly on the floor-board
and front of hive — in fact, the bees appeared to
be on the point of swarming; doubtless the

August 24, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

339

great heat was the cause. Wasps abound, but
I find by keeping the stocks strong and entrance
of hives contracted, there is not much harm
done by them. — Pebcy Leigh.

"PULLED" QUEENS.

A " pulled queen " may be made to play so im-
portant a part that I am glad, not only to tell
what it is, but to tell some of the things about
it that may be of use to others. When a
colony prepares for swarming, it is well known
that a number of queen-cells are started, and
about the time the first one is sealed the swarm
issues. I may say, by the way, that I am
saying this on general authority, for my own ex-
perience is, that the bees oftener swarm before
any queen-cell is sealed. In any case, after the
swarm has issued, a second swarm is likely to
issue ; and before this swarm issues piping and
" quahking " may be heard.

At the time of this piping and quahking there
is a young queen at large in the hive, the one
that does the piping ; and the queen or queens
that quahk in response are mature young queens
that have not yet left the cell, but would do so
at once if the coast were clear. They are,
perhaps, deterred from issuing from their cells
by the fear of the piper, or, more likely, because
the workers that constantly surround the cell
drive them back whenever they attempt to
come out. You can take out a frame, pull off
these queen-cells, or pull the end off them, re-
leasing the queen, and such a queen is called a
" pulled " queen.

It is well known that a young queen just
hatched may be put into any hive, and the
workers seem to pay very little attention to it.
I doubt, however, whether this is so unexcep-
tionally true as some seem to think. A queen
just hatched may be put into a colony having a
laying queen, and may supersede her ; but I am
sure such will not be the case under all circum-
stances. Acting on the theory that young
queens would be kindly received, and assume
control anywhere, I tried one summer to
replace a large number of my old queens by
putting into the hives young queens just hatched,
trusting that they would kill the old ones.
In at least some of the cases I found the young
queens all right for a day or two, but sooner or
later they all disappeared, and, if I remember
correctly, the thing was a failure in every
instance.

If there had been no laying queen in the hive,
or one that for any reason the workers desired
to supersede, the result might have been dif-
ferent. It is possible that the young queen gets
along on good terms with the workers till she
takes it into her head to make an attack on the
old queen, when the workers put her out of the
way. Still, I have known bees to attack a
young queen with no laying queen in the hive,
the laying queen having been first removed;
but generally, after annoying her somewhat, I
think they let her go. While a very young
queen will be accepted, at least for a time,

almost anywhere, it is well known that a virgin
queen several days old is difficult to introduce.
It may be, then, that the difficulty of intro-
ducing increases with age, and that a queen that
has been held in her cell by the workers for a
day or two is not so readily received by the bees
as one that has not. yet attained sufficient age to
try to leave its cell. I am inclined to think
such is the case.

A.t swarming -time, when it is a common
thing to find ten or more queen-cells in every
hive from which a swarm has issued, the supply
of pulled queens is likely to be greater than the
demand, so I have generally paid little atten-
tion to the appearance of the cells, but pulled
all indiscriminately; and if the queens were
not ripe enough it was an easy thing to throw
them away. To be serviceable, it is not ne-
cessary to wait until a young queen is gnawing
its way out, nor till it is well coloured. No
matter how green-looking a queen is, if it is
mature enough to hold on to the comb and
travel over it, it will be all right. Younger
than this, the bees will drag it out just as they
would a dead bee.

In forming nuclei I think it much better to
give a pulled queen than to give a queen-cell.
It is less trouble. There is less risk, for there
are a good many cases, whatever may be the
reason, where a good-looking cell contains a
dead larva, and sometimes a dead queen that
looks fully matured. It saves time, for the
cell may be several days hatching. Besides, if
there be any advantage in having a young
queen raised in a full colony, and I think there
is, a pulled queen has that advantage to the
full.

A pulled queen is the quickest and easiest
cure for laying workers. So far as I have tried
it, it is a sure thing. Just drop a pulled queen
on the comb among the brood, and that's all.
I believe that, if you try pulling queens,
you will not be sorry. — C. C. Milleb, in
" Gleanings"

>fwtos in (font*.

August 30th. — Honey Show at Fleetwood, in
connexion with the Fleetwood Horticultural
Society. Entries closed. John Latham, Secre-
tary, North Albion Street, Fleetwood, Lanca-
shire.

August 31st. — Castle Douglas Horticultural
and Honey Show. Schedules and all information
from Wm. Blackwood, Secretary, Castle Douglas,
N.B. Entries close August 28th.

September 2nd.— Vale of Leven, B.K.A., at
Burgh Hall, Dumbarton. Schedules from J.
Walker, Secretary, 74 Main Street, Alexandria,
N.B.

September 5th and 6th. —Warwickshire
B.K.A. at Solihull, in connexion with the
Warwickshire Agricultural Society. For
schedules apply James Noble Bower, Hon. Sec,

-340

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 24, 189S

Knowle, Warwickshire. Entries close August
26th.

September 6th and 7th.— Derbyshire Bee-
keepers' Association, at Derby. Entries close
August 31st. Over 181. in prizes. Special
facilities offered to distant exhibitors. Schedules
from W. T. Atkins, 12 North Street, Derby.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation's Exhibition, in St. Andrew's Hall,
Glasgow. Schedules from John Wishart,
Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 13th and 14th.— Scottish B. K. A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules from John Wishart,
Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 19th. — Honey Show, &c, in con-
nexion with the North Lonsdale Agricultural
Society at Ulverston, under the Lancashire and
Cheshire B.K.A. rules. Prizes value 61. 6s. Qd.
Entries close September 7th. Schedules from
Nelson Wearing, Hon. Sec, Ellers, Ulverston.

September 23rd. — Roxburghshire B.K.A-
annual show of bees, honey, and appliances, in
the Corn Exchange, Jedburgh. Twenty-four
classes, including seventeen for honey. For
schedules apply to Thomas Clark, Secretary,
Pleasants Schoolhouse, Jedburgh, N.B.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers'

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers or
correspondents, or where appliances can he 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 neoessarv/or 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 communication.

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

Isaac Crawford (Co. Tyrone). — 1. The use of
naphthaline, in addition to medicating the
food, lessens the risk of infection very much.
2. Show sections must be well filled and
sealed with good bright-coloured comb. 3.
Description of how to make honey-comb
designs has already been given in our pages.
4. Combs should not be more than three or
four years old at most. 5. Two days. 6. No.
7. Bees will not " keep drawing out founda-
tion in autumn." 8. Not much. 9. Consult
Modern Bee-keeping, price Q\d., from this
office.

E. W. (Chester). — Wintering Driven Bees. —
It is a bad bargain to buy a stock of driven
bees at this season, and hope to get them to
fill a hive with combs for safe wintering on.
They should at least be put on ready-built
combs, and have about fifteen pounds of sugar
made into good syrup given them for winter
stores. If put in a frame hive, with full
.sheets of foundation as suggested, they might

build out four or five frames of comb, but
liberal feeding and a good few bees will be
indispensable, and even then we cannot
guarantee safe wintering. Why not buy a
stock in skep, combs and honey included, and
winter them in it ?

T. G. (Staffordshire).— ^ would not like to
guarantee sugar being pure cane, and, with-
out such a guarantee, should not use it.

Yorkshireman. — 1. Honey is from clover, but
is damaged by an admixture of honey dew.
2. Also from clover. Much better than
No. 1. Indeed, except for being rather thin,
it is a very good honey.

North Devon Bee-keeper. — It is not certain
that the suffocated bees are diseased, because
that alone, though, of course, destructive of
the larvae, would not cause the outbreak of
foul brood. Nor could the foul smell be
detected in the other hives three days after
the " robbing " occurred. Use the medicated
food, together with naphthaline on floor-
boards, and hope for the best.

J. W. Blanexey. — Non-porous Coverings. —
The American cloth covering should go on
when packing for winter. A wide entrance
is needed when non-porous coverings are
used.

E. C. R. White.— Of the honeys sent, Nos. 2
and 3 are both good, No. 3 having the ad-
vantage in flavour, and. No. 2 in consistency.
No. 1 is not so good, and is beginning to
granulate. The bees are well-marked
Ligurians.

W. G. S. (Baxenden). — Bees clustering outside
Hive. — 1. Probably the bees hung out simply
from the excessive heat of the last few days.
2. Without seeing some brood in the comb it
is impossible for us to tell if the stock is
diseased.

J. V. 0. (Stoke Prior). — There is no reason to
suppose the hive was queenless at end of May,
but it has very likely been re-queened some
time during the last four years. See reply to
" W. G. S." as to hanging out.

J. Greensill (Leamington). — It should be
stated when " spring feeding was finished,"
because, though we see no reason to doubt the
purity of honey sent, it will not have been
gathered early this year.

J. W. Napier. — Many thanks for sample of
honey. It has the peculiar aroma and flavour
of the honey gathered in April of this year.
It is from fruit-trees, no doubt, but the smell
is too strong and the flavour not good enough
for table use.

G. H. Strong. — Ligurian Bees v. Natives. —
It is a moot point whether any preference
should be given to foreign bees. Most of our
bee-keepers prefer natives.

Jas. McKean. — If you can rely on the sugar
being pure cane, it will do very well for bee-
food.

THE

iisl S» Stand,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 584. Vol. XXI. N.S. 192.]

AUGUST 31, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

(Jbilflrial, SJotias, #r.

SOUTH OF SCOTLAND BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

Honey Show at Dumfries.

The first honey show of the above Associa-
tion was held in conjunction with that of the
South of Scotland Horticultural Association at
Dumfries on the 15th and 16th inst.

In the seventeen classes for honey the entries
reached the remarkable total of 250, including
exhibits from many parts of the three kingdoms.
We believe this is the largest entry ever made
at any show in Scotland, the total weight of
honey shown being close on three tons, while
for quality the display compared favourably
with any yet held on this side of the Border.
In run honey the quality was very uniform,
necessitating much care in making the awards.
The leading features of the Exhibition were
the " displays " and " honey-comb designs," Mr.
W. Wilson taking first prize in both classes
with similar exhibits to those which took the
prize at Edinburgh. Mr. Wilson, however,
being Secretary of the show, did not compete
in any of the other classes. The strongest
class in the show was that for two one-pound
jars extracted honey, the honey to become the
property of the Society in lieu of entry money.
In this class there were thirty-six entries, while
for the corresponding class for two one-pound
sections there were eighteen entries.

The best twelve sections in the show, which
secured a silver medal, belonged to T. R. Horton,
of Much Wenlock.

The weather being favourable, great crowds
visited the show. An observatory hive, ex-
hibited by the President, Mr. T. K. Newbigging,
created much interest. The Rev. J. Balfour
Robertson, of Leswalt, Stranraer, officiated as
Judge, while the duties of Secretary were
discharged by Mr. W. Wilson.

Prize List.
Honey {Open Classes).

Best honey design. — 1st prize, W. Wilson,
Acrehead, Dumfries ; 2nd and 3rd, S. Roebuck,
Dumfries.

Super under 20 lbs. — 1st, S. Roebuck ; 2nd,
T. K. Newbigging, Dumfries ; 3rd, Wm. Hogg,
Castle Douglas ; com., Ross & Kerr, Dargavel.

Super under 10 lbs. — 1st, S. Roebuck ; 2nd,
Wm. Hogg ; 3rd, T. K. Newbigging.

Six 1-lb. sections. — 1st, J. Learmonth, Bal-
maghie ; 2nd, J. M'Creath, Dumfries ; 3rd, J.
Cowper, The Brae ; com., J. Cooper, Cavens.

Six 2-lb sections. — 1st, J. Richardson, Goldie-
lea ; 2nd, J. Learmonth ; 3rd, W. H. M'Dowall,
Kirkcowan.

Six 1-lb. jars. — 1st, J. Learmonth ; 2nd, Ross
& Kerr; 3rd, T. K. Newbigging; 4th, Wm.
Jardine, Greenbrae ; h. com., S. Roebuck ;
com., W. H. M'Dowall; Peter Jeffrey, Kin-
mount ; and J. McDonald, Lochfoot.

Two best 1-lb. jars of extracted honey (to
become the property of Society). — 1st, S. Roe-
buck; 2nd, T. K. Newbigging; 3rd, G. Sym-
ington, Kilmarnock ; 4th, W. Graham, Collin ;
h. com., R. Barton, Garstang, Lancashire, and
Ross & Kerr ; com., T. Louth, Riseholm, Lin-
coln.

Two best 1-lb sections (to become property of
Society). — 1st, J. Learmonth ; 2nd, Ross &
Kerr ; 3rd, G. Symington.

Two 1-lb. sections. — 1st and sil. cup, J. Lear-
month; 2nd, J. M'Donald; 3rd, Ross & Kerr.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st and sil. medal,
T. R. Horton, Much Wenlock ; 2nd, Ross &
Kerr ; 3rd, R. Martin, Moniaive.

Three 2-lb. sections. — 1st, W. Hogg; 2nd,
T. K. Newbigging; 3rd, Wm. Jardine, Dum-
fries.

Two 1-lb. jars of extracted honey. — 1st and
sil. cup, Wm. Hogg; 2nd and com., Ross &
Kerr; 3rd, Wm. Graham, Cummertrees; com.,
J. M'Donald.

Twelve 1-lb. jars of extracted honey. — 1st
and sil. medal, Wm. Hogg ; 2nd, Ross & Kerr ;
3rd, G. Symington ; h. com., T. K. Newbigging ;
com., S. Roebuck.

Octagon super of honey. — 1st, S. Roebuck ;
2nd, T. K. Newbigging ; 3rd, Ross & Kerr.

Sectional super of honey. — 1st, Wm. Hogg ;
2nd and 3rd, T. K. Newbigging.

Display of honey. — 1st and sil. medal, Wm.
Wilson ; 2nd, Ross & Kerr ; 3rd, T. K. New-
bigging.

Beeswax under 4 lbs. — 1st, Wm. Hogg; 2nd,
S. Roebuck ; com., W. H. M'Dowall.

Two 1-lb. bottles of honey (members owning
not more than six hives). — 1st and sil. medal,
Wm. Rogerson, Muiryhill Cottage ; 2nd, G.
Will, Crichton Estate; 3rd, Wm. Jardine;
h. com., J. M'Donald; com., J. Riddick, Mavis-
grove.

342

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [August 81, 1893.

Two 1-lb. sections (members owning not
more than six hives). — 1st, J. Roebuck, Dum-
fries ; 2nd and 3rd, J. M'Donald.

BEE SHOW AT ABERDEEN.

The North of Scotland Bee Society's Annual
Show was held in the Central Park, Kitty-
brewster, on August 17th, 18th, and 19th.

In the spacious marquee was staged a very
good display of the season's honey, besides ob-
servatory hives stocked with bees, and a huge
pile of bee-furniture and hives exhibited by
Messrs. Cardno & Darling, who were awarded
the Highland Society's silver medal for the
same. Mr. McFarlane exhibited a case contain-
ing three or four different kinds of living wild
bees and wasps, with their nests.

The classes for honey were well filled, and on
the whole the show was considered the best that
has been held for a good number of years back,
the quality of the exhibits being excellent. The
principal prize-takers in the honey classes were
William Ross, who took four firsts, three seconds,
and two thirds ; J. N . Gray and William
Munro came next.

In the special class for ladies were shown con-
fectionery of all kinds and beverages, in all of
which honey was used as a flavouring medium.
Mrs. Gillespie and Miss Rennie were the prize-
takers here, the former lady taking three and
the latter two prizes.

A bee-driving and transferring competition
also took place, R. McGregor securing first,
William Ross second, and A. McFarlane third
prizes.

Mr. Carnegie and Mr. Smart officiated as
judges.

The yield of honey in the district is considered
good, excellent bee-weather having been ex-
perienced for the past fortnight or three weeks,
which has done much to swell the honey harvest.
— Communica ted.

KENT BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The annual exhibition was held, on August
16th, in Knole Park, Sevenoaks, the venerable
and picturesque seat of Lord Sackville, Presi-
dent of the Association for the current year, in
conjunction with that of the Sevenoaks Horti-
cultural Society. In view of the favourable
opportunities provided, the Council of the
Association fully appreciated beforehand the
necessity of making the event a success by
putting forth the most attractive prize list
possible. Connected with a magnificent exhi-
bition of flowers and fruit — surrounded, too, by
one of the fairest scenes of Kentish landscape,
and in beautiful weather — the result was lacking
in nothing that could enhance its perfection.
Expressions of pleasure and gratification were
heard on all hands at the display.

In view of the peculiarity of the season in the
south, the quantity of honey staged (approxi-

mating to 1000 pounds) was satisfactory, though,
compared with some of the county associations,
it falls short. The special features distinguish-
ing the exhibition were the increase in the
number of the exhibits in the Section and
Extracted Classes, the artistic construction of
the trophies, and the productions of honey in
the applied forms of beverages, preserves, cakes,
and confectionery, &c. It may also be noted
that the exhibits of Collections of Bee-keeping
Appliances were more numerous than on
former occasions, Messrs. Durrant, of Seven-
oaks, Meadows and Redshaw, of Leicestershire,
Overton, of Crawley, and Lanaway & Sons, of
Redhill, competing for the judges' favour.

The attendance of the public was large, and
much interest was aroused, several new mem-
bers joining the Association. The displays of
bee-management by Mr. R. Green, expert of
the Association, were witnessed by numerous
audiences.

The duties of judging were undertaken by the
Rev. R. Erring-ton and Mr. W. Broughton Carr,
and the chief prize-winners were found in the
Rev. G. W. Bancks, who, aided most efficiently
by Mrs. Bancks, contributed numerous exhibits
of natural honey and honey applied in a variety
of tasty preparations ; Mr. T. J. Durrant, who,
amongst other exhibits, gained the first prize
and silver medal for the best twenty-four sec-
tions of comb honey, and the first for collection
of appliances ; Mr. Till, first for twelve sections
and for the best display of comb honey for ex-
tracting ; Mr. T. Fisher, first for twelve one-
pound jars of extracted honey, the Rev. G. W.
Bancks being prevented from winning through
the operation of a regulation limiting him to
one prize in this and the preceding class.

In the Cottager Classes, Mr. F. Langley, Mrs.
Payne, Mr. Bearman, Mr. Cox, and Mr. Hills
were severally awarded first prizes.

For the best frame hive Mr. Redshaw gained
the first place, and the same position for the
best hive not exceeding 10s. in price ; he was
also first for supering racks and feeders. Mr.
Meadows and Mr. Overton secured prizes for
hives and appliances.

BRISTOL BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

In connexion with the popular annual Kings-
wood Flower Show a successful exhibition of
bees and honey was held at Kingswood, near
Bristol, on the 15th inst. The bee department
was worked under the auspices of the B.D.B.K. A.,
and, notwithstanding the drought, the entries
for honey exceeded those of last year, the
quality of the honey staged being excellent. In
the bee-tent, Messrs. James Brown and J.
Martin lectured on bees and bee-keeping to such
large numbers of interested listeners that it was
found impossible to prevent the crowds from
forcing their way, and so damaging the netting
dividing the lecturers from their audience.
Luckily, no further mischief resulted, as the
bees were perfectly amenable to control and

August 31, 1893.1

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

343

very quiet, the whole proceedings passing off
most satisfactorily.

Mr. G. Lovell, Wrington, and Mr. E. A. S.
Cottrell, Clevedon, were the judges, and made
the following awards : —

Twelve 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st prize,
VV. H. Smith; 2nd, J. Brown ; 3rd, S. J. Raw-
bone ; h.c, S. J. Flook ; c, J. Johnson.

Best super. — 1st, J. Martin ; 2nd, S. J. Raw-
hone.

Frame hive, made by an amateur. — 1st, J.
Johnson ; 2nd, S. J. Rawbone.

BIGGAR HONEY SHOW.

The Biggar Bee-keepers' Association held its
first annual exhibition under the auspices of the
Biggar Farmers' Club, in the Show Park,
Biggar, on Thursday, the 17th inst. The day
was observed as a holiday in the district, and
there was a very large attendance of visitors.
In order to make the apiarian department as
attractive as possible, Sir Thomas D. Gibson-
Carmichael sent a highly interesting exhibit,
consisting of specimens of bee-life and appliances
of various kinds used in apiculture, both in this
country and on the continent. The walls of the
bee-shed were hung with diagrams illustrative
of the physiology of bees and their mode of
fertilising flowers. A fine observatory hive
stocked with bees was exhibited by Lady
Gibson-Carmichael, and attracted a large share
of attention.

In the bee-tent, Mr. S. J. Baldwin (Bromley,
Kent) gave lectures and demonstrations with
bees to good audiences. Sergt.- Major Hill
also explained the structure of the worker-bee
by means of Sir Thomas Gibson- Carmichaers
huge model of the bee.

The show of honey was, on the whole, a
creditable one for the recently formed Associa-
tion.

Messrs. S. J. Baldwin, Bromley, and John
Wishart, Melrose, made the following awards : —

Six 1-lb. sections. — 1st prize, John liirkwood,
Biggar ; 2nd, James Scott, Biggar ; 3rd, Walter
Rae, Biggar.

Super, not over 7 lbs., confined to Biggar
B. K. A. — Silver medal presented by Lady
Gibson-Carmichael, A. Brownlie, Symington ;
2nd, Michael Bae ; 3rd, Robert Murray, Biggar.

Super of heather honey not under 7 lbs. — 1st,
withheld ; 2nd, Michael Ray.

BEE-CULTURE IN THE COUNTRY.

With the advent of a new style of propaganda
in the county by means of the Bee-van, the
Berks Bee-keepers' Association hope their con-
tinued efforts in the extension and transmission
of knowledge on the subject may be further
extended to a class that they have not been
able to reach by the ordinary methods, and it
redounds to the credit of our County Council,
who doubled the grant of previous years to

enable the Association to purchase the " Van "
and carry on the work amongst our rural
population. That great interest is taken in the
matter, the numbers who attend the lectures
prove beyond a doubt. The methods by which
the Association works are different from those
followed in conveying instruction in some of the
other subjects taught by the technical schools.
If a working man decides on starting bee-keep-
ing, the Association advises him to become a
member of the Bee-keepers' Association, for
which he pays 2s. 6d. per year, and for this
2s. Qd. he receives the Bee-heeper^ Record
monthly. This publication costs the 2s. 6d., so
that the member gets the full value of his sub-
scription back at once, and he is also entitled to
receive gratis two visits per year from the expert
of the Association, who looks through his hives,
and gives the best practical advice on how to
proceed. Then all over the county there are
district advisers, bee-keepers who are old hands
in the craft, who will and do give beginners the
benefit of their practical experience. So that to
any one who really wishes to add a few pounds
to his yearly income at a small outlay, I would
say as the poor curate said to the Bishop,
" Keep bees ! " If more hives were kept there
would be a better stock of fruit, a larger crop of
seed for the farmers ; so that every one benefits
by the extension of the industry, and I believe
that there is no more profitable stock among the
minor industries than bees, and no stock that
can be kept at less expense and labour. If I pass
a garden that has a few well-kept hives in it, I
know the owner is one of the best men on the
farm. This fact has been proved to me many
times during the past twenty to thirty years.
The Association was established with the primary
idea of helping the cottager and teaching him a
better system of bee-keeping than that followed
by his forefathers, who smothered their bees
with brimstone to secure the honey. All this is
now changed by those who adopt the modern
system with bar-frame hives, and the bee-keeper
would as soon think of cutting down his trees
to gather his fruit as of destroying his bees to
take the honey. Neither does he want his bees
to swarm ; what he would like for them to do
would be to work straight away through the
whole season, and not attempt to swarm, as
strong, populous colonies of bees are those that
fill the biggest supers, and store the heaviest
lump of honey. The publication I mentioned
before teams with information for the novice in
bee-keeping — what to do and when to do it, all
written in a plain understandable style, that he
who runs may read.

Then another point of even greater importance
to many than the production of honey is the
disposal of the same. There the Association
steps in with a helping hand to its members,
and is still opening up outlets for honey by
establishing agencies for the sale of members'
honey in every centre of the county, so that
there is scarcely a respectable retail establish-
ment in the county that will not shortly, if it
has not already taken hold of the commodity.

344

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 31, 1893.

I know the great bar to starting cottagers in
bee-keeping on modern lines is the initial
expense of hive and swarm; but these ^ same
cottagers manage somehow to raise the wind to
start pig-keeping. Now, comparatively, the
pig costs, with its stye, trough, tub, and pail,
quite as much as the useful modern hive and
the swarm of bees to stock it; but, after
establishing the hive, the cost of maintenance is,
comparatively, vastly in favour of the beep.
These industrious little creatures stock their
own hive, board and keep themselves, and,
even in the first year, if a good honey season,
furnish a surplus for the bee-keeper, whereas
the pig requires constant attention, and, if food
happens to be dear, he metaphorically eats his
head off before he gets fat enough to kill ; even
with the best of luck, piggy only results ma
small margin of profit to the keeper. WLth the
same investment in bees the profits would be
cumulative, as there would be the natural
increase by swarming, and this increase could
be sold as stock to start another bee-keeper, or
the bees driven and united to the bar-frame
colony, thus leaving the hive strong in bees to
go into winter quarters, ensuring success the
following season, and the contents of the hive
appropriated by the bee-keeper, the best parts
retained for consumption in the winter, the
combs soaked, and the liquor made into mead
(once the principal beverage of the island),
while the wax can be sold to the chemist or
grocer. Therefore, to the poor cottager who
would like to live rent-free, I say keep bees,
and, if kept intelligently, I say, without fear of
contradiction, that the bees (but not piggy) will
pay the rent.— W. Wood ley, World's End,
Newbury, in " Newbury Weekly Neivs"

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice wnl be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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, Sc, must be addressed only to "The
Kditobs of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

%* 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.

CLARIFYING HONEY-DEW.

[15:27.] On page 330 of B. J. for August 17th
you refer to a process for decolourising dark-
coloured honey. I should be much interested
in the details of manipulation. What you say
in regard to general adoption may be quite
correct, but, granted capacity, deftness, and per-

severance in any one, I am not led to infer that
it is impracticable. I am a bee-keeper in a
small way, and not afraid of trouble, so if you
can favour me with full information on this
matter, you will much oblige. — R. B. Maceie.
[The process of removing the dark appearance
caused by honey-dew is not impracticable, but
will be found to be very troublesome to a per-
son not used to chemical manipulations. We
have succeeded in doing it in the following
manner : — To one part by weight of honey take
two parts by weight of water. Put the water
on to the honey, and stir with a glass rod until
all the honey is dissolved. Then place some
powdered animal charcoal into the solution.
The charcoal must be thoroughly dry, and must
have been placed in an oven previous to using.
The quantity of charcoal used will depend upon
the amount of discolouration to be removed, and
can be arrived at only by practice. A chemist
will know at once how much he may use, as too
much removes some of the levulose, and also
would impart a disagreeable taste to the honey.
The charcoal must be well stirred in, and the
vessel placed on a water bath, the contents being
stirred until the charcoal is thoroughly mixed,
and the liquid sufficiently heated to filter. Then
prepare a hot-water filter, and place your filter-
ing paper (thick Rhine paper) in this. The hot-
water filter is a funnel of copper, double jacketed,
containing water which is kept at a proper tem-
perature by means of a spirit lamp. A flow
filter is placed in this to contain the filtering
paper, and the mixture of honey and charcoal,
which is as black as ink, is now poured in. If
the temperature is right, the liquid begins to
pass through, and the first poured back into the
filter until it comes out perfectly clear. If it
does not do this, a little more charcoal must be
added, and the process recommenced. After
the whole has been filtered, the superfluous
liquid must be evaporated on a water-bath until
the honey remaining weighs the same as that
put in at first. On no account must the honey
be evaporated in a saucepan on an ordinary fire,
otherwise it would be burnt, and all the aroma
would be lost. The water in the water-tank
may boil, but the vessel containing the honey
must not touch the bottom, but be entirely sur-
rounded by water. If our correspondent has
had any practice in chemical manipulation, he
will have no difficulty in carrying out our in-
structions, which describe the process by which
we have ourselves succeeded in clarifying a
sample of as dark honey as we have seen this
year. — Eds.]

A VISIT TO THE HEATHER.

[1528.] A party of sixteen, of whom I formed
one, started on the morning of Saturday, the
19th, for a drive to the " heather hills," some
twenty-eight miles distant. The first ten miles
of our journey was through a fertile and well-
cultivated country, after which we entered on
the land of heathery hill and dale, which was
magnificent to look on. Arrived at our jour-

August 31, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

345

ne\'s end, we found the purple bloom was alive
■with bees, and the flow of honey quite beyond
my expectations. From the largest colony on
the ground, its owner had taken ninety-seven
pounds of clover honey, and to the best of my
calculations, this stock would return more than
double that weight before the season is over.
A single-queen stock, too ! I next visited my
own bees located near, and found my No. I stock
(queen got from High Wycombe, Bucks) had
reached the handsome weight of 110 pounds ;
No. 2 (queen from Seaford, Sussex) weighed
ninety-seven pounds, though I only got this
queen on June 12th,and put her in the empty hive
along with one pound of Scotch bees, giving
them ten pounds of sugar to start them along.
I call this extraordinary work for so short a
time. All my stocks which are headed with English
queens have done better than the others, so I
suppose they like the change to Scotland. I
spent eight days on the hills with the bees, and
returned with heart greatly refreshed to the
valley of the Clyde. — Matthew H. Paterson,
Lanarkshire, N.B., August 2lst.

ABNORMAL BEES.

[1529.] I send you to-day a mail-cage con-
taining ten dwarf Algerantees, some French
coast bees, full-grown Algerians and Carniolans ;
you may see on the lower side of the cage the
exact number of each. 1 thought it would
interest you to see such tiny bees, hardly any
bigger than Apis indica or Apis Jlorea. Why
are they so tiny ? I ask you to solve. I can
tell you this : The hive containing a number of
these, I should say one hundred, was sent to me
from Alma, Algeria, by my brother on June
13th. They arrived here in Nice on June 19th,
thus being shut up during six long summer
clays. What the days were in Algeria I don't
know. Here we had, June 13tb, 19° Cel. morn-
ing, 26° noon, and 23° evening. June 19th, 27°
noon, 21° evening. On board the steamer they
were from the 15th of June, noon, to the 17th,
noon. I saw them here, where they were only
delivered on Monday morning, June 19th. On
unpacking the hive contained about 4500 dead
bees and 12,000 live bees ; a little more than a
quarter had perished. The bees were filling
eight combs of the thirteen present (29 x 25
centimetre frames). There were four combs of
brood, four combs containing honey and pollen,
and five empty. The heat had killed some of
the brood, and, it seems to vie, the brood
hatched very long after it ought to have done
so normally. I am sorry I did not mark the
exact date, therefore, I say, it seems to me. The
brood — was it hurt, and thus dwarfed the
bees ? I give you these particulars and hope
you will have it made clear.

We are having curious weather here. Thus,
"the 27th and 23th were winter days, water-
spouts, and thunder, and rain. I went up to
my Cyprian aphi ry, seventeen kilometres up the
Alps, Mount Ageli, with rain all the way, and
£ame back all soaked. I have my queens purely

mated up there, and will send you specimens as
soon as I know you are in London, for those I
ought to have sent from Palestine. I will also
send the others, if you like. I have Algerians,
Carniolans, Italians, French, Palestines, and
Cyprians.— Ph. J. Baldensperger, Nice.

[The bees arrived in splendid condition, there
not being one dead bee amongst them, which
speaks well for our esteemed correspondent's
method of caging. The African bees were
particularly lively. With respect to the ten
dwarf Algerian bees, it is not the first time we
have seen honey-bees so small, and have attri-
buted the stunted growth to defective nutrition
in the earlier stages of their larval existence ;
otherwise, the bees are well developed, but are
hardly as small as Apis florea. We do not
think injured brood would have produced this
effect. We shall be glad to have the specimens
you offer us after the middle of September. —
Eds.] v

WASP-TRAPS.

[1530.] Wasps are so unusually troublesome
this year that I have ventured to describe the
way I attract them from my own hives. I get
glass jam jars that hold two or three pounds of
jam, and are usually cast away when emptv,
smear the inside with jam, then" about half fill
them with water, and stick a small flower-pot
down into the neck of the jar, and the trap is
complete.

Another very efficient trap, costing scarcely
anything, is the grocers' empty jam tins. Make
a half-inch hole through each' side half way up,
fill almost up to the holes with water, smear
the inside above the holes with any kind of fruit
preserve, and lay a sheet of clean glass on top
of tin. 1 have caught about two gallons of
wasps per week this summer by these means,
and they have not yet molested my bees,
neither have I found one bee in the traps. I
have one at back of each hive. — Geo. W. Hole.

CAN BEES WITHDRAW THEIR STINGS?
[1531] Many bee-keepers are under the
impression that bees are unable to withdraw
their stings, but such is not the case, as a few
days ago while manipulating a stock which was
queenless and the bees very depressed I got
stung on the back of my hand. The bee instead
of, as usual, flying off and leaving its sting
behind, commenced walking round and round,
but after seven or eight rounds it stopped and
reversed the motion, when the sting began to
come out, and after five or six rounds the sting
was extracted and the bee flew off apparently
none the worse. The latter motion was in the
same direction as used when drawing a corkscrew
out of a cork. The same day I got stung by
another bee from the same hive, which also
extracted its sting almost immediately by
starting the circular motion in the right direction.
Although I have had a large number of stings

346

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 81. 1893.

from time to time I have never seen the sting
extracted before, although I knew that it could
be done. — John C. Waltham, August 2%rd.

[It is well known to experienced bee-keepers
that if a bee is held by the thorax, after inserting
its sting, so as to prevent it from forcibly tearing
the organ from its body, it will gradually with-
draw the sting without damage to itself. — Eds.]

LAEGE HONEY EXHIBITS.

[1532.] I was pleased to see Mr. Woodley's
remarks on the above subject in B.J. for
August 17th (p. 326j, and hope the suggestion
thrown out by so unselfish an authority will
have the desired effect upon show committees
when arranging their schedules in future.
Personally, I have always felt that small bee-
keepers were overlooked in this matter, the
same competitors coming forward almost every
year with displays by the hundredweight and
carrying off the prizes, while if the quantity
had been limited, the owner of ten hives would
have an equal chance with his neighbour owning
fifty. I have before me the schedule of the
S.JB.K.A. (Glasgow Show), and see that in some
classes large exhibitors practically have the
schedule all to themselves. The first prizes in
Classes 163 and 171 can be won by the same
exhibitor, the one class being simply a duplicate
of the other. I wonder how many of our
smaller brethren, owning from four to eight hives,
can turn out glass sections, designs, and the like
for Class 171 ? The prize list shortly will tell.
Again, the schedule of the Edinburgh Show
had a class for extracted heather honey so early
as end of July, when very little heather had
more than commenced to bloom. Now, how-
ever, extracted heather honey is wiped off the
list entirely. I feel justified in saying no class
in the show would have been so well competed
for at this period of the year. I do not mention
these little matters in a spirit of fault-finding,
but I think the compilers of the schedule should
have added extracted heather, and also have
given free scope to include extracted honey in
Class 171 for the most attractive display. — J. D.
McNally, August 2'2nd.

POLLEN OFF HEATHER.

[1533.] In your foot-note to my letter (1518,
p. 327) you seem to assert that bees take pollen
from heather by mere accident. If you mean to
assert this — and I can gather no other meaning
from your explanation — I can only say that it
is entirely opposed to my knowledge, gained
from daily observation. Some bees take no
pollen from the heather, others may be a little
dusted with it, but a large number carry it in
large pellets. You do not explain why bees do
not purposely gather pollen from heather, or
how on a heathery moor they could find sufficient
pollen for their young brood, unless they got it
from the heather. Surely, if they require pollen

for their brood, they will " visit Culluna vulgaris
for the purpose of gathering pollen." — James
Henderson, Renfrew.

[The structure of the flower sufficiently
explains why the bees do not purposely gather
pollen, and if they can get it elsewhere they will
not go to heather for it if there was no honev.
Bees, however, do not waste anything they can
use, and hence carry what they get in pellets —
gathered there from their bodies by means of
the combs and other implements they have for
this purpose. There are other plants on a
heathery moor or in the immediate vicinity
where bees could get pollen sufficient for their
brood to supplement that which they get
accidentally. Besides, Erica titratix yields
pollen in abundance and is visited by bees
principally for this, as it is much easier collected
by them, the flowers hanging down and the
stamens come directly in the way of the bees'
tongue. We have never seen bees visiting
Culluna vulgaris for the purpose of gathering
pollen, although they may be driven to do so if
they cannot get it with less trouble. We are
quite open to conviction, but our correspondent
has advanced nothing to show us that our
observations are not correct. It is, however, some
satisfaction to us that such authorities as Muller,
Rotshutz, and others who have given the
matter their attention are of the same opinion
as ourselves. — Eds.]

A GOOD HONEY YEAR.
[1534.] The season of 1893 has been a good
one with me, and I think all bee-keepers in this
neighbourhood will have no cause to grumble.
My best hive — the only one I cooid work for
doubling — has not given me less than 140
pounds of extracted honey. One skep gave
thirty very good sections, besides some partly
filled ; altogether my five stocks have yielded me
something like 270 pounds of honey and two
swarms, the first of which I lost. The first part
of the summer was very trying for the bees,
cold east winds and very dry ; but fortunately
some good rain-storms passed over us just as the
clover and limes were coming into bloom. This
freshened up the clover, and washed away the
honey-dew from the limes. The honey was
very variable in colour, the first being very
dark, but that from the clover and limes was
very good indeed. — G. W., Oxendon, Market
Harborough, August 25th.

A VISIT TO AN EXPERT'S APIARY.

[1535.] Thanks for the insertion of my crude
description," A Few Days at an Expert's Apiary"
(1507, p. 304), but I fear that, as so many
others have done, I verified the old saying, " A
little learning is a dangerous thing." If I said
" the apiary consisted of small and inexpensive
hives," I gave a wrong impression.

Mr. Webster writes me that I do him an
injustice if I convey the idea that he goes hi

August 31, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

347

for bee-keeping on the cheap and careless
system, for he is strongly opposed to using so-
called " cheap hives," and is most emphatic upon
the point " that every hive should be capable
of enlargement indefinitely, so that it be up-
wards only." He showed me colonies that had
produced 140 pounds of honey in the season, on
which were tiered one shallow super and five
section racks. I presume one could not call
such a hive small. I am sorry my inexperience
has led me into unconscious misrepresentation,
and I may here add that all the hives standing
in the apiary were wholly of pine wood, some
of them having been there ten years. — John
Pym, August 2oth.

PROVINCIAL HONEY SHOWS.
[1536.] I should like to know the opinion
of other" bee-keepers (through your valuable
Journal) in the provinces of holding an annual
show of honey and bees (all classes open) in
connexion with bee-keepers in all parts of the
provinces, say in one of the large towns. Taking
Birmingham for the centre of the Midland
districts, the surrounding counties combined
together could, I should think, offer some very
good prizes to induce all bee-keepers to compete.
I should also suggest that the shows be held
in September, the first one to be in the first
week in that month, and a week allowed be-
tween each show so as to give competitors time
to get their goods from one place to another.
Supposing the show for the Yorkshire districts
were held in Leeds, and in Preston for the
northern districts, London for the southern
districts, it would require a little time to get
from one place to another. I think it would be
the means of bringing some of the most promi-
nent bee-keepers of whom we read in your
valuable paper to know each other. — A Shrop-
shire Bee-keeper.

[We give insertion to the above, as requested,
but would remind our correspondent that the
first point to settle is how to secure an executive
able and willing to undertake the task of
organizing a series of large shows, as suggested.
Such work is usually a labour of love, and our
Bee Associations would justifiably prefer to con-
centrate their personal efforts on their own
county shows. There can be no harm in hear-
ing what others have to say on the point, but
we do not think the scheme would work out
successfully. — Eds.]

MY METHOD OF EXTRACTING WAX.

[1537.] Doubtless many bee-keepers during the
season get many broken pieces of comb, cap-
pings of sections, parings, &c, which in them-
selves are not of much value as they are, but
can be turned into material for making brood or
super foundation, as the occasion requires, if
the right right means be employed. There are,

we know, several wax-extractors in the market,
but they are all more or less expensive, whereas
my plan simply takes a little time and trouble.
In past years I tied all my wax offal in a muslin
bag, then placed it in a saucepan, partly filled
with water, and boiled for several hours, after
which the saucepan was removed from fire and
contents allowed to cool, when the wax would
be found in a cake on the surface of water.
This year I have another system, which I find
answers much better, for I get, at the very
least, two-thirds more wax, and it is a much
better colour. Put all scraps of wax, old comb,
&c, into a stone jar — an upright one similar to
those table-salt is put in I find the best — and
place in a fairly hot oven ; replenish until jar
is full of melted wax, then remove. When
wax is solidified invert jar, and contents will
easily be removed. All foreign substances will
be found quite distinct from the wax. This
wax can then be remelted and strained through
a piece of cheesecloth, and run into moulds as
fancy dictates. I hope the above will be of use
to those who do not wish to go to the expense
of buying an elaborate extractor. — Percy
Leigh, Beemount, Stoke Prior, August 15th.

[The above will, of course, only be useful for
those dealing with a small quantity of combs ;
but we would like to know what sort of suit-
able jar can be had, shoulderless, and with such
perfectly straight sides as to allow of the cake
of wax being removed when cold ? We should
also advise using a little water in bottom of
jar. — Eds.]

A BIG WASPS' NEST IN A ROOF.
[1538.] I herewith send photograph of a
large wasps' nest, thinking it may be interesting
to you. On Thursday last I removed some
tiles from a roof where I had seen wasps flying
in and out, and there was the nest attached to
one of the rafters. I had no further help than
that of my bee-smoker, and, passing a knife
between the wood and the nest, took it out with
naked hands, so you see we can be masters of
wasps as well as bees ! The nest measures about
fifty inches in circumference — M. H. Tilley,
Dorchester, August 22nd.

WEIGHT OF HONEY GOT FROM
COMBS.
[1539.] With reference to the remarks as to
the " Weight of Honey got from Combs" (1524)
in the B.B.J, for August 24th, allow me to say
that I cannot think the reasons given for the
small amount of honey from the twenty stan-
dard frames is a true solution. " Unskilful " in
extracting I may be, though I have extracted
hundreds of combs during the last ten years,
and never before, that I can remember, had
such poor results, and I should be sorry to think
the machine was " faulty," as I bought it of a
well-known manufacturer last April; and be-
sides, in some parts of the frames, the cells

348

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 81, 1893.

were thoroughly cleared, therefore I cannot but
think the small amount was due to the quality
of the honey, a sample of which I send marked
A, and also another marked B, according to
your request in B.B.J, of August 10th, and I
shall be glad to know your opinion.— A. D. J.,
Norfolk, August 26th.

[The above renders the question referred to
us for solution more knotty than ever. The
sample of honey kindly sent is of fair consis-
tency— in fact, just such as we should expect to
" extract " easily with the help of an ordinarily
efficient operator and machine. But as to
the reason why so small an amount of honey
should be got, we are further off than before
after reading the above note. Surely, if the
honey is removed, the combs cannot weigh
" almost as heavy as before ? " We have known
old combs from brood chambers — sealed, and
apparently full of honey — yield very little be-
cause of the cells being more than half filled
with pollen, covered with a slight layer of
honey ; we will not, however, even suggest this
as a solution of our correspondent's query, but
it would be extremely satisfactory to us to have
one of the combs " as heavy as before " sent for
inspection. We would gladly help in clearing
up the matter, and see no other way of doing
so than personally examining what might be
called the " awful example " which has brought
about the difficulty. Many thanks for sample
of dark honey as " specimen." — Eds.]

SOME BEE-NOTES FROM SCOTLAND.

[1540.] The following particulars may be
interesting to your readers : — I transferred in
the spring two stocks of bees to a double hive
in some respects on the principle so successfully
carried out by Mr. Wells. The hive was a large
one holding in each division fifteen frames about
the standard size. The bees were very strong.
The entrances were at each end, eleven inches
long, which could be contracted by means of
slides.

Immediately opposite each end, at seventeen
inches away, I placed in May two empty hives,
so as to be ready for swarms. The two divi-
sions of the main hive I will call Nos. 1 and 2,
and the empty hives opposite I will call Nos. la
and 2a. There was a wooden board between
No. 1 and No. la, also between No. 2 and No.
2a, across which the bees could walk. As the
spring advanced, so did the bees in numbers.
No. 1 was the stronger hive. Neither hive has
swarmed, but bees began to walk across from
No. 1 to No. la and from No. 2 to No. 2a. The
numbers of bees going across seemed to increase,
and they soon began to bring in pollen and
honey. As regards No. 1, a great deal was
stored. The bees alighted at No. 1 entrance,
but many of them without hesitation at once
walked across to No. la. They also walked
backwards and forwards. I occasionally put a
slide across the entrance to No. la, and the bees

after running along the slide for a bit, at last
gave it up, and walked across to No. 1 and en-
tered. No. 2 and No. 2a went through the
same process. No. la seemed so strong that I
put a small super on it. I began to think No. 1
queen had walked across also, so I examined
No. 1«. She had not, however, done so, but there
was a considerable quantity of honey and
pollen.

On June 19th I gave No. la a frame of
worker comb with a few eggs in it, and a week
later I gave No. 2a a similar frame. About ten
or eleven days later I examined No. la. I found
a queen's cell, where I had seen the eggs. In
order to see the comb properly, I gave it a
shake in order to knock off some of the bees. I
think I loosened the grub from its position, as
when I next looked there was no sign of the
cell — all had disappeared. A few days later, I
inspected No. 2a. There were two queens' cells.
I examined the comb from day to day almost,
as I was anxious to see the result. These two
cells did not hatch, but remained untouched by
the bees, except that one of them had the mark
of a cell-bottom on its side. I, however, left
them as they were till about the 19th of July.
The comb had come out of No. 2 hive, and from
certain signs of the bees belonging to No. 2, I
suspected a queen was wanted. The wasps
were very severe, however, on No. 2a, and I de-
cided to remove it on the morning of July 19th.
I shook the bees off on to the floor-board, feeling
sure the bees would join No. 2. I examined
No. 2, and to quieten the bees I put a carbolised
cloth over it. The result was that a crowd of
bees came outside. I found plenty of brood,
however, which satisfied me that the hive had
a queen. I left it for half an hour, expecting to
see the bees all settle down. On my return I
found on the floor-board where No. 2a had been
a large number of bees, and I pushed my gloved
finger into a small cluster of them, and set free
a queen, which was apparently being balled.
She was lively, and I got her near to the en-
trance of No. i hive, and went for a queen's
cage and a man to help me. On my return
she had not moved from the spot where I left
her, and I secured her: she was again being
balled. She was a small-looking queen, and her
wings were all tattered, and I doubt if she could
fly. I however brought back No. 2a hive, and
caged the queen on a honey-comb, and close to
the two cells. I left her thirty hours and set
her free ; she was very lively. I left home in a
day or so for Edinburgh, where I remained
for a part of the show week. The clover at
that time had begun to fail, and the heather
had not fairly set in, but before I left home
there were signs of fighting at the entrances,
and the wasps were very severe on the two
hives Nos. la and 2a, but when I again got
home, I found matters much worse. As regards
No. la, I simply shook off the bees from the
frames opposite No. 1 entrance, removed No.
la hive, and put a slide in so that the bees
could not get to the position where it had been.
I examined every corner of No. 2a hive. There

August 31, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

349

was no queen and the queens' cells were torn
open at the side, and the contents removed ; hut
the wasps and robber-hees had made sad havoc
with the honey, and the bees in these two hives
were sadly weakened. There was one peculiarity
about the two hives Nos. la and 2a : the bees
outside never fanned, while on the strong hive
entrances opposite, there were generally thirty
to forty. I can in no way account for this. It
is possible the caged queen set free before I left
home had been balled and killed, and the dead
queens in the cells had also been pulled out in
order to eat up the honey or queen's food inside
them. The grubs, which I supposed were
queens, must have been in the cells for a month
before being torn out. Though it is now nearly
three weeks since I did away with the two
hives, Nos. la and 2a, wasps and robber-bees
come to the old entrances, now shut up with
slides, and are attacked by bees belonging to
Nos. 1 and 2 respectively. I have secured about
one hundredweight of section honey f ron No. 1
hive, and about ninety pounds from No. 2, and
shall shortly remove what honey I think can be
spared for extracting. Not a bad season, Messrs.
Editors, but I dare say others have done more.
— T. McC., Ecclefechan, August 18th, 1893.

xxtxm ratr Unites,

[876.] Bees Refusing Foundation. — 1. I send
you a few sections to examine,, in order to tell
me, if you can, the reason the bees have joined
sections to tin dividers. I also send a piece of
the foundation used. 2. Is it usual to use tin
as a divider instead of zinc ? 3. The crate con-
taining sections was left on the ground outside
covered with carbolised cloth, but the bees
cleared the honey out in spite of the carbolic.
Is this usual? My bees are busy gathering
honey from a second crop of clover. — Bee-
keeper, N. Norfolk.

Reply. — The combs in sections owe their
irregularity and completely unnatural condition
to the aversion of the bees to use the foundation
given them as a basis for building on. We have
not seldom had occasion to notice this same
peculiarity when white, bleached wax is used for
making the foundation. 2. Tin answers as well
as zinc. 3. Bees will overcome almost any
obstacle to steal honey left in supers outside.

[877.] Having taken to reading your Bee
Journal for some months, I presume I am
entitled to ask questions. 1. What can be
done to prevent bees from sticking the frames
so tight to the hives? 2. In taking away
frames, how can you be satisfied that it is all
honey? Might there not be some sugar that
was left from last year in frames, or do the bees
clear out food that was given before depositing
honey? 3. How many frames that are quite
full of honey should be left to winter a fair-size
stock ? 4. Can you explain why more interest

is not taken in bees in a county like Devonshire,
that there is not some sort of society formed,
that people may get further enlightened on the
subject ? A great many bees are destroyed
every year in this district. 5. How many
seasons is a queen good foi ? — F. W. H, Totnes,
August 25th.

Reply. — 1. The trouble from propolisation
may be lessened by rubbing a small quantity of
vaseline on all parts liable to the "sticking"
process complained of. 2. Surplus honey-storing
should always be done in surplus chambers,
placed over the frames, in which sugar syrup
has been stored as bee-food. The bees recog-
nise no distinction between honey and sugar
syrup. 3. It depends on how much honey each
frame contains ; at least twenty pound of stores
are required to winter a stock on. 4. There was
a Bee Association in Devonshire, but for some
reason it has ceased to exist. 5. Two.

[878.] Driving Bees from Supered Skeps. —
I am going to drive some bees belonging to a
cottager here shortly, and would be glad of
some advice. Two of the hives have three
supers on, all full of bees. How am I to
manage, as it says in the book, to turn the hive
upside down and put it in a bucket to hold it ?
Could I drive the bees into a box instead of a
skep, if a friend held the box in position while
I rapped the bottom hive ? This and any other
advice you can give will be thankfully received.
— A Novice, Perth, August 28th.

Reply. — The supers should certainly be
removed before the " driving " can be safely
done. If the bees are too numerous to find
room in the skep after removal, an " eke " may
be set below to enlarge it, and the driving take
place after the bees have been got out of the
supers and are settled down in the skep.

(BtlgM* fxam % fliks.

Neumunster, August 21st. — Here in the North
of Germany this is a very good honey year, and
the late flowers are still yielding nectar every
day. — Adolf Wahle.

Somer sham, Hunts, August 28th. — Bees filling
supers and sections splendidly. We have about
fifty acres of buckwheat and mustard now in
bloom. I had one stock that gathered twenty-
seven pounds in eight days in a shallow-frame
super of nine drawn-out combs, and extracted,
and now they are filling up again. — R. Brown.

Flamstead, Dunstable, Beds., August 29th. — ■
I have five stocks of bees in frame hives, which
I was obliged to move in April last, and wrote
asking your advice about. They did not take
any hurt through moving them. I have taken
267 completed sections and about 28 pounds of
extracted, honey from them. Do you consider
this a fair amount ? I made the whole of hives
and section crates myself. None of the hives

850

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

August 81, 1893.

have swarmed ; they are all in splendid condi-
tion, with plenty of stores ; in fact I think they
have got too much, if anything, being on eleven
and twelve frames. They seem to have gathered
a goodish lot of honey during the last two or
three weeks in brood nest. Many thanks for
the help derived from your valuable paper. —
W.H.

%tz Sfrofos to Come.

September 2nd. — Vale of Leven, B.K.A., at
Burgh Hall, Dumbarton. Schedules from J.
Walker, Secretary, 74 Main Street, Alexandria,
N.B.

September 5th and 6th. — Warwickshire
B. K.A. at Solihull, in connexion with the
Warwickshire Agricultural Society. For
schedules apply James Noble Bower, Hon. Sec,
Knowle, Warwickshire. Entries closed.

September 6th and 7th. — Derbyshire Bee-
keepers' Association, at Derby. Entries close
August 31st. Over 19>l. in prizes. Special
facilities offered to distant exhibitors. Schedules
from W. T. Atkins, 12 North Street, Derby.

September 6th. — Scottish B. K. A. first
autumn show of honey and wax, in connexion
with the West of Scotland Horticultural Asso-
ciation's Exhibition, in St. Andrew's Hall,
Glasgow. Schedules from John Wishart,
Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 7th and 8th. — Honey Show at
Birkenhead, in connexion with the Wirral and
Birkenhead Agricultural Society. For schedules
apply A. H.Edwardson, Secretary, 28 Hamilton
Street, Birkenhead.

September 13th and 14th.— Scottish B. K. A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules from John Wishart,
Secretary S.B. K. A., Melrose.

September 19th. — Honey Show, &c, in con-
nexion with the North Lonsdale Agricultural
Society at Ulverston, under the Lancashire and
Cheshire B.K.A. rules. Frizes value 61. 6s. 6d.
Entries close September 7th. Schedules from
Nelson Wearing, Hon. Sec, Ellers, Ulverston.

September 23rd. — Roxburghshire B.K.A.
annual show of bees, honey, and appliances, in
the Corn Exchange, Jedburgh. Twenty-four
classes, including seventeen for honey. For
schedules apply to Thomas Clark, Secretary,
Pleasants Schoolhouse, Jedburgh, N.B.

October 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th.— Dairy
Show at the Agricultural Hall, Islington.
Liberal prizes for honey. For schedules apply
W. C. Young, Secretary, Dairy Farmers' Asso-
ciation, 191 Fleet Street, London. Entries close
September 11th.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

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

Thomas Adam (Cumberland).— 1. If a con-
demned lot of bees with young queen could
be had, they might with advantage be united
to the queenless stock. If this course is
decided on, move the hive a yard or two
away, shake the queenless bees from their
combs, and allow them to run into an empty
skep placed on their old stand and propped
up on one side. When all have entered,
replace the beeless combs in the hive, and set
it in its original position. Next, throw the
condemned bees out in front and let them take
possession of the comb, and when about two-
thirds have entered, shake the queenless bees
from the skep on to them, when all will enter
quietly. 2. You will get the required infor-
mation on Ligurian bees by referring to
advertising columns of B.J. for 24th inst.

T. A. Hornsey. — The bees are suffering from
foul brood, hence the failure to gather sur-
plus. The fact of your having extracted the
honey from a diseased lot of bees, and of your
being quite inexperienced, makes it difficult
for us to advise as to the best course to adopt.
It would, we think, be a good thing for you
to join the County Association, and so get the
advice and help of an expert who could
inspect your hive.

Country Doctor (Newark). — The queen sent
is evidently an aged one, probably about three
years old ; but this is in a measure guess-
work, as we have but the ragged wings and
general appearance to guide us in forming an
opinion.

J. Barry. — It is only by some predominating
characteristic in the flavour of honey that the
probable source from whence it is gathered
can be named. Your sample is peculiar, but
has no predominating flavour, and we cannot
name the flower it comes from. Our impres-
sion is that there are kidney beans in flower in
the neighbourhood, and it is partly from that
plant.

John Hottlden. — Honey sent is a very good
sample from white clover. It has a slight
" tack," which we rather like than otherwise.

Salopian. — Bees are fairly well-marked Car-
niolans.

J. J. W. R. — Sugar for Bee Food. — Brown
Demerara sugar is not suitable for making
syrup for bee-food. The crystallised Demerara
(yellow) answers admirably for spring food,
but for autumn white crystal sugar should be
used.

Adolf Wahle. — By applying to dealers adver-
tising in our columns you will get what you
require. We do not deal nor are we in any
way interested in the manufacture of articles
connected with bee-keeping.

THE

SSriMi %n 3nnraal,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 585. Vol. XXI. N. S. 193.] SEPTEMBER 7, 1893.

[Published Weekly,

(Bitxtaxml, Itatixes, tfcc.

DO BEES GATHER POISONOUS
HONEY?

We are occasionally called upon to under-
take the duty of dealing with some of the
absurd things which at regular intervals
appear in the press anent our special
/protege, the honey-bee. A moment's reflec-
tion will make it clear that there is less of
egotism than appears on the surface in our
assuming, with more or less assurance, this
vtask of dealing " properly " — to quote the
•correspondent referred to below — with such
■matters, because if there is one common-
place subject about which almost nothing
is known by the ordinary writer for the
■press, it is that of bee-keeping. Conse-
quently, statements of the most extra-
ordinary nature appear concerning bees,
sometimes inducing a laugh among those
who " know," but not seldom provoking the
bee-man to righteous wrath when his hobby
as assailed unjustly.

Not that the bee-keeper need fear the
fullest publicity for anything that may be
truthfully said regarding bees and their
ways, but it is quite curious to note what
an unaccountable fascination there is for a
certain class of editors in a sensational
paragraph of " Death from the sting of a
>bee," or the relation of some "terrible
disaster " with which bees are supposed to
>be in some way connected. Such paragraphs
ihave, to use an expressive, if vulgar, press-
phrase, " fat " in them, and, in consequence
■of this " fat" — coupled with the fascination
aforesaid — no trouble whatever is taken to
verify the statements made, and the poor
Obee is maligned accordingly. We are en-
abled to gauge pretty accurately the amount
of feeling aroused among bee-keepers when
&n unusually " strong bit " appears in
the papers, by the number of duplicate
* cuttings " sent by correspondents. The

same paragraph also frequently comes to
hand cut from different journals and news-
papers, for once the ball is set rolling it
goes " the round of the press " in quite
merry fashion. Whether the statements
are feasible and likely to be true, or are
obviously absurd and incorrect, seems to
make no difference whatever, so long as
there is in them something sufficiently in-
teresting to catch the attention of the
general reader.

Without desiring that these remarks
should in any way be considered as appli-
cable to the case in point, we are led to make
them in consequence of a paragraph which
appeared recently in the columns of our
esteemed contemporary the Co - operative
News, a paper widely read by co-operators,
among whom we are proud to include many
bee-keepers and readers. The paragraph
referred to has been sent to us by several
correspondents, one of them a gentleman
of position and influence, who takes con-
siderable interest not only in bee-keeping,
but in the progress of co-operation ; and
another the secretary of an Industrial and
Co-operative Society. The latter writes
under date August 28 th : —

"Sir, — I have cut the enclosed out of last
week's Co-operative Netvs, and shall be glad if
you will deal with it properly in your next issue.
It is most damaging to the cause I have at
heart, viz., the extension of bee-keeping."

Then follows the cutting referred to,
which reads as follows : —

" ' Lily White ' sends the following interest-
ing remarks on bees and honey, in connexion
with her recent essay : —

" There are certain plants which produce
flowers which make not only poisonous honey
but also poisonous wax. Cases often occur of
persons being made ill after eating honey, and
the cause is sometimes attributed to indigestion,
but more frequently the reason is found in the
honey itself, the bees having fed upon poisonous
flowers. In some parts of South America there
are flowers which produce honey-wax of a
bluish-green colour, and it is said that both the

352

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [September 7, 1893-

honey and wax are more poisonous than the
same qiiantity of arsenic. Bees must suck
three million and a half flowers to gather a
pound of honey."

Not having seen " Lily White's " " recent
essay " — presumably on bees — we cannot
appreciate the relevancy, if there is any,
between it and the " interesting remarks "
quoted above, but the natural inference is
that the essay is in some measure hostile
to bee-keeping or to honey-production in
this country. Either this is so or the
authoress is a very "candid friend" in-
deed, judging by what appears above. The
real matter for regret, however, lies in the
fact that writers will go out of their way
to produce alarmist paragraphs of this kind,
having but the slightest foundation of fact
on which to build up quite a lot of fiction,
and chiefly remarkable for absurd exaggera-
tion.

We have no hesitation in saying that
there is as little danger of " persons being
made ill after eating honey" in this country
as there is from partaking of any of the
common necessaries of life. Mankind is so
variously constituted that one cannot take
flesh food, but will thrive on a diet almost
wholly consisting of fruit, vegetables, and
nuts, the eating of which would be the
death, of another ! Some persons are made
ill by taking milk, or cheese, others by
pastry. Some, again, cannot do with ripe
fruit, mushrooms, and so on. But what
does all this mean? Simply that what
agrees with one disagrees with another, and
that the diet of each must be regulated
accordingly. The adage says, " One man's
meat is another man's poison," and to talk
of or even inferentially suggest a risk of
persons taking harm from eating honey
which may be poisonous, is not only mis-
leading but absurd, besides being, as stated
by our correspondent, " most damaging to
the cause we have at heart."

We have read of certain plants in remote
corners of the world yielding poisonous
honey just as we have of the deadly upas-
tree of Java, but what possible analogy is
there between such unaccountable curiosities
of nature and the production and con-
sumption of British honey ? We make the
assertion without any fear of its being con-
troverted, that the honey passing into the
hands of consumers here is as little poison-
ous as the water they drink, and nothing
but mischief can arise by noising abroad
and laying stress on the fact of there being

flowers somewhere in the world which pro-
duce honey and wax " said " to be " more-
poisonous than arsenic !" As a matter of
fact we in this country are just as likely to
be troubled with such honey as we are to
have the upas-tree planted in our midst !

If " Lily White " had confined her " in-
teresting remarks" to repeating the amusing
fable concerning the millions of flowers a
bee sucks to gather a pound of honey, no
one would have complained, but the publi-
cation of such paragraphs as that quoted
are calculated to prejudice the minds of
unthinking or inexperienced persons against
a pursuit and a home product in which a
large amount of public interest is just now
being aroused ; a pursuit, moreover, to
which many influential public men attach,
considerable importance as being destined'
ere long to occupy a prominent position--
among the minor industries of the country.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL

FUND.

The following additional sums have been*
received or promised : —

Amount already ac- £ s. d.

knowledged ... 42 1 0

Wellwisher 0 10 0

J. H. New 0 5 0

J. Cotterill (Bowdon) 0 5 0*

J. Dann (Wisbech) ... 0 5 0

SHROPSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

Shbewsburt Show.

This great popular event took place on Wed-
nesday and Thursday, the 23rd and 24th of
August, and passed off with great success.

The energy and enthusiasm of the bee-keeping
fraternity of Shropshire have carried their
Association to the very foremost position in ine-
quality, extent, and variety of the county
shows; but what they have done in _ the past
has been quite eclipsed by the extraordinarily
fine display on this occasion, no less than 4000
pounds of honey being staged. That there was
a considerable proportion of dark honey no one
will be surprised to hear ; but, viewing the dis-
play as a whole, the effect was highly pleasing,
and it was distinctly apparent that the light-
coloured honey, for which the county is famed,,
largely predominated. For the first time the
raised method of staging was adopted, and the.
great improvement which it effected was very
striking. The task of judging devolved upon-
the Rev. J. F. Buckler, Mr. W. Lees M'Clure,
and Mr. Jesse Garratt; the post of lecturer

September 7, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

353

being efficiently occupied by Mr. W. P. Meadows,
of Syston, near Leicester.

That the Shropshire Association is fulfilling
its mission of raising be* - keeping to a prac-
tical pursuit the evidence of such an exhibition
amply testifies, and any report of such would
fall short of its object if it failed to bring into
prominent notice the remarkable capacity of the
Hon. Secretary and her staff of co-workers in
organizing and arranging so important a show
with such complete success. The spirit, tpo,
which animates the members of the Association
cannot be overlooked, in regard to which it is
only necessary to state that as many as thirty-
three entries were made in classes in which
forty-eight sections or jars of honey competed.
This speaks for itself.

The only drawback to which attention need
be drawn is that of the absence of the bee-tent,
and the consequent loss of opportunity to bring
under notice the ease with which the bees may
be controlled and handled. Through some
slight accident on a remote occasion, the
managers of the show have allowed the prejudice
then created to bar the way to any concession.

During the afternoon on the first day, a meet-
ing of the Northern District Committee of the
British Bee-keepers' Association was held, under
the presidency of the Rev. J. F. Buckler, the
main subject of discussion being the question
of providing judges and examiners at county
shows. The subject was ably opened by Mr.
Pugh, of the Notts B.K.A., directing atten-
tion to the need that existed of appointing a
larger number ef capable judges in many of the
districts. This was admitted by subsequent
speakers, and the view was adopted generally
that the want could be best supplied by the
County Associations putting forward suitable
persons to receive guidance and experience by
being linked with the present recognised judges.
This recommendation it was decided to send up
to the Committee of the central Association.
The meeting terminated with a very hearty
vote of thanks to Miss Eyton for all her kind
efforts in promoting the success of the occasion ;
and to Mr. Buckler, for his able presidency of
the meeting.

Prize List.

Honey Classes {open).

Forty-eight 1-lb. sections. — 1st prize, T. R.
Horton ; 2nd, F. Carver.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, — Simpson ; com-
mended, J. T. Nickels.

Forty -eight 1-lb. jars extracted honey. —
1st, W. P. Meadows ; 2nd, E. Oakes ; 3rd, J. T.
Nickels ; com., T. R. Horton and J. Palmer.

Twenty-four 1-lb. jars extracted honey. —
1st, W. P. Meadows ; 2nd, H. Bennion ; 3rd
(extra), J. T. Nickels; 4th (extra), E. Oakes ;
h.c., E. Clowes ; com., H. Wood and Collier.

Twenty-four 1-lb. jars granulated honey. —
1st, J. Palmer ; 2nd, — Carpenter.

For the best collection of extracted honey
from different flowers, samples of each labelled.
— 1st, A. Beale ; 2nd, — Bollins.

Members of Shropshire Association only.

Forty-eight 1-lb. sections. — 1st, T. R. Horton ;
2nd, — Cartwright.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, J. Jones; 2nd, J.
Palmer ; commended, T. R. Horton.

One 1-lb. section. — 1st, P. Jones; 2nd, J.
Bradley.

Forty-eight 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st,
J. Palmer : 2nd, — Cartwright ; commended,
B. G. Brocklehurst and — Critchlow.

Twenty -four 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st,
J. T. Nickels; 2nd, T. C. Clark; 3rd (extra),

— Hirchsman ; h.c, E. Griffiths.
Twentv-four pounds dark extracted honey. —

1st, T. Norris ; 2nd, H. Wood.

Novelty in honey. — 1st, — Critchlow.

Best and most attractive display of honey. —
1st, J. Bradley; 2nd, — Bunnay; h.c, H.
Wood.

Artisans' Classes.

Twenty-four pounds comb honey. — 1st, E.
Griffiths; 2nd, P. Jones.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, P. Jones ; 2nd,

— Carpenter.

Twenty-four pounds extracted honey. — 1st,

— Croxton ; 2nd, — Bullock ; h.c, T. C. Clark ;
commended, S. Pritchard and — Hill.

Best super. — 1st, A. Beale.

Cottagers1 Class.

Twelve pounds comb honey. — 1st, J. Ham-
monds f 2nd, J. S. Croxton.

Twelve pounds extracted honey. — 1st, — .
Croxton ; 2nd, G. Lloyd; commended, J. Ward
and R. Gough.

Six 1-lb. sections. — 1st, J. Hammonds ; 2nd,
J. S. Croxton; 3rd, G. Croxton; commended,
E. Griffiths.

Six pounds extracted honey. — 1st, J. Ward,
2nd, E. Griffiths ; 3rd, — Mainwaring ; com-
mended, G. Lloyd.

Bee-flowers. — 1st, A. Beale ; 2nd, J. Bradley ;
3rd, G. Lloyd.

Bee-flowers (cottagers only). — 1st, G. Lloyd.

Honey beverage. — 1st, J. Bradley; h.c, A.
Beale.

Fruit preserved in honey. — 1st, — Main-
waring; h.c, J. Manning; commended, G.
Lloyd.

Honey cake. — 1st, Mrs. Nickels; extra prize,
Mrs. White ; h. c, Mrs. Beale and Mrs. Lloyd ;
commended, Mrs. Manning.

Two pounds beeswax (Salop only). — 1st, A. .
Beale ; h. c, T. R. Horton and J. Nickels.

Hives and Appliances (open).

Frame hive, price not to exceed 15s. — let,
— Oliver ; 2nd, F. Carver.

Frame hive, price unlimited. — 1st, F. Carver;
2nd, W. P. Meadows.

Frame hive (Shropshire makers only). — 1st,
Carver.

Collection of appliances.— 1st, W. P. Meadows.

Best Feeder.— 1st, W. P. Meadows.

New Invention.— 1st (and two h.c.'s), W. P. •
Meadows ; h.c, F. Carver.

One pound brood foundation. — 1st, A. Beale.

354

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [September 7, 1893.

One pound super foundation. — 1st, J. T.
Nickels.

Soft bee-candy.— 1st, F. Carver.

Observatory hive and bees (Salop only). — 1st,
A. Beale.

The fine collections of lantern slides, published
respectively by Messrs. Newton, of London,
and Mr. A. Watkins, Hereford, were on view
in the lecture tent during the show.

HONEY SHOW AT CASTLE
DOUGLAS.

The annual show of the Castle Douglas
Horticultural and Honey Society took place on
the 31st ult., and was a very pronounced success.
The fact of the show being held in the Town
Hall buildings quite removed any discomfort
which might have been felt from the rain
— which unfortunately fell during the greater
part of the afternoon — had no further protection
been afforded to visitors than the usual canvas
tents used on such occasions.

The honey department was a distinct feature
of the show, and formed an exhibition in itself.
As in former years, all the classes were open,
and upwards of 120 competitors came forward,
being the largest collection ever held under the
auspices of the Society, and, in the opinion of
experts, the quality has never been surpassed.
This remark applies more particularly to run
honey, which could scarcely be excelled. The
principal class, that for three 1-lb. jars of run
or extracted honey, other than heather, drew
no less than fifty competitors.

The Rev. J. B. Robertson, Leswalt, Stranraer,
as judge, made tbe following awards : —

Three 1-lb. jars of extracted honey. — 1st, Wm.
Blackwood, Castle Douglas; 2nd, D. W. H.
Arbuckle, Thome, Doncaster ; 3rd, Wm. Hogg,
Castle Douglas; h. c, W. Wilson, Dumfries;
com., J. M'Donald, Kingussie.

Six 1-lb. sections. — 1st, Jas. Learmont, Bal-
maghie; 2nd, J. M'C. Bell, Castle Douglas;
3rd, Wm. Blackwood; h.c, Jas. M'Minn, Pot-
terland Mill; com., James Wallace, Castle
Douglas.

Best super. — 1st, Jas. Learmont ; 2nd, Wm.
Hogg; h. c, Miss Hogg, Castle Douglas ; com.,
John M'Donald, Lochfoot.

Best super under 12 lbs.— 1st, W. Hogg;
2nd, W. H. M'Dowall, Kirkcowan; h.c, W.
M'Millan, Dundrennan.

Scotch pint heather honey. — 1st, W. H.
M'Dowall ; 2nd, A. Muir, Kirkcowan ; h. c, J.
M'Donald ; com., Ross & Kerr, Dumfries.

Six 2-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, W.
Blackwood ; 2nd, W. Hogg ; h. c, S. M'Murray,
Gelston ; com., Ross & Kerr.

Six 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, W.
Blackwood; 2nd, W. Hogg; 3rd, J. Learmont;
com., A. L. Cumming, Laurieston.

Three 1-lb. sections heather honey. — 1st, A.
Muir ; 2nd, Ross & Kerr ; h. c, T. Duff ; com.,
W. H. M'Dowall.

Three 1-lb, sections. — 1st, W. Rogerson;
2nd, T. Myers; h.c, Thos. Duff; com., R.
M'Gowan.

Three 1-lb. jars. — 1st, W. Rae, Dalbeattie ;
2nd, R. Turner, Chapelyard ; h. c, T. Lindsay,
Kirkcowan ; com., T. Myers.

GOOLE AND DISTRICT B.K.A.

The annual show of this Association was held
in connexion with that of the Goole and District
Horticultural Society, in the Victoria Pleasure
Grounds, Goole, on August 17th, and was
favoured with splendid weather.

During the afternoon Mr. J . H. Howard, of
Holme, delivered lectures on bee-keeping, and
illustrated his remarks by practical manipula-
tions of a frame hive, which proved one of the
attractions of the show. Mr. Howard also
undertook the duties of judge, and his awards
were received with general satisfaction.

With regard to the exhibits, the classes for
extracted honey were well filled, and some ex-
cellent samples of honey were staged. The
comb honey was not so good, but the winners
were well to the fore.

The prizes in the open classes were given by
the Horticultural Society, whilst the Committee
of the Goole B.K.A.. offered prizes for members
only.

Awabds.

Observatory hive stocked with bees and
queen. — 1st prize, Chester & Woodhead, Goole ;
2nd, E. Wainman, Saltmarshe Crossings, How-
den.

Six 1-lb. sections. — 1st, W. Dixon, Leeds;
2nd, W. Smith ; extra prize, Chester & Wood-
head.

Twelve 1-lb. jars of extracted honey. — 1st,
Chester & Woodhead ; 2nd, Miss H. Laurence,
Clithero House, Leeds ; extra prize, Dr. Ar-
buckle, Thorne.

Most interesting and instructive exhibit. —
1st, W. Dixon ; 2nd, Chester & Woodhead.

Two frames of comb honey for extracting. —
1st, W. Dixon ; 2nd, Mrs. Remmer, Knedling-
ton, Howden.

Members Only.

Six 1-lb. sections. — 1st, Chester & Wood-
head ; 2nd, Dr. Arbuckle.

Six 1-lb. jars of extracted honey. — 1st, Dr.
Arbuckle; 2nd, W Lambert.

Super of comb honey, not sectional. — 1st,
Chester & Woodhead ; 2nd, G. Roberts, Goole.

Two 1-lb. sections and 1-lb. bottles of ex-
tracted honey. — 1st, Mrs. Remmer; 2nd, W.
Aaron, Hull.

A VISIT TO A COTTAGE APIARY AT
OVER TABLEY.

It was a fine summer evening last month,
and after a long walk I stood for a time, on my
homeward journey, to admire the pretty little

September 7, 1898.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

355

church and churchyard of St. Paul's, Over
Tabley. Adjoining the churchyard is the house
of the sexton, Mr. John Houlden, who has be-
come quite an expert in the keeping of bees ; and
at his invitation I stepped into his garden to
have a few minutes' chat about the little workers,
who in our infantile days were set before us as
examples to " improve the shining hour." All
down the garden, like a band of Indian warriors
in single file, were arranged the hives. I counted
fifteen of them. " Well, Mr. Houlden, and how
have you done with your honey this year ? "
" Remarkably well," he replied. " I have ex-
tracted about four hundredweight altogether.
Certainly, some of the hives were particularly
heavy. Last year I had only seven hives, and it
was a very poor season." " I don't see many
straw hives," I remarked. "No,I do not generally
use them. They are very good for a purpose,
hut not for honey-producing. I make all my
hives, and I have made my text-book the British
Bee Journal. I started some few years ago with
one hive, a prize given by the Hon. Mrs. Keane,
of Mere Hall, who also engaged a bee-expert to
explain to her cottagers the remunerative and
interesting work of bee-farming. After the
lessons I took a great interest in the science, and
with my own hive determined to have a try.
Some years I did better and some I did worse,
but gradually increased my stock of houses, till
now I have, as you see, fifteen of them." " And
do you think," I asked, " that generally speaking,
bee-keeping is a paying hobby ? " " Most de-
cidedly. I think that every cottager in the
country should keep his beehives. Of course a
certain amount of perseverance is required, and
failures now and then happen ; but the cottager
is well repaid for his trouble, not only in a
monetary sense, but also in having a healthy
recreation for his spare time, which in the coun-
try often hangs so heavily. But come inside, sir,
for a few minutes, and see the result of my busy
little workers' labours." I accepted the in-
vitation, and passing at a respectful distance the
long row of hives, I made my way into the
house. AlII around the room were arranged pots
and pots of honey, some large, some small. In
the corner stood a pile of the little sections filled
with the delicious honey. u These," remarked my
guide, " I keep for those of my customers who
prefer the honey in the comb." I noticed a very
large tin filled with honey, and suspecting that
it was heavier even than it looked I asked what
weight it contained. " Try to lift it, sir," was
the somewhat sarcastic invitation. I did try,
but, not being a Sandow, I failed, for the tin
contained two hundredweight of honey. As I
looked round the room, I thought what a veri-
table Paradise it would prove were a score or so
of youngsters turned loose into it. Mr. Houlden
informed me that he is not content u to leave
well alone," but still hopes to improve his honey
harvest year by year. He is about to adopt the
*l Wells system," that of keeping two queens in
-each hive, and is very sanguine as to the results.
After sampling the honey, and, like Oliver
Twist, asking for more, I bid good-bye to my

obliging friend and his very successful cottage
apiary. — Knutsford Guardian.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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 goodfaith. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Commwnications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

*** 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.

[1541.] We are wanting rain almost as badly
as in the long drought of early spring and
summer. The crops are languishing from lack
of moisture, and the grass plant, from which the
bulk of our next year's harvest of honey will be
gathered, is losing stock instead of gaining, the
small spindling plants not having sufficient
foothold of the soil to withstand the drought.
After the rain the seed germinated, and we
looked forward to a fair crop, but under present
conditions the prospect for next hay and honey
crops is not encouraging to either farmer or
bee-keeper.

The fine weather is acceptable to bee-keepers
who are driving, or contemplating driving,
bees from the straw skeps of their neighbours
the cottagers, and I would advise them that
what they intend to do in that line to do
quickly, and to feed up rapidly, so that stocks
may get their stores sealed over. The warm
weather is conducive to wax-secretion, and I
have no doubt that wax is secreted at a cheaper
rate during warm weather than during cold
weather, though I do not remember having
seen any notice of the thing being tested.
When I say " cheaper rate," I mean that bees
would secrete a larger amount of wax from a
given lot of food in a warm temperature than
they would from the same quantity of food in a
cold temperature ; and, again, better work in
comb-building will be done by bees during
warm weather than when colder. This is
another gain for prompt action. Also, the
bees now in populous colonies are living on
their stores, except in the few places where
special forage happens to engage their attention,
therefore it is to the advantage of the owner of
condemned bees to have them taken up without
delay.

I was sorry to see, by 1522, that our respected
correspondent, "J. Gr. K.," has not secured any
harvest of super honey this season. The Bogen-
stulper was a ticklish job, I think. I should

356

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL [September 7, 1893.

transfer them to a bar-frame hive that one can
manipulate with ease. The " honey-dew," as
observed by " J. G. K." dropping from the hives,
without the usual accompanying green fly, is
remarkable and bears out the contention of old
bee-keepers that, in hot seasons, they have seen
drops of honey-dew on black currant-tree leaves
and on the limes and sycamores. These asser-
tions we have discredited, but here we have a
case in which a microscopical examination failed
to find the green fly, I myself this season
noticed drops of honey-dew which were dried
into a crystalline state, and no appearance of
green fly on the leaves, but I did not investigate
the matter, as I thought probably the fly was
on the under-side of leaves higher up the tree,
out of my reach, and that the honey-dew had
dropped down on the leaves below and dried
up into the crystalline state in which I noticed
it.

There is no royal road to queen-catching, so
far as I know. Some are quicker sighted than
others ; again, years of practice and observation
will certainly help the bee-keeper in spotting
the queen. If a hive is opened quietly when the
bees in the apiary are quiet, and the dummy re-
moved gently, using but little smoke, the queen
will generally be found on one of the centre
combs. My hives are principally on the com-
bination principle (I would they all were), and,
after the dummy is removed, I can bring my
back frames to rear of hives, the hive roof
opening at the front. Now, after giving a
casual glance over the combs as drawn back,
and then, say, after the first two frames are re-
moved, I begin looking for queen and eggs. If
I see a few new-laid ones, I conclude the queen
is near, and generally find her. Very little
smoke should be used when finding the queen ;
if much smoke is used, the colony is broken up
into units, each seeking individual security, and
the queen is in as great a panic as her subjects,
and eagerly rushes into any corner of the hive
or pophole in the combs. Opening hives must
be done when the apiary is quiet or before
work is started in the morning. The early
evening is the best time, and, with a moderate-
sized apiary, the work can soon be got through.
I should advise that hives be cleaned of any
debris at the bottom, and the top bars of frames
be scraped, the condition of food and colony be
ascertained, and wants attended to during Sep-
tember, and, as a final touch, drop three or
four pieces of naphthaline into each colony when
packing up for winter. Antiseptic quilts of
latus felt may be given for winter and may
prove useful as a preventive of infection ; but
wraps will be required above the felt, or a chaff
cushion. My chaff cushions are veritable chaff
pillows. The bag to contain the chaff — prefer-
able wheat chaff — is made of washed unbleached
calico, and wide enough to cover the frames
comfortably, and long enough to hang down be-
hind the packed dummy to the floor of the hive
in my combination hives. I firmly believe in
warmth for bees during the winter months.
Heat is life, and cold is death to bees ; there-

fore, whatever conserves the heat of the colony-
prolongs bee-life to its natural term.

Examine your hives for proof that each con-
tains a queen. A queen when seen, eggs in-
regular patches, or patches of brood, are proof
that all is well ; if no brood and no eggs are to
bo found in the combs, and the bees show full
at entrance, the hive is queenless, and should be
dealt with at once, or robbers will soon make a
clearance. A good driven lot of bees with
young queen may be added to the remaining
bees at nightfall, with a sprinkling of flour on
both the old bees and the bees you intend to
add, and as soon as they are got in between the
frames a carbolised cloth will expedite matters.
Replace the quilt and wraps, contract the en-
trance to an inch, and all will settle down.'
amicably together. Feed gently a little food
every night for a week to start breeding, or, if
hive is glutted, extract a comb or two, but give
only one comb per night to clean up. This will
warm them up to breeding, and the extracted'
combs in centre will be good clear places for
some good patches of brood. — W. Woodley,.
World's End, Newbury.

SOME BEE-NOTES FROM HEREFORD.

[1542.] The season here has been good. I've
been surprised to find how it has varied in the-
south ; during a fortnight in J une honey flowed,
in in immense quantities, and hives were boiling
over. I am within a mile from the city, yet my
bees did good work, and my best hive gave me=
seventy pounds of run honey. By-the-by, the
article entitled "Pulled Queens," (page 399),,
reminds me that this hive is headed by one.
Two seasons ago it swarmed, and, to prevent a
second (or cast), I cut out all queen-cells but
one. On examining these afterwards, a fine
young queen escaped, and ran up my coat ; a
paper cup was promptly turned, and her majesty
safely enclosed. I then returned to the hive,,
and cut away the remaining queen-cell, and
introduced this new queen; it was a success,
for she has proved herself to be most prolific.
Strange to say, they tried to swarm some days-
afterwards, coming out and settling about noon ;
but, having no queen, they returned about tea-
time in grand style. Cone escapes in roof I've-
found A 1 ; but for taking honey generally I
shall never use anything again but the carbolised
cloth. Besides my own bees, I took for a friend
sixty lovely sections from three hives — no stings
and no cappings spoilt ; all those who have not
seen it before agree it is far better than that
horrid smoke.

Two of my hives were "hanging out," ten
days ago, from the excessive heat. Wasps
have been fearful lately ; I took three nests in.
July. Fortunately, I got all honey extracted
before they became numerous.

Thanks to your Journal (which I've taken;
now for three years), I have been very success-
ful, and during that time have had no difficulty
in disposing of my honey, and at an average

September 7, 1893,

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

357

price of 9d. per pound. I always run short —
could sell as much again if I had it. However,
I must not increase my stocks, as I should not
have enough spare time to give proper atten-
tion ; but for the five I have I try to remain —
Semper Paratus, Hereford.

SELF-HIVERS.

[1543.] You will, perhaps, remember my
asking you last spring if a self-hiver should
automatically prevent the queen from returning
to the hive, and you kindly answered through
the Journal, " Yes." So I made four hivers to
do so, and this season fixed on frame hives, and
bought a strong stock of bees in a skep to try
the hiver on straw hives, as they fit almost any
hive or entrance. It does not take five minutes
to apply one to most hives. But fate has been
against me in this particular, for, with twenty
stocks, I have not had a single swarm. (I have
only heard of five swarms in this neighbourhood,
four of which at once flew away.) But I have
had a nice lot of honey, most from the three
frame hives with " hivers " on ; but whether
that resulted from the drones being prevented
from returning home to supper or not, I do not
know ; at any rate some of the more populous
hives have not stored so much.

I feel greatly disappointed at not having a
few swarms to test the hiver thoroughly, but
feel more confident than ever that it will prove
useful, for while it offers scarcely any hindrance
to the worker it takes charge of anything
bigger passing out. Not one bee in a hundred
squeezes through the excluder zinc to get into
the hive. Would you advise another season's
trial before making it for sale ?

I use a super-clearer on the same principle, by
which the bees can leave forty-eight abreast,
without any possibility of return. My supers
are often cleared in less than an hour. — G. W. H.

[We strongly advise a thorough trial before
making the hiver for sale. — Eds.]

AMONG THE BEES IN IRELAND.
[1544.] I have just returned from a round of
visits to apiaries in the south-west of Cork, and
am sorry to report that the season has not been
a good one in that district. Accompanied by a
member of the Irish B.K.A., we drove through
the pretty village of Leap, at the head of one of
the inlets on the southern coast. I would gladly
pause to pay a tribute to the beauties of the
drive through Myrnswood — a Glengarriff in
miniature — but this is to be an echo from the
hives, not the woods. The complaint of the fair
proprietress of this the first apiary inspected was
that though she had three or four swarms, she
had not secured much honey, none of her hives
yielding so much as twenty pounds, partly
owing, no doubt, to the fact that, in supering, a
warm quilt, with but a small square hole in
centre, was placed between the frame tops and
the supers. She showed us a stock in a

into which she had introduced a Carniolan-
queen, and is convinced that a bad queen was at
the time in the hive, as she found what she be-
lieved to be the old queen next day outside the
hive. In transferring this stock into a " Wells "'
hive, I found the comb quite covered with brood,,
which I tied into frames. In doing so I noticed
two, and in some cells three and four eggs, to-
gether. Is this usual with queens of that
tribe ? [Not more so than with others. — Eds.]
She was the first I had seen, and I should not
have distinguished her from a native, save that
the ventral plates of the abdomen were something
brighter. And here let me ask, Will a Car-
niolan and a native stock do well in a " Wells "
hive ? [Yes. — Eds.] — for that is how they stand
at present.

That love of novelty in human kind is re-
markable, was a conviction that was forced on
me when shown a hive just received from Eng-
land. It was a square hive outside, but the
inside was octagonal, containing about four
frames (not standard size), and two top bars or
laths without sides or bottom ; the corners were
boarded off, and in one was a feeding-bottle. I
did not ask the price, for it would not suit me
at any figure. Why will appliance-makers turn
out hives that will not carry standard frames ?
The spaces between the frames and the hive
edges (about three and a half inches) on either
side were intended, I suppose, to gratify the bees'
desire to build excentric combs in.

We next visited a parson's bees, and if care
and skill could command success, he should
have it ; but honey was not plentiful here either.
I fancy his stocks were so run down in condition
last winter that they could not be got into form
in time for what honey-flow there was. Here,
too, was a "Wells" hive, but no swarms to
stock it. I noted how very warmly his crates
were wrapped in thick felt, which had the good
effect of making the bees draw out and fill the
outside sections as well as the centre ones. We
were next taken to see a stock he was transfer-
ring from a skep into a bar-frame hive on the
plan of setting the skep on top of the frames, as
so often described in your Journal. The queen
being down on the frames, an adapting-board
was placed on the hive, and the skep laid on it^
the corners being closely packed with willow
clay ; round the skep was a lift, and over all a
well-fitting roof. After a hospitable repast
and a pleasant bee-chat, we took " an Irish
short cut " home, so as to take in some other
" bee-yards." In one we found a goodly lot of
bar-frame hives, with a " Wells " as a citadel in
the centre. The bee-keeper might be justly
styled an elder in the craft, but he differed with
Mr. Wells on the matter of entrances, of which
he had only a narrow pair in front, and his
dummy was a substantial half-inch one with
broad top bar. He was also fortunate in the
knowledge of how to extirpate foul brood out of
his apiary. Two more visits to cottagers, one of
whom evidently had not that care, and whose
bees had unmistakable evidence of foul brood, .
brought a very pleasant drive to a close.

358

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL, [September 7, 1893.

Generally speaking, the country seems well
adapted for bee-culture, having both white
clover and heather, the latter in great abun-
dance and growing in high altitudes. Apolo-
gising for this overgrown " echo " (which might
be more correctly called " Notes by the Way ")
— A Membeb of the I.B.K.A., August 2'2nd.

THE HONEY HAEVEST IN DURHAM.

[1545.] We started the season with one skep
and six frame hives. The skep alone swarmed,
and from it we have taken two bell-glasses.
From the six frame hives, one of which — a last
year's cast — was only in good condition by the
middle of July, we took about 210 pounds of
clover honey. They were then taken up to the
moors, and a fortnight ago we took about 190
pounds of moor honey, giving so far about 400
pounds, so that we hope for an average of over
'70 pounds from the frame hives.

From one hive kept in Durham itself we have
so far extracted about 70 pounds, without touch-
ing the brood nest, which consists of 20 frames,
so that we ought to raise the total to 100 pounds.
The heather was at its best during the hot
weather a fortnight ago, so it will, I am afraid,
not last very much longer. — L. W. H., Dur-
ham.

CANE FOR STRAW SKEPS.

[1546.] I write to ask a favour of you, viz.,
that you will be kind enough to insert an in-
quiry in your paper as to where cane can be
procured at a moderate price suitable for using
in making straw skeps. I am much interested
in getting work for a poor and greatly afflicted
man, who is both totally blind and perfectly
deaf. The blindness was caused by an accident,
and the deafness the results of influenza, and of
late I have succeeded in getting orders for
skeps, which, with straw kneeling mats and
coarse basket-work, is all he can do, and he is
dependent on his work for his livelihood, and
his difficulty is to find the proper cane for
binding the skeps. If in any way you can help
him in this matter, it will be a great obligation.
— (Mrs.) J. Wixson, Greenfields, The Park,
Cheltenham, September 1st.

[The above will, we trust, secure the desired
'information from some of our readers. — Eos.]

IRISH BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION.

The Committee met on the 8th ult. Pre-
sent: Rev. Canon Sadleir (in the chair), Mr.
O'Bryen, and the Hon. Secretaries, Mr. Read
and Mr. Chenevix.

The Committee accepted an offer from Mr.
'O'Bryen to visit apiaries in a portion of county
Cork, availing himself of assistance kindly pro-
onised by a lady in the district.

WEATHER REPORT

Westbottbne, Sussex.
August, 1893.

Rainfall, 1-10 in.
Heaviest fall, '46 in. on

4th.
Rain fell on 9 days.
Below average, 1*57.
Max. temp., 79° on

17th.
Min. temp., 42° on

29th.
Sunshine 268-9 hrs.

9th,

Brightest day,

13-35 hrs.
Sunless days, 1.
Above aver. 38*3 hrs.
Mean max., 69'5°.
Mean min., 53-8°.
Mean temp., 61-8°.
Max. barometer, 30'40

on 25th.
Min. barometer, 29-76

on 21st.

L. B. Birkett.

SOLDIERS ROUTED BY A SWARM
OF BEES.

A remarkable incident is thus described in
the Daily Netos of the 3rd ult. :— " The follow-
ing detailed account of an expedition through
East Africa, under the command of Freiherr
von Monteuffel, has reached Berlin. In Kwaru-
guru, where the Sultan Lonjo has been appointed
Vali by the Germans, three insurgent chiefs who
refused to recognise German rule and organized
forays, were to be tried. Two submitted, but
the third, Matura, from Pongwe, had to be
forced to submission. The head of the troops
reached Nime, a thousand metres from Pongwe,
upon which the guns were planted. A number
of people were seen in front of the village
beating the war-drums amidst howls and yells,
and several shots were fired by them. Here-
upon the Commander gave orders for the village
to be bombarded with granades. After the
fourth shot a remarkable incident took place.
The troops as well as the bearers were attacked
by a gigantic swarm of bees, and completely
routed. It took about an hour for them all to
collect together again, Sergeant-Major Mittel-
staedt and an Ascari being missing. The guns
and ammunition had been left behind on the
mountain. A patrol was sent out to search for
the sergeant, and he was found at his gun nearly
stung to death. An hour afterwards, when the
sergeant had recovered, the fight was resumed
and. the village stormed. The effect of the
granades had so frightened the enemy that the
village was completely deserted. As the people
of Pongwe had offered armed resistance, and
escaped punishment by flight, the only way to
deal with them was to destroy their village."

Queries atxft Replies.

[879.] "Virgin" Swarms. — There having
been two or three of above in this locality this
season, the question of which queen comes off,
or heads "a virgin swarm," was discussed a
few days ago ; some diversity of opinion was
expressed on the point. Will you kindly answer
the question through columns of B.B.J. ? One
gentleman who favoured the young queen

September 7, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

359

theory, said, if it is not the young queen, why
is it called a " virgin swarm ? " — John Arm-
Strong, HalUohistle, August 29^.

Reply. — We have always considered the
term " virgin swarm," to be somewhat of a
misnomer, apt to mislead in the direction re-
ferred to, because it really means no more than
a swarm from a swarm of the current year.
Anyway, experienced bee-keepers generally
agree that such swarms are always led off by
the old queen. And this agreement is the out-
come of practical observation.

i.] Re-queening. — Having a hive which
has become weak through loss of queen, I have
just introduced a fertile queen. Would it be
advisable to place this hive on the stand of a
very strong stock from which I intend taking
sections next week, in order to strengthen the
weak stock by the flying bees of the strong
one ? Would there be any danger to the newly
introduced queen by this arrangement? — B., Co.
Gahoay.

Reply. — We should not advise depriving
the strong stock of its bees to help the weak one.
Beyond the risk of the strange bees " balling "
the queen, there is that of perhaps inflicting
permanent damage on a good stock to secure a
questionable advantage. Could not a lot of
condemned bees be got to add to the weak
stock ? It would be afar better way of assisting
it.

[881.] Moving Bees. — I am contemplating
moving to another house in less than a month,
situate about three minutes' walk from my
present abode. Kindly advise me the simplest
method of removing my bees to this place. If
I took the stock to its new station and placed
another hive in the old position to accommodate
the bees that return to the latter, and then in
the evening take them down to the others, and
repeat this a few times, is it possible to get
them all to remain in their new station after a
short period — say, four or five days ? But if I
can get my neighbour to allow me to leave
them in his garden until the winter — until such
time as they are kept in the hive, for a fortnight
or longer, if possible, then I apprehend that I
shall be safe in moving them without further
trouble. I certainly do not relish the idea of
having to pack them up and send them away a
distance of, say, three miles for a fortnight or
so. Therefore, if you can recommend the first
idea, or something better — anything but the
last method mentioned — I shall be extremely
obliged. — A. P., South Woodford.

Reply. — The plan of leaving the bees on
their present stand till cold weather has kept
them indoors for a week or two, is so much the
better one that we should adopt no other unless
compelled.

[882.] I send a sample of bees herewith
which appear to be suffering from some disease.
I have examined the hive, but can see no trace
of anything wrong. About 100 or 150 bees are

cast out of the hive every day. They are hours
dying. Most of them lie on their backs and
kick with their legs, but do not move their
bodies. Thev appear half as large again as they
should be. Three other hives, standing close to
them, seem all right. They have brood in all
stages, but not a great deal. Can you say what
it is that ails them ?— E. Wood, Balham.

Reply. — Beyond the distension of the ab-
domen, there is no visible signs of ailment in the
bees sent. It is quite possible they have par-
taken of some food which has disagreed with
them. Let them have a pound or two of well-
made syrup, given warm, and watch the result.

A WARNING.

[To the uninitiated the technical terms of bee-
keeping are somewhat trying. The following story
is a sad example of the dangers arising from too
large a dose of apiarian technique.']

Bob Bowman thought he'd keep some bees,

And make a pot of money
By selling swarms, and queens, and things,

And potting lots of honey.

He bought some books and read up hard,

To find out how to start ;
They spoke of "sections," "crates,'' and
" quilts,"

And called the game an " art."

a Excluder zinc " and " wooden dummies "

Did send Bob's heart to zero,
While " supers," " runners," " wax-founda-
tions,"

Were too much for our hero.

" A glass of water, Jane, my wife —

Oh, do, my dear, be quick !
I feel so queer, so faint and ill,

Those books have made me sick ! "

Our hero's brow was damp and cold,

He sank upon the floor ;
His wife, struck mute with grief and fear,

Stood dumb beside the door.

At last she cried, " Oh, dear ! oh, dear !

My Bob is dying fast ! "
She loosed his collar, coat, and vest,
And saw the danger past.

He ope'd his eyes and looked around,

A vacant stare he gave,
And then he staggered to a chair

(He was too weak to rave).

And when he was himself again,

Bob Bowman without doubt,
He tied those books up in a tape,

And never took them out.

And now he never thinks of bees,

Or making pots of money
By selling swarms, and queens, and things,
"And potting lots of honey.
Scarborough. A. C. W.

.-860

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [September 7, 1898.

ijrnfos to dome.

September 7th. and 8th. — Honey Show at
Birkenhead, in connexion with the Wirral and
Birkenhead Agricultural Society. A. H. Ed-
wardson, Secretary, 28 Hamilton Street, Birk-
enhead.

September 13th and 14th.— Scottish B. K. A.
second autumn show of honey and wax, in
•connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh. Schedules from John Wishart,
Secretary S. B. K. A., Melrose.

September 19th. — Honey Show, &c, in con-
nexion with the North Lonsdale Agricultural
Society at Ulverston, under the Lancashire and
•Cheshire B.K.A. rules. Prizes value 6/. 6s. Qd.
JEntries close September 7th. Schedules from
Nelson Wearing, Hon. Sec, Ellers, Ulverston.

September 23rd. — Boxburghshire B.K.A.
annual show of bees, honey, and appliances, in
the Corn Exchange, Jedburgh. Twenty-four
-classes, including seventeen for honey. For
schedules apply to Thomas Clark, Secretary,
Pleasants Schoolhouse, Jedburgh, N.B.

October 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th.— Dairy
Show at the Agricultural Hall, Islington.
Liberal prizes for honey. For schedules apply
W. C. Young, Secretary, Dairy Farmers' Asso-
ciation, 191 Fleet Street, London. Entries close
September 11th.

Hotices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers 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 communication.

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

*#* In report of the Bristol B.K.A. show in our
issue of August 24th, the name of one of the
Hon. Sees., Mr. E. A. S. Cotterell, was in
error printed " Potterell."

■J. Ball (Derbyshire). — Live Bees by Pes'. — The
first intimation we had of your be was a
notice from the postal authorities the

effect that a box awaited our applicati tfor it
at the Dead-letter Office, "Live bees' being
prohibited from passing through the post.
After some delay we obtained possession of
the box, and found one compartment (marked
IB) broken and empty. The other one con-
tained dead bees, certainly not pure blacks, as
they have an admixture of Carniolan blood.
Bees will be carried by parcels post, but in all
cases of posting the parcel need not be osten-
tatiously marked " Live Bees," or sent with
perforated ends uncovered, as it causes need-
less alarm.

B. H. — The " acid flavour " in honey is due to
its being a little unripe. It cannot be called
dark honey, being a rich golden colour. Its
worst fault is lack of flavour, due entirely to
the flowers from whence it is gathered.

W. G. Spencer. — There is no disease in the
comb sent. " Three grains," of course, means
in weight, not grains of the substance.

Edwin J. Feild (Bognor). — A few years ago
there was a successful Bee Association in
Sussex, but from some cause it has ceased to
exist. We think it possible that Mr. Alfred
Rusbridge, Sidlesham, Chichester, who is an
experienced bee-keeper, might advise you if
written to. The matter referred to in cut-
ting sent is old news, and we attach but little
credence to the theory it propounds as to
" holding the breath " giving immunity from
bee-stings.

Isaac Crawford (Co. Tyrone). — Starting a
Bee Association. — Mr. J. Huckle, Secretary
of the B. B.K.A., King's Langley, Herts, will
supply information with regard to the forma-
tion of Bee Associations.

Sheila (Berkkampstead). — Recipe for Methe-
fflin. — A good recipe for hydromel — which is
the same as metheglin — with full particulars
of making, will be found on pp. 196-7 of
B.B.J. for April 23, 1891. It will be sent
from this office for three halfpenny stamps.

Chr. Marks (Kings bridge). — Bee sent is a
worker, not a queen at all.

B. F. (Ireland). — White Super Foundation. —
Bees have a considerable dislike for working
on foundation made from white or bleached
wax. They take far more readily to that of
pale yellow colour.

W. H. Jenkins. — The sugar seems very suit-
able for bee-food, equally so with any other
pure cane sugar.

A. B. (Parracombe). — If the mischief does not
go beyond " symptoms," we should rely on
the use of naphthaline for the present, and
medicate any food the bees may require
later on.

J. Jones (Pinner). — Mead is much the same as
metheglin. See reply to " Sheila."

Subscriber (Boyle). — Foul-broody Bees. — If
your friend will not destroy the bees, you
can only get him to feed. Putting the bees
on to full sheets of foundation was the best
course to pursue under the circumstances,
since your friend will not destroy them.
Feed with medicated food, and give naphtha-
line on floor-board.

Northerner (Durham). — Sections for Showing.
— They should be encased in the glazed boxes
sold by dealers, unless the wood is perfectly
clean, in which case they look extremely well
glazed on both sides, with a narrow edging of
lace paper to hold the glass in position. But
the " edging " must not extend more than
three-eighths of an inch over the surface of the
glass.

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 586. Vol. XXI. N.S. 194] SEPTEMBER 14, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

(Btixtaxml, Ifaticeg, t£c,

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — For how long the summer
is going to last it is not easy to say, but it
bids fair to extend over so many months as
to puzzle the oldest of us to recall its equal
for length of days. Excepting that the
nights begin to make one feel that October
is drawing near, there has been almost no
break in the sunny warmth which has been
with us for so long a time past. As a con-
sequence, agricultural, horticultural, and
honey shows have, as a rule, been chronicled
as great successes. Full opportunity is also
being offered to bee-keepers for the very
necessary fixing up for winter, which is so
helped on by being got through in a fine
autumn. We trust that advantage is being
taken by our readers of the warmth while it
lasts, and that October will find none with
feeding still to do.

Early Granulation op Comb Honey. —
Tt adds one more to the many curious
characteristics of the season to hear of the
rapid granulation of honey in the comb in
many places this year. Usually there is
no need to give any thought to comb honey
stored indoors so long as the weather is
warm and September not half over. But
this year, so rapidly has granulation taken
place that several correspondents have
written complaining of sections and ex-
tracting combs being spoiled in this way.
As a matter of fact, we have ourselves been
" caught napping," and it just shows how
continually we live to learn, for we have
never before in all our experience found
combs of honey gathered not more than
eight or nine weeks ago granulated quite
solid before the close of a hot summer. The
brief experience we have had of Kent honey

is our only excuse for lack of watchfulness
on this point, otherwise we should have to
admit being rightly served. And so to cor-
respondents equally unfortunate — who ask
what is to be done under the circumstances
— we can but recommend the course we
purpose following, viz., to melt down the
combs and honey in earthenware vessels
plunged in hot water, and lift off the wax
when cold from the surface of the honey.

Bees Refusing White Super Founda-
tion.— A correspondent, whose communica-
tion appears on p. 349 (query 876), sent
for our inspection several combed sections
with an inquiry as to why the bees had
attached the comb to the tin dividers used.
But this was not the real point of the
matter, because in the sections referred to
the bees have not only built distorted and
shapeless combs — attaching them to the
dividers as stated — but they have built, or
attempted to build, them alongside the
foundation and not on it at all! — clearly
showing that the foundation used was dis-
tasteful to them, and that they would have
none of it. In one section a narrow comb
was built between the sheet of foundation
and the tin divider. In another, a piece of
comb had been formed at right angles to
the foundation, and attached to it and the
divider. Since the query referred to ap-
peared several other samples of the same
kind of foundation have been forwai'ded,
all accompanied by complaints of " bees
refusing it."

We give the matter prominence here
with the twofold object of offering a word
of advice to manufacturers and users of
foundation. To the former we say, " Give
up making foundation of this white wax."
The bleaching process it undergoes renders
it hard and less fit for the bees' use than
the softer, unbleached wax. Then it nearly
always has a " tallowy " smell, which im-
plies adulteration. But, strongest fault of

362

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [September 14, 1893.

all, the bees don't like it, as many know to
their loss. To the " user " we say, " Don't
use foundation of the kind complained of."
Plenty of the excellent pale yellow make is
to be had, and only needs asking for when
ordering. In a word, if dealers and bee-
keepers will each take the hint offered
above, what has become a chronic cause of
complaint for the last few years will be no
more heard of.

A Big "Take" of Wasps. — It was thought
by many that very serious consequences to
bee-keepers would have ensued this autumn,
in consequence of the enormous prevalence
of wasps everywhere, and one can easily
understand the feeling of alarm with which
an attack on the hives was regarded in view
of the multitudes of these freebooters seen
flying into and about dwelling-houses. But
so far complaints of mischief to bees through
wasp robbers have been fewer than usual,
and we may now fairly hope that the
threatened danger is past, and that we have
heard the last of the "plague of wasps."
Before bidding good-bye to the subject, we
must put on record the feat of Mr. Edward
Wallis, head gardener at Hamel's Park,
Braughing, Herts, who, according to a news
cutting sent us, within the last few weeks
destroyed no fewer than 450 wasps' nests,
and has also caught twenty quarts of wasps
in other ways ! Mr. Wallis may not desire
the title of "champion waspist," but he
certainly has strong claims to the gratitude
of bee-keepers for ridding them of such an
army of foes.

Editorial Opinion. — It has been our
good fortune to stand fairly well with
appliance manufacturers of any standing,
so far as our holding a perfectly inde-
pendent position in all matters connected
with trade interests in bee-goods of any
and every kind. Old advertisers in our
columns know this perfectly well, and
would, we suppose, as soon think of asking
us to give their goods a " shove up " by
either the "puff direct" or in any other
way as they would the Editor of the Times.
But less-experienced advertisers are occa-
sionally thoughtless enough to suppose
otherwise, and, in consequence, will wonder
why a gentle hint for a "good word"
brings forth no response. And it is with
no little satisfaction that we notice an
"editorial" in the last issue of the Bee-
keepers' Review (American) which so com-
pletely meets the case that we print it

below without comment, beyond repeating
the forcible observation of the member of
the Local Board — " Them's my sentiments."
The Editor says : —

" Sometimes, when sending in an advertise-
ment, the sender will ask that he be given an
editorial notice. If one advertiser is granted
this favour all are entitled to the same, and, if
each were given a notice, where would be the
advantage ? Samples of implements are some-
times sent with the intimation that an editorial
notice would be the proper thing to give in
return. Others even go so far as to say right
out fair and square, 'Give me a good editorial
notice and I will pay you anything reasonable.'
I wish it distinctly understood that I have no
editorial opinion for sale. I do not mean that
I shall never notice and give praise to articles
that are for sale. On the contrary, I think it is
an editor's business to learn which are the best
things and then to say so, but what he says
should come about as the result of his own
judgment — should come out spontaneously
without solicitation. I do not mean that a
dealer, manufacturer, or inventor must never
call an editor's attention to the superiority of
his wares ; far from it, that is all right and
proper, and then let the editor use his own
judgment as to what he shall say, if he says
anything at all, but let it be understood that
what is said editorially is said freely with no
money consideration in connexion with the
saying. I believe that our bee journals ai'e
almost wholly, if not entirely, free from this
fault."

Sending Comb Honey by Post. — Two or
three times during the present season we
have been favoured by well-meaning cor-
respondents with sections of comb honey
which have been so totally unfit for transit
by post or otherwise that they have reached
us smashed to pulp, and most of their con-
tents "gone" — into post-bags, or some-
where we know not of. Such packages
sent by post, and causing disagreeable
" messiness " to the officials, are apt to
bring bees and honey into disrepute. We
therefore request senders to exercise care in
making packages secure, and so to cause as
little friction as possible between us and the
authorities. Very rarely indeed does trouble
of this kind arise with bee-keepers experi-
enced in sending honey by post or rail.
These know so exactly what will travel
safely and what will not, that breakdown
or leakage is the exception. Many amateurs
also display a remarkable aptness for pack-
ing safely ; to others we would merely
observe that sections should never be sent
unless the comb is attached to the brood on
all sides.

September 14, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

363

WROCKWARDINE BEE CLUB.

The annual show of this enterprising Club
■was held in connexion with the exhibition of
the Welligton Horticultural Society in the
Vineyard grounds, which were kindly lent for
the occasion by Mrs. J. H. Slany, on August
4th. As usual with this Club, there was a very
fine display of honey, and in all the classes the
entries were numerous and the competition was
most keen.

Lectures were given during the afternoon by
Mr. John Palmer, of Ludlow, in a bee-tent
kindly lent, and recently invented, by Mr.
Watkins, of Hereford ; while Mr. Schofield, of
the Lancashire and Cheshire B.K.A. performed
the duty of judge. The whole of the arrange-
ments were in the hands of the indefatigable
Hon. Sec, Miss L. E. Eyton, who was assisted
in the staging by Mr. Palmer. The following
is the list of awards : —

Members'1 Classes.

Six 1-lb. sections. — 1st prize, J. Palmer,
Ludlow ; 2nd, J. Carver, Wellington ; 3rd,
F. J. Fail, Wellington.

Six 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, J. Palmer;
2nd, — Gough, Crudgington ; 3rd, J. Carver ;
h.c., W. Jervis, Admaston.

Single 1-lb. section. — 1st, J. Palmer; 2nd, J.
Carver ; 3rd, J. Shuker, Allscott.

Single 1-lb. jar of extracted honey. — 1st, J.
Palmer ; 2nd, — Gough ; 3rd, J . Carver.

Cottage Members only.

Six 1-lb. sections. — 1st, C. MainwariDg,
Charlton ; 2nd, Mr. Brookes, Leaton ; 3rd, J .
Shuker.

Six 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, Gough ;
2nd, Mainwaring ; 3rd, J. Shuker ; h.c, H.
Shuker, Allscott.

Best exhibit, not less than twenty - four
pounds. — 1st, J. Shuker.

Open Classes.

Twenty -four 1-lb. sections. — 1st, — Cart-
wright, Shawbury; 2nd, J.Carver; h.c, — Jervis.
Twenty-four 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st,

— Nickels, Day House, Shrewsbury ; 2nd, J.
Palmer; h.c, — Gough and Jervis; com., —
Oakes, Broseley.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, Miss S. Ward,
Hadnall ; 2nd, — Cartwright; h.c, — Nickels ;
com., J. Carver.

Twelve 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st,

— Nickels; 2nd, J .' Palmer ; 3rd, — Oakes; v.h.c,

— Cartwright ; h.c, — Fail and J. Carver.
Best hive for general use. — 1st, J. Carver;

2nd, — Collis, Wellington.

Observatory hive with bees. — 1st, J . Shuker.

Collection of garden bee-flowers. — 1st, G.
Lloyd, Overley.

Novelty in honey.— 1st, J. Bradley, Yockle-
ton.

Soft bee-candy. — 1st, J. Carver; 2nd, G.
Lloyd ; 3rd, Mrs. H. Austin, Allscott.

Beeswax. — 1st, — Cartwright ; 2nd, J . Carver;
3rd, — Brookes.

Honey beverage. — 1st, J. Bradley; 2nd, G.
Lloyd.

Honey vinegar. — 1st, G. Lloyd.

Cottagers only.

Cake made with honey. — 1st, Mrs. C. Main-
waring, Charlton; 2nd, Mrs. G. Lloyd, Overley.

Pot of preserve in honey. — 1st, Mrs. J.
Shuker ; 2nd, Mrs. C. Mainwaring.

Best bunch of bee-flowers. — 1st, G. Lloyd.

Children only {under 15 years).

Bunch of wild bee-flowers. — 1st, Lucy Lloyd,
Overley.

Under 8 years.

Bunch of bee-flowers. — 1st, Emily A. Lloyd,
Overley. — Communicated.

DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The twelfth annual show of the above As-
sociation was held on Sept. 6th and 7th in con-
junction with that of the Derbyshire Agricultural
Society. The show was a grand success, and
the thirteen classes were well filled, the total
number of exhibits being 136, and the honey
staged totalling 873 pounds of comb, and 1517
pounds of extracted honey. The judging was
carried out by Mr. C. N. White, assisted by Mr.
Burgin of the County Association. In all
classes the competition was most keen, notably
in those for extracted honey. In the open class,
Shropshire honey carried off the first prize,
although hard pressed by the second and the third
prize lots. The run honey was a grand lot. A
good deal of the comb honey was in the now
almost obsolete bell-glasses, a large quantity in
Association and shallow frames. The bell-
glasses looked exceedingly well, but what a waste
of energy to store honey in such receptacles ! In
the classes for sections the display was excellent,
the appearance, evenness, and finish being grand.
The competitors for the B. B. K. A. silver medal
staged eighty-four splendid sections, and every
exhibit was worthy of a prize. The arrange-
ments were carried out by Mr. W. T. Atkins,
the able Secretary of the Association, assisted
by the Committee, and the show reflected the
highest credit on the work of the Committee, in
endeavouring by distribution of the Record, by
lectures, and demonstrations with live bees, to
make bee-keeping general and a success in the
county.

The following is a list of the awards : —

Best collection of appliances. — 1st prize, C.
Redshaw ; 2nd, W. P. Meadows.

Best stock of bees in Observatory hive. — 1st,
F. Walker ; 2nd, H. Hill ; 3rd, H. C. Jaques.

Best stock of bees in Observatory hive (cot-
tagers only). — 1st, C. Clarke ; 2nd, G.H. Varty ;
3rd, A. Pearman.

364

tHE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL [September 14, 1893.

Twelve 1-lb. sections honey (members only).
— 1st, A. Pearman ; 2nd, J. Pear man ; 3rd, R.
Giles ; 4th, J. Stone.

Best exhibit of comb honey, not less than
12 lbs.— 1st, J. Stone; 2nd, S. Hawkins; 3rd,
T. Austin ; 4th, F. Walker.

Twelve 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, W.
G. Sale ; 2nd, C. Wootton ; 3rd, J. Pearman ;
4th, C. H. Dyche.

Twelve 1-lb. jars extracted honey (cottagers
only). — 1st, A. Pearman ; 2nd, R. Bridges ; 3rd,
J. R. Bridges ; 4th, J. Kirkland.

Champion Class.

Best six sections and six bottles of extracted
honey. — 1st, T. W. Jones ; 2nd, R. Giles ; 3rd,
G. H. Varty.

Open Class.

Twelve 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, J. T.
Nickels ; 2nd, J. R. Bridges ; 3rd, 0. R. Hincke-
man; 4th, A. Parry; 5th, W. Coxon; 6th, C.
Wootton ; v. h. c, Dr. Arbuckle and W. G.
Kight.

Exhibit of honey in any form (members only).
—1st, C. Wootton; 2nd, H. Hill; 3rd, T. Austin ;
4th, A. Cooper.

Beeswax. — 1st, T. E. Poxon ; 2nd, J. Stone.

Beeswax (cottagers only). — 1st, H. Meakin ;
2nd, S. Hadfield ; v. h. c, J. R. Bridges.

Fancy goods sweetened with honey. — 1st, Mrs.
Wootton ; 2nd, Mrs. Pallett ; 3rd, Mrs. Poxon ;
v. h. c, Miss Jones.

CLUN (SALOP) HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

In connexion with this annual show, held on
August 30th in the beautiful grounds of Clun
Castle, there was a nice display of honey in
three classes, open to residents within the area
covered by the Society, and cottagers were well
to the front with their exhibits. Mr. J. Palmer,
of Ludlow, acted as judge, and made the follow-
ing awards : —

Four 1-lb. sections. — 1st, S. Thomas, Oker ;
2nd, Mrs. H. Creswell, Clun; 3rd, T. Pritchard,
Bucknell.

Four 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, S.
Thomas ; 2nd, T. Pritchard ; 3rd, Mrs. H. Cres-
well.

Collection of honey. — Mrs. Griffiths, Clun.

KNIGHTON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

In connexion with the annual show of this
Society, held in the picturesque grounds of
Bryn-y-Castle, Knighton, Radnorshire, on Sep-
tember 1st, there was an exhibition of honey
in three open classes, and the Committee are to
he warmly congratulated on the numerous en-
tries and the uniformly excellent quality of the
exhibits. Mr. J. Palmer, of Ludlow, acted as
judge, and the following are the awards: —

Six 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, H. W.

Bennion, Betton Wood, Market Drayton : 2nd,
B. G. Brocklehurst, Ludlow ; v.h.c, W. Main-
waring, Brimfield ; com., — Beale, Shrewsbury,

— Hamer, Llanarthney, Carmarthenshire, and
G. Bullock, Craven Arms.

Six 1-lb. sections. — 1st, H. W. Bennion;
2nd, E. Griffiths, Knighton ; v.h.c, A. Beale ;
h.c, — Hamer.

Collection of honey. — 1st, — Hamer; 2nd,

— Dewhurst, Knighton; 3rd (extra), E. Grif-
fiths.

HONEY IMPORTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of August,
1893, was 2660/. — From a return furnished by
the Statistical Office, H.M. Customs.

PERSONAL.

You will greatly oblige if you can find space
in your next issue of the Journal for the fol-
lowing : —

On the 23rd inst. I leave for America. I hope
to be home again before Christmas. During my
absence business will be carried on as usual.
My headquarters while in America will be 550
to 560 Madison Avenue, Elizabeth, New Jersey.

I shall be pleased to attend to the commands
of my friends while in America. — Yours truly,
S. J. Baldwin.

&ttXXtS$BVfotMt.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice witl be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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, Sec, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the * British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

*„• 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.

HONEY-DEW.

[1547.] Mr. Woodley (1541, p. 355) refers to an
observation in my previous letter (1522, p. 334)
about the above. The September number of the
Illustrated Bee Journal (Gravenhorst's) has a
very interesting article by A. Alberti, dealing
with the same subject. I send you a few ex-
tracts: — He says, " Honey-dew has for a long
time been a two-sided question ; some consider it
to be the excrement of insects, but the majority
of bee-keepers now favour the idea of it being
simply pearly drops of sweetness, exuded from
the leaves of trees owing to a sudden change of

September 14, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

Z6l

temperature. He observed honey-dew at differ-
ent times upon firs, oaks, limes, willows, &c,
and it was sometimes visited and greedily carried
off by bees, while at other times they have taken
no notice of it. In the same way when branches
of trees in that condition were placed in front of
hives they have been cleared and cleaned of it
ravenously, or left quite unnoticed. This latter
is always the case when the substance was that
exuded from the body of the aphis, a green fly
which forms a greasy mess covering the upper
part of the leaves, always having a taste of rosin
or ' tannin,' which the bees refused. The case,
however, was quite different with the sweet
drops exuding from the edges of the leaves,
which were never of a greasy, dirty nature, but
always little round clear drops, which he has
watched becoming larger and larger by degrees.
After most carefully clearing a fir- branch of
every living insect, it was taken into a warm
room on a cold day* when the pearly drops soon
begun to exude from the undersides of the ends
of every leaf, and they increased during the
night in size, and were greedily taken possession
of by bees the next morning."

Whether the presence of insects indirectly
assists through attacking the leaves in the pro-
duction of honey-dew perspiration is an open
question, but Mr. Alberti has ample proofs (ad
oculos) that the real honey-dew is exuded by the
plants, and not by the greenfly, &c. It is also
to be noticed as a special characteristic that
the bubble form is easily distinguishable, under
the microscope, in the real honey-dew, whilst
insect exudation appears quite different, though
the latter may be sometimes mixed with the
dropping honey-dew when it falls flat upon the
upper surface of the leaves. There is no doubt
that honey-dew proper is caused by a very dry
atmosphere, when cold nights follow very hot
days, and more still, when the atmosphere sud-
denly becomes cooler without rain, when the
juices of plant-life containing saccharine are
arrested and the growth of the farinaceous
matter is not converted into its proper channels
and therefore exudes as honey-dew in that way.
Mr. Alberti is one of the best living authorities
on apiarian matters, and one of the greatest
living bee-masters. I was much interested in the
above article and I think every intelligent bee-
keeper will give it consideration. — J. G. K.,
Grove House, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells.

EARLY GRANULATION OF HONEY.

[1548.] One of the extraordinary features of
the season here has been the way in which
honey has granulated. On June 3rd I extracted
some honey from a hive, the first extracted
honey I had taken this season. About a month
afterwards I tried to extract some more from
the same hive, but could only get about a pound
from half-a-dozen shallow frames, the honey
being quite granulated, except a little at the top
in some of the cells. What the cause of this is
I cannot make out, as the combs were uncapped

and placed in the extractor only a few hours
after taking them off the hive. Nearly all the
honey I have taken since then has been in the
same condition — sections and shallow frames,
sealed and unsealed, granulated on the hive.
Having some shallow- frame supers with glass
sides, I could see the honey was granulated
before it was sealed over. The honey has also
been very poor in quality — dark, with a lot of
honej'-dew mixed with it. Some of my hives
have done very badly this season, only getting
about a quarter of my sections finished. From
one of my skeps the total yield was five un-
finished sections. What I should like to know
is this, how to get the granulated honey out of
the comb without destroying the comb with my
shallow frames. I would sacrifice the honey to
save the comb, if possible, as it is hardly fit
to feed the bees on. I should also like to know
if other people have been affected in the same
way in other districts, and, if so, what they
propose to do ?— R. P. W., Watford.

QUEEN-EXCLUDER ZINC.

[1549.] Referring again to my communi-
cation (152.3, p. 335) and your foot-note thereto,
I beg to quote Mr. S. Simmins, who says: —
" I am prepared to assert that better results
are to be obtained without its use." (1.) It
is news to me, indeed, to hear that "queen-
excluder zinc is indispensable in working for
extracted honey," or that it wa3 generally
admitted to be, and I have always connected
it with comb honey. When using it the
brood and surplus chambers are more di-
vided. (2.) It help3 to destroy the idea which
the bees should get, that their comb i are not
attached to the roof of their home. (3.) It also
gives the bees occupying the surplus chambers
the idea of queenlessness, which is proved by
their building queen-cells above it, and it is not
likely that bees will go into a chamber where
they feel queenless unless they can no longer
stop below for want of room. The less the
surplus chambers and brood chamber are
divided the better. Honey-boards are worse
than a sheet of zinc covering the whole of the
frames ; the so-called improved zinc is worse
than the old. (4 ) I do not think that a little
brood in the surplus chamber is such an awful
thing when running for extracted honey. (5.)
This dummy, which I send in accordance with
your request on p. 33rj, was tacked to another,
and then perforated in order to save time ; but
I do not find it a good plan — it makes the wood
more brittle. The holes of the upper one are
apt to be burnt larger than the under one. It
scorches the under surface of the wood. —
Leonard Smith, Beds.

[The opinion of, perhaps, nineteen out of
twenty of those who work extensively for ex-
tracted honey is now so stronglvin favour of the
use of excluder zinc below extracting combs that
we think it hardly needs discussion, except to re-

366

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL [September 14, 1893.

ply to the propositions put forth by our corre-
spondent, which we have numbered for con-
venience of reply to him as under : — 1. Many
experienced bee-keepers use no excluder zinc
below sections, contending that the very nature
of " sectioning " is against the probability of
the queen depositing eggs in them. But they
admit that the case is entirely different when
working for extracted honey, and we think a
little experience in this branch of honey-pro-
duction would convert our correspondent to the
same view. 2. We do not quite " catch on " to
the idea of this sentence. 3. There is no
analogy between bees occasionally starting
queen-cells in surplus chambers and " the idea
of queenlessness," which it is said to convey.
Bees not queenless raise queen-cells in brood
chambers, and why not in those intended for
surplus ? 4. Combs kept for extracting purposes
should never have had brood in them ; but the
further mischief which arises is that in many
seasons when once queens begin to breed in
surplus boxes, they stop there till the combs
are filled with brood instead of honey. Queens
should be rigidly excluded from extracting
combs. 5. Finally, we are glad to have an
opportunity of inspecting the " Wells " dummy,
referred to on p. 336, and kindly sent by our
correspondent, but it is not a true " Wells "
dummy, as he would admit if he saw an
" original." — Eds.]

A VAGRANT SWARM JOINING A
STOCK.

[1550.] I think the following may interest
some of your readers so send particulars, be-
lieving the circumstance to be very unusual. I
had been going through my five boxes of bees,
removing surplus frames of honey, and was in
the act of robbing my fifth box, the lid and
coverlet of which were off, when the familiar
sound of " ringing " came from the neighbouring
meadow. I at once perceived that a brother
apiarist was following up a renegade flight or
small swarm of bees. Clearing successive trees
and hedges, they ultimately halted and careered
overhead of my five boxes, eventually descending
straight into the box my attendant and self
were overhauling, entering for the most part by
the opened top, and not by the usual aperture.

Many a noble sheik has bitten the dust this
day, the battle raging fast and furious with the
invaders and invaded, till the ground for some
distance is strewn with the bodies of the once
doughty but meandering swarm.

I doubt not but that I am distinctly the loser
in this matter, as not only will these aliens be
cut down to a bee, but very many also of my
own stocks which were at home peacefully
biding their stores will, in their endeavours
to expel the invaders, succumb to wounds sus-
tained in defence of their colony.

Should I meet with a similar experience, I
shall at onee proceed to syringe with pepper-
mint and water. — Rowland Bobby, Norfolk.

DIFFICULTY IN EXTRACTING HONEY.

[1551.] Like "A.D.J.," I have had some
trouble in extracting this year ; in fact, I never
had such trouble before, especially in the early
part of the season. My extractor is a good one,
and has extracted some hundreds of combs in
its time. This year, however, the honey was so
thick that it refused to leave the cells, especially
in the case of new combs, so I was obliged to
scrape them down to the midribs, and strain
through a cheese-cloth. I can forward you a
sample of honey, but it is granulated. I have
always noticed that f ruit-blossom honey is harder
to extract than the later honey. — Elvey E.
Smith, Kent.

[We, too, have had some exceedingly dense
honey to extract this year, and being located in
the same county as our correspondent, it may be
from nearly the same flowers or source ; but on
no occasion has the extractor failed in removing
it well from the combs. — Eds.J

LATE HONEY-GATHERING.

[1552.] I send you herewith a section of
honey, as I should like to know what flowers it
has been gathered from. After the clover was
finished, my bees ceased getting honey, so 1
took the supers off; but, on going into the
garden on August 12th, I saw a quantity of
bees lying out of the mouth of a hive, and I
was sure " I smelt honey," so I opened a hive,
and found bees was storing honey quickly in the
brood nest. I put on a crate of sections, with
full sheets of foundation. I had a peep in on
the 14th, and found a number drawn out from
a quarter to over half an inch on each side con-
taining honey. They continued to fill rapidly
for a few days ; but, finding that the flow was
about over, I took the crate off to-day. Some
of the sections are nicely finished, and others
well forward. I send you one of the latter,
with part sealed, so that you can see it both
sealed and unsealed.

My bees have never gathered honey at home
in August before, and I am at a loss to know
where they have got it. I watched them
closely, but could not find them working on any
flowers in the neighbourhood.

I told a bee-keeper that bees were gathering
honey, thinking that he might benefit by it, as
he had some bees, but he only smiled, as much
as to say, " I know better than that," and after-
wards told me it was nonsense. But to-day I
let him see and taste one of the sections, and he
remarked, " Man, but it's good !"

I have three nucleus hives, and they are also
well stocked with honey. I converted a large
hive into a " Wells," getting a perforated dummy
from Mr. Howard, and have taken it to the
heather. If you care to have results after the
season is over, I will give you particulars. —
Station Master., August 26th, 1893.

[The section reached us in a state of pulp,
and as for the honey, there was not so much

September 14, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

367

left as allowed us to get a taste of it, so that we
can form no opinion as to what it was from.
In justice to the postal authorities — who, no
doubt, got the honey where they did not want
it — we must say it is not fair to send unfinished
and unsealed sections by post, as they are certain
to be broken in transit. — Eds.]

MY FIRST YEAR'S BEE-EXPERIENCES.

[1553.] If you could find a corner of your
Journal, perhaps the ups and downs of an
amateur may be of some use in helping others
to avoid the quicksands and whirlpools which
every beginner must face.

Situated on a fruit farm in a lovely part of
Worcestershire, I watched with interest the
manipulations of a friend who had charge of
four stocks of bees belonging to the place, and
who, in spite of discouraging remarks, gradually
felt his way to the keeping of bees without the
help of brimstone. Seeing the interest with
which I watched his operations, he kindly lent
me Cowan's Guide-book, which I soon devoured,
also Pettigrew's book ; and one day, whilst on
duty together, he induced me to buy some large
straw skeps, eighteen inches by twelve inches,
which he was about to order. During the next
week I found two stocks in small skeps for sale,
one of which was very strong. The old lady
wanted 21. for them, but I managed to bargain
for 1^. 16s. On the evening of March 10th my
bee-friend brought them safely home.

The first few months of my bee-keeping were
not very eventful. I did a little feeding to help
the bees on, some of it being, I supposed, in-
judicious, such as pushing in sticks of candy at
the entrances, which started robbing a little ;
but the bees got on well, and in April I deter-
mined to try a self-hiver of my own contrivance.
But the bees made no attempt to swarm, so its
efficiency or otherwise was not tested ; and, in
consequence, on the 6th of May, with a shade
temperature of 75°, I determined to make an
artificial swarm, notwithstanding that my bee-
friend was unable to help me. So alone, and
with some fear and trembling, I prepared for
the fray. And what a fray ! It will be a loDg
time before I forget this, the first " event " of
my bee-life so far.

I drove some smoke into the skep, which was
so full of bees that they came out in streams
through the smoke; waited a minute, and then
turned the skep on to its crown, pulled off the
floor-board, and placed a large skep on top,
which fitted like a lid, wrapped the sides for
about four minutes, took off skep with some
four pounds of bees in it, set in position, and
then placed floor-board on stock, and turned it
back to its proper position, when to my dismay
I found the combs had become detached through
my rough handling and no supports in the hive !
I now began to sweat in very deed, and to add
to my discomfort a dozen or more persons con-
gregated at a safe distance, and passed uncom-
plimentary remarks at my madness in interfering
with bees before smothering them. This did

not improve my method of working, and I re-
torted, perhaps with interest. However, I re-
turned to the charge, determined to do or die.
The wife in the meantime bringing some dishes
to my hand, I lifted out the combs the best way
I could, found two pieces with brood in, which
I placed, on one side, the crown of skep by this
time having about four inches of honey in it, and
the stings from the drowning bees whilst lifting
out the combs, though painful in the extreme,
had to be carefully concealed from my friends
the onlookers.

I got the honey safely indoors, returned and
put the pieces of comb with brood in large skep,
setting it on the old stand, into which bees in
thousands seemed to come. They then clustered
outside, and refused to take down any syrup.
The swarm, however, went on all right, taking
syrup well, and gaining six pounds in eight
days, having taken twelve pounds of syrup.
The stock meantime only took four pounds and
gained two pounds in same time, so I decided
to buy a queen, and not wait for them to rear
one, so I bought one from the Rev. C. Brereton
(Sussex) — a Carniolan, which, according to his
instructions, I placed for half an hour in my
pocket at dusk in a match-box ; drove the bees
back from crown of skep with a little smoke,
and had the pleasure of seeing her majesty
safely run down. I then covered up warmly
and placed some food on. The next day all
wrs quiet. Two days after I saw pollen being
earned in.

June 9th. — On weighing No. 1, with Carnio-
lan queen, I found it had only gained one pound
In three weeks. Again weighed on July 9th,
gained nine pounds ; fed twelve pounds of
syrup, they being so cross and so many bees —
fear not much stores ; turned up skep and found
it three parts full and a large cluster of bees in
the empty space in hive. Weighed again
August 22nd, and find they have gained six
pounds ; total net weight, twenty-six pounds.

Weighed the swarm June 9th, gained six
pounds ; again weighed on July 9th, gained
twenty pounds ; turned up and found about the
same amount of comb as stock, and finally
weighed up August 22nd, and find a gain of
seventeen pounds ; total net weight, forty-three
pounds. Stock, which seems all bees, twenty-six
pounds ; swarm, with two sheets of foundation,
forty-three pounds. Will finish next week and
give balance-sheet if you think it worth a place
in Journal. — C. H., Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove,
Worcestershire.

BEES AND HONEY IN JERSEY.

[1554.] Agreeably with your request (B.B.J.,
page 815), I have sent three jars of Jersey
honey, which are fair examples of what has
been extracted here during June, July, and
August. These honeys have been obtained from
various sources : No. 1 is from fruit-bloom — my
first extract of early honey ; No. 2 is the middle
crop, and its dark colour is caused by honey-
dew, which has been gathered pretty freely by

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [September 14, 1893.

the bees. The "early risers" began working
on the leaves about three o'clock each morning,
and — not having joined the Eight Hours
movement — they also worked late into each
evening. With respect to honey-dew, Jersey
is in good company this year, it having been
complained of in different parts of France,
Switzerland, and even in America. The
sample marked No. 3, which is bright and
clear, is from my third extract, just taken, and
is mostly from clover and heather. As to the
yield of honey with us, I may say that several
small apiaries of four hives that have come
under my notice, have each produced between
149 and 160 pounds of honey, or an average
of about thirty-five to forty pounds per hive, at
the July extract. These were first-rate hives ;
in several other cases, with second-rate colonies,
the yield has been less, For myself, I got
twenty-five pounds per hive from the July
extract, but 1 have had besides a previous ex-
tract of fruit-bloom honey. Then the white
clover, and second crop red clover has been ex-
ceptionally good this year, and we expect our
total extract from this will about equal that
obtained in July, and the quality is better, as
you will see from sample No. 3. Some parts of
the island will yet, however, give an extract,
which will be from heather only. I will send
you a sample of it later on, so that you may
compare our southern heather honey with that
from the north of the British Isles.

The honey-flow, although it lasts long, is not
at any time sufficiently strong with us to make
the place a good one for the production of comb
honey; hives have only produced, thus far,
between one and three dozen sections, but the
crop of these is not yet completed. There have
been very few natural swarms. Visitors to our
charming island all express surprise at the fresh
condition of its vegetation during this exception-
ally warm and dry summer. — Peteb. Bois,
Jersey, August 28th.

WORKING A "WELLS" HIVE.

[1555.] I have a "Wells "hive stocked as
follows : — On June 7th two of my swarms came
off and settled together ; they were hived about
sunset, the queens and bees being divided in two
lots, and hived in a " Wells" hive that I had in
readiness. These swarms did very well, and in
about three weeks I supered them, but as no
honey was to be had in July, nothing was done
in supers. On examining them in mid-August
I found the combs on each side of the dummy
full of pollen, and all the perforations in the
latter stopped up. The pollen-filled combs were
removed, and replaced by two frames of empty
comb, while the holes in the dummy were burnt
out with hot wires. The bees were then fed
with a slow feeder. In four days, however, the
holes in dummy were again stopped. Should
they be opened again, or left as they are ? The
dummy is one-eighth of an inch thick, with one-
eighth-of-an-inch holes half an inch apart.

There was no propolising of the holes till the
bees had got rid of the drones.

It has been a bad honey season in this part ;
very little in June and none in July. August
has been the best month for honey-gathering. —
Geo. Head, Wink field, September ith.

[We should certainly clear the propolis from
the perforations when the bees have ceased
gathering propolis for the season. It is evident
that, from some cause or other, the bees have
not clustered on the perforated dummy in true
" Wells" fashion.— Eds.]

ffitlpm ham % pitas.

Beemount, Stoke Prior, September 7th. — What
an exceedingly long summer we are enjoying
this year! — beginning in early spring, and
apparently going to continue into the autumn.
My bees have been very busy the last few days,
and I wondered from whence they obtained
their supplies, but to-day I discovered their
happy hunting-ground. About five minutes'
walk from here is a large orchard, containing
numbers of pear and apple-trees. I had occasion
to visit this orchard this afternoon, and was
surprised and secretly delighted to find that
numbers of over-ripe pears and apples which
had been partially eaten by wasps and birds
were now being eagerly devoured by bees. At
least 200 bees to one wasp were at work on
the juices of the fallen fruit. I gave my stocks
a good overhaul yesterday, and was more than
pleased to find that each hive contained a large
amount of brood iu all stages. I succeeded in
"spotting" the queens without much difficulty,
and. each appeared to be in good condition.
There was also a fair amount of honey in the
brood chambers. The two artificial swarms
from straw skeps, and the stock I transferred
from a straw skep into a bar-frame, August 1st,
were in A 1 form. I am now feeding up
rapidly where required, so as to have all ready
to pack up for winter. I could not but notice
how very docile the bees were yesterday when
being examined. I did not get a sting. This
time last year they were anything but gentle. —
Pebcy Leigh.

North O.von, September 10th. — The season
here has been exceptionally good. From eight
hives, spring count (five bar-frame and three
skeps), I have taken 480 pounds of honey.
From my best hive (two casts united in 1892) I
took 105 sections, my next best yielding 100
pounds of extracted honey. I worked for ex-
tracted honey on the storifying principle, with-
out using queen-excluder zinc. I don't think I
shall repeat this mistake, as the first lot of
frames put on, when taken off the end of the
season, extracted very badly, and if my founda-
tion had not been wired I should not have been
able to extract at all. I have had two swarms
from one of the three skeps. The others did
not swarm, but gave me four fine supers of
comb honey. I have since driven them, and

September 14, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

369

united in a bar-frame hive. Swarms have been
very scarce here this season. Skeps have not
done very well. I have driven ten, which did not
average above twenty-eight pounds each — combs,
brood, and honey. A friend of mine has taken
sixty-five pounds of honey in sections from
driven bees last autumn, put on half-sheets of
foundation. — G. Jordan.

($ntxm rair Implies.

[883.] The « Wells" Dummy.— I. I have
made a hive on the " Wells " principle, and
fitted a wood dummy like enclosed sample, but
somewhat thinner, having 188 perforations. Is
this enough ? 2. Would a dummy of common
perforated zinc answer the same purpose (not
queen-excluder zinc) ? 3. How soon can bees
be put in a hive after it has been painted ? 4.
If I bought two lots of driven bees — say, about
four or five pounds in each lot — and put them
in a " Wells " hive, are they likely to do well if
fed ? 5. Is it necessary to remove combs from
hives for wintering ? — Castel CANEj.E'asi Dul-
wich, September &th.

Reply. — 1. The wood should not exceed one-
eighth of an inch in thickness, and be of best
pine, well seasoned. The perforations in pattern
are rather too large, and much too far apart.
They should also be burnt with a hot wire, after
boring, to remove the burr. You should, if
possible, get a genuine " Wells " dummy as a
pattern. 2. No; zinc is not suitable for the
purpose. 3. Just as soon as the strong smell of
the paint has gone — say, three or four days.
4. If you have ready-built combs to put the
bees on, they would do well enough, but it is more
or less trying to compel them to build new
combs and store them for wintering on. 5. Not
absolutely necessary ; in fact, many bee-keepers
do not contract their hives at all for wintering.

[884.] Losing Queens — Winter Passages —
Food for Winter, 8fc. — May I be allowed once
more to trouble you with a few questions on
introducing queens and wintering stocks ? 1.
I introduced a Carniolan queen on the 26th ult.,
after having first cut out six queen-cells — all
there were in the hive. I examined again on
August 31st, finding a small patch of eggs in
the centre of one of the combs. To-day
(September 8th) I wished to see how matters
were progressing, and found to my utter
astonishment three queen-cells sealed over, and
apparently about nine days old ! There were
also some few grubs and nymphs in a good-sized
patch. I could not find the queen, nor have I
seen her since introducing her ; neither did I see
any eggs after having made a most thorough
search. Would you kindly advise me what to
do under the circumstances, seeing the near ap-
proach of cold weather ? 2. Is it absolutely
necessary to make winter passages through all
the combs, and to extract from all unsealed cells?
If so, when should this be done ? 3. Can you
tsll me why Demerara sugar (the brown or

yellow) is not suitable as a bee-food, and would
the syrup recipe No. 4 (page 163 in the British
Bee-keeper^ Guide - book) keep through the
winter in well-corked bottles or jars P 4. I
notice naphthaline as being recommended to
place in the hive before closing for the winter.
Have not the bees an objection to the use of
this ? — if not, where should this be placed, and
how much in each hive ? 5. How many pounds
of honey does each pound of bees require to
winter safely upon ? I understand they require
empty combs to cluster on. How should these be
arranged with the sealed stores ? 6. Has Herts
a Bee-keepers' Association ? — J.J. K.

Reply. — 1. If the queen is really gone, as
appears likely, there is no remedy but re-queen-
ing, for it is almost certain that the young
queens now hatching will never be fertilised.
We fear you have overlooked the fact that too
much manipulation of frames in autumn is
fraught with danger to newly-introduced queens.
2. No. Many good bee-keepers never trouble to
cut winter passages through combs, but merely
lay a couple of sticks across tops of frames to
effect the same purpose. 3. See reply to W. S.
Trapp on p. 370. 4. Full particulars for using
are sent along with the package. Bees don't
quite like the smell of naphthaline, but nothing
serious happens in consequence. 5. A good
stock requires about twenty pounds of stores to
winter. Don't mind about them having empty
combs to cluster on, and let the bees make their
own arrangements. 6. No. Formerly it had
a very strong Association, but it has ceased to
exist for some years.

[885.] Dealing with Foul Brood. — I send a
piece of brood for examination. The history
of the hives is as follows : Two weak stocks
were joined on April 19th. They have got
fairly strong, but have yielded very little
surplus. On August 7th I caught the queen,
and introduced the bees and queen driven from
a skep I have had for some years. A day or
two later I caught the skep queen, rendering
the colony queenless, as I was expecting a
Carniolan queen. There was no fighting when
I joined them, and it was a very hot day. On
Wednesday, August 30th, I looked in to see if
they were raising a queen. I found three queen-
cells and four frames of dead brood. I have
never seen foul brood, nor heard of it in this
neighbourhood. I have two other hives quite
close. I have burnt the four combs all but
what I send, but have done nothing else, and
shall be very glad of directions. — A. J. N.

Reply. — The stock is badly affected with
foul brood, and we should certainly advise the
total destruction of bees, combs, and everything
loose about the hive, thus putting the disease
out of sight for ever. The other alternative is
buying a queen to unite to a lot of diseased
bees, which would require new combs built on
full sheets of foundation, and furnished with
twenty pounds of food to winter on, with the
constant risk of infecting the other healthy
stocks during the process of attempting a cure.

870

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [September U, 1893.

3.] Making a " Wells" Hive.— I. I in-
tend to try the " Wells " system next season,
and am going to put two driven stocks into a
double hive, hut I want to know what kind of a
division to put between the two parts of the
brood chamber. Would perforated zinc do, or
has it to be wood, and if so, what thickness is
best, and what size ought the holes to be ? 2.
Was thelSO pounds of honey reported to be taken
by Mr. Wells, extracted or comb honey ? I
suppose it would be last year that he got it ? If
you would tell me the numbers of B. B. J. or
Record that have a full account of the " Wells "
hive I should like to have them, in order that I
may get all the information possible. I know of
several bee-keepers who have taken one hundred

Sounds of extracted honey from a single-queen
ive this year, and another has taken upwards
of seventy sections of clover honey, and forty-
two of heather honey from one hive, making 112
sections from a single-queen hive. In my
" Wells " hive I intend to have the entrances at
the opposite ends of hive and also from centre
of hive to each end, painted different colours,
and the bottom board of each half -hinged at the
centre, in order to drop it and give large entance
and more ventilation when required. 3. Is there
any known way of separating heather honey
from wax when gathered in frames instead of
sections ? — Thos. Hartley.

Reply. — 1 and 2. Bee Journals for April
20th, May 19th, and Nov. 3rd, 1892, give the
desired information. 3. Heather honey can be
removed from the cOdibs by means of strong
presses made for the purpose. The old method
followed was to cut up the combs into slices and
hang them in a coarse woollen bag in front of the
fire. This is called " dropped " honey ; but
pressure is required to force it through the bag.

[887.] Bees Refusing to enter a " Wells"
Hive. — I have a " Wells " hive which I wanted
to fill, and got four stocks for the purpose.
When I put the first two of them to "their
quarters, they went in readily ; the other two
refused distinctly to be forced into theirs. I
tried them three successive times, but was
thoroughly beaten by them. They always
clustered on the outside of the house, and went
back into the straw hive readily when brushed
down, but would not enter the " Wells.'' I may
say that I had the hives in boxes of two hives
each, and also that I had foundation on the
bars and a frame of honey for their use. I
shall be glad to have your views on the matter,
as I cannot understand it. — James McLeod,
Dalbeattie, September 7th.

Reply. — We do not quite understand your
" having the hives in boxes of two hives each."
Nor do you state how the entrances were ar-
ranged. If we had experienced any difficulty
in getting a swarm to enter a hive by the
entrance, we would remove a frame or two and
throw them in at the top. On the other hand,
a " Wells " hive made as Mr. Wells uses them
can have the floorboard lowered three inches, so

that if a swarm was thrown down in front of
an entrance like that, the bees could not help but
pass in.

>jxoto i0 fattxaz.

September 19th. — Honey Show, &c, in con-
nexion with the North Lonsdale Agricultural
Society at Ulverston, under the Lancashire and
Cheshire B.K.A. rules. Prizes value 61. 6s. Qd.
Entries closed. Nelson Wearing, Hon. Sec,
Ellers, Ulverston.

September 23rd. — Roxburghshire B.K.A.
annual show of bees, honey, and appliances, in
the Corn Exchange, Jedburgh. Twenty-four
classes, including seventeen for honey. For
schedules apply to Thomas Clark, Secretary,
Pleasants Schoolhouse, Jedburgh, N.B.

October 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th.-^Dairy
Show at the Agricultural Hall, Islington.
Liberal prizes for honey. For schedules apply
W. C. Young, Secretary, Dairy Farmers' Asso-
ciation, 191 Fleet Street, London. Entries closed
September 11th.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

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

W. S. Teapp. — Sugar for Bee-food. — No doubt
the sugar sent would be the kind ordered.
No. 7 in list is the sugar we recommend for
autumn feeding when our opinion is asked.
Some bee-keepers, however, use No. 4 for
both autumn and spring feeding. Whether
they are quite wise or not in doing so is
another matter. The objection to brown or
raw sugar for bees is that it is apt to cause
dysentery, because of the molasses or treacle
it contains, and which is removed in the
refining process.

F. W. Hamlyn. — Sending Samples of Honey for
our Opinion. — Honey is of very fair quality,
from white clover. Our correspondent must
not take it amiss if we venture to utter a mild
protest against sending samples of honey in
unsuitable vessels, and mention his case as an
example of what often occurs. It reaches us
in a bottle or jar of brown glass, and with a
neck so small as to hardly admit a lead pencil,
consequently we cannot judge the colour or
the aroma properly, nor can the _ honey be
easily got at without breaking the jar.

A. G. S. (Lincoln). — Comb is affected with foul
brood, and should be promptly dealt with as
directed in this Journal.

J. Barry (Canonagh).— The Secretary, Mr. J.
Huckle, Kings Langley, Herts, will supply
information as to membership of the British
Bee-keepers' Association.

%* Several letters, reports t dte.% are in type,
and will appear next week.

THE

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 587. Vol. XXI. N.S. 195.] SEPTEMBEE 21, 1893.

[PublisTied Weekly.

$foii0rid, Itoiices, t£c.

AUSTEALTAN BEE-KEEPEES AND
EUCALYPTUS HONEY.

Quite an unusual amount of interest,
combined with, perhaps, a gentle *' nutter,"
has been aroused in our editorial sanctum
within the last few days, owing to the re-
ceipt of several communications — closely
following each other — from readers dwell-
ing on quite the other side of the world ;
to wit, in Australia and New Zealand. But
our personal interest was very pleasurably
heightened by a call, on the 13th inst.,
from a veritable colonial bee-keeper, in the
person of Mr. J. D. Pender, vice-president
of the Hunter Eiver Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion, Australia, who has been travelling in
various parts of Europe, and left England
on the 15th for America, on the way back
to his distant home in the antipodes.

A Scotchman by birth, Mr. Pender has
been settled for about thirty years in
Australia, and is a thorough-going colonist.
He has been combining business with
pleasure, one of his " missions " here being
to endeavour — in the interests of his Asso-
ciation and its members — to find out what
prospect there is of establishing a market
in this country for Australian honey.

This brings us to the subject with which
the correspondence, to which reference has
been made, especially deals ; and as the
communication printed below only reached
our hands a few hours before Mr. Pender
himself called, the coincidence was mutually
helpful. It reads as follows : —

" In your issue of June 1st, in reply to ' A
Working Man ' (Query 790, p. 216), you make
some erroneous statements in regard to Aus-
tralian honey, and which are calculated to do
an injuiy to a trade we are now striving to
open up on the English market. In the first
jplace, you state that ' Much of the colonial

honey is so rank and strong in flavour as to be
totally unfit for table use.' Now, this is not so,
unless a very small quantity occasionally, from
some insignificant source. Further on you say,
' This is especially the case in some parts of
Australia and New Zealand, where the uTi-
tree " and the various eucalyptus or gum-trees
grow so abundantly as to quite spoil the flavour
of the better-class honeys collected in such dis-
tricts.' Now, the fact is that nearly all our
better-class honeys are obtained from the euca-
lypti, and, instead of being ' rank and strong,'
are considered equal in flavour to any in the
world.

" I am posting you a sample of eucalyptus
honey from the spotted gum {Eucalyptus macu-
lata). It has only been gathered within the
past week, and extracted this morning. What
do you think of it ? Is it ' rank and strong ?'

" Should any of your readers wish to obtain
samples of pure eucalypti honey direct from the
producer, I will gladly send same, upon receipt
of stamps sufficient to cover cost of package,
postage, &c, which will be about 9d. — H. L.
Jones, Mel Bonum Ajnary, Goodna, Queens-
land, Australia, August 5th."

Before proceeding further, we would ask,
Where are the " erroneous statements ? "
Our correspondent, to be quite fair, should
have quoted the full paragraph, which reads
thus : " Good colonial honey there is, no
doubt, but much of it is so rank and strong
in flavour as to be wholly unfit for table
use." This statement is not erroneous, but
perfectly accurate, judging from our past
experience of colonial honey sent over here.
The sample received from Mr. Jones is im-
mensely superior to what we have been
accustomed to see — good in colour and con-
sistency ; but it, too, has the peculiar flavour
and strong aroma which, in our opinion,
unfits it for table use in this country.

Mr. Pender, whose mission, as we have
said, was exactly in accord with the views
expressed by the writer of the letter before
us, had with him samples of Australian honey
which we considered superior to that from
the Mel Bonum apiary, and, during the
very enjoyable hour or two spent in con-

372

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [September 21, 1893,

verse with him, the pros and cons of the
importation question were fully gone into.
We were also enabled to submit to him a
few samples, good and bad, of British honey
for the purpose of comparison between it
and that from Australia Moreover, we
have promised to send, in the course of the
next few days, further samples of British
honey, which will probably reach Mr.
Pender's home on the Hunter River before
he himself arrives there. By thus placing
the matter fairly before the members of the
Australian Association, they will be able to
realise the difference between British and
eucalyptus honey, and judge how far the
latter is likely to find favour here.

Viewing the importation question in a
practical light, there seems to be only two
courses open in dealing with honeys gathered
from, or strongly impregnated with, that of
the various eucalypti. The first and best
of them is, in our view, to " push " the
honey, specially with regard to its valuable
medicinal properties. We take it these are
admitted, and considering the favour with
which the various eucalyptus oils are now
regarded for their antiseptic and medicinal
properties, there is every chance of it meet-
ing with a ready sale as a medicinal honey.
On the other hand, if there is to be any
hope of Australian honey being successfully
placed on the British market as a table
honey, the flavour and aroma of the euca-
lyptus must be got rid of, by evaporation or
otherwise. We are told that this can be
done — and if that is so, well and good. If
not, we can but express our opinion that
the task of educating the British public to
appreciate the peculiar flavour, which seems
to be thought highly of in the Colonies, is
one which we fear our Australian bee-keep-
ing friends will never succeed in accom-
plishing.

JOHN HUOKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.

In June last an appeal was made in our
columns on behalf of the fund now being raised
as a testimonial to Mr. John Huckle. We do
not know that anything can be added to what
was then said, but, before closing the list, we
may he pardoned for not observing to the full
the delicate and seemly reserve proper on such
occasions, in order to remove an erroneous im-
pression which appears to prevail, and which
has, no doubt, had an adverse effect on the fund
itself. In a word, there seems to be an idea
prevalent among bee-keepers that Mr. Huckle

is comfortably provided for, so far as- worldly-
goods go, and that pecuniary help is, therefore,
in his case quite unneeded. We go no further
than saying that this is unfortunately not the-
fact, and it is only mentioned here because
many names are missing from the subscription,
list which we are sure will be found thereon
when Mr. Huckle's true position is made known.
It has also been suggested that Hon. Secre-
taries of Bee-keepers' Associations would be
enabled to augment the fund by receiving small
sums from members, and forwarding them,
either in bulk as a contribution from the Asso-
ciation, or with names, as may be preferred.
We need hardly say that any help will be much
appreciated by those who are interesting them-
selves in the matter, and the list will be kept
open a short time longer for the purpose of
seeing what can be done in this direction. The
full list of donatious received or promised is as
under:— £ s. d..

The Baroness Burdett-Coutts 3 3 0
Sir Thos. Gibson-Car mi chael,

Bart 3 3 0

Thos. W. Cowan . . ..330

Henry Jonas . . ..330

Geo. Neighbour & Sons . . 3 3 0
Hon. & Rev. H. High . . 2 2 0
W. Burdett-Coutts, Esq.,

M.P. .. ... ..220

Capt. Campbell .. ..220

W. Broughton Carr .. 2 2 0

Jesse Garratt . . ..220

T. B. Blow 110

W. P. Meadows . . ..110
Walter Martin . _ ..110
Capt. St. G. Ortf . . ..110
Wm. Woodley . . ..100

C. N. Abbott 0 10 0

Abbott Bros 0 10 6

W. Carr (Newton Heath) . . 0 10 6.

C. Overton 0 10 6

Alfred Watkins . . .. 0 10 6

Miss Beach 0 10 0

Rev. Dr. Bartru-n . . . . 0 10 0

Wm. Dixon 0 10 0

Miss Eyton 0 10 0

Miss Gayton . . . . 0 10 0

J. G. Highton . . . . 0 10 0
F. H. Lemare . . . . 0 10 0

George Roberts . . . . 0 10 0

George Rose . . . . 0 10 0

E. D. T 0 10 0

A. S. Horlick .. ..070
Miss J. Cooper . . .050

Rev. R.N. Lamb .. ..050

J.H.N 0 5 0

W. McNally . . ..050
C. Redshaw . . ..050
T. D. Schofield . . ..050
John Walton .. ..050
J. Willard 0 5 0

Carried forward

41 8 e

September 21, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

373

Brought forward

.£41

8

6

T. W

.. 0

5

0

Geo. Wells . .

. 0

5

0

R. Philipson

. 0

2

6

W. T. Anstey

. 0

2

0

A. W. H

. 0

I

u

T. & W. Moore . .

. 0

1

0

A. Sti'inger & J Wrench

. 0

1

0

Total

. 42

6

0

SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS' .
ASSOCIATION.

Glasgow Autumn Show.

This show was held in conjunction with the
West of Scotland Horticultural Society's Exhi-
bition in St. Andrew's Halls, Glasgow, on
Wednesday, the 6th inst., and in connexion
therewith our esteemed correspondent ' C. M. R.'
Fends the following : —

" Notes on the Honey Exhibits ai the
Glasgow Flower Show.

" (1) Remarkably fine Honey Displays. — Fair
entries. Two extra fine. One too dark. The
first prize, upwards of 200 pounds, contained a
stack of perfect sections, and fine designs in
cross and crown. The second, magnificent
display of run honey and hell-glasses. The
third, first-rate non-sectional supers.

" (2) A strong show of Sections. — Some with
dash of heather honey. Very difficult to decide
between the best. We prefer a mild-flavoured
honey, what we might call a blend. Heather
honey in sections not quite so perfect in form,
but exquisite in flavour and aroma. Some lost
places for lack of tidy ' get-up.'

"(3) Sun Honey. — Fine lot of good stuff.
The class for three jars strongly represented.
As usual, difference of opinion on awards, but
competent judges did their level best.

"(4) Non-sectional Supers. — These were the
b^st I have yet seen. Prefer supers with glass,
which can be examined all round, to those
where top of honey alone is seen. Super of
heather, in fine form, well shown. Small
design, ' Scotia,' very good.

"(5) Wax. — Good single cakes. Prefer a
bright yellow colour. Display good in form,
deficient in colour.

" Perfect museum of the natural history of the
honey-bee and its management on view."

Judges : Rev. Robert McClelland, Inchinnan ;
Rev. J. B. Robertson, Leswalt ; Mr. Holms,
Sandyford ; Mr. Gordon, Glasgow.

Prize List.

Open Classes.

Most attractive display of honey. — 1st prize,
Win. Wilson, Acrehead, Dumfries ; 2nd, Ross
& Kerr, Dumfries ; 3rd, John M'Creath, Dum-
fries ; com., Jame3 Henderson, Knockbuckle,
Kilmalcolm.

Super of comb honey. — 1st, Wm. Ho<™-
Castle Douglas ; 2nd, James Learmont, Bal-
maghie ; 3rd, Sydney Roebuck, Dumfries.

Super of comb honey, not over 10 lbs. — l>t
Wm. Wilson; 2nd, Hugh Jamieson, Hopeton,
Glasgow; 3rd, Wm. Hogg; com., Sydney
Roebuck.

Six sections. — 1st, Ross & Kerr ; 2nd, John
M'Creath ; 3rd, James Learmont ; h.c, Wm.
Hogg-
Twelve sections. — 1st, Wm. Hogg; 2nd, Wm.
Wilson; 3rd. Ross and Kerr ; h.c, Symington,
Coodham, Kilmarnock.

Three sections. — 1st, Wm. Hogg ; 2nd, Wm.
Wilson; 3rd, Sydney Roebuck; h.c, Ross &
Kerr.

Super of heather honey. — 1st, Hugh Jamieson ;
2nd, Sydney Roebuck ; 3rd, John Muir, Castle
Kenuedy.

Best exhibit of heather honey. — 1st, J. Scott,
Dudgeon, Longnewton, St. Boswells; 2nd, John
Muir ; 3rd, James Henderson ; h.c, H. A.
Webster, Plevna, Gourock.

Display of comb honey. — Wm. Hogg.

Extracted honey, in jars not exceeding 2 lbs. —
1st, J T. Nickels, The Day House, Shrewsbury ;
2nd, Sydney Roebuck ; 3rd, Wm. Wilson; h.c,
John Muir.

Extracted honey, in jars not exceeding 2 lb«.
each, the produce of bees kept in Scotland. — 1st,
Sydney Roebuck; 2nd, J ohn M'Creath ; 3rd,
Wm. Hogg; h.c, George Symington.

Three jars extracted honey. — 1st, John
M'Creath; 2nd, Sydney Roebuck; 3rd, Wm.
Hogg ; h.c, George Symington.

Best display of British beeswax. — Wm.
Wilson.

Single cake of beeswax, 2 lbs. weight. — 1st,
Wm. Hogg ; 2nd, John Walker, Alexandria :
3rd, H. W. Seymour, Henley-on-Thames.

Best design in honey-comb. — 1st, Wm. Wil-
son ; 2nd and 3rd, Sydney Roebuck.

HONEY FAIR AT HEREFORD.

The ninth annual show of honey, under the
auspices of the Herefordshire Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation, was held in the Butter Market, Here-
ford, on September 6th, under circumstances
which produced considerable success. This has
been the best year for honey that has been
experienced since the Jubilee year, and the
yield is about the same, consequently the quality
of the exhibits — which were more numerous
than they have been for some time past — was
rather above the average. The exhibitors — of
whom there were thirty-two, the exhibits
numbering sixty-five — aimed rather at quality
than great bulk. Nearly two tons of honey
were exhibited. There was a very fair demand
throughout the day, the trade being more
especially of a retail character, and the prices
ranged from 9d. for run honey in bulk to 10c?.
and Is. for honey in jars and sections. The
judges were Dr. T. A. Chapman and Mr. J. H.
Burt. Under the presidency of Mr. J. Rankin,

374 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL [September 21, 1893.

M.P., with Mr. A. Watkins as the able Hon.
Secretary and Treasurer, assisted by Local
Secretaries in different parts of the county,
the Association is doing a highly useful work,
and is to be greatly congratulated upon the
success which every year attends the fair. The
following is the

Pbize List.

Best exhibit of honey not exceeding 200 lbs.
—1st prize, J. H. Wootton, Byford ; 2nd, M.
Meadham, Hereford ; 3rd, W. Tomkins, Burg-
hill ; h.c, R. Davidson, Byford.

Twelve 1-lb. jars of extracted honey (open
classes). — 1st, W. Tomkins; 2nd, Mrs. Blashill,
Bridge Sollars ; 3rd, W. James, Burghill.

Twelve 1-lb. jars of extracted honey (novices).
— 1st, W. James ; 2nd, H. M. Mainwaring,
Brimfield ; 3rd, E. Charnock, Leintwardine.

Twelve 1-lb. sections of comb honey (open). —
1st, M. Meadham ; 2nd, Mrs. Blashill; 3rd, C.
Turner, Byford.

Twelve 1-lb. sections of comb honey (novices).
— 1st, W. James; 2nd, E. J. Thomas, Here-
ford ; 3rd, Joseph Pugh, Hereford.

Three combs of sealed honey in shallow
frame. — 1st, J. H. Wootton ; 2nd. M. Mead-
ham.

Best exhibit of honey in any shape (cottagers
only). — 1st, W. James; 2nd, W. Farley. —
Communicated.

VALE OF LEVEN BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

This Association held its annual honey show
in the Burgh Hall, Dumbarton, on September
2nd. In the honey section there were one
hundred entries staged by thirty-one exhibitors,
and the produce shown was very choice in
quality.

The Rev. R. McClellan, Inchinnan, and Mr.
James Johnston, Teugh, undertook the duties
of judging, their awards being as follows : —

Twenty-one 1-lb. sections — John M'Gibbon,
Luss.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, John M'Gibbon ;
2nd, Alex. M'Gregor, Croftamie ; 3rd, John
Miller, Redhouse.

Six 1-lb. sections. — 1st, John M'Gibbon ; 2nd,
John Miller ; 3rd, Thomas Dingwall, Arden.

Best super, not to exceed 20 lbs. — 1st and 2nd,
J. M. Martin, Auchendennan ; 3rd, T.Dingwall ;
h.c, W. D. Grant, Redhouse.

Super, not to exceed 12 lbs. — 1st, Alex.
M'Gregor ; 2nd, James Buchanan, Jamestown ;
3rd, John M'Intosh, Kilmarnock.

Six 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, John
Walker, Alexandria ; 2nd, John Cameron,
Boturich ; 3rd, D. Richardson, Bonhill.

Beeswax. — 1st, John Walker; 2nd, John
Cameron ; 3rd, John M'Lachlan.

Best bell-glass. — W. E. Gilmour, Woodbank.

Special silver medal for best super in show
(non-sectional). — J. M. Martin.

B-st hive made by an amateur. — Thomas
Dingwall.

Open Classes.

Two 1-lb. sections. — 1st and 2nd, W. Wilson,
Dumfries ; 3rd, Hugh Steven, Alexandria ; h.c,
John M'Gibbon.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, W. Wilson ; 2nd,
Alex. M'Gregor.

Six 1-lb. sections. — 1st, W. Wilson; 2nd,
Alex. M'Gregor ; 3rd, Dugald Strathearn, Mil-
ton, Bowling.

Design in comb honey.— 1st, W. Wilson ; 2nd,
John M'Gibbon.

AULDGIRTH (N.B.) B.K. ASSOCIATION.

The first exhibition of this newly formed
Association was held in conjunction with that
of the Auldgirth Flower Show on August 26th,
and the Dumfries Standard, referring to it,
says : —

" The most conspicuous advance made in any
section, however, took place in the honey de-
partment. Formerly the number of competitors
in these classes was limited ; but with the for-
mation of a bee-keepers' association for the dis-
trict, and the holding of this branch of the
show under the auspices of the new organiza-
tion, the entries have, at a bound, risen to sixty-
six. This says a good deal for the vitality of
the young Society, of which Mr. Robert
M'Naught, Burnhead, is Secretary. Through
being affiliated with the Scottish Bee-keepers'
Association, the Society has been presented with
two of Lady Gibson-Carmichael's handsome
silver medals."

Mr. Ross, Dumfries, acted as judge, and made
the following awards : —

Best super. — 1st prize, J.Thomson; 2nd, J.
F. Hyslop.

Dropped honev, not less than 3 lbs. — 1st, J.
Boyes ; 2nd, J. F. Hyslop ; 3rd, J. Duff.

Three 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st and
silver medal, J. F. Hyslop ; 2nd, R. M'Naught ;
3rd, W. Edwards.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st and silver medal,
J. F. Hvslop ; 2, J. Duff.

Best design. — R. M'Naught.

Six 1-lb. glass jars extracted honey. — 1st, J.
F. Hyslop : 2nd, R. M'Naught.

Seven 1-lb. sections. — 1st, R. M'Naught ; 2nd,
J. F. Hyslop ; 3rd, J. Duff.

Crate of 1-lb. sections. — 1st, R. M'Naught ;
2nd, J. F. Hyslop.

Bell-glass. — 1st, J. F. Hyslop; 2nd, J. John-
stone.

WARWICKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

A most attractive exhibition was held on the
5th and 6th September by the Warwickshire
Bee-keepers' Association, in connexion with the
county show at Solihull. The exhibition not
only did credit to the bee-keepers of the county,
but proved positively that through the agency
of the Society a more widespread interest in

September 21, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

375

^apiculture was being promoted. The bee-tent
formed a feature of the show, and on both days
attracted a large number of spectators. Mr. W.
B. Webster, the expert, during each afternoon
gave practical lessons on bee-driving. Mr. J. N.
Bower, hon. secretary, and Mr. J. R. Inger-
thorpe, assistant secretary, were present each
•day, and gave every attention to the comfort of
the visitors. The judges were the Rev. E.
Davenport and Messrs. Simkins, Burman,
Summerskill, Foster, and Young; the following
being the awaids : —

Best stock of foreign bees. — 1st, W. B.
Webster ; 2nd, John Walton.

Best stock of English bees. — 1st, John Walton;
2nd, A. W. Rollins.

Best and most complete hive. — 1st, C. Red-
shaw ; 2nd, W. B. Webster ; 3rd, Thompson &
Co.

Best frame hive.— 1st, W. B. Webster ; 2nd,
C Redshaw ; 3rd, Thompson & Co.

Collection of appliances. — 1st, W. B.Webster;
2nd, Thompson & Co.

Super honey from one apiary. — 1st, J. Walton;
2nd, J. N. Bower.

Twentv-four 1-lb. sections. — 1st, J. Walton;
2nd, E. C. R. White ; 3rd, Mrs. Evans.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, A. Hughes ; 2nd,
J. R. Young ; 3rd, E. M. Pearson.

Extracted honey. — 1st, S. and E. Cooper ;
2nd, C. R. Hinckesman ; 3rd, James Simkins.

Beeswax. — 1st, J. Walton; 2nd, A. W.
Rollins.

Cottagers' Class.

Super honey. — C. J. Grove.

Twentv-four 1-lb. sections. — lst,T. Grosvenor;
2nd, W. Nash.

Driving competition. — 1st, J. Walton and R.
French, equal ; 2nd, A. W. Rollins.

Coraspanfeence.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested to write on one side of the paper only, and give their
veal names and addresses, not necessarily for publication, but
as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations should he drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.G." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

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

THROUGH CANADA AND THE LAKES
TO CHICAGO.

[1556.] I started from Philadelphia by the
nine p.m. train on July 23rd for the World's
Fair, Chicago, which, by the most direct railway

route, is about a thousand miles. Wishing to
see something of this country, and also of
Canada, more than I could in rushing through
in an express train, I first took a tourist ticket
for the round trip to Jamestown, N.Y. State,
in order to see the works of the Falconer Manu-
facturing Company, which I did, and, at a
future time, I propose to give some account of
these works and what I saw there. My ticket
gave me the privilege of staying at Bethlehem,
Waverley, Jamestown, and Niagara Falls, and
returning by another route back to Phila-
delphia. The first 250 miles of the journey
brought us to Waverley, and was gone over in
the night, arriving there at 5.10 next morning.
This part, which is most picturesque, I pro-
posed seeing by daylight on my return journey,
which I did.

From Waverley we had to change on to the
New York, Lake Erie, and Western line of
railroad, passing along the southern part of
New Y'ork State, through Elmira, Corning,
Addison, Hornellsville, Wellsville, Friendship,
Cuba Olean, Carrolton, Salamanca, and James-
town, arriving there about twelve o'clock. The
distance from Waverley is 192 miles. The
scenery is very fine and varied ; the hillsides
are covered with woods, and for the most part
following the valleys, first of the Susquehanna
river and then the Alleganny river, which rises
in New York State and runs from Salamanca
almost south through Pennsylvania to Pitts-
burgh, and thence into the Ohio river. For the
greater part of the way the farming was any-
thing but good, hoeing or weeding having
apparently not been attempted, and nothing
done since the sowing of the different crops,
which were full of thistles and weeds. The
scarcity of cattle and sheep was particularly
striking along the greater distance in the
valleys. Indian corn was in some places very
fine, and evidently had a great share of atten-
tion. Much of the land used for grazing pur-
poses had evidently once been a forest, and was
studded with the stumps of large trees, which
were not sufficiently decayed to be taken up
without considerable labour. The fences round
many of the fields were formed of the stumps of
the trees laid on their sides, with part of the
roots in the air. We passed through a good
deal of forest land, where the hardwood timber,
such as oak, ash, beech, maple, basswood, and
walnut remain ; but the pine timber has been
almost in every case cut and cleared, as the
stumps, which are from two feet to three feet
high, show among the undergrowth. Not
caring to spend two consecutive nights in the
train, I made up my mind to sleep at James-
town, and go on by the earliest train in the
morning, that I might see all I could of the
country. This pave me time to visit the Lake
Chataqua and the pretty scenery round about
the neighbourhood.

Jamestown is a prosperous and increasing
town, several English firms having bought land
and built factories there since the McKinlay
Tariff Act prevented the possibility of sending

376

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL [September 21, 1893.

goods from England. By the early train I went
to Buffalo (about sixty-five miles), the train for
some distance running not far from Lake Erie,
enabling one to have a good view of the lake.
At Buffalo, which is an important city, I had
about two hours to wait for the train to Niagara
Falls, of which I made the most use I could in
seeing the town and some of the public build-
ings. At two o'clock I started for Niagara
Falls (about twenty-five miles), and arrived
there just in time to catch the train of the
Grand Trunk of Canada line at Suspension
Bridge, which was waiting our arrival to take
the passengers for Toronto. As I had to return
this way, I put off staying to see the Falls until
then.

Crossing over the Suspension Bridge, we
could see the whirlpool rapids on one side of
the bridge, and a portion of the American
Falls on the other, and a most magnificent
sight it was. This bridge connects the United
States and Canada, and we were no sooner
on British territory than our luggage was
examined by the Custom House officers be-
fore we were allowed to go on. We had not
proceeded many miles in Canada before there
was a marked improvement in the appearance
of the farming generally and of the crops, some
of which were already cut, and one could
almost imagine they were English cornfields we
were passing through. The crops were good,
and the cultivation left little to be desired, being
very different to the majority of the farms I
had at this time passed through in the United
States. There were many well-grown orchards
of peaches, apples, &c, well pruned, and as well
cared for as they are in our own county of Kent.

The scenery of the country through which
we went was very fine, occasionally getting
fine views of Lake Ontario between the green
woods and the undulating ground. This was
particularly the case in the neighbourhood of
the thriving town of Hamilton, through which
we passed (it is situated in Burlington Bay at
the west end of Lake Ontario), where the peach
orchards were numerous.

We arrived at Toronto about half-past five,
the train being late, and the last train for
Owen's Sound, by which I had intended to con-
tinue my journey, had left about twenty minutes
before our arrival. Near to the station I found
the Walker House Hotel, where I engaged my
bed, had dinner, and then took the round of the
city upon the electric cars which appeared to
be in general use. They go at a much better
pace than the horse cars that we have in
England.

In the morning ( Wednesday) I was up and
out betimes to see the Parliament House, which
is only just finished. It is a handsome struc-
ture, built of a fine red sandstone, something
like our red Mansfield stone, and is beautifully
situated in a commanding position on high
ground in the park, surrounded by fine trees
and lawns.

The University buildings are also in the
park, and have a very handsome appearance. I

afterwards sought out Mr. John McArthur, of
881 Yonge Street, Toronto, who has a large
apiary in the rear of his house, two other
apiaries in the country, and a queen-raising
establishment in Toronto Island, which is in the
Lake of Ontario, about two miles from the city,
and affords an excellent opportunity for breed-
ing pure queens, and getting them mated with
selected drones. I propose giving particulars of
Mr. Mc Arthur's apiaries and of the island on
another occasion.

I left Toronto by the 5.25 train of the Cana-
dian Pacific Railway for Owen's Sound. I have
already, in my former letter (p. 324), told you of
the kind invitation I had had to visit Mr.
McKnight, and, after a five hours' journey, I
arrived at Owen's Sound, and, although late,
found Mr. McKnight waiting for me with his
carriage to take me up to his house. His resi-
dence is most charmingly situated on an elevated
plateau overlooking the town, with a magni-
ficent view of the Georgian Bay, which is at
the east end of Lake Huron.

The further particulars of my visit I will
defer, as I am anxious to give some account of
the British exhibit at the World's Fair.

On Saturday evening I left Owen's Sound by
the splendid lake steamer, the City of Colling-
wood for Chicago. On Sunday we had service
on board, and about one o'clock we arrived at
Mackinnac Island, which is situated between
Lake Huron (the area of which is 20,400 miles)
and Lake Michigan (which has an area of 20,000-
miles). We landed on this island, and spent
about two hours there, and then proceeded on
our way to Chicago. These lakes are nothing
less than inland seas, and for hours no land
could be seen, and at times are very rough in-
deed. On Monday, about one o'clock, we landed
at Chicago, afterhavinghad a mo *t enjoyable trip.
Mr. McKnight having kindlv introduced me te
several of the passengers before leaving Owen's-
Sound, this added considerably to the pleasure
of the voyage.

There was some little delay before we could
land, having to wait for the Customs officers^
but, this over, I lost no time in taking the train,
the Illinois Central, to the vicinity of the Fair,
where I had previously arranged for a bedroom
in a private house belonging to relations of one
of my sons' friends. I left my luggage, and was-
soon in the Exhibition.

Thk Exhibit of the B. B. K. A.

This is on the east side of the Agricultural
Building, among the agricultural exhibits made
by Great Britain, un the main floor, at the angle
formed by two passages, in a good position, near
the office of th« Superintendent of the British
Department in this building.

The staging consisted of a number of shallow
shelves the height of the bottles, and about three
inches above in addition, on which space was a
dark label with the name and address of the ex-
hibitor legibly printed in gold letters, the whole
about eight feet high, these shelves forming
steps one above the other, and mitring at the

September 21, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

37^

angles. The bottles being uniform, and tbe honey
all nicely candied (with the exception of one or
two bottles which were fermenting, for which I
substituted others) looked exceedingly well.
They had no glass case or covering, but one of
the assistants dust* the bottles every day. The
certificates of the B.B.K.A., and the pamphlets
in the glazed frame, were put on the stand
below the honey, but the medals and the volumes
of the Bee Journal were not exposed, fearing
they might be stolen.

I saw several bee-keepers, among them Dr.
Mason, who has charge of the Ohio exhibit;
Mr. Hambaugh, president, and Mr. Stone, secre-
tary of the Illinois State B.A. ; Mr. Cutting,
secretary of the Michigan B.A.; Mr. E. Whit-
comb, president, and Mr. Chas. White, assistant,
of Nebraska B.A.; Mr. Hershisher, in charge of
the New York State exhibit ; and some others.
All spoke of the British exhibit in a satisfactory
manner, and I think we may feel perfectly satis-
fied with the impression it is likely to make.

The World's Fair is a great success ; the
buildings are numerous, of great size, and are
very fine from an architectural point of view,
and the grounds and lagoons are beautiful and
exceedingly well arranged.

I have seen all the exhibitions in England,
including the first in 1851, and the last two held
in Paris, and for magnitude and completeness
of its appointments it far exceeds any of the
others. No one can begin to realise its dignity
and size unless it is seen. There was only one
thing of which I complained, and that was the
total want of colour in the buildings, and I could
only regret that some of the French artists, who
decorated the buildings at the last Paris Exhi-
bition, had not been employed to put the finish-
ing touches on the buildings, and so made them
less trying to the eyes ; the glare of so many
and so large buildings was quite painful, and
necessitated the purchase of tinted spectacles to
avoid headache.

I propose to send a report of all the honey ex-
hibits as soon as I have an opportunity of going
over my notes. — John M. Hookeb, Philadelphia,
September 5th, 1893.

SOME FURTHER NOTES ON BEE-KEEP-
ING IN THE TROPICS AND THE
ANTIPODES.

[1557.] I learn from a recent copy of Gleanings
that bees have been for some years successfully
introduced in Tahiti. A French gentleman took
a few colonies to this place in 1870, and in 1883
they had increased to 6000 colonies. (See
Gleanings for March 1st ) European bees have
been introduced into other tropical places,
among which I may name the Hawaiian Islands,
tropical Queensland, Norfolk Island (semi-
tropical), and Sumatra. I recently discovered
that a Dutch gentleman has brought two hives
of bees from Holland to Sumatra. Your readers
are, of course, aware how profitable bees are in
Cuba and Florida, the honey yield in these lands
being1 enormous. A neighbour of mine in New

Zealand had the honour of taking bees to the
Tonga Inlands (Friendly Group). His first lot
were Taken from Sydney, and arrived in good
order at their destination ; but they were looked,
upon with a sort of terror by the natives, who
thought that a plague of stinging flies was
being introduced. A native, having been stung
by one of the bees, kicked the hive over in
revenge. The queen must thus have been killed
or injured, for all the bees died soon after this.
This gentleman, however, nothing daunted with
his first attempt, took some more bees from;
Auckland to those islands. About the same
time a retired medical man took bees there. I
am told that these bees have increased tremen-
dously, and are now all over the islands, and.
honey is produced in great quantities, and in
flavour .surpasses our ordinary New Zealand
honey.

This part of New Zealand where I am now
residing, and in fact the whole of the land north
of Auckland, is pre-eminently suitable for bee-
keeping. We enjoy a fine climate, frosts are
few and far between, and bees can fly all the
year round, save in wet and windy weather.
Bee-keeping on scientific and humanitarian
principles has yet to make great strides. Most
of the settlers keep bees in soap and other boxes;
a square hole is made in the top of the box, and
then a smaller box is placed over this as a super.
In the fall of the year, when the smaller box is
full of comb, they take it off, honey, larvae, and
all, and press the comb3 in a cheese-press. As
a general rule, swarms are put into any old boxes
that may be handy, placed on the ground, and
left to take care of themselves. I have been at
places where there were as many as fifty boxes
of bees buried in rank grass, the wood of the
boxes rotten with rain, and the bees dying from
damp or foul brood. There are some honourable
exceptions of men in this colony making
their bees profitable. There is not a great sale
for honey, and much of the honey one sees on
tables is vile cheese-pressed stuff, with an odioua
foul-brood taste about it. Despite all this New
Zealand will be one of the greatest honey-
producing countries in the world. We need in
this colony a little more enthusiasm in bee-
matters, and some day there may be properly
qualified experts appointed to instruct and advise
amateurs in the art.

On page 216 of the Journal you have a few
words to say on colonial honey. I agree that
it fails to come near the British ; but to resi-
dents in the colonies it is considered good, though
it may be tainted with eucalyptus. I have often-
heard people say how much they like eucalyptus
honey, and young colonials evidently appreciate
it, to see the wajr they consume it. The honey
from the Ti-tree (the Cordylline) has an un-
pleasant, rank smell, but it is certainly not
nauseous to the taste. We have thousands of-
Cordylline trees in this part of New Zealand ;
but what is known to New Zealanders as the
Ti-tree is the Mannha shrub, which covers wide
tracts of hard clay -land, and which bears a
pretty white blossom with a plum-coloured

378

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [September 21, 1893.

centre. By the bye, I believe, from a medical
point of view, eucalyptus honey is very valuable.
However much I disliked it once, I must now
confess that I have overcome that feeling, and
am very fond of it. — W. H., Paparoa, Kaipara,
Neio Zealand, August 3rd, 1893.

WORKING A " WELLS" HIVE.

[1558.] I assist a gentleman in the manage-
- ment of his bees, and he has asked me to write
and get your opinion on the following plan,
which I proposed. He is going to start a
a Wells " hive with only one stock next spring,
and I proposed that, instead of letting the bees
swarm in order to stock the other side, that he
should work the brood chamber up to twenty
frames as quickly as possible by inserting frames
of foundation in the middle of brood nest as
often as the bees will work them out ; and when
he has got twenty full frames in brood chamber
put in the " Wells " dummy. Would the bees
raise another queen on the queenless side, and
would this plan be as good, better, or worse,
than letting one side swarm, and returning
the swarm to the other side of dummy ? — It. G.
Peacock.

[Without admitting that you are going to
improve on the original " Wells " method, and
for reasons which it would take too much space
to make clear, we would propose, as an alter-
native plan to both those suggested, that the
bees should be worked up to fill, say, twelve
frames well with brood by the time the honey-
flow began, and then be supered in the ordinary
way "with, say, one box of ten shallow frames.
Give no more surplus room, but let the bees
swarm. Then remove the surplus chamber, in-
sert the " Wells " dummy, and hive the swarm
on the other side of it on full sheets of founda-
tion (wired), and replace the surplus box. When
the second swarm issues, hive it in a shep, and
next morning return to where it came from. If
swarm does not reissue, let the bees have access
to the same supers as the first swarm are at
work in. — Eds.]

MY EXPERIENCE WITH BEES AND A
"WELLS" HIVE IN DERBYSHIRE.

[1559.] May I crave a corner to give my ex-
perience of bee-keeping since I commenced ? In
August, 1890, I bought a frame hive and stock
of bees. In 1891 I took .thirty pounds of honey
from it and had a good swarm. Both win-
tered well. In 1892 I took sixty pounds of
honey and got two swarms. All lived through
the winter. In early spring, 1893, 1 placed all
in clean hives, putting the weakest two in a
"Wells" hive. On April 21st I supered all
three hives, and, not wanting much increase in
stocks, I took two frames of brood from each
hive and formed an artificial swarm with them,
giving them the ripest queen-cell I had. I re-
placed the frames of brood taken away with

sheets of foundation to each hive, thinking it
would check swarming. In July I noticed one
side of the double hive was working much more
than the other, so on the 17th, when taking the
full super off, I opened the brood nest, and
found one side weak and queenless. I put the
queen into the weak side, replaced the excluders
(exact this time, as I found it was through these
not fitting that the queens had got together),
thinking the strong side would raise another
queen from the eggs left, but they have not
done so. I have, therefore, partly failed this
year with the " Wells " system, for, practically,
it has been a very strong single-queened stock
since April. The artificial swarm has increased
to eleven frames. I never supered it. On
September 4th I found it very strong with
bees, but no eggs, and the last of the brood
hatching out. It is queenless, I think, so, un-
less I can buy another queen, I shall unite it to
one of the other stocks. How the queen got
lost I don't know, as it has not been opened
since the beginning of June.

However, 1893 has not been a failure with
me for all that. I have had no natural swarms.
I have three strong stocks to go into winter
with, have taken 350 pounds of extracted honey
and eighteen sections, ten filled and eight partly,
weighing in all fifteen pounds, and I think that
very good for an amateur. I may say my bees
are a quarter of a mile from where I live. I
make all my own hives, but buy the frames.
I hope all other bee-keepers are as contented
as — Harry Walker, KUlamarsh.

BEES SWARMING IN SEPTEMBER AND
DESERTING BROOD.

[1560.] Last Wednesday, having a weak stock
with no queen, and three queen-cells sealed over,
I drove about four pounds of bees with a queen
into the hive, and they all, apparently, peaceably
settled down. The following morning the bees
were attacked by robbers, and I did not observe
any disposition on their part to assume the de-
fensive. I then narrowed the entrance, and
placed a pane of glass at an angle in front, but
this had no effect. The robbers entered the
hive in hundreds, and many wasps also found
their way in with them. I then tried the
carbolic cloth defence, but this, too, proved
futile. Later on in the day I had occasion to
be away, and during my absence received notice
that the whole of the bees had swarmed out of
the hive, and, on my return the next morning,
found that they had actually deserted the young
brood. Now, I think this a most extraordinary
occurrence. The swarm had first settled on a
raspberry-bush near the hive, and from thence
had flown to a neighbouring deodara, hanging
down in two large clusters, from which the
gardener secured them in two separate boxes,
and I should say there were in all fully nine
pounds of bees, which certainly is a large
swarm. But the most remarkable circumstance
is the desertion of the young brood.

September 21, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

379

In connexion with the ahove fact of bees
swarming in the middle of September, I may
mention that a neighbour, who is a large bee-
keeper, informed me that he likewise had a
small swarm the day after that which I have
described. — John J. Ker, Ware, Herts, Sej)-
tember \Qth.

DO BEES GATHER POISONOUS HONEY ?

[1561.] Many thanks for your exhaustive and
lucid reply in the Bee Journal (p. 352) to " Lily
White's" aspersions on our domestic pet, the
honej'-bee, which I doubt not will have a good
effect. In this small village we have fourteen
members of our "Co-op." (owning, say, sixty
stocks) who are keepers of bees, and this number
would have been increased this year if we had
had swarms ; but out of my stocks (seven) I
have not had one ! — C. Emery.

nertxs atttr Implies.

[8S8.J Stocking a " Wells" Hive.— I have
a stock of bees in one division of a " Wells "
hive. 1. Would it be advisable to transfer a
stock from another hive to fill up the other
division, or wait till next spring for a swarm ?

2. The hives are twenty yards apart, and if I
transfer, should I have to move the hive ? I
want to transfer towards the other gradually,
or would it do to transfer them straight off ?

3. Would not the bees in the " Wells " hive
winter better if both divisions were full ? —
J. E. Brown.

Reply. — 1. We should transfer the second
stock as soon as convenient. 2. It would be
safest to bring the two hives together before
transferring. 2. Yes, decidedly.

).] He-queening. — Would you kindly ad-
vise me through the medium of your valuable
paper (1) whether a queenless stock would
destroy its drones the day after it lost its
queen ? I had three stocks with nuclei stand-
ing by their sides with young queens ; yester-
day I caught and killed the old queens in the
stocks, and united the nuclei with the young
ones. Half an hour afterwards I discovered
one of the young queens thrown out of the hive
and killed ! There was also some amount of
fighting at the entrances of all the hives, and
about 300 bees were killed. 2. Is this a usual
occurrence ? 3. What is the latest time it is
safe to introduce a queen, and is it safe to
introduce a queen to a hive after it has been
queenless a week or ten days without destroying
queen-cells ? — A. Smith, Robertsbridge.

Reply. — 1. No. The instinct of the bees
impels them to preserve their drones when
queenless. 2. Not if proper precautions are
taken in introducing the young queens. 3. It
is safest to destroy the queen-cells before intro-
ducing. Queens may be introduced . at any

time when the weather is warm enough to
admit of the bees flying.

[890.] Age of Queens — Making " Wells "
Dummy. — 1. Could you tell me what an old
queen of two or three seasons looks like ?
Would her wings be in perfect condition, as in
young bees, or would they be ragged and worn,
as in an old worker-bee ? I ask this because,
when I went to depose a queen that I supposed
was three seasons old, I was surprised to find
that her wings looked so fresh and perfect that
I came to the conclusion that the bees had re-
queened themselves, and so I have let the queen
stand over for another season. Do you think I
did right? 2. I have a hive that was quite
empty of honey, comparatively speaking, at the
end of July last ; but now the combs are almost
nearly all full of sealed honey, except a little
space at the bottom of each. Will this hive do
as it is, or shall I have to put in an empty comb
for the queen to lay in, and would it in this case
be as well to do without any candy during the
winter with such a hive as this ? 3. My Wells
hive's dummy is, like everybody else's, pro-
polised up ; but I have now discovered that it is
not of the right kind. It is a great pity that
directions were not given to amateurs on such
an important point. — Syrup.

Reply. — 1. As a general rule, the age of a
queen may be guessed fairly accurately by
experienced bee-keepers; but it sometimes
happens that an old queen will have her wings
in good preservation. There is no fixed rule to
guide amateurs. If the queen's laying powers
are satisfactory, no doubt you did well to keep
her. 2. No need to provide " an empty comb
for queen to lay in," and no candy is required if
there is plenty of natural food. 3. Very full
instructions for making the " Wells " dummy
have appeared in our pages, and if amateurs go
wrong in making, the fault is surely not ours.

[891.] Wintering Driven Bees. — I have two
hives of bees in frame hives, from which I have
taken all supers and extracted the honey,
leaving only the frames in bottom chamber in
the hive ; and as I want to increase my stock,
can I do so by using the supers I have ex-
tracted the honey from, and buying bees as
advertised in your Journal at Is. 6d. per pound,
including queen— or what way do you think
best ? — Thos. Greensill, Birmingham.

Reply. — If the frames from which the honey
has been extracted are same size as those in
brood chamber, driven bees may be put on them
and fed up for winter as proposed.

$t]im ixam tht pka.

Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington, Septem-
ber ltith. — At present the drought continues,
although the bees are much on the wing, in con-
sequence of thet fioe weather. I have seen a
■fe sv at times loaded with pollen. Wasps * are

580

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [September 21, : 898.

beginning to trouble the bees, entering tbe hires
in the cool of the morning to steal. For nearly
three weeks the wasp nuisance abated, but pre-
vious to that it was difficult to take a look in-
side a hive. They also found their way into my
honey-house, where the bees could not. I de-
stroyed over forty nests within half a mile of
mv "apiary, and lately there have been many
queens about; I found a lot hidden away among
some timber. For a change I have got five
stocks in straw skeps, having cleared out the
apiary of a lady friend who got rather afraid of
i>es. The bees in one division of a "Wells"
hive lost their queen, so I shook them off the
comb, where a few remained to k^ep possession.
and they went into the stock on ..ther side of
r'ummy. I found the latter entirely propolised
-,ip : it* was the one that I burnt the holes larger.
I ought, however, to say it was not a real
" Wells " dummy, because it is three-eighths of
an inch thick, and the holes are countersunk on
each side. About a month bick I made up five
stocks with driven bees, which have bred and
done well. I also gave them some sealed frames
of honev on the outride of the brood nest. I
do not think I ever saw bees lay out so much in
August before as mine did this year. One day
the heat was 90° in tbe shade, but unfortunately
there was no honey to gather. Referring to
what appeared in the Journal (p. 365) about ex-
cluder zinc, I should not like to do without it ;
either for comb or extracted honey, I think it is
invaluable. — John Walto n .

$te SJmfos ta Came.

September 23rd. — Roxburghshire B.K.A.
. annual show of bees, honey, and appliances, in
the Corn Exchange, Jedburgh. Twenty-four
classes, including seventeen for honey. Thomas
Clark, Secretarv, Pleasants Schoolhouse, Jed-
burgh, N.B.

October 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th.— Dairy
Show at the Agricultural Hall, Islington.
Liberal prizes for honey. W. C. Young, Secre-
tary, Dairy Farmers' Association, 191 Fleet
Street, London. Entries closed.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers or
correspondents, or where appliances can be purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only be inserted as
advertisements. The space demoted 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 goto press in advance
of the date of issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the
Issue immediately following the receipt of their communication.

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

Leonard Smith. — " Wells '' Dummy. — We
thought our opinion of the dummy sent was
conveyed by the concluding remarks in our
-footnote. It is infinitely better than many

we have seen, bat if you would take our hint,
and get a dummy from Air. Wells, it would
help you to understand the difference.

G. Jordan. — 1. The insect sent is commonly
known as the humming-bird moth. 2. In
some districts, and in some seasons, bees col-
lect a fair amount of honey from ivy, but it
is not of good quality.

W. D. N. — Removing Combs. — 1. Comb is per-
fectly healthy, and contains nothing but
wholesome pollen gathered by the bees. 2.
Combs may be used for four or five years.
It is a good plan to renew two or three every
year by rem 'ving faulty ones whenever found,
and substituting full sheets of foundation.
When wwarher is warm, about end of May
or early in June is the best time.

B. B. J. R. (C.iterham).— Food for Winter.— 1.
Five well-filied frames of sealed hoaey and
two empty combs will do wel! for wintering
on. 2. Queens are not always " attended " by
workers, as some suppose. 3. Ligurian queens
are light in colour compared with ordinary
bees : the upper rings of the abdomen are quite
different in colour to native queens. 4. We
should prefer dispensing with the space below
frames in winter to raising them up on blocks
of wood as proposed, as it would be nearly
impossible to keep the bees warm if so dealt
with. 5. Yes. 6. We should prefer to keep
the empty comb-! iodoo-s during winter. They
would be likely to get mouldy or infested with
moths if left in the unoccupied part of the
hive. In other respects the bees should
winter all right.

A Beginner (Lincoln).— W. B. C. Hives.— The
intervening space between the outer case and
the hive proper is a sufficient protection in
whiter : but it is advantageous — though not
absolutely necessary — to pack the space with
loosely crumpled newspapers when pushing
on early breeding in spring. The half-inch
material is quite thick enough. Any one can
make the hive without " infringement."

Albert P. Jollye. — Market for Honey. — We
know of no better medium for finding a
market than our " prepaid advertisement
column/'

Rev. R. SiiYTH. — See reply to G-. J ordan.

E. R. B. (Tenterden). — It is impossible for us
to say why the bees in skep are carrying out
dead brood. You should endeavour to get
the opinion of some bee-keeper who could
examine the skeps.

E. C. R. Whitb. — Prizes at Shreicsbury Shoio.
— If you will kindly get the Secretary to
make the correction and forward to us, we
will rectify the omission, but our prize list
was copied from what we understood to be
the " official " one. In the second case, also,
we gave the initials as sent, so the error was
not ours.

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 588, Vol. XXI. N.S. 196.] SEPTEMBER 28, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

i&bitorial, ftatites, tfce.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The usual monthly Committee meeting was
held at 105 Jermvn Street, on Wednesday, Sep-
tember 20th. Present: T. W. Cowan (in the
chair), Hon. and Rev. H- Bligh, Rev. Dr. Bar-
trum, Bev. G. W. Bancks, W. H. Harris, Major
Fair, J. H. New, E, D. Till, W. J. Sheppard,
W. B. Carr, J. Garratt; W. O'B. Glennie,
Treasurer, and Miss Eyton, ex-officio ; John
Huckle, Secretary.

The minutes of the last meeting having been
printed and circulated, were taken as read and
signed. Letters were read from the Rev. L.
Williams, Colonel Elliston, and Mr. A. D.
Woodley, and dealt with ; also one from Mr.
Charles Valentine, Department of Agent-
General for New South Wales, the Secretary
being instructed to refer Mr. Valentine to the
Statistical Department of Her Majesty's Cus-
toms for information in regard to the importa-
tion of honey.

The Chairman reported that he had received a
letter from Mr. Hooker respecting the honey
exhibit at Chicago, and he had arranged for its
sale.

In accordance with the resolution passed at
the last meeting, a circular letter, as drawn up
by Mr. McClure and the Secretary for sending
to the several Agricultural and Horticultural
C( lieges was submitted, and it was resolved
that it be referred to the Educational Com-
mittee for consideration and report, as was
the report of the Northern Associations Sub-
Committee relating to the appointment of
examiners. Miss Eyton suggested that the
appointment of Assistants to the Judges at the
Exhibitions of the B.B.K.A. should also b8
added as a recommendation to the report. This
being agreed to, it was rt solved that this part of
the report be referred to the Exhibitions Sub-
Committee.

Third-class certificates were signed in favour
of Henry Joyce, Ash by de la Zouch; Henry
Hensleigh, West Kensington ; Major Fair, Ted-
dington.

The Exhibitions Committee reported that
they had had under consideration the prize list
of the bee department of the Royal Agricultural
Show of 1894, and they recommended, among

other things, that in making their awards for
the "best Bingham Smoker, the judges' atten-
tion be called to the desirability of awarding
the prizes to the exhibits which most conform
to the pattern of a "Bingham Smoker" in
every particular ; and that in the miscellaneous
classes the exhibitors be required to furnish a
written description of each exhibit for the guid-
ance of the judges.

Other matters of a purely business character
being dealt with, the meeting terminated in the
usual way.

SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.

The third honey show of this Association for
the present season was held in the Wraverley
Market, Edinburgh, on the 13th and 14th inst.,
in connexion with that of the Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society, and we are glad to re-
cord it was a complete success. Along with
the prize list we have again been favoured with
some " notes "on the show by our esteemed cor-
respondent " C. M. R.," as follows : —

Some Notes ox Edinburgh Honey Show.

Another cheering exhibition of bee-produce.
The honey displays, although good, were not by
any means up to the Glasgow ones. Probably
the strongest department was that of the non-
sectional supers of flower and heather honey ;
these were alike very numerous and very fine.
The judges did their level best, but it was a
ticklish job, where all were so very good. In
designs in honey-comb much the same exhibits
were staged as in Glasgow, with much the same
results. In extracted flower and heather honey
there were some splendid exhibits. In some in-
stances the consistency was perfect, and — the
colour, aroma, and flavour corresponding — we
should venture to think it hard to beat any-
where in the world.

The judges objected to certain exhibits en-
tered as one-pound bottles, which they con-
sidered to be only fourteen- ounce bottles, if
even that. Exhibitors would do well to avoid
this. The comb honey was good, the heather
sections in particular reaching high-water mark.
Some failed to win that in a less favourable
season would have stood very high. The wax
display was meagre in the extreme, but the first

382

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [September 28, 1893.

prize cake -was a fine specimen indeed. _ In the
confectionery department the first prize was
won by the best honey cake we have ever
tasted, and we Would recommend some leading
confectioner to take it up. The judges were—
Rev. R. McClelland, Inchinnan ; Dr. Murray,
Galashiels; Mr. G. D, Gordon, Glasgow; Mr.
G. D. Clark, Haddington.— C. M. R.

Pbize List.

Display of comb and extracted honey. — 1st
prize, John M'Creath, Dumfries; 2nd, Sidney
Roebuck, Dumfries.

Design in honey-comb. — 1st and 2nd, William
Wilson, Dumfries ; 3rd, Sidney Roebuck.

Non-sectional super. —1st, James Learmont,
Castle Douglas ; 2nd, William Hogg, Castle
Douglas ; 3rd, William Wilson.

Super of flower honey (over 20 lbs.). — 1st,
William Hogg; 2nd, William Wilson; 3rd,
Sidney Roebuck.

Super of flower honey (over 10 lbs.) — 1st,
William Hogg ; 2nd, James Christie, Glasgow ;
3rd, William Wilson.

Super of heather honey (not over 20 lbs.) —
1st, David Mitchell, Selkirk; 2nd, Thomas
Mitchell, Selkirk ; 3rd, James Mitchell, Selkirk ;
h.c, James Christie.

Super of flower honey (not over 10 lbs.) —
1st, 12s.; 2nd, 6a.; 3rd, 3s. — 1st, William
Wilson ; 2nd, Wm. Hogg ; 3rd, Wm. Wilson.
■ Super of heather honey (not over 10 lbs.) —
1st, James Christie ; 2nd, James Whillans, Jed-
burgh; 3rd, John M'Donald.

Octagonal super of flower honey. — 1st, Sidney
Roebuck ; 2nd, William Wilson.

Straw super of heather honey. — 1st, Sidney
Roebuck ; 2nd, James Henderson.

Twenty-one. 1-lb. sections. — 1st, William
Wilson; 2nd, James Learmont; 3rd, William
Wilson.

Twenty-one 1-lb. sections of heather honey. —
1st, John McDonald, Kingussie ; 2nd, James
Henderson, Kilmalcolm.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, Wm. Wilson;
2nd, J as. Learmont; 3rd, S. Roebuck; h.c,
Wm. Hogg ; com., J. Palmer, Ludlow.

Twelve 1-lb. sections of heather honey. — 1st,
J. McDonald ; 2nd, D. Moffat, Ettrick, Selkirk ;
3rd, Mrs. Dodds, Melrose; h.c, C. N. Craik ;
com., J. Watt, Melrose.

Twelve 2-lb. sections. — 1st, Wm. Wilson.
Six 2-lb. sections. — 1st, Jas. Learmont; 2nd,
S. Roebuck ; 3rd, J. McCreath.

Six 2-lb. sections of heather honey. — 1st,
J. M'Donald; 2nd, C. N. Craik; 3rd, Wm.
Weir, Heriot.

Three 2-lb. sections.— 1st, Wm. Hogg ; 2nd,
Wm. Wilson ; 3rd, J. McCreath.

Thirty 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, S.
Roebuck ; 2nd, Wm. Wilson.

Thirty 1-lb, jars extracted heather honey. —
1st, Jas. Henderson.

Thirty 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, S.

Roebuck; 2nd, J. McCreath : 8rd, Wm. Wilson.

Twelve 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, S.

Roebuck ; 2nd, J. T. Nickels, Shrewsbury ; 3rd,
Jas. McCreath.

Twelve 1-lb. jars extracted heather honey. —
1st and 2nd, J. Muir, Castle Kennedy; 3rd,
S. Roebuck.

Six 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, Wm.
Hogg; 2nd, J. T. Nickels; 3rd, Wm. Wilson.

Three 1-lb. jars extracted honev. — 1st and
2nd, Wm. Hogg ; 3rd, S. Roebuck. "

Beeswax. — 1st, Wm. Hogg; 2nd, Jas. Mul-
grew, Milton of Campsie ; 3rd, Jas. Whillans.

Cake containing honey. — 1st, Mrs. Andrew
Buckan, Musselburgh; 2nd, Miss Jenny Aimers,
Melrose ; 3rd, Jas. Mulgrew.

HONEY SHOW AT BROSELEY, SHROP-
SHIRE.

The annual show was held on August 30th
and 31st, in connexion with the Horticultural
Society of the district, and proved an immense
success. Over four hundred pounds of honey
was staged in excellent style, the " get-up " of
the exhibits being much admired. The quality
of the honey in this district is equal to any in
the county, the leading bee-keepers striving to
place before the skeppist the great advantages of
the new system. In beeswax, also, the com-
petitors staged their exhibits in the most
approved style. Miss Eyton, of Wrockwardine
Hall, hon. secretary to the S.B.K.A., visited the
show on the first day, and expressed her ex-
treme satisfaction with the exhibits. Mr. Thos.
R. Horton, Harley Towers, officiated as judge,
placing the awards as follows : —

Honey in any form. — 1st, P. Scott ; 2nd, E .
Oakes and G. Fisher, equal.

Twenty-four 1-lb. sections. — 1st, P. Scott ;
2nd, G. Fisher.

Twenty-four 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st,
P. Scott; 2nd, E. Oakes; 3rd, G. Fisher.

Beeswax. — 1st, P. Scott ; 2nd, G. Fisher ;
3rd, Emmie Fisher.

Cottagers1 Classes.

Six 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, Emmie
Fisher ; 2nd" Mrs. A. Scott ; 3rd, Mrs. P. Scott,
sen.

Six 1-lb. sections. — 1st, Emmie Fisher ; 2nd,
E. Oakes, jun. ; 3rd, Mrs. P. Scott, sen.

Best exhibit of honey in glass. — 1st, Mrs. P.
Scott, sen.; 2nd, Emmie Fisher. — Communis
cated.

NOTTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATIONS

The seventh and last Exhibition arranged by
the Notts Bee-keepers' Association for the
season was held at Moor Green on September 5th
in superb weather and under favourable auspices,
which resulted in a very large attendance. The
exhibits were both numerous and decidedly good,
reflecting credit on the Society and its excellent
Secretary, Mr. Pugh, who was assisted by the
SteAvard, Mr. A. Warner, Mrs. Warner, and other

September 28, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

383

friends. Addresses given in the bee-tent by Mr. C.
N. White were listened to by large numbers with
evident interest. Mr. White also acted as judge
of the honey department.

List of Prizes.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st prize, P. Scatter-
good ; 2nd, H. Wiggett ; 3rd, M. Lindley.

Twelve 1-lb. jars extracted honev. — 1st,
C. Wootton; 2nd, T. Letchfield ; 3rd, J. F.
Simpson.

Best exhibit of bees. — 1st, A. Warner ; 2nd,
A. J. Mortimer; 3rd, H. Wiggett.

Best bell-glass super. — 1st, A. Warner.

Best frame of honey in comb. — 1st, J. F.
Simpson ; 2nd, G. Reeve ; 3rd, M. Lindley.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.

The following additional sums have baen
received or promised : —

Amount already acknow-

ledged £43

W. H. Harris 1

6
0

0
0

J. Desmorr ... ... 1

0

0

Christopher Wade ,.. 0
John Bradley ... ... 0

4
1

0
0

C0rasp0tttona.

Tlie Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice wicl be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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,
Boofcs for Review, £c, must be addressed only to "The
Bditobs of the * British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to -dduertisements, £c, must be addressed to " The
Manager, ' British Bee Journal' Office, 17 Xing William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

%* 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.

FINDING QUEENS IN AUTUMN.

[1562.] In B.B.J, for August 24th (p. 336)
there appears to be one who has had the same
difficulty as myself in catching queens, and I
give below my plan, which has worked quite
satisfactorily i—

After several attempts to find queens in
autumn, and meeting with failure, 1 adopted
the following plan: — The hive containing the
queen I wish to find is lifted from the floor or
bottom board, and a new one put in its place.
The old hive is then brought forward and re-
versed, so that its entrance faces that of the
new hive. Leave a space of one foot or more

between the hives, and place a drone-trap (which
is also a queen-excluder) in front of new hive,
the excluder or trap to be reversed so that the
queen is trapped in her efforts to enter the hive.
Now lift the frames carefully from the old hive,
and brush off the bees in front of new one,
placing the frames, as they are cleared of bees,
in the new hive in the same order as in the old
one. At this point I find it necessary to use
smoker and brush (the brush I use is a turkey^
wing feather) to hurry them along, which is
quickly done and the queen trapped. Remove
the trap to some safe place, and the queen is
found without difficulty.

When I go through this operation of finding
the queen, it is for the purpose of re-queening,
and the bees are in the right state to receive the
new queen, for, as I remove the frames from
the old hive, I spray them with a mixture of
water, peppermint, and sugar. Spray the bees
also as they enter the hive. When you have
the old queen safe in the trap, and your bees
are wet with the spray, give the new queen a
sprinkling from the spray, and place her at the
entrance of the hive. She will enter and be
received with favour.

This manner of introducing queens is the one
recommended by James fiadden in his Success
in Bee-culture. Straining out the queen may
be practised by others, but, if so, I do not know
it; but this I do know, it saves much time in
hunting queens in autumn. This applies to
black queens only.. I find no difficulty in
finding the yellow bands at any time. — Clark
Ghatfield, Seymour, Netv Haven County, Conn..
U.S.A.

WIDTH OF SHALLOW FRAMES IN
SURPLUS CHAMBERS.

[1563.] Will you kindly allow me to call
the attention of readers of the Journal, and
especially the attention of our leading bee-men,
to the above subject, in the hope that it may
lead to a discussion on the matter, and, if pos-
sible, guide our leading bee-appliance makers,
and, if needs be, the Committee of the British
Bee-keepers' Association, in suggesting to the
bee-keeping fraternity what is the best width
to work shallow bars.

In the report on the honev classes at the
Royal Show at Chester, July 6th (p. 263)
you said, " Nothing in honey production can, to
our mind, surpass a well-finished shallow frame
of good honey ; it far excels a single section in
beautj\" I quite endorse all this, but I would
like to add that if they are worked at a distance
of two inches from centre to centre, instead of
the usual one and a half inches, they do surpass
sections, and by a very long way those frames
that are worked out at one and a half inches.
But I suppose heio is the crux of the whole
matter, and about which there seems some
diversity of opinion— as to whether tho new
metal end should be two inches, or more or less.
Personally, I favour the two-inch end and a

384 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [September 28, 1893.

five-inch deep shallow bar ; then I can work
either W.B.C. hanging-section crate, or shallow
bar, or a combination of both if wished ; and I
have seen in this county (Notts) a number of
frames taken from hives this season, and worked
with two-inch ends, that were a perfect picture,
while the gain to the bees in capping, and to
the bee-keeper in time and honey, as pointed
out by friend Woodley (1506, p. 304, in
Journal of August 3rd) is very great indeed.

In this county one of the members of the
Notts B.K.A. has hit upon a novel plan. He
makes the top bar something after the plan
adopted in the W.B.C. hanging-section crate,
and exactly the same width, viz., two inches ;
the sides or ends of the frames are one inch and
seven-sixteenths wide, and the top bar and sides
are grooved to receive the foundation ; the
bottom strip is one inch wide and three-sixteenths
thick, and the bees have plenty of room to get
to their work.

Another plan adopted by a second bee-keeper
here for several years past is to place strips of
wood one-half inch square and seventeen inches
long between each "W.B.C. end, and thus make
the ordinary bars have two-inch ends ; and he
tells me that he has had splendid results from
this method. The bees have built the combs
out the extra width, and, while having less
frames in number, he has had a larger quantity
of honey.

I could say more, but I think perhaps I have
trespassed enough on the editors' space and
patience, so leave what I may have to say
further to another issue. — Hemlock: Stone,
September 18th, 1893.

[The maker of the W.B.C. end is, we believe,
now engaged on the subject of a wider end for
shallow frames which will meet the require-
ments of the case, and it is certain that befoie
next season such ends will be put on the market.
Personally, we have always taken means to
have heavier combs in surplus chambers than
the ordinary " end " made provision for, by
inserting slips of wood between each frame.
Our own idea would be to make the new end of
such a width that eight frames would occupy
the ordinary shallow-frame box now holding
ten frames. We hope to bring the matter up
at the next meeting of the Committee of the
B.B.K.A.— Eds.]

NOTES BY THE WAY.
[1564.] Mr. Hooker's report of the British
honey exhibit at Chicago must be very gratify-
ing to the contributors to that exhibit. That
only one or two bottles were fermenting is most
satisfactory, and speaks well for the selection by
the many bee-keepers who responded to the
request of the B. B. K. A. last year to enable
them to make a representative exhibit from
Great Britain of extracted honey. I am sorry
the risk and expense of sending an exhibit of
comb honey was so great, otherwise I feel sure
we should have surprised our American brethren
in the craft with the excellence of our product

in sectional super honey, and our patriotic
designs in honey-comb.

I run two considerable apiaries principally
for comb honey, and I can assure Mr. L. Smith
that I have no use for excluder zinc, and
although I often super on nine frames (standard
size), I do not have one per cent, of broody sec-
tions, not even this season when the brood combs
were more or less clogged by the influx of early
honey. I know my friend Mr. J. Walton uses
it throughout his large apiary, and I believe the
principal reason he uses it under section crates
is to prevent brace combs being built between
the tops of frames and bottoms of sections. I
myself always use it under the few boxes of
shallow frames, and I would commend its use
to Mr. Smith notwithstanding Mr. Simmins'
contention that more honey would be stored by
the bees without than with the excluder zinc.
A few extra pounds of honey at the end of a
season will not compensate for the knowledge to
the bee-keeper through the whole honey harvest
that his supers are free from brood, and that so
soon as they are sealed the box of honey can be
removed and stored or extracted at will without
the bother of returning two or three, perhaps
four or five, of the central combs for the brood
to hatch out, only to find in another fortnight
the same combs refilled with eggs and larvae,
perhaps in a smaller space, yet enough to pre-
vent the removal of them to the honey-room or
extractor, as I trust there are now very few bee-
keepers who would think of extracting honey
from combs that contain brood in any stage of
growth.

I quite think there is an opening for some in-
ventive genius to bring out a "Wells" dummy that
the bees will not propolise. I suppose a vege-
table ivory or xylonite would be too cold during
the winter months to allure the bees of both
colonies to cluster for mutual warmth as one
united happy family in a round bed, or would
the latus felt be too odoriferous if perforated and
stretched in a metal or wood frame ? Oh, by-
the-bye, I remember Mr. Abbott, when editor of
the B.B.J. , advocating hair cloth as first quilts
next to frames as a material the bees could not
gnaw. Would not this hair cloth be just the
thing to separate the two colonies in a " Wells "
hive ? If that won't do, what of some small tin
ferrules inserted in the holes ? I have a few
passage-ways for winter formed by inserting a
small coil of tin in the brood combs, and they
have not been filled yet with either wax or pro-
polis, although in use eight or nine years.

Is this propolising the holes in the dividing
dummy only a natural instinct of the bee to
make the dulce domum taut and draught-proof,
or must we take it that they wish to boycott
the bees on the other side, i.e., hold no com-
munication with them ?

Early Granulation of Honey. — I can only
advise Mr. " R. P. W." (1548) to feed the
granulated honey to the bees if he particularly
wishes to preserve the frames of combs,
though the combs in these days of founda-
tion are not of so much value as of yore.

September 28, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

385

should mash up the lot together, and apply
gentle heat till liquefied, then strain and
bottle off; if heated only just enough to
strain through muslin and strainer-cloth, the
honey will not be injured. Then another
season, give full sheets of foundation, and you
■will quickly have new combs. If " R. P. W."
will give his mode of working his straw skeps
for sections, perhaps some one may be able
to give him a few hints.

From reports in the American bee journals,
the " LaDgdon " non-swarming device has not
proved a success in American apiaries during
the summer. Our friends have had a swarm-
irjg season, and the bees persisted in swarm-
ing— devices notwithstanding.

Mr. Root advises, when working in the apiary,
that the very busy bees, who are always on
the alert to slip into the hive as soon as the
quilt is removed from a frame, should have em-
ployment found them to clear up some extracted
combs put into a hive, and the entrance con-
tracted to admit only one or two bees at a time.
By this method he avers that work can be carried
ou in the apiary as pleasantly as when a honey-
flow is on. — W. Woodley, World's End, New-
bury.

BEE-NOTES FROM SCOTLAND.

[1565.] In the Bee Journal of August 31st
(1540, p. 348)1 sent you some bee-notes respect-
ing a double hive which I made last winter and
stocked in March, and what I am now about to
write refers principally to one end of that hive,
which I called No. 2. Instead of swarming,
that hive took possession, and put a great deal
of honey and pollen into an outside hive, which
had been placed ready for a swarm. Though
this hive yielded ninety pounds of section honey
in addition to the honey in No. 2a, which was
afterwards mostly robbed by wasps and robber-
bees, I was always doubtful about it. I need
not notice the little signs which induced me to
think that the queen was to blame ; but, though
I do not like interfering with queens, yet I felt,
if the bees did not do it themselves, a change
must be made before winter. Fortunately a
neighbouring bee-keeper, who was about to
smother all (to him) useless stocks, came and
asked me if I wanted any " beeses," as he
was going to smoke two or three small casts.
I gladly accepted his offer of one, and fed it up,
and added another small cast to it, and it is
now ready in case of an emergency. Subse-
quent events, which I will now describe, show
that this is not wanted at present. I made an
examination of No. 2 hive. 1 may as well now
state the construction of the hive. The total
length was four feet six inches. This length
was fixed upon so as to fit certain fixtures
already in the bee-house. Each end holds
fifteen frames, and the entrances are at the
ends. Each division of the hive has two
compartments. The compartments next the
entrances held six frames placed across the
entrances, then came a spaced division, and

then nine frames and a dummy with their ends
against the middle division. Each compartment
has separate roof-covers, and each has also
underneath two drawers, the top ones with
perforated zinc bottoms, and the lower ones
with dry peat moss, with a ball of crushed
naphthaline in each. These drawers, of course,
add to the expense of a hive, but to amateurs
they are of great value. I have been able, all
this hot summer, to keep the lower drawer
more or less open, and as the bees cannot get
out that way, they get plenty of air, and the
main entrance can be kept small, and thus pre-
vent the inroads of wasps.

To return, however, to No. 2 hive. In order
to quieten the bees I placed a carbolised cloth
over the outer division of the hive (six frames).
The result was that most of the bees under that
division came out, being next to the entrance.
Some of them extended to a distance of twenty
inches. I found some little brood, which satisfied
me that the queen was fertile, but the main
part of the brood in both hives has always
been against the middle division, which I did
not disturb. I closed all up again and left them
expecting the bees to return, but they did not.
When I came back, in twenty minutes, I found
a cluster of bees and a balled queen. She was
lively, however. In my former letter I was
doubtful from what source she came. I am
now satisfied she came out of No. 2 hive. Her
wings were all torn, and she was subsequently
killed. The bees of No. 2 had evidently in-
tended to put her out sooner or later, as within
a fortnight they had a young fertile queen.
They have begun to kill the drones, and pollen
is coming in, which previously had almost
ceased.

I am afraid I am inflicting rather long notes,
but I may as well state how I am going to man-
age the wintering. I am placing all combs
with brood in them in the outer compartments
of each hive, so that the two stocks will keep
one another warm. The outer six-frame division
will be filled with wooden dummies, as soon as
all hatching in that part has ceased. I have
made sure that the queens are now in the nine-
frame divisions. The bees pass under the
dummies, and can only get into the nine-frame
divisions by a four-inch-wide entrance from the
six-frame compartment. Though this construc-
tion of hive was brought about by accident, I
am more than satisfied with it. In the spring
the dummies will be gradually removed and re-
placed by clean combs, as I see breeding pro-
gressing.— F. McC, Ecclefechan, Sejitembirloth,

MY EXPERIENCE WITH A "WELLS"
HIVE.

[1566.] Beingaconstantreader of your Journal,
I have perused with much interest the notes ap-
pearing therein as to the successful season, the
working of the " Wells "-hive system, &c, and
take the liberty of sending a cutting from this
day's Scotsman, which gives a general idea of

386

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL [September 28, 189a

the favourable season in the south of Scotland,
and will add a few remarks as to the season,
&a, in the north-eastern part. Of the season gene-
rally, I may say it has been the best since
1887, particularly so as regards heather honey,
and bee-keepers are invariably well pleased with
their harvest. Some have been signally suc-
cessful ; for instance, I heard of a bee-keeper
who was late in sending his hives (about twenty)
to the hills, and who only got six working days,
having taken off over three hundredweight of
heather honey, leaving sufficient winter stores.
I had sis at the heather, and brought them
home loaded — with supers all full and brood
nest also — filled from side to side.

Like many others, I caught on to the " Wells "-
hive system, and, having a double hive, with only
one stock in it, i resolved to give the new plan
a trial. I prepared a perforated dummy, put on
queen-excluder, fitted up the one end of double
hive with full foundation and a few good combs,
and wrought up the stock. On the 3:d July I
got a splendid swarm, and had it carefully hived
in the other end, specially prepared, and con-
cluded all was right. At the end of four days,
however, I discovered that the bees had re-
turned to the mother hive, and were all work-
ing from one port (both ports were in front,
with division between on the flight-board), and
on the sixth day it swarmed again, the swarm
being joined by a cast from another hive. I
again carefully hived them in the empty end of
double hive, but with the same result. At the
end of five days it swarmed a third time— an
extra-sized one. Seeing I had made two unsuc-
cessful attempts to form a " Wells " hive, 1 re-
solved to work the hive as one, and accordingly
withdrew the dummy. Before putting back the
swarm I removed the supers and took up every
frame, carefully examining them for queen-cells.
I found three empty ones and nine full ones.
I removed them all, and, while doirig so, five of
the queens burst the caps and came out. They
were strong and healthy, but made no attempt
to fly. Two, however, met, and instantly at-
tacked each other, and fouyht desperately until
they were almost dead. Having made sure that
all the queens and cells were removed, I put
back the swarm, and had no more trouble ; the
hive afterwards did splendidly. Such was the
result of my first attempt to work a " Wells.''
I am going to act upon your advice to J. E.
Brown (888, p. 379) in the last issue, in order to
gain my desire. I attribute my failure to trans-
ferring the swarm from the one end of the hive
to the other, and regret I did not take a swarm
from another hive.

The only annoyance we have had this season
is the general one — namely, from wasps. They
have killed outright some weak hives, and have
been very troublesome to others. Natural
swarming added very much to our labours in
the beginning of July. — Amateur, Kincar-
dineshire.

The cutting referred to by our correspondent
reads as follows : — " Not for many years has
there been such a favourable season for honev as

the one now closing. The warm spring gave
special facilities for breeding, with the result
that the hives became strong and healthy. The
fine summer has led to flower honey being
pretty plentiful, while the return of heather
honey is particularly heavy, the weather during
the past month, when the hives were put to the
heather, being exceptionably favourable for the
bees. Generally, both kinds of honey are sell-
ing well. Bee-keeping is yearly gaining in
favour among the agricultural communities of
the West of Scotland. In Lanarkshire, it is
true, there is no ideal honey-raising district,
save in the high-lying regions in the upper
reaches of the Clyde. On the other hand, Ken-
frewshire possesses in the Bridge of Weir and
Kilmalcolm neighbourhood a splendid field for
the apiarist, and some of the best clover honey
is secured in this region. Again, in Ayrshire,
the bee-keeper has a rich clover district, while
across the water in Arran there is heather iu
profusion for the stronger-flavoured honey.
The past season has been, on the whole, a
favourable one, although scarcely so much so as
might have been expected. In the Leadhills
district the long drought to a great extent
spoiled the heather, and while the honey has
been above the average, it might with a less
arid season have been still better. As to the quan-
tity of honey secured, some Lanarkshire keepers
report for one hive as much as sixty pounds.
The harvest in Renfrewshire is the best for
many years, and from Ayrshire there comes
similar reports. Retailers, taking advantage of
the rumours of an exceptional harvest, have
been endeavouring to keep down the prices, but
the bee-keepers rather than sell at the reduced
rates prefer to store the honey, in the knowledge
that they will easily command better prices
later in the season. As a general rule bee-
keepers refuse to sell to the middleman under
lOd. per pound, and nearly half as much again
can be obtained by selling direct to the con-
sumers."

THE SEASON IN MID-KENT.

[1567.] What at the end of April appeared
like being an extra good honey season has,
through this district, turned out a very bad one :
a record in this respect, I should think. And I
really believe the bar-framist is worse off than
the skeppist, as the latter did get a few swarms
in April, which caused us to prepare hives and
sections that the bees did not use when we gave
them the opportunity to do so. But the weather
did it. I have often said we can't get too much
sun in May and June for bees. But old Sol was
too hot for us this time, scorching almost every-
thing up that would have produced honey. A
lot of sections were put on the hives in April
and early May, the bees taking to them at once ;
but it lasted a very short time, and then it was
'•' Hope deferred," &c. Although the Journal
reported honey coming in freely in West Kent,
none came in here. I am rather anxious to see
Mr. Wells' report from North Kent — I am afraid
it won't be a very flattering one. My bees were

September 28, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

587

never in better condition in April than this year.
What little honey we have got is dark in
colour, although the flavour is not bad.

Wasps ! Yes, we have had a few of them !
Two bee-keepers living within sight of my
house have taken about 400 nests this year
between them, and I know of a grocer who has
caught them by the bushel, and I am quite certain
that your correspondent, " J. G. K." has had his
share, for in walking up a hill a short distance
from his place, I counted a dozen nests within as
many yards. But they are getting thinner now,
though it is still a job to keep them out of the
honey, as well as the hives. I have heard of a
few cases where they have turned the bees out
of skeps ; but we must give Mr, Wasp a little
credit for good work, in helping to clear us of a
few of the millions of aphides that have infested
almost all kinds of the cabbage tribe. I
noticed a wasp making a meal of those little
pests only yesterday, and it has certainly been
very amusing to see them catch and trim up the
common house fly previous to carrying it home
to the nest.

I can corroborate tbe observations quoted
by "J. G. K." (1547, p. 364), as to honey-dew
upon the oaks; you could see it everywhere,
but I never at any time saw a bee at work
upon it.

This has certainly been a most extraordinary
season, what with the early drought and then
the different insect pests ; and now this last
drought is, I believe, worse than the first, from
the farmer's point of view, and if crops won't
grow, there is nothing for the bees to collect
from.

My average this year will be about seven
pounds per hive, fully one half having pro-
duced nothing, so that when the sugar used for
feeding is paid for, there is not much left for
labour, &c. And now I suppose the best thing
I can do is to pack them up for winter as soon
as I can, and hope for a better season next
year. It certainly is very annoying to read of
such splendid takes in the north, when we in
the south have a mere nothing. — Man of
Kent.

[Our correspondent must be located in an
exceptionally poor bee - district (for Kent),
judging by his unfavourable report as given
above. But why it should be " very annoying "
to read of the good fortune of northern bee-
men, it is not easy to see. Surely it should be
gratifying, even to us unfortunate southerners,
to learn that bees have done well somewhere in
1893.— Eds.]

MY FIRST YEAR'S BEE-EXPERIENCES.

(Concluded from page 367.)

[1568. | June 16th. — Made artificial swarm,
which weighed three pounds ; thought this too
few bees, so put swarm on old stand for an
hour, thus getting one pound more bees. On
July 2nd they had taken eleven pounds of syrup.
Twenty-one days later drove bees from old stock
and put th«m in home-made frame hive, on five

frames with starters and one of comb. Gave
five pounds syrup. In eight days found queen
laying ; gave two more frames and five pounds
more syrup.

Had news brought me on August Bank
Holiday that a large ladder had fallen from
roof of house and smashed the frame hive.
Went home and found my wife had thrown a
table-cloth over the whole debris; found Toof
smashed in and hive turned upside down ;
managed to place things straight in about an
hour without a sting, and, as frames were wired,
not a comb broken.

August 22nd. — Find nine frames full of comb
and brood. Weight of swarm, twenty-four
pounds; plenty of bees.

Taking a walk one day found some cottagers
about to smother some stocks, two of which had
swarmed early in year, so arranged to drive the
bees on 12th inst. One lot in a cheese-box gave
me over six pounds of bees ; the other two
driving well, the whole job only taking about
two hours. Tied them down, slung them round
my back, and carried them safely home ; tired
but well satisfied with my evening's work.
Next morning placed the large lot on six frames,
three of which were taken from the other stock
being filled with sealed syrup, the others having
full sheets of foundation. They have taken
down ten pounds of syrup in five days. The
other two lots, which weighed four pounds ani
three pounds respectively, I united in a skep on
five pieces of brood comb which they gave me
when taking the bee3. I threw a portion of the
bees on floor-board, sprinkled them with flour,
placed skep raised at front on board, and then
threw the other bees alternately on cloth in
front, taking care to sprinkle each time with
flour. They seem to be going on nicely, and
taking syrup well. Both lots are carrying in
pollen.

I have been striking a balance on Dr. and Cr.
i account of my year's bee-keeping, and find my
outlay for two stocks of bees, driven bees,
skeps, supers, general necessaries, together with
| sugar for feeding, &c, amounts to 4/. 9s. 9j>d.,
while my present stock, at fair value, together
with proceeds of honey sold for 30s., amounts
to 6/. 16s. Gljd., leaving me with a profit of
21. 6s. 9hd., which I consider very good for my
first year s bee-keeping seeing I had everything
to buy. — C. Harvey, Bromsgrove.

SENDING HONEY BY POST.

[1569.] I am sending by this post two samples
of honey, on which I should be glad to have
your opinion. Sample No. 2 was gathered in
August ; is it from the blackberry ? Why is
sample No. 1 so dark ? This has been a very
good year here ; I have taken 274 pounds ex-
tracted, and twenty-nine sections from four
stocks, the best yielding 101 pounds extracted.
Quality, mostly very good ; some of the early
takes were, however, rather spoiled b}r honey-
dew.

With regard to the " Useful Hints " about

388

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [September 23, 1893.

packing honey for post, I don't think that the
postal authorities are altogether blameless in the
matter, so far as my experience goes. I packed
my best section, sealed all round, with glass each
side, in a close-fitting postal section-case, caie-
f ully labelled as to its fragile nature, and dis-
patched the same to a show for competition ; it
was broken in transit, and unfit to stage. On
i.nother occasion I packed a bottle of honey in
ihick corrugated paper, and that also was broken
in the post. 1 trust, however, that the bottles
I am sending to-day will be mercifully dealt
with. — Percy Sharp, Newark-on-Trent.

[No. 2 is very good clover honey. No. 1 also
good, but a little spoiled by honey-dew. Bottles
arrived safe, but were not very well packed.
Two cods of corrugated paper would have been
better than one. — Eds.]

THE SEASON IN EIPON.

[1570.] Bees have done remarkably well in
this distiict; the clover yield was not very
large, but better than the four previous seasons.
The yield from the moors is undoubtedly better
thau it has been for many years. Unfortunately,
ab5ence from home prevented my giving my
hives any attention at the moors, consequently
I could not give more room by way of adding
sections. Two of the hives had double crates
od, every section in which was perfectly
finished, and every frame of comb sealed from
top to bottom. As they could well spare it I
took twenty-five pounds of honey from the
combs and forty-two pounds in sections from
each hive, which with torty sections from each
previously made a total of 105 pounds surplus
for each hive. The rest have done as well, only
were short of space for storing surplus, merely
completing the one crate of twenty-one sections
and rilling frames. — Ripon, September 2-ith.

MY PLAN OF PACKING HIVES FOR

WINTER.

[1571.] After reducing the number of frames
to seven, and placing dummy-board in position,
my next care is to feed rapidly as necessity re-
quires ; this done, I pack for winter as follows,
and have invariably met with success : — Fill
space between dummy-board and wall of hive
with pieces of paper pressed down tightly, with
pieces of camphor mixed w ith them ; two strips
of wood, three-eighths of an inch thick, im-
mediately over the frames, so as to leave bee-
passages ; upon these strips an enamel cloth
quilt, then a square of ordinary tar roofiag felt
(this I find keeps the hive free from vermin, and
aids to keep the bees healthy) ; now three thick-
nesses of drugget, and then any old books or
newspapers which I may have handy. On
October 1st I open entrance to its widest extent,
and contract it March 1st, and reopen two
months later in readiness for the honey-flow. —
W. H., Browser jve, September 7th.

EXTRACTING WAX.

[1572.] I wish to thank the writer of the
letter [1537, p. 347] for the interesting and
lucid description of his method of extracting
wax. I followed his advice to the letter and
was more than pleased with the result, for I
obtained quite three pounds of good, clear wax
from pieces of broken comb, cappings, &c,
which I should have thrown away in former
years, not knowing how to utilise them, for I
could not afford an expensive extractor. I feel
sure that other bee-keepers besides myself will
benefit by Mr. Percy Leigh's disinterested in-
formation.— W. H.

BE QUINCY ON BEES.

[1573.] The enclosed, taken from BeQuincy's
book, appears to me so against all common
sense that I should be glad to have your
opinion upon the matter, and the probable
reason for the bees visiting the chimney; I
should say they probably had a nest in or near
it. — John C. Waltham, September 12th.

Be Quincy writes : — "The bee that extracts
its materials indiscriminately from roses and
from the soot of chimneys. — In the large
capacious chimneys of the rustic cottages
throughout the Lake district, you can see up
the entire cavity from the seat which you
occupy, as an honoured visitor, in the chimney
corner. There I used often to hear bees. Their
murmuring was audible, though their bodily
forms were too small to be visible at that
altitude. On inquiry, I found that soot (chiefly
from wood and peats) was useful in some stage
of their wax or honey manufacture."

[The above affords an excellent illustration of
how very foolishly an otherwise clever man
may talk when dealing with a subject of which
he knows nothing. It need hardly be said that
any one experienced in bee - keeping would
regard the idea of bees visiting chimneys to
gather soot as the veriest nonsense. — Eds.]

PACKAGES FOR SECTIONS.

A correspondent writes as follows : — " Could
any reader of the B. J. inform me where the
light cardboard boxes for one-pound sections
are to be procured, or a suitable wrapper for
sections when sold singly from a stall ? — T. K."

BEE-CULTURE IN ALLOTMENT
GARBENS.

In our allotment gardens, Mr. James Nixon
has had a remarkably successful time with his
bees; and it will be interesting to give the
record of the work of one of his hives. The
following are the results: — On June 12th,
twenty-eight pounds were taken: June 22nd,
-forty-two pounds ; July 10th, twenty - five
pounds; and on August 22nd, thirty- one
pounds ; a total of 126 pounds. Mr. Nixon has
taken more honey from one hive than has ever

September 28, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 389

been heard of in Cumberland. Besides the
126 pounds of honey taken, he has left in the
hive nine good solid frames, equal to sixty-
three pounds, to winter on. We should like to
know if any bee-keeper has taken more from
one hive this year, as 105 pounds is the highest
record known by some of the most experienced
bee-keepers. Other five bee-keepers in the
allotments, with their two hives each, have
taken from forty pounds to eighty pounds from
each of their hives. — " Haltivhistle and Alston
News" September 16th.

[The above cutting, sent by a correspondent,
shows a condition of things very creditable in-
deed to Cumberland bee-keepers. The only
uncertainty in the returns given, likely to
strike a practical hand, is the weight of honey
in the nine combs left (sixty-three pounds),
that being a very high estimate for nine frames,
unless larger than standard size. — Eds.]

($mxm antr Implies.

[81)2.] Overdosing with Salicylic Acid. — I have
recently bought a stock of bees to start bee-
keeping, and in making autumn food I have put
half an ounce of salicylic acid, instead of half
an ounce of salicylic acid solution to five pounds
of sugar, and I have already given it to the bees,
which have consumed about fourparts of it. Idid
not know what a great mistake 1 had made till
to-day, when a friend called and told me to
write to you as quick as possible. Kindly give
me your advice a? to what I should do. —
J. W. R. — Burton Joyce, Notts.

Reply. — There is no help, of course, for
what has been done, and the overdosing, though
bad enough, is not quite so bad as it seems,
because only a certain portion of acid can be con-
tained in solution, and the rest would be wasted.
Use no acid in the rest of the food.

[893.] A Learner's Queries. — 1. I see from
your paper that honey can be extracted from
the combs without breaking or destroying them
(by the extractor). Would you explain how it
is done ? In our place we still resort to the old
method, crushing the comb, then straining the
honey through a bag. 2. Ought sugar to be
boiled for autumn feeding, because I have heard
that boiled sugar is apt to candy in the hive.
Is this the case ? This has been a very good
season here, both on the clover and at the
heather. It is mostly straw skeps that are
used. Some of them came home from the
heather above 100 pounds in weight. — A
Leabneb, Stonehouse, N.B.

Reply.— 1. The "honey extractor" is a
cylinder of tin in which is a revolving
cage, fixed on a shaft with a handle at top.
The combs, after uncapping, are placed in this
cage, and, by turning the handle, are subjected
to rapid centrifugal motion as the cage revolves.
The honey is thus ejected from the comb
without injuring the latter. 2. Some bee-
keepers merely mix the sugar with hot water,
but we prefer it boiled,

[894.] I received two five-pound lots of
driven bees (pure natives) from England on the
2nd and 12th of September, and put them
respectively on six and five frames, each with
fully drawn out combs. I fed up each lot
rapidly with about eighteen to twenty pounds
syrup, medicated with Naphthol Beta; but as
the combs were entirely free from pollen, please
say in your next issue if the bees can breed on
the syrup food without pollen, or if I can
assist them in any way with artificial pollen
for the early breeding about January next.
Pollen is coming in to the present, but in small
quantities, and I think they will not get eneugh
to store for the winter. — M. V., Co. Tyrone,
Ireland.

Reply. — The bees will no doubt gather some
pollen before cold weather comes, and may \>a.
safely left till the early spring, when it will
be advantageous to give them pea-flour in the
usual way.

[895.] A Beginner's Queries. — I bought a
swarm of bees last J une, which I think have
done very well from my having obtained twenty -
one pounds of honey last month. I should be
glad to have information on the enclosed points
through the columns of your valuable paper.
1. How should I proceed to ensure keeping my
bees safe during the winter ? 2. What would
be the best food to feed on regardless of cost ?
3. I want as many stocks from one swarm as
possible next year. How shall I do this with-
out swarming P 4. I have made a " Wells "
hive. How shall I make it ready for bees next
year ? 5. How must I proceed to become a
member of the Bee-keepers' Association ? — ■

DUBHAM.

Reply. — 1. Read up some reliable book on
bees, such as the Guide-book, and prepare tbe
bees according to the instructions contained
therein. 2. Pure cane sugar made into syrup.
3. This information will be found in the book
referred to. 4. It should require no making
ready beyond fitting the frames with either
strips of foundation as guides or with full
sheets. 5. There is no County Association in
Durham. Write Mr. Huckle, Sec. British Bee-
keepers' Association, Kings Langley.

[896.] Li/ting a " Wells " Dummy. — In case
of a ** Wells " dummy getting the holes pro-
polised and requiring cleaning, how can it be
removed for the purpose — as the moment it is
withdrawn will not the bees begin to fight ?
Or possibly the queen might cross over to the
other side. — P. Shabp.

Reply. — In cases where the difficulty indi-
cated occurs a dummy of perforated zinc (not
queen-exclud< r zinc) should be inserted tem-
porarily alongside the '* Wells" dummy lefore
the latter is withdrawn.

(fojfflcss farm % Jipfog.

Bromsgrove, September 6th. — I now write
this, my first " echo,'' with feelings of joy, for
I have just returned from examining my stocks,

390

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [September 28, 1893.

and 'am glad to say the surplus stored is far
greater than I expected. One hive I find will
yield me over half a hundredweight of good
ripe honey. This hive I made last March from
the description which appears in B. J. for
Fehruary 2nd (1318, p. 46). Late in April I
transferred the bees and frames from an ordinary
bar-frame into it, and left all severely alone
until to-day, when I found as above mentioned.
My other hives have done fairly well. I intend
giving a dozen pounds of syrup to each of my
stocks and then pack up for winter. Many
thanks for the valued help I derive from the
B.B.J. I often wish it was a semi-weekly
paper. — Wilfred Hardie.

A POSER.
A correspondent sends us a show schedule
whereon is printed at the foot, " N.B. — Lectures
on ' Mosquito Netting in Modern Bee-keeping '
will be given during the show-day, August 3rd,"
and asks us to " explain what it means." We
confess our inability to enlighten him in the
slightest degree, though it is obvious some one
has " gone wrong." — Eds.

>Jr0tos 10 durnte.

October 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th.— Dairy
Show at the Agricultural Hall, Islington.
Liberal prizes for honey. W. C. Young, Secre-
tary, Dairy Farmers' Association, 19 1 Fleet
Street, London. Entries closed.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries ashing for addresses of manufacturers 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 communication.

.411 queries forwarded will be attended to, and those only
of personal interest will be answered in this column.

*#* A gentleman removing his bees in a few
days from Romford, Essex, to Shelford, near
Cambridge, will be glad to have the address
of a bee-keeper in that neighbourhood willing
to help him with his bees. Address, W.
Loveday, office of Bee Journal.

E. H. (Lambeth Road). — Selling Honey and
Wax. — Persons living in an out-of-the-way
village in Suffolk may, of course, experience
some difficulty in disposing of their bee-
produce unless an " outside '' effort is made
to find a market. If the quality is good and
the price moderate the honey and wax would
probably find a purchaser if advertised in
our " prepaid " column. Or could you not
help your sister by making inquiries in London
since you are located here ?

Insurance.— Roofing Felt for Frame Coverings.
— The roofing felt recommended for covering

frame tops is that known as " Latus " felting.
It is not fibrous, and consequently causes no
annoyance to the bees such as you fear.

Gardener. — 1. Comb is badly affected with
foul brood. 2. The " Garstang " honey press
is especially constructed for extracting
heather honey. 3. The " Raynor Extractor "
is a strong one, but there are cheaper machines
which will do the work well. 4. Mr. Wells
is not a manufacturer of bee-appliances.

Joseph Bell. — Comb is foul -broody; not a very
bad case, however, if comb sent is a fair
sample.

Charles Marks. — Combsentcontains "chilled"
brood, not foul, but all combs containing such
should be removed and burnt, using naphtha-
line as a preventive of disease.

Sond (York). — Beet Sugar for Bee-food. — Beet
sugar is injurious to bees because of the
chemicals used it its preparation and its ten-
dency to fermentation. The chief objection
to it is, as a winter food, because of this
latter tendency.

Novice (N.B.). — Fermentation of Honey. — The
"frothy appearance" may be nothing more
than the small air-bubbles which rise to the
top after extracting. If, however, the bubbles
become larger and do not assume a white
appearance, the inference is that the honey is
fermenting. In the latter case the smell of
fermentation is very apparent.

G. Head. — Honey Samples. — Nos. 1 and 2 are
fair samples of honey from mixed sources ; 3
and 4 very fair in quality, chiefly from clover ;
5 is not so good.

W. Kingham. — Comb is foul-broody and should
be at once burnt with the few bees left in the
hive. On no account use the combs for driven
bees.

A. P. Jollve. — " Wells" Dummy. — Kef erring
to dummy now receh L there must, we think,
be some error in you. ,-iatement that the hive
from which the dummy from surplus chamber
is taken was " made according to Mr. Wells
direction." That gentleman does not use a
dummy in his surplus chambers at all. On his
system the bees are not parted in surplus
chambers by a fixed dummy, but work in a
super common to both lots. Besides, the
dummy sent is quite different in many respects
from the genuine " Wells " dummy, as we have
seen it.
J. F. Cribb. — Th-uks for photograph; hope to
print your in resting reference to it next
week.
A. G. S. (Lincoln). — Foul Brood.— Will our
correspondent who wrote under the above
initials kindly again furnish us with his name
and address.
Ernest Walker. — The colour of wax may be
improved by passing it through boiling water
several times, and scraping off the impurities
which gather on the underside of it when cold.
It will do as it is for use in making brood
foundation.

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

.•No. 589. Vol. XXI. N. S. 197.]

OCTOBER 5, 1893.

[Published Weekly,

(Efotiorial, Satires, t£c.

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — A little over a week ago we
had no " hints" to write, or probably those
who care to peruse this column would have
been told that snow was lying two feet deep
in some parts of Scotland, and that winter
was travelling south very fast. As it is, we
find ourselves in these parts still in the
midst of phenomenal warmth and sunshine.

The Harvest. — The honey season being
now quite over, bee-keepers are totting up
results. And what, harvests of honey some
of our northern friends have secured to be
sure ! We have beeu looking over the
"reports " in our monthly, and it is quite
refreshing to learn how well bees have done
in Scotland and some parts of the North
of England. Among many big " takes "
recorded, we think that of Mr. A. Muir, as
reported on p. 136 of Record now bids fair
to stand at the top. Here it U : —

"I had nineteen hives,s^ring- count, aud finished
the season with twenty , Had only four hives
that swarmed. I wrou^ .c twelve hives for ex-
tracted honey, six for one-pound sections, and
one for seven-pound supers. I find, on counting
up, I have got nineteen hundredweight of honey,
besides twenty frames of honey given to driven
bees. My two best extracting hives gave me
150 pounds each ! the best ' take ' being from
13th to 19th June — six days — when the bee*
drew out five shallow frames and" gave me
thirty-nine and "a half pounds from each. My
best hive, worked for sections, gave me five
crates of twenty-one pounds eae*, or 105 sections
in all. The hive with supet ■ gave me 100
pounds in supers, and twenty-u ree pounds of
heather honey from shallow frames."

The " Wells " System. — No Moubt the
comparative fewness of the reports to hand
concerning the success or failure of this
system in the hands of readers is largely
due to the bad time for beesun the south.
One report, however, forwarded by a well-
known bee-keeper, is very favourable. It

reads thus: — "Mr. R. Clinton Baker, of
Rayfordbury, near Hertford, started a
' Wells ' hive in May, and has taken from
it a total of 262 pounds of honey. This
will be about as good a record as the
' Wells ' hive has made in this county ! "

Wintering Bees. — The usual queries on
preparing bees for wintering well are now
cropping up, and may be dealt with en bloc.
The main points are, plenty of wholesome
food, plenty of bees, and protection from
weather combined with ventilation. If food
is plentiful in the hive, a simple contrivance,
easily made — such as the well - known
"Hill Device" — laid over the frames, will
enable the bees to reaoh their stores with-
out the need of cutting " winter passages "
through the combs. If food is short when
packing for winter, the scarcity must be
supplemented by candy ; and for this pur-
pose, as well as giving winter passages over
frames, the " St. Beuno's " candy feeder
may be used.

St. Beuno's Device.

The " St. Beuno's Device " — so named
by its first maker — consists of two curved
pieces of wood, crossed and united by an
inch or inch-and-a-half screw, the thread of
which protudes into the curvature. Lay-
ing this on its back, legs upwards, in a
soup-plate, with a sheet of paper under-
neath, the melted sugar is poured in, until
about one inch of each leg is left exposed.
The device need not touch the bottom of

392

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 5, 1893.

the plate ; if it dips under the surface a
half-inch it will do, and for this purpose a
piece of cardboard laid across the four legs
will sufficiently overcome the buoyancy of
the wood until the candy sets. Thus, when
the candy is placed over the frames, the
four legs protruding slantingly an inch long,
give bee-space at once under its whole area.
Preserving Store Combs. — For packing
away store combs a simple rack may be
made from the accompanying sketch.

Rack for storing Comb?.

The "body-box" (Fig. 2) is 9 inches
deep, 14J inches from front to back, and

32 inches long, inside measure. So that, if
needed, standard-size combs may be stored
therein. The uprights at each corner are

33 inches long, 2 inches wide and -|-inch
thick, nailed on to the outside of body-box.
Four light rails, front and back, form the
runners on which the frames hang ; they
are nailed on the inside of uprights with
their top edges 6 inches apart, the top rails
only being continuous. This rack when
complete is very light, and will comfortably
hold 100 frames.

A light cover made with slater's laths
and covered with cheap calico, over which
is pasted an outer casing of strong brown
paper, goes over all and keeps out dust and
vermin.

HONEY SHOW AT KILMARNOCK.

We are requested to notify that the Thirty-
first Annual bhow of the Ayrshire Agricultural
Association takes place at Kilmarnock on the
20th inst., and that the sum of 470/. is offered
as prizes for competition. There are eight
classes in the " Special Competition " for honey,
including a class for two one- pound jars of ex-
tracted honey, and one for two one-pound sec-
tions of comb honey. In these latter classes
the entry fee (Is.) is returned to the owners of
all exhibits actually staged. Substantial prizes,
including gold and silver medals. For particu-
lars apply to Jas. McMurtrie, Secretary, 70
Newmarket Street. Ayr. Entries close October
6th.

ROXBURGHSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.
The second annual exhibition of honey and
bee-appliances under the auspices of this Asso-
ciation was held at the Corn Exchange, Jed-
burgh, on September 23rd. Bee-keepers have
had a proline season, and honey of good quality
has been secured in large quantity. This good
fortune, coming after a series of years of mode-
rate results, no doubt largely contributed to the
success of the exhibition, the entries numbering-
over two hundred. The honey, wax, and-
appliances were displayed on the platform, and
on five lines of tables stretching almost the
length of the hall. The tables, which were em-
bellished with flowers, were fully occupied, and
visitors were much impressed by the quantity
of bee-produce exhibited. Heather honey there-
was in quantity, and of excellent quality ; clover
honey, too, being well represented in both the
above respects. Four collections of honey were
staged, all of which so merited recognition that:
the judges gave a high commend to both the
unplaced ones. As a whole, the show has had
probably only one equal in the South of Scot-
land, and it is very creditable to the office-
bearers and members of the Association that,,
after such a brief existence in organized state,,
they have reached this foremost position. The
judges were : Mr. Christopher Chouler, Dalkeith
Park, Dalkeith ; and Mr. John Wishart, Castle-
craig, Peeblesshire. Their awards were as-
follows : —

Collection of honey, not exceeding one hundred
pounds. — 1st prize, J. Whillans, Camptown;
2nd, G. Ormiston, Knowesouth; v.h.c, Dr.
Blair, Abbey Green, and Dr. Fyfe, Nest School.
Observatory hive. — 1st, G. Cumming, Lang-
holm ; 2nd, Dr. Fyfe.

Collection of appliances (limited to twelve
articles). — 1st, Dr. Fyfe ; 2nd, Dr. Blair.

Twelve 1-lb. sections.— 1st, H. Wood, Lich-
field ; 2nd, J. Kerr, Birkenside ; 3rd, G. Wilson,.
Kelso; h.c, T. Ciark, Pleasants Schoolhouse.

Best hive made by exhibitor. — 1st and 2nd, G.
dimming.

Six 1-lb. sections clover, and six 1-lb. sections
heather honey (open to the county). — 1st, J. S.
Dudgeon, Longnewton ; 2nd, W. Oliver, Bon-
gate ; v.h.c, J. Kerr and T. Clark.

Non-sectional super. — 1st, A. Telfer, Castle-
gate; 2nd, T. Ellis, Castlegate ; v.h.c, P.
Robertson, Hartrigge.

Non-sectional super of heather honey. — 1st,
J. Whillans; 2nd, P. Robertson; v.h.c, A..
Telfer and T. Clark.

Non-sectional super, any weight. — 1st, P.
Robinson ; 2nd, T. Clark.

Non-sectional super of heather honey, any
weight. — 1st, P. Robertson; 2nd, T. Clark; v.h.c,
J. Whillans.

Twelve 1-lb. heather sections. — 1st, A.
Anderson, Minto ; 2nd, M. Bell, Lanton; h.c,
J. S. Dudgeon and W. Oliver.

Six 1-lb. clover sections. — 1st, Dr. Blair ; 2nd.
R. Sinton, Bonjedward ; v.h.c, W. Oliver and
J. S. Dudgeon.

October 5. 1893.1

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

393

For the best six 1-1 b. heather sections. — 1st,
It. Sinton ; 2nd, A. Anderson ; v.h.c, W. Oliver.

Six pounds extracted honey. — 1st, T. Clark ;
2nd, Dr. Blair; h.c, R. Sinton.

Glass super of any kind. — 1st, W. Oliver;
2nd, W. Fairbairn, Bonjedward.

Beeswax. — 1st and 2nd, Q. Ormiston, Knowe-
south ; h.c, Mrs. J. Smeall, Castlewood.

Bar-frame of honey. — 1st, G. Ormiston ; 2nd,
R. Millar, Castlepate.

Super of heather honey, not over twelve
pounds. —1st, T. Clarke; 2nd, T. Ellis.

Four 1-lb. sections. — 1st, A. Anderson; 2nd,
G. Ormiston.

Six 2-lb. sections. — 1st, withheld ; 2nd, R.
Millar.

Six 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, J. Veitch,
Inchbonny ; 2nd, Br. Blair.

Best wasp-byke. — 1st, J. Whillans ; 2nd, W.
Sinton.

Invention or improvement of appliance in bee-
keeping.— 1st, Dr. Blair.

Six pounds of honey. — 1st, W. Davidson,
Cleikimin ; 2nd, T. Clark.

Certificate of merit awarded to Dr. Blair for
his sting-preventer, for use on the hands.

MELPtOSE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.

The Melrose Bee-keepers' Association held
their show of honey in the Ormiston Hall on
the 23rd September. The exhibits in every
class were of considerable merit, while those of
flower honey in sections and supers were ex-
ceptionally good; supers of heather honey
numerous, and the quality and finish all that
could be desired ; heather honey in sections fair,
but lacking in finish. Some very interesting
and instructive exhibits, kindly sent by Sir T.
D. Gibson-Carmichael, were much appreciated,
showing how the general public can be made to
sympathise with a subject when properly brought
under their notice. Bee-keepers are certainly
much indebted to Sir T. D. Gibson-Carmichael
for the interest he takes, and the time and
money he bestows, in his praiseworthy en-
deavours to spread among the people a knowledge
of bee-keeping ; and Lady Carmichael, for her
kindness in adding to the prize list her silver
medals.

Mr. Pi. Greig, Auchincrow, Berwickshire,
officiated as judge.

Pbize List.
Flower Honey.

Super under 25 lbs.— 1st, R. Moffat ; 2nd, R.
Ballantyne.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st (LadyCarmichael's
silver medal), Sergeant M. Hill; 2nd, R. Moffat;
3rd, N. Dodds.

Six 1-lb. sections.— 1st, R. Moffat ; 2nd, N.
Dodds ; 3rd, Sergt. M. Hill.

Three 1-lb. sections.— 1st, R. Moffat ; 2nd, N.
Dodds ; 3rd, Sergt. M. Hill.

Four 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, Sergt.
M. Hill.

Two 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, Sergt.
M. Hill; 2nd, R.Moffat.

Best super, flower or heather. — 1st (Lady
Carmichael's silver medal), G. Scott ; 2nd, W.
Holmes ; 3rd, N. Dodds.

Heather Honey.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st (Lady Carmichael's
silver medal), Mr. Chisholm ; 2nd, Mr. Watt ;
3rd, Mr. Scott.

Six 1-lb. sections. — 1st, W. Holmes; 2nd, N.
Dodds ; 3rd, Mr. Hunter.

Three 1-lb. sections. — 1st, W. Holmes ; 2nd,
N. Dodds; 3rd, J. Watt.

Three 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st, Sergt.
M.Hill; 2nd,R. Moffat.

Beeswax. — 1st, R. Moffat.

HONEY SHOW AT LLANDILO,
CARMARTHENSHIRE.

A show of honey was held in connexion with
the aunual exhibition of the local Agricultural
and Horticultural Society, on September 21st,
at Llandilo, the live stock being exhibited in
a field in rear of the " Castle Hotel," while the
horticultural and honey department was taste-
fully arranged in the Market Hall.

The competition was very keen for the honey
prizes which Mr. A. Hamer, Llanarthney, as
judge, awarded as follows : —

Comb honey in sections, 6 to 12 lbs. — 1st, D.
Griffiths; 2nd, D. Davies; h.c, W. R.Lewis;
com., Mrs. Williams.

Extracted honey, 6 to 12 lbs. — 1st, D. Davies ;
2nd, W. Simon ; 3rd, L. Johns ; v.h.c, Dan
Davies; h.c, Mrs. Williams; com., W. Lewis
and J. Perkins. — Communicated.

HONEY SHOW AT THE CRYSTAL
PALACE.

The sixth annual Co-operative Flower Show
was held at the Crystal Palace on August 18th
and 19th last, the publication of our report
having been delayed till now, pending decision
as to an alleged informal entry in one class. The
matter has, however, now been settled.

Again favoured with fine weather the festival
was well attended by co-operators from all parts
of the country, and as usual one section of the
show was devoted to bee-produce, a very credit-
able display being made in the honey depart-
ment.

The judges, Messrs. Jesse Garratt and W.
Broughton Carr, made the following awards : —

Best exhibit of comb honey in sections. —
1st, A. D. Woodley, "Reading; 2nd, W. Debnam,
Chelmsford ; 3rd, A. Hamer, Llanidloes

Best exhibit of honey in sections, and in 1-lb
or 2-lb. jars.— 1st, A. Hamer ; 2nd, H. W
Seymour, Henley-on-Thames; 3rd, E. E

394

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 5, 1898.

Smith, Gravesend; com., T. Badcock, W.
Debnam, and A. Jones.

Twelve 1-lb. sections.— 1st, A. D. Woodley ;
2nd, A. Simpson, Lichfield; 3rd, J. Adams,
West Haddon; W. Debnam ; h.c, E. J. Ridge
and F. Tunbridge; com.,T. Gulliver, A. Hamer,
and H. W. Seymour.

Twelve 1-lb. jars extracted honey. — 1st. H.
W. Seymour; 2nd, A. Hamer; 3rd, A. D.
Woodley; 4th, A. Jones; h.c, W. Debnam, J.
Adams, T. Guliiver, and E. J. Ridge ; com., T.
Badcock.

Twelve 1-lb. jars granulated honey. — 1st, W.
Debnam ; 2nd, T. Gulliver ; 3rd, E. J . Ridge ;
4th, J. Adams.

Beeswax. — 1st, W. Debnam ; 2nd, H. W.
Seymour ; 3rd, J. Adams; h.c, A. Jones.

Collection of honey-producing flowers. — 1st,
Not awarded ; 2nd, A. Hamer ; 3rd, H. O.
Huntley.

€Bxxz%$mxftzmz.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice viill be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested to write on one side of the paper only, and give their
real names and addresses, not necessarily for publicoAiora, but
as a guarantee of goodfaith. Illustrations should he drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Boohs for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All btisi?iess communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

%* 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.

AUSTRALIAN HONEY AND CUSTOM-
HOUSE OFFICIALS.

[1574.] Will you allow me, as a brother
bee-keeper, to complain against an act of injus-
tice and stupidity of the Custom House officers
in London P

For two years past I have shipped all our
honey to England — and it has given very great
satisfaction ia spite of the prejudice that exists
in England against Australian honey ; for proof
of this see an article on " Pure Honey," by R.
A. H. Grimsbaw,* an old contributor, I believe,
to your Journal (in Leeds Mercury supplement,
October 15tb, 1892).

I simply mention this about the quality to
show you that it cannot have been seized on
that account — although that is the impression
that the conduct of the Custom House officers
has caused by their refusal to give any definite
information.

Our honey is put up in sixty-pound andtwenty-

* See British Bee Journal, Jan. 14th, 1886, article
by R. A. H. Grimshaw on the use of " Bee-sting."

eight-pound tins ; these are packed in old kero-
sene ca-es re-made; on each case is a label nine
inches by five-and-half inches, stating contents
of case as Eucalyptus Honey ; on each tin is a
label thirteen inches by nine to the same effect.
The first reason for seizure as far as I can make
out was, that on one of the cases the word " Pe-
troleum " could be still deciphered (although it
must have been nearly illegible, as I never
observed it).

Then it appears the Bill of Lading only stated
the number of cases and did not say what they
contained ; so the Customs' officers pretend, I
presume, to think that " Petroleum" was in the
cases, notwithstanding the largo printed labels
stating contents of each case. Our agent, of
course, endeavoured to get the honey, which,
after several weeks' detention (eight, I believe)
was at length given up, but our agent still
writes " that he can get no further information
from the Custom House officers respecting the
seizure, except that it did not comply with the
Merch andise Marks Act." I should like to know
if these almighty Jacks-in- office have a right
to act in this high-handed fashion, and have I
no redress? I am a law-abiding citizen, and I
want fair play and no favour.

I should like to know the head boss at the
Customs, that I might write him on the subject.
I presume that these petty officials want to show
their power, and as I am fourteen thousand miles
away they think they can act like tyrants, as
despotically as they choose with perfect impu-
nity; but the Press has stirred such-like up
many a time, and this is why I write to you on
the subject. One of the tins also had about
twenty pounds of honey taken out of it in transit
— of course, we cannot say where this occurred —
but if it was in that state when Customs re-
ceived it, they ought, I think, to have said some-
thing about it.

Altogether, I think I have a right to grumble,
and trust you may see your way to give these
Custom House officers a poke with your edito "'al
pen — as the French say, " pour encourager les
autres." — John Smith.

[We are afraid we cannot assist our corre-
spondent with the Custom House officials, as it
appears they were quite in the right with respect
to seizing the goods. Our Colonial and Con-
tinental friends should make themselves
thoroughly acquainted with the Customs regu-
lations before they send goods here, or they
should get their agents to give them full in-
structions. It is quite clear, if the goods did
not comply with the " Merchandise Marks Act,"
they were justly seized. This Act provides that
no goods shall be imported into this country
unless they are stamped in a conspicuous manner
with the name of the country in which they are
produced. If our correspondent wishes to use
petroleum cases he must also make sure that the
marks are properly planed out. He must also
bear in mind that every package or tin_ n list
have the name of the country in which it is pro-
duced stamped upon it. — Eds.]

October 5, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

395

A NEW SECTION-LIFTER.

[1575.] I have always found a great difficulty
in removing sections from racks or crates, more
particularly when at the Leather. The thick
gloves worn at the operation interfere with the
manipulation, and the honey is apt to be
thumbed.

I have made inquiry if any instrument existed
which would lift honey without the hands com-
ing in contact, and I have not discovered any.
I therefore enclose sketch of a lifter, which
entirely does away with such contact, and which
works twice as quick as any method I know.

The pins in centre
of the mouth, pointing
inwards about three-
eighths of an inch from
the faces, are for two
purposes. First, for the
prevention of the face
inserted going too far
down, which would in-
terfere with the inser-
tion of the other. Se-
cond, being " toothed "
on the side towards the
section, the latter may
be moved by pressure to
the extent of allowing
the other face easy en-
trance. When both sides are in position, the
instrument is used in the same manner as nip-
pers, and the pressure, being on the end of the
section, may be of a very considerable force,
which allows of the easy removal of the sec-
tions. The stray bees may be moved, and the
section packed, without being touched by the
hands at any time, as has been done by myself.
I have never seen it fail to draw a section,
and I have taken off a considerable quantity of
honey.

If nothing of the same kind has been seen be-
fore, you would oblige me by inserting a para-
graph on the enclosed, giving other bee-men the
beneht of it. Any blacksmith could make one
from the sketch ; the one who made mine could
furnish them at 2s., carriage paid. — A. Graham,
Dalkeith, N.B.

Section Lifter.

THE HONEY CROP IN SOUTH-WEST

SUSSEX.

[1576.] This has been the best season that
frame-hive keepers have known in this district.
I- had in May five hives, and their produce has
been as follows : —

lb. oz.

I. (extracted only) 144 13

II. (sections only) 48 7

III. (sections and extracted) 79 10

IV, (chiefly sections) 52 12

V. (extracted only) 125 4

450 14
Making an average per hive of 901b. 2oz., the
highest I have had yet, and bringing my yearly

average per hive, for the nine years during
which I have kept bees, to 42 lb. 9 oz. I think
that the most remarkable point about the crop
was the large amount gathered in May and
August. My bees could not take full advantage
of the earliest honey, for my object always i3
to have them ready for the clover in June, and
not before, and consequently, the clover being
a month early this year, the hives were only
half-full of bees. A friend of mine, five miles
off, was ready for the first clover, and his
average per hive is 1111b.

I always use queen-excluders for extracted,
and never for sections, and have never yet found
the queen go into the sections. I had no swarms
this year, and in fact there were very few in
the neighbourhood. The bees have been re-
markably gentle, and there has been practically
no robbing ; indeed, I have never known a year
in which the bees have given less trouble.
During the end of June and beginning of July,
the honey was just stained with honey-dew,
otherwise the colour has been excellent, varying
from white in May, to pure golden in August ;
and the flavour has been superb.

I confess to being behind the times in having
no " Wells" hives, and, like no doubt many other
of your readers, am looking forward with interest
to the report of his take this season — nothing-
less than an average of 2001b. per hive will
induce me to follow his system ; and surely, in
such a year as this has been, it is not too much
to expect. The sunshine up to date is 360 hours
above the average for this district. — L. B.
Birkett, Westbourne Rectory, Sussex.

ANOTHER NOVICE'S FIRST YEAR'S
BEE-EXPERIENCE.

[1577.] If you have room for another begin-
ner's first year's bee- experience, perhaps you
will insert mine as under : — In the autumn of
1892 I bought five hives (beeless of course), and
some empty frames of comb, filling up with full
sheets of foundation wired in. I then drove
seventeen lots of condemned bees — though I had
never seen it done before — and put them intu
the hives, some of them by throwing the bees
out in front, others at the top, but dusting all
their jackets well with flour, which they made
good u*e of as pollen. Had no fighting ;_ fed up
with syrup medicated with salicylic acid, then
with candy cakes in section boxes laid on strips
of wood across the frames. Packed them well
up with quilts and paper coverings, and covered
back and front with thatched " sheep gates."'
The bees all wintered well, and in the spring of
this year I bought two more stocks, and got
ready for business. Three hives were worked
for sections, which proved worse than " Man of
Kent's" (1567, p. 386); but having read some-
thing in my friend the B. J. re White Foundation
in sections, I send a piece for your inspection, as
I put down the failure to the use of such stuff,
as it is the most likely cause of no harvest from
sections. The other four hives, worked for ex-

396

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL

[October 5, 1893.

tracted honey, gave 414 pounds of honey, and
we (that is myself and another) have sold
enough to repay us all cost, including extractor,
knives, feeders, bottles, &c, and have still over
150 pounds for sale. Concerning those bottles,
the one-pound tie-overs hold one pound one
ounce, and two-pound bottles hold two pounds
five ounces of honey, so if I had got bottles
holding only sixteen ounces it would have made
a good difference to my *' take;" but being only
a " one-year-old baby " at the craft I must not
complain, although I, too, am a " Kentish Man."
Had no swarms ; have driven thirteen lots of
bees this year, all heavy ; then I have two more
hives here where I live, one worked for sections,,
with nearly the same results as the first three
mentioned, having only taken twenty-five pounds
from it. I made an artificial swarm from this
one, but was in too big a hurry, only waiting
one week before examining, and of course finding
no eggs or brood, united them again, but thanks
to B. J. shall not be so foolish again. — John
Dean, Strood, Kent.

A NOVEL BEE-EXPERIENCE.

A Coat Buried in Honey.

[1578.] If you can find space for the relation
of my trials and troubles in a recent experience
with our little friends the bees, it may be useful
to some members of our craft in similar circum-
stances. On September 13th, the Rev. Mr.
Evans, of Marshfield, asked me to look over his
bees, one a frame hive, containing thirteen
frames, the other a large box. Three years
back, the reverend gentleman put a crate of
sections on the frame hive, and, being well
advanced in years (over seventy) he mismanaged
matters in some way, so that the bees got the
better of him, and he had to run away after put-
ting the cover on as best he could ! He seems
to have entirely forgotten that, in his difficulty,
he had thrown his coat on top of the section
crate to keep the bees down, and put on the hive
roof over all ! For three years then the hive
was left undisturbed, till the other day when I
was asked to overhaul it. On making a start a
friend and myself had to get an iron bar to
lever the roof off, and we also got plenty of
stings in the operation. However, when we
got " inside " the sight was something for a bee-
keeper to remember, for the bees had filled the
sections, all ways but the right one, and on top
was the reverend gentleman's long-lost coat com-
pletely buried in honey ! To make matters
worse, when th) bees were first put in, the
dummy-board had been put right in the centre
of where the brood nest should be, and a
diaphragm or frame fitted with excluder zinc
was put next to this. The bees had got over
and filled all the frames behind. Tney had also
built two large combs right up to roof in rear
of the frames. I leave your readers to picture
the job we had cutting out combs, sections, and
the coat ! Eventually, however, by the exercise
of patience and care, I removed over a hundred-

weight of honey, leaving more than forty pounds
for the bees to winter on. I was not only
heartily thanked but remunerated by the owner,
so all concerned were satisfied. On Wednesday,
September 20th, I was at Moulton, and found a
gentleman there who had a large vagrant
swarm from the woods which had entered one
of his hives, this hive being already occupied by
a strong stock. The swarm came on August
25th, and up to Monday last fighting' had been
going on between the intruders and. the right-
ful occupants. I advised him to let me give
them room, but he said, "I could have both
stock and swarm if I would only take them
away, they were so unmanageable." So I am
going to fetch them and expect to have a warm
time of it, as they are clustered all over the
stock hive and the bees start making hole3 in
one the moment you enter the garden. A word
in conclusion on my own result for the year
from my two hives. I have taken fifty-nine
sections and ten pounds of extracted honey from
one and from the other forty-nine pounds of
extracted honey, leaving them plenty to winter
on, and have made up one stock from driven
bees for myself and four lots for others, so I
have not done badly. I have never heard of a
swarm in August before, but this year have had
to do with two such swarms ; one coming from
a May swarm of 1893. — Thos. Adams, Ely,
near Cardiff, September 'JS?-d.

SOME MORE NOTES OF THE SEASON.

[1579.] Although the summer has been so
sunny and dry, my yield of honey is only
eighteen pounds per hive on eighty-eight hives,
or a total of about 1600 pounds of run honey.
And yet my stocks were stronger in April than
they usually are at the end of May !

I have come to the conclusion that bees
gather very little surplus honey over a mile
from home. The white clover round here
ne^er bloomed so luxuriantly as it generally
does, and such flower-heads as did appear were
quickly eaten off by the starving sheep. A
hive which I look after for a friend, one and a
quarter miles from here, has yielded seventy
one-pound sections ; but there is a fifteen-acre
clover field close to the hive. Another, who
lives in the Vale less than two miles away,
from four hives which I manage for him got
250 one-pound sections, or an average of Q'2\
pounds per hive. I attribute this, however, to
the many meadows near him.

When I compare my small yield with theirs,
my friends tell me I look after their bees much
better than I do after my own ! But I think
the above facts prove that much surplus honey
cannot be secured over a mile from one's
apiary. Nine of my hives yielded nothing at
all, though they had exactly the same treatment
as the rest. Skeppists around here have fared
badly, having had scarcely any swarms.

It makes one's mouth water to read, on
page 386 of last Bee Journal, of North-country

October 5, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

:J,97

bee-keepers who have had such a good season,
accepting nothing less than lOd. per pound for
their run honey, while I am tryiog to get
7d. per pound for my poor yield.

I am wintering two hives with three colonies
in each, and two hives with two colonies in
each. Perforated dividers between. — Apiarist,
Fairspeir, Ascott, Oxford.

HOW DOCTORS DIFFER ABOUT
QUEENS.

[1580.] " I put two old queens together in
same box by themselves, but they did not fight,
as they are supposed to do. I am of opinion the
workers have a great deal to do with the royal
duel."

The above is from a "first-class" Kent ex-
pert as to queens dwelling in amity. Let us call
him Expert No. 1.

I related this interesting experience to an-
other "first-class" expert — a Kent man. Call
him Expert No. 2. He professed extreme sur-
prise, complete scepticism — " never, in all his
life, saw anything but enmity between queens ! "

Another Kent man — also a " first-class " ex-
pert— was manipulating bees at a recent show,
and, finding the queen, he placed her between
his lips, as is usual. He is astonished, painfully
astonished, by a sting on the lower lip ; he had
never been su treated, by royalty before !

I relate this circumstance also to Expert No. 2.
He is incredulous, and assures me that he never
saw or heard of such a thing. " Could it have
been some worker?" he says. Queens had often
bitten his lip or tongue, and held on tenaciously
by the " stem," but never by the " stern." How
our doctors differ ! — E. D. T., Eynsford.

[We think there is no need to question the
accuracy of either of the above statements.
Two laying queens have been known to dwell
together in apparent amity in one hive; not
frequently does this happen, it is true, but often
enough to render the fact indisputable. That
queens do sometimes inflict a sting on human
beings when being held between the lips — as in
the case referred to — is also quite true, and has
been so recorded. In fact, the senior Editor of
this journal, in his work on The Honey-bee (page
81), cites an instance of it having happened to
himself. Such instances are, however, very
rare ; but they justify us in so frequently re-
minding our readers of the well-known axiom,
" Bees do nothing invariably." — Eds.]

MY EXPERIENCE OF THE "WELLS"
SYSTEM.

[1581.] I have had a little touch at the popular
"Wells" system of bee-keeping. I could not
start in the autumn, so I fitted one of my twin
hives holding twenty-four frames in the "Wells"
style — that is, I made it as near like the book
instiuctions of a "Wells" as I could. My
dummy, however, I fixed, as I thought I saw
danger ahead in the event of the dummy warp-

ing and leaving a (queen) bee-space on one side
or the bottom. Whether the dummy is per-
forated now or solid I cannot say, as I have
not been in there since I fixed it; but as early in
the spring as I could I put a good stock of bees
in each department, and both had young queens,
and I consider that hive as it then stood was on
a fairly equal footing with the majority of the
other single stocks, and it worked away all right,
but as to results, I cannot see any difference
in this and the other hives. I have had three
or four twin hives for some years, and I notice
these generally winter well, and give good results
in honey — better, I think, on the whole than
single hives — but their drawback is they are too
bulky to shift about, and not quite so manage-
able at swarming-time. " Wells " hives, of
course, have these drawbacks. One of my
ordinary twin hives I supered with a large
super open to both stocks, and the bees worked
together in it splendidly, although completely
divided until ihe super was put on. I do not
consider mine is a fair trial with the " Wells,"
but I give the facts for what they are worth, as
it is only by reports from bee-keepers in general
who have tried the system that we can get at
the value of it.— Hy. Neve, Sussex.

AN ACTIVE OCTOGENARIAN BEE-
KEEPER.

[1582.] I herewith enclose you photograph,
showing the result of a severe attack of " bee-
fever " sustained by the gentleman shown, who
is eighty-four this year. The house in
photograph is built to contain eight " Wells "
hives, is double-walled and roofed, swing
window in the roof at the back, with shutter
inside, and stands on a block of asphalte 10 feet
by 8 feet. I would call your attention to the
nucleus hives, as seen, which slide on runners
outside, close to hive entrance. He has made
and built this house during the present year, and
has now two " Wells " hives in it. The other
hives shown are all of his own make, and are
constructed on his own system, with the
entrances at the top; although not approving of
this arrangement for manipulating, I am bound
to say that, so far, the bees have wintered well
in them.

Surely such an example of energy and care
for the welfare of his bees,from one who took up
bee-keepingat the early age of eighty-one— joining
both the B.B.K.A., and our Lincolnshire Asso-
ciation— ought to make some of the younger
members of the craft blush and be a bit more
energetic. — F. J. Ceibb, Gainsborough.

PACKAGES FOR SECTIONS.
[1583.] Will you allow me to say in reply to
the correspondent who, on page 388, has asked
where cardboard boxes for one-pound sections
can be had, I can supply such in the flat ready
for folding round sections, with handle to carry
by, for Is. Qd. per dozen. — A. W. Harbison,
Potter's Bar.

398

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 5, 1893.

HONEY-DEW AND GREEN-FLY.

[1584.] I quite agree with what appears on
p. 364 (1547), and fully believe that all honey-
dew is not the excreta of the green-fly, as I
found from careful obsevation, when the
limes were in bloom this year, that the leaves
were dripping with honey-dew, while not a
green- fly was to be seen. The bees, too, in the
early morning, were " roaring busy " on the
tree-leaves. — F. G., Methivold, Norfolk.

WEATHER REPORT.

Westbourne, Sussex.

September, 1893.

Rainfall, 204 in. Sunshine, 169-65 hrs.

Heaviest fall, -50 in, Brightest day, 12th,

on 29th. 11-35 hrs.

Rain fell on 10 days. Sunless days, 3.

Above average, -08 in. Below aver., 1-45 hrs.

Max. temp., 72° on Mean max., 62-5°.

5th. Mean min., 46-4°.

Min.temp., 31° on 24th. Mean temp., 54-5°.

Min. on grass, 25° on Max. barometer, 3079

24th. on 14th.

Frosty night, 1. Min. barometer, 29-30
on 30th.

L. B. BlBKETT.

mxxtB atitr Implies.

[897.] Preparing Driven Bees for Winter-
ing.— Will you kindly advise me how further to
proceed with my bees under the following cir-
cumstances ? I need hardly say that I am a
very small beginner, and a novice in the bargain.
I made a frame hive, but it is not quite
standard size owing to a mistake in measuring
length of frames. However, I got two lots of
driven bees and brought them home. I put one
lot (a weak one) in at top of frames, the other
I drove in through entrance. I only painted
the hive two days before, but it was quite dry
when I put bee*. I then put five pounds of
syrup in a feeding-box, and covered up the
frames, box and all. Of course, I cut a hole in
the covering to allow it to go down on frames.
Did I proceed right? 2. As the two lots
together are but weak, had I better buy some
more bees to put to those 1 now have ? I did
not see any queen nor have 1 got any comb in
frames, but I fastened a narrow strip of founda-
tion in top of each five frames. lam told that it
is too late to put in sheet foundation now. Is
this so ? 3. Had I better get some comb with
brood and tie it in frames ? 1 propose givino-
them twenty pounds of best Demerara sugar to
feed them upon. Is this enough ? — Novice
Cardiff. '

Reply. — It is certainly a somewhat in-
auspicious beginning for " a novice " to com-
mence bee-keeping under the circumstances
detailed above. To begin with the hive : the

advantage to an amateur hive-maker of a cor-
rectly made pattern to work from is simply
enormous, and the failure to make the first hive
" not quite standard size " is a serious bar to its
future usefulness. Then, with regard to the
bees : they may be wintered safely, but you
start with every disadvantage in having only
driven bees and no combs in the hive at end of
September. We say ihis, not to discourage our
correspondent, but only because it would have
been so much better to lay out the cash spent on
driven bees, comb foundation, and sugar for
feeding, in ' the purchase of a healthy stock of
bees on combs, well supplied with food and
ready for hanging in the new hive with but
little disturbance. However, we reply to
queries enumerated as under : — 1. The pro-
cedure was not quite such as an experienced
hand would adopt, but, so long as the bees
were got into the hive, you cannot have gone
far wrong. 2. If the two lots of bees " are but
weak" it is almost hopeless to attempt to
winter them, or to expect them to build out
sheets of foundation into comb at this season.
If another lot of bees and a few combs could
be got it would render the chances of success
much more hopeful. 3, " Combs with brood "
would be very useful, but how could you get
them ? — and if got, how could a novice be
expected to get the brood safely among the bees
without " chilling " it ? Some clean, healthy,
empty worker comb will, however, be very
helpful. In making syrup for feeding use
refined cane sugar; twenty pounds will be
sufficient.

[898.] Width of Lace Paper on Sections.
— 1. Will you please say whether the rule con-
cerning three-eighth-inch lace-paper glazing for
sections is in force for the Dairy Show, as
nothing is stated in the schedule to that effect ;
and if so, is the paper to overlap the face of
glass only three-eightbs of an inch, or the honey-
comb (making it half an inch over face of glass) ?
2. Will the exhibits of honey be unpacked and
staged, and repacked and returned to the owner
without his attending the show ? — Hodge.

Reply. — 1. Whether or not mention is made
of lace-edging in schedule referred to, you will do
well to conform to the usual rule on that point,
i e., not to cover over three-eighths of an inch of
the comb surface, because the judges will no
doubt take care that imperfections are not con-
cealed by extra width of covering ; they also
naturally dislike to see attempts on the part of
exhibitors to hide defects. 2. Yes. Every care
is taken of exhibits by the managers of the
Show, apart from taking responsibility for
damage or loss.

€t§m ixam \§z Jiitas.

JTeathfeld, Sussex, September 26th. — The sea-
son here, in East Sussex, for honey has been
very variable ; even a very few miles has shown
a great difference, both in quantity and quality.

October 5, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

399

My own bees, here at Heathfield Station, hare
done only moderately, while some belonging to
Mr. Mass'on, of Tottingworth, Heathfield, only
about two miles from mine, have done splendidly.
From one single hive he has taken 116 com-
pleted sections of prime quality, besides several
pounds in other forms. Like L. E. Smith and
" A. D. J.," I have had some honey this year
that I could not get the extractor to throw out,
although I kept the combs at a good heat by
putting them in a pretty warm copper, but some
of the honey wouldn't, and didn't come out ; it
-eetned more like old gas-tar for consistency.
I have had no swarms, nor seen any this year,
except those two that came and took possession
of two empty hives I had got without asking
leave. My bees are like " Station Master's "
(1552) this year; they've kept it up pretty late.
I have never had them store anything in sec-
tions after August 1st before, but this time they
have filled more sections during the first fort-
night in August than all the rest of the summer,
and the sections are quite different to what late
one generally are ; they are well filled and
sealed, and of splendid quality. I hadn't but
about a dozen unfinished ones out of 150 taken
off this last lot. Where they got this late honey
frorn I couldn't discover. — H. N.

West Glamorgan, September 27 tk.— Now that
the results of the season are known, it will be
interesting to note the contrasts in regard both
to quality and quantity of honey stored in any
one county in the abnormal year of 1893.
While some have secured fair harvests of ex-
cellent quality, the majority of bee-keepers in
this county have only had an average crop.
Nowhere in this locality do we hear of such
large supers being taken as some of your corre-
spondents write about. At the same time
everything at honey shows pointed to a general
ingathering of early nectar, and the competitions
were numerous and keen. My own bees suf-
fered considerably from the effects of the
drought; being on high ground, every bit of
pasture soon became scorched and dried up,
consequently at the beginning of July no bee-
flowers were blooming, and the season became
as we usually see it in August. Since then,
however, copious rains have fallen, and brought
out second and late crops of clover, &c, giving
the bees a chance to add to their winter store,
and to the supers where they were left on ; but
even then the average yield of my stocks only
amounted to about thirty-five pounds per hive.
Another feature of the season has been the
scarcity of swarms. I wish I could add also of
wasps. Where swarms have issued, generally
speaking, they have flown at a great height to a
considerable distance away, and were lost. As
for the wasps — the little thieves! — they have
done their best to clear out three hives with
me, and succeeded, too — only strong stocks being
able to resist their attacks. They have mustered
in whole regiments, notwithstanding many
nests were destroyed. With the close of Sep-
tember ends this most glorious bee-weather;

rains are falling, and a season of rest looms
in the near future. But our hopes must not
rest or sleep, but, with the recurring seasons,
content ourselves with the hope that pood bee-
days are vet in store for those who can wait for
them.— E. B.

Metkwold, Norfolk, September 27 tk.— My best
stocks have this year given me about ninety
pounds each, and I have never once yet inter-
fered with queens. — F. G.

REVIEW OF CONTINENTAL BEE

JOURNALS.

By J. Dennxer.

(Continued from page 319.)

The Cure Sebastian Kneipp, of Worishoffen,
who has gained a world-wide renown through
his popular hydropathic treatment, has just
completed a tour in Northern Germany.
Amongst other places, he met with great suc-
cess in Berlin with his popular lectures.
According to his opinion, he owes his robust
health to the moderate use of hydromel, the
beverage so sought after by the people of
Northern Europe. S. Kneipp was himself a
practical bee-keeper, and published, in 1873, a
small work on bee-keeping, and a second
edition in 1882.

Bienenzeitung. Forty-ninth year. Editor,
W. Vogel. — In No. 10, Arcidurus recommends
giving bees, during the winter, water with a
little salt in it, which is supplied to them in
a feeding-bottle with a curved neck, which is
made to enter at the top of the hive. This
feeder is invented by Pasteur Ziebold. The
method has found a good many followers
amongst bee-keepers in Prussia and Saxony.
It is not adopted in Alsace ; on the contrary,
bees are left perfectly quiet here during; winter,
but care is taken to remove, in the autumn,
any granulated honey, and to replace it with
sugar syrup or liquid honey.

Oestereichiscke - Vngartscke Bienenzeitung.
Sixteenth year. Editor, P. Schachinger. — In
No. 6 is described the death of a woman who
was stung in the throat whilst eating a piece
of comb honey. A bee had remained in one
of the cells, and by her sting caused this dis-
aster. Notwithstanding all the care of the
doctor who had been called in at once, the
woman's throat swelled rapidly, and she died
of suffocation. She lived only three-quarters
of an hour after being stung.

Two new pamphlets on bee-keeping, pub-
lished by M. du Chatelle, Inspector of Forests,
Vice-President of the Federation of French
Bee-keeping Societies, are at the present moment
drawing the attention of the French bee -
keeping public. They are La Culture des
Abeilles, tnise a la portee du Cultivateur, and
Le Mucker du Cultivateur, on methods adapted
to movable-comb hives. This last pamphlet ob-
tained this year the prize offered for competition
by the Agricultural Society of France. The
author, who is a distinguished bee-keeper and

400

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 5, 1893.

fervent advocate of movable-comb hives, so
little used in France as yet, has endeavoured to
condense in as few pages as possible, first, the
principal proofs that bees are useful from an
agricultural point of view ; second, the best
methods to be employed to popularise the culti-
vation of bees, principally by explaining the
best manner of managing bees. We read in
the first pamphlet that the actual production of
honey is estimated at 7000 tons, and of wax at
2000 tons, of the value of fifteen million francs
(600,000/.). As the consumption could be even
greater, it is important that bee-keeping should
be popularised.

(To be continued.)

EXPERIMENTS IN APICULTURE IN

1892.
Extracted from "Bulletin" No. 30 of the U. S

Department of Agriculture, Division of Ento'

mology. Breeding.

During the winter of 1891 the apiary was en-
tirely re-queened, only a few old queens being
reserved for breeding. This season the oppor-
tunity was taken to replace all those of the
former year's rearing that had proven them-
selves inferior. A number of Carniolan queens
were introduced, and queens bred from them.
Added familiarity with the cross of the Car-
niolan bee with the yellow race increases my
satisfaction with their valuable traits. They
have proven themselves equally as desirable as
either race in its purity, and they have some
points of superiority.

A test was made of the claims advanced for
the Tunisian or so-called " Punic " bees. During
the early part of the season they exhibited no
traits that would distinguish them from the
native black bee, showing the same nervousness
under manipulation. They build large numbers
of queen-cells, and do not cap their honey with
that peculiar whiteness characteristic of the
common black bee. After the close of the
honey season they best showed their origin and
distinctive peculiarities. Whenever attempts
were made to handle them, they became exceed-
ingly angry. This trait of excessive irritability
seems to be their most distinctive mark. As no
point of superiority was discovered, their several
manifest defects make them a race not to be re-
commended as desirable for introduction among
our American bee-keepers.

Removing Queen to Prevent Swarming.
As the bee-keeping industry develops, and
new methods and devices come into use, each
tending to lower the price of the product, an
increased tension is placed upon the apiarist
in an effort to manage large numbers of colonies
to increase his annual yield. The natural ten-
dency of bees to increase by swarming, and the
care and attention occasioned thereby, have given
rise to various plans for its prevention or con-
trol. One of the best of these plans, yet one
little used, is outlined in the following, the

value of which, at the suggestion of Mr. Aiken,
of Loveland, Colo., I undertook to test : —

Early in spring two colonies were selected, as
nearly alike in strength as it was possible to get
them. They were kept at the same strength,
the amount of brood in the hives having been
equalised several times. The harvest did not
open until about July 6th, and upon the 8th
supers were given them. July 12th queen-
cells were found partly constructed in colony
No. 1. The queen was removed, and four days,
and also eight days afterwards, all queen-cells
were destroyed. On July 25th (thirteen days
after her removal) the queen was returned.
This colony did not swarm at all.

The other colony (No. 2) was allowed to work
without interference, and it was not until July
2 1st that they swarmed. As the harvest from
linden was about closing, the swarm was re-
turned, and all queen-cells destroyed in the hope
that they would not attempt to swarm again
before the close of the season. They did not
swarm, yet it may be supposed that this inter-
ference with their instincts tended slightly to
decrease their energy. The results in total
amount of honey gathered are as follows : —
No. 1 gainei in weight thirty-seven pounds
between July 6th and 25th, and No. 2 gained
forty-six pounds during the same time.

If from the total gain of No. 2 we subtract
five pounds as the weight of brood it contained
in excess of the brood in No. 1 on July 25th,
we still have four pounds as the amount of
honey gathered by No. 2 greater than the
amount gathered by No. 1. These colonies
were both worked for comb honey with like
treatment of supers.

This experiment is valuable testimony to
prove that the removal of the queen to prevent
swarming does somewhat affect the amount of
honey gathered by the bees. The supers showed
even a larger difference in the amount of honey
stored in the sections, for the reason that where
the queen is absent, the bees fill the brood
chamber with honey. When the queen is
returned this will, to a greater or less extent,
be removed to the sections. Although the in-
terference in this manner, with the economy of
the hive, probably always reduces the amount
of honey stored, yet, because of the lessening in
the labour and watching necessary during the
swarming season, I deem it advisable to follow
this method when any similar plan seems neces-
sary.-— J. H. Larrabee.

(To be continued.)

WHEN DO SECOND S WARMS ISSUE ?

I didn't feel satisfied with so slender a show
of statistics as I made out of this year's second
swarms in my last communication. With so
few as 22 swarms, the chapter of accidents has
almost as much to do with results as general
principles have. I did not relish the big job of
collating my whole 14 years of records ; but the
upshot of it was, that 1 went and did just that.

October 5, i«P3.1

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAl .

401

I found record of the time of 299 second swarms
— a number large enough to pretty well swamp
the accidental elements of the calculation. So
the figures given below represent " bed rock " so
far as this apiary is concerned. As I intimated
before, I think similar records from other
apiaries where " swarm fever " is unknown are
likely to vary widely from these. And yet (the
world is so full of misconceptions) I feel a little
shaky, even about that conclusion. I think we
are entitled to know in this " end of the age "
whether Langstroth's declaration, that the
second swarm usually comes nine days after the
first, is a "mile off" from the truth or not.
Those words, strictly construed, would imply
that more than half the number of seconds fell
on the ninth day. With me, as you see, it is
only one-sixth. The figures given before seemed
to indicate that eight-day swarms were much
more numerous than nine-day swarms. This is
simply one of the errors resulting from not
having a sufficient number of swarms under
consideration, and the aggregated record
reverses it. Both eight-day swarms and nine-
day swarms are a little irclined to come in
" rafts." Here are the figures for 800 swarms,
lacking one.

At 6 days 3

At 7 days 6

At 8 days 32

At 9 days 48

At 10 days 46

At 11 days 48

At 12 days 39

At 13 days 34

At 14 days 24

At 15 days 6

At 16 days 9

At 17 days 4

Just look at this table, and think of the ab-
surdity of saying that the second swarm is
" sure to come out the eighth day," or " sure to
come out the ninth day ! " Granting these
figures, swarming reaches a maximum the ninth
day and continues unchanged three days, the
slight decline of two the tenth day being evi-
dently accidental.

To show how easily one's impressions may
get wrong, I remark that, before collating these
records, I thought that twelve days was my
maximum. The fact is, that there is a plain
though not very heavy falling-off the twelfth
day. As ninth, tenth, and eleventh days are
alike, so there are three other days quite nearly
alike— the eighth, the twelfth and the thir-
teenth— the twelfth slightly preponderating.
Then there is a considerable fall, and the
fourteenth day has just half the maximum
number. Also the three concluding days, during
which swarms are occurrent, but rare, differ but
little.

As to the few six-day and seven-day swarms,
probably some of them, and perhaps nearly all,
are not really normal second swarms. When
the superseding of a queen and swarming come
on together, the second swarm is usually timed
to the first as normal thirds are to normal
seconds ; but I see no reason why occasional ones
might not come out six or seven days after. So,
to be Avorth anything, records of seconds at six
and seven days must be verified by looking
at the prime to see if it really had a fertile

queen at hiving-time. This I do not remember
of doing in either one of the tabulated instances.
Concerning your practical inquiry about better
time rules for cutting cells, I'm afraid that is
rather hopeless. Some of us will be content to
give up altogether the job of cutting cells to
prevent swarming; but cutting ripe cells when
we want them to use is also one of our needs ;
and it is quite vexatious to go to a hive that we
think ought to have ripe cells, and find nothing
but very green ones; and waiting until the
cells are sure to be ripe, and having them all
destroyed, isn't very funny either. And we do
not all feel " solid " as to whether a cell is ripe
or green from the looks on the outside. The
prevalence of eight-day swarms brings in a
difficulty about destroying cells the eighth day
which should not be overlooked. If the bees
have made their minds up during the night
and early morn to swarm, I do not think
the destruction of the cells will change that
resolution at once. I should expect them
to swarm just the same, and leave the old
stand with no queen, and no means of rearing
any. — E. E. Hasty, in " Gleanings."

§ee SJrrrlrrs tu (burnt.

October 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th.— Dairy
Show at the Agricultural Hall, Islington.
Liberal prizes for honey. W. C. Young, Secre-
tary, Dairy Faamers' Association, 101 Fleet
Street, London. Entries closed.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers of
correspondents, or where appliances can be purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only be inserted os
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 oj their com-
munication.

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

G. Hood (Kidderminster). — ■ Width of Entrances
in Winter. — 1. Much depends on the con-
struction of hive and the method of " quilting
down," or covering the frame tops. If im-
pervious coverings are used, an entrance of,
say, four or five inches is best, so soon as risk
of robbing is over ; but if frames have porous
coverings, a much narrower entrance may be
allowed, say, one inch. Hives having outer
cases, however, have the advantage of a full-
width entrance inside so far as the ventilation
affects the hive proper, while the entrance in
the outer case need only be one inch or less, so
as to keep out cold winds. 2. There is no
reason for supposing the stock to be queenless.

F. G. (Metkwold.) — Many thanks for photo-
graph of your apiary — safely to ha::d.

Potter Bee. — Ants about Hive Quilts. —
Powdered naphthaline sprinkled about quilts
will keep ants away in addition to assisting
to prevent more serious evils.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 5, 1893.

THE DEPOSIT SYSTEM.

"British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

In order to save trouble it is requested that the
Rules be carefully read over by persons using the
Deposit System of trading.

The following are the Rules under which we
are prepared to receive Sums of Money on Deposit
from persons buying and selling goods.

DEPOSITING.

1. Method. — When strangers are dealing together, the
purchase-money of the articles is deposited at our office.
We acknowledge receipt of the deposit to both parties, and
hold the money until we are satisfied that the purchase is
concluded. If a sale be effected, we remit to the seller the
amount deposited, less a charge of 6d. and the expenses of
Post Office Orders and postage, &c. Cash will be forwarded
by cheque, Post Office Order, or by Postal Order as pre-
ferred. If a sale or exchange be not completed, we return
the amount deposited, after making the same deduction.
By this means buyers and sellers ara secured from fraud.

2. Deposits. — Postal Orders (drawn on General Post
Office) and Cheques must be made payable to "Manager,"
23. B. J., and crossed "London and Westminster Bank."
The numbers of the Postal Orders should be kept by the
sender. We cannot be responsible for any losses that may
occur in transit.

3. Honey on Approval. — All honey will be sold by
sample, which must be sent direct to buyer.

4. Bee-appliances. — In ordering, the time allowed for
completing the order to be stated to us when sending cash.
If maker accepts, we hold cash till transaction is satisfac-
torily completed, when the amount will be remitted subject
to conditions as in Clause 1.

5. Bees and Queens. — These will be dealt with entirely
by the parties concerned, so far as price, &c, goes, and when
the purchase is satisfactorily completed cash will be re-
mitted as per Clause 1.

6. Goods in Transit. — These are at tb.a seller's risk,
i.e., any damage to or loss of an article on its journey is
borne by the vendor ; but a rejected article must be pro-
perly packed and returned by the same means as was used
In sending it.

7. Carriage. — The carriage of all goods, except such as
are sent by post, is payable by the buyer, unless otherwise
agreed. If any article sent on approval be returned, each
party to the transaction must pay carriage one way.

BEE-KEEPING, its Excellence and Ad-
vantages. Price 3d. British Bee Journal
Office, 17 King William St., Strand, London, W.C.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
PRACTICAL NOTE-BOOK.

With Rules for the General Management of
Movable Comb Hives.

By THOS. W. COWAN, F.G.S., &c,

Editor British Bee Journal.

Consists of a Series of Tables by means of which
the Bee-keeper can keep a record of all his Obser-
vations and Operations. A Pocket-companion in-
dispensable to the practical Bee-keeper.
Price Is., postage Id.

British Bee Journal and Bee-keepers' Record.

Office :
17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

PURE CANE SUGARS.

For the accommodation of Bee-keepers, guaranteed
Pure Cane Sugar will be supplied in large or
small quantities through this office at the under-
mentioned rates : —

MOIST. (For Household Use.)

Neat bags, 14-lbs. 28-lbs. 56-lbs. Cwts.
3. MUSCOVADO 3/- 6/- 11/6 22/6

4. DEMERARA

5. BARBADOS

6. TRINIDAD

CRYSTALLISED.

I Crystals 3,3 6/6
REFINED CANE.

12/9 24 9

26/9

7. WHITE CRYSTALS (Small) 3/6 7/0 13/9

8, 9. (Medium and Large sizes, 1/- per Cwt. extra.)

10. LUMP (Cut Loaf ) ... Boxes, 3/9 7/3 14 '3 27/9

11. CRUSHED LUMP... „ 3/6 7/- 13/9 26/9

12. PRESERVING „ 3/6 7/- 13/9 26/9

FINE. (For Household Use.)

13. GRANULATED 3/9 7/3 14/3 27/9

11. CASTOR Coarse (15 Fine) 4/3 8/3 16/3 31/9

16. ICING 4/9 9/3 17/9 35,'-

All above guaranteed made from Cane Sugar only, and free

from Beet, Chemicals, etc., etc.

Carriage Paid on Orders over 5/0 (or 28-lbs. Sugar)
to London and Suburbs.

Country Orders, not less than 2 ewt. carriage paid
at 1/0 per cwt. extra.

(Scotch and Irish orders, special arrangements.)

CHEQUES payable to Manager, Bee Journal and Record.

Office, 17 King William Street, Strand, London, W.C,

CASH TO BE SENT WITH ORDER, and purchasers
will please observe that if samples are required or
replies asked to inquiries, a stamped addressed
envelope must be sent, as we cannot undertake
cost of postage. Delivery of Goods to be taken
as receipt. If acknowledgment of Cash is required,
stamped addressed envelope should be sent.

FOUL BROOD REMEDIES.

British Bee Journal Office, 17 King William Street,
Strand, London, W.C.

NAPHTHALINE
NAPHTHOL BETA.

NAPHTHALINE, for using in hives as a pre-
ventive of infection, in boxes, Is. post free.

NAPHTHOL BETA, for use in medicating bee-
food, Is. a packet, post free.

Both the above may now be had at the Office of
" THE BBITISH BEE JOURNAL" and "BEE-

KEEPERS' RECORD,"
17 King William Stbeet, Stband, London, W.O

Instructions for use sent with each packet,

CASH WITH ORDER.

THE

IriMj %n Smmial,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 590. Vol. XXI. N.S. 198.]

OCTOBEK 12, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

(^bitaial, ftoiias, #t.

DISHONEST EXHIBITING.

A correspondent, rightly deeming the
matter important, sends us a cutting from
the Hereford Times of September 23rd last,
according to which a serious charge of dis-
honest exhibiting was very conclusively
proved against the offending bee-keeper,
who was penalised accordingly.

It will not be necessary for us to print
the whole of the particulars detailed in the
cutting referred to, but it appears that a
meeting of the Knighton Horticultural
Society was convened, the main business
being to hear objections to the awarding of
prizes to certain winners at the late show
in consequence of alleged infringements of
the rules. The meeting was held on Sep-
tember 18th at the "Norton Arms Hotel,"
Knighton. Dr. Graves presided, and there
was a good attendance. The first case re-
lated to the horticultural division, and
after disposing of this the report goes on
to say : —

" The next objection taken was that of Mr.
John Dewhurst, Panpwnton, against Mr. Evan
Griffiths, Cwm, Knighton, for having shown
sectional honey at the recent show which was
not gathered by his own bees. Mr. Dewhurst
stated that the honey exhibited by Mr. Griffiths
was sainfoin honey. In this neighbourhood no
sainfoin was grown in sufficient quantity to pro-
duce whole sections of it. Rule 1 said, ' All
honey mast be gathered in the natural way by
bees the property of the exhibitor.' From his
own bees and other people's which he had seen
he could not find one iota of sainfoin, and all
these bees were in the locality and within easy
reach of where it was said some sainfoin was
grown. Mr. F. L. Green, son of the Hon.
Secretary, said he had seen the farmer by
whom it was said this sainfoin was grown, and
he had informed him that he had sown some
sixteen to twenty pounds of this seed with
other mixed seed on an eight-acre field. Mr. J.
Palmer, the judge of honey at the recent show,

said when judging the honey he was struck
with the superior excellence of the sections of
honey shown by Griffiths. He felt sure that
this honey — sainfoin — could not be obtained in
the neighbourhood, and he could at the time
have laid a sovereign to a penny-piece that he
knew where it had been obtained, as he could
count on his fingers' ends where this kind of
honey could be found. He had made very
careful inquiries, and found that these identical
sections had been obtained from Mr. Woodley
in Berkshire. He held a letter in his hand
from that gentleman stating that he had sent
twenty-four sections of this honey to f Mr.
Jones, care of Mr. Griffiths, Knighton,' in July.
He (Mr. Palmer) had traced the package from
Mr. Woodley to Knighton, and Evan Griffiths
had signed the invoice as having received the
package. He had no ill-feeling against Mr.
Griffiths. He would not read all the letter, as
he had read sufficient to prove the case. With-
out any further discussion it was agreed, there
not being one dissentient, that Mr. Evan Griffiths
be disqualified according to rule, and that all
prize money due to him be stopped, and also
that he be disqualified from exhibiting at
any future show held in connexion with the
Society."

It goes without saying that all honest
men will concur in the conclusion arrived
at, and will agree as to the flagrant dis-
honesty and meanness of such malpractices
as are detailed above. But the question
arises, Are they common among exhibitors
at honey shows ? Personally we have no
hesitation in giving our opinion that they
are not. With the ever-watchful eyes of
opposing competitors, whose bees work on
the same forage, to say nothing of the
acumen of judges possessing any experience,
it is not so easy for local men to deceive as
for those coming from a distance who show
in the "open classes," but even in these
the percentage of dishonest exhibits is, we
think, very small.

In our early days it was considered a dis-
creditable piece of sharp practice — to give
it no worse name — if a super being worked
on one hive for exhibition purposes was re-
moved to another for "finishing off" be-
cause of the stock on which it was first

404

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

placed having swarmed. Such tenderness
of conscience would probably only evoke a
smile in this year of grace; nevertheless,
bee-men of to-day are, we hope, just as
anxious to put down anything approaching
to fraud in these friendly competitions as
ever they were, and will approve of our
action in giving this publicity to the case
in question in order to deter the few who
might be so inclined from doing like-
wise. There is no reason for supposing
that dishonest showing is on the in-
crease, although it is within our personal
knowledge that well-known and successful
exhibitors have been applied to for "a dozen
jars of their best stuff," or " a dozen extra
good sections," under circumstances so sus-
picious that the orders have been refused.

It is not often that so clear a case can
be established as the one before us, and it
is only reasonable to suppose that the
offender referred to was not an experienced
hand at such malpractices, because a mo-
ment's reflection would have taught him that
sainfoin sections are as easily recognised as
those from heather, and could not possibly be
got where the plant is not grown. But, apart
from the risk of detection, such tricks are
beneath the contempt of right-minded men,
while as for those who are not included in
this category, they will soon disappear from
show-tables if offenders are promptly brought
to book, and their names made public, as in
the case quoted above.

In conclusion, we may also add that,
although all cases of suspected wrong-doing
are not capable of such conclusive proof as the
one referred to, it is very probable that, before
the next honey season opens, we may be in
a position to distinguish, with absolute cer-
tainty, pure honey from that mixed with
sugar-syrup, and thus determine the truth
or otherwise of certain suspicions entertained
with regard to exhibits where feeding is
suspected.

LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE B.K.A.
SHOW AT BIRKENHEAD.

The above Association held their annual show
in connexion with the Wirral and Birkenhead
Agricultural Society on the Society's show-
ground, near Birkenhead, on the 7th and 8th of
September.

The competition was very keen in the ex-
tracted honey classes. The entry of sections in
the class restricted to Lancashire and Cheshire
was poor, and the judges only awarded one
prize in this class. The judges were the Rev.

[October 12, 1893.

J. F. Buckler and Mr. G. W. Carr. Their
awards were as follows : —
wTT!u ^^-P^^d^^ sections. -Miss Susan
Ward, Hadnall Hall, Shrewsbury ; 2nd, John
Palmer, Ludlow ; 3rd, Cathedral Dairy Co.

Twelve jars extracted honey.— 1st, W Wood-
ley, Newbury ; 2nd, H. W. Bennion, Audlem r
2 ' I' i T," £lckel3' Shrewsbury; 4th, Thos.
Greenhalgh, Newton-le-Willows.

Twelve one-pound sections (district).— 1st,
Thos. Evans, Chester.

Twelve one-pound jars extracted honey f dis-
trict).—1st, Rev. E. Charley: 2nd, R. W.

ftn^r°f8lir ; 3rd' Rev- T- J- E™ns;
4th, O. Roberts, Chester.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.

The following additional sums have been
received or promised : —

Amount already acknow-

ledged £45 11 0

Rev. G. W. Bancks ... 0 10 0

G. Stothard ... ... o 5 q

" Be just and fear not " . . . 0 3 0

"Let brotherly love continue" 0 3 0

Owen Roberts 0 2 6

W. Boxwell 0 2 0

The list will be closed at the end of this
month.

€axxzs$Qvfomu.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be
ar/^LTJ>7Vm0Vf comm^ications, and correspondents
fZXi *° write™™° side oj the paper only, and give
fc LT" and addresses' not necessarily for pub.
SSft.*LZ!L" grantee of good faUh. Illustrations
snouM be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We do not
undertake to return rejected communications. weaonos

Communications relating to the literary department.
£?//4p80?,atT!'a™8' Meetings, Echoes] Queries,
vA.lt ^TeW.'iC.-'. must be «*<*"»««» only to "The
& «°f ih? P1**^ Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, Ac, must be addressed to " The

Strfei "qB-SfeP* S^/ °^e> 17 Kin<> William
mints). Lmdon' W-°' (see 1st page of Advertise.

.„**l/n 0ldeT *?/«"#»*«*« 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. '

EXTRACTING HONEY AT SHOWS-
THICKNESS OF COMBS IN SURPLUS
CHAMBERS.

[1585.] I was pleased to see in the B.B.J.
of August 17th (p. 322), a description of the
glass extracting-house at the Yorkshire Agri-
cultural Show at Dewsbury. With reference
to it, however, I would beg to state that, though
the Council of the Y. A. S. most kindly
granted two compartments of shedding, and

October 12, 1893. j

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

405

erected the tables as foundation, I was indebted
to Mr. W. Smith, of Preston, near Hull, for
carrying out my plans, and making the elegant
structure, as w»ll as for ably presiding at the
powerful extractor, which Mr. Meadows
specially made for me. We were gratified at
the interest taken in the object-lesson we
endeavoured to impart on the use of the various
appliances for extracting. In one respect our
effort proved costly : it delayed our conveying
bees to the moors in time for another splendid
harvest. Still, we hope many were instructed
and encouraged to improve their apiaries.

A word about the honey : the exquisite colour
I attribute to the quality of clover we have in
this neighbourhood, and the level capping to
the principle of keeping strong stocks during the
honey-flow, and perhaps, also, to supering with
crates holding only nine shallow frames.

Two gentlemen who witnessed our operations
flattered us by a request to repeat the exhi-
bition in a large town at Christmas, and were
hardly convinced that it would be difficult to
keep the combs in a fit condition to extract in
mid-winter.

Another question a friend asked was, whether
I did not consider that we had reached per-
fection as regards the apparatus for honey-
production ? I said at the time, " I thought
so ; " but, on second consideration, I must say,
" I think not." For instance, to save time and
labour, we want a good, rapid uncapping
machine. Then I feel we should do away with
sections for two or three reasons : because (i.)
In ordinary seasons comparatively few out of
every gross are finished sufficiently to be
presentable, while shallow frames are taken to
and worked more quickly and satisfactorily,
(ii.) After the comb has been in wood for a
month or two, the honey loses its delicacy and
value. (iii.) By gradually increasing the
distance between the shallow frames, much
thicker and handsomer combs can be produced
than in sections, (iv.) Simplicity and economy
are gained with the above advantages, for if the
same shallow frames can be used year after year,
and are more reliable and effective than
sections, why should we be constantly buying
and making up the latter ?

I am convinced, after bee-keepers have fairly
tried to produce thicker combs in shallow
frames, and a few more articles are penned like
that signed by " Hemlock Stone'' on page 383,
the demand for sections will rapidly diminish.

As I have been trying for more than ten
years to coax the bees to make extra thick combs,
I am eagerly looking forward to the report of the
next meeting of the Committee of the B.B.K. A.,
when you hope to bring up the width of shallow
frames. I trust, however, the result will be
more definite than was the case in the dis-
cussion about the density of honey or standard
bottles.

In the meantime I would offer a problem for
solution to the leading bee-keepers, to accentuate
the difficulty which appears to me in connexion
**"th this subject : Would they recommend bee-

pers to have two sets of metal ends for
supers, so that when the bees have worked out
the space given by the narrow ends, they could
be exchanged for the wide ; or would they
recommend the use of wider ends only (and,
perhaps, wider frames also) for supering P —
Richd. M. Lamb, Burton Pidsea Rectory, Hull,
October 5th.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1586.] We had a splendid rain yesterday
that has filled our ponds and tanks with the first
necessary of life, and our farmers will be very
glad to be relieved of the labour and expense of
drawing water from the wells for their cattle,
and to-day the sun is shining quite warm with
a temperature at three p.m. of sixty-six degrees.
The bees are sporting in the sunshine, and a
few diligent ones finds a little pollen, possibly
from mustard, of which we have some fields in
bloom.

Can any of our bee-keeping friends give in-
formation in regard to the spraying of fruit-
trees, as suggested by the Board of Agriculture ;
if such spraying has been prejudicial to bee-
culture ? I notice two of the compounds are of
a veiy poisonous nature, viz., " Paris green "
and " London purple." No time is mentioned
as to when the spraying is to be done ; that is
left to the discretion of the fruit-grower, and in
the present prevailing ignorance of the relation
of insects and fruit-blossom, it is more than
probable that the fruit-grower would spray his
trees just as they were in full bloom, and cause
death and destruction to any insect that visited
the flowers after the spraying, and as we know
thehive bee (Apis mellijica) is the most numerous
and the most useful agent in the fertilisation
of the fruit-blossoms, and thereby ensures a
future crop — I say we know that the bee-
keeper will be the one who will have to bear the
loss by having his stock poisoned by thousands.
Now, friends in fruit districts, if you have
any cause to complain, let us hear of it.

I notice Mr. M'Evoy, in American Bee Journal,
goes more fully into his method of curing foul
brood, explaining how the disease first broke
out in his apiary in 1875, and how he tried
different plans of curing it until he discovered
his present method, which, he asserts, is success-
ful in every case. Mr. M'Evoy says he has
handled, cured, and got cured in the last seven-
teen years more foul-broody colonies than any
other 200 bee-keepers in the world put together.
This is saying a good deal, and if the M'Evoy
method is a positive cure for the disease, it
ought to be fully known wherever bees are kept.

Judging honey at shows and methods of
judging may prove instructive to all connected
with the craft. I have received some little
correspondence on the subjec. One asks : " Do
you consider it fair for a judge to adjudicate on
sections of comb honey by outside appearances
only, and not taste the contents ? " To this I
replied, most certainly not ; comb honey is an

406

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

October 12, 1893

edible food, and the flavour, consistency, and
bouquet should count especially. It may look
beautiful to the eye, and be adorned with the
prettiest of lace edging, the sections may be
well filled, the capping perfect, and the exterior
appearance may warrant the judge in awarding
premier honours ; yet, if the points were more
fully spread out on all the possible superlatives
of the sample under consideration, it is very
probable the award would be given to another
exhibit.

Borrowed plumes is another subject that is
disquieting the minds of exhibitors of bee-
produce in districts widely situated. Is it right,
is it just, is it manly, is it English, to exhibit
honey that has been purchased as the produce
of one's own apiary ? Letters of inquiry and
complaint have reached me during the past
few weeks from the north, from the midlands,
from the west, and from the metropolitan
district in the east, all relating to this subject.

This is a subject that should be probed to the
bottom, and committees should endeavour to
prevent, as far as possible, the (I fear) growing
practice by inserting stringent clauses in their
schedules against such a nefarious practice. — W.
Woodley, World's End, Newbury.

haps as a bee-keeper I am feeling a little bit
envious, but although I am not the lucky man,
I am nevertheless — Another Man or Kent,
E—d, October 3rd, 1893.

POSERS.

[1587.] The " poser " in B. J. for September
28 (page 390), is not inexplicable. " Lectures
on Mosquito Netting in Modern Bee-keeping "
should have the " in " and " on '' transposed, but
it is still oddly expressed. The real poser to
me in same number is your contributor " Man
of Kent" (1567, page 386.) Are his queens
antiquities, or have they foul brood ? What
can it be that makes his case the exception in
all Kent ? Is he a subscriber to the Kent Bee-
keepers' Association P If he is not, that may
account for his bad luck (?). But in any case
the members would like to render aid, for his
average of " seven pounds a hive " in 1893 is a
libel on the county's bee-keeping character !
Allow me to contribute an extract from a letter
of which I happen for the moment to be the
fortunate possessor. It is from a bee-keeper in
Kent — a lady bee-keeper, too. I think it is but
fair to call her the " Woman of Kent," for
surely no other lady bee-keeper in all our county
can have done as well. The letter is dated Sep-
tember 29th, 1893 (don't be inquisitive, Messrs.
Editors, because if you ask for the address you
won't get it). " We have finished taking
honey this week. We have taken 733 pounds
from eleven hives, and left them plenty for the
winter." I am sorry to say that her bees are
likely to lose her services very soon, inasmuch
as her honeymoon is fast approaching, but I
ought not to feel sorry, for she will not be lost
to Kent. And further, it is clear from what I
tell you that there is certainly one lucky man
in Kent, as it is certain (from your Journal of
September 28th) there is an wnlucky one. Per-

EUCALYPTUS HONEY.

[1588.] In your issue of June 1st, in reply to
query No. 790, page 216, " Is Colonial Honey as
good in all ways as British ? " you say, a We do
no injustice to our colonies by saying ' no ' to
this query. Good colonial honey there is, no
doubt, but much of it is so rank and strong in
flavour as to be wholly unfit for table use. This
is especially the case in some parts of Australia
and New Zealand, where the Ti-tree and the
various eucalyptus or gum-trees grow so abun-
dantly as to quite spoil the flavour of the better
class of honeys collected in such districts."

Now, sirs, will you be good enough to permit
me to point out where you are quite mistaken
in your remarks, and how you have done a very
great injustice to these colonies, or at any rate
to the one (Queensland) where I live, by making
such a sweeping charge against one of our by
no means least important " national industries."
A brother bee-keeper who has read your article
sends me a strong letter on the subject, com-
plaining with righteous indignation that the
statement that " Australian honey is unfit for
table use" has now been scattered broadcast
over Great Britain, and as emanating from such
a source will be believed by all who read it,
thus in a great measure boycotting " Eucalyptus
honey."

I will now point out the very serious mistake
you have made, and then furnish you with
proofs to verify my statements.

The idea you entertain that the eucalyptus
or gum-trees quite spoil the flavour of honey is
to us simply incomprehensible, as the fact is
quite the reverse. Surely the writer of that
article can never have tasted pure eucalyptus
honey. We reside in one of the best forest
districts in Queensland, and our honey is almost
entirely gathered from the various kinds of
eucalyptus-trees.

From the top of our mountain, far as the eye
can reach in every direction, are seen hundreds
of thousands of gum-trees (if I said millions I
should not exaggerate). In the " clearings" are
grown sugar cane, bananas, pineapples, orange-
trees, and other fruit-trees, but very little honey
is got from these sources. I mention these par-
ticulars to show you that ours is eucalyptus
honey, and can have very little of any other
kind of honey in it. Hence it follows — if your
article is correct — the flavour of our honey "must
be spoilt " by reason of its being " pure euca-
lyptus honey."

Now, we consider our honey " delicious," and
we know somewhat about English, French, and
Swiss honey — but in addition to the flavour of
ours being nice, we claim that it is the best kind
of honey in the world, by virtue of the medicinal
qualities that are so well known as appertaining
to the eucalyptus.

October 12, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

407

Now, to prove my case I could give you the
-names of a great many people in England who
have got our honey during the past two years,
but at present will give you two brief extracts,
from men whose opinion on the point in question
is worth a good deal. You can verify these,
and read the whole of the articles referred to.

In Rural Notes, March 19th, 1892, Mr. J.Muir,
Margam Abbey, says :— " It is of a brownish
amber colour, not so bright as the best samples
of English honey, but greatly superior to many
lots I have seen in this country. The flavour,
which is really the most important point in all
honey, is different to that of English honey,
but very agreeable, and the eucalyptus flavour
can be distinctly traced. I was curious to
sample the honey, and I am very much pleased
with it."

Mr. R. A. H. Grimshaw (who, I think, is well
known to you) says in an article on "Pure
Honey," too long to quote here entire, "I have
several times had samples of so-called eucalyptus
honey submitted to me for my opinion before
steps were taken to import in quantity, and I
have had to condemn it as an unpleasant addi-
tion to our dietary. Mr. Smith took the trouble
to write to me, and explained that the honey he
sent over was gathered from the flowers of the
eucalyptus. I therefore went to his agent,
sampled the honey, and at once ordered a sixty-
pound tin. I found, from the flavour of his
honey, what I had long suspected — that the
previous samples of honey I had tasted were
nothing more than syrup or poor honey flavoured
with oil of eucalyptus, while this in question
was nectar gathered from the flowers of the
gum-trees, and converted into honey by the
bees. The latter was nice, the former nasty.
To my mind, the most useful point about honey
as a medicine is that its flavour is caused by the
active principle of the plant from which it is
gathered permeating the exuding nectar."

I am aware that quite a lot of honey has been
shipped from this colony, and from the others
also, I believe, called eucalyptus honey, much of
which was "unfit for table use," I should
imagine ; but to fully explain this part of the
subject would make this letter too long — suffice
it to say that this class of honey is not labelled
with the name of any bee-keeper.

What we "advanced'' or practical bee-keepers
so strongly object to is, that you officially state
as a fact that " the eucalyptus trees quite spoil
the flavour of the best honey," whilst we assert,
on the contrary, that the eucalyptus not only
gives a nice agreeable flavour to the honey, but
it goes far beyond that, by endowing it with
those well-known medicinal virtues that place
it absolutely first among the honeys of the world
not only as an article of every-day food, but as
a powerful remedial agent.

The ti-tree only grows in low-lying, swampy
places (we live on a mountain), and it is not
so objectionable as you paint it.

I trust to your sense of English justice and
love of fair play to insert this, as you have
so widely circulated a misleading impression

calculated to do the colonies a very serious
injury. I cannot send you a sample yet of our
honey, as we do not ship until October, and our
agent is long since sold out. — John Smith,
Mount Cotton, near Brisbane, Queensland,
August 26th, 1893.

[It would have been more satisfactory if our
correspondent had been able to peruse the article
on eucalyptus honey which appeared in our
issue for September 21st before penning the
above. We trust, however, that the prompt
insertion of his communication — which has onlv
just reached us — will tend to reassure him that
there is no intention of the part of this Journal
either to initiate or encourage anything in the
shape of " boycotting " (a term we hate most
cordially) what is either useful or good for bees
or bee-keepers. At the same time, we have
nothing to qualify or withdraw from what has
appeared in these pages with regard to eucalyp-
tus honey. We have given our opinion regard-
ing it in all honesty and good faith, and that
opinion has been endorsed by every one here
to whom the samples of honey referred to
have so far been submitted. But we entirely
disclaim any intention of damaging the reputa-
tion or injuring the sale of Australian honey,
either from the eucalyptus or from any other
source. Our view is that eucalyptus honey
will find no favour here as a table honey. And
it is for Australian bee-keepers to test this
point if they differ from us. We suggested to
Mr. Pender, when here, that a ton of eucalyptus
honey should be sent over, and put on the
British market as a sample consignment. This
done, its value as a table honey would soon be
appraised, and we shall be very pleased if our
estimate of it is wrong. — Eds.]

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The next conversazione will be held at 105
Jermyn Street, London, S.W., on Wednesday,
October 18th, at six o'clock. A paper on " Bee-
keepers' Associations and Honey Sales " will be
read by Mr. A. D. Woodley, Hon. Sec. of the
Berkshire Association.

Members desirous of introducing subjects for
discussion, or to submit new appliances, are
requested to communicate with the Secretary
not later than October 16th.

The Annual Second-class Examination, and
also a Special Examination in regard to the
nature and treatment of " Foul Brood " will be
held on October 27th and 28th.

John Htjckxe, Sec.

Kings Langley, October 7th.

BEES AND FRUIT-CULTURE.

An American agriculturist raised the question
a short time ago as to the necessity of insect
visits to the flowers of pears and other fruits
affected by blight. It was shown that the
organism causing blight was disseminated by
insects during their visits to the blossoms, and
it was thought that if by some practical means

408

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL [October 12, 189&

insects could be excluded from the dowers with-
out interfering with the f ruitf ulness of the trees,
one form of blight might at least be prevented.
A series of experiments were made at Brook-
port, New York, to obtain some information in
regard to the effect on f ruitf ulness of excluding
insects. These experiments were made under
the direction of the United States Department
of Agriculture, and the results, which are cer-
tainly startling, have been published. The
results seem to indicate a fact hitherto over-
looked by scientific and practical men — viz.,
that many well-known varieties of pears will
not set fruit unless their flowers receive pollen
from other varieties — that is to say, the visits of
insects, by means of which cross-fertilisation is
effected is necessary to ensure proper setting of
the fruit.

Further information on the subject being re-
quired, some extended experiments were made,
the work being carried on in Virginia, New
York, and New Jersey. The results in every
case confirmed those previously obtained. Thus
it would seem that most of the common
varieties of pears and apples are unable to fer-
tilise themselves. Of course, this has been
touched upon by Darwin, Knight, and others ;
but it would appear that no one has advanced
any theories as to the common fruits. The
lesson for the fruit-grower is to select his
varieties and to plant them in such a way as to
ensure cross-fertilisation. It is well known that
unfruitfulness in many cases is due to the fact
that large blocks of single varieties have
been planted. In such cases there is not
sufficient foreign pollen to effect fertilisation;
consequently the trees bloom profusely, but no
fruit seeds. In planting varieties, a number of
important points must be observed. The time
of the flowering of the different varieties must
be kept in mind in selecting those designed for
pollenating ; also the question of the potency of
pollen with respect to the variety it is intended
to grow must of necessity be considered. — Pall
Mall Gazette.

[899.] Moving Bees. — A constant reader of
the B. J. for nearly two years, I am much in-
terested in its contents and always on the look-
out for its weekly appearance. Now I want to
ask : 1. Is the comb sent foul-brooay ? I des-
troyed the bees and combs of the hive from
which it was taken and buried the lot ! During
last spring not much pollen was carried in, nor
could I find a queen, but there was plenty of
stores. I had only one other frame hive, from
which I took this year sixty-nine one-pound
sections and the brood chamber is packed with
food. The bees also seem very healthy and are
carrying in pollen in abundance. I have now
bought five stocks of bees, two of which are
■•vithin one hundred and fifty or two hundred
yards of mine. 2. When would it be safe to
move them ? — as the seller wants me to take

them away as soon as I can. The other thre&
stocks are located half a mile away, and this
seller is also anxious to have the bees cleared
out, but I have bought on condition of waiting
your decision as to removal. I have been wasp-
hunting and send a sample. 3. Are they
queens or a species of large wasp ? I destroyed
nearly a hundred of them. If these are queen*
a good deal might be done to destroy them at
this season, as they can be found laying about in;
old bags or sacks in damp places. — W. J.,
Royston, Cambs, October 4£h.

Reply. — 1. It is a pity you did not wait
reply as to combs and frames before destroying
them, for sample sent contained nothing to indi-
cate disease, only pollen and honey. 2. You
shoud endeavour to defer removal of the bees-
now only 200 yards away (if not both lots) till
cold weather has kept them indoors for a couple
of weeks. There is less risk with those half a
mile off, and if some little pains are taken to
alter the appearance of the hives temporarily
till the bees have flown a few times, they
might be moved a week or so hence. 3. The
packet of wasps sent are all queens, save one,
which is a hornet.

[900.] Bee-parasites on Queen. — I enclose a
queen just removed from a hive of mine, as she
is over two years old, I know, and I should be
much obliged if you could tell me what these
insects are that are on her ; she had about seven
on her body when I took her out. I never had
any of these insects on my bees before. I
brought four lots of bees over from the North
of France that I drove in August, and they had
a great many of these insects on them, the
queens especially ; and since that they are in all
my hives, seven in number — not on all the bees,
but about one in a hundred. Are they likely
to increase, and what had I better do to get rid
of them? The French bees I brought over
were all very vicious ; perhaps this had some-
thing to do with it. The expert who has just
examined my hives says he has never seen them
before. — F. Fox, Epsom, October 3rd.

Reply. — Queen received is infested with the
Braula cceca, or blind louse, a bee-parasite which
causes trouble
or annoyance
sometimes in
apiaries on
the Continent,
from whence
it finds its way
occasionally
into this coun-
try on the
bodies of bees,
as in your case.
The illustration
here given
shows the form

of the insect (much magnified), its colour being
dark red. Though active in its movements, it
clings tenaciously to the bodies of the queen and
more or less of the workers — the queen aK«'

October 12, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

409*

coming in for a share ; but the fumes of tobacco
will cause them to drop on to the floor-board,
when they may be destroyed. Unless very
numerous they may, however, be left alone,
tor the insect seldom lives more than a few
months in this country, the climate being un-
duited to it.

[901.] Froth on Surface of Extracted Honey.
— Whenever we extract the honey, we have a
'hick, sugary mass appearing on the top. This
puzzles us very much, for we never had it
oefore. What could be the cause of it ? When
we remove this mass from the top, the honey
below is no way affected in flavour. Would it
be safe to use this sugary mass as food ? Or
would it be right to feed the bees on it during
the winter ? A reply in your next issue will
oblige — Hibernus, Co. Wickloio, October 3rd.

Reply. — The " sugary mass " is probably
aothing more than the minute air-bubbles which
rise to the surface of extracted honey after it
has been allowed to stand for a while. If the
top portion is skimmed off into a jar, and the
latter allowed to stand for a time in hot water,
he honey will assume its liquid form, and may
l)e used for food without any risk.

[902.] Giving Young Queens to Driven
Bees. — As a beginner, I would ask your advice
on the following points : — I bought a five-pound
tot of driven bees, and hived them in a frame
hive on empty combs. Eight days ago I fed
them as rapidly as circular zinc feeder would
permit on syrup, as directed in Guide-book.
Several of the six frames they are on are filled,
but none sealed ; neither did I see any brood,
though a very little pollen has been taken in.
To make sure of success next spring : 1. Would
you advise the introduction of a young queen
now or then ? 2. As it is not at all likely I
should find the old queen among so many, would
you advise my trying the methcd described ?

Reply. — 1 and 2. Unless there is some reason
for supposing the queen of the driven bees to be
( Id, we see no reason for troubling about re-
queening, either now or in spring. Besides,
i here is always an element of risk in re-
queening, which we advise you to avoid under
t he circumstances.

[903.] Transferring to Frame Hive. — I have
just got a strong stock of bees in a straw skep
(an early June swarm) which has stored a large
amount of honey. Should you advise my trans-
ferring the bees into a frame hive now, or is it
too late in the season to do so ? I could give
them frames of sealed stores taken from other
hives. All my hives stand in a shed, so there is
no fear of the skep becoming damp. I do not
require the honey in the skep. Kindly say
whether you would advise my transferring the
bees noio or in the spring. — B., co. Galway,
October 2nd.

Reply. — With such favourable surroundings
it is largely a matter of choice or convenience
whether the bees are wintered in the skep or
transferred to the frame hive. It is certainly

not too late in the season to put driven bees on
"frames of sealed stores;" and, if there is little
or no brood in the skep at the present time, it
would, perhaps, be best to take that course ; be-
cause, if the operation is deferred till spring,
some brood may be " chilled " if the operator is
unskilful or inexperienced. In the latter case,
all risk and some trouble would be saved by
wintering the bees in skeps as they are, and in
the spring setting the skep on top of the frame
hive — the latter being furnished with ready-
built combs — and allowing the bees to transfer
themselves into it when they need room.

(Btym foam % ||ifxes.

Roundwood, co. Wickloio, October Srd, 1893,
— Our honey season this year has been very fine,
and the honey crop, it must be said, exceptionally
good. We have two hives, but had no swarms.
The yield was more than one hundred sections,
and very near ten bar-frames of honey. —
Hibernus.

HOW TO INCREASE THE WHITE-
HONEY CROP.

What a splendid thing it would be if we could
increase the white-comb honey crop forty per
cent. ! I was in St. Paul some years ago, and
had a small quantity of section honey to dispose
of. A certain dealer was recommended to me
who was said to buy nice honey. I found him,
and offered my goods.

" Is your honey white ? " he asked.

I said it was very good honey.

He answered, " I don't care anything about
whether it is good or not; what I want to know
is, is your honey white ? If it is white it will
sell whether it is good or not. I know that
dark honey is sometimes better in eating quality
than white, but it will not sell. If your honey
is not strictly white, I do not want it ; if it is
white, bring it along, and I will give you a good
price."

My honey was not strictly white, and I failed
to make a sale. Three poor crops have left St.
Paul and Minneapolis markets bare of white-
comb honey, and yet dark goes begging. White-
comb honey is what we want, and in this article
I propose to tell how I expect to increase my
crop fifty per cent, this year. Last year, at the
end of the white-honey flow, I took off all my
supers of sections, whether they were finished or
not. I picked out the finished sections that
were properly sealed, crated them, and then
extracted tl;e partly finished ones. This ex-
tracted honoy I sold readily for 12| cents per
pound. This was more than it would have
brought if the sections had been left on the hives
and finished with dark honey. I set those
empty sections of comb into supers, spread a
sheet of paper between each super, covered all
tight to keep out mice, and now, at the com-

410

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 12, 1893.

mencement of the flow of honey from white
and alsike clover, I have nearly 100 supers of
twenty-four sections each filled with empty
comhs, and I am filling each super with twelve
sections of comh and twelve with full sheets of
foundation, the combs having been all levelled
up evenly and smoothly on the handy comb-
leveller.

Honey is now coming in here at a great rate,
as there are 100 acres of alsike within two
uriles, and I have found cases in which the
twelve sections of drawn combs were nearly
filled with honey in three days without those
with foundation being touched at all. Clover
is just fairly opened. The basswoods are fairly
bending with blossoms, and you need not laugh
when I tell you that it was my great modesty
that made me name fifty per cent, as the
measure of the increased crop by having sections
of drawn and levelled combs in which the bees
could deposit their loads of nectar without
having to wait to build store combs, for I ex-
pect to increase my crop fully 100 per cent, this
year. When the basswood flow is over, I will
take off all the supers, take out the finished
sections, extract the unfinished ones as I did
last year; but the empty combs will be imme-

diately levelled up and returned to the supers,
half comb and half foundation as before, and
the cases will then be returned to the hives, to
be filled with dark fall honey. This honey will,
at the end of the season, be extracted, and
either sold or reserved to feed the bees, and
raise millions of workers for the next year's
white-honey flow. The empty combs will be
given to the bees after they are extracted to
be cleaned of all honey. This will be done by
returning the combs to the supers, and then,
some fine evening, when the bees are flying, set
the supers all out in the yard, without any
covers, so that the bees can get at them without
hindrance, and they will clean them all up by
night. In the evening, after all the bees have
gone home, the supers will all be removed to
the iron honey-house, where no bee can enter,
and no robbing will be excited. The combs
will then all be levelled up immediately, as they
work much nicer when fresh; they will then
be returned to the supers, and piled up as high
as I can reach, with a sheet of paper between
each super, to be used next year in the same
way, to secure another big crop of that orthodox
luxury — white-comb honey. — B. Taylob, m
" Gleanings."

EXPERIMENTS IN APICULTURE IN 1892.
{Continued from page 400.)
Wax Secbetion.
To determine the amount of honey consumed
by the bees in secreting one pound of wax, this
experiment, first undertaken in 1891, was re-
peated this year. As the conditions were much
more favourable, the results were very gratify-
ing. There was an entire absence of a natural
honey-flow, the weather was favourable, the
colonies were of the same strength and in pros-
perous condition, they took the food rapidly,
and built the comb readily. The result gives a
less amount of honey as necessary to be fed the
bees in order to have one pound of wax secreted
than was obtained in this experiment last year.
This was to be expected because of the more
favourable and exact conditions.

Two colonies were taken which I have desig-
nated as Nos. 1 and 2. No. 1 was given a virgin
queen, and no comb or honey. No. 2 was given
a virgin queen and empty combs. It was noticed
that the bees did not fly from either of these
hives as vigorously as from the others of the
apiary, and that No. 1 was more quiet of the
two. Twenty-four and a hah0 pounds of food
were given, and almost exactly one pound of
wax was secreted by No. 1. By weighing the
combs before and after being melted, and taking
the difference, the amount of pollen was ascer-
tained. In both colonies the young queens had
begun to lay, having been fertilised during the
ten days the experiment was in progress. I now
feel confident that more careful work on the
part of others who have undertaken to solve
this question will give practically the same
results as are summarised below : —

Colony No. 1.

Colony No. 2.

Weight of bees

Gross weight, August 2, with bees

Gross weight, August 12, with bees

Gross gain in weight in ten days

Feed given

Minus honey extracted

Leaves honey consumed

Honey consumed by No. 1 in excess of No. 2 : 12 - 4 = 8 lbs.

Wax secreted by No. 1

Pollen in combs at close

Honey, wax, and pollen removed (8 lbs. honey consumed
in secreting \5\ ounces of wax)

lbs. oz.
7 5

42

10

24

8

12

8

12

0

15,'

14 15J

lbs. oz.
27 7" 8
15 2

lbs. oz.
7 3

24
20

4

0

2 0
22 8

lbs. oz.

u""i

56 3
22 4

Planting fob Honky.
There were in bloom at the station this season

three acres of sweet clover (Melilotus alba) sown
in June, 1891. It was sown upon rather poor

October 12, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

411

clay soil, yet it made a fair growth last fall,
and came through the winter in good condition.
It began to bloom July 8th, and continued in
bloom until the 20th of September. The period
of greatest bloom and honey-secretion was from
July 20th to September 1st. It grew rapidly,
and was very rank, reaching a height of about
six feet. The amount of bloom was great,
and the bees were continually busy upon it;
yet, during the period from July 24th to August
10th, while it was in full bloom, and while all
other natural sources were absent, no honey of
any appreciable extent was gathered, and the hive
upon the scale lost in weight. Probably some
honey was obtained during the season from this
sweet clover, but in such limited quantities as to
make any estimate of the value of the plant as a
honey -producer impossible. At the present
time the ground is covered with brush, so that
labour will be necessary in clearing the land
before ploughing can be done.

With the idea of obtaining an opinion of the
value of sweet clover as a silage plant, an
alcohol barrel was filled with cut stalks, solidly
packed and sealed tight. This was done on
July 14th, just as the clover was getting fairly
into bloom, and while the stalks were yet tender
and nutritious. On September 23rd the barrel
was opened, and the ensilage was fed. A horse
that had previously eaten corn silage ate it very
readily, but another horse and a cow that had
never eaten silage would not touch it. Several
experts upon the subject pronounced it excellent.
There is no doubt but that it would be a very
desirable plant for the purpose if the feeding
value per acre could be made equal to that of corn.
An estimate made from the amount cut for silage
gave between six and seven tons per acre. Al-
though its feeding value may be much higher
than that of corn, it is still doubtful if it will
pay to use it for this purpose alone, from the
above estimate.

In concluding these experiments in planting
for honey carried on by Prof. Cook, and now
concluded for the present, I desire to say that no
results have been obtained with any plant sown
or planted for honey alone that will warrant the
bee-keeper in expending money and labour in
this direction. Bee-keepers have in the past
spent much time and money in the effort to
cultivate some plant for the honey the bees may
obtain from its flowers. In no case coming under
my observation have these efforts been a success,
and the practice has never been continued at a
profit. Therefore, let me caution all apiarists
against spending money in the attempt to culti-
vate at a profit any flower for honey alone.
Bee-keepers should cease these useless efforts
and turn their attention more persistently to
extending the area of all wild honey-producing
plants, and urging upon all the superiority of
Alsike clover and Japanese buckwheat as farm
crops, and the Linden as a shade tree.

The Evapobation of Honey.
Nectar of flowers taken into the stomach of
the bee undergoes certain chemical changes

before it is finally deposited as honey in the
cells of the honey-comb. The recent analysis,
by direction of the United States Government
chemist, and those instituted at the Michigan
State Experiment Station, prove that there is
no chemical change made in the honey by the
bee after it is deposited in the comb. There,
however, remains much water in this honey
that must be evaporated by the hive and the
current of air through the hive caused by the
fanning of the bees. It is well known that
this labour of evaporation and the room occu-
pied by this thin honey interferes greatly with
the rapid gathering of nectar. In this opinion
I am confirmed by a study of many records of
colonies placed upon scales during the honey-
flow.

It is often desirable to extract all of the
honey gathered from one species of honey-
plant before the flow from other sources begins,
and before the former has ripened to the usual
consistency of good honey. The property of
granulation in honey is so troublesome that its
prevention would be very desirable. The ex-
periments in this line have plainly indicated
that the " water of crystallisation " can be
easily expelled by a proper artificial heat, and
the product sealed, so as to preserve it in a
liquid state for an indefinite time. For these
reasons it was thought best to experiment in
this direction with various forms of artificial
heat in the effort to devise some cheap and sure
method to assist the bees in this work.

For this purpose there were constructed a
series of six shallow pans, nineteen by twenty-
eight inches in size, with partitions two inches
in height, open on alternate ends, similar to the
partitions in a maple-syrup evaporator. These
were arranged in a cabinet, one above the other,
so that honey entering at the top was obliged
to flow some seventy-five feet before passing
out at the bottom. An oil stove was placed
beneath the whole, and a pipe at the top caused
a current of heated air to pass upwards over
the honey. The fumes of the stove were carried
off by means of a second pipe, in order to avoid
all danger of their injuring the flavour of the
honey. Honey of average body, with ten per
cent, by weight of water added, was reduced
again to the normal condition by passing twice
through .the pans at a temperature of 120°,
and about 100 pounds per day was evaporated
at that temperature. Thin nectar, extracted
from the hive very soon after being gathered,
was evaporated to the thickness of good honey
at about the same rate.

This apparatus was kept in operation about
ten days upon honey of various thicknesses,
and upon clear water with the above definite
results. The flavour of the first honey was
injured, probably by the first acid action of the
honey upon the outer coating of the tin. After-
wards this was not as apparent. The colour
was also somewhat affected.

The heat of the sun was also tried for purposes
of evaporation. A shallow pan, twenty-eight
by fifty-four inches in size, was filled three

412

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 12, 1893.

inches deep with thin honey. This was covered
with glass six inches above the honey, and
left in the sun for four days, when about five
per cent, of the moisture was evaporated.
As the honey lies at rest the water rises to
the top, somewhat aiding evaporation. The
flavour and colour are not affected as much
as by the method of running through pans.
In this way honey with thirty per cent.,
and even forty per cent., of water added was
evaporated to the consistency of very thick
honey in three weeks' time, so thick that it
has not at this date showed any sign of
granulation.

During favourable periods of sunshine a tem-
perature of 165° was reached. By this method
a tank four by six feet, with six inches of
honey, and weighing 1300 pounds, should be
evaporated ten per cent., or from the con-
sistency of freshly gathered honey to that of
average body, during about two weeks in July
or August.

The common method of exposing to the air
in open vessels in the warmer upper story of a
building was also tested with honey to which
ten, twenty, thirty, and forty per cent, of water
had been added. That having forty per cent.
added became strongly fermented in a week's
lime, while only a slight change had taken place
in the thirty per cent, dilution, and at the end
of a month it tasted like a very poor quality of
commercial extracted honey, or like honey-dew.
The twenty per cent, dilution was not nearly as
bad, and the honey with only ten per cent, of
water added was, during the month, returned to
the consistency of very fair honey.

Nectar extracted two or three days after the
combs were placed in the hives contained,
during the dry weather of July and August,
from ten to fifteen per cent, of water above the
amount always found in honey that had been
sealed in the comb by the bees. This was
determined by evaporating in test tubes in hot
water.

Summary. — 1. The method at present promis-
ing best results for artificial evaporation is that
by solar heat under glass well ventilated. A small
portion of a greenhouse or forcing-house arranged
for conserving the heat of the sun, and so lo-
cated that honey could be run into the shallow
vats directly from the mouth of the extractor,
and drawn off from the bottom of the vats
into marketing receptacles, should give good
practical results.

2. Very thin honey or nectar will not sour as
quickly as supposed by many, and may be safely
kept during any period of cloudy weather we
may have during the hot summer months.

3. The method of exposing to air in a warm
room cannot be depended oa to ripen very thin
honey, although it may be serviceable for
evaporating a very small percentage of water.

4. The method of evaporating by artificial
heat of stove or furnace is expensive and
troublesome, requiring constant watching and

• care, and not giving as good results as had been
hoped for.

5. The possibilities in the line of evaporating
honey for the purpose of increasing the yield
and preventing granulation are very great. A
series of experiments to determine the increa-e
in production by extracting freshly gathered
honey would be next in order and value. When
the utility of this method is fully demonstrated,
supers with fixed frames and extractors holding
whole cases will be used, and other apparatus
conformable to the needs of the new system.

{To be concluded next week.)

HONEY IMPORTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of September,
1893, was 291K — From a return furnished by
the Statistical Office, H.M. Customs.

October 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th.— Dairy
Show at the Agricultural Hall, Islington.
Liberal prizes for honey. W. C. Young, Secre-
tary, Dairy Farmers' Association, 101 Fleet
Street, London.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

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

Packages for Sections. — Mr. F. H. Hargrave
writes : — " In reply to your correspondent
'T.K.' (p. 388), I can supply the boxes for one-
pound sections (see advertisement in this
issue)."

G.W. G. — Sample of honey is so strongly im-
pregnated with the perfume previously con-
tained in the bottle in which it reached us
that we cannot judge its quality well. It
seems a fair quality of honey from mixed
sources, and though not first-rate is certainly
a " saleable honey."

A. E. Shortell (St. Leonards-on-Sea).— We
cannot trace any piece of comb left at this
office by your friend. Will you kindly say on
post-card to whom it was given ?

A.L. Y. M. (Northants). — Comb foundation sent
is of very good quality.

A. McG. (Croftamie).— Foul Brood.— Comb sent
is badly affected with foul brood — so bad, inr
deed, that we should burn the combs at once.
It would be useless at this late season to
attempt curing a stock so badly diseased. Use
preventive in any other stocks you may have.

Rev. R. M. Lamb (Burton Pidsea). — Many
thanks for photograph of extracting-house,
which we will keep by us for future use.
The honey sent is so strongly suggestive of
glucose that we shall have it analysed, and
hope to give the result later on.

THE

Mat ®w Stomal,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 591. Vol. XXI. N.S. 199.] OCTOBER 19, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

€bxtttxmlf Itotias, &•

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — Beyond saying that the
weather of the present autumn keeps
fairly favourable, and that bees are still
on the wing — some days carrying in pollen
— there is nothing to report in the
u weather " department, except to express
satisfaction that so little autumn feeding
is required to carry stocks over winter, and
that, if food should be needed, the open
weather will enable the bees to take it
freely.

Market for Beeswax. — Most bee-keepers,
on winding up active operations for the
season, will find themselves in possession of
accumulated stock, more or less weighty,
in the shape of beeswax, the melting down
of combs, cappings, spoiled sections, &c,
and it will be a " useful hint " to inform
them that the very fair price of Is. 2>d. per
pound may be got for large or small parcels
of British beeswax by applying to Messrs.
Abbott Bros., the well-known appliance
manufacturers, who will, we understand,
either pay in cash or give liberal exchange
in goods.

Experiments in Apiculture. — We trust
that every reader of this Journal will care-
fully peruse Mr. Larrabee's report on the
various experiments in apiculture made by
him under the auspices of the United
States Government, and now being re-
printed in our pages. The results given
are, in some measure, subversive of gene-
rally accepted notions, not the least in-
teresting being that of the quantity of
honey required to be taken by bees in order
to secrete a pound of wax, because of the
important bearing it has on the question of
the economy, or otherwise, of the free use
of comb foundation as against the plan of
allowing bees to provide the wax for build-
ing their own combs. Not that we consider

the result does away with all the benefits
obtained by using foundation, because there
is the saving of the bees' time to be con-
sidered, but it certainly reduces the ad-
vantages considerably to be told that it takes
not twenty but eight pounds only of honey to
make a pound of wax. Another interesting
experiment is that referring to the removal
of queens to prevent swarming. It has
often been stated that the removal of queens
at the beginning of the honey-flow is —
apart from the prevention of swarming —
largely conducive to an increased honey
crop, because of the smaller amount of
hatching larvae the workers have to look
after and care for consequent on the queen's
removal. Mr. Larrabee's experiment, how-
ever, shows that less honey was gathered
by the stock during the thirteen days the
queen was away than in the colony whose
queen was undisturbed. In the concluding
portion of the valuable report under notice
(which appears on p. 421) the fallacy of the
idea that feeding back extracted honey for
filling sections can be made to pay is clearly
shown ; while in the matter of planting for
honey, that part of the report which appears
on p. 411 of our last issue is dead against
bee-keepers spending money in cultivating
any plant for honey alone. We are entirely
in accord with this statement, feeling quite
sure that the successful honey-producer
must locate his bees where honey is, with-
out having to spend money on providing
flowers for its production.

Driven Bees for Beginners. — From
several communications received recently
we gather that some beginners have the
impression that, in order to make a favour-
able start in bee-keeping, it is only neces-
sary to buy a few pounds of driven bees in
autumn, put them in a hive with frames
of foundation, supply twenty pounds of
syrup, pack them up for winter, and the
work is done — nothing further being
needed to begin '94 with every chance of
success. Experience, however, teaches that
something more is necessary, particularly

414

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 19, 1893.

when — as so often happens — the bees are
not bought till the end of September, or
even later. The fact that driven lots of
bees occasionally do well under the circum-
stances named, does nothing beyond de-
monstrating how the exception — because of
its being the exception — proves the rule.
And we think that whenever, by the out-
lay of an extra shilling or two, the con-
demned bees can be had in the skeps
wherein they have worked, it is far better
to buy them outright than to give the
cottager a small sum for the bees, and leave
him the combs and stores. In the former
case, the bees — if at all in good condition
— are almost certain to winter well, and our
beginner will have the gratification of
watching them progress towards swarming
condition in the early summer of the fol-
lowing year, without having had to undergo
the labour of caring for and feeding bees
untimely deprived of house and home.

But this last-named labour is not all :
the unfortunate bees themselves have to
start comb-building and food-storing at an
altogether unseasonable time of the year,
the harmfulness of this forced work be-
coming obvious when we consider that the
bodily framework of the bee is such that it
has but to undergo a certain amount of
wear and tear before being worn out. Its
age is not determined by the days or weeks
since it first crept forth from the cell, but
by the amount of work it has done. And so,
with the bee, to rest for a time after extra
labour, is not to recuperate and start afresh
with undiminished vigour, but to begin the
spring a middle-aged or half worn-out
labourer, instead of being a lusty and
vigorous one. Hence it is that young bees
hatched in autumn are of such value to the
colony in the near future, and to conserve
their power now is to give strength to the
stock at a most critical period of the
coming year before the young bees hatched
in 1894 begin to fly. With ready-built
combs on hand, it is, of course, much
easier to establish stocks from driven bees
in autumn ; but even with this advantage
they frequently have to winter almost
entirely on combs full of unsealed food,
which state of things is a long way re-
moved from " safe wintering conditions."

We are aware all this is old news to bee-
keepers of any experience, but it is neces-
sary to repeat known facts not within the
knowledge of those for whom we write, and
in view of the disadvantages inseparable

from the cases of our correspondents, it i»
well to warn those who have only now
become possessed of their first stocks —
made up of driven bees as described — that
if failure follows their first attempt at bee-
keeping it is because they have not started
fair, and if success should attend them
in 1894 it will be owing more to luck than
to their having made a wise start.

THE DAIRY SHOW AT THE AGRI-
CULTURAL HALL.

Some Suggestions for 1894.

The closing honey show for the year
1893, at least so far as our list of "Shows
to Come" informs us, was held in connexion
with that of the British Dairy Farmers'
Association at the Royal Agricultural Hall,.
Islington, on Tuesday, the 10th, to Friday,
the 13th inst. When the Council of the
Association two years ago decided to re-
establish a honey department as a distinct
feature of their annual show, we ventured
to hope that the Agricultural Hall might
be made the location of one of the largest
and most interesting displays of bee-produce
held during the year. The fact of its being
the last show of the season afforded, we,
thought, a most favourable opportunity for
bringing together a collection of winning
exhibits from all quarters in a friendly test
competition which would — so far as judges
can decide — prove which district had pro-
duced the best honey of the past season.

The result has not fulfilled our anticipa-
tions ; for, although the number of entries
slightly exceeded those of last year, they
were not nearly so numerous as the past
good honey season led us to expect. In
1891 the entries numbered 125. This year
they only reached 76, and in the most
attractive class in the department — that
for collections of honey in any form — only
four exhibits were staged against fourteen
in the same class two years ago, and when
it is borne in mind how much better has
been the season of '93 than that of '91 the
difference becomes even more marked.
How far the rule of the Association
which apportions the number of prizes ac*
cording to the entries will account for the
diminishing of the exhibits it is not for us
to say, but it is a serious drop down from
fourteen to four in two years. Three prizes
are offered in the class with which we are
dealing, and in '91 these were all awarded.

October 19, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

415

In the following year, there being less than
nine entries, only two of the three prizes
were obtainable ; and this year, the entries
numbering less than six, only one prize
could be claimed. It is therefore worth
consideration whether something cannot be
done to improve matters in this particular
class at least, for in '91 the "collections"
formed a very handsome display in them-
selves, presenting a marked contrast with
those of last week, though the individual
excellence of the few exhibits staged will be
admitted by all who saw them. We would
by no means say that the plan of regulating
the number of prizes by the entries is not a
good one, and, excepting in the particular
class to which we are now referring, it
would be well — in any scheme of extension
— to retain the rule in all others. Now,
supposing that six prizes were offered in
each of the most popular classes as a
maximum — contingent on the entries
reaching, say, forty, and diminishing in
number as the entries were less 1 Again,
we consider that the class for twelve jars of
extracted honey — in which fifty-nine com-
petitors staged more than seven hundred
jars at the '91 show — should be divided into
three — one for light, a second for dark, and
a third for heather honey. In this way,
the several distinct varieties of honey would
stand on their own merits, and a large entry
would surely result. In fact, if the neces-
sary funds were forthcoming, it would be
easy enough to get up a really good exhibi-
tion of bee-produce, with numerous classes
and liberal prizes, such as would be a credit
to the craft. Moreover, if a good attend-
ance of bee-keepers could be secured, ad-
vantage might be taken of their presence
in London to make the usual quarterly
conversazione of the B. B. K. A., the date of
which might be arranged to suit, the occa-
sion of a very enjoyable gathering, besides
bringing prominent bee-keepers face to face
in pleasant conference.

It may be urged that the cost of a
journey to London from the north is an
obstacle to many, but even this drawback
is minimised by the fact that there are
always excursions up to town from certain
centres which "fit in" with the Dairy Show,
and the many attractions of. the metropolis
tend to make an occasion for bee-men to
foregather in friendly meeting without
incurring either great expense or loss of
time. There is plenty of time between now
and October 1894 to consider the matter

well, and if our suggestions be favourably
received, we will do what we can to assist
in carrying them out. But it should not
be forgotten that without some personal
effort on the part of those concerned, the
holding of a good show in London along
with a reunion of bee-keepers is an im-
possibility, and that the best of help in
contributing to make it a success is that
afforded by what Americans call the
"almighty dollar."

The show, to which extended reference has
been made above, consisted of the usual classes
for (1) extracted honey, (2) sections, (3) granu-
lated honey, and (4) collections of honey in any
form, not to exceed one hundredweight. In the
first, for twelve one-pound jars extracted honey,
the entries numbered thirty-seven, and about
440 jars were staged, containing — as is usual
at this show — a very admirable lot of honey.
Its quality may be inferred when it is borne in
mind how many of the samples shown had
already taken prizes before being brought to the
final show of the year. The class, as a whole,
was so good that it took the judges a very long
time to select that which, in their opinion, was
best. The class for twelve one-pound sections
also contained some admirable exhibits, that of
Mr. Woodley being closely run for first honours
by the second-prize lot. Many of the com-
mended exhibits, both in this and the preceding
class, were well worthy of more substantial
honours, had there been prizes to bestow. The
competition in the class for granulated honey
was not so keen, though a few good samples
were staged. We would, however, remind
several of the exhibitors that there is a difference
between granulated honey and that which is
granulate, and that the latter is not eligible
for competing in the class for " granulated
honey."

The remaining class, for " best exhibit of
honey in any form," as has been already stated,
brought out only four competitors, three of the
four having good collections of both section and
extracted honey, the remaining one having less
comb honey and a display of much darker honey
in jars.

Messrs. W. Broughton Carr and J. M. Hooker
were appointed judges, but, owing to the latter
gentleman's absence from England, Mr. Jesse
Garratt officiated in his stead, the following
the awards : —

Twelve 1-lb. jars extracted honey.— 1st prize,
W. Woodley; 2nd, E. C. R. White ; 3rd, B. G.
Brocklehurst ; 4th, H. W. Seymour; h.c, W.
G. Sale, T. H. Jackson, 0. R. Hinckesman, A.
Hamer, and J. Palmer; com., O. Roberts, Miss
H. Lawrence, 0. R. Hinckesman, J. Oragg, and
S. T. Nickels.

Twelve 1-lb. sections. — 1st, W. Woodley;
2nd, Cathedral Dairy Company, Exeter; 3rd,
J. Palmer; 4th, A. Hounsom ; h.c, J. Walton

416

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 19, 1893.

and H. W. Seymour; com., Cathedral Dairy
Qompany and W. Dixon.

Twelve 1-lb. jars granulated honey. — 1st,
Lieut. H. 0. Hawker, R.N. ; 2nd, J. Walton ;
3rd, E. C. R. White ; h.c, J. Palmer and H.
Merryweather, jun. ; com., H. W. Arbuckle.

Honey in any form, not exceeding 1 cwt. —
1st, W. Woodley ; 2nd and 3rd, not awarded
because of insufficient entries ; Messrs. L. In-
wood and W. H. Woods being placed 2nd and
3rd in the order of merit.

€axn&$ttvfomtz.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested to write on one side of the paper only, and give their
real names and addresses, not necessarily for publication, but
OS a guarantee of goodfaith. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Bditoes of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.G." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed to "The
Manages, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." {see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

%* 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.

EUCALYPTUS (AUSTRALIAN) HONEY.

[1589.] As Mr. John Smith (1574, p. 394)
imports my name into his letter on the import of
eucalyptus honey into this country, and again in
a further communication (1587, p. 406), it may
interest some of your readers if I narrate my
experience of it, and at the same time let them
know I am still alive, and that any joy they
may have haply felt at my seeming literary
demise was temporarily illusive !

Every time I have had the opportunity of
tasting this (let us call it E. honey for shortness)
I have noted the flavour as narrowly as I could.
The same with E. oil, and my suspicions were
aroused that we were not getting the right
thing when I met with some Australians who
had brought a little oil with them for medicinal
use, which they assured me was most expensive,
and was distilled from the flowers of the
eucalyptus-tree. I found it as different from
the ordinary oil as cheese from chalk. The oil
and the honey I had previously tested were
pervaded by what I suspected, i.e., the essential
oil of the leaf, and were both distinctly dis-
agreeable (by association probably). I did not
hesitate to condemn the honey roundly, both by
pen and word. I said, inter alia, it has too
strong a twang of the paint-pot or varnish-
brush. All association of ideas. I assure you the
smell of bergamot takes my mind to Sunday
school, and the scented hair-oil of that day had
oil of bergamot as one of its ingredients ; the
smell of a rich, dark rose takes me in imagina-

tion to a certain important declaration of
affection; mint lozenges are very sacred scent
symbols, for an old lady in chapel used these
odoriferous sweetmeats at stated intervals dur-
ing the service, and instead of " passing them
on," only passed on the odour, until I tried
being a bad boy, and it " came off ! " — that is, it
goes without saying, I earned a character for
uneasy impatience that remains with me to this
day, and mint was laid on like the gas ! Happy
thought, I must try the soothing effect of mint
once again.

Now, we know the essential oils of orange,
lavender, and very many others distilled from
the flowers, are so exquisite (both in quality and
price) that they are adulterated and brought
within common reach by the addition of an oil
obtained from the leaves. Thus the active
principle of the plant is there all the same, in
the nectar of the flower, in the petal, in the
leaves, roots, and seeds, but in the latter cases
we get acrid and disagreeable " other matters "
along with what we want.

I am getting a long way from Mr. Smith, by
the way ; but as he (at the Antipodes) is a long
way from me, he must excuse me. This gentle-
man, although a stranger to me, is a Leeds man,
and went to Queensland, where he is making a
business of honey-getting. It happened that
he saw one of my adverse criticisms on E.
honey, and wrote me to the effect that if
I could get a sample of the same, guaranteed
gathered from the blossoms of the tree, such as
he got (being in the midst of the forest where
the bees ean get very little else), I should
change my opinion. I called on his agent,
tasted the honey, and without remark ordered
a sixty-pound tin out of next sending. (I may
here say, par parenthese, that Mr. Smith ad-
mitted that exporters collected messy stuff from
fallen trees, and some that was collected from
mangrove swamps, and adulterated it with
common oil.) Well, it duly came in a square
kerosine tin, having a very effective label cover-
ing all one side. On examining the contents I
reckoned them up as follows : —

Colour, light golden brown. Clearness, equal
to our second quality. Consistency, equal to
our best.

Flavour — what shall I say ? I have tried to
make myself expert in matters of taste and
smell, but here I was puzzled, and with the
help of my (in this case) better half ultimately
came to the conclusion the flavour was that of
muscatel dessert raisins. They must be muscatel,
and they must be dessert — with the bloom on —
whether "that makes any difference or not. I
must take Mr. Smith's word as to the genuine-
ness of the eucalyptus honey, but when I learn
that out there (as I have since ascertained) they
grow grapes, dry raisins in the sun, and make
wine, there is just the suspicion that the bees
have been at them. There is no eucalyptus
(as we know it) about the honey, yet there is an
agreeable medicinal something about it that has
led us to treasure it for rarest use and enjoy-
ment, passing by even our heather honey. You

October 19, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

417

see I am one who is troubled with occasional
bronchitis. Spiteful people say 1 have it very
often in order that I may make a nice night-cap
somewhat after the following prescription: —
The juice of, say, half a lemon, the thin outside
skin of ditto (peeling off and wasting the white,
pulpy, underneath skin), a good teaspoonful of
eucalyptus honey, all in a glass, add boiling
water to taste, drink it at leisure, and go to bed.
I should have told you that before drinking it /
generally add a wineglassful of "something
else," the open secret of which I shall keep !—
R. A. H. Gkimshaw.

DOUBLE-QUEENED HIVES AND
ITALIAN BEE-KEEPERS.

[1590.] A correspondent sends us the follow-
ing extract, translated from the Imkerschule,
September, 1893, by A. von Rauschenfels,
Italy :—

"On the 14th July died at Empoli, in
Tuscany, the bee-keeper named Raffaello
Dringoli. If the man had not died, nobody
would have remembered that in the Apicoltore
twenty years ago there was an article by him,
with illustrations of a beehive for working
with two queens. A short description of what
appeared in the December number of 1873 is
not without interest now, when the ' Wells '
system is attracting so much attention. The
double hive has the form of a three-story hive,
to be opened on both sides. The excluder runs
in rabbets, perpendicularly, in the lower hive,
which it divides. The hive has two entrances
for flight-holes, each in the widest side, of
which one is for entrance to the brood nest, and
the other for the honey store.

" An additional box for a few frames, and to
be opened from the front, in the middle of the
front wide side, is attached to the honey store,
and is in connexion with the same by com-
munication with the flight-hole. It is for the
purpose of receiving one of the queens at the
beginning of the honey season, and to keep her
there any length of time without estranging her
from the bees ; or, if it is not intended to restore
her to her stock, as being too old to be wintered
again, a young queen may be reared in the
additional box referred to. The communication
of the honey store and the additional box is
separated by excluder, allowing only workers
to pass, and this queen can therefore only lay
in a restricted part. A description in detail is
unnecessary.

" This hive for two queens received this name
because it was intended not to swarm, and be-
cause two mothers live and breed in it at the
same time. Its purpose is to have a very
numerous family ready at the beginning of the
honey season, double than in a single hive, and
to harvest at least as much honey as in two
single hives.

" A giant colony may be raised in a single
large hive with one queen, but the colony is
not able to fill the large capacity, as there is
one mother laying only.

" The hive permits the regulation of breeding,
so that, during the honey season, the double
colony requires for the brood only as much
honey as a single hive. This is a saving to the
bee-keeper's profit.

" Thirdly, it should prevent the hive losing
too many workers, as happens when the queen
is either caged or (as is usual) removed from
the hive altogether, which used to be the
' golden j'ule ' formerly.

" It will be noticed that the working in this
double hive is more rational than in the ' Wells '
system. In the latter a giant colony is reared
as well, but naturally feeds enormously, as the
two queens are laying the whole season un-
interruptedly, and this is prevented or reduced
intentionally by Dringoli, by which means he
benefits without weakening the colony too much,
and prevents swarming at the same time.

" An authenticated account accompanies the
description from October, 1872, to October,
1873, which states that Dringoli harvested
from his best hives twenty-nine, and from his
double hives ninety-seven, kilogrammes of
honey.

" The reader will ask, How is it possible that
this hive received so little notice that it could
disappear without leaving a shadow behind ?
Simply in this wise. The man was too much
ahead of the times. The knowledge and under-
standing of a complicated, if a more profitable,
way of treatment of bees was wanting. Bee-
keeping was, twenty-years ago, still in its
infancy in Italy, and the difficult and intri-
cate description of the discoverer did not im-
prove or assist to bring the hive into general use.

" The Italians are not fond of studying
printed matter, and as M. Dringoli never made
the slightest attempt to push his hive, it will
be easily understood how his double hive has
been forgotten."

[We are pleased to have the above to show
what has been done in other countries, but we
would remind our correspondent that this is
not the " Wells " system, but simply the system
used by ourselves and others about the same
time that M. Dringoli introduced his hive.
We have seen what has been said from time to
time in the Apicoltore, and it is evident that
M. de Rauschenfels has not grasped the matter.
— Eds.! •

A NOVICE'S BALANCE-SHEET FOR
1893.

[1591.] Being a novice at the extremely in-
teresting art of bee-keeping, it has occurred to
me that a brief account of my first year's venture
may have a certain amount of interest to others
who, like myself, are making a start in that
direction, the more so as I do not very often
see in the pages of your valuable periodical any
contribution from this immediate neighbour-
hood. The season here has been a very produc-
tive one as regards that commodity in which we
as bee-keepers are more especially interested, as

418

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL [October 19, 189a

will appear from my experience of this year. I
was induced to join the fraternity by a friend, a
first-class expert of the B.B.K.A., who was lec-
turing in this neighbourhood on behalf of the
Cambridgeshire County Council, and my chief
text-books have been the British Bee-keeper's
Guide, together with current and back numbers
of the B.B.J. I began last autumn with a
driven stock in a bar-frame hive, which I fed
up for winter, and an old stock in a skep» These
stocks both wintered well, though I was unable
to get them strong enough to take any great
advantage of the honey-flow from fruit-blossom ;
indeed, as June came in they did not seem to be
going to prove very profitable. Early in the
year I also bought two stocks in skeps, and was
fortunate enough to get two swarms, which I
hived in frame hives. All this was new ex-
perience for me, and I succeeded beyond my
expectations.

In July I tried my hand at driving, though I
had seen only one hive driven before, and drove
three stocks of condemned bees, which I united
and put into another frame hive. In the latter
part of the season they all stored honey at a
tremendous rate, giving me a nice lot of well-
built sections, which sold at a good price, be-
sides supers of " Ivo " bars in two frame hives,
and glass and straw supers on skeps. Last
week I drove another three hives of condemned
bees, and placed them in a frame hive with six
frames of sealed honey from the other hives,
from which they could well be spared, as I have
taken no honey at all from brood chambers.

Of stings I, of course, have had a few, but I
take care to keep my face protected, and I find
that when stung on the hands I am not affected
nearly so much as at first. The result of my
first year's work is that I expended 51. 9s., which
the bees have repaid, besides giving me a profit
of U. 2s. 9d., leaving me with eight strong stocks
having plenty of winter stores. This I think a
most gratifying result, besides the pleasure at-
tending the interesting pursuit, and I hope my
experience may influence others who are in-
clined to embark in such a pleasant pastime. —
W. R. B., Elsivorth, Cambs., October llth.

SPRAYING FRUIT-TREES WITH "PARIS
GREEN" AND "LONDON PURPLE."

[1592.] Mr. Woodley, on p. 405 of Bee Journal,
October 12th, asks if spraying fruit-trees, as
recommended by the Board of Agriculture, with
arsenical poisons is injurious to bees. I have
now used both the above compounds for five
years, and have not up to the present found
them at all hurtful to bees. I have ten lots of
bees in bar-framed hives, standing in a garden
of three acres, where fruits of all sorts are
grown, and I find it absolutely necessary to
spray the trees.

The spraying is done to destroy caterpillar,
and the first spraying takes place as early in the
spring as the buds of the fruit-trees begin to
expand, so there is no arsenic sets on either of

the organs inside the blossom. They are again
sprayed just after the fruit has set, and I have
found the " London Purple " the very best and
safest compound to use, and it is applied by a
machine called a " sprayer," which puts the
mixture on in a very fine dew, making, if one
chooses, one gallon do an acre of fruit-trees.

Now, as regards arsenic as a poison for bees,
I don't think bees would take any compound
containing arsenic, as I am certain wasps will
not, having tried it in nearly every way and
form, and when arsenic was added to any
mixture the wasps refused to touch it. During
the past season I have used here in my garden
half a pound of " London Purple " for all my
trees, and some of them have been done three
times ; and when we take into consideration
there is only ten per cent, of arsenic in these
poisonous compounds, and that half a pound
does a great part of three acres twice and three
times during the season, I know for certain that
our bees will die of old age before they will
have been able to collect sufficient arsenic of
copper to poison themselves. At least, such is
my experience after seven years' bee-keeping
here. At a later date I may tell Mr.
"Woodley and your readers, with the editors*
permission, the benefits I have found done
to fruit-trees in the way of fertilisation of
their blossoms by bees, thus enabling them to
bear better crops. — E. Wallis, The Gardens,
Hamels Park, Buntingford, Herts.

BEES IN THE MIDLANDS.

A Big Avebaoe fob 1893.

[1593.] Having read of the many good " takes'
of honey in the North, although rather disap-
pointing to hear of the failure through the-
drought in the South, I thought probably a
short report from the Midlands might also be
interesting, so far as the honey yield in this part
is concerned. I commenced the season 1893
with four hives, spring count, and have worked
one on the Wells system, and three singles. My
take of honey is as follows : —

No. of

Hive. Extracted. Sections. Total.

1 ("Wells") 90 lbs. 20 110

2 (Single) 8 „ 133 141

3 „ 10 „ 119 129

4 „ 62 „ 31 93

4 hives.

170

303

473

This shows an average of over 118 pounds per
hive, each hive being provided with plenty of
winter stores, and requiring no feeding. I have
also increased my stock to seven by artificial
swarms, having no natural ones of my own, and
very few in the neighbourhood. Well, Messrs.
Editors, I think this very good for an amateur.

On October 7th myself and a friend over-
hauled all my stocks, and although the queens
were found in all the hives, there was no brood
except in one, and that only a very small patch,
but plenty of bees. This is the general rule in

October 19, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

419

this district, so far as I can hear. You will
notice my Wells hive has not done so well as
the others ; the reason I consider to be by having
to transfer two stocks into it in April, the bees
thus having to establish themselves, also to
draw out all surplus combs, as I had none ready
built to give them. I hope to test it next season
with a better start.

"With respect to the dummy between the two
stocks, I have not read of one success in all res-
pects except Mr. Wells' own. We are also told
only a true " Wells " dummy will answer, and
that dummies of perforated zinc are of no use.
Well, seeing the number of failures, I consulted
our expert, who assured me he had used dum-
mies made of wood and perforated zinc with
success for many years, and that they would
answer for a " Wells." So I had one made,
putting it in in May, and on October 7th both
the expert referred to and myself examined the
" Wells " hive and dummy, and not a hole was
propolised up, and I think even now that this
division-board will answer. — Wsi. Tustain,
Northants, October 10th.

[Our correspondent will find that the " Wells
dummy" has been a success in the hands of
several who have tried it ; the most recent
case reported being that on p. 420 of this issue,
and another on p. 136 of our monthly, the
Record of October. — Eds.]

A SOUTH DORSET BEE -MAN'S

SUCCESS.

[1594.] Tempus fugit is a general cry, yet
especially with those who have been blessed this
glorious summer with abundance of honey, and
those who delight in their bees. Tempus fugit
surely must then have been a regular Scotch
cry this year according to reports, for we in
Dorset hear of no complaints, but all good honey
harvests from the north.

Now, wait to hear what a South Dorset bee-
man can tell you. I started with seven hives,
spring count, and have increased them to twenty,
and placed 6/. 10s. in my pocket for next year.
Considering the severe drought we have passed
through, am 1 not right in saying the bees have
done well, and may they do so next year ! —
South Doeset Bee-man.

USE OF THE QUEEN-BEE'S STING.

[1595.] Enclosed you will find an extract
taken from a report of a lecture given by a
second-class expert. From what I have read I
consider the part underlined to be incorrect.
Having had an argument with several other
bee-keepers, I should be very pleased if you
could find a corner to publish this cutting to-
gether with your opinion in B. B. J. — Sub-
scriber, September 29tk, 1893.

"One of the most interesting parts of the
lecture was his explanation of the formation

and uses of the stings, which he contended were
never meant for the purpose of stinging. The
queen-bee's sting was simply an ovipositor, with
ivhich she bored a little hole in the bottom of the
cell of the comb, and laid an egg in the hole thus
made, and with the poison of the sting she
cemented it. The heat of the hive hatched the
egg in three days into a grub till the ninth day,
when it changed into the chrysalis form, and
it _ emerged a perfect bee — a queen in from
thirteen to seventeen days, worker twenty-one
days, and drone twenty-four days. Any drones
found in a hive at this time of the year showed
that it was queenless. The sting of the worker-
bee was used when, just before the last bit of
sealing was put on the honey, it inserted the
sting and left a tiny drop of poison in it. With-
out this poison, or formic acid, the honey would
not keep many weeks, but, with it, it would
practically keep for ever. The queen-bee had a
sting, but could not be made to sting any
person''

[A portion of the statement is correct, while
some of it is not. By referring to Cowan's
Honey Bee you will see that Dewitz and Vogel
both consider that the sting of the queen-bee is
used as an ovipositor ; but there is no founda-
tion for saying that the queen bored a hole with
it in the bottom of the cell, and with the poison
cemented the egg into this hole. As a matter
of fact, a hole is not bored, and the egg is fixed
by a glutinous secretion, as the poison sac of the
queen does not contain poison like that of the
workers. It is also not a fact that the queen-
bee could not be made to sting any person ; we
have ourselves been stung, and the fact is also
mentioned in the Honey Bee, page 81. — Eds.]

PROPOLISING " WELLS " DUMMY-
BOARDS.

[1596.] Noticing in Bee Journal many in-
quiries respecting propolising of " Wells "
dummy-boards, I may say my experience has
shown that propolising is not fatal to success.
In February last I made a " Wells " hive from
description I saw in Bee Journal, and stocked
it. Upon examining hive seven or eight days
afterwards, I found the dummy completely
stopped up— every hole propolised — and removed
it, inserting solid dummy. This dummy-board
I sent to Mr. Wells, asking his advice respecting
same. Before receiving reply from that gentle-
man, I saw in Bee Journal your description of
making one, and made another. This was quite
satisfactory to all appearance, and I did not
again examine hive until the honey-flow, when,
upon supering the hive, I found this was quite
as bad as the former one. Notwithstanding
this, the bees were quite as united as one stock,
and worked satisfactorily in super. I removed
super second week in August, covering up frames
on each side. The same dummy is in the hive
now, completely stopped up, and there has
never been any sign of fighting. Upon lifting the

420

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 19, 1893.

quilts, October 7th, the bees passed freely over
dummy from one side to the other. With re-
gard to results, the average was not quite so much
as two single hives, reckoning " Wells " hive as
two stocks. But it did not start upon equal
conditions with the other hives, the stock I put
in " Wells " hive being a very late swarm and
cast united, and two casts united — this last lot
being so weak that I did not expect them to
survive the winter ; but they made by far the
stronger lot, and were ready for supers before
the other lot. I may say the two casts did not
cover three frames; the other lot nearly five
frames. — Q. Penzeb, Kingsivynford, October
9th.

BEE-KEEPING IN CO. WEXFORD.
My Expekience of " Wells " Hives.

[1597. J In accordance with my general cus-
tom, I send you a report of my year's bee-keep-
ing as under : —

I commenced the year with nineteen stocks,
increasing them to twenty-six by swarming and
driven bees. My stock of honey was very bad,
only about 380 finished sections (and 200 un-
finished ones which I fed back to driven stocks),
or about twenty sections per hive, and yet I
think my bees were stronger in May than they
usually are.

Like most bee-keepers, I gave a trial to the
" Wells " system. I made three hives ; two I
stocked early in April, and the other from
swarms about the middle of June. I look
upon each "Wells" hive as two stocks, and
even on that calculation each " Wells " hive
turned out more honey than any three of my
single-queened hives. I did not find any diffi-
culty in taking off or putting on sections (I
work for section honey only) more than in
single hives ; and the perforated division-board
is as free from propolis now as the day I
bored it ; but I may mention the division-boards
I made out of mahogany — whether that had
anything to do with it or not I cannot say, and
though I work only sections, I would not like
to do without excluder zinc. For about three
years I had twenty-five per cent, of the sections
spoiled by the queen laying in them, and, of
course, their appearance quite spoiled ; yet, as
I read that our more advanced bee-men can
manage to do without excluder zinc, I would
like to know how it is done. I would like to
have Mr. Woodley's views in " Notes by the
Way" on that subject.— J. D., Wexford,
October 9th.

HONEY SHOW IN CO. KILKENNY.

[1598.] The Iverk Farming Society held their
annual show in the Court House at Piltown on
the 10th inst., and it may not be out of place
to give an account of the honey class in connexion
therewith.

Three prizes were offered for the best six one-
pound sections, but the competition was not a

large one. In all forty-two sections were staged,
and some screw- cap bottles of extracted honey,
not for competition. The sections were all so
good that the judges had some difficulty in
awarding the prizes to the most deserving, but
finally awarded M. Kerr, first; Wm. Clarke,
second; and J. Barry, third prize. Mr. Edward
Ponsonby and Mr. Bowers acted as judges.

The honey class was much admired by all
parties visiting the show during the day, and it
is hoped that it will stimulate others to go in
for the bar-frame hive, and abandon the old
skep which is so largely used in this part of the
country. — H. K, Co. Kilkenny.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.

The following additional sums have been
received or promised : —

Amount already acknow-
ledged £46 16 6

A few Members of the Lin-
colnshire B.K.A. ... 0 14 6

R. Moon 0 10 0

L. Inwood 0 2 6

W. H. Woods 0 2 6

R. French 0 2 6

The list will be closed at the end of this
month.

Qgnertes

[904.] Profitable Working of a Northern
Apiary. — As a reader of your Journal, I venture
to ask your opinion as to the most profitable
mode of working an apiary for honey under the
following circumstances : — 1. I live in a country
district in the north of Scotland, at an altitude
of 720 feet above sea level. I have a garden
three-quarters of an acre in extent, sheltered by
a stone wall and coniferous trees on all sides.
All around is arable land, the grass-fields of
which give a very fair yield of clover honey ;
while about half a mile distant are the policies
of a mansion having a limited number of lime-
trees, which are largely patronised by the honey-
gatherers. In addition, there is, three-quarters
of a mile distant and at a slightly higher alti-
tude, an unbroken stretch of about 1000 acres of
moorland, from which a rich harvest of heather
honey is annually reaped. I intend increasing
my small apiary to about fifty stocks, and would
like to know — 2. Whether the process of extract-
ing the clover honey from one-pound sections
and replacing them to be filled with heather for
selling in the comb is likely to be more profitable
than working entirely for comb honey ? I have
thought of shallow frames, but with these, I fear,
honey would be difficult to dispose of in the
comb. 3. Would my apiary, situated in my

October 19, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

421

garden, be near enough to the moor, or ought
some of the hives to be shifted on to it?
4. Which is, in your opinion, the most suitable
hive to adopt, beeping in view that the ther-
mometer in winter sometimes registers 28° of
frost ?— King B.

Keply. — 1. The question of the most profit-
able way of working an apiary is largely one of
supply and demand. Some bee-keepers find
it suits them best to work almost entirely for
comb honey, others for extracted, and some
go in for both kinds. A year or two's experi-
ence will be the best guide in deciding, and
meantime you should try both. The location
seems in every way favourable, and with such
good foraging - ground bees should do well.
2. The plan of extracting a portion of clover
honey from sections for refilling at the heather
has been found to work well, and the mixture
of clover with heather honey forms a delicious
blend. 3. This is a question which only ex-
perience will safely decide. No doubt more
honey would be gathered by stocks on the spot,
but whether the increase would pay for cost of
transit we can only guess, and our guess is that
it would not, except in very favourable seasons.
4. With such a low temperature to face in
winter, our own preference would be for a double-
cased hive, built of very light timber, with a
space between hive and outer case, which could
be packed in winter with some loose material,
such as old newspapers, dried ferns, or such-
like.

EXPERIMENTS IN APICULTURE IN

1892.
(Concluded from page 412.)
Feeding Back Honey.

Feeding back extracted honey to secure the
completion of unfinished sections at the close of
the harvest is practised by some apiarists, but
with varying financial success. Extracted honey
can be transported long distances with much
greater safety than can comb honey. For this
reason it has been thought it might be profitable
to feed bees extracted honey costing seven or
eight cents per pound to produce comb honey
selling at thirteen to fifteen cents, locating the
apiary designed for this purpose near a large
city or other favourable market. With the
idea of adding light upon this subject, extracted
honey was fed to a number of colonies under
the following conditions : —

The hives were contracted, and the queens kept
in the brood apartment by means of excluding
zinc. Five colonies were given two crates each
of unfinished sections, the sections of the whole
weighing 113 pounds. Three hundred and
thirty-eight pounds of honey were fed these
five colonies during twelve days. The honey
was thinned with twelve per cent, of water, and
warmed before feeding. The amount of finished
honey obtained was 367 pounds, or a gain of
254 pounds by feeding 339 pounds of honey.

The hives were weighed both before and after the
honey was fed, and a gain of thirty-six pounds
during the feeding recorded for the five hives.
The following gives the results from a financial
view : —

254 pounds comb honey by feeding at 14

cents $35 56

36 pounds stored in hives at 8 cents 2 88

38 44
Minus value of 338 pounds fed at 8 cents... 27 04

Profit as pay for labour, &c $11 40

Two colonies were given crates of sections
with full sheets of foundation, and were fed
extracted honey under the same conditions as
the five colonies above : —

Pounds.

Amount of honey fed each colony 66J

Colony No. 1, finished comb honey 41£

Colony No. 1 , gain in weight of hive 9

Colony No. 2, finished comb honey 38

Colony No. 2, gain in weight of hive 7|

Taking these two colonies as a basis, the
following financial statement is made : —

79J pounds comb honey, at 14 cents $11 13

16J pounds honey stored in hives, at 8 cents 1 32

12 45
Minus value of 133 pounds honey fed, at
8 cents 10 64

$1 81

Deducting from this profit the value of the
sections and foundation used, the actual profit,
as pay for labour, &c, is, at most, nominal.

When this whole experiment was begun, and
during the time it was in progress, no honey
was gathered from the fields, but before the
sealing was all accomplished, the fall honey-flow
began, and for this reason the experiment was
ended, and the honey removed sooner than
would otherwise have been advisable.

The results obtained in this work, or in any
experimental work of a similar character, might-
vary under more favourable or unfavourable
conditions of environment, and a continuation
in various seasons and under other conditions
would alone give really reliable results. The
above trials are, however, very encouraging, and
longer and varied work in this line is desirable.
— J. H. Larbabee.

ANOTHER NOVEL NON-SWARMING
IDEA.

Adrian Getaz contributes the following very
interesting article to the American Bee Journal :

" Last spring I decided to make thirty self-
hivers, and experiment with them. In principle
they were similar to the Pratt hivers of 1892 ;
that is, a box placed before the hive, and con-
nected with the hive entrance by a queen-
excluder zinc, with a cone permitting the queen
to come into the hives, but not to go back. In

422

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 19, 1893.

fact, they were merely queen-traps transformed
into hives. Another zinc in the front prevents
the queen from going out of the hives.

"The first experience was a mishap. My
apiaries are both out of town, and other busi-
ness requires most of my time. So one of the
apiaries was a week and a half without attention.
When I got there the people living on the place
told me that one colony had swarmed every day
for several days, and finally the swarm went
off. Investigation showed five dead queens in
the hives. The theory is, that the old queen
was killed by the first virgin hatched, this in turn
by the next, and so on. Probably the last one
was reared from an old larva, and, as usual in
such cases, under-sized, and went through the
zinc with the swarm.

" "Well, the other swarm came, and was found
in the hive — or, at least, the queens were, with
more or less bees. The thing to do is to move
the old hive to a new stand, and leave the
supers, about one-third of the brood, and the
swarm, in a new hive on the old stand.
Thus used, the self-hiver (except perhaps some
particularity of construction) is certainly a
success.

" As a non-swarmer it is a failure. The
Dadants say that if a swarm is returned to the
parent hive two days after swarming, the
swarming fever being over, the queen will be
permitted to destroy the cells, and the colony
will not swarm, at least, not until new prepara-
tions for swarming take place, if the circum-
stances are favourable to it. Henry Alley says
that after a queen has been three days in the
trap, she will be permitted to destroy the cells.
Acting on these suggestions, I waited two or
three days, and then returned the swarms from
the hives to the old hives. I soon discovered
that the majority were swarming again re-
peatedly, even twice a day. Investigation
disclosed the fact that only one queen had
destroyed all the cells, the others had only
destroyed a part. This was not entirely unex-
pected. It is obvious that the swarms returned
to the hive and left in the hiver are not in the
same condition as those coming out with their
queens, hived in a new hive, and then returned.
" As to Henry Alley's assertion, I have to say
that so many conditions influence the swarming
of bees that he may have succeeded under some
circumstances, while he might have failed
entirely at some other times.

" Well, I then proceeded to destroy the queen-
cells myself. Only three colonies quit swarm-
ing as long as they had either a queen or some
brood from which to rear one. I persisted in
returning swarms and cutting cells, and the
bees persisted in swarming again and again.
Finally, four or five queens ' turned up missing,'
probably were killed. Then I acknowledged
myself ' licked,' as Mr. Hasty would put it. I
divided some colonies, and removed the queens
from some others.

" Here I have gained an important point. None
of the colonies that had been hopelessly queenless
for some time (from three or four days to

nearly two weeks) offered to swarm again. It
seems that when they find themselves without
queens or brood (except capped brood), they
give up all swarming notions, and go to work.
After new queens were given, they still kept
on working regularly.

" One or two points in regard to the con-
struction of the swarmer : Excepting the one
mentioned at the beginning of this article, no
queen, so far as I know, has passed through the
zinc. The cone ought to be placed so that the
bees are not likely to cluster on the end of it,
for when there is a cluster they cannot go in
and out easily through the cluster."
{To be concluded next week.)

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses oj manufacturers of
correspondents, or where appliances can be purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only be inserted af
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 advanci
of the date of issue, queries cannot always be replied to w
the issue immediately following the receipt of their com-
munication.

F. W. K. (Horsham). — Cane Sugar.— Every
variety of sugar — lump, white, refined crys-
tals, &c. — is made from the sugar-cane as
well as from beet. We cannot understand
any grocer saying he knows of no cane sugar
but the " coarse, brown, and unrefined Barba-
does." This will be a raw sugar, and, as such,
quite unfit for making syrup for autumn feed-
ing. Pure cane sugar can be had through this
office, as per advertisement on another page.

Saxon. — He-queening.— It is not too late for
re-queening. Referring to your transaction
with the queen-breeder mentioned, we cannot
think you right in supposing that he is waiting
to get young queens fertilised before sending.
There must be some other reason. There has,
no doubt, been a large demand for queens this
year, because of the scarcity of swarms, other-
wise there would be no excuse for the delay
complained of. We should advise asking for
either the queen ordered or return of cash, so
that you might apply elsewhere.

W. Allen (" Phil. Jones "). — Your favours are
to hand, and will appear next week.

G. ?H. Young (Notts). — Location for Bees. —
Much will depend on the quantity of white
clover growing within one to two miles of
the place the bees are located. Heather is
always helpful to the honey-crop, but we do
not think it produces very much about
Bournemouth. It always comes in after
clover has done yielding.

J. Martin (Bristol). — Many thanks for sample
of honey safe to hand, and for promised
report of honey season.

Helmsley. — Foul Brood. — There certainly is a
trace of foul brood in comb sent, but the
cells were so crushed up as to make it difficult
to find. It does not appear a bad case so far
as can be judged by sample sent.

THE

Irish %n 3anrnaL

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

»o. 592. Vol. XXI. N.S. 200.]

OCTOBER 26, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

€bxtaxwlf WiatuM, $u

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Committee Meeting held at 105 Jermyn
Street on Wednesday, October 18th. Present :
Captain Campbell, Major Fair, W. B. Carr,
Jesse Garratt, J. H. New, and E. D. Till ; Rev.
W. E. Burkitt, J. M. Hooker, and F. H. Meggy
(ex-officio), John Huckle, Secretary.

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

Communications were received from Dr.
Rartrum (who had previously attended a sub-
committee meeting), the Chairman, Vice-Chair-
man, W. O'B. Glennie (Treasurer), Rev. R.
Frrington, and W. H. Harris, regretting their
inability to be present.

Mr. Carr reported that the Educational Sub-
Committee had. considered —

(1) The letter proposed to be sent to the
various Horticultural and Agricultural Colleges ;
lesolved, that the letter as amended be approved,
and that in the meantime statistics to accom-
pany the letter be obtained. The Committee were
generally of opinion that it would be advisable
to communicate with the Secretary of the Royal
Agricultural Society before taking any definite
steps in the matter.

(2) The recommendation of the Northern
^Counties' Sub-Committee in respect to the hold-
ing of Examinations at County Exhibitions:
they recommended that such examinations be
held on the day previous, or the day following
iie exhibitions, or at such centres as circum-
stances will allow.

(3) The Sub-Committee also recommended
that the suggestion made by Dr. Bartrum, in
regard to first and second-class candidates being
•required to show a more extended knowledge of
the physiology of the bee, be adopted.

Resolved, that the report of the Educational
Committee be confirmed.

The Exhibitions Sub-Committee reported that
they had considered the recommendations of the
Northern Counties' Sub-Committee in reference
to the appointment of assistant judges at the
•exhibitions of the B.B.K.A. and the affiliated
Associations, but they had not been able to make
any recommendation on the subject. After dis-
cussion it was moved by Mr. Meggy, seconded
by Mr. Till, and carried unanimously, " That
-the Committee having exhaustively discussed

the recommendation of the Northern Committee
relating to the desirability of obtaining a suc-
cession of competent judges, will be glad to
promote that object as far as practicable under
the varying circumstances of different shows.
They therefore resolve that it be a recommend-
ation to any judge appointed by the B.B.K.A.
to allow the presence of one experienced bee-
keeper, approved by the local committee, to ac-
company him during the judging of the exhibits.
It is, however, distinctly understood that com-
pliance must be entirely at the discretion of the
judge."

The prize list for the bee department of the
Royal Agricultural Show at Cambridge in 1894
was finally approved.

The Finance Committee reported that the
sum of 16Z. 16*. 7d. had been received during
the month, and that accounts had been paid
amounting to 16/. 13s.

This concluded the business of the Committee
Meeting.

Conversazione.

The autumn conversazione took place at 6
p.m., under the chairmanship of Mr. Hooker,
who was supported by Miss Eyton, Mr. Garratt,
Captain Campbell, Major Fair, Mr. Till, the
Rev. W. E. Burkitt, Mr. Blow, Mr. Carr, Mr.
Meggy, Mr. Jonas, Mr. A. D. Woodley, and
other gentlemen.

The Chairman opened the proceedings by
briefly introducing Mr. A. D. Woodley, secre-
tary of the Berkshire Bee-keepers' Association,
who read a paper entitled —

Bee-keepers' Associations and
Honey Sales.

Mr. Woodley prefaced his paper by some
observations on the letter of the Baroness
Burdett - Coutts, president of the B.B.K.A.,
which appeared in the leading papers some time
ago, the text of which is given in our issue of
June 8th last, after which he proceeded as
follows : —

" It has occurred to me that it might be of
some use to the British and County Associations
if I laid before them the substance of what the
Berkshire Bee-keepers' Association has been
doing in this matter, and I hope to show you
that we have, to a large extent, solved this very
difficult question — constituting, as it does, a
difficulty with which, no doubt, all Associations
have to deal, and forming a serious stumbling-

424

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [October 26, 1893.

block to their success ; and, probably, one im-
portant reason for some Associations dying out
altogether.

" The Berks Association have been struggling
with this question for many years, and with
varied success ; honey depots were tried and
found wanting ; honey companies have ap-
peared on the scene, and almost as quickly
vanished, leaving some of us lighter in pocket
as a result — and the problem still unsolved. If
asked my opinion as to the cause of the failure
of undertakings of this kind, I should say that
it was bad and expensive management. They
should be managed by some one possessed of
good business qualities and a large trade con-
nexion. Under such circumstances, I see no
reason why they should not have been success-
ful, but this is beside the question, and as I
said before, the difficulty has to be met. No
doubt other County Associations' Hon. Secre-
taries are constantly met with the reply given
when advocating the claims of their respective
Associations, viz., ' If you will sell my honey, I
will join your Association with pleasure.'

" I don't think I can do better than read some
remarks of my own written about this time,
which will explain our line of action. This was
written in June, 1888, so that we are now in a
position to form an opinion as to the success of
the same : —

" ' Some years ago, when the Association was
in its infancy, there was no difficulty in dis-
posing of our honey, often at such fancy prices
as 2s. 6d. per lb., and certainly at not less than
Is. 6d. Honey was at that time the luxury of
the few, and that a somewhat expensive one ;
but, as time went on, and humane bee-keeping
advanced, as it was bound to do with Associa-
tions at work offering such tempting induce-
ments for bee-keepers, and more and more was
placed on the market, it naturally followed that
prices fell, so much so, indeed, of late years,
that we hear the cry now and again that modern
bee-keeping does not pay.

" ' Unquestionably it is a fact that bee-keepers'
profits are considerably curtailed to what they
were a few years ago, but I am very far from
endorsing the opinion that bees cannot be kept
at a profit ; indeed, I would go so far as to say
that it is still the most profitable industry the
cottager can engage in, providing that a fair
amount of care and attention is given at the
proper time (not necessarily always meddling
and fussing with them), and that he leaves to
others the experimenting with the many new
fads and theories, and is content to conduct his
apiary, be it large or small, on commercial
principles, with the maximum of efficiency at
the minimum of expense. On such a basis I
am certain, from a somewhat extensive ex-
perience, that a good return will be obtained
for time and money expended.

"'But I would ask whether we, as bee-
keepers, have not ourselves largely contributed
to bring prices down beluw what they might
have been.

" ' A fall in prices is usually brought about by

a superabundant supply ; and, on the- other-
hand, a short supply produces a rise in prices,,
but I would venture to suggest that this is not
so much the case with honey as with most other
produce. If it were so we might admit at once
that we are raising more honey than at the
present time there is a demand for, but I do not
think that such is the case. I firmly believe
that the chief and primary cause is that during,
and at the end of the honey harvest, what
market there is is glutted, aud for a short
time the supply far exceeds the demand, and
herein lies one of the chief causes of falling
prices. I frequently hear from tradespeople,,
about August or September, that they can
buy sections at almost any price, and I know of
many instances where the cottager, living in the
country, takes his stock of honey into the neigh-
boring town, expecting to find ready purchasers,,
but is disappointed to ascertain that the shop-
keepers are all fully supplied, and rather than
take it back, he sells it to any one who will
make any offer whatever for it. As a conse-
quence, the bee-keeper returns home much
lighter in pocket than he might or should have
done, and the shop-keeper is able to sell at low
prices ; but when, perhaps a month or two later,
he wants more to fill up stock, he finds that
there is none to be had, and gives up the busi-
ness in disgust. This is entirely wrong, and
ought to be remedied. Honey, unlike fruit and
other perishable articles, can, with ordinary
care and attention, be kept, either in comb or
bottled, from one season to another, and there
is no reason whatever why the market should be
glutted at one time and empty at another. On
the other hand, there should be a steady and
regular supply throughout the year. It remains
to be seen how far this can be remedied, and I
want to ask if, as an Association, we cannot
take some practical steps to do so, first, by
creating and developing the more extensive use
of honey, not only as a luxury or as medicine,
but also as an article of food ; and, secondly, by
regulating the supply to keep prices up to a
profitable range.

" ' It may be that some may say that this is
no part of the work of an Association ; that our
work is to teach and encourage the cottager to
keep bees in a humane and rational manner, and
in so doing help him to help himself. As far
as it goes this is very good, but I would point
out that it often happens that the honey-pro-
ducer lives in isolated and obscure hamlets, and
has little opportunity, after supplying his neigh-
bour's wants, of disposing of the remainder, and
I maintain that it is very desirable that an Asso-
ciation, after having largely developed a new
industry, should bring it to a successful issue by
creating a market for the produce.

" ' In formulating any scheme, there are many
dangers and difficulties to encounter, but the aim
must be to provide a regular supply, placed
before the public in the most attractive manner,
and at a price which will make it an article of
food, and also profitable to the producer. Some-
may say this is impossible, but I believe it can.

October 26, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

425

be done. In the first place I would suggest that
in every town and village in the country, and, if
possible, also in London, one or more agents be
appointed by the Association to sell the honey
of its members, these agents to be selected from
among the most respectable grocers, greengrocers,
or dairymen that can be got, who will under-
take to keep a stock (not necessarily a large one)
of the honey belonging to the members of this
Association on show and sale, and to place it
prominently before the public in the best pos-
sible manner. For instance, I suppose most
grocers keep honey of some kind or another on
sale, but I fear more often than not it is foreign,
and of doubtful quality and purity. Now, I can
see no reason why they should not be induced
to keep British honey, providing it be offered to
them at a reasonable price, and put up in as
attractive form as the foreign. Indeed, I believe
there would soon be a great preference for it,
especially if it were sent out under the guarantee
of our Association. Assuming that some such
arrangement is come to, and that we have
secured our agents all over the county, the
question arises, How are they to be supplied ?
To meet this I would suggest that, instead of
having a central depot, and all its attendant
expense, the Secretary, or some one appointed
by the Association, shall keep a register, in
which to enter particulars of all honey for sale
in the hands of members, and that the names of
such members, and also of the agents, shall be
published from time to time. Having by this
means brought the buyer and seller together,
it would be necessary that great care should be
taken that the article offered to the agent, and
through him to the public, should be put up in
the best possible manner, and worthy of receiv-
ing the sanction and guarantee of the Associa-
tion. To do this, it would be very desirable
that we should adopt some form of package and
label, both for comb and extracted honey, with-
out which our agents should be l'equested not to
purchase. "We should thereby ensure the neces-
sary uniformity of package by which our mem-
bers' goods would be always recognised. In
addition to this 1 would suggest that each agent,
on appointment, should have a neat and attrac-
tive certificate which he could display. Not
only uniformity of package would be very
desirable, but uniformity of quality would be
almost of greater importance, for it would be
manifestly unfair to ask our agent to purchase,
and pay the same price, for an article of in-
different quality. I think it would be a good
plan to take some steps to ensure that none but
good commercial honey is offered, by compelling
members to furnish samples to some appointed
person previous to being supplied with the As-
sociation label. I am well aware that there are
many difficulties in securing such an end, but I
do not believe they are insurmountable. In
addition to this, it would be well if we dis-
tributed handbills or pamphlets, similar to Pro-
fessor Newman's, and attractive bills, advocating
the use of pure British honey. Indeed, every
effort should be made to push and advertise its

use both in the interest of ourselves and also of
our agents.

" ' With regard to prices, it is almost impossible
to regulate these, and I would suggest that the
Association should interfere as little as possible
between buyer and seller, leaving the supply
and demand to regulate them, as they must do
in the long run. This scheme is not, of course,
intended to prevent members selling their
honey to private individuals, providing they do
not undersell their agents, for the very obvious
reason that they would be only doing themselves
harm in the long run, for. if I sell to my grocer
honey at a price to which he has to add a
reasonable profit, and then go and sell at the
same price to one of his customers, I am doing
myself and the grocer an injury. It should be
a rule never to sell below agents' prices without
some special reason for doing so.

" ' What we have to do as an Association is
summed up in a few words, viz., Create and en-
courage the use of, and ensure and regulate the
supply of, pure British honey. If we can do so,
we shall settle the much-vexed question of
honey sales, and give a great impetus to the
bee-keeping industry in our midst.'

" That, ladies and gentlemen, is the basis on
which we floated our scheme, and I may safely
say that it has been an unqualified success ; and
I think that, so far as the Berks Bee-keeper3'
Association is concerned, that difficulty has been
surmounted, and it is our members' own fault
if they have honey on hand from one season to
another. We, of course, have friends who are
a little impatient at times, and want to see a
customer for their honey almost before they have
removed it from the hives, but they are getting
to understand that with the exercise of a little
patience they will find a buyer.

"We have secured most of the leading grocers,
dairymen, &c, in all the principal towns, and
have no difficulty in finding others as required ;
in fact, there are applications from some at the
present time. We have brought out an Associ-
ation Label, specimens of which are here for
inspection; also the packages we recommend
our members to put their honey in. You will
observe that the labels are numbered con-
secutively, and herein lies an important feature
of our scheme. The label, of course, is copy-
right, and can only be obtained from the
Association. The member or agent purchasing
them has to give a written guarantee that he
will use them on none but pure Berkshire
honey. The numbers are booked to the pur-
chaser, and in the event of any complaint or
reference with regard to any honey under our
label, we can at once a -certain by whom it was
put up. I am happy to say that during the four
or five years our scheme has been in operation
we have had no single complaint from any
quarter. On the other hand, frequent repeat
orders come in from persons who have purchased
our honey, and we have by this means been
enabled to bring purchaser and consumer
together.

" Each year, previous to the honey-flow, we

426

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [October 26, 1893.

send to our agents a circular asking them, in
the event of any difficulty in obtaining a supply
of honey from our members, to communicate
with us, in order that we may put them into
communication with some one who can supply
their wants.

"We are, of course, unable to give more than
a rough idea as to the amount of honey disposed
of by our members in this way, as by far the
larger quantity is sold without any reference to
us at all. I can say that last season we were
unable to fill all our orders, as stocks had run
out, and I believe that fair prices were
realised.

"I have heard of sections being sold a.t9BQs.\6d.
and 7s. per dozen this year, but it may safely be
said that it is not in Berkshire. Nevertheless,
the fact makes it difficult to maintain a fair
price. If other Associations would seriously
grapple with this subject, it would assist in
keeping prices up to a reasonably profitable
standard. Rushing our honey on the market at
one season of the year causes prices to go down
at once, and if bee-keepers would combine and
regulate the supply by some such means as I
have suggested, there should be no difficulty in
improving matters.

" As regards the cost of our scheme, it is
practically nil, because the profit made on the
labels covers any expense incurred.

" And now, a word to our worthy parent
Association. As the bee-keeping industry
develops, as it is bound to do, by means of the
work now being done by Bee-keepers' Associa-
tions under the auspices of our County Councils,
and means are being taken to encourage it
among the rural working classes, we want the
B.B.K. A. to step in and, by some well-considered
measure, to help its affiliated Associations to
dispose of members' surplus honey in London
and other large centres ; and I look forward to
the time when British bee-keepers will be able
to supply all that their countrymen require
without having to go to the foreigner. This is
a practical object which it is quite possible to
attain, and at little or no expense may be made
the means of adding one more bond of union
between parent and children.

" Not the least important feature of this plan
is that we are utilising existing markets, and
by inducing the tradesman to place upon his
shelves, which have in the past been occupied
by honey of foreign production, British honey,
we shall assist considerably in removing a
hitherto serious difficulty to the British bee-
keeper. To do this we must offer him every
inducement we can, and it is remarkable in
these advertising days what a tradesman will
do for advertisement. We find it a useful
inducement to advertise a list of agents in all
our publications, and the agents themselves ap-
preciate this very much as showing where the
honey may be obtained.

" I have now laid before you, as clearly as I
can, a simple plan for helping bee-keepers — a
plan within the means of every county Associa-
tion; and, in the interests of bee-keepers and

Bee-keepers' Associations, I hope it may be the
means of helping them to surmount this obstacle
to their progress."

[Discussion on Mr. Woodley's paper and further
proceedings will appear next week, ]

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 oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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, Sec, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 Zing William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed to " The
Manager, * British Bee Journal ' Office, 17 Zing William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

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

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1599.] Now that we have reached the end
of the summer, and once more find the fire-
side comfortable and inviting, we are able to
think with composure (be the outside elements
never so rough) of the apiary which is in good
trim, and taut against wind and rain. Now we
can devote our leisure hours to reading up our
favourite authors, and become posted by looking
over the many articles that the busy summer
months only allowed time to take a cursory
glance at, or at best an undigested, hurried
reading.

I beg to thank Mr. Wallis (1592, p. 418) : for
the system followed in this case is the correct one,
" just after the fruit has set," i.e., after the act
of fertilisation has been performed by the insect.
There have been many cases of bees being
poisoned by careless spraying of fruit-trees in
the United States, and their legislature has, I
believe, passed a bill making it a misdemeanour,
and for the first offence imposing a fine of five
dollars, and forta second offence a fine of not less
than twenty- five dollars, and in default of pay-
ment of fine imprisonment in jail for not more
than ninety days.

I have also read cautions against turning
cattle into orchards after spraying with virulent
poisons.

I cannot understand how it is that friend "J. D."
(1597, p. 420) gets so many of his sections spoilt
by brood. I think in a former note I said I did
not get one per cent, of broody sections. If I
had added another cypher and said one in a
thousand, I should have been within the mark
this season. I have yet to put the first piece of
excluder under a crate of sections, except in
cases where I have had a crate of sections on top
of a box of shallow frames. I scrape off any

October 26, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

427

wax or propolis from top of bars before putting
on the crate of sections at the commencement
of the honey harvest, and my crates take twenty-
one sections resting in slots of wood (quarter of
inch full) in thickness, using two -bee -way
sections and metal dividers, some plain and some
slotted ; these are wedged up tight together
{sections and dividers), and I get very little
brace comb built between the top of frames
and the bottom of sections, and very little
propolisation, as there is so little room in which
the bees can work it in, and in modern bee-
keeping, where everything fits nicely, the bees
are saved a lot of unnecessary labour collecting
propolis, thus increasing their value as honey
producers.

The Merchandise Marks Acts seem to have
fallen short of honey as supplied to the consumer.
Foreign honey ought in fairness to the British
producer to be labelled as such, and adulterated
mixture palmed off for pure honey should be
labelled and sold for what it is, the same as
margarine in contradistinction to genuine butter.
Then if a customer required a pot of pure British
honey he should know by the label on the pot
or bottle that he is getting what he asks for,
and where the spurious compound was offered
would be informed by the label what the article
was, or from whence it came. This matter,
with others of a kindred nature, depends on the
initiative being taken by our County Councils.

The price of honey seems to be declining some-
what. I don't know if it is the fault of bee-
keepers or that the market is glutted. Unfor-
tunately we have no price current, no authority
to establish a quotation in our organs on bee-
craft, so that the bee-keeper is left to his own
idea of the price his commodity is worth, and
makes his own terms, often to the great ad-
vantage of the retailer and his own lose. I
have had some difficulty this season in gettiDg
as good terms as heretofore, and this difficulty
exists with others. Retail dealers in honey ex-
pect to get their twenty-five per cent, profit.
Now this reduces the profit of the bee-keeper to
very modest dimensions after all the expenses
out of pocket come to be totted up, i.e., first,
cost of sections and foundation, then glass and
paper for glazing, then add time spent in
glazing, or, if section-cases are used, there is the
cost of such cases, packing - cases, railway
carriage to and from, and in the case of the
country bee-keeper — and the majority of bee-
keepers live in the country — there is the carrier's
carriage from and back to the railway, and then
pay the carriage of the honey to town, some-
times over a hundred miles. These items
generally reduce the price to or below the price
the old-style bee-keeper received for his run
honey in the old-style earthenware pots a quarter
of a century ago. No wonder a great many
bee-keepers are turning their attention to pro-
ducing extracted honey in preference to comb
honey, as the use of ready-built combs and the
largely extended storeroom temptingly furnished
with receptacles for the sweets of nature re-
duces the swarming impulse to a minimum and

tends to increase the amount of honey gathered
by a colony. Then, when the honey is harvested,
it can be sold in bulk at about the same price as
the comb-honey producer gets for his, after
deducting his extra expenses; then the railway
carries honey in tin at a much cheaper rate
than comb honey. It is also handled in larger
quantities. — W. Woodley, World's End,
Newbury.

DISHONEST EXHIBITING.

[1600.] I cannot refrain from saying a word or
two anent the above, because I am afraid that
the practice is growing rather than diminishing.
In these days of modern bee-keeping, competi-
tion is so keen that those who are not real good
bee-masters find it exceedingly difficult to gain
a place at our shows, and I fear some resort to
tricks to attain that end. A strong incentive is
the matter of district. Where a bee-keeper
resides in a poor district, and cannot produce
honey of first-rate quality, it tempts him to
obtain from bee-keepers in those districts who
can produce that quality. The question, how-
ever, is not the " why and wherefore,'' but how
fraud can be proved and prevented. The latter
question, I should say, would be easy after the
former is successfully dealt with, viz., by pub-
licity, as in the case referred to in your issue for
October 12th. It is not often that fraud can be
proved so beautifully as in the case you publish ;
would that it could, be so ! The punishment
was justly awarded, and all such should be ex-
cluded from our Associations altogether. That
dishonest exhibitors exist there is not the
slightest doubt ; the difficulty is, how are they
to be caught ?

Mr. Woodley suggests a clause should be in-
serted in all schedules to prevent such occur-
rences. Our Associations would, I feel sure,
gladly assist in carrying out this suggestion,
but how is it to be done ? If one rule is disre-
garded, it is almost certain that another will be.
What is really required is a mark or sign where-
by defaulting exhibits could be easily detected.
If our show committees would insert a clause in
their schedules to the effect that all sections be
exhibited with no wrapper or cardboard box,
merely glazed by means of lace-paper edging,
and all bee-keepers unanimously decide to in-
delibly stamp each section with the name of the
producer, it would have the desired effect, but
would, no doubt, be fraught with much incon-
venience ; for instance, it would scarcely do to
display the exhibitor's name to the judge. If
the sections were indelibly stamped with the
county, this would lessen the evil.

With extracted honey I am of opinion the
evil is not quite so great, but some preventive
measures might be made with regard to this.

Then with regard to wax. In our county, ex-
hibitors have been strongly suspected of keep-
ing their prize wax and exhibiting the same
year after year ; so to prevent this our Associa-
tion have inserted in their schedule the follow-

428

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL [October 26, 1893",

ing clause : — " Wax must not be priced above
2s. 6d. per pound, and must be sold if there is
an applicant," at the same time appointing one
of their officials to purchase the prize wax for
private sale.

I am of opinion, however, that our exhibitors
who are honest in this matter are either dilatory
in speaking up when they detect anything, or
are too fond of getting behind the hedge to
throw a stone.

I have penned the above, not with a view to
solving the problem, but that it may be dis-
cussed and, if possible, thoroughly thrashed out.
Let us hope that those who obtain their honours
by dishonesty are few and far between, and
their conscience (if they have any) will receive
such a sharp rebuke by the appearance of the
case you gave excellent publicity to, that they
will, I trust, for ever forsake such mean methods.
— H. Hill, Derby.

BEES CLEANING UP WET COMBS
AND SECTIONS.

[1601.] I have just finished reading the
article in B. J. of October 12th (p. 411), " How
to Increase the White-honey Crop," by B. Taylor,
taken from Gleanings.

The writer says : " You need not laugh when
I tell you it was my great modesty tbat made
me name fifty per cent, as the measure of the
increased crop," &c. Now, I never even smiled
when reading the article until I came to the
part where it says : " The empty combs will be
given to the bees, after they are extracted, to be
cleaned of all honey. This will be done by re-
turning the combs to the supers, and then some
fine evening, when the bees are flying, set the
supers all out in the yard without any covers,"
&c.

Even at this I only smiled ; but when I read
a little further : " In the evening, after all the
bees have gone home," and so on, I remembered
my own experience in that line, and could get
no further without having a hearty laugh. If
any young bee-keeper is foolish enough to try
the experiment, he will not laugh much, or I am
mistaken. At any rate, I didn't when I tried it
a few years ago. After my bees were returned
from the heather, I placed a lot of partly filled
sections in a crate, and one fine evening, when
the bees were flying, I set it in the yard, so that
they could get at it without hindrance, just as
Mr. Taylor directs us, and, having to go back to
business, I left them. I returned at night, ex-
pecting the honey would be cleaned up, and the
bees all gone home contented and happy after
their little treat ; but, to my sorrow, I found
that there were hundreds, if not thousands, that
would never see their home again.

For a considerable distance around the crate
the ground was covered with dead bees, and
when I lifted the crate there were hundreds
underneath in the same condition. It was not
a mirthful task for me to take the garden rake
and gather together and bury as many

dead bees as would have made a nice swarm I
So if any young beginner wishes to increase his
white-honey crop 100 per cent., I would advise
him to leave this part of Mr. Taylor's programme
out, as I am quite satisfied he will only try it
once.

Of course, if one were in the position of Mr-
Taylor, and had 100 supers, with twenty-four
sections in each, and millions of workers all in
the yard at one time, they might do the business
more quickly ; but, outside of this happy posi-
tion, I would advise that all wet combs and.
crates of sections be cleaned up inside the hive..
— James Finlay, Hensingham, October \Sth.

FRAUDULENT SHOWING.

[1602.] I was very pleased to see, from your
article in B. J. of October 12th, that you afforded
honest bee-keepers a a hope that " sugar-syrup ""
will soon be readily detected when mixed with,
honey. The practice of palming off this spurious
article for real honey is well known to some of
our bee-experts, and the article referred to makes
it very clear that others than our experts are
aware of this adulteration trick. I was as
" innocent as a child " of this fraud two years ago,,
when lamenting over my " short take " of honey
compared with the big takes of my neighbour
bee-keepers, but an expert soon calmed my mind
a little by telling me of the syrup trick practised
around me. Well, sirs, I should like " big
takes " to diminish a little my big outlays, but
I will not resort to the above nefarious dealing
for money's sake. We can hardly help think-
ing that some of the " big takes " recorded in
the B. J. belong to the syrup-honey class. If
they do not, I congratulate "takers" on their suc-
cess, and sincerely wish them a yearly renewal
of it.

I believe my bees work as hard as any of
their neighbours, and are as strong, but then I
have no autumn and spring dodge, so I am minus-
in big returns, but not in quality. It is not
just to palm off a spurious article on the pub-
lic, getting as much per pound for it as does-
another brother whose honey is worth nearly
as much again. I do really hope, sirs, you will
be as " plain-spoken " in this matter as you have
been on other subjects, and that you will very
soon fully succeed in detecting " syrup-honey "
from the real thing. I have heard of some-
cows giving inferior milk to others, though in
the same pasture, but never so of the honey o£
the " little busy bee." — Honesty, October 17th»

BEES IN SOUTH SHROPSHIRE,

Dishonest Exhibitors.

[1603.] I send a few notes relating to past
season in this district. 1893 has been best in
my record, all hives having done well. My best
gave me 140 one-pound sections, and only fifteen
of them not marketable. I also took from same
hive five frames of honey weighing over thirty

October 26, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

429'

pounds, and given to driven bees, leaving eleven
frames for winter, which I judge to have about
forty pounds in them. It had sixteen frames in
brood nest. Strange to say, all large brood
nests gave most surplus on the top.

Most of my hives take sixteen frames ; they
are the first I made. I then adopted the
Standard size, but have returned to the old size,
only shorter top bar. I now nave twenty large
frame hives, which suit me much better than
Standard size, of which I have now some fifteen.
The Wells (of course, I must be in the fashion)
I have tried, and bees did very fair, giving me
forty shallow frames, 16 x 5. As Mr. Woodley
says, they are certainly two colonies, and can't
be counted any other way, in my opinion. A
hive so constructed may suit a few, but never
meet the general want of bee-keepers. In the
first place, it is too cumbersome and expensive
for most, and too complicated for novices. I
can't say mine failed at all ; but count it two,
and I find it no better than the usual run of
two single stocks.

"Apiarist " (1579, p. 396) says much surplus
cannot be gathered when forage is located more
than a mile from the apiary. My experience is
different, providing weather is right. My apiary
is situated over two and a half miles (in a bee-
line) from the Longwynd, and the only heather
here within that distance, and my bees worked
grandly on it during the early part of August.
One hive, from which I took thirty-four one-
pound sections, some weighing one and a half
pounds, worked without separator, as I wanted
them to press, besides filling twelve frames in
brood nest ; and several I had twenty - four
sections off.

I have driven some thirty to forty skeps and
boxes this season, and found them generally
heavy. I have used them mostly for strengthen-
ing stocks not up to autumn standard ; but I
don't shake the bees from frames, as suggested
in B. J. I simply take out a few frames from
hive I am about to put driven bees to, or, if
none to spare from that one, I get some from
another. I then have four or five of these
frames in a spare hive or old packing-box. I
then run driven bees on them, and you can
unite them without any flour or scent by alter-
nating the frames of both lots in frame hive,
leaving only one queen. Of course, both lots
must stand side by side until uniting takes
place.

I am glad to see dishonest exhibitors run to
ground. The same sections were at Shrewsbury,
and I had to come off with second prize, instead
of first, which would have made me three firsts
and one second out of four classes for sections.
I must thank Mr. W. Woodley for his help
to me in producing them. — Phil Jones, Rose
Gardens and Apiary, Church Stretton.

BEES IN SOMERSET.

[1604.] Having seen no returns of the bees'
doings in Somerset, I send my report. 1893 has

been the earliest season in all my experience.
Bee-keepers here are generally too early in put-
ting on surplus chambers; this season, however,
many were caught napping, and in some cases
the bees had filled the autumn candy-boxes with
comb and honey by the first week in April. We
had swarms between the 17th of April and first
week in May. After that there were but few
swarms, but we got a good crop of fruit honey,
followed by a short but early bloom of sainfoin ;
then came a break in the honey-flow, pastures
being burnt up; water got scarce, and we
thought the season was over ; crates were re-
moved, but after we had some rain I discovered
that honey was coming in again, and replaced
supers, which were in some cases filled ; in fact,
honey continued to come in in small quantities
till the middle of September. My bees gathered
about 15/. worth, but I cannot chronicle so much
as some of your correspondents ; my best hives
gave me about eighty pounds each. I have
also examined about 250 hives in this district,
and find it has been the best season for some
years. I have never seen so much brood in
September before ; last year this was the ex-
ception, this year it is the rule ; while out of the
above 250 hives only about four wanted feeding,
which augurs well for next season. Skeppists
are the complainers; even where no surplus
chambers were put on they have had no swarms
and very little honey. As the skeps are very
small about here, the bees in many cases built
combs outside under floor-boards. It has taught
many of the old school a lesson they will not
soon forget. Since our Association started, many
tons of honey are gathered which was formerly
lost for want of bees to gather it. I am pleased
to say there is a marked interest in bee-keeping
now in this district that was wanting a few
years ago. — J. Mabtin, October 17th.

A LADY'S BEE-KEEPING EXPERIENCE

IN 1893.

Dealing with " Wells" Hives.

[1605.] This has been the finest honey season
with me since I commenced bee-keeping, seven
years ago. My bees have given me more honey,
better honey, and more swarms than I have ever
had in one year before. I began the year with
four hives, and close it with six.

My great trouble has always been to keep
down the number of my stocks, but I never had
so much difficulty as this year. My first swarm
issued on June 3rd, and my last (a virgin swarm)
on July 20th. Between those dates I had no
fewer than fourteen swarms to deal with.

I tried two " Wells " hives, but have had
poor results from both. A strong stock was put
into the one end of each " Wells," and the first
swarm that came off I put into the other end.
The results in both cases were exactly alike. .
Each added swarm refused to act as the second,
half of a "Wells" colony, and swarmed out
again next day. I was determined not to allow

430

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 26, 1893.

this, and put them back, but they were just as
determined, and came off again and again, till
at last both lots came off at one time, pouring
out of the four entrances, and formed one huge
cluster, the like of which I never saw. I then
prepared a new hive for them, and thought
what grand results I would have from such an
enormous swarm, when the bees rose up in a
body and disappeared into the distance, and I
saw them no more. Would you believe it —
one of the "Wells" hives actually swarmed
again, but the bees went back more tamely
• than before ? 1 think my mistake was in putting
the swarm into the other end of the hive they
came out of. If I had put swarm from No. 1
into No. 2, and vice versa, the results might have
been different. I shall try that plan next year.
Those two hives yielded very little honey, but
the others made up for it. I got 243 one-pound
sections of fine honey, including some from
heather, which I never had before, besides an
abundant supply for winter use. The best
results were from two first swarms, hived on
seven frames each, and placed on the old stands,
removing the supers from the parent hives, and
putting them on the swarms.

I have never been able to get my bees to work

well through excluder zinc. I thought my zinc

must be defective, and sent to one of the best

appliance- dealers for some, but it made no

difference, the supers were filled slowly where-

-ever I had zinc on. I took off a crate of sections

to try and discover the hindrance, and, on

seeing the poor loaded bees struggling to get

through the zinc, I resolved never to use it

again. This year not a single section was

spoiled, even when the queen had only seven

frames underneath. I have also ceased using

full sheets of foundation in supers. My bees

work better with starters only, and the honey

at table is much nicer without the midrib. I

never put more than one crate of sections on at

-a time. Near a smoky town it is of importance

-"that the honey should not remain long on the

hive, and I remove the sections one by one as

they are filled, replacing them with empty ones.

I go over them once, and sometimes twice, a

-week, using two carbolic feathers, and the bees

are not at all excited. In removing the sections

there are always some brace combs broken

underneath, and I think this stimulates the

bees to work harder.

On September 3rd I took off a crate of
sections, intending to prepare tbe hive for
winter; but, seeing signs that honey was still
coming in, I put on six empty one-pound
sections as an experiment. On the 15th I took
them off. Three of them were quite rilled,
and the others nearly so, with honey of ex-
cellent quality — not heather honey. I never
remember honey-gathering so late in the season.
The secret of success appears to lie in young
-queens and early swarms, hived on few frames
^,nd on the old stands. I have received many
valuable hints from the Journal, and always
sead it with the greatest interest.

The following extract from a letter from a

friend in British East Africa may interest some
of your readers : — " You may remember speak-
ing about bees in Africa. Well, the natives
here go in greatly for bees and honey in this
way. They hang hollow cylinders of wood from
the branches of high trees, and in a few months
the cylinders are filled with honey. The whole
country-side shows beehives hanging from trees,
and as the landscape shows miles and miles of
white and yellow and red flowers, besides farms
of Indian corn, &c, the material for the bees
is very plentiful. The honey is very good, and
we frequently boil some of it with fresh toma-
toes, and after this mixture is a day old, we
have a splendid jam, with just a touch of a
fermentative process going on. I dare say such
jam would fetch a big price at home."

Apologising for the length of my notes, — A
Lady Bee-keeper, Paisley, October Vdth.

OLD HANDS VERSUS BEGINNERS.

[1606.] The last part of your "Useful Hints "
in issue of October 19th shows, I think, you
sympathise with the utterance :

" Tis true
The world was made for Csesar ;
But for Brutus too."

For from said article we tyros learn you do not
consider the old hands only among bee-keepers
as entitled to the benefits your paper can confer.
Much of the matter is, no doubt, as you say,
" old " — to the fogeys — but beginners have a
notion that bee-keeping and keepers will not die
with them ; hence this is the sort of stuff
welcome to a good proportion of your readers,
who will by-and-by form the larger propor-
tion. After buying your paper about eight
months, I was about to commence, encouraged
by a " Novice's First Year's Experience," (1577,
p. 395), who began in autumn. Your very season-
able remarks (p. 413) have probably saved me
from a failure had I begun in autumn as I
purposed. As failures at a beginning are
always discouraging in anything, I thank you
for those remarks.

In regard to another question noticed in
Larrabee's report on United States experiments
in bee-management, and on which you utter a
rather decided dictum against planting any-
thing with a view alone of producing honey, in
my bee-books and Journal I read : " White
clover " (which I have generally seen growing
amongst grass) " is a valuable and productive
honey-plant." Well, where I am going there is
a grass-covered orchard of about an acre, rather
sparsely planted with fruit-trees. From my
reading I cannot help thinking it will pay to
sow white clover all over this orchard, despite
Larrabee (p. 411) and yourselves, Messrs.
Editors. If, however, I have made wrong
inferences from any data, I shall be very glad
to be put right ; and perhaps some other
beginner besides myself may be benefited. —
John Pym, October 21st.

October 26, 1893.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

431

BUYING WAX.

[1607.] Referring to remarks in " Useful
Hints " last week, Mr. J. H. Howard writes :
" In next issue tell the ' British Bee-keeper '
(my customers all known it) that now, and for
years past, J. H. H. buys, and has bought,
British wax at Is. 3d. to Is. 6d. per pound,
according to colour and quality."

DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

The last of a series of lectures organized by
the Derbyshire Bee-keepers' Association in con-
nexion with the Technical Education Committee
of the Derbyshire . County Council was,
by special request, given in the Training Col-
lege, Derby, on Saturday, the 21st October,
1893. In addition to the students in training,
there were present Dr. Were (Bishop of Derby),
Rev. A. E. Vintner (Principal), the teachers,
Mr. Atkins (Secretary of the D.B.KA.), and
several members of the Committee.

The lecture was delivered by Mr. T. W.
Jones, of Etwall, first-class expert of the
B.B.K.A. and D.B.K.A. and lecturer of the
Derbyshire County Council. The following
syllabus had been distributed, and the lecture
was thoroughly illustrated by means of the
limelight, and some sixty splendid lantern
slides, most of which were micro-photographs :
" Natural History of Bees. — The three con-
stituents of the bee community ; substances
gathered by bees : honey, pollen, propolis ; bees
and flowers : fertilisation ; the flower : calyx,
corolla, stamen, pollen, pistil, ovary, fruit ; the
habits of the queen, drone, and worker ; the
worker-bee in its relation to honey, pollen, and
wax : its sting, poison glands, &c.

" Practical Apiculture. — Hives, skeps, move-
able frames, supers, sections, &c, comb foun-
dation ; manipulation or management of bees :
smoker, veils, gloves ; swarming : its causes,
objects — natural, artificial ; method of examin-
ing a bar-frame hive, the smoker in use, driving
bees, finding the queen ; the egg, larvae, pupa,
imago, nurse, worker ; the production of comb
and extracted honey ; the feeding of bees ;
enemies and diseases of bees." A bar-frame hive,
with accessories, was on view for illustrating the
methods of hiving, examining, supering, and the
removal of surplus honey.

Mr. Jones delivered an excellent and ex-
haustive lecture, retaining the attention of his
audience for nearly two hours, and at the close
was warmly thanked for the intellectual treat
which he had given them.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.
The following additional sums have been
received or promised : —

E. Basley 0 4 0

G.J. Y 0 4 0

A. G. Pugh 0 2 6

A. Robinson 0 2 6

A Well-wisher (Hereford) 0 10

We remind readers that the list closes
next week.

Amount already acknow-
ledged £48

8 6

^mxu* attir Implies.

[905.] Bees in " Wells " Hive. — Candied
Honey. — In the middle of April last I purchased
a new " Wells " hive, and two strong stocks of
hybrid bees for same. All through the summer
they have worked hard. The other day, I went
to take the honey ; to my surprise I found one
division of the hive without a bee in it, but
there were fifteen frames full of honey, and
four or five ditto with some honey in and some
brood. The other division is full of honey, and
apparently the usual stock of bees. There is no
communication from one division to the other ;
if they have united, they have done it at the
entrance. 1. Is this not very strange ? Also
please say — 2. If honey in frames becomes
candied, can it be melted in any way and got
out without injuring the comb ? Or — 3. If put
in the hives for winter, will bees feed on it as well
as on sugar syrup ? — I. F. Thoday, October 1st.

Reply. — 1. We cannot quite understand your
" Wells " hive or the way in which it was
worked from the particulars detailed above.
The twenty frames referred to as the beeless
division must include a surplus chamber, as well
as that for brood, and to work a " Wells " hive
properly, the bees of both divisions should have
access to a surplus chamber overhead common
to both lots. In your case, however, it is stated
that " no communication " exists between the
two divisions. It would seem as if the queen of
one division had got lost, and that her bees had
fraternised with those in the other compartment.
2. Granulated honey cannot be got from combs
without injuring them. The only way is to melt
the combs down and let the wax rise to the
surface, ■w1;en it may be lifted off. 3. Bees
cannot v u :er on granulated honey.

[90C ] Planting Trees for Honey. — I am
about to plant some trees, and, being a bee-
keeper, I am thinking that I might as well
plant such varieties as may ultimately become
useful to the bees. I should, therefore be glad
of replies to the following questions: — 1. Is
honey obtained from poplars to any appreciable
extent ? If so, from which varieties, and during
which month do they come into bloom ? 2.
The same question as to plane-trees. 8. Ex-
cluding fruit-trees, are not limes the greatest
honey-producing trees ? — T. B., Middlesex.

Reply. — 1. The poplar is of no service as a
honey-producing tree. 2. If by "plane-tree"
you mean the sycamore, large quantities of

432

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 26, 1893.

honey are, in some seasons, gathered from its
blossoms, though the honey is not of first-class
quality. 3. Yes ; the lime is the most prolific
of all our British forest trees in respect of its
honey-yielding properties. The crop, however,
is rather a fickle one, though in some years an
enormous quantity of honey is gathered from its
blossoms.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers or
correspondents, or where appliances can he 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 communication.

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

*#* Referring to the request, on page 388, for
a neat folding cardboard box for sections of
comb honey, Mr. F. H. Hargrave writes to
say that he supplies the article asked for at
3s. 6d. per 100.

Wilfred Shepherd. — Bee-keeping as a Busi-
ness.— We are glad to learn of your intention
to begin in a small way and increase the
number of stocks as your knowledge and
experience in the pursuit becomes more ex-
tended. Text- book. — We know of no more
reliable text-book than the British Bee-
keepers' Guide-book. It has now reached
its twelfth edition in this country, besides
many translations having been published
in various parts of the world. Size of
Frames. — Since our opinion is pointedly
asked, we recommend, without hesitation,
the Standard frame for brood chambers. It
is idle to talk of its disadvantages compared
with others in face of the splendid results
obtained by its use, as recorded in our pages.
When the advocates of other patterns or
sizes of frame can show equally good re-
sults, it will be time enough to decry the
" Standard." Meantime " he who runs may
read," and the fact of 500 or more Standard
frames being used in brood chambers to-day
for every single one of any other size is very
suggestive as to which is best. Prior to
establishing a British standard, the frame
most in use in this country was the " Wood-
bury," and this differed but little in size from
the present " Standard." Hives. — We do not
care to force our own preference upon others,
because differences of opinion exist among the
most experienced. We also make a point of
not specially recommending particular dealers
or manufacturers. You cannot, however, go
very far wrong — when seeking for "a hive
embodying the very best principles " — by
noting what sort of hives meet with the
approval of those entrusted with the respon-
sible duties of judging at important shows.

R. Gr. (Renfrewshire). — 1. There must surely
be something wrong with the bees, or else

your location is a very poor one for honey,
when so little surplus has been gathered in a
good honey year like this. Brood combs do
become dark in colour with age, but those
only one year old should be in good condition
for some time to come. 2. It is not cer-
tain that the bees would have done any better
in sections placed in rear of brood nest instead
of overhead, and there must be some good
reason why the sections were not occupied by
the bees. The cause of failure can only be
determined on the spot, or perhaps by us
having a piece of the brood comb for in-
spection.

Amateur. — A description of the hive referred
to can be had for cost of the book published
by its designer. There are no patent rights
attached to it that we know of.

C. E. Read. — Concerning the " Wells " system,
we can only refer our correspondent to what
has appeared in our pages for its success or
otherwise. Some have done well with it,
others not well, and it will require more ac-
quaintance with the method before its merits
or demerits can be generally approved in the
hands of the ordinary run of bee-keepers.
We must say, however, that the failures, so
far as can be judged, are on the part either of
the hive to fulfil the conditions or the bee-
keeper to carry them out, rather than that of
the system itself.

J. D. Russell (Parsonstown). — Wasps and
Hornets. — A hornet is very much larger than
a wasp, and instead of the body being bright
yellow, striped with black, as in the wasp, it
is yellowish-brown, with darker brown mark-
ings having a reddish tinge. In other respects
its structure is similar. But a hornet cannot
well be mistaken, as it is so very much larger,
and flies more heavily. Queen-wasps have
been occasionally mistaken for hornets ; but,
even between these, the difference is so great
as to be easily distinguishable by those who
have seen both insects.

W. H. L. — The gentleman referred to has
bought considerable quantities of honey of
good quality through this office, and if you
will address a letter here, we will forward it
to him.

J. Anderson (Dorset). — Sample sent is largely
mixed with heather honey, which has caused
the difficulty in straining it. The same
trouble will always arise with heather honey
in skeps ; the brood combs being hard and
tough — besides containing pollen — the con-
tents get mixed up when " pressed out," as in
your case, and the result often is a honey that
is almost unsaleable. The " taste of bee-
bread " complained of is entirely due to the ad-
mixture of pollen with the honey.

Conclusion of the Article on page 422 of our last
issue is unavoidably held over till next loeek.

the:

rifeh Ik 3nnnial

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 593. Vol. XXI. N.S. 201.] NOVEMBER 2, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The Conversazione.

(Continued from page 426.)

Mr. Garratt thought the meeting was much
indebted to Mr. Woodley for his lucid state-
ment of the highly practical and useful measures
taken by the Berkshire Association, to which
every credit was due for their enterprise. He
was glad that the subject would now come be-
fore the readers of the Bee Journal, and he
hoped that other counties would be found to
follow the excellent example set by Berkshire.
The plan was extremely simple, and seemed to
have been adopted at a time, and under con-
ditions, which had contributed materially to its
success. There were one or two points on
which he would like to question Mr. Woodley.
For instance, what means could be adopted to
secure a uniformly good quality of honey ; also,
how was the supply maintained all the year
round ? It was well known that, in different
parts of any county, different qualities of honey
were produced ; in one locality the honey
might be of light colour and good, while in
another portion of the county it might be the
reverse. He would like to know whether
the honey was submitted to any person ap-
pointed to value it. He thought there must be
some system of inspection to ensure satisfaction,
and a person at hand who would be able to
assess the market value of the produce. Tbe
question of the size, shape, and price of the
package should be carefully taken into con-
sideration, and he considered the specimens ex-
hibited by Mr. Woodley were very creditable. Of
course, everything depended on the honey being
put on the market at the lowest possible cost.
All these considerations necessitated time and
thought, and required the help of a directing
mind and hand.

Mr. Carr expressed his admiration of Mr.
Woodley 's exhibits, and wondered whether it
was the rule for members of the Berkshire
Association to be able to put up samples of
honey in the neat and tasteful fashion of the
specimens before them. One could hardly be-
lieve that they were not sent out from some
regular packing establishment. While delighted
with the spirit and perseverance of the Berkshire

bee-keepers, he could not quite understand how
it was possible for the Association to regulate
the quality of the honey that the members
offered for sale. Then, with regard to price,
some honey was worth several pence per pound
more than other honey. Those were difficulties
which the late British Honey Company had to
contend against, and especially in regulating the
supply to the demand. Some of the honey sent
to them was so bad as to be almost unsaleable,
and the colour and quality varied to such an
extent that it was an impossibility to maintain
anything like uniform charges. He would be
glad to know how the scheme worked out in
practice ; also what price the members were
able to obtain, as a rule, for their honey. Prices
had fallen considerably within the last five years ;
that which sold for lOd. per pound in bulk
some years ago, now only realised about Id.

Mr. Meggy explained the system which pre-
vailed in Essex for disposing of members' honey.
In this case the expert undertook to purchase
from every member of the Association honey at
1 d. per pound less than market price. The Berk-
shire plan was, no doubt, preferable, because,
while disposing of the honey, it afforded an
admirable advertisement for the Association in
the labels and grocers' certificates which were
supplied for inspection. He could not agree
that bee-keepers' profits must be curtailed, but
he thought the present low prices must be
counterbalanced by the bee-keeper producing
double the amount of honey to what he used to
do.

Mr. Till said the subject of Mr. Woodley's
excellent paper had occupied the attention of
Mr. Garratt and himself for a long time past ;
and in Kent they had taken the first step towards
following the plan carried out in Berks. They
had chosen agents in the county for the sale of
Kent honey. He believed there was a good
market in London for British honey, which
only required development. It was most desirable
that a public taste for British honey should be
fostered, else the trade in that article would be
lost. To avoid such a result, our bee-keepers
must try and push the sale of British honey as
a superior article, and so guard against the
influx of Cape, Australian, New Zealand,
Borneo and Singapore honey. He did not fear
the competition of eucalyptus honey, which was
medicinal only. He quite believed that the
remedy for falling prices was to double the pro-
duction.
Mr. Blow thought the reputation of Associa-

434

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 2, 1893.

tions would be damaged if dark honey were put
up in glass jars, like the exhibits shown ; but
the inferior produce might be packed in stone
jars and sold at a cheaper price. The competition
of foreign honey was somewhat severe, although,
on the whole, he thought not to be feared. But,
in any case, the remedy against it was the one
already suggested — produce double the quantity.
If that could be continued, there was not much
to fear from foreign competition.

A general conversation followed relative to
the prices of British and Foreign and Colonial
hcney, and as to the likelihood of the market
prices suffering further abatement owing to the
influx of honey at cheap rates from abroad.
Messrs. Till, Garratt, Blow, Carr, and the Chair-
man spoke on this subject, the latter gentleman
saying that he had seen exceedingly good sec-
tions, but narrower than ours, in Philadelphia
selling at ten cents each. The general opinion,
however, was that British bee-keepers had little
to fear in competition with the foreigner as
regarded home markets.

Mr. Woodley, in reply to the several questions
put to him, said, with respect to the maintenance
of the average quality of the honey, his As-
sociation made no stipulation with members, but
left such matters to the agents, who they re-
commended to try a sample of each honey before
buying a quantity of it. In a very short time
the agents became sufficiently educated and
could tell a bad quality from a good one. Con-
cerning the market value, no regular price was
fixed by the Association ; agents and members
being left to settle that between them. Good
sections glazed had made from 9s. to 10s. a dozen.
They did not insist on any particular form of
glazing or bottling, but the style exhibited was
what the Association recommended, and was
generally adopted. The members soon found out
what the agents were willing to buy. If the
Association found out that honey of an inferior
kind was being sold under its label, the privilege
of using the label would be withdrawn from the
particular agent ; but no complaints had reached
them on that score. They had a form of appli-
cation for the labels, which contracted that the
applicant should put up only pure Berkshire
honey. The labels were supplied at Is. per 100,
or 9s. per 1000. Of course the Committee were
watchful and careful to see that the privilege
was not abused, and would withdraw it if any
ground could be established for doing so. They
had issued during the last five years, roughly
speaking, about 30,000 labels, and had just
printed a new series of 20,000, which had been
drawn on pretty heavily during the present
season. Each series was numbered consecutively,
beginning at No. 1, and there would be in future a
distinctive mark on each label thereof, so that
the numbers of every particular issue could be
identified. There had been no difficulty in
carrying out the system, which had worked very
well. His Association wanted to do away with
the evil of competition among bee-keepers ; they
wanted to prevent all the honey being forced on
the market at once, that was in July, August,

and September, and they were anxious to create
a market for it during the other nine months of
the year. Undue competition was caused un-
less some means existed of regulating the supply
and demand, and he hoped to see other counties
following in some form or other the lead of
Berkshire. As regarded labels and registry the
matter was very simple indeed. The Secretary
had only to bring applications before the Com-
mittee, send off the labels and make the neces-
sary entry in his books, and take every oppor-
tunity of putting agent and producer in com-
munication with one another. The Association
recommended that inferior honey should not be
sent out with their label thereon, but be
otherwise utilised. A great feature of the
scheme was the gratuitous advertisement given
in the Association's publications to the different
shopkeepers, who, it might as well be stated, were
at liberty to sell any other honey they pleased.
All the Association demanded was that they
would pledge themselves to keep a stock of the
members' honey supplied under the conditions
named. There were seven agents in Reading,
who were among the best tradesmen in the town,
one of whom only a week or two before sent for
3000 labels.

Questioned by the Chairman and Mr. Carr as
to the existence of any guarantee that such labels
would not be misapplied, Mr. Woodley admitted
that there was no absolute check against that
evil, but said he did not believe that tradesmen
of high social standing would be guilty of placing
the labels on foreign honey, especially as they
had to give a guarantee before receiving the
labels, and would pay the penalty if found out.

The Chairman moved and Mr. Garratt seconded
a vote of thanks to Mr. Woodley for the excel-
lent practical information he had given ; and the
latter gentleman acknowledged the compliment.

{Remainder of proceedings, including the discussion
on width of shallow frames in surplus chambers,
to ill appear next week.]

HONEY SHOW AT KILMARNOCK.

Brief Notes on the Show by the Judge.

The show took place in connexion with that
of the Dairy Exhibition at Kilmarnock on
October 20th.

General. — An exceptionally good season has
brought about an unusually good show of
honey.

Hun Honey. — Very fine display; very little
immature or poor honey. Prize samples perfect
in flavour, consistency, and colour.

Comb Honey. — (a) Sections. — A few imper-
fectly finished ; but colour, capping, and flavour
very good, (b) Supers. — A fine show. The
get-up of this class improving. Preference for
supers which give an all-round view of honey.

Honey Designs. — This is the fine art of honey
production, and requires great skill and patience.
Specimens well up to the mark.

Growth of Industry. — The importance of bee-
keeping to cottagers, gardeners, and farmers is

November 2, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.

435

becoming more evident, not merely for the sake
of honey-production, but for seed-raising and
fruit-growing.

The Rev. R. McClelland, The Manse, In-
chinnan, officiated as judge, and made the
following awards : —

Six 1-lb. glass jars of extracted honey. — 1st
and 3rd prizes, W. Hogg, Castle Douglas; 2nd,
John M'Creath, Dumfries.

Design in comb. — 1st and 3rd, Ross & Kerr,
Dargavel Apiary, Dumfries ; 2nd, Sidney Roe-
buck, Dumfries.

Super of comb honey (10 lbs. or under). — 1st,
W. Hogg; 2nd, Ross & Kerr, 3rd, S. Roebuck.

Super of comb honey (over iO lbs.) — 1st,
Archibald Montgomery, Townend, Kilmaurs;
2nd, Ross & Kerr; 3rd) John Boyd, Dundonald,
Kilmarnock.

Six 1-lb. sections. — 1st, Ross & Kerr; 2nd,
John Palmer, Ludlow, Salop ; 3rd, Hugh Smith,
Tofts, Tarbolton.

Six 2-lb. sections. — 1st and 3rd, Ross & Kerr;
2nd, Walter Graham, Cummertrees, Annan.

Special Prizes.

Two 1-lb. glass jars extracted honey. — 1st,
William Blackwood, Castle Douglas ; 2nd,
William Hogg ; 3rd, John M'Creath.

Twelve 1-lb. sections comb honey shown in
holders. — 1st and 3rd, Ross & Kerr; 2nd, H.
Smith.

(&QXXt81$ttribZMZ.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed to "The
Manages, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

*** 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 IN STAFFORDSHIRE.

Some Notes on Wells Dummy, etc.

[1608.] The season here has been the best in
my experience. The extracting and disposal of
between five and six hundredweight of honey
from fourteen stocks has proved good fun and
fair profit during spare time. My little boy
swarm-watcher held a sinecure. No emigration ;
nothing but work. The " Wells " hive gave me
100 pounds. As I said in the spring, it was
the home of two small nucleus lots, put in last
autumn. It took some time to increase their
frames to twenty — ten each side — before super-
ing, and, therefore, it is scarcely fair to com-
pare them this year with any other two single-

queen lots, well established. But I was grate-
ful for 100 pounds surplus, and for the nearly
forty pounds natural stores which they have
for winter. But gentlemen, they will propolise
the perforated divider. Every one of the 400
eighth-of-an-inch holes was solid. And it ia
true " Wells " too. It does not make a bit of dif-
ference. It is all very well when you are build-
ing up your colonies. They will accept warmth
and congratulations from each other through
the peep-holes then, just as described by our
friend " The Heathen " in your monthly ; but
let him wait until after his honey-flow, when
the bees are strong, and are beginning to pack
up for winter. They feel independent then,
and propolis being quite as abundant as nectar,
up go the perforations. However, the "Wells"
is worth a little extra trouble. Drop an ordinary
dummy between the frames, carefully separat-
ing the two queens, put on the quilts for a few
mmutes, and poke the holes clear with the
skewer (in handle) with which you first burned
them through. I have had to do this. The
bees are now clustering each side the divider,
and I don't expect to find it stopped again be-
fore next August. What a pleasure to have
had no occasion for feeding, either spring or
autumn ! I don't like sugar-buying, or sugar-
boiling. Wish we could always do without it.
If a neighbour happens to see you, no matter
how honest yonr design in giving needful sus-
tenance to the brood nest, he will satirically ask
if that is your way of making honey. He must
be an unconscionable rascal who, knowing any-
thing of the nature of pure honey, would supply
sugar to his bees for sale as honey. I know of
no bee-keeper who would even dream of it.

I attribute most of my success, so far, to
young queens. Of my fourteen queens at
present, seven are of this year, seven of last.
I raise as many young queens as there are
queens of two years old, set the nucleus stocks
by the sides of those to be re-queened, and, when
the honey-flow is over, depose the two-year-old,
and unite the two lots with flour. I have never
had a queen rejected. I am largely indebted to
the excellent correspondents of your Journal.
May I point out an improvement, which will
be useful to mai:y of them ? When I first used
the " W. B. C." end for frames, I was annoyed
to find that it fell below the utility of the old
leaden end in one particular. It has no^spur
underneath, when on the frames, to prevent its
" jamming " against the side of the shallow-
frame box. The old leaden spur gives a per-
fect bee-way. The " W. B. C." does not. The
thing is the more important in the brood nest,
where, unless the hive is just seventeen inches
wide, for the top bar to accurately fit (and
many hives vary), the bee-keeper is in danger
of crushing his bees, possibly his queen, between
the frames and the hive-side. I make a couple
of cuts with the shears into the tin of the
" W. B. C," turn up the middle piece, and the
difficulty is obviated at once. A perfect bee-
space is obtained, and regularity cf frames in
the hive made certain.

436

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 2, 1893.

Do not deem me impertinent if I vent a
thought that must have occupied the minds of
many of many of your readers. Where is our
friend " X-Tractor ?" Why does he not adorn
your pages, as he was wont to do ? I always
read him first, and now I miss him much. He
was the very poet of bee-keeping. Dry instruc-
tions are all very well, but " X-Tractor " sang
the art. He taught me to build a " hut," and
woe to those who would speak of it as '■'■ shed "
or even " bee-house." With me, it is always " In
the Hut." He taught me to paint hives white,
and many things beside. He sent me to the
poets to corroborate his apt quotations, and now
I fear the pleasure is no more. If you can in-
fluence him, Messrs. Editors, ask him to write
again. He must have had a lot of time for
reflection lately. With best wishes for a happy
season in 1894 — H. C. J., Horningloio Cross,
Staffordshire,

[Having a sort of parental interest in the
W. B. C. end, we may be allowed to explain that
in properly made hives the length of top bar
accurately regulates the distance between the
frame and the hive side. But our chief objection
to our correspondent's plan of providing a make-
shift spur is that by so doing the important ad-
vantage of being able to space the frames at one
inch and a quarter apart, for preventing drone-
production, is done away with. — Eds.]

EXPERIMENTS WITH THE " WELLS"
DUMMY.

[1609.] Your correspondent, Mr. Tustain
(1593, p. 418 of B.J. for October 19th) makes a
very one-sided statement with respect to the
" Wells " dummy. Of course, only your corre-
spondent himself can tell what he has, or has
"not read of," but you gave him an opportunity
of reading of one success and I am happy to
furnish him with another. But surely he does
not expect Mr. Wells to guarantee unqualified
success to all who choose to think they are
adopting his methods ? That gentleman has not
pressed any one to try his system, and certainly
he has not desired any one to play tricks there-
with. If "1593" or any other bee-keeper thinks
he knows better than Mr. Wells and sees fit to
make experiments — be they either " improve-
ments " or variations of their own — of course no
one objects, but don't let them call it the Wells
system, because that is just what it is not. Zinc,
for instance, is manifestly not a material suitable
for a Wells dummy-board, and for the life of
me I cannot see why bee-keepers should go out
of their way to use such things when a properly
made wooden dummy is known to answer per-
fectly in reasonably competent hands. If a bee-
keeper is going to become a " Wellsite " he must
work strictly on Mr. Wells' lines, or he may just
as well place two skeps of bees side by side and
fancy himself the possessor of a " Wells " hive.
On another point : I have wondered how your
correspondent accounts for six of his seven stocks
being found broodless on the 7th of October ?
This means that the queens ceased laying in

the middle of September — and such a Septem-
ber !

On the 16th of October in all my stocks I
found at least two combs with patches of brood
in all stages. I have now five Wells dummies
in use which are a perfect success, the bees on
both sides forming one cluster and not a dozen
holes closed in the whole five. It may not be
out of place here to add a few words as to what
I have done in 1893. From two moderate stocks
in the middle of May I took a little over eigh-
teen pounds of honey ; then fed slowly for about
three weeks, and the brood nests were gradually
extended until about the middle of June, when
the bees covered twenty-two and nineteen frames
respectively, with brood in about eleven frames ;
I next removed the queens and all the young
brood and eggs, with the bees covering the
frames, to a fresh position, then giving the old
stocks one frame of selected eggs each from the
best bees (i.e. those that worked the hardest) to
raise queens. One raised five and the other six
queen-cells. On the 6th of July I divided the two
stocks into nine nuclei, placing eight of them
into four " Wells " hives and giving a queen-
cell to each. The queens hatched out on the 9th
and 10th of July and I found eggs laid in two of
the hives on the 23rd, and by the 28th of July
eight of the nine queens were successfully mated
and laying. Fortunately I had previously de-
tected queen-cells being raised in the ninth
nucleus, and gave them a few eggs from one of
the original stocks, so only lost about twelve
days, as I see from my diary that by the 14th of
August all my queens were laying.

I would add I think it advisable to paint these
double hives different colours, especially if used
for raising queens — this being the only outside
precaution I take to keep the stocks and queens
apart. Both entrances are in front and very
close together, yet I had no trouble whatever in
getting the queens mated. On several occasions
I saw them on the alighting-board and flying
about the entrances of both hives, and, with one
exception, they always found their way back
into their proper hives. My perforated dummies
are made from wood usually used for backing
pictures, and can be bought very cheap and is
just the right thickness for the dummy, which
should contain from 200 to 300 perforations, not
quite large enough for a bee to get through.

Although I have taken no honey from these
stocks since May yet it must be recorded that
the bees of the two original stocks, subsequently
divided as above mentioned, built out and partly
filled no less than seven dozenf rames of foundation.
From the above it will be seen that the Wells
system is no failure with me, and I am perfectly
certain that if my brother bee-keepers will only
intelligently carry out the system as described in
the columns of your Journal by Mr. Wells, we
shall hear of very few failures (if any) and in
my opinion had " 1593 " adopted a properly made
dummy he would not now write that his bees
are broodless (that is, of course, provided his
queens are worth the keeping). All I know is
that my bees show no sign of being broodless for

November 2, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

437

some weeks to come ; I stopped fast syrup feed-
ing on the 1st of October and gave them a cake
of candy to eat winter passages through, but I
found they had within a week played the " con-
fidence trick " with this, and owing to the mild
weather a second supply has gone the same way,
and they are to-day making tracks in a third
addition and still seem as far from the terminus
ad quern as — The Heathen, October 26M.

AN ARTISAN'S FIRST YEAR WITH
BEES.

[1610.] If space allowed I thought that an
account of my first year's bee-keeping might in-
terest learners like myself. By trade a painter,
I have for nearly two years past been in the In-
surance line, and about four years back, being
away from home, working and lodging with a
carpenter who kept bees in frame hives, I turned
to and made a hive during my spare evenings
from a pattern made by my friend and brought
it home, but beyond buying some comb founda-
tion I never got any further until last autumn,
when I drove the bees of two straw skeps and
uuited them, giving full sheets of foundation, and
after finishing the feeding process I put the hive
indoors until the spring, when I put them out in
my bit of garden just close to my house, and kept
increasing the frames in body of hive until I
had ten in, after which I put on a rack contain-
ing twenty-one one-pound sections, with excluder
under, and acting as some others have done I had
the excluder fitted in a wood frame which
allowed too much room below, so the bees built
comb and stored honey under the excluder.
However, I took off forty-two sections, thirty-
nine of them being nicely finished, I also took
away one frame of honey, which weighed six
pounds, and having a chance to get some more
driven bees I got another hive and drove two
skeps, uniting the bees and giving them a frame
of comb and food from my first hive, and in the
other frames sheets of foundation. Since that
time I have — with the help of a carpenter and
sketches in back numbers of Bee Journal — made a
" Wells " hive, but I am afraid my dummy-board
is not quite as it should be. I made it of yellow
pine, quarter - inch thick, with a frame of
stouter wood outside. I drove five skeps, putting
three lots of bees on one side and two on the
other; they are very quiet and seem to be clus-
tered pretty thick on each side of the dummy. I
also took four frames of honey from my first
hive, and put two of these on each side of the
dummy (as I see the idea is to get the bees to
take to clustering on to the latter), I then gave
them comb foundation and some drawn-out
comb. I did not put the bees in both divisions
at the same time, there being about nine days be-
tween, and I had unfortunately left the frames
spaced wider apart than usual, there being a
good space between each comb directly under
the feeder, so the bees began building comb in
that space, and there was brood in it when I
came to set them in order before putting the

bees in the other half of the hive, so I fixed this
comb and brood into another frame and gave it
to the second lot of bees. I am now feeding up,
allowing say five pounds for each of the frames
of honey given to the driven bees. I have taken
about seventy-five pounds of good honey of good
colour, and visitors who brought some have
praised its quality very much. Not so bad for
a beginner, but bee-keeping is not gone into
much here, so I do not know whether the dis-
tricts is a good one for honey or not. We are
about two miles from the moor, where there is
plenty of heather. I must conclude by asking :
1. Is excluder zinc required in a " Wells" hive
when working for sections ? Would not the
queens be liable to get together without it ? 2.
Should all drones be disposed of by thi3 time ?
— W. Allen, Okehampton.

[Referring to the " Wells " dummy, the fault
of putting a frame of stouter wood round it lies
in the increased space it affords between the
face of the comb and that of the dummy. If
the space exceeds five-eighths of an inch the
same mischief may follow as resulted from your
allowing too much space below excluder zinc
mentioned above. In reply to other questions
asked — 1. Queen-excluder is indispensable below
surplus chambers in " Wells " hives. 2. Yes, if
normal drones are still alive it is an almost sure
sign the hive is queenless. — Eds.]

BEES IN CO. KILKENNY.
[1611.] It would be unfair to remain silent
because I happen to be unsuccessful. My partial
failure may, however, be a warning to others
who, like myself, do not know what cause to
attribute their losses to. I had foul brood in my
apiary, but it could not well be the sole cause of
my heavy losses, because I fed all stocks last
autumn with medicated syrup, and constantly
keep naphthaline in the hives. I wintered eleven
frame hives and four skeps well fed up. All
save one skep which became queenless came out
apparently strong in early spring, and were
working and bringing in pollen rapidly every fine
day; but as time wore on, instead of the bees
increasing, they began to decrease. I examined
the hives when I could get a chance for the
roliber-bees with which I have been infested,
and found plenty of stores, and also queens all
right except one — so me with as many as three or
four eggs in every cell of the small patches
covered by the bees ; but I was not a little
puzzled at seeing so few bees in each hive.
Where did the monster lots I packed up for
winter go to ? The weather was so bright that
the bees were constantly going out, and as I
believe getting chilled, and never returning dur-
ing March and April. One stock succumbed
after a frosty night, then another and another,
until by 1st of May six of my eleven stocks in
frame hives had perished. It was sad to see the
few poor bees dead on the floor of the hive, with
their queen still alive. I have now five frame
hives left, two of which began to increase
rapidly. The others, though weak, became

438

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL1 [November 2, 1893.

fairly strong by June, so I supered them, but
got no surplus ; however, before the clover was
out of bloom, they had increased so as to cover
eleven frames filled with stores. Of the skeps,
one gave me two swarms, more welcome under
the circumstances than any amount of finished
sections ; but the remaining two, though supered,
yielded no surplus ; of course, dwindling set in
with these also. The two prosperous hives re-
ferred to gave me eighty-six one-pound sections,
winch form the bulk of my harvest.

I purchased four swarms, joining two together
with a view to having a strong stock, but re-
tained one of the queens and about a point of
bees, to form, as I thought, a nucleus. I placed
these latter in a small hive and left them for a
time, but on my return they were nowhere to
be found. I would not have gone to this expense
only I cannot bear to see empty hives and bee-
furniture lying about and no use for it. I have
one consolation, namely, that it cost me nothing
for sugar this season, and I have thirteen stocks
all well provided with natural stores; each
appears to be very strong in bees, and all work-
ing hard on the ivy.

Now I shall state my opinion of the cause of
failure, and I shall be glad to have the opinion
of those more experienced, that I may be wiser
under similar circumstances : — 1st. I believe
that when I commenced to feed in September,
1892, all breeding had ceased for want of food,
nnd the queens did not commence to lay after or
during the feeding process, which was done with
a rapid feeder. 2nd. The spring opening up so
early, and having all old bees in the hives, they
were not equal to the work the bright weather
encouraged them to do. If this is not the cause,
I do not know what is.

I will now relate the case of a friend who,
like myself, has been unfortunate in wintering,
and yet very fortunate during the swarming
season following. His apiary is situated in a
large garden with pleasure-grounds and an
extensive demesne all around, where there are
every kind of flowers from the early snowdrop
to the winter chrysanthemum. He had eight
fine stocks in frame hives last season, and lost
all but one during the winter. The hives were
removed indoors as they became vacant ; but as
the remaining one showed signs of swarming in
June, one hive was fitted up with ready-built
combs and placed on the stand. The writer,
one fine evening in June, went with some
visitors to show them these beautiful grounds.
We had a walk through the garden, and I of
course had a look at the bees, which had not
yet swarmed, for they were clustering outside.
" I have this hive," said my friend, pointing to
what he thought was an empty one, "ready for
the swarm." I lifted the roof, and on removing
the quilts we were agreeably surprised to find a
fine swarm fully covering ten frames had taken
possession. My friend set up another hive that
evening, which was taken possession of by a
swarm next day. He set up another and
another, which were all occupied before the end
of the month, and nobody knows where the

bees came from. So there is a case of " decoy
hives," the result of which is that this gentle-
man's apiary is almost as strong as if he had
lost none ! Now a word about the honey crop,
and I shall be done. The average for 1893, as
far as I can gather, is for frame hives about
forty pounds, with sufficient winter stores left,
and for skeps about thirty-five pounds, which of
course includes all in the skep. There were some
early swarms, which were mostly vagrant ; but
the rule is, swarms were never so scarce in this
place before, — J. H. K., Co. Kilkenny, October
20th,

HONEY AT LONDON DAIHY SHOW.

[1612.] I expected to have seen in this week's
Journal some observations on the falling off of
the exhibits of honey at the last Dairy Show,
but seeing none I beg to offer a suggestion as to
the reason of the falling off.

If we look at the honey prize lists of the past
" Dairy" and many other shows, we shall see
that the majority of the best prizes have gone
to one exhibitor (and I do not, for one moment,
wish to infer that the prizes have not been
honestly won), but I believe the effect this has
is just the same as it would be if, at a flower
or vegetable show, the several classes were open
to all — cottagers, amateurs, and professionals
alike. In the latter case, the bulk of the prize
money would, in all probability, be won by pro-
fessionals, and the exhibits of other competitors
would be very few indeed. I see some difficulty
in classifying bee-keepers at horticulturists and
others are classed — but what chance of winning
has a bee-keeper that can only keep, say, a
dozen stocks with the man owning a hundred
or more, and who is practically a professional
bee-keeper, employing maybe his whole time in
the pursuit ? The exhibits of the latter are won-
derfully attractive and instructive, but being
admitted into the classes on equal terms with
the smaller producers — and would-be far more
numerous exhibitors if more favourable condi-
tions existed — it has a decidedly unfair aspect;
especially is this the case when the professional
bee-keeper has the additional advantage of being
located in an exceptionally good honey-produc-
ing district. Dividing the classes into sections,
with a corresponding increase of prizes, would
doubtless bring more entries, but the inequality
of footing of the different exhibitors (before
mentioned) would be greatly felt. — Hy. Neve,
Heathfield, Sussex, October 27th, 1893.

[The diminished entries at the Dairy Show
were commented on in our issue of October 19th,
and an increase in the number of classes and
prizes suggested. The difficulty in classifying
exhibitors is, we are glad to see, admitted by
our correspondent himself, and it is very
great, unless the amount of prize money at the
disposal of theframers of the schedule could be
increased. This is the main question to becon-
sidered. — Eds,

November 2, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

439

EXHIBITING AT THE DAIRY SHOW.

[1613.] Referring to your comments re the
Dairy Show on p. 414, allow me to give my ex-
perience at this season's show. You ohserve
the " almighty dollar " is a great factor in these
affairs, and especially in showing, although
the meeting with bee-keeping friends is one
pleasant set-off against many of the expenses
incidental to attending shows. Unfortunately
for myself, when the time for closing entries
was nearly up, I had got a bad touch of rheu-
matism, so I decided to make one entry in each
of the three classes, viz., twelve sections, twelve
jars liquid honey, and twelve jars granulated,
and not in the fourth because of my inability to
stage it myself.

I give below just what it cost me to carry
out my resolve : — Three entries at 2s. 6d. each,
7s. 6d. ; carriage to Coventry, thence to Dairy
Show, 2s. 6cZ. The twenty-four bottles were
returned by passenger train from Euston at a
charge of 4s., although the labels were addressed
to be returned by " Midland goods to Coventry."
Then there was an extra 6c?. to pay carrier.
The twelve sections were sold I suppose,
although I have had no notification that such
was the case. Anyway, they were not in the
package returned. So you see, though I won
a second prize of 10s., I am 4s. 6c?. out of pocket
through the show. I am not saying this in a
spirit of grumbling, but only to state facts. I
had priced the jars at 12s. per dozen, but wrote
the Secretary offering to take 10s. per dozen on
the last day, if not previously sold. I expect
the course adopted with regard to selling would
be the same this year as last, when intending
purchasers were not allowed to take the honey
out with tbem, and of course they would not
return when the show was over for a bottle or
two of honey.

Another reason must militate against entries
at this particular show, and that is, when only
one award is made, in a class where three prizes
are offered, because of insufficient entries. — John
Walton, Weston, Leamington, October 25th.

POSERS.

[1614.] That "Other Man of Kent" (1587,
p. 406) thinks I have been giving you a "poser,"
but it is a solid fact, I am sorry to say, and
there are other bee-keepers throughout this
district that have a worse average than mine.
If it were mine alone, I should begin to think
there was something the matter with the bees ;
but it relates to scores of bee-keepers (not hives,
Messrs. Editors). As I am, to use a slang term,
always " upon the road," there is scarcely a day
passes but what some one is asking something
about bees ; in fact, I know more what my own
bees are doing through seeing other people's bees
at work than through seeing my own. Now, I
will try to answer some of the queries put to
me. 1. " Are his queens antiquities or have
they foul brood ? " I have queens from six
months to five years, and can prove the age by

my diary. No guesswork here; solid facts.
Five years is too old, I admit, but I have been
trying the experiment for the last two or three
years to get the bees to replace an old queen
with a young one, but cannot succeed yet.
Foul brood nil, as far as I know, but I am
always working against it, buying naphthaline
by the pound.

2. I think I have shown before that my bees
are not the exception in Kent. Your corre-
pondent, "J. G. K.," says, (1522, p. 334), "Out of
sixty hives I have fed up eight already with one
hundredweight of sugar," and that he has taken no
honey to speak of, and what he has taken has
been the colour of porter, not fit to sell nor yet
to give away. If not a Kent man, he keeps his
bees in Kent, and I believe his average would
come out worse than mine. Let us have it,
"J.G.K."

3. "Am I a subscriber to the Kent Bee-
keepers' Association ? " No ; I was once, but
for reasons of my own I gave it up ; but if I
thought they could ensure me a good honey
crop, I would join again even now. Your
correspondent's reference to the harvest secured
by a " Woman of Kent " quite makes my mouth
water, but it may be my turn next year. — Man
of Kent.

LECTURES ON BEE-KEEPING.

[1615.] The question raised by your corre-
spondent " Subscriber " (1595, p. 410) is an im-
portant one. In these days of popular lectures,
attended as they are by many intelligent and
thinking men, the lecturer cannot be too careful
in the statements which he makes, as one wrong
statement tends to shake confidence, and brings
the vhole subject into contempt. A few days
ago I attended a lecture on bees, given by a
second-class expert, and was astonished at several
statements which he made. The pollen-basket,
he told us, was on the same side of the hind leg
as the collecting-comb, the hooks were on the
upper wing, and the plait on the lower, &c.
Surely a person who professes to teach bee-
keeping should be certain of facts, and not be
guilty of such inaccuracies as mentioned. —
Bee, Derby, October 23rd.

CARRYING BEES ON BICYCLES.

[1616.] As I inquired earlier in the season
whether you considered that bees might safely
be carried in boxes on bicycles after being driven,
I thought it might be of interest to hear the
result of my trial.

About the first week in September I rode over
on my machine to where the bees were kept
(about ten miles) and arrived there at 6.30 p.m.

I drove two skeps into a couple of boxes, but
suppose I failed to secure the queen of the second
lot as darkness intervened before I had finished.
Finding it impossible to carry both boxes on my
back (as the lower one got jarred against the
saddle) I carried one under my chin, and a lively

440

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL [November 2, 1893.

but fortunately uneventful ride I had coming
home. It was pitch dark and I could see nothing
of the road except a small patch in front -which
my lamp showed, I was also half afraid lest one
of the boxes should get loose or open, and I
should get a second edition of what I had had
whilst driving them.

However, I arrived home safely, and next day
hived the bees on frames of sealed honey and
foundation, one stock each side of a Wells hive,
but united them a few days after finding that
there was only one queen. When examining
them later I found two frames covered with
hatching brood, and the foundation had been
drawn out, syrup stored and sealed over.

This T consider satisfactory for a beginner this
year. — DArds.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.

The following additional sums have been
received or promised :—

Amount already acknow-
ledged ...
Jno. Palmer
H. 0. W....
J. Noble-Bower
H. Lauder
A. Hamer
J. North ...

9

2

G

0

5

0

0

5

0

0

5

0

0

2

6

0

2

0

0

1

0

Total ..

50 3 0

We shall next week refer to above, and
give particulars as to the disposal of the
amount contributed.

$t§m from % pities

Ealing Road, South Ealing, October 2%rd. —
I have had a poor season this year, as I only
got about 120 poor sections and two hundred-
weight of honey (I think too dark to sell) out
of twenty-eight hives, and not one swarm.
Glad to hear that our friends in the North have
had such a good season, and I hope that Dame
Fortune will pay us a visit next silent, as bee-
keepers round here are very silent, and I fear
that they have not done any better I have. — E.
Basley.

Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington, October
28tk. — During the last month we have had
many nice days, so that bees have been able to
gather some pollen, also a little honey from the
ivy. In one of the " Wells " hives that lost its
queen, and where I shook bees from the combs
to the other side, I removed the dummy and
found every hole entirely propolised up. I put
in a fresh one with holes a little larger, and then
lifted the bees and combs of a driven stock into
the empty part of this same " Wells " hive,

previously placed alongside of it for that pur-
pose. I gave both lots a bottle of syrup, so that
they might rejoice together. Now that the
long evenings are comiDg on I must make a few
extra bee-things that are likely to be wanted if
all is well another season. Glad to hear from
Mr. Grimshaw again, also to see that Mr. J. M.
Hooker has returned safe from his American
trip. — John Walton.

$wxu8 amfo logins.

[907.] Transferring Bees and Combs. — 1. I
have the promise of a frame hive full of bees
and honey, and wish to remove them from the
hive they are in (which is worn out) into a good
one I have empty. But these frames are of a by-
gone pattern, and would probably not fit my hive
properly, if at all. Is it too late now to cut the
combs out of the frames they are in, and tie
them into vaj own ? Three of my hives are
still busy, some finishing sections, others draw-
ing out comb foundation ; but is it safe to
reckon on another three or four weeks when
they would be able to find the requisite material
for fixing the combs ? 2. The new-comers will
want a new queen ; will it be better to leave
both operations until spring, and if so, when
would be the likeliest time to find the nest
devoid of brood ? 3. I observe a bee-keeper
asking for drone-comb foundation for his section
crates. The idea commends itself to me. It is
always a treat to meet with a section of drone-
cell honey, made when the bees could not afford
to go into much detail, and give us more honey
and less wax. Is there any reason why the
drone-cell foundation, therefore, should not be
a good plan to adopt ? 4. We were interested
in De Quincey's odd ideas about soot and honey
— ourselves having been equally puzzled by the
bees' evident predilection for mud. For several
years we have noticed quantities of them on the
moist, muddy margin of cattle ponds, never
sipping the clean water, but sucking something
out of the very dirty mud — what can it be ?
Soot that has been a long time in a chimney is
sometimes exceedingly sticky. Still, I never
saw black propolis, although an approach to
mud-colour in it is frequent enough. 5. I ob-
served drones being expelled from one of my
hives lately. Is not that exceptionally late ? —
Grannie, October 24th, 1893.

Reply. — 1. If the transferring was done on
a fine, warm day, the bees will, in forty-eight
hours, secure the combs so firmly that the tapes
used in tying in may be removed. 2. Why do
you suppose the bees " will want a new queen ?"
If the hive is now full of bees, we should pre-
serve its present queen as being a good one. 3.
Drone foundation can be had from any dealer.
4. The bees were merely abstracting moisture
from the wet mud, none of which latter they
would carry away. 5. Yes, the end of October
ia very late for drones, and you may suspect

November 2, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

Ul

something wrong with the hive in which they
have been so long tolerated.

?.] Transferring Combs from Frame
Hives to Boxes — Separating Honey from Wax.
— I think of introducing into my apiary, which
consists of nine stocks, a modification of the
flat-top skep system ; hut, instead of using the
round straw skep, I want to make square wooden
ones, so that I shall be able, early in the
spring, to transfer the frames from the existing
bar-frame hives. I then think of using shallow
frames on the top of each box, and not dis-
turbing the brood nest for honey-taking pur-
poses. 1. Will you kindly give me your opinion
on the same, also what thickness wood I shall
require for the boxes, as 1 wish to make them
with single walls ? I also have some honey in
comb which is too thick to run ; it was all right
when taken, but I was not able to attend to it
at the time. I have broken up the combs and
put them in cloth over pan. 2. Is there any
means I could adopt for making same thin
enough to run ? — E. H. Taylor, Winchester.

Reply. — 1. We see no advantage whatever
to be gained by going to the trouble of making
boxes to take the frames of hives you already
possess. If shallow frames are used in surplus
chambers above the brood nest, the combs of the
latter may be left as severely alone as the bee-
keeper chooses, just as much so as if fixed and
immovable in a box. To our mind, the plan
you propose has no advantages — in fact, nothing
to commend it in any way. 2. If the combs
and honey are made sufficiently hot by immers-
ing the vessel containing them in hot water till
the wax melts, it will rise to the top, and can
be lifted off the honey in a cake when cold.

[^09.] Bees and Plane-trees. — Referring to
your reply to my second query in your issue
of 26th October (906, p. 431), when I wrote
"plane-tree," I had in my mind those trees
which shed their bark and are often planted in
towns (on the Thames Embankment are
examples). They belong, I believe, to the
family of Platanus, and not to that of Acer, to
which the sycamore belongs. This year they
are full of seed, which makes me ask whether
they are of any value to bees ? — T. B., Middlesex.

Reply. — The tree concerning which you ask
for information is of no value to bees as a
honey-producing source.

[910.] Re-queening Hives. — I have twenty
bar-frame hives which have not swarmed this
year, and this has entirely deranged my plan of
operation, as I should liked to have re-queened
some at least of my stock, had I obtained a
swarm, and been enabled to form nuclei. Will
you kindly advise me for the ensuing summer
now to proceed, as my hives are full of bees,
with plenty of stores for wintering and very
possibly will swarm early. — Wessex Saxon.

Reply. — We should advise no further steps
beyond noting such stocks as have failing queens
(as evidenced by their limited breeding) in early

summer, and saving the surplus queens from the
first stocks which swarm for replacing these as
was intended this year.

ANOTHER NOVEL NON-SWARMING
IDEA.

(Concluded from page 422.)

" The most serious objection to the self-hiver,
as I had it, was that it interferes considerably
with the ventilation of the hive. My hives have
ample entrances. The zinc between the hive
and hiver was of large size (4x8 inches), with
a space behind ; and I thought that it would be
sufficient. The trouble is that in hot days some
of the workers, and whatever drones are in the
hives, cluster on the zinc and cone, and thereby
obstruct the holes, and not only interfere with
the ventilation, but also with the going and
coming of the honey-gatherers. The drones live
in the hive several days, being fed there by the
workers. This particularity may sometimes be
turned to advantage. They can be easily de-
stroyed, except those that may be wanted for
fertilisation of young queens. When the queens
are out, the front zinc of the hiver can be re-
moved, and the select drones permitted to come
out. Closing the cone will effectually prevent
the loss of a swarm while the front zinc is open.

" About June 25th, some of the colonies were
so large, and the weather so hot, that I had to
remove most of the zincs (between the hive and
hivers) to ensure better ventilation. I left the
zincs in front of the hivers. Even thus re-
duced, the hiver was yet very useful, as no
swarm could go off. As a general rule, any
swarm going out and returning will try again
very early the next day, if the weather is
favourable. As a returning swarm hangs more
or less outside the hiver for an hour or two
after returning, by visiting the apiary between
10 a.m. and 12 o'clock, the apiarist can tell
which hives have swarmed and need attention.

" After this experience, I doubt very much if
the Langdon and Atkin devices to prevent
swarming will work satisfactorily. I can only
repeat what I said before, that it depends upon
the circumstances ; as to work always, I doubt
it. The change from one hive to another where
the bees are equally crowded could not abate the
swarming fever. Mine swarmed from the hiver
as well as they did from the old hive.

" The revolving stand of B. Taylor was also a
failure. The destruction of the queen-cells by
the queens cannot do any more good than when
done by the apiarist. It seems very difficult to
prevent the swarming fever entirely. We can
give plenty empty room, but not plenty empty
comb, as those who produce extracted honey do.
Non-swarming colonies got to be very strong,
and therefore more or less crowded.

" Summing up, I see three points which con-
form to the teachings of our leading writers,
viz. : —

"First, the impossibility of preventing the
swarming fever entirely when producing comb

442

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 2, 1893.

honey. Of course, the actual swarming could
be prevented.

" Second, as long as the swarming fever lasts
the colony is ' no good,' so far as gathering sur-
plus is concerned.

" Third, the only ways to overcome the
swarming fever are these: —

" a. Allowing swarming or an equivalent,
dividing. That is what Doolittle, Hutchinson,
Heddon, &c, are doing. To obtain a surplus
they turn over to the swarm as much of the
old force as possible, and whatever surplus is
gathered already. This does not work very
well here, for reasons that I will explain some
other time. The old colony — well, I don't
know, but by their reports I suppose that most
of the time the old colony is so weak that it dies
the following winter or spring.

" b. Removing the queen and cells, and not
returning the queen (or another one) until the
colony has been hopelessly queenless for some
time. This is practised by our most extensive
and most successful comb -honey producers,
such as Manum, Hetherington, El wood, &c.

"This will be my next year's experiment.
As a help similar to the self-hiver, I want to try
the following arrangement : —

"Have the hive so constructed that the
entrance can lead either to the brood nest or
to the supers. Add to the hire, or rather to
the brood nest, a cone giving the necessary
ventilation and permitting the bees to come
out, but not to go back. At the opening of
the honey-flow close the brood nest, place a
solid board between the brood nest and the
supers, so as to cut off entirely the communi-
cation between the two, and fix the entrance
so as to send the whole force into the supers.
Of course, the bees in the supers having neither
queen nor brood will be hopelessly queenless
and give up (?) any notion to swarm they may
have. (Perhaps they will, and perhaps they
won't.) The queen in the brood nest with only
young bees will destroy whatever queen-cells
may be started. Three or four days later the
board between the supers and brood nest can
be removed, and the usual brood-nest entrance
opened again. The operation can be repeated
again during the honey-flow, whenever swarm-
ing may occur.

" I will let you know in a year from now
whether the above scheme will work or not.
At any rate, I think if it fails as a non-swarmer,
it will be splendid to start work in the sections,
and could also be used in lieu of contracting the
brood nest, if this is desired at the end of the
season. — Knoxville, Tenn., July 10th, 1893."

[Concerning the above, which appears in the
B.K. Review, the editor makes the following
observations. — Eds. B. J".]

" As to what becomes of the old colony when
it is robbed of what surplus it may have on
hand at the time it swarms, also robbed of its
flying bees for the first week after swarming, I
will say that it usually proves to be the best
possible kind of a colony the next season. It

has a young queen, and it goes on and raises
enough bees for winter ; besides this, if it has
swarmed early, it sometimes furnishes some
surplus besides. If either of the two are likely
to succumb, it is the swarm with its old queen
and contracted brood nest. It must be given
more combs in the brood nest as soon as the
white honey harvest is over, and fed a little if
there is no honey-flow, or else it must be united
with some other colony. I have reference to
cases where severe contraction is practised —
where only four or five Langstroth combs or
their equivalent are allowed in the brood nest
at the time of hiving.

" The idea of throwing the working force into
the supers, instead of into another hive, is
certainly novel, and just how it would work is
difficult to foresee. 1 honestly believe that one
thing will lead on to another until the prevention
of swarming will eventually become practical
and profitable."

Hotices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers of
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 alicays be replied to in
the issue immediately following the receipt of their com-
munication.

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

J. J. Rice (Norwich). — Honey sent is, in our
opinion, perfectly pure, and your customer
should be made to understand that granula-
tion is a sign of purity.

Edwin Griffin (Upton-on-Severn). — Patent
Hives. — 1. Before alarming yourself as to the
legal consequences of copying, for your own
use, a " patent beehive " purchased, would it
not be well to inquire if there are any patent
rights on the hive in question ? If you give
us its title, we may help you in deciding this
point. 2. Excluder zinc is not absolutely
necessary below section racks. 3. The bees
should have from fifteen to twenty pounds of
food in the combs at end of October to winter
safely. Give a cake of soft candy, to make
sure of supplies. 4. You cannot make a
workable hive to hold four stocks, as pro-
posed. 5. The text of any Act of Parliament
may be obtained through a local bookseller.

Bee-man (Carnforth). — Granulated Honey. —
What you term " little lumps " in the honey
cells of comb sent are simply granules of
honey, which is beginning to crystallise.

Percy Leigh. — Samples of Honey. — (a) A good
granulated honey in all respects. (j>) Is in-
clined to fermentation, not very good in flavour
or aroma, (c) Poor in flavour and aroma.
Has many of the peculiar characteristics of the
honey gathered in some districts this season
during Julv and August.

THE

Irifeft SBw 3ntmial,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 594. Vol. XXI. N.S. 202.] NOVEMBER 9, 1893.

[Published Weekly

€bxtttxwlf ftoixtes, $u

BEE-CULTURE IN THE UNITED
KINGDOM.

Presentation to the Lord Mayor of
London.

For the purpose of presenting to the Lord
Mayor a gift of British honey, a deputation,
representative of the British Bee-keepers' As-
sociation and its affiliated Associations, waited
upon his Lordship and the Lady Mayoress at
the Mansion House on the 1st instant. In
the absence of the President (the Baroness
Burdett-Coutts) and of the Chairman of the
Executive (Mr. T. W. Cowan), the duty of ask-
ing his Lordship's acceptance of a small repre-
sentative collection of British honey, which was
contributed by counties in England, Scotland,
Wales, and Ireland, weighing one hundred-
weight, devolved upon Sir James Whitehead,
who is a Vice-President of the Association.
Supporting Sir James were the Lord Mayor-
elect (Alderman Tyler), Sir R. Hanson, Bart.,
M.P., the Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh, Mr. J. M.
Hooker, Mr. H. Jonas, Mr. J. Garratt, Mr. W.
Broughton Carr, Mr. E. D. Till, Mr. F. H.
Meggy, and Mr. A. D. Woodley. The ceremony
took place in the state drawing-room, and the
honey, which was partly in the comb and partly
in jars, each of the latter bearing a label to
indicate the county where it was produced, was
displayed on a table in the centre of the
room.

Sir J. Whitehead, observing that the quantity
of honey they offered for the Lord Mayor's ac-
ceptance was that which might, under fair con-
ditions, be looked upon as the net result of one
hive worked on the improved modern method,
explained that his connexion with the Associa-
tion arose from the fact that he was Past Master
of the Fruiterers' Company, had taken a very
great interest in the cultivation of fruit in this
country, and all experts in fruit-culture seemed
to think that bees were essential for the fertilisa-
tiou of the flowers. In making this offering the
Association sought to bring the influence of the
Mansion House — which was always exerted for
the promotion of the prosperity and welfare of
the people — into play for the advancement of
the objects of the Association. Could bee-cul-
ture be made to pay ? They were aware that
they had to contend against the products of New

Zealand and California, especially that of the
colony. The net profit to be derived from the
cultivation of honey depended on the successful
treatment of bees, and the object of the Associa-
tion was to impart the knowledge of the culti-
vation of bees, and possibly to re-create the in-
dustry. So far they had been very much
.encouraged, and it would not be difficult for
him to give hundreds of examples showing how
successful bee-culture had been in this country.
That morning a letter was placed in his hands
from a sheep-farmer in Kent, living near Farn-
ingham. He was entirely unskilled in the culti-
vation of bees, but the results that he had ob-
tained so far had been so eminently successful
that it ought to be an encouragement to others
to follow in his footsteps. He had only two
hives, which were stocked last autumn, and one
had produced no less than 142 pounds of honey,
and the second sixty-four pounds, giving an
average of 103 pounds for each hive ; and if they
assumed, for the sake of ascertaining whether
bee-cultivation was profitable, that he was able
to dispose of it at 9d. per pound — a reasonable
price — he would have a net result of 71. 14s. 6d.
In connexion with the County Council lectures
at Swanley last year, two boys who had dis-
tinguished themselves were each presented with
a hive. One derived from his hive no less than
seventy-one pounds of honey, which he sold for
3^., and, after deducting 17s. expenses, had a net
profit of 21. 3s. He had in his own knowledge a
case in his native county of Westmoreland,
where a small tradesman had eighty hives.
During the spring and summer, when the
flowers in the fields were in bloom, and up to
the time when the bees had swarmed and made
their casts, he kept them in the valleys, and
afterwards took them to the moors, where they
could gather honey from the heather, and the
result of the eighty hives, after paying all ex-
penses, was a net profit of 1/. 5s. per hive, or
1001. The county of Kent had in some respects
been taken as a typical county of what might be
done with regard to this culture, and it was
estimated that there alone no less than 400 tons
of honey could be grown, provided that those
who had hives were sufficiently skilled in the
art of cultivation. That 400 tons, sold at 9d.
a pound, would give to that county alone no less
than 33,600J. Kent was not an exceptionally
good county for bee-culture, for he was told
that there were counties in the West of Eng-
land, some of the valleys of Wales, the northern
counties, and Scotland, where heather was

444

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 9, 1893.

grown, and even in Ireland, where honey could
he produced in even larger quantities. It heing
the purpose of the Association to popularise the
movement, and thus to create a new industry
that would he of immense benefit to small
farmers and cottagers, they waited upon his
Lordship in the full confidence that the ex-
pression by him of a favourable opinion would
greatly promote the object they had in view.
In conclusion, Sir James thanked his Lordship
for receiving them, and also, in the name of the
Association, congratulated him on the success of
the year, at the same time expressing the earnest
hope that both the Lady Mayoress and himself
would be blessed with the health and strength
they needed to enable them to enjoy the retire-
ment which they had so thoroughly earned.

The Lord Mayor, who was heartily received,
expressed, in a few preliminary words, the plea-
sure it afforded him to see, as the spokesman of
the Association, Sir James Whitehead, from
whose earnest efforts to promote fruit-culture
so much good had resulted. Passing on to
acknowledge the gift, his Lordship -said he
cordially agreed with the Association that it
was of the highest importance that every en-
couragement possible should be given to the
development of our own industries, especially
those concerned with our farms and cottage
homesteads. Such efforts as were made by the
Association must, he felt sure, be -crowned with
success if only Englishmen were true to them-
selves, and did what in them lay to forward
objects which were legitimately their own.
Personally, he regretted exceedingly the falling
away there had been as regards bee-culture.
Not many years ago there was not a single
cottage in his own native county of Hereford-
shire which did not possess its hive, from which
a very handsome profit was annually derived.
Now the hives were few and far between,
though as a matter of fact there was greater
reason than ever for paying attention to bee-
culture. Only this summer at an agricultural
exhibition at Coblentz he saw several hives
which, according to their owner, had been most
successful. To his surprise he found there that
bee-culture had become so much a science that
the bees themselves were the means of inform-
ing the owner when they were about to swarm.
The apparatus was worked on electrical lines.
When the bees commenced to swarm, a tell-tale
in the owner's house two miles off indicated the
number of the hive concerned. He quoted that
to show the progress that had already been
made. A reference to the Corporation as the
working bees, with the Lord Mayor as the queen,
followed, and then, having thanked Sir James
for his personal compliments and the Associa-
tion for their splendid gift, his Lordship ex-
pressed the hope that success would attend the
Association in their good work, and the belief
that they would ever receive at the hands of
the Chief Magistrate, whoever he might be, all
the support he could possibly afford them.

The deputation were subsequently entertained
by the Lord Mayor at luncheon.

Referring to the foregoing, the Pall Mall
Gazette in a leaderette says : —

"The presentation of honey to the Lord
Mayor yesterday afternoon was a very notable
and innocent achievement in advertising.
Neither Sir James Whitehead nor those who
supported him disguised the fact that the ulterior
design was to direct attention to the most
neglected of English industries. Their aim was
to publish abroad the news that every poor
labourer and striving agriculturist has at his
door the means of adding to his scanty income,
and at the same time providing the public with
a wholesome article of diet. Hither the know-
ledge of the great advance made in bee-culture
has been hidden away in bee journals such as
only experts read. But this graceful act will
bring the truth home to many who have never
thought of the matter. The British house-
keeper also needs to be apprised of the fact that
there is a mighty difference between foreign and
English honey, and that our own product is
unsurpassed in quality — thanks, mainly, to the
abundance of white clover on our pastures.
The average purchaser of honey does not know
this, and pays as willingly for cheap Californian
as for the best Kent, Wilts, or Berkshire honey.
For that we must blame the English bee-keeper.
He has not sufficiently guarded his reputation."

COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS AND THE
PRESENTATION AT THE MANSION
HOUSE.

The very cordial reception afforded to the
deputation of bee-keepers, who, on behalf of the
B.B.K.A. and its affiliated Associations, waited
on the Lord Mayor on the 1st inst. for the
purpose of offering to his Lordship a small
representative collection of British honey, will,
we think, be productive of much good to the
industry which our bee associations are estab-
lished to promote.

Full particulars of the presentation being given
in the preceding article, we may add that the
honey was of excellent quality, looked exceed-
ingly well, and was tastily^arranged in pyramidal
form. The quantity (one hundredweight) was
suggestive, as being the amount of honey which
had this season been, in very many instances,
taken from a single hive, and it caused no little
astonishment among those present who were
unacquainted with bee-keeping to think that
such a result was possible.

So much from the bee-keepers' point of view;
but we desire to draw the attention of our
county associations to the publicity gained by
the "interesting ceremony" referred to. Nearly
every paper in London on the 2nd inst. had
more or less prominent notices of the affair, the
Standard dovoting two full columns of space,
including a leading article of over a column in
length, to it. A brief extract from the latter
may be interesting. It says : —

" Of late years great advances have been

made, not only in the more general cultivation

1 of that branch of petite culture involved in bee-

November 9, 1893.] THE ^BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

445

keeping, but in the best way of inducing the
insects to collect the honey, and, finally in
depriving them of it. For this good work the
Association of which the Baroness Burdett-
Coutts is the official head deserves all praise.
It and the local societies with which it is in
union have performed quietly, without self-
advertisement or any of the customary fan-
faronade of the saviours of agriculture, a
valuable service to British rural economy.
Wherever there are honey-bearing flowers, there
the bee can live, prosper, and lay up a store for
its master. And as no part of the country is
deficient in these, bee-keeping may be all but
universal. Nor need the cost be great. The
capital on a small scale is trifling, and a very
slight amount of instruction, especially if that
instruction is of the best kind, suffices to make
the least intelligent quite capable of gaining
more by experience. Hives take up little space,
demand for the most of the year little care, and
the stock, unlike any other stock in this country,
trespass on anybody's land without the owner
having either the power or the will to forbid
them. The Rectory garden or the Squire's park
is alike open to the Apis mellifica. It poaches
on either with the same impunity. In summer
it ranges the clover-fields and the lime-woods,
and if its guardian does not take it for a few
weeks' feeding on the moors, the chances are
that it will discover for itself any heather patch
which is reachable between sunrise and sunset.
Yet, in spite of its industry, the British bee is
unequal to the drafts upon its output. For the
import of foreign honey is yearly on the
increase.''

As may be inferred from the above, there is,
no doubt, a business aspect to the question, and,
as already said, we invite the attention of our
county associations to this particular " aspect "
as being a legitimate one for their prompt at-
tention. Bee associations are (alas !) not money-
making concerns ; they work largely for the
common good, and the question of obtaining
financial support to enable them to carry on
their work efficiently is one which should be
plainly pat before those who, either by profes-
sion or conviction, claim to have so much at
heart the welfare of our humbler rural popula-
tion. It is as certain as the sun shines that, if
funds were forthcoming, our Associations could
do much more than at present is possible in
teaching the rural labourer how to keep his bees
well and sell his honey when the bees have
gathered it. This is now done, so far as means
allow, by Associations asking for no return in
the way of profit-sharing, but instead, rendering
all the help they can to their cottager members
for a subscription so small as to leave nothing
for working expenses. Surely there are sound
reasons, then, in asking for the support of all
who are favourably disposed to that class whose
limited incomes so sadly need augmenting ; and
we think that if the executive committees of
county associations will but strike while the
iron is hot, and, by means of their local papers,
secure a little of the publicity for the bee-keep-

ing cause which has been done in the metropolis,
it cannot but be productive of good by drawing
the attention of the wealthier classes to the im-
portance of fostering a humble but valuable
rural industry, seeing that the aim and object of
bee associations is to develop a hitherto neglected
source of income from the land.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

The Convebsazjone.

(Concluded from page 434.)

The Chairman exhibited a contrivance made
for the purpose of taking swarms from trees.
He had seen the appliance in use at Mr.
McKnight's, of Owen Sound, Canada, where it
acted very successfully.* The Chairman also
referred to the British exhibit at the World's
Fair, Chicago, which he said was very credit-
able and was much admired by the American
bee-keepers, and he thought the B.B.K.A. had
every reason to be proud of it. It was in
charge of the Superintendent of the Agricultural
Department, British Section.

Mr. Carr drew attention to the fact that the
Committee of the B.B.K.A. had been asked,
through the Journal, to express an opinion as
to the advisability or otherwise of using wider
metal ends on frames in order to secure thicker
and heavier combs in surplus chambers ; and a
manufacturer was waiting to hear the views of
the Association before placing such " ends " on
the market. It was well known, in working
for extracted honey, how advantageous it was
to have a thick and heavy comb, and the question
arose whether the width of the top bar and of
the frame generally should be increased to an
inch and a half, using a metal end with a
quarter-inch shoulder, as is the case now, or
whether the ordinary width of top bar and
frame should be adhered to, with a half -inch
shoulder to the metal end. He produced speci-
mens of both patterns — as furnished to him by
the maker — for inspection. He himself advo-
cated the retention of the present dimensions of
the shallow frame for surplus, and using an
" end " with a half-inch shoulder, so that eight
frames would fill the same as ten spaced as they
now are. The advantages of retaining the
present narrow or " Standard" top bar and sides

* The contrivance was described some years ago in the
B. J. by Mr. Cowan as having been seen by him when
on a visit to Mr. McKnight, in Canada. For the benefit of
present readers we copy the description there given: —
" When visiting Mr. McKnight, at Owen Sound, in Canada,
he showed u» a very simple and ingenious device he used
for taking swarms from trees. This consists of a stick,
the end of which for about eighteen inches is planed, six-
sided pieces of lath are cut in lengths varying from six to
ten inches, and are nailed at right angles to the stick on
the six sides. Close against the stick these laths touch
each other, but. from the fact of there being six sides to
which the laths are nailed, the ends are from three to four
iuches from one another. About a foot of the end of the
stick is furnished with these laths, and at the other end
there is a ferrule, by means of which the stick can be fixed
to a pole. When the cluster has partly settle 1, the bristly
end of this pole is pushed in among the bees, which cluster
on and between the laths, and can be brought down and
shaken off. In this way Mr. McKnight told us he h&4
never failed to secure a swarm,"

446

f HE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 9, 1893.

were obvious, because, if the bee-keeper bad bis
frames spaced with the two-inch "end" and
the honey -flow fell off, he would have a much
better chance of getting the combs completed
by reducing them to the one-and-a-half-inch
distance, which he could easily do. But the
wide top bar and frame would not allow of
this. Besides, the fact of the comb extending
beyond the frame was helpful to the operator in
allowing the free use of the knife over uneven
surfaces when uncapping combs. To illustrate
this, Mr. Carr exhibited one of his own shallow-
frames — built out with completely sealed comb
— nearly two inches thick and weighing over
six pounds. He stated that for many years he
had inserted blocks of wood between the
shoulders of the metal ends in order to get these
thick combs, and an "end" of the proposed
size would lessen the trouble now caused
through this makeshift plan of widening the
combs.

Mr. Garratt did not share that view. He
thought uncapping could be better performed
with a wide frame, which acted as a guide for
the knife. He had frames nearly two inches
wide all round, in which comhs were built and
honey had been stored every year for the last
six years. They were so spaced that the bees
just built to the face of the frame. No doubt
preferences often arose from prepossessions, but
he certainly thought the wide bar easier for un-
capping purposes. Mr. Carr had no doubt
uncapped and extracted hundreds of combs, but
his was a skilful hand. He (Mr. Garratt)
thought that many bee-keepers would damage
their combs inevitably at starting with the
narrow bar.

The debate then became more or less conver-
sational, Mr. Carr begging that the meeting
would give a recommendation in favour of one
or the other style ; the Chairman pointing out
that he thought there was no necessity for them
to express any opinion about the " metal ends,"
but simply on the merits of the narrow or wide
frames; to which Mr. Carr replied that they
should take the question as raised in the columns
of the Journal, which referred simply to the
width of the metal ends.

Mr. Till and the Chairman further discussed
the matter, and Mr. Garratt considered that the
meeting was not called upon to pronounce any
opinion. The two-inch-wide frame answered
admirably ; it entirely protected the comb, and
made the extraction of honey safer in unskilful
hands ; but the matter was comparatively unim-
portant.

The following resolution was then put and
carried almost unanimously: — "That, in the
opinion of the majority present at this meeting,
it is advantageous to work for combs of two
inches width in shallow frames, but that no
alteration of the recognised width of the top
bar or other parts of the standard frame is de-
sirable."

This was followed by a discussion as to the
merits or demerits of a new form of excluder
zinc, which Mr. Carr exhibited as the invention

of a bee-keeper who had given much thought to
the subject, and who claimed that it prevented
propolisation, and was easily lifted off the
frames. It was so constructed that in perfo-
rating the metal was not cut right out, but only
on three sides, and then bent down at right
angles from the holes, the tongue-like pieces
resting on the top bars, offering easy climbing
foothold for the bees into the surplus chambers.
He (Mr. Carr) did not express any particular
opinion on the invention, but nevertheless would
like to see it taken up for trial.

The specimen was handed round and examined,
Messrs. Till and Garratt, the Chairman, and
others commenting thereon. Eventually the
matter was left over for further trial.

The Chairman exhibited a new and ingenious
dovetailed joint used in America, which was
also examined with approval, and the proceed-
ings terminated with the usual vote of thanks.

JOHN HUCKLE TESTIMONIAL FUND.

Since our announcement of last week, when
the subscription list to the above fund was sup-
posed to be closed, we have received the follow-
ing sums:— 5> d

J. M. Hooker 5 0

W. Sells 5 0

" Old Tom Sells " . . ..50

making the total amount received through this
office, 50J. 18s.

The sub-committee appointed to act in con-
junction with the local committee at Kings
Langley on behalf of Mr. Huckle's bee-keeping
friends have not yet met to decide as to the dis-
posal of the above sum, but it is more than
probable that a cheque for the amount will be
sent to the Committee at Kings Langley to be
presented to Mr. Huckle along with the sum
collected in the district, which we believe
amounts to about 105/., making a total sum of
155/. 18s.

The presentation will take place on Nov.
24th, on the occasion of the Kings Langley
Cricket Club Dinner, which is the great function
of the year in the village.

We are sure that all will rejoice that so sub-
stantial a token of the esteem in which Mr.
Huckle is regarded by his neighbours and
friends should have been raised, and it only
remains for us to thank those who have con-
tributed to it through our columns.

CRANLEIGH AND DISTRICT
BEE CLUB.

The autumn show of the above Club was held
on Wednesday, October 25th, in connexion with
the Cranleigh Agricultural Show. There were
fifty-three entries in the nine classes. Captain
Campbell, R.N., acted as Judge, and his awards
were as follows : —

Best twelve sections: 1st, G. Knight; 2nd,
H. Steadman. Six sections : 1st, Mrs. Maclear ;
2nd, G. Knight; 3rd, G. Leadbitter. Single
section: 1st, G. Knight; 2nd, Mrs. Maclear

ffovemb&r 9, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

447

3rd, G. Leadbitter. Six one-pound jars : 1st/
W. Charman ; 2nd, G. Farnfield ; 3rd, H.
Ketcber. Single one-pound jar : 1st, H. Ketcber ;
2nd, W. Killick ; 3rd, G. Knigbt. Bar-frame of
honey: 1st, H. Ketcber ; 2nd, J. Perris; 3rd,H.
Steadraan. Super of honey: 1st, G. Knight.
One pound of wax: 1st, J. Oharlwood. One
pound of candy : 1st, Miss Haynes.

Considering this is tbe second show the Club
has held this year and its also being the first
year of its existence, it was a first-class display,
and much taste was displayed in the get-up of
the exhibits. — J. C. C, Secretary.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice wicl be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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, St c, must be addressed only to "The
Editobs of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, Sec, must be addressed to " The
Manager, ' British Bee Journal ' Office, 17 Xing William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

DIALYSIS OF HONEY.

[1617.] The report of Th. Weigle, of Nurem-
berg, on" The Dialytic Examination of Honey,"
presented at Lindau and Bodensee, August,
1893, at the annual meeting of the Association
of Bavarian representatives of applied chemistry.

Weigle concludes, from numerous experiments
conducted in an apparatus made in Strasburg,
precisely according toHaenle's instructions, with
careful observation of the conditions given by
the latter in his booh, that the dialytic exami-
nation of honey is only applicable in cases in
which there has been considerable adulteration
with impure starch syrup (glucose) ; even then
only when the absence of coniferous honey is
assured, as this behaves dialytically in essentially
the same manner as honey adulterated with
impure starch syrup.

Additions of cane sugar or invert sugar, as
they occur at present in the market under the
names of " fruit sugar " (Frucht zucker), or
honey sugar (Zucker honig) are not to be de-
tected by dialysis.

A quantitative determination by dialysis of
the extent of the adulteration with impure
starch syrup is, according to the experiments of
Weigle, quite impracticable.

Weigle concludes that the dialytic process
does not, under any conditions, possess any
such decided significance as attributed to it by
Haenle — a view which was unanimously joined
in by the Association. — From the Chemiker
Zeitung.

My son, Dr. Samuel C. Hooker, called my
attention to the above during my visit to

America, and kindly translated it for me
that I might send the same to the Bee
Journal, knowing that considerable interest has
been taken in Dr. Haenle's dialytic process. —
Joiix M. Hooker.

[We are much obliged to our esteemed friend
for sending us a translation from the Chemiker
Zeitung, as it is a matter that is occupying con-
siderable attention at the present moment;
but we can hardly allow the above to appear
without a few words of comment, as it is likely
to lead some to suppose that there is no value in
dialysis. Having ourselves visited Dr. Haenle's
laboratory in Strasburg, we were there perfectly
convinced, from experiments carried out in our
presence and with samples of honey purposely
adulterated, that dialysis is a valuable addition
to our method of detecting adulteration. So
convinced were we of the value of the process
that we have fitted up all the necessary appli-
ances, and are at the present moment engaged
in carrying out experiments which promise to
entirely corroborate all Dr. Haenle's claims for
his process. Instead of its being appreciable
only where there has been considerable adultera-
tion with starch syrup (glucose), an adulteration
of five per cent, has been detected, although
Dr. Haenle does not claim that by dialysis a
quantitative determination can be arrived at.
What he does claim is that an approximate
determination can be arrived at, so as to decide
whether the product is adulterated or not, and
to about what extent. As honey, if adulterated
at all, will have more than five per cent, of
glucose added to make it worth the while to
adulterate, being able to detect five per cent, is
quite near enough for any bee - keeper or
analyst. Then, as to this being only possible
when the absence of coniferous honey is assured,
as this behaves the same3 as adulterated honey,
it strikes us that Mr. W'eigle has not carried his
experiments far enough, or he would have found
that whereas adulterated honey turned a ray of
light to the right both before and after dialysis,
coniferous honey before dialysis turned it to
the left ; after dialysis of seventeen hours, the
polarisation was - 0, showing that it differed
from adulterated honey, and that it could be
detected from such. What is more, coniferous
honey mixed with glucose can be detected, as,
after dialysis any length of time, the polariscope
will always show a right-handed deviation, and
will never reach 0. We would also say that addi-
tions of cane sugar or invert sugar, under the
name of " fruit sugar," are detected in the same
manner, and we think that the process promises
to have all the significance attributed to it by
Dr. Haenle. Bearing in mind the simplicity of
tbe process, the low cost at which the analysis
can be carried out, and the rapidity with
which a determination can be arrived at, we are
not surprised at the opposition to the method.
We shall hope during the winter to be able to
report our visit to Dr. Haenle's laboratory and
the experiments carried out there, and to supple-
ment them with analyses carried out by ourselves
on the same plan. — Eds.]

448

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL1 [November 9, 1893.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1618.] In the month of November comment
on the weather seems needless in relation to
outdoor apiarian work ; therefore we will turn
our thoughts to the indoor part of the business
and the general success of the craft. To-day is
"Lord Mayor's Day" and our future King's
birthday, both notable events, but possibly of
little aid or interest to bee-keeping in the esti-
mation of many ; yet, in relation to the former
event, it is more than probable that " British
honey " will grace the banqueting-tables of the
Lord Mayor this year, if it never has done so
before. The British bee-keepers were well to
the fore on Wednesday, [November 1st, with a
present of honey to the Lord Mayor of London,
and in Thursday's (November 2nd) Standard
there is a leading article on the presentation in
particular and on bee-keeping in general which
will arouse interest in bee-keeping, I have no
doubt, and bring it to the notice of many who
would otherwise remain in total ignorance of the
work of the Association.

Dishonest Exhibiting. — I don't think Mr.
Hill's device of indelibly stamping each section
would work unless the mark was covered by a
strip of paper pasted over it ; then, in case of
honey being purchased privately, with the in-
tention of exhibiting said honey later on in the
season, the marks could be removed, unless
printed very deeply with a penetrating fluid.
Then the county stamp. Take " Berks." What
is to prevent a person from buying the best ex-
hibits at a show, and exhibiting those same
exhibits as his own production at some future
show in the same county, or in any other
county show in the open classes? I am sure
all honest bee-keepers will be glad if some
means can be devised to prevent dishonest
parties masquerading in borrowed plumes.
What do Mr. Hill and others think of the
following clause to be added to entry forms : —

" I, the undersigned (or, perhaps, the more
emphatic declaration, I, Wm. Woodley), hereby
declare that the honey and wax in the above
entries are the production of my own bees in
my own apiary, and have not been purchased
from any other bee-keeper or source whatsoever.

" Witness my hand this 9th day of November,
1893. William Woodley."

And for a breach of faith a forfeit of the
exhibit or exhibits and all awards, also dis-
qualification for a period of not less than three
years, said action of a committee to be pub-
lished in B. B. J. and Record.

No honest exhibitor would, I think, object to
this declaration, from the fact that his honesty
was thereby being safeguarded, while the unjust
only would be punished. Perhaps others will
discuss the question, and let us, if possible, find
some deterrent to the wrong-doer.

I am convinced that some strains of bees use
a great deal more propolis than others, and that
the same strains of bees located in different
places collect and use more propolis in one place
than in others. Possibly this may explain why

some "Wells" dummies are propolised and
others not.

The continued efforts of the bees to close the
holes of communication between the colonies
while amicable work goes on in the super above
points to the future use of non - perforated
dummies.

Rather Personal. — No one connected with the
craft deplores more than myself the falling-off
in the number of the large exhibits at the Dairy
Show, but I fear that, another year, it will not
improve unless the restrictions re the number of
entries is removed, and this can. only be done by
the aid of the almighty dollar, as our Editors
observe — though, perhaps, if I retire from the
scene of action, things may look up in the shape
of quantity.

I notice that Mr. Neve (1612, p. 438) terms
me a " pro." Well, thanks, friend Neve ; I
accept it in humility. If I am a " pro." now, I
was also a "pro." when I attended and exhibited
at South Kensington, some ten or twelve years
ago. Then I took first prize when I farmed
only three or four bar-f fame hives ; and in the
intervening years I have held my own in many
parts of the kingdom with an increased number
of hives. I don't say it with any egotism, but in
other pursuits I have had the same luck (?). At
a local horticultural show I took sixteen prizes
with fifteen exhibits (many fii-sts), being awarded
an extra prize for taking more than any other
exhibitor, all said exhibits being grown in an
eighth of an acre, part of which ground was
covered by cottage and outhouse and an apiary
of twelve or thirteen hives. Pardon this digres-
sion, Messrs. Editors ; now let us return to the
Dairy Show.

There is no restriction to the number of
exhibits one exhibitor can make, and nothing in
the rules relating to the purchase of honey for
exhibiting. To my mind, it is simply a show of
honey — no endeavour by the Dairy Farmers'
Association to foster or encourage bee-keeping
otherwise than as showing the best produce of
the apiary in the largest city in the world.
Regarding unlimited entries, if I had felt
inclined, I could have made as many entries as
there are prizes in each class, and won the whole
of the prizes if my exhibits had been the best.
Take an example : the Cathedral Dairy Company
last year (1892) made six entries, and took
both first and second prizes in Cla9s 65 (for
granulated honey). Then London firms, such
as Reynolds & Co., Borough, and L. Noel,
of Soho Square, made entries as follows : — The
first in all classes, and the last-named in three
classes. Now, all three firms mentioned above
are probably larger honey-purchasers than they
are honey-producers. Now, will any one say
that in this show the honey classes ought to be
devoted to honey-producers exclusively ? No ;
certainly not. This show is on different lines
altogether from honey shows that are for the
encouragement of county bee-keeping. This
show, I take it, is like an exchange, where the
producer meets the merchant or purchaser of
his produce — not only the quantity staged, but

Novembef 9, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

449

the residue left at home. Now, right here let
me say to Mr. Walton, re his sales, if he had
offered his bottles of honey at 9s. or 10s., they
would have most probably been sold, as two or
three buyers on a large scale were there pur-
chasing the first and second days of show ; but
if the attendant said 12s. for the exhibit, that
barred a sale at once. I calculate like this : —
Twelve bottles of honey returned from London
will cost me Is. 6^. carriage, and if I sell to a
London firm again, the dozen will want repack-
ing and carriage again, (id., making 2s. ; also the
risk of return journey, enhanced by hurried
packing at clearance of show. Now, a purchaser
at the show pays me 9s. per dozen for them ; I
hand him the delivery note, and the risk is his.
Then another great advantage. Your name is
entered in the purchasers' list, and repeat orders
come in — sometimes years afterwards. — W.
Woodley, World's End, Beedon, Newbury.

THE STANDARD FRAME.
Is it the Best ?
[1619.] On page 482 B. B. «/., in answer to
Wilfred Shepherd, I read, " The fact of 500 or
more standard frames being used in brood
chambers to-day for every single one of any
other size, is very suggestive as to which is
best."

Now, I have 120 standard frames, but I had
these, not because they were the best, but
because, knowing nothing at all about bee-keep-
ing, I had to get what the Bee Association and
their recommended guide-book told me was the
best. How many more have done the same as
I have ? I have just obtained A Modern Bee-
farm, by S. Simmins ; he is very strongly in
favour of a 16 x 10 frame.

On page 428 B.B.J., "Phil Jones" (1603)
says: — "I now have twenty large frame hives,
which suit me nuch better than standard size, of
which 1 have now some fifteen. . . . All large
brood nests gave most surplus on the top."

I thank the Associations for the pleasure and
information I have had from them, but I can-
not help having an honest doubt as to the
standard being the most suitable and economic
size of frame. Could not the B.B.J, manage to
get in comparative details from all those who
use the standard and other sized frames in the
same apiary, to be published for the benefit of
beginners like myself ? Unless I shortly hear
good sound reasons against the larger frame,
say, 16 x 10, I shall be making arrangements
for trying them next year.

Thanking you for the insertion of a former
letter, and the informatition I received — Ned
Swain, Canterbury, October Slst.

[We shall be very pleased to insert any
" details " furnished to us for the purpose of
comparison as suggested by our correspondent ;
but in the matter of size of frames, the Editors
of this Journal are so thoroughly in agreement
with the committee of experienced bee-keepers
who, as representing the B.B.K.A.,some twelve
years ago discussed the subject in all its bearings,

and fixed upon the present " standard," that we
must decline to take part in any endeavour to
stir up an agitation against it, notwithstanding
that some few persons — conscientiously, no
doubt— disapprove of it. In fact, so convinced
are we of the immense advantage the adoption
of a uniform size of frame for brood nests has
been to bee-keeping, that it would require a con-
siderable amount of "good sound reasoning"
indeed to make us take one step tending to
undo the good accomplished by the almost
universal adoption of the " standard " in this
country. We do not offer these remarks with
the view of stopping discussion, nor do we
object to our correspondent following the bent
of his inclination as to the size of frame he
should adopt. Beginners are generally prone to
trying " improvements " (ice were in the days of
our noviciate), and it is, perhaps, well they
should want to get on a bit faster than the older
hands ; but for the benefit of those who attach
some value to our own views, we may say that,
after having tried (and well tried, too) larger
frames and smaller frames than the standard for
brood nests, we have given up both for the
latter. — Eds.]

BEES IN NORTH DEVON.

[1620.] It may, perhaps, interest some
readers if I relate the results of four years' bee-
keeping in this county, and show how cottagers
and others may add to their earnings by keep-
ing bees on the humane and economical plan
instead of the cruel method handed down from
generations and still very generally adopted in this
neighbourhood.

I should have shown a better balance-sheet
had I made my own hives or had them made
locally, as I find I can get them made here on
the " Wells " principle at about _ the price
London makers charge for a single hive.

My first year I bought two swarms and put
them in Neighbour's cottage hives ; these both
swarmed, increasing my stock to four hives.
I took about fifty pounds of honey, which had
I sold would have gone far towards paying for
my outlay.

My second year (1891) was a very wet year,
and the hives were set down in a bad place
facing west. Consequently, getting no morning-
sun, and being under the drip of trees, I was
unlucky in losing swarms. However, I had
about fifty pounds of honey and increased by
one stock. This was a most unfavourable year,
though had I managed them better no doubt
better results would have followed.

In 1892 I first head of the " Wells " hive and
had two made. I moved my hives to another
place facing south-east, fairly sheltered from
wind and with no overhanging trees. The
" Wells " hives did fairly well but the two
swarms were hived about a week apart and
there was a great deal of fighting, the second
swarm being nearly destroyed. This year I
took 170 pounds of honey, most of which I
sold.

I began the season 1893 with four stocks in

450

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 9, 1893.

Neighbour's cottage hives, and two "Wells"
hives equal to four single-queen stocks. I was
anxious to compare the double hives with the
single ones, and the result is slightly in favour
of single hives. All my honey is in one-pound
sections and I only count those that are tho-
roughly sealed and saleable. The figures from
hive (1) single, 30 pounds ; (2) single, 79 pounds ;
(3) single, 35 pounds; (4) single, 89 pounds;
total, 233 pounds. From « Wells " hive (1), 97
pounds ; (2), 128 pounds ; total, 225 pounds ;
showing an average of 57J pounds per stock.
I had also two swarms this year which gave 64
pounds, so that my total for the year was 522
pounds of honey in sections.

My expenses up to date, i.e., cost of swarms,
hives, sections, and all my bee-plant amounts
to 171. 7s. Qd.

My takings in honey have been — in 1 890, 50
•pounds; 1891, 50 pounds; 1892, 170 pounds;
1893, 522 pounds. Total, 792 pounds. The
majority of the honey is heather and commands
Is. a pound, but even taking it at lOd. a pound
it gives the satisfactory return of 331., or deduct-
ing the cost of plant, 171. 7s. Qd., a net profit of
151. 12s. Qd. in cash, besides all my bees, hives,
and appliances, which are worth at least 121. I
do not expect again to have quite so favourable a
year at 1893, but with apiary of ten stocks four
years' experience and ordinary luck, I trust next
year to be able to show a fair balance in my
favour, and now all the principal outlay is paid
for the net profits should be considerably in-
creased.— C. S.

MIXED !

[1621.] Referring to 1602, p. 428, there are
one or two points I don't quite understand.
Perhaps I am a bit dense, but your correspon-
dent, " Honesty," says he was " innocent as a
child of the adulteration fraud two years ago,"
(fee. Does this imply that he is not
"innocent" now? Again, he has "heard of
some cows giving inferior milk to others, though
in the same pastures, but never so of the honey
of the ' little busy bee.' " Does he mean than
that given by the other cows in the same
pastures, or am I mixed ? No, Mr. " Honesty,"
don't write and explain as to these points; put
it down to my obtuseness. Yet wait. He also
says in his letter, " but then I have no autumn
or spring dodge." What is meant by this ? Does
he class legitimate spring and autumn feeding
in the category of the adulteration trick and
fraud ? I think, if it is not troubling "Honesty"
too much, he might " let the light in here." I
quite appreciate and fully reciprocate his in-
dignation as to fraudulent honey and palming
off spurious articles for the real thing, Imt
confess, after reading his letter, I got a bit
" mixed."

With regard to the letter of " Phil Jones "
(1603, p. 428), it appears to me that he has made
the record score of the season in a big take
from a single hive. I wonder what " Honesty"
will think when he reads of — sections, 140

pounds ; five frames, 30 pounds ; eleven frames,
40 pounds ; total, 210 pounds — andthese sixteen
frames in the brood nest or given to driven bees.
But "P.J." continues: "Strange to say, all
large brood nests gave most surplus on top."
Strange, indeed, yet I never had a brood nest
that ever gave a surplus of any kind, either top
or bottom ; au contraire. Mixed again. " P. J."
also states that his bees have to go two and a
half miles to get the honey.

This hive must have been a powerfully strong
lot to judge from the result ; and if this were
so, I wonjcler whether " P.J." found it necessary
to put any of the forty skeps of driven bees in
with them to bring them up to " autumn
standard ? "

I say, friend "Honesty," when you next
lament over your " short take," think of sixteen
frames full of honey and seveu crates of
sections tiered up on the top of same ; why the
mere idea of contemplating such a pile makes
the head feathers stand on end of even — The
Heathen, November 1st.

STORING AWAY COMB FOR EX-
TRACTING.

[1622.] Since my extracting comb3 have been
cleaned up by the bees, I have had them tiered
up in the surplus boxes in my bee-yard, cover-
ing over and making the " pile " waterproof and
bee-proof, not caring to store them in my honey
house too soon for fear of the wax-moth.
When it became cooler I placed a couple of
pieces of scantling about a foot apart, and set a
board on this the size of bottom of box ; then
placed some bits of sections at each corner, and
set on the box of combs, putting in a couple of
balls of naphthaline, and then equally spread
the combs (which usually contain eight), and
then set on another box of combs, and so on as
high as I could set them, covering the top with
a piece of excluder zinc, putting something on
that it shall not get out of place, thus ensuring
that the combs are well ventilated, and there is
no chance for the mice to get in. I stack them
thus year after year. When putting combs
away, I usually look over them, setting aside
any containing pollen, to have the latter
scraped off or melted up for wax. I found some
stocks this season had carried more pollen
through the excluder than usual, but in no case
had the queens got through. I set boxes of
shallow frames with metal ends on three hives,
thinking of putting queens up from below, as
suggested by friend Holliday, of Congleton, but
never had time to go to hunt up the queens, as
the stocks were away from home. The excluder
zinc was under these frames, and the bees put a
fine lot of pollen in, I expect, in anticipation of
queen getting up there. — John Walton.

DESTROYING CATERPILLARS.
[1623.] In the British Bee Journal for October
19th (1592, p. 418) I notice that your corre-
spondent refers to being troubled with cater-

November 9, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

451

pillars, and gives particulars of the remedy lie
uses to get rid of them. May I here say that
my father was troubled with the same pests
some years ago, and a friend recommended him
to spread a little tan on the ground close to the
trees, declaring that he would have no cater-
pillars the following year? In the autumn,
therefore, when the caterpillars had assumed
the chrysalis form, he put tan around the trees,
and next year not a caterpillar wa9 to be seen.
The tan is washed into the earth by rain, and
in some way destroys the chrysalis. If you
have not heard of this plan before, it might
benefit some readers of the B.B.J, to publish it.
— R. Bavley, Plymouth.

BEES PERISHING IN SNOW— HOW
PREVENTED.

[1624.] It would be useful to hear — now that
winter is at hand and snowstorms approaching
- the various plans bee-keepers use to save bee-
life when the ground is covered thick with snow
and a bright warm sun comes out. If left to
their own devices, hundreds of dead bodies will
be found on the surface of the snow in a very
short time. I have tried stopping the mouths
of the hives with perforated zinc, but, after a
long bad storm, the bees want a flight in the
sun. 1 have tried placing a heap of snow just
before the doors, but that is a very uncertain
preventive. The best way, I believe, is, where
the snow falls, to sweep a large space bare in
front of the hives, and keep it swept when
comes. Alighting on the ground, frozen though
it may be, does not chill them as snow does,
and, moreover, in snow their struggles to rise
only make a hole, in which their poor frozen
bodies soon lie still. But I should much like to
hear what bee-keepers generally do. — A York-
shire Bee-keeper, November Ath.

WIDTH OF SHALLOW FRAMES.

Are Metal Ends Needed in Surplus

Chambers ?

[1625.] About three or four years ago, Mr.
Wm. Woodley paid me a visit, and I showed
him some shallow frames with ordinary top
bars, and W.B.C. metal ends; they were nicely
filled with sealed honey. Mr. \V. observed
" how much better they would be if the combs
were thicker." I held the same view, and
altered all the frames I had in use by tacking a
bit of three-eighth-inch wood on each side the
top bar, to within an inch of the ends, which
madebars about five-eighth -inch thick,leaving the
ends of top bars the ordinary seven-eighths to
lay hold of, and not using any metal ends at
all. I have had several hundreds filled this
season, some combs weighing over six pounds.
Eight frames go in the place of ten spaced at
ordinary width, and have not found metal ends
necessary. There has been but very little
propolising, and when examining surplus boxes
tiered up, very few bees lodged or loafed about
at the end of frames. I have also used a lot of

wide top bars, full standard depth, but have not
felt a want for wide ends to put on them.
Many years ago I used shallow frames one-and-
a-half inch thick, but as I did not then work
much for extracting, I discarded them. — John
Walton.

[Referring to the necessity for a wider metal
end for frames in a surplus chambers, it need
hardly be said that bee-keepers who, like our
correspondent, can dispense with them alto-
gether, will not trouble about width of ends at
all. It is only for the more numerous class
who prefer " ends," that the question of altering
the width of those used in surplus chambers is
i nter esting. — Eds .]

POSERS.

[1626.] One u poser " has been disposed of,
and there is a probability of disposing of an-
other, viz., the whereabouts of the " Man of
Kent." A subscriber has received an anonymous
communication with these words, "The original
Man of Kent is here." The postmark is Tun-
bridge. I believe that, strictly speaking, a
" Man of Kent " belongs to the southern side
of the Medway ; we must, therefore, not look
for him this side the river. A Kentish man, a
farmer, told me to-day that he got 143 pounds
from a single stock this season !

There is yet another poser to solve. Who
and where is the " Woman of Kent," who took
733 pounds from eleven hives ? If she puts in
for Kent champion, then we shall be able to
send our congratulations on her success. — A
Kentish Man.

THE " WELLS " HIVE.
[1627.] I find that the " Wells " hive answers
well with me. I have worked one this season
and it has given me 130 pounds of honey, and I
have taken two swarms. My twenty others, on
the combination system, give thirty-five pounds
each on the average, without any increase of
stock. The yield this year is below the average
in this district.— H. 0. Huntley, Worcester,
October 30th.

WEATHER REPORT.

Westbourne, Sussex.

October, 1893.,

Rainfall, 7-08 in. Sunshine, 136-3 hrs.

Heaviest fall, 2'28 in. Brightest day, 12th,

on 17th. 9-15

Rain fell on 22 days. Sunless days, 7.

Above average, 3-25. Above average, 12'7.

Max. temp., 61° on Mean max., 55°.

21st. Mean ruin., 4P7°.

Min. temp., 30° on 31st. Mean temp., 48-3°.

Min. on grass, 22° on Max. barometer, 3056

31st. on 24th.

Frosty night, 1, Min. barometer, 29*21
on 4th.
L, B, BlRKETT,

452

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 9, 1893.

ESSAYS ON BEES.
Bees and the Bishop.

In a communication before us, "G. N. P."
writes : — " 1. Will any readers of the Journal
kindly suggest any hints on preparing an essay
on ' Bees P ' (not bee-keeping, but more particu-
larly ' bees,' and especially the honey-bee"). I
can" talk already about bees, but I should be
obliged for some hints as to the headings
arrangement, &c. 2. Will some reader also
give, in your columns, the tale anent the
curate who eked out his scanty income by keep-
ing bees, and was thus enabled to entertain his
bishop sumptuously, to his (the bishop's) no
small surprise ? 3. About how many species of
bees are there ? "

[To the last query we reply: Including the
various orders of AndreruB, there will be between
two and three thousand varieties or species of bees
existing in all parts of the world. — Ens.]

HONEY IMPORTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of October
1893, was 951/. — From a return furnished by
the Statistical Office, H.M. Customs.

(&t\m facrnt % pitas.

Hill Farm Apiary, Steventon, October lAth.
— Having followed the directions given by Mr.
Woodley in former Bee Journals, I have this
vear secured about 756 pounds of honey from
fourteen hives, an average of fifty-four pounds
per hive. As a novice at the bar-frame, I don't
think I have done very badly. — Jas. Dunsden.

mxm antr |jLeglies.

[911.] Combs Breaking Down in Driving
Bees. — The last two seasons I have drummed the
bees from three skeps into empty ones, and both
times I had a breakdown of the combs when
" drumming." 1. Is there anything I can do
to make the combs tougher ? When feeding
this autumn, I was much troubled by wasps
going into the hives and eating the food intended
for the bees. 2. How could they have been
prevented ? 3. How are bees transferred from
a straw skep to a bar-frame hive. — Chan,
Aberdeenshire.

Reply. — 1. By the exercise of a little care in
" drumming," and striking the skep opposite the
ends of combs, there need be no breakdown
when driving bees from skeps. When establish-
ing bees in skeps intended for driving, two or
three sticks should be pushed through, reaching
from side to side, before the bees are hived in
them. 2. Bees can only be protected from
wasps by keeping stocks strong, and narrowing

entrances to allow of one wasp passing in at a
time. 3. By throwing the bees out in front
and allowing them to run in.

[912.] Moths in Combs. — I have a consider-
able number of good empty combs over-run with
the moth maggot, full of burrows every way.
Can you tell me how to get rid of the intruders
without destroying the combs ? — Thos. Isaac,
Maldon, November 1st.

Reply. — There is no possible method of pre-
serving for use combs infested as described, and
melting down for wax is the only way of
utilising them. The larvae of the moth not only
destroy the midrib of the comb by burrowing it
through, but the tough, web-like fabric of the
" burrows " are entirely beyond the bees' power
to remove them. It should be borne in mind
that a few pieces of naphthaline put away with
combs effectually prevent such mischief as is
complained of above.

[913.] Zinc Separators — Glazed Boxes for
showing Shallotv Frames. — Can you inform me
(1) what the nature of the composition on the
enclosed zinc is, and whether it is imjurious to
bees, and if so (2) how can I remove it ? — as I
have a quantity cut in squares for section sepa-
rators ; (3) where can glazed boxes for ex-
hibiting shallow frames of comb honey be ob-
tained ?— G. F. D.

Reply. — 1 and 2. The " composition " is
simply printed paper with a coat of varnish. A
few minutes' insertion in boiling water will, no
doubt, take it off, and the bees will be best
without it. 3. Any appliance-maker will supply
them to order.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking fvt addresses of manufacturers 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 communication.

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

Joseph Mitchell (Addiewell). — Bee-candy. —
Full particulars for making candy are given
in B.J. for March 9th last, page 91, another
recipe appearing in our monthly, the Record,
for March, 1892. Mr. Saddler, of Forfar,
makes it for a much less price per pound than
the one you quote.

J. Martin (Bristol). — Samples of Honey. — Nos.
1, 2, and 3 are all good honeys, No. 2 especially
so. We do not think that No. 1 is entirely
from clover, though largely from that source.
The sample in small jar is poor in quality,
the flavour and aroma being very objection-
able.

Loedswood. — Your interesting communication,
entitled " A Hive of Wasps," is in type, and
will appear next week.

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 595 Vol. XXI. N.S. 203.] NOVEMBER 16, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

tfftttorid, Notices, &t*

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — So little news of any note
has needed recording in this column of
late, that we have been rather glad than
otherwise to occupy it with other matter
for a longer interval than usual. The
weather has now become quite seasonable,
and though no snow has yet appeared in
the south, sharp frosts at night have been
frequent for over a fortnight past. The
season has maintained its character as an
abnormal one for vegetation quite to the
end of the growing time, for we have it
recorded that second crops of strawberries
and raspberries were gathered in October,
also that even apples and pears have in
1893 yielded two crops ! Weather prophets
are foreboding an unusually severe winter,
and so we would say to bee-keepers, Look
out for and guard against such an event.

The Presentation at the Mansion
House. — The interesting little function,
which took place on the morning of the
1st inst., has probably caused more stir in
the newspaper world— so far as the "fourth
estate " has to do with bee-keeping — than
anything the oldest of us can remember.
After having been written about and com-
mented on by every leading morning and
evening paper in London, and by weeklies
as well, it has heen taken up in a remark-
able manner by the provincial press. Judg-
ing by the number of cuttings which have
reached us, favourable notices have appeared
in some scores of papers in various parts of
the kingdom. Verb. sap. says the adage,
and if our Associations are as wise as we
hope, they will take the hint and endeavour
to take legitimate advantage of the tide
being with us. In other words, British
bee-keeping — which means British honey-
producing — will be talked about by thou-
sands who have never before given a thought

to it, and our endeavour should be to direct
attention to the native product as being
excellent in quality, easily obtainable, and
reasonable in price. By these means the
number of consumers will be increased.

Huckle Testimonial Fund. — It is very
pleasing to note that the total sum to be
presented to Mr. Huckle has reached the
respectable total of over 155/., and it goes
to show that, in this case, the prophet hap
found honour even in his own county,
when we observe that two-thirds of the sum
j was subscribed by Mr. Huckle's immediate
neighbours and friends at Kings Langley.
We have always thought that bee-keepers
regarded the " Huckle Testimonial " rather
as belonging to the orthodox " timepiece "
or " illuminated address " order of events,
rather than as one of those very opportune
and welcome tokens of regard which take
the shape of a purse of sovereigns to an
esteemed, but not very wealthy, pastor.
Had this not been so, we are fain to think
that a longer list of names would have
appeared on our side of the subscription
list. Anyway, a cheque for 50/. will show
that bee-men are not quite without appre-
ciation of Mr. Huckle's modest merits.

Wide " Ends " for Surplus Chambers. —
The question of the advisability or other-
wise of a special wide frame for thick combs
in surplus chambers was fairly well dis-
cussed at the recent conversazione, and the
resolution carried in favour of the retention
of the present shallow frame will, we think,
be generally approved. Indeed, anything
tending to the retention of present appli-
ances— so long as efficiency is secured — is
sure to meet with more favour than would
the introduction of a frame of new pattern,
and the consequent making firewood of
those in present use. All that is needed,
therefore is a "wide end" to slip on the
old frames, and the thing is done, much to
the comfort of those who already possess a
goodly stock of store combs. Referring to
the question of damaging combs when ex-
tracting, in consequence of the face of the

454

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 16, 1893.

comb lying close against the wire of the
revolving cage, we have, after long experi-
ence with extracting combs, never had any-
trouble in this way.

Bees Perishing in Snow. — A correspon-
dent last week (1624, p. 451) asks "what bee-
keepers generally do " when snow lies on
the ground and the warm sun shines on
hive-entrances 1 Well, it may be said that
the circumstances existing at the time have
much to do with the treatment adopted.
For instance, when the weather is cold, the
snow dry, and entrances exposed to sun-
light, we have frequently thrown a good
shovelful of snow over each hive-entrance,
and so stopped out the light and kept the
bees in. It is always unadvisable to close
entrances with perforated zinc ; rather leave
them open, and allow the bees to take their
chance ; but a bit of temporary shade to
keep out sunlight is always useful.

COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS AND THE
PROMOTION OF BEE-KEEPING.

Referring to the article on p. 444 of our last
issue, and the suggestion therein made as to the
best way in which it appeared to us that County
Associations might promote their objects at this
juncture, we have been inquired of as to the best
manner of practically carrying out the suggestion
offered. In reply it may be said that in most
counties there will be some special circum-
stances to consider — circumstances which, in a
measure, are bound to guide those taking action
in the matter under consideration, but we think
the method of procedure followed by the Kent
County Association will commend itself as being
likely to effect some at least of the good de-
sired. The K. B. K. A. has had inserted in all
the county papers an appeal signed by the
President, Lord Sackville, which reads as
follows : —

"To the Editor. — Sir, — As President of the
Kent Bee-keepers' Association I shall be thank-
ful if you will allow me the opportunity, in your
columns, of advocating the claims of the bee-
keeping industry.

"At the last annual meeting of the Association,
the Chairman said, ' Kent ought not only to be
called the garden, but also the " Apiary " of
England,' for as a field for bee-keepers the
county is probably unsurpassed.

" Sir James Whitehead, at the Mansion House,
on the 1st inst., cited the remarkable yield of
142 pounds of honey from a single hive by a
member of the Association, a farmer, near
Farningham. A lad who took the prize hive
offered by the Association at the Swanley bee-
keeping lectures last year, removed from the
same hive this year 73 pounds. A lady bee-
keeper in the county has recently taken 733
pounds from eleven hives. ' In one village the

members of the Association have realised in the
aggregate 50/. worth, but instances could be
multiplied, if necessary, to prove that bee-keep-
ing is undoubtedly a source of considerable in-
come, and it is the duty of the Association to
encourage its extension in the county.

" For the purpose of preparing statistics of
Kentish bee-culture, the Association has taken
a bee-keeping census in 49 parishes of the county,
showing 511 bee-keepers, owning 1986 hives, of
which 853 are the old-fashioned straw skeps. If
this be taken as a basis of calculation for the
other parishes of Kent, the county total approxi-
mates to 4000 bee-keepers owning 16,000 hives,.
but a large proportion of the hives are straw
skeps, and probably more than half the bee-
keepers unskilled, so that nothing like a proper
yield of honey is obtained in proportion to these
numbers.

" In some parishes a ton of honey or more is
obtained every average season, and there are
at least from 300 to 400 parishes in which
this quantity could be raised, if there were the
bee-keepers. In all probability not much more
than a tithe of this quantity is collected, it is-
therefore obvious that scores of tons are annually
lost to the county.

" The Association, especially in the present year,,
has much reason to be satisfied with the en-
couragement it has received, but its income is
totally inadequate for the work it has to do.
There has been a very considerable increase in
the number of its members, but as the bee-keep-
ing literature gratuitously supplied every month
to every member, costs the Association 2s. 6d.
out of the minimum annual subscription (5s. ),
the increase of income is too slow to keep pace
with the expenditure which the work demands.
In addition to the monthly literature there are
the exhibition privileges — prizes, free admission
to County Show, and the privilege of applying
to the Honorary Secretary, Hon. Local Secre-
taries, or the expert when necessary, for advice
and assistance.

" I therefore appeal to the bee-keepers of Kent,
as well as to all who are or ought to be inter-
ested in the county progress, to steadily support
the Kent Bee-keepers Association in its en-
deavours to extend and encourage the bee-keep-
ing industry. Our Chairman, the Hon. Secre-
tary, at Meopham, the Hon. Treasurer, or the
Local Hon. Secretaries (whose names are at
foot), will be happy to receive subscriptions.

" Apologising for the length of this, letter, I
am, Yours faithfully, Sackville, President"

An appeal like the above, along with such
personal influence and effort as is available,
should surely result in a sensible addition to the
list of subscribing members. But the fact
ought not to be lost sight of, by those who follow
up their efforts to benefit their Association to the
extent of a personal appeal or canvas, that help
is sought not only from those who are them-
selves bee-keepers or who intend to become such,
but from that larger class who are willing to
support a good cause from motives of philan-
thropy and public spirit.

November 16, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

455

IS THE USE OF COMB FOUNDATION
PROFITABLE ?

Jnteres'ing Experiments at the Michigan State

Apiary, U.S.A., by the Apiarist, Me. R. L.

Taylor.

I desire in this article to set forth briefly the
character and results of the experiments made
in the apiary to test the comparative value of
comb foundation and starters when used in the
brood chamber for swarms, and, in addition
thereto, to call attention to what the experiments
seem to disclose touching the comparative
advantage of swarms of different sizes. In the
main, all this can be best accomplished by the
use of tables which I have prepared, and which
are presented herewith.

It was not till the 27th of June that I was
able to put into operation my plans for making
these tests. I prepared twelve hives, four of
which were furnished with comb, four with
foundation, and four with starters only. The
hives prepared with comb were designated by
the numbers one to four inclusive, with the
letter A ; those with foundation, in like manner,
with the letter B ; and those with starters, with
the same numbers and the letter C ; and each
hive was marked with the proper designation
and its weight. Then in each case when a
swarm issued, which was to be used for making
this test, it was secured in a basket and weighed
before hiving; the supers also, whether taken
from the old hive at swarming or supplied sub-
sequently, were carefully weighed before they
were put in place, and a record made on the
spot of all items. By referring to Table A, all
these will be found in the three columns follow-
ing the date of hiving, except, of course, the
weight of the cases subsequently adjusted, which
appears further along.

I ought also to say that in each case the hive
with the bees and cases was reweighed early
on the morning subsequent to the hiving, in
order to detect, and thereby correct, any change
which might chance to take place before the
swarm -became settled in its new home. The
only change it was fouud necessary to make
was the addition of the fraction of a pound to
the weight of the bees, which may be supposed
to be accounted for by the presence in the
morning of bees which at the time of swarming
were afield.

Other data for Table A were obtained by
weighing the several hives, bees, supers, and all
upon three different dates, viz., the 6th, 12th,
and the 19th of July (thus dividing the time of
the test into three nearly equal periods), and by
weighing the cases of honey separately on July
10th, at the end of the time given to the test.
These data, with the previous ones, enable me
to state the exact total gain of each colony for
each of the three periods, the gain of each
colony in the amount of comb honey, together
with the gain in the weight of the hive for the
entire time. From these I deduce the gain per
pound of bees of each colony for each of the
three periods, as well as for the entire time, and

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456

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 16, 1893.

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that almost notLing has been made of 3 A and
2 C. The explanation of this is that the latter
persisted in its desire to swarm until it eventually
lost a considerable part of its bees by their
uniting with another swarm, and the former,

within a day or two after swarming, in soma
way lost its queen, and dispersed more or less in
consequence. The only question with regard to
the propriety of this course arises when we con-
sider Table C, wherein the comparative advan-
tages of large and small swarms are weighed.
Perhaps 2 C should have been permitted to cut
some figure in that, for it clearly illustrates one
of the disadvantages of very large swarms.

Table B is a summary of Table A, and puts
the tables of each group of colonies employed in
the experiment side by side, so that the general
results are seen at a glance.

Table C is derived from Table A, and puts in
contrast the work of the stronger colonies of
each group with that of the weaker ones of the
same group ; and Table D is an epitome of

Table 0.

(To be concluded next week.

TTie Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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. Illustrations should he 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.

WHAT ARE THE COUNTY
ASSOCIATIONS DOING ?

[1628.] Since the Mansion House presentation,
there has been much interest excited all over
the kingdom on the subject of bee-keeping and
honey-production.

In war it is a recognised rule to follow up a
success. Are our bee-keepers taking advantage
of the present opportunity to secure successes
all along the line ? What have Associations
done ? You will see that Lord Sackville, Presi-
dent of the Kent B.K.A., has circularised all
the Kent press — I hope, with good results to
the " Kent." I wish all the County Associ-
ations would take the same line of action, and
strike while the public sympathy is with the
bee-keepers. The stir made by the newspaper
reports will soon calm down, and then there
will be less opportunity for bee-keepers to enlist
recruits.

Where Associations are organized with
zealous bee-keepers at the head of affairs, con-
sidering the rural weal more than their own
advantage, the tide can be taken at the flood,
and their counties will obtain benefit, but how
about Associations only half-alive, and existing
more in name than reality ? We shall certainly
have a new departure in bee-keeping if our
bee-keepers are equal to the occasion, or, as the
Lord Mayor put it, " true to themselves." — A
Member of the Kent B.KA.

[We publish the letter referred to on another
page, aud would be glad to see our correspondent's
enthusiasm become contagious. — Eds.]

November 16, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

457

LECTURERS' ERRORS.

[1629.] I fear your correspondent (1615,
p. 439) is not on the right path for the further-
ance of bee-keeping. We are all aware hew
easy it is to say things we do not intend. I
well remember hearing: a lecturer allude to
'• protecting the wrists " as " protecting the
ankles." This was a slip, but no doubt your
correspondent would have something to say on
that, even. I have not the slightest doubt the
case in point would be merely a slip of the
tongue.

In support of this we must suppose one of
our County Council lectures is referred to. If
such is the case I may — speaking for my own
county — say these lectures have been under the
supervision of a special Sub-Committee of our
Association, with myself as Secretary, and
none but qualified experts were engaged to do
the lecturing, and who, I do not hesitate one
moment in saying, know better than to make the
statements referred to, except, as I have said,
by a slip of the tongue. Further, I have
already questioned our lecturers, and I am
firmly convinced neither of tbem made the
errors stated— at all events, not knowingly.

The only inference is that your anonymous
correspondent is not a friend of Associations,
and, moreover, is casting a slight upon the
British Bee-keepers' Association, for it is hardly
reasonable to suppose they would pass a candi-
date not properly qualified.

It is a pity your correspondent does not give
fuller details — also let us know who he is. To
adopt a nom de plume in cases like this is, to
my mind, as objectionable as anonymous letters
are ; but if he will apply to me and give his
name I am fully prepared to go into the whole
matter with him and explain what is not clear.
I much regret that he did not call the lecturers'
attention to what he calls "inaccuracies" at
the time instead of letting them pass, and causing
disturbance by raising the question in B. J. —
H. Hill, Ambaston, Derby , November 4th, 1893.

[It is, no doubt, both desirable and necessary
that lecturers on bee-keeping — who are sup-
posed to be in the fullest sense teachers — should
be most caref id that no " slips of the tongue "
on their part go so far as to amount to
" inaccuracies," or their teaching becomes un-
sound. But, unless our correspondent is in
possession of more information than appears in
the letter referred to, we do not quite see why
the strictures of "Bee" should be supposed to
apply definitely to a lecturer engaged by the
Derbyshire Association. The lecture in ques-
tion may have been delivered in some other
county for all that appears on the surface. —
Eds.]

FRAME ENDS.

[1630.] Your correspondent « H. C. J." (1608,
p. 435 of B. J. for November 2nd) describes
how he makes the " W. B. C." ends act as dis-

tance-keepers for sides of frames between inner
walls of hive. I had myself experimented in
this direction, and, although jour note on
" H. C. J's." letter justly points out that the
consequent fixity of position of the tin end
destroys its great advantage for spacing frames
one and a quarter inch apart, I would urge that
makers should supply " W. B.C." ends with such
distance-keeping spur when required, for the
following reasons: —

1. For shallow frames the objection does not
apply. We here want more spacing apart of
frames — never less ; and, in addition to such
reasons as Mr. Woodley gives (p. 134 of October
Record) for this distance-keeper, it is evident
that it obviates two of the elements of error,
namely, fixed and exact length of top bar and
exactitude in outer walls or distance strips.

2. Even in the brood chamber " W. B. C."
ends with such distance-keeper would be useful
(and surely countenanced by you) in cases of
existing hives having no arrangement for spacing
by the extemities of bars, and when " W. B. C."
ends are preferred to other metal ends or to the
wood of broad-shoulder bars.

In such cases it would permit of adopting the
" W. B. C." end throughout an apiary containing
different forms of hives, and would thus enable
all frames to be interchangeable.

As spacing to one and a quarter inches is not
a frequent operation, it could still be accom-
plished with care by removing alternate ends
and adjustiug the frames temporarily between
hive sides without any distance-keeper for this
adjustment.

A better way, I think, of making the distance-
keeper spur than that explained by your corre-
spondent, would be to cut out a V-8haped spur
(or two pressed together for strength) having
the edge of the tin, instead of its face, against
the hive side, thus reducing contact surface for
propolisation.

Another method of side-spacing frames, when
using the " W. B. C." ends under the circum-
stances described, and, failing the above adap-
tation of the end, is to drive small panel pins
into frame sides under the ears. Experiment-
ally I find it t asy and speedy to drive the pins
in to exact depth by using a hollow punch
having a hole a quarter of an inch deep.

The questions of frame ends, thicker and per-
haps wider top bars than seven-eighths by three-
eighths (for rigidity and lessening brace combs)
in standard frames, and for thick-combed
shallow frames and thickness of ears if my top
bars be half an inch thick, are of much interest
to me as a beginner in bee-keeping, and I am
postponing decision for next season till I see
my way clear to the best form to adopt as a
permanency, and for interchangeability of frames
without being tied to particular hives.

I started with two stocks in skeps in July,
one weak in bees and stores, it having pre-
viously lost several swarms, and took them to
the heather, where the stronger lot gave me
twenty pounds of section honey, and each filled
up to thirty pounds of stores for wintering. In

458

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL [November 1 6, 1893.

the six weeks ending October 30th, the loss of
weight was only two and three-quarters and
three pounds respectively.

I think this is not a bad way for novices to
begin, with all due deference to Mr. Grimshaw's
arguments to the contrary. J, at all events, got
some practical bee-keeping experience and inci-
dents while gaining time for education before
selecting and. committing myself to bar-frame
hives and accessories. I have now for next
season a couple of hives of the Abbott type, by
present, and my weaker skep is snugly packed
in tli9 outer case of a " W. B. C' hive — my
first choice for purchase.

I am much indebted to you for the pleasure
and valuable instruction gained from the Bee
Journal and Record, and I find that the past
years' volumes of the latter lose none of their
interest by age. — F. S., A Lancashire Novice,
November Wth.

BEES AND THE BISHOP.

[1631.] In your issue of November 9th (page
452), I find a query, ' The tale anent the curate,'
&c. This is the answer.

The Abb6 Brinaime, who afterwards became
Bi-shop of Metz, was, about the year 1800, cure in
the small village of Nonancourt. Mgr. de
Narbonne, bishop of Evreux, who was on his
first pastoral visitation, came to the village,
visited the church, and repaired to the presby-
tery for dinner. To his great surprise, a sump-
tuous dinner was served (tres-recherche). At
dessert, still move sumptuous than what had
been served before, the Bishop could not refrain
from exclaiming, " My poor cure, you have lost
your head ! How could you indulge in such
expense after my strict orders that you should
add nothing to your ordinaire ? And, behold,
you are spending one-fourth of your meagre
yearly income to receive me ! " "I could not do
less to receive your Lordship ; but have no fear,
my Lord. Besides my little living, mostly spent
on the poor, who form the bulk of my flock, I
receive abundant supplies from a very laborious
community of virgins who are under my direc-
tion " (the priest used the French pun in pro-
nouncing the word abeiller (i.e., an apiary) as
abbaye, an abbey). " What, an abbey ! (i.e., a
religious community). What, an abbey ! An
institution established here without my know-
lege ? " "I must confess, my Lord, that this
institution is out of your jurisdiction ; but, if
you will allow me, I shall have the honour to
show it to you directly." On rising from the
table, the Bishop was shown into the garden,
where flourished a splendid apiary of some
hundred colonies. " This, my Lord, is the
abbaye (abbey) of industrious workers to whom
I am indebted for my means." At the sight of
the myriads of the humming and busy insects,
the Bishop gave expression to his admiration,
and congratulated the worthy priest on his
thrift, and on his having found such a profitable
recreation.

Now, if you will allow me, I will give you

a bit of experience, or, the story of a bee-
sting.

One Saturday afternoon I was stung on the
eyelid. The sting was extracted, the swelling
soon disappeared, and I thought no more about
it, but about eight days after, suddenly I felt a
sharp pain in that eye. Having forgotten all
about the sting, I feared it was some tiny piece
of glass. I did all I could think likely to relieve
me, to no purpose. I saw the doctor twice ; he
seemed to scrape something out of the inside of
the eyelid, and declared there was nothing. I
then inquired if there was some oculist in
Salisbury, and went to Dr. Kingscote. After a
careful examination with a lens, he thought he
saw something black and extremely minute.
He scraped it out with the aid of a pocket-
pencil, and put it on his thumb-nail. "A bee-
sting ! " said I, on seeing it. And so it proved
to be under the microscope. The sting had not
been extracted entirely, but broken, and as its
barbs had prevented its being worked out back-
wards, the tissue of the eyelid worked it in-
wards until it reached the eyeball, and caused,
at moments, a very acute pain. Moral: —
Extract stings; don't break them. — A Con-
stant Reader.

BEES IN SOMERSET.

[1632.] The season of 1893 in this locality
has been a very poor one for bees, the worst I
have experienced since I commenced bee-keep-
ing. The fruit - bloom in season stimulated
breeding, so that at the end of April we were
on the look-out for swarms ; but the expected
did not happen. Clover appeared in small
quantity early in June, but was burned brown
before a week, and the limes had " come and
gone " about the same time, and from thence to
the end of July the fields were brown and bare.
All expectation of a crop was vain, and in most
cases surplus chambers were removed. In
August there was a plentiful crop of clover and
" charlock," and bees started work again, bring-
ing in plentifully. In some cases the brood nest
had to be relieved, substituting empty frames
for full ones ; but the quality of the honey was
so bad that I would neither offer it for sale nor
use it for any other purpose than bee-feeding.
I see it stated in B.B.J, of October 19th, p. 414,
in some remarks upon the Dairy Show, that
1893 was so much better than 1891. Now, I
believe that if a general report from all parts
were returned, this statement would only stand
good in places. In 1891 I had 100 pounds per
hive of the best honey I have ever handled ; in
1893 I have averaged about 30 pounds per hive
of what I consider only about third-class honey,
and from my knowledge of this neighbourhood.
I have fared as well as any others. I had no
swarms. Drones were scarce all the season, and
got leave to live a good long while. One strong
stock that I am quite sure is all right only
turned the drones out about the middle of last
month. — R. Auld, Bath.

[Beferring to our observation on the Dairy

November 16, 1893,] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

45?

Show, we do not think there can be any doubt
that the bee-season, as a whole, has been con-
siderably better this year than in 1891. We
have, however, never concealed the fact that it
has not been so good in some southern districts.
— Eds.1

A HIVE OF WASPS.

[lt>33.] Coming from the happy possessor
of an apiary of ten hives and an out-apiary of
one hive, this may seem somewhat strange. The
bee-keeper is supposed to wage incessant war,
like all other mortals, against the whole Vespa
family,from the princely hornet ( Vespa crabro) to
the tiny bush -wasp {Vespa norvegica). And
why ? For the simple reason that there is a
legend about a weak hive being cleared out by
them. From my experience, a stock which
cannot defend itself against wasps is probably
queenless — or, at any rate, in such a sad con-
dition that it is the better for being defunct.

The way I became a wasp-keeper happened
in this wise. There is a shed in the garden
fitted up with a circular-saw bench and tools,
with which T amuse myself making hives. The
shed contains all manner of curious contrivances,
which the uninitiated would certainly suppose
to be quite foreign to the enlightened manage-
ment of bees. On a shelf there stood a hive
in which were four frames of comb and a
dummy board. The queen ( V. Germanica) may
have hybernated in this, for all I know. How-
ever, she had been house-hunting, and finding
the situation pleasant — it overlooked an orchard
— the hive well built — Abbott's make — had
decided to take it for the season ; and so com-
menced the nursery there between the combs.
The queen worked well, and soon her children
began to hatch out, and with their help the nest
grew apace. And, now, the hive-bee might well
take a lesson from the wasp ; for, by the time
the lazy bees had rubbed the miller's dust out of
their eyes in the morn, the vigorous wasp had
been abroad for several hours, and many a tiny
caterpillar had let itself down for a swing
in the cool breeze for the last time. The amount
of good that wasps do in this way is incalculable,
and goes far to counteract the damage they do
to ripe fruit in the fall.

The hive-bee only retwns laden, but the wasp
bears away a burden also. If from a nest in the
bank, a grain of sand ; if from a frame hive, a
piece of comb. To make a hole in the bank a
foot in diameter, how many grains of sand have
they carried away ? Think of it, and go to the
wasp, thou sluggard !

At the beginning of July the nest was twice
as large as a cocoanut, and it being difficult to
interview them, I decided to cut out the nest
and fix it under a bell-glass. From the cutting
out of that nest I trace my present immunity
from rheumatism. Thinking they would act
like bees, I put no gloves on ; but they do not
act like bees. The latter seem to think it rather
ignoble to sting anything less than some part of
the face, just above the eye for preference. The

wasp is not so particular, so long as it is a nice
soft spot, and to find this spot she is quite
willing to walk around the waistcoat, &c, for
an hour or so, uttering at the same time a pecu-
liar " Tweak-tweak," which certainly does not
add to the courage of the pursued. It is a moot
point among naturalists whether this tweak-
tweak is caused by a striking of the wing against
the abdominal plate9, or whether it issues from
the mouth, and I feel sorry now that I did not
pay that attention to it then which the subject
deserves.

The wasps were not to be subdued by the
smoker ; it seemed, in fact, to only deaden the
little spark of mercy they may once have had, and,
to make matters worse, the top bar of one frame
had to be sawn off at each end to make it go
under the bell-gla«s. In the excitement I did
not saw off enough by half an inch, so auother
sawing was necessary, and by the time it was pro-
perly tixed under the glass, my hands might easily
have been mistaken for boxing-gloves. Swelling
however, soon goes away, and the after-joy of
seeing them prospering in their new home was
fair recompense for the penalty I paid.

And now began a series of wonders that I had
never seen the like of before. The nest was
merely resting — much broken, too — against the
side of the glass on a half-inch board; the dia-
meter of the glass was sixteen inches, and the
same deep, and I propped it up on one side half
an inch to give a good entrance, and an empty
skep covered all.

If you sit by a hive of wasps to observe their
habits, you will find they are not so treacherous
as bees. My bees often sting me on a Sunday
when I am watching them, but these wasps
never, although I sat there with the skep off the
glass hour after hour. The way they worked
was astounding ; contrary to all precedent, they
had to build upwards, and this was managed in
an ingenious way. The paper covering — I use
the word "paper" to signify the material with
which the whole nest is built — was extended so
thickly upon the top of the nest that it soon
began to approach the roof of the dome. When
within three inches, detachments of wasps com-
menced walls of paper from the top of the dome,
and extended them down to the nest, to which
they were fixed. The whole nest was now a
most curious object: the walls of paper were
built without any design, and the glass was
honeycombed — using that word in its broadest
sense — in the most fantastic manner. The
working of the wasps was now partially hidden,
but, taking into account the huge stock they
afterwards became, we may presume that the
crown of the nest was removed to make room
for other combs. As a bell-glass full of honey
on a hive is useless to a student of their habits,
so was this hive of wasps, for nothing could be
seen but paper, and wasps walking along- the
boulevards of their city. Prior to all this, and
at the very commencement, they stopped up the
entrance completely with paper, and extending
it several inches out upon the board, left open-
ings here and there to admit the passage of one

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 10, 1893.

wasp at a time — another wrinkle for our friends
ihe bees. The paper was also extended in beau-
tiful laminae, like banded shells, overlapping one
another, half-way up the glass outside. This
was not done to exclude the light, for the cover-
ing skep did that. My theory is that it was the
work of those light-headed wasps who had been
in the neighbours' beer bottles, but had escaped
therefrom. Another feather in the cap of the
■teetotallers ! Some few wasps preferred an
underground passage, in case of a sudden attack,
for they bored a hole through the half-inch
board, and worked in and out that way. And
how they did work, too !

From the earliest dawn, whether cold or
warm, wind east or west, it did not matter, to
dark at night I have heard them come home,
when it was too dark for me to see them. The
general entrance was through the open door of
the shed, but some preferred to enter through a
broken window facing the east, while a few
others patronised a window facing south. At
the beginning of August the noise made by
them at night became a roar, and how they
managed to ventilate the nest through so small
entrances I cannot imagine. Unlike the worker-
bee, who, when ventilating outside, faces the
entrance, the worker-wasp turns her back upon
the hive. Unlike the worker-bee, who never —
to all appearance — goes to sleep, the worker-
wasp distinctly does so. It tucks up its legs,
bends its head, and shuts its eyes (!) in the most
comical way. I wish I could draw, Messrs.
Editors ! Some of them evidently sleep with
one eye open, for one night I took a candle to
show the nest to a friend. We were admiring
it, when one, a policeman for once, woke up and
fled around. I said to my friend, " Now observe
the poor beggar fly into the candle and scorch
his wings." The ''poor beggar" did not do any
such thing. He settled on my hand, and, with
a smile, pressed his sting — oh ! into my quiver-
ing flesh ! The candle dropped and went out,
and we went out too. Afterwards I was glad
of this episode, because it was a good illustra-
tion of the superior sagaciousness of the wasp
compared with the bee. The latter has been
extolled, from Dr. Watts upwards and down-
wards, and that is Avhy I take up the cudgels on
behalf of the poor wasp. He will enter a room
through a half-open window, and daintily help
himself to the sweets on the table, then fly out
again. Now, honestly, will the bees do this ?
Will she not go bang against the pane ?

But let us go and uncover the nest once more.
It is September. The males, with long antennae,
and stingless, have been flying since J uly. The
workers — undeveloped females — are fast dwind-
ling away, dying, some worn out in the fields,
some — a great many, indeed — in the traps set
for them by neighbours. And now a score or
more of the great, beautiful, true females, the
queens, walk about the entrance of the nest,
and occasionally fly out. These queens (some
would have me say " mother-wasp," but they
are such a queenly insect that I may well be
excused the inaccuracy) are those fine wasps

seen so abundantly in early spring buzzing about
our banks. It seems strange that they have
lain dormant— dead, to all appearance, for I
often find them so in the winter-time — without
a particle of food from September till March.
Thus have I kept them in a pill-box through
the dark winter months, letting them go joy-
fully when the crocuses have been in blossom,
and perhaps a pale violet in the warm hedge-
row. Thus have I kept the gorgeous peacock
butterfly ( Vanessa to). It never moved a limb
or muscle, that I could see, all the winter, but
floated away in the spring, strong and handsome,
astonishing, maybe, the early primrose and the
sun-loving celandine.

The nest is now nearly deserted; a few des-
perate workers steal in at the entrance of mj
hives, but are promptly ejected. A few queens
still linger in the precincts of their home, but
the vigorous hum and life of the wasp hive
exist only in the memory — "Lord, keep my
memory green." — Lordsavood.

PRICE OF BEESWAX.

[1634.] I think Is. Sd. a very poor price for
good beeswax. Mine is good enough, in purity
and colour, to make good super foundation, for
which we pay 2s. Gd. per pound, even when
taking a quantity ; and if dealers want our wax
they should not offer less than we can get from
the grocer, i.e., Is. 6d., without further trouble.
— It. Auld, Bath, November Y\th.

BEES IN SOUTH DEVON.

[1635.] Frame hives generally did well ; this
year's skeps very poorly, as far as I have seen.
With five hives I got 112 pounds from shallow
frames and 120 good one-pound sections; also
two hived swarms. Absence during July and
August prevented my giving super room, or the
take would have been much greater. In one
hive a hybrid queen twice got through the new
pattern excluder zine, the zinc being from two
well-known makers. Though so small, she
showed great laying powers in the upper
chambers.

Referring to 1601, if I had not let the bees
clean up my shallow frames and sections out of
doors they would now be useless, for the honey
was thick, and the bees would take none below
owing to the fine autumn gathering weather.
As soon as the bees had repaired the combs, I
put some of them again through the extractor,
and exposed them all on fine days, a few at a
time outside my bee-room, 100 yards from any
hive. They were all well cleaned, and I do
not think one bee was killed in fighting. The
combs needed watching, as, if left out too long,
the bees sometimes destroyed the cell walls.

I do not recommend outdoor cleaning up to
beginners, but it can be safely done if there is
no other resource with due precautions. — South
Devon Enthusiast.

November 16, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 461

THE SEASON IN DURHAM.
[1636]. The total amount of honey which we
have taken this year from our hives is as
follows : — 464 pounds in sections, about 200 of
which were clover, and the rest heather; 118
pounds extracted. Total, 582 pounds ; or an
average of 83 pounds a hive. In addition, about
three crates were given back to the bees to clean
out, and no feeding has been needed. None of
the hives swarmed. — L. W. H., Durham,

[914.] Stocking" Wells" Hives. — Coming from
a thickly populated parish to this rural one, I
started bees four years ago without any ex-
perience— one frame hive. I have now three,
one of which yielded forty sections this year,
besides the frames (which I never touch), and
a swarm unfortunately lost in my absence. No
honey was stored in the sections after August,
though there are quantities of limes about. I
have got a " Wells " hive, and about two months
ago put a stock into it, strong and vigorous, in
one half. The other half is empty, and I have
packed up all my hives for winter to-day. I
am thinking of dividing this stock, putting half
of it in one side with its own queen, the other
half with a purchased queen into the other half
of the hive early in spring — say, February — and
thenceforward feeding both sides till the flowers
come. Of course I should fill up the body of
the hive on both sides with frames of founda-
tion, and not put on the excluder and super till
I took off the feeders. 1. Would you kindly
advise me about this? No one hereabouts
knows anything of the " Wells " hive. Also,
2. Where can I get a queen most reliably ?
The other two hives are (a) a good stock with a
young queen (this hive swarmed this year), and
(b) a new and very strong swarm of last May,
which has well filled its frames, but gave me no
surplus honey. I propose to move the " Wells "
hive to another site during its dormancy, about
fifty yards away. 3. Would it be wise to
make (a) and (b) into three hives, and buy a
fresh queen for the third hive thus formed?
Though but a novice in my old age, I am very
keen as to the advantage of bee-keeping to the
rural cottager, and anxious to make bee-keeping
as common as gardening in the villages. —
Richaed K. Boltun, Fenny Bentley Rectory,
Ashbourne.

Reply. — 1. It is questionable whether you
would succeed in getting a portion of the stock
in " Wells " hive to accept a second queen as
proposed. We should advise adding a swarm
on the other side or dummy instead. 2. You
would have considerable difficulty in buying a
queen in February. 3. Three hives may be
made from two by the ordinary method of
artificial swarming without the need of buying
a queen.

[915.] Preparing Cakes of War. — I am
using a Killick wax - extractor, but cannot

prevent the wax from adhering to the sides and
splitting when cold. This greatly puzzles me,
as I want to produce a cake of wax similar to
country produce. — Wessex Saxon.

Reply. — Cooling very slowly is the preventive
of cracking. The wax requires several meltings
and scraping off the discoloured part which
accumulates on the under side of the cake before
it is properly cleaned. If the vessel into which
the wax is poured is wetted beforehand, the
wax should not adhere to the side3.

CLIPPING: QUEEN-BEES' WINGS.

In reply to a correspondent, we must say that
the practice of " clipping queens '' largely pre^
vails in America, and is, no doubt, of consider-
able service where bees are kept in large numbers
in close proximity to woods, which contain
tempting " decoys " to runaway swarms in the
shape of hollow trees. In a recent number of
Gleanings a correspondent of that paper gives
forcible expression to the American view of the
clipping question, as under : —

" If I were to take my choice of running my
apiary with undipped queens or going out of
the business, I think 1 would step down and out.
I do not see how any intelligent bee-keeper can
run an apiary of fifty or more colonies, and take
any pleasure or comfort with undipped queens.
Let me draw you a real picture.

"I chanced to call on a noted bee-keeper one
day in the height of the swarming season. I
found him with an assistant looking over two or
three bushels of bees in as many empty boxes
and baskets, looking out the queen. At another
part of the yard were seven Jarge first swarms
that had been clustered for over an hour in the
hot sun, just getting up steam to take French
leave. Such a time ! In less than a minute the
whole lot was high in the air. I called to the
owner, saying that there was a cloud of bees
leaving the yard. He looked up and over in the
direction where the bee3 were, and, calling to his
help, shouted, ' There, them cussed bees have
all left the pear-tree, and are going for the woods.
Hurry up ! bring that pail of water ! fetch me
the looking-glass ! get the shot-gun ! Where is
the force-pump? I thought I left it by the
wood-shed — run ! there, Henry, pelt them with
dirt — throw stones among them ; ' and before the
pump could be got in motion or a focus -could be
got on them by my friend, who was running
backward and whirling a large looking-glass
over and about his head, or the shot-gun loaded,
the bees were moving outside of his place and
going across a neighbour's rye-field, with a half-
dozen wild and excited men hot in pursuit. As
they passed the house of the man who owned
the rye I heard some angry and crooked language,
and I'll ' bet a quarter ' that, if that man had
had all of my friend's bees inside a pile of straw,
there would have been a fire, and my friend
would have had fewer bees. If those queens
had had their wings clipped, would such a state
of affairs have happened ? No.

462

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 16, 1893.

" Still another, and a picture that is later. Only
this past summer one of our neighhours, who is
a farmer, and keeps about thirty colonies, lost
over twenty nice first swarms of Italian bees
that nearly all went in one direction for the hills.
Only one of the twenty was found that we
know of. The rest, I suppose, found lodging-
places, and perhaps will never be heard from.

" Does this pay ? I guess not ; and when he
comes to take off his boxes I think he will see the
result of those twenty swarms that were lost.
Would this have happened if the queens' wings
had been clipped ? No.

" I could call to mind lots of just such pictures
as this. Yes, friend Root, I want all my queens
clipped as soon as they are laying, and, what is
more, I will have them clipped. I always carry
a pair of scissors, and every queen I come to
that is ready, off goes one of her wings. For
the last seventeen years I have controlled from
one to two hundred colonies, and I have never
had a case come under my observation where a
queen was superseded on account of her wing
being off. I have not lost one first swarm in
seventeen years by going off ; and this season
one day I had over a dozen swarms, and I did
not sweat or worry one bit. Every one came
back to its own starting-point. Yes, I would go
out of the business if I had to run my bees with
unclipped wings. — N. F. Boomhower."

SCRAPING SECTIONS.

You want to know, Mr. Editor, how bee-
keepers scrape sections. As that part of the
work falls to my lot I have scraped a good many
thousands. Formerly I scraped them on the
table. If you set your sections directly on the
table to be scraped, you will find trouble in two
directions: — 1. When you scrape down your
section your knife will strike the table, not allow-
ing you to scrape clear to the bottom of the sec-
tion. 2. The accumulating bee-glue (propolis)
will be constantly in your way. So, instead of
setting the section directly on the table I nse a
block 6 inches long, 5 inches wide, and 1| inches
thick. Of course, any of these dimensions may
be varied. With this block I can rapidly scrape
the edges and sides of the sections, clear to the
bottom, as the section stands solid on the block,
and the bee-glue falls on the table, out of the
way. Latterly, instead of a table I use a board,
usually a flat hive-cover, holding the board on
my lap, the scraping-block on the board. I find
it a great improvement. Holding up the arms
to scrape over a table is tiresome. It is much
less tiresome to scrape in the lap, as the arms
hang in an easy position.

Whenever too much bee-glue accumulates on
the board, so there is danger of its falling on the
floor, I lift the board and dump the bee-glue
into a box standing near. For scraping I use a
common steel case-knife kept sharp, not holding
the knife flat against the surface so that it can
cut into the wood, but at right angles to the
surface being scraped. While a sharp knife is

desirable, a coarse rather than a fine edge is
needed. It will pay well to stop and sharpen
the knife whenever it needs it. I like to have
the sections to be scraped piled in front of me on
the table, with the case I am filling at my right
hand, sufficiently raised so that I neither have
to stoop down nor reach up to put the sections
in. Every little extra move counts when doing
a hard day's work.

If more than one grade is to be scraped, more
than one case must be at hand. As each super
is put on the hive, a memorandum is pencilled
on one of the central sections, giving the number
of the hive, date of putting on, and number of
super put on that hive. When scraping I keep
a cake of scourine handy, with which to remove
these pencil marks. This is easily done by
dampening a cloth and rubbing the marks with
a little of the scourine.

If I were allowed to select my own time to
scrape honey, I would always select a cold day,
when bee-glue is brittle and easily removed. It
is hardly possible to do as good work when the
bee-glue is warm enough to be sticky, besides
being a much more tedious job. It is true, the
dust from the bee-glue is worse when cool and
brittle, affecting one very much as if he had a
hard cold ; and people peculiarly sensitive in this
direction may prefer to have warmer weather
and take the sticky bee-glue in preference to the
dust ; but I would rather stand the dust.

Whatever may be the advantage of using
partly drawn sections left over from a previous
year, when it comes to the matter of scraping I
very much prefer those that have been on only
once. Sections which are left on late in the
season are much worse to clean than those taken
off earlier.

The way in which sections are put into the
super has much to do with the amount of bee-
glue on them. They will be more easily cleaned
if they are wedged up tight in all directions so
that no cracks are left. Scraping a single case
of sections may seem to be fun ; but when I have
scraped 1000 or 1500 in a day it seems like work,
and hard work too. I don't know that all of
my plans are best, and hope that, in the reports
that come in from others, I may get some hints
that will make the work easier for me. -Emma
Wilson, in " Gleanings."

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses 0} manufacturers of
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 com-
munication.

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

%* We have several communications for reply
in this column, but as the matter is not urgtnt, we
defer them till next week. — Eds.

THE

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 596. Vol. XXI. N.S. 204.] NOVEMBER 23, 1893.

[Published Weekly'

(Sftxioriad, Halites, tfcc.

THE STANDARD FRAME.

Is it the Most Suitable Size for Brood
Nests ?

After twelve years' trial the Standard
frame holds its own as the most suitable
size for brood nests in the hives used in this
country, and its general adoption by the
bulk of our bee-keepers conclusively, as we
think, proves that the decision of the
British Bee-keepers' Association in recom-
mending its use was a wise one. It is,
therefore, with no fear that any appreciable
amount of uncertainty on the subject exists
in the minds of those best able to judge
that we now refer to it, but simply because
mention has been made in our columns by
a correspondent who, in referring to some
remarks we made in a foot-note on p. 449,
seems to infer that our support of the
Standard frame is prompted by a desire to
protect, or to advocate, the interests of hive-
manufacturers without giving any con-
sideration to those of the bee-keepers.

We are not concerned to prove the con-
trary, believing as we do that the honesty
of our motives may be trustfully confided
to the readers of this Journal. But what
we do wish to point out, among other
things, is the fact that a 16 x 10 frame is
a very old friend, not an " improvement " j
in the beehive of to-day.

As stated in the foot-note referred to, we !
have no desire (nor have we any right) to j
try and place restrictions either on those j
who, in the exercise of good sense, make [
their own hives, or on beginners whose aim j
is to " improve " the existing order of
things in the bee-world. Being ourselves
perfectly aware that different localities and
varying surroundings necessitate different
treatment, they may make their hives to
hold ten frames or forty ; the said frames
may hang parallel to entrance, or at right

angles thereto, with single walls or double,
outer cases or otherwise. If of a fanciful
turn, they may, so far as we are concerned,
follow the precedent of the genial old sea-
captain, who in his retirement turned bee-
keeper, and the pride of whose declining
years was a beehive, made by himself, in
which the bees trotted in and out through
the mouth of his favourite naval hero,
whose image, carved in wood, formed the
hive front !

No, we desire to place no restriction on
hive-improvement, or upon amateur hive-
makers, but, in the name of common sense,
do not let us be blamed for deprecating, as
forcibly as we can, any lessening of the very
j obvious advantages of a uniform frame for
I brood chambers, so that the hive — be it a
j five-guinea one, or a humble adaptation of
a sugar-box costing fourpence — may have
frames interchangeable from the one to the
other, without trouble of any kind. It is
all very well for a few of our correspondents
to urge that the Standard frame is too
small, but we have readers — perhaps, quite
as numerous — who just as earnestly assert
i that it is too large, and declare that they
get better results by using shallow frames
in both brood and surplus chambers. More-
over, the important fact must be borne in
mind that a frame suitable for a good dis-
trict and a good season would not do at all
for a poor district in a poor season. Hence
it is that there is no such thing as a
Standard hive, and, for general adoption, a
frame had to be chosen of such a size that,
by adding to or taking from the number
used in each hive, it might be made suitable
for all localities and seasons.

Apart, however, from all personal views,
and setting aside for the time our know-
ledge that the Committee of the B.B.K.A.
gave long and anxious consideration to all
these things, it is an incontrovertible fact
that the best results ever obtained by the
use of either lai'ger or smaller frames than
the Standard, has been equalled — to put it
no more forcibly — by bee-keepers who use

464

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 23, 1893,

only the latter. This being so, surely all
will admit that the advantage to bee-
keepers of a frame of uniform size is enor-
mous, simply because of its interchange-
ability with every standard frame or comb
in every hive in the kingdom — the amateur
hive-maker especially participating in these
advantages by being enabled to buy his
frames — ready cut by machinery — so
cheaply as not to be worth his while to
make them at home, and knowing exactly
what size of frame he will receive for his
money from whatever manufacturer he may
choose to order them.

The adoption of a uniform frame through-
out the entire kingdom was seen to be so
advantageous that the most prominent
authorities of the time at once realised its
importance, and not a few made sacrifices
in the way of bee-plant rather than allow
personal considerations to stand in the way
of what was considered to be for the
greatest good of the greatest number. The
then editor of the Bee Journal, Mr. C. N.
Abbott, himself a manufacturer, who had a
frame known as "Abbott's Standard" (by a
curious coincidence as near as may be
16 x 10 in dimensions), made no outcry in
defence of that frame, but loyally joined
the Committee chosen to decide the question
of a British standard.

But beyond this, there are a few facts
which those who may now be inclined to
take the line adopted by our correspon-
dents, 1638, p. 467, and 1619, p. 449,
should be made acquainted with, viz., that
those of us who were comparatively old
hands at bee-keeping fifteen or twenty years
ago, well remember that it took four or
five years — during which time the urgent
need of a " standard " was more or less con-
stantly mooted — before the question was
definitely settled. A short extract from a
communication to this Journal, written
seventeen years ago, is interesting, as show-
ing the impressions of the period. The
writer says : —

u I am sorry to see that the question of a
standard frame seems to he at a standstill, as I
cannot but think the adoption of such a frame
would greatly tend towards what I take to be
the object of all who have the good of the pur-
suit at heart — the raising of bee-keeping into
an industrial occupation, which can be pursued
on ordinary principles of trade with a good
prospect of profit. ... If bee-k( eping be really
a profitable pursuit, there must be a price at
which it will answer to buy established stocks ;
but so long as every such purchase introduces a

new-sized frame into the apiary, bee-keepers
will be so unwilling to submit to this incon-
venience that this price will be little, if any,
more than the value of the bees and comb for
transferring into the hive used by the purchaser,
a mode of procedure which must militate greatly
against the interests of the buyer as well as the
seller.'

But there was, also, so long ago as the
date on which the above extract appeared
(May 1st, 1876), several hives in use —
Abbott's " Standard " among them — with
frames practically of the same dimensions
as the one our correspondent (on p. 467)
thinks it advisable for the bee-keeper of
to-day to adopt in preference to the British
standard. Now, considering that all the
hives referred to as being in use in 1876,
holding frames about 16 x 10, have been dis-
carded in favour of those with standard
frames, the idea of reverting to a 16 x 10
frame as an improvement is "getting for-
ward by going backward " with a vengeance,
and it is in the light of facts doubtless not
known to those whose advent as bee-keepers
is of later date that we pen these lines for
their information.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPEES' ASSOCIATION.

Committee meeting held at 105 Jermyn Street,,
on Wednesday, November 15th ; present, Rev.
Dr. Bartrum, Messrs. W. B. Carr, J. Garratt,
H. Jonas, J. H. New, W. J. Sheppard, E. D.
Till, and J. M. Hooker, ex-officio, with Mr. John
Huckle, Secretary.

Communications were received from Mr.
W. O'B. Glennie (Treasurer), Hon. and Rev.
H. Bligh, Captain Campbell, Rev. G. W.
Bancks, Major Fair, Mr. W. Lees McClure, and
Mr. E. H. Meggy, regretting their inability to
be present. In the absence of the Chairman
(through indisposition) and the Vice-Chairman,
Mr. Jonas was voted to the chair.

The minutes of the last meeting were con-
firmed and signed. The statement of accounts
for the month ending November 13th was ap-
proved and passed.

Letters were read (1) from Mr. Palmer of
Ludlow, in reference to the awards of merit to
the exhibits of honey sent to the World's Fair
at Chicago. It was resolved, " That, in considera-
tion of the excellence of these exhibits, certifi-
cates be granted to each exhibit that had received
a ' Highly commended ' award." The Secre-
tary was instructed to prepare the certificates
and forward them to the several exhibitors.

(2) From the Secretary of the Bristol Asso-
ciation, stating that he had overlooked the dates
fixed for the Second-class Examination, and
inquiring as to whether provision could not still,
be made for the examination of one of the
members of the Bristol Association. Resolved*

November 23, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

465

"That the Secretary do state that the Committee
regret not being able to comply with the request
of the Bristol Association."

(3) From the British Dairy Farmers' Asso-
ciation, expressing the thanks of that Society
for the use of the B. B.K. A. staging and for
the grant promised towards the prizes offered for
honey at the annual Dairy Show. .Resolved," That
the promised contribution to the prizes offered by
the British Dairy Farmers' Association be paid."

The Chairman reported that the proceedings
connected with the presentation of honey to the
Lord Mayor were a great success.

Besolved, " That the best thanks of the As-
sociation be given to Sir James "Whitehead for
the able way in which he had introduced the
deputation to the Lord Mayor, and for the kind
interest he had taken in promoting the interests
of bee-keeping.".

Mr. Till reported that he was in communication
with Sir James Whitehead in reference to the
publication of a letter in the Times newspaper,
bearing upon the work of the Association.

The Committee considered the advisability of
bringing the work of the Association under the
notice of the City Companies, and after much
discussion it was resolved "That a letter be
prepared and signed by the Chairman, setting
forth the aims and objects of the Association,
to be submitted for the consideration of the
governing bodies of the several Companies."

It was resolved, "That the several affiliated
Associations should be requested to communi-
cate with the several agricultural and horticul-
tural societies in their respective districts, urging
them to give their support to the promotion of
bee-keeping by offering prizes for competition at
their annual exhibitions."

Besolved, " That the annual general meeting
of the Association be held on Wednesday,
February 21st next, subject to the approval of
the President."

IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

On the 19th of October Mr. Gillies, a member
of the Committee, delivered an interesting and
instructive lecture on bee-keeping, illustrated by
a series of lantern slides, under the auspices of
the Association. There was a very fair attend-
ance, and the audience listened throughout with
the greatest attention.

The Committee met on the 7th of November.
Present : Mr. Bead (in the chair), Dr. Traill,
Mr. T. B. O'Bryen, and Mr. Chenevix.

IS THE USE OF COMB FOUNDATION
PROFITABLE ?

Interesting Experiments at the Michigan State
Apiary, U.S.A.

(Concluded from page 456.)

From the figures given in the last column of
Table B, we find that the colonies hived on
comb gained in all more than 11 per cent, over

those hived en starters, and that those hived on
foundation gained more than 13 per cent, over
the same. But, if we examine with reference
to comb honey only, we find that colonies " A "
(those on comb) gain less than 5 per cent, more
than colonies "C" (those on starters), while
colonies " B " (those on foundation) gain more
than 17 per cent, over " C." But it may be
said that " C " has an undue proportion of the
weaker colonies, which is true ; still, if we turn
to Table C, and consider only the strong swarms
in each group, we find that " A " gains 9£ per
cent, more than " C " in comb honey, and " B "
gains 42 per cent, more than " C ! " But,
strange to say, taking the light swarms in the
same table and column, the positions are exactly
reversed — " A " gains nearly half of one per
cent, over " B," while " C gains nearly 32
per cent, over "B." If space permitted, it
would be interesting to inquire why the differ-
ence in the weight of the colonies should cause
this reversal in their position in regard to the
amount of comb honey produced.

Referring again to Table B, from the figures
given in the third column, where the gain for
the first period is given, we deduce that " B "
gains during that period more than 53 per cent,
over " C," while " A " gains more than 68 per
cent, over " C ; " but during the second period
the figures show that for that period the
positions are exactly reversed, while for the
third period the positions as to relative gain are
again changed, " A " making a spurt and leaving
" B " in the rear.

Referring again to Table C, we find that the
strong colonies invariably gain the more in the
first period, while the light ones take a decided
lead both in the second and the third periods;
in the amount of comb honey for the entire time
in each group, the strong colonies have a decided
advantage, and so in groups " A " and " B " in
amount of total gain, but in group " C," in this
point, the weaker ones are far in the lead. But
this sort of comparison might be carried on
almost endlessly.

If we examine Table A, we find, as was to be
expected, that the results in the cases of some
individual colonies do not always accord with
the general results, yet sufficiently so, I think,
to warrant us putting some confidence in the
general results, so far as they go. I say so far
as they go, for the test was for three weeks only,
and time appears to be an essential element in
the experiment. The colonies that are strong
in numbers as compared with the weak, and
those aided with comb or foundation as com-
pared with those left unaided, are soonest " out
of breath " in the race, or, perhaps, the luxury
and wealth of numbers and resources prove
destructive to energy and ambition ; and, on the
other hand, straitened circumstances, whether
it be be from a lack of numbers or of resources,
arouse vigour and persistence in a determination
to supply the lack. At least, that is what the
tables seem to teach, and we can only guess
what the result would have been had the tests
covered the whole of the honey season, instead

466

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 23, 1893.

of the last half. Many and varied experiments
must he made in order to arrive at the exact
truth in these matters. Let no one fear that
apicultural experiment stations may be either
too numerous or too well equipped. To one
who has entered it, the field looks exceedingly
large.

For the rest, I must be content at this time to
close with a summary of the results pretty
clearly disclosed by the experiments conducted
in the manner and for the time stated ; but I
wish first to invite and urge all who are in-
terested in the matter to make suggestions and
criticisms, both upon my method and inferences,
and let them not, out of a concern for my feel-
ings, so refine their strictures that they lose all
their point, and with it their effect. That is
not the way, as too many bee-keepers seem to
think, to get at the truth. At all events, I am
not very thin-skinned, and I believe that, at
least in these experiments, I am willing to look
at the naked truth. I know now that, in some
respects, my methods have been faulty, and no
doubt they have been so in other points than
those which I have discovered, and what those
other points are I am anxious to know.

In this summary, as elsewhere, when I speak
of gain, it is not gain per colon y, for the colonies
vary in strength, but per pound of bees, which
seems to be the only just way.

If, then, we may trust our tables, they show
for the last half of the summer season : —

1. That for profit, foundation in the brood
chamber for swarms has a decided advantage in
point of surplus comb honey over both drawn
comb and frames with starters only, that drawn
combs stand second, and starters third.

2. That in point of total gain in both brood
chamber and surplus, the same order holds, and
to nearly the same extent.

3. That fairly strong colonies show a very
decided advantage over light ones in point of
comb honey surplus, and also to a small extent
in the total gain.

4. That light colonies sustain their rate of
gain in all cases better than fairly strong ones.

5. That swarms on starters only sustain their
rate of gain decidedly better than do those on
comb or on foundation.

6. That of the light colonies those on starters
are decidedly more profitable than those on
either comb or foundation.

I ought to explain here that each swarm
was hived on a brood chamber equal to that
required to hold five Langstroth combs. —
American Bee Journal.

DEALING WITH FOUL BROOD.

Referring to this question the Editor of the
Bee-keepers' Review (American) says : —

" If I owned a large apiary and only a few
colonies were affected with foul brood, and I
knew they were the only ones diseased, and
that by burning them I should free my apiary
of the pest, I should perform the burning act

rather than take the risk of curing the few
diseased colonies. If I should find a large pro-
portion of my apiary afflicted with the disease, I
should cure the diseased colonies at the risk of
infecting the others. I say at the risk of infect-
ing the others, as there is a risk, but an intelli-
gent bee-keeper who understands the disease
and knows how to cope with it may make the
risk a very small one. To destroy a large
portion of an apiary when by perseverance and
determination, coupled with knowledge and
caution, it can be saved with a very slight loss,
is not good generalship.

" The most of my readers know that Mr.
R. L. Taylor has had a long and wide experi-
ence with foul brood ; in fact, he has reached
that stage where he no longer fears it. If it
comes he feels that he can handle it to such a
certainty that it will not get the start of him.
When I was over there last summer I asked
him if his apiary was entirely free from it.
He said there were two or three colonies in
which it was still present. He added that he
might have been entirely free from it had it not
been that he had had on hand a large lot of
empty combs, and some of them, he knew not
which, had contained foul brood, and he wished
to use these combs. He preferred to use them
and keep a close watch, treating the cases of
foul brood as they developed rather than destroy
the combs or even melt them up into wax.
And this from a man who owns a foundation
machine."

®arr£gp0nftexu£5

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 oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Mustrations
should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We do not
undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports oj Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, ic, must be addressed only to "The
Editobs of the 'British Eee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

%* In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents, wh,en
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
CARMARTHENSHIRE.

IN

[1637.] When I moved here twelve months
ago my bees were not strong either in numbers
or food, for I had robbed them close of their
surplus at end of July, 1892, and the heather
yielded very little that autumn. It was there-
fore more by luck than good management that
nine of the ten came safely through the winter
on candy food.

This being my first season in this district, I
was anxious to test its honey-yielding powers,

November 23, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

467

and, on the whole, I aui quite satisfied. I have
taken three hundredweight from my nine
stocks and increased to eleven. The quality of
the honey is so good as to have received recogni-
tion at the hands of several judges, including
our editors. Frame hives are kept by some, but
the skep and sulphur pit seems to have many
followers among the old hands. I have saved
many stocks by driving, and finding the con-
demned bees a home in frame hives of my own
or those of others; for, besides my own bee-
work, I have done a little superintending about
the apiaries of some fourteen bee-keepers in the
neighbourhood, besides giving advice by post.
Such work has been done, of course, gratui-
tously, and after my ordinary duties were over ;
but I have been amply repaid by knowing that
bee-keeping has been a little benefited.

Bee-keepers here gave me a poor account of the
district for honey. One in particular, who was sup-
posed to be working on the modernsystem, showed
me a super which had been on the hive three
years and nothing stored in it. I took this hive
in charge this year for the owner, and have
taken from it seventy pounds of good honey and
left about forty pounds for winter. In another
place I found a hive holding seventeen standard
frames which had been left almost untouched for
years, and with which the owner intended to try
some plan for smothering the bees in the
sulphur pit, as there were very few bees in it.
I found the frames nearly solid with honey, and
the queen with almost no spare cells to lay eggs
in. I had to use a hatchet to get the frames
out, and the owner would insist on smashing the
combs in the old way to get the honey. The
great drawback seems to be that people who
keep bees never read, or have read, anything
about bee-keeping, and consequently know little
or nothing of wbat bee - management on the
modern plan means.

Through the little I have been able to do by
way of showing the better way, several have
promised to begin next spring, and others
who are already skep bee-keepers, but declared
that little or no honey could be got here, are also
going in for frame hives.

One gentleman of an entirely different stamp
is favourably impressed, and, by way of prepar-
ing to start bee-keeping next year, is going to
spend the winter studying several of the best
books which I have got for him. I expect he
will come to the front aud be very successful,
for he not only has the ability, but knows how
to begin in the right way — viz., by getting to
know all about bees before he starts keeping
them.

If I have not tired out your patience, 1 would
like to say a word, in conclusion, on the pro-
posed change in the thickness of shallow combs
in surplus chambers, I am glad no more change
is needed than a wider " end," as every change
in appliances that costs money is a disadvantage,
to our humble b->H-keeper3 especially, and the
interests of our cottager bee-keepers should be
considered. — A. Hamer, Llanarthney, Car-
marthenshire.

BEES IN SOUTH SHROPSHIRE.

[1638.] With reference to " The Heathen's "
letter (1621, p. 450) I beg to state the five
frames I took for driven bees weighed thirty
and a half pounds, and the remaining eleven I
judged at forty, not weighing them, but I dare
say they were heavier than stated. Though I
did not say they were full, does " Heathen "
suppose that eleven frames, l6 x 10 (full), would
only weigh forty pounds? ''Heathen" says
" he never had a brood nest to give him surplus
of any kind, either top or bottom." I can't
understand what is meant by this. What I
tried to explain was, that hives with most
frames allowed for breeding gave the best
results.

My letter should read, " Most of my hives
take 16x10 frames," not sixteen frames, as I
have only a few of those dimensions. From
the hive mentioned I took twenty-four sections,
which weighed twenty-seven and a half pounds
in crate (of heather honey), and also most of
the honey in sixteen frames, as before stated.
I need not say the hive was powerfully strong,
nor did they want driven bees. I used those to
put to such swarms as had been hived on
starters.

When " Heathen " talks about seven crates
of sections piled up, he is wide of the mark, for
the hive mentioned is 24 x 21 above frames,
and will take a crate of forty sections, and that
was the one I used, with two crates of fourteen
each on the top, and I took sections off as fast
as they were finished.

Perhaps his feathers may rise again when I
tell him that I put a crate of forty ready-
combed sections on second week in June, and
they were finished in a few days over a week.
Another hive I had on large frames filled me
forty-two sections by first week in June, and
gave an eight-pound swarm, which I sold for 1/.,
also twelve of the sections were finished, and I
sold same week for 1 Is.

We have had plmty of bad season- here, but
this time it has been a hit. As to the sugar-
feeding question, which has been referred to, I
have only bought three dozen pounds since
October, 1892. One dozen was used for candy
in spring, and the rest for driven bees this
autumn, and my colonies number close on forty.

As to metal ends for shallow frames, I never
use any; I distance by my eye. My shallow
frames are 16 x 5, with seventeen-inch top bar,
and seven-eighths wide. Referring to your
foot-note to 1619 (p. 449), I am quite aware of
the importance of a uniform size of frame for
appliance dealers, but how many like myself
make their own hives, and how many improve-
ments have there been made in all ways since the
standard frame was adopted ? Twelve years
has put quite a new feature on the aspect of
bee-keeping. — Phil Jones, Church Stretton,
November 13th.

[Our correspondent is entirely wrong in
assuming that we attach any special import-
ance to the interests of appliance dealers in

468

THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL [November 23, 1893.

our advocacy of the retention of standard frames.
The only interests we have in mind are those of
kee-keepers and bee-keeping, and we repeat that
to interfere with the external dimensions of the
" standard " as the brood frame for use in this
country would be to take a step backwards
toward the condition of almost hopeless con-
fusion as to hives and frames which existed
prior to its adoption twelve years ago. We
nave also referred to the matter on another
page.— Eds.]

" MIXED."

[1639.] In your issue of November 9th (page
450), " The Heathen " refers to my letter (1602,
p. 428) on syrup honey (?). It is pleasant to
find a man of that denomination able to discover,
in a simple sentence of mine, where an ellipse
occurs, and with intelligence enough to supply
the suppressed words ! If " The Heatben " is a
young man, and continues assiduously his
analysis of sentences in impromptu, simple
letters, then I think he may be said to have a
" future " before bim, if not of the most dis-
tinguished character. Devotion to such a task
implies that he has " time on hand," even for
the little matters in the small letters of other
people.

"The Heathen,'' very commendably, wishes
for light on the autumn and spring " adultera-
tion trick and fraud," but there appears to me
too much insincerity in his letter to afford me
hope that he would receive benefit from any
little information I could give him, especially
as he seems to consider himself a sufferer from
mental " obtuseness."

But, sirs, " The Heathen " will pardon me
for inferring, from bis natural acuteness, that
I could not add anything to his knowledge in
syrup practices. No doubt " The Heathen " (I
wish he would give himself another name) was
once, like myself, " as innocent as a child " of
this " adulteration dodge," and I will not trouble
to interrogate him as to whether he has main-
tained that innocence.

My statement in ray other letter proves that
I have no actual siu of this kind to regret. I
am sorry to hear that, after reading my letter,
"The Heathen" got a little "mixed;" but he
does not say in what respect. Was it that a
struggle had commenced in his mind for a
change from his positive " obtuseness " to one in
the comparative degree, or had he formed a
" mixed " purpose for future practice ? What-
ever, Mr. " Heathen " (do get another title !), you
do in the future, don't get " mixed up " with
fraudulent honey practices. Let the public, as
far as you yourself are concerned, have the
honey just as the " little busy bee " manufac-
tures it in her own workshop.

And nbw, Messrs. Editors, let me say that
the too general silence of bee-keepers on this
subject either implies guilt or ignorance — I hope
the latter. But there are, no doubt, numbers
of them who are practising the " adulteration
trick" for money returns merely, and, therefore,

because it pays, they deceive and rob the public.
Honest bee-keepers are looking to you, sirs, to
instruct honey-purchasers how to detect this
spurious article, and in that way really to help
the trichless of the bee-keepers. — Honesty,
November Uth.

LECTURERS' EBRORS.

[1640.] In reply to Mr. Hill (1629, p. 457), I
beg to inform him that it was the lecturer who
was in error, not your correspondent " Bee," for
I believe I was present at the lecture referred
to. The lecturer also told us that queens would
live four or five years and lay from 2000 to
3000 eggs per day. I admit a good queen will
lay the number of eggs per day at some seasons,
but will she do it for the four or five years she
lives ? This statement, I think, is very mis-
leading. I also beg to differ from Mr. Hill on
another point, for I consider your correspondent
" Bee " (whoever he is) to be a true friend to
Associations, nor can I see how he casts a slight
upon the B. B. K. A., for .that body does not
pass second-class experts as lecturers, and I think
they ought to pass some examination before being
allowed to go out lecturing or giving technical
instruction under County Council auspices. It
should be remembered that a man may be a
good bee-master and yet not a competent
lecturer on scientific subjects. — Another Bee^
Derby, November 17th.

BEE-KEEPING IN HAMPSHIRE.

[1641.] My bees have done better this year
than for several seasons past. They wintered
well with only just enough stores to carry them
through. I fully expected feeding would be re-
quired, in early spring. The fine weather in
March, however, gave the bees a good start, and
when the fruit-trees bloomed the bees began at
once to store surplus honey (the first surplus I
ever got from fruit-trees), and continued to store
rapidly till the sainfoin was cut. Clover there
was none, owing to the drought. Then there
came a stoppage, no honey coming in for nearly
a month. After this the bees made a fresh
start, and kept on gathering nearly through the
month of August, which is very uncommon here
as we have no heather about. One hive yielded
ninety pounds in sections besides having nineteen
frames in brood nest well filled. The only
swarm I got was a runaway one which I fol-
lowed for about four hundred yards and hived
on August 8th. This swarm gathered enough
stores to winter on. On the whole it has been
a good season in the district. Bees have done
well since supers were taken off, so no feeding has
been wanted. I think it a great pity cottager-
bee-keepers cannot be better informed as to the
advantages of the frame hive. They are some-
times persuaded to try them, perhaps winning a
hive as a prize, but are not instructed how to
use it and so it results in failure. I have this

November 23, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

469

year examined a few of such and found instances
of swarms being put into them and never looked
at again to see how they were getting on ; tbe
greater part of the foundation guides had fallen
down, the bees then working their combs cross-
ways of the bars and making it totally impos-
sible for one to put them straight. No surplus
honey could be taken from them and in some
cases the bees were working in the roof. Re-
sult— they declared they woidd never have
another frame hive as a gift, but would destroy
the one they had in use. Think of the good
effect it would have if one intelligent man were
taught how to manage a frame hive well — he
could help his neighbours and one might then
go a distance and instruct them on ail points.
A lady residing six miles from here, whose bees
I managed for several years, has had more honey
this season than she has for years. I intend
trying the " Wells System " next year, having
prepared two hives and put driven bees into the
the same; they have gone into winter quarters
well prepared for 1894. — F. G. Ayling,
Privett, Alton, Hants.

WIDE ENDS FOR SURPLUS
CHAMBERS.

[1642.] I was very pleased, Messrs. Editors, to
read your leader on this subject in last week's '
Bee Journal, because I think it expresses the
opinion of those bee-keepers who principally
work for extracted honey. The wide end with
the seven-eighths bar is just the thing. I have
myself a quantity of ready-built combs, and to
change the width of the top bar would mean a
considerable loss. Then, again, as one of the
gentlemen affirmed at the recent conversazione,
there is a considerable advantage in being able
to space the frames at one and a half or two
inches at will. With all due respect to Mr.
Garratt, I do not think that even a novice
should find any difficulty in uncapping the wide
comb in seven-eighths frame, provided he used
a pair of sharp knives kept hot by means of the
petroleum stove, which can now be purchased
at so reasonable a figure. — William George
Kight, November 18th.

A CAUTION.

Thick Combs in Surplus Chambers.

[1643.] Before bee-keepers are persuaded to
adopt a wider set-space and metal ends expressly
for wide or extracting frames, it may be advis-
able to consider that the progressive development
may really result in a space of the opposite
extreme — an extracting frame spaced slightly
closer than the broad gauge, with a depth, per-
haps, no greater than the 4|-inch section. The
honey in shallow cells will be ripened more
quickly, the surface of the finished combs more
regular, while the uncapping and extracting
processes will be greatly simplified and more

expeditious, with far less honey left behind than
is the case with deep cells. — S. Simmins.

[We think the experience of those who have
much extracting to do each year is so con-
clusively in favour of heavy combs in surplus
chambers that there is not much fear of any
such tendency towards retrogression as our
correspondent suggests. In practice it is found
that far more time is taken up in uncapping
combs than in the actual extracting, and it does
not require much skill, with a good machine, to
remove all the honey from the combs, A frame
of sealed honey of the dimensions Scribed
above would probably contain about two pounds
of honey, as against about six pounds in a thick
comb of the ordinary shallow frame. — Eds.]

THE WELLS HIVE.

[1644.] I have myself tried the Wells system,
with a carefully constructed hive, and it proved
quite a success, having given me 160 pounds sur-
plus, besides a num ber of ready-built combs. The
bees propolised the perforated dummy during
the honey-flow, but I did not see that it inter-
fered at all with their working in the upper
chamber. Thank you, Mr. Wells ! I intend
trying three hives on your system next year. I
have been looking for Mr. Wells' report week
after week. The season in this district has been
the best since 1887. — W. G. K., Chiseldon,
Sivindon, November 18th.

[Mr. Wells has promised to forward his report-
for this season shortly. — Eds.]

A CHESHIRE REPORT.

[1645.] I have seen no news about Cheshire
bee-keeping in your Journal, so I thought I
would send a line to show what my bees have
done this year. I had seven hives, and from
them got 400 pounds of extracted honey and
fifty good sections, besides increasing my stocks
to ten by artificial swarms. The honey is all
from white clover, and being of splendid quality,
I have found a good sale for it. In fact, I may
say that, after keeping bees a good many years,
I have never yet had a better season.

Would it be best to put two of my single
stocks at once into a " Wells " hive I have just
had made, or wait till next year and stock it
with a couple of casts from skeps ? — A. B.,
Congleton, Cheshire.

[We should stock it at once with the two lots
if they have young queens. — Eds. J

GLUTTONOUS BEES(?).
[1646.] I was staying with some friends last
September, and happening to remark that the
" lime " honey was just over, they told me that
they had a lime-tree in their garden which had
been visited by thousands of bees, " and they
ate till they bur^t " was the expression used.
My informant said, "The ground was covered

470

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 23, 1893.

with the dead bodies, every one appearing to
have hurst." They would have shown me the
corpses, but a heavy rain had washed them into
the ground. May I ask if any one has had this
experience, and can account for it ? — Cuthbebt
Bede.

[We are as much astonished to hear that any
of our usually well-behaved hive-bees should
become such dreadful gluttons as we are to hear
that the rain could "wash their corpses into the
ground." Perhaps some reader may be able to
throw further light on the subject, but our
personal experience of bees and lime-trees affords
no evidence of any such dreadful effects of the
bees' over-indulgence, and we are forced to the
conclusion that the description of what occurred,
as given by our correspondent's informant, is a
little highly coloured. It should not be for-
gotten that bees do not eat the food they gather
in the ordinary sense ; they only carry it off to
their hives. — Eds.]

A BEE EPISODE IN CO. KILKENNY.

[1647.] I venture to write a few more
"notes" from Co. Kilkenny, and hope they
may be interesting. They refer to the bees of a
farmer living about three miles away from me.
I was resting, after returning off duty one fine
day in the month of June, 1891, when this
farmer came to my house, and pressed so hard
that I had to go with him to see what was the
matter with one of his skeps. On our arrival in
his garden, I saw at once what was the matter.
The riser, or " eke," had broken down at one
side, and the honey was running about the fla°-
on which the skep stood. 1 told the man to
bring me two empty hives, and that I would see
what I could do. The conveniences, such as
they were, were quickly on the spot. I set to
work by turning up the hive, after giving it a
few whiffs of smoke, and such a mess it was —
bees, honey, and combs all pressed to one side of
the hive.

I commenced to drive the bdes, and succeeded
in getting all that were not embedded in the
honey, or imprisoned between the combs, I
then took out a comb, brushed off the besmeared
bees into an empty skep ; this process was re-
peated until I had all the combs in the hive on
a large dish, and all the sticky, half-drowned
bees in the hive. The driven bees were quickly
joined to the flying bees that had collected in
the hive placed on the old stand to receive them.
I now brought the old hive, with its contents,
and emptied it on a newspaper in front of the
old stand. Of course the bees could not fly, but
after a while those that had gathered in the hive
placed to receive them turned out in force, and
licked their disabled comrades almost dry.
Strange to say, during all these operations I
never saw the queen, but after the hiving pro-
cess we had the satisfaction of hearing her pipe
or call.

We retired to have some refreshments after I

the job was complete, which was much required
by me, for 1 had got over-warm while working.
After the refreshments were over we had
another look at the bees before I left for home,
and it was surprising to see how rapid the
cleaning process had proceeded, so that the
heap on the paper had been considerably
reduced. I must not omit to mention how little
the farmer knew and how lightly he thought of
the operation, when he thought the experience
would not be much more than hiving a swarm,
and that he could remain bareheaded and even
without a vest. The bees began to fly about
him, and gave him a few stings, when he began
to talk to the bees in the following manner :
" Poor fellows ! poor fellows ! don't touch me,"
but he had to retire very soon to a respectful
distance, scratching his grey hair. He is a
pretty old man, and a bee-keeper for many
years. Two days after the operating on this
hive I chanced to meet the farmer. " Well,"
said I, " how are the bees going on ? " " All
right ; working away, and the lot you left on
the paper came to life again and went into the
hive," was the reply. This hive came through
the winter of that year all right ; 1892 was bad,
and it gave no swarm. I met my friend not
long since. " Well," said I, " how did that hive
of mine go on with you this year ? " " Oh ! "
said he, " it was the most extraordinary hive I
ever had, and I have had bees a long time ; it
gave me three swarms in one day ! " I ques-
tioned him very closely about these swarms, and
he positively declares that he was in the garden
when the bees began to come out of the hive,
and saw them settle in two clusters about three
or four yards from each other, and before these
two had quite settled another swarm issued out
of the same hive before his eyes, and settled in
an apple-tree some yards from the others. All
were fair-sized lots, he said. When questioned
as to whether the hive had swarmed this year
before, he assured me that it had not, that these
were the first swarms. " Perhaps," said I, " a
swarm came out of some other of your hives at
the time, or one of these came into your garden
from somewhere else at the time the first
swarm took wing." " No," said he, " I was
looking at them all leaving the hive." " How
is the old hive getting on since ? " I said. " I
smothered it in August, and sold the honey in
Carrick to a dealer," was the cool reply. " Was
it heavy? " said I. " No, it was the worst I had
of six," was the answer. — M. K., Co. Kilkenny.

BEES AND THE BABY.

[1618.] A lady writes to me from Grahams-
town : — " We have got into our house, but find
it infested with bees. They live under the floor
of one of the rooms, and the workmen, by way
of getting rid of them, stopped up their en-
trance-holes. In consequence, they are rushing
and buzzing in at every cranny. A man is
coming to take up the floor and sulphur them,
for we cannot live so. We have all been more

November 23, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

471

or less stung ; only the baby escapes, which is
a wonder, for she tries to catch them to play
with. We wish we had you out here to tell us
what to do.'' How could I have helped my
friend? — Cuthbert Bede.

[It is very evident that the baby escaped being
stung because it had no fear of the bees, while
it is more than probable that its elders were
very much afraid, and got stung in trying to
drive them out of the house. — Eds.]

mxits antr splits.

[916.] A Beginner's Troubles. — Having read
in the B. B. J. of the kind and efficient help
given to amateur bee-keepers, I am hoping you
will pardon my troubling on the same subject
as I am in difficulties in many ways about my
bees. Having only kept bees for two months,
I have had little experience. 1 have now two
bar-frame hives, one of which contains a driven
lot of bees, hived September 9th. I transferred
combs (containing brood and a good quantity of
sealed honey) from the skep to five frames,
placed them in the middle of the hive, and on
either side a frame of foundation comb, and
gave them fifteen poimds of autumn syrup.
1. Is there any doubt that they will winter
safely on that ? I have since discovered that
two of the combs have slipped out of place.
One is leaning against the comb next to it (an
upright one), the other also leaning against the
one next to it, the lower end having slipped and
touching the bottom of the hive. 2. Is it
necessary to put them in place before breeding
begins in the spring, and how should I do it ?
There are dummy boards on either side of the
frames, and chaff cushions fill in the side
vacuums. They have on top an unbleached
calico quilt, a carpet quilt, and a bottomless box
with calico tacked on, and half filled with
chaff. 3. Have they sufficient warmth for the
coming winter ? There are ventilating holes,
one at the front and one at the back of the roof.
Thinking to give them more air I have placed a
piece of perforated zinc four inches wide at the
entrance, having cut a one-inch opening in it.
4. Do you recommend my keeping this on
through the winter? or, if not, what width
entrance should be kept ? 5. How early should
spring feeding be begun ? My other hive is a
thin-walled one, and covered with a wooden
case. The entrance at present is open one inch.
6. Is this enough through the whole winter ? —
B. A. Wrey, Barnstaple.

Reply. — 1. In transferring bees and combs
to a frame hive without having any previous
experience, we fear you have undertaken more
than was quite wise, and we can say no more,
so far as safe wintering, than that fifteen pounds
of syrup and " a good quantity of sealed honey "
will sufficiently provide the bees with food. 2.
Yes ; the combs should be seen to at the earliest
opportunity. In fact, they should have been

examined three or four days after transferring,
and have had the tapes (used in " tying in ")
removed if found all right. In lifting out the
broken-down combs a knife must be used to
sever any attachments, and the other frames
drawn back on each side before inserting the
hand to lift out the combs. A little smoke will
keep the bees quiet while doing this. 3. Under
the circumstances we should add a little to the
covering below the chaff box. 4. A half-inch
entrance will be wide enough for such a stock
all the winter, and no perforated zinc need be
used in winter. 5. About beginning of March.
6. Yes.

. [917.] _ Moving Bees. — I thank you for your
kindness in so fully replying to my questions in
your issue of October 26th, and shall act upon
the suggestions given. I have now the chance
of buying half-a-dozen hives. They are located
about a half-mile and some about three-quarters
of a mile away. 1. Can I move them at once,
or is it too late in season? 2. Will it be
necessary to fasten the frames in any way ? —
Wilfred Shepherd, Tadcaster.

Reply. — 1. They may be moved at once, but
if convenient we should leave the hives on their
present stands till cold weather has continued
for a couple of weeks before moving. 2. If the
hives were borne carefully on a hand-barrow, or
a stout pole carried between two men, no fixing
of frames would be needed. Two or three hives
could be carried at each journey.

SLIP OFF AN' GET SOME HONEY.

The days are gettin' hazy with the smoke o'

forest fires,
An' they're warm, as well as lazy — for the

mockin' bird perspires
A-singin' in the blossoms — how they strain their

tender throats,
An' the hot sun shinin' on 'em makes 'em give

us melting notes !

It's jes' the time for dreamin' of the cool an

shady nooks,
For rollin' up your breeches for a splash into

the brooks ;
It's wishin' time, it's fishin' time — it's time to

take your ease
Where the locust sings soprano to the tenor of

the bees !

0 writer, leave your inkstand an' your drowsy,

frowsy desk,
An' get out into the country, where the world

is picturesque !
0 man dead set for money ! O toiler in the

strife !
Slip off an' get some honey that will sweeten up

your life !
— Atalanta Constitution.

•472

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 23, 1893.

SAFE INTRODUCTION OF QUEENS, &c.

Mrs. Atchley, — If you know of a sure way to
introduce a queen to a colony that has been
queenless at least three weeks, let us have it,
no matter how much trouble, just so it is abso-
lutely safe.

You mentioned in the Bee Journal some time
ago about keeping a good breeding queen on
three Langstroth frames, so she would live long,
&c. "Won't the bees swarm out, or supersede,
or kill the queen if she is restricted with ex-
cluder zinc ? Bees are always up to some new
trick that I know nothing about, and just keep
me on a jump to know what to do. I wish you
would tell us in detail how would manage such,
and nuclei as well. I am sure there are many
readers of the American Bee Journal that are
green as grass. I know I am, and such lessons
(as the above) will be appreciated very much.
— D. Lindbeck, Bishop Hill, Ills.

Friend L., — I only know of one absolutely saf e
way to introduce a queen, and that is by the
hatching-brood plan. Take two or three frames
of brood just beginning to hatch, and frames
that have no unsealed larvae, as it will die and
smell badly, and the bees will have a bad job
to clean up the combs, but no other damage
will result from the dead larvae.

Place these combs in a hive or nucleus, give
ventilation and a sponge of water, and confine
them this way for four or five days, queen and
all, together. Then, in the evening of the fourth
or fifth day, take them out to a stand you wish
to occupy, and give them a small entrance at
first, and they will soon work off nicely, and
your queen will be safely introduced without
any danger whatever. I introduced a fine im-
ported queen this way, 0. K., a few days ago.

In regard to keeping breeders on a limited
space, I will say that the bees do not try to
supersede her, nor do I let them swarm, nor do
I allow them to begin preparations for swarm-
ing, as I am into the hive at least once a day,
and some days a half-dozen times, and you may
be sure I know the contents of such a hive.

Yes, I know that bees are apt to be up to
some new trick, but I usually get after them
with a sharp stick when they begin to plank on
me, and they soon cool down. To lay joking
aside, I make my bees do as I want them to do,
just as much so as my cow and horse. There is
no use in letting a fine breeder lay herself to
death in a year or two, as such queens as I
want for my breeders are very prolific, as this
is my first mark to look for when selecting a
breeder, and, should I begin honey-production
again, I should look altogether upon the prolific-
ness of my breeders, together with honey-gather-
ing qualities. Viciousness or fighters would be
prized by me, and never would I try to breed
this trait from my bees. As friends, I tell you
it means honey. If I were running a yard for
honey, I would wish to get the worst fighting
bees that I could get. Dear friends, do not
think strange of this, for I just mean it.

Friend L., I have gone off the track from
your questions, but I ran out on breeders, and
it naturally led me in that direction. If any-
body has a bad, fighting Cyprian or Holy Land
queen, just send her to me. — Jennie Atchley
in "American Bee Journal."

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers 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 ws to go to press in advance
of the date of issue, queries cannot always be replied to in the
issue immediately followingthe receipt of their communication.

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

N. McD. — Instructions for Making a Frame
Hive. — 1. As a beginner, it is very needful
that you should purchase some such treatise
as the Guide-book (price Is. 8d., post free),
where full instructions are given for making
a Standard frame hive. But, in any case, it
is inside (not outside) measurements which
are important. Outside measurements vary
according to the style of hive adopted, the
only " Standard " dimensions being those of
the movable frames, in which the combs are
built. If you propose making hives for your
own use, a pattern hive, bought from a re-
liable maker, would not cost much, and the
outlay would be a good investment as a means
of preventing the spoiling of good wood and
losing of much labour. Above all, don't
attempt to make the frames ; these can be
bought at a little over a penny each, far better
than you could make them. 2. Orimshavfs
Apifuge is considered by many bee-keepers to
ensure immunity from bee-stings.

Edwin Griffin. — Feeding with Dry Sugar in
Winter. — We do not think you need fear any
"after-consequences" from making the hive
referred to for " own use." The fact of its
having had a silver medal awarded it confers
no exclusive rights as to its manufacture.
The driven bees will not be very " likely to
take dry sugar in a winter dummy " at this
season. Far better to give them a four or
six-pound cake of soft candy, if they are so
short of food as stated, and another cake in
early spring if the first one has been con-
sumed.

C. N. P. — Lantern Slides for Lectures. — The
set of slides belonging to the British Bee-
keepers' Association may be hired on appli-
cation to the Secretary, Mr. J. Huckle, Kings
Langley, Herts.

Erratum. — Our correspondent, Mr. J. Mastin

(1604, p. 429), requests us to say it was 15 cwt.
of honey, not 151. worth his bees collected this
this year, as stated.

THE

Mai Iff Sural,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 597. Vol. XXI. N.S. 205.] NOVEMBER 30, 1893.

[Published Weekly'

€bxtaxmlf ^tmsf #r.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL AND
EUCALYPTUS HONEY.

It will be remembered that some few
weeks ago the subject of eucalyptus honey
was rather prominently referred to in our
pages in consequence of exception being
taken to a few words written in reply to
the query of a correspondent regarding the
quality of Colonial honey. The matter,
2>ro and con., is, we think, fairly and fully
set forth in our leader in B.J. for Sep-
tember 21st, to which any one sufficiently
interested may refer, or, indeed, to the sub-
sequent correspondence on pp. 394 and
406 of our issues for October 5th and 12th
respectively. "We return to the subject
here in order to make an especial reference
to one of our Australian correspondents,
whose letters are printed in the two last-
named issues of the B.J., not because of
anything appearing therein requiring special
dealing with, but in consequence of the sub-
sequent action of the writer, who, to give
him the publicity he seems to love, we
may say is Mr. John Smith, Montrose Park
Apiary, Brisbane, Queensland.

Now, Mr. Smith has a habit of speaking
his mind in a way sometimes more forcible
than is quite polite. A sample of this may
be seen in the " dressing down " he gives
our British Custom House officials in one of
the letters referred to, wherein he says, on
page 394 : —

" I should like to know if these almighty
Jacks-in -office have a right to act in this high-
handed fashion, and have I no redress ? I am
a law-abiding citizen, and I want fair play and
no favour.

" I should like to know the head boss at the
Customs, that I might write him on the subject.
I presume that these petty officials want to show
their power, and as I am fourteen thousand
miles away, they think they can act like
tyrants, as despotically as they choose with per-

fect impunity ; but the Press has stirred such-
like up many a time, and this is why I write
to you on the subject."

But our Australian friend is something
else besides being forcible, he is astute — ■
very — for we observe that in each and every
one of his communications to the press — ■
ourselves included — he very carefully, and
rather cleverly, manages to introduce a
glowing free advertisement in favour of the
wonderful eucalyptus honey produced at
the Montrose Park Apiary. No matter
how vigorously Mr. Smith is lashing about
right and left, he never omits the " main
point. "

The greater number of his notes on bees
and honey in this country are, however,
apparently addressed to the Leeds Mercury,
and a correspondent has lately favoured us
with a cutting from that paper, which we
need but to reprint in order to verify our
assertion that not only is he an expert at
getting a "free advertisement," but that
so soon as he is outside the wholesome re-
straint which a full knowledge of the sub-
ject imposes — to wit, the columns of the
British Bee Journal — he is neither just nor
accurate. In the Leeds Mercury of
October 23rd he says : —

" In the British Bee Journal of June 1st a
question is asked ' if colonial honey is in all
ways as good as British honey ? ' The editors
reply, ' We do no injustice to our colonies by
saying No to this query. Good colonial honey
there is, no doubt, but much of it is so rank and
strong in flavour as to be wholly unfit for table
use. This is especially the case in some parts
of Australia and New Zealand, where the ti-
tree and the various eucalyptus or gum-trees
grow so abundantly as to quite spoil the flavour
of the better-class honeys collected in such
districts.' What do you think of this,
emanating from such a source ? I should
imagine the editors have been sampling some of
that stuff I wrote you about as being shipped
from here to London, and I told you it would
very likely give Australian honey a bad name ;
but I had no idea the editors of the British Bee
Journal would be so wonderfully deceived with
such stuff, and know so little of the qualifica-

474

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 30, 1893.

tions of the gum-trees as to assert that the
various eucalyptus-trees spoil the flavour of the
honey. Of course, that is all nonsense, because,
on the contrary, we assert, and those who have
tasted our honey will bear out our statement,
that not only does the eucalyptus give a nice,
agreeable, distinctive flavour to the honey, but
it goes far beyond that by endowing it with
those well-known medical virtues that place
pure eucalyptus honey first amongst the honeys
of the world, not only as an article of every-day
food, but as a powerful medical agent. The
editors of the British Bee Jownalh&ve done the
Australian colonies a very great injury by cir-
culating such an extraordinary and totally in-
correct statement."

The editors of this Journal here reiterate
what was said in the foot-note to Mr. Smith's
letter, on p. 406, viz., that " we have no-
thing to qualify or withdraw from what has
appeared in these pages with regard to
eucalyptus honey." Moreover, we have
since that time submitted the sample of
first-class Australian eucalyptus honey
left with us by the Vice-President of the
Hunter River Bee - keepers' Association,
Australia, to some of the best honey judges
in this country, besides dozens of experi-
enced bee-keepers, and they, one and all,
concur in our view, that, however valuable
it may be from a medicinal point, euca-
lyptus honey will never have the smallest
chance of acceptance in this country as a
table honey for general use. Having said
this much, let us hasten to once more
assert our conviction that the very best
method of dealing with eucalyptus honey
on the British market is to " push it " as a
honey possessing medicinal properties suffi-
ciently valuable in themselves to command
a fairly good sale. It is far from our desire
or purpose to advocate the interests of
British honey producers to the exclusion of
those of our own flesh and blood who
happen to be located at the Antipodes, but
we should be wilfully misleading our Colonial
friends by withholding the expression of our
convictions regarding their produce.

As has been said, we now return to the
subject mainly for the purpose of dealing
with the unfair methods adopted by a
particular individual, who, after having had
full opportunity given him for expressing
his views in our pages regarding ourselves,
carries the controversy into other channels
where we cannot follow him. Any supposed
injustice done to our colonies by what has
appeared in this Journal was met on our
part by the prompt insertion of the letter
(1588, p. 406) giving the Australian view

of the question from Mr. Smith's own
standpoint (free advertisement and all!).
But this does not content that gentleman,
nor does he scruple to take advantage of
the greater publicity afforded him in the
newspaper press to reiterate, in an aggra-
vated form, charges against the editors of
the Bee Journal for which there is no
foundation whatever. Any reference, there-
fore, to the personal aspect of the question,
now made for the first time, he has himself
to thank for.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to retwrn
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for 'Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed to " The
Manager, 'British Bee Journal' Office, 17 Zing William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." {see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

*** In order to facilitate reference, Correspondents, when
speaking of any letter or query previous!]/ inserted, will
oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well as the
page on which it appears.

"QUOD PETIS HIC EST."

[ 1649.] Carrying Bees on Bicycles. — What is
the best description of package for carrying
loose bees on a bicycle ? is a question asked by
a correspondent in your issue of the 2nd hist.
(1616). Now, I am a bicyclist, and do a good
many long journeys on my pneumatic steed,
oftentimes having to carry ten or a dozen
pounds of bees as many miles as pounds of
same. To carry these in, say, five or six boxes
is about as impossible a feat as riding a tight-
rope with the same machine. You may pack
one box on the handle-bar in front and two on
your back, but that's about the utmost one can
do with any degree of comfort, and very little
of the latter commodity in the transaction.

Until quite lately I have often had to make
two or three journeys to the same place for the
purpose of bringing the bees home ; this con-
dition of things is happily of the past. Now I
can with comfort carry the contents of seven
or eight hives in separate lots at one journey.
I don't want particularly to take the honour of
being the one to invent the description of
package which will give such good results as
above, but will say that the idea was kindly
given me by Mr. Simpkins, of Solihull, who, I
believe, received it from Mr. Summerskill, of
Hockley Heath. I didn't exactly "catch on"
to the contrivance when told of it by Mr. Simp-
kins, but he very kindly sent me a sample
package, from the designs of which I made

November 80, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL

475

several more, and found them answer first-rate,
and until better packages are invented I shall,
to transport loose bees on a bicycle, always use
them.

Now for the description : first get a square
piece of perforated zinc 6 x 6 in. ; it is best to
have this with holes .;"\ in. diameter. Next
obtain a piece of galvanised or tinned wire about
8 gauge and form this into a circle 5i in. in
diameter. Now solder this on to the zinc so
that its outer edges reach within | in. of each of
the four sides of the zinc square. The wire is
simply a support to the zinc to keep it flat.
Now make a stout canvas bag 28 in. in circum-
ference and 17 in. deep, but don't make a
bottom to it, but in place of the bottom securely
sew the square piece of perforated zinc, fix a
piece of tape, 18 in. long, by the middle to just
within 2 in. of the top of the bag for the purpose
of tying the mouth of it up, and there you are
with a canvas bag having a perforated zinc
bottom.

Now, you want to transport six lots of bees
and for conveyance of same and self you have a
bicycle ; but, I forgot — you must first provide
yourself with six bags and must also get the bees
into the bags. "Well, having driven the bees
and got them clustered in the skeps, you take a
wet zinc pail and just throw the bees into it
and then empty them from pail into the bags
and tie up with the tape. Caution : don't
make the pail too wet or a lot of bees will stick
to it.

You have now got six nice little bags of bees.
I don't want to rewrite this letter. I have
forgotten one thing, and that is, to fix a piece
of string or wire from one edge of the zinc to
the other to form a handle. Now, just hang
these bags, zinc upwards, on to the handle-bar
of bicycle, or around your neck,f or anywhere
where they are out of the way of your legs or
vision. They weigh next to nothing, and. can
be packed anywhere on the machine. I believe
it wouldn't, with a little contrivance, be im-
possible to carry a dozen such packages on a
bicycle and its rider. Of course it doesn't look
" fetching " for a youngster (I'm past that) to
come across a posse of lady acquaintances when
smothered up in canvas bags of bees, but that
doesn't matter much, as it's usually dark when
such operations are conducted.

"QUOT HOMINES, TOT SENTENTIiE."

Experts and Lecturers. — I rather appreciate,
Messrs. Editors, your foot-note to No. 1629 in
issue of 16th inst. Lecturers ought, to all
intents and purposes, to be considered teachers,
and although I, speaking as a lecturer of a good
many years' experience, know full well that such
things as " slips of the tongue " do occur, yet
any one well up in lecturing, and thus having a
feeling of thorough confidence when addressing
an audience, be it either large or small, hears
the lecturer (himself) as well as the audience
does, and if a lapsus lingute does occur, he,
hearing the same and having a perfect know-
ledge of the subject treated upon, at once makes

a correction of the slip. If a lecturer is
thoroughly conversant with his subject, he may
make a lapsus linguce, but if he does he at once
recognises it and corrects it in parenthesis.
But how it is possible to call the glaring-
errors mentioned in " Bee's " and " Subscriber's "
letters " slips of the tongue " I don't know ;
rather should they be called egregious blunders
caused by a want of knowledge.
< Is it not possible for secretaries of Associa-
tions, where they have the spending of public
moneys (County Council grants), to employ
lecturers who have passed an examination in
lecturing, instead of those who — although they
may, according to their own ideas, be thoroughly
conversant with the subject, and may be so
practically — cannot or do not care to undergo
the upper examination as first-class experts?
Any one who is unable, through a want of
knowledge of the subject, or through absence of
education, to obtain a first-class certificate, can-
not by any possible means be expected to pro-
perly address an audience composed, as it always
is, of members of both the educated and un-
educated classes. A lecturer must be very
guarded in his language that he may be under-
stood by the uneducated by avoiding as much
as possible technicalities, and also that he may
not give offence to the ears of his educated
listeners by a misplacement of the A's and An's,
or a conglomeration of the A's and H's, &c. &c.
I must champion the B. B. K. A. in their
endeavours — I may say successful endeavours —
to provide County Associations with men who
are both practical bee-keepers and passable
lecturers. A man may be a most practical and
successful bee-keeper, yet he may by nature be
so formed as to be unable lucidly to impart to
others his ideas or knowledge. Every one is
aware that men exist whose knowledge upon
certain subjects is undoubted, yet they are of
little use to the world, as they cannot, either in
writing or speaking, impart their great know-
ledge to others. Other men cannot express
their ideas viva voce, yet can do so in a most
efficient manner by their writings, and others
vice versa

The B. B. K. A. have for some years en-
deavoured to sift these different descriptions of
individuals, and very rightly arranged them in
three classes, first, second, and third, that Com-
mittees of Associations may take their choice
according to their respective wants.

That the strictures passed by " Bee " and
" Subscriber " are merited in some cases, I
have no doubt. Indeed, I have a vivid re-
membrance of attending a lecture a short time
ago upon apiculture, the lecture being one of a
course held under the auspices of a County
Council. The lecturer (an uncertificated one)
used the terms pupa and larva indiscriminately,
no matter whether as singular, plural, or ad-
jectively, and also called the stigmata " stig-
mer-ter," and used the term " petorl" for petal.
As these words were used over and over again
with others equally as incorrect, one could not
consider them as "slips of the tongue." This

476

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 30, 1893.

has not only been observed by myself, but by
others; for instance, while visiting a poultry
show this week, a gentlemen of some influence
in the county where these lectures were held
asked me the question, " Why is it that such
inferior lecturers on bee-keeping are sent out
by the County Council ? " I simply answered,
" I don't know." What else could I say ?

The fault lies with the Committees and Hon.
Secretaries of Associations in not appointing
lecturers who are both known and qualified. T
have not the least doubt but what there are
plenty of non-practical men who could by read-
ing up obtain sufficient superficial knowledge to
pass muster as apicultural lecturers. I am
cognisant of one myself who knows practically
as much about bee-keeping as a " donkey does
about arrowroot." Here steps in the B. B. K. A.
who, by examining their lecturers practically,
upset the arrangements of any would-be non-
practical lecturer by giving him a hive or two
of bees to manipulate. What theoretical api-
cultural aspirant would face this ordeal minus
veil and gloves ? He would get in a perfect
" muss " and get " plucked."

I remember, some years ago, a lot of corre-
spondence (" writ sarkastic ") appearing in the
pages of this Journal as to a word (quincunx)
used in the examination of first-class experts
being unnecessary and absurd. Why so ? If
a man is unfortunately so ignorant of the Latin
numerals as not to at once " tumble " to the
meaning of it, he is scarcely a fit person to
address an educated audience. Yet this want
of knowledge does not lessen his capabilities as
a practical bee-keeper an iota — in point of fact,
I consider the examiners ought to be instructed
by the B. B. K. A. to examine aspirants for
first-class certificates a deal more thoroughly
upon educational matters than they do. After
a man has passed his third and second-class
examination, the examiners know he is a
practical bee-keeper. Then comes the first-class
examination to test and give precedence to
those whose qualifications render them eligible
and fit persons to give a sound lecture and
explanations to any description of audience. —
W. B. Webster.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1650.] The weather during November
has been true to its tradition ; it was yclept the
Winnat or wind month by the ancients, and as
the wind roared through the trees on Saturday,
the 18th inst., making playthings of chimney-
stacks, outhouses, &c, unroofing houses, barns,
and buildings, I thought anxiously of the bee-
hives, but was glad to find next morning that
all was well, but have no doubt that some fared
worse in places where they happened to be
exposed to the full fury of the wind.

In answer to "A Yorkshire Bee-keeper" (1624,
p. 451), I follow a similar course to what he
does himself with my home apiary, i.e., sweeping
the snow away in front when it is practicable,
and sowing ashes- or - coarl-dust on the snow.

This hastens the thawing of the snow, and the
ground is soon cleared. I always sweep the
roofs of hives as soon as a thaw sets in, but not
before. At my out-apiary, rather over two
miles from home, the bees and hives are left to
take their chance, and there is no appreciable
detriment to the stocks. In fact, the colonies
at my out-apiary are generally stronger on an
average than ' those at home which come in for
a greater share of attention.

W. B. C. ends, as originally designed, have no
side distance-keeping projections — why, I have
never been able to understand. Our worthy
Editors contend that in properly made hives the
top bars measure off the distance for bee-space
between the hive sides and the ends of frames ;
but it seems to me that the hives must be cor-
rectly made to accomplish the object in view,
whereas a distance-keeping frame in itself does
not require such a correctly designed hive. In
fact, a great number of home-made hives are
not correct enough to space the frames correctly,
and the consequence is that the combs are not
movable; one side will be rendered fast by
honey-comb, and the other end by propolis. The
newly fledged tyro in manipulation will probably
have enough of movable-comb hives, and return
to the pattern his grandfather used ; and his
neighbour over the fence will be heartily glad
of his return to the old-style hive as he re-
members how the chickens, the pigs, the ducks,

and the neighbours got stung when Mr.

opened up his new hive to show the beauty
spots on his newly introduced foreign queen, a
mishap which would not have happened if the
frames had been provided with self -spacing pro-
jections. I consider, in the interests of a
growing industry, that bee-furniture should be
made as useful as possible. I comment on the
W. B. C. solely in the interest of others, as I use
myself only Abbott's wide-shouldered frames in
the brood nest, and it is my working with these
self -spacing, easily adjustable frames, that
prompts me to advise the addition of a side-
distance spur to the W. B. C. ends.

I am surprised to see Mr. Simmins' caution
against advance in the matter of wider combs
for the extracting supers, and equally surprised
to read in his Modern Bee-farm his remarks
anent the super-clearer. Whatever they may
have been fifteen years ago, I know by practical
experience that they are perfection now, or very
near it, and a great aid to the practical bee-
keeper as a time-saving, therefore a money-
earning, appliance.

The matter of Standard frames has cropped
up again, and some would advocate a deeper
frame of some 16 x 10 inches. This size gave
good results years back, and the " standard " has
given equally good results in the intervening
years, and with an elastic hive, such as the
Combination, the extension of the brood nest
may be easily increased to the number of twelve
or fourteen standard frames when extra prolific
queens head the colony ; but where an apiary is
run on- commercial lines— tVe., on the most
profitable system — the object of the apiarist- is

November 30, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

477

to have the colony just up to the boiling-over
point when the first honey-flow commences, and
then work his apiary according to his district.
When a few years' close study of the economic
conditions are noted down, the practical man
will soon discover that his success will not
entirely depend on enormous colonies of bees
(except at the right period, when there is bee-
work to be done). Large colonies produce
largely, and large colonies also consume largely.
Now, while I am saying a word on the size
of a brood nest, allow me to refer to what Mr.
Heddon says in Gleanings in reply to a bee-
keeper who asks if he is ready to endorse what
he said in reference to shallow frames (four
inches) in 1889. Mr. Heddon replied that he is
as much in favour of shallow frames after ex-
tended trial as he was when he wrote in 1889.
He adds, "My experience and observation
warrant a positive belief something akin to
absolute knowledge that extremely shallow
combs are not excelled by any other for safely
wintering the bees. We are all aware of the
fact that shallow frames are more easily handled,
and better adapted to the storage of surplus
honey, less liable to brace and burr combs, and,
I believe, better adapted to early and extensive
brood-rearing." This is the opinion of a master
in the craft after years of practical experience.
Now, between these two — the deep and the
shallow — comes the golden mean, i.e., the British
Standard, which has filled the bill, and is likely
to do so until our friends with the deep-frame
hives proves that the output of honey is greater
from the colonies on the deep frames than from
colonies in the Standard.

More light is sadly needed by even some of
our educated public men. Here in West Berks,
we have had a Government commissioner, in-
vestigating the condition of the agricultural
district, stating in a Blue Book that the honey-
bee deteriorates the quality of the hay by
extracting the honey from the flowers ; this
erroneous idea still lives, notwithstanding the
repeated assertions of scientists that so soon as
the insect has visited a flower, and fertilisation
has taken place, the flower ceases to put forth
nectar, but produces seed, thus increasing the
feeding quality of the plant, whereas, if the
flower is not visited by the insect, it continues
to put forth nectar, and thus drain the plant of
the concentrated juices, which the very act of
fertilisation conserves in the seed - forming
ovaries of the plant.

Nothing is said of the benefit the busy bee is to
the agriculturist, and what would happen were it
not for insect f ertilisation of his plants, which fer-
tilising act is largely due to Apis mellifica. Take
clover for instance : ten heads of white clover,
unprotected, produced ten times as much seed
as ten heads under gauze. Another instance :
twenty heads, covered, produced one poor seed,
while twenty heads, uncovered, produced 2290
seeds. Now for a fact in red clover : 100 heads,
covered, gave nothing: ; 100 heads, open, srave
2720 seeds. — W. Woodley, World's End,
Beedon, Newbury.

MORE "MIXED."

" A rose by any other name
Would smell as sweet."

Shakespeake.

[1651.] It was with feelings not unmixed
with pleasure that I perused the further letter
(1639, p. 468) from your correspondent
" Honesty." But why does he deliberately go
out of his way to misconstrue one's desire to
locate the spot where "light" was wanted in
order to account for his short " take " and my
modest attempt to indicate the probable cause P
One would have thought that the fact of my
bracketing together his former letter (1602,
p. 428) and that of "Phil Jones" on same page
should have yielded a ray of light where wanted
to a man so eminently gifted as " Honesty."
No doubt our friend's bees " worked as hard as
those of his neighbours, and were as strong,"
but they were working for the wrong end, and
there is very little doubt that " Honesty's "
bees had the same complaint as those of " Phil
Jones," viz., an abnormally strong brood nest,
but with very opposite results, brought about,
in my opinion, simply by different treatment
early in the year. Nearly all authorities agree
as to the advantages of spring and autumn
feeding, and I most emphatically deny that
there is any "dodgery or trickery" whatever
in it. I also, in all sincerity, tell " Honesty "
that the sooner he brings his perspicacity to
bear upon this fact the sooner will he find that
the " future," so far as his " takes " of honey
are concerned, will be very different to the past.

That he may not fail in grasping my full
meaning, I quote a few passages from one of
the most reliable works on bee-keeping, which
he may take even from me as good and sound
advice. " It is sometimes thought superfluous
to feed bees when they have sufficient stores
within the hive, and some will tell us that nature
prompts them to use the honey as they need it.
This is true, and under such circumstances their
development is sufficiently rapid for their own
preservation, and they may be able to lay up
for themselves a sufficient store for their own
use ; but the object of the bee-keeper is to ensure
beyond this a large surplus, which he may
appropriate to himself. To secure this he must
stimulate to activity early in the season, and the
cost of the food employed at this time will be
repaid by greatly increasing the honey harvest."

" A little gentle feeding will keep a colony
prosperous, in default of which it might be
thrown back in its development in a few days
more than it could regain in as many xveeks,
because, when a colony rapidly rearing brood
finds that honey is scarce both within and with-
out, the queen stops laying and the bee3 destroy
the larvae and eggs." (The italics are mine.)

I would also add that a hive, full of very
young bees, with large masses of brood at the
commencement of the honey-flow, is, so far as
"large takes" are concerned, worse than use-
less.

I must admit that on reading "Honesty's,"

478

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNALS [November SO, 1393.

first letter I was mistaken in judging him to be
a struggling bee-keeper like myself, who would
have been only too glad of a little guidance on
bee-matters. A perusal of his second letter,
however, causes me to lift my hat and regard
him as the very embodiment of enlightenment ;
in fact, so full is it of fascinating matter that I
have almost learned it by rote. " Honesty " is
anxious as to my age ; he is kind, and I thank
him for his interest in me. No, I don't even
feel old, though my bantlings may in secret con-
clave irreverently refer to me as their " old dad.''
I say they may do this, but any way, I am in
that happy transitory state when it is generally
deemed wisest not to press such inquiries too
far, because the answer may be " young " (not
too young, you know) or it may be old, and so
far as personalities are concerned, old enough to
know better than indulge in them. Referring
to my nom de plume and your correspondent's
nervous anxiety that I should "get another
name," I think he should be the last to com-
plain, seeing that in this matter he has such a
decided "pull" over my unenlightened self.
But as this is not the first time I have been
brought to book on this point I may refer him to
page 57 of B. J. for February 9th last, so that
he may fully appreciate his own wisdom. In the
last par. of " Honesty's" letter I take it he is try-
ing to pay me a compliment, as he cannot accuse
me of sharing in " the too general silence of bee-
keepers," but I would ask, is it fair for him to
assert that silence implies " guilt or ignorance ? "
It is practically assuming every one to be rogues
until they prove themselves honest. It may be
interesting, however, to "Honesty " to know that
I have never sold a pound, or even an ounce, of
honey to the outside public in any shape or
form in my life.

I was very glad to see your leader last week
on Standard frames and the proposed revival of
the larger old-fashioned frames, and much ad-
mire the masterly manner in which you have
dealt therewith. If utter confusion is to be
avoided in our apiaries and bees on frames to
continue saleable articles, then I say, " Stick to
that which has been proved to be for most pur-
poses by far the best and is now in universal
use and relegate the remainder to limbo ! " — The
Heathen.

FAILURES WITH THE « WELLS "
DUMMY.

[1652.] Your correspondent, " The Heathen "
(1609, p. 436), states that I made " a very one-
sided statement re the ' Wells ' dummy." I
fail, however to see that such is the case. When
making my report, I simply drew attention to
the fact of so many failures with it, which
appear weekly in the B.B. J., also the monthly
Record. And, although the Editors kindly
drew my attention to two cases of success — and
one of them had not appeard in print at the time
of my writing — I also note your correspondent's
success. I simply wished to record my own
success with a perforated zinc dummy, and 1

think you must agree that it has answered its
purpose well.

Neither do I expect Mr. Wells to guarantee
success to all who try his method ; but surely
your correspondent does not wish to draw a
hard and fast fine, which no one shall go beyond,
with respect to the kind of dummy that shall be
used in a " Wells " hive, which mine certainly
is, as laid down from time to time in the B.B.J. ?
It simply differs in the dummy, and this " The
Heathen " very strongly objects to. Your cor-
respondent also, while carefully pointing out his
own success, does not consider it necessary to
allude to the failures ; perhaps he considers the
B.B.J, is doing that sufficiently well, seeing that,
roughly speaking, the failures are about three
to one success. Surely, also, he does not call
his own case a success ? — for, according to his
own statements, he has worked only nuclei, and
no stocks can be called a success unless they
have been working in surplus chambers, which
is the real test. Now, sirs, comparing your
correspondent's success — such as it is — and the
few others recorded against the large percentage
of failures already reported, it does not at pre-
sent say much for the wooden dummy, and until
better reports come forward, I must still adhere
to the zinc dummy, which I know will answer.

" The Heathen " also wonders " how I ac-
count for my stocks being broodless on October
7th?" In that there is no mystery to me. I
am told that bees stop breeding earlier when the
hives are full of honey, which was the case this
season. If I had been feeding nuclei, as your
correspondent has, I should certainly have been
disappointed at not finding brood, seeing that he
only stopped feeding on October 1st. Bee-
keepers tell me that eight out of every ten
stocks in this district were broodless on or be-
fore October 7th, thus proving it is no fault of
the zinc dummy. Friend " Heathen " also
says: "Had '1573' adopted a properly made
dummy, his bees would not have been brood-
less." This shot fails of its mark, because the
zinc dummy was only used in one of my hives,
and it certainly could not affect the whole of
the others, which were alike broodless.

As to my queens being worth the keeping,
my take of honey (118 pounds per hive average)
answers that question, and my bees have not
been fed since March last.

I can recommend the system I have adopted
to any one who wants bees to pay, for I have
safely increased my stocks by three, and sold 8/.
worth of honey ; so that, after buying an ex-
tractor, new frames, foundation, &c, at a cost
of Al. 3s., I have a profit of 31. 17s., and plenty
of honey left for our own consumption. — Wm,
Tr/STAiN, Northants, November 22nd, 1893.

WIDTH OF SHALLOW FRAMES.

[1653.] In my communication on shallow
frames (1625, p. 451), I am, by an error, made
to describe the top bar as " about five-eighths
inch thick " after having tacked on fchree-eightha

November 80, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

479

inch slips of wood on each side the top bar-
It should, of course, read about one and five-
eighths inches, except at the extreme ends of
the top bar, which remains at its original width
of seven-eighths inch. — John Walton, Honey
Cott, Weston, November 24tth.

THICK OK THIN COMBS FOR
EXTRACTING.

A CORIIECTION.

[ 1654] Through a printer's error my letter
in last issue (No. 1643) does not exactly express
my anticipations of the change in our methods
of extracting which is likely to occur shortly.
My contention will be for " an extracting frame
spaced slightly closer than the broody gauge,"
not " broad gauge," as your printer has it.

No one can find fault with your own objec-
tions as expressed in the foot-note in so far as
they refer to present modes of extracting. —
Samuel Simmins.

A HORNETS' NEST.

[1655.] As a result of the past delightful
season, many insects which were getting scarce
have become abundant again, so that our banks
and hedgerows, our fields and copses, have been
enlivened by the hum of myriad wings ; and even
here, close to the busy town — I beg its pardon : I
meant city — butterflies of strange delight, small
coppers and heaths, jagged- winged commas,
peacocks, and resplendant admirals have graced
our garden flowers.

In outlying districts there are men who can
show more than fifty notches cut in their sticks,
each notch representing a wasps' nest destroyed.
We must kill something, and why not the poor
wasps ?

One youth tells me that he is the proud robber
of nine hornets' nests, and is thirsting to rob
more. I am willing to get one specimen nest to
add to my collection, so, good reader, if you will
follow me in imagination, I will take you into
hornet-land.

It is the first week in October, and another
lovely day. I take train to Redditch — the land
of needles — and walk over the fields to Web
Heath, our meeting-place being the inn there.
It lies high, and I have heard that the Sugar-
loaf Mountain, at Abergavenny, has been seen
on a very clear day. To one immured in a
dingy office, in a smoky town, close to the roar
of huge machinery, the scene is full of delight
and peace. The hedgerows are full of exquisite
colour, and if there are few flowers, the dead
stalks of willow-herb and that fine plant, fox-
glove, umbelliferous plants and teazle show the
wealth of blossom there has been.

The brave youth does not turn up, so my
friend, Mr. Hiam, and myself proceed to trail
hornets. We went along lanes with high banks,

draped with briar and bramble, and bryony,
with bunches of red berries, looking like a giant
dodder climbing to the top of the hawthorn
hedges. Pollard willows were plentiful, and in
the matted heads grew many plants : woody
nightshade, with pretty berries, honeysuckle,
and bramble commonly. In one, a young oak ;
in another, the gooseberry. It is in these wil-
lows, chiefly, that the hornets make their nests.
We enter Fox-lydiate wood, and here is the
first hornets' nest. A stately ash has been riven,
years ago, by the lightning, and, in consequence,
the inner wood is all decayed ; the outer bark—
the crust, as it were — only alive. The female
hornet — queen of British insects — commenced
the nest in the " touch-wood," and so they have
enlarged it, till there may be five rounds of
comb filled with uncanny brood. We next cross
a couple of fields to see a pollard oak where
Mr. Hiam cut out a nest last week, and where
one hornet sat down on his nose ! Then we
pass a cottage, with a nest in the thatched roof ;
then find another nest in a pollard willow, and
so on to the one we are to take, because it is a
very strong one.

We call at the inn here, and drink lemonade
— being teetotalers — to steady our nerves. The
tree is hard by, and so, our nerves being
steadied, we repair thither. It is a gigantic
oak — a remnant of the Feckenham forest.
Once, when knights passed here in falconry
days, a little sprouting acorn. Before we reach
it, an occasional hornet may be seen sweeping
up the brook-side, going homeward. A flock of
geese are picking up the acorns, and here, under
a chestnut-tree, lie hundreds of " nobbly con-
kers," the outer prickly shell broken, revealing
the rich brown nut within. We come to the
tree, and, standing at a respectful distance,
watch these noble insects fly in and out. They
enter where the trunk divides, for it has gone
rotten there, and evidently the tree is hollow.
If you have not watched a hornets' nest — the
splendid creatures going straight as a line into
the ether, others coming home with a swing and
a hum that there is nothing else like — you are
yet short of one of the pleasures of country life.
There is a tone about the humming wing dif-
ferent entirely to that of the humble-bee or fly-
ing beetle. It makes the nerves unsteady, the
hand tremble ; fear comes to the heart, for it
beats more quickly. Workers laden pass quickly
in and out, and an occasional drone, but the
much heavier queens fly but seldom. Perhaps
they fear the butcher-bird, who would kill,
and leave them pierced upon a thorn. From a
bottle we pour in the deadly fluid ; the fumes
arise, and the hornets enter never to go out any
more. A few manage to wander out, but being
stupefied, I easily box them off the bark.
Others manage to fly, but we knock them down
in the grass and kill them. A youth, whom we
have hired to use the axe, deftly picks them up,
extracts their stings, and puts them in his
trousers pocket !

Few now coming home, he seizes the axe
and buries it into the heart of the oak. After

480

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 30> 189^.

an hour's work, with frequent interruptions
owing to hornets returning from the fields, the
axe goes through, and the nest can be seen a
foot above. The gap is enlarged, and, by
reaching up to the elbow, the nest can be felt.
The first comb is brought down, with insects all
alive, but drowsy. There are queens, males,
workers, and undeveloped brood. Then the
next, and soon five combs and the outer covering
of " paper " lie on the greensward outside. The
work is done, the hole mudded over, to make
believe it is an old fissure, and we return to the
inn unstung. My boxes are full of specimens,
in my handkerchief a broken nest.

Towards Astwood Bank we now direct our
steps. The autumn day is drawing to a close,
but it is light enough to see the rooks and wild
pigeons, and, by a farm at Elcock's brook, ducks
and pigs eagerly devouring the acorns. I never
saw them so plentiful before. Many species of
birds are seen, and along the high banks scores
of glow-worms, like bits of electric light.
Mr. Hiam is an enthusiastic observer, and has
much interesting knowledge of the lesser British
birds, and the time passes pleasantly.

Next day we took an unbroken nest out of a
thatch, and went a grand ramble through
Norgrove and Bentley Manor, Sambourne, Hunt
End, and a lot of other places. We found
many more nests, and Mr. Hiam pointed out
the young ash saplings stripped of their bark by
hornets. They seemed very quiet insects, for
we stood close to their nests many times, and
not one molested us. It was a beautiful sight
to see the heaps of apples in the orchards,
Blenheims, Ribston pippins, and the like. Many
of these will be ground into cider, for fruit is so
abundant it scarcely pays the carriage to send
it to town. One old farmer — ruddy as his
apples — showed us two great walnut-trees that
he had planted. Mushrooms were plentiful,
and often coveys of partridges went whirring
away as we crossed over fields. Women and
children were picking up acorns. They make as
much as 3s. 6d. per day by selling them. I spent
a most pleasant day again, and returned home
much wiser with regard to hornets than I had
been before.

The nest was kept in a warm room, and,
wishing to make some observations, I fed the
larvae every day with honey and shreds of beef,
which they eat greedily. Like wasp larvae,
each one faces towards the centre of the comb
— for what reason I cannot say ; nothing more,
perhaps, than that perfect order which exists in
all nature — and, as though by some preconcerted
signal, each one rasps sharply the side of its
cell with its mandibles, producing a very curious
sound. This is done, no doubt, to attract the
attention of the nurse hornets, but how they
contrive to strike at exactly the same moment
as each other, not one being able to see its
neighbour, I cannot conceive. When a mother
bird steps upon the mossy side of her nest, what
an array of open mouths ! But when the nurse
hornet creeps in upon the comb, what a rasping
of little jaws against the walls of their cells !

The cells are large and hang down, so that we
wonder the young larvae do not fall out. They are
fastened, however, so firmly to the cells that it
is difficult to pull them out. The pupae, or
nymphs, which are undergoing that wondrous
transformation — the fat grub changing into the
winged and golden fly — are covered with a
tough web, whether made by themselves or
their nurses I wished to find out. Many queens
and the males, with long antennae, hatched out
in my presence. They looked very comical,
sawing themselves out into the world. As we
watched, we ceased to wonder at the barked
ash saplings and the holes bored into solid wood.
I kept them alive a fortnight, but not one even
commenced to build the dome to itscell. Perhaps
the workers do it for them, like the honey-bee.

The hornet being so much larger than a wasp,
the beautiful folding arrangement and minute
hooks of the wing, the divided thorax, sting, and
tongue are much more plainly visible. I hope
to get some of these queens through the winter,
to start a "hornetry" in the spring. If only
one would take to an observatory hive, what
discoveries we should make !

From an examination of the combs, the queen
evidently builds nothing but worker cells at the
beginning, but, as the workers hatch and help,
drone or male comb is interposed amongst it ;
then, later, drone comb is in the centre and
queen comb round the sides. The whole, built
of a fibrous paste, is about as fragile as the
nest of its cousin, the fair wasp. It seems a
wonder that, when full of heavy brood, it does
not collapse. Stout pillars of "paper," how-
ever, support each comb in the centre, and the
edges of each comb are joined to the outer en-
velope— a beautiful structure — and, maybe, to
the wood of the tree.

The " worker " is a lithe and graceful insect,
well known to one little boy, who said, tear-
fully, " I didn't — mind, as — long as it — kept
scrawlin' — about, but when — it sot down — it
'urtorful!"

The male is beautifully proportioned, the an-
tennae much longer than either the queen or
worker. He cannot sting, yet take hold of him
and you will probably drop him quickly, be-
cause of his frantic efforts to do so. The queen
is much larger than her brother or sister. Un-
like the queen of Apis mellifica, her sting is
straight, but I can trace no barbs. The queen
of the hive-bee may be held between the lips,
but venture not to do this with the handsome
queen of the hornets. I have one here now on
the cloth, running about, and if you do but ap-
proach her majesty with a finger, she at once
curls round her body in a menacing attitude.

Happy are the hornets, swinging in and out
of their home, the ancient oak ; leave them un-
disturbed, and they will do you little harm.
But the fiat has gone forth, as it has against
wasp, hawk, and blue-winged jay, "Destroy
them." So that the good they would, perchance,
do is left undone, and for the destroying there
is, as reward, a goodly jug of beer, or, mayhap,
cider, and an admiring crowd ! — Lordswood.

November 30, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

481

(tmries antr Jjkplies,

[918.] Information wanted about Carniolan
Bees. — I should be much obliged if you, or any
of your readers, could give me some information
regarding Carniolan bees. 1. Is it a fact that
these bees are docile, not excitable, and easily
manipulated, and do they compare favourably
in this respect with Italians ? 2. Are Carniolan
hybrids vicious like the Italian hybrids? 3. I
have read that Carniolans are a nuisance in the
matter of swarming ; when crossed with blacks,
do they, lose this tendency to excessive swarm-
ing? 4. I am told that Mr. Blow, Mr. John
AValton, and other bee-masters use these bees
very extensively — have they ever recorded their
experience? I may mention that I work my
hives almost exclusively for extracted honey,
and would like to give up my English queens
for a more gentle race, but do not wish to have
to deal with much swarming. — John S. Fenton,
M.D., Northants, November 25th.

Reply. — Since our correspondent invites
readers to give their experience of Carniolan
bees, we join in his request. For ourselves, we
prefer the first cross between Carniolan and
black bees, though we have occasionally found
them uncertain in handling, some stocks re-
taining the quiet habits of the pure Carniolan,
and others those of the true hybrid.

[919.] Leaking Bottle Feeders. — Can you
give me any information as to the cause of the
syrup running out of the hive entrance after
the bees are fed, from the feed-hole in top ? I
am most particular in having the feeder set on
straight, and use a properly made one bought
from a dealer. I have lost two hives before,
and cannot understand the reason. If you
could tell me what to do, I should feel very
grateful. — M. A. K. F., Shere, nr. Guildford.

Reply. — What are known as " slow or
regulating feeders " should not be left on hives at
this season. So long as the bees are taking the
food, it works all right, unless the feeder itself
isbadly made ; but when the temperature becomes
lower after a feeder is put on, the pressure of
air — which prevents leakage — is reduced, and
the liquid food drips slowly out. Soft candy is
the proper food for bees at this time of the
year.

[920.] Feeding and Medicating Bees. —
Could you please tell me why some of my bees
are in such a state of excitement ? I fed them
with candy, and I also put into each of the
hives four halves of naphthaline last Monday —
not that I have foul brood, but I used it as a
preventive, thinking it would do no harm. In
one hive that is not very strong the bees are
quiet enough, but the other is all life at the
entrance. On Tuesday morning I went to look
at them, and, to my grief, I saw from 100 to
150 dead on the ground. To-night they are the

•same, running along the alighting-board and
then falling to the ground to perish with the
others. I did not like them all to die, so I
shut them in tight, and shall release them in the
morning, and, I think, remove the naphthaline.
1 should be very glad if you could advise me
what would be best to do, as I am only a
beginner. — F. W. Morey, Ventnor, November
24th.

Reply. — We have never had a similar ex-
perience reported as the above. If the naphtha-
line used was obtained from this office, and used
as directed, there is no reason for supposing
that it was the cause of the disturbance which
ensued. No doubt feeding and medicating on
the same day would be likely to cause some
excitement among the bees, and it would have
been wiser to insert the naphthaline later on if
the mischief really took the form of causing the
bees to quarrel among themselves, as seems
likely from the description given. We shall be
glad to know the result of your dangerous ex-
pedient of confining the excited bees within the
hive.

ffitym farm i\t |pxtes.

Honey Cott, Weston, near Leamington, No-
vember 24th. — Friday, the 17th, was very fine
and mild in the morning, with a temperature
neai'ly up to 50°, so that the bees had a good
turn out, so that my wife remarked to me she
" thought they were all going to swarm." Of
course we expected it was a weather indicator,
and didn't we have a blizzard the next day and
night ! On looking round the next morning, I
found all the entrances to the hives snowed up,
and the tomtits had been "around t^ing to get at
the bees ; their feet-marks were plainly to be
seen. So I set some traps, and caught three,
and now the others are rather shy, and keep
back, as they saw one in the trap. I have had
a good look over my " plant " lately, scraping
off propolis from the crates and separators, so
that they may be ready when we want them
another year, if all's well. By the way, I must
tell friend Woodley I did not like to price my
honey too low at the Dairy Show, as some of
our friends might have said, " We could have
got more for ours if Walton hadn't priced his so
low." — John Walton.

LECTURE ON BEE-KEEPING.

Under the auspices of the Worcestershire
County Council, and in connexion with the
Worcestershire Bee-keepers' Association, the
Rev. E. Davenport gave the first of two lectures
in the schoolroom, Stoke Prior, on Tuesday
evening, Nov. 21st, on " Bees and Bee-keeping,"
illustrated by a series of limelight views. The
Rev. Charles Stockdale (vicar) presided, and
there was a fair attendance of local bee-keepers

482

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [November 30, 1893.

and other ladies and gentlemen. The Chairman'
introduced the lecturer in a few appropriate
words, after which the Rev. E. Davenport ex-
plained that the Worcestershire County Council
had voted a grant of money to the Worcester-
shire Bee-keepers' Association to enahle it to
send a lecturer round ahout the county to give
lectures on hees, and so instruct the people in
the very interesting and paying petite culture,
viz., hee-keeping. He knew of no better pur-
pose to which the County Council could vote
money. What could he better than teaching
the cottagers a pleasant pastime, and at the
same time putting /. s. d. into their pockets?
He was sometimes asked if he kept bees. He
replied "Yes and no." The first year he had
bees he kept them, but now he expected them
to help to keep him. He would strongly advise
intending bee-keepers to begin in a small way,
and increase the number of stocks by degrees,
for if they had the bee-fever very strongly, they
might perhaps launch out too freely, and by
encountering failure through inexperience throw
up the craft in disgust.

The lecturer then expatiated to some length
upon the wonderful structure of the bee, de-
scribing the duties of queen, drone, and working
bee. Mr. Davenport compared the modern
frame hive with the old straw skep, showing
how the former was by far the better for ease
in manipulations and the study of the working
of the bees, and also in enlarging and contracting
the size of the hive, although the latter possessed
two very good features, viz., warmth and early
swarming. The lecturer dealt with the two
chief diseases affecting bees, and gave the best
preventives and cures. The limelight views
which illustrated all the principal points of the
lecture was much admired. Mr. Harvey, Stoke
Prior, manipulated the lantern. A very hearty
vote of thanks was accorded Mr. Davenport for
his interesting and instructive lecture, and also
to the Eev. C. Stockdale for occupying the chair
and granting the use of the room. — Communicated.

ROXBURGHSHIRE B.K. ASSOCIATION.

A Presentation.

On Friday evening, November 3rd, a meeting
of the Roxburghshire Bee-keepers' Association
was held in the Royal Hotel, J edburgh, for the
purpose of presenting the Secretary, Mr. Thomas
Clark, teacher, Pleasants, with an illuminated
address and a Wells beehive, and Mrs. Clark
with a silver teapot. There was a good attend-
ance of members. Mr. William Marr (Vice-
President) occupied the chair. Dr. Fyfe (The
Nest) made the presentation, and the Secretary
replied in appropriate terms on behalf of him-
self and Mrs. Clark. A very enjoyable social
evening was afterwards spent. — Communicated.

FARMERS AND BEE-KEEPING.
A favourite maxim of the thrifty, and one
with which as youngsters we were all made

familiar, was to " look after the pence, and the
pounds would take care of themselves." To
have regard for small things is to qualify for
bigger. Now, bee-keeping is a small thing in
its way, but Sir James Whitehead explained to
the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House the other
day, how profitable an undertaking bee-culture
was, and how it might be made to add to the
incomes of small farmers and cottagers. For
years past the sons of the soil have been con-
tinually lectured for neglecting various simple
means at their hand which, if properly used,
might have helped them to face periods of de-
pression with lighter hearts. Farmers may
think they know their own business best, as
they probably do, and may therefore be justified
in scouting with scorn many of the suggestions
offered by outsiders. But to take bee-keeping
for instance — and this is one of the sources of
income which they have admittedly neglected.
Sir James Whitehead quoted a farmer at Farn-
ham who had two hives. From one of them
he obtained 142 pounds of honey, and from the
other 64 pounds. The average of the two was
103 pounds, and at 9d. per pound that would
give a profit of 71. 14s. Qd. A multiplication of
these figures readily shows what might be made
out of apiculture. It is gratifying to find the
farmers and cottagers are at last beginning to
realise this, and great advances have been made
during the last few years. Very little cost is
involved in bee-keeping ; the hives occupy very
little room and do not require much care, while
the bees have absolute freedom to gather honey
wherever they list. Into the gardens of the
high and low they may go with impunity, and
no one can haul either them or their keepers up
for trespass. In these days every little helps,
and the British Bee-keepers' Association is doing
a good work in trying to get small farmers and
cottagers in rural districts to regard honey as a
means of adding to their income. The import
of foreign honey is yearly becoming larger, and
there is not the least reason why our home pro-
duction should not be considerably increased. —
Western Morning Neivs.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers of
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 com-
munication.

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

Thos. Hallewell (Mount Barker, Australia).
— We have forwarded copy of B.J. as desired,
enclosing copy of subscription form. If it
should not reach you, please write again on
post-card.

THE

Ik 3nnrnaL

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

Wo. 598. Vol. XXI. N.S. 200.]

DECEMBER 7, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

(^bitnrial, ftoiittS, #r.

USEFUL HINTS.

Weather. — We have, so far, had no re-
ports of mishaps to beehives during the
storms of the 25th to 28th ult., and, so far
as it goes, this may be taken as an assu-
rance that bee-keepers nowadays are wise
enough to take the necessary precautions
against wreckage during November gales
and, let us hope, the inroads of King Frost.
The severity of the storms referred to may
be judged by the following description of
its effects in Scotland, taken from a London
daily paper of the 4th inst. : —

" Some extraordinary figures showing the
effects of the recent storm which raged in
England and Scotland have been tabulated
by the Dundee Advertiser. It appears that,
in various districts of the northern country,
woods and forests have been almost swept
away. The aggregate number of trees
blown down in Perthshire is 403,587, and
in Forfarshire 1,044,757, giving a total
over the two counties of 1,448,344. In
Perthshire the damaged trees represent a
value of 60,743/., and in Forfarshire of
-221,520/.— in all, 282,263/. Of course, in
a great many cases no return as to numbers
or value has been given, it being impossible
to make an estimate, especially where the
numbers were very large."

The " W. B. C." Metal End.— We note
that several references to the " W. B. C."
end have been made of late in our corre-
spondence columns by way of suggesting
improvements or of pointing out supposed
faults in that much-used little bee-
appliance.

The sole defect complained of seems to
be the want of a " spur " or projection of
some kind which will regulate the distance
'between the side bars of the frame and the

sides of the hive. Now, with all due
deference to those who consider the lack of
a " spur " a fault, we fail to see any more
force in the arguments used in favour of this
distancing spur than there is in the simple
essential that beehives, to be properly work-
able, must be cut to accurate measurement.
In fact, accuracy is just as necessary in
forming the common rabbett in which the
old-fashioned, short top bar works, or in the
rebate on the underside of a broad-
shouldered Abbott top bar, or in the width
of the hive body in which the frame hangs.
Surely, then, it is not necessary to make
any special allowance for the carelessness
of the hive-maker who cuts his top bars of
various lengths instead of an exact seven-
teen inches, any more than for his cutting
the side bars of different lengths 1 To our
mind, a spur on the " W. B. C." end would
be fatal to it, besides being of no use what-
ever, provided the same care is used which
compels a certain width — neither more nor
less — in the hive body.

It is, therefore, with no feeling of testi-
ness that we refer to the question here, in
order to say that if a spur is added to the
metal end known as the " W. B. C." the
writer would feel constrained to request
that some other appellation be given to any
such improvement (?) as would include a
spur rather than the initials of his name.
Our correspondent "H.C.J." (1608, p. 435),
makes a couple of cuts in the end and turns
down the piece in form of a " lip " which
lies against the hive side, only, as we think,
to cause trouble with propolisation. An-
other correspondent, " Lancashire Novice "
(1630, p. 457), makes some suggestions
which, after a little further experience, we
think he would see faults in.

We also feel quite as strongly that the
wider end, recommended for surplus cham-
bers, should be made to fit the standard
top bar, and that any other alteration will
be a move in the wrong direction. If a

484

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 7, 1893.

wide top bar is fancied, there will be no
difficulty in making the end fit by having
the wide bar " shouldered " back to the
seven-eighth width.

What we earnestly deprecate is the in-
troduction of any complication in these ends,
and the strong point of the form we advocate
is that, in case of need, the end made for
wide combs in surplus chambers will answer
for the narrow combs in brood chambers, so
that the bee-keeper will be at no loss which-
ever form of end he happens to have by
him.

PRESENTATION TO MR. JOHN
HUCKLE.

The presentation of a testimonial to Mr.
John Huckle, Secretary of the British Bee-
keepers' Association, took place on Friday,
November 24th, in the National Schoolroom
at Kings Langley, the occasion being the annual
dinner of the local Cricket Club, of which Mr.
Huckle has been secretary for thirty years.
Some sixty- five gentlemen sat down to dinner,
and the room was tastefully decorated with
bunting, plants, &c. The President of the
Club, Colonel A. H. Longman, of Shendish,
occupied the chair, the vice-chair being filled by
the Chairman of the Committee, Dr. Fisher.
After the usual loyal and patriotic toasts had
been duly honoured, the Chairman proposed the
toast of the evening, and in the course of his
remarks referred to Mr. Huckle as follows : —
"*You have in Kings Langley one who has for
many years past worthily received your esteem.
I have the honour and pleasure to bear testi-
mony to the worth of Mr. John Huckle, who is
a very old friend of mine, and I am proud to be
your mouthpiece in conveying to him this testi-
monial to his services. Mr. Huckle, I have been
requested by residents in Kings Langley and
members of the British Bee-keepers' Association
to ask your acceptance this evening of a slight
recognition of the time and services you have
given to the Club and the Association, and we
hope you may long be spared to enjoy the gift.
I ask you to accept this address, and a cheque
for 150 guineas, and long may John Huckle be
our secretary ! "

The toast was most cordially received and
honoured.

Mr. Huckle, in reply, said : — " Mr. Chairman
and gentlemen — I find it difficult to express in
suitable words my gratitude for the great
honour you have done me to-night. There are
times in the lives of most of us, I think, when
we are quite unable to give expression to our
inward thoughts and feelings, and such is my
case at the present moment. I am pleased that
I am able to be here to-night to express my
thankfulness for this handsome gift. I owe
to you, gentlemen, and many others resident in
the county and in distant parts of England, a

large debt of gratitude for this testimony off"
the sympathy you have shown to me during a.
long illness, t think nothing which this world
gives affords so much strength and fortitude in.
times of sickness and difficulties,, as to- know
that those whom we have worked for and
serve sympathise and care for us, and I. acknow-
ledge, with much gratitude, the large amount
of sympathy that you and others have shown,
towards me. I owe much to the skill and care
of the vice-chairman, who has from time to.
time (if I may so speak) ' set up my wicket,' and.
enabled me to take a humble part in the work
in which we, as cricketers, take so much
interest. I have always been proud of the
reputation which this village has enjoyed in the
cricket world. I know something of its history
and of those who have sustained, it for the past-
forty years, and I trust that those who have-
conducted the work to the present time, may
be followed by others equally zealous for the
reputation of the club.''

A beautifully illuminated address accom-
panied the testimonial, the text of which was.
as follows : —

" To Mr. John Huckle, Kings Langley,,
November 24th, 1893. — We, the subscribers to
the testimonial presented to Mr. John Huckle-
at the Kings Langley Cricket Dinner, November
24th, 1893, desire to record in a permanent
form our sense of his worth. We all recognise
his readiness to help in every effort to advance
the welfare of this neighbourhood, and that he
has proved himself disinterested in motive, dili-
gent in execution, and sound in judgment, and'
full of tact and good temper.

" The members of the Kings Langley Cricket
Club even in its oldest days, and those of the
Football Club, and the frequenters- of the-
reading-room, and our musical and other enter-
tainments, acknowledge how much they have
owed to his energy and practical good sense*
while the labouring classes remember with
gratitude that, on two occasions, he was very
active in finding them employment in times of
great distress.

" With the view of giving a more enduring;
character to this expression of our sentiments,,
we have caused the above to be illuminated,
and framed, and trust that, from- some central
place in his dwelling, this memorial will look
down for many years on his own improved-'
health, and the success and prosperity of all his.
family."

Referring to the above Mr. Huckle writes as
follows : — " Dear Sirs,— Will you kindly allow
me to express to the members of the British Bee-
keepers' Association and to your readers how
much I value and appreciate the handsome
testimonial which was presented to me on their
behalf at Kings Langley on November 24th ? I
shall ever remember with gratitude the large'
amount of sympathy that has been shown
towards me during the period of a long illness*
Thanking you in anticipation, — I am, yours
obediently, John Huckle."

December 7, 1893. 1

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

485

BEE ASSOCIATIONS AND THE PROMO-
TION OF BEE-KEEPING.

The Hon. Secretary of the Taunton Bee-
keepers' Association writes as follows : —

" I forward by to-day's post a copy of the
Taunton Courier containing a copy of a letter
which I have addressed to our various local
editors, and which has appeared in the Somerset
County Herald, the Somerset County Gazette,
and the Somerset County Express : —

" 'Dear Sir, — As hon. secretary of the Taunton
and District Bee-keepers' Association, I shall be
thankful if you will allow me the opportunity
of pressing the claims of the bee-keeping in-
dustry. Sir James Whitehead, at the Mansion
House on the 1st instant, on the occasion of the
presentation of English honey to the Lord
Mayor, cited a remarkable yield of 142 pounds
of honey from a single hive belonging to a
member of the Kent Bee-keepers' Association.
This return is, I believe, almost, if not quite, a
record ; but there is no reason why any cottager
in our country should not add 21. a year to his
income by keeping a hive of bees on modern
principles.

" ' The Taunton and District Bee*keepers'
Association has decided next spring to organize
and carry out a system of lecturing, by which it
is hoped that cottagers and small holders who
already keep, or intend to keep, bees, may be
assisted in the management, instructed in the
modern methods, and helped to place their
honey on our local markets in a tempting and
business-like manner. When it is considered
that several thousands of pounds' worth of
honey is brought into England from abroad each
year, and that foreign bee-keepers are at present
endeavouring to extend their English sales by
every available means, it seems a pity that
through lack of instruction our agricultural
population should allow what ought to be an
entirely home industry to be thus swamped by
foreign competition.

" ' British honey is in every respect superior
to all imported brands ; and if any purchaser of
honey will, as I did this week, visit one of our
local grocers and ask to be allowed to compare a
tin of foreign with a bottle of British honey,
no further proof of my statement will be
required.

" ' Several gentlemen who are noted local
bee-keepers have promised to assist, by lecturing
and explaining the principles of the craft at the
various meetings we hope to arrange for in the
country parishes around Taunton ; but while
they are generous enough to thus devote their
time and knowledge to the object we have in view,
there will be a considerable amount of minor
expenses to be met.

" ' I therefore appeal for subscriptions to all
who may take any interest in the welfare of our
rural population, and who may wish to assist in
giving them not only an enjoyable but a profit-
able pursuit for their leisure hours, helping to
make the dull routine of a country life less
aimless, and by cultivating an intelligent interest

in their surroundings, make village life more
cheerful. Bee-keepers of any and every grade
in our district I will ask to join our ranks as
members (the minimum subscription is 5,s. per
annum ; cottagers, 2s. 6c?.), for co-operation gives
strength, and the advantages now offered will
be still further augmented as our income and
members' list increase.

" 'The general public will, I trust, encourage
our industry by refusing to purchase any but
British honey. As a wholesome and toothsome
delicacy honey may easily be added to the
breakfast-table of many who now, I fear, regard
it more as a pleasant cure for colds and sore
throats than as a food product.'

" I have not long been hon. secretary of the
Taunton Bee-keepers' Association, and there
must be many bee-keepers in our locality whose
names and addresses are unknown to me. Might
I therefore ask you to assist us by inserting a
paragraph requesting all bee-keepers in our
district of Somerset to communicate with me.
_ " We have at present a scheme of reorganiza-
tion under consideration, which will be fully
discussed and definitely decided upon at our
next general meeting, to be held in January or
February, and I wish to give every bee-keeper
in our parts a chance of judging whether the
proposed scheme will be likely to prove useful to
him if carried out. — Alf. Wolfe, Hon. Sec.
Taunton B. K. A., Hilland, North Curry,
Taunton, Somerset, November 29th."

domsponuence.

Tite Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice void 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 pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
should be drawn on separate pieces of paper. We do not
undertake to return rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department,
reports oj Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, ic, must be addressed only to "The
Editoes of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, lee, must be addressed to " The
Manager, ' British Bee Journal ' Office, 17 King William,
Street, Strand, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

*«* 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.

MR. WELLS' REPORT FOR 1893.
[1656.] I take this the first opportunity of
forwarding the result of my bee-doings for the
season of 1893. I dare say it is pretty generally
known that my stock consists of ten hives, and
that it was my intention to work all of them
through the season with two queens in each.
Unfortunately, however, I found, early in May,
that one division of one of the ten hives had
lost its queen. I was not very much surprised
at this, as 1 had a great many visitors, and, of
course, was anxious to show all of them the
interior of at least two hives ; so that my bees
were lifted out of their hives and pulled about
a deal more than was good for them. I was

486

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 7, 1893.

quite aware of all this at the time, but had
made up my mind to sacrifice their well-doing
thus far until all had been supered, the brood
nests not being disturbed afterwards. I ex-
plained to our numerous visitors, to the best of
my ability, the way in which the system of two
queens in one hive is worked. Bat, to return
to the hive which had lost one of its queens, the
queenless bees had nearly all deserted their por-
tion of the hive and passed over into the other
side of the division-board, where the one queen
still remained ; and I quite believe that every
bee would have followed suit had there been
room for them ; but there was not, and, kaowing
that the remaining queen was one of superior
quality, I decided to cro vd the bees up to try
and make them prepare for swarming. This
they did at once, and in ten days there were
seven queen-cells all sealed over, one comb
having two queen-cells so clo3e together that
they could not be parted with safety. On the
thirteenth day from the commencement of these
queen-cells I divided the combs into five nuclei
of two combs each, one with brood and one
with honey, and placed four of them side by
side in one hive. After removing these four
lots, there remained one comb with one queen-
cell and one with two queen-cells in the old hive.
I next removed the old queen, with a few bees,
on one comb, into a small hive, and gave them
two other combs, setting it on the old stand
to catch the flying bees, the old hive being
shifted to a new stand and the bees crowded
close up to the perforated division-board. The
lot with but one queen-cell had only one comb,
the others which had the two queen-cells having
three combs. Of course, the bees were very
much crowded, my object being to make them
swarm as soon as one of these two queen-cells
should hatch. It turned out just as I expected,
though, of course, it was a small swarm ; but
my object was to save all the young queens.

Unfortunately, however, I have not been very
successful in rearing nucleus stocks this year,
though all the above seven queens hatched, and
six out of the seven started to lay, and reared a
nice lot of brood ; but, by some means or other,
four of them disappeared, which left me with
but two young queens, whereas I required ten,
as I like to have all my hives stocked with one
queen in her first and one in her second season.
In so doing there need be no fear about numbers
of workers to collect the honey when there is
any to be got; and, although all my other nine
hives were crowded with bees, not one of them
swarmed. Consequently, I removed several
queens in August, my object being to start the
bees building queen-cells. Some of them did
start a few, and other stocks appeared as though
they would rather remain queenless than rear
young queens. At the end of about one week
from the time I removed the queens, I gave
them a fresh comb, containing eggs and young
brood ; but no queen-cells were started. Thus
I was compelled to return the old queens, and
with those few that did build queen-cells I only
succeeded in getting four queem successfully

mated. I have thus, after all, only six young
queens, instead of ten which I required. In
consequence of these mishaps, I have decided to
run the four best old queens for a third season.

The honey season in this neighbourhood has
been a poor one, and, although my bees gathered
wonderfully well from plum, cherry, pear, and
apple bloom, they did not do much afterwards,
as the little sainfoin we had was grown about
one mile away, and cut before it got properly
into bloom. Of white clover, there is none of
that grown about here to speak of, and the little
surplus the bees collected after the sainfoin was
cut was from all sorts of flowers. It also in-
cluded some honey -dew, I judge, as it was darker
in colour than usual; but the early surplus was
very good.

_ The bees have acted very curiously this year,
hives being so completely crowded with bees
that, although there was not much honey in
the surplus chambers, I had to add crate after
crate to give them room. Those partly filled
were raised to the top, and putting the boxes of
empty combs next to the queen-excluder zinc
above brood nests, in nearly every case the bees
started to store their surplus honey in the
empty combs of lower boxes, rather than carry
it to the top and finish off the combs partly
filled. My surplus has therefore been scattered
over a large number of combs, and I think that
not more than half of them were very nicely-
filled.

But towards the latter part of the season a
great change ensued, and I never knew bees to
store so much honey in the brood nest when
they had plenty of room in the surplus boxes
overhead. I do not try to get many sections
filled, not having much sale for comb honey.
I only put on four crates, each containing
twenty-seven one-pound sections. These were
nicely filled in the early part of the season. I
have not had to buy any sugar for feeding,
because for such hives as require extra food for
wintering I had plenty of heavy combs of
natural sealed stores. I have still a good
number left ready to slip into the hives in the
spring should they be needed.

I remember that some of your correspondents
last year considered that I put too high a price
on mv honey and wax, but I did not value it at
a higher price than it fetched. Anyway, I pro-
pose to place a less value this year on it,
although I have no fear of it not bringing a
higher figure than the price I put upon it. The
price shown below does not, therefore, mean
that I am prepared to sell at the prices given,
but merely to strike a kind of balance for the
year. In this way I set my results as under : —

108 one-pound sections at 9d. each . .
11 15 lbs. extracted honey at 6d. per lb.
19 lbs. beeswax at Is. 6^. per lb. . .

£ s.

4 1

27 17

Total

Less total expenditure . .

Balance for labour £32 6 3

1 8

6

33 7
1 0

0
9

December 7, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

487

Now, bearing in mind that I did not get any-
surplus at all from the hive which, after losing
one queen in the spring, was afterwards broken
up into nuclei, the amount shown was from
the nine remaining hives, showing an average of
nearly 136 pounds per hive. This is very satis-
factory to me when compared with what others
have done in my immediate neighbourhood, for
I find, after making inquiries, the most that has
been taken from one hive in my neighbourhood
with but one queen in a hive is forty pounds,
and this same hive had very little stores in
brood nest, and had to be fed up for the winter.
Taking into consideration that I have not had
to give my bees any sugar at all, it becomes
conclusive to my mind that it is impossible
for single-queen stocks to hold their own against
those stocks with two queens.

If any of your readers insist on counting my
harvest as coming from ten stocks, it would
amount to a little over 122 pounds each hive;
but, as T have said, the tenth hive gave no
surplus. — G. Wells, Aylesford, Kent, November
24th, 1893.

DO BEE-KEEPERS ADULTERATE
HONEY ?

[1657.] Will you kindly allow me to express
my regret that you permitted the letter of your
correspondent, " Honesty " (1639, p. 468), to
appear in the Bee Journal? His former letter
(1602, p. 428), containing a general charge of
adulterating honey against bee-keepers as a
body, was harmless, and has been rightly treated
as unworthy of notice. But this second letter
contains an insinuation against the honesty of
an individual, and is very little removed from
a personal slander, and therefore should, I sub-
mit, have either been left out altogether, or
followed by the withering kind of foot-note
which editors know so well how to apply.

I know nothing of "The Heathen" personally,
but I am proud to say that I know a great
many bee-keepers, and, from my experience of
them as a class, I am quite sure that neither he
nor any of us in this country would put adul-
terated honey on the market. As for the
miserable little peg on which " Honesty " hangs
his insinuations — the detection of adulterated
honey — we can very well leave that to our
■customers. Any child can tell good honey
from bad by the taste, and there would be no
more dealing with the bee-keeper who supplied
the bad. But putting trade on one side, there
is too high a standard of morality among bee-
keepers for there to be any need of means to
detect adulterated honey. I am proud to believe
that we supply pure honey to our customers,
not because it pays, but because it is right. —
L. B. Birkett, November 27th.

[At this dull season of the bee-year, we are
rather pleased than otherwise to allow space in
our columns for communications which in busier
times we could not possibly find room for. We
.refer to that class of correspondence which has

in it so much of a necessarily personal character
as is more than likely to provoke retort. A fair
sample of such is the " Mixed " letter of our
correspondent, "The Heathen,'* on p. 450 of our
issue for November 9th last, a letter couched in
language not intentionally offensive, we are
sure, but a missive such as would be certain to
" draw " each and every one referred to in it
who happened to be of a sensitive turn. Now,
there is as little real harm in this as in discussion
of any kind, " provided always " — as the legal
phrase goes — that personalities are carefully
avoided. This is at all times desirable, and our
correspondent, Mr. Birkett, will, we trust,
pardon us for saying that the severe strictures
contained in his own letter render it not quite
free from objection in this way. As to " the
withering kind of foot-note " which he considers
should follow such communications as are offen-
sive, we can only say that the most disagreeable
part of an editor's duties are those connected
with that class of foot-note on the one hand, and
the waste-paper basket on the other. What we
desire to see is contentious matter fairly dealt
with by all concerned, and in a manner cal-
culated to give little or no offence. That our
correspondent, " Honesty," is entirely wrong in
supposing that bee-keepers systematically adul-
terate their honey for sale purposes, a little
experimenting in that line would soon convince
even "Honesty" himself. But, on the other
hand, however satisfactory Mr. Birkett 's expe-
rience of bee-keepers may be (and it is satisfac-
tory to find men thoroughly honest), there is,
we regret to say, evidence in our pages to prove
that, so far as exhibiting goes, some of us do
not quite bear the character attributed to the
wife of Caesar. We therefore trust we shall be
in agreement with the bulk of our readers in
deeming it desirable, when dealing with corre-
spondence, to confine ourselves to deleting per-
sonalities so far as we can, and hoping that
correspondents will refrain from indulging in
them. Beyond this, we repeat that the winter-
time affords the best of opportunities for the
free and full discussion of all topics interesting
to members of the craft, and our duty will be,
in a measure, indicated by quoting a well-known
authority, who jokingly said " it took him all
his time to keep bee-men from springing at each
other's throats." — Eds.]

WHAT CAUSED THE SCARCITY OF
SWARMS?

[1658.] During an abnormal season, such as
that we have lately experienced, bee-keepers
have had little cause to adopt swarm-catchers
or non-swarming devices, at least where the
bees have been allowed to follow their own
course. And it is just such a summer as that
now past which shows what a large number of
bee-keepers there are who are content to allow
the bees to manage as they think best, notwith-
standing the advantages offered by the bar-
frame hive.

488

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL [December 7. 1893.

The general absence of the desire to swarm
from the small hives mostly used, which was,
in fact, the absence of the usual rate of early-
spring increase of numbers, was caused by the
unusually early honey season compelling the
bees to fill up so many cells with honey, and
more particularly with pollen, before the brood
nest could be sufficiently developed.

Such was the case where the bees were not
assisted, and in many instances the population
of the hives showed no inciease during the
usual swarming period. The brood nest was
small, and so surrounded with honey that the
bees had no inducement to start queen-cells ;
consequently many apiaries gave no increase at
all, and one of twenty skeps, not many miles
from my place, supplied only one swarm from
the lot.

All happened from the same cause, and yet it
has been one of those exceptional years when
early swarming would have been exceedingly
profitable, and, moreover, one of the most favour-
able seasons ever known for securing that de-
sirable increase of numbers so necessary for sus-
taining the longf - continued labour required
during month after month of remarkable bee-
weather.

Those districts most favourably situated for
the earliest supply of honey would give the
worst returns later on where no effort was made
to secure room for the queen in the first instance,
though one is compelled to give some credence
to the statements made in several quarters, where
blame was laid on the extra-dry weather for
the short crops secured.

Careful management has, in some quarters,
resulted in a surplus of 150 to 160 pounds from
a single stock, and this is no more than should
be expected in a fair district during such a fine
harvesting period as the recent extraordinary
summer. Many who secured no more honey
than usual, if as much, would have had their
hives full to overflowing, with both bees and
honey, had the heavy outer combs been removed,
allowing new combs to be built towards the
centre ; as also if artificial swarms had been
made, and caused to build all new combs from
foundation or otherwise, thus securing a brood
nest, such as it was impossible to gain in any
other way, seeing that even by extracting from
the original combs the unusual quantity of
stored pollen would still have been a great im-
pediment to the development of a compact
brood nest.

It should scarcely be necessary to repeat
what has already been explained, that scientific
management is only carried out by the bee-
master who studies the peculiarities of the
season, and conducts his manipulations in ac-
cordance therewith. — Samuel Simmins.

house in the neighbourhood of the " Dukeries,""
Worksop, where I keep a few hives of bees,
I thought I should like to ask your opinion as to
an invention which I have brought out. I have
been a reader of the B. B. J. for the past three-
years, and have seen many complaints of frames
in hives not hanging parallel with each other,
thereby causing the combs to be crooked and
out of shape. By my invention the frames are
held perfectly parallel with each other, no-
matter in what position the hive is placed, other
than upside down. It does not interfere with
the space or the working of the bees ; does
away with the need for metal ends ; in travelling
it is impossible for the frames to get out of
place and crush the bees (if the foundation is
wired) ; and it will do for shallow frames as-
well. With your permission, I will send a hive
to the B.B.J. Office for your inspection, if it
would not be too much trouble for you to show
it at the next quarterly conversazione of the
British Bee-keepers' Association. I am about to
register the same. An answer through the Bee
Journal to say if my request can be complied
with will be esteemed. — H. B.

[If the hive is sent to this office, we will see
that it is placed before the meeting at the next
conversazione of the B. B. K. A. — Eds.]

MISHAP WITH BEES.
[1660.] Referring to my query (920, p. 481)
On opening my hive two days ago, I found it
was not the naphthaline that had caused the
mishap with my bees. It was my own fault in
not taking off the cover in order to see what the
trouble was. On doing so I found out that when
putting on the cake of candy over the feed-hole
I replaced the quilting as before, but it did not
lie close enough to stop the bees from getting
out, and what I found on opening the hive was
several thousand of bees dead and dying. I
saved a few by putting them into a box and
warming them at the fire. The trouble was-
caused by the bees not being able to find their
way back to the queen under the quilting again \
had I examined the hive sooner, I might have
saved a great many more. I have got on well
up to now with my bee-keeping, although only a
beginner. I am almost inclined to unite my two
hives now, though it is rather late for such
operations, is it not ? I had the naphthaline
from your office, and used it as directed, but did
not attribute the trouble to it ; I like the odour
of it and shall use it again. — F. W. Morey.

[If both stocks are weak in bees they should
be united on the first fine day. — Eds.]

A NEW METHOD OF HANGING

FRAMES.

[1659.] You will perhaps be surprised that an

hotel proprietor in the city of Sheffield should

write you about bees, but having a country

RESULT FROM MY " WELLS " HIVE.

[1661.] I have tried the " Wells " system, and
found it a great success. I made a " Wells "
hive myself last year, from reading the B.B.J.?
and got it in working order with two swarms,
the first of which came off on the 1st of June,
and the second on the 9th. The hive was got

December 7, 1*98.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

489

to the heather in the first week of July, and
when it came home on the 2nd September the
gross weight was two hundredweight. I have
the body hive left, well provided for winter,
and in good order for 1894, while the surplus
boxes, when taken off, had in them 116 pounds
of heather honey.

I am going to make other two hives on the
same plan for 1894. Reading Mr. Tustain's
report (1652, p. 478), and remarks about the
dummy, I simply wish to record my own suc-
cess. The wood one is best, as it does not draw
damp, and 1 think it answers its purpose well.
This year was the best since I started with bees,
seven years ago. Many thanks to Mr. Wells. —
Andrew Archibald, Vambuslang, December
2nd, 1893.

BEE-REMINISCENCES OF THE PAST.

[1662.] Another year has been added to the
record of the world's history, and we bee-
keepers are that period nearer to the great end
of things terrestrial ; it therefore behoves us all
to look around and see what advancement has
been made during the past year.

Among the improvements, the " Wells sys-
tem " is a notable one. Among those we are
awaiting may be enumerated a standard honey
bottle, a perfect swarm-catcher, a non-swarm-
ing bee, and a total absence of dishonest prac-
tices on the part of bee-keepers !

My object, however, in writing now has
mainly to do with things of the past. It is
always pleasant reading, during the long, dull
evenings, to look up the works of old writers on
our favourite subject, the bee, and to my mind it
opens up a wide field for speculation as to what
readers of such literature 100 years hence will
think of our present bee-doings. That we have
advanced during the last decade none will doubt,
but in my reading I can distinctly trace many
operations of the advanced bee-man of to-day
which are practically the same as those em-
ployed by our forefathers 100 years ago, although
the old methods of accomplishing the same end
were much more crude than ours. But, while
this is so, there are a few things in which modern
improvements are very great.

Apart from all this, however, I think it will
interest your readers in this dull season to give
a brief record of a few of the strange things our
forefathers thought and did 100 years ago.

At that time it was thought proper to use
many rather filthy messes for cleaning and puri-
fying hives, especially where stocks had died in
them — also for stopping up cracks and making
hives waterproof ; one advising that hogs should
be fed in hives before being used a second time,
and the mess and slime left by the animals
smeared round to make the hive " wholesome."
Others advised that hives should be washed in
" good ale and honey " before being used, so as
to " comfort and console " the new-comers. Of
course, we all know about the merciless use of
the sulphur pit, but it is more than a century

ago since authorities on the subject pointed out
the way to deprive bees of their stores without
killing them, and in the appliances then used
there are distinctly rudimentary bar-frame hives
with both movable or partly movable and fixed
frames. They also had a " divisional hive," and
" collateral hive " and body-boxes ; nor were the
advantages of supering unknown, for I find glass
supers, and also straw and wooden supers, in use,
with instructions as to removing same much the
same as now.

Our forefathers had also curious ideas as to
the bees themselves. One calls them domestic
animals '' living together," consisting of common
bees, drones, small drones (at certain seasons of
the year), and " kings,'' of which " there may
be three in a hive, but sometimes only one " —
the then idea being that the drone took no part
in the economy of the hive ; and one writer
advised bee-keepers to " sit beside the hive and
kill them between the finger and thumb as they
came out." (!)

Huber considered there were two kinds of
workers. The first he called Abeilles cimeres, or
wax-makers, whose duty it is to " elaborate the
wax and lay the foundations of the cells." The
second he calls Abeilles nourriees, or bee-nurses,
who complete the cells, feed the young, and col-
lect honey, &c. As to swarms, it was considered
that the new king always came out with the
prime swarm, and that the old sovereign always
remained to superintend matters in the parent
hive, so that if they " took " or " put down " a
hive at the end of the season it was always the
old stock, for this reason. I believe it was
Bonner who, about 1790, first declared that the-
king was no king at all, but a queen, and the
mother of all the bees. It was also taught
that more than one queen would be tolerated
in a hive, and that if a strange queen entered
she was received with pleasure, " as an assurance
of a more numerous posterity ;" that "during
the winter season the queen was the sole tenant
of the hive, and lodged in its most secret part;"
also that " the bees had very little regard for
the person of the queen, but their respect was
due to her sovereign dignity," and that they
followed her with " grave and sedate tread."

As to wax, it was considered to be of two
kinds, both collected by the bees from flowers, &c.
— one being the ordinary wax. and the other a
wax " which is a sort of glue," and it was con-
sidered that a hive was in a flourishing con-
dition when " bees came home loaded with wax of
all colours on their hind leys." One author
gives an illustration of a bee's leg loaded with
wax.

As to the young bees, one writer states that
he has seen bees issue from cells on about the
twentieth day from the eggs, and on the same
day has observed these identical bees " return
from the field loaded with wax which they have
gathered from leaves." The same author asserts
that " bees are in the habit of carrying small
stones as ballast should the wind be rough \"
As to honey-dew, this was then considered, if
not perfect honey, at any rate very good ; and

490

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 7, 1893.

none doubted but that it was honey. The Abbe
Boissier de Sauvages, in a memoir read at
Montpellier in December, 1762, informed his
hearers of a discovery of two sorts of honey.
First, that which flows in plenty from the leaves
and trunks of the ash, maple, and the holm-oak,
and other vegetation ; and adds that the honey-
dew was found " on the old leaves of the oak,
and not on the new which covers the old.''
"Second, that which was the excrement of a
sort of vine-freter, which makes a part of the
most delicate honey we taste."

Another writer says : — " Bees gather honey
and wax on the alder-buds for half a year
together, and on the maple-buds for a month ;
but the greatest store of honey is drawn out of
the black spot on the little picked leaves
of the vetch which grow on each side of two or
three uppermost joints. These they ply con-
tinually." And also on the black spots on the
leaves of beans. They also prefer the white
honeysuckle to the red ; " but the greatest
plenty of the purest nectar cometh from above,
and the oak receiveth and keepeth the same on
his smooth and solid leaves, which, when the
honey-dew falls, shall have more upon them
than all the other plants.'' — " At this time you
have bees up in the morning as early as they can
see, making such a humming noise where they
go, like merry gossips when they meet ; and
man may hear them further than he can
see."

Then I find it stated "that honey-dew has, in
general, been erroneously supposed to be a dew
which falls indiscriminately on all plants alike,
whereas the true honey-dew is an exudation
from the leaves of a few species only," and names
the oak, maple, sycamore, lime, hazel, and black-
berry, in the order named ; and the same writer
adds that " this substance is as transparent and
as sweet as honey — in fact, it is honey."

As to the quality of honey, it was advised
that it should not be left in the hive, as the
flavour and colour would deteriorate, and the
honey be spoilt, by the heat and perspiration of
the bees, in the same way as is evidenced by the
colour of old and new comb.

[Conclusion next week.)

NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM
BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

In order that local bee-keepers may have an
opportunity of learning from Mr. Wells himself
full particulars of his system of working with
two queen in each hive, this Association has
arranged for addresses by Mr. Wells at the fol-
lowing places: — December 11th, 1893, New-
castle ; 12th, Consett; 13th, Whittingham. Mr.
Wells will also be present at meetings under
the auspices of the Northumberland County
IJouncil as follows: — December 14th, Cambo;
loth, Bedlington; 16th, Riding Mill.— J. N.
-Kidd, Hon. Secretary.

WEATHER REPORT.

Westbourne, Sussex.

November, 1393.

Rainfall, 2 31 in. Sunshine, 65-5 hrs.

Heaviest fall, "38 in. Brightest day, 12th,

on 30th. 7-3 hrs

Rain fell on 17 days. Sunless days, 8.

Below average, 1-17. Above average, 109.

Max. temp., 58° on Mean max., 43-5°.

3rd. Mean mio., 34-8°.

Min. temp., 24° on 1st. Mean temp., 384°.

Min. on grass, 18° on Max. barometer, 3046

24th. on 29th.

Frosty night, 11. Min. barometer, 28'99
on 18th.

L. B. BlRKETT.

LECTURE ON BEE-KEEPING AT
STOKE PRIOR.

Under the auspices of the Worcestershire
County Council, and in connexion with the
Worcestershire Bee-keepers' Association, the
Rev. E Davenport gave the second lecture in
Stoke Prior Schoolroom on Tuesday evening,
November 23th, on " Bees and Bee-keeping,"
illustrated by a series of limelight views. The
Rev. Charles Stockdale (vicar) presided, and
there was a much larger attendance of local
bee-keepers and others than at the lecture on
the previous Tuesday. The lecturer, in the
course of his remarks, said he wished it to be
known that the three essentials for good results
were a good locality, strong stocks, and suitable
hives, and, in addition, the apiarist must have
coolness, courage, and common sense. A badly
constructed hive meant continual worry and
loss to the owner. Various hives were described
and views of different apiaries and pictures of
the bee-master manipulating his hives were
admirably depicted upon the screen, Mr. Chas.
Harvey, as before, attending to the lantern. At
the close of the lecture, Mr. Davenport said he
would be pleased to answer any questions put to
him concerning bee-culture, and several present
took advantage of the opportunity. The Chair-
man proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Davenport
for his two admirable lectures, in which he had
been greatly interested, and had no doubt that
others present had also. He also wished to
thank Mr. A. E. Woodruff for organizing the
lectures, and he hoped no little good would
accrue from his efforts.

Mr. A. E Woodruff said he was pleased to
see so many there. There was one gentleman
present who had come no less than six miles on
foot to listen to Mr. Davenport, and he trusted
the rev. gentleman would be able to come again
and convert more to the bee-faith. He hoped
the time would soon come when Stoke Prior
would possess a bee-club, with the Vicar as
President, and the members of the club meeting
fortnightly or monthly to compare notes and
assist each other in the management of their
little favourites.

December 7, 18ft8.]l THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

492

BEE LECTURE IN WESTMORELAND.

The Rev. J. Marshall, vicar of Tatham Fells,
gave a lecture on bee-kepping in the schoolroom,
Lupton. Mr. 0. E. Mumford presided. Mr.
Marshall, at the outset, gave elementary instruc-
tion in bee-keeping in a conversational and
humorous manner. He referred to the old style
of bee-keeping in skeps, and sketched in chalk
an amusing picture of the wholesale murder of
the inmates of the hive by sulphuring to extract
the honey. Then it was impossible to tell how
the work of honey-making was going on inside.
Now all this was altered by the introduction of
the new bar-framed hives, which were thoroughly
explained by the lecturer. At this point in the
lecture comb foundation and specimens of honey
were passed round amongst the audience. The
lecturer then explained the duties and relations
of the queen-bee with the rest of the hive, and,
after speaking of the drones and workers, showed
the method of taking swarms and feeding
artificially during the winter. Not the least
interesting portion of the lecture were the
sketches on the blackboard, which evoked much
good-natured laughter. A hearty vote of thanks
was given to the lecturer, the Rev. J . Whiteside
observing that it was one of the most enjoyable
lectures he had ever attended. While advanced
enough for experienced bee-keepers, it had yet
been sufficiently simple for those who, like him-
self, were ignorant of the subject. — Communi-
cated.

THE PRODUCTION OF COMB HONEY.

In a paper read before the Convention of
North American bee-keepers, held at Chicago on
October 11th, 12th, and 13tb, Mr. R. F.
Holterrnann, when referring to the question of
" Management " in the production of comb
honey, said: —

" And now comes management. The bees
should have plenty of stores in the fall of the
year, they must be wintered well, and every
hive should have plenty of stores so the bees in
the spring need never curtail bro^d-rearing on
account of shortage of stores. All that applies
to the building up of colonies in the spring
applies to the successful production of comb
honey.

" I take issue with the statement that bees can
get strong too early ; such a condition never was
and never will be. The opposite, too weak
colonies at the honey-flow, alas ! is too nearly the
rule, and reduces the number of pounds of honey
we get per colony. If a colony gets crowded
in the lower story and the time has not arrived
when sections should be put on, I place an ex-
tracting super with a queen-excluder (or with-
out as I see fit), and at the proper time replace
this with comb-honey supers. With extracting
supers on the hive there is at this season prac-
tically no excuse for swarming. All hives
should be placed on secure stands and in every
case a spirit level used. There is no serious ob-

jection to the hive leaning forward a trifle, suffi-
cient to shed rain, but sideways they must be
perfectly level. The greatest cleanliness should
be observed, bottom boards, hi\es and top bars
scraped, and only such old stocks as have bright,
clean combs run for comb honey. Full sheets
of foundation should be used in the sections and
the foundation as light as possible and of the
best wax. I prefer wax made from cappings
and taken by the solar wax-extractor for this
purpose, but in this matter the supply dealer is
at the mercy of the bee-keeper, and it rests with
the latter what kind of wax shall be used.
When I make the statement that light founda-
tion should be used I am at variance with some
leading comb-honey men, but while it is a fact
that the bees will thin down the foundation,
there are seasons and times when they will not
do this, and against this we must guard in order
to avoid making the article unpopular. I used
a bait (one of last year's sections) in the supers.
I have al>o tried supers without, but can find no
great difference. Swarming is an important
factor in the production of comb honey, and the
longer one works for this the more confident one
must feel that no one who wishes to make comb
honey to perfection will ever care for any device
to prevent swarming entirely. No apiary should
be run for comb honey alone, and in running for
comb honey the only object kept in viewshoidd
be the production to perfection of this article.
To do this swarming must take place. From
clean parent colonies good comb honey may be
.secured, but rarely so good as from swarms.
When the bees swarm they should be hived on
the old stands and either on very narrow strips
of foundation about half an inch deep or on full
sheets. Localities undoubtedly vary as to the
amount of pollen deposited in the combs, and in
a locality in which the bees gather an undue
amount of pollen I should say try and make them
draw out frames of foundation early in the
season, and hive the bees upon these combs.
Failing this, use full sheets of foundation. The
object of using these full sheets or combs is to
assist in preventing pollen from being carried into
the sections. In localities where pollen is not
troublesome the bees should be hive on starters
and, after allowing one complete day to pass
after time of hiving, put supers on the hive. I
have not much faith in added energy through
swarming, but the bees have at the commence-
ment no brood to care for and feed, and they
give better results as to surplus. If sections on
some old stocks are about ready, it is a good
plan to give these to swarms to finish. They
will make very rapid work in finishing them.
Now as to the comLs which will be built from
the starters, we know when a young queen is in
the hive the bees will be less inclined to build
drone comb, but is this condition practicable for
a comb-honey producer ? I think not. The
plan of re-queening with young queens before the
honey-flow is not desirable, from the loss of
time resulting from introduction of new queen
and taking out of the old one. The truly suc-
cessful comb-honey producer must be ever on

492

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 7, 1893.

the watch to improve his stock in this direction.
He should know by numbers what supers have
been finished by every colony, and when he
notices section supers, with well-capped comb
and free from brace comb and propolis (this
latter characteristic should be especially ob-
served), he should note that hive, especially if
the amount of honey secured has been large.
Next season he should breed from such a queen
and so on, producing from year to year a better
strain of bees. I am not saying a word against
queen-breeders. I am a queen-breeder myself,
but a comb-honey producer should have a strain
of bee3 which, although they may not be the
best in the world, yet must be of sufficient value
to bim to cause him to replace them with ex-
treme caution and only with something tried by
himself. To prevent deterioration some new
blood must be introduced each season ; it is then
impractical to have young queens with swarms,
and often with such queens their will be an un-
desirable amount of drone comb. I have within
the last two weeks seen the result of an exten-
sive experiment conducted by S. T. Pettit, of
Belmont, Ontario, under the following direc-
tions : —

'' The swarms were each given one or two
frames filled entirely with drone comb, the
balance being starters, with the hope that the
bees would be furnished with worker comb, but
they appear to have no power of reasoning and
in every instance appear to build as much drone
comb as if the first combs had never been given.
For extracted honey I favour full sheets of
foundation every time, but for comb honey my
arguments for starters, unless in exceptional
cases, are these : We are trying to get the most
honey out of these bees and we want the best
product ; if we do not care for much increase, we
•can shake the bees from these combs after the
season is over and destroy them. If we wish
to winter them we can puc them on afood combs
and feed them on sugar syrup for winter stores.
The combs built by the bees can be patched up
to the best advantage, the old hive placed di-
rectly behind. The old stand can be treated
thus : shake almost six days after swarming a
good many bees from the comb, adding them to
the new swarms in front, and either utilise the
comb in another place or put the hives on new
stands and let it build up for winter. I am
never troubled with second swarms. The loca-
tion of an apiary has much to do with s warming.
In places where the air can freely circulate the
amount of swarming will be reduced, the nature
of the soil even will have an influence. 1 like
the apiary on sod and the hives to be placed
under the outer edges of the shade-trees. I
never give in the production of comb honey any
upward ventilation, and herein lies an important
secret towards securing white and clean sections.
The bees resent such a current of air, and when
.given begin to propolise, and soiled sections are
•a result. A quilt should not be used unless a
heavy cushion and a heavy lid be placed above
to prevent the bees from pushing the quilt off.
I like a honey-board and a quarter-inch bee-

space above the combs. Shade-boards are used
on top and even sides of hives. They are a
great advantage. It is unnecessary to say that
no one can engage in the successful production
of comb honey with one super only, and yet
there are many who think such a practical
economy. Before the advent of the bee-escape
I drove bees out of the comb-honey supers by
spreading over them a cloth dipped in a weak
solution of carbolic acid, the cloth being wrung
almost dry before spreading. This works very
well, but the bee-escape still better. My system
is to produce a certain amount of comb honey.
This prevents ' cull ' sections, except in very ex-
ceptional seasons. Nothing has been said about
any kind of feeding. To feed back extracted
honey means to put upon the market comb
honey which will quickly granulate and this
will displease the customer, and is therefore un-
desirable. To feed anything else should never
for a moment be listened to, never be even
thought of. To practise it would surely bring
swift retribution. Only a choice article should
be aimed at even if we never exhibit, for by so
doing we place ourselves to a certain extent out
of reach of competition. We command highest
price and a ready sale."

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries asking for addresses of manufacturers 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 neoessary/or 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 communication.

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

John Eastburn (Yeadon"). — Bees leaving their
Hive in Cold Weather. — If as stated bees are
well provided with food and warmly wrapped
no more can be done to ensure their well-
doing. It is not natural for bees to leave
their hives in such cold weather as we are
now having, but unless a very unusual amount
of commotion is seen, we should not be
alarmed for the stock. A few dead bees
seen outside entrances at this season may
mean little or nothing.

R. Bayley (Godalming). — Varnishing " Wells "
Dummy. — We do noc think that varnishing
will help to prevent bees from propolising the
perforations in dummy, if they are so dis-
posed, though Mr. Wells — in making his own
dummies — carefully burns the holes with a
hot wire after boring to remove the rough-
ness left by the bradawl. He also smooths
the surface of dummy on both sides with
sandpaper.

Joseph Mott. — If you will write queries and
leave space for reply, we will endeavour to
meet your views ; but we much prefer to give
replies in the usual way.

THE

Iritt f&» 3mmtal,

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 599. Vol. XXI. N.S. 207.] DECEMBER 14, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

€tiximm\f ^atxrn, #c

FOREIGN COMPETITION.

Few among those whose lot it is to have
to labour for what they eat, or the where-
withal to provide for their other worldly
wants, will fail to have had brought home
to them the strain under which many of
our home industries are at present labouring
in consequence of what is know as " foreign
competition." It is neither within our
province, nor is it our desire, to touch
party politics any more than to argue
questions of political economy, or discuss
free trade, or fair trade, or any of the
social problems at present occupying the
attention of thoughtful men. But we can-
not shut our eyes to the fact that foreign
competition is just now a source of trouble
to this country of such magnitude and im-
portance that it forces itself upon us in
spite of ourselves by reason of the countless
ways in which it comes home to us as
individuals.

The facts now being brought to light at
the sittings of the Royal Commission on Agri-
culture go far to prove that the condition
of the agricultural interest is well-nigh
hopeless in some counties, unless some
change in the present order of things is
brought about. When an estate in England
shows a decrease in net receipts from
47,000Z. a year in 1887 to 12,000/. a year
at the present date, the outlook cannot be
other than serious ; and if, with rents re-
duced forty to fifty per cent., the farmer
finds himself still unable to hold his own
against his foreign competitor, there must
be a screw loose somewhere which sadly
needs tightening somehow.

Not to mention the many industries
outside the scope of the Commission in
question, the same cry goes out in refer-
ence to grazing farms, grain growing, dairy

farming, fruit culture, poultry farming, and,
last, but to readers of this Journal not
least, honey producing. Everywhere from
those who live by the land a loud complaint
is heard, " We are being undersold by the
foreigner. " And the exasperating part of the
business is, that so many of the things pro-
duced abroad are palmed off on purchasers
as of native growth — themethods of carrying
on this species of fraud being remarkable
in their ingenuity. It needs but to read
the evidence given before the Royal Com-
mission in proof of this, and it brings
forcibly home to us the fact of just where
our hope and safeguard lies, viz., in the
passing of such restrictive laws as will
ensure to the consumer full knowledge of
what he is buying, so that he may not be
defrauded in his purchase. This done, it
is of course free (and rightly free) to every
one to purchase either food or goods of
foreign production, or decline them, at his
will.

Most of the witnesses whose evidence given
before the Commission reveals grievances of
this kind base their complaints on the bare-
faced way in which the Trade Marks Acts
are evaded, and foreign produce is brought
here and sold as British, thus plainly,
though inferentially, showing the superi-
ority of the British article over its foreign
rival. Various opinions were elicited, by
means of which the home-grown article
might be distinguished from the other, and
so claim its higher value. The Trade Marks
Acts have done something in this direction,
and no doubt the ultimate result of the
Commission now sitting will be a further
extension of the protection afforded by these
Acts.

This is all we may hope for by Act of
Parliament, for we suppose it will be
admitted that the Briton is not quite
sufficiently patriotic to prefer what is
" home-grown but inferior " to a superior
article produced elsewhere. He has a

494

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 14, 1893.

decided weakness for the best, and will not
grudge a better price for it. Take beef
and mutton for instance; no one will
pretend that American beef or Colonial
mutton can be compared for flavour or
quality to our own, and what gives the
native grower as well as the consumer just
cause of complaint is that the one is
palmed off as the other.

A correspondent suggests that steps
should be taken to obtain some security
against this sort of fraud by Act of Parlia-
ment. Unfortunately, however, Acts of
Parliament here are not to be had for
asking, and we may safely say that, for
some time to come, bee-keepers must look
lower down for help in the matter. What
is possible should be done by our County
Associations, by taking every legitimate
means to foster the preference for British
honey, first, by teaching their members to
put only good honey on the market ; and
second, where personal supervision or
assistance in securing sales is not possible,
to adopt a distinct label for every county ;
this label to be copyright, and issued only
to members under strict regulations. We
see no other practical way in which foreign
competition — so far as it touches our par-
ticular industry — is to be met, and in view
of the recent widespread interest aroused in
the question of British bee-keeping, the
present is a very favourable time for
County Associations to take action in the
direction we have indicated. Annual
meetings will soon be held, and the oppor-
tunity these gatherings afford should be
utilised for discussing the policy to be
adopted in the coming year.

The British bee-keeper knows full well
that in this country a very general prefer-
ance is given to British honey, and so our
grievance is that the consumer is so
frequently imposed upon by having sold to
him as British, a product which has not
been gathered here at all. That we have
substantial cause for complaint is proved
by totting up the value of the honey
imports for the year 1892, as shown in the
monthly report furnished to us by the
Statistical Office of H.M.'s Customs.
62,727£. worth of foreign honey landed in
this kingdom in twelve months is not a
very small matter for British bee-keepers to
ponder over — to think how exceedingly nice
it would be to have had all this gathered
. at home, and , to have the thousands of
pounds it represents in their own pockets !

LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

Now that all active work in the apiary is
over, and individual successes recorded, it may
interest some of your readers to know of the
work done during the season by the above
Association, more especially as it has been
occasionally asserted that the work of Associa-
tions was now superfluous.

At a good number of District Exhibitions
the Executive Committees have been persuaded
to include a honey show among their attractions.
Some of these shows are attended by many
thousands of visitors, who have never failed to
take a great interest in the honey and bee
department, and the lectures, where given. In
one case the Secretary received a letter from the
Committee of the Show thanking him for send-
ing the bee-tent, and stating that they were
much interested in the manipulations therein
by the Expert of the Association, and "they
had come to the conclusion that the bees had
had their stings taken out beforehand ! "

The full list of shows referred to above at
which prizes were given for honey, &c, is as
follows : —

July 10th . .

. . Scotter.

„ 27th ..

. . Wragby.

Aug. 2nd

. . Blankney.

„ 3rd ..

. . Stickney.

„ 5th and 7th

Lincoln and Bracebridge.

„ 7th

. . Elsham and Worleby.

„ 10th

. . Wainfleet.

„ 17th ..

. . Mablethorp.

The duties of judging at the above shows
were undertaken by the following gentlemen
respectively: — CI. J. Young, Esq., J.P., Dr.
George, and Messrs. H. 0. Smith, R. Thorpe,
J. Bint, R. Godson, and G. By water.

Mr. H. 0. Smith lectured in the bee-tent at
Scotter, Lincoln, Elsham, Wainfleet, and Mable-
thorp, Mr. F. J. Cribb undertaking the same
duties at Blankney.

In addition to the above, short lectures have
been given in the bee-tent at Heckington by
Mr. Smith, and at Lincoln Allotments by Mr.
Cribb, the latter gentleman being at present
engaged in delivering lectures in different parts
of the county under the auspices of the County
Council of the parts of Lindsey, who gave a
grant of 251. to the Association for the promo-
tion of bee-keeping. — Communicated.

DEATH OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE
LINCOLNSHIRE B.K.A.

I am sorry to have to inform you of the death
of the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Notting-
ham, President of the Lincolnshire Bee-keepers'
Association. He has been President since its
formation in 1872, and has been a great friend
to the cause. We shall miss him very much
indeed. — R. Godson, Hon. Sec. L.B.K.A.,
December llth, 1893.

December 14, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

495

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

*»* 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.

MY OUT-APIAKY.

[1663.] I have kept bees since the year 1879,
and during the whole of that time have never
experienced so good a season as this. In this
district we are often troubled with "honey-dew,"
so that oftentimes we have to extract the
clover honey before the limes are in blossom.
This year, however, the season ended in the
middle of July — clover was all parched up and
limes had blossomed, being quite a month
earlier than usual — and although at one time
" honey-dew" abounded, the bees did not touch
it. By the last week in July we had taken all
the honey, and for once it was a real pleasure to
take it. No robbing bees, no grading of quality,
for it was all alike clear and transparent, thick,
and yet not clogging the cells, and of most
delicious flavour. No trouble either with sec-
tions, for had I not made a " clearer " — it took
me ten minutes! — -to put under the crate, so
that in a few hours they were quite clear of
bees and not a cell broken ? We tender to the
inventor of this, to the inventor of the frame
hive, the extractor, sections of wood to contain
honey, last — and shall I say, best of all ? — comb
foundation, our utmost gratitude. The popu-
larity of bee-keeping to-day is the outcome of
these inventions, and of the researches of
eminent bee-keepers, who have cleared away
the mist which has been hanging round the
dome hive for so many centuries. The reward
for them must be in the knowledge of the good
those inventions have done, and will do yet.
Their reward will be assured when every flower
in these British Isles — from the Avhite clover,
abundant as the grass-blades in our rich lowland
meadows, to the wild thyme, the ling (which
loves the tinkling of each highland burn), to
every starry flower of field or hedgerow — shall
be visited and bent by the honey-bees !

Another thing which tended to make the
honey-taking a pleasure was in having the
combs used for extracting newly built from
comb foundation, but wired. The honey was
sealed from top to bottom of frames, but it came
away very freely, soon filling the extractor up
to the cages. The house was a house flowing
with honey; it seemed to get, unaccountably, on

the door-knobs, the cat, even the pump handle !
The servant's finger, too, must have got sticky,
for she sucked her finger continually and
declared she had not touched any !

I have an out-apiary. It has dwindled to one
hive. It is worked on the " Let-me-alone "
principle, and is in the garden of Mr. Bunn, ten
miles away. The self-same Mr. Bunn, by the
way, who helped us hive our long-to-be-remem-
bered first swarm, for an account of which see
" Reminiscences," B. B. J., Vol. XVI., page
201. This hive has been neglected. The present
bees knew nothing of the terrible smoker, nor
had they had the opportunity of testing the
benefit to be derived from the smell of Webster's
f umigator. They had not supped from " medi-
cated " food, neither were they lulled to sleep in
the cruel winter months with the scent of sweet
naphthaline. There was only — fancy! — one
queen in the hive, for Mr. Bunn— fancy ! — had
not even heard of the "Wells system." He had
heard of the same idea, perhaps, twenty years
ago, but knew nothing could come of it. No !
The bees were there in blissful ignorance of all
these things. A puzzle was there, too, a section
crate, but he had not put it on to amuse them.
I had not visitedmy out-apiary f or twelve months,
but in the beginning of the thirteenth the desire
came to me to go and see, and I went.

The morning was a delightful one, and
especially enjoyable to me, for these were the
lanes that I had tramped as a boy, deep lanes
with grand old banks — gardens in themselves —
in the spring white with wood-sorrel and stitch-
wort, blue with speedwell ; in the summer red
with campion, white with cresses, green with
bracken, fern, and bramble, blue with beds of
graceful hairbell. Deep lanes which were almost
twilight in mid-day, for hazel that I could climb
up now met overhead, bryony draped it, honey-
suckle and briar ran up, hung over, and threw
down a shower of blossoms. Holly with greenest
bark, hawthorn rich in flower and berry, ash
and maple grew at their own sweet will, and
formed for the birds, who built in them, a forest.
These were the fields where in flowery hollows
we used to chase the blue butterfly and white ;
the small copper, and pause — even then — before
we struck, to admire a " peacock " with a palpi-
tating wing upon a head of thistle ; and in the
early morning, pure white mushrooms blushing
underneath rose up among the dewy grasses.
Here is the very hedge in which our first swarm
was hanging. The feeling, the intense excite-
ment, comes back to me even now ! Past the
hills covered with ling and heather, past the
farm out-buildings, the orchard, the dear old
house and garden, past the old pine-tree : —
" I used to think its slender top was very near the
sky."

And then the old thatched cottage of Mr.
Bunn can be seen, with Bromsgrove steeple and
the Malvern range in the distance. I greet
old Mr. Bunn, and he tells me that a swarm
came off and " knit " in the hedge, but afterwards
went into a hole, high up in an elm close at
hand. Mrs. Bunn, not meaning to be backward

496

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 14, 1893.

in coming forward, came out and said : " Eche,
Sir, and I got a new pan as I bought the Satur-
day was a wick afore, and d'aint I tang on 'em !
They 'eared me up at Millad's, and next Mothers'
Mating, when I sid her, her ses (it was three
wicks afore Bromsgrove Fair), ' "Whativer ware
yer a doin' on, makin' such a rackit, t'other day,
Mrs. Bunn ? ' But, lor, Sir, it warn't no use ;
they went straight for Mrs. Kirk's tree, and
they'm there now."

This was bad news, but the next was better.
" They must be full o' 'unny," said Mr. Bunn ;
" for I tried to wrench up the top, but it was
full o' bees, and they was savage. They bin
hangin' out, on and off, all summer, and, just
for a fancy like, I counted a hundered and
twenty, draggin' the honey in on their hind legs,
every five minutes. Our Turn sid un, too, when
I was away langscape gardening up at Dr.
Underbill's."

I prepared for action. I borrowed two clean
buckets and some pails, a cloth to lay over them,
a large knife, young shoots off the fruit-trees to
brush off the bees, a bowl of water to wash the
hands; then I donned veil, tied trouser bottoms,
and carefully charged and lit the smoker. I
gingerly approached the hive, and with a chisel
tried to prise up the roof. This was not an
easy matter, for propolis of old standing is as
tenacious as glue. However, by carefully
working at it all round, it became loose, and
with a great wrench I got it off, and laid it up-
side down on an empty hive. Then what a sight
for mortal eyes ! The roof, the lift, the body-
box of fourteen frames were quite full. The
luscious honey-combs, broken across by my
wrench, were bleeding from every cell — tears
from the flowers were raining down the face of
the honey-comb ! — and contingents of bees were
already sweeping it into honey-sacs and taking
it below. The combs were in places three inches
thick, pearly-white and delicate, as they only
can be when the bees build at their own sweet
will. There were, perhaps, twelve combs, each
twenty inches wide and thirteen or fourteen
deep, sealed from top to bottom, every cell built
scale by scale and filled in a few short months
by these wondrous insects. Never shall I forget
that sight or the getting of that honey-comb,
for each comb had to be cut into separate slabs.
Then I put the palm of my hand down the face
of the warm comb, gently pushing aside the
bees, so, spreading out the fingers (surely our
hand was moulded for the work !), I was enabled
to support the comb in my left hand, and with
my right brush off the clinging bees. For two
hours I worked at it — Mr., Mrs., and Turn Bunn
had locked themselves down the cellar — putting
the comb into the buckets as I cleared it of bees,
covering with a cloth each time, for robbers
were busy. The job was a difficult one, for the
bees hung in festoons about the combs and hive-
side ; and when old Bunn had tried to force the
roof off in the spring, he had shaken down the
tender combs, and they were in a confused and
twisted mass at the bottom, and were fastened
to the quilts. Getting out the first comb was

the worst part ; it reminded me forcibly of my
" skep " days. Occasionally, also, stray bees
would get between the palm of my hand and
the comb, so that when the weight of the latter
came upon them, it pressed out their stings into
the skin. But I don't blame them for that !

Well, the sticky job came to an end at last.
Half-a-dozen bees had lost their stings in me,
and a score more were drowned in their own
honey — a sweet death. The fourteen frames in
the body I left untouched, also the pool of
honey on the quilts, being quite satisfied with
two large buckets and two pails full of the
richest honay-comb possible.

Now, when the deed is done, a feeling of
sadness steals over me when I think of those
thousands of toiling insects robbed unmercifully
of the treasure they have garnered drop by
drop, cell by cell, working before you and I are
awake in a morning, and long after we have done
for the day ; working till their ragged wings
refuse to support them, and they die, laden, it
may be, out in the fields, clutching at the grass.
And no one mourns for them, neither are they
missed in the hive from whence they went into
the summer air. As the honey " rains" against
the side of whirling extractor, let the keeper of
bees remember these things. Let him remember
the myriads of insects that have toiled the live-
long day for him, the countless journeys on
wing that could not tire to countless flowers.
Let him think of it, and let no more bees die of
starvation in the dark wintry days.

The possession of these beautiful slabs of
honey-comb made me almost long for the old
"skep" days when I could have sold it; but
now all those cells, delicate as the petal of a
flower, had to be broken and strained. In
doing this the marvellous power of bees to store
such a quantity of heavy liquid in a comb of so
fragile a nature becomes most apparent. I
never cease to wonder and admire. Look at
our present " comb foundation," made to imitate
the midrib of a comb. The likeness is there,
but yet how thick and clumsy ! Give the bees
an inch of this foundation in a frame, and you
will find there is so much surplus wax that
traces of it can be seen two or three inches in
the white comb built below.

One more note and these lines mu3t end, for
the shadow on the dial is now made by the
harvest moon, and there is a suspicious light in
the eastern sky.

Early in April I had to move my apiary a
hundred yards aAvay. This was when they
were in full swing collecting, but I kept them
in three days, and then put a piece of glass
before each entrance to baffle them, and so not
many returned to the old spot. A large pan, in
which Sphagnum moss, Saxifrage, Drosera,
Pinguicula, and other moisture-loving plants
were growing, was also moved with them.
The bees had. long used this as a convenient
drinking-place, and when I let them out I was
astonished to see them go straight to it as
though nothing had happened.

It seems to me that a certain bee is told off

December 14, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

497

to fetch water, for I have seen the same bee
come time after time to the self -same nook in
the pan, hour after hour. Fifty or more will be
on it at one time, and they certainly take away
a quart of water in one day.

The ever- to-be-remembered season of 1893
has now reached its close. The bees have
gathered famously from the late white clover
and autumn flowers, and this, combined with
the beautiful weather, has encouraged breeding,
and hives are now strong in bees. Bees are the
best of winter packing, and cork -dust next.
The trays of the latter are on, winter passages
cut, and we are already looking forward to
another spring. — Lords wood, M.W.B.K.A.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

[1664.] I trust that the recent effort of the
British Bee-keepers' Association to introduce
British honey to the notice of the Lord Mayor,
and, through the introduction, to boom the in-
dustry by the aid of the public press, will be
attended with success to our craft, and that an
extended use will be made of honey as food.
The extension of producers, without a corre-
sponding increase of consumers, will only reduce
the market value of our product.

Then we have an ever-increasing quantity of
foreign honey to compete with. Even the ad-
vertisement of Messrs. Abbott points to the in-
creased consignments of fairly good honey to
this country ; and if the foreigner can send
palatable stuff, we shall have a keen competi-
tion, especially in extracted honey, and there
are plenty of enterprising firms ready to handle
the foreign honey and put it on the market
forthwith, if there is a wider margin of profit
on it than on the English. The English bee-
keeper will have to face a closer competition in
the near future than he has had in the past,
when our pioneers in bee-craft get settled in
the various countries of the world and extend
their apiaries to large concerns, which, in an
extended honey-flow, will produce large quan-
tities.

Mr. Wells' report is good, again ; even reckon-
ing his nine double colonies as eighteen single
colonies, the average is within a fraction of
sixty-eight pounds per hive, and one pound of
beeswax per hive. This seems a large return in
wax, and I must congratulate Mr. Wells on his
modest expenditure. Truly the old adage is right,
that " it is not what a man earns or receives,
but what he spends, that makes him rich."

It is gratifying to know that we, as bee-
keepers {vide 1657, p. 487), are above suspicion,
and I myself am inclined to endorse Mr. Birkett's
contention ; but, beyond the ranks of bee-
keepers pure and simple — whose bees gather
the nectar from the flowers of the field — are
others, who are prepared to increase their profits
by any legitimate or illegitimate means, as Mr.
Birkett must know if he has read up the earlier
volumes of B.B.J, of some ten years back.
Therein he will find facts, proved by analysis,
of the adulterated honey then on the market,

and I have no doubt that the same nefarious
practices exist to-day, the Food Adulteration
Act notwithstanding.

Technical education is extending, and I have
no doubt in a few years we shall have experi-
mental apiaries run by the various County
Councils (if not by the District Councils) on their
model farms. This will extend modern bee-
keeping and place it on a commercial basis
alongside dairying and poultry farming. Then
the antiquated straw skep will be thrust out of
use, and the best systems will be thoroughly
tried over a series of years by competent
apiarians, and the most economical and profit-
able system or hive will receive the recom-
mendation it deserves. The fact that apiculture
is as necessary to horticulture and agriculture
as rain and sunshine will he believed when the
proof is supplied by experimentalists living in
the midst of the counties, and the facts are
taught in our technical schools of the near
future.

Our aim must be to increase our output of
honey from our apiaries without increasing our
expenses. Mr. Wells has, during the past year
or two, shown the success of his system, and
his balance account shows a profit of over 8/.
per hive with honey at Gd. per pound. This is
satisfactory, especially when we consider the
small outgo. I fear very few can pare their
expenses out of pocket to such small dimensions
comparatively with the income ; but this is no
reason why we shall not try to follow in his
footsteps and make our secondary product, wax,
pay the expenses. Would it be trenching on
Mr. Wells' good nature to give us an inkling
how he extracts his wax ? — if he makes up the
spare combs and cappings into wax as he goes
along, or leaves all till the end of the season,
and, if so, how he keeps out the wax-moth. —
W. Woodley, World's End, Beedon, Neiobury.

SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF THE
" WELLS " SYSTEM.
[1665.] I note in your correspondent's letter
(1652, p. 478), when referring to the " Wells
System," he declares that "roughly speaking
the failures are about three to one success." Of
course, so far as he had then read, but perhaps
now that he has had a little more time to read,
mark, and learn, he has come to a different con-
clusion. After reading what has appeared in
your pages I make the successes out to be five to
one failure ! — and it must be remembered that
the system is not fully appreciated or under-
stood by every one yet ; not that it has not been
fully explained over and over again, but rather
that some of your readers have sweet little
notions of their own and strong opinions that
such notions are at least improvements on other
people's ways. Still, looking at what your corre-
spondent's bees had to put up with, I do not
consider his double hive a failure. Mr. Wells,
at the Chester Show last year, was awarded a
bronze medal for what ? for a double hive ? oh,
dear, no ! but for his perforated ivooden dummy,

498

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 14, 1893.

■which, if used in a hive of sufficient capacity
and provision made for two entrances, would
make it a "Wells" hive, and proves it to he
the aforesaid "perforated wooden dummy"
which is the one thing above all others that goes
to make a hive on Mr. Wells' system. Of
course, I cannot object to people using any fancy
article they like for this purpose, but don't —
pray don't, my young friends — call it names,
such, as a " ' Wells ' hive all except the dummy-
board."

I also note that friend Tustain, after a little
pleasant wandering about, comes down upon me
with a regular clincher when he makes me say,
'•'Had '1593' adopted a properly made dummy
his bees would not have been broodless ;" but I
would ask is it fair to quote part only of a sen-
tence, and if our friend Mr. Tustain will read a
little more attentively he will see I continued
without any stop — not even a comma — "that
is, of course, provided his queens are worth the
keeping." On looking through the correspon-
dence again, I am more than ever of opinion
that what I said was right, especially as he tells
us that the bees that gave him his successes this
season are the progeny of the queens in question.
I have known queens to wear themselves en-
tirely out in one season, and no queen should be
tolerated longer than the second season in the
apiary of an advanced bee-keeper.

It is too late to remedy this now, friend
Tustain, but make a notch on the hives contain-
ing t hem and note, and let us know the result
in the good time coming, when winter's storms
have passed away together with the ner-
vous twitchings in the head-feathers of — The
Heathen.

METAL ENDS AND HANGING FEAMES.

1666.] When I have to open a hive to over-
haul or examine the frames, I have some china
or porcelain chair-nails handy, like the enclosed
sample. They are little round nobs of a quarter
of an inch in size, flat on the bottom, where a
pin is. Upholsterers use them. I use them to
prick into or on the top of a frame, which I
want marking-, to draw my attention to it. They
enable me to find what I am looking for the
next time the hive is inspected, be it for eggs,
brood, a caged queen, or a queen-cell in the
comb of such a frame. I find them very useful
for this purpose. I introduce them to the
readers of the B. B. J.

I do not take much interest in the discussions
which have lately cropped up about the sug-
gested wider metal ends for spacing frames in
surplus chamber, and, for my own part, do not
look upon it favourably ; but for those who in-
tend to make the alteration or suggested im-
provement, and do not take the advice of our
Editor?, given in " Useful Hints " on page 483,
not_ to interfere with the present metal ends,
which would surely be in the wrong direction, I
would recommend the quarter-inch porcelain
chair-nails, which, pricked into the wood, be-

tween the shoulders of each of the metal ends,
would space the frames nicely apart for wider
combs in surplus chambers without altering the
same for use in the brood nest, the standard top
bar, or shallow frames.

All metal ends are the same distance guides,
and any kind of end could be placed further
apart by these very handy china chair-nails, to
be had of most ironmongers. They cost little,
and are ready with the pin in to prick into the
wood by the side of the metal ends.

I refer back to a former letter, in which I
described the " Kaiser Hive," some of which I
have in use. In these the frames hang upon
four pins, two on the top and two at the bottom
of a frame, which might be called " another
method of hanging frames." They hang very
securely, and nothing can disturb their proper
position, being, of course, parallel to each other.
If combs are wired they cannot get out of shape,
no matter in what position they are placed with
the purpose of turning the hive upside down.
The frames are simply square, but the pins
holding them, which pass through the sides of
hives, do away with the metal ends. I have
none in shallow frames, but it would do for
them just as well. By withdrawing the two
pins on the top, the frame lifts out, and when
the hive, which is made to be manipulated also
from below, is turned up, the two pins holding
the lower part of the frames allows the frames
to be taken out from the lower side of the hive
when inspection is desired from that side.
Either of the two pins liberates the frame for
examination, and, being put back, the frame
finds its proper place, reaching the pins when
returned. There is one thing worth noticing :
the frames are not propolised, the opeu space
all around preventing this. The hive is an in-
novation, a toy, not much of an improvement
on the common bar-frame hive. If the " new
method of hanging frames " should he some-
thing better than my hives in use, which were
illustrated and described in Gravenhorst 's Illus-
trated Bee Journal some years ago, everybody
who has the " Kaiser hive " will be pleased to
have the details of the new hive, which your
correspondent, " H. B." (1659, p. 488), is about
to register, as stated, under the heading of " A
New Method of Hanging Frames."— J. C. K.,
Grove House, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells.

[Referring to the use of " porcelain chair-
nails " for spacing combs wider apart in surplus
chambers, the fault lies in their not confining
the bees, as the latter could pass out between
the shoulders of each metal end parted by the
porcelain nails. Our correspondent also mis-
apprehends the " advice " we gave as to W. B. 0.
ends. We highly approve of the wider end for
surplus chambers, but not of any alteration in
width of top bar. — Eds.]

DOES BEE-KEEPING PAY ?
[1667.] Thinkingthe following account might
have some interest for readers of your valuable
paper, I send it on :• — I commenced the season

December 14, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

499

with five stocks, three of which were fairly-
strong, the other two only just pulled through
the winter. Not having time to look to them
as I wished, when fruit-trees were in hloom, the
queens had not sufficent room to deposit eggs to
increase the populations for the honey-flow later
on, which may account for my not having so
heavy a return in honey per stock as some I
read of in the B. B. J. My five stocks gave me
240 pounds of honey, which, if sold at 8d. per
pound, and the amount added to value of three
stocks, which I made up from driven bees, with
extra appliances, would amount to 10/. after
paying all expenses. I am glad the Wells hive
answers well in the hands of some ; I may give
it a trial next season. — M. Wood, Swindon,
December 9th, 1803.

MY EXPERIENCE OF CARNIOLAN
BEES.

[1663.] In my observations of Carniolans
and hybrids I have found the pure Carniolans
(and I think 1 have had pure queens from Frank
Benton, Carniola, Austria), are very docile
and can be handled like so many flies, and
for those who desire to increase their stocks I
say keep pure Carniolans, as they will raise a
large apiary in a very short time. I have had
five and six swarms from a single stock in one
season ; large swarms, five and six pounds in
weight. I cannot say they are such excellent
honey-gatherers, as I have f uund they require so
much food to maintain the brood, and the brood
nests at the close of the season are usually quite
empty of honey. As to hybrids, I crossed my
black queens with Carniolan drones and I
cannot wish for better honey-gatherers, not
vicious either, and they do not swarm half so
much as the pure Carniolans. I have had some
very heavy takes of honey, as also have my
friends, from this strain of bees. If Carniolan
queens get crossed with black drones you will
want to be tough to stand their stings ; they are
vicious in the extreme, will pour out of the hive
.at the least noise, and woe betide you if you have
not a veil on !

The season in my district has not been good
for honey owing to the drought and no clover.
The honey that I have taken has been very dark.
Bees have gone in very strong for winter. Hoping
for a better season for 1804, and a merry Christ-
mas for all our bee-keepers. — A. Njcholls,
High Wycombe, Buclcs.

A YEAR'S BEE- WORK.

My "Wells" Hive.

[1669.] Having derived all my knowledge in
bee-keeping from your valuable Journal, which I
take weekly, and being greatly taken with the
" Wells " hive, I made one la3t winter holding
twenty frames, or nineteen with dummy, in-
cluding the perforated division-board. On

April 3rd this year, I stocked it with two stocks,
one queen 1891 and the other 1892. Of course,
you will consider this was not a favourable
start, either as regards time or the age of the
queens ; but 1 made the best out of a bad start,
as I could not unite these at the back end of
last year, on account of having the hive to
make in the winter. I might say this season
stole a march over me, and the bees advanced
so fast that I could not keep time with them,
nor could I get foundation and frames made
fast enough for them. This placed them at a
great disadvantage in the brood nest, the same
having to be used for honey instead of brood.
The shallow frames I did not get on till May
13th, and between this date and June 10th,
when they swarmed, they nearly completed two
crates of shallow frames containing forty frames.
I might say I tried with success Mr. Jeffrey's
device given in your Journal, February 0th,
1803, page 51. The result was I returned the
bees one on each side in the hive they swarmed
from, taking away the combs holding queen-
cells with hanging bees and placed these in
separate hive to hatch their queens, to replace
old worn-out queens this autumn ; their place
being filled with frames of foundation to the
required number.

Not having yet got an extractor, I replaced
the two sheets of queen-excluding zinc, and the
two lifts containing the forty shallow frames,
in the old position, to take their luck until I re-
ceived my extractor from Mr. Meadows, which
arrived on or about July 13th, and then started
and extracted the lot, which yielded seventy-five
pounds. This, no doubt, you will consider
not a very favourable return, but taking into
consideration the unfavourable start and not
having my extractor in time to relieve the honey-
flew and the bees having swarmed, it was not
so bad for a novice.

The single hive, No. 4, was treated just the
same as the " Weils " hive, which you will see
did not give the same result at home, but
pulled to the front when at the moors. This
hive was a cast last year, consequently weak to
commence with this spring.

After taking the two lifts from the " Wells "
hive for extracting, I replaced the same with
four crates of sections, placing in the centre of
each crate one section drawn out, which on the
return from the moors were the only sections
completed. This greatly surprised me consider-
ing the crowded state of this hive, but the brood
nest had perfect slabs of honey, each comb
averaging about seven-and-a-half pounds. I
might say I examined this hive when it returned
from the moor, and caught both the queens in
order to make two small nucleus stocks, to run
through next season. I hope next season to
work two " Wells " hives and intend making
two more this winter.

I might say the hives worked for extracted
honey had all their combs to work out from the
foundation. In reference to the perforated di-
vision-board, I found it very free from the holes
being propolised, only a few round the sides and

500

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 14, 1893.

bottom being filled. Honey — especially my hea-
ther sections and clover ditto — I have found a
good sale for ; only in a few cases have I sold any
honey at less than Is. per pound. Average
for 1891, two hives, sixteen pounds ; average
1892, for three hives, five-and-a-half pounds. I
enclose a table of my result of different hives,
and the age of queens for this season, 1893.

Worked for Worked Worked all

Extracted Olover for
Honey Sections Heather
only. only. Sections.

Total
lbs.

Wells hive

75 None 4

79

Single stock
No. 1 ...

— 62 18

80

No. 4 ...

24 — 26

50

No. 6 ...

— — 36

36

No. 7 ...

22 — —

22

Total ...

.. 267

Date when
Swarmed.

Age of
Queens.

Wells hive

June 19th

1891-92

Single stock
No. 1 ...

Did not swarm

1892

No. 4 ...

June 26th

1892

No. 6 ...

June 6th ...

1891

No. 7 ...

Did not swarm

1890

I have not touched any of the brood combs,
only taken them from the hives to return in the
spring, of which I have twenty-four well-filled
combs. Only good saleable sections given ac-
count of. — J. H. Horn, Yorkshire.

ARE VICIOUS BEES THE MOST PROFIT-
ABLE COLONIES TO KEEP?

[1670.] I am desirous of eliciting opinions on
this question, being unable to arrive at any de-
finite conclusion on the matter. While very
much averse to vicious bees, at the same time 1
am anxious to get the best result possible, from
whatever colony it may come. I have noticed
frequently in my own apiary those stocks which
showed most fire usually built up well and
turned out well, especially so where there were
young queens. On the other hand, I have had
splendid results from quiet half-bred Ligurians.
It is very unpleasant to work with savage bees,
and yet in a mixed apiary one cannot help
getting some such stocks.

Re " the widening of shallow frames," I tried
in the year 1892 a simple plan of expanding the
sides of the metal (W. B. O.) ends, each end
about one-eighth of an inch, so as to give an
extra quarter of an inch between combs. That
year being a bad season with me, I could not
tell then ; but this year I put some of the same
shallow combs on a moderately strong stock,
and they turned out splendidly heavy, well-
sealed slabs of combs. I should be very chary
about making them wider ; there are so many
disadvantages. With the space mentioned
there was no trouble to get the bees away, and
being a quiet strain, it was a pleasure to handle
the combs. They yielded my best honey this
season. — E. Bunney, Swansea.

"QUOT HOMINES, TOT SENTENTLE."

Watevee, that Means.

[1671.] You hinvite diskushun, and I want
to discus the matter of lektures on bees. Wats
use of a hout an hout edikated man for a lek-
turer wat cant tawk as we ken understand. On
page 475 there's a letter signed " W. B.Webster."
How the dikins does he ekspekt a chap as earns
17s. to know wot the giberish at top of the
letter means ? If I find a hard word in your
journal, I can get the Dikshunary down an find
it, and mak summat out of it; but wen I ear
a edicated chap (wi speks on, an a lot of cheap
jewelry about his weskit) tawkin about allimen-
tary bee-keepin, I doant know where I am. I
put sum words down at a lektur here, an 1 turned
em up to-day just to hev a luk at em wonce more.
There's edifickationally, Hypabollar, Franga-
billitie, Synyourage, vermikelation, perspikashus,
Gustaytory, Hermetickalie, Dendrollogie, Ostra-
sise, Eksejetical, and cetera.

Now, this may be all rite when you are
tawkin to edikated men, but when you say its
for the benefit of laberers an small farmers we
as to tak it wi a grane o' salt. An unless a chap
comes wat can tell us is tale in werds we can
understand, where is the eddicashun part to
come in ? I argew we doant want to know
their edikation, we want to know ow to andle
bees an get more honey. Mister Wells says he
gets 130 lbs. a hive. I should think I had more
un I could sell if I got 40 lbs. Proffit from 10
hives, 321. 6s. 3d. Whew! a year's wages! I
can cut the wings of queens an sort em out wi
a spoon, but I'm a bit short yet, and I'm waitin
for a chap to lekture that can tawk plain like.
I doant agree wi a edikated man tryin to tawk
to such as me wi'out him tawking so as we
know wat he means.

Youl excuse me sending such a long letter.
It tuk hours an hours to make it an rite it that
could have been spent hive-makin. It's me
first since Mr. Abbott had the care of the B. B. J.
— B. B., Northwich, Cheshire, December 8th.

[Doubtless it would be well, in the case of
such " awful examples " as the above, if the
" skulemaster " — as our friend, " B. B.," would
say — did a little preliminary skirmishing to pre-
pare the way for lecturers who are supposed to
have reached the standard required for teachers
under the Technical Education Act. " B. B."
should, however, remember that it is not every
one who is so fastidious as himself with regard to
the language he would have lecturers employ
when imparting technical instruction. It might
also be advisable for him to bear in mind that
some County Councils may possibly desire that
lecturers should go a little further in technical
education than teaching their hearers " ow to
andle bees an get more honey." — Eds.]

BEE-REMINISCENCES OF THE PAST.

(Concluded from page 490.)
[1672.] Many methods were advised for depriv-
ing bees of their honey. Store hives and glasses

December 14, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

501

were used capable of being removed bodily.
Among them, divisional hives, with three brood
frames or " sliders," each containing three
combs, were also in vogue, the two side combs
being cut away, and bees brushed off and left to
return home to repair the loss. Sulphuring was,
of course, largely practised ; but light was
dawning, and other methods were being adopted,
such as fumigation with puff-balls (Lycoperdon,
or great puff-ball), in those days called frog-
cheese, mully-puff, punk-fist, &c. The apparatus
in which these puffs were used was a box the
size of the hive in use, with a " close bottom
nailed to the edges, and without crevices. On
one side a hole cut to receive the mouth of a
quart tin pot, without a handle, from within
one inch from the side and three inches above
the bottom, such tin pot to be punched round
the side as full of holes as possible within an
inch of the top (except about two inches, which
have but few), as also in its bottom." This pot
was nailed on to the circular opening. " Another
aperture is cut on the right of that for the pot
to receive a pane of glass, and so have a window
three or four inches square in the back for the
purpose of vision." The puffs were lighted and
placed in the pot, and the hive was placed on
the top of the box, " and in about twenty
minutes the bees will all be stupefied and sense-
less, and fall from their combs into the fume
box, and will recover again in about the same
time, on the admission of fresh air, without
receiving the least injury, as the stupefying of
bees is in no wise prejudicial to them. '

A second plan of taking the honey was by
supering, much in the same way as is practised
now ; and a third method was by " driving and
bumping." To perform this latter operation, it
was advised that the bees should be shaken out
into a tub of cold water, and, as soon as they
were senseless, to strain them on to muslin, and
place them under a new hive on the old position
to let them recover, " which they always did
without prejudicial effect."

One lady bee-keeper of this period writes that,
after bumping a hive of bees into a tub of
water one cold day in March, she strained them
and placed them in a glass hive furnished with
comb and honey, when the bees recovered and
came over the combs as usual, and adds : — " 1
was greatly surprised on examining them shortly
afterwards to find so few bees on the combs,
only a few hundreds, and many thousands on the
bottom of the hive exhausted and dying and
many more while I was looking at them fell
from the combs" — and joined the majority.
After careful consideration she ascribed their
deaths " to the honey in the combs not being fit
food for the bees ! "

Eeferring to the condition of bees in winter,
it was considered that they became quite torpid
and insensible in cold weather, and that they
could bear a greater degree of cold than was
commonly imagined to be favourable to them,
one author declaring that bees became " per-
fectly frozen in severe weather," which pre-
vented them from putrefying, and they remained

petrified until the return of spring, when they
" woke up " — arguing that loss was occasioned
by the weather not being severe enough to
freeze them, so that they only "got numbed
and chilled," and that " their juices being in a
liquid state soon putrefy." .Regarding diseases,
dysentery seems to have been best known, and
many cures were published ; one advising
covering bees with ashes of the fig-tree ;
another to give them rosemary and honey with
water ; and referring to the cause of the com-
plaint, one writer ascribes it to the bees " eating
pure honey, which does not form substantial
food enough unless mixed with pollen."

For stings, the advice given was to drink a
cup of good beer and to wash the hands therein,
which would prove a good defence ; or go to
them with a bunch of sweet herbs and fan the
face therewith, and if the bees still insisted on
stinging " thrust the face and head into the
first bush or into the herbs and retire grace-
fully ! " The modern bee-keeper generally re-
tires in a hurry ! Again, " If thou wilt find
favour with the bees that they sting thee not,
thou must avoid such things as offend them ;
thou must not be unchaste or uncleanly, for im-
purity and sluttishness they utterly abhor ; thou
must not go among them smelling of strong
odours, or having a bad breath caused either by
eating leeks, onions, garlic, or the like, the
noisomeness whereof is cured by a cup of good
beer." I have, alas ! known bee-keepers who
would have responded to this last advice by
saying, " Good old times ! " but this is a digres-
sion. " Though must not be given to surfeiting,
but softly move among them ; thou must be no
stranger to them, so that they love thee and
know thee from all others." As to enemies,
birds were considered among the greatest of
their foes, and bee-keepers were advised to hire
boys to rob their nest, and traps baited with
dead bees were considered most efficient.

Their sense of sight was supposed to be very
weak, especially when the bees first came out of
the hive, which was considered to be proved by
them " rubbing their heads with their forelegs,
before taking flight, to get the dust out of their
eyes" (a sort of eye-opener). One author says
that women should not meddle with bees, as it
was not a suitable occupation " at any rate not
without a bee-dress, and having on a man's
coat," and the author in question whispers : " I
had almost said breeches also.''

The advantages of uniting weak and queenless
stocks were fully appreciated by the bee-keepers
of whom I write. Observatory hives were also
in vogue, and another advance was made by
one " Schirach," which was called his method
of increase by artificial swarming. This led to
much discussion and warm disputes on the Con-
tinent. One English writer declared that
" after eight years of experiments according to
Schirach's instructions with scrupulous care and
exactness and with improved and more suitable
apparatus " he had not " got a single result in
confirmation of his (Schirach's) methods ; " but
Schirach has beyond question proved to be right

502

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 14, 1893.

and subsequently his method led to the bursting
of the bubble of queens being raised from special
eggs. At this, bee-keepers of the period mar-
velled, it being well known that " queens took five
times exactly as long to lay Royal eggs as they
took to lay common ones."

I should like to add much more to these
reminiscences of the past, but I am afraid
I have already encroached too much^ upon
your valuable space ; but, in conclusion, I
have no doubt many of the above statements
and theories, judged by the present state of
enlightenment, will seem queer reading ; but let
readers pause and consider what may be the
opinion of bee-keepers a hundred years hence
as to our present knowledge and manner of bee-
keeping.

We must not be too sure that perfection
has been reached in our art. We are advancing
no doubt, but still we are far from " finality."
Do we fully understand the physiology of our
little friend, the bee ? I think not. Are we
sure our appliances are in every way the most
suitable, and that our modes of manipulating
are all that can be desired? I should say
certainly not. And again, do we fully appre-
ciate the many instincts of the Creator's lowly
creatures? I am sure not. Therefore let me
warn bee-keepers not to set themselves, as ex-
ponents of the craft, on too high a pedestal of
perfection, or the fall may be great. No_ doubt
very many of your readers are doing their best
to arrive at this happy state, and to throw light
upon the many mysteries which still surround
the art and science of bee-keeping, and whilst T
heartily wish them and their bees every pros-
perity ~in the coming year, I trust they will
bear in mind what may be thought of their
doings a century hence, and that (to rake up
an old Latin axiom) Parvum parva decent, or
" Little things become the humble man " even
though he be— The Heathen.

THE LANGDON NON-SWARMER.

A Suggested Impbovement.

I have wanted to report about the Langdon
non-swarmer for some time, but there seem to
be many reporting failures. They have been
an entire success with me, and I think they can
be with all practical bee-keepers. I don't think
I make mine quite like Mr. Langdon's. I don't
have to bore any hole in my hives — the Dove-
tailed. The bees should be turned from one
hive to the other every four or five days during
swarming-time. One needs to be very careful
to get them adjusted bee-tight. I never had
any trouble with bees destroying brood except
eggs. This will cause the colonies to be a little
weak for the fall flow, if there is any. I had
trouble when I tried to re-queen these colonies.
Bees enough would get back through the cone
so that they would ball the queen. To remedy
this J closed the cone, then all went well.

Here is the only plan by which I can procure
honey here : I place a case of half-depth frames
on hives for extracted honey without any queen-
excluder between. They will soon go to work
in these, and the queen will soon commence
laying. As soon as they are nearly filled I raise
them (be sure to run the queen below), put on
an excluder, with a case of sections between
this and the upper case, and you will get honey,
if there is any to be had. I have secured 30
pounds extracted honey and 24 pounds comb
honey from colonies worked this way, when
others have not made over 15 to 20 pounds per
colony, comb. Now, my colonies worked with
non-swarmers on have stored two pairs of 70
pounds each, comb honey; two pairs of 60
pounds each, extracted honey.

In the way of feeding back I have secured
these results : I have fed one colony 70 pounds
extracted, and received 60 pounds comb ; I also
fed one colony 60 pounds extracted, and re-
ceived 50 pounds comb. — C. S. Nevins, Wag-
f, Kan.

[We sent the above to Mr. Langdon, who
replies : — ]

My experience during the past season shows
that my circular is wrong. The slide should be
changed once in four days instead of seven. It
also says (which friend Nevins likely did not
see) that, if a rim were nailed on the back of
the device, no hole would be needed in the
hive. I shall make them all so the coming
season.

I did not find that the bees were light for
the fall flow, though I have had them heavier.
One thing is sure — if they are lighter than they
would otherwise be, there is not a great army
of bees to board during the interval between
basswood and golden-rod. The effect is the same
as though the queen had been caged, and there
is a saving in that. The plan of ventilation
given by friend N. is along the line that I have
adopted for use next season.

Mr. Nevins' experience is another straw to
prove that running two working forces together
cannot be excelled or equalled for getting bees
to work in the supers, especially if there is a
short crop.

I claim as strongly as ever, notwithstanding
the adverse reports that have been given against
the non-swarmer, that, if the bees are given
proper room in the supers, with good ventilation,
so as to be comfortable, they can be kept from
swarming with an increased yield of honey by
the use of my device. My success with them
on my house-apiary is better proof on this point
than most of these reports have been that they
will not work. Something was at fault that
could have been remedied. — H. P. Langdon.
— From "Gleanings," Am.

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Several queries await replies, out as the matters
are not urgent, we defer them till next week.

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 600. Vol. XXI. N.S. 208.] DECEMBER 21, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

$bii0rial, ffatim, tfrc.

DISTANCE GUIDES FOR FRAMES.
The W. C. B. End.

We hoped to have been spared taking
up further space in discussing the (no
doubt) well-meant suggestions which have
been made as to improving the " W. B. C."
end. A correspondent however, under the
initials " H. C. J.," on p. 505, writes in
such a way as compels a reply, which we
will endeavour to make conclusive, in order
to render further discussion on our part
unnecessary.

"We seem to have quite unintentionally
roused the ire of " H. C. J." by insisting
that a spur is not needed in the W. B. C.
end ; but, while running the same risk, we
are compelled to repeat our insistence.
Moreover, we firmly believe that nineteen
of every twenty who use these ends will
agree with us. It is also both unjust and
absurd to charge us with objecting to any
one adapting the "end "to meet the case
of incorrectly made or of makeshift hives,
and it adds, we suppose, unintentional
testimony to the value of the W. B. C.
end that it can be so adapted. Why should
we object to "H. C. J." taking his shears
and pliers and cutting and bending " ends "
which are his own by purchase 1 Our
sympathy rather goes out to him in think-
ing of the hives he uses, which make this
task necessary. Our objections to a spur
are specified on p. 483, and may be re-
ferred to by any one interested. But
" H. C. J." enlists the support of "A Lan-
cashire Novice," and also of our esteemed
correspondent, Mr. W. Woodley, in his
contention that a " spur " is needed in the
W. B. C. end. Regarding the evidence
of the former we have only to state our
preference for being judged by the com-
munication referred to (1630, p. 457)

rather than by the extracts quoted by
" H. C. J.," who sees more argument in
his favour than we can discover in the
original. The " experience " of Mr.
Woodley is also made the most of in
quoting him, but Mr. Woodley makes no
pretence to having any experience at all of
W. B. C. ends. He distinctly states that
" he uses only Abbott's wide-shouldered
frames," and it was in view of the fact of
these very frames requiring an accurately
measured rebate on the under-side of the
top bar — which said " rebate " regulates the
distance between the frame and the hive
side — that brought forth our allusion to it
on p. 483.

We believed that Mr. Woodley would
accept the remarks there made as a reply
to his observations regarding the absence of
a spur, but in case we were not sufficiently
definite let us say that correct measurement
in the distance between ends of top bars, in
frames where W. B. C. ends are used, is
exactly analogous to correct measurement
in the rebate on the underside of top bars
in the broad-shouldered frame he uses.
The rebate regulates the distance in one case,
the outside of hive does it in the other, and
accuracy in both is indispensable. What
we do admit is that hives made expressly to
take broad-shouldered frames are not suited
for frames with spur-less metal ends.

We may also be pardoned for, incidentally,
naming the advantage we possess in the
matter of experience over our friend Mr.
Woodley, because of our having had, among
the forty hives of which our apiary, some
years ago, consisted, no less than ten hives
fitted with broad-shouldered frames similar
to those he now uses, and these we worked
for several years.

We desire to put as charitable a con-
struction as possible on the strongly -worded
letter of our correspondent, with which we
are dealing, and in doing so, the conclusion
forces itself on us that he has not had the

504

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 21, 1893.

opportunity of inspecting hives of the most
modern type, such as are staged at shows
nowadays; otherwise he would not have
penned the lines he italicises in the last par.
of his letter, wherein — referring to shallow-
frame surplus boxes — it is stated that " A
distancer of some kind is indispensable, as
there are no hive sides to regulate distances
here." With a not limited experience we
have never seen a shallow-frame surplus
box with metal ends of the kind referred to
staged at any show, or sent out by any well-
known dealer, in which the spacing was not
regulated precisely as in the brood chamber
below, from which it only differs in being
three inches less in depth.

Let us here, however, express the plea-
sure it affords us to find that our corres-
pondent can so readily adapt the W. B. C.
end, as now made, to his own purpose by
adding to it an easily formed spur, and we
assure him that we have no desire other
than that bee-keepers similarly placed to
himself should take the advice offered in
his communication on p. 506.

In conclusion, it is to be regretted that
" H. C. J." should see fit to go out of his
way to make a gratuitous insinuation as to
our having a pecuniary interest in the metal
end to which our initials are appended,
because we think that few readers of this
Journal are unaware of the fact that its
Editors are free from pecuniary interest in
bee-appliances of any kind whatever. Our
only interest — beyond that of the general
good of the pursuit — begins and ends with
the prosperity of the journals it is our
honour to conduct, and the help we ask of
readers is limited to expressing a hope that
they will render us generous assistance in
adding to the circulation of the papers by
each endeavouring to secure for us a new
subscriber. This sort of pecuniary help we
will gladly welcome.

BRITISH COMMISSION FOR THE INTER-
NATIONAL EXHIBITION IN VIENNA,

1894.

In response to the request of the British
Commissicners, we print the following commu-
nication : —

"In order to protect the interests of the
British exhibitors at the International Exhibi-
tion to he held next year in Vienna in connexion
with Economical Food, Army Supplies, Protec-
tion of Life, Transport, and Sport, an influential
committee has been formed which held its first

meeting on Tuesday last week at the Imperial and
Royal Austro-Hungarian Consulate-General,
under the presidency of M. Francis Stockinger,
the Austro-Hungarian Consul-General.

" Intending exhibitors can obtain all further
particulars on application to ' The British Com-
missioners for the International Exhibition in
Vienna,' c/o the Imperial and Royal Austro-
Hungarian Consulate-General, 11 Quean Vic-
toria Street, E.C."

NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM
BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Proposed Visit of Mb. G. Wells.

Referring to the announcement made in our
issue of December 7th (page 490), the Hon. Sec.
of the N. and D. B.K.A. writes :—

" Owing to a pressing business engagement,
Mr. Wells was not able to come to the north in
order to explain his system to local bee-keepers
as arranged. A great deal of interest was taken
in the proposed visit, and I have received
numerous expressions of regret at not being
afforded the opportunity of hearing him. In
many instances bee-keepers had made arrange-
ments to travel considerable distances to the
meetings.

" It is hoped, however, that Mr. Wells will be
in a position to fulfil the engagement at an early
date."

HONEY IMPORTS.

The total value of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of November,
1893, was 2332/. — From a return furnished by
the Statistical Office, H.M. Customs.

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 oj the paper only, and give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for pub-
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Illustrations
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, Sc, must be addressed only to "The
Bditoes of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All business communications
relating to Advertisements, Ac, must be addressed to " The
Manager, ' British Bee Journal ' Office, 17 King William
Street, Stremd, London, W.C." (see 1st page of Advertise-
ments).

*«* 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.

CARRYING BEES ON BICYCLES.

[1673.] I read with much amusement the
letter (1616, p. 439) in your issue of the 2nd
ult., and, had not my time been so fully occupied,
would have written you before to give your
correspondent a method whereby he might carry
the bees as safely and with considerably more

December 21, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

505

comfort to himself ; and now Mr. Webster has,
in a late issue (1649, p. 474), given us his
method, which is certainly superior to the other,
hut still entails the time and trouble of shaking
the bees from skep to pail, and pail into a
miniature sack. This necessitates an assistant
to hold the sack whilst the bees are being poured
in, and I am afraid, in many cases, the bees
would "sack" the assistant instead. Also, I can-
not quite make out how twenty-eight inches in
circumference fits round six inches square, as
the four sides only make twenty-four inches,
and the size of the holes is given as gV (is not

frame bicycle, a fourth box can be carried under
the top bar, the same as a valise, by means of
three small straps attached to it. The propulsion
of the machine forces a continuous current of
air through the openings in the boxes, thus
keeping the bees cool ; and on arriving home a
feeder may be stood on one of the pieces of
gauze, if the box is stood up on its edge, and
the bees kept safely for a day or two if required
before hiving them. The boxes have a further
advantage over the little sacks — that if it is
wet on returning the bees take no harm ; but,
on the other hand, the bicyclist doesn't look half

this a printer's error for ^w ?). A stout wire
ring with stiff tinned gauze soldered on would
almost seem to be preferable.

I have several times transported boxes of
driven bees on a bicycle, and although I cannot
carry so many separate lots as by Mr. Webster's
method, I think it will meet the requirements
of many bee-keepers, as two or three lots may
be joined together in the boxes used to carry
them. First of all, I obtained a " luggage
carrier," which is securely fastened to the front
of the bicycle. This can be obtained at any
bicycle dejwt, and is very useful for many
purposes, such as carrying a camera, parcel, or
bag. This carrier is provided with straps.
Next I obtained three '•' Hudson's dry soap "
boxes, and cut a piece out of each side six inches
by three, filling in the hole with a piece of wire
gauze securely tacked inside ; a small staple in
the lid, and another underneath it about an inch
down the box, and a piece of string tied to one
of them for fastening the lid, complete the
apparatus. These three boxes are then placed
one on top of the other on the carrier, and firmly
strapped on. The bees may be either shaken
into or run into the boxes if the windows are
temporarily darkened with a piece of brown
paper. I enclose a sketch which will make my
meaning clear; and if it is an open diamond-

so "fetching." The extra weight in front of
the machine makes it balance better, and the
rider is relieved from any personal encumbrance.
— F. J. Cbibb, Morton, Gainsborough,

IMPROVING THE " W. 13. C." END.
[1674.] My suggestion anent cutting and
bending a spur on the W. B. C. end (1608, p.
435), to keep a proper bee-way between frames
and hives, has aroused a little attention.
" Lancashire Novice " (1630, p. 457), (I do not
know him) very ably supported my suggestion,
and gave some capital reasons for the use of the
projection. He also entirely answered your
" withering foot-note " at the close of my letter,
wherein you referred to your "parental in-
terest " in the W. B. C. end and depreciated
my plan on account of its preventing close spac-
ing of frames to prevent drone brood. He said,
" It could still be accomplished " (spacing to one-
and-a-quarter inches) "by removing alternate
ends and adjusting the frames temporarily be-
tween hive sides without any distance-keeper
for this adjustment." This close spacing of
frames to prevent drone comb is well spoken of
by " Lancashire Novice " as " not a frequent
operation.'' If I want to prevent drone comb,
I do what you, Messrs. Editors, always advise.

506

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 21, 1893.

I use full sheets of brood foundation. Tell me
how many bee-keepers — aye, even though they
use the W. B. C. end — space their combs one
inch and a quarter apart to prevent drone
comb ?

The next to notice the suggestion was Mr. W.
Woodley, a bee-man, I take it, of no mean ex-
perience (1650, p. 476.) He said, "W. B. 0.
ends as originally designed, have no side dis-
tance projections — why, I have never been able
to Understand." Then he pictures the tyro in
bee-keeping returning to the pattern hive his
grandfather used, because he is disgusted with
having one side of his frames fast to the hive
with propolis and the other side filled up with
comb for want of a distance-keeper on his metal
ends. You have drawn a true picture, Mr.
Woodley, of what must have happened to
numbers. The question is next referred to in
"Useful Hints" of December 7th. Now, this
column is always eagerly scanned by me, as by
hundreds more, and I have profited greatly by
what I have gathered from it ; but instead of
giving a useful hint on December 7th, the
writer in my opinion, only puts his foot upon
one. When I buy a gross of W. B. C. ends,
they become my property to use as I please.
The first thing I do is to take my shears and
pliers and cut and bend my useful projection to
all of them, and, as a practical man, it doesn't
concern me a bit that Mr. " W. B. C." would
rather not have his initials upon it, however
much (I quote " Useful Hints ") " the writer
would feel constrained to request that some
other appellation be given to any such improve-
ment (?) as would include a spur, rather than
the initials of his name." If the preceding
sentence means that Mr. " W. B. C." having
still a proprietary right in the end, would
rather not have it turned out in the way I sug-
gest, I can understand that the inventor has a
right to do what he will with his own ; but why
object to the purchaser improving it if he
please ? My advice to brother bee-men is, if
you use the W. B. C. end in hives, standard
size in brood nest, but more than seventeen
inches wide from side to side (and there are
many such hives) cut and bend your spur on the
ends. The small amount of propolis on the
spur, if any (for I never find mine stuck tight),
is as nothing to obtaining a proper bee-space
each side the frames.

I need not dwell on the W. B. C. for
shallow-frame boxes. " Lancashire Novice "
agrees with me that a distancer of some kind is
indispensable — as there are no hive sides to regu-
late distance here ; and what could be better
than the suggested spur ? — H. C, J., Homing-
low Cross, Burton-on- Trent.

FOREIGN HONEY.

[1675.] I have been much interested lately
in perusing an article in a weekly paper dealing
with the report of the Select Committee on the
" Marking of Foreign Meat," as detailed in a

Parliamentary Blue Book lately issued. The
investigations of the Select Committee referred
to have led to the exposure of wholesale frauds
in the selling of foreign meat, and it is recom-
mended that all dealers in that produce should
be registered as such, that the sale of foreign
meat should be notified on every shop selling it,
and that properly qualified meat inspectors
should go round and see that the law is being
enforced. If this recommendation becomes
law, as I hope it will, I would ask, Why should
we bee-keepers be left out in the cold ? Most
of our county Associations will shortly be
holding their annual meetings, and it has struck
me that if some kind of resolution were passed
iu favour of having all foreign honey sold in
this country, labelled as such the help of county
members might be enlisted in the way of having
the matter brought before the House of Com-
mons, and so doing some good service in that
way, not only to bee-keepers, but to the public
at large.

Now is the time for it to be done, if at all,
because the B.B.K.A. has within the last few
weeks so well brought the British honey ques-
tion to public notice, and if the British bee-
keeper is to have a chance of disposing of his
produce, it should be distinctly separated from
the foreign stuff. I believe very few people
know that foreign honey is imported into this
country in such quantities as is the case — some
knowing nothing about it at all — and they are
thus deceived in what they buy. — J. Peabman,
Derby.

ENGLISH V. FOREIGN HONEY.

[1676.] Referring to your article on " Foreign
Competition," and to Mr. Woodley's letter on
the same subject, the two following experiences
go to show that all wise purchasers of honey
for the table will stick to buying only English
honey, and, when they ask for it, will see that
they get it. A few weeks ago a chemist told
me that a traveller had called on him and
offered him some low-priced honey. He de-
scribed it as " Californian." The chemist
asked how it was that he could offer it at so
low a price, when the traveller stated that, to
tell the truth, it ivas not honey, but that the
article was glucose, which he could have
flavoured with " almond " or any other blossom.

Another chemist told me that it was not
necessary for him to keep English honey, as
he had bought some good Chilian honey, which
answered every purpose. I asked him to show
it me. He thereupon took a bottle of honey,
which was offered for sale, from a prominent
position on his counter, and put it into my
hand to show that what he had stated about it
was correct. It had on it a printed label —
"Pure English Honey." I at once charged
him with misrepresentation ; but he made light
of it, and put it back into its place. The next
time I saw him, he said that since he saw me
he had got some English honey, though he did
not show it to me.

December 21, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

507

I understand that the best chemists use only
English honey, as the foreign honey is so liable
to adulteration, and is not to be compared in
flavour with our British honeys, and that it
does not work up so well with their prepara-
tions.— A Lover of Good Honey, Decem-
ber 16th, 1893.

FOREIGN HONEY— BEES AND LIME-
TREES.

[1677.] Your correspondent, " B. B." (1671,
p. 500), wants some enlightenment as to the
meaning of the foreign words used at the head
of an article in your pages ; but I think that
for the enlightenment of such as " B. B." and
myself, it would be more to the point if you
could inform us in good plain English what is
the meaning of that little packet of foreign
honey (4800 pounds) advertised in the B. J.
being offered to us bee-keepers. Again: A
correspondent (1663, p. 495) writes of bees
gathering from the bloom of lime-trees. If
that is so, why do not bees in this neighbourhood
gather honey from these trees ? I have many
times observed the limes when in full bloom,
and have seen them alive with blow-flies, humble
bees, and a flat bee of some sort, in shape like a
drone, but never a hive-bee have I seen on
them. Can it be that the locality is so good
that there is forage about which the bees prefer ?
— J. Dean, Strood, Kent, December \§th.

[Our correspondent's first inquiry is, we sup-
pose, "writ sarkastick," as Artemus Ward would
say. For the second, we cannot understand his
being unable to observe hive-bees on the bloom
of lime-trees. Our own bees work in the same
county of Kent, and we have several times
during this last season seen them working on
the lime -bloom in thousands. The lime is
certainly a very uncertain source of honey supply,
because it is only under favourable atmospheric
conditions that the blossom secretes nectar, but
when these conditions are present bees gather
very large quantities of honey from these trees.
—Eds.]

EXTRACTING WAX.

[1678.] Not having a wax-extractor, I ex-
tracted about three pounds of wax by adopting
Mr. Percy Leigh's plan, recently given in your
B. J. (1537). I fancy it was rather a muddling
affair, but no doubt a deal to do with it was on
the part of the operator, and as there are one or
two points want clearing up, hence the reason
of my paper on the subject. First, will Mr.
Leigh please say for what reason he allows the
contents of the jar to cool, and remelt again
before straining off the wax into moulds ?
Could not the wax be strained straight off
when first removed from the oven instead of
allowing it to cool, as then you have only to
melt it a second time to strain it ? Second, I
would suggest, to save time and trouble, that a

square tin vessel be made for the purpose, say >
one foot square by one foot deep, or whatever
size would be most convenient. Don't you think
this would be much better than using one or
more small jars P Third, and most important
part is, the getting two-thirds more wax from
the combs, as stated by Mr. Leigh, in extracting
by his method ; and as two-thirds is such a
lump to get over and above what one would
get in the ordinary way of extracting by wax-
extractor or otherwise, I should be glad to see
a little discussion on the subject in the B.J. ; or
perhaps some of our prominent bee-keepers
would not mind stating their experience in this
way, seeing that English wax is becoming so
scarce and valuable. Evidently two-thirds
more is a great consideration, providing we are
able to get it. There appears to be room yet
for more experiments in wax-extracting, Messrs.
Editors, before we shall be able to say we have
reached perfection in that direction. Being a
novice in the wax line, could any of your readers
inform me the most convenient size to put up
cakes of wax for retailing ? — Buzzing.

BEES IN HAMPSHIRE.

[1679.] Not seeing any report from this part
of Hants, I send a word or two on what my
bees have done for me in 1893. First, my
Carniolans have carried the palm this year,
though I have always favoured our native bees.
I must, however, give the foreigners first place
in 1893. One hive wintered on eight frames,
which I increased to sixteen during the early
summer, and gave me a box of twelve shallow
frames and a crate of twenty-one sections, which
they finished off well, the weight of the whole
being : Sections, 21 pounds ; extracted, 56
pounds — total, 77 pounds. No. 2 gave 42
sections and 30 pounds extracted — total, 72
pounds.

Now I think that the two lots quite equalled
any double hive in the market, besides being not
so cumbersome. I still hold that a double hive
is two colonies, and the produce should be
counted as off two hives. My natives contri-
buted 45 pounds each on the average. I have
not kept a profit and loss account, but the
balance to the good is all I could wish. I have
sold no honey under 10d., but most at Is. per
pound ; extracted sections, Is. each. I suppose
our Hampshire and Isle of Wight B.K.A. had
not time to report Show at Southampton, or did
I fail to see it ? I did not think it a bad Show.
I was very glad to see our friend Woodley was
well to the front. Winchester and district has
done well this year. My apiary consists of
thirty hives, all well provided for, each stock
having about 24 pounds of stores left. I cannot
see the advantage, in seasons like that of 1893,
taking honey and feeding with sugar if it can
be avoided ; in bad seasons we have to work
differently. Re broad shallow frames : I have
used them for some years. I make them the
size of three one-pound sections, seven to a crate,

508

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 21, 1893.

and have had them perfect slabs of honey, one
hive filling fourteen combs perfectly. I use
dividers as for sections. I had no native swarms,
and only one or two Carniolans ; swarms were
very scarce in this district. I think bees in this
part have done well, and hope 1894 may prove
as good a season. No foul brood here, I am
pleased to say. I might add I bought my
Carniolans off friend Overton of Crawley, and
they have done well, as you see by my report.
Wasps were very numerous ; I destroyed eleven
nests close to home, besides numbers further
away. A friend of mine took about 150 pounds
of honey from under the leads at the residence
of J. W. Baxendale, Esq., Hursley Park — a very
good " take," I think. 1 have myself taken one
lot from a barn, not much honey, but a good
lot of bees, which are doing well. The season
of 1893 seemed to have been good for Carniolans,
but other seasons have been more suited for our
native bees. I cannot but stick to the latter, as
they are more suited to our changeable climate,
so 1 shall not conclude that foreigners are best.
Wishing well to all my fellow bee-keepers. — F.
Moweb, Working Gardener, Winchester.

ever noticed anything similar with their bees ?
At the time it seemed very unnatural to me. —
M. H. Tilley, Dorchester.

BEE-KEEPING IN SUSSEX.

[1680.] This has been a very successful year
with me, so far as a honey harvest is concerned.
I have only had one swarm, but my bees pro-
duced an average of eighty -three well-filled
sections for each hive, calculating a " Wells "
hive as being equivalent to two hives. My best
single hive produced 107 sections, and the
" Wells " hive 167 sections, so that the single
hive proportionately beat the double hive ; but
I think that the excluder zinc was somewhat
of an impediment to the former ; I only used it
on that hive. My situation is by no means
very favourable for honey-gathering, so that I
think that the foregoing result is the more
satisfactory. I may mention that I have left
the brood nests almost untouched for the
winter, amply supplied with sealed stores, and
so full of bees that I found it almost impossible
to reduce the number of frames. Each hive
has an inner and an outer case, the intermediate
space being filled with cork-dust. — A Sussex
Kectob.

BEES FRATERNISING.

[1681.] Seeing so much about the " Wells "
hive in the B.B.J, has brought to my recollec-
tion the friendliness of the bees of two hives
that I had in a bee-house about eight years ago.
They were on a shelf, side by side, about
eighteen inches apart. The bees were daily
passing across the front of the house from one
hive to the other, and entering either hive, for
several weeks. Both hives did very well, and
towards the close of the season they ceased to
visit each other ; there was not the least sign
of fighting. 1 wonder if any of your readers

THE RINGROSE COMPETITION.

[1682.] Perhaps some of your readers would
like to know the 'final result of the " Eingrose "
Competition at Northampton in August last : —
After paying all expenses, Mr. Hefford has
handed over to Mrs. Eingrose the sum of 21. 15s.,
which sum would have been much larger but
for many of the sections arriving1 broken, so
many of them being packed flat. I beg to sug-
gest that those who desire to send sections by
post should adopt Mr. W. Woodley's plan,
which is to glaze the section and to make it up
into a rather bulky parcel with paper shavings,
hay, &c, so that it can travel upright and stand
a bit of a jar in the hands of Post Office officials.
— J. R. Truss, Ufford Heath, Stamford.

LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE B.K.A.

Pbize fob the Best -kept Apiaby.

Out of six competitors for the silver medal
kindly offered by Mr. George Roberts, of Broad-
green, " For the Best-kept Apiary," the Judges,
Messrs. Anstey and Rogers, have awarded the
prize to Mr. W. H. Forde, of West Kirby,
Cheshire, whose apiary, they report, is a model
of neatness and order.

dfafmes foam % piixes.

Canterbury, December 12th, 1893. — It may
interest you to hear that my bees are flying on
all warmish days, last week and the week before
bringing in large loads of yellow pollen, and
yesterday, the 11th, loads about the size of a
pin's head. I write this as I understand from
the Journal that it is unusual. — Ned Swain.

mxuB ratr ^qjliea.

[921.] Mainly about Queen-cells. — On 25th
July last I was examining some bees for a
tradesman in the village, one stock in a skep
looking more like a wasp's nest than a bee-
hive, so far as appearance went. On lifting up
the skep, the only bees I found were five drones.
The combs were built all over the top, and
came about half-way down the skep, the upper
parts of combs containing sealed honey, about
five pounds. I could see no difference between
this honey and that taken from other stocks at
the same time. In the middle of the centre
comb I found about two inches of drone comb,
containing dead drone brood, almost perfect,
and a capped queen-cell, containing matter of a
greyish-brown colour. I was told this was a

December 21, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

509

swarm placed in the skeps last year, 1892. 1. I
should like your opinion of this. On looking
over a stock of bees in a frame hive on 7th
October, before packing up for winter, I found
several queen-cells on one frame, and on another
I found a queen-cell with one side of the cap
hanging just as it would be when the queen
hatched out from it. There was no brood. I
finished feeding first week in September. I had
some difficulty in finding queen, and when I did
see her she flew off the comb, but at once went
in again at the entrance. There was no excite-
mej^of the bees, and when covered up they
were as quiet as before. I have had no drones
flying since first week in J uly. 2. How long a
time elapses after queen hatches before the cap
is cut down, or do you think this is a virgin queen ?
I drove a stock of bees in straw skep, removing the
queen. Saw one queen-cell in middle. Finding a
quantity of pollen and a little brood, I made up
two frames and returned it to the bees, uniting
them with another stock. Next day I found
they had made another queen-cell. 3. Do bees
in autumn make preparation for next season's
swarming by building queen-cells ? 4. If I run a
line of melted beeswax down the centre of top
bar of frames, will the bees accept it as a guide,
or must it be a guide of comb foundation ? 5.
Are hanging section frames (three sections) as
suitable as other ways for section honey ? 6.
Is there any advantage in using whole sheets of
foundation thicker at the top than the bottom ?
— R. C. S., Stonehouse, December \4£h.

Reply. — 1. We are utterly at a loss to under-
stand the stock in skep being found in the con-
dition described, if it really was a swarm hived
the previous year as stated. To have only built
the combs "half way down the skep" after
being hived in it over a year, and found in July
occupied by " five drones," is beyond our powers
of explaining with any accuracy. 2. The loose
capping or flap of a queen-cell usually disappears
a few hours after the queen has hatched out.
With the cap found as described, we should
think it likely that the queen had only hatched
a short time before she was seen. Time only
will prove whether she has been fertilised or
not. 3. No. 4. A strip of foundation, half an
inch or so wide, is a far better guide than a line
of melted wax. 5. Yes. 6. The makers of
this particular foundation claim for it several
advantages over the ordinary sort. We shall be
glad to have the experiences of those who have
used it.

[922.] Bees Short of Stores.— 1. I began
to keep bees in October, and bought a hive.
When I got it, the bees covered the ten frames,
and the man I bought it of told me they had
enough food for winter ; now they do not nearly
cover all the frames — there must be four with-
out any bees on, and they do not seem to have
sufficient stores to last over winter. Should I
put some candy over the frames on the first
mild day? 2. Should I disturb the bees by
making two dummies and putting them in, or

would it be better to let them be as they are ?
— W. H. J., Norwich.

Reply. — 1. Give a good-sized cake of candy,
three or four pounds in weight, to make sure the
bees will not suffer from want. 2. No harm
will follow the insertion of dummies as pro-
posed.

[923.] Honey Recipes and Bee-escapes. — 1.
Could you not get some readers of the B.J. to
kindly send in one or two good recipes for using
honey in cooking — especially for pastry or re-
freshing drinks ? 2. Then, I am rather dull in
understanding the bee-escapes described in your
columns. I should like to try them next year,
but cannot understand how they are worked
below crates of, say, eighteen or twenty-one
sections. — J. D., Strood.

Reply. — 1. Many recipes for using honey
have appeared in our pages from time to time,
quite a collection of recipes appearing in the
B. J. for February 11th of last year. 2. In
making bee-escapes, the escape board is made of
the same dimensions as the section rack or
surplus chamber to be cleared, and has a bee-
space provided on its upper and lower sides.
The " escape " is fitted in an aperture cut in this
board, which enables the bees to pass through
into the lower chamber, from whence they
cannot return.

[924.] Moving Bees Fifty Yards.— I. Is the
enclosed sample of sugar pure cane ? and, if
care, will it answer as well as cane sugar in a
lump form, as I see you advocate lump only in
the Guide-book ? I intend the sugar for making
pea-flour candy. 2. A fortnight ago I moved
my hives to a spot about fifty yards from where
they had previously stood. For the first time
since being moved, the bees were out to-day,
and a large number were flying about where
old stands had been. Would these bees go back
to their hives again or be lost ? — Haktwood,
Charley, December 16£A.

Reply. — 1. Sugar sent is quite suitable
for candy-making, and we think that it is pure
cane, but it is always well to have the sellers'
guarantee as to the quality of sugar. 2. It
would have been far better to defer moving the
bees until they had been confined to the hives
for several weeks by frost. If this is done, the
risk is reduced to a minimum. In your case it
is only too probable that many of the bees would
be lost.

[925.] Bees Blown over in the Gale. — On
my return home the other evening, it was my
misfortune to find one of my hives blown over
in a recent gale. The hive fell over so that the
entrance lay uppermost). After setting it on its
legs I raised the quilts slightly, and found the
bees alive, but I fear some of the combs may
have got broken down. The weather is too
cold to examine, I think. What had I better
do?

Reply. — Take the first chance when a warm

510

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 21, 1893.

day comes to examine whether there is any
breakdown to justify your fears. If any combs
should be broken down the frames should be
removed, and have the combs securely tied in
with tapes before being replaced. Should the
combs not be bent down to] the .bottom bar, a
light lath supported by a couple of corks must
be fixed below to keep them in position.

DAILY INCKEASE IN WEIGHT GAINED

BY A HIVE IN CALIFORNIA.

On the morning of April 16th I took 16 pounds
of honey out of a super of a colony of bees near
my rustic seat under the shade of a juniper-tree,
and placed a second super on it, as most of the
combs in both hive and super were full of brood.
I then opened up a daily record of increase in
weight, a copy of which is given below : —

In-

In-

In-

Apr.

crease.

May.

crease.

June.

crease

16

7

11

11

5

7

17

4

12

20

6

7

18

4

13

10

7

n

19

7

14

12

8

u

20

8*

15

10

9

4

21

4

16

6

10

6

22

1

17

12

11

5

23

1

18

12

12

3

24

2

19

18

13

4

25

5

20

21|

14

5

26

8

21

12

15

5

27

4

22

13|

16

4

28

0

23

10

17

3

29

5

24

6

18

4

30

4

25

13

19

4

May

26

16

20

2

1

8

27

13

21

2

2

12

28

15

22

1

3

17

29

17

23

2

4

10

30

10

24

2

5

10

31

8

25

3

6

10

June

26

2|

7

12

1

7

27

0

8

0

2

6

. 28

2

9

0

o
o

10

29

1

10

13

4

10

30

0

I extracted as follows: — April 16th, 16
pounds; April 30th, 44 pounds; May 9th, 73
pounds; May 16th, 75£ pounds; May 24th,
88 pounds ; June 2nd, 91 pounds ; June 15th,
86| pounds ; June 30th, 28 pounds. Total, 502
pounds.

The record was not kept properly for a few
days in May, as the scales were balanced in the
morning, which gave the gross increase without
taking into account the decrease in weight
from night until the next morning, which
varied from | to 4| pounds, which will account
for the 50 pounds of increase more than was
extracted.

July 1st this colony was found decreasing
rapidly in strength, and upon examination the
queen had almost ceased laying, and capped

queen-cells were found. Further examination
showed young queens laying, and September
12th there was found brood in five frames, with
abundant stores for winter, one super having
been removed July 1st. This colony of bees
was selected to place on scales on account of its
location, and proved to be the best one in my
apiary, as my average was 200 pounds per
colony, and I made an increase of 65 colonies
from 140. — J. G. Corey, Thompson, Cat. —
From " Gleanings," Am.

WINTER LOSSES— THEIR REMEDY.

[The following paper, written by Mr. G. R.
Pierce, of Iowa, U.S.A., was read at the North
American Bee-keepers' Convention held recently
at Chicago,]

Success in every branch of industry is con-
ditioned upon right management, which implies
an intelligent conception of the fundamental
principles relating to that particular industry.
There are instances when men enter some occu-
pation totally ignorant at the time of the proper
methods that should be used to reach the
greatest results with the least expenditure of
labour and capital, and yet are fairly successful.
Such instances are, however, exceptional, and
usually only occur at the beginning of an indus-
try before competition has entered ; after this,
a tireless and relentless struggle for existence
must be looked for, and intelligent, well-directed
methods must be adopted, or failure is inevit-
able.

Bee-keeping may be said to have passed the
primitive stage, and is now an industry in which
more or less competition will prevail, and suc-
cess will only attend those who strive to over-
come all difficulties, seize every point of vantage,
and adopt those methods which have been ap-
proved by experience and experiment. Much
loose talk is indulged in by some bee-keepers
regarding the stability of bee-keeping as an oc-
cupation, owing to the product, honey, being
used as a luxury. Oranges, bananas, raisins,
and other products too numerous to mention,
are used by people of northern latitudes as
luxuries, and the increase of importation of
these articles is greater than the increase of
population. There appears no valid reason why
the consumption of honey should not conform
to the same law.

During the last decade bee-keepers as a class
have not been as prosperous as we could wish.
The last five seasons have been noted for the
scanty flow of nectar; the pecuniary returns
have been reduced to a minimum ; the bees
have consequently been neglected, and in that
part of the country called the " Northern States"
there are, I think, a fewer number of colonies
than there were twenty-five years ago. There
are probably a greater number of specialists in
bee-keeping than formerly, but among the farm-
ing community the number of colonies seems to
be decreasing every year.

December 21, 1893.]1 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 511

The fact that great numbers of colonies
perish nearly every winter in the northern
States has induced some writers to assume that
bees are not fitted or intended by Nature to live
in latitudes having winters of almost Arctic
severity; that their natural home is in the
sunny south, where the northern blizzard and
the snowbank are unknown. We have localities,
without doubt, where the soil is so barren that
it will not support a nectar-yielding flora ; in
such places bees could not thrive, whether the
winters are cold or warm. Insects are very
much like other animals in this regard; they
flourish wherever they can find suitable food in
sufficient quantity for their needs. Even within
the Arctic zone, where it is popularly supposed
" cold desolation reigns supreme," animal life is
wonderfully prolific. These are mainly repre-
sentations of oil and fur-bearing species, but
members of the Articulata are also present, for
we read that Lieut. Peary saw a bumble-bee in
northern Greenland, and found the larvae of
insects at the edge of one of the largest glaciers
of that abode of snow and ice. Capt. Parry,
the famous English navigator, also found six
species of insects on Melville Island, a point
about 2000 miles due north of the northern
boundary of Montana. Russia, a land proverbial
for its cold winters, produces large quantities of
honey and wax.

When we consider these facts, it seems absurd
to suppose that the magnificent tract of country,
extending from Maine to the Rockies, is not
capable of supporting bees. We have here a
country upon which Nature has bestowed with
a lavish hand a wealth of fertile soil and luxu-
riant vegetation which equals the most favoured
regions of the globe. In view of the favourable
conditions present for the support of animal
life, it seems fair to presume that the winter
mortality among bees in the northern United
States is the result of crude and improper
methods of protection, and not of climatic con-
ditions.

The cause of winter losses has been discussed
by bee-keepers from almost every conceivable
standpoint. Cold, impure air, moisture, pollen,
lack of water, bacteria, have, each in turn, been
held responsible for the trouble, and yet the
bee-fraternity is not at unity in 'explaining the
matter. This is not surprising, for the method
of reasoning adopted has been mostly of the
pre-Baconian era of philosophy, when causes
were assumed, and facts were fitted in as found
convenient. This matter works well until we
come in contact with a fact that is one of the
stubborn kind — one that will not fit, no matter
how it is turned or twisted. It will not even
do for an exception to a general rule, but is
continually intruding at every point, and there
is nothing for us to do but to assume another
cause, which in turn is overthrown by some
other obstreperous phenomenon. The results
of such a method of investigation are utterly
unreliable, as may be illustrated by the follow-
ing incident : —

Some years ago, a gentleman, who had lost

nearly his entire apiary, wrote an article in
which it was urged with considerable zeal that
winter losses were caused by the bees gathering
and storing the juices of fruits which in turn
caused the store of honey to ferment, thus
naturally producing disease. This view had
been so ably held by the gentleman, that I
resolved to test the matter. I therefore ex-
tracted all the honey from several hives, and
fed the bees with a mixture of honey and cider
— nine parts by measure of the former to one of
the latter. Now, if these bees had any respect
for human logic, they would have promptly
died during the winter. But they did not ; the
facts in the case failed to fit when put to the
test. Other experiments in this direction have
convinced me that bees can live upon what they
gather, store, and seal, if they are properly pro-
tected. They will even tolerate stores of so-
called honeydew of the most nauseous character,
but will show the effect of such a diet in the
spring, as they are less active than ordinarily,
breed more slowly, or not at all, and rapidly
dwindle in numbers unless supplied with pure
honey or sugar syrup.

We may infer the cause, and apply the
remedy against winter losses by considering the
following facts, which experience has furnished
or will teach us : —

1st. Bees winter in good condition generally
if they have sufficient food, and can take
cleansing flights every three or four weeks.

2nd. They do well in very severe winters if
the period of greatest cold is experienced in
November, December, and January ; but if the
coldest weather is in January, February, and
March, disease is almost sure to be indicated,
unless the hives are well protected.

3rd. A severe winter following a season that
gave no fall flow of honey is usually fatal to
the inhabitants of an unprotected hive.

4th. A normal colony of bees hived in a large
box or gum, and allowed to keep all honey
gathered, say, to the amount of sixty to eighty
pounds, will live and keep healthy, no matter
how severe or how prolonged the winter may
be. Instances are on record where bees have
occupied such hives from ten to fifteen years.

5th. A colony of fair strength as to numbers
will endure the severe cold of our winters, no
matter how prolonged, until a part or all of the
cluster have eaten the honey stored directly
above ; if the cold continues after this, there is
danger ahead.

By considering one or two of these proposi-
tions, and ignoring others, one may assume any
disturbing element to be the cause of winter
losses ; but to reach the true cause, all facts and
phenomena with which we are acquainted must
be carefully considered.

In northern climates all animals subject to
man require virtually the same conditions to
endure the cold, and these are quietude, a warm
abode, and sufficient food of the proper kind to
supply the nutritive functions of the body.
Bees are no exception to the rule, though they
are physically different from the vertebrates.

512

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 21, 1893.

They gather the food suited to their organism,
and, when left to themselves, will store it in
such a position as to he available at all times.

They are enabled to enjoy a reasonable degree
of warmth by their mode of living at the ceiling
of their dwelling instead of on the floor, thus
enjoying an atmosphere made temperate by the
heat evolved from the clustered colony.

In order to meet the requirements of healthy
bee-life in out-door wintering, I would briefly
suggest the following : —

1st. A sufficient quantity of honey to meet
the needs of the colony until the bloom of the
following spring.

This honey store should be so distributed that
the combs upon which the bees are clustered
will contain enough honey to feed the colony
during cold weather, reserving the side stores
for breeding in the spring. Never put empty
comb in the centre of the hive after the honey
season has closed.

2nd. The cover of the hive should be a solid
board, sealed tight by the bees, and this covered
to the depth of ten or twelve inches with some
heat-retaining substance, in order that the top
of the hive may be kept warm ; protection to
the other parts of the hive is also absolutely
necessary, at least in the north - western
States.

I have followed the discussion in Gleanings
concerning sealed covers with considerable in-
terest, and am not surprised that success has
not attended some of those who have tried
them. The reason is quite plain to my mind.
Too much emphasis has been placed upon one
part of the method, that is, the sealed cover,
ignoring to a great degree the deep covering
above — a most essential adjunct. In some
regions, as central Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania,
&c, the depth of covering indicated may not
be necessary, but in colder climates the sealed
cover will be a failure without it.

Space does not permit of my explaining in
full all the details of my method of wintering.
In my work, The Winter Problem in Bee-keep-
ing, I have stated these at length. Nor do I
consider it necessary that all bee-keepers should
winter their bees according to certain stated
plans, but every one should understand what
conditions are needed, and then provide for
these in any manner convenient to his or her
situation and surroundings.

Since publishing The Winter Problem I have
found by testing that an empty space below
the hive is a valuable adjunct in wintering
out of doors, not to let the foul air settle to
the bottom, as was at first claimed, but for the
following reasons : —

1st. It is an absolute safeguard against the
hive entrance becoming choked when covered
with snow.

2nd. The bottom of the hive is in winter the
coldest part. This space lifts the cluster above
the cold boards.

3rd. Bees are not as apt to fly out on cold,
sunny days if the lower edge of the comb is
three or more inches from the bottom board.

The strength of the colony is thus conserved,
and early breeding is encouraged.

In conclusion, let me say that winter losses
are not caused by poor honey, by fruit-juice,
by pollen-consumption, or by bacteria. It is
simply a case of protection and food ; this sup-
plied, and bees can be wintered in the north as
safely as in the "land of the cotton and the
cane."

Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.

Letters or queries ashing for addresses of manufacturers 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 /or 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 communication.

All queries forwarded will be attended to, and those only
of personal interest will be answered m this column.

J. Dean. — White Foundation for Supers. — Very
white foundation, such as that sent, especially
when the " tallowy " smell accompanies it, is
not liked by bees, and they sometimes refuse
to work it out into comb. The best sort for
use is the pale yellow, soft in texture, and
having the honey fragrance which makes it
so attractive to the bees.

THE

HONEY BEE:

Its Natural History, Anatomy,
and Physiology.

BY

T. W. COWAN, F.G.S., &c.

Editor of the " British Bee Journal."
ILLUSTEATED WITH

Seventy-two Figures of One Hundred and

Thirty-six Illustrations.

Cloth Gilt, price 2s. 6d. ;

POSTAGE, 2\d.

LONDON :
HOULSTON & SONS, Paternoster Square

OF ALL BOOKSELLEBS ; AND
British Bee Journal Office, 17 King William

Street, Strand, London, W.C.

BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD AND ADVISER.

No. 601. Vol. XXI. N.S. 209.] DECEMBER 28, 1893.

[Published Weekly.

ti&bxtaxml ftotias, $u

SEASONABLE.
Completion op our Twenty-first Volume.

The present issue of the British Bee
Journal completes its twenty-first yearly
volume. In other words, we have to-day
attained our majority, and after twenty-one
years of labour it is for readers to say if
the work done in that time has been
fruitful for good or for evil, so far as con-
cerns the pursuit with which our mission is
and has been so altogether identified. We
may, however, with some degree of pardon-
able pride, be allowed to point out that so
far as the main object towards which all
our teaching has tended, viz., securing an
increased output of honey, it has been suc-
cessful to an extent that few will deny.

The one urgent need of to-day is to
secure a ready and fairly remunerative
market for every pound of British or home-
grown honey which can be produced in
these islands. This is one of the most
important problems connected with bee-
keeping, towards the solving of which our
efforts in the near future must be directed.
But we believe its solution is not only
possible, but that the question is rapidly
becoming ripe for settlement. Owing,
however, to our abnormally limited space
this week, caused by the inevitable Index,
we must defer further allusion to the
matter till a more favourable time, beyond
again reminding bee-keepers that the
recent publicity given to the subject of
bee-keeping and the production of British
honey should not be allowed to die out
before taking full advantage of what has
been done. The communication which
appeared in our issue of last week (1676,
p. 506) conveys a useful argument showing

the need for something to be done, and it
remains for bee-keepers to assist us in doing
it when the proper time comes.

Having said this much, it may also be
safe to infer that the season's festivities
will be more attractive to readers than dis-
cussing dry details of schemes for honey-
selling, however interesting such schemes
may be to honey-sellers. We therefore turn
to the more congenial task of conveying to
all who have helped to make the Bee
Journal readable and, we trust, instructive
during the past year, our sincere and hearty
acknowledgments of the generous help they
have rendered, and expressing the best of
good wishes for the health and happiness of
contributors and readers alike.

€amty£iTibmzz.

The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken
of anonymous communications, and correspondents are re-
quested 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. Illustrations should be drawn
on separate pieces of paper. We do not undertake to return
rejected communications.

Communications relating to the literary department, re-
ports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the ' British Bee Journal,' 17 King William
Street, Strand, London, W.C." All fnistness communications
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 Advertise-
ments).

*** 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.

HIVE EOOFS.

[1683.] Instead of being Christians, let us
suppose for a few minutes that we — each one
of us — is a bee, scientifically labouring under
the name of Apis mellifica. The specific name
is a pleasing one ; it suggests honey and brings
to mind the mellifluous odour of a charlock field,
or a lime with a thousand thousand blossoms.
If the atmosphere is quite favourable nothing

514

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 28, 1893.

secretes honey with so lavish a hand as the
lime. Once in a while it almost spots from the
flowers — that would be real honey-dew ! — and
the bees return to the hives not only with a
bursting honey -bag, but sticky all over as
though they had rolled in it. When the limes
are in bloom, entomologists know full well that
it is no use " sugaring" at night, for here is a
banquet not to be compared to a mess of rum,
beer, and treacle. Imagine yourself a bee, then,
headforemost in a dark cell trying to get warm.
You cannot clap your arms round your shoulders
like a cabman because you have no arms to clap,
only legs to kick backwards. You are ordered
to take your turn on the outside of the cluster,
to sit on the other bees to hatch a little warmth
as it were. Perhaps you have been com-
missioned (it is the fashion lately) to fetch a
little honey — clover honey, it is for the queen —
from the cold slab of comb above, or, what is
worse, go right round the end of the frame,
there being no " winter passages," to convey a
message to the next seam of bees. On this
journey you make discoveries. The edge of the
comb is covered with a blue mould, the hive
side is wet, among the damp debris on the floor
is a damp, naked worm ! It is Christmas-time.
Mistletoe, holly with coral berries, ivy whose
berries are not yet ripe, darkest yew, encircle,
not the heads of the artists, but the pictures
which they have painted. There is the brightest
of fires on the hearth, round it the brightest of
faces, for a thousand thousand stockings will be
suspended to-night ready to be filled by Santa
Olaus. But the bees in the damp, mouldy hive
are dying one by one, till there is a noisome
heap, and only a few remain clustered round
the queen this merry Christmas Day !

We will mercifully suppose that the above is
an overdrawn picture ; we will hope that every
hive to-night is plentifully supplied with sweet
food, that a sweet odour of honey — no, not
honey, but naphthaline — pervades it ; the bees
covered with quilt, pad, and sack, which my
late friend " Pettigrew " so heartily detested,
and that winter passages have been cut, and a
coat of paint to the roof, at least, given. We
will suppose, too, that he smiles when the storm
without dashes the rain in great sheets against
the panes, as if it were angry at being kept out
against its will, because he knows the hives are
taut and sound and standing on four splayed legs.
Thus did T smile, many long years ago, to my
cost, for I found that not one of my roofs were
watertight except those covered with zinc. Many
of them were by the best makers, and included
all the shapes that I have ever seen, barring the
Anglo-Cyprian ; also several covered with stout
calico and painted. But they were, one and all,
unsound. Water will get in through the most
minute of cracks — through the puttied hole
which covers a nail-head frequently — and often
by capillary attraction runs upwards where one
would least expect it. However enthusiastic we
may be, there is bound to come a time when
other things besides bees — wasps, perhaps ! —
engage our attention. One of you will be get-

ting married ; another will have bought a yoke
of oxen ; a third is selling his honey, pleased,
not so much at his own gain thereby, but at the
treat his customers will have from the eating of
it. Yes, the day will come, my young friends,
hard as it is to believe, when you will not care
if you do not see the Journal for a month, or
maybe six months, and yet your hives will be in
the garden letting water in just the same as
ever !

Wood will warp, and paint will blister, so
let me urge you strongly to use nothing but tin
or zinc, well painted both sides, and four inches
wider and longer than the hive, to shed the rain
well off. Then it will not matter much if your
enthusiasm does wane — nay, it may be a bless-
ing for the bees, because there would be a rest
from that unceasing, worrying manipulation I
read so much about, and, alas ! used to practise
so much myself in days gone by. Never so
cruel though — even in those days — as to put
naphthaline under the frames; never so unjust
to the bees either as to have two laying queens in
one hive. Nothing has surprised me more than
this " Wells system." Perhaps my bees are
abnormal bees — perhaps they still have some
Cyprian blood in their veins, for I had a queen
once. Anyhow I never wish to have the
management of stronger hives. I have seen in
Pettigrew's garden at Bowden, in Cheshire, and
also in a garden at Knutsford, eighteen-inch
skeps, with a huge glass super over, bursting
with bees — stronger, my friends, than any of
yours worked on any other system. And did I
not hive a swarm from one of these, which com-
pletely filled one of these huge skeps ? (A de-
lightful memory !)

My hive of the future will be one with a tin
or zinc roof, that will stand ten or twenty
years ; it will have frames parallel with the
entrance, one " dummy " behind. The said
frames must have a thicker — not wider — top
bar than the present Association standard, and
" metal ends " will be discarded. As bottled
(extracted if you will) honey will be the order
of the day, although some comb honey will
always be produced, the hive must be made
to take tiers of frames, each one containing
ready-built drone comb, faultlessly worked out
from foundation for preference. The queen
will be kept f<rom these by an excluder.

The bee — the wondrous insect which solely
occupies the pages of a weekly journal through
many years — will not be of the proud Ligurian
race, neither will it be the bright Cyprian or
Syrian, or the soft-banded Carniolan, nor yet
the patent Punic ; but it will be the vigorous
offspring of the old English bee with the blood
of many a race in its veins. For it on breezy
downs the pasque-flower will hang a shaggy bell,
for it the heather will burn, as it were, the
mountain tops, the eye-bright show a pleasant
face, the bramble hold out a welcome hand ; for
it the wild thyme will creep about, some on the
mounds in the kirkyard (for so I have seen it).
Some may yet blossom on yours and mine. —
Lobdswood.

December 28, 1893."

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

515

LECTURERS VERSUS TEACHERS.

[1684.] Without doubt there are lecturers
of high technical attainments who are quite
capable of displaying their scholastic ability
before students in science and art subjects —
students who have mastered the elementary
stages and passed into more advanced positions.
But the question which prompts itself to me as
I read " B. B.'s " letter (1671, p. 500) is, Will the
County Councils — oide the Editorial note — con-
sider they are faithfully performing the duties
devolving upon them, if they do not reach the
uneducated masses through their appointed
agents? They well know that the educated
classes can take care of themselves. The County
Council must take care of the uneducated. It is
amongst the latter that ignorance and preju-
dice foster and grow. It is the uneducated
that require a teacher with language adapted
to their requirements and intellect. Technical
words must be avoided, and, where necessity
arises for their use, they must be explained.
Language such as " John Ploughman " uses ought
to be the standard of competence. He says
language that cannot be grasped by those that
hear it is " bad language." And, again, with
St. Paul, such lecturers are " barbarian " to their
hearers. The words indicated by " B. B." can-
snot possibly advance elementary bee-keeping.
Plain, homely language will be appreciated by
all, but technical words and high-sounding
phrases are neither appropriate nor beneficial.

Inaccuracies produce a revulsion in finely
educated minds ; but, whilst such as " Bee "
(1615, p. 439) retain impressions of the error,
the remainder present would most probably
never give the matter further consideration.

We have not, up to the present, had any
explanation from the lecturer, although H. Hill
(1629, p. 457) asks for further details, which he
doubtless would have obtained had those mak-
ing the charge given the required particulars. I
think they ought to do so. Our ears deceive us
as well as our tongues. I do not hold that he
did not say so ; but if he were called upon for an
explanation we should be satisfied, and doubtless
it would cause others not to go beyond their
own knowledge.

In conclusion, Messrs. Editors, I am of opinion
that the sooner County Councils bribe an intelli-
gent bee-keeper in specified districts to teach
bee-keeping to the community, the sooner will
those thousands of pounds sent abroad annually
for foreign honey be retained in this country. I
set this before you as a new idea which will
soon take the field. There are plenty of intelli-
gent bee-keepers, and when once the country
people know that there is a paid apiarian hi
their district who will teach, advise, and assist
them in their difficulties, numbers will avail
themselves of the privilege.

Let us remember all men are not scientifically
educated, neither are all men illiterate ; but all
are liable to error. Charity is a good thing, so
as honey ; use them both discreetly. — Not a
Heathen, December 18th.

[We quite agree with our correspondent that

lecturers using technical terms should in all
cases explain them ; but where technical in-
structon is being given it is impossible to avoid
using such terms at times. It may also be well
to state, as a fact within our own knowledge,
that the Committee of the B.B.K.A., when
testing the efficiency of lecturers of whose com-
petency their opinion has been asked, lay stress
on the need for candidates being able to adapt
their lectures to the ordinary capacity of
cottagers and rural labourers. — Eds.]

HOW MR. WELLS EXTRACTS HIS
BEESWAX.

[1685.] I see in B. B. J. for December 14th
(1664, p. 497) our friend Mr. Woodley would
like me to say how I manage with my wax. I
really did not expect that I was any way in
advance of Mr. Woodley in that respect, and
most likely I am not, but, as he has asked the
question, it affords me great pleasure to answer
the same.

In the first place, perhaps you will allow
me to explain the construction of my wax-
extractor. It is a kind of tank made from
stout tinned sheet iron, about nineteen gauge.
It is 27 inches long, 17 j inches wide, and 15
inches deep (inside measure). It has a f inch
brass tap in the centre of one of the long sides
about 1 inch from the bottom, and 9 inches
from the bottom inside there is a T-shaped
piece of sheet iron (made of the same material
as the tank itself) riveted all round the tank,
the flat side of the T being riveted to the tank
thus : —

End View of Tank (inside).

When I have old combs to melt down, the
frames containing them are placed on the
bottom of the tank and under the T piece ; then
a wood frame, just the size of the inside of
tank, covered with cheesecloth, is laid on top
of the T band, and is fastened down with four
buttons fixed on the under side of wood frame,
which are turned from the top side so as to
grip under the T-shape band. The tank is
then placed on the top of kitchener, and water
poured in until it comes about three inches
above the strainer or cheesecloth. As the
water gets hot the wax leaves the frames of
comb and rises up through the cheesecloth to
the surface of the water, from whence it can be
skimmed off, or it can remain to cool, and all
the refuse^ with the now empty frames, is left
in the bottom of tank. The frames are now
thoroughly cleansed, and are fit for further use
as new ones, but in some cases the wire in the
frames becomes slack, and requires tightening
before fixing fresh foundation. It may be said
that the frames are not worth all this trouble

516

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 28, 1898.

but mine being well made are worth five times
the amount of trouble. In uncapping combs
when extracting honey we always let the cap-
ping fall into the top of the honey-ripener, and
the little honey cut off along with the cappings
runs through the strainer. The dry cappings
are then thrown into the wax-extractor until it
gets full. A small quantity of water is then
added to wash all the honey out of the cappings,
and some mead is made from this. The tank
with the cappings has the strainer fixed, placed
on the kitchener, and the wax is dealt with
just the same as the old combs are done, only,
of course, there are no frames in this instance,
and this is the brightest wax. The tap in the
tank is for drawing off the water, as it is too
heavy to lift about with the water in it. As
regards wax-moth, I never fear that. When a
number of old combs are condemned they are
placed in a box, with plenty of naphthaline in
the box with the combs, and I never find any of
them touched with moth, although I never
extract wax until everything else is done. — G.
Wells, Aylesford, Kent, December 21st, 1893.

arrangements, or, rather, the want of arrange-
ments, and the delay of half an hour waiting
and hunting for a chairman, along with other
drawbacks, should, I think, have elicited every
sympathy for the lecturer. — Another Who
was There, Derby, December 18^.

" LECTUKERS' ERRORS."
[1686.] I have waited, in the hope that some
more able pen than mine would take this matter
up, and say a few words in defence of the
lecturer referred to. However, I suppose it is
either because the whole thing was considered
too trifling, or the dislike to fighting unknown
foes, that has caused such reticence.

It seems to me that whilst " Bee, Derby," and
" Another Bee " are hidden behind a nom de
plume, the former has acted the part of a wasp
rather than a " Bee," for, not content with
saying, " A few days ago I attended a lecture,"
and referring to the lecturer as " a second-class
expert " (and he doubtless knows that only two
second-class experts have given lectures in
Derbyshire), he fairly clenches the nail when he
adds "Derby" to his nom de plume; whilst
" Another Bee " is evidently very anxious to
cast a stone when he makes the bold assertion
that " it was the lecturer who was in error," and
then very mildly adds, " for I believe I was at
the lecture referred to." Rather logical this,
eh?

Now, whether " Bee, Derby," is a friend of
Associations or not, I maintain he has, in the
eyes of many, stigmatised the whole of the
Derbyshire lecturers, and has, in my humble
opinion, caused ridicule to be vented on a man
such as any Association might be proud of.

I have attended not a few C. C. lectures on
different subjects, in various counties, and I am
bold to admit that at the lecture in question
(there is no doubt as to what lecture is referred
to, thanks to " Bee, Derby's," "stab in the back")
there was much more to be learnt, by those who
went for that purpose, than at half a dozen of
some such as I have heard. Moreover, the
lecturer did not make the errors he is debited
with (but more on this score at some future
time if needs be), and I will only add that the

NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM
BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

At a meeting of the Committee of this-
Association, held the other day, a letter was-
read from Mr. G. Wells, Kent, explaining why
he was unable to come to the district to> deliver
addresses on his double-queen system as ar-
ranged, and the explanation was considered to-
be satisfactory. It was decided to arrange for
Mr. Wells to come down in the early part of
February ; and if he should find it impossible
to renew the engagement, the Committee will
endeavour to arrange a course of lectures by a
well-known expert, who is familiar with Mr*
Wells' system.

xxzxuz anir Holies*

[926.] Transferring Combs — He-queening"
Hives — Experts. — Will you kindly give me
your advice on the following queries ? I have
three hives, with combs (not standard size)>
which I wish to transfer to new standard-
frame hives. 1. How soon next year would:
you advise me to do this by fixing the combs in
the frames and securing them with tapes?
2. How long should the tapes remain on the
frames ? 3. I have five hives, which I guess-
have all old queens. I should like to re-queen
them all ; and, as I cannot afford to buy young
queens, I propose to work the following plan,,
and ask : Would there be any doubt about the
young queens getting fertilised ? — Select my
best stock, and contract the hive, and make
them build queen-cells and prepare for swarm-
ing. When I have queen-cells sealed over,,
remove all old queens, and fix one of the cells in
the centre of the brood nest, and let the young
queens introduce themselves. 4. Are experts'"
examinations held at county shows, and what
are the rules they have to pass ? 5. Is the
trade of expert a good one ? — Ignorant.

Reply. — 1. We should advise making the
transfer as early in spring as the weather is
sufficiently warm for pollen - gathering. The
smaller the amount of brood at the time of
transferring the better. 2. Examine a frame
in three days after tying the combs, and it will
readily be seen if the bees have made the
combs secure ; if not, leave three days longer.
In honey-gathering weather, the combs are-
usually made fast in from twenty-four to forty-
eight hours. 3. In carrying out the proposed
plan, an interval of four or five days should
elapse between removal of the queens and the
introduction of sealed queen - cells from the
queen-raising colony, so that cells may be-

December 28, 1893.] THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

517

started in each hive before pinning in those
from the queen-raising stock. 4. Examinations
for third-class certificates are generally held at
shows, though not always. 5. Write to the
Secretary of the B.B.K. A., Mr. J. Huckle,
Kings Langley, Herts, who will furnish par-
ticulars. 6. That is a question we can hardly
answer, except to say that the trade of expert
— to have any chance of being made remunera-
tive as a trade — should be combined with that
of appliance-making.

PREPARING FOR NEXT SEASON.
Old Foundation as Good as New.

By the time this number of Gleanings will
have reached its readers, the bees will all have
been housed for winter, or should be, at least,
and the intelligent apiarist will be asking him-
self the question, " What next ? " The next
thing to be done, it seems to me, is to prepare
for next season. He who fails to prepare now
for the season to come, often finds the season
upon him and he unprepared. The time to
prepare is always when we have the time to
prepare, not afterward. Therefore, when our
bees are safely fixed for winter we shoidd go to
work in such a way that our " dish " will be
sure to be right side up when the " raining of
honey " comes next June and July. To this
end, all the hives not occupied by the bees
should be brought around and repaired if
necessary, cleaned of propolis, &c, and painted
if necessary. If we do not have as many as we
may reasonably expect to use, new ones should
be made, so that all will be in readiness at a
moment's notice when swarming-time arrives
in 1894. If we are to use foundation or starters
of foundation in our frames, let this foundation
be procured and fastened in the frames during
the winter while we have leisure. Don't listen
to those who tell you that the bees will not
work the foundation only as it is new from the
mill ; for in an experience of years I cannot see
any difference between foundation fresh from
the mill and that which has been stored away
in the frames for years, as regards the bees
accepting it. To be sure, to me this old founda-
tion looks cold and hard ; and, while looking at
it these cold winter days, my sympathies go
out towards those who say the bees will not
accept it; but when next June arrives, and I
lift out this same " hard " sheet from the bees,
after it has been in the hive an hour, I find it
all soft and pliable, and just as good as new, or
that which has been dipped in tepid water so as
to restore its colour, &c, as some advise.

Having the hives all in |readiness, put them
away where they will be handy when needed,
and look after the surplus arrangements next.
These should be cleaned of propolis, and repaired
where necessary ; and if we do not have enough,
let new ones be made. To arrive at the
number we wish, I have come to the conclusion
that I am not sure to secure the best results
unless I allow at least room for 150 lbs. capacity

to each old colony in the spring, where working
for comb honey, or 250 where working for
extracted honey. Less than this finds me
" napping," about one year in eight, with less
money to jingle in my pockets than I might
have had. The sections to fill our wide frames
or cases should next be procured, made, and
filled with full sheets of foundation or starters,
as we have elected to do. When filled as above
they are to be placed in their holders, and all
fixed in readiness to use, so packed that all dust,
dirt, and mice are excluded from them.

"We now have time to study ou any experi-
ments we have thought we should like to make
when we were so busy during the last season ;
and by studying the matter over we shall see
what material and fixtures we shall need to carry
out these experiments. Much good to the bee-
keeping fraternity is often lost by lack of time
to experiment just when the " fit is on," and
then allowing the thing to die without further
thought in the matter. To overcome this ten-
dency I jot down the new things I should like
to try when they come to me ; and if I do not
have time to put them in practice then, I look
this " jotting down " over during the winter, and
prepare to carry out the plans the next season.
If, after carrying out, we find these experiments
successful, we should then give them to the
world to pay the debt we owe to those who
have come before us and prepared the way for
our successful practice of the plans they origi-
nated. Don't be selfish, and try to keep what-
ever good you may have found to yourself ; for
in giving to the world there comes the greatest
reward. Above all else in importance is a
thorough knowledge of apiculture, arid the long
winter evenings which are upon us are just the
time to gain this knowledge. Get around the
back volumes of Gleanings, and other bee-
papers, if you have them ; also any bee-books
you may have, and thoroughly read them till
what they contain is fully impressed upon the
mind, so as to put what you learn in practice
the next season, so as to be always advancing,
instead of standing still or retrograding. Do
this instead of spending your evenings at the
store, saloon, or hotel, listening to the idle gossip,
or worse than gossip, and, my word for it, you
will make a success of bee-keeping which will
astonish those about you.

Not long ago, while passing the saloon in our
place I saw through the open door one of our
would-be bee-keepers standing at the bar,
apparently about to treat others gathered around
to that which has the power of not only wreck-
ing any business, but destroying both soul and
body. No wonder such a one does not succeed.
If you are not interested to an extent sufficient
to make you prefer the study of bees to the
places named above, I can give no assurance of
success ; but, on the contrary, I shall be obliged
to predict only failure, as all my knowledge of
the pursuit compels me to to say that the idea
that " bees work for nothing and board the m-
selves " is a mistaken one. — G. M. Doolittle,
in " Gleanings ," Am.

TBE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [December 28, 1893.
NEW EDITION.

The BRITISH BEE=KEEPERS'
QUIDE=BOOK.

BY

thos. ~w_y__ oo~w^____>j\

F.E.M.S., F.G.S., F.L.S., Ac.

REVISED AND ENLARGED

Twelfth Edition. Twenty-third Thousand.
Fcap. 8vo., price Is. 6d. ; or in cloth gilt, 2s. 6d.

POSTAGE TWOPENCE

HOULSTON &' SONS, Paternoster Square.
To be had at the British Bee Journal and Record Office, 17
King William Street, Strand, W.C., and of all Hive
Dealers and Secretaries of Bee-keepers' Associations.

THE

BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

Established 1873.
THE NEW VOLUME COMMENCES IN JANUARY.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL is supplied direct from the Office every week
post free, for One Year, 6s. 6d. ; Half Year 3s. 3c?. (Payable in advance.) Posted on
Wednesday evening in time for delivery on Thursday.

Money Orders and Cheques should be made payable to the "Manager, B.B.J." and
crossed " London and Westminster Bank."

SUBSCRIPTION FORM.

(To be filled up by intending Subscribers, cut out and returned to the Office.)
Please send me " The British Bee Journal " for

commencing . 18 , for which I enclose

—Name

A ddress __ . •

-Bate

It will considerably faciliate our publishing arrangements if subscriptions are dated from the beginning
of each year; the proprietor will therefore be obliged if subscribers will fill up and return the above form
before the close of current year.

"BRITISH BEE JOURNAL" and "BEE-KEEPERS' RECORD" Office, 17 King William

Street, Strand, London, W.C.